FIELD COILS
Field coils were the original magnetic implementations for loudspeakers prior to having magnets strong enough to do the job. Field coils are powered from their own power supplies and await the signal, ready to jump so to speak. They are vastly more expensive than their magnetic counterparts (alnico, neodymium etc.) and when correctly implemented offer advantages to their fixed magnet counterparts…not the least of which is the ability to adjust the magnetic flux of each driver to your taste. Typically, an increase in sensitivity is also in play, which has musical advantages in and of itself, but also allows for using certain single ended triode tubes that otherwise wouldn’t be commanding enough to satisfy all music. With field coils, even the most exotic and low powered tubes can be utilized.
THE VISTA FIELD COIL LOUDSPEAKER
The Vista loudspeaker goes from being 107 db sensitive to 112 db sensitive. We could have it go as high as 117db sensitive, but 112 is the sweet spot. How do you make such a complete and glorious loudspeaker ‘more’? Well, truly, you’d have to hear it. It becomes just a bit more textured, and bit more dynamic a bit more spacious and intimate as the music dictates. The power goes from phenomenal to ultimate reality.
THE NIKA AND RUBY FIELD COIL LOUDSPEAKERS
The Nika has long been a favorite among adoptees of horn loudspeaker technology. It’s visceral ability to portray live music and its ease of placement, have meant that the sound we get in the showroom will translate to what you hear at home. Employing field coil drivers in the Nika move the sensitivity to 107db at 8 ohms from its typical 100db sensitivity. What does this accomplish? Well, you can now use the reference grade 45 tube integrated in most any room. At 1.7 watts the additional 7db of sensitivity is put to great use. However, sensitivity isn’t the only takeaway. Adjustability of flux and that texture and the ultimate dynamics even at low volumes take the Vista from being a world beater to being in a class of its own at its size. The Ruby responds almost exactly the same technically, simply for smaller spaces.