august/september

Transcription

august/september

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POSITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE - ISSUE 2
This is a dynamic site, meaning articles and reviews are being
added every few days. So come back often to see what is new!
Latest updates - see "NEW" next to title.
august/september
EDITORIAL
The Higher End: A Progress Report, and Life in the SACD Lane
by David W. Robinson
REVERBERATIONS
Our readers respond…we respond right back!
AUDIO DISCOURSE
A New System
by Danny Kaey
Auroville, 5
by Srajan Ebaen
What about MP3 and Us?
by Danny Kaey
The Mysteries of His System, The Verses in His Life, A Love
Story (Parts 1 to 9)
by Barry Grant
Modifying the Cary 306/200: More on the Marigo Dots and Shakti
On-Lines. Plus the CDi Blue Statmat from Ringmat
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by Dave Clark
Mastering Maven Mills Microscopically Minute Miracle
by Dave Glackin and Stan Ricker
Stones on SACD: Notes on a Historic Re-issue Project
“I Don’t Drive Stock!” Chapter 3: In Which Ye Olde Editor Has
His Caps Done
Profundity and Contemporary Classical Music
by Bob Neill
The Creative Art of Recorded Music–Translation, Transduction,
and Transformation
by Rick Gardner and David Robinson
A response to "The Creative Art of Recorded
Music–Translation, Transduction, and Transformation"
by Lynn T. Olson
Another response to "The Creative Art of Recorded
by Scott Frankland
And still another response to "The Creative Art of Recorded
by Tom Davis
And yet another response to "The Creative Art of Recorded
by Srajan Ebaen
A perhaps the last response to "The Creative Art of Recorded
Music–Translation, Transduction, and Transformation, by Rick
Gardner and David Robinson"
by Mad Jack McMadd
Auroville, 4
by Srajan Ebaen
HARDWARE REVIEWS
Cary 306/200 CD player/processor
as reviewed by Ed Morawski and Dave Clark
Metronome CD1-V Signature CD player
as reviewed by Bryan Gladstone, Carol Clark, and Victor Chavira
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Magnum Dynalab MD90 tuner
as reviewed by Victor Chavira and Dave Clark
PS Audio P-300, with comments on the Ultimate Outlet and P-600
as reviewed by Roger McNichols, Pat Brady, Dave Clark, and Larry
Cox
NAD C541 CD player
as reviewed by Victor Chavira and Jim Grudzien
deHavilland and Buggtussel 845 Aries amplifiers and Amygdala
loudspeakers
as reviewed by David Robinson
Decware ZEN 84B SET amplifier
as reviewed by Mark Katz, Dave Clark, and Victor Chavira
Majeel Laboratories Pristine SA10 amplifier
as reviewed by Larry Cox, Dave Clark, and Victor Chavira
Basis, Benz-Micro, and Musical Surroundings 1400 turntable,
Glider MC cartridge, and a phono-section
as reviewed by Dave Clark, Larry Cox, and A.D. Banerjee
Ensemble DynaFlux interconnects
as reviewed by Larry Cox
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro amplifiers
as reviewed by Francisco Duran, Dave Clark, Carol Clark, and Victor
Chavira
47 Laboratory Shigaraki DAC
as reviewed by Larry Cox, Art Shapiro, and Mark Katz
Harbeth vs. Spendor HP3ES and S3/5 Mini-Monitors - A Space
Thing
as reviewed by Bob Neill
Audio Note 1.1 DAC
Soliloquy 5.0 loudspeakers
as reviewed by Francisco Duran, Larry Cox, and Victor Chavira
Audion Silver Night 300B integrated
as reviewed by Mark Katz and Dave Clark
Audio Magic Stealth Power Purifier
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Echo Busters Acoustical Room Treatments
as reviewed by Dave Clark, Francisco Duran, and Victor Chavira
Rega Jupiter 2000 CD player
as reviewed by Ed Morawski, Greg Ewing, and Larry Fisher
Balanced Power Technologies BP-2 balanced power AC
conditioner
as reviewed by Francisco Duran
Audio Note Zero System
MUSIC REVIEWS
Analogue Productions Hits a Grand Slam: Creedence
Clearwater Revival on SACD—At Last!
Music, Emotion, and Lisa Gerrard
by Roger S. Gordon, CPA
Maltz on SACD - Cross-Section of Columbia's Jazz Fusion
Produced on SACD: A Tale of Two Triumvirates
by Greg Maltz
Great Operatic Arias, Della Jones, mezzo-soprano, various
assisting artists, London Philharmonic Orchestra/David Parry
by Steve Vasta
Prokofiev, Symphonic Suite of Waltzes Op. 110 and Gypsy
Fantasy Op. 127
by George Valley
Richard X. Heyman, Basic Glee
by Matthew Greenwald
Editor's Choice Recordings, Part 2: More Outstanding SACDs
Sunier on HiRes, Part 2
by John Sunier and others
Editor’s Choice Recordings: More HOT SACDs From the Recent
Releases!
Sunier on Hi-Res
by John Sunier and others
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Two Hi-Res Discs
by Victor Chavira
Taby Church Chamber Choir, Hush! The Angels Are Singing
by Dave Glackin
Diana Krall, Live in Paris
by Ed Morwaski
3 Flamencos
by Srajan Ebaen
Releases by Kenny Burrell and Andre Previn
By Dave Glackin
INTERVIEWS
An Interview with Winston Ma of First Impression Music, Part 2
by Rick Gardner and David W. Robinson
Stan Ricker Live and Unplugged: True Confessions of a Musical
and Mastering Maven, Part 2
by Dave Glackin
SHOW REPORTS
2001 Audio Engineering Society (AES)
by Scott Dorsey
“Show Report? We Don’t Need No Steenkeeng Show Report!”
(Belated) Notes from VSAC 2001
The 2001 VSAC Show: DSD, SETs... Blue Lights and Super
Colliders...an Alternative Show Report!
by Rick Gardner, aka “Dr. Sardonicus”
Mike makes the VSAC Show; or, How the PF Clan Set the SET
Crowd on its Ear!
by Mike Pappas
POSITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE © 2002 - HOME
BACK TO TOP
higherendissue2
The Higher End: A Progress Report, and Life in the SACD Lane
A Progress Report
In which our hero meditates…drawing by David W. Robinson
I’ve been looking at the reports that we get from Positive Feedback Online’s Internet Service Provider (ISP),
Earthlink. They’re pretty encouraging. Over the first two months of operation (Issue 1), we’ve seen our monthly
readership climb to nearly 30,000, with our monthly “hit rate” (the number of page loads) closing in on 500,000
per month. Dave Clark and I have been very pleased with the generally favorable response to Positive Feedback
Online. It seems that most of our readers like the look and feel, appreciate the use of color, and really like the
fact that online delivery is much more timely and responsive. As a matter of fact, I like those things too. A lot!
Some of our readers have asked me, “Gee, David, don’t you miss paper and ink?” Absolutely! There’s nothing
quite like the feel of a first-rate journal for pride of authorship and pride of ownership; and there’s no substitute for
putting a fine periodical on your shelf, available for immediate reference, thumbing, and those special “privy
closet” moments. (Gizmo had some particularly colorful things to say about those times!) But as I pointed out in
Issue 1, the costs associated with paper and ink—and the distribution thereof—were becoming prohibitive for
editors like Dave Clark and me, forcing us to cut back at a time when what we really wanted to do was to expand
our presence in the world of fine audio. I was particularly concerned about our overseas readers, who had to
absorb the climbing shipping costs. When I reached the point of turning away new overseas readers, that was
the last straw—I knew that things had to change. Much as I loved print journalism, I had to shift to a new format.
It was providential that both Dave Clark and I had come to the same conclusion, and that we crossed paths at
last year’s wonderful VSAC 2001 show. It allowed us to get to know each other face-to-face in advance of putting
together Positive Feedback Online. His terrific work (together with the contributions of his wife, Carol) in handling
the web design of PFO has been instrumental in making it a very clean and professional place to be.
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It is quite clear to me that web-based publishing has become a new creative medium that is aesthetically
different from print publishing, and that has its own unique set of criteria for excellence. The unique strengths of
Internet publishing include:
Immediacy of publication. Timeliness is much improved over print alternatives.
Dynamic use of text and graphics. Both content and format here enhance the creative possibilities for writers and
editors.
A global readership.
The prospect of dialectics and discourse online. See, for instance, the discussion in this issue of audio as an art
form (www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/RecordedMusic.htm).
The formation of an international fine audio network, linked by the web.
We intend to pursue the audio arts in this new medium. Stay with us for the ride!
Life in the SACD Lane
As I sit here at my keyboard, I’m listening to the brand new SACD release of the classic Janis Joplin/Big Brother
and the Holding Company recording, Cheap Thrills. “Ball and Chain” is flowing down the hallway of Positive
Feedback Online, River City branch. Janis is right there, live-at-the-Fillmore sound quality and all (RCA Living
Stereo it ain’t!). What a treat to finally get a chance to hear Janis in SACD; this disc has been on my short list of
Sony/Columbia titles from the beginning.
Slowly but surely, some pretty fine titles are coming online. The announcement from the Universal Music Group
earlier this week of a significant set of SACD releases was very pleasant news. These included the following, to
be released September 10:
Andrea Bocelli, Cieli di Toscana (Philips 7314-589813-2)
Bryn Terfel/Claudio Abbado, Berlin Philharmonic, Bryn Terfel Sings Wagner Arias (DGG 0289-471638-2)
Cecilia Bartoli, Dreams & Fables: Italian Arias (Decca 0289-470611-2)
Diana Krall, The Look of Love (Verve 7314-589597-2)
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louie (Verve 7314-589598-2)
Ivan Fisher, Slavonic Dances (Decca 0289-470601-2)
John Coltrane, A Love Supreme (Impulse 7314-589596-2)
Muddy Waters, Folk Singer (Chess 0088-112940-2)
Quincy Jones, Ultimate Collection (Hip-O Records 7314-583565-2)
Seiji Ozawa, Vienna Philharmonic, New Year's Day Concert 2002 (Philips 0289-470615-2)
A Beautiful Mind (Decca US 0440-018139-2)
higherendissue2
Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto (Verve 7314-589595-2)
On September 17th, the following titles are slated for release by UMG:
Al Jarreau, All I Got (GRP 0440-065082-2)
Natalie Cole, Ask A Woman Who Knows (Verve 7314-589915-2)
Of the above titles, I can say that the Getz/Gilberto, the Ella and Louie, the Coltrane, the Krall, and the Muddy
Waters will be utter no-brainers—reference SACDs, for sure. Given the care that seems to be going into the
transfers, this is historic work. Kudos to UMG for doing the right thing. We’ll keep you posted on these important
releases.
This development came on the heels of the announcement of the reissue of twenty-two classic Rolling Stones
recordings on SACD!! We should be seeing these very soon now… Check our Industry News section at
www.positive-feedback.com/industrynews.htm for details about the Stones/Verve transfers. Our fearless “Doctor
of DSD,” Ed Meitner, has been involved in a lot of the work, since his exceptional converters are at the heart of
the very finest work being done with DSD.
Many thanks to Positive Feedback Online’s “Dude of DSD” and “Seeker of SACD News,” Brian Moura. Keep the
scoops coming, Brian!
This ‘n that
At last! I’ll be re-instituting my Editor’s Choice Recordings in this issue of PFO. Stay tuned, you’ll be seeing an
initial set of recent SACDs that I consider absolutely terrific. Also, my comments on the Black Gate capacitor
upgrade to the Sony SCD-1 will be appearing very soon. I can say this: It’s a noticeable improvement, though in
a very interesting direction.
I’m very pleased to see that Chad Kassem of Analog Productions has reissued several titles from the Creedence
Clearwater discography (from the Fantasy archives) to LP. I haven’t yet gotten a chance to hear these—my
turntable is down, courtesy of an incompetent cleaning person, no longer in our employ. Once I’m back online, I’ll
try to report on these new Analog Productions LPs. I’ll also update this column as needed throughout Issue 2. As
always with PF Online, you’ll need to check back every few days (at least!) to stay up with what we’re doing.
That’s what “dynamic issues” are all about, eh?
Keep the email coming; let us know what you think. If you are interested in submitting articles for publication at
Positive Feedback Online, email them to me at [email protected]. No promises, but we’re always looking for
good work.
Update on the Rolling Stones SACDs!
Surpise, surprise, surprise! Since writing the above, I logged onto www.amazon.com (23 August, 2002) and
found the following linked right from their master page!
That's right...amazon.com is pushing the complete Stones on SACD—and are actually telling people about what
they are.
It's too soon to say, but I'd be surprised if these 22 titles don't push SACD's visibility up some major notches,
amigos...which is all to the good for those of us who love the format.
higherendissue2
Let It Bleed [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
by Rolling Stones
Beggars Banquet [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
by Rolling Stones
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! [LIVE] [ORIGINAL RECORDING
REMASTERED]
by Rolling Stones
Hot Rocks 1964-1971 [ORIGINAL RECORDING
REMASTERED]
by Rolling Stones
See all Stones CDs on Abkco
BACK TO TOP
letters
Our readers respond…we respond right back!
Send your comments to either [email protected] or [email protected]
Hi,
I have been a subscriber for awhile (I just found out that you are discontinuing the printed
magazine) and this is the first time I have written to you. I must comment about your reviews of
the Zen amp from Decware. First, I compliment you for reviewing products from small companies
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/letters.htm (1 of 9) [11/4/2002 8:03:49 PM]
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like Decware. Some people believe that the best innovation is coming from companies like them
so it is good to compare and test each product on its own merits. Also, I love your magazine and
feel sad that the printed version will no longer arrive in my mail box, even though I understand the
economics of the situation.
With that, I take exception to the reviews of the Zen amp from the three gentlemen who wrote
them. As a background, I have owned or reviewed many of the high-end amps and pre-amps that
are popular with the Hi-fi journals. I now own the exact Zen amp reviewed in this issue.
I don't begrudge a difference of opinion. My gripe is that all three reviewers seemed to mate the
amp with speakers that weren't well suited to the task. It's fine to try different speakers in order to
experience first hand any amps' capabilities and synergy with that speaker, however these
reviewers seemed ill prepared to plumb the depths of an amp they knew put out only 3-5 watts of
power. Not only that but their excuses at the end of their articles seemed lame and anemic for
"professional" reviewers. This is not up to the standards of this fine publication.
Regarding the Zen amps sound, I find it to be an excellent musical transducer. Mated with proper
speakers it is rather special in its balance of attributes. It is very fast and very alive without being
edgy. It's spot on in tonal balance. It images well. It is extremely musical sounding with great
rhythm. It is better than many of the pricier components I have used and it is only $500 or so
dollars!
We often talk about converting more people from the mid-fi market to Hi-fi and here we have a
product that just blows away every mid-fi product I have ever heard and yet doesn't cost much
more than many of the Sonys, Onkyos, NADs, et. al.. Don't you think for this reason alone that it
(and any other similarly positioned product) deserves a more professional approach?
Incidentally, I have used this amp with various speakers including some old KLH speakers
through which they amazed many guests to my home.
Again, thank you for a great forum.
Mark Wagner
[email protected]
Mark,
You are right on several counts... we blew it. Perhaps with more writers with the new venture,
matching products like the Zen will be a bit easier.
Dave Clark
Senior Editor Editor
Positive Feedback Online
[email protected]
I thought your readers might find my list of "Classical SACDs" useful. You'll find this at:
http://www.bitwareoz.com/sacd/classical.html
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This lists all known classical titles to date, garnered from postings on AA, updates on label web
sites and occasionally hits from Google.
There's also a corresponding "Jazz SACDs" list which is now sadly out of date. If enough people
e-mail Julian (address at the head of the list) hopefully he'll get around to updating it.
Enjoy your "mag". Keep up the good work!
Stephen Best
Canberra, Australia
Hello Stephen...it's been a while since I heard from you. (Then again, I've not had any extra time
for audioasylum.com... too bad, that.) Thanks for sending along the URL of your classical SACD
list. We'll post
this exchange over on "Reverberations" at Positive Feedback Online so that our readers benefit
from it. Dave Clark can also add it to our Duke of URL section.
Glad to hear that you are enjoying PFO...drop in from time to time, eh?
All the best,
David W. Robinson
Editor-in-Chief, Positive Feedback Online
[email protected]
Dear Sirs;
Love your site. I just bought a Rega Jupiter 2000. Read your reviews and
could’t agree more. What a great player. What I wanted to know is what is the
break or burn in period for most cd players. I hear so much about this.
Personally, the Jupiter sounded great from the moment I first fired it up so any
improvement would be icing on the cake. Thanks for taking the time to read
my email and answer me.
Jeff Braecklein, USA
Jeff,
Thanks for the compliments. Yes, the Rega is pretty good. I had a chance to
hear it and found the unit to compare very well to units in its price point as well
as a few points above.
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As to break-in, unfortunately each component it different. I have heard some
things change—improve— with a hundred hours or less, whereas other components seem to
take forever. My imagination? Don't think so. Too much experience and that of others has shown
it to be a real issue. Problem is, "What is the real break-in time?"
For most CD players I would go with at least 200-300 hours of continuous music playing. Whether
it needs to see a load at its output I have never got a straight answer, but I prefer to leave a
player hooked-up to a preamp when playing a disc. The preamp does not need to be on—at least
that is what I have heard—but then again if you leave stuff on, just turn the volume down. I have
just finished about 300 hours on my new Cary 306-200. Major differences between "out-of-thebox" and now? Not really major, but the differences are real and worth the time. Warmer,
sweeter, more open, and with a bit less "edge." Enjoy the Rega!
Dave Clark
[email protected]
Hi David,
You probably don't remember the following thread on AA's Hi Rez forum:
Me: "Can I subscribe?"
You: "Alas! Due to the bloody increases in the already bloody high shipping rates... to "the rest of
the world," PF is not currently shipping outside of the USA and Canada. If that changes, or we
find some other way of spreading our joy and cheer to the rest of the planet again, Joel, I'll post a
notice here on AA."
Me: "Best case for web based subscription if I ever heard one !
"You: "Yah, if you can come up with a web-based subscription model... that really works... and
doesn't kill the print end of things...then you've got something there! But then, that's the
problem...."
Just in case you think I am making this up:
http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/hirez/messages/46467.html
Congratulations on PFO!! I am a tad slow, since I only 'discovered' it at Issue 2. I was thinking
about your contributions to AA's Hi Rez forum today and quickly clicked on the PF link in my
bookmarks and was pleasantly surprised. Somehow missed your announcement.
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I miss those contributions on Hi Rez. In my book, the SCD-1 upgrade saga is still one of the
highlights. Plus your SACD tips. We seem to have recurring DVD-A vs SACD discussions these
days—think someone is tinkering with AA's medicine cupboard or we have to change chemists! I
dubbed it "Kremlin Watching" in a recent post. Nobody has the facts and we're all guessing as to
the future of a format. Gets a bit tiresome after a while.
I am glad I can now 'subscribe' to PFO and I will start reading Issue 1 before I work my way over
to Issue 2. It sure looks like a pleasant on-line read. Don't skimp on the pictures though... a
picture paints a thousand words as you know (and it's easier to proof-read :-)
Anyway, just wanted to show my support.
Thanks a lot and I wish you and the entire PFO crew lots of success.
Regards,
Joel Waterman
[email protected]
Yes, I have vague memories of that exchange at AA...all too prophetic, as it turned out, eh?
PFO represents the best that Dave Clark and I have been able to put together to trump the
hassles of paper and ink distribution. Over time, we think that lovers of fine audio will find it to be
a very helpful read... let's hope so, anyway!
Tune in regularly... there will be more to each issue as time goes by, right up to the point of
"cutoff." Dynamic publication, and yes... lots of photos!... should make it a pleasant place.
All the best, and greetings to the gang at AA... wish that I had the time that I no longer have to
hang out there....
All the best,
David W. Robinson
Editor, Positive Feedback Online
[email protected]
Dear Editor in Chief:
Please forgive my minimalist contribution. I've always found audiophile discussions to be
informative, as well as amusing. However, I feel uncomfortable applying the term to myself. Of all
of the responses, it is my view as a lover of music, that Srajan Ebaen's personal narrative to be
the most palatable. As a lover of music, and amateur musician it has always been about "the
music."
Music, like communication is subject to perception, interpretation and I might add --imitation.
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The only "absolute reference" is that conceived by the sound the composer hears in his/her head.
After that, all efforts to recreate that "original performance" becomes an effort to recreate a
unique event in time. An effort that sounds like the original, but is in itself a new creation. With the
exception of a recording, no two performances of the same musical material is ever quite the
same. Although I should add (at the risk of sounding redundant) that even the same recorded
material played back on different equipment will sound differently.
There will always be subtle differences, nuances, etc. subject to individual tastes, perceptions,
biases, whatever. Whether it be classical, jazz, reggae, C&W, or rap, each successive
reproduction itself becomes a new point of reference. In the words of my ex-wife, a trained
musician and violinist, "No matter how good it sounds, it will always be a recording."
It's all about the Music. Let's enjoy and participate in the creative process that gives it life.
Dwain Barefield
[email protected]
Hello David,
I just noticed that the August/September issue of PF is out. I was waiting in great anticipation for
the next installment on the Audiomod modification to your Sony SCD-1. I thought your article in
the last issue regarding this modification process was captivating and extremely well written. I
especially liked your systematic approach to the mod and the step by step review of each stage. I
should say that your article convinced me to have a mod done by Richard Kern too. After a
couple discussions with him I decided to pick up a Philips SACD 1000. He felt that his mod of it
comes very close to the mod of the SCD-1, SCD777, etc. Since there was a significant price drop
with the Philips I opted for it. I have to say, I don't think too much of the Philips as a stock unit but
shhhhh....
Please advise if you can when you will be publishing Online the next installment of this. Also, I
see you have a upcoming review of the Marsh 200s scheduled. That is a coincidence as I have
been looking into it actively of late. I was going to contact Audio Advisor about an audition but
perhaps I should wait for the article first. What do you think?...lol Ok David, keep up the great
work. I must say I am very impressed by the PF online and I told Richard that too. He was
expecting you awhile back as I was talking to him. I will subscribe to the printed version soon. I
suppose you don't make too much off the online version. Again, I think you have a great
publication here.
Sincerely,
Mike Poquette
Hello Mike...
You'll be seeing my notes on the Black Gate capacitor upgrade for the Sony SCD-1 SACD player
very soon now. In a word: terrific! The incremental gain is most interesting; I'll be characterizing it
letters
in another photo essay.
Dave Clark and I are glad to hear that you're enjoying PF Online! We want it to be a resource for
the entire fine audio community, a site that's pleasant to read...educational and entertaining at the
same time.
Don't worry about subscribing to the print version; we've discontinued that...Vol. 9, No. 3 will be
the last. PF is strictly online after that.
Thanks for the good wishes...all the best!
All the best,
David W. Robinson
[email protected]
Dear Editor in Chief:
Hi David, my name is Fred Petersen, I'm not sure if you remember me' but I e-mailed you shortly
after the late Harvey Rosenbergs death to thank you for the eulogy you wrote in listener
magazine. At that time I complained about the scarcity of Positve Feedback issues. I want to
thank you for your kind reply to my former letter. I'm really impressed with the editorial and the
review philosophy's of the new format; especially the stand taken on not smearing a component
based on the fact that it may or may not sound good in the reviewers system. Experience has
taught me this! Quite recently I made a change in my system upgrading my speakers from
Tannoy D-500, Towers(8" dual-concentric poly prop. drivers) 1 per tower. The other components
in the system are a custom tube pre-amp/crossover by SaR Labs, and a much modified Dynaco
ST-70. The front end of the system is a Sony SCD-670 SACD player. Definitely not cutting
edge in some people's book, but I hear some of the acoustic phonomena that reviewers talk
about in record & equip' reviews (eg. soundstage depth, width & height). I fine tuned the sytem
with reasonably priced interconnect (D.I.Y.) and aftermarket speaker cable. Total cost to me
$5000CN, approx. $3100US.
I found a pair of 12" Tannoy Royal Blues (in home made cabs) on the used market. I must say the
original plan was to build custom cost-no-object cabinets for the drivers, and to refurbish the
crossovers and drivers (recharge magnets and install new foam surrounds)—hoping to make
them look like downsized Churchills. Needless to say swapping in the Royal Blues (as is) for the
D-500's was not what I expected, a couple of giant steps backwards actually. I'm looking forward
to getting started on the project. I'm starting to get a little long winded here so I'll cut to the chase.
I'm planning to go on the web myself featuring my system for the time being but hoping
eventually to market the mod that's been done to my Dynacos. In the mean time I was wondering
if I you would be intersted in correpndence relating to the progress of my speaker project.
Many thanks,
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Fred petersen
[email protected]
Hello Fred...
Sure, stay in touch with us here at Positive Feedback Online as you pursue your project. It
sounds like something Gizmo would have really enjoyed...he really loved his Tannoys!
We'll be glad to look at anything you'd care to send along...email when you can.
All the best,
David W. Robinson
[email protected]
Dear Sirs;
I've been a 10+ year subscriber to PF (and native Oregonian) and have to say that I miss the
"hard copy" format. That said, I can tell you that I love that format of your new website as well.
Although I miss thumbing through pages while listening, the ability to link pictures to products on
the web is very nice. The only thing that really bothers me about the format of the website is that
each article is not "dated", and all categories are updated constantly (a good thing). Would it be
possible to include a release date next to each title?
Thom Middlestadt
Howdy, Thom...good to hear from you again.
Yes, I'll miss paper 'n ink, but I have to confess that I don't miss the downside of same: hassles,
ever-increasing costs, delays, and rapacious distributors. No, not being independently wealthy
with scads of time on my hands...Dave Clark either!...the time had come.
That's an interesting idea on the article dating. I'll pass this exchange along to Dave Clark, our
trusty-rusty website editor. He can respond to it over there.
All the best,
David W. Robinson
[email protected]
Uh... well... maybe... I guess... but the TOC does have the month and I am now using red "New"
next to the latest additions. What I wanted to do was make the TOC have the look and feel of a
print TOC, so I want to keep it simple. But your idea has merit. We'll see...
Dave Clark
letters
[email protected]
Send your comments to either [email protected] or [email protected]
BACK TO TOP
kaeysystem
System Review
by Danny Kaey
Since my hiatus from the audio world a couple of years ago, I have been eagerly awaiting a
comeback. Moving from Vienna to the United States is something of a strain, especially
considering that you always leave something behind—in my case, my stereo equipment. About
two months ago, I met Dave and Carol Clark of Positive Feedback, and expressed my desire to
get involved in the audio community again, so here I am, reviewing my new system.
The first order of business was a pair of speakers. Dave pointed me toward Reimer Speaker
Systems, a small company from Cody, Wyoming. Each speaker is hand assembled and tested
before leaving the “factory.” Truth be told, it was no coincidence that Dave recommended Rick
Reimer’s speakers—he and Carol own a pair of Teton (the older version, but modified with the
HiVi ribbon tweeter from the newer GS version, along with the Marigo Dots—see www.positivefeedback.com/Issue1/marigovtsdots.htm), Reimer’s previous top-of-the-line model. At our get
together, I immediately felt a good vibe about those large, full-range speakers. When Dave
mentioned that a set of the stand-mounting McCullough GSs was floating around the area, I
immediately asked to hear them. The McCulloughs are very similar to the Tetons, except that
they have the smaller HiVi Kevlar® 6.5" bass drivers found as the midrange drivers on the Teton
GS, and smaller cabinets. I was surprised at their size and volume. Upon setup, they sounded
anything but small speakers. Next in the lineup was a modified Audio Note AN CD 2.1 AX CD
player (Audiocom Super Clock). As this was the player feeding us music at Dave’s get together, I
was already somewhat familiar with its sound. The next thing I noticed about this player was the
construction. Very nicely done! I like solidly made equipment, and the Audio Note didn’t
disappoint (see full review in Issue 3).
So, I had speakers and a nice source, and had to settle on proper amplification. This took the
form of a pre/power combo courtesy of Marsh Sound Design. The P2000T preamplifier is a hybrid
design and the A-200s is a solid-state stereo amplifier (see full reviews in Issue 3). Truth be told, I
was never much a fan of tube gear until I heard Ensemble’s Evoco integrated a couple of years
back. I can still remember its sweet sound, so I was optimistic about the Marsh. As almost
everyone concedes that Marsh components are first rate, especially considering their price, I felt
obligated to listen to this combo. Finally I settled on the last link, speaker cables and
interconnects. Analysis-Plus provided me with a set of their Oval 9 speaker cables (with a series
crossover bi-wiring is not an option) with banana plug termination, and a set of their copper OvalIn interconnects completed the package.
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After the setup of the equipment and speakers, I was eager to listen to the system. I cued up one
of my favorite Yello tracks “Rhythm Divine,” off their Essential CD, with Shirley Bassey singing
lead vocals. Yello has always been one of my favorites. The opening notes on the track are
accompanied by a lovely, deep bass note that carries throughout the song. Though at first I
perceived the bass to be on the shy side, I almost couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the
treble extension. The performance was very musical and quite satisfying. Resolution was top
notch, and you could really feel that Shirley was having a good time. The speakers do the
disappearing act in a convincing manner, their soundstage is nicely extended, and you don’t get
the feeling that they are adding or subtracting anything from the recording. Very nice indeed.
Another favorite of mine is Steve Hoffman’s remaster of Elvis’ 24 Karat Gold Hits on DCC.
Through the Reimer/Marsh/Audio Note setup, Elvis never really left the building! Track 13, “Are
You Lonesome Tonight,” was an absolute delight. Elvis was right there in front of me, his voice
sounding natural, charming, and most important, real.
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The Reimer McCullough GS featuring HiVi drivers and series
crossovers. 94dB @ 8 ohms.
My next track was Massive Attacks’ “Teardrop,” off their Mezzanine CD. In my book, bass is one
of those things that can make or break a performance. You certainly want to feel it, but when is
enough really enough? Some manufacturers make the mistake of voicing the speaker with too
much bass to make up for the lack of real extension. While such designs provide full-bodied
sound, they fail to reproduce the natural nuances of the low frequencies. That is something I can
live without. Fortunately, Rick Reimer didn’t follow that route. The McCulloughs deliver bass that
is appropriate to the instruments’ tonal register. Much to my surprise, “Teardrop,” a perfect track
to test a speaker system, didn’t disappoint. This track can sound muddled and congested on
lesser systems. Here, the sound was rendered with precision, authority, and groove.
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For less than $10k, an affordable price in today’s high end audio terms, the Reimer/Marsh/Audio
Note system does it all and then some. Resolution, transparency, pace, and dynamics are all
there. The only drawback is bass extension and volume, something that can easily be fixed with
one (or better, a pair) of Rick’s subs, though I could easily live without that upgrade. I could live
with this system for a long time to come. Did I mention I am purchasing it? More to report on later
as I go after stands, a new rack, and some fine tuning!
BACK TO TOP
auroville5
Auroville, 5
by Srajan Ebaen
Audiophiles familiar with the sound of live music agree: No matter how good our systems
become, they never fool us into thinking we’re hearing the real thing. Our internal audio bullshit
detector is surprisingly astute, acute, and accurate. Driving down a city boulevard with our car
windows open, we distinguish—without the benefit of sight—a real band performing in a bistro
from the sounds of a string quartet wafting out of the pad of a music lover enjoying his audio rig.
Consensus about this near-instant ability to tell the real from the artificial is easy to come by. Just
poll some seasoned audiophiles who attend enough live concerts to know the difference. They
have worn hope and wallets thin at ever arriving at a convincing facsimile.
Still, explanations for how we so readily distinguish between fake and real—and, by extension,
how even the best systems fall short—remain vexingly elusive. It’s like an adolescent asking his
parents how to know when one is truly in love. The briefest and most honest answer is always
“Trust me, you’ll just know.” All other answers point at fragments of the truth—case evidence from
one’s own experience—but fail to give the complete sense of satisfaction and accomplishment
we’d enjoy if we really nailed the answer. Of course, that has never prevented parents from trying
to explain. Nor audiophiles from ruminating. Since this frustrates any chances at real success,
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while absolving us from blame, we’re free to give some thought to the quixotic enterprise of
asking why even the most carefully assembled, expensive systems are bound to fail if we expect
reality of them.
(1) Unless microphone placement duplicates the location and precise angle of our ears during the
recording process, we’re capturing something other than what our ears heard. Our biological
microphones plainly aren’t suspended above an orchestra, shoved into the flare of a saxophone,
or tickling a singer’s lips in extreme closeup. Nor do we possess more than two physical
recorders to begin with, and those twin precision instruments aren’t spaced farther apart than
about seven or eight inches. Rather, the contours of our inner ears, the shape of our skulls, and
the angles of our outer ears precisely and uniquely calibrate them. From this we must conclude
two things.
(a) The perception perspective of the very first step in the recording process (microphone
placement and using more than two mics) alters the relationship of listener distance, reflection
angles, and the concomitant effects of separation versus blending a real-life listener experiences.
We’ve indelibly changed the original event in ways that can never be reversed.
(b) Even if we used two microphones embedded in a fake head to preserve perception
perspective, its shape and size could only precisely model one unique listener.
(2) For argument’s sake, let’s posit that we do construct an artificial head and its outer/inner ear.
Let’s further suggest that we place the microphone diaphragm in the precise location of the
biological sound membrane. Clearly we would suffer severe comb-filtering effects imposed by the
reflective shape and length of the ear canal and the shadowing effect of the head. These
alterations would remain uncorrected by the natural ear/brain mechanism of a living human
being.
This unconscious biological error-correction mechanism is a learned process and is unique to
each person.It’s a program written in response to certain sensory stimuli that arose in that
person’s infancy. It’s like learning to walk. Each organism develops its own patterns that soon
become embedded (conditioned). It transforms effortful volition—thinking about each step,
calculating how to perform it in response to the environment—into elegantly instinctual behavior.
Even if two people were to share precisely cloned anatomy—as truly identical twins might—their
internal brain computers and software would not match. They would still decode the data coming
in via their identical ear pathways through different neurological reactions.
But there’s more. Even if the decoding mechanism was identical, how about the effects of
consciousness? Our attention continuously filters what we perceive. Unlike a machine that’s not
distracted by thought and emotion, and can attend to one “single-minded” purpose—responding
to the sound pressure waves of a concert without preference, selectivity, shifts or lapses in
attention—a human cannot. Compared to what the machine registers, the listener suffers severe
dropouts. His attention is never just on the sound alone. Attention is infiltrated by thoughts,
feelings, and other sensory inputs like sight, touch, and smell. Simultaneously, sounds, via
cultural conditioning, exposure, and learned skills, are translated into music, whereas machines
merely record the sounds, clinically and accurately.
Even if a listener could focus on the sonic event to the exclusion of “musical reconstruction” and
all other senses, even if he could perceive all sounds equally, not giving preference or emphasis
to certain ones, could his ear/brain mechanism record all sounds without any filtering, shaping,
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selecting, and mixing? Could a listener record without responding, since said response would
introduce an immediate and uniquely subjective element? Clearly not. Human beings constantly
respond to and interpret incoming sensory signals through the filter of both their superficial
personalities and the deeper cellular mechanisms of body/mind that have been, and continue to
be, conditioned by life.
To drive this point home, compare multiple generations of recordings (recording a recording of a
recording of a recording) to your experience of listening to the same recording over and over
again. Minus certain possible resolution losses, the machines will record the same event over
and over in exacting sameness to create identical (or virtually identical) clones. However, our
subjective experiences of hearing the same recording in sequence over and over again are
anything but reruns. They are astoundingly different from each other. It’s thus plainly impossible
to record the original event (as perceived, filtered, and altered by a listener) with a machine that
concentrates solely on the aural dimension and doesn’t suffer the instability of human attention.
Hence, the entire enterprise of “fidelity to the live event” is nothing but an impossible chase for
fool’s gold. There are as many live events as there are listeners, and each of these events is far
richer and more multi-dimensional than any microphones could ever capture.
Having successfully ridiculed this chase from a conceptual or “philosophical” perspective, let’s
consider a few limitations on the playback end of things.
(3) Have you ever heard a live band in your living room? Do you know how loud a solo violin
really is? Or a drum kit? Or a saxophone? If so, would you agree that attempting realistic
playback levels with our stereo system almost invariably introduces distortion (dynamic
compression, glare, brightness, a “something’s wrong, let’s turn this down”) that hurts our ears?
It’s as though our systems cannot reproduce realistic loudness without introducing reminders of
artifice.
(4) Human hearing seems to be very sensitive to leading edges. Compared to how a live
instrument slices into the air with unmitigated immediacy and directness, most systems veil, dull,
or soften how they render the arising of sound out of silence. It’s as though they lack the
necessary response speed to catapult sounds from zero to maximum loudness in a natural
manner, unhampered by mechanical driver, crossover, or feedback loop delays and other
technical limitations. Conversely, systems that minimize this leading edge handicap often sound
too sharp, bright, and aggressive. Leading-edge fidelity as now attempted seems to introduce a
new flaw that perceptibly misses reality.
(5) When a two-channel system reproduces more than two performers, all sounds originate from
only two sources. On stage, there clearly are more. Conversely, a single piano plays back over
two speakers whose combined vibrating surface areas are far smaller than the piano’s, and
upright rather than vertical to boot. Stereo systems conjure phantom images that have to stand in
for actual, individual sources of sound. I believe that inherent in this setup is one strong reason
why, with our eyes closed, we can distinguish between sounds arising from, say, six individual
singers versus a recording of six singers played back over two speakers, or perceive the
discontinuity when we hear a single sound source (a solo performer) reproduced by two
speakers. Never mind surround sound. In the live venue, active sound sources behind the
listeners don’t exist.
(6) Only high-power amp/high-sensitivity speaker systems stand a chance of possessing enough
inherent acceleration potential to attempt a dynamic range that accurately tracks the input signal
across all frequencies without compression.
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(7) Multi-driver speakers introduce phase and time errors.
(8) Electronic systems suffer harmonic distortion that subtly alters the timbres of voices and
instruments.
(9) Oversampling introduces pre- and post ringing that is clearly measurable but absent in nature.
Someone more tech-savvy could significantly expand on this list to document all of the very real
engineering limitations that face the audio designer when asked to keep up with reality. But as
we’ve already seen, despite the most impressive technological advances, the expectation of ever
capturing a live event completely is intrinsically at odds with reality. Plainly, the instruments in the
service of such a task record aural events very differently from how we humans do. Considering
the implications, it’s actually damn surprising how satisfying the “unreal” can be. That’s a function
of how listener participation adds a transformative element. It disregards (or filters out) the
reminders of artifice while adding (or enhancing) non-distractive elements that subjectively make
the experience more real. A strong emotional response can arise even when the likeness
rendered by the system is a mere skeleton to which our creative imagination must add meat.
Another way of saying this is that what makes up the complete listening experience contains
elements that operate in dimensions (of consciousness, emotion, and attention) that are beyond
the ability of instruments to measure or quantify. In the absence of such measurements, we
cannot construct mechanical devices that can produce them. Listening to music will always
remain a subjective enterprise. This fact justifies endless personal approaches to make it more
pleasing or convincing, in accordance with the listener’s biological and psychological makeup.
Cheers to the mystery of being human. It’s entirely beyond predictive measurability. The more
subjective it becomes, the more real it turns, but only to the one experiencing it. Everyone else is
free to disbelieve, disagree, and debate.
The Bible has it that when Pilate asked Jesus what the truth was, the Nazarene remained quiet,
as though the truth could not be spoken, only experienced. So, a music lover’s truth arises in the
silence of a mind less agitated and distracted. In this inner silence, sounds arise. Magically and
without effort, we recognize them as music and are moved. As soon as we speak about this
experience, it evaporates. Words and measurements cannot capture it or do it justice. Best to
keep quiet. Good advice at the end of a short essay attempting to talk about a topic about which
nothing conclusive can be said—except that it can’t. Still, those sensitive to the subject may
sympathize with such impossible efforts. We do it whenever we try to spread the gospel about
our beloved audio hobby. Perhaps it’s best to let the music speak for itself.
Visit Srajan Ebaen at his site www.6moons.com
BACK TO TOP
mp3
What About mp3 and Us?
by Danny Kaey
Having been on a hiatus from high end audio for a while, I am happy to be back in full swing,
courtesy of my lovely new system (see my report on it elsewhere in this issue). Though I am not
much of a show-off when it comes to my latest and greatest, I casually mentioned my new setup
to a good friend. I have known Michael throughout most of my adult life, and knew that he didn’t
really care much about the need for high quality music reproduction and playback. In fact, just a
couple of months ago he confessed to me that he had transferred his entire CD collection to his
computer! I have to admit that I have done much the same, though I only use my mp3 collection
as background music when I am working on something—like writing this article. (Actually, it’s
WMA8, which has superior sound quality at the same 128kb resolution.) Michael, on the other
hand, is a serious mp3 proponent. To him, it’s all about the convenience, accessibility, and
portability of his music collection. While I am all for technological advancements, I don’t care
much about technology which only seems to advance, yet really doesn’t, or at least not in a way
that is audibly better than what it replaces. A perfect example of this is the CD.
A couple of weeks ago, Michael and his wife came to visit. Talking about this and that, my new
playback system came up (somewhat inevitable, as it is in my living room). I proceeded to give
them a demonstration. Since I know that Michael likes Peter Gabriel, I cued up “Don’t Give Up,” a
beautiful duet with Kate Bush on his So CD. Michael had the sweet spot, and after the first few
moments he said, “Wow, you can actually hear all the different instruments and their positioning
on the soundstage,” to which I responded. “Of course you can!” It didn’t take me long to realize,
however, that my statement was a bit on the strong side. After all, I was saying this to an mp3
junkie who probably never gives the time of the day to actually “listen” to music. I played another
couple of CDs, and he concluded that this was the finest music reproduction he had ever had the
pleasure to hear. Then came the kicker, though—he didn’t really care! I couldn’t believe this.
Here was a guy who openly admitted that his mp3 collection was seriously flawed in sound
quality, yet he was more interested in portability and (semi-)instant accessibility.
My point is this: I don’t believe that the current generation of mp3-loving men, women, and
children will be the demise of high end audio. You see, I believe that high-quality music
reproduction is something that only a very select group of people can follow and enjoy. It’s like
most of the “finer” things in life—very few people are into it. Mp3 is nothing more than what the
cassette was to vinyl. It didn’t kill the LP, in fact it’s still not dead, although after twenty years we
have finally been able to bring the CD to some level of maturity. I think that mp3 (and other,
similar technologies) are good for listening to music casually, without any pretense to sound
quality. As I said, I spend lots of time listening to music on my computer while working. I don’t
believe that using mp3 precludes the enjoyment of a high-quality playback system. If anything, it
has the potential to draw people to high end systems. Mp3 will not dethrone the high end any
more than online shopping has made retail stores disappear.
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mysteriesgrant
The Mysteries of His System, The Verses in His Life, A Love
Story
by Barry Grant
(Archived from earlier PF issues)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
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Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
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POSITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE
The Mysteries of His System
The Verses in His Life
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part One
I
“Damn that review of line conditioners,” Audie said to himself as he
tossed his favorite magazine across the Turkish carpet that covered the
floor of the room with the system. It landed with a clean thwack.
I’ve got to stop reading these things,” he thought. “The system was
sounding good, well, pretty good, but now. Damn. Who knows, maybe
the AC line brings distortions I would surely hear once I could hear
them.”
All progress comes from uncertainty,” Audie thought as he retrieved the
magazine from under the equipment rack. Audie sighed.
II
Audie asked himself, “Am I unhappy with my system because I am
unhappy in my life?”
Then he answered himself, “Maybe.”
After that he added, "Who knows where unhappiness begins?"
III
(The Verse of Reason)
Audie just, Audie just, Audie just, wants to, wants to enjoy, muuuusic.
Audie venerates the original, honors the living sound, and seeks the true
harmonics.
And, when the vapors of, disconnection, the slipping of self and self, the
gap, foul his spirit, Audie retires to the room with the system, puts on the
Mozart Requiem, and counts the recordings in his collection, row by row.
IV
Perfect Lives ended. Audie, still, hands crossed in his lap, eyes limp in
their sockets, listened to the rushing and ringing in his ears. “I’ll call it
2’37”: A Sonata for Tinnitus,” he said to himself, shaking his head. He
thought about Perfect Lives. He thought about the words of the story,
how strange they were, and how they were like a dream, and how the
words and the music together seemed true. “It all seems true,” he said to
himself. “But what does it mean?” He thought about the sadness at the
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end of Perfect Lives. “The sadness is not in the words or the music,
exactly. The sadness is not in Ashley’s monotone, not in ‘Blue’ Gene’s
piano, not in the other keyboards, not in the drum machine, not in ‘Dear
George, what’s going on?’ not in ‘I’m not the same person that I used to
be.’ Where could it be? Is there a kind of sadness, a kind of feeling, that
music and words carry, but which exists on its own, in itself? A kind of
virus? That can’t be.”
What am I thinking?”
Is this the way?”
V
One night, too tired to cook, a sort of date postponed, Audie stopped for
take-out at the corner Chinese. The food there was often, disappointing,
but on nights like this, he was only thinking of saving steps.
Audie carried a paper bag from the restaurant to his apartment and
placed a bowl and a glass and a bottle of water and a fork and a napkin
on the table in the kitchen and turned the radio to jazz and poured water
in the glass and emptied the box from the bag into the bowl and sat in
front of what he had placed on the table and moved the fork into the
contents of the bowl, and began to eat. Disappointment and regret and
sadness filled his body. He realized now that he would never return to
the place. Even if he was tired and his spirits were low and his hopes
humble. Even if friends who sometimes visited him in his town wanted to
go, he wouldn’t go. He would say to them, “The place is no good” and,
“It’s gone down hill.” He would talk them out of wanting to go. He would
make them lose their desire for going.
VI
Later, Audie had a mood, and in the moments of the mood, he desired a
certain, idea, outside of himself. (His moods always chose him, always,
and he thought that was right.)
VII
Audie realized again how hard it is to find what one wants in life, even in
one’s collection of recordings.
VIII
Today, everything, worked. Everything. The girl who had canceled a sort
of date last week called to ask Audie out on a date tonight. (The name of
the girl delighted Audie. Prudence. A name and a virtue in one word.
She must be clever, he thought. Audie knew that was a silly idea, and he
knew that names are accidents, but it was his idea, and he couldn’t help
having it.) Audie thought, “This is hardly a ‘sort of date’! But what does it
mean, her asking me out?” Later, when she kissed him goodnight (on
the first date, this almost never happened to him) he had a better idea
what it meant. But Audie thinks certainty is never right (that’s his
philosophy) so he wasn’t sure, what it meant.
IX
The Kiss
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Audie stopped his car at the sidewalk in front of the apartment building
where Prudence lived. He turned the key to the place where the engine
goes off and the radio stays on. He rolled his window down. He moved
his left arm to the top of the body of the door, and left it there, and he
moved his right hand to the space between his legs, and left it there, and
he moved the weight of his body against the door, and stopped moving.
He listened through the open window to the sound of a street light
failing. “Probably 60 cycles,” he thought to himself. “That makes sense.”
Audie turned his head and looked at Prudence, not quite looking at her
eyes, but almost, almost looking at her eyes, and almost about to look at
her eyes. Just as Audie lifted his eyes, just as he began to tell Prudence
about the street light, and its cycles, and the strange way its vibrations fit
with the music from the small station on the left of the dial, Prudence
said what a nice time she had and how interesting it was all that he had
said about records and CDs and would he sometime play something on
his “special system” for her and she leaned over to his side of the car
and kissed him just like that. “What luck,” Audie thought, “her kissing me
just like that. It helps.”
X
The snare-clicks of the key moving into the lock, the sharp snap of the
bolt moving out of the mortise, the sweeping modulation of squeaks as
the front door turned, the shuffling slap of shoeless feet two-stepping
across a bare oak floor. In his mind, Audie made every sound in his
space, a poem to Prudence.
Audie dropped into his chair, pushed his heels out in front of him, shut
his eyes, and thought of Prudence and her soft eyes, and his system
sang
to him
in silence.
XI
Prudence and Audie sat on the tall hard chairs in Audie’s kitchen, stone
mugs of chamomile tea in hand, telling their stories.
Prudence smiled at Audie, and, smiling, leaned across the small wood
table, and kissed him on the lips. She kissed him again. Then Audie
kissed her. Then there were more kisses.
Audie leaned away from Prudence, slid his palms under the sides of her
chin, turned her face toward his, looked into her soft eyes, and said, “Do
you want to hear the system now?”
Oh yes,” replied Prudence.
Prudence sat in the chair Audie indicated. She surveyed the system with
a quick turn of her head. Boxes and things and lights on tall shelves and
wires and wires across the room to boxes on legs.
You choose,” she said.
And he did.
And her face and her movements showed she liked, what she heard,
and she said it was just like, being there, and she could almost walk up
and touch the man playing guitar and, that drum, oh boy, what a drum, I
can feel it in my toes, it’s kind of like, you know, and at that moment,
Audie was sure that
Prudence was
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the sort of girl
who could tell the difference
between being there
and not
being there
and at that moment
Audie could tell
the same difference
and he knew
where he was.
XII
Prudence moved out of her apartment. She took everything she owned.
Everything she could put in boxes she put in a box, and everything she
couldn’t put in a box, she didn’t put in a box. Then Audie and some of his
friends and Prudence and some of her friends took the things that were
in boxes and the things that weren’t in boxes and drove them all to
Audie’s apartment, where they found places for everything.
XIII
A blue heliotrope in a pink pot lights the toilet tank top, a deal table
guards an alcove, vases and objets command the surfaces, novels and
other fictions crowd the bookcases, blouses and slacks pin shirts and
pants against a closet wall, pots and lids and pans and cans and bowls
and more pans and boxes and a machine that spins lettuce and a
machine that spins liquids and a silver machine that knifes herbs choke
the pantry, and two large soft cherry red chairs in the room with the
system change, everything.
XIV
“A girl named Prudence kisses me on the first date and then she and
everything she owns moves in with me. How did this happen?” Audie
said to himself. Audie sighed, but with a difference.
XV
Prudence read aloud from Audie’s signed copy of The Wood Effect
(second edition), “Professional audio practice proceeds along among
numerous polarities, besides the one Absolute,” while Audie turned off
the amplification of the system and placed the positive ends of the
speaker wires where the negative ends had been and the negative ends
where the positive ends had been and set the recording to where it was
before he had moved the wires and turned the amplification on again.
Prudence paused in her reading, Audie took his seat, and together they
listened to the waves
going down
before they
went up.
Prudence resumed her reading, “That singular event dramatically
illustrates how the polarity dilemma could be seized by a single horn and
felled forever,” while Audie turned off the amplification of the system and
placed the positive ends of the speaker wires where the negative ends
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had been and the negative ends where the positive ends had been and
set the recording to where it was before he had moved the wires and
turned the amplification on again.
Prudence paused in her reading, Audie took his seat, and together they
listened to the waves
going up
before they
went down
and enjoyed the difference.
XVI
That night, together in bed, Audie and Prudence thought about the
Absolute. And they thought that as much as they thought about it, they
couldn’t know it. It was a mystery to them. “How could this all be?” they
thought. And “How did it happen?” And “Is there more?” And “Is the
Absolute One?” (This gave them a lot of trouble.) Audie thought, “It could
be changelessness.” And he said this to Prudence. And she said, “You
mean being upright, always?” And Audie said that he might have meant
that, but he couldn’t be certain.
XVII
Her mind on the Absolute and her body gently pressing Audie’s body,
Prudence thought her last thought of the day, “What does it mean that
one day I didn’t know the difference between a wave going down before
it goes up and a wave going up before it goes down and the next day
and every day after that day, every time I hear the difference I am
happy? Can a person change like that?”
XVIII
Audie pushed his feet against the place where the covers meet the
mattress and turned his head to gaze at Prudence’s face, and thought,
“What luck.” And that night, he dreamed, live music, got the soundstage,
wrong, the Chicago Symphony, lacked air.
BACK TO TOP
granttwo
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Two
XIX
Audie loved saying “Prue.” “Prue, Prue, Prue,”
he would say as he moved the objects on his
desk from one place to another, and as he
looked out of a window at the creatures and
the objects of the air, and as he walked home
from work, smacking his chinos on the offbeats, and at other times when the tasks of
working and the tasks of living, did not bind his
mind. “Prue” was a poem to him, the poem of
the miracle of his life, redolent of softness, and
ease of spirit, and softness, gentle looks, and
smooth touchings, and music, and, everything,
and he couldn’t say what more, everything. It
was a perfect word. And every time he said it,
he said it, with all of himself, with all the
connections, slowly pulling his lips apart and
softly pushing the air out of his mouth into
space.
XX
One afternoon, sitting in the red chairs in the room with the
system, Janacek’s “Kreutzer” playing below the level of their
voices, Prudence and Audie read the thoughts of the
readers of one of the magazines. One reader wrote the idea
that when it comes to recordings, you weren’t there, and if
you were there, which you hardly ever were, you can’t
remember, and if you can remember, the machines and the
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granttwo
processes and the energies change everything anyhow, so
forget about fidelity, itz, just, not, a, poss-i-bil-it-y, you, can,
have.
XXI
That night, together in bed, Audie and Prudence asked
themselves, all of the possibilities.
Are things only what they are, or
are things what they are and something else, or
are things only something else, or
are things sometimes what they are and sometimes
something else, or
are there differences among things,
some of them being only what they are,
some of them being what they are and something else,
some of them being only something else, and
some of them being sometimes what they are and
sometimes something else,
and, if there are differences among things,
how does one know
which things are only what they are, and
which things are what they are and something else, and
which things are only something else, and
which things are sometimes what they are and
sometimes something else?
XXII
Bright in the rhythm of the distinctions, loose in the light of
love, Audie and Prudence made a poem of the possibilities.
XXIII
Audie, hands crossed behind his head, eyes calm, stomach
still, said he had been thinking about the idea of the reader
and about the possibilities. “Prudence,” he said. “There are
differences among things, some of them being only what
they are, and some of them being what they are and
something else, and some only being something else, and
some of them being sometimes what they are and
sometimes something else, and sometimes one can tell
which things are which and sometimes one cannot tell, and
when it comes to. . .”
Prudence clutched her stomach. Sadness and
granttwo
disappointment and fear of Audie’s philosophy filled her
body. “I’m tired,” she said and gave Audie a quick kiss. She
turned away from Audie, and stifled the sobs that rose to
the cadence of her questions, “Can I love a man who
regards appearances with suspicion? Can I love a man who
thinks things can be what they are and what they are not?
Can I love a man who thinks he is, or might be, deep in
himself, what he is and something else besides?”
XXIV
Audie awoke, twisted his head, around, and looked through
the space where Prudence had been. With one long smooth
toss, he flipped off the sheet and the blanket, folding them
right across one hypotenuse of the mattress. He pivoted on
his buttocks, lowered his feet into a pair of low leather
slippers, and walked to the door of the room. As he neared
the door, he looked back to the bed, saw the two nearperfect right triangles, and wondered to himself, “Can
perfection arise in a situation of anxiety? The enlightened
ones say calmness of mind is necessary for art, but look,
two near-perfect triangles.”
XXV
“Prue,” Audie said. “What’s wrong?” Prudence sat in one of
the hard tall straight chairs in the kitchen, her legs gathered
up against her chest and her arms hugging her knees.
Prudence lifted her head.
Prudence pushed strands of hair across her face and set
them behind an ear.
Prudence, eyes hard and dark, looked at Audie.
Prudence said to Audie, “Audie. Things are only what they
are. Things are perfect in themselves. A lover knows this. A
lover knows a thing as the thing it is and loves a thing for
being the thing that it is. . .”
As Prudence spoke, Audie slowly lowered himself on to the
other kitchen chair, dropped his hands into his lap, and bent
his head toward the sound of her voice, and. . .
XXVI
The gap grew beneath him. Noises enveloped him. White.
Pink. Looping oscillations. Warbles. Words from the
magazines rang rang rang in his head. The only reason for
granttwo
audio equipment to exist is to recreate sound from signals a
critical question in setting up these speakers is how to
connect them after considerable experimentation, I
recommend either the Gold Aero East German 12AU7 or
the RAM Labs selected and graded tube. Audie shivered.
He pressed his hands against his ears and dropped his
elbows to his knees. “Perfect in themselves, perfect in
themselves, is my system perfect? am I perfect? A lover
knows a thing. What thing? What does Prudence know?
What is happening to me? East German? Selected and
graded? Prudence, oh no, no.”
Prudence arose before him. She held a glass cylinder
upright in her left hand. An apricot glow spilled from her,
filling the room.
Audie opened his eyes. He thought to himself, “Something
has happened to me. I am not the man I once was. But who
am I now?” Audie looked up at Prudence. She held a glass
of water out to him. He fell to the floor before her, bowing
his head, embracing her legs. Prudence, eyes with tears,
set the glass on the table, and sank to the floor next to him.
Audie lay his head in the sweet nest of her lap. “Prue, Prue,
Prue,” he moaned (the air left his mouth in puffs of gentle
warm air).
Audie raised his head. Prudence took two quick breaths.
His eyes, glowing, met her eyes, radiant, seeking his. “What
next?” he said.
Audie and Prudence sighed together.
BACK TO TOP
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A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Three
XXVII
After the clanging in his head had ceased
and the tears had dried stiff in the corners of his eyes
and the tremors of ecstasy had folded back to their source
Audie wondered
what had happened
and what would happen
next.
“I am not the man I once was, but who am I now?” he said
to himself then, and since. He did not know. He did not
know, who he was now, and, as he thought about his,
situation, he doubted he ever knew, who he was.
“What does it mean,” Audie would ask himself “I?” and
“Who am I?” and “Who am I now?” and he would sigh and
open a notebook with a picture of a famous painting in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on the cover
and write poetry in the blank pages.
XXVIII
A summer evening
The sound
The voice of Prudence
Original consciousness
The waves of the System
The music of everything
Audie closed his notebook against his finger and looked
over at Prudence.
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“I like that poem best of all your poems, although, it is a
little, abstract,” Prudence said. She slid her hand the across
the kitchen table and clasped Audie’s hand in hers, feeling
its weight against her palm.
“It is a sort of fat haiku. Like that famous frog poem from the
East, except in my poem the frog jumps into the entire
universe.”
Prudence furrowed her brows and tightened her lips.
“Audie,” she said, “I can see that is nonsense.” She relaxed
her features into a sly smile, and continued, “but I think it is
the right kind of nonsense.” As her smile broadened,
Prudence pulled Audie toward her and kissed him, hard, on
his lips. She often said these words to him, in just this way.
Audie loved it.
XXIX
A few weeks earlier Audie and Prudence had purchased a
reconditioned oak table for their kitchen at Edith, a shop in
their neighborhood that sold what the owner, also Edith,
called Harmonically Correct Furnishings for the Home. A tall
wiry woman with a large mouth ringed in a red blaze and
hair in mounds about her neck and shoulders that looked,
as Audie once said to Prudence, “like excelsior spilled from
a packing crate,” Edith sold things in the category of things
for the home. These things included:
Place settings of six plates per setting, each
different in shape and color. (Six was the
“absolute minimum.” Some of Edith’s more
“advanced” customers owned settings of
fourteen plates and bowls or more.)
Cutlery not unlike Tinker Toys that can be
reconfigured en mangeant.
Salt or pepper shakers (never both together).
Lamps that tune themselves to the relative
humidity of a room.
Tables of peculiar organic shapes, some with
tops that vary in height according to a formula
Edith had devised using Tarot cards, a
protractor, and compass.
Carpets and tablecloths in the shape of ovals
and rhomboids and triangles and hexagons and
other ideal forms. (Things that go on top of other
things must be of a geometric shape. Things that
other things go on top of must be of an organic
shape. “A perfect rule,” Edith often said, “often
misunderstood by people who don’t understand
things.”)
Audie and Prudence would often stop by Edith’s shop to
look over recent arrivals and listen to her talk of “rectified
harmones” and “contingent placidities” and “tuned
placements” as they drank the decaffeinated French Roast
she served in red glazed wooden mugs to her favorite
customers.
“Black and red,” Edith once explained in a voice ground to a
coppery rasp by thousands of Turkish Specials, “were
‘synesthetic occulites,’ colors, which, when contiguous,
enhance tastes and smells, but not sounds. Wooden
vessels are best because wood being organic has a natural
resonance with the human body, both vibrating at the
wavelength of carbon molecules. Ceramics, being
harmonically orthogonal, give a sharp metallic taste to foods
and liquids and are often a source of illness.”
“Poetry,” Prudence said to Audie as they walked home after
their last visit to Edith. “Edith speaks poetry.”
“Poetry?” Audie said.
XXX
Audie stood in the center of the kitchen. He moved his arms
in two slow arcs, paused as his hands met palm to palm at
a point above his head, and moved his arms down along
the path they had traveled up until they were parallel with
the floor. He breathed slowly and evenly as he repeated this
motion several times. With his hands joined above his head,
Audie turned to Prudence who had been watching from the
doorway and said, “Poetry is one thing, empiricism is
another.”
“Maybe,” said Prudence, who thought they were probably
the same thing.
“Edith said the table would make the room easier and
smoother. If it makes a difference, it doesn’t make it here, I
think.”
Prudence sighed.
XXXI
“She’s fallen asleep again,” Audie said to himself. “Last
week Invisible Choirs, and now, Atonale Musik.”
Audie noticed that Prudence’s copy of Jane and Prudence
had tipped into her lap and was slowly sliding or seemed to
be about to slowly slide onto the floor. The book was one of
Prudence’s favorites, a present from her mother, Jane.
Audie reached across from his chair and took the book from
her lap. He slipped her postcard of a Japanese Buddha
between the open pages. Before he closed the book he
read:
“‘I thought I heard a sound,’ said Miss Clothier, opening her
tin of biscuits.
‘What kind of sound?’ asked Prudence idly.
‘The sound of running water.’
‘Did you say rushing water?’ asked Miss Trapnell seriously.
‘No, no; running water,’ said Miss Clothier impatiently.”
Audie said to himself, “What is the sound of rushing water?”
He set the book on the floor and kissed Prudence gently on
her lips.
XXXII
As the system played the music of an Australian star chart,
the last piece of the night, Audie imagined an immense
network of connections, every node and every link random
and at the only place they could be. He thought about this
and about how it was that things could be accidental and
systematic at the same time, and how, once you thought
about it, everything was this way, and how once something
happened, however it happened, it became part of a
system, or was already part of system, and how all music
was systematic chance or a chance system, and how Cage
was one and not the other, and how the difference between
a symphony and waiting for a while is just a matter of when
the coins are tossed.
As the brief rhythms of the spheres continued, Audie
thought about his, situation. He thought to himself, “All
things are perfect in themselves, Prudence, wise Prudence,
sweet Prudence, celestial Prudence spoke to me, that
morning, in the kitchen, as I sat bowed at her feet, and in
saying those words brought me to who I am today, who,
that is, I do not know. Things are only what they are and not
something else. As each thing is the only thing that is the
thing that it is, how could every thing not be perfect? And if
all things are perfect in themselves, how, can, I, be, un, hap,
py, with, my, sys, tem?” Audie choked back a whimper,
raised his head, and gazed at the source atop the
equipment rack. The gap widened. The vapors returned. “A
new system. I must have a new system,” Audie moaned.
XXXIII
Audie rose stiffly from his chair, shambled over to his
system, and stopped the recording. He clutched one of the
steel crossbars of the equipment rack and lowered himself
into a quarter lotus. He closed his eyes. He placed a hand
on the hot metal of his system and shuddered as its warmth
streamed into his body. His life with his system passed
before him.
The bright moments of expectation when he brought his
system home, the dreams for their life together, the hope
that his system would change him, deepen him somehow,
make him new.
The disappointment that
he was still the same.
The magazines that gave him new hope.
The leap his heart took with every band, cord, cable, wire,
cone, trap, pillow, conditioner, jacket, pyramid, dot, and
brick that he put in his system.
The disappointment that always followed.
Prudence who made everything perfect and now
disappointment still.
“Prue, Prue, Prue,” he cried as his head slumped against
the two inch thick MDF top shelf of the rack.
XXXIV
Audie felt the warmth of Prudence’s body as she hugged
him to her chest.
“Prue I must have a new system,” Audie spoke in rush.
“Then you must seek it. I will help.”
“But. . .”
“Things are perfect in themselves?”
“Yes.”
“True. You’ll see.”
“Everything is OK?”
“Everything is OK.”
Audie sighed with relief. He leaned back, pulling Prudence
on top of him as he wheeled her to the floor and rained soft
kisses on her eyes, her nose, her lips, and her cheeks.
XXXV
Several nights later, together in bed, limbs and torsos twined in gentle
flowing curves, Prudence thought about Audie and Audie thought about
things.
“Prue,” Audie said, “things are only what they are and not
something else.” His words fell warm and moist against
Prudence’s neck, rustling the downy hair that grew close
along its length. “What some things are is something else.
My system is such a thing. As matter, extension, space, it is
only what it is. As a meeting of idea and matter, a junction
where ideas flow into matter, as a kind of what we humans
call, machine, that is, a device in which idea and matter
meet to transform waves of one kind into waves of another
kind, there it shows a nature that is one yet two.”
“Audie that is complete nonsense.” said Prudence.
“Perfect,” said Audie, as the curves began to shift.
XXXVI
Audie stared into the darkness of his bedroom and asked
himself, “How will I know when I find the system I seek? The
happiness of a domestic relationship cannot be foreseen in
an audition, even in the home.” Audie felt the darkness of
the room crowding his thoughts to the edge of his mind,
leaving a blank space in their wake. “Maybe this is
progress,” he thought.
Prudence stirred beside him. Her hair fell against his cheek.
Her bare shoulder pressed against his forearm. Audie
continued thinking.
“Perhaps a certain, attitude, a certain, consciousness, a
certain, connection, enables one to recognize a thing as the
thing that it is. The man in the magazine who sits in
meditation and receives the subtle vibrations of his
machines, the emanations of their capacitors and wires and
transformers and diodes and transducers and the rest.
Would that work?”
“How would I know?” Audie answered to himself. “One can’t
know in advance the truth conditions for such an operation.”
And then with a firmness that surprised him and awakened
Prudence, Audie declared, “Luck and love have brought me
here. Luck and love will take me onward.”
BACK TO TOP
grantfour
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Four: Spring
XXXVII
“What did you say about love?”
“I said luck and love will take me onward.”
“Where?”
“I need luck and love to find a new system.”
“What do you mean by love?”
“Grace, forgiveness for being who you are, open space . . .”
“What do you mean by needing love to find a new system?”
“Oh. Love is a kind of luck. I suppose love is a kind of luck. I
wasn’t looking for you and then there you were and there
was love. That’s love and luck together. People try to
explain this but there’s no explanation, really. That’s not all
there is to love. That’s the part that has to do with finding a
system. You don’t know, then you know. You’re alone, then
you’re not. You have a system that makes you unhappy,
then you have a system that makes you happy. You can’t
find a system by searching for one. You have to be in the
right place, but you can’t search. When you are in the right
place, a system comes to you. Like grace. Like love. Like
you came to me, Prue. I’ve thought about a lot of
possibilities, all that I can think of, and that’s my conclusion,
for now anyhow.”
“In the meantime?”
“Wait. I wait.”
“How will you wait?”
“Just wait.”
“Oh Audie, you have such ideas,” Prudence exclaimed as
she reached her fingers through Audie’s hair and pulled his
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head to her eager lips.
XXXVIII
Audie waited, and while he waited, he listened to his
system, enjoying it as he could, not thinking about a new
system, not thinking about perfection or imperfection, not
thinking about discernment or the failure of true perception.
He filed his magazines unread on a shelf in the room with
the system, their smooth sides and taut spines, marks of the
distance he had traveled.
Audie waited, and Prudence waited with him. And while
they waited, they worked at their jobs, entertained friends,
attended concerts and plays, and did all the things that a
couple in love with money to spend do in a town near a big
city.
They hired an expert to build a network of poles and racks
and bins in the bedroom closet.
They gave clothes and furniture to the Salvation Army
(sighing relief when the black men with their back braces
and bowling shirts walked the deal table out the door).
They bought new towels and linens from Edith. The towels,
pennants of rose quartz cotton in dense pile, fine strands of
hemp and ox blood lovely woven at the roots of the corners.
The linens, wild silk.
They moved the blue heliotrope from its proud place in the
bathroom to a bright windowsill in the alcove off the kitchen.
They gave money to their causes, discussing together every
one of the appeals to their concern and sympathy they
found in their mailbox. Animal rights, human rights, free
speech, ending war, food and materials for the poor in
distant places, and the Buddhist temple down the street
each received a monthly check from their joint account.
XXXIX
The letter from the One World Free Vegetarianism
Foundation was signed by Mr. Bell, founder and director, in
Los Angeles. After reading it aloud to Prudence, Audie said,
“Ridiculous,” and tossed it in a pile of credit card
solicitations, empty envelopes, and advertisements for
missing children.
Prudence said, “Audie, he’s probably a poor unhappy man,
perhaps with only parakeets or sick birds he’s found on the
street for company. Let’s send him money.”
grantfour
“If he’s so poor, how did he get our address?”
“Maybe he got it from that classified ad paper with the tiny
print and the numbers you and your friends receive. He
could be, you know, that way too. He’s addressed the letter
himself and the paper is cheap and the print is dim, so he
can’t have much money. I bet he’s the only member of his
organization. If we send him money, he could spend it on
food or movie tickets or new clothes so he won’t look so
poor and lonely when he goes out on a date, with whom, it’s
not for us to say.”
“And Mr. Bell will send us a bumper sticker that says, Rice
and Beans for a One World Dream,” Audie said as he
kissed Prudence on her brow.
XL
Audie waited, and Prudence waited with him. Their waiting
was a space of quietness and ease and deep energy. They
lived in this space, looking and tasting and talking and
listening with an intensity and a satisfaction neither had
known before. (This is a love story.) Everything they did
worked, even when it didn’t, work. Every day, Audie
thought, “What luck. What luck.”
XLI
“Prue, I’ve got to get to my desk. I feel a poem in me.”
Prudence unlocked the door to their apartment. Audie
whisked past her, pulled off his gloves and overcoat, and
nearly knocked over the coat rack as he pushed his heavy
woolen topcoat upon it.
Prudence heard a door slam as she took off her coat. She
thought to herself, “He could be in there for hours. He wrote
a poem before the concert. I guess that wasn’t enough.”
Audie and Prudence often stayed up late Fridays and
Saturdays, sometimes until two or three o’clock in the
morning. The middle of the night was their favorite time for
talking, listening to music, writing, and making love. The
darkness and the silence quickened everything they did.
Prudence had the peculiar feeling of enervation and
excitement that she often had after a concert. Too tired to
write in her journal, too full of feeling to sleep, she turned
the tuner to the classical station, sat in her chair, and
opened Emma. Novels were almost all she read. The
grantfour
twenty or thirty books she loved had almost everything in
them she ever wanted from books, and she read them over
and over.
XLII
“Sorry Prue, for disappearing, but I did have a poem in me.
A pretty good one, I think. Listen.”
Prudence looked up from her book and listened.
We laughed
When the horns squeaked
And the conductor
Raised his arms
As if to call forth spirits
And the piano replied
With an apologetic chord
Poor Luciano
Hauled before the audience
By the baton
By the violins
By the harps
By the basses
By the trumpets
By their associates
(But not the tubas
Who danced)
Found guilty
Of not carrying a tune
Johannes
His soft tunes
Like an old man
Who says he knows the world
And won’t get excited
Or look out his window
Or misplace a book
Or take a walk
On a Saturday
We liked
The piano player
The old man’s
Restless youth
Who flung his hands
grantfour
Off the burning keys
And his jowls
And his pompadour
Out to our hearts
“Audie, I like that poem very much. Of all the poems you
have written, it is the best. But did the piano player have a
pompadour?”
“Prue. A poem is not nor can it attempt to be a veridical
representation of a state of affairs. Everything happens only
once. A poem is its own reality. It is what it is and not
something else, as you have taught me. A poem succeeds
or fails in its attempt to create a feeling or state of mind or to
reorganize the raw data of experience into something new
and enlightening or shocking. A good poem is like the
whack of Kungo Roshi’s kyosaku. It wakes you up and you
pay attention. Just like a system. Hey it’s just like a system.
A system is a machine for making poetry.”
XLIII
Sometimes, after he had read a review by Silverton or
Lange and added a number of purchases to his collection of
serious records, or after he had spent a weekend with
friends auditioning interconnects, or after he had asked
himself, “Who am I?” and thought all day about an answer,
or after he remembered that life was good and he didn’t
have to be anybody if he didn’t want to, he would say to
Prudence, “Prudence, tonight’s a theme night.” Prudence
would smile her smile of knowing Audie and say, “What’s
the theme?” Audie would reply, “Twist and Shout” or “Yeah,
God” or “Don’t Blame Me” or some other name he was
proud to have thought up. Prudence would wave her hand
through Audie’s hair and say to him, “You’re such a little
boy.” Audie would smile his uncertain smile, unsure if being
a little boy was good or bad, unsure if Prudence was right.
XLIV
In C was playing. (Rothko Chapel then Bot-Ba were next in
an evening of “Zenpaper Music.”) Prudence sat in her soft
red chair, Audie in his. Prudence thought about the music
and how it went on and on and seemed to be saying the
same thing over and over, but when you listened carefully it
was interesting and told you things, and how much she liked
grantfour
it when Audie told her things, and how interesting they were
even when he had told them to her before, and she thought
about the time Audie explained how his system was wrong
and why he needed a new one. She remembered exactly
what he had said, and she said it to herself,
“Prue, by wrong, I don’t mean,
wrong in frequency response,
wrong in imaging,
wrong in resolution,
wrong in tonality,
wrong in time coherence,
wrong in dynamics.
I mean, wrong in,
idea.”
When the recording stopped, Prudence turned toward Audie
and reached her hand across the space between their
chairs and said, “Audie, tell me what you’ve been thinking.”
Audie was used to this question. He rested his eyes in
Prudence’s eyes and answered,
“Sometimes I think about myself,
that is, I think about
my perceptions
and thoughts
and smells
and desires
and appearance
and what I did
and what I might do
and what I should have done.
Sometimes I think about
the dog Zeke,
whom we both know and love,
and sometimes I think about
the music in my ears,
and the sound of the bird flying
against the bedroom window
when I kissed your breasts
that time,
and sometimes I think about
your sweet voice and your dark eyes,
and all the rest of you.
Every day, when I am not thinking about
grantfour
something else,
I say your name to myself,
Prue, Prue, Prue,
over and over again.
Is that thinking?
Sometimes I think about space and its
relationship to objects,
and time and its relationship to spirit,
and sometimes I think about, whether,
because all beings are essentially motion,
that is vibrations of long and short and irregular
patterns,
conflict among people is inevitable
or if such conflict can be avoided
with careful planning.
Sometimes I think about my system,
but not now.”
“Audie, you said that last time.”
“Remember what we did afterwards?”
“Oh, Audie.”
XLV
One spring morning, Audie was sitting by a window in the
room with the system listening to a mockingbird spit jeers at
indifferent neighbors. (“Is that music?” Audie wondered.
“Everything is music,” he decided, as he always decided
when he asked himself this question.) The bird stopped its
music and lifted itself into the air. Audie followed its flight to
a lower branch in another tree, thinking, “Birds know
differences of which we are unaware.” As his eyes turned
toward the ground, he spied a spotted spider building a web
among the jonquils he and Prudence had planted in a
window box. (Later, he looked up the spider in his spider
book. “Common name, Red-Spotted Crab Spider,” he read.)
“The first flowers of spring! The flowers must have bloomed
that morning!” he said to himself. “They weren’t there
yesterday, and flowers don’t bloom at night, not these kind.
A sign, spring flowers and a spider’s nest together, a sign!”
Audie asked himself, “What kind of a sign?”
And what does a sign look like, exactly?
And, I don’t believe in signs, do I?”
XLVI
“Uh, Audie said as he reached into Prudence’s bowl to
grantfour
rescue the soup ladle that had slid out of his hand. He
wiped the tail of the ladle on his napkin, licked his fingers,
and finished serving the miso soup. Prudence noticed an
expression on Audie’s face she had never seen before,
preoccupied, grim, exalted, dazed (the exalted and dazed
part she had seen before), and wondered what it meant.
XLVII
Prudence finished drying the dinner dishes and hung up the
drying-off towel. She sat at the kitchen table, running her
fingertips across the faint indentations of the grain of the
oak, watching the shadow of her apartment building creep
up the wall of the building next door, and thinking about
Audie and Edith and Mr. Bell and everyone else she could
think of, saying to herself after she thought of each one,
“May all beings be happy.”
The click and whir of the refrigerator turning on startled her.
She looked over her shoulder towards the room with the
system where Audie had gone after dinner to pull
recordings for “Oh, My Soul” and realized that the
apartment had been silent for some time. She pushed her
chair away from the table, stood up, and walked through the
short hallway that entered into the room with the system.
She found Audie slumped in his chair, staring at his system,
its lights dark, the last rays of the sun glinting in the silver
prongs of its power cords.
“We begin?” Prudence asked.
“We begin,” Audie replied.
BACK TO TOP
grantfive
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Five
XLVIII
“Now I begin,” said Audie to himself. “But where do I start?”
Knowing
is one thing
not knowing
is another thing
and where to start
Audie, oh Audie, knew,
but did not know he knew.
Did not, that is, until the next morning, when, his lips flat
against his lover’s lips at the start of the first kiss of the day,
a sentence that wasn’t, one moment, was, the next, in his
mind. “At least one visit to every hi-end hi-fi store within a
fifty mile radius of home.” Audie turned pale.
“Audie,” said Prudence, pulling back from the kiss as she
felt his lips slacken. “What’s wrong?”
Audie answered with a song.
XLIX
Audie’s Hi-Fi Store Song
A store with a tall blonde behind an Empire desk elegant
with a single rose in a slim vase who raises her eyes from
Vogue and takes a long slow breath and another long slow
breath and asks your name and records it in large leatherbound book and says please wait a salesman will be with
you presently and she pronounces presently like a movie
star blowing a kiss at her next fan and she looks down at
her magazine and you wait for the salesman who stands
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nearby, watching the blonde.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhh.
A store with salesmen in stiff white shirts and wide flowered
ties who batter you with a patter of stories about meetings
with designers and musicians and when you begin to look
restless they turn down the volume of the music and up the
velocity of the chatter.
A store where lonely middle-aged men gather in the
evenings to criticize the merchandise and swap
interconnects and mock the purchases of friends not
present and pick over the LPs while the owner sits in the
back room, smoking, watching through a cloudy window,
waiting for BMWs and Jaguars to stop in the lot.
A store that no matter what you ask to audition the
salesmen tell you you don’t want to hear it and why and
insist you listen to something that costs more and happens
to be set up.
A store owned by guys who claim their top of the line beats
any electronics in the world, even ones costing thousands. .
. less.
A store with rooms crowded with speakers where the
salesmen pull two away from the wall then toe them in a bit,
so you know they’re set up right.
A store in a living room with a couch wrapped in plastic set
six feet from full-range speakers pressed against the wall
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and a short, well-heeled dermatologist who sells the
speakers out of his house and says “Great bass, huh?”
while his Pekinese with its head in a plastic funnel runs
behind the couch and yaps.
L
Audie and Prudence fell laughing onto their bed. Midway of
the first verse Audie had grabbed Prudence and waltzed her
‘round the bedroom, her sweet soprano joining his ragged
tenor as together they howled the breaks.
“Audie that was a wonderful song. As you sang the song I
felt I was in those stores with you, especially the one with
the men and the wires,” Prudence said.
Prudence stopped laughing. Then she stopped smiling.
Then she looked hard into Audie’s eyes and said, “What are
you afraid of?”
Audie stopped smiling.
“What am I afraid of? The nice hi-fi stores didn’t fit the song.
One store in a loft owned by a swell guy who asks new
customers to confess their systems while he takes notes
and gives absolution. One with an owner who talks politics
and the New World Order (that’s what he calls it) and
forgets you’ve come to buy hi-fi. Even one with a pretty girl
who likes to talk about her system. So I can’t be afraid of
stores, that is, all stores, stores in general."
“Fear must have an object.”
“There are things about myself that I don’t know. Everyone
has these things, though they don’t always know they have
them. This is one thing about myself that I don’t know.”
LI
That night, coiled in the arch of Prudence’s slender body,
Audie said to Prudence, “Prue, what do you think I am
afraid of?”
Prudence turned to look into Audie’s eyes and kissed him
softly on his lips. “Audie, one can’t know such things about
other people. Much as I love you, you are a mystery to me,
as we are all to each other.”
“A complete mystery?”
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wood night stand that stood at her side of the bed. She
turned pages, skimming until she found the entry she
sought.
“Things show themselves only in the light of love. Love sees
what it sees, but there is always more,” she quoted. “That’s
what I think. So not a complete mystery, but a mystery. I
don’t know what you are afraid of Audie.”
“Progress comes also from love,” Audie thought to himself
and sighed. Prudence held him tightly in her soft embrace.
LII
(The Fruit and Nut Line)
The almond-shaped almond-wood night stand next to
Prudence’s side of the bed, a cherry-wood cherry-shaped
night stand on Audie’s side, an acorn-shaped oak
headboard, a walnut-shaped walnut dresser across from the
bed, a hickory highboy between the arched windows
overlooking the alley, and an apple tree clothes tree outside
the door to the bathroom were the components of a
bedroom set Audie and Prudence recently purchased from
Edith.
Just before the new year, when they were deciding between
the Fruit and Nut and several GeOrganics designs, Edith
had told them that their set was the first of a new line of
furniture inspired by developments in her spiritual
awareness.
These developments were, she had explained between
drags on a Special, “marked by experiences profoundly
primitive in their harkening back to, indeed their
reawakening of, the only truly harmonious mode of
existence possible, and, at the same time, radically
transcendent in their new revelation of the truth of the
essential oneness of all things.”
“I have come to understand,” she had continued, drawing
the hot smoke of her Special deep inside herself, “the
descent of man in its true, original sense. The descent
began much earlier than anyone else has imagined. It
began with the fall, the tear, the rending, the great divide,
when sheer accident, random happenstance, the
metaphorical toss of cosmic dice, created the first animal.
One cell only, a modest beginning. An inauspicious
beginning. Who, if were possible for there to have been a
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who on the scene, could have imagined the consequences.
More cells. More animals. Differentiation. Specialization.
Diversity of species. Until, finally, Homo sapien sapiens,
whose only real knowledge is knowledge of what they have
lost. We cannot return. Once fallen, we can never truly rise
again. The perfect state of Euglena gracilis is forever lost to
us. The only way is forward, and that forward is a return to, I
offer you this happy pun, our roots. Forest living. Form
follows essence. That is the beginning of the return.
Furniture whose appearance reflects its essence. Pearshaped pear-wood coffee tables. Pine-coned shaped pine
tables. Peach-shaped peach end tables. I haven’t
envisioned couches and chairs yet. No matter. The F & N
line is a only a symbolic transition, a stage in our return. My
next creation is the true herald of the New Age. A revolution
in our ontological constitution awaits only negotiations with
my suppliers. Live furniture. Hollow trees for dressers.
Verdant shrubs for couches. Mattresses of meadow flowers.
The real thing, right in your home. The Absolute.”
Streams of white smoke shot from her nostrils and bounced
off the stucco surface of the kitchen table as Edith spoke
the words, “the Absolute.” She pulled another Special from
a cigarette case made of a tiger-striped gourd, jabbed it into
her hair, and strolled to the display floor.
Floating in swirls of black and silver curls, the cigarette
reminded Audie of a drowning baby or a fetish. He shivered.
“I don’t want to wait for that next line. It scares me,” he said
to Prudence.
Prudence nodded. She pulled Audie’s hand tight against her
hip, and they hurried out of the kitchen to find Edith.
Edith was holding an oslamode vase in her outstretched
arms as a tall hairy person and a lithesome young man
stood transfixed by her cold blue gaze. Audie and Prudence
waited as Edith explained to the men that inside the perfect
cylinder of blown Venetian glass were two perforated
ceramic cylinders open at the bottom, which when rotated
60 degrees east of magnetic north, captured and recycled
the energy vibrations of cut flowers, allowing them to remain
fresh for weeks.
The men had bought two vases, one aubergine, one
solferino. They held their packages to their breasts, as if
hiding secrets they wanted everyone to see.
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Audie and Prudence had arranged for the Fruit and Nut set
to be delivered the next day.
LIII
That night (the night of Audie’s question) Audie had a
dream, and he recorded the dream in his book of poems.
“I am walking across a meadow. Just walking, enjoying the
sun and the smell of the earth, when I fall into a hole. I fall
straight down and land on my feet. I’m not hurt. It’s dark and
kind of smelly, smelly like hot rubber or plastic. I can’t see. I
walk with my hands in front of me, like a sleepwalker. I see
a light and walk faster. I enter a huge stone chamber bathed
in a sort of peach light. There’s a magnificent throne, gold,
shimmering gold, with an ornate brocade cushion, dripping
with jewels. Sitting atop the throne is a huge obsidian
monolith wrapped with silver wires, and dotted with tiny
lights, green and red and blue. I am terrified. I want to run,
but I stay. The monolith has a terrible meaning I can’t
fathom. Then it speaks, to me. Just to me. From
somewhere inside. It doesn’t move. Just as I am about to
understand its words, I awake.”
LIV
Audie laid his notebook and pen on the cherry-shaped
cherry-wood night stand and scratched his nose. He turned
to watch Prudence as she lay asleep. He smelled the faint
fragrance of perspiration and olive oil from her hair. He
kissed her softly on the center of her forehead, and trailed
his tongue gently across her smooth skin as he spread
kisses across her brow, down her left cheek to her soft lips.
Prudence awoke with a lazy smile.
“Prue, I had a dream. I know what I am afraid of, I think,”
Audie exclaimed.
“You do?”
“What I fear is not outside of myself, not stores and
salesmen, not systems and blondes (well, as you know, I
am a little afraid of blondes). I am afraid of myself. Yes,
myself. Myself, as the philosophers say, qua self. Myself,
viewed in one way as a proposition, that is, as a cogitatio,
and in another as material being, that is, as, desire. Myself,
en tout.”
Audie stopped speaking and scrunched his eyes together.
“What does that mean? How can one be afraid of oneself?
grantfive
How can the subject be at the same time an object to the
subject? Is the self that fears the same self as the self that
is feared or is it a different self? And if I am afraid of myself,
am I afraid of what I am or might not be or might become or
might appear to be?”
“Audie, that is a lot of questions. What do they have to do
with a new system?”
Audie read the dream from his book of poems.
“In the dream, my system and I are one.”
“I see.”
“I wish I hadn’t woken up before understanding the stone.”
“The psychologists say dreaming about dreams when you
are awake helps you understand them.”
“When you are awake?”
“Pretend you are the monolith, what would you say?”
Audie rolled away from Prudence, closed his eyes, and lay
stiff and flat on the bed. He remained motionless for several
minutes. His breathing became shallow and erratic.
He opened his eyes, turned to Prudence, and in a hoarse
whisper, he said, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.”
“What else could it say?” replied Prudence.
Audie stared at Prudence in puzzled awe. “You knew?” he
said.
“I guessed.”
“Still, I must have a new system.”
Prudence smiled, an odd sort of half smile.
Audie bowed his head, and sighed.
BACK TO TOP
grantsix
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Six
LV
“What’s the opposite of Indian Summer?” Audie asked
himself, as he fastened the collar of his bomber jacket tight
around his neck and pushed his hands hard into his
pockets. A cold front had shattered the heart of a lovely
spring, bringing chilly, damp air that sought one’s insides
like the embrace of a mad lover.
The streetlights shined a haunted, dirty yellow. A faint mist
held a nimbus about their crowns.
“If Giacometti had made icons, they’d’ve looked like these
lamps,” Audie said to himself. He turned and bowed to a
pole in mock respect.
“So he didn’t. Or maybe he did. So what,” he exclaimed with
a fierce sigh. The song of the streetlights, the zzzzztttttt of
vehicles moving across a veneer of moisture on the dark
macadam, the faint swish and squeak of wipers across
glass, and the gentle, vague wash of collective city sounds
did not, tonight, touch Audie’s spirit.
“So I dreamed about my system and I think it’s me and
everything is vanity and Prudence such a know it all. Can’t I
buy another system just ‘cause I want to? Do I have to
analyze and justify everything?” He thought of Prudence
and recalled Laertes words, “I am justly killed with my own
treachery,” and shivered.
“The old Freudians were wrong. Intellectual understanding
hardly helps at all. It may even breed resentment and a
sense of futility. Besides, all ideas are fantasies anyhow,
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ultimately, I think.”
Dark thoughts had haunted Audie since the night he
unplugged his system. Without knowing who he was, he
knew he wasn’t himself.
He hadn’t written a poem since the one he had dashed off
that night as he waited for the amplifier capacitors to
discharge. The verses were intended to capture his feelings
at the moment his system went silent, but they were trite
and embarrassing and not even true. He kept the six lines
as a charm against pride.
John Cage
said
silence sounds
I
say
silence sucks
LVI
Audie lowered his head against the wind. He walked on,
disappointed by his misery, which he realized, wasn’t very
miserable, which increased his misery, which comforted
him.
“‘Angsta rap. Pretty good. That’s what I’m in the mood for.
Hip Hop Heidegger.” Audie allowed a dark smile to move
across his lips.
“Call me Al. I’m down. I’m bad. Nothing’s got me in its grip,
and won’t let me go. Can’t find myself, ‘cause there’s no
one to find. Can’t find my baby, ‘cause we’re all alone. I was
thrown, and I’m falling and there ain’t no place to land. I’m
free to be me, but there’s no one that I am. I chose, I lose,
‘cause. . .”
“Hhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuhh.”
Audie clutched his house keys in his right hand and turned
quickly around, imagining himself, in that motion, ready for
action.
“Wha. . .?” Audie said as he watched an old man spit
phlegm out of one side of his mouth as he drew hard on a
bent cigarette that hung in the crotch of the opposite side.
Audie stepped back, more startled by the performance than
by the sudden appearance of a stranger at his heels.
The man smelled of garbage and weeks of unwashed skin.
grantsix
Half spectacles tottered on the tip of his remarkably regal
nose. “Is he a peer or a maybe a king who has somehow
lost his way?” Audie thought, immediately realizing the
absurdity of his question.
The old man advanced, dragging his left leg. He shook a
piece of paper at Audie and mumbled something about
fools and energy. Audie reached for the paper. The man
pulled it away.
Audie pulled a few coins from his pocket and held them out
in an open hand. The man slapped the coins out of his hand
and laughed a sort of seal bark of a laugh, mouth wide
open, the cigarette, somehow, still snug in the corner of his
mouth.
“May be a war wound, or an accident on the sea,” Audie
said to himself, thinking of the man’s limp. He pulled a
twenty from his wallet. The old man grabbed the bill and
dropped the paper. He strode past Audie with the air of
someone who had just proven to his satisfaction that all
human beings are fools and cowards.
“What happened to the limp?” Audie asked himself.
Wet from the mist and the damp pavement, covered with
stains, the paper was barely legible.
Magic theatre
Not for everyone.
For madmen only.
The other side read:
Ask yourself,
“Could I be allergic to my system?”
At the bottom of the page were a date, a time, and a street
address.
“Why did I give that man twenty dollars? That’s not like me
at all. Why did he give me this paper? Hell.”
The address was just a few blocks away, and the date and
time, just about the present. With Prudence away at the
annual retreat of her women’s diarists club, Women Writing
Women (Prudence knew just what was troubling Audie) and
his system still silent, he didn’t want to go home. He had left
the apartment planning to walk until he was exhausted, or
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get drunk or. . . whatever.
“Madmen? System allergies? This seems stupid enough for
my mood,” he said to himself. He left the avenue and with a
glance over his shoulder, entered a dark alley.
LVII
Audie dropped a brass knocker against a brass plate on the
door of a brownstone whose street number matched the
number of the address on the paper the old man had given
him.
A middle-aged guy in ketchup pants and a bright mustard
shirt opened the door.
“Hi. My name is Bob,” the man said, smiling and pointing to
an address label on his shirt on which was printed in neat,
block letters, Hi, my name is Bob. “How is your system?”
“Huh?”
“Your system. How is your system. Instead of asking how
you are, we ask, ‘How’s your system?’ We feel it’s more
appropriate.”
“Oh.”
“What’s your name?”
“Audie.”
“Audie, like Audie Murphy?”
“It’s my grandfather’s name.”
“Like audiophile?”
“It’s my grandfather’s name.”
“Relax Audie. We’re all friends here.”
“What is this?”
“The monthly meeting of the Antinomian Audiophile
Association. Though, as a resident wag has pointed out, we
don’t love sound so much as we love an idea. We are really
Platonists stuck inside the cave.”
“Sure, we all are. Stuck inside the cave I mean. Why
‘Antinomian?’”
“Jake, one of the founding members, found a line of Oscar
Wilde’s, part of the text of a Rzewski piano piece. . .”
“Oh, yeah, ‘made for exceptions.’”
“That’s it. We were looking for a name, something,
distinctive, and thought it suited our, uh, disposition, toward
sound reproduction.”
“An old man gave me a piece of paper with this address on
it. One side said for madmen only and the other said are
you allergic to your system. He smelled like dead things. I
grantsix
can’t get the odor out of my nostrils. Do you know him? A
limp? Glasses? Long nose? Kinda noble looking?”
