UHF Magazine

Transcription

UHF Magazine

No. 93 CAN $6.49 / US $7.69
CONVERTERS: An upgrade to our reference
digital-to-analog converter, and a budget
DAC that could be just what you need.
REVIEWS: The newest current dumping
amplifier from Quad, a new flagship
turntable from Well Tempered, and two
power filters.
PLUS: A new, surprisingly affordable
addition to our home cinema reference,
feedback vs. feedforward, and a mammoth
roundup of audio shows.
RETURN LABELS ONLY OF UNDELIVERED COPIES TO:
270 rue Victoria, Longueuil, QC, Canada J4H 2J6
Printed in Canada
SPRING 2013
Canadian Publication Sales
Product Agreement
No. 40065638
UHF’s Audiophile Boutique
is a source of premium-grade
products, all recommended by
us, at special prices. Such as
this Moon CD3.3X player, with
Simaudio’s own transport, and a
digital input, to use its DAC with
other sources. Originally $3200,
now factory-refurbished with
five-year warranty, $1950.
The Moon 250i
integrated amplifier,
originally $1800, factoryrefurbished for $1395.
Quantities of all these
products are limited,
but new products will
be added as we receive
them.
Simaudio’s terrific economy
integrated was the i-1,
originally $1700. Factoryrefurbished with five-year
warranty, in stock for $1425.
Great as the heart of a highgrade economy music system
or a second system.
We also have DACs, both the original 300D (still our
reference) and the affordable 100D. You’ll also find phono
preamplifiers, all at special prices. All of these products are
recommended by UHF.
www.audiophileboutique.com
a division of UHF Magazine
Nuts&Bolts
Feedback and Feedforward34
by Paul Bergman
Feedback in amplifiers is widely understood.
Feedforward not so much.
Issue No. 93
The Listening Room
Quad Elite QSP Amplifier
Nostalgic for Quad’s legendary current-dumping
amps? They’ve never gone away.
36
The Well Tempered Versalex40
The most recent turntable from the maverick mind
of Bill Firebaugh.
Moon 300D v.244
It’s our reference digital-to-analog converter in
an upgraded (and more expensive) version. We
compare.
An Affordable DAC48
A digital-to-analog converter at a lower price, from
BRIK.
Two Power Filters50
From GutWire and Kingsound, solutions to your power
problems.
Radar For Your Turntable
53
These two devices from Speednic tell you how fast
your turntable is going
Cover story: The economy DAC from Brik, and the new
and improved version of Simaudio’s Moon 300D, both
running from USB.
Samsung’s Tube Boombox
54
If you associate Samsung with oversized phones and
high-grade TV sets, lend an ear to this!
Features
A Tale of Three Shows
16
by Gerard Rejskind and Albert Simon
A whirlwind of news and observations from Vegas,
Toronto and Montreal.
Audio Then and Now
As we enter our 31st year, we look back at some
product reviews that have stuck in our memories.
26
The Magic of the Violin63
by Reine Lessard
One of the orchestra’s oldest instruments remains a
firm favorite.
Software Reviews70
by Steve Bourke, Albert Simon and Gerard Rejskind
Departments
Cinema
Onkyo’s Home-Cinema Solution
If you want to save money by using a receiver for
a high-end home cinema system, check out the
Onkyo TX-NR709.
Software
30
Feedback7
Free Advice
9
Gossip & News
78
State of the Art
82
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine    3    
UHF Magazine No. 93 was published in May, 2013. All
contents are copyright 2013 by Broadcast Canada. They
may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system,
without written permission from the publisher.
EDITORIAL & SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE:
Broadcast Canada
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Tel.: (450) 651-5720
E-mail: [email protected]
World Wide Web: www.uhfmag.com
PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Gerard Rejskind
EDITORIAL: Paul Bergman, Steve Bourke, Toby Earp, Reine
Lessard, Kathe Lieber, Albert Simon
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY: Albert Simon
ADVERTISING SALES:
Gerard Rejskind (450) 651-5720
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UHF invites contributions. Though all reasonable care will
be taken of materials submitted, we cannot be responsible
for their damage or loss, however caused. Materials will
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Ultra High Fidelity Magazine is completely independent of
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contributors, unless explicitly specified otherwise.
4   ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Editorial
Getting UHF distributed
You possibly learned about it on our blog: our long-time newsstand distributor, Stonehouse Publications, a division of Transmedia, has closed its doors.
It happened without warning. Some publishers actually shipped magazines
to them and discovered there was nobody home. Ugly!
It was ugly for another reason too. Stonehouse was late, late, late with its
payments. When it closed, it took tens of thousands of dollars of our money
with it. The magazine business is tough enough today, even if we’re getting
everything that is due us.
However, it’s only money. We’re in this for love, but don’t tell that to our
new newsstand distributor, Disticor.
The age of the DAC
Unless you’re a new reader leafing through your first issue, you’ll know that
it stands for digital-to-analog converter. For many years, the DAC was just an
internal module, tucked into a dark corner of your CD player. Though the
CD will be around for a while, the CD player is dying. Today, it’s just one of
a number of digital sources, which may include your computer’s hard drive,
or even a dedicated computer. That means you’re likely to be shopping for a
standalone DAC. Several are reviewed in this issue. Expect to hear a lot more
on this.
But I’ve often said that product reviews are by no means the most important
part of UHF. We’ll also be writing extensively about how to choose one, and
what to do with it. We’re here to help.
Smart robbers
It hasn’t happened for many years, and we do take precautions, but if someone really, really wants to get into your place, they will. Our headquarters were
broken into while we were off covering TAVES, the Toronto show. All it took
was violence, plus intelligence. Except they came up short on the second one.
They went for the easy stuff: a shelftop stereo system that was perhaps
worth $100, and three of four beers that were in a fridge. Then they got ambitious, going for our Samsung plasma TV. They ripped all the wires out, but
unlocking the stand requires an IQ superior to one’s shoe size. They did run
off with the TV’s remote, ignoring the far more valuable universal remote.
Of course, we know that most burglars don’t turn to crime because they
weren’t making enough money in nuclear fusion. We remember the robber
who stuck up a bank while wearing his hockey sweater…with his name in
huge letters on his back. Then there was the blackmailer who knew enough
to use a public phone to deliver his threat…but didn’t know it was a poor idea
to pay for the call with a credit card.
Sounds as though one or the other of those guys got parole.
DOG EARS ARE CUTE, EXCEPT…
…on magazine pages. You don’t like dog-eared magazines either, right?
Yet it’s the expensive copy that’s likely to be tattered,
torn, and… yes, dog-eared. We mean the newsstand
copy.
Why? Where do copies sit around unprotected?
At the newsstand. Where do other people leaf
through them before you arrive, with remains of
lunch on their fingers? At the newsstand. Where
do they stick on little labels you can’t peel off?
Our subscribers, on the other hand, get pristine
copies protected in plastic, with the address label pasted on t h e
plastic itself, not the cover.
We know what you really want is a perfect copy, and the fact that you subscribed
and paid a little less doesn’t mean you’ll settle for less.
If you need one more reason to sign up, there’s the fact that with a subscription
you qualify for a discount on one or all three of our much-praised books on hi-fi
(see the offer on the other side of this page).
One more thing. Some newsstands run out of UHF four days after the copies
arrive. Have you missed copies?
SAVE EVEN MORE WITH MAGGIE’S ELECTRONIC EDITION!
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Read it on your computer, iPad, etc. It looks just like
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Much, much more to read…
This is our original book, which has been
read by thousands of audiophiles, both
beginners and advanced. It’s still relevant to
much of what you want to accomplish.
It’s a practical manual for the discovery and
exploration of high fidelity, which will make
reading other books easier. Includes in-depth
coverage of how the hardware works,
including tubes, “alternative” loudspeakers,
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biamplification. It explains why, not just how.
It has full instructions for aligning a tone arm,
and a gauge is included. A complete audio
lexicon makes this book indispensable. And
it can cost as little as $9.95 in the US and
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This long-running best seller includes
these topics: the basics of amplifiers,
preamplifiers, CD players, turntables and
loudspeakers. How they work, how to
choose, what to expect. The history of hi-fi.
How to compare equipment that’s not in the
same store. What accessories work, and
which ones are scams. How to tell a good
connector from a rotten one. How to set up
a home theatre system that will also play
music (hint: don’t do any of the things the
other magazines advise). How to plan for
your dream system even if your accountant
says you can’t afford it. A valuable volume
with 224 pages of essential information for
the beginner or advanced audiophile!
At last, all of Gerard Rejskind’s State of
the Art columns from the first 60 issues
of UHF. With a new introduction to each
column, 258 pages in all. Check below
to get your copy!
Five dollars off
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Just check off the books you want, then fill in the ordering information on the other side of this page.
You can also order online at www.uhfmag.com/Books.html
Take $5 off any or each of those prices if you subscribe
or extend a subscription at the same time
expert judge of the “true” value of audio
equipment, these publications helped the
consumer seeking high performance for
their money make an “informed” decision about which product they should
270 rue Victoria
buy. In doing so, audio publications
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
quickly became the axle in the wheel of
[email protected]
the audio industry. If one followed the
reviews of a particular publication, one
This is a difficult e-mail to write but
Thanks for showing me the future could then put different manufacturers
also a happy one, as it not only confirms three years ago.
and brands into a hierarchy of quality
what I long suspected but what you
Nick Lakoumentas and performance.
showed me using your iPhone at the
NEW YORK, NY
This pattern is not just true of audio
Montreal hi-fi show a few years ago.
equipment but other consumer goods as
At the time I remained unconvinced
We were just as shocked as you are, Nick. well, such as cars, watches, beer, clothof the merits of computer audio. My We still are.
ing, handbags and soft drinks. Certainly
system consists of a VPI Mk III table
brand names speak volumes about perwith an SME IV tone arm and Shure V15
Will you be reviewing the Audio- sonal identity within the subculture of
MK V cartridge, a YBA CD1a player, quest DragonFly?
audiophiles.
Linn Ikemi CD player, Nakamichi
Consider: when two audiophiles
Dan Marois
CD player, Rega Fono, Linn Majik
GATINEAU, QC meet, the first thing that they often do
integrated amplifier, and a pair of Linn
is talk about what stereo equipment they
Kan II speakers. This year I got married
We’re certainly looking at the Dragonfly, have. In doing so, they are positionto my American sweetheart, moved to Dan. There is an explosion of new digital- ing themselves into a respective social
NYC to be with my new bride, and along to-analog converters at all prices, and we’re hierarchy based on the products they
with me came my equipment, 1000-plus building up a list of new ones we want to have decided to purchase, and how
vinyl records and close to 4000 CDs. try. By its price and its size, the Dragonfly they and others view the significance of
Thankfully she was welcoming and is an eyecatcher.
the product brand. For example, “I’m
didn’t demand a divorce when she saw all
a serious listener because I have these
those boxes, but on seeing a copy of UHF
I’m writing to address the changing brands but I can tell that you are a more
she asked if it was possible to digitize our nature of audio review publications such serious listener because you have these
music.
as yours in the wake of the Internet more desirable brands.” The key point
I resisted because most of my col- revolution. One of the new capabilities here, however, is it was the audio review
lection consists of classical and opera, that the Internet provides is the ability magazines which determined the desirand I wanted the liner notes and libretti for audiophiles to communicate with ability of the brands, thus making the
close at hand. I also love the physical other audiophiles though forums in desirability more universal and hieraraspect of it all. Fast forward to this past cyberspace. I contend that has marked chical among audio enthusiasts.
weekend, one MacBook Pro, Stello U3, a revolution in how consumers of highThe Internet changed this, and it is
Moon 300D DAC, BIS cables and even priced and (occasionally) high-perfor- a change for the better. At first, daring
an optical cable for the aging YBA.
mance audio equipment make decisions. entrepreneurs used the growing reliI plugged ever y t hing toget her, I would first like to outline from where ance on Web-based communications
downloading the Remote app for the we have changed, and I believe that once to market whole publications. But the
iPad, and sat down to listen. First the that is understood it will be obvious why orientation of these publications was
YBA through the Moon. The sound was Internet audio forums are a change for basically the same. Audio “expert”
much improved, bringing the machine the best.
opinion was used as an endorsement
into the 21st century. Then the MacBook
In the past, it was almost the exclu- of products that the consuming public
Pro and Stello. Shocked! I had no idea sive role of audio magazines to promote was encouraged to buy. You may ask
it was going to be this good. My Ikemi “high-end” audio equipment. Manu- yourself how many times you have had
and YBA were bested by a computer!
facturers certainly promote their own the experience of purchasing an audio
I think this whole process is democ- products, as do dealers, but ultimately component that was highly reviewed
ratizing. By that I mean that no longer neither group is viewed by consumers as that just seemed, well…average at best?
are we beholden to CD drives and their “objective” in their evaluations of these Then, if one looks closer at the audio
limited shelf life. Imagine paying for a products because of their obvious finan- publication that rated the component
Krell, Naim or Linn only to find that cial incentive to sell you their products. in question, it is not surprising to find
some third-party supplier like Philips This is where audio review magazines that many of the manufacturers and
has decided to stop manufacturing the or the audio press found an important distributors buying advertising space
laser assembly.
niche. By taking on the role of the in the publication also seem to be get-
Feedback
King Sound
KS-010
Current Smoother
No hum normally associated with heavy coils.
