After I put our last issue of Audiophilia 'to bed', I decided, against my better judgement, to check out the responses (if any) to my 'ad' in the Usenet audio newsgroups. These groups can be informative and entertaining, but most times produce a real cesspool of vitriol, with the objective and kind to and fro between consenting audiophiles gone the way of the Dodo. My simple, informational post had some very quick responses, primarily to the cable and accessory reviews. They were ugly! The thesis of the reviews did not go down well - our reviewers were called 'shills' with very limited IQs (these same 'expert' posters are the type who do not hear differences between capable amplifiers; they live for the measurement!). And to them, we shill for nobody! Well, if they didn't like those reviews, they're going to hate this one! I present to you my findings on the Murata Manufacturing Company's ES103A Spherical Super Tweeter. Romantics and lovers, read on. Cynics, goodbye!

The add-on driver has been around since the beginning of the High-End movement. It has manifested itself most prominently in the deadly subwoofer, that denizen of the deep, that destroyer of balance, that imploder of soundstages. I've heard more than a few systems with a beefed up midrange, usually courtesy of ribbons - who doesn't need a little more lushlife? My first experience with outside tweeters was over twenty years ago hearing a wonderful double-panel Maggie setup. Not that these Timps needed them, but I remember a Klemperer EMI Eroica sounding pretty amazing. My frame of reference at that time, however, was a pair of Acoustic Research speakers, an old Sid Marantz integrated and a ubiquitous Thorens turntable. Dreamland!

Subs have come a long way. Some audiophiles even swear by them. Yet, woofers, mid drivers and tweeters are so refined nowadays that extraneous drivers may defeat the purpose of the original speaker design. The audiophile world has come a hell of a way. So, it would have to be something pretty special for the average punter to dig deep for 3 large to uplift and enhance the upper reaches of a well-balanced system. Did Murata come up with the goods?

The ES103s were hand delivered to me and setup by the Canadian distributor. The super tweeters come in a cool, metal 'train' case, packed tightly in foam, and with thin, white gloves at the ready so to not sully the finish (my pair was the 'A' model, signifying silver finish, the 'B' set comes in black). I passed on the gloves during my time with the tweeters. The ES103s did not seem any the worse the wear from my three months of manhandling.

As a suggestion, the distributor asked that serious listening be suspended for a week or so (if that was ever possible with audiophiles); just have the tweeters in the system and 'try' to ignore them for a while. After a week, he said to either take the tweeters out of the system or place the supplied thick, rubber covers on the fronts. He commented that the sound difference after a week of the tweeters in, then out, would be painfully obvious. I followed his suggestions carefully.

The Muratas atop my reference fabaudio Model 1s looked intriguing. As style, they added a bump to a speaker with fairly oblique angles - as such, they were angled slightly upwards. I think they will look great on flat tops (a mic stand is available for those with an aversion to anything on their speakers or where placement is not possible). Setup was a cinch. The super tweeter may be connected to the amplifier or piggybacked to the speakers. I chose the latter for my 'serious' listening. The solid metal base will keep the super tweeters in place, even on a slope. The weight and craftsmanship of this bit of kit will give the buyer confidence that they will pass the test of time. And to make the super tweeters slightly less of a 'bump', you can run banana plugs and some sort of clear cased wire - this will clean up the look significantly.

The technology behind the super tweeters comes primarily from Murata's main foray into ceramic component manufacture and piezoelectric design. Murata's comprehensive website describes the design as: 'Unlike conventional speakers, our ES103 tweeters produce sound through piezoelectricity: the semispherical ceramic membrane itself acts as the tweeter medium. With traditional speakers, the characteristic resonance frequency of the vibrator medium is set below the reproduction bandwidth; but with the ES103, the ceramic medium has resonant frequency that lies above this bandwidth. This means that the diaphragm provides extremely faithful tracking of the input signal, resulting in superlative transient characteristics and delicate, rich sound reproduction. These tweeters enhance playback from a wide variety of audio media, from CDs and LPs to SACDs and DVD audio.'

Further to the website's description, an email from the designer's in Japan offered more information: 'As you know, the frequency response including over 20kHz is not so important for ES103A. Of course, SACD has much more sound information because of its higher frequency and high bit sampling. But the key to the ES103A is its faster transient -- I mean the tweeter makes a faster rise time for each sound. We at Murata consider that this faster rise time is the essential factor to have original natural timbre'.

While the distributor was still at the house, for fun, I threw on the great Midori's performance of Bartok's early Violin Concerto No. 1 (Sony 45941) with an in form Zubin Mehta and the Berlin Phil. This wonderful performance is marred somewhat by an opaque soundstage which blurs musical lines and clarity, inner woodwind parts especially. When the woody culprits arrived after the intro of the final movement, I listened carefully, against the genial wishes of my listening partner. What I heard really surprised me: a clear soundstage, great detail of the creamy Berlin woodwinds, the clattering key work of Schellenberger's gold-keyed oboe, and lots of other information, all for the good. The recording had been transformed by the Murata super tweeters from mediocrity to gem.

This trend continued over the three months the ES103s were in place. Their 'wow factor' does not come from a plonk on the audiophile head; it is far more subtle than that. They open up the soundstage gently and add more air to all but the most rancorous of recordings. Really something. And really quite a downer when the tweeters are removed. It's not a shock, more a 'flattening' of the sound. The sparkle has diminished, the love not gone, but on the wane. This is really saying something considering the splendid Model 1s really give of their best in sound staging and truthful, accurate timbre. As time heals all, my 'hearing' resumed normal enjoyment soon after removal, yet even now, two months later, something is still missing from the sound.

The ES103s 'sounded' their best when playing recordings of at least acceptable quality. A couple of duds still sounded like duds, but with a little more air around the compressed, ugly nonsense. Voices sound so good through the fabaudio speakers yet the tweeters' effect was still much in evidence, especially on the ambiance surrounding the voice.

So, the genesis of this review, and much of its substance, resulted from the early days of critical listening with the super tweeters in place. Later, I came to accept the enhanced sound as the norm - all was light and airy, all was good in my audiophile world.

Therefore, it seems a little churlish not to award an Audiophilia Star Component Award for Murata's splendid achievement. It is a complete winner on sound, but loses just a little in the style and cost department. For my taste, if a little cheaper and less of a 'bump', it would be top of the heap. For many audiophiles, the ES103's style will suit, and for more, the price will not be a factor. If audiophiles are willing to pay thousands for a cable upgrade, why not almost $3000 for these tweeters? They certainly will add at least the equal in upgrade to the latest and greatest flavour-of- the-month cable.

As for those who will cast stones at the 'science' behind the design of these gems. I trump thee with Mr. Einstein: 'It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.'

With that little slice of genius in mind, your best bet is to arrange for an audition at a nearby dealer or, better yet, in your home. I think the impact will be immediate. Very highly recommended.