“Oh. Howard. Stopped coming to meetings last year. Wife
pulled his equipment rack down on him when he refused to
pay for their daughter’s wedding. Wanted to invest the
money in scheme to bring back 78s. Says nothing sounds
as good as they do. Maybe he’s right. Leg never healed
quite right. Wife left him. Howard. An exception alright. Had
the walls and ceiling of his living room painted with damping
compound. Sounded awful. Huh, huh. Cost a bunch to get it
scraped off. We still send ‘m invitations, as a courtesy. The
madmen line is one of our jokes. We like to think that our
dual nature, human and divine, is reflected in our twin
passions, equipment and music. Our search for perfect
reproduced sound, the divine manifest in the earthly, you
might say, mirrors our search for wholeness. Our nature
seeks unity in a pure and perfect experience of music. It
never reaches it, of course. Our tragedy and our inspiration.
Huh, huh.”
“Regular werewolves you guys are.”
“Huh, huh. Seekers, just seekers Audie. All of us are
unhappy with our systems. That’s why we’re here.”
“Hhm.”
“You’ll find us a very supportive group. Fred over there has
’ad twenty-seven pairs of speakers in the past two years. A
club record. Huh, huh. Joe hasn’t found a set of tubes that
don’t have “veiled glaring,” he calls it. I’m not sure what it is,
but several other members claim to hear it. Jefferson next to
him had been trying to tame a bass resonance in his room
for six years, and just when he succeeded, his wife got the
house in a divorce settlement. James has an entire
bedroom filled with equipment. So much stuff in the room,
he had to clear paths through the boxes so he can get to a
piece when he wants to try it in a new combination. Never
gets rid of anything. Believes in synergy. Thinks you can
never judge a piece of equipment in isolation. There’s no
such thing as a bad piece of equipment, just unfortunate
combinations. Millions of them. Huh, huh. Come sit down,
we’re about to begin.
“No music tonight?” Audie asked, noticing walls with
shelves of LPs and CDs but no system.
grantsix
“This is Samuel’s house. His turn to host. He read in one of the magazines
that everything in the playback chain causes distortion. True, of course. But
Sam is an absolutist. It’s all or nothing for him. So he gave away his system.
He collects records, reads the liner notes, that’s it."
“Kinda silly, don’t you think? He shouldn’t be in the group at
all.”
“Takes all kinds, Audie. Takes all kinds. Besides, who
knows what Sam hears? May be he’s the only one of us
who’s gotten out of the cave.”
LVIII
Audie took a seat next to Bob near the back corner of the
living room. He worried for a moment about a possible bass
peak, then he remembered there would be no music. He
looked around the room, as he always did in meetings like
this one, thinking of all the ways he wasn’t like everyone
else in the room.
“Evening gentlemen. We’ve been waiting for this meeting
for almost a year. Dr. Johnson was scheduled last month
and several times before that, but emergencies prevented
him from attending. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that his
patients will not need him tonight. In consideration of the
importance of this meeting, we’re going to skip business
and devote the entire meeting to our guest.”
“That’s Dean, the president, “Bob whispered to Audie.
“Lives with his mother, who makes him bundle all his cords
with garbage bag ties. Has a devil of a problem with RFI.
Huh, huh.”
“Gentleman, it is my honor and pleasure to introduce Dr.
Johnson. Dr. Johnson is an allergist, a systems analyst,
and, as you may know, a fellow audiophile. He has treated
systems, both sonic and somatic, for over twenty years with
his revolutionary method of harmonic homeopathy.
Gentlemen, I give you Dr. Johnson.”
BACK TO TOP
grantseven
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Seven
LIX
The Allergist
A dark-skinned man stood in the doorway to the living room.
The thirty-six members of the Antinomian Audiophile
Association gathered that night, and Audie, a visitor among
them, perceived a palpable presence.
“There so much here, here,” said Audie to himself. The
others, gathered, said the same to themselves.
The dark-skinned man strode to the front of the room.
“His footsteps emerge from an absolutely black
background,” said Audie to himself. The others, gathered,
said the same to themselves.
The man set a thick black cushion on the floor, placed his
buttocks on the cushion, tucked his ankles atop his thighs,
and began chanting.
Om, tri, tes, sov
Om, ge, tes, sov
Om, svet, tes, sov
Om, tri, tes, sov
Om, tri, tes, sov
Om, aer, tes, sov
Om, syl, tes, sov
Om, tri, tes, sov
“The sound of his chanting defines the corners of the room,”
said Audie to himself. The others, gathered, said the same
to themselves.
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The man was slight of build, with eyes of black pupils and
black irises, deep pools of piercing calm. His silver-gray hair
fell in waves over his shoulders. (Not once during his talk
did he touch his hair.) Only the members sitting in the front
few rows of chairs could see him, but, when he stopped,
chanting, and started, talking, each one, gathered, felt his
own, Johnson.
My name is Johnson.
Om.
I speak of systems and their
Connections.
Om.
What is a system?
Om.
A system is this.
A system is that.
Om.
All things are systems,
And within each system,
More systems.
Endlessly.
Om.
Here you speak of
Sound
Systems.
Sound
Reproducing
Systems.
Om.
This is a mistake.
Om.
There is no reproduction.
Om.
There is only Original Sound
In all its manifestations.
Om.
All systems are perfect.
Om.
All systems are flawless.
Om.
All systems are without fault.
Om.
grantseven
The wave in
Is the wave out.
Om.
How does unhappiness with a system arise?
Om.
How does dissatisfaction with a system arise?
Om.
How does frustration with a system arise?
Om.
Unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and frustration
Arise from
Addition.
Om.
Arise from
Hearing what is present
And what is not present.
Om.
Arise from
Creating two where there is only
One.
Om.
How can we hear only what is present?
How can we rediscover the One?
How can we restore Original Harmony?
Om.
We can hear only what is present.
We can we rediscover the One.
We can we restore Original Harmony.
Om.
Through.
Om.
Harmonic Meditation.
Harmonic Homeopathic
Meditation.
Om.
Om.
The sound of the One,
Awakens the One.
The sound of the whole,
Creates wholeness.
grantseven
The sound of the present,
Restores true awareness.
Om.
Om.
Om.
[long pause]
Breathe in.
Om.
Breathe out.
Om.
Breathe in.
Om.
Breathe out.
Om.
Breathe in.
Om.
Breathe out.
Om.
Listen.
Om.
The sound in
Is the sound out.
Om.
Om.
Om.
Johnson closed his eyes, bent his hands into an oval, and
began chanting. Bob, hesitant at first, joined him in his
chanting. Then Fred and Adams. Then Appelbaum and
Samuel and Dean and Peters and James, until all thirty-six
members of the Antinomian Audiophile Association
gathered that night, and Audie, a visitor among them, had
joined Johnson in his chanting.
Om, tri, tes, sov
Om, ge, tes, sov
Om, svet, tes, sov
Om, tri, tes, sov
Om, tri, tes, sov
Om, aer, tes, sov
Om, syl, tes, sov
Om, tri, tes, sov
“Have I been wrong about waves, all this time?” said Audie
grantseven
to himself. The others, gathered, said the same to
themselves.
LX
The Allergist
To construct a system is to construct oneself.
--Paul Valéry
Dr. Johnson strode tanned and brisk into the meeting room.
(“I’ve never seen a suit like that, not that I can remember,”
Audie said to himself, admiring Johnson’s three piece.
“Must be some sort of rare Italian silk.”)
“Thank you, Dean,” said Johnson as he shook Dean’s hand
with both of his hands. Eschewing the podium, Johnson
pulled an empty chair from the first row and set it backwards
at the front of the room. He entered the chair, legs
straddling the stiles, in perfect fluid motion. He loosened his
tie, swept a slow panorama of the members of the
Antinomian Audiophile Association gathered that night, and
began his address.
“A man’s relationship with his system is one of the most
intimate relationships in his life. A man’s system is in truth
the man himself made manifest. The vibrating soul of the
man. When a man and system are in tune, all is well.
Harmony reigns. Peace rules. Notes are pure. When they
are not in tune, anxiety, despair, alienation, forlornness dog
his days.” (“True,” thought Audie. “I think that’s true.”)
We are naked before our systems. Our systems have no
secrets from us and we, no secrets from our systems. It is
not uncommon for an audiophile to dream that he and his
system are one and the same. Such dreams are healthy.
They indicate growth. (“Really,” thought Audie. “What kind
of growth?”) I myself have had this type of dream several
times. In one of them, I was visiting Disneyland. Mickey took
my hand and led me through a tunnel. At the end of the
tunnel was a huge mirror. I looked into the mirror and saw
my system, not as it was, but golden, glowing, perfect. I
sighed. I am not ashamed. (“So, it’s a phenomenon,”
thought Audie.)
This great intimacy, naturally, causes great anxiety. The
grantseven
more intimate the relationship, the greater the anxiety we
experience because of it. Last night I was talking to my
friend Edith. (“He knows Edith? She has never mentioned
him to me, or to Prudence. I wonder why.”) She’s an artist,
makes her own furniture, and a pretty good living I’ll tell you.
(“That’s true,” thought Audie.) She’s also a philosopher. Like
myself she believes in harmonic rightness. A very important
concept. We were talking about men and their relationship
to vibrations. She is of the opinion that men are vibrationally
obtuse. Not in touch with their own vibrations. What this
means for her is that men are more likely to return her
furniture with vague and anxious complaints that it doesn’t
“feel right.” (“I almost did that,” thought Audie.) What this
means for men and their systems is that we are very likely
to be dissatisfied with our systems, to continually tweak and
change things, replace equipment before it’s even broken
in. You know the phenomenon.
Vibrational obtuseness, I submit to you, is the main and
hidden source of dissatisfaction with our hi-fi systems.
Vibrational obtuseness. The problem with our systems is in
us, not in our systems! (“That’s an idea,” thought Audie.)
We are so used to fixing our systems that we never think of
fixing ourselves! You are what’s wrong with your systems!
No more cables, tweaks, new amps, no more obsessive
dissatisfaction, gnawing feelings of inadequacy, anxiety,
shame even. My Harmonic Homeopathic Method can free
you from all this!” (“This method is bad for audio business,”
thought Audie.)
The method is premised on the concept of harmonic
rightness. The congruence and mutual supportiveness of
somatic and system vibrations. When you are harmonically
right, you are in tune with your system and your system is in
tune with you. In other words, you are in harmony with
yourself!
How does Harmonic Homeopathy work? It’s different for
everyone, because every person, every system, and every
home is different. Basically, I work with you in your home
with your system. In essence, I tune you to your system,
and your system to you. I teach you techniques that enable
you to get fully in touch with the entire spectrum of your
vibrations. Did you know that the human body has an
average fundamental of fifteen hertz? With my training you
grantseven
can hear that tone within yourself and extend your effective
range of hearing to that point and lower. Higher too.
I’ll leave you with an exercise you can try with your systems.
Pick a quiet time when you are alone. Turn your listening
room lights low. Get comfortable. Wear slippers. Loosen
your belt. Sit in your chair. Close your eyes. Take a few
deep breaths, exhaling slowly through pursed lips. Play a
short vocal piece, preferably a male vocal. Then put on a
CD with test tones. A CD works best because you can
easily replay the same tone. Pick a midrange tone around
400-500 hertz. Close your eyes, take some more deep
breaths. Play the tone once. Now, hum or drone in tune with
the tone. Open your mouth comfortably wide and set your
mouth chamber, esophagus, and chest vibrating in tune
with the tone. Keep doing this until you can match the tone
for its duration. Then play the vocal piece again. You will
immediately notice that it sounds much better, richer,
easier, more musical. What changed? You changed of
course. You became more in touch with your own vibrations
and right with the harmonics of your system. Instead of
fighting your system’s expression of that wavelength, you
are in tune with it, inside and out! (“Who knows,” thought
Audie. “It could work.”)
LXI
Audie tugged the door of the brownstone closed behind
him. The brass knocker bounced against its brass plate.
The sharp click of metal on metal echoed off the houses
across the street. “Was that one click, or two?” Audie asked
himself.
LXII
Audie entered
the dark street
thinking
as he walked
thinking
as he lifted
his head
to watch
the moon
lighting
the clouds
grantseven
thinking
as he felt blood
pulsing in his throat
Prue
Prue
Prue.
BACK TO TOP
granteight
A Love Story
by Barry Grant
Part Eight
LXIII
“Prue,” Audie gasped as he lunged through the open door
to the apartment, almost tripping over the threshold. “Prue,”
he repeated, eyes thrusting against their sockets, cheeks
swelling with air, “Prue” bursting from his lips, “Prue.” Audie
threw off his bomber jacket, wet from the dank night. He
pulled Prudence toward him, embracing her with arms,
elbows, shoulders, neck, head and twisting her to the floor
in a tumbling laocoon of limbs and torsos.
“Audie,” Prudence murmured as she slowly pulled her lips
from his, slowly, to feel the gentle pressure of the partial
vacuum opening to space.
“God, I’m glad you’re back. Let’s never argue again.”
“Audie, we hadn’t been arguing.”
Audie paused. “No, not exactly. . . Not at all, actually. It’s
me. I’m unhappy. I was unhappy. Now I’m happy. When you
left for your retreat, I felt. . . . Tonight I went for a walk, and I
went to a meeting about allergies and systems, and I don’t
know what happened. I’m so confused. You know
everything, and I don’t know anything. . . nothing important.
I’m mixed up about my system, and I’m ready to begin
getting a new one, only I don’t know what to do, and it’s all
so stupid anyhow, not really important, really, and you’re so
calm and so knowing. I got. . . resentful. And I can’t write
poems anymore. And I didn’t want to talk about any of this.”
Prudence’s features resolved into a look of beatific repose.
(“Oh,” Audie said to himself, “what luck.”) She pulled her
head back until Audie’s face came in focus, his familiar
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granteight
bemused expression seeming almost transcendent in its
naiveté.
“Audie, I love you.”
“The present tense implies nothing of the future, and for
love, in the absence of such implication, the present is
void.”
“Audie?”
“Never mind. I got nervous for a moment. I don’t want you to
leave me ever, but I’m afraid you will. . .”
“Audie, dear, I love you. All manner of things are well and
shall be well. You’ll see.”
LXIV
“Join me, Prue.”
Prudence threw the covers away from her body, bounded to
the floor, and caught Audie’s hand just as he reached his
arm around her back
and
they
both
together
descended
in a dip.
“I feel like my old self again,” Audie said, his eyes resting in
Prudence’s eyes. “Well, maybe not, not exactly. Either the
self is real, in which case I am one continuous self-same
being and such notions as old self and new self have no
meaning, or the self is not real, in which case it makes no
sense to speak of a self of any sort. In any case. . .”
“Audie,” Prudence said. “Hold me closer, and keeeeeeep
dancing.”
And they spun about the bedroom, their nylon night clothes
rubbing with the rhythms of their gentle rumba, setting off
scattered sparks and sporadic shocks in the cool morning
air.
“We’re electric together,” Audie said, drawing a sly smile
across his face.
“I told you,” Prudence replied, burrowing her head in the
space between his head and shoulder.
Audie pressed his face full into her hair, drawing its
fragrance of night-soaked sebum and sage deep into his
nostrils.
granteight
“Look, a Barnett Newman,” he said, pointing to a bone white
throw rug bisected with a band of sunlight.
Audie slid his hands around Prudence’s soft hips. He pulled
her against him into a cobra pose. He wet his lips and
kissed her upturned chin.
“It’s like in that Western when you have to sit on your horse
in just the right place and the right time and the right
direction and the sun shows you where the Indians hid their
gold.”
Audie paused, stretching his eyebrows into gentle
parabolas. “I know where my gold is,” he said.
Prudence sighed.
LXV
Audie and Prudence sat in their soft red chairs in the room
with the system. The system, now unplugged, was cloaked
in an orchid print damask that Prudence had bought at a
crafts fair. Audie peered at the patterns, noting how the
petals joined and crossed as the cloth folded around the
corners of the component on the top shelf.
“Prue. Tell me about your club retreat,” Audie said as he
bowed his head to kiss Prudence’s hand. “What you did and
what you said and how things looked and all that you saw
and heard. Was Dominique there? And is she still on fire?
And Sarah, has she finished her novel? And Emma, did she
bring her alien mother again?”
Prudence smiled up at Audie. “They were all there. Emma’s
mother is not an alien, Audie. She just hasn’t learned all the
conventions. Dominique is still on fire. She writes ten pages
every day. No matter what, ten pages. Two hundred and
seventy five words a page for 7,341 days as of the 12th.
She read ten pages of making a breakfast of eggs, toast,
and coffee, and I realized that “and” is the most important
word in the language. If there is a god, that’s god’s word.
The world is not one, it is and.”
“A multiplicity, not a unity?”
“More like what the Buddhists say, everything is a center.
And,” Prudence widened her smile, “Sarah has not finished
her novel. The novel follows her life. She thinks she will die
when she completes it.”
“Philosophers call that a category error.”
“Deirdre and I tried to explain to her that she wouldn’t die
granteight
unless she willed death, and it came out that she was really
afraid of just that.”
“Did you change her mind?”
“No. The knot of darkness was too deep within her. She will
keep writing until she dies or loosens the knot.”
“That’s a life too. I wish I had been there. Will you ever
allow men to join?”
Prudence slid her cheek across Audie’s outstretched palm.
“The subject came up, as it does every year. We decided
again that although the differences between the sexes are
illusory, we liked things the way they are.”
“The logic of affection.”
“Yes,” Prudence murmured, as she ran her tongue around
the scallops of Audie’s cuticles.
LXVIe GeOrganics. Did you change your mind about the,
uh, Absolute?”
Audie, Prudence, and Edith were sipping decaf French
Roast in the back of Edith’s store, also called Edith. Edith
was a little odd, both Audie and Prudence thought so, but
she was a good friend, and they always left her store with a
new thought, if not a new Harmonically Correct Furnishing
for the Home, which is what Edith called the sort of thing
she sold in her store.
“What else my friends? Too radical. No one understood it.
That is my fate. No matter.” Edith pushed a great mass of
wiry black and silver hair behind her left ear. She pushed
the last knuckle length of her Turkish Special into an
Ashower, a one eighth piece of a near perfect Golden
Siamese geode that rested atop a white lux velvet, its cliffs
and ledges digging at the sky.
Watching the ashes and bits of singed paper and tobacco
fall from the crystals to the tender cloth, Audie said to
himself, “How do they move like that, symphonically? Are
there forces involved that have not yet been named?”
Audie peered into his coffee cup. “Uhm. Did you do
something different to the coffee? It tastes more, uh,
coherent,” he said.
“Ha! You noticed. It’s not the coffee. It’s the lacquer! I’ve
been experimenting. Another very light layer of iron oxide
glaze on the bottom gives my coffee just a tad more body
and sparkle.”
granteight
“I think it always tastes wonderful!” Prudence exclaimed.
“You two are my most perceptive customers, Edith replied,
reaching her arms across the shoulders of her friends and
pulling them toward her.
“A kiss for each of you,” she said and laid a big mushy
bright-red-smudge-leaving kiss on each of their cheeks.
“Edith,” Audie asked. “Do you know Dr. Johnson? The allergist? I went to
one of his talks under very mysterious circumstances. He said you were
friends. Tell us about him, please.”
LXVII
“Ahh, Dr. Johnson. Friends, yes.” Edith pointed to the
Marcasse settee that abutted the far wall of the store
kitchen.
Audie and Prudence bunched themselves between the thin
arms of the last of Edith’s Sword of Destiny line of domestic
furnishings. The settee was the greatest piece of the living
room suite that had made her name. Edith would never part
with it. She had become herself, had become Edith, in that
furniture.
She had showed the set at the annual Festival des Choses
held in August at the Centre Beaubourg. The sophisticated
money and taste crowd would leave their seaside homes for
the ugly Parisian August only for the Festival des Choses.
Edith was the Northamerican regional winner. Between
winning the regional in February and appearing at the
Festival in August, she designed an entirely new line. No
one else would have dared this. No one else has.
The Destiny set was so different from her winning
Kitchannex designs that at first no one believed they had
come from the same person. Slowly, the critics and the
customers saw that only the person who had done the
Kitchannex could have done the Destiny.
All of Edith’s creations furnished a lost world that existed
only in her dreams. A time before color was rent from
shape, light from texture, space from line, image from
reproduction. A holy time when the six senses were one.
The Destiny showed this in its alternating densities of shape
and texture twinned with canons crossing against wave
tracings. Bold ellipses atop corrugated marbles. Arch sides
granteight
mottled with stellarblues. And eclipsed ranges pushed hard
against the backs of black streaked wallingfords.
Edith sold sixteen pieces of the seventeen piece suite for
enough money to open Edith, her store.
Her work since the Destiny has been even more amazing,
though sometimes, as with her advanced Fruit and Nut line,
she was so beyond popular taste and concepts that the
designs did not sell.
Holopokot followed the Sword of Destiny. It inverted the
traditional relationship between inner and outer. Armoires of
pedestals and racks. Couches with arms and backs as legs.
Beds, sandwiches of neoprene slabs in dark amber and
bleach. Then, Columbine, Roget’s Woods, Gobi Dance,
and, of course, the GeOrganics and Fruit and Nut, basic
and advanced.
“Edith,” said Prudence, signaling to Audie and snaking her
hips up the space between Audie and the arm of the settee.
“It’s nearly four-thirty. Time for a long dinner before the
concert begins at eight.”
“Oh yes,” replied Edith glancing at the Cyclock hanging from
the ceiling. “A very promising program. The New Violin:
Difference and Metaphor in Gut and Wood, you said. Dr.
Johnson will have to wait until we each have a mulled single
malt in hand.”
BACK TO TOP
carymods
Modding the Cary 306/200: More on the Marigo Dots and Shakti
On-Lines. Plus the CDi Blue Statmat from Ringmat.
by Dave Clark
With the recent acquisition of the Cary 306/200 and being the resident tweaker that I am, how
could I leave well enough alone? Gee, as good as the Cary is, could it be a bit sweeter and more
open? And hey, is that an ever so slight “edge” to the music I hear? Okay, so I am an audio
neurotic. There I said it. Happy? So let’s move on to dotting the Cary. Dotting the Cary? Yes, with
white and green Marigo Dots, designed to mitigate or “control,” to a certain degree, resonances in
chips, capacitors, and other circuit parts. See the review in Issue 1: www.positivefeedback.com/Issue1/marigovtsdots.htm or visit the Marigo site: www.marigoaudio.com
Now opening the Cary revealed how well built this player really is and how many parts there are
to dot! Must be close to 100 capacitors (Rubycons)—though only about 40 of the size Ron had
noted—and about 20 chips with about the same number of power regulators. Holy cow, this is
going to be a real pain! After all the dots are only 2-3mm in size and my fingers are not as nimble
as they used to be. Fortunately Ron Hedrich sent me more than enough dots to try and
instructions on where and which dot to use, so if I lost a few no problem.
Simply put Ron said to do anything flat and black (chips and chip-like devices) with the white dots
and any capacitors with the green dots. Ignore the littlest caps, just get the big and medium sized
ones. So ever-so-carefully I dotted each chip and each and every capacitor (even had to
removed a board so I could get to everything on the analog stage), but I was not able to do the
voltage regulators—way too difficult to reach without dropping the dot. Besides, I figured that as
hot as the Cary gets, they would not stay put anyhow. Perhaps another time. I will say that I
never lost a dot and total time was around an hour—that’s about a dot a minute! Not bad.
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carymods
Green Dots on capacitors for the power supply
White Dots on the chips, more green dots on capacitors, and the On-Lines to the left.
The eight Burr Browns are just under the On-Lines. Dotted them too!
Results were rather eye-opening or ear-opening if you prefer. What was a first-class CD player,
now offered an even quieter presentation meaning even greater clarity and resolution. Not really
any sweeter, but definitely more open. And the “edge”? What edge? No hint of digital edge or
glare—just pure clean music. I mean, the music came across as pure as a glass of mountain
spring water is after a long hike. I am now hearing music with no listener fatigue after an
extended period at rather high-ish levels. This is hard to describe, but the music is just there—no
residual noise to get in the way. Talk about resolving power and the ability to hear all the
subtleties and nuances on a disc. This is really spooky. But is it more musical? We like to hear
the details, but if they rob us of being involved with the music, the answer is, "No." The dots do
carymods
not make the the player analytical in the sense of being "sterile." Yes, it is more resolving, but in a
natural way. I find the music simply even more involving, as I am less "distracted" by artifacts that
do not belong within the sonic tapestry. Just pure music.
Any change to the bass? Well, hard to imagine that there was any room for improvement in that
area, but I do think it is a bit deeper and more detailed. Perhaps just that faster and cleaner, with
a touch more leading edge. And instead of being a bit dry, the player is a smidgen warmer and
more dimensional as well. Heck a few dots have turned the Prince into a King!
By the way, we dotted the Sony I talked about in the Cary review in this issue, and low and
behold, its bass is a touch deeper with better control too. Still not as good as the Cary, but if you
had never heard the two side by side, you would be very happy.
Okay, got the Cary dotted and that definitely made a positive difference so let’s try adding four
Shakti On-Lines to the equation (see www.shakti-innovations.com or read my earlier review in
Issue 1 at: www.positive-feedback.com/Issue1/shaktistones.htm). Since I only had four, I was
limited to placing one above each pair of the DAC chips. I chose these chips as they were the
most likely target for the On-Lines. Besides, they were also readily accessible. Using double-back
tape I was able to seat the On-Lines on top of some very small capacitors, placing the them
directly above the pairs of Burr Brown chips.
More green Dots on capacitors, but this time for the analog output board. You can see
the four On-Lines just under the top board to the right.
An improvement or just different? Well, things did not sound diffferent in that there was no shift
tonally or harmonically with any disc I played. But yes, it was an improvement, as there was still a
further drop in the noise floor. This resulting in an even greater degree of clarity and musicality.
The music is now a smidgen and half sweeter, and if push came to shove, even more open then
before. All with an added increase in dimensional body and air. Cool. Hey, the music also comes
across with less artificiality than before to—music sounds just that much more real.
carymods
Not bad for two mods that are easily removed.
Alright, let’s try the CDi Blue Statmat from Ringmat Developments (about $50). The CDi Blue is
designed to address static electricity that builds up when the disc is spinning in a player. To quote
from their literature, “The CDi Blue is a new and far more powerful Statmat for controlling static
and other unwanted electronic fields and for correcting signal anomalies. It comprises two
Statmats working together at 90º to each other and on different sides of a blue polyester
substrate of 0.1mm. The Statmat on top is a mirror image of the standard one below and is
connected to the substrate at three equidistant points. The one below is connected at two points.”
I would recommend going to the Ringmat site to get the full scoop. They have lots of information
that explains the why and hows. www.ringmat.com
Okay, I live in Log Beach and things never get too dry here. But if the static field is generated by
the player, then that is something of a non-issue. On the other hand, if you do live in a very dry
place, the added static electricity in the air along with that in a player may be a serious issue.
So in it goes and the music becomes a bit fuller, rounder, meaning there is a bit more “flesh” to
the sound than before. More detail? Not really, just a subtle sense of ease or just any residual
edge being completely obliterated. Musically it is just that much better. Now in some ways this
may not be what one wants, as there is this added quality to the music, meaning it is not as
“pure” as it was before. I am not saying the CDi Blue is coloring the music (hey it is blue and the
music does have a darker sound to it!), but there is a very subtle shift harmonically. More fullness
from the lower midrange and upper bass perhaps. Or am just hearing the music the way it was
supposed to be heard—all an issue of controlling the electrostatic fields and such? Heck if I
know. What I do know is that I prefer the music with the CDi Blue, which means I have to deal
with a mat every time I insert a disc. Darn! I did admit to being an audio neurotic didn't I? Did I
say the mat is thin, clear and blue? Well it is, and the thin part means is it somewhat delicate. So
buyer beware. It does make a difference, and one that for me at least, is positive.
MANUFACTURER'S RESPONSE
carymods
I'm glad you liked it. We are pleased, too. Whilst the improvement is always the same (i.e.
constant), the way in which the improvement manifests itself varies from system to system,
depending on each system set-up. Of course, the improvement is far more noticeable with the
other Ringmat and Statmat products in place. It is all about getting the phase of the signal right
and holding it there throughout the system. I am not clear whether the test was done with or
without the Marigo Dots and Shakti On-Lines in place. Would be most grateful if you could clarify
this point.
Best regards,
John Rogers
Ringmat Deveoplment
John,
The mat was used after I dotted and Shakti'd the player. I felt the mat would be the cherry on top!
Thanks,
Dave Clark
BACK TO TOP
mastering
Mastering Maven Mills Microscopically Minute
Miracle
by Dave Glackin and Stan Ricker
Photographs courtesy of John Wood/Mobile Fidelity; digital processing by David W. Robinson
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has been resurrected from the ashes of the old company, as described
in my report on the 2002 CES (Positive Feedback Online Issue 1). The head of the new MoFi is
Jim Davis of Music Direct. John Wood is the director of New Technology. The company has been
set up back in the original studio in Sebastopol, California. Right out of the box, they’re bringing
out the big guns. MoFi’s audio dream team is a stellar line-up: Stan Ricker and Paul Stubblebine
are doing the mastering, Tim de Paravicini has built the cutting amps and tape-repro electronics,
and Ed Meitner is responsible for the digital electronics. As most of you reading this should be
aware, Stan mastered most of the original big MoFi titles that were issued on half-speedmastered vinyl. (When you have a few hours to kill, please see my interview with Stan, reprinted
in Positive Feedback Online Issue 1, 2, coming soon 3.)
Tim de Paravicini has built cutting amps electronics for many companies over the years, and his
reputation as a genius in this area precedes him. His overriding goal is that his electronics be
able to pass a 100Hz square wave intact. For MoFi, Tim built a system using tube amps to drive
the Ortofon cutterhead. (The mastering chain originally used a JVC console from Paul
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mastering
Stubblebine... the same console Stan used at the JVC Cutting Center.) During the time that this
system was in its genesis, Stan described to me the “team struggle” that it took to get everything
right. It paid off.
Tim de Paravicini hard at work
Just after the system was first tested in May, 2002, Stan fired off an e-mail in which he expressed
the most excitement that I have ever seen from him in print. And that’s really saying
something. The reborn MoFi has developed a world-class mastering system.
In July, this system was found to have recorded a signal of astoundingly high frequency onto a
lacquer. Stan sent me the relevant details, and I did an independent calculation of the frequency
that agreed with his own: 122kHz when played at 33 1/3 rpm. Yowza! I’ll yield the floor to Stan,
and let him tell the story in his own unique way. As you’ll see, Stan has a little problem with being
too quiet in print.. Dave Glackin
Best damn real-time cutting system I ever did hear!
For the first time, we may not have to cut at half-speed to achieve our quality goals.
It’s really great working with Paul Stubblebine on this, as I appreciate an extra pair of really great
ears. He was blown away by the first cut we did, as were all of us in the room... Tim, Paul, John
Wood, myself. We just set the tape machine alignment tones at -4 and connected it directly to the
lathe (cutting) amps and let it roll, and voila ... gorgeous music! This system is unf!@#$%^ing
believable!
As you know, at MoFi, there has always been the push to extend the bandwidth; to push and
expand the envelope, so to speak... well, here's almost too much bandwidth...
We picked up, off the tape, at half-speed, the record-bias on the master tape (30 ips, half-inch
tape). We first discovered it by blowing a fuse in the cutterhead protection circuit while doing
some trial-cutting on our very first attempt at half-speed through Tim de Paravicini’s tape repro
and cutter-drive amps. I thought this was pretty darn unusual, as cutter-current is supposed to be
between one-half to one-fourth of the real-time needs, but the clipping indicators on Tim’s amps
mastering
were activating.
Tim and Stan at the lathe
When I looked at the lacquer, then I realized what was happening at the cutterhead-end of
things. There were light-diffraction rainbows all over the lacquer, like what you see off the dataside of a CD. At first, I thought that there was some kind of oscillation in the cutter-amps in the
half-speed mode, but when I cut silent grooves with the tape machine stopped, no such condition
was seen. But when we turned the tape machine on, the signal immediately showed up, and
could be seen on the X-Y oscilloscope connected to the monitor at the console. Purposely
misaligning the tape-repro azimuth -just a little bit-made the problem totally go away. So there
was the living proof that the culprit was actually a healthy record-bias signal imprinted on the
tape.
In order to try to calculate the frequency, I cut a few grooves' worth of this signal at a 10-inch
diameter. I turned the eye-piece of the microscope sideways, and counted 7 complete cycles per
0.001-inch division. I did the basic math and figured it was right at 61 kHz, more than 2 octaves
higher than the FM carrier (15 kHz) we used in cutting the JVC CD-4 Quadraphonic
records! (That’s 122kHz when played back at 33 1/3 rpm!)
mastering
Stan with a laquer
We were scratching our heads trying to find out what tape machine had such a bias frequency.
John Wood did some really great detective work as to where the tape (of Dave Alvin) was
recorded, and on what machine. John found the studio, found the engineer, found the machine;
found that the machine was an older MCI JHD 110D, a 4-track that had been converted to a halfinch 2-track. A bit more sleuthing turned up the fact of the MCI bias-freq being 120KHz... BINGO!
We had our proof!
We made test pressings cut at real-time and at half-speed. The half-speed stuff was the clear
winner... HALF-SPEED LIVES!!!
P.S. I just sent this on to MoFi so that they can build a tunable bias trap, as this HF takes all the
energy from the cutter-amps, and really heats up the head... almost too hot to touch. Running the
cooling helium wide open was the only way we could do it. Stan Ricker
Wrap-up by Dave Glackin
There you have it. 122 kHz, folks. The highest frequency ever committed to a vinyl LP designed
for playback at 33 1/3 rpm, to our knowledge. You heard it here first. So when you slap one of
MoFi’s new slabs-o’-vinyl on your turntable and turn up the volume, be sure and send your dog to
another room. Along with your pet bat. They’ll be glad you did. Wait a minute... whazzat,
Stan? You say that this incredibly high frequency won’t actually be on the MoFi LPs that the
public can buy. What is this... you’re keeping all the good stuff for yourself? Oh. You say the
cutter head will fry, so you’re filtering out the HF. And unsuspecting audiophiles’ cartridges may
not like it either? Well, save those lacquers. They’ll be valuable collector’s items someday. I can
see the e-bay auctions now...
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The Stones on SACD: Notes on a Historic Reissue Project
(Photos courtesy of ABKCO, ©Harry Goodwin/Star File.)
Background: On Doing Things Right
The time is at hand, music lovers—in a truly historic move, ABKCO is re-issuing 22 titles (327
tracks on 26 discs) from the Rolling Stones discography to hybrid SACD. As a matter of fact, I’ve
already started listening to the first batch of eight SACDs that I’ve received, plus the sampler
SACD (not for commercial release). I can tell you right now that I’m knocked out by the quality of
the transfers that I’ve heard so far… but more on that later.
Most of you reading this article are probably aware of this re-issue project, but as I’ve done some
reading of the materials that ABKCO sent to me I’ve run across some things that I find to be very
encouraging from the perective of an audiophile/music-lover.
First of all, the mastering was done by Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering, assisted by Gus
Skinas of Sony DSD, which explains the fine quality of what I’ve heard so far (three SACDs in so
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far).
The titles to be released include 12x5, The Rolling Stones Now, Aftermath (US and UK versions),
Between The Buttons (US and UK versions), Let it Bleed, Flowers, Their Satanic Majesties
Request, Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Out of Our Heads (US and UK versions), December’s
Children, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out, and England’s Newest Hitmakers. Also to be released are the
collections Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass), Through the Glass Darkly, Hot Rocks, More Hot
Rocks, The Rolling Stones Singles Collection, Metamorphosis (first release to digital in any
format, UK version only), and Got Live If You Want It.
Collectors and purists will be pleased to note the parallel UK and US versions of several titles
above. As with the Beatles, some albums featured different sequences and versions of songs
that were used in the two markets; this will be a remarkable opportunity to be able to compare
them! Note also that Metamorphosis is in its first digital release anywhere. The UK version was
used, according to ABKCO, because it has two additional songs that were not present on the US
vinyl.
Special praise and a Brutus Award to ABKCO for the following announcement:
“All electronically reprocessed stereo recordings have been expunged from the catalog and have
now been replaced with mono mixes while, when available and appropriate, true stereo mixes
replace the mono counterparts on the following recordings: “2120 South Michigan Avenue,” “(I
Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Around and Around,” “Confessin’ The Blues,” “Empty Heart,” “Heart
of Stone,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “If You Need Me,” “It’s All Over Now,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,”
“Look What You’ve Done,” “Paint It Black,”and “Time Is On My Side.”
stones
(The crowd goes wild! I pause here for a moment of silence to allow the music lovers everywhere
to calm down…)
ABKCO claims to have done exhaustive work around the world to locate the very finest sources
for this project; given what I’ve heard so far now, I’d say they succeeded exceptionally well.
I’ll be reporting on the initial set of titles over the next several days; stay tuned for my
impressions of the initial batch…
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(1472 bytes) audiodiscourse.jpg (10290 bytes)
“I Don’t Drive Stock!” Chapter 3: In Which Ye Olde Editor Has
His Caps Done
(All photographs and digital image processing by David W. Robinson)
Background
It’s time for an update on modding my Sony SCD-1. Readers of Issue One (www.positivefeedback.com/Issue1/draudiocom.htm) will remember that I outlined the Audiocom modifications
done by Richard Kern of Audiomod (www.audiomod.com), one of two fine audio modders/hotrodders here in Portland (the other being the estimable Dan Wright of
Modwright—www.modwright.com). The first chapter was the installation of the Audiocom
Superclock, a $360 upgrade as performed by Kern. After listening to that through a break-in of
more than 400 hours, I returned for the Audiocom Superclock Power Supply upgrade, and spent
a couple of hundred hours breaking that in and gathering impressions. The results, in a nutshell,
were spectacular—the Superclock added articulation and detail, while the Superclock Power
Supply seemed to make the “black” blacker, creating a sense of deeper silence from which the
articulation of the Superclock was even more evident. Great stuff! Details are in the article
hyperlinked above.
But there’s more, of course. Richard encouraged me to try the next step in mod-dom—installing
Black Gate capacitors in place of Sony’s Elnas on the analog/digital power supply board of the
SCD-1. I had long since decided to take this step, but allowed each phase of the upgrading to
happen in turn, with time to break in and evaluate the changes that each modification brings.
Soooo… after several hundreds of hours, it was time to take the next step. Bring on the Black
Gates.
Off to the Hot Mod Races!
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The analog/digital power supply board of the Sony SCD-1 SACD player, in all its backlit glory...
Once again, I found myself at Audiomod, watching Richard heating up his trusty soldering and desoldering gear. While waiting, Richard shared his enthusiasm for this upgrade, saying that I would
really appreciate the difference the Black Gate capacitors made to the sound of the SCD-1. He
isn’t alone in his appreciation for the Black Gates—my good friend Jennifer Crock of JENA Labs
shares Richard’s appreciation for them. “Good stuff,” sez Jen, and that’s the equivalent of a
rousing Hallelujah Chorus for those of you who don’t know Jennifer! This made me all the more
eager to hear what a cap upgrade could do for the SCD-1, already a fine piece of equipment.
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Richard Kern's de-soldering station ready to go
I had heard of the Black Gates, but had never seen one. Richard was kind enough to share his
trove with me before the installation, so that I could look them over and photograph them for you.
There are such things as good-looking electronic components—strange as it sounds to the nonelectrophile—and the Black Gates definitely had the look and feel of superior componentry. Of
course, you can’t really be sure about the sound until you have a chance to hear them.
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Richard Kern modeling one of the Black Gates—good show, Richard!
Opening the Sony SCD-1 is always a bit of a remarkable event. It’s an exceptional and beautiful
piece of audio design work—kudos to Sony!—and generally creates appreciation wherever it
goes. Very few get to see the complex inside of the machine, though, which is why you should
check immediately below.
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First, Kern carefully removes the SCD-1 lid…
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…then, once the lid is off, you can see the gizzards of an SCD-1; this view is from front/top. The
power supply board that Kern will modify runs from front-to-back on the right side.
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Kern removes the SCD-1 analog/digital power supply board from the main unit, to begin the desoldering/re-soldering process.
Taking the power supply board out only takes a few minutes. Richard has clearly done a number
of these modifications. The equipment is well made, but you don’t want to make any
mistakes—there’s no warranty “safety net!” Richard then patiently went about the process of
desoldering the Elna caps from the SCD-1 power supply board. There are a lot of them, so the
process took several hours. As always, I am impressed whenever I get to see a true fine audio
artisan at work, and Richard is certainly one of that small group. His twenty-five years of
experience with audio equipment showed once again, as he meticulously removed the old
capacitors, and cleaned the board to receive the Black Gates.
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Kern carefully desolders yet another Elna cap…
Once the SCD-1 power supply board was ready to go, Richard began the insertion of the new
capacitors. Working with real care, each capacitor was soldered in place and trimmed, all neatly
done. Those of you who are concerned about risking your warranty for such modification work
need not be. Richard’s workmanship is clearly first-rate, and his experienced attention to detail
was faultless. At no point did I worry about the upgrade process, and neither should you.
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Some of the new Black Gate capacitors, sitting next to their new home. In the foreground (the
small reddish PCB standing upright) is the Audiocom Superclock board.
Once the upgrade was done, I took the SCD-1 home for (yet another!) break-in session. I was
eager to hear what the newly-modified component would sound like.
The Sound
While I confess to cheating, and listening to the SCD-1 up front, I knew that the capacitors would
take time to hit their stride. For what it’s worth (fair warning), the brand-new sound of the Black
Gates was a bit recessed and congested. The clarity of the Superclock/Superclock Power Supply
was somewhat veiled by the new caps. Over the next several days, the congestion eased. By the
time a week had gone by, the detail and clarity of the Superclock tandem was back, but there
was an important new element. It took me a while to qualify what I was experiencing, but as the
new mod passed 200 hours, I felt that I had a handle on it.
Most interesting! What I was hearing was all the articulation that the Superclock had brought, plus
all the crystalline silence that the Superclock Power Supply rendered, but with an additional
dimension. What had previously been detailed now had a certain silkiness, a richness that was
extremely appealing. All this was done without compromising the gains that had been made by
the Superclock upgrades! I would therefore say that the Black Gates are working mainly on the
timbre of the recordings played through them. Soundstaging and imaging do not appear to be
affected by the Black Gates—a good thing! I hasten to add that I would not characterize the
timbral improvement wrought by the Superclock mods as euphonic. There is no sense of musical
detail being burnished; instead, the detail is rendered with a refined silkiness that makes debates
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of “accuracy vs. musicality” academic. I believe that great recordings need to be delivered in all
their glory, and with all their warts. This Black Gate capacitor upgrade is an important step along
the way to delivering just that in the world of DSD and SACD. I certainly would not want my SCD1 to be without it.
I must therefore quietly rave, my friends, about the Black Gate upgrade to the Sony SCD-1. It
isn’t as startling or quite as obvious as the Superclock/Superclock Power Supply upgrades, which
I consider to be sine qua non for SACD players that can be so modified, but its subtlety is
nonetheless requisite for being less apparent at first glance. It’s that second glance that seduces
you! If you can afford it after committing to the Superclock mods (which I consider to be essential
first steps), then by all means do the Black Gate capacitor modifications as well. You won’t regret
it. Do remember that you’ll need to let these caps break in for about 200 hours before they begin
to come into their own. Until then, be patient!
Conclusion
There’s nothing else to say. This is a great mod! The Black Gate capacitor modification therefore
rates a “Ye Olde Editor’s Highest Recommendation.”
Next up: Chapter 4, in which Ye Olde Editor has his resistors upgraded! Stay tuned….
For more information, and current pricing:
Audiomod
www.audiomod.com
[email protected]
503-659-6599
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Profundity and Contemporary Classical Music
by Bob Neill
Sofia Gubaidulina, Concerto for Viola; Gia Kancheli, Styx. Yuri Bashnet, viola; Valery Gergiev,
Orchestra of the Marinsky Theatre (DG 289 471 494).
I would like to try to recover a word for the language—profound. Like most superlatives, its value
has depreciated through application to virtually anything. In its original Latin form, profundus, it
meant deep, high, vast, obscure, perhaps all at once! Like most words, it originally had a purely
physical meaning, but soon enough, Roman writers grabbed it for its metaphorical possibilities,
then began the inevitable 2000-plus year process of turning it into the word we hold so cheap
today. I go through all this because I am happy to have discovered that its original meaning was
not just ”deep.” I would like to revive the word, at least for this occasion, in all of its original
meaning. I am interested in a small body of contemporary music that does not merely interest,
amuse, engage, challenge, frighten, divert, critique, please, or satisfy, but asks us to consider the
deep, high, vast, and obscure, all at once.
It is not necessary to write profound music to be a great composer. It is probably a good idea not
to try to write profound music if you don’t have the tools or the inclination. The profound
represents a tiny portion of human reality. Most of Mozart, for example, is brilliant, eloquent, and
engaging, but neither obscure nor vast. The world is currently awash with would-be-profound
music that expresses only the profound effort to be profound. Neither melodrama nor pathos is
profound, though they are mostly what we’re getting. Religion is not profound unless it has to do
with the exhilarating (or frightening) human experience of the eternal—doctrine by itself is not
profound, nor is doctrine plus noise.
I know of no profound music being written today in the Western Hemisphere, for reasons only
cultural anthropologists and philosophical historians may understand. The fat culture of America,
which longs only to gain more fatness or to criticize the same, is likely part of the problem, though
no profound music was written here before we got fat, so perhaps not. We may still be too young,
as Henry James suggested a century ago as he left for Europe. John Adams, on the evidence of
The Death of Klinghoffer, might surprise us someday, though Minimalism, even in the advanced
form that Adams has developed, is a major deterrent, to my ears. I am, alas, immune to
Minimalism’s approach to profundity through the minimizing of texture, thematic development,
and narrative flow, in an apparent effort to create a musical equivalent of meditation. Most fans of
Minimalism tend not to be fans of classical music, which should tell us something.
Western Europe?
Contemporary Western Europe seems more anxious and restless than deeply (or vastly)
disturbed or thoughtful. In the UK, there is some effort, but I don’t feel it’s getting anywhere. Most
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agree that a little Taverner or Macmillan goes a l-o-n-g way. Christian faith and a lack of creative
genius make a deadly marriage in a composer. Taverner has written a couple of pieces—The
Protecting Veil, for cello and orchestra, premiered eloquently by Steven Isserlis, and Icon of Light,
a choral piece recorded by the Tallis Scholars—that caught me upon first hearing but failed to
hold up during further listenings, when their artifice grew tiresome. They are tours de force that
finally embarrass the faith they seek to revive. New Age Noodling is nearby. I tried especially
hard with Macmillan, but finally found no redemption. The gnarled Birtwhistle, Ades, and
Firneyhough seem to understand better what is musically possible in modern Britain.
Across the channel in France, there is Boulez, who is too wise to reach for more than the times
and culture seem able to maintain. As a conductor, his Mahler brings out more of the decadence
of late German romanticism than the elegiac tragedy and spiritual transcendence Mahler seems
to have intended, if we are to believe Maestro Bernstein’s performances. (Come to think of it,
West Side Story may come to closer to profundity than any American music in its generation!)
Henze in Germany achieved something obscurely moving and powerful in his first six
symphonies and five quartets, but aiming for more through an exploration of the Holocaust from
within German experience in his Symphony Nine (for choir and orchestra), the effort collapses
into honorably good intentions, haunted by Britten’s War Requiem, which, in aiming for less (to be
fair, with less complex subject matter) achieves more. There is the younger German, Rihm, who,
at least in the music that I am familiar with, seems stuck in one of the least attractive corners of
contemporary composition. His quartets sound like an imaginative projection of “what it is like to
be a bat” (Thomas Nagel). He wrote a mass a year or so ago which may well be worth exploring;
perhaps the mass may cause the quartets to seem his Inferno, after the fact.
The Finns Aho and Sallinen have written some of the most interesting music being composed
today, but it, too, limits its reach to, if not the world we know, certainly a world we can manage
without losing our bearings. Saaraijo is far more daring, and certainly goes for the obscure. I
haven’t spent enough time with her music to know whether the obscurity points to something real
or is just for effect. The Sicilian Lucian Berio has composed some passionate, almost barbaric
music which, like that of Hungarian Kurtag, reminds me of Bartok. I’m sure Berio would shrug if
asked about profundity, but if “the way down and the way up are the same” (T.S. Eliot.
/Heraclitus), he need not shrug. Berio, among those contemporary composers I know in Western
Europe, is the only one who shares the provocative and searching power of the Eastern
Europeans and Russians I’ll get to below.
Breaking Through the Mask
What is wanting in all of this music is something to fight through the angst about (or satisfaction
with) the quotidian, to, as Melville says, “break through the mask” of everyday reality—and the
basic language of modernism—to what, if anything, is beyond. If that is our ambition, we will, at
least for now, have to go where the genius and the times seem to be in better alignment, to
Eastern Europe and European Russia, to find musical profundity that really works, and even
there it’s a bit of a struggle: Gorecki, Gubaidulina, Ustvolskaia, Part, Kancheli, Vasks, Oetvos,
Ligeti, Kurtag. In Poland, Hungary, the Baltics, and Russia’s St. Petersberg, Tatar Republic, and
Georgia, a generation of hardship and suffering seems to have worn off the protective shell that
keeps at bay both the tragic and the truly religious or spiritual visions that are essential to true
profundity. It seems to have begun with Shostakovich, particularly in his chamber music, or, for
Hungarians Ligeti and Kurtag, with Bartok’s quartets. Several musical geniuses have evolved
from these two powerful influences in search of something even vaster and deeper. Not all of
what they write is great music, to be sure; but some of it sounds like the real thing to me.
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Two of the most interesting of these composers are represented on a new release in Deutsche
Gramaphone’s bold and highly informative 21/22 [centuries] series, in which Yuri Bashnet plays
viola. Both works were written for him. One is by Sophia Gubaidulina, the other by Giya Kancheli.
Gubaidulina, Concerto for Viola
I have lived with this recording for several weeks now, seldom letting it out of earshot. It is “about”
a solo viola, which plays both apart and with an orchestra that, much of the time, is made up of
low strings. It is easy to be drawn to the desperate, plaintive, searching feelings Gubaidulina has
her soloist express—some of the music is not written out but improvised by the soloist—and to be
moved by how she shadows him with the strings, which sometimes seem to chant, sometimes
taunt like little gusts of wind, sometimes travel with him for a stretch. The close timbral
relationship between the solo viola and the chorus of other violas, cellos, and double basses feels
suggestive: “We are like you, you are one of us, but we can’t really help you.” The soloist, as he
stabs at melodic statement, has greater lyrical and expressive powers on his own. He is freer,
bolder. He can be surly, tentative, cocky, lyrical, gnarled. Why are we so drawn to him?
We can’t help but feel that this brooding piece is about the viola. It is always on stage. We get the
sense that we are hearing this sometimes husky, sometimes exquisitely wailing instrument
explore its full range of expressive possibilities. However, it is not a performer—while the viola is
squarely at the center of the tale of this piece, we feel as if we are overhearing him rather than
hearing him perform. This gives the piece an intensity, drama, and sense of seriousness that
concertos don’t usually have. We have the sense that the composer is reaching for more here,
pushing the medium, asking us to go with this character or voice, stay with it, see where it goes,
as it tries to break through the mask. This quality of the piece is clearly brought out by a
comparison with Berio’s Voci, where the viola is closer to the orchestra, with both the soloist and
orchestra playing music based on Sicilian folk music, and evoking a more social, even tribal
experience.
About three-fifths of the way into the Gubaidulina piece, which to that point seems to have no
time signature at all, the music turns into a furious dance reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Sacre du
Printemps. Low woodwinds, then brass, then all of the strings meld into it. The viola is an integral
part of the dance, sometimes distinguishable from the orchestra, sometimes lost in its midst.
Violas and high winds wail. The soloist picks up the wail, plays against the now relentlessly
whirling dance. Bass drums enter to secure the bottom. Then everything dies back to low-level
notes from the viola, and bells. The orchestra stirs, but stays in the background. Low brass and
tympani throb, then there is just the tympani, but with a barely audible plucking of the viola. The
viola then re-enters, alone, almost speaking. The low strings return, resuming their chant, then all
dies away, nearly to silence. The low brass and the viola in its low range resume, playing
together very quietly. Then nothing. Periodically, bells and a celeste come and go, bringing a
form of sonic light, though adding more intensity than peace. They are strange teases, given how
much of the piece is darker, far below their range. It is as if they are saying that the viola’s
passionate struggle is not the way. “Teach us to sit still.” (T.S. Eliot)
Is this Musical Profundity? If we listen around in Gubaidulina’s oeuvre and to comments she has
made about it, “profound” clearly means “spiritual.” Is this concerto spiritual or profound? I am
atheistic to the core, but to me the power of the piece has partly to do with the shadowing of the
viola’s conversation with the orchestra by the bells, the celeste, ringing softly, plaintively, within
reach but still unable to affect the proceedings. Is it because I have heard chimes in a church ring
when the host is raised by a priest? Or is it simply the sonic light they splash into the
predominantly dark, seemingly desperate musical discourse around them? I can’t say. The
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spiritual and profound include the religious but are not exhausted by it. All I can say is that I am
greatly moved. I recognize the quality of a spiritual search or struggle, such that the final descent
into silence feels like more than an ordinary defeat. I sense that a larger, vaster, deeper, higher
possibility has been suggested and then withdrawn.
Kancheli, Styx
Kancheli’s approach to profundity in music is more existential than Gubaidulina’s. If Gubaidulina’s
music sometimes seems a gloss on the religious poetry of T.S. Eliot, Kancheli’s feels as if it were
straight out of Melville or Dostoyevsky. Some of the most exquisite lyrical passages in all of
contemporary classical music are crossed with violent orchestral storms and contrasts. From the
opening bars, with the fortissimo entrance of the full orchestra and a pianissimo chorus following
in its wake, the difference is clear. Huge dynamic contrasts are Kancheli’s trademark. They are
easy to write off as melodramatic cliches until you listen to the rapturous lyrical beauty around
them that seems to invite them on. They have a cruel kind of continuity that keeps us from
sentimentalizing either the beauty or what crushes it. Profundity? Art succeeds or fails through
rhetoric, through its powers of persuasion. We say a piece “works” or that it does not based on
how much we are persuaded. I am usually thoroughly persuaded by Kancheli.
In Styx, the viola generally sings along with the orchestra or chorus, or both. This is not music
about the fate of an individual soul. The viola feels more like an elegiac spokesman for, or bridge
between, all that is around it. We are invited to take the piece’s title seriously, to consider the
whole work an elegy taking place on the shore of the river that leads from life to whatever lies
beyond. We have the sense that we are periodically looking across it, as far as our eyes can
reach into the vast darkness, then back at the life that has got us to this place. The words
Kancheli has given the chorus suggest more than they actually say. The choir laments the
mercilessness of time, then praises its mercy. It laments the recent loss, specifically and
explicitly, of Kancheli’s fellow Russian composer, Alfred Schnittke, who also wrote a viola
concerto for Bashnet.
The music is alternately fearful, joyful, lyric, plaintive, passionate, dancing, crawling. Toward the
end of the piece we are whirled into a vigorous dance that is almost literally the storm of life
before the calm of death, which then subsides into a moment of nearly inaudible breathing, then
there is a single mezzo-fortissimo chord by chorus and orchestra, then silence. It is as if all that
we know of life is gathered at the line that divides it from death, and in these moments tries to
come to terms with it. It is deep, high, vast, and obscure—one of the most protean examples of
musical profundity I know. It is not a statement of faith. It is a musical realization of a place and
moment in life in which faith is confirmed, or not.
The Recordings
The sound of this compact disc is exemplary: exquisitely clear, smooth, and impactful. Bashnet’s
viola playing demonstrates why composers who aspire to profundity line up to write works for
him. (The only competitor I know of is Kim Kashkashian, who has recorded Kancheli for ECM.)
The pairing of these two extraordinary examples of contemporary Russian music makes a fine
introduction to the work of both composers, a selected discography of whom follows.
Gubaidulina String Quartets, String Trio, The Danish Quartet (cpo 999-064)
The Canticle of the Sun and Music for Flute, Strings & Percussion, Pahud/Rostropovich, London
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Symphony Orchestra/Numajiri (EMI 57153)
In Croce; Quaraternion, Ten Preludes (Chandos 9958)
Alleluiam, Danish National Radio Choir and Orchestra (Chandos 9523)
Concordanza; Meditation on a Bach Choral; Sieben Worte (Berlin Classics 11132)
Offertorium; Hommage a T.S. Eliot, Boston Symphony Orchestra/Dutoit (DGG 427-336)
Stimmen…Verstummen—Symphony in twelve movements, Royal Stockholm
Philharmonic/Rozhdestvensky (Chandos 9183)
Johannes-Passion, Georgiev (Hannsler Classics 98.405)
Kancheli Concerto for Viola (also viola concerto by Alfred Schnittke), Kim Kashkashian, Dennis
Russell Davies (ECM 437-199)
Magnum Ignotum, for wind ensemble; Simi, for cello and orchestra, Rostropovich, etc. (ECM 462713)
Symphony 3, London Philharmonic/Welser-Most (EMI 55619)
Trauerfarbenes Land, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna/Davies (ECM 457-850)
Lament, Gidon Kremer, violin, Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra/Kakhidze (ECM 465-138)
Light Sorrow for voices and orchestra; Mourned by the Wind for cello and orchestra, France
Springuel, cello, Orchestra of Flanders/Werthen (Telarc 80455)
Symphonies 1, 4, 5, Helsinki Phiharmonic/DePriest (Ondine 829)
BACK TO TOP
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The Creative Art of Recorded Music–Translation,
Transduction, and Transformation
by Rick Gardner and David Robinson
Introduction
Virtually since our first meeting, David Robinson and I have explored (typically over good Port
and fine cigars) this collective passion of ours, which David has entitled Fine Audio. We have
long agreed that recorded, reproduced music, rather than being a diminished version of live
music, is its own art form. Agreement on this fundamental concept extends through the Positive
Feedback editorial community with some unanimity. In this article we would like to begin the
process of articulating this alternative viewpoint.
Our attempt will be multifold. First, we wish to articulate a set of basic principles that describe and
illuminate the art form of recorded music. Secondly, we want to invite participation, comment, and
debate from our readers. Third, we’d like to explore the phenomenon commonly referred to as
audiophile nervosa as a function of misplaced conceptual models about audio. Lastly, we want to
place the relatively new technology of Direct Stream Digital® (DSD®) and its delivery format,
Super Audio Compact Disk® (SACD®) in a context that elucidates its importance in this art form.
With SACD approaching mass-market availability through inexpensive players and increasingly
varied and more widely available software, it is time to begin exploring our ideas on this subject
more formally. The task will not be accomplished through a single article, but—closely akin to the
art form we describe—a nascent model will emerge in ever more clear detail through exploration,
dialogue, discussion, and yes, disagreement.
A Beginning
Perhaps the most straightforward method for beginning the process is a statement of our basic
precepts. We do not intend to offer a final, dogmatic model, but rather to remain true to the spirit
of community that defines Positive Feedback by offering the opportunity for exploration and
dialogue, and to incorporate our ongoing experiences into a living, dynamic model of the audio
arts.
Precept One
Recorded music is not, nor can it ever be isomorphic with the live event. The irrefutable basis of
this contention lies in simple physics—the representation (transduction) of a thing can never be
the thing itself. As with the Realist school of painting, even the most faithful rendering of a subject
remains a representation, and a representation from a specific perspective. In art, it is
representation that constitutes the art form itself.
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Using live music as an immutable reference from which to evaluate or judge recordings or
equipment is ephemeral and will always be so. Plays are not real life. Movies are not recorded
plays. A photograph is not a painting. Color and black and white photography are distinctly
different. A painting cannot be the thing it depicts. These are all discrete art forms. They are
perhaps similar in some ways, but each is unalterably different from the others, and each is valid
in its own way.
The process of recording music forever transforms it. Recording engineers are frequently not
much different from audiophiles, in that they have specific tastes and preferences. They take a
transitory event and create something new, a recording. The selection and placement of a
microphone is just as much a valid part of the creative process as the choice of a performer to
use a particular instrument, or to play a passage of music in a particular way. Add to this the
unassailable fact of the recording-studio-as-instrument. Approve of it or not, the vast majority of
recorded music makes no pretense of being a simulacrum of a live event. It is a product of a
recording studio. Even music recorded “live” must eventually pass through the recording studio
for mixing and mastering. At each stage—each transduction—a creative act occurs, and the
result is distinctly different from what preceded it.
Tyranny, Dogma and Superstition
It has long been held that fidelity is the goal of audio. We believe that this conceptual model,
which uses the live musical event as the sole true reference, is dogmatic, divisive, and
misguided, and has spawned many forms of conflict and insecurity within the audiophile
community. Not only does reproduced music not sound like the live event, individual sound
systems, regardless of their sophistication and quality, rarely sound like each other.
If an audio system reproduces music that is clearly and audibly different from the live event, and
clearly and audibly different from other systems (each claiming at least some degree of neutrality
and fidelity), we are left with inevitable, irresolvable conflict. If there is an absolute reference,
then—as with monotheism—there is, and can only be, one true method or approach. Tubes and
solid state amplification cannot peacefully co-exist—one is an apostate and must be treated as
such. Dynamic and electrostatic speakers cannot both be faithful. One must be superior. So, like
lightweight contenders, the various camps line up along their dogmatic leash lines, bare their
teeth, and begin again the endless and rancorous warfare. We believe this to be absurd and
destructive. There are many paths to enlightenment.
More insidious is the sadly dissatisfied audiophile who vainly tries over and over to recreate what
he or she has experienced in a live event within the confines of the listening room. This is a
pointless, frustrating, and ultimately misguided approach, guaranteed to produce insecurity,
despair, and poverty, and its tyranny is all-pervasive. We are not even allowed to have tone
controls, because we cannot be trusted to alter the “sanctity” of the experience. This belief, as
with many primitive religious rituals and superstitions, has its origin in history. Perhaps at one
time it was impossible to produce tone controls that had little if any deleterious effect. This is not
the case now. However, manufacturers still eschew them, knowing (or at least suspecting) that
audiophiles will interpret the addition of such a feature as sonically compromising. In many cases,
this will not be because they have any personal experience from which to make that judgment,
but because an authority figure has (a very long time ago) told them it is bad.
Frankly, this is fascist nonsense. If I order a meal at a fine French restaurant, I will TASTE it
before adjusting the seasoning. However, once they put the food in front of me, and it becomes
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mine, I’ll be damned if anyone is going to dictate to me what I do with it. You may abhor the fact I
like catsup on fried chicken... but I do. You don’t have to like it and I don’t have to defend it. It’s
my chicken.
Precept Two
The experience of recorded music is fundamentally different for individual listeners as a result of
sensory preference. My first review for Positive Feedback (Balanced Audio Technology VK-5i line
stage preamplifier/VK-500 solid state power amplifier) advanced this basic idea of sensory
preference, and the following is drawn generally from this review.
While we all sport basically the same sensory “equipment,” there are three primary sensory
orientations that effect how we listen, think, and even talk about the experience of listening to
recorded music, each with its own lexicon of adjectives. These sensory orientations are auditory
(harsh, mellow, screechy, sonorous, etc.), visual (transparency, vivid, image, shimmer, etc.), and
kinesthetic, a term that refers to emotional response, touch, proprioception, etc. (common
kinesthetic adjectives are slam, impact, rough, smooth, palpable, etc.). All humans have what is
(apparently) a genetic preference for organizing and representing subjective awareness in one of
these sensory modalities. Our sensory preferences have a profound effect on how we perceive,
understand, and represent subjective reality. Our “map” of the world is formed through the fabric
of our sensory orientation.
Logically, listening to music is primarily an auditory exercise. However, this does not mean each
of us processes or makes sense of what we hear in the same way. There are visual listeners
(translating sound into pictures), kinesthetic listeners (translating sound into feelings and body
sensations), and auditory listeners. This sensory orientation has a profound and largely
unconscious effect on how we experience recorded music. In order to form a working
understanding of this concept; think of a typical audio equipment review with this sensoryorientation idea in mind, paying attention to the sensory-based language choices the reviewer
makes. You should be able to quickly discern the primary sensory orientation of the author. I find
that many audio reviewers use predominantly visual adjectives to describe what they are hearing
(clear, image, transparent, resolution, depth-of-field, gloss, sheen, etc.). Many audiophiles talk
about having to listen in darkness so their internal pictures are not interfered with, and their need
to “see into” the sound stage.
These are perfectly wonderful adjectives and would obviously make sense to their visual readers.
However, there are many listeners for whom vision is not the predominant aspect of listening to
music. Presumably, many audiophiles are primarily auditory and kinesthetic. One can reasonably
argue that listening to music is an auditory/kinesthetic experience, not a visual one. That is, we
listen to artificially propagated sound waves and experience emotional and tactile responses.
The listener’s primary sensory orientation will skew their subjective responses to the sound they
are hearing. Once the sound gets past our ears and into the brain, anything can and frequently
does happen. I suspect primary sensory orientation affects both how we actually process music
and our tastes and preferences in its reproduction. For example, while “pinpoint imaging” and
“transparency” may be extremely important to a visual-based listener, “harmonic weight,”
“dynamic impact,” and “tonal warmth” are likely to be more meaningful to the kinesthetic listener.
The auditory listener will value “timbral accuracy,” “voicing,” and “tonal richness.” I have also
frequently noticed that highly auditory people are keenly aware of dynamics and are quick to
criticize systems that don’t “swing.” This is not just a matter of individual taste. It has to do with
the nature of individual subjective reality.
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Since we are all quite different at the sensorium level, an absolute reference is simply not
possible. The process of perception is as active as any other link in the chain. At an individual
level (because we experience recorded music in fundamentally different ways), even our basic
frames of reference are highly individualized. When I find myself perplexed at people’s
preferences for things audio I must continually remind myself it is not simple aesthetics at work
here, but the immutable fact that subjective sensory reality is highly variable and individually
constructed.
Precept Three
Recorded music is both a part and the result of a process, a series of interrelated but distinctly
different art forms (not all of which are musical), which interact with and are complemented by
each other. Using a Beethoven symphony as an example, there are nominally at least the
following art forms interacting with each other as we move from the exigenisis to the point at
which we are listening to recorded music in our homes. We anticipate the reader may raise an
eyebrow at what may initially appear to be a “stretch” including some of what we do, but the point
is important.
The art of musical composition.
The art of musical interpretation in conducting.
The art and science of the manufacture of musical instruments.
The performing art of playing musical instruments.
The art and science of architecture.
The art and science of acoustical engineering.
The art and science of the design and manufacture of recording equipment.
The art and science of recording, mastering, and mixing musical recordings.
The graphic arts.
The art and science of the design and manufacture of music reproduction equipment.
The art and science of industrial design.
The arts of wood, metal, and material working.
The art of assembling a system for reproducing music in the home.
The art of listening to and appreciating reproduced music.
It is this complexity that makes recorded music a wonderfully complex and variable art, and, at
the same time, provides the potential for endless sources of interest and entertainment. The
recorded music aficionado is not relegated to a simple two- or three-dimensional experience. It is
possible to approach the appreciation of recorded music from many points of view, each of which
must be considered as valid as any other.
Corollary One—Precept Three
The multi-faceted nature of the art of fine audio is reflected in the many orientations of
participants in the art. We have asserted that there are multiple, interactive, discrete art forms
involved in the art of recorded music. Our first corollary to this assertion is that there are multiple,
interactive, and discrete “orientations” or areas of interest within the art of Fine Audio, each of
which is perfectly valid. Below, we articulate some of the more obvious. Most audiophiles will
have characteristics within several of these basic divisions. However, most of us will have
observable preferences, even if we may not acknowledge them. It does not take much thought to
realize that these various orientations are likely to have a significant effect on how the listener
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experiences recorded music. Again, this makes an absolute reference impossible.
The Music Lover. This is a controversial term, often rancorously debated and used as a
pejorative (“He/she/it is NOT a music lover.”). However, this may not be the primary orientation of
all, or perhaps even most audiophiles. We have heard it articulated as clearly as, “Hey, I am an
engineer, not an audiophile. Frankly, I don’t listen to music all that much.” to observing
audiophiles with $100K systems and a handful of recordings, of which they listen only to certain
selections. Our point in saying this is NOT to present the Music Lover as the sine qua non of
audiophilia, but simply to articulate one of many primary and valid orientations within the hobby.
The Engineer. The equipment used to record and reproduce recordings is endlessly fascinating,
and there is great pleasure to be had in developing a scientific understanding of recorded music,
as well as an appreciation for the art and science of designing audio equipment. For many, the
equipment exists as at least a somewhat separate art form from the music.
The Musician. Many audiophiles are musicians, for whom fine audio becomes an extension and
enhancement of being a performer. It has frequently been observed that musicians have crappy
taste in audio equipment, and it can be a source of discomfort to audiophiles that performers
seem to have little interest in the equipment used to reproduce what they do. However, we are
convinced that musician listeners experience recorded music somewhat differently than the
average audiophile.
The Equipment Listener. Who among us does not possess certain recordings that are primarily or
solely used to demonstrate specific characteristics of our sound systems? We have all “listened
to the equipment.” From those who rhapsodize over their favorite NOS tube or esoteric phono
cartridge to those who constantly change interconnects, suspension devices, and so on, one of
the most common orientations is towards the performance of the equipment itself. Some assert
that it is this very thing that defines an audiophile.
Equipment as Jewelry or Statement. Fine audio equipment provides many with the same
pleasure of ownership as other quality possessions. It is apparent that this fact is not lost on
manufacturers. We have all seen audio equipment that draws comments of appreciation even
from people who have no idea of its function. Additionally, there is the pride-of-ownership factor
that accompanies the possession of a fine audio system. The acts of acquisition, possession, and
demonstration may be the most significant portions of the experience, and the equipment itself
can be a sensual delight.
The Equipment Specialist. There are audiophiles who have found their audio nirvana with certain
types of equipment. They even form social groups, as with vintage car owners. Examples include
the SET group and those who believe that electrostatic speakers are the only truly valid
transducers. Many audiophiles attach great significance to particular types of equipment, but
because of audiophile nervosa, cannot be content in their preferences without disparaging those
who chose a different path.
The Collector. One whose primary orientation is to collecting music recordings or the devices
used to record or reproduce them. One cannot listen to ten thousand recordings. Many
audiophiles own considerable numbers of recordings they have only listened to once, or not at all.
Some audiophiles have equipment that is not in use and retained for values other than
operational ones.
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The Trader. One of my audiophile friends is consumed with going to flea markets, yard sales, and
various other venues to try to find huge bargains on quality audio equipment (obviously, usually
vintage) and recordings. Some of these “finds” he will retain, most he cleans up, repairs, and sells
at a profit. Ebay, Audiogon, et al. have all become havens for equipment and music traders. For
some, this becomes an economic enterprise, for others the chase simply adds savor to their
enjoyment of the hobby.
The Historian. One who orients to recorded music from a historical perspective, developing
knowledge and insight into the people, events, and processes. While you might immediately think
of classical music listeners in this context, actually we find historians in every musical genre,
including pop and rock. We also see equipment historians, and even biographers, within this
category. We have all met audiophiles who can reel off model numbers and variants of
equipment made decades ago, and tell you who designed them, how long they were made,
perhaps even where they were constructed.
The DIY’er. There is a long tradition of audiophiles building their own equipment. The
combination of art, design, engineering, and economy is compelling to many, and adds a
richness to the art that can be enormously gratifying.
The Recording Engineer. Hobby recording and audiophilia are long-term bedfellows. Hobby
recording declined sharply during the early days of PCM digital, but we are a seeing a renewed
interest as digital workstations, CD burners, and sophisticated computer software has become
more affordable.
The articulation of these orientations is pointless without a purpose that goes beyond simple
categorization. For this reason, we reintroduce the concept of “community.” We assert that any
and all of these orientations are valid, and should not serve as value-laden divisions amongst the
audiophile community, but as a continued opportunity for enjoyment, learning, and growth.
While attending the 2001 VSAC conference in Washington State, I overheard a person comment
about the DIY show room, “I never really understood that these people are artists, and even their
designs are full of creative expression.” If we are not bound to a single immutable reference or
point of orientation, we are free to pursue and appreciate differences, and to relax.
Precept Four
The process of recording and reproducing music, while somewhat linear in practical terms, is
composed of repeated and interacting “feedback loops,” and is thus somewhat self-referential.
Composers frequently compose with the sounds of specific instruments as part of the process.
Recording engineers make specific choices around the strengths and weaknesses of their
equipment and the venues in which they work. Equipment designers are motivated (and
constrained) by available and familiar technologies. Various pieces of a musical reproduction
system interact with each other, sometimes in difficult-to-predict ways. This means that what
takes place during one part of the process can have profound effects throughout the entire chain.
Most importantly, it means that with every “transduction” we move further from the original event,
and in each transduction there are creative acts.
Precept Five
Throughout this complex, multi-stepped process, there are translations from the ineffable and
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emotional to the concrete and physical and back again. Recorded music is literally the result of
multiple, creative, generative acts. The composer takes something ineffable from the heart, mind,
and soul and creates something with palpable reality, a musical score. A conductor interprets this
physical “thing” and leads the translation back to a non-physical form, a performance. The
musicians interact with the composer’s score (a physical thing), the conductor’s interpretation and
guidance (an emotional and communicative thing), their instruments, each other, etc. The
recording engineer takes this event-in-time and creates a physical form (a recording), and so on.
While I might reasonably argue that certain portions of this process are preeminent, each step is
both a creative act and profoundly impactful. Moreover, in each step, there is both the opportunity
for both true art and feckless dross. A ham-handed conductor can reduce a brilliant score to a
murky mess. The finest conductor can be dragged into banality by the uninspired playing of
musicians. Well-designed and manufactured pieces of reproduction equipment can be assembled
in an artless and unsatisfying manner. Yet there is an equal opportunity at each step of the
process for something magical to occur. It is this dependency on the performers that is at the very
spine of any art form. Our contention remains that there are multiple levels of “performance” in
recorded music.
Precept Six
For whatever reason (and the reasons have been endlessly and acrimoniously debated), many
believe that analog reproduction has proved to be superior in capturing and translating the
musical event when compared to standard PCM digital. We believe this resides in the
comparative failure of conventional PCM technology to capture the emotional reality of the
recorded event, and to properly evoke the emotions of the listener. However, the fact that this
distinction is not universal has led many to assert that the problems with PCM digital are in its
execution rather than an inherent inferiority to analog. Presently, these arguments may be
rendered moot—we believe that the technological limitations of both PCM and analog are largely
resolved with DSD®.
Precept Seven
Direct Stream Digital® (and its delivery vehicle SACD®) provides the first fundamental, positive
evolution in recorded music since the adoption of the analog open-reel tape recorder in the mid1940s. With the advent of DSD® we have a technology that combines the ease and simplicity of
the compact disc with the resolution, musicality, and emotional integrity of the finest in analog
recording and reproduction, with few if any of the inherent limitations of either medium. We also
assert that DSD® has the capability of both superior recording and playback in comparison to
even the finest analog devices.
Precept Eight
If fully and appropriately implemented, DSD® can result in a reverse “wave” throughout this chain
that is recorded music. We believe that this wave may profoundly alter how we think about and
experience recorded music. From equipment design to recording technique, it is no longer
business as usual as people increasingly experience this new technology. It should also serve to
free performing artists from many of the obstacles presented by conventional analog and PCM
digital.
Precept Nine
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This most profound effect of DSD® lies in its ability to present the end user with a virtually
indistinguishable facsimile of the master tape, in a physical format that is widely known and
accepted, and backward compatible—the compact disc. David has coined the phrase “Master
Tapes for the Masses.” The profound possibility is that the end user now has a practical, massproduced equivalent of the master tape in his or her listening environment.
Furthermore, if the software manufacturers can remove their heads from their nether regions,
they will realize that hybrid SACD/CD manufacturing is the only viable way of the future.
Consumers can painlessly be introduced to this new, superior medium. There is no need for
retailers to have dual stock. Even at this very early stage, the production costs of dual layer are
only slightly higher than that of CDs. We see a simple scenario at the brick-and-mortar retail
music store level, which goes as follows:
A Model for the Transition
We have been watching CD prices climb to the $17.99 level with hardly a comment from
consumers. Somewhere between $17.99 and $19.99 is the magic level at which dual layer discs
become economically viable on a mass scale. So, even without any current domestic production
of dual layer SACD discs, we are still very close to being able to produce SACDs at the current
retail price of CDs. However, a dual layer disc represents a significant change in the value of the
product. This means the consumer stands to benefit enormously, and not simply to pay higher
prices.
Record companies are understandably apprehensive about the continually slowing market for
recorded music. They are also faced with a profound need for something to energize consumers
in a manner similar to the introduction of CDs. Fewer and fewer consumers see quality
distinctions in recorded music as an issue. Inured to PCM sound, they are no longer driven by the
desire to pursue listening as an art form, which was what spawned the audiophile movement in
the 1970s. Without something to balance this trend, consumers will continue to go down the path
of MP3, cheap or free downloads, and indifferent mass market equipment, and fine audio will be
the province of a tiny number of eccentrics, even more so than now.
Because consumers are very attracted to value-added products, the replacement of standard CD
inventories with dual layer will create a “pull” effect in the market. Imagine if you will, the typical
CD store, redolent with incense and tattooed and pierced children of the night. Mary Consumer
wanders over and notices there is a new Yanni disc in the rack. Oh joy! She clutches it to her
ample bosom and then looks at the cover with it’s gay silver “DUAL LAYER—HYBRID SACD”
sticker. She is puzzled but intrigued. She motions to one of the pungent clerks and asks, “What
does this mean?” pointing at the sticker. He replies, “Oh, man, you gotta hear this. Really trippy.”
And without the slightest technical description (owing, no doubt, to his highly altered condition),
he walks her over to a listening station comprised of several of the inexpensive multi-channel
SACD changers (similar to CD listening stations). He slides the Yanni disc in, and plops the
headphones on her. He selects the CD setting. “See man, these work fine on your CD player.”
Then he gets an evil grin. “But wait ‘til you hear this!” and switches to the SACD layer. Our
innocent consumer has an immediate eargasm.
She asks the clerk, “Holy shit, will this sound the same way on my player?” He brushes the
golden seal crumbs out of his beard and fixes her with a sad but knowing expression. “No babe,
but when you get another CD player, just buy an SACD player, you get the ability to play all your
CDs and you get multi-channel SACD, what you are listening to now, and they are CHEAP!" He
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points to a stack of boxes behind the register. “I can set you up with one and your life will never
be the same.”
Of course, she demurs . . .the first time. She goes home, listens to her Yanni disc, and keeps
remembering what she heard in the store. Each time she buys another disc, she sees that
sticker. Finally, the cognitive dissonance is too much. She breaks down and buys an SACD
player, and is now on the path to madness. The last time we see our consumer, she is grilling a
salesclerk about whether or not the tube amp she is considering has sufficient damping control
for her speakers. This is not only a practical scenario—it is one of the only truly viable ones left
for the record companies.
Back to beauty and truth
Beyond the merely practical considerations, we are faced with true magic here. This is profound.
Imagine, as a metaphorical illustration, that one could own reproductions of original master art
that are, for all intents and purposes, virtually indistinguishable from the originals—a Rodin
bronze, a Monet watercolor, a Rembrandt oil. Yes, there will always be subtle distinctions
between the master and the copies. What we are describing is practical equivalency.
Precept Ten
Due to inherent limitations in both analog and PCM digital technologies, throughout the recording
and reproduction process, it has been necessary or preferable to introduce deliberate
compensations or euphony into the process in order to achieve a more satisfactory result. We
believe that DSD® requires far fewer of these compensatory actions, and therefore allows for
greater fidelity to emerge. However, we can be assured that because we are all creatures of
habit, many people will simply turn away in favor of habitual preferences, even when faced with a
more honest alternative.
Caveats
We have made what we consider to be a relatively strong case for eschewing the use of an
absolute reference in judging recorded music and the equipment used to reproduce it. However,
if we stop here we will have conveniently avoided the apparent paradox between the subjective
experience of recorded music and the objective sciences that are intimately involved in its
creation. While theoretical physicists generally agree that there is little meaningful separation
between the observer and the phenomena being observed, the universe still appears to operate
in large part according to basic principles that are observable and replicable. This is the basis of
the scientific method. In other words, the truck bearing down on you may not be ultimately “real,”
but you are well advised to treat it as though it is. If we simply stop our discussion with the
positing of a variable and constructed subjective reality, we simply remove the sideboards of
science, rationality, and order.
Good engineering is based in science. To be sure, there are always things about which we do not
have compelling scientific explanations, but to the extent we do, it is generally wise to favor
explanations that are testable and repeatable. Unless we are deliberately seeking euphony, audio
equipment best serves the performance if it has low distortion, wide bandwidth, and sufficient
overall efficiency (including the loudspeaker in this determination) to more or less accurately
preserve the recorded waveform. However, there have been serious problems with that original
recorded waveform (frequency response anomalies, distortion, phase problems, audible noise
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artifacts, dynamic range limitations, etc.). Because of this, there has been an understandable
desire to manipulate the recorded signal in order to achieve a more pleasing and enjoyable
listening experience. Let us be blunt about this: When faced with choosing between “fidelity” and
“beauty,” most listeners will opt for the latter, even if it is with some discomfort.
Because SACD does not require the extreme measures used to make PCM and analog
listenable (if you don’t think analog requires such measures, check out RIAA curves some time),
we believe it will push designers and manufacturers toward equipment of wide bandwidth,
linearity, and fidelity.
Synthesis and Conclusions
We wish to draw some operational conclusions:
Recorded music is its own art form and it is a performing art form, with the end user markedly
more a part of the process than the typical observer of art generally is. We audiophiles don’t
simply hang a “painting” and look at it; we participate in the continued retransformation of the
“painting.” We are active partners in the creative process.
Recorded music (as an art form) is comprised of both art and science, and is defined by an
uncomfortable balance between the two. Slavish adherence to the scientific method in evaluating
and understanding recorded music is no more useful than a complete abandonment of science in
the lust for pure subjectivity, with its accompanying lack of guidelines and rational constructions.
If one is to pursue fidelity in the reproduction of recorded music, the master tape is the only
reasonable, common reference point. However, it is only a common reference point, not an
absolute reference.
At this point in time, Direct Stream Digital® has the greatest potential for fully capturing and
honestly rendering the recorded musical event.
Because of historical practices, there are compensatory steps, processes, and devices strewn
throughout the recording and reproduction chain that will take years to ferret out and undo.
Each audiophile pursues his or her own vision and artistic sensibilities. Each audiophile carries
within them a representation of the “true”’ sound and it is, for lack of a better word, the sound of
their own souls. Between beauty and fidelity, there is no contest for most of us.
Each audiophile is oriented to various parts of this complex art form, both as a way of creative
expression and to enhance enjoyment. None is superior to another.
Each performer in this complex art carries inside a representation of the ultimate expression of
the sound they are seeking, and tries actively to achieve this in performance. Each representation
is thus, by definition, different.
Audiophile nervosa is an unnecessary and maladaptive response to conceptually narrow and
unrealistic ways of thinking about audio.
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There is no “best” or “right,” but rather that which most completely touches the individual soul. We
should honor the paths that others have chosen as valid and meaningful for them. There is a
profound difference between “bad art” and individual preferences.
This is not a competition. We should not be pitted against each other in some sort of ghastly
artistic Jerusalem. We are a community of interest, and need to behave as such. Those who seek
to actively foment conflict and disparagement of other paths should be confronted or ignored and
isolated from the community.
Vigorous debate, disagreement, and dialogue are healthy and necessary for the advancement of
the art. As with much of life, true value lies in the diversity of human experience.
We look forward to an ongoing discussion of these assertions.
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olsonresponse
A Response to "The Creative Art of Recorded
by Lynn T. Olson
The steep downward spiral of audio during the Eighties can be laid at three doors: PCM digital
replacing quality analog, the ascent of the "accuracy" metaphor in the audio review lexicon, and
the malign influence of a de facto duopoly in audio review magazines. These three factors fed on
each other—the poor quality of early PCM was ascribed to supposedly greater "accuracy," as if
live music had any resemblance to CD sound, and the hegemony of the Big Two magazines
limited the terms of discussion.
The entire false "accurate versus euphonic" argument was predicated on the assumption that
CDs and transistors were somehow more “accurate" than analog sources and vacuum tubes.
This was a false and completely unwarranted assumption, based partly on a "new-is-better"
theory and partly on lower THD figures for transistors and PCM. A critical analysis of this
assumption appeared in the Japanese and French audio press, but the power of the duopolistic
American audio press prevented it from seeing the light of day until the early Nineties. It took the
early internet and "alternative" magazines like Glass Audio, Positive Feedback, Sound Practices,
VALVE, and Vacuum Tube Valley to seriously challenge the Big Two on their home turf.
The alternative magazines challenged both the Big Two and the mainstream high end industry of
the early Nineties. This led to a bitter counterattack from the established magazines and the
industry leaders. The most dangerous notion of all was that dedicated homebuilders could
graduate beyond the cheap-cheap-cheap mentality of previous decades and create works of art,
products that offered sonics not attainable at any price in the mainstream market. The concept of
artistic audio craft was taken for granted in Japanese magazines, but proved profoundly
unsettling for commercial manufacturers, reviewers, and dealers in the USA. This was the real
motive force behind the SET wars of the Nineties—the technology became a symbol, but
economics provided the real source of emotion and polarization. If the alternative magazines
hadn't challenged the economic basis of the American high end industry, the concepts of the SET
community would have been much less controversial.
The SET/mainstream war didn't really end until home theater and the Japanese recession of the
Nineties hollowed out the American high end industry. Prestige 1000-watt amplifiers and 300-lb.,
$50,000 speakers still appear at CES with the regularity of spring flowers, but these are symbolic
offerings to the handful of Big Two reviewers who haven't started writing about home theater. The
striking thing about the American mainstream is its intellectual stagnation over the last twenty
years. Where are the new amplifying devices? Where is the breakthrough speaker technology?
Where are the new circuits? For that matter, who's even talking about circuits instead of
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proprietary, encapsulated smoke-and-mirrors?
By contrast, the SET folks (along with the closet p/p triode enthusiasts) are digging up circuits
and devices over an eighty-year span of technology, and having a heck of lot of fun doing so. It's
all up for grabs—mesh-plate triodes, battery-heated filaments, mid-Thirties Western Electric
circuits, and much more. Are these arcana audible? You bet! It turns out there were scores of
brilliant innovations that fell by the wayside over the decades.
Now we can apply sophisticated computer modeling and advanced measurement techniques that
were undreamed of when the old-time ideas were first tried. We can apply new and old at the
same time. Who would have thought in 1990 that some of the best sound of the new millennium
would turn out to be Sony DSD amplified by all-directly-heated-triode electronics? Why not? If
triodes are the most linear devices made, why fight it? Some things were created in almost ideal
form from the outset, while other took much, much longer to get satisfactory results. It's a
sobering thought that the Rice & Kellogg transducer may need a full century to see its full
potential, while triodes reached near perfection by the mid-Twenties. What we saw after that was
more power, more efficiency, less heat, etc., etc., but never better linearity.
Audio enthusiasts have much more freedom of choice than ten years ago. Audio may not attract
venture capitalists (remember them?), but the rest of us are free to discover a satisfying artistic
expression. North American audio is maturing from a consumer-driven hobby and becoming a
craft. If there was a message from the 2001 VSAC, it is surely that.
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franklandresponse
A Response to Gardner and Robinson
by Scott Frankland
I read your essay with much interest. In it, a large number of important ideas are organized in a
manner that emphasizes a number of key points. Among these key points, I was most struck by
your analysis of “taste” in audio. From now on I will be on the lookout for adjectives in equipment
reviews that hinge on visual, auditory, and kinesthetic categories of perception! I was also
impressed with the argument that unfolded from these distinctions. As I interpret it, this argument
was meant to support your premise that fidelity to the live event as the goal of audio is inherently
flawed:
“... reproduced music [does] not sound like the live event…."
“The process of recording music forever transforms it.”
“At each stage, each transduction, a creative act occurs and the result is distinctly different from
what preceded it.”
“…with every ‘transduction’ we move further from the original event.”
Your logic goes something like this: absolute fidelity cannot be obtained because there are too
many transformations involved in the replication process. Hence, there is too much margin for
error (what you call “creative acts”). Further, even if the live event could be perfectly replicated,
we would never be able to agree on whether it was accurate or not, due to our individual hearing
preferences. Your argument concludes with this summation:
“Since we are all quite different at the sensorium level, an absolute reference is simply not
possible.”
As you say, the act of recording and reproduction depends on transformations. These
transformations depend upon transducers. By the same token, our perception of the world
depends on transducers—our sensory organs are biological transducers. They filter and focus
the world in specific ways. Now, as a rule, we trust them implicitly. Nonetheless, few of us trust
our hearing to the same degree that we trust our vision.
For example, a large audience of listeners, seated in the same auditorium, can all agree that
what they are hearing is live music. But what happens when you blindfold these listeners and
lead them into the auditorium with the proviso that they will either be hearing live or reproduced
sound? In many demonstrations during the 50s, it was found that a large number of listeners
couldn’t tell the difference. (Editorial, Audiocraft 1:7, May 1956.) When we open our eyes, we can
all agree that the sound is either live or reproduced (those of us who are not blind, that is). There
is no disagreement because we can all see what is what. When we are blindfolded, however,
disagreements occur.
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Now fast forward the timeline of technology. When the time comes, holograms may be so
sophisticated that they seem real to us. What then? If we cannot trust our own vision, what can
we trust? I submit that what we will trust in the future, at that time when we can no longer discern
real from virtual, is of the same nature as that which produces the virtual. In other words, we will
trust machines—machines that have been programmed to tell only the truth, machines that have
been refined to sense objects at far deeper levels than our biological senses'
I am postulating that there will come a time when we will trust machines to tell us when
something is virtual, even when it seems perfectly real to us. That will be the day when none of
us can be sure that what we are hearing or seeing is real or virtual—and that will be the day when
an absolute reference breaks the tie. To put it bluntly, that reference will be confirmed, not by a
set of ears, but by a machine. You say you don’t believe that day will ever come? Consider the
following ad placed on the World Wide Web by Rio: “With your free Rio600 MP3 player get the
latest bestsellers delivered right to your head!” In the future, this statement may literally be true.
Now consider DSD. DSD is a transduction-like process (ADA) performed by a machine. Is DSD
art or science? Clearly it is almost totally a result of science. So will virtual reality machines be,
one day.
Everything else in your argument as regards art remains valid. There is no reason why science
should subsume art, if art is what we prefer. And by the same token, there is no reason why
science cannot be preferred. It is simply an individual decision. As you say, “There are many
paths to enlightenment.” For this reason, I ask you to please not exclude the path to higher
fidelity. Scott Frankland ([email protected])
Further Reading:
Davis, Tom. “The High-End at the Razor’s Edge,” The Absolute Sound, No. 104.
Frankland, Scott and Brian Hartsell, “The Magic of Design and Synergy, Part II,” Positive
Feedback, Vol. 5, No. 6; continued in Positive Feedback Vol. 6, No. 5. This article was also
published in The Audio Adventure, Vol. 2, Nos. 8, 9, and 10, 1995.
Frankland, Scott and Brian Hartsell, “Audio Impressionism,” The Absolute Sound, No. 111.
Hartley, H.A. “Aesthetics of Sound Reproduction,” WirelessWorld, July/August 1944.
Olson, Harry F. “Psychology of Sound Reproduction,” Audio, June 1972.
Pearson, Harry. “The Audio Atheists vs. the Sound of Reality,” The Absolute Sound, No. 101.
Reichert, Herb. “The Third Eye: Connoisseurship for the Next Century,” Positive Feedback, Vol.
5, No. 6.
Rosenberg, Harvey. The Search for Musical Ecstasy, Image Marketing Group, Stamford,
Connecticut, 1993.
franklandresponse
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davisresponse
by Tom Davis
In the interest of provoking discussion, I’m going to locate some fissure lines in Rick’s piece that,
with enough pressure, might yield more insight into the audio arts. I certainly agree that recorded
music is its own performing art, and I agree that the listener is active in that performance, though
Rick needs to rethink his reductive remark about painting: I, for one, don’t just “hang a painting
and look at it” as if that “looking” was somehow like the passive absorption of starring at a
television screen. How, then, is the listener active?
At the end of “Precept One” we find talk of “taste,” and Precept Two’s opening line is “The
subjective experience of recorded music is fundamentally different among individual listeners as
a result of sensory preference.” This thought is extended by the claim that “All humans have what
is (apparently) a genetic preference for organizing and representing subjective awareness
primarily in one of these [auditory, visual, kinesthetic] sensory modalities.” Well, appearances
here are deceiving. “Sensory preference” is only “genetically” prior for a listener who actively puts
sound before the claim of music, since to hear “sound” in the analytic ways listed you have to
abstract from what you first hear, from what actually claims your attention, which is music, not
sound. Indeed, the active intervention, the abstraction necessary to put sound first is itself
governed by different interpretations of just what is important about sound. Rick’s list of the
different “participants” in the audio arts that begins with “The Music Lover” (I wish he had
seriously begun with loving music) and runs to “The Recording Engineer” is the place to begin to
see just how important different interpretive frameworks are, and how “sensory preferences” get
actively shaped way before you can isolate pure “sensory input” itself. The effort necessary to
isolate “pure” sensory input only gets made for conceptual reasons that have nothing to do with
music. In sum: To try to anchor “sensory preference” in the genes mislocates the heart of the
activity of participating in the claim of music.