A complex array of wiring circuit cancels noise
and interference, providing excellent isolation
and stable power without transient delays,
phase errors or current limiting.
Six isolated outlets and a cryogenically treated,
high-purity double-shielded OCC copper AC
cable, and perfect-contact copper plug.
The KS -010 improves image stability, contrast
and picture clarity of video components. Audio
components will have significantly better refined
sound, better defined spatial images, finer detail
and well-controlled bass.
(519) 749-1565
www.divertech.com
[email protected]
ting positive reviews. In fact, one major
publication in the US has an explicit
policy of only reviewing equipment
from manufactures that advertise in the
magazine. Outside of UHF Magazine,
to your credit, I have never read a bad
review of an audio component. It seems
to be an industry where the vast majority
of the products are rated above average,
which, if you stop to think about it, is
statistically impossible!
Now for the light at the end of this
dark tunnel and for the value of audio
reviews 2.0: the great thing about
audio consumers going online en masse
is that now consumers, rather than
“expert reviewers,” are writing reviews
of equipment. I for one have personally
found these reviews much more truthful and valuable. While there are many
limitations to consumer reviews such as
personal biases, lack of reviewer experience, knowledge, access to related comparison products, etc., there is at least
one revolutionary advantage: consumer
reviews are not (yet) funded by the audio
industry! In fact, consumer reviews are
an opportunity for the consumers of
audio products to break the monopoly
(or, more accurately, oligopoly) that
audio review magazines previously had
on influencing audio consumer decisions. Moreover, some consumers have
a far superior technical knowledge of
electronics and have actually dissected
popular audio designs, and in many cases
exposed the gross discrepancy between
the cost that the manufacturer charges
for the component and the relative cost
that it would take someone to build the
same product.
I have noticed that UHF is now 30
years old. That is an amazingly long time
to be in a business as fickle as this. I also
sincerely commend you on a publication
that I have followed for a long time and,
admittedly, was my gateway drug into
this hobby. However, not just in the last
30 years but even within the last 10 years,
the audio review publishing world has
changed dramatically. I have also noticed
that while UHF was very quick to go
online, it is still a top-down publication
that gives readers very little room to
communicate their own appraisals of
their equipment with other audiophiles.
While I value the Free Advice and cherish
the musical artist backgrounds, I believe
that the sun is setting on the monopoly
of the role of the expert reviewer and
on top-down audio review publishing. A
grass-roots movement of consumer-toconsumer communications is happening
in audio, as it is elsewhere, and I wonder
howGET
or even
UHF plans
to work
THEwhether
COMPLETE
VERSION!
withYou’ll
it as we
go forward.
have
noticed that this free
Rick Meyers
version of UHF Magazine
BURLINGTON,
ON
is not quite complete.
But you can
get the complete version
We don’tfrom
regardMaggie
the “dramatic
for $4. changes”
in audioClick
reviewing
here, as
and
rosily
away
as you
wedo,
go!Rick.
In any field, from audio to automobiles to
politics, nothing is more easily available than
opinions, and that has been true for years.
Check sites like homeaudioadvice.com or
epinions.com for some frightening examples.
Or Facebook.
There is of course no product so awful
that it doesn’t have fans on the Internet,
and no product so thoroughly excellent that
it won’t draw criticism from people who
insist it “suks.” We think this explosion of
opinions, some of them from people with an
axe to grind, makes choosing more difficult,
not easier.
Although we review equipment because
readers expect an audio magazine to do that,
we have long considered that the reviews
are the least valuable part of UHF. The
accompanying articles (yes, including Free
Advice) are what set us apart from most
other audio magazines, and certainly from
the online review sites.
It’s true that we have never set up a
reader discussion group, but there’s a reason
for it. Unless we spend a lot of time we don’t
have policing it, a discussion group will turn
into a jungle. Check the comments over at
engadget.com, or at a major newspaper like
the Globe and Mail. Though we have a
pretty good fan base, some individuals have
actually set up blogs just so they can flame us.
It gets nasty out there, and we would rather
the people with anger management issues pay
for their own bandwidth.
Something else we have never done is pick
up easy money by having Google ads on our
site. We’ve looked into it, because Google calls
us regularly, but a lot of the resulting ads
we’ve checked are downright fraudulent. If
we have a mission, it’s to warn you off stuff
like that.
I purchased a Mephisto II CD player
from Pierre Lurné in 2004. Recently
I advertised it for sale, and sold it to
a person in Torino, Italy. As voltage
is different in Europe, I opened the
Mephisto’s separate power supply and
there was a sliding switch to change
over to 230 V/50 Hz. The manual never
mentioned this. I did not change the
installed fuse. My customer has blown
the fuse, replaced it and thinks he has
also blown a capacitor. As you know,
Audiomecca has closed. Would you have
a hotline number for them, or contact
suggestions?
Ed King
QUALICUM BEACH, BC
Our contacts don’t seem to work, Ed.
Pierre was interviewed in TNT Audio as
recently as 2011, but the last Web site address
we have for him takes us to a Russian spa.
We wonder how the Italian purchaser knows
a capacitor has blown. If it has, that is probably unrelated to the blowing of the fuse. If
he knows which capacitor is damaged (if it’s
blackened, say), a competent audio technician
should be able to replace it even without a
schematic.
“sound card.”
Don’t buy a sound card from Asus,
or from any other computer company.
Don’t buy a sound card at all. To explain
why we say this, consider what a “sound
card” actually is. It is a DAC — a digital270 rue Victoria
to-analog converter — something that
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
a high-end audio dealer (including our
own Audiophile Store) could sell you for
[email protected]
hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. It
Over the years I have much ben- a volume control.
is also an ADC — an analog-to-digital
efited from your advice and many
If you have someone available who converter — which, logically, should
of my components and accessories knows how to work on Linns, you might cost every bit as much. Audio cards cost
have been purchased (some from your inquire what level of improvement you a piddly fraction of these prices. It’s not
store) after input from your magazine. can obtain for how much of your wealth. because computer makers are so much
So thanks!
You don’t say what Grado cartridge you smarter or less greedy than audio people,
I have been listening to a lot of LPs have, but it’s possible that you should be but because they know beans about
again lately and am interested in upgrad- looking at the cartridge and the phono audio. To add insult to whatever else
ing my older system. I was perusing your preamp as areas of attention. Whatever they’re doing to you, the sound card is
store and intrigued by the recommended your choice, it makes sense to take as placed inside the computer case, possibly
cartridges and preamps for example, but large a leap as possible. Small upgrades the most audio-hostile environment you
not at all sure which component should are expensive, and they often lead to can imagine. We suppose placing it next
be upgraded first, or perhaps more heartburn.
to the core of a nuclear reactor might be
importantly, provide the “best bang for
worse.
the buck” on my system. On the analog
I have recently upgraded my HeyWe wish audio stores carried audio
side I start with an almost original LP12 brook TT2 turntable and purchased interfaces, and we would ourselves,
(upgraded chassis) with original SME V a Pro-ject USB-V Phono box to hook but the people who make them cater
tone arm and Grado cartridge, down to the Heybrook up to my HP desktop to musicians, and they regard us with
a Pro-Ject SE preamp, then down to a computer. I downloaded Audacity as my undisguised hostility. What you need
fairly new Audio Research power amp. audio editor. All is well? No, not even is an outboard audio interface, probably
What single item would you recommend close.
connecting via USB, from a company
to upgrade to provide most improvement The recorded music has an annoy- catering to musicians. That might
Likely erroneously, I tend to go ing background hiss that is not present include Edirol (a division of Roland,
for the quick-fix items I can change when playing the Heybrook through of synthetizer fame), Apogee, Focuseasily myself, like upgrade to one of the the phono-box directly. Based on a few rite, Alesis, etc. If you haven’t already
Simaudio preamps in your store, rather hours of searching the Web for answers, guessed, this class of gear will come not
than tone arms, cartridges and the like, it appears
should
replace the
Where Ido
the questions
for sound from computer dealers but from stores
which would probably require me findcard
in
my
computer
(still
the
original
our famous Free Advice section come
from? catering to musicians. It will work with
ing someone I trust to set up properly
sound
card).
I
saw
a
highly-rated
sound
commonly available software, including
Our readers send them to us at [email protected].
(not easy any more).
card
from
Asus
called
Xonar
Essence
Audacity.
The questions, and our answers,
Jeff Burrowes
STX
and
ST. I
was
wondering
whether
If you’re willing to splurge on big
may appear on line, in the magazine, or both.
CALGARY, AB there We
are don’t
any other
options
you
could
hard
drives (plus hard drives that can
reply by mail,
suggest.
I
would
prefer
to
spend
more
serve
for backups) you may even want to
and we don’t give it for free
Jeff, it’s possible your Linn can
be
on
my
stereo
before
spending
a
few
record
at higher resolution: 24 bits and
if you request that your question not be made public.
upgraded further at reasonable cost (an hundred
on
my
computer.
I
am
not
a
96
kHz
or 88.2 kHz sampling rate. After
We do ask for your name and city.
expression not often associated with hi-tech computer
person,
however
I
do
all,
your
source, an LP, has (theoretiAsk away!
Linn, to be frank), but finding an arm like tablet control of all my music from cally) an infinite sampling rate. beyond the very good SME V is an my couch, which is why I am digitizing
expensive project, and that’s not where my albums (plus it will be less expensive
I have a VTL Ultimate Preamp that
you should be looking.
than purchasing new CDs and yield, requires a fair amount of maintenance.
But we’re puzzled. Unless we’re hopefully, better sound).
It is still fully operational, but requires
missing something, your Pro-Ject SE is
Peter DeCordova a number of parts to be replaced.
a phono preamp, also called a phono secMISSISSAUGA, ON The switches and attenuators are
tion, intended to feed a preamplifier or
going. Also, when I purchased it used
integrated amplifier. You can’t actually
Your project is perfectly sound, Peter, about eight years ago from someone
be feeding a power amplifier directly, but there is one item in your letter that in the US, the border thugs actually
because if you were, you would not have rings alarm bells for us. That is the item opened the preamp and loosened many
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also lets dust in. The preamp includes
three attenuators (left, right and master
volume) and two source switches for the
left and right channels. If they merely
require cleaning, which would not be
surprising, any competent service technician can do it, and the fact that this
is a tube preamplifier is not important.
If they suffer from wear, you will need
service from a VTL service centre. In
that case we suggest contacting VTL
and asking for a recommendation. The
company may elect to do the service
itself.
Capacitors are a different matter. The
VTL Ultimate was not known for easy
serviceability, and changing them may
be difficult, unduly expensive, or even
impossible. Good quality capacitors
probably have a shelf life of at least three
decades, but heat degrades them faster,
and your preamplifier would run at least
warm. Still, since you say that you are
happy with the preamp’s performance,
we would put off a complete rebuild until
it is needed. Which might be never.
But are you saying that customs
authorities opened the unit and loosened
parts? If so, they must not be overburdened with work! We’d guess that can
be fixed easily by whoever cleans the
working parts. You may get off cheap.
components. This also could use some
careful reconstruction as well.
There is a local audio shop I have dealt
with in the past for various purchases,
but not for repairs of this nature. I am
not sure if they can do tube repairs. I
am wondering if there is anyone you
may suggest in Canada who would specialize in repairs and upgrades of tube
preamps, mainly switches, attenuators
and capacitors. Can you offer any other advice on what
I should be asking for in terms of replac10   ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
ing parts for longevity and cost-effective
improvements in sound? I am actually
quite happy with the performance of
this preamp, so I do not feel the need to
perform massive upgrades.
Wilson Tam
EDMONTON, AB
It’s not certain that the attenuators
and switches actually need replacement,
Wilson. The top plate on your preamplifier is ventilated, as it must be to dissipate
the heat of tubes, and what lets heat out
I have an old Talisman Alchemist A
cartridge (circa early 80’s) installed in a
Grace 707 arm on an older Linn LP12
turntable. I also have a Revolver turntable (circa 1985) with a 2008 Clearaudio
Classic cartridge on it. (I bought the
LP12 recently to replace the Revolver —
planning to do the upgrades soon). I am
using a Copland CTA-405 integrated
with Energy Reference Connoisseur
speakers (circa 1988).
My question is whether you would
expect the music to sound better if I
replaced the Talisman cartridge with the
Clearaudio on the LP12. I believe the
sound from the LP12 should be better
(tighter bass, more defined midrange,
clearer highs). The Revolver sounded
better, but that may have been due to the
newer cartridge. I’m hoping that a new
cartridge on the LP12 should allow it to
exceed the performance of the Revolver.
I am asking before taking the table to a
dealer to have the Clearaudio cartridge
Dave, the tightness of the bass and the
clarity of the highs are much influenced
by vertical tracking angle, which is in
turn determined by tone arm height.
Too low an arm will give you loose bass
and muddy highs. Too high an arm
will give you thin bass and shrill highs.
Either extreme will muddy up the focus
on a good recording.
We would look for a new cartridge,
one with a line contact stylus. That will
give you lower distortion and less noise,
as well as enhanced dynamics. Of course,
any cartridge must be set up properly.
I recently installed new KT88
output tubes into my Dynankit Mark
III amplifier. One of the tubes, which
is not defective, produces a mechanical
noise, a hum. What can I do to reduce
this mechanical noise?
Walter C. Labys
MORGANTOWN, WV
Actually, Walter, we think the KT88 is
defective. If the elements are not tightly
secured, they can vibrate. The culprit in
your case is probably the cathode, since
it is heated, in most amplifiers, by AC. It
can’t be fixed, since you can’t get at the
innards of the tube without breaking the
vacuum seal, and so the only solution, if
the hum is loud enough to be objectionable, is to change it.
This is, I think, only the second time
I’ve written in the 20 years I’ve been
reading your wonderful magazine. I was
fascinated — well, captivated is more
like it — by your review of the Stello U3
(UHF No. 92).
I have been using a Mac Mini as a
music server for about eight months, and
I grew so discouraged that I took it out
of the system. I had optimized it with
Pure Music, used the best Toslink interconnect I could find, an all-glass one
from Wireworld, with results that were
always pleasant but never fully musical
or dynamic. The plain fact was that CDs
from my disc spinner very often sounded
better than the same music, even hi-res
versions, played from the Mini. And
signal from both goes through a Naim
nDAC, a very good one indeed.
I suspect the problem is noise from the
ugly little internal power supply in the
Mini. Earlier versions had an external
power module — no prize, but probably
much better than this internal version.
The symptoms were very consistent with
a bad power supply: loss of dynamics, a
certain veiling at all frequencies. Your
friend’s $300 used Mini may well be
better.
I wonder if you think the U3 would
somehow buffer or defeat this problem.
I would love to hear what you’re hearing
(and surprised that you hear it straight
out of iTunes, without using Pure
Music). I guess what I would like is some
assurance that I can go ahead and order
one with some certainty of success.
Don Braid
CALGARY, AB
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installed, as I don’t think I can adjust it
correctly. Alternatively, do you think
the Clearaudio is worth it? Would I be
better off just buying a new cartridge
(perhaps one of the Goldrings from the
audio store)?
Dave Rose
EDMONTON, AB
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speakers represent a reasonable choice. I
note that the Episodes are more efficient,
at 91 dB versus 88 dB for the Sonograms,
but are slightly more expensive. Is there
anything else I should consider in assessing these two speakers, given my large
constraint of being unable to audition
them? Barry Ward
COQUITLAM, BC
Your letter is thought-provoking,
Don, because it brings up something
we hadn’t thought of. You’re right: the
Mac mini now has an internal power
supply, which means it is closer to the
computer’s works. We may get a chance
to experiment with different versions of
the mini, and we think this may be an
ongoing project as we learn more.
For the moment we can tell you
this. In our Omega reference system
the dedicated computer is an aging
MacBook Pro, which is running from a
battery plugged into a charger. However,
we also pull in music over Wi-Fi from
a distant Mac Pro, which of course has
an internal power supply. The quality
is indistinguishable. That is to say, if
we listen to the same music residing
on the local and the remote computer,
there is no audible change. Both sound
better than the original CD on our Linn
Unidisk.
I just read your review of the Stello
U3 and am contemplating a purchase.
Have you reviewed AES/EBU cables
in any of your issues, as I’d like to know
if there is any reason for using them
over coaxial? (The Stello has an AES/
EBU output.)
John Clarke
BURNABY, BC
We’ve tried it, and it works very well,
John, though we didn’t have exactly the
same cables in coax and AES/EBU form,
and so we couldn’t compare directly (we
may possibly do so). The benefit may be
indirect. The digital cable carries some
very high frequency traffic, and you don’t
want this stuff to leak into the analog
part of the chain. The balanced cable
has an advantage on that score.
Barry, either speaker would be an
upgrade over your Paradigms, which
were not truly reference speakers despite
their name. We praised the Sonogram to
the skies when it first appeared because
of its startlingly low price, but that price
has since soared.
Your Linn amplifier has limited
muscle, and it will be much more at
ease with the higher efficiency and the
simplified crossover of the Reference 3a.
That would be our choice.
Should I use the 100 ohm setting or
the 470 ohm setting with a 0.8 mV BenzMicro M cartridge? I bought a couple of
Moon 310LP’s from you last year and
would appreciate your advice when you
have a moment.
David Ebertt
DRAYTON, ON
THEtoCOMPLETE
I am GET
looking
upgrade myVERSION!
speakhaveReference
noticed that
this free Looking over the Benz-Micro spec
ers from You’ll
Paradigm
to either
version
of UHF
Magazine sheet, we would expect that the 470
Reference 3A
Episodes
or Gershman
is not
quite complete.
But you canohm setting would be right. The 100
Sonogram
speakers.
Unfortunately,
get thehas
complete
neither company
a dealerversion
in the ohm setting, which is fine for most MC
Vancouver areafrom
where
Maggie
I could
foraudition
$4.
cartridges, would probably be too low.
these speakers.
ClickI here,
did have
andthe
away
chance
we go!
to
listen to the Sonograms several years ago
Just wondering if you have had a
when they were first introduced. They chance to look at TVs since UHF No. 89.
have since been upgraded, I understand. I know new high definition will be here
My amp is a Linn LK140 with the in March. I’m looking to buy now but
companion preamp, the Linn Kollector, not a smart TV or 3D. Could you give
both of which I have had for a number me a recommendation?
of years. I also have the Linn Genki
Terry Iuvancigh
CD player and plan to add a DAC in
THUNDER BAY, ON
the future. I use Navigator All-Cu
interconnects and my speaker cables
Terry, if you mean the so-called 4K
are Wireworld Atlantis with Milty gold sets, their problem is that not only is
connection bananas. I have the Inouye there no 4K source available, but none
synergistic power line conditioner and is even proposed. The new sets will
Stingray power bar with upgraded power therefore have to upsample. We’ve seen
cords. I have a rather large listening room side-by-side comparisons that appeared
that could be characterized as “bright” in to show that upsampling Blu-ray to 4K
terms of its sound characteristics.
resolution provides a dramatic improve My question is whether these two ment. What we actually noticed was
that the standard 1080p set provided for
comparison looked just awful, and had
clearly been sabotaged.
For the moment, we recommend a
plasma TV from a major manufacturer,
such as Samsung or Panasonic.
I have a pair of the original Quad II
tube monoblocks as well as the accompanying preamp. The monoblocks work
well, but the preamp is a bit flaky, plus it
falls seriously short of supporting most
of today’s sources.
Which reasonably-priced preamp
should I consider pairing with the
Quads?
Which speakers should I consider? I
would prefer bookshelf models or similar
size with stands, due to lack of space.
I owned a pair of Quad ESL-57’s that
worked beautifully with the amps, but
space and WAF forced me to sell.
The sources will be mostly Apple/
Mac products.
Andreja Bozovic
TORONTO, ON
I have recently been lucky enough to
inherit a large collection of LPs to add
to my own, and need more shelf space.
The obvious thing to do is to rip all my
CDs so I can replace the shelves with
some 2000 CDs on them with shelves
Get UHF from Maggie
on your desktop or iPad
anywhere in the world!
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Your monoblocks, which are still sold
in slightly more powerful versions, were
very good, and if they show no signs of
failure you should certainly hang on to
them. The preamplifier of the same era
was not nearly as good, and if it is acting
up we agree that you should have it put
to sleep.
When it comes to a new preamplifier,
we can’t be sure what you would call a
reasonable price. We very much like
the Copland CTA-305, which is in our
Alpha reference system. It uses tubes,
and even includes a very good phono
section. If you don’t already have a good
quality digital-to-analog converter to go
with your Mac-based source, you might
look at the Eximus DP1, which was on
the cover of UHF No. 92, and is both a
preamp and a DAC. You could also look
at the Benchmark DAC1 HDR, which
was in the previous issue.
As for speakers, you’ll need something efficient, because your Quad amps
have limited muscle. We suppose that, if
the Wife Acceptance Factor nixed the
Quads, the replacement speakers will
need to be small, but they can’t be TOO
small, because very small speakers are
not known for efficiency. The possible
choices are many, and might include
Reference 3a, Harbeth, KEF, and a
number of others.
An issue of UHF anywhere you live for C$4.00
Subscribing for as little as C$20 (tax in Canada only)
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for LPs. So I have taken an older MacBook Pro (with built-in optical drive)
and connected it to an OWC RAID 5
array with 3 TB of usable space (it has
four 1 TB drives, but half is used for the
redundancy of the RAID 5, allowing for
one drive to fail and be replaced with
no data loss. This leaves 3 TB for the
iTunes library, which should be plenty
with Apple Lossless encoding).
I have set iTunes to keep a library
on this disk. Sound output is set to
go through a Musical Fidelity V-DAC
MkII connected to my preamp. I can
even control it with a remote app on my
iPhone.
I have a few dozen SACDs and a
handful of DVD-A’s. I know I can play
them on my Ayre C5xe, and use the
preamp’s tape output to go through
a Griffin iMic and record them from
analog using Final Vinyl, then divide the
resulting files into tracks and manually
place them in iTunes. Is there a more
elegant way of doing this part without a
trip into the analog domain?