Next fissure: the tension between the rhetoric of “each (fill in the blank) is valid” and the longing
for a “common reference point” that is still not an “absolute standard” (see the third conclusion).
Rick thinks it is misguided to use “the absolute sound” as an absolute standard. I agree. I’ve
always thought the most interesting thing about the title of The Absolute Sound was HP’s use of
an exclamation point: the abso!ute sound, for me, meant there actually is a standard in listening!
Harry just got the standard wrong. It’s not sound, it’s what I call “the claim of music.” Rick really
wants a standard too, but he finds himself caught between that desire and the one at work when
(just before Precept Six) he writes, “there is an equal opportunity at each step of the process (of
recording and reproducing music) for something magical to occur,” whereas four sentences
earlier he wrote “While one might reasonably argue that certain portions of this process are
preeminent....” Yes, one might, and if one does, you can’t have it both ways—one portion of the
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process can’t be preeminent when all portions are supposed to be “equal opportunities” for magic
to occur. “Preeminent” and “equal” don’t go together. Or rather, they could go together if you are
willing to grant that a recording engineer can be creative in finding solutions to this or that
problem in reproduction, but that kind of creativity is not “preeminent” in relation to that which
takes place as the composer puts notes down on the page. But, really, is there a recording
engineer who would not agree that Beethoven’s kind of creativity is preeminent to what he or she
does? (If there were one, he or she would no doubt work for some “audiophile” recording
company.) It’s fine to acknowledge different kinds of creativity as long as you don’t lose sight of
their real differences. Art is neither egalitarian, nor radically (sensorily) subjectivist.
The “standard” that actually emerges from Rick’s piece is the use of the master tape as “the only
reasonable common reference point” (again see the third conclusion). Common reference point
for what? For “pursuing fidelity in the reproduction of recorded music.” Well, okay. Now ask: what
is fidelity itself in the service of? After all, it’s not an end in itself, is it? I mean, while it could be an
end in itself for, say, the recording engineer (though I suspect that would make, in the end, a bad
recording engineer), surely fidelity is a notion that means being true to something else, not being
true to itself. So what is that “something else”? Rick offers us the master tape, and that’s fine as
far as it goes, but the master tape itself is in the service of something else—the musical event,
and that is in the service of, yet again, what I call the claim of music. To lose sight of this “chain of
fidelity” is the first step to becoming an audiophile, to fatefully putting sound before music.
I don’t want to underplay an important notion here, one that I believe Rick is addressing in his
promotion of the master tape and DSD. “Distortion” is real, and I agree that “fidelity” means
reducing distortion at each link in what I just called the “chain of fidelity.” So, for example, I use
David Berning’s Siegfried because it’s the lowest distortion amplifier I’ve yet found for
reproducing the human voice. (There may be lower distortion devices at the frequency extremes
of human hearing.) I want to listen to the human voice as a vehicle for the claim of music, so I
want as little distortion as possible introduced into how voices can articulate that claim. What is
genuinely interesting about the audio arts is learning how to so reduce distortion. What is
depressing about the audio arts is the blind introduction of new kinds of distortion (both “physical”
and “conceptual”) into what it means to listen to the claim of music.
Rick really does have an “absolute reference” in his list of conclusions, and, for all I know, his use
of the term “beauty” may well be getting at what I’m pointing to with “the claim of music.” Beauty
is the appearance of such a claim, but the claim is not reducible to beauty itself. Rick’s absolute
reference is “that which most completely touches the individual soul” (his tenth conclusion). This
“touches,” I suspect, relates to my use of “claim,” but another fissure line is at work here, so let
me quote his tenth conclusion in full: “There is no ‘best’ or ‘right’ here but rather, that which most
completely touches the individual soul. We should honor the paths that others have chosen as
valid and meaningful for them. There is a profound difference between ‘bad art’ and individual
preferences.”
Bad art begins with putting “individual preferences” first, and I suspect there’s a fundamental
confusion going on in this quotation over just what an “individual soul” means as far as art is
concerned. The ecstatic dimension of art precisely means that you are taken out of yourself for
the sake of the claim of the work of art itself. You can’t hear that claim while literally being
yourself, that’s the point of its being ecstatic. “Individual preferences” reduce that claim to a
matter of entertaining your personal “psychology,” and that’s one definition of bad art. There’s lots
and lots of bad art nowadays, just like there’s lots and lots of confusion over just what a “soul”
can mean. You don’t have a soul, you are a soul; and you are a soul precisely when you find
yourself ecstatically set aside for the sake of, say, the work of art. Surely the most depressingly
davisresponse
thing about “being an audiophile” is convincing yourself to be ecstatic over sound as an end in
itself. This does not mean that “audio arts” is an oxymoronic expression (and moreover a corrupt
one), it just means that “the arts of audio,” when they are good art, are in ecstatic service to the
claim of music. When they are so ecstatic, they invite listening in ways not available by other
means, meaning they open new possibilities for articulating the claim of music. It’s that kind of
soulful creativity that deserves an exclamation point!
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ebaenresponse
by Srajan Ebaen
I enjoyed the dialogue on the creative art of recording music, and felt inclined to offer my own rap
on the subject of creativity. Calling anything an art immediately, and by implication, invokes the
process of creativity. One translation of creativity is “giving life to,” i.e., giving birth to an idea or
vision or sensory input such that it can be perceived and appreciated by others. Like healers,
creative people are usually aware that inspiration or ideas—the equivalent of true healing—aren’t
their own. Rather, the artist has learned the knack of tuning in, of entering a zone wherein
inspiration happens. Translating inspiration into form depends on the artist’s craft, the part he
can—as a result of training, practice, and experience—rightfully claim as his own. Inspiration and
craft need to conjoin to produce results. It is more accurate to call the creative process an act of
co-creation, or “creating with,” since the original impetus—inspiration and motivation—is beyond
the control and volition of the artist, and is in fact not a result of self-effort. If “giving life” (bringing
into three-dimensional manifestation) is the raw principle of the creative force, then creative acts
of any sort call upon a religious component, and people engaged in any act of creativity become
actively religious by this very definition. How so?
Surely, none of us are self-created. We find ourselves in bodies given to us, endowed with
feelings and thoughts mostly not of our own conscious design, and living in a material world that
existed before we showed up to perceive it. Being creative means entering into partnership with
the creative force at the root of all phenomena. Calling it “divine” or “life force” or “The Great
Unknown” is merely citing unsatisfactory conventions, failed attempts to point at something real
yet elusive. It becomes real only through the process of participation, and remains forever elusive
to attempts at dry conceptualization.
Existence presents us with a body-mind to experience with as we see fit. It also provides us with
impulses, ideas, and visions that play upon this psychophysical mechanism to trigger certain
responses. The creative process we call art is a dance that requires two. As artists, our
contribution to this dance is our craft and the prior willingness, need, or desire to become
available to inspiration, to pursue it, to make space to invite it again and again. With these
ingredients in place, inspiration can grab us by the wrist and tango across the floor of our inner
space.
What underlies our willingness to join this dance of creativity? A desire to share. Ask any
artist—the need for an audience, even of one, is very powerful indeed. Why would that be so?
Perhaps because the process becomes still more rewarding when it continues, like water that
goes on flowing rather than stagnating behind a dam. Art then becomes not only a co-creative act
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creative avenues in turn. Surely, the uniqueness of sensory perception between individuals, how
these perceptions are interpreted, and what they stimulate in response, are themselves acts of
creativity, albeit unconscious.
Look at our subject. The audio arts involve machines. Humans invented machines to do what we
couldn’t or no longer wanted to do ourselves. Over-reliance on machines tends to de-stimulate
the twitching of our own co-creative muscles. Undoubtedly, the recording artist is fully aware of
his co-creative powers and responsibilities, in that he actively interfaces with the equipment and
musicians. In the studio, he’s concerned with where and how to place the players, what
equipment to assign to each. He’s actively involved in calibrating, monitoring, and adjusting his
gear. The equipment becomes a tool in the service of the creative process—the writer’s
keyboard, the painter’s palette, the dancer’s body.
The listener in possession of the recorded product also needs equipment to translate this creative
testament back into the domain of the senses. However, his active involvement with audio
components stops once he’s completed his purchases and has them set up to his satisfaction.
Now he hits “play” and considers his job done. The audiophile obsession with gear is likely a
subconscious remembrance that the listener ought to engage in the co-creative process. While
his components are unquestionably a necessary part of the equation, the other vital part is his
body-mind, his attention, and his emotional participation in the listening process.
When we speak about the music lover, we really mean the listener who is naturally or
automatically inclined to enter the co-creative process. As Tom Davis points out, this inevitably
involves a kind of transcendence of the persona (literally “mask”), to enter the realm of becoming
a palpable part of Being. This entrance always has the flavor of ecstasy, of “standing outside” the
limiting notion of self, of being a conscious part of something greater. That’s the meaning of the
word participate—to become a part of, to partake. As part, we’re naturally smaller than that which
we’re a part of. This very cognition—of our own insignificance in the face of vastness—is
strangely liberating. Call it a healing perspective. Strangely enough, we’re also pretty significant.
Without our showing up for this experience, existence wouldn’t be recognized. It needs us to find
itself in our experience.
When we speak about the audiophile, we point to the person who is perhaps overly fixated on
audio components, as though by themselves they could create the powerful emotions that induce
self-forgetfulness and states of happiness or deep feeling. Obviously, audio components cannot
do that. Machines don’t create feelings. Audio machines can certainly trigger them, but the
listener endowed with the buttons the components are supposed to push needs to establish the
hot-wire connection. His place in the dance of two is between the sound emanating from his
speakers and the musical message embedded or encoded in the sound. Sound translates into
music that plays upon his feelings. Viewed as such, we can appreciate the passing of the buck.
Something is passed along from the musician to the recording artist to the listener. It’s an
invitation to participate, to become creatively involved. As surely as entering a room changes the
number of people in it, participation changes that which is participated in.
An audience affects the performers. A recording artist adds his imprimatur with the choices he
makes. A listener enters the same stream each time he plays that record. Unlike the musician or
recording artist, the listener may remain unaware of the creative current he’s standing in. If so, he
will remain a discontent audiophile who places the entire burden of the co-creative process on the
machines. A music lover tends to be less interested in the equipment. In many ways, he has
assumed responsibility for his experience. It makes the equipment a very secondary ingredient,
one he may barely acknowledge. When he enters states of depth, happiness, or ecstasy simply
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by listening to music—temporarily transcending the strangulating personality—he accomplishes
something that traditional meditators have entered monasteries for, signing up for lifetimes of
navel gazing and austerity.
It’s perhaps not too farfetched to consider the recording artist as a kind of modern priest. He’s the
mediator between the divine and the human, the Divine in this case the creative process begun
by the musician. Without him, the original event would be nothing more than a brief flicker of light.
Without him, the fading afterglow in the hearts of the audience would mean the dimming and
eventual extinction of that light. Through his craft, the recording engineer keeps the light alive.
However, as encoded on a CD, this light exists as a mere potential. To be rekindled and stoked
to heated intensity requires the appropriate gesture by the listener. It’s his participation that lights
the wick. You could say then that for the music lover or the properly oriented audiophile, the
listening room becomes a temple, the equipment a sort of altar, or focus—a meeting ground for
deep experience, with music the catalyst. Ask any meditator. He deeply appreciates the
helpfulness of an environment in which to pursue such experience, shielded from the challenges
of the noisy marketplace. The habit of listening to music in the seclusion of one’s home is, in
many important ways, more conducive to this experience than the life event, with its natural
distractions. If properly approached, music listening is a natural form of meditation, with
meditation understood as a process that results in a fading of the persona temporarily overlaid or
brightened with a sense of emotional expansion.
This is the key point. It suggests that conventional notions of religious or spiritual life
unnecessarily and wrongly abstract this process, placing it out of reach in the heavens or persons
of uncommon orientation when, in fact, it’s something enacted and enlivened each time we enter
creativity in its myriad forms. But before we limit creative endeavors to popular notions, let’s
remember that the motivating force of creativity is sharing, and sharing itself is motivated by love.
We can now say that any acts carried out with love and a desire to share are creative. They bring
something out of the unmanifest realm and into form. Truly, it’s not so-called artists that have a
monopoly on creativity. Each person who participates fully in that which life presents has entered
the co-creative process. People that live their lives in fullness—however it manifests—are Artists
of Life. Doesn’t that sound a hell of a lot more fun, and juicier, than whipping your back with
thorns or retreating into some clammy Yogi cave?
If you think your life is lacking in the spiritual dimension, consider that all the ingredients
necessary to enter it are already in place. The only thing required is to say yes, yes, and yes
again, to participate fully. Challenges tend to stimulate creativity far more strongly than endless
beach vacations with no inherent demands. Should you suspect that your audio system is
lacking, you can put 1 + 1 together and admit that if you lubed some of your emotive buttons and
picked the right music at the right time, your rig might not be to blame at all. Thanks are then due
to all the professionals who have made it their mission to capture such a surprising likeness of
the sonic dimension of the original event. Getting triggered is really much easier now than it
would have been in the bygone days of crappy audio and scratchy mono records.
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mcmaddresponse
by Mad Jack McMadd
"Nothing is True, Everything is Permissible"
- Hassan i Sabbah
The notion that there is an actual, absolute reference against which we can measure the
performance of audio components or systems immediately sets everyone up for failure, because
the philosophy requires the function of a universal aesthetic constant where one does not exist.
So we are left with a transactional event whereby, through force of congress and compromise, we
may agree that "such and such" is actually "such and such" or at least can usefully function as
"such and such"—but only within the limitations of the chosen model. Beyond that contract (which
compromises the individual sensibility in favor of an "average" sense) there lies the truth that no
two people experience the same event in the same way.
Accept that the Map is not the Territory, the Menu is not the Meal, and the Recording is not the
Event (see: General Semantics). Freeing one's self from the safety of the Dogma (axiomatic
assumptions of popular sonic philosophy) will remove both fear and guilt, and open up a greater
capacity for experiencing joy. Gizmo's liberating message encouraged this kind of guiltless
ecstasy. Break the rules, learn what is possible, get what you want. Apostasy can be your ticket
out of mediocrity. Don't think … just jump. It starts getting much more interesting the moment you
truly listen through your own ears (and heart) and realize that your trip is YOUR trip.
Recommended Reading:
Quantum Psychology, Robert Anton Wilson
The Commanding Self, Idries Shah
The Search for Musical Ecstasy, Harvey Rosenberg
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aurioville4
Auroville, 4
by Srajan Ebaen
Today’s stream-of-consciousness crisis starts off with a question. It’s been bothering me
lately—again. Say you were shopping for speakers. You’d do the usual tour through the local
theater of retail operations. Narrowing down the prospects—possibly predetermined by exposure
at shows or friends or a review-based short list—you’d ideally contract for a home demo with the
dealer and model of your choice. Settle down for an eagerly anticipated, cover-all-bases audition
in your living room.
How long before you’re expected to make up your mind?
If in-store, a few hours—tops. Perhaps more if accrued over a coupla visits. If at home, two days
over the weekend. Speakers due back in the store on Monday. That’s what the man said. The
stakes? Just your hard-earned moola, my friend. Nothing more.
Now let’s turn you into a reviewer. You’re doing a speaker assignment. How long before the
manufacturer should reasonably expect publication of said review? How long before your Editor
should get suspicious, demand that you hand in your outstanding report, or else? (Or else what?
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aurioville4
He could fire you—afterwards. But first he needs your written tome to fulfill his obligation to the
manufacturer. Chances are he’ll prod you softly rather than assault you with a highly charged
cattle prod. So take some more time. Enjoy. You could never afford ‘em anyway. Listen while the
going’s good.)
Let’s leave this scenario open-ended for a moment. Take a detour for some scenery. When I was
still in manufacturing and charged to procure reviews for my employers, it never occurred to me
to press for turnaround times. Being a wide-eyed greenhorn, I wasn’t even exactly sure what was
proper etiquette to land “the” review. There certainly weren’t any self-help books to guide the
budding audio sales manager through the ropes of handling the press (Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em,
join ‘em—now I’m pressed. There’s justice after all.)
Thankfully, there was common sense and experience, though not always in that sequence.
InterNet publications gained credibility to offer valid alternatives to print. The modus operandi of
the older establishment—thus far unchallenged part-of-the-package status quo (“the nature of the
beast”, perhaps decried and lambasted in private but still accepted with a brave smile as the way
it was)—suddenly became undermined. It no longer was the only game in the small village that is
High-End audio.
I distinctly remember shock at being told, unsolicited no less and for the first time, like a virgin,
that an on-line review would publish approximately four months after receipt of product. Slowly
the repercussions registered. I began to question the formerly unquestioned—and at times
absolutely massive—delays I had experienced and been warned about elsewhere. But it was to
take many more years before I gained the requisite ruggedness of character to make turnaround
time mandatory part of the candidly negotiated upfront deal.
If I ship you said piece, how long ‘til the review hits? I get a fact-check copy before then. I want a
manufacturer’s reply. I want permission to reproduce the review on our website if we so chose,
quote excerpts for possible future ads. What equipment will you be using? How big’s your room?
How good’s your hearing? (That I didn’t dare ask.) I want a guarantee. If anything goes wrong,
you contact me immediately so we can address the issue expediently and professionally. Don’t
call some service tech at the factory or some local guy. Talk to me. Also, I need receipt
confirmation after the piece is hooked up and you’ve ascertained that everything’s hunky dory…!
Golly gee, did I lose my good graces? Did I turn into a demanding prick? What about that
carefully cultivated and profuse gratitude, for the mighty honor that these magazines would deign
to review my stuff?
Did I lose what?
How about gaining perspective?
I simply wised up. Let’s get back at the unanswered question: How long should a reviewer be
expected to listen before he can render definitive judgment? As a consumer, you have a few days
at best. Then the dealer demands you shit (golden bricks) or get off the pot. Why are certain
experts at liberty to take months and months, at times exceeding a full year?
Does it really take ‘em that long? Or, is the stuff just sitting in a garage waiting its turn, formal
audition concluded in a few weeks when the guy finally gets around to it? If so, why requisition
the product so far ahead of time? Doesn’t someone have the common courtesy to appreciate that
aurioville4
sending $4000 amps or $6000/pr of speakers out on loan—to possibly be returned in less than
100% mint condition—is quite the burden on its maker?
Let’s give ‘em the benefit of the doubt, Say said gear was not hastily requisitioned. Why then
does a golden-eared expert take forever, requiring far more time than a less experienced
consumer? After all, the consumer lives with the results of his decision forever (or at least until
the upgrade bug bites and the checking account refills). The reviewer merely asks for a call-tag
pickup. What kind of business ethics are these? And when the manufacturer dares inquire about
review status, he’s stonewalled. No communication between reviewer and manufacturer until the
review hits.
But then you figured that you were a small and upcoming firm. Don’t shit where you eat. Bite your
tongue, practice patience. You live longer, Confucius claims. Perhaps, but what about business?
In the garishly decorated grotto of my mental Tropicana bar, such ruminations have been
pestering the regulars sipping their colorful cocktails. These questions have not been answered
satisfactorily. Or perhaps, they haven’t been asked enough. While I can’t speak for any other
writer or publication but for myself, I’ll simply share my thoughts on this pesky subject.
Here goes. If I clear the gates by stating “A professional reviewer should” then a brief explanation
of the term “professional” is in order. The accepted difference between amateurs and
professionals is that the latter do “it” for a living—hard cash to put it more crassly—while
amateurs do it for the sheer sport. Most established print magazine writers fall into the pro
category while half or more of the InterNet writers—yours truly included at this time—are
amateurs.
You could expand the definition though. By default of volume, consistency and quality, an un- (or
very poorly) paid amateur writer might sooner or later give the impression of being a
professional. He or she might then be accorded the accompanying privileges as well as being
held to the same high standards of conduct, responsibility and criticisms. Call it a perception
issue. A raise without pay.
These lines are obviously blurry. That might explain why certain writers are judged more harshly
than they rightly should. Others are let off the hook too easily. It’s applying the same boilerplate
standards when what’s more appropriate on closer inspection is a distinction or demarcation.
So here goes again. A professional reviewer should have the acuity of hearing and the necessary
time at hand to complete an assignment in 30—60 days. Lean toward the lower end if gear is
received fully broken-in, toward the higher if requiring preconditioning. Much longer and one
might as well question what makes him an expert.
He should possess the requisite tools to do his job. This requires a listening room suitably sized
and optimized for good sound. Preferably it’s pictorially documented for reference (easier done
on-line with a link to an archived bio section than in print). If the room were a mere 12” x 14”, fullrange speakers should be the rare exception, not the norm. Even as the exception, they should
serve only as sidebar opinion to another writer endowed with the appropriate space.
While this seems so obvious as to not even merit mention, manufacturers who’ve been to places
and seen certain things tell me it’s not. Part of the writer’s tool kit outside the room should be a
variety of cables, preferably widely flavored. That facilitates experimentation with synergy
aurioville4
concerns. He should possess enough technical understanding to not blindly fall prey to
manufacturers’ product propaganda he’s then liable to use as base for his technical descriptions.
I don’t at all believe a reviewer needs to be an engineer—in fact, that’d put the noose around my
own neck really tight. But he should know just enough to sniff out BS when it stares him in the
face. Do the research necessary to ascertain questionable matters. Consult with actual engineers
or designers for second or third opinions if need be. Know or learn enough about a product to
evaluate all of its features and intended applications to render comprehensive judgment.
A reviewer should have the experience necessary to put findings into greater context. How does
it compare? Is it worth the money? This is where lines get blurry once again. How to acquire said
experience without starting out ignorant and naive?
The Editor or equipment review coordinator often becomes the safeguard. He monitors that
equipment status and growing exposure level proceed in close proximity lockstep. Still, for every
reviewer not pigeonholed and imprisoned in one lone category, there will have to be many a first.
How else would this process ever get started? If honesty and disclaimers are used, such
evaluations can turn out to be stacked goldmines.
Imagine. “This is my first encounter with a tube amp. I went into this assuming that…” Isn’t this
the very situation facing many a potential customer? They’ll relate far better to this review than
one penned by a writer who lives, breathes and dreams tube amps and talks about them via
obscure references and subtleties that must seem esoteric blather to the uninitiated.
I recall fellow writer John Potis’ SoundStage! review of the AUDIOPAX integrated. Knowing I was
turning into a self-styled tube hound, he confided to a certain measure of nervousness. He felt
just slightly incompetent to tackle this subject with the perspective he thought necessary.
Nonsense, I said. Not having a perspective is a perspective. Just be candid about it. Then
describe what you hear as you would anything else.
After the review published, a congratulatory e-mail was dispatched with due haste. Not only was
this a very concisely written evaluation, it made the whole tube experience accessible to the
novice. This was particularly appropriate since the component under evaluation was priced such
that the most immediate target audience was folks just like John—newbies to SETs not likely to
spend the long green on such a leap of faith.
In a kind of parallel development pointing the other direction, Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere
contacted me recently. I was unwitting part of a personal survey of potential reviewers to pop the
cherry on his forthcoming $60,000 statement OTL. I felt momentarily smug that I would even
qualify. Then I politely declined. To begin with, using >103dB efficient speakers made me the
wrong guy for his high-power monster amp. More importantly, I’m a babe in the woods when it
comes to batting in those rarefied leagues. And while there is a first for everything—I was
listening to my own soliloquy—to accelerate from $10,000 to $60,000 in one second were more
Gs than I felt prepared for.
But there was more yet. A statement product such as Ralph’s needs to be launched with massive
fireworks to make the requisite impact. Things being what they are, still—but already changing –
print carries with it higher perceived credibility and gravitas. A premiere review in Stereophile or
The Absolute Sound flies higher, louder and explodes with brighter colors than the same review
by the same writer on-line. (Why that is so could be fodder for a future installment.)
aurioville4
With a few exceptions, print is where the rare writers make their home who are qualified to review
genuine statement-level products. They’ve been carefully groomed over many years and now
sport the requisite exposure, experience and system contexts under their belt and roof to mix it
up on the higher slopes of Mount Olympus.
Perhaps this explains why to date no on-line venture has dedicated itself to “Ultimate or Extreme
Audio”. There simply aren’t enough mature upper echelon writers equipped to pull it off with the
panache, prestige and professionalism that preaching on equal footing to such an audience
requires. Imagine the manufacturer who’s approached for his new $50,000 floorstander. It weighs
700 lbs and requires delivery by specialized freight. Wouldn’t he want assurance that his babies
visited a home that had seen equally ambitious guests before, perhaps even housed some in
residence?
To boot, the current pay scale for audio computer screen jocks is such that no heavy hitter writer
with the appropriate credentials could be expected to join for pocket change. The funny thing is
that web-based publishing does offer distinct advantages for such a venture: Winsome
turnaround times to minimize the considerable burden on long-term loans of such platinum-plated
gear; and the “hard drive is cheap” reality of extensive pictorial documentation that SOTA gear
deserves to emphasize its jewel-like appearance from ever conceivable angle, and to show it
interfacing with an equally decorated environment.
Perhaps it is time for an HP/JV-league InterNet effort after all. Just who’d staff it? When you think
about a publication dedicated to SOTA gear, it’s really much more about selling the dream than
reporting on reality. Reality would be to apply hard test bench measurements and, on the part of
the writer, the measure of requisite exposure to solid mid-priced offerings. With these items in
place, the honest reporter can’t really be as indiscriminately gung ho as he’d have to be to make
a compelling case for the existence of outrageously priced components. How to gush
unreservedly if you know that for 1/5th the outlay, you could purchase something that measures
better, performs every bit as good and is likely backed by a company established and sizable
enough to survive long term?
But here’s the twist. Writers with the experience necessary to tackle and take the true measure of
SOTA gear are the very same ones who usually—by virtue of having climbed the ranks over
many years—also possess the proper perspective: Shy of snob appeal, survive-the-next-worldwar build quality and diamond-encrusted controls, much of the money-grows-on-trees stuff is
unforgivably overpriced and can’t be recommended in good conscience.
For argument’s sake, let’s say we insist on publishing our Ultra-Audio rag regardless. Should we
recruit our heroic SOTA tenors from the ranks of the less experienced writers? They’d be far
more likely to soil their starchy white briefs at the mere thought of receiving $30,000 digital
separates loaners than a world-weary veteran with little spare enthusiasm left to waste on
anything but the true and rare exception.
In fact, the latter would be an outright liability, set to puncture the whole over-inflated bubble of
the ultra High-End with a few choice cynicisms. Better to groom the right yes-men by not having
them climb through the ranks but jump over the high-performance sector as though it didn‘t exist.
Then feed ‘em ever more expensive stuff to spoil their appetites for good. How could they
possibly perform the dreaded reality check in the everyman arena after having gotten used to
feasting on truffles and Taittinger exclusively?
aurioville4
Boy, now I really worked myself into a tangled web of my own fabrication. I better stop before I
trip myself. Ponder some of today’s suggested implications—if you’re in the mood. Otherwise,
turn the page and fogeddaboudid. In the end, none of it matters. You might as well get out right at
the beginning and listen to some good tunes instead. In fact, that’s what I’m gonna do right now:
Adam del Monte’s Viaje a un nuevo mundo, then Gary Burton & Makoto Ozone on their new
Virtuosi, and lastly the guilty pleasures of The Best of Lounge Music…
Visit Srajan Ebaen at his site www.6moons.com
BACK TO TOP
cary306
cary audio
306/200 CD player
as reviewed by Ed Morawski and Dave Clark
ED MORAWSKI'S
SYSTEM
LOUDSPEAKERS
Speakers are DIY two
way ported with Scan
Speak 8545 midbass
and 9500 tweeter
using the acousticreality serial
crossover.
ELECTRONICS
Plinius CD-LAD
I feel I have a pretty fair perspective on CD players. I
have heard many players at shows, and I have personally auditioned the Arcam
CD72 and FMJ23, the Norh CD-1, and most of the Pioneers and Sonys, and I have
owned the Muse 5 and 2 and the 8 and 296 combinations. The Muse 5/2 combo was
the best I had heard until I got the 8/296. When I experienced down time on my CD
player, though, I began looking around, intending to keep my Muse 296 DAC, which
is wonderful. The Cary kept popping up at the top of my list. The 306/200 is pretty
heavy, 35 lbs or so. The build quality is excellent, and while it is not a "jewel" (like,
say, the Musical Fidelity Nu Vista), it looks okay, though the interior belies the
industrial look of the exterior. The quality and construction is impressive. Copper
abounds everywhere, and the transformers are massive and powerful looking.
Despite Cary's warnings about the need for 100 hours of break-in, I couldn't wait to
give it a listen. From the first few notes I knew this was something extraordinary. The
soundstage was unbelievable. It expanded in all directions. My smallish, 10 x 11
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cary306
preamplifier and SA102 amplifier.
SOURCE
Resolution Audio
Opus 21 CD player.
CABLES
Empirical Audio
Halographic or
Stealth Audio CWS
XLR interconnects,
Clarity 7 speaker
cables and DIY
power Cord.
Vibrapods under all
equipment. Dedicated
power circuits with
Brick Wall Filters.
room sounded like a concert hall (okay, an intimate concert hall). Imaging was
precise. Detail and resolution were unbelievable. After that first listen, I put the 306
on repeat and let it play for the next four days. After the burn-in, the incredible
soundstage was still there, and I still couldn't believe that a CD player could do this.
What design factors cause it? Does the engineer's manual say, "Use this capacitor
or that transformer to increase soundstage?” Or does it happen by happy accident? I
doubt it! The designers at Cary must be magicians.
The detail and resolution were also still evident. When a guitar string was plucked, I
heard the musician's finger sliding up the string, I heard the note, the air humming,
and the gradual diminishing, but all so quickly. There was no evidence of harshness,
grain, or edge. Even the brushes on the drums were no longer indistinct sounds, but
as fully formed as each piano key. I have a highly modified Pioneer PD-65 with a
new power cord and Superclock that only gets used as a transport to my Muse 296.
I was pretty happy using this while my equipment was in repair, but not only is the
Cary not in the same league, it is not in the same universe! In fact, it may be in a
league of its own.
The 306/200 easily beats the Muse 8 as well, which astounds me. It is clearly a
higher-resolution machine, and has a much better overall presentation. I was
fortunate to be able to hear Keiko Matsui in concert one Sunday, then come home
and listen to her CDs on the Cary for comparison. Let me put it this way: I was able
to attend TWO Keiko Matsui concerts that night. Dim the lights and close your eyes
and she is there.
The 306/200 also does HDCD. I was not aware how many of these I owned until I
tried the Cary. It turns out that most of Keiko Matsui's discs are HDCD-encoded, and
I had Dave Brubeck’sTime Out. Wonderful reproduction, without being overdone like
some SACDs and DVD-Audio discs. The Cary upsamples, and it is remotecontrolled, so you can flip back and forth. It makes a hell of a difference on some
recordings and none on others. Strangely, upsampling to 24/192khz seems to work
best on the HDCD-encoded discs, but it does defeat the HDCD when you switch it
in.
The 306/200 has it flaws, though they are minor. It seems like all the manufacturers
have jumped on the blue-LED bandwagon. While they are cool, Cary needs to tone
down the brightness! There are glaring bright blue lights all over the thing. The
remote is also too much. You either get a super-cheap piece of plastic or, like the
Cary, a ridiculously heavy aluminum slab. I know this is supposed to portray "high
end," but come on. This thing must weigh two pounds! Interestingly enough, the
Rogue remotes also switch functions on the Cary—just a warning in case you have
a Rogue and are considering the Cary.
In sum, the Cary 306/200 is a significant advance in music playback. I have been
dipping into SACD with an admittedly cheap Sony CE-775, and I am underwhelmed.
The Cary sounds better on Redbook CDs than the Sony, but also more enjoyable
than SACDs! If your CD collection is extensive, the Cary is a worthwhile purchase in
lieu of the meager pickings on SACD. You could spend two or three times or four
times as much as the Cary 306/200, but would it be that many times better? No way!
cary306
Ed Morawski
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Speaker
Systems Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M100
monoblock amplifiers.
E.A.R. 834P phono
stage. Blue Circle
BC3000 preamp
w/Tunsgram tubes,
and BCG3.1 power
supply.
SOURCES
EAD T1000 transport
and EVS Millenium II
DAC with Audient
Technologies’ Tactic
and Audit, and
Taddeo Digital
Antidote Two. Linn
Axiss turntable with
K9 cartridge and
Basik Plus arm.
CABLES
JPS
Superconductor+
interconnects, digital,
and NC speaker
cables. Sahuaro
Slipstream, Blue
Circle BC63, Clayton
Audio, and JPS
Kaptovator AC
cables.
ACCESSORIES
PS Audio P300
Power Plant.
Dedicated 20 and 15
amp ac circuits.
The Cary 306/200 CD player is a serious attempt to
build a “state of the art” product. Cary threw everything including the kitchen sink into
this player, except the ability to play SACDs. In my opinion, this hardly
matters—Carol and I have yet to find a SACD release we would buy—but there are
still tons of 16/44.1 CDs out there, and more coming all the time. With its ability to
upsample (24/192) and do HDCD, the 306/200 is a killer machine for Red Book
CDs. Helping out are eight Burr Brown 1704 DAC chips (four for each channel), an
enormous power supply, extensive shielding, and choice parts. The player is rather
heavy at 35 lbs., and is very solidly built.
The manual says break-in time is 100-200 hours, whereas word has it the player
likes to see 300 or more before things settle down. When they do, be prepared. The
306/200 is not for the faint of heart. The player will provide dynamics and bass slam
that is second to none. I have heard this player up against the highly regarded Sony
SCD777ES with all the mods that are going about the web (as well as some that
have yet to be mentioned!). The modified Sony has a sweeter and more relaxed
nature, and if that is what you want, the Cary may not be for you. I don’t mean to
suggest that the Cary is dry and etched—that is hardly the case—just that it leans in
a direction opposite of that when compared to the Sony. For me, the Sony was too
soft and sweet, lacking a certain degree of excitment heard from the Cary. On the
other hand, the Sony could not match the Cary’s deeper and more powerful bass,
and I have yet to hear another player that can do so.
I have never heard such bass control and depth, either in my room or that of the
Sony owner. We both own full-range speakers matched with components that let
them sound their best. Using the Cary allowed both speakers to rumble and rattle as
never before. Using the American Beauty score (a great demo disc, though not one
to listen to for musical pleasure), the Cary elicited the same startling and jawdropping response every time. The Cary has even eliminated the bass problem I
used to have in my room—a hump at 125Hz that was evident with my regular set-up
and WAY more prominent with the Sony. All music that had information at this point
resulted in bass boom. The Cary has fixed this. It is rock solid and as tight as all getout.
The Cary is neutral and up front, being neither warm nor rich, lean nor washed out. It
gets the bits out into the room without adding any anomalies that could be defined
as a “character. Unlike that I have heard from the French CD machines, where they
can easily be "characterized", no doubt as a result of some form of coloration or
“shading.” You know what I mean, that stereotypical "rich and warm" presentation
along with a softer top and bottom. Not necessarily a bad thing, as I did enjoy my
time with the Metronome—it is a very musical player and never makes the music
sound bad. Unfortunately, way too often the music always sounded the same—not
cary306
Shakti Stones and
On-Lines.
EchoBuster room
treatments. BDR
cones and board, DH
cones, Vibrapods,
Mondo racks and
stands, Townshend
Audio 2D and 3D
Seismic Sinks,
various hard woods,
etc.
enough resolving power. This will work in the right system and with the right music.
Just not for us. We want a sound that is fast, clean, and resolving.
The Cary on the other hand, is fast, clean, and resolving, but not the least bit
analytical in terms of being cold and sterile. It is very transparent, and will allow you
to hear what is on the discs. But like I said, while it is revealing, it is not hyped in any
way. Bad discs sound bad, and good discs sound good. Isn’t that what’s all about?
You’d better be sure your system is up to this level or truthfulness, or you may not
find it to your liking.
I have found that using the upsampling (selectable from the remote) allowed me to
get better sound from 16/44.1 recordings. I don’t mean more information, as it can’t
create what is not there, but upsampling adds a degree of flesh and warmth to
poorer discs, making them sound way better. And good discs get better, too! On the
other hand, HDCD discs do not sound nearly as good when upsampled, as this
bypasses the HDCD chip.
The Cary offers an enormous soundstage, although a shallower one than I am used
to with my regular setup, or that I heard with the Sony player. The Cary also has a
bit less “air” and dimensionality than those other two setups. Is this a serious
drawback? Not to me, when I consider what it does in other areas. Pace, speed,
clarity, resolution, bass extension, and dynamics (micro and macro)—all are
topnotch in my book. Plus the Cary puts the performers out into the room and not off
into the distance. It is more upfront and more visceral than the other machines, and
this is what Carol and I are after.
I do have some issues. One, the remote can be a bit of a pain, in that the buttons
have dual functions. They not only control CD playback, but by moving a switch,
they control the analog and digital operations of the player. If you forget which it is
set to, pushing a given button will not get you the results you were after, and this can
get a bit annoying. (For instance, the stop button also switches upsampling, and the
forward and back buttons change digital inputs.) Two, the player gets hot, though
with its power supply, what do you expect? This beefy power supply is no doubt the
cause of the players amazing speed, clarity, and bass performance. Give it plenty of
room to breath. Three, as good as the Cary is, it still benefits from the Taddeo Digital
Antidote II, good power cords (am using the Sahuaro Slipstream and also liked the
Elrod EPS 2), some Shakti Stones, and a good foundation (I use the Townshend 3D
Seismic Sink).
I bought the unit and could not be happier, but as you can read elsewhere, I have
done something to it that moves its performance up a notch. Is it worth $5K?
Considering how well it performs, and its build quality, yes! Dave Clark
cary306
306/200 CD player
Retail $5000
Cary Audio
TEL: 919. 481. 4494
web address: www.caryaudio.com
e-mail: [email protected]
BACK TO TOP
metronome
metronome
CD1-V Signature CD player
as reviewed by Bryan Gladstone, Carol Clark, and Victor Chavira
BRYAN GLADSTONE'S
SYSTEM
LOUDSPEAKERS
ProAc Response 2 with
Target stands.
ELECTRONICS
Jeff Rowland
Consonance preamplifier
(phono stage removed).
Krell KPA phono
preamplifier w/upgraded
power supply. Jeff
Rowland Model 1 or
Conrad Johnson Premier
Strangely, as I encounter ever-moresophisticated equipment that extracts more and more detail from those
precious grooves, my enjoyment doesn’t always increase. It seems that, for
me, satisfaction doesn’t rely on perfect accuracy. In fact, I find myself
eschewing newer equipment that strives for more and more extension at
the frequency extremes. Why do we insist on calling this more “accurate”
when it doesn’t sound more “real”? This doesn’t mean that I don’t
sometimes wish for more “accuracy,” but not at the expense of what pushes
my pleasure buttons. There’s bliss in the midrange, but only if the details,
timbre, and natural overtones are not lost.
The Metronome CD1-V gets the midrange right. The CD1-V is a very
handsome machine, and its build quality is first rate. It is housed in a heavy
steel case that comes factory-installed with spiked feet. I usually prefer a
damped base with digital playback equipment, but in my system, the
Metronome did sound a bit more alive with its spiked feet. The front panel
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metronome
11 amplifiers.
SOURCES
VPI HW-19 IV with VPI
PLC, Eminent
Technology Tonearm 2,
Wisa pump and surge
tank. Benz Micro MC3
cartridge. Audio Alchemy
Digital Drive System
transport. Audio Alchemy
DTI v1.0. Meridian 606
D/A converter.
CABLES
Cardas Golden Hexlink
5c interconnects and
speaker cables.
control layout is all business, with big, easy-to-find buttons that give a
positive clunk when depressed. The display is bright enough to be easily
read from the listening position without being distracting, and the drawer
mechanism is a speed demon—table of contents booting and track
switching is faster than any machine I’ve used.
I have a friend who has confided that she likes to hide the TV remote when
she is mad at her husband and then watch him cuss up a storm while
getting up and down from the couch to change channels. She could really
have some fun with the Metronome, which never turns off completely but
stays in standby mode, keeping the tube filaments warm and ready for play.
A button on the remote wakes the unit up, but there is no way to power up
or down from the front panel—in order to start the player, you have to
locate the remote. I’d like to be able to walk up to the unit, drop a CD in the
drawer and go, so this seems like an obvious omission to me. Also, at this
price, I want something substantial to hold in my hand. Although the
Metronome remote works well from long distances and obtuse angles, it
feels flimsy, and its button size, shape, and layout are impossible to
negotiate in dim light.
Back in college, I had a Counterpoint SA-3.1 preamplifier and matching SAPi. The SA-Pi was a tube phase-inverter, housed in its own box matching
the SA-3.1 and meant to be placed between the preamp and amp. This was
about the time that CDs were creating “Perfect Sound Forever!” CDs were
supposedly so great that it didn’t matter what player you bought. I believed
the hype, and my first player was a $399 Sony special from Steve’s Stereo
Emporium, a truly awful-sounding machine. When I decided to upgrade my
preamp to a solid state model, I found that the CD player became downright
unlistenable. This was the first time I discovered what tubes could do for a
CD player. My beer budget didn’t allow for an elegant solution to this
problem—at that time my beer budget couldn’t be touched for any
purpose!—so I held on to the SA-Pi, wired a pair of interconnects out of
phase to maintain proper polarity, and used it as a tube buffer stage
between the CD player and the preamp. Purists would argue that adding
extra equipment to the signal path is never a good solution, but my ears
disagreed. The tube stage added quite a bit of air and ambience, and
smoothed out much of the high-end grain in the old player.
The Metronome CD1-V is a far more elegant solution, but the similarities
remain. The CD1-V has the relaxed, rich, and fruity flavor of classic-style
tube gear. Tonally correct and accurate? Probably not, but the Metronome
has a way of making you feel right at home. It depends on what floats your
boat. P. Diddy fans should look for another player. I find the ambience and
warmth particularly appealing. It’s as if the tube glow fills in the microscopic
gaps and flaws that separate a recording from the original event. It doesn’t
take work to listen to the CD1-V. All this chewy flavor doesn’t mean that the
Metronome throws away the details. Quite the contrary—despite its very
warm character, an immense amount of inner detail shines through.
Listening to Harry Nilsson’s “Yellow Man” from Nilsson Sings Newman, I
metronome
could hear through to the engineering for the first time. It turns out that
Nilsson, who did most his own background vocals, is at times overdubbed
and at other times delayed and repeated. On Jonathon Richman’s The Best
of Jonathon Richman and the Modern Lovers, the acoustic guitar suddenly
had individual strings, and Jonathon’s voice showed its creaky character
without sounding thin or etched. The CD1-V portrays the human voice
beautifully, with layers of harmonic richness and detail. Violins and piano
also benefit from the character of the Metronome.
Soundstaging from the CD1-V is spectacularly deep, if not quite as wide as
when playing small-ensemble materials. Musicians are placed on the virtual
stage with Beverly Hillbillies acreage separating them. Unfortunately, when
Jethro gets to rockin’, the neighborhood seems a little smaller. Dense
recordings, whether it is Exile On Main Street or Love for Three Oranges,
can get a bit congested. Its soundstage here reminded me of a very lowpowered, single-ended power amp when pushed too hard. The CD1-V
never loses its composure by becoming hard or strident, nor did the overall
size of its image collapse. However, with dense material, musicians seem
to get bigger and blend together rather than maintain the air surrounding
them and their position in space.
Listening to “Come On Home” from Everything But the Girl’s Acoustic,
Tracy Thorn’s voice and piano are so completely free from grain and so full
of three dimensional roundness and richness, you can’t help but be drawn
in. There is a relaxed quality that makes you want to take a load off and
spend time in the listening chair. But this smoothness can be a mixed bag.
The piano lacks the attack heard through my Meridian when the felt
hammer strikes the strings. There is a bit of softening of leading edge
dynamics. Keith Moon is one of my all-time-favorite rock drummers. Try to
play the air drums while listening to Moon on The Who’s Quadrophenia.
You will never match his patterns. Moon was almost never on the beat. His
playing was completely original and enormously creative, and it added a
dynamically changing element to the band. When you finally figure out what
he did in the first verse, he does something completely different in the
second. The band and engineers obviously recognized this, as the drums
are HUGE in the mix. It is as if a thirty-foot drum kit is behind the band. The
Metronome, however, blends the drums and guitar a bit too much. While
Townshend’s guitar benefits from the extra resolution the CD1-V offers,
Moon’s drums become intertwined with the guitar. The drums don’t have
enough dynamic snap to separate them from the cacophony of the mix, and
therefore lose some of the uniqueness that makes the music so interesting.
Listening to Tony Bennett’s Unplugged provided a telling contrast between
my Meridian and the Metronome. Bennett is the star here, not the band,
and his voice is mixed front and center. He sounded very similar in timbre
and detail through the two players, but the rest of the live event was
portrayed quite differently. The Metronome presented much more of a
sense of “space,” with the band placed well behind Bennett and clearly
spread across the soundstage from left to right. It revealed much more
metronome
focus and detail from the background players, giving more of a sense of a
supporting cast. The Meridian gives life in another way. Through the
Meridian, Bennett’s vocal range was extended to thunderous levels, drums
had snap, and the room became much more acoustically live. I spent more
time admiring the differences than choosing one over the other.
For a modern digital product, the Metronome sounds strikingly, well,
old—not old in the sense of an underdeveloped circuit incapable of
revealing much of a recording, but old in flavor. The Metronome combines
the beautiful inner detail, freedom from grain, and wonderful soundstaging
of newer designs with old-style tube warmth and charm. In some systems,
the CD1-V may be too much of a good thing. Well matched to ancillary
equipment, however, the Metronome is capable of recreating the recorded
event with a wonderfully liquid personality. There’s bliss in that midrange!
Bryan Gladstone
CAROL CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Speaker Systems
Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M100
E.A.R. 834P phono
stage. Blue Circle
BC3000 preamp
w/Tunsgram tubes, and
BCG3.1 power supply.
SOURCES
EAD T1000 transport and
EVS Millenium II DAC
with Audient
Technologies’ Tactic and
Audit, and Taddeo Digital
Antidote Two. Linn Axiss
turntable with K9
cartridge and Basik Plus
arm.
CABLES
JPS Superconductor+
The Metronome CD1 Signature player is one
the best examples to use against the, “All CD players sound the same”
argument. Okay, I know that by now we have all left the “bits are bits, so
any differences are to be an issue of a little more of that then this, but who
gives a flying leap” debate in the distance by now, but I was really amazed
by how two digital sources could sound so far apart, and yet, in their own
terms, still be musically satisfying. That is, placing the CD1 in the system in
place of my own reference, and listening to a butt-load of CDs, the
differences were not subtle. I use the word “differences” here as while the
two sources sat on opposite sides of the fence, depending on where you
were standing; the grass is just as green.
The Metronome offers the listener a warm rich and harmonically lust sound
while avoiding—not omitting though—details and transparency. No doubt a
result of having a tube output stage, the Metronome sounded more like the
cliched “tube” amps of yore than current digital players that eschew
transparency and detail to the infinite degree over naturalness and beauty.
In absolute terms—that is in audio-geek-speak—the Metronome offered the
listener a warmer, lusher, and fuller sound as opposed to fast, lean and
analytical.
Bass was not as deep and tight as what I would prefer, being fuller, richer
and more weighty with less slam and punch. Not a bad thing, just different
than what I am used to with my system. Since we listen to a fair amount of
music that features deep fundamentals, with a pace that is dependent on
the quality of the bass being presented, the Metronome was not the player
for us.That is, music that was bass driven came across as, well, less
“driven.” The Metronome excelled at being musical, yet it lacked the oomph
metronome
interconnects, digital, and
NC speaker cables.
Sahuaro Slipstream, Blue
Audio, and JPS
Kaptovator AC cables.
ACCESSORIES
PS Audio P300 Power
Plant.
Dedicated 20 and 15
amp ac circuits. Shakti
Stones and On-Lines.
EchoBuster room
treatments. BDR cones
and board, DH cones,
Vibrapods, Mondo racks
and stands, Townshend
Audio 2D and 3D
Seismic Sinks, various
hard woods, etc.
to make electronic and bass-complex music reach the jump-factor we
prefer.
At the other end of the sonic spectrum, the treble was presented as being
soft and airy, but still very clean and sweet. Though lacking a degree of bite
and sparkle, again the Metronome’s sound came across as not as
transparent and more tonally “soft” than what we prefer. For example, bells
as cymbals were portrayed as softer with less detail and clarity. Again I
would have liked to hear more transparency and tonal clarity, but the
Metronome will never drive you out of the room with an etched or gritty
presentation of what’s on the disc. Which is right? That’s up to you to
decide.
The midrange was darker and richer than our reference, offering a more
laid-back perspective. We like a “front-row center” perspective where the
music is brought out into the room, as opposed to that offered by the
Metronome. Meaning that I had to listen into the music more than I am used
to with my own set-up. Like sitting towards the rear of the hall, music had
considerably less presence and involvement than one gets by getting in the
rows up-front. The finer details and textures were there, but not as readily
transfixed onto the listener as with other players, especially our own.
Bad? Could be, if that is not what you are after. Then it becomes more a
matter of taste and preference. Not only a preference in what one wants to
hear from a player, but also a preference in terms of the music one chooses
to listen to. Using classical, chamber and music that is simpler and not
dependant on character traits that could be construed as being more “hi-fiish” the Metronome came across as a player that one could listen to
forever. When I played discs to just enjoy and relax with, the Metronome
never drew attention to itself, but simply allowed me to immerse myself in
hours of stress-free enjoyment. Time moved by at a relaxing pace with nary
a nod to being irritating or boring. Not the best player for a reviewer, but
definitely one to have if enjoying music is more important than impressing
your friends—though the unit is very attractive and glitch-free.
What the Metronome offers is a relaxed and musical player that brings the
“essence of the performance” to the listener—be that a listener who is
sitting way back from the performance in terms of musical “clarity”. It is not
the player to have if one is looking for the impact and presence nor is it the
last word in transparency. Yes, using different AC cords and “brighter”
interconnects can help, as would no doubt choosing other tubes. I did try
several interconnects and AC cords before settling on DH Labs Air-Matrix
and Blue Circle AC cord. These helped to make the sonic character more
reflective of where I am sitting on the fence—faster, leaner, etc.—without
sacrificing the unit’s strengths. Recommended. Carol Clark
metronome
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6 and
B&W DM 302.
ELECTRONICS
Magnum Dynalab 208
receiver.
SOURCE
NAD T541 CD/DVD
player.
CABLES
Nordost Quattro-Fil
interconnects, Analysis
Plus Oval 9 speaker
cables, and El Dorado
power cords.
ACCESSORIES
Monster Cables HTS
1000 AC center.
Vibrapods, Lovan
Trisolator, and Echo
Busters.
A metronome is a mechanical device
designed to keep perfect time. The Metronome CD1V is an electromechanical device designed to play music perfectly. Actually, nothing is
audio is perfect, but the CD1-V came closer to perfection than any other CD
player I have heard in my home. The appearance of the CD1-V is rather
unremarkable. Four heavy brass pucks support the unit and add
considerable mass. Inside, the player features custom circuitry and a tube
output stage. The CD1-V was set in the place usually reserved for my
Audio Electronics CD1, which also has a vacuum tube output stage. The
differences in the two units, however, are much greater than their
similarities. Whereas the Audio Electronics player was an attempt to
sweeten up the sound of the mass-market Marantz CD63, the Metronome
CD1-V is a fully realized high end design from concept to production. The
build quality of the Audio Electronics reflects compromise. The build quality
of the Metronome reflects class and confidence. These differences extend
to the two players’ musical performance as well.
Listening to CDs on the Metronome was always a musically satisfying
experience. Beginning with the bass, the CD1-V possessed control and
authority. Subharmonic pedal tones only hinted at by my reference player
were clearly defined, and contributed greater emotional impact and
understanding to recordings such as Piano Music of Johannes Brahms,
Volume II by Antonin Kubalek, on Dorian. The midrange was another area
in which the Metronome was consistently engaging. The guitar and vocals
on Eliades Ochoa’s Tribute to the Cuarteto Patri a sounded full, rich, and
detailed within the setting of an ambient soundstage. Not only were the
timbres of the instruments accurately realized, but the band’s momentum
through each song was convincingly communicated.
Highs are usually the scourge of CD players. Most CD players can’t capture
the entire harmonic event of such instruments as flute, violins, and cymbals.
This was not the case with the CD1V. For example, Orlando “Maraca”
Valle’s flute and accompanying violins on “Danzon Barroco,” from his CD
Tremenda Rumba, sounded pure and completely devoid of harmonic
distortion. The CD1-V’s absence of distortion in the high frequencies had
the effect of drawing the listener into the music. The Metronome CD1-V is
highly recommended for listeners with substantial CD investments, and who
wishing to get more musical enjoyment from their collections. I certainly did.
Victor Chavira
metronome
CD1-V Signature CD player
Retail $2750
Metronome
web address: www.metronome-technologie.com
BACK TO TOP
magnumtuner
magnum dynalab
MD-90 tuner
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6 and
B&W DM 302.
ELECTRONICS
Magnum Dynalab 208
receiver. SCE Harmonic
Recovery System.
SOURCE
NAD T541 CD/DVD
player.
In the last issue, I favorably reviewed the
Magnum Dynalab 308 integrated amplifier. While most of my listening
sessions were conducted with my Audio Electronics CD1 player, I also
listened to the 308 with its companion MD-90 tuner. The MD-90 is an allanalog, fully discrete FM tuner, meaning that stations are dialed in by hand
with a smooth-turning control knob rather than recalled from a preset
button. Three luminous VU meters display RF input level, multipath
interference level, and center-tune condition. Four tactile toggle switches
inspire fantasies of making first contact or operating the sonar on a deepsea sub. Inside, the MD-90 contains a power supply that would shame
many preamps. Three stages of Mosfet amplification and filtering are
applied to the signal. The result of this dedication to detail is a sound that
set the standard for a source component in my experience.
My previous encounter with FM radio centered around an Adcom GTP 450.
With that admittedly early system, FM was only good enough for
background music. Although the reception was fine, music lacked depth,
texture, and emotion. FM listening with the Adcom usually ended with me
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magnumtuner
CABLES
Nordost Quattro-Fil
interconnects, Blue
Heaven speaker cables,
and El Dorado power
cords.
ACCESSORIES
Monster Cables HTS
1000 AC center.
Vibrapods, Lovan
Busters.
turning down the volume or putting on a CD. In contrast, my first listening
session with the MD-90 lasted well into the early morning, when I finally fell
asleep. Once plugged in, the MD-90 was never turned off. The music it
made was as elegant and stress-free as a sonic brain massage—rich,
warm, dynamic, and alive. The MD-90 sounded particularly impressive
when listening to broadcasts of classical music from the University of
Southern California. The music that emanated from this station was as
layered and harmonious as anything I’ve heard. Occasionally, I owned and
was able to compare a CD of the identical recording being broadcast.
Incredibly, the MD-90 always sounded demonstrably better. Musical lines
were more clearly defined. Large orchestral works filled my home with
grandeur. Smaller chamber pieces transformed my room into an intimate
salon. Most impressive was the Magnum’s manner with micro- and
macrodynamics. Solo and massed notes grew to their climaxes and
decayed with a fluidity and naturalness that truly communicated the
performers’ emotions and the composers’ intentions.
I am a great fan of Latin jazz music. This, no doubt, is due to the fact that
the best Latin jazz radio program can be heard here in Southern California.
Jose Rizo hosts jazz on the Latin Side on 88.1 KKJZ every Friday night
from 7-11 PM. Unfortunately, before the MD-90, I was only able to listen to
the show while driving home from dinner. The reception from my home was
too poor to enjoy. However, with the MD-90, Friday evenings became takeout nights as a result of my reluctance to go out while listening to great
music on the radio. The MD-90 accurately tuned in the small jazz station as
well as the stronger mainstream stations.
The Magnum Dynalab MD-90 FM tuner is one of the most enjoyable and
musical sources I have ever heard. If I had not purchased the MD-208
receiver, I would have bought this outstanding tuner. Victor Chavira
Before the Magnum Dynalab MD-90 tuner
arrived at my door, my tuner experience was limited to a NAD 4150 and a
Denon TU-460. Neither state-of-the-art, the NAD being a "better" tuner in
audiophile terms than the mass-market Denon. Both played the drivel that
passes for music on AM and FM here in L.A.(aside from the few good
college stations) with passable marks, meaning that the music served to fill
the empty spaces during dinner or reading the newspaper. It was out of
morbid interest that I asked if I could listen to the MD-90 while it was here
for review. What was I thinking? Next thing I know, I am buying it. Why, you
ask? Because all of a sudden the stations that filled the empty spaces
sounded rather good—yes, most of the music is still crap, but it sounds
good like good crap now. But what really made me go for the MD-90 is that
the college stations, which were previously on the fringe, now come in at a
magnumtuner
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M100
E.A.R. 834P phono
stage. Blue Circle
BC3000 preamp
SOURCES
with Audient
turntable with K9
arm.
CABLES
JPS Superconductor+
NC speaker cables.
Audio, and JPS
ACCESSORIES
PS Audio P300 Power
Plant.
Dedicated 20 and 15
EchoBuster room
Audio 2D and 3D
hard woods, etc.
level where I can enjoy their brand of eclectic aural stimulation. And beside
the tuner is get way cool to lok at!
A bit of history here. When Carol and I were first married, in the early 80s,
we lived in a place called Riverside, CA, known more or its smog and lack
of culture, then any thing audio or msuic related. If you wanted to hear or
buy any good music it was off to LA, some 60 miles away. We were
placated by listening to KSPC, a college station from Claremont, about
thirty miles away. KSPC offered music that was out in the left field of what
was considered "alternative" or new. We also enjoyed stations from other
surrounding colleges, where the DJs actually liked the music they played,
or were attempting to turn their listeners onto something new. They all
featured music that was as interesting as Riverside was boring. After we
moved another hour’s drive away, KSPC was just a bit too far to get, but
not with the MD-90. In fact, the MD-90 tunes in all of the small, distant, notso-powerful stations we’ve missed. What is really cool, though, is that it not
only gets these stations, but the signal comes out of the speakers as
beautiful music. The music is rich, sweet, clear, dynamic, and fun to listen
to. I now actually listen to the radio! There's a novel idea! Listening to the
raid, as opposed to just using it to fill-in the emppty spaces while one
toodles around the house. With the MD-90, I even find that the classical
stations are not as bad as I once thought. Am I just getting old? Classical?!
(I should add that while Carol and I do like classical music it is definitely that
from the left—you know, the guy is still living and he/she is more into
puuhing the artistic envelop than rehashing the old warhorses.) Nah, the
stations sound really good. (Okay, the local jazz giant here, KLON, still
sucks, but that is because they compress the music way too much. Plus,
their idea of jazz is pretty pedestrian. If you are looking for great jazz, you
won't find it here.)
If you are in the market for a tuner, put the MD-90 at the top of the list. It’s a
real winner. I love the "analog" feel of the tuning dial, and the meters and
switches are really cool, though the manual is not very good at explaining
what they do. Also, the MD-90 is large and hefty—it weighs as much as
most integrated amps—and it looks like a million dollars. I bougt it even
though I find so little on the radio of quality. But, hey it is just too cool to
pass up and what it does to the stations we do enjoy, it is highly
recommended. On the other hand it is hard to justify the price if the lack of
quality stations or music is an issue with you as well. On the other hand, if
you love the radio, this is the way to go! Dave Clark
magnumtuner
MD-90 tuner
Retail $995
Magnum Dynalab
TEL: 800. 551. 4130
web address: www.magnumdynalab.com
BACK TO TOP
p300
ps audio
P-300 Power Plant, with comments
on the UO and P-600
as reviewed by Roger McNichols, Pat Brady, Larry Cox, and Dave Clark,
When I was in high school, our track and field
team was hastily put together each year from members of the football and
basketball squads. Having just a few weeks to prepare, our teams did
rather poorly. Since I was one of strongest football players, I was always in
a group of players asked to compete in the shot put. I’ll never forget one
year. We began practicing the shot put, and all of us muscle-bound jocks
could throw the sixteen-pound ball about 30 to 35 feet. We practiced and
practiced, and when the day finally came for the track meet, we sized up
the competition and no one looked intimidating. I remember fantasizing
about having a really great throw and winning the gold medal.
One by one, the competitors stepped into the circle and put the shot.
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p300
ROGER McNICHOLS
JR.'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Sonus Faber Electa
Amators and Acoustic
Energy speaker stands.
NHT SA-3 mono power
amp & SW-P subwoofer.
ELECTRONICS
Rowland Design Group
Concentra integrated
amplifier.
SOURCES
Rotel RCD-975 CD
player. Fanfare FT-1 FM
tuner and Terk FM
antenna.
CABLES
Transparent Audio
MusicLink interconnects
and MIT 750 bi-wire
loudspeaker cables.
Everyone’s throw seemed to be in the 30 to 35-foot range, and my hopes
were growing stronger and stronger. There were about five guys in front of
me as I flexed my biceps and dreamed of the gold. Suddenly, a rather slim,
average-looking fellow stepped into the circle, crouched down, spun around
like an Olympian, and launched the shot. I can see the whole scene in my
mind in slow motion. The shot went so high and so far that all of us stood
there with our mouths open in shock. The little guy threw the shot about 61
feet! Suddenly, any dreams the rest of us had of winning came crumbling
back to earth. This incident came to mind during the time I spent auditioning
several components from PS Audio. Realizing I had encountered a new
reference, I placed a metal figurine of an Olympic discus thrower on top of
the P-600 Power Plant. The figurine symbolized the desire to improve, the
dedication and struggle required to raise the mark, and the joy of setting
new records.
This review started as an audition of just the P-300 Power Plant, but soon
grew into a much more diverse experience. I ended up listening to four
products from the PS Audio line: an Ultimate Outlet installed in my wall, a P300 Power Plant for my Rotel CD Player, a P-600 Power Plant for my Jeff
Rowland Design Group Concentra integrated amplifier, and the Mini Lab
power cord to connect the amp to the P-600. The P-600 is large (17 x 20 x
9 inches) and would not fit inside my rack, so I moved things around and
placed the P600 on the top shelf, where it looked quite impressive.
The experience began when I received the P-300 Power Plant and plugged
in my CD player. I popped in Boca, The Best of College A Capella with the
Stanford University Men’s choral group singing “Ave Maria.” The song
begins with a soloist centered and singing clearly and
forcefully. Wow! Something was quite different. The singer’s voice had
much more depth and realism. The reverb from the room in which they
were recorded was so significant that I felt as if my living room had been
transformed into a cathedral. The improvement was dramatic. As the rest of
the group began singing, I relaxed and enjoyed the music in a way I never
had before. I tried to play the reviewer’s role, analyzing what was
happening, but the music was so pleasing, so much closer to reality, that I
just eased back and listened with my eyes closed.
The P-300 Power Plant simply transformed how my CD player reproduced
the music. There was a significant increase in detail, soundstaging, and the
separation of the singers, all of which added so much to the feeling that
the choral group seemed to actually be in the room. The sound was much
more palpable. Gone were so much of the previous blurred sounds of the
voices, and gone was any digital harshness that might cause musical
fatigue. The P-300’s performance left me with my mouth open in shock,
much the same as that day at the track meet!
I next put on Golden String Audiophile Repertory’s gold HDCD, Cello
Crossover. This amazing disc is a jazz/classical crossover featuring Terry
Perez on cello, with both the John Whitney Jazz Trio and the All Star
p300
Percussion Ensemble. It is a unique CD, a great recording of a bunch of
musicians having fun playing nearly every sound you can imagine. I again
sat listening to the very familiar tracks with my eyes closed. During one of
the songs, I suddenly heard some creaking sounds that made me sit up,
thinking someone was walking through my living room. I opened my eyes
and looked around, but no one was there. I scanned back on the CD and
there it was—something I’d never heard before. It sounded like the cellist
during had leaned on her cello, causing the wood to creak. This is the level
of detail revealed through the P-300.
If this much improvement occurred with just one change to one component,
what could be realized by supplying low-distortion, low-impedance,
regenerated AC power to my integrated amplifier? What about improving
the power cords? I got on the phone to PS Audio, and a few days later the
UPS truck delivered a P-600 Power Plant ($2395), an Ultimate Outlet
($299), and a Mini Lab cable. Since the P-300 is designed primarily for lowpowered components, I needed the P-600 for my amp. The Ultimate Outlet
is a replacement for your standard wall outlet. It cleans the power and
protects your system from spikes and surges. The Ultimate is bi-directional,
so it can be used before or after gear to help isolate any digital or other
contamination. I was curious to try the Ultimate Outlet both in front of the P600 and between the P-600 and the P-300.
Ultimate Outlet
Since I now had so many variables, I concentrated on only two CDs during
my further evaluations—the choral CD already mentioned and a great
guitar CD, Taranka, featuring Obo and Jorge, two master flamenco
guitarists. I plugged my amp into the P-600 with the Tice TPT PC-2 power
cord that I had been using. I also plugged the Ultimate Outlet into the P-600
and plugged the P-300 into the Ultimate Outlet, so the power came from my
wall to the P-600, then on to my amplifier, then to the Ultimate Outlet, and
from there to the P-300 and finally to my CD player. The music took another
large step in the right direction. The soundstage was now deeper and
wider, the resolution increased, and my speakers disappeared. On the
guitar tracks, the strumming and picking of the strings was much more
detailed, while the overall presentation of the music kept great pace,
remaining lively and pleasing. I could not identify anything that leaned
p300
toward musical fatigue. The two guitarists took their respective spots on
stage and BAM!, the concert began. As I listened I just enjoyed the music
for its own sake! I was often happy before, but I didn’t know how much
more was there to enjoy until the Power Plants helped reveal it.
P-600 Power Plant
I had tried the Ultimate Outlet between the P-600 and the P-300 with the
thought of isolating the digital source from the amplifier. I then moved the
Ultimate Outlet to the wall, plugged the P-600 into it and plugged the P-300
into the P-600. After doing several comparisons between these two setups,
I preferred the Ultimate Outlet between the wall and the P-600. With this
setup, the P-300 seemed to stand on the P-600’s shoulders, helping my CD
player to reproduce even more detail, always in proper balance with the
music. At a hi-fi Show, I once heard Jeff Rowland discuss the great lengths
that he had gone to have his amplifiers be silent, and the important contrast
between silence and sound was dramatically improved with the PS Audio
components. A few days later I tried another setup in which I removed the P300 and both my CD player and integrated amp were plugged into the P600. The resulting sound was much better than without using a Power
Plant, but there was an ever-so-slight loss of detail. Plugging the P-300
back into the P-600 brought back the magic.
My last round of auditions involved the Mini Lab power cable, my Tice cord,
and a stock Belden cord. I rotated all three cords between the P-600 and
my amplifier. The stock Belden had the worst results, the Tice power cable
was definitely better, but the Mini Lab was the best. The Mini Lab is about
two feet long, compared to six feet with the other two. The diameter of the
Mini Lab is also dramatically larger also.
The build quality of all four PS Audio pieces rates an A+, and they are
designed with great looking style. This review could easily be three times
longer due to so many possible variations, but since I haven’t the space to
discuss the many frequency settings, I’ll just recommend SS1. PS Audio’s
Power Plants can significantly improve your system. Regenerated power
may be that magical improvement that you’ve always longed for. The four
units worked together synergistically to take me further and further down
the road to musical paradise.
p300
By the way, the discus thrower figurine will never have to move because
the P-600 Power Plant and the other three PS Audio units are not being
returned. I have to go now, as I have a lot of music to listen to! Roger
McNichols
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M100
E.A.R. 834P phono
stage. Blue Circle BC3
preamp w/Amperex BB
tubes, and BCG3.1
power supply. Taddeo
Digital Antidote Two.
SOURCES
EVS Millenium 1B DAC
with Audient
Audit, JPS digital cable.
Linn Axiss turntable with
K9 cartridge and Basik
Plus arm.
CABLES
JPS Superconductor+
interconnects and
speaker cables. Sahuaro,
Blue Circle, Custom
House, and Clayton
Audio, and JPS AC
cables.
ACCESSORIES
Homebrewed ac
conditioner for sources
and the Coherent
Systems Electraclear
EAU-1 parallel
conditioner. Dedicated 15
The PS Audio P-300 should not be new to our
readers, as it was introduced several years ago, and has been reviewed by
quite a few other magazines and e-zines. So what can I say about a
product that has been around the block so many times? Let's look at it from
these angles: (1) "Do you need an AC regenerator rather than a line
conditioner?" (2) "Will AC regeneration make any real difference in your
musical enjoyment?" and (3) "Is there a universal silver bullet that will kill all
the evils in your AC?" The answers are yes to questions one and two, but
perhaps no to question three. I'm sorry to inform you that there is no Silver
Bullet, or at least that it isn't the P-300.
I have dedicated AC lines, one 15 amp for sources and one 20 amp for the
amplifiers. I ended up using the P-300 on the 15-amp circuit, feeding AC to
the EVS DAC, the Taddeo Digital Antidote II, and the Audit and Tactic pair.
The BC3000 preamp sounds slightly better running directly into the wall,
possibly because it has its own AC filtration based around capacitors,
resulting in a load that the P-300 does not like. Using the P-300 wrought
significant improvement to my system, in all the areas that audiophiles
cherish-pace, clarity, bass slam and extension, midrange and treble purity,
palpability, soundstaging, etc. Images took on way greater solidity and
clarity within a cleaner soundfield. Music was less artificial. It also seemed
"bigger," with considerably more impact. Almost like a turbocharger for
one's system, the P-300 was not subtle in its ability to allow my components
to work at their best.
What really improved was simply the solidity to the music. More power and
slam with a notch or two at the top and bottom. More bloom and more
presence with a greater sense of ease. Major improvements? Compared to
the wall, yes. Compared to other products, perhaps not. See my review
elsewhere on the Audio Magic Stealth (www.positivefeedback.com/Issue2/amstealth.htm). Each has it strengths and
weaknesses—or trade-offs—and which will work best for you is an issue
only you can best decide. I prefer the Audio Magic unit as it has more
outlets, can support more of a draw, does not get hot, and here at least,
does more to improve the music across the board than the P-300 did. Yes,
it does not regenerate the AC, but I did not find that to be an issue ti make
we prefer the P-300 over the Stealth. Anyhow read the other review where I
spend a bit more time comparing the two products.
p300
amp ac circuit for
sources and 20 amp ac
circuit for amplifiers.
Mondo racks, BDR cones
Vibrapods, various hard
woods, etc. And a bottle
of Rancho Sisquoc
Merlot.
With the P-300's Multiwave function, the finicky audiophile can fine-tune
these areas even further, though in more subtle ways. I did not hear jawdropping differences between the ten settings, but the effects are real and
useful. Going from one Multiwave setting to another will allow you to
change soundstaging depth and width, add or remove a bit of warmth, and
open up the music to some degree. I found this useful on bright or dark
recordings. Ditto with respect to components here for review. One can
almost use the Multiwave function like a tone control or soundfield control.
But like I said the changes are not that much of a revelation—at least not
here.
Drawbacks? The P-300 has a noisy fan-though I was told by PS Audio that
since I am operating it well within its capabilities, I could disconnect the fan
and everything would be fine. Two, only 300 watts can be drawn-sources
and preamps only, please. Three, there are only four AC outlets, and four,
the unit produces a lot of heat. I don't find the fan noise objectionable in my
environment, the heat is not really an issue in Long Beach—at least not
during the summer, and having only four outlets allowed me to use my
woodworking and electrical abilities making additional outlet boxes! Turning
the fan off caused the unit to get very hot by the way, so I left it on—which
meant that it never turned off for any significant period of time. And I was
only feeding sources—no preamp. A bit too impractical for me to live with,
but it may work for you. Perhaps the P-600 with more outlets is a better
path to follow, but that is a lot more money.
Highly recommended, especially as PS Audio offers a thirty day moneyback guarantee. Will it work for you? Try one for yourself. Dave Clark
PAT BRADY'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6 QR and
an Audio Pro DP40
subwoofer (modified).
ELECTRONICS
VTL Super Deluxe
preamp with built in
phono stage (MM/MC)
and 60s-vintage matched
RCA tube set. Electron
Kinetics Eagle 400
When I was asked to review the PS
Audio P-300, it was like being asked if I wanted a slice of New York
cheesecake. Like so many in the audiophile community, I have read, heard,
and wondered about all the praise heaped upon PS Audio's Power
Plants. I've had less-than-optimal electrical conditions in several places I've
lived. To alleviate some of the problems in my current home, I hired a City
of Los Angeles electrician when I purchased it. He installed a separate 20amp circuit for my system using heavy-gauge copper wire and hospitalgrade receptacles. He also checked and corrected improper grounding,
phase relationships between plugs, etc.
Several years ago, I spent a fair amount of time evaluating various power
conditioners and power cords. I ultimately purchased Transparent Audio's
power conditioner and power cords, which have performed well, truly
improving my system's fidelity and realism. These products made it
p300
SOURCES
Cal Audio Delta CD
transport and Alpha DAC
with 50s-vintage matched
Telefunken tube set. VPI
HW 19 Mark IV turntable
with SAMA (stand alone
motor assembly),
Audioquest PT-8
tonearm, and Benz
Glider and van den Hul
MC One moving coil
cartridges.
CABLES
Transparent Audio Power
Link Ultra power strip and
Power Link Plus power
cords and MIT 330 CVT
and 330 interconnects
and 750 Plus speaker
cables. Audio Works
Datalink digital cable.
possible to remove some, though not all, of the grunge associated with
contaminated AC. I frequently encounter periods of weak AC power. I can
literally see this, as all of the lights in my home become dimmer; the sound
of my system also becomes anemic. Whenever this occurred, there was
nothing I could do, until now!
The PS Audio approach to cleaner AC is to recreate it. In essence, your AC
is converted to DC and then converted again to high-grade, stable AC. The
P-300's voltage and frequency output are adjustable by the user. After
some experimentation, I retained the default settings of 117 VAC and 60
Hz. As the P-300 produces only 300 watts, I was limited to feeding my
preamp, CD transport, and DAC, leaving my amplifiers subject to my local
utility's AC supply. The P-300 performed best without any of the
Transparent Audio components installed. I ended up using no-name
generic AC cables for the components that have detachable cords.
It is difficult to describe what the Power Plant did to enhance my enjoyment
of recorded music. Whether the source was poorly recorded or at the top of
the sonic masterpiece list, I perceived improvement. Listening to Dean
Peer's CD Ucross is a revelation under normal circumstances. This album,
recorded in 1991, consists of Peer playing a fretless bass guitar. It's an
awesome, state-of-the-art recording. On a good system, it can get you
thinking this guy is in your room! When I played it using the P-300, I literally
had goose bumps, and on some passages I could feel my hair tingling from
sheer excitement. Believe me folks, this doesn't happen very often. Music
had increased dynamics. The sense of space and air improved
dramatically, and most if not all previously-perceived harshness was
removed Female voices, trumpets, flutes, and percussive instruments of all
sorts were smoother and more life-like than I'd ever experienced. Every
disc I listened to was rendered with a liquidity that reminded me of a wellplayed Gibson Les Paul fed through a tubed amplifier. This particular
combo can sound extremely accurate and articulate and still drip with
honey at the same time.
I unplugged the CD transport and DAC and plugged in my 27-inch JVC
monitor and Sony Hi-Fi VCR just to see what clean, stable power could do
for TV picture quality. The results were fantastic! Picture quality was so
good I had doubts about the need to get a DVD player. Images were much
sharper. The sometimes fuzzy transitional edges between different objects
on the screen were instantly rendered with distinct outlines. The scratchy
and wavy grain that is all-too-often present was practically eliminated, and
in its place was a smooth and solid image. Colors appeared to be richer
and purer, with no artificiality whatsoever. Low-light scenes had far more
detail and greater contrast. Also, audio from the monitor and VCR was
blessed with the same sonic virtues I had observed during CD
playback. The Power Plant was superior to any AC filtering device I have
ever used. I can only imagine what could be gained using PS Audio power
cords and AC outlets in conjunction with the P-300. As a note to those that
are conservation-minded, I contacted PS Audio to discuss my concern with
p300
the unit's efficiency. The person I spoke to stated that this unit operates at
60-65% efficiency, so keep in mind that you will be paying a higher price for
the pleasure this unit provides. For me, the improvement is well worth the
additional expense. I only have one other problem. How can I convince my
wife I need a P-300 for my front end and a P-600 for my amplifiers? Pat
Brady
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20.
ELECTRONICS
Majeel Labs Pristine S10 amplifier. E.A.R. 802
preamplifier.
SOURCE
Pioneer DV 525 dvd or
CAL Audio Icon Mk.II CD
players.
CABLES
Quattro Fil interconnects
and speaker cables
made from Belden 1219A
wire.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
Since my last reviews, I’ve gotten married
and I’ve moved. My new place is a block from the Pacific Ocean and on a
noisy thoroughfare, so my listening room has gotten noisier and subtleties
aren’t as easily discerned. I expect that this means my reviews of products
like the PS Audio P-300 Power Plant, which lowers noise levels, may be of
limited value. However, if I can hear the noise reduction, then the product
really works.
The Power Plant is essentially another amplifier for your system, except
that it is reconfiguring the sine wave, in a way not explained in their
brochure. The PS300 needs stilts if you have a carpeted floor—there is a
downward-facing fan on the unit to keep it cool. The hum of the fan is quite
low and sort of Mae West-like in tone, rather than, say, Rosie O’Donnell.
During music replay it was functionally silent. It will power four products,
including amplifiers if they are of the low-power variety. I tried it with the 50
wpc 47 Labs Gain Card, but not with the 100-watt class “A” Majeel Labs
Pristine amp. If you want to power a beefcake amplifier, you’ll need a P600.
My reaction? The P-300 really drops the noise level. I could easily hear a
difference, in several settings. My system is already relatively quiet, but the
Power Plant offered a whole other level of quiet. Signals emerged from a
blacker black, so to speak, and this allowed for a more easily discernible,
maybe even louder presentation. There was deeper silence between notes.
The sound wasn’t more expressive, it was simply easier to listen to. I didn’t
have as much time to listen to the Power Plant as I would have liked, so I’m
going to add a followup, but for now I’d give it at least one thumb up. I had a
physical reaction to it, a distinct relaxation of my whole body and a sort of
snuggling into music in a way I’ve previously associated with extraordinary
tube products.This is a desired experience for me.
Where I’m a little confused about this device is that it offers a slew of
multiple sine waves operating at different timing intervals. The setting the
unit ships at was nothing special for me. The “1” setting, however, was very
nice, and the one that PS Audio recommends. This setting seemed to make
music a little louder, a little more forward (something I usually hate), in the
sense that the immediacy of the instrument was increased. Music was
p300
simply more dynamic, and I like macrodynamics.
On the down side, the quieting of the noise floor took with it a sense of
decay and shimmer, the small details of music and recordings that give you
the impression of a live experience. I’m not sure what I think about this
product because I’m not sure if what I’m “missing’ is an added artifact.
The P-300 is about the same price as Ensemble Audio’s Mega Power
Point, which we reviewed last issue. The Power Plant quiets the back
ground more, but because the alteration is so substantial I’m not sure
whether the Power Plant is “better “ or is adding coloration. My conclusion
is that while the Ensemble Product may be subtler in its effect, it is, to my
ears, more “neutral.’
I’ll say the P-300 is recommended. Although expensive, it delivers the
goods. My questions about whether it is coloring the sound will take time to
answer. More later. Larry Cox
P-300
Retail $1245
PS Audio
TEL 877. 772. 8340
web address: www.psaudio.com
e-mail address: [email protected]
BACK TO TOP
nadcdplayer
nad
C541 CD player
as reviewed by Victor Chavira and Jim Grudzien
VICTOR
CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6
and B&W DM 302.
ELECTRONICS
Magnum Dynalab
208 receiver.
SOURCE
NAD T541
CD/DVD player.
CABLES
NAD is a British company that specializes in audio
components that give solid performance at a reasonable price. The C541 was
NAD’s top-of-the-line CD player until recently, when it was upgraded to an “i”
version. Both the 541 and 541i players have HDCD, a patented encode/decode
process developed by Keith Johnson and Pflash Pflaumer at Pacific Microsonics
in 1996. HDCD-encoded discs are encoded with 20 bits of musical information on
a 16-bit format. They provide more dynamic range, a more focused soundstage,
and more natural musical timbres.
I enjoyed the 541 very much, and it’s not difficult to see why when one considers
my reference—a seven-year-old Audio Electronics CD1. The CD1 is a highly
modified Marantz CD63 with tubed output, made by Cary. It was quite an item in
its day, but now shows its age. The NAD outperformed the CD1 in almost every
respect, dominating in pace, rhythm, and timing. Another area in which the 541
surpassed my CD1 was transparency. With Natalie Merchant’s latest CD,
Motherland, on my CD1, the music sounded adequate, with a hint of bloom
around her supple voice thanks to a pair of NOS (circa 1962) 12AU7s in the
output stage. The music only came alive, however, when I listened to the disc on
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nadcdplayer
Nordost QuattroFil interconnects,
Blue Heaven
speaker cables,
and El Dorado
power cords.
ACCESSORIES
Monster Cables
HTS 1000 AC
center. Vibrapods,
Lovan Trisolator,
and Echo Busters.
the 541. To my surprise, the HDCD indicator turned on, and unlocked previously
unrealized depth and musical textures. Merchant’s voice became more present
and her words more clearly enunciated. Acoustic guitars sounded more defined
and harmonically accurate. Bass and microdynamics were better represented
than with my reference player. I heard more precise notes from Charlie Haden’s
bass on his sublime Nocturne CD. Brushes on a snare sounded like fine bristles
skillfully stroked across a taught drumhead rather than salt in a shaker.
The 541 also possessed punch and momentum that my CD1 simply could not
match, as demonstrated by Pat Metheny’s latest work, Speaking of Now. This
recording features the dynamic interplay between new drummer Antonio
Sanchez and long-time Metheny Group bassist Steve Rodby. During passages of
explosive drumming and low bass, the NAD never lagged. Players at this price
level often turn such demanding passages into musical mush.
I firmly recommend the NAD C541 CD for its impressive musical performance
and value. Prospective buyers should be able to purchase a 541 at discounted
prices as dealers make room for the 541i. Unfortunately, the 541 is not
upgradeable to the “I” version. Victor Chavira
JIM GRUDZIEN'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Zingali Overture
3B.
ELECTRONICS
Denon AVR-3801
receiver.
SOURCE
Arcam DiVA
CD72T CD player
and a Pioneer DV414 DVD player.
CABLES
XLO/PRO 100
interconnects and
Ultralink
Audiophile
Reference Series
speaker cables.
When I removed the NAD C541 from the box, I was
not impressed. It has a very plain-jane look, but I understand that NAD has a
reputation for putting its efforts into the inside of the machine rather than the
outside, so this wasn’t a surprise. The front panel is well laid out.
The remote, on the other hand, is rather oddly shaped, uncomfortable in my
hand, and difficult to use. The digital filter from Pacific Microsonics that NAD
employs for the C541’s HDCD decoding is considered to be one of the finest
around. The unit is designed with a very low output impedance (300 ohms),
making it less sensitive to cables and ancillary equipment.
The C451 sounded good enough to make me forget about its looks and the
awkward remote. I experienced a crisp, clean, detailed sound, with no
immediately obvious colorations. On Israel Kamakawiwo's Facing Future CD, I
listened to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful Life." Israel's
voice was very light and delicate, his words were clear and easy to understand,
and I could easily distinguish each pluck or strum of his ukulele. The midrange
and treble were realistic, although his voice lacked the warmth and richness that
my Arcam DiVA 72T reproduces. The presentation of Mary Black No Frontiers
was similar. Her voice was light and delicate, there was no harshness to the
highs, and the mids were right on. The big band sound of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
was an excellent challenge for the C541. On the songs “Who’s That Creeping”
and “Still in Love with You,” horns were taut and detailed, piano was clean and
nadcdplayer
clear. I could almost see each finger striking the keys. The bass was a little soft,
and lacked the “pop” I am accustomed to hearing with my Arcam. Diane Schuur’s
rendition of “Stormy Monday Blues” had excellent detail. Live, her voice is
amazing, warm and rich, and has beautiful pitch. The NAD made her sound a
little cold and distant. The guitar was easily distinguished from the rest of the
intruments and the orchestra was big. Although the bottom end was large and lifelike, it wasn’t deep and full sounding.
I found the NAD C541 rather uninvolving and lacking in emotion. It has a
somewhat clinical sound, bordering on sterile. Although it does have a crisp,
clean, detailed, and precise sound, I prefer more warmth and richness. The C541
did not reproduce the full, warm bass I am accustomed to. Its CD-R and HDCD
compatibility makes it versatile, and a good value for around $500. The C541
could enough punch and drive to move a lush, soft system up the sonic ladder. I
don’t think it would be a good match in a system that already tends toward the
analytical. Jim Grudzien
NAD C541
Retail $500
NAD Electronics
TEL: 800. 263. 4641
web address: www.nadelectronics.com
BACK TO TOP
amstealth
audio magic
Stealth Power Purifier
AC power is often an overlooked element in
the audio chain. Understandably, with so many components vying for hardearned dollars, it’s no wonder power conditioning tends to have a low place
on the priority list. However, increasing evidence regarding the detrimental
effects of crude AC on delicate audio components suggests that even the
humblest of systems can benefit from power conditioning. Would you run
your car on kerosene? I’ve listened to a variety of power conditioning
products from companies such as PS Audio, Brickwall, Balanced Power,
Monster Cable, and Richard Gray. All of their products reduced AC
contaminants entering my system and increased musical satisfaction, but
none had such a profound impact as the Audio Magic Stealth Power
Purifier. Granted, one could purchase all of the above products for the price
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amstealth
of one Stealth.
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6 and
B&W DM 302.
ELECTRONICS
Magnum Dynalab 208
receiver. SCE Harmonic
Recovery System.
SOURCE
NAD T541 CD/DVD
player.
CABLES
Nordost Quattro-Fil
interconnects, Blue
Heaven speaker cables,
and El Dorado power
cords.
ACCESSORIES
Monster Cables HTS
1000 AC center.
Vibrapods, Lovan
Busters.
Details about the Power Purifier are limited. It is a small, lightweight, black
plastic box about 11 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall by 8 inches deep. The
version I have contains six high-grade outlets, a removable power cord, and
a reset switch on the back. According to the product literature, the Stealth
incorporates seven stages of protection and is wired with pure silver
conductors.
My first experiment with the Stealth involved plugging my Magnum Dynalab
208 receiver into it. Alone, the 208 is a highly regarded music maker. With
the Stealth in place, however, the 208 ascended to superstar status.
Background noise became imperceptible. Highs extended and shimmered
with delicate light. Low bass flowed deeper than ever, and the midrange
took on sharp focus and vivid detail. I listen to guitar quite a bit—classical,
flamenco, jazz, country, rock, acoustic, electric are all represented in my
collection. I’m fascinated by the sounds and shapes of different guitars.
One of my great joys in life is to pick up one of my handmade instruments
and play along. Listening to guitar recordings with the Stealth brought me
closer to the sound of the real thing. Each downstroke and upstroke of a
rhythm became more separated in time. Each string in a line of fingerpicked
notes retained individuality and character. You may not care whether a G is
played on the first or second string of the guitar, but I do. Such detail is very
helpful when attempting to figure out a piece by ear.
Similar results were produced when sources were inserted into the Stealth.
Grunge was eliminated, allowing subtleties like timbre, harmony, attack,
and decay to shine. Spatial information also became more apparent and
defined, leading to a reappreciation of my favorite recordings.
The Audio Magic Stealth Power Purifier is an outstanding, albeit expensive,
component. While it was in my system I discovered many ear-tickling
details, felt deep bass, and listened intensely to music in a manner
previously unavailable to me. I have not yet figured out how to purchase
this unit. Hopefully, I can request some overtime at work, because the
Audio Magic has cast a spell over me. Victor Chavira
amstealth
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M100
E.A.R. 834P phono
stage. Blue Circle
BC3000 preamp
SOURCES
with Audient
turntable with K9
arm.
CABLES
JPS Superconductor+
NC speaker cables.
Audio, and JPS
ACCESSORIES
PS Audio P300 Power
Plant.
Dedicated 20 and 15
EchoBuster room
Audio 2D and 3D
hard woods, etc.
What should a power line filter do? And what
auidble effect should it have? I ask these questions as an introduction to
the Audio Magic Stealth Power Purifier.
Having used a PS Audio P300 for many months, I was so impressed that I
chose to purchase it. To quote my own review, “the PS300 wrought
significant improvements to my system, in all the areas that audiophiles
cherish.... Almost like a turbocharger for one's system, the P300 was not
subtle in its ability to allow my components to work at their best." This is no
doubt a result of the P300’s ability to regenerate the AC and then offer it to
components in balanced form. With respect to the unit’s “Multiwave”
feature, let me again quote myself: "Going from one Multiwave setting to
another will allow you to change soundstaging depth and width, add or
remove a bit of warmth, and open up the music to some degree.... One can
almost use the Multiwave function like a tone control or soundfield control."
Nevertheless there are several downsides to the P300. The unit runs hot,
requiring a fan that is audible from across the room. Also, since the P300 is
really an amplifier, it draws a fair amount of AC from the wall. And last, with
the multiwave, I could hear the transformers in various components
"motorboating" as they were fed different frequencies. This was the biggest
question that ate away at my brain: Would the P300 slowly kill my
components?" Oh, and the P300 only has four outlets, and is limited to use
with front-end components.
Could the Audio Magic, or any other such device, give me similar results,
and&nbspat a similar price point? I have heard and read many good things
about the Sound Application and Shunyata units, as well as the Stealth, but
so far only the Stealth has arrived for review. (The others have been
promised.) Priced considerably less than the Sound Application unit and
half that of the Shunyata, could the Stealth be a winner? Back to my
original question. What should a power line filter do? It should clean the AC
of various broadband distortions and/or noise on the line from either
direction (RFI and EMI). Ideally it will also offer a more steady AC flow, like
the P300, so that components do not see dips or spikes in the AC. It should
also protect components from surges, so that in the event of lightning or
whatever, the gear does not suffer catastrophic failure.
Here’s what can tell you about the Stealth with respect to this question. The
Stealth is wired throughout with ultra-pure, solid, 10-gauge silver wire that
has been specially treated and polished to reduce noise and improve and
maintain maximum conductivity. It uses three Leviton hospital-grade 20amp isolated ground duplexes, with pure silver buss bars between each
set. There are five stages of surge and spike protection, two active and
three passive. There are four different types of purification, one active and
amstealth
three passive. The unit also has four QC devices, six FI-B devices, and one
dual-mode quantum filter, with three super-high-voltage hand-selected
capacitors that will purify clear into the gigahertz range. The Stealth has
absolutely no current limiting, but is limited to its 15-amp breaker. All of this
means... well, you got me! Apparently the Stealth is really good at cleaning
up the AC while offering protection against spikes and surges. Plus, Audio
Magic claims that any electrical device plugged into the Stealth will last
longer and work better. Why not?
Okay, but what about my second question? What would I hear in terms of
the music being reproduced by my system? I have tried a fair number of ACpurification items that definitely changed the way the music sounded, but
did not always make it better. Out of the box,the Stealth was a touch too
bright and hard, with a shallow soundfield. After a week or so, these
problems disappeared. (The Stealth apparently requires up to 500 hours of
break-in. Fortunately Audio Magic does a fair amount of that at the factory.)
The result? Go back to what I wrote about the P300 and take it to a whole
‘nother level. With the Stealth, there is considerably more silence between
the notes, with a much greater sense of musical harmonics decaying with
natural ease. Little details just hang there forever as they fade into a deep
dark blackness. I can also hear much deeper into the music, with such an
increase in transparency and clarity that it is startling, with a high jump
factor. Subtle dynamic shadings are portrayed in such a way that on a wellrecorded disc, the performers sound amazingly real. Music has that eerie
silence, with such a beautiful and natural purity that all I want to do is pull
out disc after disc and listen. Bass has added slam, and has lost a hint of
fullness that had become a bit of an ear-sore. This is really cool!
Want a more open sound? Want music in the room with you? Want up-front
seats, but with a wide and deep soundfield? Desire the ultimate in
palpability, with a rich and textured harmonic tapestry? Need greater
presence with no sonic tradeoffs? The Stealth is for you! I heard no
tradeoffs going from the P300 to the Stealth. I guess my AC is pretty steady
and strong to begin with, or that the Stealth helps to steady the AC without
the need for regeneration. I have yet to hear anything that would lead me to
say anything negative about the Stealth. Is it a winner? Unequivocally, yes.
Would I sell the P300 and buy the Stealth?
Let’s see. It is dead quiet, it does not generate heat or consume additional
AC, it allows me two additional outlets with the ability to handle up to 15
amps, it does not appear to be stressing any components hooked up to it,
and it makes my system produce music that far exceeds, on an emotional
level, what I heard via the P300. A no-brainer.
But here’s the rub. Of all the things that can affect a system’s ability to
reproduce music in the home, it is AC that is the most difficult to get a
handle on. I have found that what works in one system may not work in
another. There are so many variables affecting the AC that it is difficult to
predict what will work for you. All I can say is that in my system the Stealth
amstealth
is unbelievable. Dave Clark
Stealth Power Purifier
Retail $1600
Audio Magic
TEL: 888. 464. 8202
web address: www.audio-magic.com
BACK TO TOP
dehavilland
Brutussm.gif
hardware.jpg (10798 bytes)
(1472 bytes)
a return voyage
to 845’s
The deHavilland 845 Aries Monoblock Amplifier &
Buggtussel Amygdala Loudspeaker
The deHavilland Aries 845 Monoblock
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/dehavilland.htm (1 of 10) [11/4/2002 8:04:35 PM]
dehavilland
Introduction
You know, Georgie K. and Kara C. make a very righteous amplifier… and
Dr. Kevin B. has a speaker that compliments it right well. But I’m getting
ahead of myself...