Christopher Moss
TATAMAGOUCHE, NS
Probably not, though our answer may
change. Utilities exist for converting
DSD (the recording format of SACD)
into the more familiar pulse-code modulation, and some of the newest converters
can actually read DSD. For the moment
with friends in the large living room with
a cathedral ceiling and hardwood floors.
But to make the sound room better, I
will need a new CD player, as I have a
large CD collection to go with my more
modest vinyl records. The downstairs
room is quite big, but it has wall to wall
carpets and an eight-foot ceiling, so it
won’t be nearly as bright as my previous
living room.
So here’s what I have: a Rotel CD-1072
(HDCD) with a Musical Fidelity X-10 v3
DAC, a Music Hall 5.1 turntable with a
Denon 103 cartridge; a Musical Fidelity
A-3.2 dual mono integrated amp. The
latest addition will be the B&W CM-9
speakers.
How much do I need to spend (and
cost is important in these pre-retirement
days) for a really good CD player that
can play SACDs and HDCD discs?
Or should I just keep the Rotel in the
that does not result in a straight-through audiophile system (it doesn’t do SACD,
high-grade playback system for SACD. though) and just spend $300 or so on a
Which could mean, for the nonce, decent CD player for the upstairs living
taking that trip through the analog room?
domain. However, we do not recomMost of the new stuff I am buying is
mend using the Griffin iMic, an essential vinyl, but there are some well-recorded
product when it first came out, but CDs and SACDs I might get if I had a
primitive by modern standards. We really sweet CD player. But it seems like
think you should get a modern analog- I am going to have to spend well over
to-digital converter like the ones found $1000 to improve on the Rotel with the
in music stores and far superior to what MF DAC, right? I’m not very computer
went before. For that matter, we do not savvy, so I don’t think some kind of
recommend that you transfer high- music server would work.
resolution
We remember
recordings
whensuch
a number
as those
of competitors
of
Keepwould
up the great work. If it weren’t
put onand
lineDVD-Audio
only only theinto
cover
forthe
youtable
guys,ofI would have never gotten
SACD
theimage
CD’s and
16-bit/44.1 kHz resolution.
contents.
Go for 24 back into vinyl! Just wish I hadn’t sold
We
bitswould
and 96tell
kHz
them
as athat
minimum.
you don’t
If your
go fishing
all my
without
albums
bait.
in 1983!
DAC
Sure, can’t
we live
deal
from
withwhat
thoseyou
files
spend
without
through our site and
Alan Podsadowski
downsampling,
the pages of our
your
print
next
issue.
one will.
But you could spend days
COQUITLAM, BC
But if you have
reading
onlymaterial
a few offor
these
free.
We
discs,
think
whythat’s
not keep
the only
them
way
around
we can
and
convince
On
you
theofother
the hand, Alan, if so many
play them from yourUHF
Ayre?difference,
That’s what music lovers had not sold their collecto adopt
the new digital “miracle,”
of
we’re
whydoing.
you might want to trust us with thetions
future
of your
few of us would have the fabulous LP
music or home theatre system.
collections
we’ve built up over the years.
WeWe
have
are
readers
in theonprocess
every continent
of sellingexcept
Antarctica.
our home Most
and downsizing.
But I have
You’ve probably noticed that only
of them discovered
us on line.
found a new
place
afford
high-end specialty stores still have CD
They
readthat
a lotwill
of our
freeme
material.
my own downstairs
And then
man-cave,
they joined
i.e. aus. players at all. Over the past three years
dedicated sound room, so I am going to we haven’t recommended buying a CD
be moving everything around, leaving player, because there is a better way to
the basic home theatre system upstairs, play CDs, and you can probably guess
and making my downstairs room the what that is. Yes, loading them into a
audiophile heaven. Upstairs I will still computer.
occasionally play some CDs while
You did specif y that you’re not
making dinner or briefly hanging out computer savvy, though setting up a
WHY A FREE ISSUE
computer, either dedicated or remote, to
act as a music server is not rocket science.
Several companies make standalone
servers for those who don’t want to get
their hands dirty with bits and bytes. On
the other hand, a single computer could
handle both your “man cave” and your
upstairs system. Just add two devices,
such as Apple Airport Express, with an
iPad, iPod touch or iPhone as a remote.
You do need a certain level of familiarity
with computers to do the initial setup, we
admit, but once the computer is properly
configured, it is not much more complex
than a typical CD player.
Standalone servers cost more, and
of course they don’t all sound alike. A
rule of thumb: don’t buy one that has
an internal hard drive. Drives are a
commodity, now made essentially by
only two companies, and no high end
audio company can sell you one at an
advantageous price.
Yes, an antenna will pull in highdefinition TV, providing the set has a
digital tuner, which pretty much all sets
built in the past eight years have. It will
even give better resolution than cable.
Inouye’s Web site has disappeared,
and even so the company had been inactive for many years. Since the circuit was
proprietary, it will be difficult for anyone
Feedback
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Free
Regarding your Super Antenna, do I
understand correctly that it can be used
to pull high-definition digital TV signal
off air to a HD capable TV without any
additional converter?
I think I remember that you used to
sell the Inouye power line conditioner.
Do you know where I can get my unit
checked out, as I am wondering after
all these years whether it is working
properly? John Clarke
BURNABY, BC
else to verify it.
As a possible point of interest, it is
likely that the neon bulbs on the front
of the unit are flickering. That is normal
for all neon bulbs, which begin flickering within a few months of being put
into service. That seems to be harmless,
though it can be annoying.
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Features
Three Shows
M
y impression was that CES
2013 was smaller than
the previous one, at least
in high-end audio. More
venues were added, however, notably
the Mandalay Bay, shown above. Its
cavernous halls were used for press
day, including the ever-crowded CES
Unveiled event. The Venetian (still used
for high-performance audio and a few
other sections) was no longer adequate.
It was still pretty much impossible to
get into the Samsung press conference,
though, unless it was one’s only assignment of the day.
A bonus for ink- and pixel-stained
wretches such as I: the breakfasts and
lunches at the Mandalay Bay were surprisingly good. But once the main show
opened, it was back to the Venetian’s
stale bagels and plastic muffins — not
precisely what they serve in Venice!
by Gerard Rejskind
The city itself remains in the doldrums. The huge shopping area of the
CityCenter — the property of those
two financial success stories, MGM and
Dubai — remains vestigial, occupied
only by the usual suspects (Chanel,
Louis Vuitton, Cartier — who may not
even be paying rent). That same complex
no longer has a Cirque du Soleil show.
Down the strip, the Sahara remains
boarded up, and the skeleton of a new
building where the Stardust once stood
has grown only a little since last year, and
appears abandoned again. The all-glass
condo complex on the next page remains
deserted, with a stationary crane on its
roof and more and more of its windows
broken. Getting into even the best restaurants does not require a reservation.
What’s booming? Prostitution, for
one thing. The undocumented people
handing out cards for “girls that want
to meet you” have been joined by competitors. The Gun Store, whose ads are
found on many a taxi roof, is now just
one commerce pandering to murderous
instincts. Significantly, perhaps, a gun
show was following CES at the Venetian.
As for CES, it did seem somewhat
smaller this year, though that’s not how
the organizers tell it. In high-end audio,
a number of regulars were either absent
or had cut back their presence radically.
That was noticeable even at “the zoo,”
the convention centre that is the size of
a dozen airplane hangars.
What has not shrunk, despite CEA’s
best efforts, is the number of journalists
and pseudo-journalists, whose sheer
numbers make it difficult to get into the
more popular press conferences. The
press-only CES Unveiled event was so
overcrowded that it was difficult to get
close to the tables of exhibitors. Pepcom’s invitation-only Digital Experience
seemed less like a mob scene, perhaps
because the aisles were wider. Free food
and drink have lost none of their drawing power. There seems to be a Vegas
company that specializes in making ice
sculptures for events. Sculptures like one
on the next page can usually be seen near
to one of the bars, but an event without
ice would be quite un-Vegas-like.
At one time, high-end audio manufacturers would pay for a table at one
or other event, but times are tough and
it shows. The only audio manufacturer
we spotted at either after-hours show,
other than those who make diminutive
Bluetooth speakers, was Beats by Dr.
Dre. Yes, the headphone maker. It is now
independent, having severed ties with
Monster. We had given the original Beat
phones a warm review, but subsequent
reviews, including one in The New York
Times, have been savage. Were the stores
flooded with knockoffs? A Beats representative acknowledged the possibility,
but assured me that the new production
runs would be of uniformly high quality.
Once the show itself was on, there
was of course lots to see and hear. Some
speaker line. Thiel would like
to keep its large room if it can
find some company with deep
pockets to share the considerable cost.
I f i n a l l y g o t t o he a r
t h e i m p r e s s i v e l y s t y le d
D ’A g o s t i n o M o m e nt u m
monoblock amplifiers (featured in Gossip&News in UHF
No. 89). Dan D’Agostino, you
may know, was co-founder
of Krell and its long-term
desig ner, u nt il he placed
second in a game of corporate
politics. The Momentums
cost $42,000 a pair, and they
certainly have distinctive styling. I heard them three times,
including in the rooms of
major names were missing, as already Wisdom Audio and YG Acoustics.
noted, and others were present in name My impression was that they sound
only. That is to say, though their names as distinctive as they look, which is to
were in the CES guide (which looks say that they have a recognizable sound.
like the phone book of a medium-sized But then Krell amps did too.
town), they did not have rooms of their
One company I didn’t remember
own, but had merely lent their gear to seeing in the CES high-end section
actual exhibitors. That was the case of a lately is McIntosh. This amplifier
number of cable companies, not surpris- company has been in the doldrums
ingly, but — for example — Simaudio for years, passing from one owner to
“placed” products with prominent another, but it is now Italian, owned
exhibitors and did not set up their own by the consortium that is home to the
(usually static) room. Even Liberty excellent speaker manufacturer, Sonus
Trading, whose US division, May Audio, Faber. One result was already evident.
usually books numerous rooms, this time The MC275 tube amplifier, a Mac classhared a room, and a small one at that. sic design, now has proper input jacks,
For years now, we have been publishing, on our Web site, a free PDF
Most of the high-end companies were and also massive binding posts that
version of our magazine.
in the Venetian tower, in proper hotel have replaced the 1950’s style barrier
The reason is simple. We know you’re looking for information, and
rooms, and not in the huge cubes made strips that were incompatible with good
that is almost certainly why you’ve come to visit our site. And that’s why
up by partitioning ballrooms. Most of cables.
we give away what some competitors consider to be a startlingly large
the ballrooms had in fact been converted
What should a speaker enclosure be
amount of information…for free.
to private meeting spaces. An exception made from? How about glass? In fact, I
We would give it all away for free, if we could still stay in business.
was the Thiel-Bryston room. Though saw three glass loudspeakers in Vegas.
Recent figures indicate that each issue is getting downloaded as many
the space is too large, and cube-shaped The one at right is the Point MkII,
as 100,000 times, and that figure keeps growing.
besides, it has always been made to sound from a Swedish company whose name is
Yes, we know, if we had a nickel for each download…
good, thanks to the liberal use of plants, spelled Perfect8. Last year the Perfect8
Truth is, we’re in the business of helping you enjoy music at home
folding screens and other acoustic aids. I saw had eight midrange drivers, which
under the best possible conditions. And movies too. We’ll do what we need
Thiel’s new CS2.7 speaker was being seemed to account for the name. This
to do in order to get the information to you.
demonstrated. This $9900 speaker is the one has but two. It seems the name
Of course, we also want you to read our published editions too. We
first created since Jim Thiel’s untimely refers to the speaker’s bidirectional
hope that, having read this far, you’ll want to read on.
death in 2009. It is based on his designs, radiation pattern, which resembles a
however, and certainly it sounds superb. figure eight.
It was accompanied by Bryston electronIf you’ve heard a large truck passing
ics, DAC and streamer.
by your house, you’ll know that glass
However this was the last time we’ll rattles. The Perfect8 is made not from
see these t wo companies together, window glass, but from several bonded
because Bryston now has its own loud- layers of the sort of glass they make
Why a free version?
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expensive coffee tables from. This
smaller speaker seemed much more at home than the one I had
heard the previous year, which had been much too large for
the hotel room. I stayed for several selections. The Perfect8
handled a Blues recording very well, and sounded delightfully natural on classical orchestra and opera. The price? At
$115,000 it isn’t for the impecunious.
Then there’s the intriguing speaker at left, the Giya
G1, the flagship of the South African firm Vivid.
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T
by Gerard Rejskind
show had not grown, and might have
shrunk slightly. It may take a third show
(2013) to confirm whether TAVES has
momentum.
In any case, don’t go thinking that
this second TAVES has anything whatever in common with the Toronto shows
of yesteryear.
Putting a show into a downtown
luxury hotel costs money, and TAVES
landed an unlikely sponsor with deep
pockets, Porsche. The first thing you
saw entering the lobby of the King
Eddie was the grey Porsche 911 shown
above. The link with what is essentially
a high-end audio show? The Porsche
did have a Burmester sound system, and
it you asked politely
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he year 2011 saw the first
Toronto high-end audio
show in many years. The previous long-running shows,
which had become smaller and smaller
(and been held farther and farther out
of town) had left sour memories. Would
a new show succeed? Could it succeed?
To the relief of the organizers, the
answer turned out to be yes. Operations,
set up with the aid of Michel Plante
and Sarah Tremblay from the alwayssuccessful Montreal Salon Son&Image,
contrasted pleasantly with the chaos of
bygone years. TAVES (Toronto Audio
Video Entertainment Show) was held
at a quality downtown venue, the King
Edward Hotel, and there was plenty to
see and hear.
And that was despite the reluctance
of some industry members to leap in. I
had talked to several potential exhibitors
who had decided to sit out the first year,
waiting to see whether the new organizers could draw them in.
Michel and Sarah were not part of
the organization this past year, but they
were touring the show, and they told me
that the 2012 TAVES had exactly the
same number of exhibitors as the previous edition. Of course, an exhibit can
be a large salon or it can be a table, and
my subjective impression was that the
and didn’t look too scruffy, you could sit
in the all-enveloping leather seats and
hear it. Note also the large banners for
Burmester and LG, both of which are of
course paid for.
Bryston, which is close to being a
local brand (it’s located in Peterborough), had its usual large room, but this
time it wasn’t limited to showing off
other people’s loudspeakers. Jim Tanner
had asked a Canadian speaker company,
Axiom, to design him a speaker he could
live happily with, and their creation is
being spun into a whole new Bryston
line. You can see Jim with one of his new
Model T speakers on the next page. This
efficient (94 dB) floorstanding loudspeaker will sell for $6495. There
will, however, be a
whole series of them,
including one with an
outboard crossover,
an active one (using a
new version of Bryston’s
own electronic crossover), a smaller
stand-mounted speaker, a centre speaker
for home theatre, and lots more. Axiom
has been around a long time, but with a
rather low profile. The new line is getting plenty of attention. The Model T
sounded rather good, despite the dodgy
acoustics, with solid bass.
I saw and heard a familiar speaker,
the Auditorium from Britain’s Living
Voice. It’s the downmarket model from
the Living Voice Avatar speaker that we
have long used in our Alpha reference
system. It was in a rather good system,
which included a Simon Yorke turntable,
a Manley Stingray tube amplifier and
Chinook phono preamp. I stayed to
enjoy a classic recording of Eartha Kitt.
Gorgeous.
I h a d n ’t s e e n
tain the marketing
Mimetism electronof this impressive
ics in some years, but
speaker as well.
the products of this
You m ay
Franco-Swiss company
also have
were back, looking and
not iced t he
sounding very good.
RJH ReferOn the previous page
ence One
is the 35.2 preamplifier
speaker on the
(under $6000), which
next page, with its
was feeding M imegiant cone driver.
tism’s own 45.2 power
It’s the creation of
amplifier and a pair
Ron Harper, who
of compact but very
has placed a reflexgood Kudos Super 10
loaded full-range
speakers. Mimetism
A ud io N i r v a n a
is working on a new
driver into a comseries, including (perplex hand-assemhaps surprisingly) a
bled enc lo s u re.
CD player.
The f inish
You have possibly
is gorgeous,
noticed the speaker at
and the sound
right. The Blueberry
i s t o o. T he
Hill R hapsody ver y
speakers were
much dominates the
driven by a pair
room, t hough it is
of classic Quad II
handsome in a moderntube monoblocks.
ist sort of way, sculpted
Several years
from layered Russian
ago, Gershman
Baltic birch. It needs to
Acoustics launched
be seen to be believed,
a startlingly inexand then it needs to be
p e n s i v e
heard to be believed.
f loor st a ndThe optional bottom
ing speaker
in Las
section Shows
contains
twoVegas,
called t he
Toronto, Sonogram.
powered serinvo-concourse inisMontreal.
trolled subwoofers, one looking up, the other looking down.and
Theofmidrange
Reviewed in UHF No. 81, it sold
Sure,
can find
countless
show reports
line,
but…and it seemed
bipolar (there’s a second driver at the rear), and
all you
the drivers
can
be oriented
initiallyonfor
$3600,
addsEfficiency
its own unique
or moved back and forth individually in precise, calibratedUHF
fashion.
tootake.
good to be true. It was, alas, and its
showtopictures
better,price
haverapidly
you noticed?
is very high, at 98 dB, and the Rhapsody wasEven
beingour
driven
concertare
levels
soared, pricing it out of many,
Wevisitors
cover the
shows
on line,
for free.
with a tiny tube amplifier. The result was striking, and
were
asking
possibly
most, budgets. Gershman was back
And whether
then we they
expand
experience
UHF
itself.
each other
hadon
yetthe
made
with ainnew
entry-level
speaker, the Idol. It
a show?
it to the end of theGoing
hall totohear
is floorstanding, like the Sonogram, though
way, follow
through
ouraeyes.
theEither
Blueberry
Hill. it
The
it has
smaller footprint. Its initial price is
price, not including
even lower, at $3000. I heard it with a Camshipping from
bridge amplifier and an Esoteric CD player.
t he Toronto
If Gershman can keep the price from flying
factory, is just
into the stratosphere, it should earn a place
under $25,000.
on your “must-hear” list.
The speaker
Speaking of affordable audio, the amplifier
is the creation
at left caught my eye, and my ear too, the
of Marlen MogiVif MA KT88. It’s a prototype, which you
lever, who also
will have guessed by the fact that the model
makes high-end
number is on a piece of sticky tape. It looks
cables and at one
as though it could have come from Audio
time built equipment stands
Research, but in fact it’s made in Markham,
too. We hope he has the resources to susand it sells for an impressively low $2699. If
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SHOW REPORTS
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you look closely at the
model name, you’ll
see that it uses KT88
output tubes. Accomp a n ie d b y a We l l
Tempered A madeus
turntable and ProAc
speakers, it sounded
very good.
Cabasse had come
w it h it s new Pacif ic
3SA speakers, which are
tall black towers, not
the large globe-shaped
speakers of recent years.
They’re $16,000 in semiactive form (that is, with
the woofers driven by
its own amplifiers), or
$22,000 in fully active
form. I listened to an Eric
Bibb recording, Booker’s
Guitar (a reference to his
guitar, once owned by the
legendary Booker T), and
it sounded sweet, but with
excellent transients.
There were other outstanding speakers, including the Atohm GT3 from
France ($10,900), a tall
tower with exquisite finish
and superb dynamics and
image, and the Virgo 25 from
the always excellent Audio Physic
of Germany.
Todd Garfinkle of M•A Records was at a table, selling his fascinating
recordings of classical and esoteric music. Next to him, conveniently
enough, was Woo Audio, which makes a bewildering variety of amplifiers
for hard-core headphone users. Naturally, some visitors were bringing M•A CDs over to listen. Woo even has a dedicated model for Stax electrostatic
headphones. The combination is over $6000, but it is truly the state of the art.
The woman at top right is singer Anne Bisson, who is listening to her own CD,
Portraits&Perfume, through headphones. Since then, by the way, Anne’s LP Blue Mind
has been named one of 2012’s top pressings by Tone Audio.
Like most conventions, TAVES included an after-hours cocktail party for trade
and press. The event is supposed to afford networking opportunities, but the noise
level inevitably precludes conversation. The party included a singer, with an animated
backdrop but no front lighting, so that she looked like a character from a Bond title
sequence. The noise level was fearsome (see my SPL reading at right), with peaks of as
much as 97 dB, even before she began singing. That was my cue to head for somewhere
quieter…and safer. My ears are important to me!
My conclusion? This second edition of TAVES was worth attending, though it
has not (yet) attained the critical mass of the Montreal or Denver shows. What we’ll
be keeping an eye on in the next year or two is whether it can grow, for grow it must if it is to survive in the long term. Too
many manufacturers and distributors were still sitting it out, and that included local companies, for which travel costs are
relatively modest. TAVES must find ways to win them over.
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L
uc and Benoît turned to each
other and nodded slowly as
the first notes of Dirty Three
emerged from the speakers.
Luc had brought his CD along and
asked to listen to it in the Salon Idéal
room. On a Rega system, including
an Apollo-R player, a Brio integrated
amp and RS5 speakers, the Australian
rock band sounded truly excellent. And
that wasn’t all that elicited mutual nods
of approval. I noticed it again when
Loreena McKennitt began to sing The
Wind that Shakes the Barley on an LP via
a Rega RP3 turntable (shown below).
“Such richness!” said Benoît. I smiled as
I watched him get into a long conversation about the turntable with the Rega
representative.
And that, dear reader and fellow
audiophile, was a pattern that manifested
by Albert Simon
throughout the Montreal show. Visitors
were attracted by sound quality they
were “discovering” through LPs, with
turntables used in a large proportion
of the rooms. The key word here is
used. Some years ago, they were mostly
displayed on cube pedestals as beautiful
sculptures, but rarely heard. People
would ooh and ah at the latest CD players, merely glancing at the turntables on
their way out.
But something else was happening. In
rare instances, at that time, visitors were
surprised to find that the music originated from a laptop or server, and they
commonly assumed that it was merely
for reasons of convenience. This time,
however, Luc and Benoît were surprised
to find that in most of the rooms where
a turntable was not the source, music
emerged from a computer. And I wanted
to give them a chance to experience what
I believe is the most important upgrade
to digital reproduction.
Such was the case with a Linn
system that included the Akurate
DSM player (read: internal drive,
not CD player) and the Akurate
2200 amplifier, through Tannoy
Definition DC8 speakers. Con-
trol was through an iPad. “The sound
is kind of…round,” said Benoît. “It’s
rich and enveloping.” Luc chimed in:
“And it’s gentle and discreet.” “In what
way?” I asked, a bit puzzled. “It’s just…
true,” he said.
When was the last time you heard
com ment s l ike that about d ig it al
reproduction?
I lost track of Benoît, who was quite
taken with the different models of
affordable turntables offered by ProJect. “Such a great choice,” he said as
he stepped out of the crowded room.
Further on, the just-as-affordable Grant
Fidelity speakers were a wonderful
surprise for my two friends as they
sat silently listening to Benoît’s CD,
the piano music of composer Federico
Mompou, played by Jenny Lin on her
Silent Music album. He asked to listen to
his own CD of Hildegard Von Bingen,
11,000 Virgins, sung by Anonymous 4.
“Wonderful!” was the only comment
Benoît managed to muster, as if emerging from a dream. “Incredible!” added
Luc. “Best sound I’ve heard today.”