DAVID ROBINSON'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Linn Komri Reference
Monitors, Nova Rendition
II, and Buggtussel
Amygdala.
ELECTRONICS
Audio Research
Corporation Reference
Two Mk II preamplifier
with ARC unbalanced
output stage mods. Linto
and Coph Nia phono
amplifier. Linn Klimax (1
pair) and DeHavilland
845 monoblock
amplifiers.
SOURCES
Sony SCD-1 SACD
player with Audiocom
Superclock & Superclock
Power Supply Mods.
Marantz SA-12S multichannel SACD/DVD
player. Sony XA777ES
multi-channel SACD/CD
player. Linn CD-12 CD
player. Sony SCDC333ES carousel
SACD/CD player. Linn
LP-12 turntable, with the
latest Arkiv cartridge,
Ekos tonearm, Lingo
power supply, Cirkus
subchassis, Cardas DINto-phono output jack.
Revox B-77 Mk II 15ips
half-track reel-to-reel
tape recorder. Pioneer
RT-707 7.5 ips quarter
track reel-to-reel tape
recorder. Nakamichi
Dragon cassette deck.
Panasonic SV-3900 DAT
player. Magnum Dynalab
FT-101 tuner.
Having moved back and forth between the world of high current (Linn
Klimax at 500 WPC) and flea-powered (the SET/SACD project of a
couple of years ago), I was interested in listening to something that would
be in-between… more than 4 Watts, but less than 80-100. (I’m reserving
that range for a hoped-for project involving Joule Electra and Merlin.)
Keeping my eyes/ears open while at CES 2001, I dropped in on my audio
friends George Kielcynski (“the K!”) and Kara Chaffee (“KC!”), whose 572based amplifier had made such an impression on me the prior year.
I have really fond memories of that CES. I got to spend time with a
number of good friends (George Cardas, Stan Ricker, Dave Glackin,
Steve Hoffman, Jim Ricketts, Brian Morris, etc., etc., etc.), heard some
great systems that sounded good even under show conditions (hard to
do, that), and had some decent food and drink. Unfortunately, my trusty
digital camera was having technical problems at the last minute, so didn’t
make the trek with me—bloody thing—but I did take along a set of
reference SACDs as consolation.
One of the truly musical rooms that my SACDs and I visited was the
deHavilland/Buggtussel suite. Quoting from my show notes (Positive
Feedback, Vol. 9, No. 2):
Another great room for music and sound was the deHavilland /
Buggtussel room. people like Kara Chaffee and George Kielczynski ("the
K"!), together with Kevin Blair of "the Bugg company" made my visit there
a helluva good time. I've was really impressed with the earlier deHavilland
572-based monoblocks-these are currently a Positive Feedback
reference here in River City- and their new 845 blocks look terrific and
sound exceptional. (Hope to get these in some day.) They were also
equipped with an SACD player, which made it overwhelmingly tempting to
whip out a couple of my favorite SACD's, especially given the somewhat
staid music going on in many of the rooms. So on went both Oldfield's
Tubular Bells and Spitball's hellaciously punchy alternative rock SACD,
Pop Condition. Playing through some of the larger Buggtussel
transmission lines, smashing good music was delivered. We proceeded
to dance and boogie big time! (You know, Georgie K can really shake that
thing!) The tandem of deHavilland electronics and the big Buggtussels
made for a room filled with joyous noise... not to mention pulling in a
number of GenX'ers who wanted to know, "What's that kewl music?!"
Definitely scrumptious. Anyone wanting to check out some truly
innovative tube gear should get in touch with deHavilland's designs at
www.dehavillandhifi.com and Buggtussel at www.buggtussel.com ...
dehavilland
CABLES
JENA Labs, Cardas, and
Linn interconnect and
loudspeaker cables.
Power cables by JENA
Labs, Cardas, First
Impression Music,
VansEvers, and Sound
Applications.
ACCESSORIES
Vibraplane turntable
isolation platform and
VCS Platforms with Black
Diamond Racing cones
under the SCD-1 and
ARC Reference Two, Mk
II Sound Applications
CFX Line Conditioner.
Shakti Stones and Shakti
Onlines. Tice Signature
III Power Block.
VansEvers Clean Line.
Equipment racks by
Michael Green and
Target. VPI 17F LP
cleaning system with
Torumat TM-7XH
Superfluid cleaner.
Record Research Lab LP
cleaning system.
Acoustical treatments by
ASC, VansEvers, and
Michael Green.
definitely worth doing! A Ye Olde Editor's "very highly recommended!
The Buggtussel Amygdala
In the aftermath of that terrific experience, I asked Georgie K. and KC to
send a pair of the Aries 845’s to Portland to replace their SV572/KT-88based amp. George was also kind enough to arrange with Dr. Kevin Blair
of Buggtussel to send along a pair of the Amygdala, so that we could
have a pair of moderately efficient (91dB/W/m) loudspeakers, and I could
hear the amplifier in my listening room using similar transducers.
Technical Specifications
The deHavilland Aries 845 is a pure Class A component, featuring zero
negative feedback. The input is a 6SN7, with a 6AV5 driver, feeding a
Chinese 845 directly heated triode (DHT) output tube. The transformers
are a set of hefty Electra-Prints; as was clear when I began to listen, Jack
Elliano and company (www.electraprint.com) have not lost their touch.
The finish is a kind of modern retro look—glass, metal, wood side plates,
large switches and aluminum faceplate, with that startling cursive red
logo—combining utility with a unique style. I have to say that I like the
look of the deHavilland.
dehavilland
The deHavilland Aries 845 on a Townshend isolation platform
The claimed power rating of the Aries 845 is 25 Watts into 8 Ohms, which
is less than the rated 40 WPC of the Aries 572. The amp measures 12”
wide by 18” long by 10” high, and weighs in at a respectable 57 pounds.
(Complete technical specifications can be found at
www.dehavillandhifi.com/aries845.htm.)
Dr. Kevin Blair of Buggtussel is a very interesting fellow. The word that I
heard is that Kevin is a medical doctor, with a powerful interest in the
human brain, as well as audiophile speaker design. Thus we have a
speaker line that uses names from the anatomical lexicon of res mentis.
Intriguing!
The speaker that we received was the Amygdala, from roughly the midpoint of the Buggtussel line. The nominal frequency response is 3222kHz, with a nominal impedance of 6 Ohms, and a rated sensitivity of
91dB/W/m. The drivers are comprised of a 1” Aual tweeter, and two 7”
Kevlar mid/bass units crossovered at 3kHz. The Amygdala is 47” high by
10.5” wide by 19.5” deep, and weighs in at 90.5 pounds. The review pair
were finished in the natural oak. Other finishes are available from
Buggtussel. (More complete technical specifications and the design
philosophy are to be found a (www.buggtussel.com/amygdala.html and
www.buggtussel.com/technical.asp.)
dehavilland
The Amygdala speakers are transmission lines, though with some
modifications that Blair claims get it past some of the problems of such
designs. I’ve always enjoyed TL’s myself, but do find that they can be
problematic for placement, and for balance in a given room. A simple
rule: if you need bass reinforcement, move carefully towards the walls; if
you need to reduce the bass, move carefully away from them. (This is
harder to get right than it seems, by the way.)
Ancillary equipment included the Sony SCD-1 SACD player, the Linn CD12 CD transport, the Linn LP-12/Ekos/Arkiv II/Lingo/Linto/Cirkus turntable
system, the Audio Research Reference Two, Mark II preamp, JENA Labs
SE interconnects and Trio speaker cables, and Cardas power cables.
(For more details, see my PF Online system description at www.positivefeedback.com/staff.htm.)
The Amygdala were given a light (approximately 7.5 degree) toe-in, and
were kept about 3-4 feet out from the side walls, and about the same from
the back wall. Your mileage will vary, no doubt; expect to expend some
elbow grease and time to get the soundstaging, imaging, lower
frequencies and tonal range correct in your room.
The Sound
I have listened to other 845 amplifiers in my listening room, though of a
dehavilland
radically different character. The Bel Canto SET-80’s were a dual 845
setup producing up to about 80 WPC. We had them here in River City for
quite a while, and found them to be extraordinary amplifiers at first listen. I
paired them with my reference Nova Rendition II loudspeakers, and at
first was drawn right in. The sound was big, musical, golden, and very
seductive, truly a fine experience.
Over time, though, I found that the “goldenness” of the sound became
perhaps a bit predictable, as though this implementation of the 845’s was
oriented toward the stereotypically euphonic. Not tubby; not rolled off; just
“golden,” all the time.
It’s hard to express this strange response… because I’ve heard all sorts
of tube amplifiers that escape the labels and categories of the past
generation. Indeed, it’s meaningless to use the term “tube-like” any
more—there’s no such creature!
Perhaps a different room; perhaps different speakers; perhaps cabling…
who knows? Bel Canto makes fine products; I’m sure that someone else
could have made such promising amplifiers sing!
What I knew was that the 845 tube hadn’t quite succeeded in their first
pass in my listening room. Would the deHavilland Aries 845/Buggtussel
Amygdala do any better?
Setting up the Aires 845 is very straightforward. I placed them on isolation
stands between the speakers, put on my cotton gloves, installed the three
tubes, wired the amps to the speakers (following the deHavilland
instructions step-by-step all the way), then got out my trusty Rat Shack
digital multi-meter. I followed the recommended procedure for dialing in
the bias, which is extremely simple to do. Within a few minutes, I was
ready to go.
dehavilland
When I first fired up the amplifiers, I was pleased with the relatively low
noise floor. This can be a problem with some tube amplifiers, but is not
with the Electra-Print equipped Aries 845. Like the earlier 572 model, it is
a quiet creature; a very gentle buzz at the speaker, a little white noise,
inaudible at normal listening distances, is all that’s there. Another good
feature of the 845 is its “soft start” power-up, giving the tubes a few
seconds to get on track before going live.
(A word to the wise: Based on my experience, I would allow these amps
about 30 minutes to warm-up before doing any “deep listening.” They’re
not bad…don’t leave them on full-time… but keep the lead time in mind
before doing any really important listening session.)
The 845 for review has the attenuators, allowing the listener to use the
amplifier directly from a source should that be desired. I’d recommend
this option if you can afford it; it’s very helpful to be able to dial in the
output of the amplifier, or use it without a preamp at need. Me, I generally
kept the output turned up to 3:00 or so—I like the joint to jump at need!
Unlike my earlier 845 experience, this combination delivered what I
remembered from CES: a clear, clean sound… articulate and nicely
detailed… without the overdose of “golden” that happened (to my dismay)
in my room before. It was a relief to sit back and enjoy what I was
hearing.
dehavilland
Those who know the magic of DHT’s and the 845 know where the utter
magic of this tube is: the midrange of the Aries 845 glorious! Right now
I’m listening to the exceptional new SACD from Sony/Columbia, James
Taylor’s JT. This SACD arrived just recently, and both Brian Moura and I
are agreed that it’s wonderful! (If you don’t have it yet… get it. “Don’t think
twice, it’s alright…”) Taylor’s voice is smashing… I keep wandering away
from the keyboard… just to hear this recording sound better than I’ve ever
heard it. Ditto on the new Lauryn Hill Unplugged SACD (magic!!); ditto
again on Winston Ma’s utter reference SACD River of Sorrow—acoustical
instruments and the human voice are rendered with an ease and
naturalness that rests and heals your spirit.
The Aries 845/Amygdala do this without rolling off the upper frequencies,
though; extension and the sense of air and space, which is what LPs and
SACDs deliver so superbly, is present in proper proportions. Percussives
are natural and quick; the metal domes that Buggtussel uses in its 1”
dome don’t “spit,” or become harsh/aggressive. State-of-the-art
SACDs/LP playback make this a particularly important consideration; this
combination does not disappoint. The presentation is quick, spacious,
and lithe—very appealing, indeed.
dehavilland
I adjudge the bass to be quite good. The Amygdala is not going to deliver
the basement octave (18-36 Hz) the same way that the Linn Komri does,
nor even reach the respectable 25 Hz that the Nova Rendition II delivers
with such beauty, but what it does produce is clean and controlled. The
Aries 845 has no problems with anything other than the most demanding
bass recordings (you will definitely lose the bottom register of Spitball’s
Pop Condition SACD or Joe Satriani’s Engines of Creation… then again,
those are pretty unusual recordings! I reckon that pipe organ
aficionados… well, that suffering group always has a problem with this….)
The dynamics of the presentation are good, though probably more
pleasing to “microdynamicists” than “macrodynamicists.” Soundstaging,
with proper setup (lightly toed-in to taste), is very good. The presentation
is not as wide as the Komri or Nova Rendition II’s, but depth front-to-back
is clean and well-rendered. Imaging is not as precise as with the Linn
Komri/Klimax; then again, that’s not a fair match, eh?
Are there any drawbacks? Since nothing’s perfect, the answer is “of
course.” The Aries 845/Amygdala will do a better job on jazz or chamber
orchestras or human voice/acoustic instruments than with the Rolling
Stones on SACD (oh YEAH!), though the presentation of driving rock and
roll will probably not suffice for those who prefer high current/lower
efficiency designs. (Make sure that you don’t live in an apartment
building, though!)
Then again… I’m listening to the brand new ABKCO SACD reissue of the
Rolling Stones Flowers over the Aries 845/Amygdala… ”Lady Jane” is
sounding so bloody fine, that I can’t sit in my chair and write about it
without jumping up from time to time to sit in the listening room—just
down the hall—to take it all in. These SACDs are sine qua non for anyone
with the good sense to have an SACD player, and who loves great music.
I guess that I’d have to say that rockers/rollers should not be frightened
off… that last octave can only be delivered by a handful of systems on the
dehavilland
planet, anyway. The Aries 845/Amygdala deliver an awful lot of pure
musical joy!
I should also note that the efficiency of the Amygdalas, while decent at
91dB/W/m, is only middle of the efficiency pack. The Aries 845 has
enough power to drive this speaker, but I wouldn’t want to use too much
less than this with the Amygdala. Those with low-powered/flea-powered
SETs will need more efficiency in a speaker.
Over a number of months, I’ve put quite a few SACDs, LPs and CDs
through this combination, and I have to say that the Aries 845/Amygdala
is an absolutely delightful tandem. Always musical, but never sentimental,
this tandem pleased me at all times. If you’re looking for the magic of
DHT’s with some additional horsepower, and a speaker that complements
the sound very nicely, you should definitely put this pair on your audition
list.
The deHavilland Aries 845/Buggtussel Amygdala combination therefore
rates a Ye Olde Editor’s “very highly recommended.”
Manufacturers:
deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company
TEL: 925. 837. 7201
email address: [email protected]
web address: www.dehavillandhifi.com
Current pricing: deHavilland Aries 845 is $6000/pair, with several custom
options (Elma custom stepped attenuators @ $600; Cardas
Gold/Rhodium binding posts @ $200) available. Call or email for details.
Buggtussel, LLC
TEL: 269. 321. 9660
web address: www.buggtussel.com
Current pricing: $4000/pair in natural oak, as of our last information.
Contact Buggtussel for current pricing/availability.
BACK TO TOP
decwareset
decware
Zen SE84B triode amplifier
as reviewed by Mark Katz, Victor Chavira, and Dave Clark
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/decwareset.htm (1 of 7) [11/4/2002 8:04:36 PM]
decwareset
MARK KATZ'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Soundlab A-1s or
Tannoy Saturn 8s.
ELECTRONICS
Melos 402 Gold Triode
monoblocks with MAT
1000 circuit boards.
Kora Triode preamplifier.
SOURCES
CEC TL-1, Marigo
Reference 3 Digital
Inteconnect, and
Museatex Bidat DAC.
CAL Icon II CD player
and Audio Alchemy
DAC. Day Sequerra FM
Reference tuner.
CABLES
Goertz AG2 or FMS
Black speaker
cables. Goertz Triode
Quartz and Clarity
Custom Connections
interconnects.
The Decware SE84B stereo amp is a small,
shiny, gray box with four tubes, modest but functional binding posts, and a
black Hammond power transformer. The box resembles a military surplus
piece from the ‘50s. You can hold it in one hand without too much strain,
which I find is a pleasant contrast to amps that are better carried with a hoist
and crane! The glossy fact sheet proudly points out that the amp is hand
built, with point to point wiring and only a capacitor and two resistors in the
signal path, is self biasing, and can be used without a preamp due to the
variable input sensitivity. It can easily be externally wired to be used as a
monoblock, if the owner decides that two amps are better than one. It
generates an optimistically rated 5 watts, about 9 watts if used as a
monoblock. It is available prebuilt for $549, or discounted as a kit, directly
from Steve Deckert in Peoria, Illinois.
There’s a input tube bias switch in the front which changes the sound of the
amp, and emits a loud pop if you are brave enough to use it with the amp
turned on. The power switch is on the back, along with a volume pot shaft
(no knob). The tubes are currently available and quite inexpensive—a
Svetlana 6N1P serves as the input tube, a 5Y3GT as the rectifier tube, and
two Svetlana SV83s wired in triode as the output tubes. The manufacturer
estimates a total retube would run about $30, but only the output tubes are
likely to require frequent replacement. At first I thought these slightly
unusual tubes might be hard to replace if Svetlana stopped making them,
but I found out that one may substitute a common 6DJ8 for the input tube
and EL84s for the outputs.
I first hooked up the SE84B to the Tannoy Saturn S8s in my living room
video system, with a Kora Triode preamp and a Pioneer 701 Laser Disc
player. The treble was excellent and the speakers could play fairly loudly,
but unfortunately the lower mids on down sounded muddy.
While the speakers are relatively efficient at 91dB, they are rated at 6ohm
nominal impedance, and the pairing wasn’t ideal. The Music Reference
RM10 works much better with these speakers, though the Decware might
work well as a treble amp in a biamped system. Next up was my homebrew
Tannoy Monitor Gold 12 dual concentrics in Lockwood Studio cabinets, also
about 92dB efficiency but an easier 8 ohm load. This made a more
appropriate pairing. The rest of the system included a CAL Icon II HDCD
player as transport and a modified Audio Alchemy DAC 1 with the output
stripped out, coupled to a Loesch-Wiesner tubed preamp. I found the sound
with the bias switch in the front position more subtle sounding and natural,
though punchier with the switch in the back position. I’ll describe my
listening with the switch in the front position and the volume pot all the way
up.
decwareset
Piano was very well resolved, with good tonality and clarity. I heard some
dynamic compression, but no gross clipping distortion, even on peaks. On
Ravel’s Jeux d’eau on the Conifer label (75605 51755 2), played by the
superb Kathryn Stott, the feeling is laid back, relaxed, but playful and
appropriate to the music. Earl Wild’s transcriptions of Gershwin on Chesky
CD 32 is one of my favorite CDs. Imagine Gershwin as nineteenth century
romantic/classical music and you’ll have a rough idea! Track 11, “There’s a
Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon For New York,” from the Fantasy on Porgy and
Bess, has complex runs that can test the resolution of even a fine system,
as well as microdynamic shadings that give the music much of its character.
With this amp, I didn’t find the typical midrange bloom of my single-ended
300 B amps. I heard a sweet, clear presentation with no blurring of piano
lines. Impact, tone, and decay were all dead on. Presentation remained
polite, with the image more between the speakers than in front, and always
enjoyable.
I use the title track of Bela Fleck’s Flight of the Cosmic Hippo CD (WB 9
26562-2) to check out bass performance. Small tube amps aren’t generally
known for good bass. On the easier-to-drive Tannoys, the bass was solid
and well defined and didn’t fade out as the synth growled deeper. At the
same time, the banjo plucks were clear and musical. Compared to my 300B
SE amps, the presentation again had less midrange bloom, less impact at
similar volume, but better detail and clarity.
The Dorian release of the JS Bach Secular Cantatas (DOR 90199) features
soprano Dorothea Roschmann as the daughter in the humorous Coffee
Cantata. It’s easy to forget that Bach wrote some fun, light music. The
"Coffee Cantata" has a tenor introduce the piece, followed by the baritonevoiced father lamenting his daughter’s coffee addiction, a commentary on
the new (to Bach) coffee craze that was sweeping Europe. This is followed
by the daughter trying to negotiate her right to drink coffee, pretending to
concede but planning to get her beloved caffeine-laden beverage anyway.
This musical dialog is accompanied by the excellent Les Violins du Roy and
harpsichord. While an enjoyable CD in its own right, it’s also a great way to
hear tenor, soprano, and baritone voices realistically portrayed. With the
Decware, the soaring flute in track 12 had proper breathiness and detail.
Voices were quite realistic in all ranges, with no excessive sibilance. The
baritone was a bit less chesty than I’m used to, but still believable. The
background harpsichord and orchestra were in proper perspective.
On an experimental Lowther design, the amp was excellent on simple
material, but not as good at resolving detail in complex orchestral material
as a much more expensive E.A.R. push/pull triode amp. On a pair of
Tannoy Monitor Gold 12s in custom five cubic foot cabinets, the amp
performed similarly to the Tannoys in the Lockwood cabinets—very nicely.
The Decware SE84B is not for everyone, but it is an amp for those with
easy-to-drive speakers, i.e., flattish impedance curve with no dips in the
bass (like my Saturn 8s), a 92-93 dB/watt efficiency or better, and few
decwareset
drivers. The amp does convey some of the single-ended “magic” without the
midrange exaggeration common to 300B SE amps. This amplifier is a
genuine bargain if you have the right speakers. Mark Katz
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Wind Rivers.
ELECTRONCIS
Clayton Audio M70
HRS unit and Taddeo
E.A.R. 834P phono
preamp w/Amperex BB
tubes, and BCG3.1
power supply.
SOURCES
EAD T1000 transport
and 1000 Series II DAC
with Audient
Audi, Nordost Moonglo
digital cable. Linn Axiss
turntable with K9
arm.
CABLES
Nordost Blue Heaven
and SPM interconnects,
and SPM bi-wired
speaker cables.
ACCESSORIES
API 116 Power Wedge
and Coherent Systems
Electraclear EAU-1
parrallel conditioner.
Dedicated 20 amp ac
circuit. BDR cones and
board, DH cones,
Do 8-ohm, 94dB sensitivity speakers imply an
easy load for a 2- to 5-watt SET amplifier? Our Reimer Tetons are just such
speakers, but an easy load on paper does not necessarily lead to a happy
mating with a very low-powered amp. I believe the issue goes further than
ohms and dBs. Two speakers with the same specs may differ widely in
terms of design. An 8-ohm, 94 dB two-way is not the same as an 8-ohm,
94dB three-way, much less a speaker like the Teton, which has seven
drivers per side (two front-firing woofers, two internal isobaric-chambered
woofers, along with two midrange drivers and one tweeter). The issue is the
number of drivers (and the type of crossover), not just the sensitivity and
load. You can use a go-kart engine to power a racing car, but it may not
work very well. This is pretty much what I experienced with the ZEN 84B
triode. The Tetons were not the speakers in mind when the 84B was
concieved—single driver Lowthers or more likely horns! The Tetons have
the right specifications, but not the right execution. As such with the number
of drivers requiring power and control, the 84B is at a distinct disadvantage.
The 84B is a cute little amp, and one in which simplicity is the name of the
game. It has the minimum number of parts inside to get the job done. To the
end of keeping things simple, it also sports a volume pot, allowing the user
to avoid the need for a preamp, assuming that only one source is used and
that the amplifier’s input impedance is compatible with the source.
You already know that this was not a match made in musical heaven, but
neither was it musical hell. Amazingly, the ZEN drove the Tetons to very
reasonable levels and never embarrassed itself, sonically or musically. I sat
there day after day, mumbling to myself, “Two watts, only two watts!” Alright,
so the bass was not even close to that of the Claytons, but bass there
was—more amorphous than textured, loose than tight, rolled-off than
extended, but still appreciated musically. And the music was dynamically
restricted, but not glaringly so, though you could tell that this many drivers
was just too many for the ZEN to control. But, the essence of the music was
still there. A little closed-in? Sure. But I still enjoyed disc after disc, LP after
LP.
Not extended? Of course. Rather soft at the top and bottom? Naturally.
Rhythmically constricted? Yeah. A lot less? Perhaps, but again, music
through the ZEN was quite enjoyable. No tonal aberrations, no drastic signs
of stress, just less of what we hear with amplifiers possessing greater
horsepower. What do you expect with two watts?! Using music that is more
decwareset
woods, etc.
of the middle ground sonically (as opposed to bass/dance driven titles) the
84B really showed its stuff. Even so, most music came across with enough
muscial "essence" to let me hear what the SET mantra is saying.
I am certain that the Reimers were not what the ZEN designer had in mind,
but the fact that I spent several weeks enjoying it with them speaks volumes
about how the amp might work with friendlier speakers. Would I buy this
amplifier if I had speakers to match? Yes, certainly, it was just too cool. Can
it be made better? Well, there appear to be many available parts
modifications, allowing for greater transparency and drive. Better caps,
resistors, and transformers might do the trick, and hey, what about tubes as
well? The ZEN is a bargain at the price! Dave Clark
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar .5.
ELECTRONICS
Sonic Frontiers Anthem 1
amplifier.
SOURCE
Audio Electronics CD1
player.
CABLES
Kimber PBJ
interconnects and Tara
Labs RSC Prime Bi-wire
speaker cable.
High fidelity audio exists in two
universes, one occupied by boutique brands, multinational corporations, and
specialty companies, the other a Twilight Zone in which audio
experimenters are limited only by their imaginations and the laws of physics.
Decware is firmly within the Twilight Zone. The Decware Zen Triode SE84B
is a single-ended stereo amp which features point-to-point silver wiring,
class A1 operation, tube rectification, ATOM capacitors, a 6922 input tube,
and SV83 output tubes for three watts of power. It is small enough to fit atop
my B&W DM 302 monitors.
The Zen has a sweet, non-fatiguing sound that will give you more than a
glimpse of what single-ended triode is all about. It sounds similar to the
Welborne Apollo monoblocks we reviewed recently. Both amplifiers envelop
the listener with harmonic richness, especially in the midband. Both excel at
portraying microdynamics and dimensionality. However, the Apollos’ mighty
300XBR output tubes, massive transformers, and hefty power supplies
produce uncommon amounts of bass and thunder, while the little Zen can
barely muster enough steam to blow out a candle.
Let me give some examples. I listened to Ibrahim Ferrer’s Bruca Manigu.
His voice sounded harmonious and emotional. I could perceive the shape of
his mouth and warm resonant chest. The violin balanced just the right
amount of metal and wood. The band was correctly placed around the
vocalist at center stage. The music was pleasing, except for one key
element—scale. I could sense the presence of real performers, but they
lacked drama and impact Also, convincing bass was only hinted at. Another
example is Santana’s much-lauded Supernatual CD. The Zen went a long
way toward softening the hard textures on this up-front pop recording
Congas sounded less slappy and more organic, timbales less clangy, more
resonant. Santana’s guitar also sang more sweetly, but bass beats and
pacing lacked force.
decwareset
My B&W DM302s are fairly efficient at 91dB, but I think 100dB would be a
better match for the Zen. For this amplifier to perform its best, it needs a
second stage of amplification, by which I mean a high-sensitivity horn. This
would allow the Zen to operate within its comfort zone. Otherwise, I can only
recommend the Zen as part of a small bookshelf system. Victor Chavira
On behalf of myself and the entire staff here at Decware, we would like to
thank all of you for your time and efforts!
Over the past couple years we have been approached by several popular
hi-fi mags with an interest in this amplifier. We have even sent a few off for
reviews and received glowing phone calls about its sound—only to be
later forgotten for a lack of willingness on our part to advertise with
them. We think this amp is good enough to stand on its own without
“paying” for glowing reviews. It is a real pleasure to see that yor
publication is not like this, because as you well know, we have made no
effort whatsoever to advertise in your magazine.
On that positive note, Id like to make a couple brief comments about your
reviews;
First off, the obvious issue with this amplifier is speaker matching. For
many, like yourselves as a good example, “normal” speakers give you a
wonderful taste of high fidelity at lower listening levels. Victor is correct
when he comments that a high sensitivity horn system would be ideal for
listening without any restrictions.
We anticipated this and address the issue by personally consulting each
customer prior to purchase, and then after the sale. We also help those
with less than ideal speakers to find affordable speakers that do work
well. We also designed the amp to be bridgeable into mono blocks with
the pair adding another 6dB of headroom. (Usually a cost-effective option)
Mark and Dave both mentioned that speakers with an easy to drive load
(i.e.. no dips in the bass) would be a better match for this amplifier. An
easy assumption to make, however untrue. You see the SE84B puts out
more power into lower impedance loads.
For example 4 ohm speakers usually work much better than 8 ohm. In fact
this amplifier has no problem driving loads to less than 1 ohm. On the flip
side, a 16 ohm load (like the Lowthers that Mark tried) only see about ½ a
watt RMS of output from this amplifier. Hence the break-up during
complex passages i.e.. clipping.
decwareset
What this amplifier does not like is complex speakers and or
crossovers. For example, a Zobel impedance network in a crossover, or
complex multi-driver speakers usually cause pre-mature compression
limiting the entire performance. The reason is simple, when you have a
complex crossover a large percentage of that first magical watt is spent as
heat before it reaches the drivers.
That said, we did a minor revision on the amp in April of this year (SE84C)
and recently in October we have started selling a new SELECT version of
the amp which sonically pushes the envelope by using the same parts as
found in our more powerful Signature Gear. At the same time we reintroduced our original $499 price for the SE84C and even have some
used SE84B amps that were traded-in.
Respectfully
Steve, Dave, Larry, DeVon & Bill
Decware/High Fidelity Engineering Co.
Zen SE84C amplifier
Retail $499
Decware
web address: www.decware.com
BACK TO TOP
majeel
majeel
laboratories
Prisitine SA10 amplifier
as reviewed by Larry Cox, Dave Clark, and Victor Chavira
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/majeel.htm (1 of 6) [11/4/2002 8:04:37 PM]
majeel
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20.
ELECTRONICS
preamplifier.
SOURCE
players.
CABLES
and speaker cables
wire.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
Pristine is a name implying cleanliness,
originality, beauty. How about a behemoth amplifier from Singapore? How
about 100 watts of solid state class A sound? How about an amp that is
built like a brick, er, house and looks pretty cool? My fiance really liked the
looks of this amp, with its swooshing sine wave on the front and its violetcolored power indicator light. She really liked the sound, too.
The Pristine SA10 weighs nearly 80 pounds and is sufficiently large that
audiophiles thinking about placing it in a rack will have to do some
measuring first. I’ve been sort of tire kicking amplifiers, looking for more
power for my watt-sucking ATCs, but I wasn’t really thinking physically BIG.
Nor did I consider the Pristine as a possible upgrade, since it is only 100
watts. However, hearing the Prisitne made me rethink my priorities. The
Pristine is one of those solid state amps that conjures up impressions of
tube sound. Having heard the 200-watt E.A.R. 549 mono tube amplifiers (at
a mere $14,000) in my system, I can say unequivocally that the Pristine
doesn’t sound precisely like a tube amplifier. However, if tube power implies
a less edgy, fuller, and more liquid sound than most solid state amps, then
the Pristine is tube-like. While I had the Pristine, I also borrowed the solid
state Chord SPM1200B amp, which is 250 watts of thunder and lightning.
Compared to the Chord, the Pristine again sounded a bit tube-like.
he Chord sounded vivid, but in a way I really liked, while the Pristine was
more relaxed. The Pristine delivered throaty, chesty renditions of both
males and females. My thirst for rock ‘n’ roll, like Led Zep, Van Halen, et al.,
is fairly low at this point in time, so I can’t say how they sounded with that
kind of music. However, rock of another variety, like Ry Cooder, Tom Waits,
and Live (the group), or female vocals like The Story (hardly rock, I know)
or Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville, was rendered with a slight softening of edge
and tone, but this worked. No doubt Zep or Aerosmith would also have
been sweetened a little. These days, I’m not expecting the edge or bite that
goes with grinding guitars, so if that isn’t in the Pristine’s presentation, I’m
not missing it. I think that the Pristine, an expensive product, will land
happily in the hands of people who have the wherewithal (um, dough) to
spring for it. I expect these people aren’t listening to Metallica, etc. They’ll
be listening to jazz, more pop-ish sounding rock, or classical music. With
these varietities, the Pristine will likely be a joy, delivering a clear
delineation of instruments in complex passages, doing a very nice job
representing orchestral crescendos, and so on.
To conclude about the tube-like characteristics of the Pristine, the top end
was a little er, um... rolled off. There was detail, but I have heard and
experienced more extended treble, for instance with the Chord. The Pristine
was timbrally appropriate and realistic, just not as extended as some amps.
The similarly-priced Chord was clearer and more precise, while not being
majeel
etched. The Pristine was a bit more delicate, and had a sort of liquidity that
I associate with a well-rendered midrange.
The Pristine imaged as well as anything non-tubed I’ve had in my system.
Images were represented in a rock-solid three-dimensional soundstage. As
liabilities go—and I found few—the bottom end was pleasant but a bit overfull and very slightly indistinct. The Pristine’s bottom end is distinctly a step
up from my Musical Design amplifier, but was less deep than with the
Chord, and slightly less focused. If your system leans in the direction of
indistinct bass, or requires a bit more control than other speakers, the
Pristine may not be indicated.
In short, the Pristine is a very nice product. At its suggested price of around
$5000, it is not inexpensive. It is, however, something to look into. The build
and look of the amp are appropriate for its price, as is the sound. Alas, the
imbroglio created by my having the Pristine, the Chord, and the E.A.R.
549s (at a LOT more money) is that I’m starting back at square one. Oh, I
still love my ATCs. Seeing what a wonderful amplifier like the Pristine could
do with them was a treat. I don’t think the Pristine sounds like a tube
amplifier, although it does sound wonderful. However, hearing the
difference between tubes and wonderful solid state, I think I want tubes.
You may want something Pristine. Both are wonderful, it is just a matter of
taste. Larry Cox
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M70
E.A.R. 834P phono
preamp w/Amperex BB
tubes, and BCG3.1
power supply.
Taddeo Digital Antidote
Two and the HRS unit.
SOURCES
The Pristine amplifier’s looks are very
deceiving. Not only is this is a very beautiful amplifier to look at, but its
quality of fit and finish is in a class by itself. To be perfectly honest,
however, it is very ho-hum to listen to. While it did nothing really wrong, it
did very little to excite the spirit. This is a harsh, perhaps, but then the
Pristine is an expensive amplifier. The music it produces is more heavy
than light, more ponderous than lively, noticeably slower than swift, and
more rounded than defined. While it is not dark or recessed, the music is
just not “there” in the room. I felt that I was more of an observer than a
participant when listening to music. A bad thing? Yes, if you want music
brought to life. A good thing? Yes, if your speakers are lean, bass shy, or
bright, or if you find yourself leaning more to the more dull side of life.
Bass was deep and very ample, but not well controlled or defined. It was
loose and lacked slam when compared to the less powerful Clayton M70s
and Naked Truth Audio Callas. Using a barrage of bass-driven track from
Laswell to Massive Attack to whatever would rock the house, showed the
Prisitine to not be in the same "bass" class as either of these two amps. As
such these discs and others of their ilk lost much in terms of visceral slam
and punch. Music was turged and slower—forget PRAT, how about fat?
majeel
1000 Series II DAC with
Audient Technologies’
Tactic and Audit, Nordost
Moonglo digital cable.
Plus arm.
CABLES
Nordost Blue Heaven
and SPM or Hovland
Nine Line bi-wired
Blue Circle, Custom
House, and Clayton
Audio AC cables.
ACCESSORIES
Homebrewed ac
and the Coherent
EAU-1 parallel
amp ac circuit for
of Rancho Sisquoc
Merlot.
What should rock, instead rolled around the room. What's the deal? Are not
powerful more watts the better? Maybe, but in this case definitly not in
terms of bass control and definition. No doubt an issue of design, but the
Prisitne is not going to win any bass-wars with other amps in its price class.
I would mate this with less "full-range" speakers where its looser and fuller
sound would mtigate the leaness and limited bass output of smaller
speakers. Say horns. Hey it does come from Asia, so perhaps that is the
right match? Smaller rooms with limited bandwidth speakers!
The more neutral Clayton and NTA amps were way more involving,
bringing a considerably greater degree of life to the music. The Pristine
comes across as darker and way too rich for my blood. Like I said, the
Pristine may work with a leaner system, or one that needs help in the
lowest frequencies (can you say "Plump?"), but our system does not fit the
bill, and the Pristine pushed the sonic needle in the wrong direction.
Though it sounded smooth and grain free, the problem continues further up,
where it had an overly warm and rich midrange. All an issue of the plump
bottom end? Perhaps. But I think the amp as a whole has been voiced to
offer a different take on what music should sound like—no doubt an issue
of the speaker used or at least those it is intended to work with. But hey,
who doesn't do just that with any product they design? After all we all hear
differently and each of us may value this over that—so what works for me
may not work for you. Oh well back to the review...
Almost like vintage tube gear, the Pristine had that “burnished” quality that
made our recordings sound more alike than different. This is not an
amplifier to resolve the finer details on your discs, nor will it allow you to
hear deep into the soundfield. The highs do sound rolled-off a bit and with
the overall fullness the Pristine is more of an amp to have on in the
background or to fill the room with overly rich and romantic classics from
years gone by, athen to listen to with a critical ear. I could never see myself
using this amp as a reference. Just not enough to get my juices flowing.
Okay, I know this sounds like a pan, but in defense of the Pristine, it will
never offend the listener. This is one of those amps that you can listen to
forever and never nary a trace of fatigue. And the music still can be well
served, but one has to consider the speakers and ancillary components.
Use brighter and leaner speakers with cabling of similar traits, plus a source
that is more analytical than musical, and things might really start to gel. Is
the Pristine musically satisfying? In the right system, I would have to say
yes. Is it worth the asking price? Most certainly in terms of build quality, but
in terms of sound, well it is not the amp for us. Dave Clark
majeel
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6.
ELECTRONICS
amplifier and SCE
Harmonic Recovery
System.
SOURCE
player.
CABLES
Nordost Quattro Fil or
Blue Heaven
interconnects and
speaker cable.
Listening to the Pristine amplifier was
the equivalent of an audio blind date. I knew nothing of its origins, design
characteristics, mode of operation, or inner workings. I can tell you this,
however: the solid state Pristine costs $5000 and weighs about one
hundred pounds. It is built like a bank vault, but its mass is offset by some
feminine touches. A rolling wave arches over the oval power button on the
front of the thick brushed aluminum faceplate, gently scalloped heatsinks
run the length of each side, and finally, the amp rests upon four softly
rounded cones.
The Pristine has three pairs of WBT binding posts, but since it was
delivered with no instructions, I could only guess their function. One pair on
each side is positive, the other two are negative (or is it the other way
around?). In any case, I simply bolted in my single run of biwire Blue
Heavens and powered up. A bright green LED changes to azure about one
minute after the oval power button is pressed, indicating that the amp is
ready to play music. In my Parasound review in this issue I state that
dynamics and momentum greatly improve whenever I connect my
Magnepans to a high current device. That occurred here. The Maggies took
to the Pristine like thoroughbreds to a wide open field.
My first impression was that the Pristine produced a rich, articulate sound. I
inserted disc after disc of pop and rock into my CD player and the Pristine
responded with copious amounts of refined power. Nevertheless, I felt that
the amp had much more to offer than drama and slam. It had a seductive
quality that beckoned me to look beyond its polished metal surface. For
example, while listening to The Best of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, I was not
only impressed with the Pristine’s smooth delivery of power, but found
myself drawn into the music. The amp’s ability to render details and space
without sounding overly up front was remarkable. I’ve heard several
expensive amplifiers that were unbearably revealing, making the listening
experience enjoyable with only a limited number of recordings.
The Pristine is no such product. The Pristine had a way with shapes and
spaces reminiscent of my tubed Anthem. Images were nearly three
dimensional. I say “nearly” because when I momentarily returned to the
Anthem for comparison, musical shapes and spaces ripened to their fullest,
but with nowhere near the refinement and resolution of the Pristine. One
day my father-a big Beatles fan and the main reason for my love of music
and sound-came to visit. We chatted for a while, then listened to the
recently-released Beatles 1 CD all the way through. We could easily tell the
difference between the hollow body Hofner bass McCartney used in the
early years and the solid body Rickenbacker he favored later.
The jingly timber of electric twelve-string guitars was rendered as never
majeel
before. Drums were lively and present, whether they were rapped hard to
keep the beat or gently tapped, as in the song Something. My father agreed
that listening to the Beatles with the Pristine was a richly rewarding
experience. In summary, I found the Pristine to be a very satisfying and
enjoyable amplifier. It produced generous amounts of power for the most
demanding material without ever sounding harsh or confused. In the
fiercely competitive world of high-stakes amplifiers, the Pristine will be one
to watch. Victor Chavira
Pristine SA10 amplifier
Retail $4995
Majeel Laboratories
TEL 65. 6878. 0491
web address: www.majeel.com
BACK TO TOP
basis
basis and benzmicro
1400 turntable, Glider Series 2 MC
cartiridge, and the Phonomena phonosection
as reviewed by Dave Clark, A.D. Banerjee, and Larry Cox
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/basis.htm (1 of 8) [11/4/2002 8:04:39 PM]
basis
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20.
ELECTRONICS
preamplifier.
SOURCE
players.
CABLES
and speaker cables
wire.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
The Basis 1400 turntable/Rega RB250
arm/Benz Glider Series 2 cartridge system did an extraordinary job of
delivering the musical goods. The turntable normally retails for $1400 with
the Rega arm, and the Glider retails for $795, but when purchased as a
package, the table, arm, and cartridge sell for $2000. We also had the
Basis record clamp, which retails for $250, so the front end sans phono
section was $2250. Not cheap, but not the price of a boat. I was unable to
work out hum problems with the Phonomena phono section, so my review
is just of the front end. No one else told me they were having a problem
with the Phonomena, so I don’t know what to conclude. Time was ticking,
so I did what I could.
There are “factions” in this hobby-tubes vs. solid state, mini monitors vs.
floorstanding speakers, digital vs. analog. Within the digital group are
people who assert that it is more “accurate” than analog, and that analog
lovers simply like colorations. There are a whole host of other arguments
lofted by those that prefer digital. The Internet is full of that conversation, so
if you want to be full of it, too, go there and get your fill. As far as I’m
concerned, the best analog has an ineffable quality that digital doesn’t or
hasn’t displayed. It is like being “in the zone,” having a “peak experience,”
in which you are so involved that you are not conscious of the details, an
experience so involving that analysis of the process is simply impossible.
For me, this rarely happens with digital and is available in analog. In
addition to preferring analog to digital, I also find turntables beautiful.
Starting in the late 80s, they started to look like fine jewelry, and the sound
quality also improved. My Oracle Delphi is a sight to see when the table is
spinning and the platter is reflected in the dust cover. Given the cost of high
end gear, having something striking to look at is a welcome bonus.
Let those that think that analog is a sleepy medium listen to the Basis 1400.
It is many steps up the dollar and performance ladders from, say, a ProJect table or the entry-level SOTAs. The Basis setup will make it possible
for many to start and end the pursuit of the wonders of analog. Rega arms
have a great reputation, as do Benz cartridges. Both are well deserved. The
1400 is a clear acrylic table, and it is no less than striking in appearance.
Simone prefers its looks to my table. However, you don’t get the Oracle’s
suspension. My table is on a rack that is atop a floorboard that bounces.
Approaching the Oracle while it is playing causes a near skip, whereas the
Basis skips. Aarghhh! A Townshend Seismic Sink or an Osiris air bladder
platform (or relocating the table) would have resolved this, but again I
lacked the time. The Basis gave a solid reproduction of the gold in my black
discs.
It is hardly a romantic setup, more of a precision replay system. The
presentation conjured up images of men in pinstripe suits with perfect
basis
posture-assured, directed, and in action-in counterpoint to the more
relaxed, sweet, and “juicy” sound of my Koetsu Rosewood cartridge. I
hooked the Basis up to my E.A.R. 802 preamp, as well as to the Naim
Stageline outboard phono section, and in both instances (tube and solid
state) its character was consistent. It was like listening to a compelling
argument, the quality of which was such that your attention was required!
That is a good thing. The Basis invited concentrated listening, but did not
demand it. Invitations work way better than demands, eh? Music on the
Basis was a step above the digital I’ve heard, though in fairness the digital
seups I’ve had in my home have been less expensive than the Basis setup.
Perhaps it is unfair to criticize digital within that framework, but I have had
similar experiences at hi fi shows. Once I’ve had a chance to listen to a
more expensive digital rig at home, my opinion should count for more.
That said, my experience of the Basis setup was not quite the magic carpet
ride of the best analog. I never lost track of time or of what I was listening
to. The best systems do a conjuring job on your consciousness. I count as
part of the quality of the experience of an audio system whether I reconnect
with past emotional experiences. This is my mirror of the depth of the
emotional involvement of the system. It didn’t happen for me with the Basis.
Alas. Or not! Something different happened. I had the experience of being
in the conductor’s or the composer’s mind. There were times when I had
the experience of “knowing” why the piece moved the way it did, and how
the dynamics were meant to capture a particular experience. This
happened with many classical pieces. Yes, the Basis was somewhat
analytical, certainly more so than my Oracle, but it delivered a very clear
and precise musical experience. Instead of transporting me into a deep
emotional experience, the Basis created an environment for contemplation
and insight. I liked this. The bass was rich, if a bit chalky-sounding, while
still tight. The Basis had more drive than my suspended table. However, the
tautness also contributed to the Basis’ less emotional sound. It was
perhaps falsely taut and perhaps overcontrolled. This may be delusional, as
I haven’t had a lot of cartridges in my system, but I’ve had one very nice
one in there for a while. Vocals could be easily understood, inflections and
all. The late Joe Williams sounded great on my copy of Every Night-Live at
Vine Street, with perhaps an extra measure of warmth and vibrato ever-soslightly exaggerating the deep voice. With my Koetsu, which retails for a
little more than the whole Basis system, Joe’s vocals were faster, sweeter,
and more natural, and less chalky-sounding. Female vocals were also
easily understood, and offered a look into the performers’ heads, or so I
imagined. The top end did not call out, “I’m open, extended and airy,” but
that would be unlikely given my preamp and speakers. Both, in my
experience, are a bit rounded off compared to some audiophile products.
For me, the lack of highlighting is a good thing.
The Basis 1400 nearly bridges the gap, in terms of detail and precision,
with digital. With the Basis rig, it will be clear exactly which instruments are
playing and when they come in and out of the mix. However, unlike the
digital I’ve experienced, this won’t be done with razors. For lack of a better
term, the Basis is more “natural” sounding. The overall timbre is rich, and
basis
slightly on the warm side of things, but without the romance, sweetness,
and light touch of my rig. The Basis strikes me as a great tool for a student
conductor. There is sufficient emotional involvement that the “heart” of the
music is present, and yet the bones of the music will be exposed so that
study is possible. I don’t suppose that a lot of music students can afford
$2500 analog setups, but if they can, this is the one.
Imaging was a bit more pinpointed than with my rig, and less suave. I’ll stick
in my usual qualifier that I’m not a worshiper of the imaging thing, but I
know some of you think it is critical, so here goes. The Oracle creates a
slightly more realistic image, with images not rock solid, but like a vortex of
energy, with a less specific place in space. The Basis images more
specifically, but perhaps with a little less “energy,” giving a slightly
cardboard quality. Those of you who are satisfied with reasonable front-toback and left—to-right differentiation, will deal with its little triangle-shaped
soundstage. Certainly, any “imaging faults” (whatever they are) will be
minor. The Basis/Rega/Benz setup is an excellent entry and exit point into
the wonders of analog reproduction. Entry points are usually associated
with sub-$1,000 prices, but for about $2k you can get a system that gives
up little or nothing to the precision and detail of digital, while providing the
openness (and some of the emotion) of the best analog. And it is pretty!
Larry Cox
basis
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Tetons.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M70
E.A.R. 834P phono
preamp w/Amperex BB
tubes, and BCG3.1
power supply.
SOURCES
Plus arm.
CABLES
Nordost Blue Heaven
and SPM or Hovland
Nine Line bi-wired
Blue Circle, Custom
House, and Clayton
Audio AC cables.
ACCESSORIES
Homebrewed ac
and the Coherent
EAU-1 parallel
amp ac circuit for
We all know the evils that lie behind
stereotypes and prejudices, but the reality is that we judge books by their
covers. Big, expensive cars look like they offer smooth, comfortable rides,
and they do. Cheap little cars look like they will rattle your teeth on the
highway, and more often than not they do. When we see small speakers we
think less-than-full-range sound, and that's how they sound. Vice versa for
big speakers. How does this all apply to the Basis 1400 turntable, Benz
Micro Glider cartridge, and Phenomena phono stage? Look at the picture
and you tell me what you think it will sound like.
Let's see: the turntable has a clear acrylic plinth, metal pillar feet, semitransparent platter, and the solid state phono stage has a silver and acrylic
housing. Sure enough, my initial impression of the combo was that it was
clean, clear, and transparent. My Linn Axis turntable, with its black and gray
MDF plinth, black sorbothane feet, and moving magnet cartridge (the K9,
but not a dog in any sense), and my E.A.R. 834P tubed phono stage, a
black box with gold lettering, sounds warm and full. Much like it looks, it
also sounded— when used a complete system—darker and richer then the
Bais/Benz/Phonomena rig. I admit that this is the first time I have had
another table here for comparison, though I have had different phono
sections. The 834P, while it imparts a degree of "tube" sound to the mix, is
as clean and clear as any phono stage I have tried (Creek, Acurus, and a
few others lost in memory). The Basis setup is more transparent and
revealing, but as I mentioned above, not nearly as warm and rich as my
setup. It's true that we are comparing a moving magnet cartridge to a
moving coil, an MDF plinth to one of acrylic, and a tube to a solid state
phono-section, so what would you expect?
What I expected was that both would be musically enjoyable, though for
different reasons, and this proved to be the case. The Basis setup allowed
me to hear way more information on my LPs, but the sound was more
analytical, providing me with more logic than emotion when retreving whta's
in the grooves. It wasn't cold or sterile, but "truth" weighed out over
emotion. Not a bad thing—just a different perspective on life, er... music.
My Linn setup, on the other hand, was far more moving of the spirit. It
revealed less information, but delivered it with greater emotion. Each setup
had strengths and weaknesses. Make your choice—give in to the flesh or
be true to the mind. Keep in mind this is comparing my set-up against the
review set-up. No mixing allowed boys and girls!
The next logical step was to combine the Basis with the E.A.R., and this
was a match I could live with forever. Matching the warmth of tubes with the
speed and clarity of the Basis setup was the way to go. The sound was
clean and fast, but with none of the added warmth and somewhat overly
ripe bass I get from the Linn. With this set-up, the music just rocked from
basis
of Rancho Sisquoc
Merlot.
the speakers with all the strengths each component could offer—and
mitgating, to such a degree their faults, that I was in heaven!
This is not to suggest that the Phenomena phono stage is a weak link. The
Phenomena is a wonder for the price as it is very neutral and extremely
flexible in its ability to be used with various cartridges. Whether it is the best
for you will depend on what you are after and what it is being partnered
with. I really liked the looks and feel of the Basis setup, and found it to be a
bargain. This is a very simple yet elegant design, and it worked without a
hitch. And you can order the complete setup, as it was here, with the
cartridge, arm (did I mention it was the Rega 300?), and table working as
one. Highly recommended. Dave Clark
I've owned about a dozen turntables,
more than a dozen tonearms, and countless cartridges. Which do I own
now? On principle, I'd rather not say, nor will I describe the rest of my
system. I realize that this is counter to the usual aM policy, but I feel that
your knowing these things is not important if I inform you about my listening
preferences. (Also, the listing of components by audio reviewers frequently
has a chest-beating quality that I find distasteful.) The best way I can
describe my taste in audio is to say that I prefer listening to music to
listening to audio components, and therefore try to choose components that
impose the least character. On the other hand, I do not believe that there is
such a thing as an audio component that has no character, so when I say
that I prefer analog to digital, tube electronics to solid state, and
electrostatic speakers to dynamic speakers, I admit that I'm placing certain
values before others, but so be it. The choices I make sound more like
music to me. I should add that many, in fact most high end audio systems
do NOT sound like music to me, no matter what positive qualities they may
possess. Perhap I should also add that I have heard, and in fact own (or
have owned) CD players, solid state components, and dynamic speakers
that sound like music, so I am not doctrinarian. I rule out no approach if it
works.
With the continuing uncertainty in digital, word is that high end CD player
sales are down and turntable sales up. For those making a first leap (or
perhaps a re-entry) into analog, there is a market for a high-quality turntable
at a less-than-high price. The Basis 1400 is clearly aimed at the buyer that
is willing to spend a bit of money on analog, but not too much, and hopes to
get excellent, if less than state-of-the-art results. The 1400 will also appeal
to such a buyer because it is an integrated system, including table, arm,
cartridge, and phono stage. All the compatibility decisions have already
been made, and to add to the attraction, the system is easy to set up and
use. A reasonably handy person can assemble the turntable and arm and
basis
hook everything up, and while the cartridge setup should probably be done
by someone with experience in these arcane matters, it could be
accomplished by a careful first-time user. It is also my understanding that
several sets of upgrades are available for the 1400, another wise marketing
move by Basis, as it means the buyer can get better analog performance
without having to buy another turntable.
The assembled system is unadorned and elegant in appearance, with that
clear-acrylic-and-metal look that has recently become popular. The
Phenomena phono stage not only matches the turntable aesthetically, but
fits precisely between its front two legs, and when installed appears to be
part of the package. The motor is housed in a separate unit, which helps
isolate the platter from vibration. The turntable lacks a suspension. The
platter is fairly thick acrylic, though not particularly heavy, and employs a
reflex clamp. The arm is a Basis-branded Rega RB300, without question
one of the best reasonably-priced arms on the market, and Basis has
provided a simple but effective means of adjusting vertical tracking angle.
VTA has never been easily adjustable on the RB300 design, but the
problem is solved here by the addition of a setscrew that reaches the arm
pillar from the back of the plinth.
Did I like the sound of the Basis 1400? Yes and no. On the positive side, it
was admirably clean, transparent, and detailed. On the negative side, it was
admirably clean, transparent, and detailed.
In other words, it was on the sterile side, and I listened to it on an all-tube
system. On a typical solid state system, I think I would have found it
intolerable. Others will no doubt think otherwise. I often hear praise for
systems or components that make me want to run for the nearest exit. I do
not mean to suggest that the 1400 made me feel this way. It didn't make me
feel much of anything, but this is not an effect seek from audio components.
I do believe it possible to make the sound of the 1400 more attractive to
me. It seemed logical to try a tube phono stage in the same price range as
the solid-state Phonomena, so I borrowed Dave Clark's E.A.R. 834P, and
found the combination much more to my taste. The Phonomena had tighter
bass, as might be expected, but the E.A.R. had soul, and given the choice,
I'll go for soul every time. I nonetheless think that the Phonomena is the
best reasonably-priced solid state phono stage around today, and I've
heard the other contenders, though not in direct comparison.
I had not previously heard the Lyra Da Capo with which the 1400 was
supplied, so cannot say how much of what I experienced was due to the
cartridge. A fuller-sounding cartridge would no doubt have made me
happier, even with the Phonomena phono stage, but I had only a limited
time with the turntable, and felt it best to listen to it as presented. If I were in
the market for a turntable in this price range, I would certainly consider the
Basis 1400, though I would want to listen to it with a favorite cartridge. I
also think that placing the turntable on an isolation platform would flesh out
the sound, though again I lacked the time to test this hypothesis. I believe
basis
that a step in the 1400's upgrade process is to replace the feet with
hydraulic ones, though of course this will raise the price. The fact that the
1400 can be improved, and that this can be done in stages, is another
reason to give it careful consideration. A.D. Banerjee
Musical Surroundings
TEL 510. 420. 0379
web addres: www.musicalsurroundings.com
BACK TO TOP
ensembledynaflux
ensemble
DynaFlux cables
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20.
ELECTRONICS
preamplifier.
SOURCE
Pioneer DV 525 dvd
player.
I’m usually loathe to write reviews of cables. The differences, while
audible, aren’t of the same order as those of, say, upgraded speakers.
Spending more on speakers or an amplifier might be a better choice, at
least for me. For the most part, I see upgrading interconnects and
speaker cables as dotting “i’s” and crossing “t’s” in a system you are
already content with, sort of like the finishing touches on an otherwise
complete picture.
We recently reviewed Swiss manufacturer Ensemble’s MegaFlux FSF
($450/meter) interconnects and a handful of their other wire. The
MegaFlux has a rich, full-bodied presentation, different from but
competitive with the Nordost Quattro Fil ($1600/0.6 meters), which has
been my reference wire for about three years. The Nordost is more
revealing, detailed, and faster sounding than the Megaflux FSF, albeit at
the cost of a slightly leaner and lighter-weight sound. The Nordost was
the ultimate winner in my system, but the comparison was an intriguing
look into value, as the MegaFlux cost about an eighth of the price of the
Quattro Fil (remember, the Ensemble is one meter compared to a little
more than half a meter of Nordost).
CABLES
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/ensembledynaflux.htm (1 of 3) [11/4/2002 8:04:39 PM]
ensembledynaflux
and speaker cables
wire.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
When Brian Ackerman, importer of things Ensemble, e-mailed me telling
me that Ensemble’s new DynaFlux FSF interconnects were even better
than the MegaFlux, my eyes glazed over at the prospect of listening to
and writing about another set of wires by the same manufacturer just a
few months later. The DynaFlux, at $850/meter, is Ensemble’s new top of
the line, and quite a bit more expensive than the MegaFlux, but hardly in
heart-attack territory, so I wasn’t sure whether the difference would be
interesting, much less dramatic. I requested another set of MegaFlux
interconnects along with the DynaFlux so that I could compare the two.
The short scoop is that the DynaFlux expands on and improves on every
parameter of the already very good MegaFlux. The sound was at once
fuller, more extended and more detailed, while retaining a relaxed and
realistic tonality. I don’t mean they sounded flaccid, I mean they invited
me to relax rather than listen like I was sitting on a broomstick. The
additional $400/meter is actually a bargain. The DynaFlux is nearly
custom-made cable. It is very, very well made, a demonstration of
outstanding Swiss engineering. If you can swing the MegaFlux, you
should work a couple of extra weekends, or do whatever you need to do
to get yourself into DynaFlux territory. They are that much better.
Even the connectors are better. The RCAs on the MegaFlux use pressure
to grab hold, while the DynaFlux’s RCAs are screw-on works of art. The
screw-tight collars are both visually appealing, but they also allow the
interface between wire and RCA jack to take stress off the welded
connection, as the collars are unusually long.
Though the MegaFlux only started to really show its pedigree with my
system entirely wired by Ensemble, the DynaFlux showed its pedigree
immediately, with only one set of interconnects in place. Within a week,
the DynaFlux established itself as a reference-quality interconnect in my
susyem. It made every other component I had at home shine a little more
elegantly, dynamically, and musically. Please know that both warts and
beauty came through with the DynaFlux, but for some reason even the
warts were revealed as warts on music, not on sound. The sonic
aberrations of the recording seemed like a connected but not integral part
of the recording, part of the soundscape but easily distinguished as
separate from the music. This may the one cable you could stick it in
almost any system and transport it to a new level of musicality. I’d still
suggest getting most of your system established before indulging in these
cables, but maybe, just maybe... Christmas time? Your birthday?
The DynaFlux knocked the Nordost Quattro Fils on their keester. The
bottom end dropped maybe half an octave, while remaining tight, full, and
fast. Timbre in the bottom end, long desired but too infrequently
experienced in my system, locked into place. Images anchored
themselves in my room, providing the experience of musicians settling in
for a night of music. Standup bass was particularly excellent on Joe
Williams’ "Every Day I Have the Blues," as well as on Yello’s "Oh,
ensembledynaflux
Yeah!" and numerous other bottom-scraping tracks. The Dynafluxes were
the sonic equivalent of a cappuccino to the Nordost Quattro Fil’s lighter,
leaner latte. The Quattro Fils offer an excellent presentation of detail, and
for me they are the best in the Nordost line by a substantial margin. The
DynaFlux remained detailed while allowing the darker portion of bass to
still transmit detail and texture, giving an extraordinary presentation of
timbre without giving up any detail to the far more expensive Nordost.
Vocals, male and female, were something special, warm, liquid, full, and
distinctly emanating from a liquid source (a human body!) while nuanced,
sweet, and elegant, or throaty, harsh, and frightening as need be (e.g.,
Tom Waits). Brass had the bite, blat, and overwhelming sound that these
instruments provide live. Imaging was first rate, and as good as any cable
I’ve had in my system, at any time. The DynaFlux provided imaging
normally associated with tube amplifiers, even though I’ve been listening
with solid state amps. The Ensemble DynaFlux wire is extraordinary. If
you are looking for the crowning element of your system, the DynaFlux
could be it. Were I in a position to afford them, I’d certainly replace my
Quattro Fils NOW. Best buy, recommended, go get ‘em! Larry Cox
Ensemble
web address: www.aaudio.com
BACK TO TOP
sm70
monarchy audio
SM-70 Pro amplifiers
as reviewed by Francisco Duran, Dave Clark, Carol Clark,
and Victor Chavira
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/sm70.htm (1 of 7) [11/4/2002 8:04:49 PM]
sm70
FRANCISCO
DURAN'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ProAc Response
2s.
ELECTRONICS
Reference Line
Preeminence IA
passive.
Monarchy SM-70
amplifiers.
SOURCE
EAD DSP 1000 III
DAC.
Pioneer DP 54 as
a transport.
CABLES
Kimber Hero
interconnects,
Acrotec 1050
speaker cables,
and LAT digital
cable.
ACCESSORIES
Panamax PLC.
Back in Issue 10 of audioMUSINGS, I wrote about
the Monarchy SM-70 amplifier that I had purchased. In rereading that article, I
realize that I was being very enthusiastic, and justifiably so—the little SM-70
packs a lot of music in a small box. One SM-70 running in stereo drives my
speakers pretty well, but as I said I would, I purchased another one, and have
been running them as mono blocks for some time. This increased the power from
25 wpc to a more muscular 70 wpc, and the change was not subtle. The increase
in power brought on an increase in dynamics and better control of the music. I
thought I was happy with a single SM-70, but the power and finesse brought by a
second amp is very pleasing.
Now, seventy watts is plenty of muscle to drive most speakers, but what about
the person who needs more power? Monarchy Audio has come up with the
solution in the SM-70 Pro. The Pro version of this amp brings a slightly wider
chassis (mostly due to the heat sinks), a heavier amp by four pounds, and more
power. The increase in power from a regular SM-70 is from 25 to 30 wpc in
stereo mode, and from 75 to 100 wpc in mono. This is mainly achieved by
doubling the input drivers and output MOSFETs, and using a larger toroidal
power transformer. The SM-70 Pro is also outfitted with higher-value filter
capacitors and double rectifiers. With all of this, it’s a wonder that the chassis
hasn’t doubled in size, but miraculously it hasn’t.
When the SM-70 Pros were on hand, so were the big, velvety-smooth Soliloquy
6.3s, which are 90dB efficient, with a nominal 8 ohm impedance. Also hanging
around, of course, were my own ProAc speakers, which present an 87dB load,
and have a pretty even impedance. Although a pair of multi-way speakers may be
very efficient, it always seems that a higher-wattage amp controls all those
drivers more easily. For instance, I felt that I got better results with the extremely
efficient Loth-X Ion 4 speakers with the Musical Design DM 100B’s 100 watts
than with the Welborne Apollos’ 22. The Musical Design amp controlled the LothXs better during dynamic swings, and it had better extension. I also felt that the
Loth-X/Musical Design combination was a better match harmonically. I know that
the Loth-Xs only have single drivers, but Victor Chavira can tell you how a pair of
SM-70 Pros worked on his harder-to-drive Magnepans, and I will leave it up to
Dave and Carol Clark to tell you how the little Pros drove their huge, efficient
multi-way Reimers.
The same logic applies to the Soliloquy and ProAc speakers. While a single SM70 did an okay job, a pair was even better, and a single SM-70 Pro was
noticeably more powerful compared to the regular SM-70. A pair of the Pros was
the ticket. Instead of going on about power, though, I should talk about the
sound. The regular and Pro versions of the SM-70 sound pretty much the same,
with the Pros having the edge in overall authority. The SM-70 amps have a
harmonic rightness that is very appealing. For instance, I have several blues
albums which feature just vocals and guitar throughout—Jimmie Lee Robinson
sm70
and Little Hatch on Analogue Productions, John Lee Hooker’s The Real Folk
Blues, and the Lightning Hopkins disc, which by the way was recorded by none
other than Rudy Van Gelder back in 1960 on the Prestige label. And I can’t forget
my main men, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. The recording quality on these CDs
varies from better than okay to very good, but the quality that comes through the
Monarchy SM-70s in this mostly-midrange music fest, besides great blues, is a
natural rendering of vocals and guitar. If the recording is decent, you’ll hear
vocals that are not thin or squeezed. You can tell that there is a pair of lungs
behind the voices. Guitars have a decent semblance of body, and the string
plucks are clear cut. I know that a tube amp does a lot better in reproducing a
sense of the body of an instrument, but considering the price of the Monarchy
amps, this aspect of their performance was not bad at all.
Their naturalness of tone extended to the brass and woodwind sections of an
orchestra as well. Brass instruments had bite and dynamics, but never lost
correct timbre. Woodwinds displayed a natural texture, but were clean and airy. I
did hear a slight thinness in the upper mids through lower treble through my
ProAcs, but I put the blame on the speakers. When I switched to the Soliloquy
6.3s I heard no such thing. In fact, the pairing of the Soliloquy 6.3s—or the standmounted 5.0s—with the Monarchy amps made for a very synergistic
match. Compared to the big Clayton mono blocks, the Monarchys do sound a
smidgen thin, but as I said in my review of the Claytons, look at the price
difference. While we are on the subject of matching components, a pairing that I
would advise against (at least in my system) is the Monarchy amps and the
Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects. This was especially true with the ProAc
speakers. The sound was slightly thin and too bright for my tastes. An all-JPS set
of cabling proved to be a great match in my system.
The SM-70 Pros definitely have the advantage over the regular SM-70s in
dynamics, authority, and overall control over the speakers. The Pros also
sounded a bit more open, and I felt that I was better able to hear into the
recording. I thought the regular SM-70s sounded a bit sweeter. I also felt that
they were just a little bit slower-sounding. That last comment you can take with a
grain of salt. The fact that the Pros have more parts in them might account for the
difference.The Pro SM-70 amps have more muscle, but with their musical
signature definitely intact. Francisco Duran
sm70
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Wind
River.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio
M70 monoblock
amplifiers. E.A.R.
834P phono
stage. Blue Circle
BC3 preamp
w/Amperex BB
tubes, and
BCG3.1 power
supply.
Taddeo Digital
Antidote Two and
the HRS unit.
SOURCES
EAD T1000
transport and
1000 Series II
DAC with Audient
Technologies’
Tactic and Audit,
Nordost Moonglo
digital cable. Linn
Axiss turntable
with K9 cartridge
and Basik Plus
arm.
CABLES
Nordost Blue
Heaven and SPM
interconnects, and
SPM or Hovland
Nine Line bi-wired
speaker cables.
Sahuaro, Blue
Circle, Custom
House, and
Clayton Audio AC
cables.
ACCESSORIES
The sound was deafening, and she was tired. She
closed her eyes. If only they could go back to the relative peace and quiet of the
hotel. Of course, they couldn’t, and she knew it. Every night it was much the
same. With a deep sigh, she opened her eyes, scanning the room for a friendly
face. At last her eyes rested on Christian, and with a small smile, she stood up
from the table and approached him. His eyes were bright and clear, not dull and
lifeless like all the others, including her own. She slipped into an empty chair next
to him, bending close so he could hear her over the loud music.
“You come here often?” she asked with a smile.
Wait a minute. Oh, I’m sorry, this is not a work of fiction, this is an amplifier
review! I have been so caught up in writing fiction lately that I have forgotten what
it is like to write “serious” articles. This leads to my assessment of the Monarchy
SM-70 amps. I listened to them recently, and had a hard time concentrating.The
character named Christian in one of my works of fiction kept playing around in the
back of my mind, calling me back to the computer. He made me so angry I almost
smacked him, but restrained myself. I wonder what he would say if I asked him to
tell you about the amps?
“The Monarchy amps sound pretty good. The soundstage is full, stretches well
past the edges of the speakers, and is quite deep.” (He is an audiophile, so it
seems.) “They seemed a bit boomy in the bass, so we changed the music quite
frequently, listening to all kinds. It seemed possible that the boomy sound was
inherent in the recordings we chose.” (Not only an audiophile, but a well-spoken
one!)
“Of course, I was not consulted about the music choices, they were Carol’s, but I
was able to adapt quite nicely. She chose several of her standby recordings,
including Toward the Within by Dead Can Dance. We listened to three tracks, but
unfortunately the recording is quite uneven, and only one track sounded halfway
decent. That track, “Don’t Fade Away,” features the smoky vocals of Brendan
Perry. It sounded fantastic, and Carol confided to me that it sounded every bit as
good as her normal setup. She also said that the other two tracks sound dismal
whenever she listens to them.”
“Next, we listened to Nine Inch Nails. She says she likes them quite a bit, but I
was dubious. However, she informed me that aside from having to crank the
volume up substantially, this track also sounded comparable to what she hears
with her Clayton amps.”
“I requested a few tracks, and she consented to let me listen to my favorite, The
Experiment, the soundtrack to a British movie called What Goes Up. Compared
to what I’m used to, which sadly is only a very low-fi system, this really kicked
sm70
Homebrewed ac
conditioner for
sources and the
Coherent Systems
Electraclear EAU1 parallel
conditioner.
Dedicated 15 amp
ac circuit for
sources and 20
amp ac circuit for
amplifiers. Mondo
racks, BDR cones
and board, DH
cones, Vibrapods,
various hard
woods, etc. And a
bottle of Rancho
Sisquoc Merlot.
ass. Is it OK if I say that? I am seriously thinking I will need to upgrade my
system, so I asked how much these things cost. I am astounded when she tells
me the reasonable price! I think I will definitely have to check this out!”
Thank you, Christian for that review, and now let me add this. Did I like these
amps better than what I currently own? The answer is no, not really. They
sounded really good, comparable to my current amps, but that’s where the kicker
comes in. My Clayton amps cost three times as much as these Monarchy amps.
For someone starting out, like my hapless fiction character, these would be an
excellent place to start. They have all the muscle of more expensive equipment,
but at a fraction of the cost.
A few days later, however, I listened to the same music with my
Claytons. Christian did not make an appearance this time. Why, you ask? Mainly
because the sound was better, and I wasn’t distracted enough to think about
him. All the changes we’ve made in the system during this time period, mostly of
the tweak variety (see my Peter Belt article), have really refined the sound of our
standard setup, and I find that I now anxiously look forward to listening to music.
Carol Clark
The Monarchy SM-70 amps are really a
something of a marvel. At one sixth the size of our Clayton M70s and one third
the price (but 30% more powerful—go figure!), the competition is tough and the
law of diminishing returns really start to apply. The time I spent with these hot
little beauties (they do run too hot to the touch for any length of time) was well
spent, and showed just how much musical fun you can have for very little cash.
These little amps were fast, clean, and very dynamic. They can really get up and
go. They are not quite as fleshed-out in the mids as the Claytons, nor do they
have as much sheer musicality, but they were very much fun to listen to. Which is
what it is all about. Imaging was spot on, and the soundspace was wide and
deep, though the Claytons again revealed just what money can buy, offering a
greater sense of space and air.
Minor quibbles would be that the lower bass is perhaps a bit too lean, and that
the sound was slightly more analytical than harmonically rich and musical. None
of this detracted from my enjoying the amps, but I do prefer a bit more body to my
music. Another issue is the owner’s manual, which could use a second look. I
used these as mono amps, and the instructions as to how to hook them up this
way leaves much to be desired. A clearer and more concise guide would allow
the user less chance of hooking them up incorrectly. I am assuming I did
not—they worked—but heck if I know whether I should have switched the
speaker connections to another set of binding posts. The connections are not
sm70
intuitive, but there was no smoke or flames! While they are small, here is one
case where size doesn’t matter. They had all the power and drive I could
want. The SM-70s are really fun amps, and are will not dominate the room. Highly
recommended. Dave Clark
VICTOR
CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6.
ELECTRONICS
Sonic Frontiers
Anthem 1
amplifier.
SOURCE
Audio Electronics
CD1 player.
CABLES
Nordost Blue
Heaven
interconnects and
speaker cable.
I was not originally slated to review the Monarchy
Audio SM70 Pros, but Francisco Duran was curious about the sound of the Pros
with my Magneplanar 1.6s. Since I was between reviews, I gladly obliged. Before
the Pros were introduced into my system, I had to trim the output of my tubed
CD1.The Pros have a very sensitive input stage, which makes them ideal for a
passive system like Frank’s. Once the level was adjusted, the Pros were
connected to the variable output of my CD player with a two-meter length of
Nordost Blue Heaven interconnect. Like most silicon-based amps, the Pros
sounded cool and dry at first. After some time, however, they warmed up and
sprang to life.
Frank pointed out that the Pros ran much hotter than his standard SM-70s, so
much so that he found them uncomfortable to live with. I did not have the same
experience. This is probably due in part to the fact that I am a tube user and have
a higher tolerance for heat. We played several discs that afternoon, from acoustic
blues to movie soundtracks. The mini-amps sounded impressive. They did not
sound bright or edgy. Their grip on the panels was firmer than that of my Anthem
Amp1, which is of equal wattage. True to their monoblock design, the Pros were
superior to my reference with respect to stereo separation and soundstage
depth. The Pros were also impressive with their musicality. Guitars and voices
sounded detailed, delicate, and free from the hardness and tension that feedback
designs tend to impart. The Pros were only slightly less capable of preserving the
air around around voices and instruments than my Anthem.
That the Pros excelled at capturing dynamic shadings was illustrated by my CD of
squawking parrots (Excited Animals Records SP001). Great care was taken in
this recording, which uses only the latest mobile all-tube electronics to capture
the sounds of parrots in their natual habitats. Our family keeps six beautiful, but
extremely noisy parrots in our back yard. No other domestic animal is as capable
of high-decible outbursts as a military macaw. The Monarchy SM-70 Pros vividly
reproduced the cacophony of squawking parrots in my listening room. (Okay, I
made this part up, but the Monarchys do make music come to life!)
I found the SM-70 Pros to be impressive performers and an exceptional
value. They mated surprisingly well with the Maggies. The baby ‘blocks would not
be out of place next to a speaker several times their price. As far as single ended,
medium-power, fully-balanced, solid state monoblocks are concerned, the
Monarchy SM-70 Pros are in a class of their own. Recommended. Victor
Chavira
sm70
SM-70 Pro Amplifiers
Retail $980 each
Monarchy Audio
TEL 650. 873. 3055
web address: www.monarchyaudio.com
BACK TO TOP
shigaraki
47 laboratory
Shigaraki DAC
as reviewed by Mark Katz, Larry Cox, and Art Shapiro
Power supply is to the left and the DAC is to the right
I first saw Sakura Systems components at the
New York Home Entertainment 2001 show, and was impressed by both the
sound and the high price. When I heard that we had received a lower-cost
version of the DAC I saw at the show, I thought, “Okay, they can build
expensive stuff that sounds good, but what can they do at a more
affordable price?”
The Shigaraki DAC consists of two small, dark gray, ceramic boxes that
connect by a simple cable. No instructions, no power cord, no switches,
one input, two outputs. It doesn’t get more simple than this. I plugged the
DAC into a PowerWedge 116 II filtered outlet with a Yamamura cable,
connected my CEC TL-1 transport via a Marigo Signature III, then
connected the DAC to the preamp (first an Audible Illusions L-1, then my
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/shigaraki.htm (1 of 8) [11/4/2002 8:04:51 PM]
shigaraki
MARK KATZ'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Soundlab A-1s and
Tannoy 12" Monitor Gold
speakers in Lockwood
studio cabinets (second
system).
ELECTRONICS
Melos MAT 1000
monoblock amplifiers and
Eclipse preamplifier.
Custom 300B monobloc
SE amplifiers and LoeschWiesner line stage
preamplifier (second
system).
SOURCES
CEC TL-1 transport and
Kora Hermes (latest
version modified by
Audio Magic). McIntosh
MR-78 tuner. Cal Audio
Icon Powerboss HDCD
CD player, Luxman T117
tuner, Nakamichi 680 ZX
cassette (second
system).
CABLES
Marigo Reference 3
digital interconnect. Tiff,
Yamamura, and Marigo
Gen II power cords.
Kimber 8TC shotgun
speaker cables and
Goertz Triode
interconnects.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Wedge 116
Mk II for sources. Amps
are plugged into a
dedicated 20 amp line.
Kora Triode). The amps were my temperamental but good-sounding Melos
MAT 1000s, driving the Soundlab A-1s.
I was warned that the unit had only had a few hours of playing time, and
was prepared for a break-in period. Right out of the box, the sound was thin
and anemic. I let it stay on for a few hours and listened again. Slightly
better, but hardly comparable to my Museatex Bidat or Art Shapiro’s Kora
Hermes. I left it plugged in. That weekend, I invited a few friends over to
listen, and they weren’t impressed, but I noticed that it was definitely
sounding better than before, and I knew that this wasn’t because I was
adapting to bad sound because I hadn’t listened to it between sessions. I
experimented with power cables, and found that a short length of Tiff or MIT
Z II sounded better than the Yamamura. I also tried different digital
interconnects, and found my Marigo clearer and more dynamic, with the
latest Nordost Silver Shadow smoother and more relaxed.
The DAC was not breaking in as quickly as I had hoped, but it was
sounding more rich and dynamic every time I listened. After waiting two
more weeks, I invited the same friends over for another listen, with Art
bringing the Kora DAC as a reference. The result was completely different.
Comments like “That’s the same DAC?” and “That sounds good, what did
you do?” sprinkled the conversation. The answer, of course, was that I had
done nothing except leave it plugged in for a couple of weeks. When
compared to the Hermes, it sounded surprisingly similar, actually a bit
smoother at times, though never quite as dynamic or spacious. Compared
to my Museatex Bidat, the Shigaraki sometimes seemed more open and at
ease, but not as detailed.
The Reference Recordings CD of the Rutter Requiem, a piece remarkable
both for its beauty and its room-shaking bass, worked well. Bass was well
defined, and the solo and massed voices were clear. The "Pie Jesu" track
best illustrated the DAC’s ability to portray complex voice textures at the
same time as powerful organ-pedal bass. I’ve always believed that if a
system can’t portray the human voice properly, it doesn’t really work, no
matter how deep the bass or extended the treble. A favorite vocal CD is
Dorian Recordings’ J S Bach: Secular Cantatas. I enjoy the "Coffee
Cantata", the story of a daughter (sung by soprano Dorothea Roschmann)
imploring her father (baritone Kevin McMillan) to let her indulge her coffee
habit. Think of it as a miniature light opera. The baritone’s voice was clear
and deep, with good projection. The guttural “ACH” was very well
delineated. The father and daughters’ alternating arguments were well
placed on the stage, with excellent articulation. The harpsichord and
orchestra seemed well balanced, and the solo flute had a breathy quality.
Next I chose the Water Lily Acoustics recording of the Philadelphia
Orchestra playing Liszt’s “Les Preludes,” for a test of a well-recorded
orchestra. The Shigaraki DAC came though again. Massed strings, brass,
and woodwinds all sounded good. The ebb and flow of the orchestra,
especially at moderate to loud levels, was heard and felt, the music coming
shigaraki
together and never sounding like disconnected bits of noise. The Museatex
and the Kora DACs both had a bit of an edge at lower volumes, although
this was not obvious without direct comparison.
Piano played powerfully is very tough to reproduce well, due to a
combination of very loud peaks with simultaneous tonal demands,
overtones, and subtle decaying notes. Naum Starkman playing Chopin on
the sadly defunct Pope Music label is brutal, especially the Polonaise on
track ten. With the Shigaraki, there was again no harshness or brittleness
on peaks, good tones and overtones, dynamic contrasts, and overall
musically. Very satisfying.
The last disc was the Eagles’ concert disc Hell Freezes Over on the Geffen
label, at best a fair recording from an audiophile perspective, but a valuable
test for that very reason. On track six, “Hotel California,” the exaggerated
bass and drums were enjoyably portrayed, the guitars and voices sounded
like they were, indeed, in concert. It was hard to conclude much about the
Shigaraki DAC from this. Once a recording is electronically processed and
distorted for effect, only people familiar with the specific electric guitars and
their amplifiers’ overload characteristics can make proper evaluations of
accuracy. I can only say whether it was enjoyable to listen to, i.e., “sounded
good.” This sounded good.
I characterize the lower-priced Shigaraki DAC as good-sounding, easeful,
and dynamic, with good tonal balance. As good as the Museatex Bidat
(now discontinued), but different. As good as the Kora Hermes? A bit
smoother at times, better bass, softer on top. It was surprising for a solid
state DAC to be smoother in the treble range than a tubed one, but the
Shigaraki lacks some of the detail and treble sparkle of the tubed Hermes.
The Hermes, to me, is the better sounding DAC I’ve heard, though not in all
ways and not by much. I think that Shigaraki has come up with a very finesounding DAC at a fair price point. If you are looking for a solid state DAC
under $2K, you’d be making a mistake not to audition it. Mark Katz
An issue back, we reviewed the 47 Labs
Flatfish CD player ($5400) and its companion Progression DAC ($2700).
They reaped unanimous praise from the reviewers, including yours truly.
The combination was deliciously lyrical, and closer to analog’s ease than
anything digital I’d ever heard, but how many of us can afford it? Junji
Kimura, the designer of things 47 Labs, has come up with a $1250 DAC
known as the Shigaraki. Whereas the power supplies of the more
expensive units are housed in bombproof metal cylinders, both the
Shigaraki DAC and its external power supply are made from the same
ceramic material that has been used in Japanese tea ceremony bowls for
shigaraki
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20.
ELECTRONICS
preamplifier.
SOURCE
Pioneer DV 525 dvd
player.
CABLES
and speaker cables
wire.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
over a thousand years. If you know anything about the tea ceremony, it is
an awesome statement to encase a “budget” component in this material.
The ceramic is also pretty tough, as I learned when I inadvertently knocked
the DAC off my rack. No problem for the DAC or the ceramic casing, but
not to be repeated, thank you.
In my reference system, the Shigaraki initially added imaging, hardly a
recommendation in my book. Over the course of three or four days the
sound broke in, smoothed out, and blossomed. The bass tightened, getting
a little tauter and richer, but not a lot. The top end was distinctly more
extended, and with little to object to, although it certainly did not remind me
of my analog rig at its best. The overall sound was distinctly better than that
provided by my Pioneer DV 525 DVD player. It was enjoyable, but not
necessarily recommendable.
At that point I did an editorial no-no, inserting two items into my system that
were not my usual components, but were a more synergistic combination
with the 47 Labs. These were the Lamm LL2 line stage preamp ($3990)
and the Ensemble Dynaflux interconnects ($850 per meter). With these in
my system, music was amazingly lifelike, and the sound about the best I’ve
had. There was an immediacy to the midrange that did not for a moment
become harsh, forward, or lean. It was vibrant without being technicolor,
exciting like a ride in a white water raft. Standup bass had a vibrancy that
normally I only experience either with live music or a near-death
experience. (Remember, I’m a rock climber, so for me this was a good
thing.) There was a sense of the unexpected in the performance, just like
one gets live. Great performers improvise, and each moment brings the
possibility of anything happening.
Junji Kimura sought to produce ninety percent of the Flatfish’s performance
for twenty percent of the price. He has nearly succeeded, although the
Shigaraki just isn’t cut of the same, silky smooth cloth as the Flatfish. While
I still had the Shigaraki, I took delivery of Audio Note’s CD 3.1x, a CD
player that uses a 6111A tube in its output stage, and is is nearly three
times the price of the Shigaraki. With the Audio Note in place, the
Shigaraki’s previously undetectable sonic signature became evident. There
is an ever-so-slight “scratchiness” to the sound from the midbass through
the upper midrange. With the Shigaraki, standup bass was more extended
and slightly more detailed; the instrument sounded more it was made of
wood, and had more tension, whether the bass was bowed or plucked
However, with piano. while hammer strikes were quite distinct from the
sound of fingers striking keys, the nasal component central to the piano’s
tone didn’t come through as distinctly. The piano lacked some of its normal
weight and clarity, which the Audio Note provided.
The Shigaraki’s top end seemed to lack the scratchiness present in the
lower regions. Triangles, high hats, and other treble ticklers were displayed
without undue harshness or etching, while still demonstrating very fast
transients. The Shigaraki rendered male and female vocals with their
shigaraki
timbres intact, and did this rather extraordinarily. One reason I really like
ATC speakers is that they capture the richness of voices. With the 47 Labs
DAC, vocals were clear, rich, liquid, and easy to follow. With the Audio
Note, they were smoother and more relaxed, but remember, the Shigaraki
is $1250, and it produced some of the best sounds I’ve heard in my system.
The Shigaraki has some serious competition in the form of the Kora
Hermes DAC ($1400) and the Audio Note 1.1x ($1500). I have not heard
the Hermes, though other reviewers have, and liked it a lot. The Audio Note
1.1x is smoother and perhaps a bit sweeter sounding, but lighter in sonic
weight. Where the 1.1x falls short for me is in its reproduction of the
chestiness of male vocals and perhaps the rosin on the bow of a cello. The
Shigaraki is more tonally textured and for me that is very, very desirable.
Larry Cox
ART SHAPIRO'S
SYSTEM
LOUDSPEAKERS
ESP Concert Grand and
REL Stadium II
subwoofer.
ELECTRONICS
Convergent Audio SL1
Signature preamplifier
and Music Reference
RM9 Mk II amplifier.
SOURCE
VPI HW-19 IV turntable,
Graham 1.5 arm, and
Grado Master Reference
cartridge. Wadia WT3200
transport and Kora
Hermes DAC.
CABLES
Nordost Silver Shadow
digital interconnect.
Monster Sigma 2000
interconnects and
Cardas Golden Hex 5C
biwired speaker cables.
Tiff, Marigo and MIT Z II
power cords.
I first ran into 47 Laboratories at the
2001 High End show in New York. They were participating in a multi-vendor
system in which they supplied a somewhat pricier DAC and a preamplifier
which fed 300B push-pull amps into Belgian “Box Vaessen” speakers, if I
read my scrawled notes correctly. The ultra-expensive 47 Laboratories Pit
Tracer transport completed the setup. My listening notes had a number of
positive comments, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to be one of
the reviewers for this DAC.
The Shigaraki is quite tiny. The DAC is roughly a three-inch cube, while the
external power supply is about three by five. Both units have a curious
pebbly surface. The web site, which I discovered only toward the end of my
time with the unit, asserts that this is some sort of magical ceramic, used for
centuries to make dining ware. It is claimed that the non-conductive nature
of this material contributes greatly to the DAC’s sonic excellence. This
immediately set off my “BS Alarm.” After all, I thought, careful shielding is
an asset for digital reproduction, and here was the exact antithesis of, say,
my Wadia transport, the inside of which is completely surrounded by a
copper Faraday cage, including copper screws.
The two units are connected by an umbilical cord which can be detached at
the DAC end. The connection seems relatively solid despite the rather
small-gauge wires. The adhesive holding the power supply chassis inside
the ceramic housing had disintegrated before I received the unit, allowing
the guts of the unit to fall out. These guts appeared to be nothing more than
a modest sheet aluminum chassis with an IEC input jack, an output
connector for the umbilical, a nondescript transformer, and a single diode.
shigaraki
ACCESSORIES
Power Wedge 116 and
dedicated AC lines.
I put the two units on a shelf next to the Kora Hermes DAC I normally use.
A Nordost Silver Shadow digital cable was plugged into theShigaraki’s
digital input jack, and my bulky Monster Sigmas were plugged into the
analog outputs. These massive cables, with their substantial plugs, wanted
to move the tiny Shigaraki around on the shelf, but I managed to brace it
DAC against the big Hermes. Sometimes small size and light weight isn’t
an advantage. I plugged one of my extra Tiff AC cords into the power
supply, knowing from experiments with Mark Katz that it was a good match
with the Shigaraki, and put on a CD.
It then became obvious that only one channel was working. I jiggled the
interconnects, and could hear the other channel cutting in and out. After a
while I discovered that turning the DAC at a certain angle allowed whatever
was causing the intermittency to make contact. It was now apparent that
construction quality was lacking in the Shigaraki. I made do like this for
most of the several weeks I had the unit, and then things deteriorated. I
freely admit that in those few weeks I unplugged and replugged the cables
more than any normal user would do in a lifetime, but finally, upon
unplugging one of the analog cables, the exterior ground shell of the DAC’s
RCA jack came off with the cable, leaving a black plastic stub sticking out of
the DAC and a metal ring wedged firmly inside my cable’s RCA connector.
That’s when I closed the book on listening to the DAC, although I hadn’t
intended to do much more anyway. Add chintzy and flimsy jacks to my
gripes. Budget product or not, it still sports a four-figure price tag, and I
wouldn’t expect jacks of this quality level in a mid-fi receiver.
But what about the sonics? If you have read my past reviews you will be
aware that I usually cite a dozen or so different but primarily “classical”
recordings, describe the sound of each recording on my own equipment
and with the device under review, and then assess the sound of the review
piece. It will not be necessary to go into such detail with the Shigaraki DAC.
Why? Because my observations were remarkably similar with all the CDs I
threw at it. Orchestral, piano, guitar, chamber music, male vocalists, female
vocalists, and jazz/popular music CDs all gave me the same impression.
To be fair, the Shigaraki faced a problem in my system that might not afflict
some of my fellow reviewers: it was being compared to the Kora, probably
one of the best DACs on the planet. I say this not to boast about the Kora,
but the Shigaraki was repeatedly bested by it, and always in the same
manner. The differences between the two DACs were not huge, but they
were consistent. It was mostly a matter of resolution. Every time I went
back and forth between the two DACs, I would hear less of the subtlety of
music through the Shigaraki. While the Kora was more detailed, it was not
in a sterile, excessive manner. Despite being somewhat warmer than the
Shigaraki—a characteristic I’ve emphasized by careful tube choice—I
would always hear more of the musical nuances that make listening
enjoyable.
The difference in resolution also translated into differences in air and
shigaraki
ambience. The musical bloom around musical notes struck me as a bit
more of an on-and-off phenomenon with the Shigaraki. I consistently
sensed less of the rise and decay of notes, making the sonic reproduction a
bit more mechanical I reiterate that the differences between the two DACs
were not so gross as to preclude listening pleasure. In fact, the Shigaraki
was more than decent, and would doubtlessly be an asset in a great many
systems, but it couldn’t compete with the Kora. At times, I thought the two
units epitomized the stereotypes of solid state vs. tube reproduction,
although that is really too simple an analogy. The Shigaraki could
competently reproduce sound, but the Kora reproduced music.
The low end of the Shigaraki was a strong point. Playing my few popular
CDs with substantial bass content, such as Bruce Katz’ Crescent Crawl on
AudioQuest, or the Bela Fleck’s Flight of the Cosmic Hippo on Warner
Brothers, there was excellent reproduction of the low bass. On classical
recordings with extraordinarily low bass content, such as the John Rutter
Requiem on Reference Recordings, the difference between the two DACs
was somewhat less pronounced. There was even one recording in which
the roles reversed and the Sakura was the product of choice. This is a
recording I’ve cited before, Antiphone Blues on the Proprius label, which
contains music for the unlikely combination of saxophone and pipe organ.
The saxophone is uniquely aggressive and reedy, and the Shigaraki
seemed to bring out that characteristic quite well without overdoing it, while
the Kora warmed and rounded the music into a slightly more polite
presentation. Both were within the bounds of good taste, but the Shigaraki
came out on top.
I suspect you get the drift by now. The Shigaraki is a decent product. It
can’t really achieve the sonic pinnacles of top flight equipment with respect
to resolution, nor can it portray the beautiful warmth and bloom that can
make music so enjoyable, but it can provide an enjoyable listening
experience, and it will represent a noticeable upgrade for quite a few
audiophiles. It has a solid low end and its overall sound is not aggressive.
Its modest size will be an asset in many environments. Prospective
customers who are not using stiff cabling with ultra-heavy RCA plugs are
unlikely to be as affected by the mechanical quality of the Shigaraki as I
was. If your interconnects or digital links are big and heavy, however, don’t
get anywhere near the Sakura. If you are not burdened by hostile cabling,
and if your budget for a new DAC has creeped into the low-four-figure
range, the Shigaraki has enough good points to merit your consideration.
Art Shapiro
shigaraki
47 Laboratory 4715 Shigaraki DAC
Retail $1250
US distributor
SAKURA SYSTEMS
web address: www.sakurasystems.com
TEL: 508. 829. 3426
BACK TO TOP
harbeth
harbeth vs.
spendor
HP3ES and S3/5 Mini-Monitors - A Space Thing
as reviewed by Bob Neill
BOB NEILL'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Harbeth Monitor 40’s
sitting on Sound Anchors
with Blue Tak.
ELECTRONICS
Blue Circle AG3000
tubed preamplifier and
Blue Circle AG8000
mono-blocks.