We quietly entered the Fidelio
room, where I explained that they were
going to hear music reproduced “with
no moving parts.” They looked at me
curiously as they took their seats. The
source was a Mac mini computer, or
album. The music was palpable, and the
impression of being at a live performance
was uncanny.
Peter opened his laptop and selected
a superb rendition of Schubert’s The
Shepherd on the Rock for soprano, clarinet and piano, followed by an earthshattering live performance of Cabaret.
To my surprise, Luc and Benoît were
unmoved. They found it overwhelming,
and I recognized the early signs of audio
saturation.
It was time for a much needed break.
Spending four days in a row at an
audio show has made me resilient. I find
I can walk through room after room
without carrying my last impressions
along with me, rinsing them off along
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Feedback
more accurately, a Mac mini with a
Master Flash card plugged into one
of its USB jacks. The signal travelled
through Siltech cables to an Ayre KXR
preamp and a VXR amp, and reached us
through Audio Physic Avantera speakers. The sound of Vincent Bélanger’s
cello was superb in Schubert’s Ave
Maria (Bélanger also played live at the
show — you can see him on the previous
page). The next treat in store for us was
a very recent recording of Ginastera’s
music played by I Musici de Montréal. “I
wanted to use a microphone configuration similar to that used by Mercury on
their legendary LPs,” whispered Fidelio’s
René Laflamme, “and we’re listening to
it at 192 kHz.” Fabulous!
I wanted my friends to have a very
different experience, a spectacular music
display on a grand scale. We walked
into the Coup de Foudre room, which
featured the Wilson Audio Sophia
Series 3 speakers (above), a hefty pair
of VTL MB-185 Series III power amps
and a VTL 5.5 preamp, all connected
by Transparent Audio cables. The
sources were an AMG turntable and
Peter McGrath’s own recordings. We
listened to two selections on LP, first
John Coltrane and then the Ray Brown
Trio playing Easy Does It and Sweet
Georgia Brown from their Soular Energy
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the way, so to speak, and remaining
available for the next impression. Not
so for most occasional visitors. The
contrast between rooms can be disturbing. Imagine spending an evening at a
concert listening to, say, a string quartet,
and immediately after walking into a
crowded jazz club. Remember to take
frequent breaks at your next show.
The next day I accompanied Michael,
who had interesting comments about
the Fidelio sound. After listening to the
Mânouche Swing Quintet followed by an
excerpt of the I Musici string orchestra
with a solo piano on a Master Flash
card, he said, “This is my reference.
One doesn’t make any effort, the brain
relaxes.” Again, fellow audiophile, when
was the last time you heard comments
like that about digital reproduction?
Michael also told me how much he
liked the music in the Audio Note room,
listening to Karen Young’s Live in Your
Living Room. “Everything was beautiful,”
he said. “Her voice, the cymbals…so difficult to reproduce cymbals. When they
sound so good, you know that the highs
are just right.” The CD was played on the
Audio Note CD 4.1X and the Oto Phone
SE Signature class A phono integrated
tube amp, driving AN-E Spe/HE speakers positioned in the corners of the room,
as intended in their original design. “I’m
not impressed any more with all kinds of
performance extremes,” added Michael.
Above: Dr. Feckert’s Firebird turntable and
arm, with room for a second tone arm, and
the Monk Audio phono preamp, with settings
for every recording curve we know of.
“When I listen to a system for the first
time, I ask myself a basic question: would
I want to listen to music on it for four
hours?”
My friends couldn’t sample everything at the show (few visitors can), so
they missed some fascinating stuff, such
as the Plurison room, and specifically the
stunningly designed Devialet D-Premier
(on the previous page). This mirrorpolished alloy block, set up vertically
flat against the wall like a work of art,
is a 240-watt integrated amp/DAC. It
was driving a pair of superb Electra Be
speakers by Focal, and had no trouble
filling the huge room. Rutter’s Requiem
was simple and airy in its purity, and
yet solidly grounded by the richly deep
sound of the organ.
Oh, did I mention the source? A
laptop.
I should add that while there are
many excellent articles covering every
single new component at audio shows
and the latest technologies (see elsewhere in this issue), I choose to write
about people who listen to some of those
components and the way they react to
the music those technologies recreate.
Sound, yes, of course, but music above
all else — music and emotion.
Let me conclude by sharing part of a
conversation I had with Peter McGrath.
After we listened to his poignant live
recording of Jordi Savall at a concert a
few weeks earlier, where Savall’s Baroque
ensemble was joined by a three-member
group from Mexico, Peter explained that
the legendary viola da gamba virtuoso
had sat alone on stage and played a piece
from Sainte-Colombe’s Tombeau Les
Regrets, titled Les Pleurs — a meditation
on loss. It was Savall’s tribute to his wife,
soprano Monserrat Figueras, who had
died the previous November.
“Besides all the equipment I use when
I’m mixing,” said Peter, “I have another
set of ears, my wife’s. She always tells me
to push the singers back. In this venue
she was sitting in the fifth row. ‘No,
they were not so forward,’ she would say.
When I was working on the section with
Savall alone on stage playing Les Pleurs,
my wife began to cry as she walked into
the room. I asked her why. ‘Because
that’s what I did when I heard it play live,’
she said.”
Audio Then and Now
O
ver the years, we have published a lot of equipment
reviews, and a lot of other
interesting articles as well.
Let’s look back at a few of the more
interesting ones. Most of these products
are long discontinued, it goes without
saying, but the memory lingers on.
The Energy Reference Connoisseur
Henry See pronounced the Winchesters
the finest speakers he had ever heard.
So what happened to the Winchester?
Castle discontinued it. Not smart.
$2000 a pair in rosewood finish, but
would probably be closer to $10,000
today. Energy later produced a new
speaker of the same name that was far
inferior. Today, Energy is one of the
brand names of Klipsch.
The Castle Eden
This was another Castle speaker
that got a rave review, this one in UHF
No. 53.
The Castle Winchester
Another speaker became famous in
our pages after it got such a rave review
from us (UHF No. 30) that many readers
who had not read quite carefully thought
we had adopted it as a new reference.
That speaker was the Castle Winchester, then that British company’s new
flagship, selling for the bargain price of
$3660. There was nothing this speaker
did not do well. By four o’clock the
day of the review, we still had another
speaker we had scheduled for a quick
listen, but the panelists refused. They
wanted to hear more from the Winchesters. Odette Roy, who had to make
supper, stayed until six, and the other
three hung around until seven. Panelist
The Spectral SDR-1000SL
In some quarters, the Compact Disc
was hailed as the summum of high fidelity, “perfect sound forever.” For our part,
we were appalled. Must we put up forever
with those overly shrill highs, that thin
bottom end, that impoverished sense
of space? It would gradually become
apparent that the worst of the musical
damage was due not to the medium but
Feature
Feedback
One of the best two-way speakers
ever made, the original RefCon used
unique drivers. The woofer’s cone was
hand-stitched to the surround, and the
dual hyperdome tweeter was the result
of a research project at Waterloo University. It was so good we adopted it as a
reference, and these speakers still serve
in our Kappa home cinema system.
In our original review (Hi-Fi Sound
No. 9), we wrote: The very wide range is one
factor which influenced our choice. The second
is the sheer beauty of the music that comes
out of this speaker. The detail is truly superb.
The depth and stereo image are as good as
we can recall hearing from any loudspeaker.
The Reference Connoisseur cost
Our enthusiasm was due in part to
its modest $1400 price, but also to its
surprising way with music. We praised
its “warm, lively sound, (with) a touch of
real magic.”
Oddly, Castle had a floorstanding
speaker at exactly the same price, the
Kendal. It was so poor that we didn’t
even make it through our stack of test
records.
So what did Castle do? Right. They
killed off the Eden but kept the Kendal.
Feature
Feedback
to the terrible players. And they really
were terrible.
The engineer behind Reference
Recordings, Keith O. Johnson, told us
not to worry, that there was a breakthrough coming. That breakthrough
turned out to be HDCD, but Johnson
was also chief engineer of Spectral.
While we awaited his breakthrough, he
designed a CD player that astonished us
and gladdened our hearts.
The first one we reviewed, in UHF
No. 26, was the SDR-1000, which
contained a preamplifier (Spectral is
rather famous for those too). It was so
obviously superior to any other player
that comparisons were barely needed.
In issue No. 33, we reviewed the
preamp-less SDR-1000SL (the “SL”
stood for “straight line”). By then, some
credible competitors had emerged,
and in that issue we also reviewed the
Esoteric P-2/D-2 and CD-Z5000, the
Carver tube player, the MSB Silver, the
Proceed PCD2 and PDT2/PDP2, and
the unfortunately named Micromega
Duo.BS. The Spectral was so superior
that we bought it, and we opined (mistakenly) that it might never be surpassed.
It was, of course. We replaced it
with a Parasound transport, built by
CEC, and a Counterpoint DAC, able to
decode Keith Johnson’s other invention,
HDCD.
The Spectral was expensive, especially in Canada, at $9600. However,
the US price was just $5795, then worth
about C$6550. Our cheque was the last
ever cashed by the Canadian distributor
before it closed its doors forever.
The Simaudio W-4070
Anyone remember when Simaudio,
originally called Sima Audio (for founder
Victor Sima) was just a minor regional
amplifier maker? That was many years
ago, but it was widely believed that the
company entered the big leagues in 1993
because of our review of the Celeste
W-4070 power amplifier.
LP version of this blockbuster choral recording. The brass section opened with the initial
fanfare, and then the chorale began to sing.
“Oh, God!” exclaimed Henry, who put his
pen down again…as did we all.
The effect of the review was buttressed by reviews of two other amplifiers in the same issue. One was lukewarm,
and the other was perhaps the most
devastating condemnation we have ever
published. That made it clear, for those
who didn’t know us well, that we don’t
give praise to the undeserving.
When a refined special edition version came out, we bought it, and it is still
used, in bridged mode, for the centre
channel of our Kappa cinema system.
We would later choose, as a reference, a
Moon W-5 amplifier, based on the same
circuit design.
Digital-to-Analog converters
DACs, as they are known, are popular
these days, and we’ve been running
reviews on all we can get our hands on.
Back in 1994, no one had thought of storing music on hard drives, which were too
small to hold much music anyway. Even
so, UHF No. 41 included three DAC
reviews, with two of them pictured on
the cover.
The amplifier was the first to use
what Victor Sima dubbed the Renaissance circuit, which would be the engine
of Simaudio amplifiers for many years.
The review was a rave, and we can do no
better than to quote from it…
The impact of the big drums (on the John
Newton Howard recording) was powerful
without a trace of distortion. The warmth
of the sound struck us once more, as did
the driving rhythm. “You just put your
pen down and listen,” said Henry, who left
his notebook blank until the music stopped.
Gerard commented that the rhythm was so
well rendered that you could predict what
was coming next! It was close to a perfect
performance.
Even so, that didn’t quite prepare us for
what we would hear now.
The next recording was Testament, the
Of course, DACs then had a different
purpose. You would connect one to the
digital output of a CD player with the
hope of improving it. You might also
buy a CD transport — essentially a disc
drive without its own converter — as a
source. This was the first time our cover MBox could provide phanactually featured converters.
tom power to our EarthThe top one in the cover photo was works QTC-1 condenser
the McCormack DAC-1, one of the microphones. The article
first products from the renamed Mod was our first describing the
Squad. Though McCormack (named use of a computer and its
for founder Steve McCormack, who hard drive as a music storage
would later leave the company) would system.
turn out some very good products, the
It was likely to be a
DAC-1 wasn’t one of them. We did temporar y system, howpraise its lively and detailed sound, per- ever, because “large” hard
haps because we were not yet expecting drives were not very large
much from digital products not named at all. It was expected that
Spectral, but we alsoWe
saidremember
it suffered from
when ayou
number
competitors
would
wouldofmix
your music
“occasional confusion
put on
andline
hardness
only only
at the
cover
table
dow
n toimage
t wo and
c h athe
n nel
s of
the top end.” That might not be what contents.
and put it on a blank CD.
you would want to
We
spend
would
$1495
tell (in
them
1994
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don’t
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left bait.
dollars) on.
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cover photo
is aour
DAC,
The bottom DAC
the cover
the in
pages
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But you DA
could
t he C$1150
53 spend
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ture is the Enlightened Audio Design
reading CEC.
material
for free.
A nd
it was prett y
DSP-7000, then costing
a hefty
We think
that’s$2800.
the onlygood,
way we
can convince
you of the
though
significantly
We very much liked its broad, full-sizedUHF
it difference,
sounded better getting
sound, though atoftimes
it seemed
to to
why you
might want
us with
future
itstrust
signal
fromthe
our
CECof your
magnify the music. Albert Simonmusic
likened
or home
theatre
system.
TL51X
player
than from
the experience to watching
stage play
We have areaders
on every
except
Antarctica.
the continent
computer via
USB.
The
through binoculars. We all commented
Most of themDA53
discovered
on line.
had ausmicrophone
input and
on the EAD’s lack of warmth,
Theythen
readaa lot
of ourcontrol,
free material.
volume
which means it also concommon failing of digital audio. And then
they an
joined
us.
tained
analog-to-digital
converter.
EAD would later be the first company to include HDCD-decoding in The DIY LP cleaner
its DAC. Simaudio’s Moon Attraction
Our best-selling issue ever was UHF
preamp/DAC for home cinema was No. 58, and this is the reason for its
based on an EAD design. Today our runaway popularity.
Attraction is semi-retired, but we still
use it to decode HDCD.
The third DAC in the issue was the
QED Reference Digit. “I did not like
what I heard with this converter,” wrote
Albert Simon, “and I liked it even less
when I found out its price.” That price
was $1050, a pretty penny at the time.
Henry See likened listening to the QED
to having an arrow shot into your ear.
WHY A FREE ISSUE
Like us, a lot of audiophiles enjoy the
sound of LPs but hate the noise caused
by dirt and worse. There are plenty of
LP-cleaning machines available, but
they are universally expensive. Could
you actually build one at home? Yes. And
we did, for about $150 of parts. A really
good craftsman could probably do it for
less.
Feature
Feedback
Making your own recordings
Issue No. 72 (above) was the first in
which a computer appeared as a part of
a music system. The laptop on the cover
is an Apple iBook, running Audacity,
open-source recording software. We also
tried other software, including Digidesign’s ProTools and Apple’s GarageBand.
The vertical blue device next to it is
the Digidesign MBox, an inexpensive
USB interface box: it included both a
DAC (for playback) and an analog-todigital converter for recording. The
What made this machine possible was
the small wet-dry shop vacuum cleaner,
commonly available in hardware stores
for $50. You place the LP on the platter,
apply the cleaning fluid to it, brush it into
the grooves, and then vacuum it all up,
leaving your LP clean and dry.
One of our readers subsequently suggested an improvement to our design,
using an inertia-driven platter and leaving out the drive motor. As for us, we
harnessed our knowledge of chemistry
to develop a record-cleaning fluid that
would be effective against oils and grime,
but wouldn’t leave a sticky residue and
would be safe for your precious vinyl.
No, don’t write and ask whether you
can get a copy of that issue, because it is
long gone. A PDF version was not possible, because UHF was not put together
by purely electronic means until issue
No. 68. We’re not about to make photocopies either.
The prodigious sales of issue No. 58
are a sign that, even before the LP’s
relatively recent renaissance, it still commanded solid interest from audiophiles.
It is perhaps also a sign that we ought
to develop a second version of our LPcleaning machine. We’ve got ideas.
How about it?
Cinema
Onkyo’s Home
Cinema Solution
T
here are home cinema processors and then there are
receivers. Any big box store
you might wander into will
have only the latter. A gulf seems to be
widening between them.
You would no doubt assume that the
standalone processors would be superior,
whereas receivers would have a lot of
doubtful legacy circuitry crammed into
a small box. You would also assume that
having less in the box is going to cost
you…more. You would of course be
right.
In our own home cinema reference
system, we have been borrowing other
people’s processors, but we knew it was
time we had our own. We had our eyes
on the Moon CP-8, and also on the
Bryston SP-2, both well-regarded. And
both extremely expensive. Truth is, we
couldn’t get either one for review, and
it’s not because we haven’t asked. Such
upscale products are built in very small
quantities even by the larger high end
companies, and, unlike what you might
expect, they are in huge demand. You’ve
heard of the one percent?
We don’t know how big your upgrade
budget is, but ours is a little anemic just
at the moment. Losing our newsstand
distributor (see this issue’s Editorial) and
the huge amount of money it owed us left
us with a slimmer budget than we would
have liked. Which got us to thinking.
The quality of the processor depends
in part on the chipsets used, but a lot of
companies use the same chipsets. Could
we do well by selecting a receiver from
one of the better receivers, and simply
ignoring its power amplifiers?
We thought first of Pioneer, Denon
and Marantz, but when we checked the
feature on some of their newer receivers we saw that couldn’t work. Thanks
to ongoing price wars, manufacturers
are cutting features in order to remain
competitive (which is to say, cheap).
One feature widely cut is preamplifier
outputs. W hich means we couldn’t
bypass the power amplifiers and use
our own. Using such amplifiers was not
an acceptable compromise, but was a
receiver a realistic alternative at all?
We did finally find an exception.
Onkyo is not as well known as Pioneer,
Yamaha or Panasonic, but it has long had
a reputation for superior build quality.
We selected the TX-NR709, a 7.1-channel receiver with a full set of connectors,
The Onkyo TX-NR709
may be the last (and
best) of a dying breed
and a price that varies between $600
and $1000, depending on where you
buy it.
The Onkyo has the chips we
had hoped for aboard, including the
Marvell Qdeo chip, which handles
upscaling and deinterlacing (it is
also used by Oppo and Cambridge).
It even comes with the Audyssey
alignment system, which uses a
microphone placed at the listening
position in order to align levels and
time delay of the different channels.
Still, if it was to do what we hoped on
movie sound, it needed to be at least
very good at the basics: as a two-channel
audio-only preamplifier.
Any product with this many connectors can be a challenge to set up, and
no mistake. Of course a knowledgeable
dealer can easily do the job for you, but
receivers like this are often sold in big
stores full of “associates” on minimum
wage, or even on line. The good side of
this bewildering complexity is that the
TX-N709 can do pretty much anything
you might want to do. Or at least it
can if you can connect it properly and
then program it suitably. It does come
with one of those “quick start” leaflets
included with most technology products
today, but “quick,” in this case, has only
an ironic meaning.
We were startled to find that, right
out of the box, the receiver sounded not
at all as we expect receivers to sound, and
as we had feared it might. After some 50
hours of run-in time (the minimum we’ll
put any product through before listening to it), we sat down for some serious
comparisons.
You can, of course, get the paid
version of this issue, and we hope you’ll
want to. If Maggie’s electronic version
floats your boat, drop by www.uhfmag.
com/maggie.html. We continue in
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Cinema
Feedback
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Cinema
Feedback
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rcilis eum.
Will That Be 3D or HD?
D
o you actually have to choose
between them? You may
have to, not that you should
expect manufacturers to tell
In fact, the consumer system does
not work just like the one used in cinemas, because the image is delivered by
the same limited-bandwidth system as
2D. Two pictures, one for the left eye
and one for the right, must share the
bandwidth available. The result is two
images of 960 x 540 lines each instead
of Blu-ray’s usual 1920 x 1080 lines. You
have traded away HD in order to get 3D.
But never fear, say the proponents
of passive 3D. Your brain will somehow
fuse together the two half-resolution
images to reconstitute a full resolution
picture. We wish this were true, but
two minutes spent watching a passive
3D screen at a big box store will make
it plain that the argument is bogus.
Suddenly, you can see the individual
scanning lines, just as you could in the
days of cathode ray tubes. Step back to a
more typical viewing distance, and you
can still see them. In order to get 3D, you
feel as though you had returned to 1996.
The other 3D-delivery system is
active. The set alternates between two
high-definition images for a sixtieth
of a second. The active glasses include
LCD shutters that lighten and darken in
time with the appearance of the images,
so that each eye sees only the image it
should.
The disadvantages are evident.
The glasses are
electronic devices,
relatively heav y,
w it h a bat ter y,
requ ir i ng l i ne
of sight with the
player. To avoid
“ghost” images,
the screen must
be able to react at
very high speed.
LCD screens,
used in the majorit y of sets, have
d i f f ic u lt y w it h
this. But at least
active 3D maintains full HD.
Or does it?
Not if we judge by some tests that
were done on European sets by Vincent Alzieu and Pierre-Jean Alzieu on
lesnumeriques.com (an English version
is available at digitalversus.com). On
the basis of their published test images,
none scores perfectly, or (in our evaluation) very well. Especially poor were
Samsung’s entry-level (6-series) active
3D sets. Samsung admitted these sets did
not have the same level of performance
as the company’s top series and argued
that there is more than one sort of full
HD. It has since removed the “Full HD”
logo from those sets.
In the light of this, it appears that
you really may have to choose between
3D and HD. Is the tradeoff worthwhile?
Considering that a lot of “3D” material,
including movies, is not actually shot in
3D but is “converted,” the tradeoff seems
like a poor one.
We suggest trusting your eyes. We
love 3D, but we love high-definition
images even more.
Cinema
Feedback
you that.
We’re very fond of
high-definition television, and in fact “fond”
may be too mild a word.
We look back with no
fondness at all to the
days of v isible scanning lines you could see
from across the room.
However, they’re back,
and if you have looked
critically at recent television sets, you may have
noticed it.
The problem is 3D.
The major television
set makers have been,
for the most part, losing
money on every television set they sell. TVs
had become a commodit y, with little in the
way of technological
distinctions to give one brand an edge
over another. Only price mattered then,
unless some new innovation — any
innovation — could persuade consumers
to pass their existing TVs on to their
grandparents and go shopping again.
The current gee-whiz innovation, you’ll
have noticed, is 4K, with four times the
resolution of high-def, for which there
are, unfortunately, no consumer sources.
Before that there was…3D.
Now, 3D television is a genuine
upgrade, not just one more item on a
company’s spec sheet. Unfortunately,
it may have a down side. We may have
to choose between 3D and the highdefinition images we have come to love.
Let’s see why.
There are two contemporary systems
for viewing three-dimensional television
images.
One is passive, using polarizing filters,
the same method used for 3D in the
1950’s. Two images are superimposed,
but with polarization that is angled at
90°. You wear glasses with polarizing
lenses that are rotated 90° in respect
to the other. Each eye sees the image
intended for it. The glasses are cheap
(too cheap for the most part), light and
durable.
Nuts&Bolts
Feedback and Feedforward
W
h i le do i n g r e s e a r c h
for this brief article, I
realized that these two
terms are commonly
used today to refer not only to amplifier topology, but to management styles.
Feedback is what a manager gives an
employee during the dreaded annual
performance review. Feedforward is a
set of suggestions that are deemed to be
useful for the future. It seems to be nothing more than “constructive” feedback.
I’m glad I no longer need to deal with
this sort of bureaucratic stupidity.
In electronics, however, feedback
and feedforward have totally distinct
meanings, though both are methods
with the same aim: reducing distortion
in an amplifying device.
Feedback
It is sometimes called inverse feedback, to distinguish it from the positive
feedback heard when a public address
system is turned up too high. It is commonly used in amplifying circuits in
order to reduce distortion and possibly to
alter a circuit’s bandpass. A small amount
of the output signal is brought back to
the input and added in with its phase
reversed in order to cancel out a part
of the signal, and reduce the harmonic
distortion added by the amplification
device.