I’m a big-speaker guy. I want to hear it all, with authority, without strain,
and on a scale that does not bring HO model trains to mind. I am not
fascinated by miniatures of any kind. I am not frugal, practical, or modest.
I find Thoreau and Walden occasionally bewitching, but “Simplify,
simplify” does not strike a thrilling note in my being. In my lexicon,
simplifying and purifying are both euphemisms for taking things away.
One day, twenty years ago, I heard a pair of tiny ADS speakers that
impressed the hell out of me. They did something I’d heard very few
larger loudspeakers do: create a marvelous sense of music in space. A
couple of years later, I heard a pair of KEF Ref 101s do it even better. I
did not want to own either of these speakers, as I could hear what they
weren’t doing in addition to what they were, but I loved the Space Thing.
To this day, I have not heard a larger speaker do it as well.
SOURCE
Naim CDS2 retrofitted by
Naim of North America
with RCA outputs,
feeding into a custom
Blue Circle RCA/XLR
converter.
For the past year or so, I have been the happy owner of a pair of big
British speakers— Harbeth Monitor 40s. Around four and a half cubic feet
in volume, nearly 85 pounds, with heavenly SEAS Excel tweeters,
matchlessly articulate RADIAL midrange drivers, and authoritative 12-inch
SEAS woofers, the M40s are the best speakers I’ve ever heard in a
domestic setting. They transcend virtually all of the audio adjectives, and
deliver the closest illusion I’ve heard of what live music sounds like in a
real venue. I love them, but they do not do all of the Space Thing. Neither
do the smaller, excellent Compact 7s or the smaller still, splendid Monitor
30s, though both do somewhat more in this regard than their big brothers.
CABLES
Speaker and
Since I have learned to live quite happily without such a dramatic
rendering of space, it is at least partly sentimentality that led me to ask
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/harbeth.htm (1 of 8) [11/4/2002 8:04:52 PM]
harbeth
interconnects are
Nordost Valhalla.
ACCESSORIES
Blue Circle Isolation
Cones. Power cords are
currently TG Audio
SLVR’s plugged into Blue
Circle Music Rings which
are in turn plugged into
dedicated lines.
Garnet Lewis of Winter Tree Audio, North American importer of Harbeth,
to indulge me. If the M40s are this good at the big-speaker thing, I wanted
to find out if the HP3ESs, descendents of the much-loved LS3/5As, could
do a share of what its larger siblings do—plus the Space Thing. If they
had a decent share of full range sound and did the Space Thing superbly,
might they be an alternative to, rather than a compromise with respect to
the M40s?
Unfortunately, HP3s are hard to come by these days. Harbeth is just
beginning to expand production capacity in response to the recent rise in
demand for their speakers in the U.S. and Asia. Also, Garnet Lewis has
only been in business for a little over a year, successor to an earlier
importer who, it seems, lacked the necessary passion for Harbeth to
compete with its long-time British “adversary,” Spendor, which has been
well established (if also not widely distributed) in the U.S. for a
generation. So, while I waited for Garnet to free up a pair of HP3s, I had
the idea to call Spendor’s very generous and supportive U.S. importer,
QS&D, and ask them to lend me a pair of S3/5s, which are the HP3s’
logical (and real) competitors. (S rather than SP because there is no
port—both the 3/5s and the HP3s have sealed cabinets.) The S3/5s have
been justly appreciated in the press. Paul Seydor of The Absolute Sound
wrote “in the crucial midrange it is one of the most musically truthful
speakers you can buy.” Herb Reichert (www.EnjoytheMusic.com), asked
rhetorically, “Is this the most accurate loudspeaker manufactured today?”
and then, with a flicker of uncharacteristic equivocation, more reasonably
suggests that they are “(most probably) the best small speakers
manufactured today.”
Spendor S3/5
Their appearance is acceptable, with a small medallion on the bottom
edge left over from its days in the now-cancelled FL Series.
Recommendation: lose the medallion. The speaker taps are perfect,
harbeth
meaning that they accept my Valhalla spades! A rare treat. I started this
audition in my large listening (living) room and with my reference system
because I wanted to hear what these speakers “really” sounded like
before I put them into a room and system more in keeping with their scale
and price. My listening room is 18 feet wide, 29 feet long, and the ceiling
slopes from around 11 feet at the speaker end of the room to around 8
feet, a total of around 5000 cubic feet. Floors are cement slab covered by
wood, with an 8 x 10 area rug in front of the speakers. Floor to ceiling
bookshelves are on listener’s right, a brick wall on the left. There is floor
to ceiling glass behind the speakers, with drapes that are only drawn
when the Audio Police come by. In the reference system is a Naim CDS2
with Naim retrofitted RCA outputs, a Blue Circle AG3000 tubed line stage
and AG8000 150 watt hybrid monoblocks, both fully balanced.
(Conversion is via a custom Blue Circle RCA/XLR converter.) All cabling
is Nordost Valhalla; power cords are TG Audio SLVRs plugged into Blue
Circle Music Ring power filters plugged into dedicated lines. The
speakers sit on my own very heavy filled clay pipe stands, about 5 feet
from the side walls and 4 feet in front of a floor to ceiling glass rear wall.
I had the 3/5s in the reference system for a couple weeks before the
HP3s arrived, and very soon came to understand what Reichert is talking
about. Spendors tend to be more finicky about amplifiers than Harbeths,
so, remembering how unimpressive the SP1/2s had been with Blue Circle
hybrids six months ago, I started them out on Gilbert Yeung’s latest
assault on the real world, the single-ended, all solid state, 50 watt Blue
Circle CS integrated amp ($1150). Even with this modest little piece of
electronics, it was “deja vu all over again”—the Space Thing was back in
all its glory. The music sounded damn good, too, which I guess was the
real surprise. I know the SP1/2s and SP100s and appreciate their virtues,
but both of these popular speakers sound like speakers to me. With the
3/5s, my first impression was not that these were charming speakers, but
that everything sounded so good. Unlike the much larger 1/2s, the 3/5s
did not seem rolled off at the extremes (though they obviously are), in
addition to having a classic BBC 1.5 to 2.5 dB drop and recovery in the
presence region, according to Jeff Stake, who did the measurements for
me.
In judging small speakers, it’s not what is missing that’s at issue, it’s what
you notice is missing. The 3/5s are so wonderfully balanced that what’s
missing doesn’t come to mind. They create a marvelously real sense of
music in space, they get the midrange largely right (which Spendors
always do), and they do what can only be called an ingenious job of
tempering the extremes while maintaining an overall balance. I did not
hear, as I do with the SP1/2s, the typical Spendor midrange-focused
presentation. The 3/5s are not the most accurate loudspeakers
manufactured today, and are the best small speakers only if you incline
toward Spendor’s view of the world, but to my ears they are clearly the
best Spendors, which is a lot. The bass in particular sounds considerably
more impactful and foundational than that of the SP1/2s. It’s an illusion,
but a successful one, so what the hell.
harbeth
The Schumann Piano Trios by the superb Florestan Trio, on Hyperion,
are warm, natural, detailed, in perfect overall balance. Scale is not an
issue. On the Nielsen Symphonies 1 & 6, with the Danish National Radio
Symphony conducted by Schonwandt, on De Capo, I love how the minis
do space! Especially on orchestral music, which helps to fool you that
they’re also doing bandwidth. You cannot have orchestral fullness with
minis, nor can you have the exhilaration that comes with a high end that
soars smoothly out of sight, or the overall sense of ease that full range
speakers provide. But once you’ve adjusted, you hear horns, strings,
brass, tympani, all clear, tonally convincing, and present. You hear a very
pleasing, scaled-down reproduction of a symphony orchestra.
On Wayne Shorter’s Footprints Live on Verve—Shorter’s new
one—percussion and bass are surprisingly satisfying, and not just for
small speakers. The sax is warm, crisp, and clear. The piano doesn’t
sound reduced at its high end, though it is. On C.P.E. Bach’s Solo
Keyboard Works, Vol. 8, from BIS, the clavichord—not a dynamic
challenge for sure, but getting both its warmth and “pluck” is
difficult—sounds fine. The imaging is pinpoint, if that sort of thing matters
to you. The minis do not get the room and some of the finish of the notes,
so while satisfying, they’re not exhilarating, but that’s an expensive
difference. On Tony Rice’s Unit of Measure on Rounder (yeah, I read Art
Dudley’s review and believed it), I not only heard superb flat-picking but
great presence and drive. From a mini!
With my normal gear, I was surprised at how well the 3/5s responded to
the increased investment, but also that while they got better—more clear,
mainly—the difference was not dramatic. The 3/5s are obviously
designed to perform well on less than premier electronics, and we should
all be relieved that they do so.
harbeth
Harbeth HP3ES
About this time, the HP3s arrived. I plugged them into my reference
system right out of the box because that was what I had been listening to,
and cranked up the same musical program I’d been using with the
Spendors. Hmph. Very different. I listened to a few cuts, then switched
back to the 3/5s. Hmph again.
As I found out over the next day or so, A/B-ing the 3/5s and HP3s didn’t
work very well. It exaggerated their differences, but didn’t really help me
home in on what each sounded like. When the Harbeths first entered the
system, following directly on the Spendors–the first hmph–the music
sounded more present, assertive, pushy even, and seemed to have less
body. After my aural memory of the Spendors had faded a little, the
Harbeths became incisive, lively, and informative. I could hear more of
everything, though everything was a little less comforting. Switching back
to the Spendors, things sounded a little muffled and shut down—the
second hmph—then, after a few minutes, the Harbeths receding in my
mind, the Spendors changed back to how they’d sounded before: warm,
sweet, full, and airy.
Once I focused on each pair of speakers with live music in mind, the
contrast settled down to the good old Spendor/Harbeth thing that I have
come to know well. On the Spendors, recordings were warm, full (for a
mini), satisfying, and pleasing, while the Harbeths were more crisp,
immediate, a little leaner, and more exciting. The Spendors provided a
more appealing, solicitous, slightly softened presentation. There was
plenty of drive, but the edges were a bit extra-smooth. Colors were clear,
but a tad on the pastel side. The Harbeths offered a more interesting,
firmer, more “objective” presentation. Colors were more vibrant. Both
speakers are true to the music in their fashion, and both are engaging.
harbeth
Both do space well, though the Spendors seem to do it more noticeably,
which is probably at least partly the result of their warmer presentation.
They are also higher in output than the Harbeths between 80 and 400 Hz.
Both speakers are clear, though the Harbeths seem clearer because of
their comparatively leaner low end—with a greater degree of recovery
from the BBC dip in the presence region—and their considerably more
gradual rolloff of the highs. The Spendors render music as if it were
“recollected in tranquility,” while the Harbeths are closer to the immediacy
and directness of a live performance. But there is no denying that the
Spendors “took” me—I, who tend to prefer immediacy to
recollection—before I heard the Harbeths. That is why I consider them the
best Spendors.
The Spendor approach is safer in a mini. A warmer overall balance helps
belie the necessarily reduced sense of scale and weight, and the
narrowed bandwidth, though I should add that I don’t really feel these
limitations with chamber music and small jazz groups. The warmth of the
3/5s helps gives a sense of increased spread and fullness. Cellos and
basses play a bigger role through the Spendors than they do through the
Harbeths. Poorly designed minis that don’t take this approach—that try to
maintain flatness through the upper mids—tend to spit and honk. The
Harbeths, needless to say, do neither, which makes the HP3s very
impressive. They are better reflections of what recordings truly sound like,
which makes them better “monitors.” They are also more exciting.
However, they are not always as entirely pleasing as the Spendors. The
Spendors are clearly brilliant compromises. They hold violins and brass
back a little to maintain a more even balance with cellos, which minis
can’t get all of. The Harbeths are not willing to compromise quite so
much. They occasionally shout just a little, but they almost always tell you
more about the music and the performance than the Spendors. The
Spendors win friends easily, while the Harbeths are less charming, but
smarter, more direct, and more sophisticated. The Spendors’ charm is
genuine, the Harbeths’ directness sometimes brings with a shock of
candor. Again, this is less evident on the larger Harbeths, which have a
fuller range to work with.
Over the course of several weeks, I predictably (for me) developed a
preference for the HP3s. I love the crispness and clarity of live music as
well as its airiness and warmth, and hate to trade one for the other. I
listen to music to get excited rather than soothed. I heard a bit more bite
in the cello on the Schumann trio, and the piano was more brilliant. The
Nielsen was a little leaner, but the violins were clearer and the orchestral
texture was more interesting. Wayne Shorter’s sax was crisper and Danilo
Perez’ piano rang clearer. The clavichord on the C.P.E. Bach was a bit
less pretty, but I felt I could hear down into its little body farther. Tony
Rice’s picking had more crispness to go with his band’s drive. Individual
instruments sounded more real, the whole sounded less blended. What
part of your anatomy do you listen with? We are talking about a matter of
taste here, folks, not about superiority or inferiority.
harbeth
This has been fun, but not too many folks will be playing minis in a 5000cubic-foot room or with top-of-the-line electronics and Valhalla cable. As I
said, I started this review that way because I thought it would tell me more
about the sound of these speakers. Now it is time to return to earth.
Small room, reasonable gear
My backup room for this audition is 12 feet by 24, with an 8-foot ceiling.
The floor is covered with wall-to-wall carpet over slab. On the walls, close
by, are floor-to-ceiling books on the listener’s left, dry wall on the right.
The speakers were now around 6 feet apart, 3 feet from each side wall,
and 5 feet from the front wall. The front end remained the Naim CDS2, for
consistency and because I was not been able to get a more reasonablypriced CD player here in time. Amps were the 50-watt Blue Circle CS and
an Australian Redgum 120-watter ($1800), both solid state, the latter here
just in time for the review, and a very handsome, compact component.
Both pairs of speakers, with their very low sensitivity, need more power
than the CS has to offer, but even in the larger room, when the volume
knob was turned up pretty far, I never felt any sense of strain, and on
most recordings the music was loud enough for my taste. Interconnects
and speaker cable were Stage III Baron, which stepped in ably for the
Valhalla, no small accomplishment at their price (the ICs are $200/meter
pair, the speaker cable $600/two-meter pair). Power cords were TG
SLVR into undedicated wall sockets.
No real surprises. The Space Thing was considerably reduced, but the
issue of scale disappeared altogether. The system filled the room
comfortably and persuasively, with plenty of sound. The CS’ 50 watts still
favored the slightly more sensitive and warmer 3/5s over the HP3s, but
the Redgum’s 120 watts made both speakers notably more dynamic and
detailed. A fine little powerhouse for a little less than twice the money,
and given the insensitivity of both speakers, a more natural choice. I left
the Redgum in the system for most of the audition.
The fundamental differences between the speakers did not change in the
smaller room, or on the less sophisticated electronics and cable. Both,
with their BBC dip in the upper mids, anticipated the boundary effects, so
there was no noticeable boost from wall or ceiling reflections. The
Spendors remained the warmer and more comely speakers, taking some
of the defining edges off strings and giving the sense of a warm and
reverberant listening venue, putting the listener in rows 10-15. The
Harbeths remained more exciting, revealing more detail and revealing the
defining edges of strings, keeping me on the edge of my seat, in row 3.
Conclusions
In a large room, I prefer the scale, bandwidth, ease, authority, and
downright beauty of my Monitor 40s by far, and I would not trade them for
harbeth
either of these fine little creatures, despite their ability to do the Space
Thing. I do not consider minis an alternative to an M40-based system if
you have the room. No real news there. More to the point, faced with a
smaller room and a reasonable budget, I would think long and hard about
these two little minis, with their ability to produce a very satisfactory
version of live music. With the same space and another $1000 or so to
spend, I might well stretch to a Harbeth Compact 7, which I have also
auditioned in this room. Bigger is better, when it’s a Harbeth. I liked the
HP3s a lot, and would be entirely happy with them in a room that would
make the 7s unreasonable. I preferred the HP3s to the S3/5s, but they
are not the best Harbeths. As I said, I think the S3/5s may be the most
satisfying, best-balanced iteration of the Spendor philosophy. Clearly it’s
possible to get music for less than a zillion dollars if you’ve got the right
audio designer on the project.
Spendor S3/5
Retail: $899 (plus $249 for Sound Anchor stands)
QS&D
TEL: (540) 372-3711
web address: www.qsandd.com
Harbeth HP3ES
Retail: $1129 (plus $249 for Sound Anchor stands)
Winter Tree Audio
TEL: (902) 454-9253
web address: www.wintertreeaudio.com
BACK TO TOP
andac
audio note
DAC 1.1
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/andac.htm (1 of 3) [11/4/2002 8:04:54 PM]
andac
The Audio Note DAC 1.1 is a marvelous, amazing, delightful piece of
gear. In combination with my state-of-the-art (har, har, har) Pioneer
DV525, the 1.1 reminds me very much of the dear, recently departed
(from my listening room) 47 Labs player. At $1500 versus $8000 for the
47 Labs, the Audio Note performed heroically. The two have simplicity of
design in common, and both are a joy to listen to.
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20.
ELECTRONICS
preamplifier.
SOURCE
Pioneer DV 525 dvd
player.
CABLES
and speaker cables
wire.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
Ever since I sold my CAL Icon Mk II, I’ve regretted it. The Pioneer is more
detailed, but is more one-note-like, much less dimensional and sweet
sounding, and, all things considered, less musical. It is clear, and has a
measure of precision, a good to decent bottom end, and a fairly extended
top end, but it isn’t the kind of player that calls for disc after disc. I’ve been
wondering what to do. Of the players I’ve had in the past, I enjoyed the
CAL CL15, especially when matched with the ATCs, the Chord
SPM1200B amp, and my E.A.R. preamp. Magic. I also enjoyed the
Arcam Alpha, which was quite musical, if a little soft on the bottom. The
MSB Link DAC, to me, was only a very-good-for-the-money product, not
outstanding. None of those players had the ease and sweetness of the 47
Labs player or the Audio Note.
What makes the Audio Note great? I’m taken by its ability to suggest that
analog isn’t necessary to have very engaging sound. I’ve got about 600
records and 200 CDs, and when I go shopping I always look for the LP
first, but after hanging out with the 1.1 DAC for a while, I’m wondering if
that isn’t more habit than necessity. I have really enjoyed the 1.1, even
with a cheap digital cable. God knows what upgrading the cable will do for
the sound of this puppy. The 1.1 presents a musical event with more
going on, and I don’t just mean detail, though there is plenty of detail. I
expected the tubed 1.1 to be fat and sweet, and not precise, but it is quite
precise-sounding. Also present is a wonderful sense of music being made
in three dimensions. There was a palpability to the sound, and a
roundness to the bottom end that was taut, engaging and “real.” Listening
through the 1.1 was like watching a cauldron of live players making
music, rather than an amorphous, disembodied occurrence between my
speakers. The midrange tones had attack and decay AND a distinctly
sustained tone. Through the 1.1, there was plenty of natural richness and
liquidity.
aM reviewers have agreed to change only one piece of gear during the
review, but when the ATC 50a speakers (the model above mine) showed
up for review, I sneaked the 1.1 into the ATC review. The 1.1 and the 50s
gave the sort of reproduction that I’ve always wanted to have. Just
amazing. The 1.1 added to my enjoyment of the 50s and showed no
warts in a very revealing and expensive system. Bass didn’t loosen up, as
you might expect with a tubed processor. Female vocals sounded sweet
and sexy, with a cat-like purr that didn’t slip over into male chestiness,
which warm or over-rich products can do. There were more of the
nuances that make womens’ voices more than just higher in pitch.
Yowza, a DAC that makes you horny. Okay, sorry about that.
andac
I really, really enjoyed the Audio Note 1.1 DAC. It brought up for me why I
got into audio and reviewing—I want to enjoy music. I’m not looking for
the last iota of information, I’m looking for music. I loved listening to the
Audio Note, and I’d be happy to keep it in my system. With this product, I
see analog and digital getting closer to parity—not sounding the same,
but of equal merit. The Audio Note 1.1 DAC is worth a listen. Larry Cox
Audio Note
web address: www.audionote.co.uk
BACK TO TOP
soliloquy5
soliloquy
5.0 loudspeakers
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/soliloquy5.htm (1 of 8) [11/4/2002 8:04:55 PM]
soliloquy5
FRANCISCO DURAN'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ProAc Response 2s.
ELECTRONICS
Reference Line
Preeminence IA passive.
Monarchy Sm70
amplifier.
SOURCE
EAD DSP 1000 III DAC,
Pioneer DP 54 as a
transport, and Musical
Concepts DV414 DVD
player.
CABLES
Kimber Hero
interconnects, Acrotec
1050 speaker cables,
and LAT digital cable.
ACCESSORIES
Panamax PLC.
I have lived with small stand-mounted speakers
for quite some time, so it seemed natural that the Soliloquy 5.0 speakers
would come my way for a listen. Some floor-standing speakers I’ve
listened to have made a synergistic match with my listening room, but the
all-round performance and design (read: small) of monitors works quite well
for me. My ProAc Response 2s are pretty much all I need. There is enough
bass to be satisfying, so I don’t have to wrestle with blending them with a
sub (although a little more bass would be nice). My room is just big enough
to show their nice soundstage spread and pinpoint imaging, and they don’t
dominate the landscape.
The Soliloquy line of loudspeakers has always caught my eye. They have a
clean and elegant appearance. Some clever and practical engineering goes
into the construction of their speakers and stands. For instance, take a look
at the spikes on the metal stands. (It must seem odd for me to mention this,
but their design is so unique and user friendly.) The four large knurled
knobs poking through the tabs on each corner of the bottom plinth make it a
snap to level the stand. The stand is a beauty. I appreciate the way the top
plinth is padded so you can firmly secure the speaker to it with three
machined screws. No more fuss with messy bluetack or sorbothane, as I do
with my speakers. By the way, Soliloquy recommends filling the stands with
sand. I recommend you make darn sure where you want them before you
do. If not, you will need Arnold, or the Rock, to help you move them. The
stands are sold separately, but one look at them and it’s hard not to
consider them mandatory.
What about the speakers? Their construction is also first rate. The cabinetry
and finish are flawless. For those of you who haven’t read other reviews or
checked out their web site, here’s a little something about the 5.0s’
innards. These speakers are relatively compact at 7.5w x 14d x 11h, and
weigh in at 22 pounds. They are rear-ported two-ways. The bass/midrange
drivers have 5.25-in. rigid poly fiber cones with cast magnesium
baskets. The tweeters are 1.25-in. double-chamber silk domes. All drivers
are magnetically shielded. The crossovers are 3.2 kHz at 12 dB per
octave. In the back of the speakers, black metal plates hold both the double
sets of gold-plated binding posts and the ports. I really appreciate that the
binding posts are flush- mounted. No freaking recess-mounted binding
posts. Thank you, Soliloquy!
But enough of the stuff that true music lovers don’t really care about. How
do they sound? Better yet, how do they make music? Well, these are very
well-balanced speakers. I started off with my Reference Recording Tutti
CD I think this audiophile-approved disc is on somebody’s best-of list
somewhere, but what the heck, it works for me. Horns, strings, and piano
had a nice tone. There was a full, three-dimensional spread of the orchestra
soliloquy5
across my listening space. While the overall sound was a tad thinner than
with my speakers, the bass seemed to have slightly more bloom and a tad
more fullness, with a little less definition. The ProAcs sound more taut in
this area. In fact, the Response 2s are such tight and fast-sounding
speakers that any differences in these areas are readily apparent. For small
fry, the 5.0s put out some satisfying bass. Their low end performance was
well paced and articulate for most of the music that I listened to. They filled
my medium sized room with enough low end heft to keep my bass air guitar
plugged in. The specs say down to 45 cycles, and I don’t think you’re
getting cheated.
This next disc might be on another list or two, but like the Tutti CD, it works.
Diana Krall’s (or, as Victor C’s wife dubbed her, “Diana Cole”) vocal delivery
sounded natural and detailed. Lyrics could be easily followed and there was
no excess of sibilance. The soundstage was layered and image placement
was solid, even off axis. Another CD I picked up was a sampler from Higher
Octave Music for $.99. It was fun listening to this disc with its array of
musical styles. The band 3rd Force sounded solid and deep, Brian Hughes’
sound was full and round, and The Young Dubliners had a sound that was
fast and a tad dark. The 5.0s did a good job of showcasing the different
recordings.
The 5.0s handled poorly recorded music with kindness, but at the same
time revealed the shortcomings. My new Taddeo Digital Antidote goes a
long way toward making CDs sound better, but it helps when the speaker
gets things like timber and tonal balance right. When I switched the speaker
cable from my regular Acrotec 1010 to JPS Superconductor+, and then to
the top-of-the-line JPS, the NC series, there was an overall improvement.
The soundstage was more open and small details seemed to snap into
place. The low end was more extended and the music had more
body. These speakers are revealing enough to show the changes brought
about by the different cables. Although they have very good resolution, they
never seem to be too bright. The treble was extended and clean and the
tone of high frequency instruments was pretty neutral.
It was in the top end that the differences between the Soliloquy 5.0s and
the best speakers were evident. The 5.0s lack a slight degree of air in the
top frequencies. I found the top end slightly thin and a tad dry when bells
chimed and cymbals were struck. The decay sound that floats out into the
room also sounded a bit flatter. So I did what any red-blooded audiophile
would do, I tried a tube amp. I couldn’t resist trying out these speakers with
the Audio Note Zero system that I just happened to get for review while I
still had the 5.0s. This system sounded detailed and dimensional, with a
sweeter top end than with my solid state combo. I felt the Audio Note
system, along with the Soliloquy, made a very musical combination, more
so than with the Monarchy/Reference Line. Just listen to me, a devout solid
state guy, praising the merits of tubes. Although the tubes did round things
out a bit, the slight anomalies mentioned above were still evident. But wait,
we are not listening to a pair of $7500 monitors here. These things retail for
soliloquy5
just $895. Something’s gotta give. When I did a quick switcharoo back to
my Response 2s, the treble range was rounder and a tad sweeter, and
transients had more air around them. The music definitely sounded brighter
from the upper midrange to the lower treble, though. This is a problem area
with my speakers.
At the end of the day, the Soliloquy 5.0 speakers offer you a lot for your
money. First of all, they play music in a very well-balanced manner,
especially for their size. They look great, and they come with several
veneer options at no extra charge. Third, they are flawlessly built and have
an optional stand that simply is one of the best you can buy. They also
mate well with a variety of amps. It is always easy to fall into a comparison
mode with equipment. In some cases it is unfair due to the price
differences, but in the case of the 5.0s, I felt the difference in sound quality
vs. price when compared to my speakers was a lot smaller than one might
think. While not the equal in every way of almost-four-times-the-price
speakers, the Soliloquy 5.0s have many strengths that add up to a lot of
music. Francisco Duran
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC 20.
ELECTRONICS
E.A.R 802 preamplifier,
Classe CA100 amplifier,
and Musical Design
DM100B.
SOURCES
CAL Icon MkII CD player.
Oracle Delphi MkII
turntable, AudioQuest
PT7 tone arm, Koetsu
Rosewood cartridge.
CABLES
Silver Audio Silver Bullet
4.0s interconnect and
Beldon 1219A speaker
cables.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
I had an equipment pileup in my listening room
when the Soliloquy 5.0 speakers arrived, so I took them to Simone’s place
to break in. Simone the audiophile didn’t exist when she bought her allSony system, a low-powered receiver with a low-end CD player and some
Bose 101 speakers, the former two excusable, the latter not! I figured the
Soliloquys would sound pretty horrible, given the quality of the
electronics. Shazam! They sounded wonderful, right out of the box.
Through the soft-sounding Sony, they were liquid and had good pace and
fine imaging. For a mere $890, Soliloquy delivers fine-sounding
speakers. They also sent stands, but I kept those at home. I’ve read many
reviews of their quality and ease of use. I won’t repeat them here, except to
say that the design, which allows the user to bolt the speakers to the
stands, is simple, wonderful to work with, and makes setting up speakers a
breeze.
The midrange of the 5.0s is a bit lean, which imparts a sense of
transparency. Leanness in this case doesn’t translate as thinness or
brightness. The thin, bright sound of other relatively inexpensive speakers
(only in this hobby is $900 inexpensive!) grates over time. Not so with the
Soliloquys. In fact, in many instances their leanness was well hidden by a
full and rich bottom end. The 5.0s’ midrange allowed an illusion of being in
the room with the performer, which I usually associate with much more
expensive products. The vocals on Mary Black’s No Frontiers sounded
sweet, liquid and bell-like, much to my surprise. Mary Black has a great
voice, and it was rendered on the Sony/Soliloquy system in a way that was
not recognizable on the Sony/Bose system.
soliloquy5
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
Although the 5.0s are small-ish speakers, their bass response was more
than respectable. While not deep, the bass gave good rhythmic swing to
Pink Martini’s Sympathique. Melodramatic ballads like "Amado Mio" had
much of the sweep and grandeur that I get with my system, albeit on a
smaller scale. Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald were swinging. Emotion,
rhythm, and presence were all there in full measure. I was starting to think
that I didn’t need to review these speakers in my system, abd that I could
easily and happily recommend the speakers to people unwilling to spend
any more than $900 on a pair of speakers. I know my duties, however, so I
took the Soliloquys home and inserted them into my system, $890 speakers
taking the place of my $4100 ATCs.
With my electronics driving the 5.0s, I thought, wow, the Soliloquys
sounded much as they did at Simone’s place, only better. My E.A.R. 802
preamp imparts a richness and liquidity that the Soliloquys benefited
from. My Musical Design DM100B amp filled in the bottom more than the
Sony receiver did. The bottom end was now full enough to be satisfying. I
thought, “I could live with these speakers.” At one quarter the price of my
ATCs, I could afford a set of five of these pups along with a Soliloquy
subwoofer, and I’d have a reasonable stereo system and home theater
system all in one! I thought to myself, “I’m done with being held hostage to
a speaker demanding high-powered, high-quality, high-priced amplifiers. I
wish I were made of money, but I’m not.”
It was a nice idea, but ultimately a no go. Once the ATCs were back in
place, greater smoothness coupled with finer resolution was available. The
Soliloquy’s imply resolution and smoothness, but don’t really have them
when compared to finer-pedigreed speakers. The ATCs are also
substantially better than the Soliloquys at portraying dynamics, at delivering
a rich, full bass sound, and at sounding like the real thing, with a liquidity
the Soliloquys couldn’t match. When cranked, the Soliloquys were crushed
by the ATCs. Although not as lifelike at low volume levels, the ATCs sound
appropriately smooth and liquid at all volume levels. The Soliloquys can
only be played at lower volumes. The Soliloquys’ sound was less refined
and leaner in the midrange. Before the comaprison, it was hard to
distinguish a certain, beamy quality. Mary Black’s voice now had an
edge. The vocals on "Amado Mio" were less silky, sweet, and angelict. I
didn’t hear that quality with Simone’s system, or in mine, until I reinserted
my reference speakers. Then I could hear it easily.
For the money, the Soliloquys have a damned fine midrange. The bottom
end is not bad either, though it is clearly not as good as the ATCs’, in
extension, tautness, speed, or reproduction of timbre. Of course, at more
than four times the price, the ATCs should be better. On the other hand, the
ATCs are not only expensive, but they require expensive amplification. The
diminutive, inexpensive, and easy to drive Soliloquy 5.0s sound wonderful
with both cheap and expensive electronics. They come close to satisfying
many of the needs of an audio weenie like myself. If you are in a smaller
room and don’t need to be punched in the chest by bass to be happy, you
soliloquy5
could have something wonderful with the Soliloquy 5.0s. Larry Cox
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar 1.6 or B&W
DM302 loudspeakers.
ELECTRONICS
amplifier.
SOURCE
player.
CABLES
Kimber PBJ
speaker cable.
Soliloquy grew out of a relationship
with Cary Audio in North Carolina. All Soliloquy speakers are traditional,
ported designs, but their implementation is unique. The back panel of a
Soliloquy speaker is a cast aluminum plate with an integrated port that also
anchors the binding posts and provides extra mass and rigidity. The
speakers come with well-made steel stands, to which the speakers are
secured by hex-head bolts. The stands also feature very effective leveling
spikes. The 5.0s are slightly less sensitive (88dB) than the B&W DM302s
(91dB) I used for comparison. They were set up away from room
boundaries and toed in. I listened to a wide variety of music but performed
critical listening with only a few discs.
Longtime readers will know that as an owner of panel speakers, I am not
too fond of mini-monitors. They tend to sound small and boxy to me.
Nevertheless, over time I’ve come to appreciate the precise imaging,
transparency, and tight, tuneful bass that mini-monitors can produce. In
these respects, the Soliloquy 5.0s earned my respect and admiration. While
listening to "Latin Vibe", from the Colors of Latin Jazz series on Concord, I
was pleasantly surprised by the 5.0s’ solid portrayal of six-string electric
bass, especially when the instrumentalist dropped in notes from the lower
registers. The 5.0s never lost pace. Flute sounded very clean and detailed,
without the touches of harmonic hash that usually plague treble
instruments. The musical presentation was elegantly laid back when
compared with the up-front quality of many monitors in their price range.
The 5.0s made my 302s sound coarse by comparison. Rhythm was much
less responsive and dynamic. Bass sounded weak and sloppy. Tonal
balance was tipped up in the midrange. Images and details sounded fuzzy
around the edges. When I listened to Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen, as
performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the 5.0s produced big, roomfilling sound. I did not even attempt to listen to this grand-scale music on
the 302s.
When compared with my similarly priced Magnepan 1.6s, however, the
Soliloquys were brought down a notch. After compensating for reduced
volume, the 1.6s produced the sweetest highs of all. Flute sounded lifelike,
breathy, and palpable. The 1.6s created the sharpest images and deepest
depth of field. Claves resonated with an in-the-room quality rather than
sounding projected from a source. The 1.6s were clearly superior to the
5.0s with choral and large-scale classical music. The illusion and impact of
massed voices they create is quite convincing. On the other hand, the 1.6s
produced less dynamic bass than the 5.0s.
soliloquy5
The Soliloquy 5.0s are fine speakers. They are very transparent and
musical. They produce more clean bass than you would assume from their
appearance. Their good sound, good looks, and integral stands are sure to
be an attraction for many listeners stepping up from the doldrums of midfi. However, the Magneplanar 1.6s are still my recommendation in this price
range. Victor Chavira
I sincerely appreciate Francisco, Larry and Victor, for taking the time to
listen to our Model 5.0 in three different environments. This unique and
very commendable approach takes into account different ancillary gear
and listening environments, as well as unique listening tastes. It stands to
reason that if a product makes positive impressions during such a multifaceted evaluation, it should perform equally well in the vast majority of
prospective customer’s rooms. All of us at Soliloquy are very happy that
all three reviewers feel the Model 5.0s is worthy of serious consideration.
This concurs with our strong sales of this speaker and is also reflected in
numerous other reviews posted on our website.
We are flattered that Francisco used his $3,200 7” two-way ProAc
Response 2s in comparison and found that the much less expensive
Model 5.0s measured up surprisingly well. Larry’s resident $4,100 ATC
Model SCM20 speakers benefit from famously esoteric driver technology.
This dome midrange is recognized as one of the best drivers in the world
and is also used in Proac’s top model. ATC further engineers with pro
audio output capabilities in mind. The SCM moniker stands for “studio
control monitor.” While Larry’s comment, “When cranked, the Soliloquys
were squashed by the ATCs” is factual, it comes as no great surprise.
What readers might be surprised to learn is that even in the affordable
market sector represented by the Model 5.0s, proprietary driver
technology is available. All Soliloquy drive units are purpose-designed by
British speaker designer Phil Jones. They were engineered a priori to not
only work together but also with the specific enclosures we use. They are
manufactured just for us. This frees us from trying to match off-the-shelf
parts requiring complex crossovers to force a harmonious synergy
between drivers of different design criteria.
Victor’s comparison with the Magnepan 1.6 is very relevant for the
following reason. Both his Maggies and our Model 5.3 (the floorstanding
dual-woofer bigger brother to the 5.0 reviewed here) made it into
Stereophile’s 1999 Speaker of the Year runner-up list. They were the two
most affordable speakers in a group of twelve that averaged retail prices
of $10K+. Comparing a mini monitor with a planar speaker shows off their
respective strengths and weaknesses as a function of inherent design
parameters. Victor’s observations concur exactly with what we would
soliloquy5
expect. Audio enthusiasts shopping for speakers would be well served to
explore the different aural flavors of dynamic, planar, ribbon and
electrostatic designs. They each excel in certain areas while having to
compromise in other areas. To find the best match with one’s own
listening tastes is not a matter of right or wrong but one of preference.
Soliloquy has chosen the dynamic driver approach because we feel that it
offers the best blend of those qualities that are important in the affordable,
high-performance sector we serve (power efficient, living-room friendly
size, and compatibility for both music and Home Theater applications.)
Thank you again to all three reviewers.
Bernie Byers,
President
Soliloquy 5.0 loudspeakers
Retail $1598 w/stands
Soliloquy
web address: http://www.solspeak.com
BACK TO TOP
audion
audion
Silver Night 300B integrated
as reviewed by Mark Katz and Dave Clark
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/audion.htm (1 of 5) [11/4/2002 8:04:56 PM]
audion
MARK KATZ'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Soundlab A-1s
ELECTRONICS
Melos 402 Gold Triode
monoblocks with MAT
1000 circuit boards.
Kora Triode preamplifier.
SOURCES
CEC TL-1, Marigo
Reference 3 Digital
Inteconnect, and
Museatex Bidat DAC.
Day Sequerra FM
Reference tuner.
CABLES
Goertz AG2 or FMS
Black speaker
cables. Goertz Triode
Quartz and Clarity
Custom Connections
interconnects.
The Audion Silver Night is a small 300B-based
integrated amp. It weighs about 20 pounds and has an attractive
appearance, with a mix of black paint and gold plate, two small input/driver
tubes, and a pair of apparently high quality Chinese 300B tubes sitting in
front of a pair of output transformers. The binding posts, along with two pairs
of covered-up holes (possibly the chassis is used for another product) and
the on/off switch are on the back. Power is through an IEC connector and
detachable power cord. Five pairs of inputs and a set of tape monitor jacks
are on the left side. The volume control, along with buttons allowing one to
choose inputs, are on the front. The thick soft feet provide good vibration
dampening, but raise the height of the unit so it won’t fit in my rack, which
has eight inches between shelves but would need ten. The clever remote
control was a surprise, since one doesn’t associated high tech with a 300B
amp. It allows one to choose inputs, adjust volume (with a motorized pot)
and balance, and use the recording jacks. The Audion puts out about seven
watts into an 8-ohm load.
300B single-ended amps are notoriously finicky about what speakers they
can drive, needing fairly high (at least 6 ohm, but 8 or more is better)
impedance with no impedance dips, and relatively high efficiency, usually
about 90dB/watt/m or higher. My first test was with a pair of Tannoy Saturn
8 floor-standing speakers. Their impedance is 6 ohms, efficiency 91
dB/watt/m with a dual-concentric 8-inch mid/tweeter combo and an 8-inch
woofer. A Pioneer Laser Disk 701 in CD mode was used as the
source. Connections to the Tannoys were with eight-foot Luminous ladder
type speaker cable. The first thing I noticed was that the amp was very
quiet—no noise, no hum—and the time from turn-on to sound was less than
20 seconds. The amp settles down in a couple of minutes, then performs
consistently.
I use the "Polonaise Op. 40, No. 1" on the Naum Starkman Chopin CD on
Pope for checking out an amplifier’s clipping behavior. Mr. Starkman
vigorously pounds the keyboard, and the recording is very clattery. The
Silver Night drove the Tannoys better than I expected, with only minor
softening of the extreme transients and no loss of composure or gross
distortion. The Eagles’ “Hotel California” on their Hell Freezes Over CD has
an exaggerated kick drum that gives a nice test of midbass
impact. Compared to my Kora Triode preamp (with reduced gain) combined
with the 30-watt Music Reference RM 10 amplifier, the impact was solid,
though noticeably diminished. The midrange with the Audion was more
detailed, with more transparent vocals, and guitar passages sounded
sweeter and more “liquid.” The amp also worked in the unlikely role of an
AV amp for providing signal amplification for videotapes, laserdiscs, and
cable TV. Dialogue was quite articulate and the remote was very handy. I
doubt that the amp was designed for this in mind, but it worked.
audion
I didn’t intend to use the amp with these speakers as a primary listening
test. In my bedroom I have a pair of homebrew Tannoy Monitor Gold 12”
dual-concentric speakers mounted in Lockwood Studio cabinets made for
these drivers in the ‘70s. They have about 92dB/watt/m sensitivity with
pretty flat 8-ohm impedance, making them a good match for single-ended
amps. I am currently using them with a pair of Angela 91 300B monoblock
amps, modified by Cy Brenneman to make them a bit more full range and
much quieter than the original design. The preamp is a custom-made line
stage using 6DJ8s with dual Genrad power supplies, made by John
Wiesner from an Arthur Loesch design. A Cal Audio Lab Icon Power Boss is
the digital source; a Luxman T117 provides FM reception. I substituted the
Audion for the Loesch/Wiesner preamp/Angela 91 amp combination. I kept
the same sources, AHT speaker cables, and Wireworld Eclipse II
interconnects.
How did it sound? On the Chopin, again no gross clipping, with some
improvement in dynamics compared to the other, slightly-harder-to-drive
Tannoys. Flaws weren’t smoothed over, either. The clattering of the piano
came through, along with the power. Bass impact was decent, good for a
single-ended amp. It seemed to be relatively extended in the treble,
too. After it passed this test, I tried the system with had decent, but not
exceptional impact. Overall tone was on the dark side. Imaging wasn’t as
spacious as with the monoblocks, but was more solid and focused. The
beautifully-recorded CD of J.S. Bach’s Secular Cantatas on Dorian has
been a long time favorite, with the Coffee Cantata sung by a tenor
introducing the piece, then a baritone singing the role of the distraught
father and a soprano portraying the coffee-addicted daughter. A period
orchestra and a harpsichord accompany them. I found the voices well
defined in tone and space, though somewhat less round and smooth than
with the preamp/amp combination. Dynamics were preserved, with the
harpsichord having good energy and a nice balance between the orchestra
and the soloists. The Sony CD The Guitarist John Williams has the Satie
“Gymnopedie #3” for guitar and small orchestra. The guitar’s tone and its
transients came through clearly, with excellent presence, and a sense of the
body of the guitar resonating and projecting the sound.
The very best tube amps seem to give a sense of the music almost
breathing from within, giving naturalness and realism and helping one forget
that one is listening to a recording. A few do this at the expense of
“thickening” the sound, adding too much warmth, others just let you hear the
music with the instruments and vocalists portrayed in a lifelike fashion. It’s
been called the “goosebump” factor. The amps that have this seem not only
to have good power supplies but high quality output transformers, like the
better Audio Notes, Tangos, and Electraprints. The quality of the output
transformer can be the limiting factor in the quality of the sound. Some
reviewers have referred to this effect as “euphonic distortion.” Perhaps, but
if this distortion allows recordings to sound closer to an actual performance,
I’ll take it. With this amp, there is a hint of this. I’d characterize the sound as
more liquid than a low-power push-pull tube amp like the Music Reference
audion
RM 10, but with less bass impact.
What did I like about the amp? It’s easy to set up, has a useful remote
(though a manual on/off switch), is relatively compact, and has an attractive
appearance. It’s also quiet, clips gracefully with fast recovery, has good
extension from bass to treble, good detail, and a very nice midrange. It
drives a 6-ohm speaker better than one would expect. What do I think could
be better? I’d prefer a more open and airy soundstage. I’d also like a slightly
smoother treble, but not at the expense of detail. Overall, I found the Audion
Silver Night to be a painless introduction to single-ended sound. Mark Katz
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Wind Rivers.
ELECTRONCIS
Clayton Audio M70
HRS unit and Taddeo
E.A.R. 834P phono
preamp w/Amperex BB
tubes, and BCG3.1
power supply.
SOURCES
EAD T1000 transport
and 1000 Series II DAC
with Audient
Audi, Nordost Moonglo
digital cable. Linn Axiss
turntable with K9
arm.
CABLES
Nordost Blue Heaven
and SPM bi-wired
speaker cables.
I have limited experience in my system with low
wattage, single-ended amplifiers. Yes, a while back I had the opportunity to
review the Acoustic Masterpiece M-101, but this beauty used two KT-88
output tubes to produce a very seductive and musically powerful eight to
twelve watts (depending on how the amp is configured). Now along comes
the dimensionally whole and harmonically rich Audion 300B integrated amp.
The English-born Audion features multiple inputs and a nifty remote, but
instead of KT-88s, we have the venerable Western Electric 300B output
bottles producing a whopping seven watts! Two different approaches, but
very similar results. Yet, while both are very musically involving, each has
an individuality that sets it apart. I am not going to dwell on the M-101 other
than to say that the review was based on its pairing with our Chario Hyper
Reference 2000 loudspeakers, smallish two-ways with a load of six ohms
and an efficiency of 89dB. Not the best match for a single-ended amplifier,
but when mated with the M-101, I was in musical nirvana.
On the other hand, the Audions came along when I had the Loth-X Ion 4
speakers (eight ohms and 94dB) and the Reimer Acoustics Wind Rivers
(eight ohms and 92dB) here for review. The Loth-Xs came as both a match
for the Audion and as separate review subjects. As things went, I was only
able to hold on to the Loth-Xs for a week or so before they were whisked off
to another aM reviewer. As such, my experience in pairing them with the
Audion was limited. So, while the pairing of the Audion with a speaker of the
Loth-X variety is what it’s all about, I am going to focus my review on its
mating with the Wind Rivers. Actually, we ended up purchasing these
speakers, making them our reference speakers, so in pairing the Wind
Rivers with the Audion I followed standard aM policy—use what you know
best.
I already spilled the beans by saying that the Audion is a delight, but it was
an unexpected one—hey, seven watts into speakers with such significant
driverage! While the Wind Rivers have a friendly load, they feature four
6.25” woofers (in two isobaric chambers), two 4” midrange drivers, and one
audion
ACCESSORIES
API 116 Power Wedge
and Coherent Systems
Electraclear EAU-1
parrallel conditioner.
Dedicated 20 amp ac
circuit. BDR cones and
board, DH cones,
woods, etc.
1” tweeter per speaker! That’s a lot of cones to move, but the Audion did it
with much ease and finesse. Okay, it did run out of steam when pushed to
room-rattling levels, but we are talking about seven watts here. What you
get before the Audion clips is dynamic music full of life and bloom. (Before I
go on, let me say that this clipping is rather polite and matter-of-fact, very
British and all! Nothing objectionable, just a compression of bass and
dynamics, done in way that lets you know to back off the volume a bit and
leave the neighbors to their sitcom.)
The Audion is all music and beauty—rich and warm, with an ever so slightly
euphonic midrange. The Audion allows the listener to relax and be
enveloped with their choice of musical drug. It will not reveal every last
detail hidden deep in your discs, but that’s okay if you’d rather listen to
music than to the bits and pieces. Sure, you give up a touch of clarity and
transparency, along with some treble energy, and no, the Audion will never
really plum the depths of the bass region with the tightness, speed, and
clarity of our Clayton M70s, but let me tell you, the Audion never failed to
amaze me with what it could do musically or sonically. Compared to the
Claytons, the Audion did obscure the finer details and subtle nuances that
can make music seem more exciting and tactile, like being able to see the
threads woven into a fine rug. But this is a result of the Audion presenting
the music with more warmth and ”liquidity” than our Claytons. With the
Audion you get less “perceptible” detail, but it’s all still there. You just have
to listen a bit harder. The Audion speaks to the fun and love of music, and
isn’t that what’s all about? Dave Clark
Audion Silver Night
Retail $3195
Audion
web address: www.audion.co.uk
BACK TO TOP
echobusters
echo busters
Acoustical Room Treatments
as reviewed by Dave Clark, Francisco Duran, and Victor Chavira
Bass Busters
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/echobusters.htm (1 of 6) [11/4/2002 8:04:57 PM]
echobusters
DAVE CLARK'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Wind River.
ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M70
E.A.R. 834P phono
preamp w/Amperex BB
tubes, and BCG3.1
power supply.
SOURCES
Plus arm.
CABLES
Nordost Blue Heaven
and SPM or Hovland
Nine Line bi-wired
Blue Circle, Custom
House, and Clayton
Audio AC cables.
ACCESSORIES
Homebrewed ac
and the Coherent
EAU-1 parallel
amp ac circuit for
If you are not familiar with Echo Busters, they
make several products, of which Echo Busters and Bass Busters are the
ones I am reviewing here. The Echo Buster is a panel designed to absorb
echoes or reflected sounds over a relatively wide frequency range, from
about 125Hz to approximately 8kHz. The quarter-round Bass Busters act
as Heimholtz resonators to address standing bass waves. Both are covered
in cloth available in various muted colors, and are not unattractive. They
look considerably better than the Room Tunes we had been using prior to
their arrival. Whether you need products like these is a function of several
parameters. Is your room easily excited by standing waves? That is, does
the room have an echoey sound, as heard when you are talking or clapping
your hands? Rooms can be lively or relatively dead. Which is better is a
matter of what your speakers may demand and your musical preference.
Too much reverberant energy, though, can cause listener fatigue and poor
imaging, and wreak tonal havoc on your music. Too dead a room can suck
the life out of your music, making everything dull and boring as well as
affecting the frequency response. It is best to attain some happy medium.
Before you do anything, it is best to lay down a good foundation for a
sonically decent room. Make sure that your speakers are in their optimum
positions, as far out into the room and away from side walls as is practical,
and toed so that you get the best imaging without forgoing a deep and wide
soundstage. The idea is to place the speakers where the bass and lower
midrange sounds the smoothest, neither too lean nor too full and boomy.
Positioning them away from side and rear walls means more direct and less
reflected sound. You hear more of the speaker and less of the room. Not to
be overlooked is making sure the speakers are level, with the drivers firing
at the listener rather than over their head or at their feet. There are several
in-depth articles available on setting up speakers. Try the Cardas Golden
Ratio or the method suggested by Immedia. Both are excellent starting
points.
Even with the speakers in acceptable locations, the room will still affect the
sound. Carpet and drapes go a long way in helping, as does furniture and
other items. Plants, bookcases, record and CD cabinets, tables, etc. will
help to break up the sound bouncing around the room. Try placing these in
corners and along walls that are next to or behind the speakers. While this
will help, the corners will still load bass frequencies and the walls will still
reflect sound, and this is where the Echo Buster products come in. I have
heard rooms in which the Echo Busters made a major improvement. In my
room, with two Bass Busters in the corners behind the speakers and two
Echo Busters a third of the way up the wall, also behind the speakers, I
hear a greater sense of the ebb and flow of the musical line due to less
smearing. Deeper, faster and cleaner bass, with an increase in slam and
drive due to a decrease in bass standing waves. Cleaner, tighter images
that are more dimensional and palpable. Greater articulation and overall
echobusters
of Rancho Sisquoc
Merlot.
improvement in transparency from the midrange through the treble.
Fortunately, I am blessed with a decent room, so these are not night and
day differences, though I did end up buying these to replace the Room
Tunes and some homebrewed MDF/concrete corner plant stands I had
been using. The Echo Buster products just made things better. Your
mileage will vary, depending on what you start with.
Are they worth the money? As a final step in an audiophile system, they are
a must. We spend countless hours and dollars buying this or that, tweaking
here and there, seldom paying attention to the room, which may have the
greatest effect on what we hear. The Echo Busters take that step, and work
as promised. Dave Clark
FRANCISCO DURAN'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ProAc Response 2s.
ELECTRONICS
Reference Line
Monarchy Sm70
amplifier.
SOURCE
Pioneer DP 54 as a
Concepts DV414 DVD
player.
CABLES
Kimber Hero
ACCESSORIES
Panamax PLC.
So, you have read reviews of room treatments,
and what you have read is mostly positive, but you still haven’t bothered to
do anything about that bass node or the slap echo in your listening room.
Me too, but what do you think I did? I made my own room treatments.
Although they certainly were cheaper than buying commercial products,
they were something of a pain to put together, and now I know that they
don’t work as well as the gen-u-ine items. Although my homemade
treatments did work to a degree, and my wife thought they looked okay, the
bass still loaded up in one corner of my room and I still had slap echo by
my sliding glass door. Time passed, and a few weeks after CES I found out
that Dave Clark, our resident tweaker, had brought back a slew of room
acoustic devices from Echo Busters.
I ended up with three Double Busters, which are designed with both
diffusive and absorptive materials, two Echo Busters, which are absorptiononly panels, and lastly, two Bass Busters to handle the lower
frequencies. According to the info sheet, Bass Busters absorb sound in the
critical 6 to 225 Hz frequency range. When bass-heavy music is played, the
Bass Busters’ resonant frequency is excited and they vibrate
sympathetically, wicking off some of the bass energy from the room. I have
to admit that it was fun placing the panels in the room at various positions
and listening to the changes. It was sure easier than changing
interconnects or lifting heavy speakers and amps.
I tried the Echo Busters first. Their recommended placement is the center of
the wall behind the speakers and at the side walls, where the first sound
reflection hits. After experimenting with various positions, I found that this
was where the Echo Busters sounded best. It is also where I had my
homemade jobs. With the Echo Busters, there was less smearing of
detail. The music was a little more solidly placed in space, and the trailing
edges of the music were more intact and less distorted. The slap echo that I
echobusters
mentioned earlier was reduced a great deal. It was nice to sit at my
listening seat and not hear an echo of the music behind and to the left of
me. At the same time, however, the Echo Busters shaved a little too much
sparkle from the top end, so I switched to the Double Busters. Since the
Double Busters both absorb and reflect, I wanted to see if they would work
better. Sure enough, the sparkle was restored and the slap echo was still
tamed. Also, using one Echo Buster in the middle of the back wall and off
the ground by a few feet really solidified the imaging of my system.
With the addition of the Bass Busters, which are four feet high and shaped
to be placed in a corner, I could address the low end of the music. What I
heard with the Bass Busters was immediate and positive. Bass notes now
sounded more defined and less smeared. Boy, what you don’t know ‘til you
know it! The bass was not being reduced. Instead, it was cleaned up and
sounded smoother. From the mid-bass to the midrange, images were more
locked in place (this was with the other panels taken out).
We all know that our listening rooms can be problematic. There are a
number of products that can help tame a bad-sounding room. The Echo
Buster products help, and they are aesthetically pleasing, affordable, and
work very welll. I bought a pair of the Bass Busters and soon hope to buy
some Double and Echo Busters. Francisco Duran
Double Busters
echobusters
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar .5.
ELECTRONICS
amplifier.
SOURCE
player.
CABLES
Kimber PBJ
speaker cable.
Question: What’s the quickest and
easiest way to improve your sound? Align your speakers to the North
Pole? Rub Vitamin E on your CDs? What about room treatments? You
know, those fancy pillows and panels that attenuate and absorb detrimental
room reflections. Well, I’ve tried the North Pole thing and the Vitamin E
thing, and neither made as great an improvement as hanging one Echo
Buster panel.
Echo Buster panels are 18” x 48” frames covered in decor-friendly
fabrics. The frames contain either slats for diffusing sound, soft wadding for
attenuating, or, in the case of the Double Busters, both. Magnepan users
often struggle with the concept of room treatments. We like the idea of
sound bouncing all over the place. However, just as in life, too much of a
good thing is definitely bad. This was true of the wall behind my speakers,
home to three lovely glass-framed lithographs of Hispanic art. Each is about
two feet by three feet, so I had about 18 square feet of reflective glass
directly behind my speakers.
Thank goodness the Double Buster came along, because I had become
very tired of taking down the pictures every time I listened to
music. Replacing the central picture with a Double Buster transformed my
room. The Double Buster remedied the smearing effects of slap-back echo
that I had accepted as part of the dipole experience. Images became more
focused and detailed. The soundspace sounded more defined. Center
image, already a Magneplanar hallmark, was even more tangible. Needless
to say, the Double Buster is now indispensible, and one lithograph has
found a new wall to decorate. Double Busters are enthusiastically
recommended. If you’re a panel speaker owner, they’re a must. Victor
Chavira
echobusters
Echo Busters
EchoBusters
Retail prices vary based on size.
Bass Busters: $429 to $689 (pair)
Echo Busters: $105 to $235 (each)
Double Busters: $150 to $345 (each)
EchoBusters
TEL: (888) ECHO-BUST
web address: www.echobusters.com
BACK TO TOP
regajupiter
rega
Jupiter 2000 CD player
as reviewed by Ed Morawski, Greg Ewing, and Larry Fisher
LARRY FISHER'S
SYSTEM
LOUDSPEAKERS
Ryan Acoustics MCL-3
and Klipsch subwoofer
(used very sparingly).
ELECTRONICS
Melos SHA 1
preamplifier, an Adcom
GTP-500 preamp/tuner,
and a forte 1a amplifier.
Listening to the Rega Jupiter CD player made me think of several
mythological tales involving the Roman god Jupiter. First, a cover of clouds
(Jupiter and Io) seemed to be in front of the player, preventing me from
using the remote control. Then, as I came to embrace its sonic qualities, I
was shot with an arrow (Jupiter and Callisto) that kept me from fully
enjoying it. The Jupiter gave me pleasure on some recordings and left me
high and dry on others, perhaps because I formed expectations after
listening to what the Jupiter did well—jazz vocals—before I listened to what
it didn’t do well—rock.
The look of the unit has a spare British quality that I like. The RCAs are a
bit flimsy, and might have problems carrying a heavy cable. Except for the
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/regajupiter.htm (1 of 7) [11/4/2002 8:04:59 PM]
regajupiter
CABLES
Homemade MIT Zap
Cord and PBJ
interconnects, Kimber
8TC biwire speaker
cables and custom and
homemade AC power
cords.
RCAs, the construction, fit, and finish are spot on. When I first received the
Jupiter it appeared to be new, so I broke it in for a week on my mid-fi home
theater setup. Occasionally listening to it during this time was painful
because it had some very good qualities, and I was having a hard time
waiting to hear it in my “real” audio setup. It was during this break-in period
that I noticed that the remote was a bit finicky. I had to be almost directly in
front of the unit for the remote to work. The Jupiter has very few buttons on
the front panel—play/pause, previous track, next track, stop, and eject. The
remote is necessary for anything else, and appears to be designed to work
with other components. One feature on the remote that I did particularly
enjoy was the ability to turn the display off, although the power button
remains lit. This came in handy while listening to music with the lights
dimmed.
ACCESSORIES
Solid Steel audio rack.
BDR cones under
preamp and CD player.
Surplus ceramic lab cups
under turntable and amp.
API Power Pack II line
conditioner for source
components and
homemade line
conditioner for amp and
subwoofer.
After a week of continuous playing of many music, test, and burn-in tracks, I
moved the Jupiter down to the basement and began listening to favorite
CDs. I’m sure you all have the same experience when listening to a new
component. You start listening to one CD, hear something that the
component appears to be doing well, so you skip to another track on
another CD, and so on. My initial listening impressions were that it had
adequate bass extension on chamber and jazz, lots of detail, no problems
with soundstaging (though not outstanding), highs just slightly etched and
jagged. It didn’t rock, shone on jazz vocals, did chamber music much better
than full orchestra, and was very good in the low to middle ranges.
SOURCES
CAL Audio Icon Mk II CD
player. Sota Sapphire
turntable with Linn Basik
tonearm and Sumiko
Blue Point cartridge.
After getting a feel for the sound of a particular component, I usually
compare it to what I have in my system. My current CD player is a Cal
ICON Mk II that is getting close to ten years old. I used Stereophile’s Test
CD 2 to test the phase on both players and to set the volume control on my
preamp so that the level from the two players would be as similar as
possible. I used the same pair of PBJ interconnects with both players. The
CDs I chose to compare the Jupiter to the ICON were: (1) Branford
Marsalis, Trio Jeepy, (2) Cabaret, New Broadway Cast, and (3) Eva
Cassidy, Song Bird.
The first CD into the Jupiter’s tray was Trio Jeepy. The tenor sax had a
great blattiness. The drum kit appeared in the soundstage between the
center and the outside edge of the right speaker, the woody-sounding
standup bass was positioned about a foot right of center, and tenor sax
came directly out of the left speaker. The size and placement of a jazz trio
at a nightclub seemed correct. The cymbals had a natural decay between
hits, but lacked a clear, metallic initial hit, while the kick drum had punch. I
reset the volume control and popped the CD into the ICON. The first thing I
noticed was that the pace was slower. Although the decay between cymbal
hits was not as natural or long lasting as that portrayed by the Jupiter, the
initial hit of the cymbals had a realistic, metallic sound. As for the
soundstage, the drum kit and standup bass appeared a lot closer together
and a bit congested. The standup bass wasn’t as woody sounding as on
the Jupiter, although the bass line was a little easier to follow. I missed the
regajupiter
punchiness of the kick drum.
The second CD into the ICON was Cabaret. In the opening number, the
emcee begins the song and is soon joined by the entire chorus and Sally
Bowes, the headliner at the Kit Kat Club. Through the ICON, the recording
recreated a big space within which individual singers and instruments stood
out. The butt spanking had a flesh-on-flesh quality, and the bass lines
contributed to the music. The excitement and buildup of the song were
faithfully recreated. On the “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” track, the accordion
was reedy enough to sound real and the group singing was a little weak,
yet the emotion of the song came through. When I switched to the Jupiter, I
was impressed with how the horns playing at the intro had a brassiness that
separated them from the bass. The spittiness of the emcee came through
much better, but the butt slapping was not as realistic. There was more
impact on the drum hits during the introductions, but the male and female
voices were muddled. The song built to a nice visceral impact at the end.
On “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” the accordion had the same reedy quality
as through the ICON, though a better decay after the notes. The throatiness
of the singer/accordion player came across better, along with the transition
from relaxed to edgy/confrontational. There was better separation of the
voices. Both players were able to fill the room with a wide soundstage, with
good space between the voices.
The last CD into the Jupiter was Eva Cassidy. I was struck by the heavy
reverb in this song, which was quite noticeable through the Jupiter, though
it didn’t seem accentuated, as it does with lesser players. The airy quality
I’ve come to expect from this song was evident. With the excellent
dynamics I was experiencing, I expected some overload, but never
experienced any. The ICON didn’t project the reverb as much, and had a
slightly narrower soundstage. While the Jupiter had the extra detail, the
ICON had a slightly more musical quality.
The differences between the ICON and the Jupiter were not tremendous,
but I need a player that can rock, and this is where the ICON outperformed
the Jupiter by a wide margin. The ICON got me to the edge of my seat,
tapping my toes, while the Jupiter made me sit back in my chair, wondering
where the pace, drive, and excitement had gone. If I only listened to jazz or
classical music, I’d love the Jupiter for the dynamics, soundstage, decay,
tone, etc. Nevertheless, I kept expecting more from a player ten years
newer and double the cost of my ICON. Larry Fisher
regajupiter
GREG EWING'S SYSTEM
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magnepan MMGs and two
12-inch Audio Concepts
subwoofers in spiked
sealed enclosures.
ELECTRONICS
Monarchy Audio SM-70
monoblock amplifiers
(Maggies), Audire
Crescendo amplifier (subs),
Audio Control Richter Scale
III 24 dB/octave electronic
crossover (set at 72 Hz, low
pass only), and an Antique
Sound Lab AQ2004 tube
preamplifier.
SOURCES
JVC XL-Z1050TN (highly
modified) CD player and an
Adcom GTP-350 tuner.
CABLES
Canare Star Quad
interconnects and Kimber
4PR speaker cables.
ACCESSORIES
(latest passive version),
AudioQuest RF Stoppers,
Bright Star Audio IsoNode
isolation feet, marble
platforms, Blutak, Cascade
Audio Engineering room
treatments, and an Elfix
Polarity Tester.
The Jupiter is Rega’s current top of the line CD
player. It follows on the heels of the Planet that has received a fair amount
of praise over the years. Like its older and less expensive sibling, the
Jupiter is housed in an extruded aluminum case with an integrated heat
sink. What this means to the user is that it is built like a small tank and
looks equally impressive. I got the impression that this player would survive
a Southern California earthquake and still work flawlessly. Technical details
include twin 24-bit dual differential Sigma Delta DACs (one for each
channel), a Sony transport, a DC servo in place of output coupling
capacitors, a total of seven separate power supplies (with some critical
stages receiving double regulation), and a substantially oversized toroidal
transformer. It also features a high-stability master clock module to
minimize jitter, as well as optical and coaxial digital outputs for those that
demand digital upscalability (as well they should). The Jupiter pretty much
encompasses all of the aftermarket mods that are frequently performed on
mid-fi players in an attempt to scale the digital high ground. In other words,
there isn’t much to upgrade here, folks.
The Jupiter employs a unique top-loading system that seems to
simultaneously lock and stabilize the disc in place. This top-loading design
also allows you to view the disc left in your player after those long late-night
listening sessions. The styling and ergonomics are such that you will
probably love it or hate it. I guess that I am so accustomed to the typical
fast and simple Japanese front-loading system that I found the Rega
slightly slower to use overall, but it’s the sound we’re after, right? When you
combine the Sony transport with the top-loading design and the substantial
build quality, the Jupiter should make a superb transport.
After an extensive warmup, my initial impression was that the Jupiter had a
transparent midrange with very-good-to-excellent resolving power. This
impression remained throughout my several weeks with the player. It
unraveled musical details unheard with both my JVC XL-Z1050TN standalone player and the JVC/Bel Canto DAC combo. (Note that my JVC is
heavily modified, in that the analog section is completely bypassed by a
single oil capacitor directly driven by the DAC.) My initial listening session
started with Luka Bloom’s new laidback release Between The Mountain
And The Moon. This CD is placed in the “folk” genre, but I find it way too
interesting for that. I would categorize it more as “progressive acoustic
music.” Regardless, the layering of instruments and vocals is striking on
such tracks as “Soshin” and “Here and Now.” Try the track “Monsoon,” and
listen carefully to the stormcloud sounds that start off the piece. The Jupiter
provided a depth that stretched beyond the walls of my listening room.
Similarly, when listening to a very old Genesis favorite, “Unquiet Slumbers
for the Sleepers,” from the remastered Wind and Wuthering CD, I
experienced one of those jaw droppers when I heard a nylon guitar during
the densely-mixed intro. I have been listening to this music for many years,
regajupiter
and no digital rig surprised me with this before the Jupiter. I had to replay
the track several times just for a sanity check. I’m not talking about hyperdetailed sound here. This is truly one of those “hear further into the
soundstage” qualities that is somewhat rare in my audiophile experience.
The Jupiter has resolving power, no doubt.
The Jupiter also revealed Pat Metheny’s fingers sliding over steel strings in
the “Cinema Paradiso Main Theme” track on the audiophile favorite Beyond
the Missouri Sky. I could actually hear his fingers sliding over the frets in
different locations on the neck of his acoustic guitar. This player also
showcased very good depth, a large and wide soundstage (it seems to get
those phase relationships right), and full-bodied and slightly warm bass.
The Jupiter has a coherency of sound, with a lush midrange that is most
evident on acoustic and classical music. Treble could be a little sweeter,
something that the Taddeo Passive Digital Antidote improved upon. It’s not
that the highs are harsh or edgy—the player’s midband clarity extends
beyond the range of audibility. It’s just that the Jupiter’s top end sounds
very slightly tipped up for my taste. It probably measures ruler flat, but I’m
not one to listen to a digital component without tubes somewhere
downstream. It could be that I am way too biased in this area, so take this
criticism with a grain of salt. I strongly suspect that this player measures
with the best of them.
It frankly surprised me that the $99 Taddeo Passive Digital Antidote
improved the sound of this player, but that’s exactly what it did. It was not a
dramatic improvement, but theTaddeo tamed the slightly bright sound of the
Jupiter, and the combo left me with one of the best sounding digital front
ends I have heard in my system. Not only did the top end become
smoother, but the Digital Antidote took nothing away from that gorgeous
midrange. The midband of this player reminded me of analog on more than
a few occasions. It also reminded me of the midband of a good SACD
player. I would love to hear the Jupiter directly driving a SET amp with a
passive volume control.
I have not compared many stand-alone players in this price range, although
I have tested plenty of DACs that go for around $2K. The Jupiter holds its
own with many similarly-priced DACs in the current digital marketplace, and
trounces similarly-priced SACD machines when playing redbook CDs. Why
can’t anyone build a reasonably-priced SACD player that also makes
redbook CDs sound as good as the Jupiter does? Now that I have returned
the review sample, I can’t help but recollect the Jupiter’s midrange, a quality
that becomes very addictive once you’ve heard it. Greg Ewing
regajupiter
ED MORAWSKI'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Alon Capri.
ELECTRONICS
Bryston 4B-ST amplifier
and a Muse Model 3
preamplifier.
SOURCE
Muse Model 5 transport
and 296 DAC.
CABLES
Synergistic Research
Kaleidoscope
interconnects,
AudioQuest Slate
speaker cables, and DIY
power cords.
I am an engineer by trade, and
though I try not to let it creep into my reviews, I am fascinated by the design
aspects of the equipment I audition. High-end audio is often more art than
science. Witness tube equipment in which electrical parts are purposely
exposed, just for esthetics. The ways various manufacturers go about
designing CD players is especially interesting to me.
Since I saw my first Wadia player with the Stable Platter mechanism, I have
paid more attention to CD players. The Stable Platter made a lot of sense
to me; a drawer sliding in and out adds needless complexity to the playback
process. Of course, just like the old Betamax/ VHS wars, the sensible
choice doesn't always win. The Stable Platter is no more, and the last
debate seems to be between the top loading and the sliding-drawer crowd.
Top loaders seem to have the edge in stability and reliability. The disk
doesn't have to move, there is less chance of acquiring scratches and dirt,
and there is no complicated mechanism to fail. The Rega Jupiter is a top
loader, though I'm not sure about the sliding top cover, which looks a little
flimsy. A simple weight would have done the trick, but there you go. The
Jupiter bucks the current trend toward blue lights and displays in favor of
red. Its design is simple and straightforward, although the remote (always
one of my pet peeves) is a bit much: too many buttons, and not in keeping
with the overall design character of the unit.
I have a few CDs I always play when trying a new player. I have found that
piano and delicate-sounding string compositions really tell how good the
drive is on any given player. Keiko Matsui's Deep Blue is my reference, so I
placed it in the Rega, and was pleasantly surprised. I had heard that the
Rega tended to be laid back, but not nearly as much as I had anticipated.
During my time with the Rega, I was lucky to have two other players to
compare with it: my reference Muse 8/296 combination, and a new Cary
306/200. The Jupiter retails for $1895, the Cary $5000, and the Muse,
although discontinued, sold for $7000. There is little sonic difference
between the Muse and Cary. Each has its own strengths, and while I’d be
hard pressed to choose, I like the Cary just a bit more, as it has more space
and air. The surprise? The Rega is not far behind! I first listened with the
Rega's analog outputs connected directly to my Muse preamp. The Jupiter
does lack some of the higher-level detail of the Muse and the Cary, but the
bass is solid, and lack of bass is often a sign of lower-priced players. I
listened to several Keiko Matsui CDs and then switched to Diana Krall.
Vocals were good, as were piano and strings. The Rega is often described
as warm, and I would have to agree, but it is only slightly so.
I then connected the Jupiter's digital output to the Cary's digital input. Now
the differences between players were subtle indeed! Detail picked up, and
regajupiter
there was no harshness or grain. For this phase, I alternated between all
three players and used both the Muse 296 and the Cary as DACs with the
Rega. I could not detect a difference between the two DACs with the Jupiter
as a source, except with the Cary switched to 24/96 upsampling, when
there was another very slight increase in detail. In the interests of fairness, I
settled on the Cary as a DAC and left the upsampling off as I rotated
through some Loreena McKennitt discs. Each of her CDs has an amazing
number of instruments and sounds, plus her trademark soaring vocals. The
Rega was able to pick out all of the subtle nuances, even during
complicated passages. The Rega is laid back compared to the Muse and
Cary, but the differences are very, very subtle.
Some people, especially vinyl lovers, contend that digital is harsh and
grainy. I attribute this to the increased amount of detail and resolution
produced by good CD players. Of course, some players are bright, but I
would not say that either the Muse or Cary is guilty of this. The Rega seems
smoother across the audio band, but I think it this because the very highest
level of detail is rolled off. I can see why those into vinyl tend to love the
Rega, but don't mistake that comment as a complaint. I could be quite
happy listening to the Jupiter as my reference. I would pair it with a highquality DAC, but suspect that a good many audiophiles will love it as is.
It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised, and the Jupiter did that. I have
listened to many CD players over the past few months, and would rate the
Jupiter over units by Arcam, Norh, and NAD. It also beat the pants off any
DVD player on CD playback. The Rega loads and reads quickly, and does
not appear to have any drawbacks or weaknesses. The top loading
mechanism is easy to use, and functions very well. The Jupiter must be
placed on the top shelf because of its loading, but that's where it belongs!
Ed Morawski
Rega Jupiter 2000
Retail $1895
Rega (UK)
web address: www.rega.co.uk
US Distributor:
Lauerman Audio Import
Steve Lauerman
TEL 001 865 521 6464
BACK TO TOP
balancedpower
balanced power
BP-2
as reviewed by Francisco Duran
FRANCISCO DURAN'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ProAc Response 2 with
Osiris 24" stands.
ELECTRONICS
Monarchy SM-70 (ran as
monoblocks), Antique
Sound Labs MGSPM25DT monoblocks,
Canary CA-301Mk-II
amplifier, and Reference
Line Preeminence lA
passive and Canary CA601Mk-II preamplifiers.
The Balanced Power Technologies BP-2 is a heavy (almost 40 lbs.) but
compact power line conditioner that features a huge transformer that
provides over 17 amps of balanced power. There are eight receptacles on
the back of the unit. Any component in your system can be plugged into the
BP-2 as long as you don't exceed the 17amp power rating. I first used the
BP-2 with my front end components, but I mainly used it with my amps.
Before I installed the BP-2, I thought it would be a good idea to read the
instructions for once. They say that it is recommended but not essential that
the BP-2 be plugged into a 20-amp circuit, preferably a dedicated one. This
caution was driven home when I plugged the BP-2 into the wall in the
adjacent room, and the circuit tripped. This unit is no toy! It draws a huge
amount of current.
I don’t have a 20-amp circuit in my house, so the BP-2 was plugged into a
regular old 15-amp circuit. Taking out my Richard Gray conditioners and
replacing them with the BP-2 was an eye (ear) opener. Not only did I
immediately hear a more open soundstage, with more tightly defined
images, but the music was cleaner and more coherent. But the way the BP2 cleaned up the background was the most impressive. The noise floor was
down—way down!—and dynamics also noticeably improved. My system
sounded more powerful and had more dynamic authority. It's funny how a
cleaner, more open and dynamic sound makes you want to listen to music
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/balancedpower.htm (1 of 3) [11/4/2002 8:04:59 PM]
balancedpower
SOURCE
NAD T531 and Antique
Electronic Supply CD-1
(temporary) CD players,
and a Taddeo Digital
Antidote Two.
CABLES
Superconductor+ and FX
interconnects, a double
run of JPS
Ultraconductor speaker
cables, and Monarchy
and various DIY AC
cords.
ACCESSORIES
Balanced Power
Technologies BPT 4SE,
Brick Wall Series Mode
Surge Supressor, Audio
Prisim Quiet Lines and
Noise Sniffer, Vibrapods,
Black Diamond Racing
Boards and cones, Final
Labs Daruma-3II
Isolation Bearings,
various ferrite rings,
Target rack, Yahama KX380 cassette deck,
custom made wooden
cable lifters by Mr. Clark
senior, and all the NOS
tubes I can afford!
more!
I just happened to have a PS Audio P-300 in the house at the time the BP-2
was here. Now the PS Audio is a nice unit, but it sure does have a lot of
buttons to push. And the fan! I'm trying to lower the noise floor, right? Plus, I
made the mistake of telling my wife that it actually costs more to have the P300 plugged in and running all the time. Other than that, it does work very
well, but I found that the BP-2 sounded cleaner. The P-300 made the music
sound smoother. Which unit was imparting more of its character on the
music? For my money, not the BP-2. The BP-2 also bettered my Richard
Gray units. It sounded cleaner and more full and musical from the mids to
the high frequencies. Overall I found the BP-2 superior in its performance
and convenience. I also liked the fact that you can just plug in the BP-2 and
go. No buttons to push, no daisy-chaining units. As far as that 17-amp
rating is concerned, the BP-2 definitely had enough juice, and there was
never the slightest sense of strain with it powering my amps. I will admit
that none of my amps are all that powerful, but the Canary CA-300Mk.II has
a pretty stiff power supply for a 22 watter.
I can't forget to mention the Audio Prism Noise Sniffer test. The what, you
say? Just plug this baby in to any receptacle and it will detect EMI/RFI and
noise on that line. Boy, are my lines noisy! In fact, plugging it into the
Richard Gray, the Brick Wall Surge Filter, and PS Audio's Ultimate Outlet (I
didn't try it on the P-300), produced the same noise as when I plugged it
straight into the wall! When I tried it on the BP-2 unit, I heard nothing. Even
when I turned the volume to max, it was dead quiet. You can put your
money where you want, but out went my two RGPCs and in went the BP-2.
I'm not one to ride the equipment merry-go-round, and the proof of this is
the length of time that my speakers and line stage have stayed in my
system, but sometimes a product comes along and works so well in your
system that it finds a home. I didn't buy the BP-2, actually. I started with the
BP-4SE. I would like to buy a BP-2 in the future, but first I would like to
have a dedicated 20-amp line installed for it. The BP-2 is one heck of a
performer. I suspect that, like power cords, the effectiveness of power line
conditioners is dependent on the system. The BP-2 definitely worked well in
mine. Highly recommended! Stay tuned for some words from me on the
BPT power cords. Francisco Duran
balancedpower
BP-2
Retail $999
Balanced Power Technologies
TEL: 314. 603. 1483
web site: http://web.valuenet.net/cjh
BACK TO TOP
audionotezero
audio note
Zero System
as reviewed by Larry Cox, Francisco Duran, and Victor Chavira
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/audionotezero.htm (1 of 8) [11/4/2002 8:05:01 PM]
audionotezero
LARRY COX'S SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC 20.
ELECTRONICS
E.A.R 802 preamplifier.
Classe CA100 amplifier.
SOURCES
CAL Icon MkII CD player.
Oracle Delphi MkII
turntable, AudioQuest
PT7 tone arm, Koetsu
Rosewood cartridge.
CABLES
Silver Audio Silver Bullet
4.0s interconnect and
Beldon 1219A speaker
cables.
ACCESSORIES
API Power Pack and
ACPEAM line
conditioners.
The Audio Note Zero System includes wiring,
electronics, and speakers. All five boxes (amps, preamp, DAC, transport)
are the same height and width; the monoblock amps (all of 8 watts!) are
deeper. The speakers are floorstanding. It is a pretty cool-looking system,
given the mix-and-match look of most audiophile systems. If you want to
enjoy music and don’t want to chase your tail around the high end, buy the
Zero System. It is not the greatest stereo I’ve heard in overall terms, or in
any single respect. However, for about $6000 you can own a COMPLETE
SYSTEM and forget about gear forever, or at least for about ten years,
when it will be time to replace the tubes. Stop reading and buy!
Okay, so you didn’t stop reading and buy. Let me share my saga. I’ve
shuffled through gear for over twenty years in pursuit of an audio happy
ending. For a short while I listened to lady singers twittering like birds and
standup bass performed by a “musician” who couldn’t play
well—extraordinarily well-recorded stuff I now yawn at. I’m smarter now.
When reviewing or considering gear for purchase, I listen to the music I’d
listen to even if I weren’t in pursuit of great sound. For this listener, a “flat to
20Hz” system doesn’t guarantee happiness, or even music. Listening to
music you like is the path to happiness. For me, the criterion by which a
system can be judged is whether you wish you were listening to music on it,
right now, no matter where you are. This is different from thinking “I want to
get home to listen to music because I wonder what the bass on a particular
recording will sound like.” This is thinking about your system rather than
thinking about music. There is nothing wrong with that kind of thinking, but it
is about audio, not music.
My initial impression of the Zero System was not favorable. In fact, when I
plugged it in, I thought it really sucked. Forget the pursuit of music.
Simone’s Sony receiver and CD player and her horrible Bose 101 speakers
were very little worse, and at about one-sixth the cost of the Zero System.
Ray Lombardi, the Audio Note rep, said that the system had been used at
CES, so I figured it was broken in. Wrong. While I couldn’t find any
recordings that sounded good, anything with a full bottom end sounded
especially bad—thin, light weight, and lacking realistic timbre. After about
three weeks with the system on full time, things were no better. To be fair, I
figured I had to keep listening even if the sound was bad, then prepare to
either return the product unreviewed or write a negative review.
At this juncture I gave up on my music collection and started going through
Simone’s, hoping to find something that sounded good. Nothing. I thought,
at least I’m discovering what’s good in Simone’s collection. After a weekend
away, I put on Frank Sinatra’s Greatest Hits and it sounded pretty darn
good—still no bottom end, but vocal richness started to show up. Who else
would you expect to exhibit that quality more than Sinatra? Next I stuck in
audionotezero
The Cole Porter Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald, and that sounded good, too. I
thought, what the heck, maybe it’s time to start listening seriously. I then
slipped in Israel Kamakawiwo’le’s Facing Future, my reference for sweet,
natural sound. Wow, Israel’s emotional intensity was amply demonstrated.
Then, Pink Martini’s Sympathique showed up as even more emotionally
engaging, and I loved that, but even tracks like "Donde Esta Yolanda?" with
its driving rhythm, and "Amado Mio" with its BIG sound were wonderful, full,
and rich! With that, the break-in of the Zero System was apparently
complete, and the onslaught of a love affair commenced.
Once it broke in, the Zero System’s performance was astonishing, but way
different than my system’s. Mine, when properly powered, does
macrodynamics way better than every other system I’ve heard. The Zero
System has very little deep bass. It starts in the midbass region, where it is
overblown and flabby unless the rear-loaded horn speakers are up against
the back wall, where they are designed to be placed. The Zero System may
not offer deep, thumping bass, but the rhythm of music—meaning
meter—is present. Music is reproduced with an excellent sense of swing,
and this listener was moved. An overarching feature of the sound was
coherence. The system moves on a dime. Despite the absence of heft,
everything moves together so well that even orchestral pieces or tight
rhythmic groups move as one, so that you get a sense of the musicians
playing together. The melody of music is all the more discernible because
the timing and rhythm are delivered intact.
If you compartmentalize the sound of the Zero System, you’re likely to be
unimpressed. It is hard to identify where the sound is outstanding, even in
the midrange, typically the domain of tubes. No portion of the audio
spectrum leaps out. Don’t get me wrong, the midrange was very nice, but in
terms of “liquidity” or three dimensionality, it wasn’t a match for what is
available for a higher tariff. What it did do, however, was present music
coherently, with an evenness of weight and balance, so that no instruments
stood out. The Zero System conveyed music with so much of the delicacy,
warmth, speed, and lightness of touch that occurs with the real thing that I
am forever changed as a listener.
While I’ve heard sweet systems before and will again, what is often present
in such systems is a syrupy sound, one that obscures detail. These
systems frequently have a slightly ponderous quality. At the other end of
the spectrum, I’ve heard many systems that sound more “transparent” than
the Zero System, but which are on the border (or over the border) of being
edgy and bright. I’ve heard systems with more drive, but frequently that
demonstrates itself like the difference between a power boat and a sail
boat, the latter having a grace and elegance that the former will never have.
If you are someone that wants to hear the weight of a Holst symphony, or
you listen to alternative music with techno bass, you’ll be unimpressed by
the Zero System and should look elsewhere. This system doesn’t have
impressive weight or drive, yet there is that quality of ineffable grace,
audionotezero
delicacy, and the power of the wind behind the music that brought this
listener closer to the sound of real music. This extraordinary system inserts
few “errors” into the reproduction of music. You get a full snapshot of the
musical event. For the cost of some single components, you get a full
impression of music, from the color of the sound to the rhythm of the beat
and the emotion of the message. Highly, highly recommended. Larry Cox
FRANCISCO DURAN'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
ProAc Response 2s.
ELECTRONICS
Reference Line
Monarchy Sm70
amplifier.
SOURCE
Pioneer DP 54 as a
Concepts DV414 DVD
player.
CABLES
Kimber Hero
ACCESSORIES
Panamax PLC.
When a whole slew of gear came my way from
Audio Note, a company that has a reputation for musical-sounding
products, I was delighted. The gear in question is Audio Note’s “Zero
System,” no less than five separate components, a pair of speakers, and
the wire necessary to hook everything up. Audio Note’s web site has many
interesting articles in addition to information about their equipment. I
especially liked reading “ARE YOU ON THE ROAD TO AUDIO HELL?”
Another thing of interest to me was a price list for circuits, valves, solder,
wire, and chassis, among other things. You can buy enough parts from
Audio Note to build your own components or customize existing Audio Note
gear. This I really liked.
Before hooking up the complete system, I tried each component by itself. I
first tried the transport, which sounded smooth and well-balanced, though I
preferred my Pioneer/Musical Concepts DV414 DVD player (used as a
transport). The DV414 sounded more full and handled dynamics with more
authority. Nevertheless, with all kinds of music, from my Muddy Waters Folk
Singer CD on Mobile Fidelity to Metallica and Eliades Ochoa, the Audio
Note DAC Zero had that liquid midrange sound. Next came the P Zero
amps. They were a big surprise, because I didn’t expect 8-watt monoblocks
to push my Response 2s to very high levels. Well, folks, I sat back on my
couch just staring at those little amps in wonder. The P Zeros sounded as if
they were more like 100-watt amps. Not only did they drive my speakers
with ease, but they proved to be a very good sonic match. Next up was the
M Zero preamplifier, which proved to be one nice unit. It has enough
extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum to bring a full picture to
orchestral music. The sound had a slight warmth that was inviting in my
system. I didn’t try the AZ Two speakers in my system because I couldn’t
wait to hear the entire Audio Note system. The speakers can be bi-wired,
but they came without jumpers and I was supplied with only one run of
speaker cable. Instead of jerry-rigging my own jumpers, I used one pair of
my JPS Superconductor+ for the bass.
Before I go on I need to register two minor complaints. One, the binding
posts on the amps and speakers tend to work loose after a while, no matter
how hard I tried to tighten them. This was a slight annoyance. Second, and
this is partly due to the budget price of the M Zero, the RCAs on the back
audionotezero
are too close for comfort, at least for the macho American interconnects
that I first tried. Admittedly, I had no trouble using the Audio Notes cables,
as they have thin-barrelled RCAs.
Finally, with the entire Audio Note system hooked up and playing, I got a
nice sense of balance. The sound was not too liquid or euphonic, but had
just the right amount of sweetness and detail. Music did not sound too thin
or too bright, too dull or too thick. There was an even tonal balance and
musical timbres were just right. This equipment has a very good balance of
bass, treble extension, and midrange rightness. On went Metallica, which
had fast transients along with a powerful, dynamic sound. On Muddy
Waters Folk Singer, the quality of the recording was obvious. I heard
background details and musical nuance that sounded natural.
On the Eliades Ochoa CD, the bass was very tuneful, with a nice rhythm.
This system shows off acoustic music well, with nice texture and the right
amount of bloom from bass instruments. (Those tubes, perhaps?) The
upper bass showed speed and snap when called upon. My UB40 discs had
good weight in the low end. On this system, you could definitely tell that
these discs were not as well-recorded as the other CDs I tried. The
midrange showed a bit more glare than you’d want. There was full, deep
bass on their Greatest Hits II CD, but the bass never sounded out of synch.
The Zero System made me think of music more than hardware. Two things
kept popping up in my mind as I listened. If these are Audio Note’s least
expensive components, I wonder what their pricier stuff sounds like. I also
kept thinking about all you get for around $5000. This system is fun to listen
to, and fun to play around with. What it doesn’t deliver in audiophile terms, it
more than makes up for in delivering the musical goods. And while it
definitely had audiophile qualities such as a good soundstage, detail and
air, space, etc., etc., the music it was dishing up made those things
relatively unimportant. Music lovers and gearheads alike, take note. Here is
a system that serves both of us. Now there is no excuse not to keep
fattening up our record collections! Francisco Duran
audionotezero
VICTOR CHAVIRA'S
SYSTEM:
LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar .5.
ELECTRONICS
amplifier.
SOURCE
player.
CABLES
Kimber PBJ
speaker cable.
Audio Note designs are well regarded
for their quality and musicality. The Zero System is Audio Note’s attempt to
bring their sound to entry-level music lovers, although $4600 is not exactly
my definition of an entry-level price. All of the components are housed in
extruded black or silver aluminum chassis. The first component is the Zero
M remote-controlled line level preamp. The faceplate has four smoothturning knobs. Two sets of outputs are included on the back, facilitating biamping. Inside the box is a single 6111WA tube. The 6111WA tube is
remarkable for its long life of 100,000 hours. That‘s over eleven years of
constant use!
The 24/96 DAC-Zero processor and CD-Drive are next in the chain. The
DAC also utilizes a 6111WA tube in the output stage. The P Zero
monoblock amps are small and light enough to carry with one hand. Each
produces eight watts via two ECL882 (6BM8) tubes run in class AB2.
Those eight watts power Audio Note’s AZ-Two speakers. The AZ-Twos are
two-way, rear-horn-loaded designs. Each speaker features a soft dome
tweeter and an eight-inch paper-coned woofer. The woofer sports a serious
foam surround. However, because of their 93 dB sensitivity, the AZ-Twos
don’t have to flex too much muscle to produce hefty levels of sound.
And what a lovely sound the system makes! I can sum up the Zero
System’s sound with four letters: Q-U-A-D. The system was smooth,
coherent, musical, and easy to listen to, reminicent of our esteemed A.D.
Banerjee’s E.A.R./Quad system. Music sounded organic and vibrant. No
region in the frequency range was too agressive.
My CD recommendation for this issue is The Colors of Latin Jazz series on
the Concord label. Each budget-priced disc contains music by Concord
artists, arranged by theme. My favorite disc is A Latin Vibe. The Zero
System produced a rhythmic and dynamic sound. The vibes resonated with
clear, percussive attacks. Bass was substantial and well defined. The
dramatic force of the speakers gave no indication that they were being
powered by a mere eight watts. At one point in the review process, I
decided to to test their power handling. I was relaxing to the sounds of
Natalie Merchant’s Ofelia CD. As her lovely voice floated me away to a
peaceful place, an idea struck me. If eight watts sounded this good, how
much better would forty watts sound? My EL34-based Anthem is a
respectable amplifier, but I could not have been more mistaken with my
hunch. Volume and dramatic scale were not significantly affected. The
foundations of the music firmed up, but at the expense of harmony and
delicacy. The musical perspective shifted away from Natalie’s beguiling
vocals. The band seemed to step forward and compete for my attention,
rather than support the vocalist. With the P Zeros reinstalled, music
became easier to follow, and sounded less terse.
audionotezero
Of all the components in the system, the AZTwo speakers were the most enjoyable.
Sonically, the Twos recalled the other horn
speakers we’ve reviewed, the Loth-X Ion 4s.
Both speakers produce a warm, coherent,
and robust sound. However, the Twos have
greater top end extension. I briefly
considered keeping them as high-sensitivity
backup speakers, but my experiment with the
Anthem convinced me that the AZ-Twos and
P Zero monoblocks sounded best when used
together. (One thing: Audio Note must find
something to protect the tweeters better than
the salsa cups from El Pollo Loco that I
used!)
The Audio Note Zero System is one of the
most satisfyingly musical performers I have
heard in my home. he sound is decidedly
non-audiophile. I discovered no new audio
treats on my CDs. Instead, I found myself
easing into the music and following muscial
lines and performances. The Zero System
may not be much to look at, but its musical
involvment is much greater than the sum of
its parts. Could I assemble an equally
musical system for $4600? Yes. Starting with
the unbeatable MG 1.6s at $1500, I’d add
one of the many fine tube or solid state integrated amps currently available
for around $2000. That leaves about $1100 for a CD player and cables.
Which system would be better for your musical needs? Only you can
decide, but seek out the Zero System and give a listen before you spend.
Victor Chavira
Thanks for the great review. Audio Note's number one objective is to enjoy
the music! The Zero system was designed with that being our number goal.
This system was not designed to be an audiophile dream come true. We
have many World Class audio components that can satisfy quest. The Zero
System and components were developed to give you a taste of high end
audio on a Circuit City Budget.
Sincerely,
Ray Lombardi
Lombardi Sales, Audio Note USA Importer
TEL: 800. 759. 5842
audionotezero
Audio Note Zero System
Retail
Zero System $4600
(Individually)
P-Zero amplifiers $129
M-Zero preamplifiers $699
CDT-Zero transport $899
DAC-Zero $699
AX-Two loudspeakers $999
Interconnect and speaker wire $50 per meter
Audio Note (UK)
web address: www.audionote.co.uk
BACK TO TOP
ccrsacd
Analogue Productions Hits a Grand Slam: Creedence
Clearwater Revival on SACD—At Last!
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Willie and the Poor Boys
Analogue Productions CAPP 8397
Disc type = hybrid stereo SACD
Disc provenance = analog master tape directly to DSD, produced by Chad Kassem,
mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray
Price = $25.00
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ccrsacd
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cosmo’s Factory
Analogue Productions CAPP 8402
Disc type = hybrid stereo SACD
Disc provenance = analog master tape directly to DSD, produced by Chad Kassem,
mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray
Price = $25.00
Yowzah! Lightning Strikes!
Stop the (virtual) presses! I’ve got to take some to do an advance rave about Chad
Kassem’s remarkable new SACDs due out any day now: Creedence Clearwater on SA!
Chad, the President and Chief Honcho over at Acoustic Sounds
(http://www.acousticsounds.com) is on the verge of releasing a set of SACDs covering some
of the greatest Creedence titles. Done directly from the original master tapes via an all-triode
console directly to DSD (no PCM bogosity!) by mastering great Steve Hoffman and Kevin
Gray, this project is one that I’ve been awaiting for quite a while. No one who’s heard his
work from DCC to the present doubts the wonderful touch that Steve and Kevin both bring to
all of their work. I’d have to say that Chad was showing world-class smarts in bringing him
into the mix for this project, as there are only a handful of mastering engineers on the entire
planet (Grundman, Ricker, Sax, Ludwig, Stubblebine, Britton, Pappas, to name a few) that I
would trust the work to.
True Confession Time
As a matter of fact, I had been hoping for it so much that I got tired of waiting for CCR on
SACD last fall, and tried to help organize a re-issue company to do just this sort of thing.
While that didn’t work out, I’m very pleased to see that Chad and company have been able
to accomplish what our group wasn’t able to do, which is to make these classic rock
ccrsacd
recordings available on SACD.
Thus far, Analogue Productions (Kassem’s production company) has done seven CCR titles
to 180 gram vinyl: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country, Green River, Commotion,
Willie and the Poor Boys, Cosmo’s Factory, Pendulum, and Mardis Gras. (I’ve purchased all
seven of these LPs, but due to the destruction of my Linn Arkiv stylus by a bloody cleaning
person (!!!), I am still waiting to twirl these. I’ll report when we move ahead on the turntable
front.) Of this, Chad tells me that the first five titles are also slated for release on hybrid
stereo SACD. Of these first five, Chad was good enough to send along two Sonopress test
pressings of Willie and the Poor Boys and Cosmo’s Factory.
I can tell you that I put them onto my Kern-modified Sony SCD-1 the same day that they
arrived. As in, “within minutes.”
Anybody surprised? Didn’t think so….
The Sound
Within seconds of the first strains of “Down on the Corner” from Willie and the Poor Boys, I
knew that Chad, Steve, Kevin, and company had done the real thing! The SACD was had
the feel of master tape written all over it—the ease! The classic feel of tubes and tapes!
Analog galore! And without digital artifacts of any kind!
Back and forth between the two SACDs I went. Just wait until you hear “I Heard It Through
The Grapevine”… it’s a true revelation of what we’ve been missing for all these years. Or
“Effigy”… or “It Came Out of the Sky”or “Fortunate Son”…or “Ramble Tamble”… or “Up
Around the Bend.” These are gems, real audio treasures, polished and shining, better than
they ever sounded new.
Forget the old Fantasy CDs, those execrable creatures. The DCC Creedence CDs were
noticeably better, but I had the original blue label Fantasy LPs that I knew pretty well. In
addition, I had a copy of Steve’s Creedence reissue LP, Willie and the Poor Boys, which
trumped them all at that time. Most anyone who’s listened to the LPs knows that they crush
standard digital issues. And while I’m still waiting to spin Chad’s new LP reissues, the
advance word that I’m getting on them is that Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray have
noticeably bettered their earlier work, making these the finest CCR LPs ever released.
After listening to the mastering work on the SACDs, I can believe it.
I went from cut to cut in a kind of excited daze. I had grown up with this music from about
1969, and knew it inside and out. And yet, despite owning two different CD issues, the
Fantasy blue labels, and the DCC LP, I felt that I was really hearing the music for the first
time!
John Fogerty’s voice clean, clean and properly rendered—for the first time.
John Fogerty’s tight, crisp, edgy lead guitar, piercing without sounding brittle—for the first
ccrsacd
time.
Tom Fogerty’s driving rhythm, timbrally right—for the first time.
Stu Cook’s bass, sounding deep and round, not tubby, but right—for the first time.
Doug Clifford’s drums with some real presence and placement, some real extension, and
some real percussives—for the first time.
I sat there for the rest of the night, just listening to these SACDs. The sound is rich and
liquid, yet full of new texture and detail that’s never been there before. As a lover of CCR, it
was almost like being a stranger in a strange land… one that I thought I knew, but didn’t.
These recordings aren’t “audiophile reference soundstaging/imaging masterpieces” in the
audio nerd sense of the term (thank God!)—they’re old-time rock and roll, after all—but I’d
say that as music references they are truly world-class. If you got soul, they take control!
Just for fun, I took these SACDs over to Positive Feedback Online Senior Assistant Editor
Rick Gardner’s listening room a few days ago, so that he and Jennifer Crock and I could
listen to these together.
Result?
The same… which didn’t surprise me at all. Jennifer’s “Oh my GOD!” pretty much summed
things up… and now we’ve all pre-ordered the entire Analogue Productions/Acoustic Sounds
CCR SACD reissues. Heck, more than that: we’ve ordered the entire Analogue Productions
SACD reissue series… all twelve titles!
If you’re smart, you’ll do the same. Don’t argue; just do it… you can thank me for the
recommendation later!
Get Thee to Acoustic Sounds!
Based on these advanced test pressings (which Chad says is identical with what will be
released in the next several weeks), I very enthusiastically award the Analogue
Productions/Acoustic Sounds Creedence Clearwater Revival Willie and the Poor Boys and
Cosmo’s Factory on SACD a “Ye Olde Editor’s ‘Highest Recommendation.’” True worldclass, reference caliber work from all the way through…
If you’ve got an SACD player (and if you don’t, why don’t you?), you owe it to yourself to own
these masterpieces, and hear what brilliant mastering and DSD can do for our precious
recordings.
Chad, my man, we are all in your debt! Encore, amigo!
Sound = 8/10; Performance = 10/10; Music = 10/10
ccrsacd
Manufacturer:
Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions
http://www.acousticsounds.com
Orders: 800. 716. 3553
BACK TO TOP
gordongerrard
Music, Emotion, and Lisa Gerrard
by Roger S. Gordon, CPA
What is art? That is a question that philosophers have loved to pose to scientists over the
centuries. The philosophers posed the question because they knew there was no
quantitative answer. Thus, their rivals, the scientists, with all their answers, were stumped.
Recently, however, the scientists have gained the upper hand. Dr. Ramachandra’s group at
the University of California at San Diego has learned what makes great visual art. According
to Dr. Ramachandra’s group, great visual art is great because it causes extra stimulation of
the visual receptors in the brain. As an example, suppose you looked at a photograph of
your Aunt Gertrude and then looked at one of Picasso’s modern paintings, you know, one of
the ones that has two eyes on the same side of the face. For most people, looking at the
photo of Aunt Gertrude is a non-event. Yet the same people, when initially viewing the
Picasso will be mentally jolted. They won’t know why, but there is something about the
Picasso that makes them take notice of it. What Dr. Ramachandra’s group has found is that
looking at Aunt Gertrude’s photo triggers a single series of neuro-responses in the brain.
However, viewing the Picasso triggers a multiple series of neuro-responses. In controlled
experiments, it can be shown that viewing two eyes on the same side of the face triggers a
much higher rate of firing in the visual receptors than just seeing a normal face. By
measuring brain responses to certain primitive visual images, Dr. Ramachandra’s group has
derived a series of principles that underlie all great visual art.
After one of his public lectures, Dr. Ramachandra took questions from the audience. One of
the questions was “could a series of principles that underlie all great music be derived?”
Dr. Ramachandra’s answer was that he did not see why a series of principles could not be
developed for music. However, his group had not yet gotten into that research area.
So, the possibility exists that there are certain aural primitives—certain sounds or
combinations of sounds, that cause extra stimulation of the auditory reception areas of the
brain. Is that how musicians are able to affect our emotions with their music? Is that why a
good singer, singing “Oh Danny Boy” can bring an audience to tears? Is that what makes
Beethoven such a great composer; i.e., he unconsciously used certain aural primitives that
evoked emotional responses in his listeners. Interesting questions, to which we do not yet
have the answers.
While listening to my stereo late one night, I started pondering about music and emotions.
The lead “Audio Discourse” articles in Positive Feedback Online Issue 2 had mentioned a
number of different categories into which music listeners can fall. I fall into the emotional
category. I listen to music because it effects my emotions. It can make me sad, elated,
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gordongerrard
melancholy, or happy. Music can sound so exquisitely beautiful that it brings tears of joy to
my eyes. Listening to Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum or Stabat Mater can restore equilibrium to my
soul. Yet other people, listening to the same music, don’t experience the same emotions that
I do. Apparently, while most people respond similarly to visual art, the response of people to
music is much more varied. A case in point can be seen by the response of people to Lisa
Gerrard.
Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry were the two founders of the music group Dead Can
Dance. Their albums were much praised in the audiophile press for the outstanding sound of
their recordings. The group disbanded officially in 1998, but both Lisa and Brendan had
started solo albums two years prior. 1996 saw the release of Lisa’s solo album, The Mirror
Pool. Lisa followed this by another album, Duality, with Pieter Bourke. More recently Lisa
has contributed to a number of movie soundtracks such as Ali, The Insider, Gladiator, and
Black Hawk Down. Lisa and Hans Zimmer shared the Golden Globe award for Best
Soundtrack for Gladiator.
If you go onto www.amazon.com and read the reviews of Lisa’s CDs that are posted there
by the public you will be struck by the dichotomy. Most of the readers think Lisa is the
greatest singer in the world and that one should spend the rest of eternity listening
exclusively to Lisa’s voice. A few nay-sayers counter with “what are you people listening to?”
“mediocre voice”, “nothing special”, “constant wailing”. There are, obviously, two
diametrically opposed camps with very few people in the middle. Why?
The answer may lie in Lisa’s background and her singing style. Born in 1960 in Melbourne,
Australia to Anglo-Irish parents. Raised in a multi-cultural and very rough part of Melbourne.
No formal music training. Self taught on the accordion and Chinese zither. Started singing
avante- garde music in Melbourne pubs at the age of 17. Teamed up with Brendan Perry in
1980 and moved to London. Music career launched in 1983 when Lisa and Brendan, now
known as Dead Can Dance, received record contract from small independent label 4AD.
The music of Dead Can Dance has been labeled as Gothic, Trance, Ambiance, and World
music. Its music was based on medieval, Renaissance, North African, and other nonwestern sources. On the eight Dead Can Dance albums, Lisa only sang in English on one
track. On the other tracks where she sang, she sang in her own, make-believe language. As
little children, many of us made up our own language which we sang to music or our own
little tunes. We all grew out of that, except Lisa. Listening to her sing, you might think she is
singing in a language from the Middle East. When she was growing up, there were many
Turkish and other Eastern Mediterranean immigrants in her neighborhood. Lisa commented
that when she visited the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul for the first time “it was like being home.”
Thus, her language sounds like a Middle Eastern language. Why does she sing in a makebelieve language? To her, words distract from what she is trying to convey through the
music. Her voice is just an instrument which she uses to connect emotionally with the
audience. Words that the audience could understand would only interfere with her ability to
connect.
So what messages does Lisa try to connect to her listeners? Having listened to all of her
official recordings (the unofficial bootleg concert CDs number over 50) I would say that each
song has a emotion or feeling that she is trying to convey. As an example, the music used in
the final scene in the movie Gladiator is a song written and sung by Lisa. The hero,
gordongerrard
Maximus, is dead and in Elysium—walking through green fields with the sun in his face and
his murdered son coming towards him. Lisa’s brother had died four years prior and had left
behind a two year old son. As Lisa sang the final song, Now We Are Free, she imagined her
brother being reunited with his son. That joyous spirit is clearly evident in the song.
I could go through Lisa’s discography listing the songs that I feel have the most emotional
content. However, by talking with other Lisa admirers it has become apparent that while
each admirer is emotionally touched by Lisa’s music, each admirer has a different list of
favorite tracks. This is not what you would expect. If you were to ask a large group of people
what were the best three tracks on R.E.M.’s Out of Time album, there would be a
consensus. That is not so with Lisa’s albums. Intriguing.
So, is it possible that there are aural primitives to which people respond? Can a musician
over time or intuitively learn to use aural primitives to communicate emotions and feelings to
an audience? Time will tell.
In the meanwhile, give a listen to some of Lisa Gerrard’s music to see if she is able to make
a connection with you. For the new Lisa listener, I would try either of the Gladiator CDs. I
prefer the More Music from Gladiator, but either one will do. The Mirror Pool is also
recommended, but be forewarned that the music is on the melancholy side. The best three
Dead Can Dance albums are usually considered to be Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, The
Serpent’s Egg, and Aion. Any of the albums will do for an introduction, though the
compilation CD A Passage in Time contains their most popular songs, mostly from these
three albums.
DISCOGRAPHY
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Garden of the Arcane Delights (45 rpm)
Spleen and Ideal
Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
The Serpent’s Egg
Aion
Into the Labyrinth
Toward the Within (live concert)
Spiritchaser
gordongerrard
A Passage in Time (compilation of previous albums)
Box Set 198 —1998 (3 CDs and 1 DVD of Live Concert, CDs contained previously
unreleased material, out-takes, and as well as previously released music from the above
albums)
Originally issued on vinyl (which does sound better than the CDs)
This Mortal Coil
It’ll End in Tears
Solo Album
The Mirror Pool
With Pieter Bourke
Duality
Soundtracks
Gladiator (Decca289 467 094-2)
More Music from Gladiator (Decca 440 013 192-2
Ali (Decca 440 016 967-2)
The Insider (Columbia CK 63918)
Black Hawk Down (Decca 440 017 012-2)
BACK TO TOP
maltzsacd
Maltz on SACD Cross-Section of Columbia's Jazz Fusion
Produced on SACD: A Tale of Two Triumvirates
by Greg Maltz
After the introduction of CD, jazz fans waited more than 10 years for most of the classic
1970s fusion albums to be reissued, and even longer for decent remasters to appear. Even
the latest CD reissues are lacking in depth and separation between instruments, so it was a
pleasant surprise to find Sony releasing many jazz-rock gems from the Columbia vaults
among its initial SACD push. The man behind these SACDs is Bob Belden.
As an artist, Belden is best known for "jazzing up" the music of pop acts like Prince and
Sting, but he is better known as the reissue producer and co-producer of a very wide variety
of essential music and jazz gems, chiefly Miles Davis titles. He started out in the early '80s
producing Red Rodney recordings and finding a niche in New York as a writer for studio
sessions. It was there he became involved in reissue projects for Blue Note and
Sony/Columbia, sometimes with Blue Note producer and raider of the lost master tapes,
Michael Cuscuna. (Cuscuna himself is credited with co-producing Bitches Brew and
Sorcerer on SACD, and Blue Note will soon be announcing SACD releases of its own.)
Belden's relationship with Sony put him in a unique position when DSD was embraced by
the company. He describes the process involved in recent SACD and CD reissues: "You first
make a SACD [DSD] master. This SACD master is then 'down converted' to the regular redbook 16-bit CD. At Sony Music Studios, New York, the SACD master and the 16-bit master
can be made at the same time. The DSD conversion is 'bussed' to the PCM 900 (16-bit)
master. Soon Magneto/Optical discs will replace the bulky, unreliable 1630 and all CDs will
be manufactured from the 24-bit or SACD M/O.
"The production process at Sony Studios is committed to using only analog tapes, and the
DSD conversion brings out the quality of the original recordings.
"In the eighties and nineties, Columbia had difficulty addressing digital information and had
reissue producers who were mere clerks. As a result, many of the issued CD's were from
second or third generation masters. Starting in 1996, with the Mastersound series for Japan,
close attention to the original source became the focus of the project. For instance, Round
About Midnight had been issued on CD using a third generation Dolby A copy (made from a
second generation (1973) Dolby A Ampex 456). On the Mastersound reissue, the original
tape made in 1956 was used and the difference is subtle but stunning."
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maltzsacd
The advent of DSD transfers and the introduction of SACD enabled those of us with an
SACD player to hear DSD in all its glory, and the difference was an eye opener and, as
described by many of us at Positive Feedback, a complete revelation—the digital audio
equivalent of mainlining music. Positive Feedback has reviewed several of Belden's SACD
productions, but this time the focus will move to the fusion catalog that often takes a
backseat to other genres. This report will focus on two "SACD triumvirates"—the first
representing Miles' explorations in 1970 and the second encompassing Weather Report's
heavy-hitting mid-'70s recordings.
Miles Davis, Live-Evil
Miles Davis, Tribute to Jack Johnson,
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Miles Davis, Black Beauty
It was February 1970, and if the late '60s taught us anything about jazz, it was that the idiom
was heading into progressively rock, funk and foreign influences. Wayne Shorter had left
Miles a month earlier to co-found Weather Report, along with Joe Zawinul before him, and
Miles needed a new saxophonist. He added Steve Grossman to a band that included
drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Dave Holland, Chick Corea on keyboards, and
percussionist Airto Moreira.
Though Zawinul was no longer with the band, Black Beauty kicks off with his composition,
"Directions". The sound is crisp and disarmingly transparent. The instruments are
reproduced with good clarity and the SACD tells no lies. The keyboards maintain a
roughness while losing the digital flatness familiar to those who have been listening to the
CD version. The SACD allows slightly more natural air and access to the three-note vamp of
"Directions”. It also provides significant dimensionality for Grossman, Holland and
DeJohnette to work their new jazz into a complex weave. This recording will win no audio
achievement awards, yet it is a stark and accurate portrayal of a key point in Miles' career.
Arguably, the opener that night at the Fillmore West never really finds its way. But the rest of
the performance is a different story. The band achieves fusion nirvana on "Miles Runs the
Voodoo Down," which is very accessible thanks to some semblance of conventional melody
and rhythm. However, it shifts and splinters into various fractals, focusing more on harmonic
spraying of blues notes by Miles’ trumpet here, distorted keyboard comping there. But once
the band caught fire at the Fillmore, they stayed hot. The music on much of the program
becomes a continuous, segued, surgical exploration of the heart of the tunes, with Miles
using his new sidemen as scalpels. It becomes a challenge for the fan of straight-ahead
jazz, but a rewarding challenge because part of Miles’ gift was to get to the heart of a
composition. To hear him do this in a band that had thrown away conventional modes of
melody and harmony is at times ugly, at times beautiful, but always exciting. Miles believed
that the measure of a great jazz band was not the ratio of successes to failures but the
ability to take chances often and come out together, still communicating, still playing “above”
the music.
Arguably, the only one who does not play at the level of his colleagues is Steve Grossman,
who tries to fit too much into his solos at the expense of listening and finding space of his
own. Nevertheless, his proficiency will be the first attraction to many jazz fans seeking a
foothold in this strange and complex fusion. And on the SACD, details leap from the horns,
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stalk, and assault the listener from the keyboards, bass and, further in the background,
DeJohnette’s drums.
In a more straight-ahead nod to rock grooves, Miles took his band into the studio to record
four sessions starting right around the time Black Beauty was recorded in February and
ending several months later in early June 1970. Like In a Silent Way, the preceding studio
fusion masterpiece, producer Teo Macero cut and pasted the sessions together into a pair of
long, segmented tracks, each occupying a side of the original LP. “Tribute to Jack Johnson”
carried this further, with the tunes abruptly changing, but maintaining authoritative quality.
Miles used essentially two different bands for the sessions. The lineup for "Right Now"
includes John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Michael Henderson, and Steve
Grossman. According to Miles’ autobiography, it was during this time when he really began
to “hear” the upper register of the trumpet and felt compelled to solo higher than he had
before. Miles’ solo in “Right Now” is among the most powerful examples of his mastery of
the upper register. He was known throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s for really holding back in the
high register, often with a mute in the bell of his horn, jabbing at the music very melodically.
Here he attacks it as ferociously as at any point in his career, clearly compelled by the rocklike rhythms buoying him.
The rhythm itself was a vehicle of tremendous raw power. Miles, ahead of his time as usual,
built on what had come before to influence a generation of rockers. At times, the rhythm on
“Right Now” sounds like the Allman Brothers; at other times like Jeff Beck, but with a
refinement and constantly evolving groove. The team of McLaughlin, Cobham and
Henderson could be very elastic and accommodating—and also tough as nails. The idea,
Miles’ insisted, was to use James Brown’s innovations in funk to build a groove out of just
one chord, in this case E, and to use it as a launching pad. Macero interrupts this groove
with performances from other sessions where Miles was more influenced by Sly Stone.
McLaughlin’s soloing is another highpoint, but the groove itself is the star of the show.
Track two on Jack Johnson, which revolved around a bass line lifted from James Brown’s
“Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud”, uses the two different lineups. For nearly the first 13
minutes, “Yesternow” features the same musicians as “Right Now”. An interlude is then
spliced in from “Shhh/Peaceful”, which was originally released on In a Silent Way, but
overdubbed with a trumpet solo from “Right Off”. Needless to say, this contrasts sharply with
the groove running for the first half of “Yesternow”, but Macero’s editing seems to fit. The
overall effect is a much more accessible, engineered program than Black Beauty, but with all
of its energy and raw power. The splices on the SACD import from Japan are more audible
than any CD version, but by the same token, the guitar and keyboards sound much more
natural and gorgeous. The presence and palpability is well worth seeking out this
import—whether or not it becomes available domestically on SACD.
Live-Evil is an eclectic gem combining a performance at The Cellar Door, Washington, D.C.
with studio creations, assembled seemingly haphazardly by criteria only Miles and Macero
could explain. The result: a unique hybrid of jazz fusion, proto funk, haunting, ultra-lyrical
ballads and world music flair. The personnel at the Cellar Door gig, representing Miles’ band
in the final days of 1970, included bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette,
guitarist John McLaughlin, saxophonist Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett on keyboards, and
percussionist Airto. McLaughlin was no longer a regular in Miles’ band and his guest
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appearance added texture and fire, especially on “What I Say”, “Sivad” and “Funky Tonk”,
which benefit greatly from the air and dynamic improvement of SACD compared to CD.
The studio tracks included Ron Carter or Dave Holland on bass, Chick Corea and Herbie
Hancock on electric pianos, Steve Grossman on soprano sax and Hermeto Pascoal on
percussion and drums. These tunes were recorded about six months prior to the
appearance at The Cellar Door. What the studio cuts give up in immediacy and attack, they
make up in cerebral triumph, rhythmic tension (particularly in Gemini/Double Image) and, in
the case of the ballads, sheer beauty in minor keys and otherworldly vocalizations. The
artwork theme of the album plays with the idea of duality. Live is spelled Evil, in reverse.
Miles is spelled Selim in reverse. The implications of these concepts are more successful
and diabolically understated in the music than they are on the album cover—gentle hints of a
powerful “oneness”, that musically and conceptually seem to work despite the flaws which
are easier to appreciate, criticize and ultimate to celebrate on SACD.
Weather Report, Heavy Weather
Weather Report, Black Market,
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Weather Report, Mysterious Traveler
Where were Miles’ former teammates Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul during this historic
period of growth and exploration in jazz fusion? They were busy founding Weather Report,
which would set new standards and directions throughout the ‘70s. Miles had set such a
high watermark that no fusion group would make a significant splash until Herbie Hancock’s
Head Hunters in 1973 (also, thankfully, available on SACD). The groove was clearly the
road ahead and structural devices used in pop and funk were imposed on the music. Yet,
within Weather Report a deep commitment remained, particularly with Shorter in the
nucleus, to remain true to roots in jazz as a composer and artist. No matter how many
different directions the ‘70s pulled, including a progressively commercial sound, Weather
Report would not go along without infusing its own art into the mix. Perhaps this is why three
SACDs from the band’s heyday are a revelation—the multidirectional forces are on display
as well as the artistry and dense grooves.
By the time Mysterious Traveler was released in 1974, Shorter had taken a backseat to the
Weather Report’s overall sound while Zawinul’s complex and often heavily distorted
keyboards came to define the group. The lineup was constantly in transition and Mysterious
Traveler, documenting key changes in the personnel, is no exception. Most selections
include bassist Alphonso Johnson and drummer Ishmael Wilburn although the previous
rhythm duo that included the legendary Miroslav Vitous is represented also. The program
kicks off with "Nubian Sundance", which adds several vocalists to a dense, carefully layered
weave of fundamental grooves, fusion vamps and world music sensibilities. Unfortunately,
the layering may not have been approached successfully from an audio engineering
standpoint. The SACD does not do much to help delineate these layers, but it is a pleasant
improvement from the late-‘90s CD remaster. The tune that best benefits from the DSD
treatment is "Blackthorn Rose", a keyboard/sax duet, but audiophiles will find it sounds as
much “digital” as “analog”. In the other tracks, the percussion and drums that were an
integral part of WP’s overall conception, while very enjoyable, never achieve that
persuasive, strong realism we know from the best SACDs. The music is therefore not as
persuasive. But if you’d like to explore Weather Report in multichannel, this SACD is your
only option.
Black Market, released the year after Mysterious Traveler, continues to document changes
in WP’s personnel. Most notably, the very “on” Alphonso Johnson, a master of repeating,
funky bass lines that were the building blocks of WP’s groove, was augmented and
ultimately replaced by the virtuoso Jaco Pastorius. Pastorius, of course, increasingly made
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the bass a lead instrument of the group—eventually soloing as much as Shorter and
Zawinul. The drum chair on this album included Narada Michael Walden and Chester
Thompson. Percussion was shared by the spicy Alex Acuna and his predecessor, Don Alias.
As for Zawinul, he continued to define the band’s overall sound and wrote the bulk of their
material, while Shorter continued to pick his spots and his notes very carefully, ever the
minimalist and acrobat of symmetry—even when he machine-gunned his phrasing during
otherwise sparse solos.
In many ways, Black Market is more immediately accessible than Mysterious Traveler, and
the sound of the SACD is at times stunning. The dynamic crests and troughs are utterly
realistic, and so is the tone of the instruments. Hopefully, Belden will produce this SACD for
domestic release, but for now it’s worth ordering the Japanese import. It’s a small price to
pay for hearing, in all its glory, the impassioned attack of Pastorius on “Barbary Coast”, a
tune that can be described as a vehicle for introducing the world to his new approach on
bass. All of the material maintains an urban sensibility while infusing musical ideas from
other countries to very good effect. The album kicks off with the sounds of a large ship at
harbor and a strong vamp gives way to the feel of almost full orchestration in Zawinul’s
synthesizer, with a snaking melody hooking over the top. The dense, diverse music is a
thing of multifaceted splendor on SACD. A nod to the then-recently deceased Cannonball
Adderly, who hired Joe Zawinul in the ‘60s, was included. It is the most straightforward tune
one the album, simply titled “Cannon Ball”. With Black Market, Weather Report had reached
its zenith, or at least the height of its most popular period.
This brings us to Weather Report's best-selling album, Heavy Weather. The program opens
with one of the few ‘70s tunes that became a jazz standard: “Birdland.” While embracing and
defining the commercial, late night TV talk-show sound, Zawinul keeps true to the idiom that
attracted him to music and to America in the first place. Pastorius comes all the way to the
front of the stage on “Birdland,” which develops slowly and ultimately seeps into the brain as
an irresistible melody. But Pastorius stepped up to a bigger role in other areas, too. He
contributes his own composition, “Teen Town”, where everyone else in the band takes a
back seat (Alex Acuna sits out altogether, allowing Jaco to play both bass and drums). No
longer was the bass assigned to duty as a building block for the groove. By splurging on
staccato runs, melodic lines reminiscent of horns and dwelling in treble registers for
extended phrases, Pastorius redefined the band and followed the lead of Stanley Clarke in
transforming the bass into a lead instrument in jazz fusion. Shorter was now playing third
fiddle, so to speak, behind Zawinul and Pastorius, but Shorter’s influence and compositions
were enough to maintain his identity in Weather Report. The SACD is hugely successful in
recreating the kaleidoscope of pop synthesizer sounds and fleshing out the saxophones of
Shorter, the percussion of Manolo Badrena and the convincing impact of Acuna on drums.
Kudos to Bob Belden!
Bob Belden is to be commended and congratulated for his production of these critical jazz
fusion albums on SACD. They almost certainly will earn him no fortune or fame, but the
music will live on much more proudly than it ever did on CD. Belden’s commitment to
seeking out the best existing tape sources and using state-of-the-art methods to transfer to
DSD is worth recognizing.
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operadivas
Great Operatic Arias, Della Jones, mezzo-soprano, various
assisting artists, London Philharmonic Orchestra/David Parry
Chandos CHAN 3049
Della Jones is that rarity, a true mezzo-soprano, with a velvety midrange extending into a
bright, clear top. She commands a rather daunting array of roles and ranges—the booklet
includes a photo of her as Valencienne in The Merry Widow, no less!—but her recording
career has been limited to comprimarie in the standard repertoire and leading roles in
Baroque and Mozart operas. Truly, she deserved a good recital record long ago.
Unfortunately, this disc, part of the Chandos Opera in English series, isn’t quite it.
The English is the problem, but it’s not the problem you’d expect. Jones is too good a singer
and an artist to fall into the pudding-toned, fake-contralto trap—she knows her alreadyalluring timbre needs no darkening. In fact, she goes quite to the opposite extreme, carefully
shallowing out vowels in a high, forward placement, closing off finicky consonants where a
little legato follow-through wouldn’t hurt. The result is a prissy, Julie Andrews-ish clarity that
needlessly sacrifices some of her vocal richness as well as the music’s long line. Vitellia’s
big rondo provides a direct comparison. Jones sings it capably enough here, and puts over
the text, but her fuller-throated Italian version under Hogwood (L’Oiseau-Lyre 444 131-2)
better puts over the music. Mind you, this isn’t bad singing, but I’ve heard her do much
better. In a few ensembles, Jones, interacting with her colleagues, forgets about the English
and cuts loose with a real vocal performance. The Favorita and Norma duets, the latter with
another mezzo, Anne Mason, and the Tell trio (Jones as Mathilde) are the best things on the
program.
The supporting artists are mostly good, except for Andrew Shore’s mealy-mouthed baritone
in the L’Italiana excerpts. Mason partners Jones nicely in the Norma duet, though all their
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ritards aren’t precisely together. Jones accompanies herself salon-style, a bit clumsily, in
“Home, Sweet Home.” The sonics are self-consciously big—the luscious solo reeds sound
boosted, and the punctuating chords in the Norma scene are ludicrously out of proportion to
the overall sonic frame. Steve Vasta
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prokofiev
Prokofiev, Symphonic Suite of Waltzes Op. 110 and Gypsy
Fantasy Op. 127
Kansas City Philharmonic/Hans Schwieger
(original: Urania US5130/reissue: Cisco Music CLP 7002)
In my experience, most of the Urania catalog of classical recordings issued in the late 1950s
and early 1960s are neither musically nor sonically rewarding, but a few stood out, most
notably, this recording of the Prokofiev Waltz Suite by Hans Schwieger and the Kansas City
Philharmonic. I have enjoyed an early (original?) black-and-white-label pressing for many
years. Those who like the Lt. Kije suite or the Classical Symphony will certainly like this
piece. However, if you usually listen to LPs, there haven’t been many alternatives to the
original Urania record. A Melodiya recording reissued in the U.S. on Angel (S 40075), a
Varese/Sarabande (81091) reissue of the Kansas City version, and a digital LP (I think) of
Jarvi and the Scottish National Orchestra are all I know of. There aren’t many more versions
on CD.
Cisco has now reissued the performance on pristine HQ-180 RTI vinyl. The quality of the
record is as good as any in my collection—completely quiet surfaces and perfectly centered,
flat vinyl. The quality of the sound is exceptional. It is less harsh than my original, with lush
strings, deep bass, and beautiful detail. Unlike some reissues compared to the originals, I
would take this reissue hands down. Furthermore, while it isn’t a surprise to hear great
sound from the Chicago, New York, Boston, or Philadelphia orchestras, it comes as a
surprise to hear great orchestral sound from the Kansas City Philharmonic in the late 50s.
Highly recommended. George Valley
Sound = 9.5/10; Performance = 9/10; Music = 9/10
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glee
Richard X. Heyman, Basic Glee
(Turn-Up Records TU-2)
by Matthew Greenwald
It’s becoming more and more difficult to find great pop music. Oh, it turns up sporadically, in
records by The Negro Problem, Wondermints, Eric Matthews, and a few others, but by and
large, the best practitioners of the form are relegated to obscurity. Richard X. Heyman is one
of these artists, though hopefully not for long. A young veteran who has performed brilliantly
as a sideman for such artists as Brian Wilson, Link Wray, Jonathan Richman, and Ben E.
King, Heyman has quietly been carving out a career as one of the pop maestros of our time.
Basic Glee, his new album, finds him at the apex of his abilities, and may be one of the
finest records of 2002.
Coming after 1998’s dazzling and critically acclaimed Cornerstone, which made Billboard’s
TopTen albums of that year, Basic Glee takes up where that nearly self-performed treasure
left off. Heyman has a strong, individualistic sense of style that permeates all of his songs.
As a writer, he has a myriad of influences, ranging from Gordon Lightfoot to Gene Clark,
among many others, but he has a singular identity that overflows with virtue and strength of
spirit. He is a romantic at heart, and songs such as “When Evening Comes,” “Wishful
Thinking,” and “My Lorraine Bow” exhibit a lover’s soul and a literate slant. Despite the
crispy pop arrangements, these are adult love songs, and Heyman renders emotions in such
a fashion that they will no doubt age very well.
This self-performed, homemade (www.richardxheyman.com) record will startle you. Filled
with ringing Rickenbackers, sparkling acoustics, and heavy, yet refined Keith Moon-meetsRingo Starr drum tracks, it’s hard to believe that it was cut, for the most part, by one
musician, let alone in a living room in New York. The drumming is exceptionally powerful,
and this is no surprise, as drums are Heyman’s main instrument. This gives him an unfair
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advantage against other “one-man bands.” The dense, warm sound of the record provides
the listener with a front-row seat to the recording console.
Heyman is a true singer/songwriter, and a good one, but he is equally impressive as a
musician, arranger, and record maker. “What In The World” sounds like a record The Hollies
should have made in 1970, with Graham Nash. “Waterline,” with its gorgeous arrangement,
is reminiscent of late-60s Beach Boys, crossed with Colin Blunstone’s “Caroline Goodbye.”
This record is an ever-widening whirlpool of sound, filled with hypnotic vocal harmonies and
expansive drum and guitar grooves. It is, in a word, glorious. Basic Glee is all things in
pop—a celebration of the form and a wholly original document that beguiles the ear as well
as the heart. Indispensable? Oh yeah.
©2002 M. Greenwald
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robinsonchoice2
Editor’s Choice Recordings, Part 2: More Outstanding
SACDs
James Taylor, JT
Sony/Columbia CS 69801
Disc type = SACD Single-Layer Stereo/Multi-channel
Disc provenance = Analog master (1977) to DSD, mastering by Doug Sax at The Mastering
Lab, Meitner chipset
When JT arrived, I was ambivalent. Sure, I remembered classic rock cuts like “Handyman”
and “Traffic Jam,” but I was tempted to say, “Gee, Sony, aren’t there better recordings to remaster and release? I mean, vintage James Taylor?!” (“See… I’ve got this LONG LIST of
SUGGESTIONS!!”)
Boy was I wrong. This SACD is a revelation. I don’t think I ever heard classic James Taylor
sound like this in any format. With the newly modded and hot-rodded SCD-1 (Vishay
resistors, don’tcha know?!) the level of clarity had moved ahea—yet again—and this disc put
it to the test.
With Doug Sax’s incredible mastering, “Handyman” is shown to have a wealth of warmth,
ease and detail that you never heard over FM radio back in the later ‘70s. I put it on with
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robinsonchoice2
some skepticism…then sat there and let the music wash over me. It was truly remarkable; I
was really getting into music that I thought I knew.
“Traffic Jam” was another gem… percussives that jumped right out at you, and ease and
rightness of Taylor's voice… unreal. I was chuckling with this song for the first time in
years…
There isn’t a single loser on this entire disc, and the SACD shows us how fine the original
recording and production work was. Kudos to Sony for a splendid release; any of you who
enjoy James Taylor really ought to get this disc, both for the music and for the exceptional
quality of the transfer.
No doubt about it; this SACD is that elusive thing: a true “reference disc.” Not optional for
lovers of great popular music—this recording is essential, my friends.
A Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest Recommendation.”
Sound = 10/10; Performance = 10/10; Music = 10/10.
Lauryn Hill, MTV Unplugged 2.0
Sony/Columbia C2S 86580
Disc type = SACD Single Layer Stereo/Multi-channel
Disc provenance = Live MTV session via unknown path to unknown medium;
recorded/mixed by Adam Blackburn; mastered by Herb Powers at Hit Factory Mastering,
NYC
This two SACD set is by an artist that I’d never heard before. Lauryn Hill is a remarkable live
performer, though—acoustic guitar in a small, intimate setting, with incredible emotional
impact. Hill is a prophetic singer, with gritty scriptural truth woven into all of her work.
Damnation, judgment, salvation, spiritual striving, suffering, redemption… it’s all there in a
potent, but joyous mix. And to sustain it for 2 SACDs… now that’s the perseverance of the
saints!
robinsonchoice2
Distantly reminiscent of Tracey Chapman… in an evangelical Christian mode? Probably not
fair to either woman, but for some reason, the thought came to mind as I listened. It wasn’t
the voices… nor the direction of the music… nor the stage presence. I’m not sure what it
was, but I was entranced by Hill’s wonderful music, and her sparkling repartee with the
audience.
I’ve been pretty impressed at the quality of the music that the MTV crowd has gotten in their
“Unplugged” sessions over the years; this is another very fine recording. Makes you wish
that Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Jennifer Warnes, Patricia Barber, Jacintha, or Luka
Bloom would record a live set in DSD for MTV…
This is fine stuff, meriting a Ye Olde Editor’s “highly recommended.”
Patricia Barber, Café Blue, Modern Cool, Nightclub
Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2002, UDSACD2003, UDSACD2004
Disc type = SACD Hybrid Stereo
Disc provenance = Analog masters directly to DSD via MoFi GAIN2, Meitner chipset; no
mastering engineer listed
Well, it’s not news any more, but I just have to say it:<> MoFi is indeed back! And judging
by this trio of Patricia Barber SACDs, I can be forgiven my ravings here—these folks are
picking up right where Blues in Orbit left off.
By which I mean, “utter reference level SACDs.”
These three discs bring together 38 of Barber’s smoky, seductive, silky songs from 19942000. Patricia Barber puts me into a dreamy, meditative place whenever I hear here… and
such recordings! Anyone who loves jazz and female vocals will find these to be truly
irresistible; these are immaculately performed and recorded. Soundstaging and imaging
robinsonchoice2
lovers will have a feast here—but there’s plenty of room at the banquet for those who love
detail, timbre, and microdynamics. (I do guess that fans of heavy metal, rap, and
macrodynamic orchestral probably won’t apply… but it would do them some good!
Especially with a good single malt at hand…)
How good are these SACDs? I reviewed Café Blue a few years back, when it was released
to HDCD by First Impression Music. That was very good for PCM, but the SACD simply
crushes it by comparison. The delicacy, the ease, the naturalness, without any sense of
edge, of dimensional flattening, makes it no contest whatsoever. These discs are exemplars
for what DSD can do for our beloved recordings, and make any compromise with lesser
standards unacceptable to these ears.
And did I mention that Patricia Barber can sing?!
When she covers, she covers!
Some of my favorite songs: “The Thrill is Gone,” “Inch Worm,” “Ode to Billy Joe,” “A Taste of
Honey” (Café Blue); “You & The Night & The Music,” “Light My Fire,” “Let It Rain,” “She’s A
Lady,” “The Fool On The Hill” (Modern Cool); “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “Alfie,” “Autumn Leaves,”
“All Or Nothing At All,” “So In Love” (Nightclub). There’s something here for every jazz
lover…
Stellar work, wonderfully recorded, and transferred with exceptional transparency. This is an
absolutely no-brainer—buy these SACDs!
They rate a Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest Recommendation!” Enthusiastically. Reference level
work, for sure.
The Anthony Wilson Trio, Our Gang
Groove Note GRV1008-3
robinsonchoice2
Disc type = SACD Hybrid Stereo
Disc provenance = Live and direct to 2-channel DSD via Meitner chipset; recorded by
Michael C. Ross and Darren Morra; produced by Ying Tan, Sebastian Koh and Joe Harley;
mastered by Bernie Grundman
I have to say that I wasn’t familiar with Anthony Wilson (jazz guitar), Joe Bagg (Hammond B3) and Mark Ferber (drums)…but I am now!
Ying Tan was kind enough to send this SACD along for a listen. Groove Note SACDs are
always a treat for me; Ying and company are fiends for “only the best,” don’t compromise on
the sound, and always deliver music that amazes me for its beauty and excellence. (Look at
what Groove Note has done with Jacintha… with Luqman Hamza… with Jay McShann on
SACD, for example—you have bought those, haven’t you?!)
But these folks I didn’t know. I popped the disc on, and sat down for a minute… and stayed
for a while. Quite a while.
What a sweet recording!
The feel is small and intimate; you’re in a small club with a jazz trio—only you’re alone with
them. Anthony Wilson commands his guitar with improvisational work that at the other end of
things away from stale or hackneyed. Whether bluesy (“Britta’s Blues” or “Prelude To A
Kiss”), funky (“Chitlins Con Carne”), or jazzy-rock (his exceptional cover of the Beatles’ “I
Want You (She’s So Heavy)”), Wilson drew me into that world of head-nodding reverie. His
compadres, Bagg (love that classic Hammond sound… I never get tired of it!) and Ferber
are just right, and deliver accompaniment that’s spot on to round things out to perfect.
The sound is pure DSD: transparent, effortless, deep, detailed, and utter relaxing. This is
what recordings of this kind should sound like!
Highest praise to everyone involved in producing this quiet masterpiece.
Love jazz trios and great instrumentals? Then this SACD, my friend, is for you.
It merits a Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest Recommendation.”
robinsonchoice2
Arne Domnérus and Gustat Sjökvist, Antiphone Blues
First Impression Music FIM SACD 050
Disc type = SACD Hybrid Stereo/Multi-channel
Disc provenance = Analog master to DSD; recorded by Gert Palmcrantz in 1976 (first 11
songs) and 1994 (last 5 songs); SACD produced by Winston Ma; mastered by Paul
Stubblebine of Paul Stubblebine Mastering via Sony DSD mastering system
An unlikely thought: put a saxophonist and a pipe organist together in a Swedish church with
lovely acoustical decay, roll a 15ips open reel tape with a pair of microphones, minimally
done, and stay out of the way.
The result was Antiphone Blues, a true reference experience in all formats. The yearning,
the musical prayer that you hear in this music is unique in my experience, and has never
palled for me over all these years.
Like many other audiophiles and music lovers, I have several versions of this justly famous
recording. I have a Proprius LP (lovely, lovely!) in immaculate condition, the HDCD version
that First Impression Music released a few years ago, and now the FIM SACD. Let’s be
blunt: both the LP and the SACD versions leave the HDCD in the dust, as good as that effort
was.
The limitations of CD, and the transcendence of SACD, become clear as you listen to the
splendid job that Winston Ma and Paul Stubblebine did with this recording. The magic of the
recording is especially in rendering soundstage depth and the incredible ambient presence
of the church, with two exceptional artists playing as one. Winston and Paul have succeeded
grandly; the presentation of the music in my listening room through both the Linn
Klimax/Komri (solid-state) and the deHavilland 845/Buggtussel (tubed) is compelling and
deeply spiritual.
No matter how odd the pairing of sax and organ appears at first glance, it works.
This disc is a real triumph, and deserves the praise that I give it.
FIM’s Antiphone Blues therefore receives a Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest Recommendation” as
a true reference SACD.
robinsonchoice2
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sunierhirez2
Sunier on Hi-Res, part 2 (with a little help where noted)
(John Sunier, long-time audiophile journalist and reviewer, has been a member of the
Positive Feedback community for ten years. As editor of Audiophile Audition
(www.audaud.com) and an “Editor of the Round Table,” John and company will be
contributing to PF Online by allowing the use of his and fellow audaud.com contributors' hires audio reviews.)
Vaughan Williams, A Sea Symphony
Christine Goerke, Soprano/Brett Polegato, Baritone/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and
Chorus/Robert Spano, Conductor/Norman MacKenzie, ASO Director of Choruses
Telarc multichannel SACD-60588
Robert Shaw started the building process of developing the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
into a world-class ensemble; their Grammy awards under the late maestro offer a testament
to a growing mastery of the choral repertory (Shaw's forte). The orchestra continued its
growth under Yoel Levi's baton, who, despite an often tempestuous relationship with
orchestra management, recorded numerous well-received releases over the next ten years.
But I have to admit when Robert Spano was named as the ASO's new music director, I was
somewhat underwhelmed, if not a little skeptical of his conducting abilities. This disc has
allayed all my concerns and proves that maestro Spano indeed possesses a great
understanding of a diverse repertory.
A Sea Symphony represents Robert Spano's second release for Telarc since becoming the
music director for the Atlanta Symphony, and it's the first recording of a Vaughan Williams
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symphony by an American orchestra led by an American conductor. The multichannel SACD
offers superb sonics, and the performance rates alongside the best recordings available. I
really never expected Spano's version to compete with my personal favorites, Sir Adrian
Boult (on EMI) or Bryden Thomson (on Chandos), but this recording places him among elite
company.
Vaughan Williams' first symphony is almost more cantata than symphony; his brilliant choral
settings of texts by Walt Whitman provide extensive work for the chorus and soloists.
Baritone Brett Polegato performs admirably, but the real star here is soprano Christine
Goerke—her singing is breathtaking throughout, and will serve as a great test of your
system's resolving abilities. High points are the first and fourth movements; midway through
the fourth, "The Explorers," baritone and soprano combine with various solo instruments and
build into an orchestral climax of intense power and majesty.
Telarc gives us a reference multichannel SACD with this disc—a superb recording, no
gimmicky surrounds, just lots of ambience and hall information—the way I think most of us
would have SACD done. Robert Spano proves that the ASO is still a force to be reckoned
with—the future looks quite bright indeed. Tom Gibbs
Mendelssohn, String Quintets (complete)
Mendelssohn String Quartet: Miriam Fried, violin; Nicholas Mann, violin; Ulrich Eichenauer,
viola; Marcy Rosen, cello; with Robert Mann, viola II
BIS multichannel SACD - BIS-SACD-1254
The Mendelssohn String Quintets are quintessential chamber music, as indispensable as
anything from the pens of Beethoven or Schubert. That said, I was really looking forward to
hearing this multichannel SACD from BIS, and it does not disappoint!
The Mendelssohn Quartet plays with aplomb aplenty. Robert Mann, founding member and
fifty-plus year member of the Julliard Quartet provides the second viola, and his playing here
is just superb. The allegros are played with speed and finesse, and the scherzo of the
Quintet No. 1 is masterfully acquitted. The real beauty of each quintet, however, is revealed
in the slow, inner movements. Overall, the playing is really exquisite and nearly, if not truly,
definitive for each of the works included.
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The sound of the multichannel SACD is reference quality—it places the instrumentation in
front of the listener with plenty of ambience and hall information. The instruments are well
separated and spread across the soundstage. Recent DVD-As from Tacet that I've heard
experiment with placing the five instruments alone in each of the channels, and while placing
the listener among the players works reasonably well, the approach that BIS has taken here
works and sounds magnificent!
I would place this disc at or near the top of my collection of classical, or for that matter, all
multichannel SACDs. If you can't find this disc in stores, get it at www.qualiton.com. Another
fabulous SACD from BIS, with hopefully many more to come! Tom Gibbs
The battle of the hi-res and non-hi-res, stereo and multichannel Pictures...
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition
Prelude to Khovanshchina, New Philharmonia Orch./Charles Mackerras
Vanguard Classics multichannel SACD, VSD 509
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition
Night on Bald Mountain, The Cleveland Orchestra/Lorin Maazel
Telarc stereo SACD-60042
sunierhirez2
Have a look at the xrcd reviews in this issue for yet another Pictures. The two here are both
SACD but the first is four-channel - a product of the quad years, taped in l973—and the
second just two. The age of the original Vanguard certainly doesn't show in this case.
Mackerras' tempi are faster than Reiner's on the xrcd, and there is a more flowing
interpretation throughout. The very involving surround mix places the listener in the center of
the orchestra—right up on the podium. As with the chamber music DVD-A recordings from
Tacet, this may be a gimmick but it really does involve one in the music more deeply. The
low bass hits in the score come thru deeper and with more impact than either of the other
Pictures versions. The orchestra seems further away in front than on either of the two other
versions, but the feeling of involvement minimizes this.
Telarc's SACD is one of their series of several from early in their existence, when they
pioneered use of the Soundstream 50K digital recording system. The conversion to DSD
was accomplished with a dCS Sample Rate Converter with custom software. The higher
sampling rate improvement is subtle but hearable, similar to the higher of the two DAT
sampling rates: 48K vs. the CD standard of 44.1K. Maazel also achieves a more flowing
interpretation than Reiner, but since these are supposed to be discrete pictures that one
promenades past and looks at, perhaps that is not really appropriate. In general this is a
more workmanlike treatment than the others. The brass playing here isn't as good as on the
other two versions, and the sonics are surprisingly not quite as open sounding as the other
two either. So if you don't have SACD playback capability yet, I suggest the Reiner xrcd
version, and if you do have it get the Vanguard. John Sunier
Poulenc, Concerto for Organ
PETIT: Concertino; BARBER: Toccata Festiva - Dame Gillian Weir, organ/English Chamber
Orchestra/David Hill (in Poulenc) & Raymond Leppard, conductors
Linn Records multichannel SACD CKD 180
This gets my vote as the best classical disc of the month, and one of the three or four very
best SACD discs yet. The Poulenc organ concerto is the only 20th century work for that
combination of forces that has a place in the standard repertory. Poulenc reported that the
work was the most difficult he had ever penned, but his efforts have given us one of the
most exciting concertos for any instrument. Basically a Romantic work, the concerto makes
some bows in the direction of Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky and mixes the composer's
irresistible French joie de vivre with passages of deeply affecting emotional content. His
sunierhirez2
tunes are soaring and inspiring, but with very modern harmonic trappings. As in his liturgical
choral works, he seems to be able to successfully blend devout and serious spiritual
expression with sophisticated and sensual melodies and harmonies. Weir is a fabulous
soloist, and the involving surround puts you in the chapel where the recording was made.
There is strong vertical component to the organ reproduction, as heard on the Michael
Murray Telarc CD of the Jongen organ concerto. Pierre Petit was a music critic at Le Figaro
but also wrote many different works. His concerto is almost as long as the Poulenc and
recalls the style of Roussel. The short Barber work provides a celebratory conclusion to the
program of this gem of a surround SACD. I give this five stars. John Sunier
Shostakovich, 24 Preludes And Fugues, Op. 87
Michiel Ras, organ
STS Digital multichannel SACD 611130
This Dutch production was made in close cooperation with Philips and Marantz Europe, who
are headquartered in Holland. Five Schoeps mikes were used for the five-channel Pyramix
System DSD recording, using Ed Meitner's convertors. The recording engineer gets two
pages in the booklet to talk about his approach to recording these works. The site was the
RC Bartholomeus Church in Zevenbergen, which has a rich acoustic. The philosophy of
recording was to bring the atmosphere of the venue to the listener by retaining the
ambience. This meant micing at more distance from the organ pipes. As a result, in silences
between tracks you can hear the sound of the pneumatic pump and at times the action of
the organ itself. The idea is for the softer passages to float in the church's ambience but for
the climaxes to never blow one away.
Sonically the production is entirely successful, and the listener can concentrate on the
realistic feeling of sitting in the church during the performance of this cycle of preludes and
fugues inspired by Bach's original. Normally heard on the piano (Keith Jarrett has one of the
best versions out), organist Ras decided that not only were the works flexible for different
keyboards (as were Bach's) but some even sounded better on the organ than the piano.
There were many decisions to be made regarding registrations—which of course are not
used with the piano. The process was like orchestrating Shostakovich's piano
works—selecting the appropriate timbres for each voice or section. There are more than 300
changes of register on the SACD, and very few edits were made in an effort to preserve the
flow of the performances. John Sunier
sunierhirez2
Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 in F Major "Pastorale",
Respighi, The Pines of Rome
New Jersey Symphony Orch./Zdenek Macal
Aix Records DVD-A & V AIX 80006
Rather odd bedfellows here, but an interesting hi-res disc in many ways. Recorded at the
New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, the Pastoral Symphony gets a workmanlike
delivery, with the widescreen spectacle of the Pines (although half the length of the
Beethoven) receiving the more stirring performance as well as more appropriate
multichannel sound. On this double-sided disc the DVD-Audio side includes both an
audience-perspective surround mix as 96K/24 bits using MLP and a two-channel mix, also at
96/24, but using uncompressed PCM instead of MLP. Therefore the latter will play on any
DVD-Video player whether or not it has DVD-A or DTS options. The video side contains both
a 5.1 audience mix in Dolby Digital and a 5.1 "stage" mix using DTS. The complete
performances both works are accompanied by full videos, and three angles may be selected
- included one dubbed "Conductor Cam"—zeroing strictly on conductor Macal at the podium.
Other extras include biographical and stylistic information about the composers, a
commentary track on the Beethoven by Jamie Bernstein Thomas and another on the
Respighi by conductor Macal, Behind-the-scenes session stills, Performer information and
web connections, and a complete 5.1 system setup and checking section. John Sunier
sunierhirez2
Roy Harris, Symphony No. 2 (1934), Morton Gould,
Symphony No. 3 (1947)
Albany Symphony Orch./David Alan Miller
Albany Records stereo SACD TROY515
Here is a another World Premiere Recording, and this time of symphonic works by two of the
major American composers of the last century - works which have not been heard by
anyone for over a half century. Harris had a place near the center of America's serious
music world most of his life. In some ways his spacious open-interval signature sound
seemed even more "American" than his compatriot Copland. His three-movement Second
Symphony was written for Serge Koussevitzky and the BSO, but for some reason
Koussevitzky decided against conducting the new piece himself, the critics were aweless,
and the work was neglected until its recent restoration via restoring major portions excised
by Harris after the premiere and correcting 70-year-old copying errors in the parts. The first
movement was inspired by Beethoven's Fifth, and the finale is full of rhythmic complexities
though diatonic harmonies. Gould, who died in 1996, wrote his longest and most ambitious
work in his Third Symphony, on a commission from the Dallas Symphony. The composer's
sardonic humor and jazz leanings are in strong evidence in the four-movement work, which
also had been modified following its initial performance, including even a different final
movement. The original finale was found and substituted for this recording premiere. The CD
layer of this disc is very good, but the SACD shines with a transparency that makes this first
hearing of the younger works of two great American composers sound even fresher. John
Sunier
sunierhirez2
John Pizzarelli with The George Shearing Quintet, The Rare
Delight of You
Telarc multichannel SACD-63546
OK, I did this in our April Jazz section, so let me summarize to save you the effort of going
back to that in our Archives: Pizzarelli is one of those great jazz instrumentalists who has
decided to concentrate on singing. Not being a strong vocal fan I usually feel short-changed
when that happens, but this album brought me around as far as Pizzarelli is concerned.
Perhaps the inspired backing by the Shearing Quintet was a factor in the success of this
meeting of two generations in blues. Pizzarelli has a light and loose young voice with a smile
in it. And if you do an A/B comparison of the stereo CD with the multichannel SACD, you'll
be smiling yourself. (This time the original CD and the CD layer of the hybrid disc sounded
identical to me.) Man, this is the most! Now you're really digging the music, not just letting it
bounce off you! Tracks: If Dreams Come True, The Lady's in Love with You, Everything
Happens to Me, Lulu's Back in Town, Something to Remember You By, Lemon Twist, Lost
April, Problem, The Rare Delight of You, Shine on Your Shoes, Indian Summer, Be Careful
It's My Heart, September in the Rain, I Predict, Lucky to Be Me. John Henry
Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, Brazilian Soul
(with Milt Holland, percussion; Bob Magnusson, bass)
Concord Picante/Hi-Res Music Stereo 96K/24bit DVD-A:
The l980 gem of a duo from Concord Records was a perfect choice for the Hi-Res folks to
do up in hi-res. Concord's engineer Phil Edwards gained a reputation among audiophiles for
achieving superb reproduction on their LPs—though he really didn't do anything that
painfully purist in recording them. Somehow things just came out right, possibly due to
simplicity of approach. This was one of the label's most popular LPs and the super-clean
impact of the quartet is now the best it's ever been. The styles of the two veteran Spanish
guitarists are different enough to provide contrasts, yet they blend beautifully as they play off
against one another. It doesn't appear either used amplification. All but two of the ten tunes
have a Brazilian background; the first of those is an original by Charlie and the closer is the
big tune from Evita (which sort of dates this date). Tracks: Carioca, Naquele Tempo,
Cochichando, Puperce, Famoso, Choro II, Brazilian Soul, For Jeff, Don't Cry for Me
sunierhirez2
Argentina. John Henry
Peppino D'Agostino, acoustic guitar, with Juan van
Emmerloot, percussion & drums
AIX Records DVD-A & V AIX 80013
D'Agostino approaches the steel string guitar in a unique way, playing the frets with his left
hand while creating percussion effects with his right. He also uses unconventional tunings,
and this all frequently gives the impression of multiple guitars being played. The majority of
the 13 tracks are his originals, with titles like "Acoustic Funk," "The Dancer," "Beyond the
Dunes," etc. The disc, like all efforts from AIX, is two-sided with one side entirely
multichannel DVD-Audio at 96K/24bits. This places the guitarist and percussionist up front,
but with plenty of natural ambience surrounding. However, there's so much on the video side
of the disc that the hi-res side seems limited by providing only music with nothing to look at!
All 13 tracks are seen in live videos of the two performers, and not only that, but you can
actually make use of the Angle button on your remote to change from a general long shot
view to closeups.
There are also three different audio track options: a 96/24 stereo mix using uncompressed
PCM, a 5.1 surround mix using Dolby Digital which places the listener in the audience
similar to the surround mix on the DVD-A side, and a 5.1 surround mix using DTS but
placing the listener up onstage with the performers rather than seating in the audience. The
many additional extras on this side of the disc include comprehensive notes and setup
information and software for DVD-ROM web connection. The music? Well, I'm not heavily
into this Windham Hill guitar style myself, but for those who are this will be right up their
alley. This is one disc which would be perfectly safe for an interested collector to purchase
for all the video and audio features it has, without even considering the DVD-Audio side.
Even if you never get the proper player and DVD-A fails in the end, you'll still have an
unusual music video with excellent surround sound - especially in the DTS option. John
Henry
sunierhirez2
Visit www.audaud.com where you can find 26 more titles!
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robinsonchoice
Editor’s Choice Recordings: More HOT SACD’s From the
Recent Releases!
At long last… back in the music review saddle again! It’s been way too long since I’ve had
the time and opportunity to recommend some especially tasty SACD titles that have come in
to Positive Feedback Online, River City Branch… so I’m going to catch up on a vicious
backlog of the “good stuff.”
Pay attention… take notes… the following is a rundown of some terrific SACDs, amigos.
Hui Fen MIN, Wei LI, Michelle LI, et al.,River of Sorrow
First Impression Music SACD 032
Disc type = SACD Hybrid Stereo (PCM layer is HDCD)
Disc provenance = Pure DSD, direct to 2-track via Meitner chipset; recorded by Jeff Mee,
mastered by Paul Stubblebine
Though it’s been out for a while now, I’ve got to put Winston Ma’s River of Sorrow right at
the top of this list as one of the most satisfying recordings that I’ve heard yet on SACD. A
collection of traditional and more modern works on traditional Chinese instruments; this
recording startled and surprised me within seconds of my first audition. It is an extremely
moving work, with transcendent moments of joy, yearning, and tragedy intermingled, leaping
all barriers of language and culture.
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The performances by Hui Fen MIN on the erhu, Wei LI on the guzheng, and Michelle LI on
the yang qin are superlative; Ms. MIN’s work on the erhu is particularly arresting, overflowing
with powerful emotion. You can truly feel the tension that was in the air while she
played—extraordinary!
What’s more, there were no tracks that I didn’t find satisfying, and that’s pretty rare for me.
All aspects of the recording itself are world-class, true audiophile reference grade (which is
more rare than you would think). Timbre, tonality, dynamics, soundstaging, imaging,
presentation are all peerless. My congratulations to Winston, Jeff Mee (recording engineer),
Paul Stubblebine (a truly superb mastering engineer!), Gus “the Great!” Skinas of Sony
DSD, and Ed “the Doctor of DSD!” Meitner—love those chipsets, Ed! Not every SACD
shows what the format can do… and some are far from it… but the production values
evident in River of Sorrow show what DSD properly handled can do.
Quoting from my email to Winston, done shortly after my first listen:
“River of Sorrow is one of the most remarkable recordings that I have ever heard, Winston!!
What a treasure!! Both Rick Gardner and I were absolutely (and deeply) stunned by the
magnificence of this DSD recording. The emotional power and artistic mastery is so evident,
that we were left astounded at what we were experiencing1
BRAVO! ENCORE! Let there be many more SACDs of this caliber from FIM!”
My response to this SACD has not dimmed over time, and I would echo the sentiments
above. Friends, this is an absolute must-have SACD for those who love fine music, and are
open to sounds and works from other lands.
I therefore award River of Sorrow Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest Recommendation!"
Or, for those who prefer the purely quantitative (for what it’s worth!):
Sound = 10/10, Performance = 10/10, Music = 10/10
robinsonchoice
Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company,
Cheap Thrills
Sony Columbia/Legacy SACD CS 65784
Disc type = SACD Single Layer Stereo/Multi-channel
Disc provenance = Analog master tape; unknown digital path to final master
Well at long bloody last!! I’ve only been waiting about three years for this (very obvious) title
to tumble out of the Sony/Columbia archives. Early on, I begged David Kawakami for this
one… Janis Joplin’s Cheap Thrills and (to a lesser extent) Pearl are very important
recordings, both for the historical period and for Joplin’s discography.
Of course, Joplin’s discography is no where near as large as a longer lifespan would have
produced. A career that burned brilliantly, and then flamed out even as we were watching
with dazzled eyes, was gone way too soon.
Hearing this recording again in SACD reminded me of how much I loved the way that Joplin
sang the blues! The power of her voice, the rawness of the live sessions (very raw), the
punch of Big Brother—these are magnificent to hear, and SACD outdoes CD (yet again) in
bringing it into our listening rooms. Tremendous in SACD garb are “Combination of the
Two,” “I Need a Man to Love,” “Summertime,” and “Piece of My Heart” (oh yeah!!!)
Note that there are also four bonus tracks on this disc, two live and two studio cuts. Don’t
walk past these…they’re better than average, and give you a change to hear JJ and BB with
all the rough edges.
The SACD beats the CD to my ears, not by as much as some might expect. These are NOT
audiophile grade recordings, amigos; they’re either studio, or “Fillmore/Detroit sound.” I was
particularly disappointed with the sonics of “Ball and Chain”; I don’t remember it sounding
quite so muddy on LP. Perhaps the master tape of this one isn’t in such good shape, but
there’s no way to tell from where I’m typing.
About multi-channel SACD: We don’t yet have a reference multi-channel
preamp/amp/speaker setup here in PF Online Central, so can’t (yet) comment on the sound
of surround with this SACD.
robinsonchoice
The upshot: don’t expect reference grade sound on this disc—something this recording
never had—though I definitely prefer the SACD to my old CD of this title. (My original U.S.
issue LP of this one would be a better match, but my stylus is down right now, the victim of a
careless housekeeper—blast!! So I can’t say for sure…)
Do expect reference grade San Francisco Blues a la Janis!
Audiophile nerds looking for Tibetan Yak Musik should keep walkin’; folks with soul should
grab this one!
A Ye Olde Editor’s “Very Highly Recommended!”
Sound = 6 or 7/10 (varies), Performance = 9/10, Music = 10/10
Jorma Kaukonen, Blue Country Heart
Sony/Columbia CS 86394
Disc type = SACD Single layer Stereo/Multi-channel
Disc provenance = Pure DSD recording, mixed and mastered in DSD (?), recorded by Roger
Moutenot, mastered by Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound, NYC, NY
Another one of my favorite artists out of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s on SACD… big time!
Jorma K. brings back good memories of Hot Tuna albums in my college days. His
“Hesitation Blues” on LP is running clearly through my mind as I write this… the terrific live
acoustic sound was mesmerizing then—and Proustian now.
This new pure DSD is better in every way, though: warm, rich, detailed, acoustic, and really
intimate. It’s been years since I heard Jorma… in this disc teamed with the likes of Bela
Fleck… and he’s better than ever!
‘Course, one would expect that with a blues player; like fine whiskey, great wine, and
excellent cigars, they get better with age.
robinsonchoice
This collection of blues includes some old favorites of mine like “Red River Blues,” “Blues
Stay Away From Me,” and—bringing back deep memories of my recording days in the East
Bay area, twirlin’ open reels while recording my friend Jerry Woods played it with wisdom
way beyond his years—“Big River Blues.”
This is a slam-dunk no brainer. If you love the blues like I do, then you’ll get this disc NOW.
Enda’ story.
Jorma gets a Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest Recommendation!"
Sound = 10/10, Performance = 10/10, Music = 10/10.
Alison Krause + Union Station, New Favorite
Rounder SACD 11661-0495-6
Disc type = SACD Hybrid Stereo/Multi-channel
Disc provenance = Analog master (?) to DSD via Meitner chipset, recorded by Gary
Paczosa, mastered to DSD at The Mastering Lab by Doug Sax and Robert Hadley
The more that I hear of Alison Krause, the better I like her. Ever since I heard her first SACD
with “Forget About It,” I’ve lost my ‘phile heart to this woman… what a combination of
smoothness, silk and finesse! There are many things here, mixed influences: country soul,
gospel, and touches of other things that I haven’t yet put my finger on yet…but immensely
satisfying to me as I listen. And Union Station brings back memories of Nashville back in the
‘60s and early ‘70s… what a terrific group of musicians these guys are!
My favorites cuts include “Let Me Touch You For Awhile,” (OK!) “Crazy Faith,” and
(especially!!) “Choctaw Hayride,” which qualifies as some of the best pickin’ and slide-barrin’
that I’ve heard in a very long time.
How is it that Rounder is getting such bloody great sound out of its SACDs?! To tell you the
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truth, I suspect that it’s probably some terrific production values, aided and abetted by the
brilliant Doug “The Axe” Saxe at the controls. My sources tell me that Doug’s got a DSD
mastering system custom-tweaked by my good friend Ed Meitner, who puts out the finest
DSD chipset on the planet. (Nope, I don’t own stock in his company… I just like the sound of
his work!)
At this point, having heard a number of Rounder SACDs, I feel that I can generally
recommend them for their sound quality… if you like the artist/music, Rounders will likely
please you with their sonics.
As you can tell, I’m catching up with my raves—this is another!
Ye Olde Editor gives Sister Alison a “Highest Recommendation!”
Sound = 10/10, Performance = 10/10, Music = 10/10
Bruce Cockburn, anything, anytime, anywhere: singles 19792002
Rounder/True North SACD 11661-3180-6
Disc type = SACD Hybrid Stereo (only, no multi-channel)
Disc provenance = Analog masters to DSD via unknown digital path, various recording
engineers, mastered for SACD by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NYC, DSD recording and
editing by Tracy Martinson
When this disc arrived, I nearly dropped it on the floor! Bruce Cockburn has been a
particular favorite of mine for many years, and he was another Columbia artist (like Janis
Joplin, listed above) that I had mentioned to the good folks at Sony as a hot candidate for
release to SACD. Not that they’re listening or anything…
I am glad to see Rounder come out with this one… I’ll take Cockburn SACDs wherever I can
get them! And what a disc—this one has 17 of his best songs over 23 years. The mixture of
prophetic fire and Christian grace is clear for all to see, as is the heart and musicianship of a
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person who really has something to sing. The performances are, without exception,
extraordinary… there isn’t a clunker in the bunch! With 17 songs, that’s quite an
accomplishment; some artists couldn’t put together 17 songs to save their lives….
As one would expect from such a collection, the sonics are variable, ranging from the
extremely problematic “Night Train” (Who the heck butchered this one?! A lovely song,
reduced to sounding like it’s coming through three feet of cotton batting—a pox on the
producer/engineer of this travesty!) to the glorious “A Dream Like Mine,” which sounds better
on this SACD than I’ve ever heard it… very nearly “holographic” in its front-to-back
soundstage depth. Most are in-between, but sound very fine indeed… I’ve certainly put a lot
of time on this disc!
Now if we could just get Sony/Columbia to open the treasure troves of Leonard Cohen and
(of course!) more Bob Dylan (no guys, Blonde on Blonde is NOT ENOUGH!!!) to SACD, life
would get even better.
Hell-ooo, Sony Music! Time to WAKE UP!
While they roust themselves, Rounder gets another Ye Olde Editor’s “Highest
Recommendation!”
Cockburn lovers, rejoice!
Sound = 6-10/10 (varies), Performance = 10/10, Music = 10/10.
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sunierhighrez
Sunier on Hi-Res (with a little help where noted)
(John Sunier, long-time audiophile journalist and reviewer, has been a member of the
Positive Feedback community for ten years. As editor of Audiophile Audition
(www.audaud.com) and an “Editor of the Round Table,” John and company will be
contributing to PF Online by allowing the use of his and fellow audaud.com contributors' hires audio reviews.)
Bryan Ferry, Frantic
Hybrid Multichannel SACD Virgin 7243 8121382 7
This new release from Bryan Ferry is filled with a combination of catchy tunes mixed with
Ferry's distinctive vocal styling. Sound quality is good, but not outstanding, and by no means
representative of what SACD can do. It is still better in some ways in comparison with a
conventional CD, however. The song list includes a mix of a few Ferry collaborations as well
as a few cover tunes. "Nobody Loves Me" is a very catchy song, and could possibly be a hit.
"A Fool For Love" is a rock song with a little bit of hook, a good beat, and nice guitar and
harmonica work blended nicely with Bryan's vocals. Some of the songs, like "San Simeon,"
have an eerie quality, and others are softer tunes like Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All
Right"-an excellent track. The album is a little uneven, but Ferry fans won't be disappointed
unless they were expecting to break new ground. The songs that are either co-written or
produced by Dave Stewart are definitely more mainstream, and will appeal to more listeners.
I don't believe there will be many new Ferry fans made with this disc, but it is sure to covert a
few. Songs included are: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, Cruel, Goin' Down, Goddess Of Love,
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, Nobody Loves Me, Ja Nun Hons Pris, A Fool For Love,
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Goodnight Irene, Hiroshima, San Simeon, One Way Love, I Thought.
by Brian Bloom
Ambience - Bird Song, by Chip Davis
American Gramaphone DVD-A & V AG9201-7
Ambience - Summer Song, by Chip Davis
American Gramaphone DVD-A & V AG9203-7
Don't know quite what to report about these two DVD-As. As with the other discs from the
Mannheim Steamroller record label, you get a lot of extras: Each disc has both a video and
audio side, and the videos are high quality motion throughout, with a choice of DD two
channel or 5.1-channel sound or DTS 5.1, plus each package comes with a second standard
single-sided CD version of the same stereo audio program at 44.1—designed for in-car or
portable use when you're not in your home theater or SSfM listening room. But on the other
hand, what you get with these two albums is really a lot of very little content. There are
nature sounds very well recorded in discrete 5.1 surround—mostly birds (didn't fool my cats
though) and water sounds—and about half of the time they are overlaid with New Age
music, some of which is quite nice and some of which was to me quite annoying. There are
plenty of New Age CDs which mix nature sounds and music, so this is nothing new.
The video side has pleasant long shots of birds, water, trees, or whatever is appropriate to
the nature sounds, but the lower resolution of these subtle sounds is noticeable vs. those on
the DVD A sides. The Summer Song disc identifies seven tracks, with such expected New
Age designations as Raindance, Teardrops-Raindrops, etc. The Bird Song one doesn't
bother with this. But there are some highly intrusive sound effects that come in towards the
end of both discs—a thunderstorm, vehicles and an extremely loud airplane that sounds like
it's buzzing your nature-based reverie. And since they're so realistically recorded—especially
on the DVD-A sides, these loud sounds are doubly disturbing. One wonders what in the
world Davis was thinking.
sunierhighrez
Home Theater Demo featuring Mannheim Steamroller
American Gramaphone DVD-A & V AG 9624-7:
Another addition to my stack of home theater demos - starting with laserdiscs and now of
course we have DVD-A to add to the mix. This one has some unique twists to it and might
appeal to newcomers to the whole HT concept, much as the Sound & Vision demo DVD
reviewed here last month. Producer/musician Chip Davis's special approach to 5.1 surround
sound is described, beginning with all the basics that the beginner should be aware of. The
audio setup on the video side allows choosing Dolby Digital 5.1 or stereo or DTS. The
several features include the liner notes, list of American Gramaphone products and their
story, How to Use the Disc, How to Contact Them, and album credits.
Some of the five demo video music tracks come other Davis videos, such as footage from
the Early Greek portion of Fresh Aire 8 appearing here as the selection "Night Party." Others
are just slide shows of appropriate still photos, such as the instruments and other images
accompanying the Menuetto movement of Mozart's String Quartet in C Major. Waterfall is a
series of closeups of a famous Escher optical illusion drawing. One of the interesting visual
departures here is the realtime meter display option for any of these five videos. Rainbowcolored 3D waterfall displays appear onscreen for each of the five channels of music and
you can see the oscilloscope-type rise and fall of the patterns in accord with the music you
are hearing from each speaker. For example the LFE channel shows no movement at the
beginning of a piece but when a loud tam-tam whack is heard in the music one end of that
display suddenly leaps into life. I don't know how much time one would devote to watching
this, but I found it at least more interesting than the fireplace DVD!
Astrud Gilberto, Now (with Deodato, Airto, Billy Cobham, Ron
Carter & others)
Silverline DVD-A (no disc number listed)
Guess they didn't want to modify the album title of this 1972 original LP, but Now means
Then, not Now. Fresh from the hit The Girl from Ipanema and in the midst of the bossa nova
craze in North American, the hesitant but sexy little voice of Astrud Gilberto joins an
ensemble of top jazz men in ten tunes. The producers must have dug up all the original
sunierhighrez
parts of the multi-tracked session and mixed them to discrete 5.1 surround for this reissue. I
don't know I would agree with their calling the result 'stunning,' but it does add a good feeling
of involvement in the music, especially with the various Brazilian percussion at the surround
speakers. There's also some nostalgic photos of the singer. Tracks: Zigy Zigy Za, Make
Love to Me, Baiao, Touching You, Gingele, Take It Easy My Brother Charlie, Where Have
You Been?, General da Banda, Bridges, Daybreak.
Rabih Abou-Khalil, oud, The Cactus of Knowledge
(with ensemble of 11 incl. Eddie Allen, trumpet; Tom Varner, French horn; Vincent Couirtois,
cello)
Enja Records, Germany DVD-A ENJ-9401 8:
The mixing of Arabic music and jazz has not occurred frequently in the past, but this is the
most successful such venture I have ever heard. It stands to reason that such a mix would
come out of what is now being called the European New Jazz movement. European jazz
performers don't suffer from an overly-respectful attitude about American roots music and
jazz, so they have no problem integrating world music, classical, rock, marching band,
circus, movie music, you-name-it into their music. There's no information on the performers;
the only one I was familiar with was jazz-on-French horn specialist Varner. However, oud
virtuoso Abou-Khalil has had ten previous albums on Enja, so he's not a shot in the dark.
The entire notes booklet consists of a poetic essay titled The Butterfly of Light, in English,
French, German and Arabic, the entire score for one of the pieces: Oum Said, and individual
photos of the leading players - each one sitting on an orange divan next to a giant green
plastic cactus. It is obvious that irony and humor are a part of these proceedings.
All eight tracks are original Abou-Khalil compositions and meld both the Arabic themes and
the two Arabic instruments—his oud and a frame drum—into the unique ensemble. From the
titles, there appears to be a French influence at work here, though the recording was made
in Cologne. (Some other centers of European New Jazz are Paris, Berlin, Stockholm,
Copenhagen, and most of all Amsterdam.) The players are spread around the listener, and
the experience is ear-opening to say the least. Perhaps a hint of what's in store can be
ascertained from the track list: The Lewinsky March, Business as Usual, Fraises et creme
fraiche, Got to Go Home, Oum Said, Maltese Chicken Farm, Ma Muse M'amuse, Pont Neuf.
sunierhighrez
Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby
(with Scott LaFaro, bass; Paul Motian, drums)
Riverside/Analogue Productions stereo SACD CAPJ 9399 SA:
Another jazz classic that has been reissued countless times now. In fact less than four years
ago the xrcd version was released, and I have it for comparison. These three players
created the epitome of jazz piano trios for the mikes over 40 years ago now and nothing
sounds the least bit dated—music, playing or sonics. The session was taped live at New
York City's Village Vanguard. The last four of the ten tracks are bonus tracks not found on
the original LP release, and three of the tunes are heard in two different takes.
Comparisons: I compared the original CD release, the CD layer of the SACD, the stereo
SACD layer, and the xrcd disc. This was a case where the sound was remarkably similar in
all of the formats. After some time spent in relaxed listening, the very slight advantages in
detail of the SACD became apparent. Unfortunately, for all its reissue interest, the piano
sound on this disc is not as good as many others with audiophile pretensions, and the
audience noises are in some ways more distracting than those on the Jazz at the
Pawnshop. There was a slight improvement in soundstaging with the SACD, but this is early
stereo and the soundstage is very wide to begin with —bass and drums clearly on the left
channel and Evans' piano clearly on the right channel. I also tried the different formats both
via an MSB LinkDAC and a Bel Canto DAC as well as directly out of the analog output from
my Dan Wright-modified Sony 9000ES, and there was little difference heard.
sunierhighrez
Weather Report, Mysterious Traveller
(Incl. Wayne Shorter, sop. & tenor sax & Lyricon, tack piano; Joe Zawinul, piano, vocals,
Melodica, synth, organ, percussion, Fender Rhodes; Miroslav Vitous & Alphonso Johnson,
bass; Dom Um Romao & Ray Baretto, percussion; Skip Hadden & Ismael Wilburn, drums)
Columbia Legacy multichannel SACD (only) CS 65112:
Last month I reviewed a psuedo Weather Report SACD—actually a tribute to the famous
fusion group. This month we got the real thing. While Weather Report did release an SQ
surround LP, for this—their fourth studio album - the original elements were rounded up and
mixed to a new 5.1 surround experience. It's been over a quarter century now and the very
special fusion vision of Weather Report—primarily of Joe Zawinul—has influenced
generations of jazz performers. The instrumentation, for one thing, was unique and hasn't
been heard since. Zawinul saw that electronic instruments could be used—combined with
Latin and soul elements—- to create a different direction for jazz. But he didn't accept what
these gadgets provided right out of the box—he learned exactly how synths worked and how
to modify them to end up with the "Zawinul sound" that was central to Weather Report. With
the added clarity and depth of DSD reproduction the panoply of these brilliant uses of
electronics in fusion jazz can be really heard and appreciated for the first time.
The chemistry between Zawinul and Wayne Shorter was also central to the sound of the
group, and instead of long solos the front line musicians play short passages that are
integrated into the whole of the very creative compositions. Personally I'm not at all into
either funk or fusion but Weather Report and Flim and the BBs have always held my
attention. Tracks are: Nubian Sundance, American Tango, Cucumber Slumber, Mysterious
Traveller, Blackthorn Rose, Scarlet Woman, Jungle Book.
sunierhighrez
Jim Ferguson, Deep Summer Music
(with Chris Potter, tenor sax; Stefan Karlsson, piano; Jim White, drums)
A Records/Challenge Records stereo SACD SA AL 75060:
Nashville resident Ferguson is a first-rate bassist who works as a studio musician on
sessions there—both as bassist and back-up vocalist. However, jazz is his real thing and
only recently has he added his high tenor Southern-accentuated voice to his bass playing.
His musical taste is more wide-ranging than most jazz vocalists, and also he's male—when
most of the hot jazz vocalists today are of that other gender. Only four of the 14 tunes are
his originals, so he's not exactly like jazz bassist-vocalist Jay Leonhardt. A strong liking for
fellow Southern jazz vocalist Mose Allison comes thru in some of his more ironic and bluesy
tunes, but Jim sports a better voice and more melodic approach. I tend to get bored with the
entire run of tracks on most jazz vocal albums, but Ferguson kept me interested thru all 14
tracks, and it wasn't just because of the pristine clarity and presence of the SACD
reproduction. By the way, the disc says "mixed and mastered in DSD" so it appears the
original recording was either analog or hi-res PCM. Tracks: Deep Summer Music, What's a
Guy Supposed to Do?, I'll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her, Wait Till You See Her, There'll
Be Other Times, Walkin' the Dog, Slow Hot Wind, The Night We Called It a Day, Come
Home to Red, Then I'll Be Tired of You, When the Night is Done, Nobody Home, When Your
Lover Has Gone, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.
Paul Bollenback, Double Vision
(with Joey DeFrancesco, B3 organ; Ed Howard, bass; Terri Lyne Carrington & Jeff Tain
sunierhighrez
Watts, drums)
Challenge Records stereo SACD SACHR 75030:
Another U.S. jazz group that had to go to a European jazz label to get released on disc.
Hadn't heard of Bollenback, but organist Joey DeFrancesco is a top name in U.S. jazz today.
A studio in Maryland was used and the original analog tapes were mixed and mastered to
DSD in Amsterdam. Bollenback plays in a strongly swinging single string electric style which
mates perfectly with the electric sound of DeFrancesco's B3. Four of the nine tracks are his
own, and the shift to more pop songs rather than all jazz standards is shown by his opening
treatment of Stevie Wonder's "I Am Singing," as well as his closer: a tune from Hootie and
the Blowfish. The lyrical version of Strayhorn's "Lush Life" is also an album highlight.
Bollenback's guitar is recorded up quite close and the B3 bass end is strong in impact. By
the way, if you don't own an SACD player as yet, the CD layer of this hybrid disc provides
really superior sonics on its own (as I discussed in the intro to this section this month).
Tracks: I Am Singing, Open Hand, Danny, Breaking the Girl, Reflections of Jaco, Lush Life,
After the Love Has Gone, Thank You Mr. Hancock, Let Her Cry.
Tangerine Dream, Rubycon
Virgin stereo SACD V2025
Another blast from the past, offered to our undoctored ears with better fidelity than ever
before so we can decide for ourselves if what we thought we heard back then was really in
the music or just what we were smoking in 1975. The Berlin electronic trio has been one of
the longest-lived groups coming out of the experimental 60s, with a stream of about 50
albums to their credit. I still prefer the electronic sounds they coaxed out of what are now
considered obsolete instruments to any electronica of today. (I also much prefer the musique
concrete of that period to the "serious" electronic compositions of today). The Moogs,
Mellotrons, Elka organs and E-pianos never sounded so good on the original LPs. (Of
course part of the problem could have been the Dual and JVC record changers we were
playing them on...) The stretched-out synthesizer rhythmic riffs over which are heard the
guitar, flute, piano or organ melodic lines aren't nearly as strenuously funk/dance floor as
heard with electronica today. And the sounds are tonal and diatonic—not noise-based.
Guess I'm just an old moldy fig when it comes to electronic music. Hey, the track list will
provide a host of information about this SACD: Part One, Part Two.
sunierhighrez
The Human League, Dare!
Virgin stereo SACD11255-2
Take three of those synthesizers similar to the above, add one male and two female
vocalists, and ramp up the beat, and you have The Human League. This is their 1981
album, which also came out in a 45 rpm 12-inch single with the tracks "Don't You Want Me"
and "Seconds," which made HP's List at one time. I dug it out and did an A/B comparison.
The vinyl still had the slight edge—more oomph in the deep bass beats, a bit more clarity
and air around the voices. But the SACD would probably beat out the 33 1/2 vinyl if I had it.
The Human League sounds to me like Kraftwerk gave up their robotic personalities, decided
to write some less minimalist lyrics more like standard pop, and got some girls in the group.
Tracks: The Things That Dreams Are Made of, Open Your Heart, The Sound of the Crowd,
Darkness, Do or Die, Get Carter, I Am the Law, Seconds, Love Action, Don't You Want Me.
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dvd
Two Hi-Rez Discs
by Victor Chavira
I’m in a good position to review these Hi-Res Music DVDs. Not only am I an amateur
guitarist, but for the past eight months, an NAD T531 DVD player has been my primary
source for digital. The 531 is a good-sounding machine that allows my family to enjoy both
DVDs and CDs. My system is strictly stereo—no artificial surround processing was applied
to the enjoyment of these DVDs. Unlike other labels that seek to exploit the multi-channel
and video capabilities of DVD, Hi-Res Music produces only two-channel, 96kHz/24-bit, DVD
Audio format recordings. Hi-Res titles feature DVD-style menus, and original photos and
liner notes. Hi-Res takes the following steps when re-releasing a title: “The analog tape is
first played back on a calibrated tape machine electrically and physically identical to the deck
used to make it in the first place. Impedance matched custom tube amplification, mastering
equalizers and dynamics processors are employed during the mastering stage to ensure
that all of the sound is transferred to the digital domain.”
Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, Seven, Come Eleven (1974)
Seven, Come Eleven is a live recording taken from Concord's Summer Festival in 1974. This
DVD features some exciting guitar playing by two of the genre’s masters. The speedy title
track will have you on the edge of your seat. Ray Brown on bass and Jake Hanna on drums
round out the group with solid supporting performances. This DVD gives the distinct
impression that the two virtuosos and the audience are having a great time.
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The sonics of both discs are exceptional. The best thing I can say about them is that they
sound truly analog. A comparison of similar titles in my CD collection reveals the flat,
dynamically challenged sound of redbook CD. The Hi-Res Audio DVDs sound deep, rich,
and emotionally engaging. My only criticism is their price: $25.99 is expensive for about forty
minutes of music. Nevertheless, Hi-Res Music has produced an excellent product, and these
two discs are recommended for the well-heeled jazz guitar aficionado.
Herb Ellis and Freddie Green, Rhythm Willie (1975)
From 1975, Rhythm Willie is a set of jazz standards and bluesy numbers played in the
studio. If you are a lover of skin-tight rhythm sections and perfect tonal contrasts, you will
enjoy this disc very much. The quick, dry tone from Freddie Green’s acoustic archtop is the
ideal complement to Herb Ellis’ meaty electric tone. Many listeners will find it impossible to
keep their heads from bopping up and down in time to Freddie’s right hand on such tunes as
the title track and the full-tilt closer, "Orange, Brown, and Green."
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taby
Taby Church Chamber Choir Hush! The Angels Are Singing
(First Impression Music SACD 049)
by Dave Gardner
I am absolutely in love with this recording. Revered mastering maven Stan Ricker has called
it a new standard in reference-quality choral music. Regular readers of Positive Feedback
know what I think of the CD version—it is the only CD that I have ever given a perfect score
to. As good as the CD is, the SACD version is better. This disc is as good a reason to run
out and buy an SACD player as any I have encountered. I thank Winston Ma for releasing it,
then having the good sense to also release it as an SACD. Bravo!
This recording of the Taby Church Chamber Choir was made in 1996 at the 13th-century
Taby Church and the Osteraker Church, both in the region of Stockholm. It is a stunningly
natural and spacious recording of a choir of approximately thirty voices, male and female,
aged 18 to 25. Individual voices can easily be picked out, the acoustic of the church is
reproduced in all its glory, and, when the church organ lets go, this recording really lets you
know it. The overall effect is magical.
The human voice is very difficult to record correctly. It requires subtlety, delicacy, nuance,
coherence, and neutrality, as well as dynamics, immediacy, and freedom from distortion.
This recording has all that in spades. There are 27 cuts, all with Christmas themes. There is
excellent variety between solo female, solo male, and mixed voices. It’s tough to pick out a
favorite track (sorta like picking out my favorite Italian car), but “Sankta Lucia” remains a
standout.
This SACD has my very highest recommendation. If you have the slightest interest in choral
music, in classical music, or just in music, buy it. You won’t be sorry. If you like playing
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Christmas music around the holidays, put this on continual repeat and go wrap presents. I
predict that this disc won’t be far from my player for a long time to come, and I just found the
“Repeat” button on my SACD player’s remote control.
Sound 10 Performance 10 Music 10
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krall
Diana Krall, Live in Paris
(Eagle Eye Media EE19012)
by Ed Morwaski
This is something a little different for me (and Positive Feedback), a review of a DVD, but I
thought this was so special that I begged the editor to let me do it. I wanted to share this with
all my fellow audiophiles, jazz enthusiasts, and Diana Krall fans. But you don't have to be a
fan of DK to enjoy this DVD.
From the very first glimpse of the stage, with all the musicians wearing suits and ties, you
can see this is going to be a class act. Live in Paris is one of the finest DVDs of any genre I
have ever seen. It transports the viewer to a classier past, when the big band era was alive
and well, but with twenty-first-century technology. The video quality is simply stunning, the
lighting perfect, the cinematography exceptional. Let me break it down. In no case is there
ever glare from the subdued lights, or too little or too much contrast. You can clearly see
each performer, as if you were floating unseen around the stage. The camera operators
never intrude or lose track of their objective—to make you feel part of the experience. The
camera does not dwell too long on any performer or angle but effortlessly glides around,
focusing on a face here, a hand there. At points where many would get bored, they cut from
the concert to scenes of Paris, in the fall and at night. This is done with a delicate hand—just
enough to make the whole process interesting and enhance the emotion of the
performance—then it's back to the concert and a closeup of Diana or the musicians.
I especially enjoyed the occasional closeup of Krall's hands and the way she holds them
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while playing. She has a somewhat unusual style, but anyone who has ever said she is
merely an average player should see this disc. She pours her heart into her piano, and she
is really talented. The music is quite enthralling. The concert starts with just her five-man
group, and expands to encompass the entire European Symphony Orchestra, yet we never
lose sight (or sound) of the music and the focus on Krall's singing and playing. She can
sound cold on her CDs, but here she imparts much feeling, as do all the musicians. It is
amazing that the director was able to achieve such intimacy in the midst of the hundreds of
performers and thousands of people in the audience. As the camera slowly pans across the
musicians’ faces, you are struck by their expressions of joy. These people so obviously love
what they are doing, and you can't help but be drawn in emotionally. I have been to many
concerts that were nowhere near as intimate as this DVD!
Amazingly, as the hour-and-a-half concert continues, DK and the musicians get better and
better. Krall starts out looking a little haggard, but by the end she has slowly transformed into
a vibrant, soulful performer. She actually glows by the final song. The same applies to all the
musicians. Every member of the orchestra puts his or her heart and soul into their
performance, and it is a joy to experience. I sat tirelessly for the entire concert, not wanting
to move or even breathe. This disc must be experienced by anyone who loves music.
The sonic quality of the disc is superior to almost any music CD. The disc contains several
Dolby Digital mixes as well as DTS. Fortunately, my system is DTS compatible, and that is
the way I chose to listen. This is the first multi-channel music DVD I have heard that actually
enhances the aural experience. The rear surround channels carry only "ambience," and it
truly seems as though you are IN the concert hall. I preferred the microphone setup and
engineering on this DVD to that of the CD version. The sound on the DVD is much more
balanced, without overemphasis of any instrument.On the CD, the electric guitar on several
cuts is too loud, but on the DVD it is slightly quieter, giving a much more enjoyable sound.
The DVD also contains a few extras; several rehearsal tapes and two music videos are
included. I especially liked the video for "Look of Love," which I had not seen. It is very
clever, one of the best I’ve seen, but I won't spoil the fun of discovering it for yourself by
saying more.
Every person involved in this project displays exceptional talent and class. It is very rare that
this much professionalism comes together in one place, but fortunately that is exactly what
happens in Live in Paris. Make this part of your collection and you will cherish it for many a
year to come. Really special
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flamenco
3 Flamencos
by Srajan Ebaen
Vicente Amigo Vivencias Imaginadas
Sony Latin CDZ-81782, 1996
Gerardo Nunez Calima
Alula 1007, 1998
The Spanish guitar is a very popular instrument. That’s true also for a style brought to
prominence by Ottmar Liebert. Unfortunately in error and thus very misleadingly, it’s called
Nuevo or Nouveau Flamenco. Ottmar’s easygoing style is admittedly popular and has
spawned a veritable frenzy that prompted every major label to sign its own rumba-gitana
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flamenco
flavored guitarist to cash in on the Hawaiian-sized wave. However, this so-called Nouveau
Flamenco has precious little to do with the real thing; as little perhaps as tigers share in
common with flamingos whom they’d devour for breakfast if they had the chance. This
situation further riles connoisseurs since there does exist a style that’s properly called Nuevo
Flamenco. In current Spain, it accounts for some of the most sophisticated guitar music ever
committed to record. This Spanish phenomenon is the real McCoy. Once encountered, it
immediately reveals its American counterpart to be nothing but a sickly sweet, superficial
and ultimately unhealthy aural soft drink. Not to condemn soft drinks. They do have their
proper place. But don’t market them as stand-ins for proper spirits or healthy real-fruit
beverages. Resist the temptation to transfer credibility through deceptive labeling. That’s not
to condemn the American guitar scene either. It has given us the phenomenally talented
guitar duo Strunz & Farah, to mention just one example. But Jorge and Ardeshir, well aware
of the distinctions, are the first to admit that theirs isn’t Flamenco but a Latin guitar style all
its own that borrows from Southern American and even Middle-Eastern idioms.
Nuevo Flamenco’s most famous guitar virtuosi go by names like Juan Manuel Canizares,
Juan Carmona, Pepe Habichuela and Rafael Riqueni. Included in their ranks are the two
illustrious fretwork wizards of today’s review, Gerardo Nunez and Vicente Amigo. The latter
is by many believed to be Paco de Lucia’s successor. Paco in fact must be considered the
watershed guitar phenomenon in Flamenco. There’s the Sabicas-type Flamenco that came
before. Then there’s Nuevo Flamenco that’s come since. The Flamenco that came before no
longer exists as a present-day art form. Paco de Lucia’s appearance onto the scene of
traditional Flamenco has forever changed how current guitarists relate to its tradition and
concomitant limitations. The new Flamenco, in light of Paco’s immaculate example,
demands dazzling instrumental virtuosity as well as daring cross-cultural attempts to absorb
modern-day’s influences of salsa, jazz and even rock. At the same time, it requires a
thorough command and understanding of the tradition. This makes Nuevo Flamenco a
tightrope-balancing act. To be authentic, it must combine recognizably traditional elements
and forms while offering creative invention and a vision for the future that the current
generation of listeners can relate to. Needless to say, while not limited to Spainit is
nonetheless on the Iberian Peninsula that one finds the most powerful and consummate
examples of Nuevo Flamenco. The Nuevos Medios label of Madrid is one of its strongest
supporters.
Your reviewer here wasn’t born in Spain. He also didn’t grow up amongst its gipsy barrios.
Hence no native absorption of the intricacies of compas, that elusive meter of Flamenco’s
rhythms. Nor, for that matter, instant recognition of its various forms, from rumba to bulerias
to minera, from fandangos to tanguillo, zapateado, sevillanas and granaina. But an innate
love for this music form and sufficiently broad exposure has nonetheless resulted in an
intuitive grasp of the matter that can distinguish the real from the fake and the merely
proficient from the sublime. Disregard the liner notes of many Flamenco records. They
espouse the technical matters of form and rhythm with such esoteric poetry that the
uninitiated feels flummoxed. It’s like those verbose wine reviews - they tend to make even
the most dedicated grape lover doubt whether he ever truly tasted as good glass of wine.
Regardless, wine and music plainly speak for themselves. No prior exposure is required to
relish something of substance and quality. True, in order to fully appreciate Amigo’s or
Nunez’ inventiveness and sheer technical prowess, some familiarity with the greater genre
would undoubtedly help. But when you encounter greatness, you just know it. Ditto for these
recordings. This music subdues with its power and enchants with its elegance. It appeals to
the mind with its finesse and excites the blood with its passion.
flamenco
With his compositions, Vicente adheres a bit closer to tradition than the older Gerardo. The
timbre of his guitar is dark, warm, earthy and full-bodied while Nunez exudes silvery
elegance with a lighter flavor. Both guitarists are matchless composers and love to
experiment. Vicente adds a muted trumpet to some of his tunes. Gerardo employs the
services of Istanbul’s master percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan, bassist John Patitucci and
pianist Danilo Pérez. Vicente turns to that most intense of Flamenco cantaors since the
demise of the celebrated Camaron de la Isla, the incendiary young Duquende, to add hairraising male vocals. Gerado invites the afore-mentioned Strunz & Farah to join him in a
tempestuous trio excursion of accelerated rumba flamenca. When thus prompted by
Patitucci and Pérez, he even ventures into Jazz milieu. Vicente invites mentor Paco de Lucia
to join him on a tune dedicated to Pat Metheny.
Do you require further descriptions? Think soulful delivery where every pause is as eloquent
as the next note. Think devilish rhythmic complexity that seems overt until you attempt to
follow it closely. Think handclaps that are impossibly precise and fast, as though generated
with a machine gun. Think rapid hand percussion on the Peruvian slapbox called cajon that
often stands in for the fancy foot percussion of Flamenco dancers. Think lightning-fast yet
pearlescent tremolos. Think viral metallic string attacks, blistering rascuados, sonorous solo
exploits and trance-like ensemble coherence. In short, envision all the hand-to-hand combat
weapons at the disposal of a skilled Flamenco guitarist, then take this inventory to a higher
power. Think Master Ninja martial artist, he who knows all the moves but puts them together
in ways that defy gravity to make the impossible seem easy. This then isn’t your father’s
traditional Flamenco anymore. Rather, it’s a new, constantly expanding art form that, in true
gipsy fashion, appropriates from contemporary styles what it fancies and gives it the
Flamenco makeover. It begins where Paco de Lucia left off. His example, like a mountain
that dares to be climbed just because it’s there, has forged a new generation of Flamenco
guitarists who, in terms of dazzling technique and compositional substance, are some of the
most accomplished guitar players alive. The North American Alula label seems to have
made it its mission to spread the words. Others are following suit. If you love Flamenco and
want to take its most feverish impassioned pulse, try these two recordings and catch the
virus. Then log onto http://www.flamencoconnection.com and work your way down from this
tip of the iceberg. You’ll abolish soft drinks forever. May I suggest some Sangria?
Pascual Gallo Emma
flamenco
Daqui/Harmonia Mundi
Good Flamenco can be like a jolt of lightning that burns out the cobwebs in the belfry in one
blistering, life-shortening attack. There’s a cocky, matador-like attitude - strutting peacocks in
full plumage - stylized poise and authentic daring, all mixed up into one heady cocktail.
Especially in the rumbas, you’ll encounter a powerful, exuberant joi-de-vivre while the
bulerias offer exciting opportunities for jagged falsetas over complex rhythmic structures.
Dissonant chords add the requisite drama of suffering and melancholy. This feverish mêlée
has caused the gitanos for centuries to meet in caves and around campfires and celebrate
their continuously evolving and adapting music unblemished by the restraints of AngloSaxon civility.
Pascual Gallo’s album “Emma” is high octane caffeine of the sort that has spoons salute up
straight inside a tiny cup of Turkish coffee half full of sediment and sugar that’s the epitome
of legal shock therapy. The silvery and immaculate elegance of a Gerardo Nuñez speaks to
us predominantly of an immense artistic intelligence. The red-golden earthy glow of Vicente
Amigo’s instrument recalls a deep and finely honed craft infused with character. The Losada
Brothers simply walk a path of frenzy. Pascual Gallo’s guitar tone, different yet again,
contains more than the usual amount of upper harmonics and renders him with a very
metallic character of unhinged wildness. The overall sense is one of adolescent virility, the
kind that would make paint blister just walking by. Of his technique, Flamenco’s grand
master Paco de Lucia says, “Pascual is a great musician with an amazing technique.”
Combined with the fierceness and incisiveness of tone and a great artistic creativity that
embraces oud and tablas, this adds up to one very explosive debut album whose eventual
appearance was perhaps heralded by Gallo’s victorious ‘Cielo de Cuba’ composition at the
Flamenco competition of La Unión fifteen years earlier.
Born in France and living in the Aquitaine region for over twenty-five years, this guitarist
possesses an intimate knowledge of Flamenco’s traditional forms but also the burning
curiosity to fashion his very own style that stands firmly in the tradition while adapting it to
modern influences. Having taking his time to mature and develop before he committed
himself to posterity with a recording, his choice of collaborateurs is equally inspired and
calculated. There’s Justo Eleria, a gypsy singer from Marseille gifted with a voice that
projects with impassioned force when called for, like in the solea ‘mano a mano’; or exudes
infectious joy, as in the rumba ‘a los vientos’ where he plainly steals the show. There’s
Salvador Paterna from Toulouse who plays both guitar and the Arabic oud and matches
Gallo in virtuosity like a darker brother. The interplay between the two, battling it out in the
instrumental buleria ‘la memoria’, is like a bullfight where the wits of the matador are
matched by the cunning of the bull. Upholding the complex rhythmic support structure of
compas is Eraldo Gomes, a Brazilian percussionist who uses both the Peruvian cajon and
Indian tablas to mimic the palmas and foot stomps of Flamenco dancers. Michel Bismut, a
jazz bassist from Montpellier who has been involved in previous Flamenco ventures, and
Sandrine Galop on back-up vocals, complete the brilliant ensemble of “Emma”.
The uninitiated may not quite be prepared for the furious level of energy presented in this
recording which is anything but recommended fare for a casual and relaxed rainy afternoon.
Rather, a propitious occasion would be the anticipatory air of being all gussied up for a night
on the town’s most reckless nightclub. Truly, ”Emma” is best appreciated when all your sails
are up and you’re ready for the pressure that comes from this kind of single-minded
flamenco
purpose. If you’re not quite sure what to expect, try to watch one of the Carlos Saura
Flamenco movies – you’ll be in the proper frame of mind instantaneously.
While there is no shortage of excellent Flamenco guitarists these days, Pascual Gallo
deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as a Rafael Riqueni, Juan Manual Cañizares,
Juan Carmona or the above references. Paco de Lucia’s endorsement is a dead ringer to
pay attention. I’m here to tell you that even as a mere music aficionado with no pretensions
of in-depth familiarity with the genre, you will appreciate this crystalline piece of work that
omits all unnecessary flourishes and presents itself in all the rawness and vitality of living art.
While the title “Emma” remains conspicuously unexplained, I dare predict that if it were an
actual living female and not just some archetypal vision, you and I are probably better off not
knowing her. Trying to venerate her in all her vociferation and keeping up with her
tempestuous temperament would probably wreck havoc with our health and aging selfimage. In short, this album is most highly recommended for those fortunate adventurers who
salute the day with a triple espresso before they violate legal speed limits in a red Alfa
Romeo on the way to a secret beach party. Is the message getting across?
BACK TO TOP
burrell
Releases by Kenny Burrell and Andre Previn
By Dave Glackin
Kenny Burrell Soul Call
(JVCCXR-0210-2)
JVC’s XRCD team—Akira Taguchi (producer), Alan Yoshida (mastering engineer), and Joe
Harley (creative direction)—consistently produces some of the best-sounding CDs out there,
and has once again done an outstanding job with this disc. In JVC’s XRCD process, every
step of the manufacturing process is carefully optimized and controlled. The process is
based on JVC’s 20-bit, 128-times oversampling K2 analog-to-digital converter. A K2 is used
to regenerate the signal, after which a Sony PCM-9000 is used to store the data on magnetooptical disc, as opposed to the grungy U-matic tapes so often used to send recordings to
mastering labs. At the dedicated mastering facility, another K2 is used to convert from 20
bits to 16 bits using its “super coding” mode, which eliminates clock jitter. Regulated AC
power feeds are used throughout the chain. As I discovered years ago, the XRCD2 process
improves somewhat on the original XRCD process.
Kenny Burrell’s signature purity, fluidity, and dexterity are captured perfectly on this disc. He
is widely recognized as one of the top guitarists of all time, and Rudy Van Gelder, the
recording engineer on this album, is justifiably famous for his gorgeous-sounding jazz
recordings. On Soul Call, Burrell is accompanied by a combo consisting of piano, bass,
drums, and conga, and most of the players get a chance to shine. The up tempo number
“Mark One” showcases Burrell’s incredible playing, and it also gives Will Davis, the pianist
and author of the piece, a chance to show what he can do. The riffs that Burrell apparently
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tosses off are amazing, and Davis provides a good pianistic foil. The title tune evokes a
slow, sultry summer afternoon, leaving a peaceful feeling after the fade. That reverie is then
broken by my favorite cut, “Kenny’s Theme,” which may get you up and dancin’. This piece
really gives opportunities for the players to show off, and for the first time we get to hear
what the bassist and the conga player can do. (I’d be pissed if I were the conga player,
though, as he is mostly buried in the mix.) “Here’s That Rainy Day” slows things back down
again, making me want to pop the top off a Negro Modelo, sit back, and relax. The bonus
track, “O Henry,” again picks things up, with Kenny’s fingers really flying across the strings.
If you’re a jazz fan but have never heard Kenny Burrell, Soul Call will provide a great
introduction. If you already like Kenny Burrell but do not have this album, I think you’ll enjoy
it immensely.
Andre Previn and His Pals West Side Story
(JVCXR-0209-2)
Leonard Bernstein, one of my favorite American composers, wrote the music to West Side
Story in the 1950s. Given what has happened since, it might be a little tough to fathom a
jazz improvisational version of a musical about love and gang warfare, but that’s what this is.
The performers, Andre Previn (piano), Shelly Manne (drums), and Red Mitchell (bass), were
some of the top musicians of their generation. Manne was consistently voted the best
drummer in the business during the late 50s, when this was recorded (specifically 1959, at
Contemporary Studios in Los Angeles). Andre Previn, possibly better known for his
contributions to classical music, was also one hell of a jazz pianist, and Red Mitchell really
makes his acoustic bass sing. The three instruments are very well reproduced, with a sense
of real players in a real space, and good dynamics. You are likely to recognize tunes such
as “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Maria,” which have become ingrained into the musical
fabric of America. For me, the most fascinating thing about this album is that these jazz
greats turn the music for a popular musical into something quite different, and most
enjoyable.
If you know and like the music to West Side Story, I recommend that you buy this CD for its
burrell
fascinating and upbeat interpretations. If you’re a jazz lover and want to explore something a
little different, this recording may just be your cup of tea.
BACK TO TOP
mapart2
An Interview with Winston Ma of First Impression Music, Part
2
by Rick Gardner and David W. Robinson
(All photography and image processing by David W. Robinson.)
Following is part two of our interview with First Impression Music’s Winston Ma. Part I of that
interview appeared in PF Online, Issue 1.
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Winston Ma beside the pool and garden outside his listening room
Ma: I also spoke with some trained engineers. I found that they always went back to
designing and building studios, and I had to tell them, “Look, listening (to music) in a studio
is entirely different than listening in an audiophile listening room!” (To put it most simply,) this
is because in a studio certain places should be very dry, so that you can hear the music
clearly; then you can add something to the sound to produce (what you’re looking for.) But in
the music room, you have the reproduction of that recording. I think that it’s wrong for some
engineers to build a listening room for some rich guy using the concert hall concept. The
characteristic parameters are all wrong, and the listener will be deprived.
I think that the listening room should be very neutral, where you get what you hear, instead
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of treating your listening room like a concert hall with a two seconds of reverberation or
whatever. That’s wrong; that’s how I feel.
(Chuckles all around the table)
Robinson: A concert hall on top of a concert hall!
Ma: Yes. And this has been argued about many times. I visited many homes, and when I
moved here—I bought this house in 1989—I had good friends like George Cardas and
others listen to my system. We came to the conclusion that it was not adequate in the room
where it was, so I decided that I needed to build a music room. This was the beginning of my
exploration of how to build the perfect music room. There were lots of ideas; fantastic ideas!
(I had to) judge based on the advice of lots of people, plus my own personal experience. It’s
better to be safe than sorry when doing work like this. It doesn’t matter if you’re spending a
million dollars or not; the pain of tearing out a newly built room is very significant, and you
need to know what you are doing before taking such a step.
At this point, Winston, Rick and I took a break and moved out doors to Winston’s striking
garden area for further conversation.
Robinson: We had been talking about your background in audio, and how you became
interested in listening rooms. When were you actually able to begin designing a room?
Ma: As I said before, this took a very long period of time. It began when I was in my late
20’s, when I first started to become more interested in my equipment reviews, and,
obviously, there was a need for a better listening environment. Because of the constraints of
the available space living in Hong Kong, the number of family rooms, we couldn’t do much
about it. So, I have been dreaming about my own music room ever since.
Over the years, I have been to many customers’ homes; some of them have been good
enough, some of them were so-so. Some of them had very spacious rooms, but the space
was wasted because the placement of the equipment or the arrangement of the listening
area is such that it didn’t work out well. But I did not readily express my opinion, because we
have to respect personal preference. On the other hand, over the years I have helped some
people to build listening rooms and have personally designed a number of listening rooms in
our show rooms. Some may have not been ideal, but in the East several of them have been
very good. They were remarked on by editors of some magazines and by audiophiles alike
as the best in Hong Kong; some felt that they were the best in the Pacific Rim, too.
But if it came right down to it, bottom line, that I would be given a chance to build a listening
room for myself, to be used for the rest of my life—well, that’s a serious problem! It’s not as
easy as A-B-C, not like building just any listening room, because I wanted to achieve,
literally, the perfect condition, which is difficult, because there is no perfection, as such, in
this world. How we can come as close to perfection as possible is a matter of very serious
thinking and expensive research.
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As I said, I had an opportunity to meet with friends right here, at this very house, to start
talking about it. Long before this, of course, I had been thinking about what sort of design,
what sort of form I should like; but when it came to doing it practically, when it came to the
commencement of this planning—the pre-construction period, then we had to consider the
various aspects that were listed in the notes that I have given you.
Paul Weitzel, Rick Garder and Winston Ma in Winston’s listening room
Robinson: So then, by the late ‘80s as you were getting ready to leave Hong Kong, you had
already been thinking about this for a long time.
Ma: Yes, by the time that I bought this very house I had already decided that none of the
rooms available in the house were suitable for a good music room. And because of the
availability of extra land on the lot—I checked with the real estate agent to be sure that I
could make an extension here—my mind was set that some day, when the opportunity
came, I would build one right here.
Robinson: In this area to the west side of the house.
Ma: There had been lots of considerations and some arguments about this; as a result, I
spent some funds on coming off a draft by the architect. But the architect didn’t approve. So
I made the good decision of asking the President of the Northwest Audio Society, a true
audiophile, to design the room. (So we started to work.)
I’ll give you some options. These may not be meaningful to a reader, but it will give them an
insight into the fact that before they make a decision to build a room, they should think
thoroughly. You want to avoid regret! You might think, “this is the spot,” but you may
overlook certain other factors that may become detrimental to the overall goodness of the
room.
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I had thought about building one by extending the sitting room out there, just like that.
(Points to the east.) It’s good, because people can come in and start listening to music. But
then the “family factor” comes in, because if you do that to the sitting room, then you block
the traffic flow between the family room, the kitchen, the master bedroom, and upstairs.
Then the family members can’t move, because the owner (that’s me!) might be having an
important meeting, and they wouldn’t be able to walk about. This would create an
inconvenience for family members.
So we moved the other way, to the west side of the building, which is kind of sloped. It is an
ideal place, because we could excavate some of the earth and build a storage room
underneath in the basement, or use the basement as the music room. This is a good idea
because then you have a very dead wall, and at the same time a very solid wall. Over there,
the whole thing would be exposed to the sun; on the other hand, it would also be close to the
septic tank and the drain field. Ah, that may cause trouble!
Finally, I settled on having the room on the north side, with the back of the room facing west,
and the front of the room facing east, towards the back door of the family room. In between
we put a sunroom. I think that this was the best location, because this was farther away from
the traffic at the roadside. This is important, because every truck that passes by produces
low frequency rumbles that will shake any solid floor. So this is what we chose.
We think, as Rick said, that you feel comfortable sitting in the room, for reasons unknown.
It’s a psychological thing, and I don’t want to waste time in investigating why it is so, but this
feels like the strong side. I just like the place, like that! Instead of having it on some other
side, or this angle, or that angle—just like that.
Each time we made these changes, our draftsman had to make a change, and it cost
money. For a while, we thought that we should have a swimming pool in between; later on
we dropped the idea, and I’m glad we did. A swimming pool in between could have created
other problems—leaking, or whatever…
Robinson: Humidity…
Ma: Yes, humidity, or also, when people pass the music room it seems to be a barrier
instead of a preferred area leading to the music room. So I’m happy that this design is this
way.
Robinson: The way that you designed it does provide an anteroom to the music room that
helps to prepare you to listen rather than being a barrier. You have privacy without excluding
anyone.
Ma: The privacy between two parties, the family and the visiting guest. Guests can come in
through the garage, or the main door, or through the back pathway into the garden and the
sunroom. These are the sorts of things that you should take into consideration when
designing a music room, just in case.
mapart2
Robinson: It makes you think carefully about what area, what site, and what portion of a site
you should use. I’ve had two dedicated listening rooms now, and have found that it is a
difficult thing to think through all the factors…
Ma: Yes! It is!
Robinson: … and to try and make it the best you can in the circumstances that you have…
Ma: Yes.
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Gardner: One of the things I noticed about the anteroom is that listening rooms are
notoriously difficult places in which to socialize; they’re not set up for conversation! And so,
being able to move back and forth between those two environments, the dark protective
recess of the listening room and then you come out into the anteroom, which is the sunroom,
which is very much conducive to sitting and facing each other and socializing, drinking some
tea—that adds in interesting ways to the experience.
Ma: True. And visiting guests who have that kind of psychological preparation don’t have to
talk much in the listening room. They can leave those kinds of burning questions to be
solved later on in the sunroom or the entering room, instead of the listening room becoming
a place for chatter.
Robinson: Which happens all too often!
Ma: Yes, all the time! And it spoils the fun of listening. There may be some listeners who
want to concentrate on the music, but others keep on commenting, which is very annoying.
Robinson: It’s like many of the audio club meetings that I’ve been to over the years…
(general laughter) … where you set up a demonstration, something that you hope will be a
worthwhile experience in listening to the music, and half of the crowd may be sitting there
chattering away…
Ma: Right, right!
Robinson: As a matter of fact, it’s very rare to find a very happy audiophile group
meeting… (general laughter)
Ma: True.
Robinson: But your environment concentrates one’s attention.
Gardner: Then you have the third environment, which is where we are now doing this part of
the interview, which is the carefully sculpted garden, which is yet another dimension of the
experience.
Ma: Yes.
Robinson: Winston, I’m curious: who helped you actually accomplish this project? By the
early ‘90s you had reached the point at which you were doing serious work; who were the
key people?
Ma: There were a number of people… very many. Many contributed an idea or two, which I
had to think about; at the center of the project, I had to consider whether the ideas were
practical or feasible or not. Say, for example, without mentioning names, the roof and the
floor—there were so many ideas about how to build the foundation! Some said that it should
be wood; of course, wood is wonderful. Some said that it should be slab concrete. Some
mapart2
said that it must be hollow, and de-coupled from mother earth. Some said that there must be
some posts underneath, so that you can “tune” the resonance characteristics of the floor, to
couple with the walls and all other things.
These are all great ideas; but whether they would work well, and whether they were practical
was something that I had to decide. I made the decision to do something that made me very
happy, and without reservation recommend this to all audiophiles who are contemplating
building a listening room: and that is to have a solid floor.
As to the names of some friends who helped—well, there was George Cardas, Neil Patel,
William Rasnake, Dana Kruse who kept an eye on (how it looked), and James Wong who is
an intelligent and well-trained acoustical expert. There were many others, too; the list cannot
be exhaustive!
There was a delay of some five to six years in executing the work, due to the fact that I was
very busy during that time doing some other projects, serving as a consultant for some
companies, while at the same time running my own company. My time in Seattle was (very
limited.) But since 1997 I have been settling down, so I could start the project.
Robinson: So you spent some seven or eight years talking and planning and working up
ideas…
Ma: Yes. We started talking as early as 1991.
Robinson: I think that I met you back in 1992, which was shortly after George Cardas and I
first met each other (through the kind introduction of Ray Chowkwanyun). You and I first saw
each other at George’s house; I remember that you were talking about this idea at the time,
and were very interested in his listening room…
Ma: Yes, yes.
Robinson: … and of course George has an outstanding listening room.
Ma: Yes, he has.
Robinson: It’s very different from yours, but very good.
Ma: Yes, the sound is very different, as you said. And so everybody has a preference; as I
pointed out, individual human perception plays a most important part in this process.
Robinson: Tell me, Winston, when you were working through this design, what were you
looking for? What were your key objectives? What were your priorities as you thought about
this?
Ma: Well, the list of priorities was very long, but the first priority is certainly to reproduce
music at its best; in other words, to keep or to restore the musicality of the recorded signals.
mapart2
This is the main objective. How to achieve this goal is a question that required a lot of
detailed work. I didn’t want to have a spectacularly sized room; I wanted a room of moderate
size, a size in which I felt comfortable. Not too small, so that I would feel congested and
restricted, and not too big—you would feel lonely, as if you were in a huge prison. Just the
right room, one that can produce music. It must also be very quiet and natural. These were
the main objectives.
Gardner: At what point in your thoughts did the idea of separating the listening room from
the living space with the sunroom, and the relationship of the whole to the garden begin?
Ma: Well, to be honest and avoid exaggeration, it happened as an integral part (of the
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design work). Gardening is another of my hobbies; I like gardening! So I married the garden
and the sunroom to the music room. I consulted a gardening expert; he said that to give
myself, or anyone going to the music room, a kind of freedom from constraints and all
pressures so that we could enjoy the music, walking in the garden, or sitting in the sunroom
would help. And he was right.
Back to your question about objectives: to build a music room in which you can be totally
involved and enveloped by music is a very, very difficult thing to do. You can build a very
lively room, certainly you are surrounded by the sound, but that’s not what I mean—the
sound is a mess! You can have a very detailed and analytical room, one that is very dead
and has powerful (electronics and) speakers, but whether this is a musical room is subject to
debate. But I would have thought that if you have a group of players playing together
homogenously, in terms of acoustics, with that kind of harmonics mingled together to form a
whole piece, and if you have the feeling that you are there as well, then this is the
consummate level of music reproduction. But this is still a long way from having the same
feeling as you get in a live performance.
Like many other people, I have been to live performances. And yet, sometimes, you may
find it more enjoyable to be listening to reproduced music in a controlled environment rather
than in a concert hall, where you might find some deficiency in getting the result you want.
Robinson: This is something that various members of the Positive Feedback editorial group
have talked about. Harvey Rosenberg has discussed it, I’ve talked about it—this idea that
audio as an art form, in some ways, can give a more satisfactory, a more involving
experience than you can have in many live events.
Ma: Yes! Because in a listening environment, in your music room at home, you and the
music are in direct confrontation and contact. A concert hall has a different configuration,
and the feeling is different.
Robinson: Very different! Some of the so-called “live music events” are not very
satisfactory; the quality of the sound in some concert halls is compromised. And there are
some very bad seats in most halls…
Ma: Yes, for example if you go to listen to a jazz group live, you don’t find that the sound of
the group to be as good as you would get from a recording. This is because the recording is
made in a deliberate, very refined setting; whereas the live performance either does not do
this, or does so in a very different manner.
Robinson: Even some classical concerts are using things like sound reinforcement and PA
systems, some of which are of very dubious quality. You go to a “live” event and what you
end up with is an amplified event with, in many cases, rather poor sound quality.
Ma: In a sound-reinforced concert hall like the Royal Festival Hall in London, where you can
have a “live” performance, but it’s supported by amplification, 175 amplifiers and all that, the
problem is that the operator or the engineer may have a “different perception.” This is a
polite way of saying it! Or to put it rather bluntly, he is not an audiophile! (general laughter)
He may love disco, but he doesn’t understand classical music—the Mozart that you played
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for me earlier today, for example—he would equalize it to make it sound the way he likes it.
This is a kind of musical murder.
This reminds me of a joke; one about the rabbit and the snake. Once upon a time, during the
night, a rabbit encountered a snake. Because it was so dark, neither the rabbit nor the snake
could tell what the other was. So they touched each other. The snake touched the rabbit and
said, “Ah! You are so soft and warm, so smooth.” And the rabbit said, “Yes, I am.” The snake
said, “You have long ears, so you must have good hearing. You must be an audiophile!” And
the rabbit said, “Yes, of course, I am an audiophile. Let me touch you, sir.” “OK,” said the
snake. So the rabbit touched the snake and said, “Hmmm, you are so cold, rigid, hard and
coarse—and you don’t have ears! You must be a recording engineer!” (general laughter)
Gardner: I thought you were going to say “reviewer”! (more laughter)
Ma: There is some truth in it. I think that I can call myself a “record producer,” and I have
seen occasions where the engineer did not see things eye-to-eye with me. As a result, I got
a very bad recording. It’s proven in my catalog; those recordings (where this happened) are
ones with which I am not satisfied, but the recording engineer thinks that they’re great.
Gardner: It would no doubt require a great deal of time and thought to go back over the
experience of constructing your room, but I have a summary question for you: what one
thing that was most important to you did you learn out of the experience of building this
room?
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Ma: OK, a different person may give a different answer. My answer is that—over the
years—I have seen so many well known audiophiles who are in possession of audio
systems. They have different preferences and references. I have my own reference. For that
matter, there are also many audiophiles who do not have a reference. They may support a
speaker that has very good high frequency; they go for it. Then they change to another
speaker, because it produces wonderful bass. And they will say that it is “good sound,” when
actually, it is not good sound, because, as I said, that person may be a disco lover. This
audiophile does not have a sufficient reference, or any reference at all, and so he will sell his
old system in favor of a new one. It is possible to have no reference, or an insufficient
reference, or a wrong reference.
So, in answer to your question, I would say that the process—and the reward—is that I have
strived very hard to get the sound as close to my personal reference, (which is how I feel the
music) in my heart, and I am working in that direction. I am happy to say that that (the sound
in my music room) is quite close, very close to my own reference.
What is my reference? It is very abstract. If you have some of my CDs (or SACDs) you
always will find that they sound in a way that people will say, “Ah, this is Winston’s sound!”
Whether it is good or not, we’ll not argue that point! For that matter, you have Decca sound,
or EMI sound, or Three Blind Mice sound, but I have my own sound. That kind of sound is
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your own reference. And I am trying to make that sound in my own music, and I would say
that I am close to this (in this room).
Gardner: David and I have talked about this issue on a number of occasions, about “the
absolute sound,” where that resides—whether that resides strictly in the definition of
“unamplified acoustic music”—live music as a reference. I’ve heard it put most cogently by
someone from Acoustic Sciences Corporation (ASC), the room treatment company, who
explained to my wife… in a moment of my absence!… that every audiophile has an
“absolute sound,” and it’s in their head! And that’s what they’re trying to get in their system;
they want to get the external world to sound like the ultimate sound they carry around in their
own head. Is that what you’re referring to, that you carry around in your heart and your mind
what that reference really is?
Ma: Further than that. That reference must be accurate, and not the wrong reference. Say
that you want one foot, then you must have a ruler that is exactly one foot long, instead of
having a ruler that is nine inches or eighteen inches. I would say that the reference must be
closest to the original sound. When you say that everyone has a “reference sound,” I would
say that everyone has their preferred sound. As the saying goes, “one man’s ceiling is
another man’s floor.” And, with due respect, some preferences are terrible!
Gardner: And so live music, the original sonic event that was recorded, remains for you the
reference?
Ma: If I give you an honest answer, I would say that it comes as it is. I have my reference;
whenever I visit homes or systems, or go to a studio, I always go back to my (internal)
sound… that is my reference. Whether that is “live music” or not—because, as we have
discussed, sometimes live music is bad, or is lacking in certain areas. My reference is a
yardstick in my mind, to measure anything against.
Robinson: I think that anything that makes us approach oneness with the music, that brings
the music within and transports us there, that is the sublime experience that we’re looking
for. Harvey Rosenberg has called it “the search for musical ecstasy”; he wrote a lot about
ecstasy in audio. This is probably the most important contribution that Harvey made to the
discussion. He has pointed out in his writing that audio has the capability to help the listener
achieve that ecstasy and oneness.
Ma: More than listening to live music.
Gardner: Sometimes!
Ma: Most of the time—because you have control of the sound. If you tune your system in
such a way that one night you jump out, and tell your wife, “you’ve got to listen to it, it’s so
good!” then yes, that’s a kind of ecstasy.
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Paul Weitzel, Rick Gardner and Winston Ma converse about music and listening room design
Robinson: In a public setting, you can’t actually jump up and dance, or say “Stop! I’ve got to
get my friend to come here this!” Or, “Let’s hear that again!” Conventions, traditions, and
politeness require that we simply sit back and accept whatever comes our way. We can’t
say, “Wait, if we do this the sound will be better,” or “Let’s move the band here,” or “This
room needs to be re-worked.” I think that with the tools we have in the audio arts—with the
listening room in many ways being the most critical—we can actually create a place in which
great magic happens.
Ma: True, true. If I were to choose the proper order of priority, I would put human perception
first, the room in second place, and the equipment last. Without a good room the equipment,
no matter how good it is, may sound terrible.
Robinson: This is where the listener IN the listening room is of critical importance. It’s more
than just a question of having a person there; the listener must be a person of sensibility.
Scott Frankland has written in PF about the audio connoisseur, a person who has given of
himself, and has trained his sense to know what is good and what is not good. He has put in
his time, as you have put in many years listening and working with music and sound, so that
you would recognize the real thing if it was there.
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Winston Ma with his listening room design book
Ma: Yes, yes.
Robinson: It’s not enough for me to say, “well, if we put the right room together, that’s it,”
because a person who has no sensibilities might simply walk right past it. Or look once, say
“oh, very pretty,” and keep going.
Ma: And in fact, many a time when you ask a person how the system sounds, how it differs
when you make a small change, he would simply say, “I don’t know.” This is because his
level of sensibility and his level of exposure and experience is not able to discern the
difference.
Gardner: One of the things that has struck me most profoundly in the two experiences that
I’ve had here at your music room goes beyond the pure sonics of it. The design of the
garden, the positioning of the listening room, the ritual of the tea, the quality of the
conversation with you, the aesthetics of the room separate from its acoustic properties, all
are part of that experience. They aren’t things that you can separate from it. I have been in a
lot of listening rooms where I was physically not comfortable, I didn’t feel at ease, I didn’t feel
peaceful, and the whole experience of coming here, it seems like it’s all designed to work
together as a coherent whole. I think that’s a unique kind of achievement, and not one that
I’ve ever really seen before.
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Ma: I would only add that it is my endeavor in the pursuit of the so-called “perfect music
room,” because, as you have pointed out, there may be some rooms which are very good
sounding, or perhaps better sounding than this one… (general laughter)
Robinson: If so, then I haven’t heard them!
Gardner: I haven’t either…
Ma: There are many times when you go into a listening room and it is good, but you aren’t
comfortable. It’s either too sloppy, or too cluttered, or too mechanical. So you don’t feel that
you are close to the music. We tried to make this music room not like a “music room.”
Robinson: I find the sound in your room to be superior; there’s more of a sense of
presence, of life in your room, a sense of feeling the music blossom and float…
Ma: … enveloping; you feel the dynamics and energy of the music. Certainly my room is not
perfect, there are other ways of improving certain aspects, but it is a give-and-take situation.
You may improve one thing, but lose something else.
Gardner: The description I would give you is that of large Cineplex type movie theatres.
These are modern, state-of-the-art facilities that are carefully designed, have the best
equipment, and are put together very, very carefully. But the experience of seeing a movie in
a theatre like that, as opposed to one of the old-line—I’m thinking of the Egyptian theatre in
Boise, Idaho, which was built in the early 1900’s, and has the full Egyptian columns and all
of this character, including its own very unique way of sounding and looking—that
experience is fundamentally more nurturing than something that might be technically more
correct. And that’s the kind of experience I have in your room; without growing too
philosophical, it is at the same time very reflective of your personality, a strong philosophical
element that runs through the whole way that it is set up. The experience is fundamentally
different and more nourishing than something that might be more “technically correct.”
Ma: Well, nobody can tell. It’s more human, I would accept that category; whether it is
“correct” or not may take some twenty years to see whether this room is “technically correct.”
This is because mankind knows so little about acoustics. But as it is, all the “tricks” I do, I
would say have some technical or scientific rationale, a basis to work on, and aren’t based
on pure imagination.
Robinson: This is what makes a true “classic.” Despite the changes in technology, a
Stradivarius is still a Stradivarius.
Ma: Exactly! And you can technically analyze the difference between another violin and a
Strad; the Strad has its own magic. A Steinway has its own magic; how can you find out
exactly what it is?
Robinson: I think that the things that are true and classic acoustically will always be true
and classic. What will happen when, for example, we put SACD in your room, will be that
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new possibilities and new truths will be revealed within your music room.
Ma: Yes, yes.
Robinson: And I believe that there are things that are fundamentally true and right, and
other things that are fundamentally untrue or wrong, and advances simply expose if you
have done truly, wisely, and properly. If so, then that’s why we call them “classic.” That’s
why we still read the great classics of thousands of years ago; they were right and true and
proper, and they have stood the test of time. I do believe that there are great listening
rooms, and great audio components, that decades later we still know that they are great.
Ma: Yes, yes.
Part three of PF Online’s interview with Winston Ma will appear in Issue 3.
BACK TO TOP
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Stan Ricker Live and Unplugged: True Confessions of a
Musical and Mastering Maven, Part Two
by Dave Glackin
(This article first appeared in Positive Feedback Vol. 7, No. 6)
For those who made it through Part One of our interview with Stan Ricker, here is your
reward: Part Two! For those of you who just tuned in, the introduction to Part One is
repeated below, to set the stage for this portion of the interview.
Introduction
Stan Ricker has a unique combination of knowledge of music, recording, and mastering, and
is one of the few true renaissance men in audio today. Stan is a veteran LP mastering
engineer, renowned for his development of the half-speed mastering process and his
leading role in the development of the UHQR (Ultra High Quality Recording) process. Stan
cut many highly regarded LPs for Mobile Fidelity, Crystal Clear, Telarc, Delos, Reference
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/ricker2.htm (1 of 27) [11/4/2002 8:05:22 PM]
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Recordings, Windham Hill, Stereophile, and roughly a dozen other labels, including recent
work for Analogue Productions and AcousTech Mastering. Stan is particularly well known to
audiophiles such as myself, who were actively purchasing high-quality LPs during the mid70s to mid-80s.
Stan's love of music has stood him in good stead in his mastering career. His long
experience as both a band and orchestra conductor has trained him to hear ensemble and
timbral balance, which has proven to be exceptionally useful in achieving products of the
highest caliber. Stan has played string bass (both bowed and plucked) and tuba from the
fifth grade through the present, and he turns out to be something of a bass nut. Watching
him play standup acoustic bass in front of his Neumann lathe with "Stomping at the Savoy "
playing over his mastering monitors was a special treat for me. (Writing for Positive
Feedback does pay, just not in cash.) Stan also has a love of pipe organs, and is quite
knowledgeable regarding the acoustical theory of pipes. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in
Music Education from Kansas University, but his prodigious mastering skills were selftaught.
As the capstone to his career, Stan has gone into business for himself with the creation of
Stan Ricker Mastering in Ridgecrest, California. He has a state-of-the-art Neumann VMS 66
lathe with a Neumann SX-74 cutter head, a Sontec Compudisk computer controller, a
Technics five-speed direct drive motor, and console and cutter head electronics designed
and built by Keith O. Johnson. Stan now specializes in less-than-real-time mastering from
digital sources (DAT, CD and CDR) onto 7" or 12" 33 rpm or 45 rpm LPs. The lacquers that
Stan cut for me speak for themselves. He can also handle up to 14" diameter reels of halfinch analog tape at 30 ips. By day, Stan is the head buyer for the Telemetry Department at
the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake.
Stan has lots of great stories, and is known for speaking his mind. He has been called
"iconoclastic" (The Absolute Sound, Vol. 4, No. 14, 1978), "pleasantly cantankerous"
(Stereophile, Vol. 20, No. 6, 1997), a "crusty curmudgeon" (by Bert Whyte), and "the most
understated renaissance man of audio" (Positive Feedback, Vol. 7 No. 1, 1997) by yours
truly. Stan is all this and more, as I'm sure his wife Monica will attest. I have wanted to do
this interview for several years. Our first session was held in Ridgecrest on December 21-22,
1997. We continued on January 7, 1998 on the way to WCES in Las Vegas, which proved to
be a refreshing respite from the hypnotic blur of countless Joshua trees whipping by. We
concluded on January 31, 1998 back at Stan's place. Each time, all I needed to do was wind
Stan up, let him go, and have a rollicking good time with the man who was once quoted as
saying that "conformity is the high road to mediocrity."
Stan Slides Further Down the Slippery Slope Toward Becoming a Mastering Maven...
Dave: You taught yourself to do disk mastering at Keysor-Century, right?
Stan: It's interesting that you bring this up because I taught myself other things, such as
playing the bass. I really didn't think about this until my wife Monica asked me the other day,
"How did you learn how to drive?" I thought a moment and said, "I learned by watching my
mother drive, what she did with the clutch and the throttle. The steering is self-explanatory.
Learning braking distances is a matter of experience in driving a specific car that weighs so
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much and its brake efficiency is so much. You learn what it takes in pedal pressure to stop
as you approach. Every car is different. But I learned by watching."
And I learned at Keysor-Century. When I was head of QC (1969-70), I spent a lot of time in
the two Neumann cutting rooms. One of 'em was run by Dave Ramsey, who used to be a
cutting engineer at Motown. He hated cutting these custom tapes of junior high school bands
and stuff like that. He really used to curse and get very upset about why was he wasting his
time with these Godawful crappy bands, these crappy recordings. A lot of 'em were really
terrible recordings, recorded at three-and-three-quarter inches on quarter-track tape. We
had to have roll-around Ampex AG 350 mastering playback tape machines. Of course, they
always had preview 'cause they had to have the power to run the lathe pitch and depth
assemblies as well as the cutter head electronics. Some of them were three-and-threequarter and seven-and-a-half inch speed, and they had quarter-track head stacks on 'em.
Then we had others that had seven-and-a-half and fifteen speeds and we had fifteen ips
(inches per second) quarter-track tapes come in from time to time, so we had to be able to
handle those. We had about three or four different tape formats runnin' up and down the hall,
borrowing machines back and forth between one room and another. I spent a lotta time
watchin' Dave Ramsey, and I learned from Dave, bless his soul, mostly things that I didn't
want to do in mastering. Like he always put the bass filter in at 100 cycles. I asked him why
and he said, "You just gotta get rid of the bass. That's all there is to it." I said, "Dave, that
really pisses me off. A hundred cycles is higher than the highest string on my bass. I don't
want it thrown out." He said, "Well, that's just tough shit. We're just gonna put that filter in
and cut it out" (laughs).
Dave: That must have been total anathema to you.
Stan: Well, it just castrated the music. You can't have music without a foundation, any more
than you can have any other structure without a foundation. The room next to him had some
pretty good sound coming out of it. I walked into that room and it was occupied by a lady
named Lois Walker, who had a background quite similar to mine. She had been a grade
school and high school music teacher and she was a musician, and rather well
accomplished. And she heard well. She heard really well. She could, especially given the
limitations of that fixed-depth recording system, get a lot out of it. At least she had the sense
to switch the low-frequency crossover out of the system if she didn't have program material
that was gonna have a lot of low-frequency vertical modulation, which was nice. Or maybe
seventy or thirty cycles or so, but not the old "Just lock it up on 250 or 500." And by the way,
the crossovers would go up to 700 cycles.
Dave: Pretty gross.
Stan: Pretty gross, indeed. She produced a lot of good-sounding recordings over the years.
I had been doing some experimental cutting after hours for some of the Century franchise
associates, and was startin' to cut their stuff even though I was still the QC manager, and
they really liked what they heard. There was a fella down in Burbank who had been a
Century person, his name was Glen Glancy, and he had started mastering. He had also
worked for Steve Guy at Location Recorders, I believe. He set up a company called United
Sound Recorders in Burbank that specialized in mastering, and did a very good job. He
heard some of the stuff I'd made and, as they say, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so
I went to work for him (July 1970 - August 1973). All the Century franchise associates that
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had been mastering at Keysor, deserted Keysor and went to United Sound for mastering.
Eventually Glen was running two shifts to keep up with the demand. Then, Keysor called me
up and made me another offer I couldn't refuse, to go back and run their recording
department. There were seven recording rooms there. I said, "Okay, well, I'll go back and do
that." By this time they had bought some Neumann VG 66 cutting amplifiers and an SX 68
cutter head and moved the Westrex stereo cutters onto two new Scully lathes. So they had
two Scully Westrex stereo setups and two Neumann stereo setups. I take it back. They didn't
have seven cutting rooms, they had seven engineers. They had five rooms and they also
had a mono Scully lathe with a Westrex 2B mono cutter head on it. That lathe would cut
inside out as well as outside in, truly an oldie but goodie. It was actually on that lathe, run by
a lady by the name of Pat Marquez, that I would practice. She would say, "Here, you wanna
practice? Here's a pretty good take." And she'd have some jazz tape or something, because
Armed Forces Radio did mono stuff as well as stereo stuff. So I'd practice cutting on that.
That really just whetted my appetite.
Dave: There's the old British system called Sit by Ethel, where you learn by osmosis.
Stan: Yeah, you just watch.
Dave: So your variation on that was Sit by Lois.
Stan: Yeah, sit by Lois and sit by Dave and sit by Pat Marquez.
... and Perfects His Craft
Dave: During all these years you were learning and refining your technique.
Stan: And learning what I wanted to do and those things I didn't want to do. The really
obvious thing to me was the improvement in sound when you just bypassed the limiters.
That was really just so doggone different, so marvelous. It made things sound closer to live
broadcast.
Dave: When Tam Henderson interviewed you for The Absolute Sound in 1979, you gave a
quote that is my favorite from that article, which is that "Conformity is the high road to
mediocrity."
Stan: You mean I had the brains to say that then? That's certainly how I feel, and I'm just
absolutely amazed that I had the foresight and intelligence to say that at that time. I wonder
how long I practiced that one! I really believe it, because you read and you find out that the
people... I mean, I think about the people here at China Lake who really made a difference.
By God, they were not people who just sat by and did the status quo. They felt convinced of
what they were doing, and they were willing to take a risk. If you don't believe in it well
enough to take a risk then you probably don't believe in it very well. So yeah, I have been
willing to take risks when we can make this really good. If we're careful and do this right, this
should really work.
Less was more. Many times less was more. Less signal, less stuff in the signal path. If you
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go into any mastering facility and look at where the signal goes before it finally gets to its
destination, some of the routes are appalling. Going through back planes and stacks of
circuit boards that are so close together that the designers never thought that these things,
under certain conditions, are capacitively coupled and affect the high frequency response
rather drastically. That was one of the major things wrong with the VG 66 Neumann cutting
amplifiers. They've got many modules that are plugged in like this (Stan goes into the
electronics portion of his lathe) and the plane of one would be right next to the other, like this
close, and they'd be capacitively coupled. And weird things would happen that wouldn't
happen if you pulled the module out and put it on an extender card. When you take the
extender card out and just put the module back in, why does this thing start ringing or
oscillating or doing weird things at certain frequencies? Why does it sound different?
Dave: So when you went back to Keysor-Century and they got all the Neumann goodies for
their Neumann lathe, was that the first computerized lathe that you worked with?
Stan: Yeah, that was the VMS 66 lathe, SX 68 cutter head, and VG 66 amplifier rack. The
VG 66 amplifier rack was solid state, 100 watts per channel and the computer for pitch and
depth sampled amplitude and phase information, basically. It didn't deal with absolute
polarity. If there was a voltage, it just made a displacement. It didn't care which way the
groove went. So on that point alone it tended to waste space. And the other fact was that it
divided the turntable surface or rotation into quarters. That is, the computer operated once
per quarter revolution. So, whatever it was, the biggest excursion in that ninety degrees told
the computer, "Okay, you can allow space for that biggest one and all the other stuff,
although it may have been tiny, the grooves were still far apart and so forth.” Then John
Bittner came along. He was a mastering engineer, and still is a very good mastering
engineer, in Phoenix. He cut records for Wakefield record pressing. Wakefield was a
pressing plant that used Keysor vinyl and made very good, quiet, flat records. They pressed
a lot of the Angel product. John Bitner designed and built the Zuma computer that so many
Neumann lathe owners have now. It divided the turntable revolutions into, I believe, sixteen
sections, and it was amplitude, phase, and polarity conscious. So it saved quite a bit of
space over the original Neumann computer, although it would waste space in the bottom
end. Later versions of John Bitner's Zuma computer addressed this wasted space problem
in the low end, and they're quite good.
The computer that I have on this lathe is called Compudisk. Compudisk was built, I
understand, by a gentleman by the name of Jerry Block, but it was designed by George
Massenberg and Burgess McNeil. It's a very comprehensive computer. It will, when
necessary, just stop the feed screw entirely in order to conserve space. It's polarity, phase,
and amplitude conscious, and it divides the disk into thirty-two elements. One of the neat
things about the Compudisk computer is that once you decide how many lines per inch you
want in your lead-in and how many lines per inch you want in your lead-out and so forth, it
immediately does that at any speed you're cutting. All this stuff goes into this data bank and
it tells the feed screw motor what pitch to run for all the different speeds. It will run at sixteenand-two-thirds, twenty-two-and-a-half, thirty-three, and forty-five. It'll cut in all four of those
speeds. Of course, the turntable will go those speeds, too. Also the turntable will go at
seventy-eight. And if I had a seventy-eight stylus for that Shure cartridge in that Grace arm, I
would play for you some of my old 78s with organ music that go down to 27 cycles. I'd like
you to hear first hand that some of those old records did have some woofers on them.
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Dave: Well, if Clark Johnsen's reading this I think he just woke up (laughs), being another 78
lover.
Stan: People tend to forget about 78s. They were, by any description you care to throw at
them, direct-to-disk records. They were very direct-to-disk. Of all the things that were ever
recorded on 78, I tend to think that some of the most exacting stuff was Spike Jones
recordings, because there was so much stuff going on in that percussion section, they had
so many things to work in, and it all had to be gotten in by the time the lathe is gettin' down
to the lead-out. I mean you're talkin' about just one or two turns, one way or the other, in
terms of getting all the music, the whole score onto the record. It's really amazing. With
classical it was no big deal because they ran multiple lathes, the orchestra just played, and
the lathes overlapped in the recording. So you could do the symphony almost unbroken. It's
just where side one ended and side two took up, just start one, stop another, and so forth.
But when you're doing complete songs, complete compositions, on one side of a direct-todisk, that's, to me, the height of difficulty. And I'm really amazed that so many of those early
recordings came out so well.
Dave: You're probably glad you were not working in that era.
Stan: Yeah, that would have been really messy. The wax and in the early days of lacquer
cutting, too, they didn't have heated styli, they didn't have vacuum-chip pickup assemblies;
people standin' there with paint brushes sweepin' the chip away. I mean that had to be a
shitty job! I don't know that I would have been so keen on doin' that. Never know. That's
probably the first thing I would've invented, some way to pick up that stupid chip (laughs).
Actually, somebody did. I don't know who did, but that's a real major step forward to collect
that, the part of the groove. I mean, obviously you cut the groove. The part you cut out has
to go somewhere, and at 78 it collects at quite a rate of speed.
Dave: So back to the inevitable march of time. In 1973, did someone make you yet another
offer you couldn't ignore, to go to Location Recorders?
Stan: Well, Steve Guy did. At Keysor-Century, things were a bit more political than I liked.
Just a lot of politics goin' on. For instance, they wanted me to teach the other cutting
engineers how to get the sound that I was getting. And I said, "Well, to me it's simple. You
listen to the tape and the tape needs treble or has it got too much bass, make it sound right,
now record it. That's all. Just do it." And they couldn't do it, except for Lois Walker. The rest
of 'em were unwilling or unable to, "Oh no, we'll dump the chip, or we'll blow the cutter
head," or something like that. Well, it wasn't what you'd call a union shop, although they had
to account for all their time and they had to account for their production and all this kind of
thing. So it was not really a closed-shop type mentality, but you couldn't afford to blow a
number of sides because if the production was down, the costs went up. It was just that
simple, and they didn't like that. I can understand that, but the management wanted me to
teach 'em. I guess what they didn't want was me masterin' all the, I mean I was doin' Jack
Renner stuff, and I was doin' Jerry Lewis from Arlington, Virginia, and I was doin' Herb
Streitz from up in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. And I was doin' a fella by the name of John
Stewart in Dallas. And these were all high-volume guys who demanded good work. They
demanded better than average work. These record orders would come in the morning and
the ones that were gonna be difficult or had the best chance of sounding the best, I just took
'em and I did 'em myself. As supervisor I had kind of that option but management just
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wanted me to supervise, they didn't want me cutting. I said, "Well, the only way I know how
to do this is to teach by example. If they want to hear a product that sounds good, then, first
of all, we have to have a product that sounds good. Then we can use it to have them all
listen to it in their own rooms and say, "This is what we can do with our equipment if you're
willing to be just a little more careful rather than just slap it on, and go for it," somethin' like
that.
So anyway, Steve Guy offered me a job because there were an awful lot of people who were
leaving the Century recording franchise. There was a company called Mark Educational
Recordings in Clarence, New York, which was run by Vincent Morette. Vince had been one
of the highest volume guys in the Century franchise, but he had grown dissatisfied with the
Century recording and pressing quality and so forth so he had decided that he'd form his
own recording corporation, so to speak. He took on a lot of these higher-quality, highervolume Century guys in Mark Recording, and Steve Guy was doing a lot of their mastering,
so as that started to build up Steve asked me to come down there and record a master for
him. I thought that was really cool 'cause LRS at that time had a good reputation and Steve
was a really nice person. By the way, he's the one who introduced me to the Sapphire Club.
The Development of Half-Speed Mastering
Dave: Stan, you worked at Location Recorders from early 1973 to November of 1974, then
for Keysor-Century/AFRTS for one year, and then you went on to the JVC Cutting Center in
Los Angeles, where you were the chief mastering engineer and where you developed halfspeed mastering. Can you tell that famous story once again?
Stan: Well, I can, but to go back to Location Recorders with Steve Guy, one of his most
reputable clients was Hal Powell of Klavier Records. Hal often had these marvelous
imported European tape recordings that he brought by to do disk cutting on. One of 'em that
he brought by was Sir Vivian Dunn directing the City of Birmingham Orchestra. I think it's a
Sir Arthur Sullivan composition, but I don't remember. It's one of these things I see in Chad's
catalog listed as a really marvelous re-release, or whatever. I cut the original of that, and one
of the things I remember about it was that it was conducted by Sir Vivian Dunn and I had
met Vivian Dunn in Lawrence, Kansas when I was teaching at the Midwestern Music and Art
Camp. Vivian Dunn's the one who gave me that baton that's in the house and that I still use
with my China Lake Band and things like that. Very long baton, very whippy. He gave me
that baton, and I have kind of treasured it over the years, so when I came across a recording
by him I thought, "Boy, I want to give this special treatment."
When I was invited to go to JVC (Stan worked there as Chief Engineer from November 1975
to November 1979), they had an engineer there, Darryl Johnson, who wanted out of this half
speed (quadraphonic) stuff. It drove him nuts. Also, Brad Miller was driving him nuts. That
was the first I knew of Brad Miller. Brad is the original Mobile Fidelity. He was a client of JVC
Cutting Center, and was into quadraphonic when it first appeared, you see. Darryl used to
cut a lot of quadraphonic stuff for Brad and it, for various reasons, turned out not too well,
primarily because it was being pressed on American vinyl. Later on, I conducted some wear
tests and I found out that the thirty kHz carrier that was engraved on the CD-4 records on
American vinyl, you played it once and you tried to play it again you couldn't even recover
the carrier. And on the JVC vinyl... mind you, these are stampers from the same lacquer
master, one set pressed in the United States, another set sent to Japan and pressed there.
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On their vinyl we could play back a hundred times and the carrier was down only three dB
after a hundred plays! That was one of the primary things that did in CD-4. Quadraphonic in
general, the CD-4 specifically, was only successful when it was pressed on the Japanese
vinyl. American vinyl just wasn't hard enough, didn't have good wear characteristics.
CD-4 was dying, all the quadraphonic stuff was goin' down the tubes, so to speak. I think if it
had been used intelligently instead of somebody scoring a rock band with the damn drums
behind you, if they'd done some logical things, musically, instead of illogical things like that,
to try to demonstrate a method of reproducing sound, if they just used it like they do
nowadays with these 5.1 surround sound concepts where they've got the ambience around,
most of the stuff's up front, it would've been a success. But the way the engineers and
producers misused that medium at that time, it was doomed to failure. It was very unsettling
to sit in the middle of a room with four loudspeakers around you and hear a lot of music in
front of you and then some damn guy starts strummin' a guitar over here behind you, or a
drummer starts workin' out behind you. The first thing you do is turn around and talk to the
loudspeaker and say, "What the hell are ya doin' back there? Get up here with the rest of the
band." I mean, it was totally unnatural. A lot of that stuff was totally unnatural, just from a
musical standpoint, to say nothing of the aesthetics of it. Hell, they'd have the drum set back
there, recorded in an entirely different acoustic environment than what these guys up front
were in. It just didn't belong. It was just being misused and, sure, everybody was just
learning about quadraphonic or surround in those days, but I can't believe there were so
many producers who were just out of touch with reality in terms of what real music in a wellintegrated, acoustic environment was like.
Dave: Right. I remember hearing that around 1971 or 1972 in a place in Pasadena. I think it
was University Stereo. They had four Bose 901s set up, powered with some McIntosh and
Marantz equipment. The Boses of course, were lousy enough to begin with, and in quad it
was...
Stan: (Laughing) Four times as bad, right?
Dave: ...really screwed up.
Stan: Yeah (laughs), four times as bad!
Dave: It just made you want to rush out and buy it (both laugh).
Stan: Enough to make you throw up. I remember one time somebody asked me about that.
One of the worst things about quadraphonic, especially CD-4, was the signal-to-noise ratio
was so bad that about the best you could get out of it was 35 dB signal-to-noise ratio. Well, I
mean, on an unmodulated lacquer, the noise is down about minus seventy-two. Even the
government specifications for stereo phonograph records are minus 55 dB minimum for
noise in stereo and minus 57 in mono, and the best these quad things could do was minus
35! So they were at a terrible disadvantage to start with, plus the stuff was being cut on
systems that were transformer-coupled and there was absolutely no bass. I remember
hearing some Nicholas Harnoncourt. God, I love that orchestra. I mean, you were so totally
involved in that orchestra the way that they miked it, but it's like they sent the ‘cellos and
basses out on a lunch break. All you ever heard was violas and violins. You just never knew
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the rest of the orchestra was there. The low end was just not there.
Dave: So you converted CD-4 to a half-speed mastering process.
Stan: Converted the CD-4 mastering machinery because I saw, I envisioned one day comin'
to work... I thought, God, if we don't get any clients pretty soon, this place is gonna shut
down, and we're gonna send all this expensive machinery back to Japan or just sell it off. I
won't have a job and that's kinda bad dookie. What can I do to help save this? So I started
doing some experiments with some of Brad Miller's tapes. That was on the same Scully tape
machine that's in here (in Stan Ricker Mastering) with four-track, half-inch heads on it. Just
turned off the FM modulation, the carrier generating equipment, and raised the cutting level
six dB. With its four tracks, the left rear and the left front folded together to make this left
channel and the right front and the right rear did the same thing, so you combine the two and
two. In fact, you didn't have to combine them at all, they combined within the recording
equipment themselves. You disabled the carrier so if you turned yourself ninety degrees to
the side of these two loudspeakers, you just got mono, but between that mono and this
mono you had stereo. If you went into CD-4 you had stereo this way, stereo this way, stereo
this way, and stereo this way. That's what you want and that's what you have. It makes a
really, really good-sounding record, with a great dynamic range. One of the things that made
that particular system unique was that JVC had requested, and Neumann had built into the
cutter system, a crosstalk-cancellation device. In high frequencies where they would take a
certain amount of the 10K-and-above energy and invert the polarity and inject it in the other
channel. This is because of crosstalk, not so much in cutter heads but in cartridges. So
when you cut stereo stuff on this system, when you had a crash cymbal or a ride cymbal that
was hard left or hard right, it stayed there on playback. Interestingly enough, in this system
here that Keith built, he incorporated that concept into the cutter system after I told him
about this thing that was in the JVC system so many years ago. He said, "Yeah, and it
makes instant sense, you know." I really didn't realize that it was incorporated into the
system until I started looking at some of the electronic schematics this morning.
The Mysteries of Half-Speed's Gorgeous Sound Revealed
Dave: You've told me that some of the things that you like about the sound of half speed is
that it has lower distortion, better transient response, and improved high end, and that one of
the big benefits is that when you drop the frequency band by an octave, it requires only one
fourth the amplifier power to cut the record.
Stan: Yeah. You drop it by an octave and you also double the length of time it takes to put
the signal on the record. So you've got two factors of two.
Dave: How is it possible for a lacquer cut at half speed to sound better than the master tape
from which it was made? At first blush that sounds like a bit of a conundrum, but I
understand that it is really not.
Stan: Quite a condom, you say (laughs)? You've got to realize that it sounds better played at
real time than the analog tape does, played at real time. One of the primary reasons for
doing the half-speed analog recording is that more tape playback problems are solved by
playing the tape back at half speed. Hysteresis problems in the playback head, the slew rate
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problems in the tape head preamplifier. The resonance peak of the playback head circuitry is
a fixed resonant peak, so in terms of the music you're transcribing, it's moved up an octave
and is way out of the audible range of any of those high frequency resonance circuits. So
when you consider all of this, therefore, the signal is cleaner as it passes through the
system, especially anything that involves cymbal crashes, brass instruments (trumpets,
trombones, etc.), other high frequency-type tone bursts. At half speed they go through the
system quite easily and are not apt to cause any kind of power supply or slew rate distortion,
or TIM, or any of this stuff. So if you can cut a disk that way and you have a really pristine
disk playback system, like many audiophile folks do, then you get to enjoy the advantage of
a record that was cut from a tape in a way that you get away from a lot of these tape
playback anomalies. The tape record and playback anomalies are part of why Doug Sax did
all those marvelous direct-to-disk sessions. The tape machine itself is a huge stumbling
block in the transparency of the audio, of the music, of the sound. The transient response
isn't there, and with tape, as with practically every recording medium, it's easy to get the
signal recorded; it's harder to recover it. So, if you recover it at half speed, transfer onto
another medium, and you have a really good playback of that other medium, the
phonograph record, then when you compare the analog tape played at real time versus the
lacquer played at real time, the signal off of the lacquer has managed to come out without all
the problems inherent in real-time tape playback.
What you're really hearing is the signal with problems and then the signal without the
problems. That, to me, is why half-speed mastering was such a phenomenal process. I used
to think that this was because of the lower amount of power required at half speed, but I'm
convinced now that it's about a 70/30 situation. Seventy percent of the improvement is due
to scanning the tape at reduced velocity, and not driving those tape head preamplifiers into
gross distortion. We hear people say, "Oh yeah, that's just analog tape overloading, or
whatever," whereas, in reality, we recover it without those problems. That's why it's been
such a tremendous treat to find the really good stuff buried on some of that old Scotch 111.
It really is quite possible that the disks, under those conditions, can sound better than the
master tape played at real time. It's amazing to listen to a good analog tape at half speed,
one that's truly wide range, low distortion. I mean, it just blooms in front of you. It's just
unbelievable. I think of the experience I had listening to a MoFi re-release of Russian music,
with the Russlan and Ludmilla Overture in D Major (MFSL 1-517). I mean it's full orchestra,
the orchestra's just going a mile a minute, just lickety split. At half speed the recorded sound
just opens up, and wow! It was not a Dolby tape, and that was important. It was pre-Dolby
for Decca. Just such a wide-open spaciousness. When you played it at real time it tended to
get congested, but the record didn't come out that way. The record has the spaciousness of
the original tape, which you could only really perceive in the half-speed mode. There's a lot
to be said for half-speed transcription. I tend to like, right now, this two-thirds-speed thing
because the bass frequencies seem to be better integrated with the midrange and treble. It
didn't always happen at half speed.
Dave: I understand that one problem you had with the JVC system was that it lacked bass
due to the transformer coupling. So, in your usual way, you made a few slight modifications
to the system.
Stan: Mmm hmmm. The usual way was to bypass this multi-jillion dollar JVC cutting system
entirely and just go from the Scully tape machine through the minimalist part of the JVC
console, direct to the Neumann cutting rack. Then, we went even a step farther. With Zubin
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Mehta and the Star Wars album, John Meyer built a line driver amplifier box with which we
could take the output of the Scully tape machine and run the audio signal through the Meyer
line driver box and directly couple the output of that, by way of BNC connectors, directly to
the Neumann cutting amplifier. We went internal to the Neumann rack and bypassed all the
tracing simulator circuitry; there was a great big delay circuit in it to decide whether or not it
would shut down. It was a safety feature and we bypassed that, injecting the signal directly
into the RIAA network. Star Wars was the first one that was cut with that configuration.
Sonically, it was a huge step forward from the other stuff. That's MFSL 008.
By the way, that box that John Meyer built for me, and which now lives in this rack out here,
is the amplifier that is the line driver box for the woofer amplifiers. The little box with the gain
control, polarity reversal, each channel separate, and the meters on it. It's about 10 hertz to
about 100 kilohertz band pass. It was designed by John Curl and John Meyer, and it's a oneoff, hand-built job that really works.
The Development of the UHQR
Dave: Another big advancement at JVC was UHQR (Ultra High Quality Recording). You
insisted in the development of that.
Stan: Well, I wanted a record that was about as thick as a 78 to help it maintain its
mechanical stiffness, because we didn't use record changers anymore. There were two
reasons for having the label ramp and the groove guard on a record. One of them was that if
you take the record and hold it as if you're viewing it from the edge of the turntable,
edgewise, and slice it from left to right, right through the center hole, and then stand it on
end, it's a modified I-beam. The center section where the modulations are is very thin and
flexible. At the edge there is an expansion into what we call the groove guard, and in the
center there is an expansion into what we call the label ramp. The first reason to have this
was for the pressing people to save vinyl, because the part where the modulations are,
which is most of the record, could be very, very thin, sometimes like ten-thousandths, fifteenthousandths thick and that's all. The other reason for having the label ramp and groove
guard is that in the days when we used to stack records on record changers, the label ramp
and the groove guard would provide the record's rotational drive. The edges touch, the label
ramps all touch, but the modulation areas in between are all separated, and the record is still
driven nonslip by this format.
Dave: So the reason this is called a groove guard is that it kept the grooved areas
separated.
Stan: Sure. None of the modulation areas touch. They're separated by several thousandths
of air when you put four or five records stacked up. It's a rather ingenious way of saving vinyl
and saving modulation areas as well. But when we got into audiophile stuff, nobody in his or
her right mind would have a changer. Then, by God, let's make a record that's thick enough
to have some substance to it, the concept of a flat record, no groove guard, no label ramp,
so that there would be the minimum possible stresses within the record when it's pressed.
When you look at a lacquer, it’s optically flat. When you master a wide range of dynamic
music on this lacquer and then look at it in a good, straight-line light source such as the sun,
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you see that the surface where the land is, still is optically flat, but when you press the
record from that, where the heavy modulations were, the record isn't optically flat. It has a
dimpling effect that looks a lot like orange peel or bad paint on a car. Literally like the skin of
an orange, pockmarked, and this creates a lot of subtle background low-level roaring and
just extraneous noise in the music that wasn't there originally, and wouldn't be there if you
had played the lacquer from which the pressing was made. If you look at normal stampers,
which are typically 0.007 thick, and you, look at stampers that have areas of high-level
modulation, you can see the modulation activity from the back side of the stamper. Now,
when you put this stamper on a record die, which is a hydraulic ram that's got a mirrorsmooth surface, and you press a record, all the deformities on the back side of the stamper
come right through and so you get this dimpled effect. I talked to the Japanese fellows about
this and they said, "How can we get rid of that? How can we make so that when you look at
the back side of the stamper you have no idea what the modulations are? No clue as to what
the modulations are on the other side. I don't want any visual or metallurgical dissimilarities."
So we could make the stampers a bit thicker and we can laser trim them. Ah so.
And that's what they did, laser trimmed those back sides, and they're just as smooth and flat
as they can be. RTI, kind of borrowing on that concept, applies a centerless sander to the
back sides of the stampers. The stampers are like, so big (about 13 inches in diameter), and
the sander has two of these five-and-a half-inch size disks with very fine grit that achieve
virtually the same thing. You almost never see any of this dimpling stuff on these RTI
records, especially the 180 gram ones. That was one of the major hurdles to overcome. I
wanted this record to be good enough that I could look at the surface and say, "This looks
like a lacquer." I didn't want to see any difference, and knew if I couldn't see any difference, I
probably wasn't gonna hear any. You could be guaranteed that if you could see a difference,
you had to hear a difference. I mean, one cannot be there without the other following. So,
after they got that back-side problem smoothed out, boy, I tell you what, those UHQR's are
super. I asked them why couldn’t we do that with our regular records? "Ah so, too
expensive." I agree. And the regular JVC records were very good indeed.
Big Titles and Killer Disks
Dave: So during those years you were with JVC, you cut for Crystal Clear, you cut all the
Telarcs, you cut all the Reference Recordings, until Paul Stubblebine started up.
Stan: I started by cutting Tam's first thing that he did for Reference Recordings. The first
thing I cut for him I believe was called Kotekan or something like that. Tam'll tell you the
exact name of it. It was basically a random-phase concerto for nine bass drums (laughs).
Also, the tape was recorded on a Nagra machine for which we didn’t have the right playback
EQ, so we had to just experiment with AES and CCIR EQ 'til we got what worked. It was a
real bugger to cut. We had a helluva time with that. I think it was after that Tam did this
interview that you were showing me here (The Absolute Sound, Vol. 4, No. 14). Because at
that time I didn't know of Tam.
Dave: You were cutting something for him during that interview in 1979, as a matter of fact.
There's a sidebar in there saying that he had come to you with something to cut and had
done the interview at the same time.
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Stan: I cut David Wilson's recordings. Remember his organ record, Recital (Wilson Audio W278)?
Dave: Sure. That's a fantastic recording. I love it. And it's surely right up your alley.
Stan: Yeah, yeah. It's a very nice recording and as I recall, it's one where I was totally
bowled over because I think that David recorded it with AKGs (C-414Es) in figure-eight
configuration, and it really surprised me because I didn't think there'd be any bass. And there
was lots of bass (laughs). Yeah, that was one of my happier moments. I think that was when
I first met Dave Wilson, when he brought that tape.
We did the Cleveland Winds with Freddie Fennell. That was quite an experience. The first
one I did, of course, was on Telarc, and that's when we first got it right with the bass drum in
the back center of the hall with the drum head facing outboard. I was at the recording
sessions for that. We played this Gustav Holst suite, Number One in E flat. The third
movement starts off with a little bit of a fast passage in the upper woodwinds, and brass
followed by a triple forte slam on the bass drum that defied all description.
Dave: A real kerwhapper, in your parlance.
Stan: Yeah, it was a real kerwhapper, all right. Freddie had brought his own bass drum
beater with which to whack it. He had told me that he had gone into an old furniture store
and found a four-poster bed and bought the bed just to get the posts off of it. And the bass
drum beater was one of these bed posters with one of these eggs on the end of it, you know,
and he'd shrunk like a chamois around it. So with a slightly-leather-covered wooden beater,
he went back there and wham! It really made a helluva bang. I remember that we played a
test pressing of it for the 1979 AES Convention or something, and then Kenny Kreisel had
just started up his woofer company called M&K. I remember I had a test pressing of this
thing from RTI, so we took it in there and we played it on Kenny's system. It started out
rather quietly and then it built up to the horrendous swat! I told Kenny, "You'd better not
crank it up too high because it's got a helluva loud bass drum on it." And I remember
Kenny's words, "Ah, our woofers'll handle anything." I bet he'd probably prefer I didn't
mention this, but then here comes this music, pretty loud already, ya know, and it's pretty
well filling the room, and here comes this big swat! on this bass drum. And I think it deconed
all four of his woofers simultaneously. I said, "I'm sorry, Kenny. I tried to warn ya."
But it's like those big excursions on that 1812 Overture, the cannon shots. I remember Steve
Temmer of Gotham Audio called me up when he looked at these huge excursions under the
microscope and he said, "You can't do that with a Neumann cutter head. And I said, "Well,
I'm sorry, Steve, but I did do that" (laughs). He said, "But a Neumann cutter head won't
excursion that far." I said, "But it did. This cutter head and cutter system that you sold to
JVC, it's the one that did that." He was really hard pressed to believe that. He could not
understand how we got such a huge, I don't know, 455 microns, no... it was big. And you
could see it with not only the naked eye, but with the half-blind eye. I can see it without my
glasses, you know. And the bass drum on that first Cleveland Winds record was very similar
to that. In order to cut either one of those, the only way was to cut seventy lines per inch in
order to take care of that wide of an excursion. There was an "Expand" button on the lathe
that you could push just after a cut or something that was real loud so that you wouldn't get
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groove echo. You could push this thing to spread the grooves out a little bit more. I ran
preview drive up all the way, I pushed Expand all the way, and I ran the pitch drive selector
clear over as coarse as it would go, in order to accommodate these. It was like the same
spiral rate as doing a spread. And you could see the feed screw going around like this to
accommodate those big modulations.
Dave: So you were pushing the envelope, but not quite breaking it.
Stan: Yeah (laughs). That envelope was more like a trash bag (laughs).
Dave: That cannon shot's probably still the most famous killer disk of all time.
Stan: Right. And it turned out to be just right. We made a lot of test cuts to try to get that
level just right, and we were checking it on that JVC turntable with that Denon moving
magnet cartridge. We made one test cut and we could always play it, and we made another
test cut and we could play it part of the time, and then we'd increase the level about one dB
more and then could never track it so we backed the level down. Jack and Bob told me that
with those records, fifty percent of the people could play them and fifty percent of the people
bitched because they couldn't track 'em. It was such a challenge for them to try to track
these things. Finally, when those stampers wore out, and they made so many stampers from
so many mothers, and the mothers were worn out and the recording had to be remastered,
Bruce Leek remastered it on this lathe when it was at IAM in Orange County, otherwise
known as the Sound Dome. IAM was International Automated Media. So Bruce cut it, and he
cut it at just a little less level and then everybody was disappointed because they could all
play it. Later, Bruce cut it again, 'cause he said, "By God, I can do better than that." So he
jacked it up two notches and then nobody could play it! So there's three versions of that
1812 Overture out there, two which Bruce cut and one which I cut (laughs), but you make
test cuttings and you try real hard to get it right the first time, you see.
Dave: So by loaning out the third version of that you can astound your friends and confound
your enemies by giving them one they can't track.
Stan: Oh yes, absolutely. "Betcha can't play this one, kid" (laughs).
Technical Topics
Absolute Polarity
Dave: The very first thing we did today when I arrived at your place was to listen for absolute
polarity and do a little demo of that.
Stan: With one of Jan-Eric Persson's recordings. We played "Nobody's Blues But Mine," and
we played "Black Beauty." These are from Thomas Ornberg's Blue Five, Opus 3, No. 9102
and Opus 3, No.8003, respectively. And the sonic differences there are very evident when
flipping the absolute polarity switch on the Parasound D2000 D-A converter.
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Dave: You could quite clearly hear the difference. Your favorite test of absolute polarity is
trumpet, correct?
Stan: It’s certainly, for me, the easiest; any instrument that produces a saw tooth or highly
non-symmetrical waveform will work. The trumpet (or trombone) is so easy because your
hearing acuity is highest in the midband, which is where these sounds live. I remember one
time helping a friend of mine here in town. Tommy Pearl has a band called The Burners, and
it's basically like a Chicago group. It's a rock band with brass (trombones and trumpets) and
saxophones. Tommy plays very good trumpet. He had this sound system that was really
quite good, and I remember one time I was helping him get set up at the Officer's Club, and
he was playing his trumpet. Every time he played his solo into one particular mic (pinching
his nose) "it just sounded like this." He was having the guys run around backstage, trying
things with EQ and gain structure and everything else, and he couldn't get that really bad
sound out. He took a break and came down to where I was sitting, and I said, "Tommy, I
think you've got a polarity inversion in that one cable," and he said, "Yeah, 'ya think so?
Would that make a difference?" I said, "Yeah, you can you blow on your trumpet, and the
wave form is a saw tooth wave. You've got almost nothing here on the zero volts line and
then you've got these big spikes that go up, but they don't go down below the zero line. They
just look like the dorsal fins on a dinosaur, 'ya know."
"Now," I said to Tommy, "if you can imagine yourself suckin' on your trumpet to produce the
polarity inversion of that, the negative going, that's what coming out of the loudspeaker"
(pinching his nose again). "It sounded really bad!" So he put in another cable and, "Wowwee." It was there, just, 'ya know, like Clark Johnsen'd say, "the difference between night
and day." And it was, it absolutely was. It's something that literally everybody in that band
was able to hear, and they were behind the loudspeaker system! Because the loudspeaker
system was along the front of the stage and they were all behind it, they were only hearin'
the back side radiation, and they could still hear the difference!
Dave: Interesting, interesting. I know that at the last two Sapphire Club meetings I've been
to, at your kind invitation, it seems like everyone recognizes the value of absolute polarity.
That should warm Clark's heart. We could see that on your oscilloscope here, too.
Stan: Right, right. And I'm going to bring my string bass in here (the cutting room) and set it
up. It's got a pickup on it, which I can plug into the system, and you can see the effect of
downbow/upbow really, really easily, and if you can see it, you can hear it. So we can record
some of it on the Panasonic SV-3800 DAT recorder and then play it back without the effect
of having the bass fiddle in the room.
Dave: You were talking earlier about piano recording and absolute polarity, and how that
ought to be done.
Stan: Piano is a peculiar instrument, in that if you look at the way the hammers attack the
strings, the hammers come from in front if it’s an upright or spinet-type instrument. They
attack from the viewpoint of the performer or the observer. They hit the strings, causing them
to depart from the listener. The string's first shock wave going at the sound board is in the
same direction, so when you look at the spikes on a piano that have been recorded with
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microphones from in front of the instrument (at the player’s location), you see a lot of
negative-going energy. That's what we saw in that one recording of the Ornberg Five from
Opus 3, where after we reversed the absolute polarity, all the other instruments were
positive-going polarity, but when the piano did its solo, we saw negative-going polarity. Now,
if the microphone had been placed, if it's an upright piano, at what we normally call the back
side of the instrument, all that would've been changed. Just turning the piano around 180
degrees or miking from the back side would've alleviated that kind of problem. Some folks
would think that it's a minor thing, but it's one of those things that, taken in totality with a
whole bunch of other things, can make the difference between really feeling like you're there
and feeling like, I'm there but there's somethin' a little not quite right about this. Concerning
grand piano sound, the polarity goes the other (+) way because the hammers strike the
strings from underneath, displacing strings and soundboard upward, presumably toward the
mic diaphragm, giving positive polarity at the output of a properly wired mic. And that gets us
into this positive polarity situation that I was talking to you about on the string bass, where
the down bow and the up bow are of reverse polarity from one another, which can clearly be
seen on the oscilloscope.
One of the things that the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy was famous for
was the broad, rich string sound. Ormandy encouraged random bowing in his string
sections, especially on recording sessions, because he knew that a down bow sounded
different from an up bow. This is why, when you want to accent a note, the
composer/arranger writes it for a down bow. If he wants three accented notes, he'll write
three successive down bows. Not down, up, down. They sound different. They are different.
Not that the musicians understand too much about the polarity of the output, but their ears
tell em, "Yeah, there's a difference in sound. I don't know why, but there's a difference in
sound and the down bow sound is what I want here." If they want something quieter, like a
quiet entrance to something, they'll almost always specify an up bow. If they want something
to enter gracefully, its an up bow. It's an inverted polarity.
Cutter Heads
Dave: One of the questions Raymond Chowkwanyun wanted me to ask you was whether
you prefer Westrex or European cutting heads.
Stan: One of the things that I've always been impressed about with Westrex cutter heads is
that their bass sounds so good. It really does. Now, let's face it, a Westrex is a big-ass
machine. I mean, hell, it's got a huge magnet structure. That’s a very, very healthy magnet
structure, and it was a basically a medium-impedance, 16-ohm type thing, designed to be
driven by tube amplifiers, and it had very good conversion efficiency. So the old Westrex
systems were driven by their tube Westrex 70-watt-per-channel amplifiers. Hell, they were
very good sounding systems. Where they didn't do so well was in the real high frequency
stuff because it’s difficult to accelerate such a large moving mass. Again, with that RIAA
equalization, it didn't take much to cause them to go “bad news”. The amplifiers and the
RIAA networks weren't as stable in those days as they are nowadays. But boy, I tell ya, what
good sounds Bernie Grundman cuts with his Haeco cutters, which are, basically, modified
Westrexes! They're large-mass devices, and they work very well.
We need to talk about Haeco for a moment. Holzer Audio Engineering Co. Howard Holzer
was as near genius as anyone in the earlier days of microgroove recording. He had great
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ears, and knew the theory and creative, practical application of electro-physics probably
better than any other engineer alive during his time. He was the engineering brains behind
the original Audiophile Records that began as microgroove 78 rpm 12-inch cuts with
unbelievable dynamic range. They were pressed on clear red vinyl and had gold labels and
sounded as good as they looked! When Howard came to trust 33 1/3 rpm enough, his first
releases were microgroove 33 1/3 16-inch cuts; Howard knew the value of high scanning
velocity on playback; this was long before the advent of elliptical styli and all that stuff. Look
at your early Contemporary jazz recordings; “Engineered by Howard Holzer and Roy
DuNann.” These guys put A&M Records on the air, which is where Bernie Grundman honed
his considerable mastering skills for many years. Howard was also an excellent pilot, and
spent a lot of time in Mexico trying to help the local folks get their recording technology up to
snuff. Howard Holzer was taken from us way too early when both of his engines failed on
takeoff due to contaminated fuel.
All those products that Bernie’s cut for Classic Records, and whatnot, geez, they sound
excellent, you know. Some people talk about “a top-end something” to his classical cuttings.
Hell, I don't know, that may be the sonic flavor of his console. It may have nothing to do with
his cutter system per se. It may be the sonic signatures of the mics and pre-amps in the
early recordings. I don't know, but I'll tell you what, if I could cut a record that sounds as
good as what Bernie cuts, I'd be very, very proud of it. And it doesn't matter to me whether
he's using Haeco, Westrex, Ortofon, Neumann, John Deere Barbed-Wire Fence, or anything
else.
On the other hand, these Neumanns have small magnet structures, and the drive coils are
low impedance (4.6 ohms), so you have to drive 'em with a low source impedance, highcurrent solid state amplifier in order to get really, really tight bass. You try to drive this cutter
head with a tube amplifier and you're asking for bass, which is, when you listen to it, hard to
decide, “What's the guy doin' on his instrument, anyway,” 'ya know? Is he just playing or
what? The only tube Neumann systems that have been successful, that I’m aware of, are
the systems at The Mastering Lab, where the amps were designed and built by Sherwood
Sax, brother of Doug Sax, the owner/user of these great systems.
Concerning bass sound, in the early days of stereo recording, many recordings that Howard
Holzer, Lester Koenig, Rudy Van Gelder, and others made of the early jazz, had a lot of
bass players playing Kay basses, Kay being a brand of instrument. Kay made Harmony
guitars and they also made cellos. All these basses (and other instruments) were plywood,
and they had not very good sonic attributes! I have one of those basses in the house. It’s the
blonde one, the same model as the bass seen in the early Elvis film clips. You can listen to
the difference between it and my five-string bass that's maple and spruce, and you'll hear an
instantaneous difference. Most, if not all of these bass players were using the Kay basses
with gut strings. (That was the only type of string to be had, in those days!) Nowadays,
almost nobody uses gut strings. I want to say “nobody,” but I know there's somebody out
there that does, especially in the Baroque and Classical field. In the small orchestral groups,
where there is a big push for “original instrumentation,” there are a number of people who
use gut strings for Corelli Concerto Grossi and things like that. For jazz, I think almost
nobody uses gut strings anymore, but there they were. When you listen to a lot of that off of
a Neumann cutter head driven by a tube amplifier, you don't know for sure what the bass
player's doing, or doing it with. The sound’s too loose and nebulous in that frequency range
due to lack of good servo mechanics to really be able to tell for sure.
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That doesn't really answer the gentleman's question about which head I prefer. I've got a
recording of Les Elgart's band in stereo on Columbia that is just so clean and crisp and
clear. I know that it was recorded with a Westrex, as looking through the microscope reveals
some really minor advance-ball scoring on the original lacquer. (See advance-ball
discussion in the section on Bernie’s setup, near the end of the interview.) The recording
was definitely mastered on a Scully lathe. I can tell that’s so by looking at, and listening to
the lead out and the tie-off groove, and those clues tell me that was done on a Scully. So far
as I know, in those days everything Columbia did was cut on Scully lathes with Westrex
cutter heads. So we can listen to it later and hear it's just neat, super sound. Hell, maybe
somebody snuck an Ortofon in there, I don't know. Or maybe somebody decided (it's cut at a
rather low level), maybe it could be that an engineer with ears said, "You know, maybe if I
cut this at a low enough level I can take all these Fairchild limiters and chuck 'em out, and
take these low frequency crossovers and get rid of 'em, and I can, if I’m really careful, I can
make a record that sounds really great! That just might've happened, ‘cause every once in a
while you could get some awfully magnificent stuff out of a Westrex system, if you just
treated it right.
Why 180 Grams
Dave: How did 180 grams come to be kind of a magical number for LPs? It must be a
compromise between something and something else.
Stan: Well, yes, talking about the 180, I recall chatting with Rick Hashimoto at Record
Technology. When the heavy-record thing first started, it was done by JVC, when we came
up with the 200-gram UHQR. That was, hell, it coulda been 205, coulda been 210, or
whatever, but it was 200 grams, and it was really the finest phonograph record ever
produced. I know that RTI had tried various thicknesses, and that 180 is a good compromise
between heft and solidarity on the one hand and econoline regular on the other, but there's
virtually no difference in sonics between a 180 and a 200 (using the same vinyl compound).
There's more difference in sonics between whether you use Keysor vinyl or whether you use
RimTech vinyl, or what percentage of regrind you may use as opposed to so-called "pure"
virgin vinyl
Dave: What is regrind?
Stan: When a record is pressed, you purposefully put too much vinyl in the press, to make
sure all the grooves are filled and all the gasses carried out. So it's like a waffle iron that’s
overfilled and when you put the two halves together, the extra stuff comes out the edges.
The extra stuff (vinyl) is trimmed off with rotary trimmers, rotary shears, and the trimmings
fall into a big drum. Then it's collected in one place and chopped up and cleaned and
vacuumed to get dirt and impurities out of it. It also is brought through a magnetic field to
make sure that any metallic particles that might be in there are also removed. Then the stuff
is ground up into the same size particles as the original, which look like mouse turds. It's
about that size. Then the regrind is all blended together with virgin material and the mixture
goes through the machinery, where it's heated, blended, and extruded at some 300-odd
degrees, becomes another "patty," and starts its life over again.
A lot of pressing-people don't like to talk about regrind or admit to its use, but re-cycling
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overage is an economic as well as environmental reality. Regrind vinyl has already had a lot
of the volatiles cooked out of it during its first go-around through the press, so by definition,
it's stiffer than virgin material. It therefore has better (or at least different) high frequency
playback characteristics than does virgin vinyl. I encourage people, when they want to make
a record that's got a lot of snap or bang to it, as in DJ dance-club music, to get as high a
percentage of regrind in the vinyl as they can get, consistent with the quality that they want.
Dave: What's your opinion of the dehorning of masters?
Stan: Well, I don't know of anybody who does that anymore. It seems to have been fairly
popular in the sixties or seventies or whenever. A cutter stylus cuts and it also plows. With a
snow plow you go down the road and you pile up all this humongous crap along the curbs
and sidewalks. Well, you hope you don't get much of that when you cut. Cutter styluses are
manufactured much better nowadays than, shall we say, thirty years ago. The burnishing
facets weren't so accurate then. Sometimes you got a nice cut in the groove but then
sometimes you didn’t, and there might be a bunch of stuff stacked up at the edge of the
groove. That stuff was rough-textured and made separation of the lacquer master from the
first metal plating very difficult, because the stuff that's thrown off, when viewed under a
microscope, looks like a string of cinders. It's porous, like a sponge, you see. So when
you're electroplating that stuff, well, the metal molecules get inside and you can imagine
metallic nickel getting inside a sponge and then how do you peel a sponge off that
electroplating? You're left with little bits of stuff stuck to the metal (NOISY!). So the idea was
to knock off those. It affects the sound. I don't know anybody who does dehorning anymore.
At least I don't know anybody that's involved in high quality work who does it, mostly
because there’s no need for it with today’s better styli.
DMM
Dave: Stan, what's your opinion of direct metal mastering?
Stan: I've heard some really good stuff for string quartets and vocal, stuff that doesn't
involve bass (low end), but I haven't heard things that sounded really good on the low end
with DMM. The cutter head is small and you have, I think, just the physics of trying to push
the cutter stylus through copper instead of lacquer. I don't know how thick the copper plating
is, but I also don't see much random-phase stuff in the bass on DMM, whereas with lacquer
you can get a vertical modulation of 7 mil. In other words, the lacquer coating on the
aluminum substrate is thick enough (15 mil) to handle the 7 mil modulation vertically. If you
have modulation that's vertical, it will be so inherently non-linear on the down stroke. Well,
maybe they predistort it, depending on the depth, but as I say, I've heard some stuff with
midrange and top end, like string quartets, that sounded pretty darn good, but I haven't
heard anything that I felt, "Well, that's better than anything that coulda been done on
lacquer."
I can look at a pressing and can tell you right away if it was done DMM or lacquer. The
pressing reflects light differently, depending on the method of cutting. When you cut a DMM,
the delineation between the 45-degree groove walls and the flat surface of the land, that
angle is very clearly defined. On a product that's been DMM'd, the final pressing comes out
looking like the original cutting, as it should. Now with very good electroplating on a lacquer,
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you'll see it almost the same way, but if even just a little too much heat is generated during
the preplating, either through too much voltage, therefore too much current, flowing in just
the one or two micron levels of thickness of silver that's on the lacquer before the nickel
builds up, or if the plating tank itself is too hot, then there's a rounding of the corners where
the groove wall meets the land, which is easily discernible to the semi-naked eye, provided
it's a trained eye. I can see it easily. All I have to have is a reasonable source of light and a
good pair of glasses. I can tell you right off the bat, and by looking at that I can also tell you
this product isn't gonna have much high frequency response, either. The more rounding you
see, of where the groove wall transitions to the land, the more rounding of the highfrequency modulations will occur on the groove-walls themselves, therefore the less high
frequency response. Every jagged little etching in the groove, on the groove walls, is going
to be rounded a proportional amount, just like that. And it's worse at the inside diameters
because not only is it a slower linear speed which produces progressively shorter
wavelengths, but in terms of this plating, the center post is the electrode, so all the electron
flow from the outside edge, and everywhere in between, goes to the center, you see. The
current density, and therefore the heat, is higher at inside diameters.
So my opinion of DMM is that it's very interesting, indeed. There’s also a high-frequency bias
applied to the cutter to eliminate stylus chatter at low cutting levels. As I say, some program
material is very well suited for it. I know it would be especially good if you had choral works
or string quartets and had a long time on the side. The DMM process is immune to the
groove echo problems of lacquer because the copper isn’t affected by the cut-and-plow
stress-relief phenomena that plague lacquers in a warm plating environment. However, all
the killer LPs I've ever heard have been made off of plain old nitrocellulose (laughs).
Dave: I've heard that you took the nitrocellulose shavings that came off the lacquers in MoFi
and took them out in the parking lot.
Stan: Occasionally so! You can light 'em off and make a good boomer out of 'em. That's one
reason, by the way, indirectly speaking, why this lathe is almost in the middle of the room,
because in every mastering facility I've ever worked in, the lathe is smack-dab against the
wall. You couldn't get around to service it from the other side (to empty the chip jar or
replace belts). Also, near the walls is where the most bass is. So you have the most
possibility of contaminating the sound on the disk through airborne low-frequency vibrations
from the loudspeakers. But the most important reason is that you can just walk back here
and work on this thing, you know. We can look right here and see the pickle jar with the
thread in it, the shavings, what we call the “chip,” or what the English call the “swarf.” That's
a great old German pickle jar, bunch of explosive stuff in it. Cellulose. To go boom, you wad
it up in a ball, put it out in the driveway, and light it up. Thhhumppp! Sounds just like you lit
off a little toy rocket or something. And then it leaves about a million little tiny black goobers
hanging in mid-air!
VTA Test Record
Dave: Something that Michael Fremer mentioned in one of his recent articles was that you
once had a concept for a VTA test record.
Stan: Yeah, yeah. We can take musical signal, which I really think is the best, or you can
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take pink noise, and sum it to mono, reverse the polarity in one channel, and cut it vertically.
A whole lot of people don't have stereo/mono switches on their preamps or whatever, which
is a travesty because if you're listening to a mono record, you really must have a mono
combining switch for two very specific reasons. Number one is that there's a lot of vertical
nonsense (like “orange-peel” (mold-grain), vertical rumble from ball bearings in mono lathes,
and long-wavelength displacements due to warpage) happening on the surface of the record
that has nothing to do with the recorded signal. You’d like to get rid of those vertical
disturbances that are using excessive power and polluting the music. But even more
important is that arm resonances are excited. The resonances on different axes are of
different frequencies, because most arms are not purely symmetrical. This one isn't. (It's a
Grace 16” model 707, by the way.) So it has a curve near the cartridge end, and slightly
curved at the pivot end, too. So it's gonna exhibit more stiffness in one plane than it does in
another plane, and therefore a differing set of resonances in each. So when you play a
mono record, and some guy's in there pluckin' the bass, and you play it back in stereo mode
and look at the oscilloscope, you see all kinds of ovals and everything else happening in the
bass, whereas the bass was recorded mono, but the arm vibrations, the vibration modes are
causing spurious vibrations in different planes. So sometimes one note will come out loud on
one channel and another note will come out loud on the other channel, depending on the
particular notes being played, when you're in stereo. When you're in mono, you combine
these differences and the arm resonances are not eliminated, but they're made common
mode. That which had appeared as pure vertical resonance is eliminated. (Tympani that
“move around” backstage when playing different notes can be traced to this differentresonances-in-different-planes phenomenon.)
Now, if you did this with a test record where you had mono pink noise or mono music, hell,
that'd be great. You make sure, first of all, that obviously the cartridge guts are oriented
horizontally, azimuth-wise (level). Many times you’ll find the output of the two halves of the
cartridge aren't equal, almost never are. You gotta get the cartridge lateral first, then get the
levels equal, then combine to mono, then reverse the polarity of one channel only. You gotta
do 'em in the proper sequence, I mean, otherwise, once you combined 'em to mono you
don't know which one of those two channels is actually puttin' out more or less than the
other. So you have to get it zeroed out in the stereo mode first, then combine it to mono,
then reverse the polarity of one of those combined channels, and then on this hypothetical
test record, you'd vary your vertical tracking angle to get rid of the most sound, in effect,
cause the most cancellation.
Dave: That might be something that would sell. A lot of people might have an interest in that.
Stan: Yeah. We were talkin' one time about cuttin' a test lacquer at different locations: cut
somethin' here, cut somethin' over in AcousTech, cut something at Doug Sax's, cut
somethin' at Bernie's, just a minute or a minute and a half of some noise from all the
different guys, mono, vertical modulation, on one lacquer. Then on the other side, same
kinda thing from the East Coast. However, I don't know if I want to send a lacquer to the
East Coast and have it cut and then have it sent back here and try to have it processed.
You'll lose so much, time is against you. Temperature variations are against you, especially
heat, but that'd be kinda neat if we could do that.
Yeah, I think that all Neumann things, provided they're set up according to the regular
Neumann mechanical alignment procedures, are gonna be the same. But now, Bernie's is
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gonna be different. Doug Sax’s rig at his Mastering Lab will be different as he has a
Neumann cutter on a Scully lathe. Len Horowitz' Scully's gonna be different and MoFi's
gonna be different. MoFi has a Neumann lathe with an Ortofon cutter head, so it’s different
from the others, and I don't know which difference it is. I don't know if it has a greater or
lesser cutting angle than these other heads do. They're supposed to be fifteen degrees, but I
don't think they're actually that much. I think they're maybe seven or eight degrees.
Dave: Really? That's interesting. Quite a difference.
NAB vs CCIR & Tape Handling
Dave: Stan, how you feel about NAB vs. CCIR?
Stan: Well, I think that NAB is a mistake that never should have happened, but it did, so we
have to live with it. CCIR or IEC, as they call it nowadays, is a recording characteristic that I
really like because in the midbass and bottom end it doesn't do anything: no EQ at all.
Leaves it alone, and there is just is a 35-microsecond time rise above 1000 cycles. By the
way, 30 ips is just half of that, just 17 1/2 microseconds time rise. So you could take 30 ips
tape, if you want to master at half speed, just play it back 15 ips on CCIR, after shifting the
“knee” of the curve down an octave. It works out quite well. But NAB bass-boost EQ has
been the cause of a lot of tape saturation in the bass, things like that. Some of the folks that
talk about the soft, fat bass on analog tape are relying on the non-linear saturation
characteristics to get that effect, often without being aware of it.
Dave: Do you have a favorite brand of tape?
Stan: Well, of the things that have lasted best over the years, the old Scotch 111 has far and
away consistently sounded the best, but there are no lubrication properties at all in that tape.
It's like carborundum paper on your heads, but God, it retains its signal and sounds very
good over many years. And that German Agfa, it's pink on the back side, PER 535, I think
the number is. Kind of a grayish-brown oxide. And I always liked the Scotch 202. It would
track better through the guides and the head stack because it wasn't glossy on the back
side, and was made of mylar. It was matte finish, so the capstan would grip the tape better.
Both those tapes kept their high frequency response well. The tape that Keith O. Johnson
used to do his analog recordings for Reference Recordings was TDK, which was also of a
large magnetic particle design, very much like the other tapes I've mentioned. It really retains
its signal well, with very little print-through and very little high-frequency smear, but that stuff
hasn't been in production for a number of years. So, other than my experiences with those, I
don't have a lot of good firsthand experience with recording tapes. If I see certain Ampex
tapes, like the 407 or the stuff in that era, 406, 407, I get a little nervous. This was in that
time frame, around in the seventies, when we had trouble with the binder migrating to the
outside edges of the tape. When you tried to play a tape back twenty years later, it was all
glued together. Causes a nightmare trying to rewind it, clean it up and play it when you're rereleasing something from an archive. Takes too much time to clean it.
Dave: Was this after the ban on using whale oil as a lubricant, which I think, according to
Doug Sax, happened in 1976?
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Stan: Well, that's about right; ‘76 or ‘77. That was Sperm Whale oil. That stuff was one of
the major ingredients of the early automatic transmission fluid for cars. Right around that
time, when they quit using that stuff, the failure rate of automatic transmissions in cars in
America went from about seven million a year to about seventeen million a year. There was
a lot of anguish and a great gnashing of teeth, so to speak, over the loss of that supremely
good lubricant. And I don't know that anything has ever come up that's been as good as that
stuff. Best lube in Mother Nature’s arsenal!
Dave: You were saying earlier, too, that you don't really believe in baking tapes, or find that
there's much advantage in baking tapes.
Stan: I have not found an advantage in baking tapes, although sometimes I think I must
really be in the minority, or I don't have both oars in the water or something, maybe I wasn't
issued both oars. The experience I've had with tapes at Mobile Fidelity was that we'd get a
tape that would be really sticky and we'd say, "Well, we'll send it off to some place and get it
baked," and well, it would come back and be just damn like it was when we sent it away.
What a waste of time this was! I could have been cleaning it, you know. Clean it with Freon
TF, pulling it between your fingers. Clean, lint-free rags, pads, get all that sticky stuff off. It
takes forever to clean tape that way, but it works! 2400 feet through, one foot at a time, but
you could play it thereafter and you couldn't do that after baking. We put it under vacuum,
too, in a bell jar, and sucked the air out of it, in the hope that would do something. Didn't do
anything that I’m aware of!
Dave: So, there's no substitute for tedious, careful cleaning by hand.
Stan: I haven't discovered anything that's any better. You can do a semi-mechanical hand
cleaning by just playing the tape on an old recorder (after a good demagnetization), cause
you don't want to wear the heads down on a good machine, but if you have a second
machine that you can play it on, play the tape at the highest possible speed and this grunge
scrapes off on the heads and the guides. What happens is that they get so packed up with
this grunge that you can hear the tape start squealing, and you stop the tape immediately!
You clean all the grunge off the heads and the guides, and you back the tape about a dozen
turns of the reels and start from there. Play again, until again you get enough buildup where
you have to stop, clean the heads and every guide, and each head, like if you have a record
head and a bias head and an erase head, it is like havin' three sets of your fingers for this to
go through and friction points to scrape this crap off, you see, so you can achieve more
cleaning playing on an old machine. You cannot put the machine in “play” and turn around
and walk away and go to the restroom. You come back and this tape may have bound up in
the machine, maybe either you've stretched the tape or stalled the machine, because that
will, and has, happened. The tape will get to dragging so severely that it will stall the capstan
motor if the pinch roller is pinching hard enough not to allow the tape to slip through. So you
don't want to walk away, ever! You have to sit there and baby-sit that machine while it's
operating. You have to pay strict attention to it. You have to be listening closely for when it
begins to squeal, you have to shut it off immediately, clean everything, and go on from there.
The entire process is very intense, very tiring. It's the kind of thing that nobody wants to do.
Dave: You said, though, that with all the tapes you've handled you've never stretched one.
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Stan: Yeah, I haven't stretched one. Broke a couple of acetate tapes, but haven't stretched
any.
Dave: Do you recall what the worst tape was that you had to handle? Was there any one
that was outstandingly terrible?
Stan: Well, I remember spending eighteen hours cleaning one tape. As I say, I don't even
remember what the hell it was. It was a tape that was recorded at 30 ips in Australia, I
believe. We were working on it at MoFi a couple of years ago, and the stuff just kept
shedding and we couldn't get rid of all the sticky stuff. You could do a CD where you could
play one song, transfer it, stop the tape machine, clean the heads, do the next song transfer,
and so forth. You couldn't do that cutting an LP because you have to cut continuously from
beginning to end. You can't stop the lathe, you can't stop the tape machine, unless you want
a hell of a lot of dead air on the record between tunes. That's one of those instances where
MoFi released a CD but we could never get an LP cut successfully because of those kinds
of problems.
Dave: Yeah, I think that's something people don't realize. They usually think there's some
licensing problems or there's another company that wants to put out the LPs, and you can
only put out a CD or vice versa. But sometimes that's just not the case.
Stan: Yeah, well, sometimes the licensing thing is the case, but just as many or more times
we ran into old tapes where, as I say, you can't play 'em all the way through, can't get a
good pass. You just have to scratch the disk project. Of course, I know there are companies
who would've said, "Oh well, we'll just make a CD transfer out of it, then we can cut the LP
from the CD transfer." Well, if you were cutting at real time that's a distinct possibility for a lot
of people, but doing it half speed, the only way that could be done, in fact, would be to
transfer each tune, half speed, to a DAT. Put the DAT on pause, stop the tape machine,
clean the tape guides again, play the tape machine, record the next tune, and so forth. You
could do it that way. Play it half speed onto the DAT and then take the DAT and record it
onto the LP. There are a lot of people who wouldn't be able to tell the difference under those
conditions, because if you're doing it at 48K, you'd basically have 96K sampling rate on the
finished product. There certainly wouldn't be any frequency restrictions. Concerning
resolution, there certainly could be compromises on that, due to only 16 bits, but on some of
the stuff, some of the loud rock 'n roll stuff, there's not that much dynamic range, if it's all
medium loud to loud, about 6 or 8 or maybe 10 dB dynamic range. You're not talking 45 or
48 or 50 dB dynamic range or more, like with classical music, where the quietness of the
signal is beyond the noise floor of the environment. So for classical, the sixteen bits might
not cut it.
Dave: You've done some very famous repairs to tapes.
Stan: Oh yeah. Tapes that come apart and go all over the floor and you have to put together
about 200 pieces of tape. Probably the sum total of the length of the 200 pieces is less than
eight feet. The last turns on a takeup reel are going lickety-split during rewind, your splice
breaks, and all this acetate tape just fragments into little tiny pieces. You have to go down,
on the floor of the studio, on your hands and knees, and pick it all up, one piece at a time,
and lay it down in an editing block. You talk about assembling a puzzle with no guidelines!
ricker2
No picture on the front to tell you, the mountains go here, and the swimming pools here.
There's NOTHING! The only clues you have as to which side is which is the front side has
the oxide on it.
Dave: Just one example of why you have to have infinite patience to do what you do, to
work in your profession. Patience sounds like it's really a virtue.
Stan: Yeah, you really do. 'Cause accidents will happen, in spite of the best efforts.
Murphy's Law. Murphy lives under that Scully tape transport!
Repairing LPs
Dave: There's a sort of a personal-interest question that Raymond Chowkwanyun wanted
me to ask you, which was if you know any way to repair a skipping LP? He's got an LP that I
think he paid about forty pounds sterling for which has a skip in the middle of it and he's not
awfully happy about it.
Stan: Well, one would have to look at the groove very carefully with a microscope to find out
why it skips. I mean, does it skip because it was overcut? I mean, do all equivalent pressings
of this skip also? Or does it skip because it was at one time played with an arm and cartridge
assembly that either had wrong anti-skating, tracking, or whatever? Maybe this skip occurs
at the top of a warp, which, when combined with an anti-skating situation, derails the stylus
into the next groove. You have to get in there and find out where it is that the one groove
derails into the next groove and build up the groove wall that's missing. Um, I don't know
what you could build it up with. Does it skip forward or back?
Dave: I don't know.
Stan: You can either overcompensate or undercompensate your anti-skating at that point in
the record. I've taken turntables and played 'em on a slant, so as to bias this thing in the
right direction. So, that's a very hard one. You have to be looking at the specific modulations.
I'd like to look at the playback of it on the oscilloscope. If it's in stereo, there may be some
kind of a disturbance that was a pure vertical modulation that was fast enough that it caused
the cartridge/cantilever to become airborne over the hump, like if you go up and over a hill
too fast in your Corrado, you get some air underneath, you know! And like your car, the only
thing that holds the stylus in the groove is basically the effect of gravity. Not so much gravity
on the stylus and cantilever per se, but gravity on the cartridge/arm assembly and its
associated mass, which brings its pressure to bear on the cantilever by means of the
elasticity of its suspension. If you have a modulation that's faster than that elasticity is
strong, well, then the stylus decouples from the groove. If the anti-skating is wrong, the
stylus is going to immediately jump forward or back. The entire arm and cartridge are simply
gonna jump forwards or backwards, depending on that anti-skating at that point.
Dave: My Corrado at least has traction control, so that helps, which I don't think the
Neumann has.
Stan: Well, we're talking about playback. Yeah, the Neumann has traction control and it's
ricker2
called variable depth. So, as an analogy to driving, even though the road goes up and down,
if we didn't have variable depth, when it goes up, the road would get skinnier. When you go
down the road would get wider. If it went up too far, the road would disappear. That's what
would happen here if you didn't have variable depth. Tell Ray to send his record to me and
I’ll see what might help it.
Availability of Lacquers
Dave: Do you have problems finding good lacquers these days?
Stan: No, no. Apollo and the Transco people are still the only ones around, at least in
America, and they still make lacquers of the same quality they have for years. In fact the
Apollo lacquers are just as flat as ever. I don't have trouble with lacquers. The lacquer
companies now sell the cutting styluses, too. Apollo sells Adamant styluses (Japanese) and
Transco sells Micropoint (New York), and they're all very reputable. Both styli are better than
the Capp styluses that we had to use thirty years ago. The burnishing facets often were not
the same dimensions, left channel to right channel. Sometimes they weren't constant
dimensions from tip on up to the flank, and so forth. So, there's much better quality control in
stylus manufacture now than there used to be. That's why, getting back to that question
about horns, or dehorning lacquers, there's a lot less of horn-related problems nowadays.
The stylus, the art of the stylus making, the art and science of it, is much better than it used
to be. So, they do a better job. They do more cutting and less plowing.
Dave: Can't you get Pyral lacquers any more?
Stan: No! Boy, those were good lacquers, I sure miss them! They're a French lacquer. But
the metal boxes that I carry lacquers around in, those are Pyral boxes. Those are almost as
valuable as the lacquers that came in them. Really super!
Don't Drink and Drive your Lathe
Dave: And how about the effect of beer on your hearing? You seem to have that calibrated,
too.
Stan: (Chuckles) Yeah. One beer's a 3 dB pad at 10K, ya know? It's devastating on my
hearing ability. It always has been. I wasn't always willing to admit that it affected me that
way, but I knew early on, as soon as I got involved with disk cutting and really involved in
training my senses, that alcohol was very bad for accurate listening. It just warped it. Always
you wind up listening to it louder. It's a downward spiral when you do that.
Dave: Does it matter if it's Mexican beer or German beer or American beer?
Stan: Naw. Chivas Regal Scotch'll do the same thing. It's not the beer, it's the alcohol!
(So don't drink and listen. Stop it right now. We know who you are. And we're coming to visit
you. We just hope that you have some Negra Modelo on hand...)
ricker2
Dave: Stan, unlike most of the population, you're still doing what you love to do, which I think
is extremely important.
Stan: Makin' records, cuttin' records, makin' music, cuttin' records.
Stay Tuned for Part Three
Stan Ricker would like to express his most heartfelt thanks to George Cardas for
underwriting the mastering lathe and its electronics at Stan Ricker Mastering. George has
made it possible for Stan to continue doing the work that he loves. Serious inquiries about
this article can be sent to Stan Ricker via e-mail at [email protected] or via phone to Stan
Ricker Mastering at 760-375-3829. The interview continues in Part Two.
The entire contents of this article are Copyright © 2000 by David L. Glackin, all rights
reserved. No parts of this article may be reproduced without the express written permission
of the author.
BACK TO TOP
aesreport
2001 Audio Engineering Society (AES)
by Scott Dorsey
Why is a high end audio journal reviewing a pro audio trade show? The high end community
seems to believe that pro audio folks have tin ears and are obsessed with loudness, while
the pro audio community seems to believe that high end people are tweako cultists who care
more about cables than music. While there are people like that in both camps, I don't think
either group has any real understanding of the other, and neither understands that there are
important points on which the two camps overlap. In the interest of cross-cultural fertilization,
I’d like to report on the 2001 Audio Engineering Society (AES) show from a high-end-audio
viewpoint.
This show had to be rescheduled due to the unfortunate events in New York in September,
when it was originally to take place, and a lot of the vendors pulled out. A lot of the makers
of cheaper equipment decided to attend the NAMM musical instrument show when they
were forced to choose between the two, while few makers of higher-end gear sell to that
market. As a result, the AES show had a much higher percentage of high quality gear on
display this year. While the trade show section was about a third of its normal size, it was a
lot more pleasant. It's been a long time since I could cover the entire show floor in two days,
and it was very nice to be able to do so. Surprisingly, none of the folks on panels or giving
papers pulled out. I will review a few of the papers that I got to see, and I will include preprint
information, so you can order papers from the AES web site (www.aes.org).
I was surprised not to see as much international press as I normally do. I didn't even see the
Studio Sound crew this time around. However, I was happy to meet Philip Spencer from
Asia Pacific Audio Technology, an Australian magazine that looks quite interesting. I also got
to talk with Paul Cogan, editor of Stage Directions, a magazine oriented toward theater
technicians, and check out his magazine. A lot of the fun of being press at these events is
seeing different magazines from different countries.
DSD and high sampling rates were all the rage this year. It seemed like everyone had new
product out. SADiE was showing an editing system based on dedicated hardware and
software for editing SACDs, giving full equalization and dynamics control in the DSD
domain. It's a very slick piece of hardware, and it’s reasonably priced, to a point that would
allow smaller mastering houses to get into the SACD business. SADiE joins the Merging
Technologies Pyramix and Sony's Sonoma system in offering this.
Mytek Digital was showing a hard disk recorder that can also record to a SCSI tape device,
which records DSD format data for SACD mastering. It also does simultaneous
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downconverting, to convert DSD bitstream to PCM at 44.1 or 96 k, so that DSD recordings
can be issued as CDs.
Tascam was showing something called the DSD-96, which allows recording of two-track
DSD on 8mm tape, but which can also be used as an eight-track PCM recorder to record
and play standard DTRS tapes.
Sony was exhibiting all sorts of SACD and DSD stuff, including their XA-777ES SACD
player, which can also play CDs, and they were showing off a large catalog of SACD
releases from Sony Music, UMG, Virgin, and EMI. They were also getting all wound up
about ZTT Records releasing the Frankie Goes to Hollywood best hits compilation on SACD.
I didn't go to the SACD demo this year, but having heard a lot of SACD demos, I will say that
the format can sound really good, but that demos have not shown its capabilities. Oh well,
it's a trade show.
Digital Audio Demark was showing their ADDA 2408, an 8-channel, 24-bit/96k A/D and D/A
unit with a wide variety of interfaces available as options, and with the provision for external
computer control. This is pretty typical of the new generation of high grade, high-speed
converters that are now showing up.
Prism Sound was showing their AD-2 and DA-2 converter and processor units. The DA-2
looks like a hell of a box for high grade home systems. Prism has always made some of the
cleanest, best-sounding converters around, and these latest offerings are 24/96 ready, but
have internal dither so they can be used with 16-bit recording formats as well as with 24-bit
gear.
Even the low end of the market is getting into the high sampling rate thing. Ego-Sys from
Santa Clara introduced a computer soundcard for $199 that does 24/192. How does it
sound? Who knows? But it will sell, because even the bottom-of-the-line home studio folks
are jumping at higher sampling rates and longer word lengths.
There was a lot of DSD discussion in the papers sessions. J.D. Reiss and M.B. Sandler from
King's College, London, gave a talk called “Efficient Compression of Oversampled 1-bit
Audio Signals,” in which they described a method to compress DSD data by a 1:4 ratio.
Although the method is slightly lossy, all the loss that occurs is well beyond 20 KHz. Does it
affect the sound? Is the improved sound of DSD the result of the high frequency response or
something else? Nobody knows, but listening tests might help us get an idea. See Preprint
5472.
James Angus from the University of Salford in Manchester, UK gave a talk called “Effective
Dither in High Order Sigma-Delta Modulators,” in which he describes a method for
comparing the effectiveness of dither in linearizing PCM vs. 1-bit DSD-like converters and
gives guidelines for achieving optimum linearity. See Preprint 5478. Then, Stanley Lipshitz
and John Vanderkooy from the University of Waterloo gave a talk called “Towards a Better
Understanding of 1-bit Sigma-Delta Modulators, Part 2,” in which they extended the general
discussion of one-bit converters to what they call 1.5 bit converters, i.e., converters that have
three output states but use sigma-delta style encoding, like DSD. They then predicted the
idle-tone behavior and spectral linearity of these theoretical converters, and showed how the
aesreport
same math applies. They used this to give a more generalized model of sigma-delta
converters and talk about dither in the converters, specifically refuting some of the things
that James Angus said earlier. I have not been able to follow the math well enough to know
who is correct, but my attempts to do so have helped me understand a lot about sigma-delta
methods.
For the last couple of years, everyone has been talking about wide-bandwidth recording, but
this year it's gotten all the way down to the microphone level. Manfred Hibbing from
Sennheiser pointed out, in ”Design of Studio Microphone with Extended High-Frequency
Response,” that extended recording frequency range requires extended frequency
microphones, and talked about a way to do this by moving the resonant point of the
microphone down and using internal equalization to get a flat response, much like
Sennheiser has done with their MKH series RF mikes for three decades, but with an
additional octave of response. See Preprint 5465.
C. Buergel, et al., from the Fraunhofer Institute, gave a paper called “Beyond CD Quality:
Advanced Audio Coding for High Resolution Audio with 24 bit Resolution and 96 KHz
Sampling Frequency.” These folks are designing lossy compression systems for highresolution wide bandwidth channels, which to me seems like missing the whole point. See
Preprint 5476. On the other end of the scale, Markus Erne from the AES Technical
Committee on Audio Encoding gave a talk called “Perceptual Audio Encoders: What to
Listen For,” which began with an overview of how perceptual encoding, lossy compression
schemes like ATRAC and MP3 work, then went into detail about what kinds of artifacts occur
when they don't work. Erne not only talked about obvious effects like birdies and swishing
sounds, but about subtler effects like image degradation, and he pointed out that the
perceptual mechanisms for imaging weren't very well understood. If you're curious about
why MD sounds the way it does, and why radio stations sometimes sound funny, check out
Preprint 5489.
Denon was showing off all sorts of home audio receivers and DVD changers, as well as a
solid state video player and a dual-disc CD-R recorder for dubbing, but didn't have any of
their simpler and better-sounding gear on display. They make some great CD players that
are sold for broadcast use, but have very solid, bulletproof transports and generally good
sound, but they didn't show them this year.
Webber Tapes Ltd from the UK was demonstrating their WAVEcomp software, which allows
differential comparison of two audio files on a computer system, much like performing a
nulling test on a stereo component. This is a valuable tool for checking computer software,
anything from the very obvious changes wrought by lossy compression software to subtle
changes that may occur in mastering and editing. It produces a difference between the two
sources, and not only displays them on the screen but plays the sound back so you can get
a sense of what is getting lost in the transformation. This could be very handy for anyone
involved in computer audio, and these days it's getting hard not to be involved in it. The
WAVEcomp software is also a handy tool for determining error rates on CDs, and the
company provides an optional instrumented CD player that hooks to the computer to provide
information about how the CD system is interpolating. Very handy for checking premaster
CDs.
I was hoping to stop by the Soundforge booth and complain to the folks there for their
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constant barrage of spam e-mail, but they had pulled out of the show. They keep removing
me from their mailing lists and adding me again a week or two later. Isn't marketing
wonderful? This is one company I won't be buying from.
Quantegy wasn't there this year, so the only media vendors were Emtec/BASF and Maxell.
Emtec was showing off their usual line of mastering tapes in various open-reel formats, but
they were also pushing some of the newer computer media. I couldn't tell what Maxell was
selling, except that they were giving away free CD-Rs, cassettes, and batteries, and when I
asked about their 1/4-inch open-reel UD tape, I was greeted only with blank stares.
George Massenburg gave a talk in the When Vinyl Ruled area, discussing the production
techniques and equipment he used on Earth Wind and Fire and Little Feat albums. I was
only there briefly, but the conglomeration of hardware they had on display—from a Scully
lathe and Neumann mastering console to a pair of Altec A7s which were being used to play
the demos—the hardware was as fascinating as the talk. Throughout the show, this exhibit
was completely packed, and it was almost impossible to get a seat inside.
The Groove Tubes folks were showing off their ViPre, which is a mike preamp with an input
transformer with multiple taps, so you can adjust the load impedance that the microphone
sees. Nicely designed tube gear. They were also showing off their line of vacuum tubes.
D.W. Fearn was showing off some very high-grade tube preamps, and using a headphone
amplifier based on a 5080 tube. Upon further inspection, I found that he had built my
headphone amp project from Vacuum Tube Valley and was using it for his demos. I am
incredibly flattered, because he is the sort of designer that I have always wanted to be, and
to have him use my headphone amps for demos is a huge ego boost.
John Hardy was showing off his mike preamps based around an input transformer followed
by a Jensen JE-990 discrete op-amp design. What was most interesting was that he was
giving away copies of the original Deane Jensen paper on the JE-990, which not only shows
the schematic but goes into excruciating detail about how the op-amp circuit was designed
and what design constraints were used and compromises made. His preamps are great, but
even if you have no intention of ever using one, the JE-990 paper is worth reading just to
see some lovely design work. (You can use the JE-990 in all sorts of other circuits, since it is
basically a discrete circuit that can replace almost any op-amp, monolithic or not.)
Dick Sequerra from Sequerra Labs was also showing off an IC-based mike preamp, fully
differential throughout, with adjustable input impedance, although since his design was
transformerless, adjusting bridging resistors on the input sets the input impedance.
Even Prism, the British company mostly known for their high grade A/D and D/A converters,
was showing off a new mike preamp. Their MMA-4 has four channels in one rack space,
switched attenuators, and extremely low noise and wide bandwidth. They were also showing
off their MEA-2 mastering grade equalizer and MLA-2 mastering grade compressor, all with
stepped controls and very precise channel matching.
On Saturday morning a number of folks dropped in to see Robert Orban present a paper he
wrote with Frank Foti of Omnia Audio, called “What Happens To My Recording When It's
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Played on the Radio.” Unfortunately he didn't show up, but the preprint is very interesting.
The authors talk about what broadcast processing does to program material that is already
clipped, and try to dispel the myth that outrageously loud and abusive processing in CD
mastering will make CDs sound better on the air. They point out that the phase rotation
hardware most broadcasters use to get cleaner and louder voices without added
compression tends to do bad things when presented with clipped source material. Get
Preprint 5469 if you're curious.
Piotr Kieczkowski from the Technical University of Mining and Metallurgy in Poland gave
another interesting paper about compression, “The Reduction of Distortion in the Dynamic
Compressor.” He showed what compression does to various waveforms, and analyzed the
resulting distortion, then demonstrated how the control function of the compressor affects
that distortion. Nothing earth shattering, but an interesting way to analyze an effect that most
engineers have only thought about subjectively. See Preprint 5445.
Mike Spitz from ATR Service Company was demonstrating the Aria electronics package for
Ampex ATR-100 tape machines. This is an all-discrete, record and play electronics unit
designed by David Hill of Crane Song, and is magnificently constructed. It was a clear
improvement over the original ATR-100 electronics which, though impressive in their day,
are now somewhat dated.
Nearby, JRF Magnetic Sciences was showing off head kits for those same ATR-100
machines, to convert them to half-inch two-track operation (which is currently becoming very
fashionable due to the lower noise floor) and even one-inch two-track operation. They were
also showing their own reproduce amplifiers and a 2-inch 8-track headstack for these
machines.
Jerry Bruck from Posthorn Recordings, who sells a lot of neat gadgets for field recording
work, is now importing and selling Stabilant-22 from the Canadian manufacturer. This is the
same stuff that Sumiko rebadged as Tweek, and it's a long-chain polymer that is conductive
over short paths. Very fine for improving connections on low level signal paths like phono
cartridge leads, and for dealing with worn edge card connectors.
The Museum of Sound Recording in New York was showing off photographs of the
equipment they have collected, and lamenting that they don't have space to display it all.
They had a Nagra III and an RCA 74b in the booth, both products I use pretty regularly, and
my girlfriend was mildly amused to see stuff she recognized (and has seen in use regularly)
in a museum booth. If you have an interest in old recording gear, or you happen to have a
large amount of office space in the New York area you'd like to donate to a deserving
organization, check out www.lovesphere.org/mosr for more information.
DK Audio had some high grade metering, with digital as well as analog inputs, as well as
phase scopes that can give you some sense of how a recording images in conditions where
playback is doubtful. Dorrough was also showing off a line of less expensive but still highresolution meters.
Field Production Items
aesreport
Cooper Sound was showing off their tiny field recording consoles intended for motion picture
use. Beautifully machined and hand built, they are little eight-to-four mixing consoles with all
the features you’d expect in a large-scale console, except that they will fit in a briefcase.
Very quiet and neutral sounding, with transformer coupling in order to reduce RF noise
problems in bad environments. Dan Dugan from Dan Dugan Sound Design was showing the
things off.
Sound Devices was showing a much simpler and more stripped down field mixer, the
MixPre, but they were also showing a digital USB interface called the USB Pre, which allows
you to use a laptop for field recording work. These were both transformer coupled with high
grade Lundahl transformers, and looked to have quality electronics, as well as features like
tone generation and bright meters that could be read in sunlight, which is important for field
recording work.
Acoustics
I didn't see any of the usual acoustical material manufacturers, but there were quite a few
papers on acoustics. For example, Miomar Mijic spoke on “Design Requirements for Sound
Reinforcement Systems in Serbian Orthodox Churches,” making the point that the traditional
Serbian church buildings had acoustical problems due to the materials used, and that newer
churches were required to use the traditional materials. This was combined with the
particular problems of the Orthodox services, which involve multiple preachers speaking
from different positions while moving around the room. If you're curious about how this
affects PA requirements, check out Preprint 5487.
Avi Makivirta and Christophe Anet from Genelec in Finland went to 164 studios using
Genelec monitors to measure room response and positioning, which they summarized in “A
Survey Study of In-Situ Stereo and Multi-Channel Monitoring Conditions.” They found a wide
variety of noise levels and a correlation between the noise level and how close the listening
position was to the speakers, but they also found a lot of room resonances and notches and
wide variations in symmetry. Preprint 5496 has the information if you want to show people
that your listening room is better set up than a typical studio.
There was another very interesting paper from the folks at Genelec. It is painfully obvious to
anyone who has tried that it is futile to use a conventional equalizer to fix room problems
because you are trying to fix a time domain problem with a frequency domain solution. Aki
Makivirta et al. have tried using digital delay in combination with frequency-specific filtering
to fix low-frequency room modes, and while the results were far from perfect, they looked a
lot better than any I've seen without making physical room changes. Check out Preprint
5480, “Low-Frequency Modal Equalization Of Loudspeaker Room Responses” if you are
interested in the math.
Speakers
Foreign speaker manufacturers who are normally present, like DAS, Selenium, and Tannoy,
and American companies like Community and Radian, missed the show, which I found quite
disappointing.
aesreport
A.D.A.M. showed their powered monitors, based on drivers that are similar in principle to the
old Heil ESS driver, with conventional bass cones. The demo didn’t sound very good, with
harsh sound and rather exaggerated surround effects, but I know that the speakers are
capable of much better. I liked the A.D.A.M. speakers a lot at the show two years ago,
before they had gotten representation in the U.S., but I am pleased to note that McCave is
carrying the line and has it available to dealers for demo and purchase.
The demo at the Truth Audio booth was even worse than the one from A.D.A.M., partly
because they were on the show floor, and partly because they were using a dreadful old
Crown IC150 amp. They didn't have anything approaching acoustic music on their CD
changer, just overprocessed pop, and couldn't play my demo CD. I have heard good things
about these speakers, and would like to hear a demo that shows what they can do. The
demo here did not. On the other hand, they had Bootsy Collins endorsing their product, so
how bad can it be?
Westlake Audio had a number of larger monitors on display, from the LC4.75 to their very
large horn systems, but none were available for demo. I haven't heard the newer, smaller
Westlakes and was rather disappointed, but because of the rescheduling of the conference,
they weren't able to get demo space.
NHT was showing their A20 monitor speaker system with an amp specifically designed for
the speakers, but had some of their home speakers on display as well. They also warned
me that the home product line would be changing early in 2002.
Earthworks had a very interesting speaker on display, their new Sigma 6.2 reference
monitor. This is a stepped-face box with a single woofer in the main box, a recessed area for
a Vifa tweeter on a baffle, and then a wide vent on top which doubles as a carrying
handle—a very slick design. It looks like they took a lot of time thinking about how monitor
speaker should sound and how people use them. Eric Blackmer of Earthworks spent a lot of
time talking about how they voiced it to get something that sounds neutral and measures
fairly flat. I only got a very brief chance to listen, so can't say more, but what I heard was
pretty good.
FAR Audio in Belgium had a booth where they were showing their line of powered monitor
speakers (by powered monitors, I mean speakers with internal amplifiers). They had a
smooth top end, free of the spitty dome tweeter resonances that I find very annoying, and a
decent midrange, but I couldn't tell much more under show conditions. Also definitely
promising, but they do not have U.S. distribution. They also make some nifty remotecontrolled preamplifiers, and Pierre Thomas was very happy to demo with my material and
let me play with the positioning of his products.
Blue Sky also had a small satellite-sub system, with built-in amplifiers in all the boxes and
internal bi-amping on the satellites. Very smooth but accurate top end, and a clean transition
between the satellites and the sub, much better than I have heard in a long time. I didn't get
to hear the system under better conditions, but it's worth looking into, and is THX-approved.
(This is a big deal, since it's hard to find stuff that is both THX approved AND good
sounding, in my opinion, and a lot of folks are doing installs that require THX approval.)
Imported into the U.S. by Group One, Inc.
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Embracing Sound Experience from Sweden was showing off a very strange gadget built by
Emes in Germany under their patent license. It was a pair of speakers in a single box with a
front baffle between them, and a processor with some shuffling, with the intention of getting
a full stereo image from a single box. It wasn't a deep and broad image, but it was definitely
better than any of the previous gadgets I have seen that attempt to use closely spaced
speakers to get a wide image. Definitely not high end, but it does have a place in small,
portable systems. Most listeners honestly have no clue about what stereo is and what a
soundstage should be, and anything that improves soundstaging on low end products will
probably help them to understand what they are missing. At the very least, this is an
interesting bit of engineering even if the concept seems misguided.
SLS Loudspeakers used to make large PA speakers employing high-output ribbon tweeters
from Stage Accompany, which sounded absolutely amazing, but they had problems getting
the tweeters in quantity, so they started manufacturing their own ribbon drivers. They
showed a small studio monitor, the S8R 2-way, which had a very clean sound and great
imaging, although a very small sweet spot, but they also make enormous ribbon driver line
arrays for narrow-dispersion stadium sound systems. Stage Accompany makes cabinets
using their drivers, but they missed the show this year because of the rescheduling, so I did
not get a chance to compare the SLS and Stage Accompany systems, which would have
been very interesting.
The folks from Frances Manzella Design took a group of us uptown to the Masterdisc
mastering studio, where we got to listen to some of their Griffin mastering monitors,
designed by Stig Erik Tangen in Norway. This demo was done with a Sony CD player driving
a Krell D/A into a Neumann mastering desk and the Griffin crossover. They used Crown
Studio Reference amps on the top end and Chevyn Research amps on the bottom, and it
sounded pretty damn good. We played a lot of material, including my usual Glenn Gould
demos, and the imaging was tight, the overall sound solid, and the things could play at much
higher levels than was prudent and still remain transparent and clean. I was impressed.
They had a D'Appolito midrange pair with a Stage Accompany ribbon driver and a 15-inch
bass driver. The bass was a bit odd, but it sounded more like a room problem than a
speaker problem. I suspect the room was voiced more for hip hop than for solid, flat low-end
response.
Juha Merimaa and others were giving a talk called “Measurement, Analysis, and
Visualization of Directional Room Responses.” These folks built a multiple microphone array
that can measure not only sound intensity but the direction the sound wave is propagating.
They measured level and direction at thousands of points within a room with a fixed stimulus
source. This is another small step toward understanding room effects, which I think
everyone will agree are still largely mysterious. See Preprint 5449.
On the PA side, everyone and his brother was showing some sort of line array. McCauley
had a huge one called the Monarc MLA5. Line arrays are a way of getting some degree of
directionality and pattern control for large rooms and are currently very fashionable, although
many of the companies that made them fashionable were not exhibiting this year. Part of
their advantage is that they are fairly foolproof to set up in bad rooms, and anything that
makes concerts sound better is okay by me. The McCauley system is being used by Jo Dee
Messina, King Crimson, and Queensryche, and I can't think of a more diverse group of
customers.
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Martin Audio was showing off a line of large flyable speaker systems under the Mach name,
as well as some small in-wall speakers, though they had nothing available to demo.
There were a number of companies selling speaker diagnostic equipment, most of it a bit
expensive for home speaker builders, but not all. Klippel GmbH was showing a very nice
distortion analyzer for loudspeaker systems. Mr. Klippel was also to be found presenting a
paper entitled “Prediction of Speaker Performance at High Amplitudes,” in which he
attempted to model nonlinear interactions and thermal effects in loudspeaker drivers using
two-tone excitation signals, measuring the response at high levels, and building a model
around the measurements. See Preprint 5418.
The EAW staff had two very interesting papers. The first was by William Hoy and Charles
McGregor, on “Loudspeaker Complex Directional Response Characterization.” Their
premise was that with line arrays becoming very popular and with attempts to model speaker
imaging becoming possible, it is now important to get more accurate information about
speaker directionality than the simple polar plots that most data sheets have. These folks
detailed a method to get very high-resolution plots of frequency response at points in a
sphere all around a speaker, and store that information in a file format that can be
transferred into modeling software. See Preprint 5439. Following this was a second paper
form David Gunness entitled “Loudspeaker Transfer Function Averaging and Interpolation,”
in which he discussed an improved mathematical model to represent the response of a
typical speaker using time delay functions and the data from the measurement method
described above. See Preprint 5440.
Mario Di Cola from the Laboratorio Musica in Italy gave a paper called “Analysis of
Directivity Anomalies in Mid and High Frequency Horn Loudspeakers,” about modeling
radiation patterns of horn speakers from the very different perspective of pressure waves
themselves. His English was not so good, but he got the relevant points across and Preprint
5432 is available if you are curious. Looking at his crude but effective measurement system
is worth the price of admission.
The best speaker paper was probably the simplest one. J.R. Wright from KEF gave a paper
called “The Virtual Loudspeaker Cabinet.” From the title I assumed it was another paper on
speaker simulation, but in fact it was about putting activated charcoal into speaker cabinets.
The high surface area and adsorption effects mean that the impedance to air motion at lower
frequencies is reduced, and the proper application of activated charcoal blocks effectively
increases the internal volume of the speaker. Strange, neat, and effective. See Preprint
5421.
Microphones
The big microphone news is that AKG is reintroducing the old AKG 451 electret condenser
mikes. Unfortunately the new version, unlike all the old ones, has the capsule permanently
mounted to the body. With the older 451s, you could put extension tubes between the
capsule and the body and keep the microphone body out of view, for a very low profile. The
new mikes won't do this, which I think defeats most of their advantage.
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Richard Barnett from AKG gave a talk, “Modal Improved Condenser Microphones,” in which
he demonstrated a finite element model (FEM) of a microphone diaphragm and showed
solutions for the equations of motion of the diaphragm. This is exciting, in that it helps
manufacturers build a model for how a given capsule design will work before building it, and
it's the first FEM capsule model I have seen. Using techniques borrowed from the civil
engineering field, audio folks have been using FEM techniques for years to look at tonearms
and cartridges, and it is good to see more difficult elastic models being applied to
microphone design. See Preprint 5466.
Martin Rausch from the University of Erlangen-Nuremburg talked about “Computer-Aided
Design of Electrodynamic Loudspeakers Using A Finite Element Method.” In this case, the
FEM model was the important part of the study, not a generalization made from that model.
He detailed how a model was made of both the magnetic and the mechanical influences of
individual drivers (ignoring cabinet issues) and how the model could aid optimization of
driver design. See Preprint 5420. Similar work was being done by Ryan Mihelich of
Harman/Becker, who talked about “Loudspeaker Nonlinear Parameter Estimation: An
Optimization Method,” which started with an FEM model and them built a nonlinear
electrodynamic model to match. See Preprint 5419.
AKO Pacific was showing their line of IEC measurement microphones and capsules. These
are very high-grade measurement mikes, for considerably less than B&K charges for similar
configurations. Since I tend to like measurement mikes for recording as well as for actual
measurement, I was quite interested in the line. Their higher-end Type I capsules and
preamps looked an awful lot like the B&K stuff.
Minoru Kobayashi from Sanken was showing off some of their microphones, but I was
unable to understand much of his English, nor did he have any literature. He was also
unable to tell me who had the U.S. distribution for Sanken. I like the look of a lot of their
mikes, and they make some spectacular-looking small diaphragm condensers.
Scott Jones from G-Prime had the Microtech Gefell line on display, which contains a lot of
small-diaphragm mikes. He was very helpful, telling me about service literature on their older
microphones.
Taylor Johnson was showing THE mikes, made in Argentina for the Sound Room. Nice
manufacturing quality, and very fine design work. I liked the look of them.
Curtis Technology was showing off an externally polarized miking system for drum kits,
consisting of their AL-2 microphones and OPre2 preamplifier. I couldn't get any information
about what was inside, except that the AL-2 uses 12AU7 tubes, but the sound was
somewhat rolled off on the top end.
Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics (BLUE) was missing from the show. They had planned
on rolling out their new set of microphones at the show and bringing much of the Latvian
factory staff, but when the show was rescheduled this became impossible.
I checked out the Audio-Technica AT895 adaptive-array microphone. This is an array of
seven microphone capsules going into a DSP box, with software that nulls out off-axis
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signals. This gives you the ability to get a very tight pattern that sounds a little funny off-axis,
but less so than a normal shotgun mike. I spent some time picking voices out of the crowd
with it, and found it was both more natural and more directional than any conventional
shotgun I have used.
Wes Dooley at AEA was showing off his replicas of RCA 44BX ribbon microphones and
replacement parts for the RCA 77DX microphones. Nothing new, and he hadn't started
making the BK-11 replicas that I wanted to see, but he was giving out some very good
chocolate, and it's hard not to mention someone who gives you chocolate.
Cables
Whirlwind was showing off their line of industrial grade cables and connectors. They also
had prepunched boxes, fanouts, and rack mount panels which could be ordered in any
configuration, great for everything from home theater to remote trucks. You can use your
own high end wire and connectors or order them with their wire and connectors.
Marshall Electronics was showing off the Mogami line of cables. The only new ones they
had at the show were installed system cables with shields, not really suitable for high end
gear, but they also had their usual line on display, everything from tiny coax and balanced
pair cables for internal equipment wiring to serious interconnect cables at reasonable prices
to speaker cables. These folks spend a lot of time engineering cables both to measure well
and to sound good, and at a reasonable price. I was surprised to see that they also make
computer cables, but they say they have been doing it for years, and it's clear that they are
very well constructed, especially when compared to the usual cabling on the market.
Gepco was showing their line of high-grade cables. They make a cable designed for S-VHS
consisting of two 75-ohm cables bundled together in a Siamese pair, which is great for
unbalanced stereo audio. I really like their products.
Belden had their customary booth, with Steve Lampen holding court. Belden makes some
good stuff and some not-so-good stuff, and Steve knows which is which. This year I was
mostly interested in a very small star-quad cable that was available in bundles within one
sheath. I ordered a sample, and we will see how it sounds.
Sommer Cable is a German firm that was founded by a group of musicians to make highgrade audio cables, and they make impressive-looking materials of various sorts. They have
fancy gold and silver-plated Litz wire cables, available on special request, but even the offthe-shelf items looked impressive. When was the last time you saw anyone outside the high
end selling cables specifically designed for phono signals? These folks are definitely worth
checking out. They have been in business only three years, and are only now getting U.S.
distribution.
Other Stuff
There was a fellow running around the trade show floor screaming about how all Arabs were
"damn murderers," how some Arab guy had an Arab hat with a crescent on it right there in
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his booth, and how all those damn murderers at the AES show made him so mad. Upon
investigation, it turned out that Fletcher of Mercenary Audio, making fun of the Pro Tools
Alsihad thing, had a Shriner fez reading "Shah of Alsihad" at his booth. Some people just
didn't get the joke, or are too full of hate to even try. Fletcher also had his usual "Shit on a
Stick" exhibit, with an Adat recorder and a Mackie 1202 mixer impaled on a post. Legend
has it that the last time this was displayed at an AES show, Greg Mackie came over, looked
at it, laughed, and said he bet that it still worked. It's good to see that some people actually
do get the joke.
Ralph Henry from Equi=Tech was showing off their line of balanced power systems, and
while I shudder at their advertising, I have to say that balanced power can reduce noise floor
caused by chassis leakage in equipment, and balanced power sources are great to have
around. I take offense at the pseudoscience and the claims of outrageous noise floor
improvements that they promise, but it just goes to show you that this sort of thing isn't
strictly limited to the high end. It might be worth trying one of their balanced power boxes on
your high end system; for all I know it might make it sound better. They are certainly well
constructed, and appear reliable.
There was a paper given by Ralph Glasgal of the Ambiophonics Institute, entitled
“Ambiophonics: Achieving Physiological Realism in Music Recording and Reproduction.”
Ambiophonics appears to be a combination of a speaker system, a process for storing the
room impulse response when a recording is made, and the Ambiovolver, a software shuffling
system that directs the room ambience from the main pair to additional speakers. I wasn't
able to take the trip to New Jersey to hear the demonstration, but it looks like an interesting
way of trying to model the original room sound. See Preprint 5426.
Digidesign wasn't at the show this year, and was very conspicuous in their absence.
However, someone found an empty booth in the back of the hall, wrote "Digidesign" on a
cardboard square, and put it on a table in the middle of the booth. I liked it.
THAT Corporation was showing their THAT 1510 microphone preamplifier chip. This is a
drop-in replacement for the SSM 2017 chip that is in all kinds of mid-grade equipment, and
should offer an upgrade path. It might also be worth trying as a front end to a phono preamp,
but the notion of having a good upgrade for inexpensive preamps and consoles is enough to
make me interested. THAT also makes some great transistor arrays and gain control
elements.
Vistek Corporation was showing off their line of connectors, switches, and potentiometers.
The connectors looked a bit cheap, but the switches and pots looked pretty solid. It is hard to
get good quality potentiometers in reasonable quantities, and this might be a good resource
for folks building their own gear.
Neutrik and Switchcraft were both showing their lines of connectors, though both were
mostly pushing the more inexpensive, crimp-type connectors this year, for some reason.
Lots of companies were showing toroidal transformers. Plitron had an enormous 500 KVA
unit on display, as well as their normal line. Keen Ocean Industrial from Hong Kong was
showing a nice line of power toroids. They said they had often made wideband audio toroids
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for output transformers as well.
Lundahl was not there to show their line of audio transformers, but sent mail to attendees
explaining that they weren't going to make the show, and why.
John D. Paul from Schott Corporation gave a talk about measuring jitter through the pulse
transformers used for digital audio signals, and a new method of directly measuring phase
error through the transformer, in “Characterizing Digital Audio Transformers with Induced
Jitter Histograms.” See Preprint 5448.
In the past few years I have heard a lot of papers on Class D amplifiers, and a lot of folks
were discussing theories of linearizing them. This year I saw actual products. Hegel AS from
Oslo, Norway was showing their SoundEngine SE-2090 thickfilm hybrid module, which is a
complete 100W switching amplifier on a module that a manufacturer can drop into a receiver
design. They also had information on home stereo gear sold under the Hegel name in
Europe. The Hegel H2 and H4 amplifiers are built around these Class D modules, with large
dual-mono power supplies in one case. They also make a very slick, minimalist preamp
called the P4, and a variant with a simplified output stage called the P2. Phono modules are
available. They also have CD players—the CDP4, which is HDCD-ready, and the CDP2,
which has a conventional sigma-delta converter. This gear it looks very nicely built and
deserves attention, but as far as I can tell, it has no U.S. representation. Powerphysics was
also showing off a Class D amplifier module that they sell as an OEM product to
manufacturers wanting to embed a high power amplifier into powered speaker systems.
Johan Gaboriau, Xiofan Fei and Eric Wallburger from Cirrus Logic gave a paper entitled
“High Performance PWM Power Audio Amplifier,” in which they discussed a high speed
switching amplifier based on sigma-delta conversion methods, did a full error analysis on it,
then showed how converter nonlinearity could be optimized. This is very different from the
dual-PWM systems that most class D amplifiers use, and has the promise of sounding a lot
better if the operating speed can be high enough. If you're into the whole Class D thing, look
at Preprint 5428.
Somehow I also found myself listening to “Spectral Approach to the Modeling of the Singing
Voice, “ by some people from the Pompeu Fabra University and a fellow at Yamaha. They
talked about ways to morph one voice into another voice by identifying phonemes and
replacing them with sampled phonemes in such a way that voice inflection was preserved.
Its intended purpose is for karaoke systems, but I can imagine a day when this technology
will have far scarier implications. See Preprint 5452.
As always, the House Ear Institute had their truck there, testing hearing and giving free
advice on hearing conservation. They issued a press release saying that
hydrocodone/acetaminophen pain relievers like Vicodin may be responsible for partial
hearing loss, which is a disturbing thought. The people from Ear, Inc. were showing off their
web site (www.freehearingtest.com), which provides a simple and approximate hearing test
of frequency vs. audibility and provides a pointer to an ear doctor in your area. H.E.A.R.
(Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers) was also doing hearing tests, and was
making custom ear molds for high-grade earplugs and in-ear phones right there at the show.
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Nearby was the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Educational Tour Bus, which travels to
high schools and music expos to provide remote recording services. It grew out of a song
contest, but seems to have become more than that.
Finally, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers were not only selling their
standard documents and a variety of great books and trying to get folks to sign up for
SMPTE memberships, but were selling great T-shirts with projector alignment test patterns
and video bars.
I really enjoyed this year’s show, and think that the quality of both exhibitors and attendees
was much better than usual. The show was definitely more pleasant than the sprawling
shows of the recent past.
Best Sound In Show
Frances Manzella Design was taking people up to Masterdisk to listen to their large scale
mastering monitors. Each Griffins, made for them in Norway, has a D'Appolito midrange
driver, Stage Accompany ribbon drivers, and a15-inch bass driver. While the bass in the
room was a bit strange, the speakers had a very clean midrange with good vocal quality,
and were a very refreshing change from the show floor. These speakers are voiced to sound
neutral at reasonable levels, but also to be able to operate at outrageously high levels and
stay clean. That's a difficult and expensive thing to do.
Worst Sound in Show
The Songwriter's Showcase in the lobby of the Javits brought in some very fine young local
musicians to perform in a horribly reflective glass-walled room with a reverb time so long that
none of the words were intelligible. The PA crew tried valiantly, but just couldn't overcome
the horrible effects of the location. It's very sad when the worst sound at the show is live.
Loudest Sound in Show
What with Cerwin-Vega and Full Sail not being at the show this year, the loudest sound I
heard was at the Truth Audio booth. I understand that it's hard to do demos on the show
floor, but listening to a Crown IC150 amp playing processed pop music at high levels was
not a good way to show off loudspeakers.
Best New Company
Sommer Cable, a German firm, has only been in business for three years and is just now
breaking into the U.S. market with a line of very nice-looking high-flexibility cables.
Hottest New Product
The Cadac Type R console on display at the show was hot, hot, hot. You could feel the heat
coming off of the top panel. It would keep your fingers warm at those fall music festivals, and
it sounds good, too.
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Best Old Product
Posthorn Recordings is now distributing the Stabilant-22 contact enhancing fluid in the family
that Sumiko used to distribute as Tweek. Great stuff for keeping old gear with worn
connectors operating.
Best Giveaways in Show
Mercenary Audio, H.E.A.R, and the House Ear Institute were giving out free earplugs, which
were very much appreciated and useful. Although the show was much quieter this year, it
was still pretty loud.
Worst Giveaways in Show
This award is tied between Genelec, which was giving out light-duty cloth bags which ripped
when crammed full of marketing literature, and Neutrik, which was giving out samples of
their solderless XLR connectors, which frankly don't seem very reliable. On the other hand,
I'll try them, and if they do turn out to be reliable they might be the best giveaways.
Best Papers in Show
This year I am splitting the Best Paper award between people who cannot agree, because I
found listening to them discuss their differences very enlightening. James Angus from the
University of Salford in Manchester, UK gave a talk called ”Effective Dither in High Order
Sigma-Delta Modulators,” in which he described a method for comparing effectiveness of
dither in linearizing PCM vs. 1-bit DSD-like converters and gives guidelines for achieving
optimum linearity.
Then, Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy from the University of Waterloo gave a talk
called “Towards a Better Understanding of 1-bit Sigma-Delta Modulators, Part 2,” in which
they extended the general discussion of one-bit converters to what they call 1.5 bit
converters, i.e., converters that have three output states but use sigma-delta style encoding
like DSD does. They then predicted the idle-tone behaviour and spectral linearity of these
theoretical converters and showed how the same math applies. They used this to give a
more generalized model of sigma-delta converters and talk about dither in the converters,
specifically refuting some of the things that James Angus said earlier. I have not been able
to follow the math well enough to know who is correct, but my attempts to do so have helped
me understand a lot about sigma-delta methods.
Silliest Paper in Show
“Beyond CD Quality: Advanced Audio Coding for High Resolution Audio with 24-bit
Resolution and 96 KHz Sampling Frequency,” by C. Buergel, et al. This is paper was on the
design of lossy compression systems for high resolution, wide bandwidth channels, which to
me seems to be missing the whole point.
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Best Satellite/Subwoofer Combination
The Blue Sky satellite/sub combo actually sounded like a pair of speakers, with much better
integration between the satellites and the sub than I have heard in ages.
Best Suit in Show
The spotted-pony-pattern suit worn by Clive Kavan from the UK was definitely a hit, beating
by a long shot the pink hairy thing that EveAnna Manley wore this year.
Best Ego Boost
Discovering that D.W. Fearn built my DIY headphone project from VTV and liked it.
Most Compacted Booth
This year, Tascam managed to fit their entire product line in a booth that could not have
been more than 100 square feet, tops. The rumor was that they had pulled out of the show
when it was rescheduled, and when they decided to come, the booth space was no longer
available.
Best Sofa
The folks in the booth next to the Little Labs booth pulled out at the last minute, leaving the
booth unused. Someone from Little Labs decided to put an inflatable couch in the space,
which was very gratefully appreciated by many tired people. Not only this, but the couch had
a black hairy cover, almost as hairy as that pink thing EveAnna Manley was wearing.
Best Butt
The guy in the dreadlocks with the Spandex bike pants wandering around on the show floor.
I didn't see him, but our official butt inspector was very impressed. The photograph she took,
though, sadly does not include his badge, so he cannot be identified.
BACK TO TOP
drvasac
“Show Report? We Don’t Need No Steenkeeng Show Report!”
(Belated) Notes from VSAC 2001
(Yes, I know—late again! The notes for VSAC 2001 were caught up in the changes that I and PF
have been going through over the past eight months. Nevertheless, I hope that our readers find
this set of articles by Mike Pappas, Rick Gardner and I to be helpful.)
Email from Tony G. Again!
Where to start? Must have been that email last summer from my good audiobud, Tony Glynn,
telling me that Doc B.—or “Dan Schmalle” according to his birth certificate and his mother!—&
company were going ahead with another Vacuum State-of-the-Art Conference (VSAC) in
September. The location of was to be in Silverdale, Washington, at the Silverdale Hotel, just as it
had been the last time ‘round; the dates were to be from September 7-9.
This was good news, since the last VSAC had been held all the way back in 1998. A good time
was had by all at that event (see Positive Feedback, Vol. 7, No. 6), but the logistics of putting on a
regional audio show had been too much for Doc B. to attempt again… until now.
VSAC is unique among audio shows, in my experience. In the first place, there aren’t too many
regional audio shows… Philadelphia, NY, maybe Chicago, the occasional California gathering…
not too much else that I know of. (Of course, I could just be ignorant, eh?) The Pacific Northwest
has its own highly laid-back way of doing things, with lots of audio artisans in the neighborhood.
The DIY (do-it-yourself)/modding/hotrodding crowd is well represented, and was sure to show up in
decent numbers at VSAC. Which is what happened.
Was I going? You bet! Wouldn’t miss it…
On The Road Again
A few phone calls and emails, and the PF contingent was organized. Mike Pappas would fly in
from Denver as the “DSD Dude,” complete with a 8-channel Genex DSD recorder and a stack of
Magneto-Optical (MO) master discs of recordings that he had made for KUVO in Denver. Aiding
and abetting Mike was Ed Meitner of EMM Labs (www.emmlabs.com), the now anointed “Doctor of
DSD,” who graciously agreed to drop in on the event, and bring along one of his latest generation 8channel DSD D/A converters, the superb Meitner DAC-8.
PF Assistant Editor Rick Gardner also signed up for the “Ye Olde Editor’s Official Junket Carpool,”
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/drvasac.htm (1 of 25) [11/4/2002 8:05:31 PM]
drvasac
and agreed to do his usual great job of whipping up the “enhanced java” for the drive, plus putting
together some music out of his collection onto cassette for us. A threesome would be hitting the
road north in Ye Brande New P/T Cruiser, making for the glories of the southern Puget
Sound—very cool!
Meeting us there would be old-time PF’ers Jennifer (Associate Editor for Technical) and Michael
Crock, Lynn Olson (Associate Editor for Design), Tony Glynn (Audio Ambassador-at-Large),
George Cardas (Associate Editor Advisory), Winston Ma (Associate Editor Advisory) Scott
Frankland, (long-time contributor), Stan Ricker and Alan Kafton (friends of the family), and lots
more. There was no way that this could miss!
The drive up was a real hoot—see Mike’s comments for more. There’s something really great
about being with close friends, on a trip to a first-rate regional audio show. Outrageousness and
fun all the way!
The Show Itself
The Silverdale Hotel is located on the southwest corner at the bottom of Puget Sound. The setting
is gorgeous—right on the water—and the weather was perfect. Sunny, not too hot, with a pleasant
breeze.
By the time we arrived, a number of exhibitors were already setting up. Entering the lobby, we ran
right into George Cardas and Ed Meitner… then Alan Kafton… then Stan Ricker… then Paul
Stubblebine and Winston Ma… great!! This is why you go to an audio show—for the good times!
drvasac
The gear is neat, but the people are even better...
Paul was setting up his gear in the large presentation room on the main floor; there were going to
be a number of presentations there, including comparisons of analog open reel vs. SACD vs. highresolution PCM formats. The main floor was also the site for various of the DIY projects that had
been set up for public viewing, and for a contest to be held later in the show. We got checked in to
our rooms, then spent some time checking out the extremely interesting work that had been done,
and browsing the vintage gear rooms that had were being laid out.
drvasac
Paul Stubblebine prepares to set up some first-rate gear
Stubblebine’s deParavicini open reel and some PCM hi-res kit
After that, it was out to the rear patio area, for hard-earned drinks and some kick-back time! Mike,
Rick and I caught a table with Ed Meitner and some others, and began to yuck it up. I had met Ed
back in September of 1998 at Mobile Fidelity, when I first encountered DSD (see the
drvasac
aforementioned PF Vol. 7, No. 6, or check out the re-print of the article at Positive Feedback
Online.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue1/MoFiDSD.htm) at the first studio demo of the technology
to the audio press. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk at that time, which is too bloody bad—as
I found out. I had an enormous respect for his work with DSD, since Maestro Meitner solved a
number of the critical problems that came up along the way, but I didn’t really know him personally.
As Mike, Rick and I shared a few drinks with him, the initial impression of a rather stern fellow
dissolved into the realization of a gifted audio designer with a helluva great sense of humor! (Ed
can sure come to any party of mine!)
Good audiobud Ron Welborne of Welborne Audio
(http://www.welbornelabs.com) enjoys some fine
Microbrew at VSAC’s patio party that first night.
drvasac
Another close audio friend, Tony Glynn, samples
some whiskey during the VSAC patio party.
Next thing you knew, George Cardas sat down with us, Stan Ricker dropped by, and as the sun
went down we were alternatively discussing things audio with passion—and laughing our asses off!
Doc B. and his unindicted co-conspirator, Bob Bean, helped to
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make VSAC 2001 the great success that it was.
My hat’s off to Dan Schmalle (aka “Doc B” over at http://www.bottlehead.com) and company for
doing such a great job of putting together the patio party that first night. It was a smash!
Another long-time PF editor and gifted audio
designer, Lynn Olson (http://www.aloha-audio.com).
drvasac
Wavestream’s Scott Franklandat VSAC 2001
The first night at VSAC was made all the better by the live music that Doc B. had brought in. A jazz
trio; some good music… it was hard to drag Stan away from it to catch some dinner. (“Stan!
C’MON, STAN!!”)
drvasac
Stan Ricker doing what he does best: taking in the music! (“Stan! C’MON STAN!!”) You couldn’t
blame him, though; there’s always magic in the real presence of live music.
Off we went to a nearby restaurant, where we stayed up too late having not enough fun with
stories, jokes and such. Life doesn’t have nearly enough of moments like these.
And yes, you had to be there...
George Cardas and Scott Frankland converse at dinner.
A pretty typical PF dinner session—that’s Ed Meitner on the right,
performing live to DSD on his cell phone! (Left to right: Pappas,
Frankland, Beach, Ricker, Gardner and Meitner).
drvasac
Stan Ricker enjoys a moment with “The River City Gang”...
drvasac
Scott Frankland mellows out with a fine Cabernet.
The next day…
... it was time to get busy! Shaking off the long hours and pleasant partying of the previous day,
Lila, Rick, Mike and I got the Positive Feedback room set up and ready for traffic.
VSAC’s layout broke down into several sections. On the first floor, the DIYers, the antique gear,
holy tube rollers, and the conference rooms congregated. Floors two and three held various
exhibitors, and those members of the audio press (Positive Feedback, Audio Musings and
Audiophile Audition) and audio web sites like Audio Asylum (http://www.audioasylum.com) who
wandered about, enjoying the scene.
drvasac
Audio Asylum’s Chief Honcho Rod Morris drops by
PF’s room, and gets snapped next to Brutus—thanks
for the AA yo-yo, Rod!
drvasac
Not to be outdone by Rod, long-time PF fellow
John Sunier of Audiophile Audition
(http://www.audaud.com) is immortalized next to Brutus.
The first part of the day saw your humble editor firmly ensconced in the PF room, handing out Vol.
9, No. 2 to subscribers and friends, and meeting with various audio designers. Unfortunately, this
didn’t leave much time for getting about and seeing the rooms. I deputized Mike Pappas and Rick
Gardner to gather what they could (see their reports elsewhere in this issue).
drvasac
Doc B and Paul Joppa take a moment to chat in the “hallway lounge”…
By the afternoon, I was able to shake loose and get around a bit. My first stop was down at the DIY
and vintage audio sections on the first floor. Though the exhibits were display only, what a visual
treat it was to see such beautiful equipment! For better or worse aurally—no way to tell, of
course—these works were a delight to see.
drvasac
The DIY gear at VSAC was beautifully done… eye candy, for sure!
I enjoyed the rooms, as usual. Among my favorites were Ron Welborne’s Moondog Audio room
(very classy! And great sound too! Check out Ron’s site over at www.welbornelabs.com).
drvasac
Ron Welborne of Welborne Labs/Moondog Audio—puttin’
on the dawg! Brilliant gear, great sound...
Another was the the Red Rock Audio room with the new Redpoint Audio Design turntable
(yummy!) and Bobby Palkovic’s very impressive Merlin Millenium speakers were making beautiful
music.
drvasac
Red Rock Audio’s room, with the Redpoint and the Merlins in place.
Then there was the Cain and Cain room wherein Terry Cain was displaying his remarkable
craftsmanship with Fostex-loaded speakers. Here was high efficiency without the loathsome
cabinet works that sometimes happens with designs of this sort. Terry’s work is simply fabulous!
drvasac
Terry Cain at play at work—beautifully coherent sound.
I should also mention the Exemplar Audio room, with John Tucker’s glorious work sounding
absolutely terrific!
drvasac
Michael Lefevre and John Tucker in the Exemplar Audio room.
Both Rick Gardner and I were both very impressed by the Emotive Audio/Sierra Brooks room. I
actually heard Rick say some kind things about the TAD=loaded Le Grande horns—a first! (Yes,
Rick is not generally enamored of horns.)
The Emotive Audio room, with horns that even Rick Gardnerfound appealing!
drvasac
Another group that was having a good time were the folks at the Dixie Bottleheads room. Open
reel tapes (!) and a terrific attitude; it reminded me of what I like about audio groups. (Which is a
cheerful antidote to all the things that I don’t like, eh?) Kudos to those folks—and keep ‘em flying!
The Dixie Bottleheads room—open reel tape! Yowazh!
It was also no surprise to me that Doc B.’s gear in the Bottlehead room was sounding terrific, and
looking great. Dan Schmalle is one of the truly fine people of SET land, and has been very busy on
some interesting new design projects that we hope to document in future issues of Positive
Feedback Online. Anyone interested in what’s happening with SETs should definitely get in touch
with Dan at www.bottlehead.com.
drvasac
Doc B’s oasis for the SET lover—fine stuff!
Unfortunately, my work at the Positive Feedback room kept me from spending nearly as much time
listening as I would have liked. There were some great seminars held, as well—especially of
interest was the listening comparisons the Paul Stubblebine did, in which he demoed the sound of
open reel analog vs. SACD vs. hi-res PCM. Wish I had been able to catch that one!
The GORGEOUS Eurotubes amp from the Eurotubes/JJ Electronics/JBL
drvasac
room—outstanding! Definitely gets my vote for the most seductive looking amplifier at VSAC...
For me, the flat-ass most stunning sound that I heard at VSAC 2001 was Mike Pappas' DSD MO
discs of his recordings done for KUVO. These were the featured attraction in the
Wavestream/Cardas/von Schweikert room, and provided most of the source sound that was used
to demo the gear. I'll confess that this was a helluva congenial room... ANY room with George
Cardas, Scott Frankland, Ed Meitner, and Mike Pappas in it is going to be a special place! (Albert
V.S. wasn't in attendance at this show.) While a Sony SCD-1 was available for SACDs, the source
of preference was the great new Genex 8-channel DSD recorder/playback unit, playing back
through Ed's brand-new Meitner DAC-8 D/A. This was played back through the Hovland HP-100
preamp (very impressive!), which passed into Scott's new Wavestream stereo 75 WPC amp
(VERY IMPRESSIVE) via Cardas cabling. Albert's new ultra high efficiency DB-100 was strutting
its stuff @100+dB/W/m.
Wavestream/Cardas/von Schweikert, fed with pure DSD via Genex and Meitner: The Best of the
Show for VSAC 2001!
When a system like the above is fed with pure DSD stereo recordings of the magnificence that
Mike Pappas has achieved... featuring artists like Ron Miles and Diane Reeves... my reaction was
"good grief!!!" To say that religious experiences (and conversions to DSD/SACD!) were taking
place in this room is no overstatement. Everyone who spent time in this room was startled at the
purity, the incredible dynamics, the "you are REALLY THERE!" quality of Pappas' recordings. That
DSD can deliver such life-changing music is a powerful testimony to the future potential of the
format; that Mike Pappas was able to use DSD with such artistry is remarkable evidence of his
mastery of recording.
drvasac
Positive Feedback’s Rick Gardner, Ian Joel (past president
of the Oregon Triode Society), and Scott Frankland of Wavestream
listen to Mike Pappas’ pure DSD jazz recordings—righteous!!!
This room was full of stars, and was certainly the high point of VSAC 2001 for me.
drvasac
My very good friend, Winston Ma, of First Impression
Music: A man with a beautiful vision.
By the time that the show ended for us, Rick Gardner and I drove back to Portland with great
memories of the people that we had met, and of the audio creativity that we encountered. Mike and
Rick’s reports are included as separate commentaries; make sure that you give them a read.
What makes VSAC so special?
In retrospect (post 9/11 and all that), the thing that’s most compelling about VSAC is the very
special community of audio friends that it represents. While VSAC is nowhere near as large as
some other audio shows, it is second to none for fine times and for the leisure to talk, to listen, and
to enjoy your audio friends.
Art and community combined—what could be better than that?
drvasac
BACK TO TOP
gardnervasc
The 2001 VSAC Show: DSD, SETs... Blue Lights and Super
Colliders... an Alternative Show Report!
by Rick Gardner, aka “Dr. Sardonicus”
Surprise!
No, I am not going to talk much about the content of VSAC 2001, simply because I think
there are much more interesting things to share with you than who was in what room,
playing what sort of audiophile drek at too high a volume. Others can write about that, if they
want to.
My VSAC experience centers on something far more valuable, if more difficult to describe...
human community.
This experience actually begins for me a couple of days before the show. David Robinson
asked if I would be so kind as to pick up Positive Feedback’s Senior Technical Editor, Mike
Pappas, at the airport and entertain him for most of a day. I was only too glad to oblige. Mike
is a great guy, and was reportedly bringing a set of optical direct-to-2-track DSD masters he
had made in his radio station recording studio. He would have the Genex machine and Ed
Meitner’s converter. Oh joy!
The first step was to get Mike fed... a little Pho at Portland’s best Vietnamese restaurant,
and then we were off to my little bungalow in the woods (yeah, well, yes I have moved and
completely changed my life—more on that when it is appropriate).
Mike is a straight-up guy and a talented recording engineer. I was very excited to hear the
masters in my home system. Mike needed to index the recordings for the VSAC show demo.
He was bringing the equipment cold, with no real idea of even what system he would use for
playback. I assured him that any reasonable person would jump through their ass to have
DSD masters to use to demo their equipment.
Within a few minutes, we had the Genex and his custom 2-channel Meitner equipment
hooked up to my system. The first thing we listened to was trumpeter Ron Miles. Imagine
really capturing a trumpet, miked at about 20 inches, right there in your listening room. I am
sure we had peaks nearing 120 dB. It was joy to really get to hear my system without any
source limitation.
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For nearly four hours we listened, talked, drank wine and generally had a sublime human
experience. Most importantly for me, Mike and I cemented our friendship around this
common love we share.
Later that same day, I toted Mike and his equipment over to David Robinson’s. David was
understandably eager to hear the masters. I bid adieu and headed home.
Early the next morning, Lila Ritsema, David, Mike and I headed out in two vehicles towards
Seattle. Lila is a smart woman; she chose to put all the men in one vehicle and drive the
other one herself! I had brought some gently “enhanced” coffee for the trip and a series of
compilation tapes for our enjoyment.
For over three hours, we talked, joked and listened to music... and just generally had a
wonderful time.
Our little caravan rolled up to the Silverdale Hotel in Silverdale, Washington by mid-morning.
The place was virtually awash in name-tagged dweebs and audio nerds of every description,
each of whom was smiling and apparently completely happy. The weather was lovely.
As we were checking in, I ran up against a dour and frowny man, with a distinct Austrian
accent. It turns out this was the famous Ed Meitner. We were introduced and shook hands,
briefly. I thought to myself... “jerk!” Mike and Ed had a brief exchange, where it was learned
that Ed had brought along his newest generation DSD converters, which he promptly offered
for use with Mike’s DSD masters.
We all wandered into have some sort of refreshments with Ed (me somewhat reluctantly). I
sat amazed as this somewhat surly Canadian morphed into John Cleese. Ed Meitner is not
only one of the premier digital designers in the world today, he is a warm, funny and
completely enjoyable human being. Just goes to show you everything you need to know
about first impressions, I guess.
After lunch we repaired to Ed’s tricked out Mercedes Benz and went in search of thrills and
audio tape. We got lost, we got found. We did guy talk... we went round corners grand vitae.
All in all, a most harmonious and lovely afternoon.
Wandering around the halls revealed a complete geek festival... (I mean that in the most
affectionate way.) Grinning audiophiles were everywhere, and there was an obvious spirit of
conviviality. No frowns, no sneers... no snide asides... hardly recognizable as an audiophile
group!
My primary interest the first day was in the Wavestream/Cardas room. Mike Pappas was
going to put his Genex machine and the new generation Meitner 8-channel DSD converter in
front of Scott Frankland’s new re-designed Wavestream V-8 monoblocks, with Cardas wiring
and a high efficiency pair of Von Schweikert DB100 (the model number referring to the
efficiency rating). This promised to be a serious audio event, especially in that most of the
attendees had never heard DSD, let alone from a master.
gardnervasc
Well, Scott fires up his new amps and the entire western seaboard goes black (well, actually
it was only three or four rooms). Breakers are re-set and the amps are fired up again, with
identical results. Gee!
Strange, but you can’t effectively power three audio demo rooms off a single 15 amp circuit.
Go figure.
Mike applied filthy lucre to the problem, George Cardas performed wiring magic and about
an hour later, voila! . . . DSD masters. I can’t say I was particularly enamored of the VS
speakers, but other than that, the room rocked! It was fascinating to see the effect DSD had
on the show attendees, expressions like those actors from Spielberg’s Close Encounters
when they saw the mother ship!
I divided my time that day between seeing every demo room in the place, and recruiting
listeners for the DSD demo, like those kids from Puppetmaster.
As one might expect from the venue title, what we have here is mostly SE and PP tube
amplification and high efficiency speakers. I particularly enjoyed seeing the DIY room and I
even heard a horn speaker I liked! (It was by Brooks Audio, if you’re curious.) This was a
first for me.
However, more enjoyable were all the friendly people, who appeared to be relaxed and
having a great time. The show is small enough to allow for easy access to all the rooms,
ease of movement, and plenty of chat time.
The evening of the second night a large group of us mannish types went out to dinner. The
food was forgettable, but the conversation was not. We men are tribal, and geeks are no
exception... we all do the “trump” story game. You know what it is... if one guy had a three
hundred horsepower car, the next one had four hundred. Well... we hit the point where Mike
Pappas put his new ten thousand-watt radio transmitter amplifier installation on the table,
and I figured we had a winner.
At this point, I casually inquired from a very affable gentleman sitting across from me as to
his occupation. He mildly replied that he was the maintenance manager for an atomic
supercollider! A shocked silence descended over the group. No one spoke for a second until
the former winner, Mike Pappas said, “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but my
dick just got a lot shorter!” One of those perfect moments that only males could understand!
Did the experience at VSAC fundamentally change my reservations about SE and horns?
Sorry... no. However, it was even more clear to me that it doesn’t matter. We all pursue our
audio interests with differing goals and sensibilities. What impressed me was the fellowship.
We need not agree about everything to be friends, and traveling companions.
Vive la difference!
gardnervasc
BACK TO TOP
papasvsac
Mike makes the VSAC Show; Or, How the PF Clan Set the
SET Crowd on its Ear!
by Mike Pappas
Well, David Robinson harangued me into taking a weekend off and going to the VSAC show
outside of Seattle. “It will be a blast and you will have a good time,” he said. Ya right… Just
what I wanted to, do hang out with a bunch of 4-watt single-ended amp guys. David also
said bring up a Direct Stream Digital (DSD) machine and a bunch of masters and we’ll take
a listen. Well that was more like it!
I scouted up a Genex GX-8500 8 track DSD recorder with 5.2 gig magneto optical drive from
Mickey at Wind Over The Earth in Boulder and browbeat Ed Meitner to drive down to the
Show from Canada with one of his latest and greatest D to A converters.
I made flight arrangements via United Airlines to fly me to Portland and return me back to
Denver from Seattle for the minor sum of $209. Next I checked the Genex and a backup 1st
generation Meitner D to A converter. Nothing like having 15K worth of gear (all of which I
don’t own) riding around in the belly of a Boeing 737, courtesy of United Airlines. I opted to
hand carry the 12 hours of first generation Jazz DSD masters on the aircraft (I can always
get new gear, the masters were another story!).
I lucked out and got an upgrade to First Class on the ride to Portland. Figuring it was a
vacation I fired up a Bloody Mary made with Finlandia vodka as we hit cruising altitude.
Rick Gardner offered to pick me up at Portland’s airport and entertain me for the day. Little
did Rick know what he was getting himself into. United deposited all of the gear and my
luggage at the baggage claim area of the airport without drama. I scooped up the hardware
and went looking for Rick.
After a couple of cell phone calls Rick and I connected and were off. A stop at a great
Vietnamese restaurant for some sustenance and we were off to Rick’s house. I hadn’t had
time to index any of the DSD masters I brought with me so I set up the Genex Machine and
the back up Meitner converter, and we sat down for a 4 and 1/2 hour session of listening.
I started with a master of live performance by Jazz Trumpeter Ron Miles. I was scanning
through the cuts and found the cut I was looking for. I was about to move on and took a look
at Rick. His eyes were closed and he had this look of sheer enjoyment on his face. I decided
to let the whole 15 minute cut run to completion. At the end of the cut I asked Rick if he was
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OK and if he wanted to hear more. Affirmative was the answer. I dug through it all looking for
the choicest cuts.
Rick’s system was sublime, and I really enjoyed the presentation. Great imaging and
soundstage with accurate tonality. We don’t compress or use limiters, so the peaks on these
recordings were upwards of 25 dB above the average levels. Rick’s system had huge
horsepower, which made it a pleasure to listen to all of my DSD recordings. His playback
system consists of a BAT VK-50SE line stage preamp, BAT VK-500 power amplifier and
ESP Concert Grand Signatures speakers. JENA Labs cables were used through out the
system.
About 3 hours into the session, Rick cracked open a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon as we
picked our way through session after session of live jazz recordings.
By the end of the day we had the “crème de la crème” of cuts all lined up and ready to go.
Rick was in a new world and was plotting how we were going to rock the VSAC show with
the DSD recordings. I was a bit more sanguine about it. How were you going to get 25 dB
peaks through 4 watt SET amps driving single driver full range systems? I was going to have
to think about this further. Just then our Fearless Editor David Robinson called. He had
talked to Rick several times during the day and was dying to get me over to his place for a
listen. Now!
We packed up the DSD system and headed off to David Robinson’s abode. Of course we
had to make a stop at the local Tobacconist Shoppe for some supplies. I don’t partake (due
to allergies), but the aroma of fresh cigars was out of this world! Suitably armed we headed
over to David’s house.
David was in rare form when we arrived, and I proceeded to power up the DSD system
before we went out to dinner to let the gear warm up. David was like a small child on
Christmas morning with a new flamethrower! He wanted to know all about the system and
how it worked and on and on. David’s other half, Lila Ritsema, wanted to get some dinner. In
the interests of marital bliss we headed off to a local Mexican restaurant and slurped
margaritas and stuffed ourselves with fine South-of-the-Border fare.
After a thorough splurge we headed back to David’s where I drooled over his rare 1990
Porsche 928GT and got a test-drive at speeds well above those considered to be
“reasonable and prudent”! Yah, but fun wasn’t it?!
After that act of madness we retired to his listening room where I proceeded to “rock his
world” with about an hour worth of first-generation Jazz DSD recordings. David’s system
was lots of fun to listen to, consisting of an Audio Research Corporation Reference Two Mk.
II preamp driving Linn Klimax power amps (which is what I use at home) into a pair of Nova
Rendition II Loudspeakers. Interconnects were by JENA Labs, Cardas, and Linn. Power
cables were by Cardas, First Impression Music, and Sound Applications with a Sound
Applications CFX Line Conditioner, Quantum Octave and Symphony Pro Line
Conditioner/Line Stabilizer, Tice Signature III Power Block, and VansEvers Clean Line.
The system was really dynamic, musically involving, and a blast to spend time with. Our tour
papasvsac
de force listening session ended about 11:00 PM. We were planning on getting an early start
the next day for the drive to the VSAC show, so it was off to bed.
6:30 AM came quite early (as it usually does!), and we needed to hit the road by 7:30. Rick
Gardner arrived promptly and we packed David’s PT Cruiser for the 3-hour drive.
Mr. Gardner started off the day by arriving with not one, but two Thermos loads of customblended coffee liberally laced with Tia Maria. His opening line was “this is the best you are
going to feel all day!” You know what, Campers? He was right!
Things got a little scattered (yah, right—like saying the elephant man had a little puffiness
around the eyes), so fasten your seat belts as here are the official “PF Road Trip notes”: We
were talking about music and things kinda morphed from there.... Then there was the
discussion of food, and the notes say, “This sure doesn’t taste like chicken!” My next set of
notes read “No good can come from any of this.” And we’ll leave it at that!
We arrived in Silverdale Washington about 10:30 AM. and staggered into the lobby to check
in to the VSAC host hotel—and whom do we run into? Ed Meitner. Ed had driven his
Mercedes E-420 Sport with AMG mods like a demon, and arrived at the hotel about 2:00
AM; he was just getting around to checking out the hotel.
As in all matters of Love and Audio, timing was everything and we proceeded to check in
and scope out the scene. Fate was with us as the Meitner D to A converter was waiting for
Ed at the front desk. Ed said he needed to “eat something” (code word for: beer time) and
we all marched off to the restaurant. David, Rick and Ed partook in some of the local microbrews. I am on a no carbohydrate diet and the sun was past the yardarm (in England), so I
went for an Absolut on the rocks with a lime.
As usual we discussed all of the guy things. Audio, booze and broads. What else is there?
After lunch we twisted Ed’s arm to giving all of us a ride in his E 420 Mercedes. Again no
speed limits were spared in this V-8 masterpiece of Teutonic engineering. What a great ride!
We pit stopped at a local store to get some batteries and cassette tapes to record the DSD
round table session scheduled for the next day. As Ed, Rick and myself stood around the E
420 with its hood up, shamelessly ogling its motor and the girls in the parking lot, the
discussion turned to women and audio.
Rick was still recovering from the sonic world rocking I gave him the day before. David was
still out orbiting Pluto. Then Ed dropped the big one. He said to Rick “ You know that the D
to A I have here is three generation better than the one that you were listening to yesterday.
We even cryogenically treat the wires.” Rick was knocked out..!
When David returned from his hunt for batteries and cassette tapes a few moments later, we
headed back to the Hotel. I dropped all of my stuff at the room and opened the box with the
Meitner converter.
Wow, things have certainly changed since the first one! The current Meitner converters are
all 8 channel. Ed says this is because the cost differential between the 2-track version and
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the 8-track version was “stupid”. (I take this to mean that there was little difference in price.)
The new 8-channel version has a thick front panel and significant heft. Lots of switches let
you configure it for a myriad of applications. It will even do PCM if you should so desire—but
why would you?! (Friends don’t let friends use PCM!)
The back is chock full of connectors of various sexes and types. The converter will even act
as a master clock (for use with the Sony Sonoma DSD editing system). Ed had mercy on all
of us older guys who couldn’t see the recessed trim pots on the old versions. He arranged to
have red LED’s back light the trimmer holes so you can see where to put the screwdriver (in
a dark room it makes the converter looks possessed). I got Ed to help me pull the cover,
which uses a boatload of Torx screws (in two different sizes to deter the curious) and
checked out the construction quality.
Let me say this about Ed’s work: First Class! All glass epoxy boards, lots of surface mount,
the switching power supply is referenced to the clock of the signal (Ed says that he has the
lowest jitter power supplies in the world), and cryogenically treated wire make one hell of a
converter!
I fired up the Genex machine and noted the Meitner converter’s big bright blue Lock LED
had come on. When the blue light is on, you are good to go!
A meeting of the troops was scheduled to happen in the outdoor lounge area overlooking the
Puget Sound. As it was well past the time when the sun is over the yardarm, I was back to
the double Absolut on the rocks with a lime while the boys (which now included Stan Ricker
amongst others) checked out the local micro-brews. The discussions ranged far and wide for
quite sometime. As it was getting dark and the brews and booze were working on the
digestive systems of the participants, we retired to a local fish restaurant for some
sustenance.
Many tall tales were told at dinner, which was casual and the food was outstanding. I was
kind of running on empty, and retired shortly after we returned to the hotel. We scheduled a
meeting for 08:00 the next morning.
My room faced Puget Sound (East) and the morning sun illuminated my room through the
creases and cracks around the curtains. The morning got off to a late start and I didn’t have
time to get breakfast before the events of the day got under way.
The first order of business was to get the Positive Feedback room setup for business. This
entailed us humping boxes of magazines and putting the PF banner up on the wall of a
meeting room. We also had to set up to record the round table discussion, which was
scheduled for later in the day.
All morning David had been plotting to get the DSD system set up in George Cardas’s demo
room. I went down to his room, which was directly across the hall from mine to check out the
system. Scott Frankland was there showing off a bunch of new Wavestream power amps
that he had designed into a pair of Von Schweikert DB100 speakers with a Hovland preamp
and tons of Cardas interconnects, speaker leads, power cords and AC strips. He was driving
these with some low power SET amps which were nice, but I didn’t think would cover the
papasvsac
25dB peak-to-average level the DSD master recordings that I had brought with me had. He
also had a pair of hulking prototype 80 Watt monoblocks lurking in the corner just waiting for
someone (like me, maybe?!) to ask him to fire up.
With very little prompting, Scott agreed to power them up, and told me to come back with the
DSD gear in about a half an hour. Ed was with me and we determined that what we needed
to do was to go the restaurant and have some breakfast. We arrived at the restaurant and
were told that it was too late to get breakfast. Bummer! Ed whipped out $20 and told the
Host to ask the chef if we could “entice” him to make us breakfast for a “minor
consideration.” (Heh heh!)
Two minutes later we were seated and breakfast was ordered… After our repast we headed
back up to the Cardas room to check out the amps. I got a bad feeling when I noticed that all
of the lights in the three demo rooms prior to the Cardas room were out, and the rooms
weren’t making any noise. Being a veteran of “Power Wars Down at the Not OK Corral” in an
audio show or two, I figured that this was not a good sign. I figured right.
Scott Frankland told us that every time he tried to power up the amps it would take out the
power. Hummm. 1“How about we tap the power out of my room, which is right across the
hall?” sez I. All we need is a big gage power cord about 75 feet long and a roll of gaffer’s
tape. The question was how to procure this. I had a “brain seizure” and called the hotel
maintenance folks. A nice gentleman showed up about 15 minutes later with a couple of
wimpy 25-foot cables. This wasn’t going to make it.
Taking Ed’s cue and really wanting to hear the amps, I cracked out a spanking new $20 bill
and gave it to the guy. In what seemed like about 2 seconds the nice gentleman from
maintenance returned with a nice big fat power cable and new roll of gaffers tape. He
proceeded to lay it out, plug it in and tape it down in world record time. Ed pointed out a little
graft goes a long way. Guess so!
Now that we had good power, Scott could warm up the monster tube amps. We consulted
with George Cardas who had just popped into the room for a moment, and determined that
we should really power all of the head end gear off from the same power feed. That project
would require an additional 25-foot power cord, which we didn’t have. No problem. I just
picked up the phone and called “our man” in maintenance. By the time I had hung up the
phone we had a nice 25-foot extension cord and another brand new roll of gaffers tape. This
bribe thing really works!
I dragged over the DSD gear and set it up. We ran into a couple of problems. The big one
was that all of Ed’s new converters don’t have unbalanced outputs. Of course the preamp
that George was using didn’t have balanced in… Jennifer Crock of JENA Labs fame can to
the rescue with a pair of XLR to RCA adapters. (Bless her!)
Our next problem was a ground loop that reared it ugly head with the new powering system.
Scott was working on isolating the problem doing something that I had never seen mere
mortals do with tube amps. That’s right campers: Scott was disconnecting the outputs of the
tube amps WHILE THEY WERE RUNNING!
papasvsac
Now I don’t know about you folks, but I was always terrified to disconnect the output of a
tube amp while it was running. It seems most of the tube amps I have been around would
have a tendency to toss their cookies if you unloaded them while they were fired up. The
output tubes would glow cherry red, and if you were really lucky you would only fry some
tubes. If you rolled snake eyes, the amp would fry its innards, releasing a large amount of
factory installed smoke, requiring a trip to the shop.
I was waiting for the inevitable Chernobyl melt down of the amps—and guess what? They
didn’t! Then he started to patch the inputs to the amps with nothing connected to the output
and the amps running. This guy has cajones! I have seen tube amps blow up just by looking
sideways at them, and here is Scott fearlessly plugging inputs and leaving the outputs
unloaded while the amps are fully fired up. Amazing.
After what seems like a long while George Cardas pops back in the room and fixes the
entire ground loop hum by using one of his slick power strips—in about 1 minute! Sound
emanates forth from the system and I fire up the Ron Miles cut.
Right then David Robinson runs into the room and is dragging me out of the room by the
scruff of the neck to the DSD round table discussion. I tell Scott that Genex machine is up
and running and I will be back later to take a listen, expecting him to switch back to the Sony
SCD-1 that they were using.
I make the DSD round table discussion only slightly late, and an hour later I finally make my
way back to the Cardas room. As I walk down the hall, I can’t believe my ears. It’s the Ron
Miles cut being played at a fairly brisk level (fairly brisk = just less than hair parting). People
are lined up out of the door. After a couple of “shift changes” I finally get in the room. I ask
Scott what was up. He said that it sounded so great that he kept playing the Ron Miles cut
over and over…
OK, so let’s get serious. I broke out the rest of the masters and started running through them
with Scott. We started with the Eric Gunnison trio. A classic Jazz trio: Piano, Bass and
Drums. Well campers, the system in the Cardas room with Scott’s new amps was out of this
world! The room was so stuffed with people you couldn’t move.
I then went to “something completely different” Denver bassist Kenny Walker leading a
sextet. From there we trekked to a screaming hot paced version of “These are a few of my
favorite things” with Mary Anne Moore on vocals, featuring a drum solo by Paul Romaine
that Scott had cranked up way past the polite level (close to hair parting). One of the
listeners in the front seat asked Scott to turn it down. I was shocked when Scott refused,
saying this is what music should sound like!
Well campers, those amps that Scott built were rocking my world. Stan Ricker stopped in for
about an hour and the look of bliss on his face just had to be seen. I went through my entire
arsenal of cuts and finished with a Dianne Reeves cut that I recorded with her and her
Brazilian guitar player doing a cover of “Misty.” The system was awesome. Huge dynamics
were handled with nary a strain. There was no unseemly bloom or artificial midrange. It
generated low end that was tight and controlled. It had groove and was joyous to listen to for
hours on end! No doubt about it: 200% killer!
papasvsac
I found myself thinking strongly about buy a pair of these Wavestreams. That’s right folks! I
had an epiphany with these amps. Me, the solid-state guy, is starting to have unlawful carnal
knowledge about these amps.
Maybe I can get Scott to send me a pair to review. Readers, you will be the first folks to
know if my epiphany holds and I become a convert to, as Ed put it, “Fire FETS!”
Scott went crazy after I showed him how to run the Genex and gave him a list of all the cuts.
I told him that the bright blue lock LED must be on or “you’re fucked!” as the converter
wouldn’t make a peep with the lock light out. This became the running mantra of the show. If
you said, “The blue light is out,” everyone who was in on the joke would respond with
“...you’re fucked!”
As the day progressed, Scott played DJ with the Genex and my masters. I spent a fair
amount of time in the hallway outside of the Cardas room (since the room was stuffed with
people, and I didn’t want to suck up a seat and deprive folks of a chance to check out the
system). It was really interesting to watch the expressions of people’s faces as they exited
the room. They were divided into two classes: those who had heard what music reproduction
could really be like, and those people who walked out of that room looking like a miniature
poodle that had been licked on the rump by a Rotweiller! Those folks had run right up
against their beliefs about music reproduction and were faced with the fact that highly
euphonic, limited dynamic range systems need not apply to the brave new world of DSD…
Scott played DJ well past the closing time of the show Saturday night. I had an early flight
the next morning and was persuaded (I believe that the term used was “you’re leaving them,
or you will never see your dog again”—very convincing, even though I don’t have a dog!) to
leave the masters so that Scott could demo the DSD system all day Sunday. The word I got
was that the blue light was on and people were lined up out of the room to get a listen.
I needed a “break” (code word for “drink”) and joined David, Rick, Stan, Ed and George out
on the veranda to hoist a couple, and shortly thereafter we retired to the same fish
restaurant we had been at the night before. This time however, instead of 7 of us, we
needed a table for 18. All had a great time, and we got back to the hotel about 10:00 PM. I
ask Scott if he had left the amps running, because I wanted to go up to the room and spend
some time listening to the amps without the throngs.
I spent the better part of an hour listening with Alan Kafton from Audio Excellence of Arizona
in the front chair. Those amps were a revelation for me. Everything I fed them they handled
with aplomb. For the nightcap I played the Mary Anne Moore cut at about 100dB. I put Alan
right in the drum kit. It was outstanding!
The next morning came early, and I packed up my bags and caught the shuttle to SEA-TAC
airport. I ran into George Cardas in the lobby, and we discussed the possibilities of making
an SACD. We’ll see what happens.
So, I didn’t spend two days with a bunch of 4 Watt amps. Instead I got my world rocked with
Scott Frankland’s killer amps, and tossed a whole bunch of SET folks on their ears. I would
papasvsac
guess we would have to be considered the “Bad Boys” the VSAC show. Running Scott’s
killer monster amps into the VSR speakers, and taking no prisoners! It was a great time; I
can’t wait until the next time VSAC rolls!
As always you can send your comments to me at [email protected], or call me at
303/988-0976. The Sturgeon General’s warning applies big time: Anything you send me or
call me about is potential fodder for my next ranting for Positive Feedback!
Ask anyone who is doing time in the literary pen...
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august/september

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