IN
+
OUT
–
Feedback also reduces the gain
(amplification) of the circuit, to be sure,
and so the circuit must be designed for
higher gain than it would otherwise
require. Since gain is always accompanied by increased distortion, this would
by Paul Bergman
appear at first glance to be a poor trade
off. On closer examination, however the
advantage of feedback becomes apparent.
The altered output signal appears at the
output inverted, and can cancel out some
of the spurious harmonics (i.e. harmonic
distortion) that can be found at the
output. The more inverse feedback is
added, the lower the harmonic distortion
can be made.
Now let’s add a capacitor to the
feedback loop.
IN
+
OUT
–
A capacitor is a high pass filter, which
means it passes higher frequencies
more effectively than lower frequencies. Adding the capacitor increases the
amount of feedback at higher frequencies, and thus has a filtering effect, rolling off the upper highs. Such filtering
is used to avoid amplifying frequencies
that the system cannot effectively deal
with, it is used in crossover networks,
and also to tailor frequency response in
phono preamplifiers, tape preamps and
even microphone preamps. An additional
benefit is that feedback can stabilize a
circuit that might otherwise be marginally stable, especially one driving a
reactive load, such as a loudspeaker.
Inverse feedback has been used since
the early 1930’s, and its benefits are so
evident that it is hardly a wonder that it
remains in widespread use today. However, it is not without disadvantages, and
for that reason a number of manufacturers boast that their products do not use
feedback.
What is wrong with feedback? One
disadvantage may already have occurred
to you.
We are taking a sample of the output
signal and bringing it back to the input to
effect a correction. However, the signal
we are attempting to correct is already at
the output. It appears evident that, for a
rapidly changing signal, such as a musical
transient, the leading edge of the signal
will emerge uncorrected. This problem
is recognized by experienced designers,
who advise making the circuit behave
properly in “open loop” conditions (that
is, with the feedback loop disconnected),
and only then applying feedback.
It was once common to use a feedback loop to effect RIAA equalization
in phono preamplifiers. In part because
of the problem I have mentioned, other
filtering methods are commonly used
in all but the most primitive phono
preamplifiers.
This may be the right time to add that
some “class D” amplifiers are designed to
have very high distortion, which is then
corrected with feedback. The problem
is, I believe, evident.
Today it’s common, as already noted,
for an amplifier manufacturer to boast
that its products do not use feedback. In
many cases this actually means that the
amplifier does not use overall feedback,
a loop that goes from the output all the
way back to the input. It is common,
however, to use feedback on individual
amplifier stages, not only to reduce distortion but also to stabilize a circuit that
might otherwise “ring,” the electronic
counterpart to the familiar mechanical
resonance. Ironically enough, a feedback
loop can itself be a source of instability,
allowing an amplifier to behave like an
oscillator! Methods for avoiding this
have, however, been understood since
the 1930’s.
Feedforward
The concept is by no means a recent
one. QUAD founder Peter J. Walker, in
his seminal 1975 AES white paper on
current dumping, noted that engineer
Harold Black had patented feedforward
error correction back in 1928. Black
had also patented feedback, a technique
that got much more attention. Walker
returned to the feedforward concept,
believing that distortion could thus be
reduced to zero, all the while avoiding the well-known disadvantages of
feedback.
In feedback, you will recall, we bring
a portion of the (presumably) distorted least as perfect as the smaller of the output. Although this distortion may be
output signal back to the input so that two amplifiers, and apparently Walker level-independent (that is, it is constant
we can correct it. Feedforward, as its expected it would be so. Though his regardless of signal level and becomes
name implies, operates in the opposite feedforward, or current dumping, cir- more dominant at low levels) it is essenfashion, bringing the (presumably) cuit has been much praised, its claim to tially insignificant.
undistorted input signal to the output. virtual perfection has not been immune
However, Vanderkooy and Lipshitz
Walker concluded in his paper that con- from criticism. In 1976 two research- postulate a second source of distortion,
ventional push-pull amplifier circuits, ers from the University of Waterloo, one caused by an imbalance in the bridge
whether class AB or class A, could not John Vanderkooy and Stanley Lipshitz, circuit used for the small amplifier to
fully eliminate distortion products near published a paper titled Current Dump- correct the output of the large one. The
the zero-volt line, the point at which one ing — Does It Really Work?
imbalance would result from the asymof the push-pull devices “hands off” to
Notwithstanding the provocative metry of the dumper’s current gain, and
the other. He therefore proposed his title, they concluded that in fact it does specifically the non-linearity of this gain
current dumping principle, which was work, stating that “this article endorses with variations in the signal. Once again,
at the heart of a commercial product, the soundness Itofwork
in threedumping
ways.
the current
this distortion can be minimized by the
In the table
of contents,
clickwith
on an
the QUAD 405 amplifier. Other cur- principle.”
They
did take issue
thearticle
use title,
of conventional feedback, but the
and you are
whiskeddumping
right to the
rent dumping models would follow, and identification
of current
as aarticle.
authors believe that the QUAD 405 is
In the
of advertisers
on the
second-last
remain available today.
form
oflist
feedforward
and they
also
cast notpage,
able to reduce it to zero.
click on
name,
right totothe ad All
itself.
The concept works in this fashion. A doubt
on an
thead
ability
ofand
suchgoa circuit
is not lost, however. Vanderkooy
Then clickoutput.
on an ad,
high-powered, though high-distortion, produce zero-distortion
Their and Lipshitz provide a mathematical
and youranalysis
browser
will authors
take youare
right
to the advertiser’s
amplifier is used to provide the energy
(both
physicists)
is analysisWeb
thatpage.
indicate the possibility of
when
have to
circle littledesigning
numbersa bridge configuration without
to drive the loudspeaker. A much smaller Remember
mathematical
andyou’d
not easily
accessible
on a card youreader.
wouldThe
thenpaper
mail in?
class A amplifier, which can be made to the non-specialized
this problem. Their idea depends on sufDoesn’t that
seem
like
a long
time ago?
to produce output at vanishingly low did, however,
argue
that
the
current
ficient available gain, however, and they
distortion, operates in parallel. At the dumping configuration produces not conclude by inviting readers to produce
output, a balance bridge is used so that one but two varieties of distortion, only a better solution.
the undistorted output of the small one of which can be totally eliminated
I need hardly add that a mathematical
amplifier may correct the output of the by Walker’s configuration.
analysis is not an amplifier design. If it
The analysis of Vanderkooy and were, designs could be made entirely on
large one. Since the two amplifiers operate in parallel, their respective signals Lipshitz, it must be emphasized, is math- paper (or, today, inside a computer), and
arrive at the output at the same time, and ematical and is not based on empirical then simply sent to the manufacturing
there can therefore be no time-domain data — that is to say, hands-on experi- facility.
difference. A simplified equivalent cir- ence with the QUAD 405. Some critics
Nor is total harmonic distortion
had claimed that distortion could not (THD) — the addition of spurious
cuit would look like this:
be eliminated unless the small ampli- overtones to the music signal — the only
fier’s transconductance was infinite, form of distortion in amplifiers. Interwhich would of course be impossible. modulation distortion (IM), which may
Vanderkooy and Lipshitz conclude affect two tones of differing frequency,
otherwise. According to them, we are and slew distortion, an artifact caused
left with an error, which (ironically) by a broadband signal transiting an
may be made vanishingly small by the amplifier with limited rise time, can be
use of…feedback. They state that the important sources of imperfection in an
On paper it would appear that such QUAD 405’s circuit would reduce this amplifier. They may, ultimately, be more
a circuit would be quite perfect, or at distortion to some 132 dB below full important than THD itself.
THIS MAGAZINE IS INTERACTIVE!
Nuts&Bolts
Feedback
Listening Room
QUAD Elite QSP Amplifier
T
his iconic British company is
now Chinese-owned, though
its headquarters remain in
Hu nt i n g d o n , E n g l a nd ,
where they have been since the War.
Its name is a now-obscure acronym
for Quality Unit Amplifier Domestic, a
topsy-turvy moniker that a government bureaucrat might have hatched.
The company’s original name was The
Acoustical Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and it
can still be found on the name plates of
products that are over 30 years old.
QUAD is perhaps best known for
its immensely successful electrostatic
speakers. Some die-hard QUAD fans
insist that the original electrostat, the
ESL-57, which is well over 60 years old,
remains unbeatable for sheer realism.
It is ironic that, for many years, the
way to make these electrostatics sound
their best was not to match them with
QUAD’s own amplifiers.
But that changed in the 70’s with
an innovative design from QUAD’s
founder, Peter Walker. Based on the concept of feedforward, originally patented
in the 1930’s, Walker developed a totally
new amplifier topology that could, at
least theoretically, banish distortion
altogether. Walker proposed using a
crude but powerful class B amplifier, and
then controlling its output with a much
smaller class A amplifier. He called the
new system current dumping. The new
amplifiers, unlike QUAD’s earlier solid
state designs, could give excellent results
even with the company’s demanding
electrostatic speakers. QUAD says that
with the QSP (which seems to stand for
“QUAD stereo power”), the current
dumping principle has been refined to
a greater extent than ever, and that it
eliminates the problems of crossover
distortion, quiescent current adjustment, thermal tracking and transistor
matching, all concerns for the designers
of conventional amplifiers. No internal
adjustments are needed.
For more on the operation of these
amplifiers, see Feedback and Feedforward
in this issue.
Though the Elite QSP is compact
as powerful amplifiers go, it truly is
powerful, rated at 140 watts/channel
into 8 ohms. Harmonic distortion, as
you would expect, is vanishingly low,
at 0.01%, below the resolution of nearly
all instruments, and possibly below the
noise level, which is itself low. Under
stress the amplifier runs warm, though
never truly hot. Still, you’ll need to
provide for adequate ventilation.
A glance at the rear panel indicates
that QUAD engineers give little credence to the importance of choosing
good speaker cables. What appear to
be the usual five-way binding posts are
actually designed for one single type of
“All Amplifiers
Sound the Same”
It’s amazing how often we still hear and read this absurd comment. At one time
there were several audio magazines whose philosophies — if we may be so kind
as to call them that — were predicated on this precept (they also believed all CD
players sounded the same). Why such magazines found it useful to publish amplifier tests remains a mystery, but it is moot, for one by one they closed their doors.
Is the claim more than a dumb assumption?
Sometimes it is. The Internet is filled with reports of blind tests, many of
them “ABX” tests, purporting to show that listeners cannot identify differences
in amplifiers, cables, etc. unless they know what they are listening to. The earliest such test we are aware of is from the early 80’s, when Dr. Floyd Toole, then at
Canada’s National Research Council, ran a blind comparison of several amplifiers,
showing no consistent audible results. A magazine then concluded that therefore
all amplifiers sound the same (a conclusion that Toole himself did not endorse).
Stereo Review ran an article by Canadian author Ian Masters concluding they all
sound the same. He maintains it to this day.
We don’t, as is obvious. ABX tests run afoul of an important part of the scientific
method, called the range rule: a system must be tested with the same parameters
under which it was designed to operate. Amplifiers are made for musical enjoyment
over time, not quick A-B comparisons.
Beyond that, we ask this question. There are two types of magazines. Which
will help you get the most satisfaction from your system?
Summing it up…
Model: Quad Elite QSP
Price: $1995
Size (WDH): 55 x 45 x 27 cm
Rated power: 140 watts/channel
Most liked: Outstanding sound
Least liked: Poor usability of the
binding posts
Verdict: Peter Walker’s legacy lives
on
Listening Room
connection: bare wires. You probably
know that quality cables don’t come in
that form. Though you can certainly
get away with putting a solid core wire
directly into a binding post, you wouldn’t
do that to stranded wire without risking
rapid deterioration and a dodgy connection. Because loudspeakers have such a
low impedance, often 4 ohms or less,
even minor resistance in the connection
will have a dramatic effect.
Fortunately, there is a way to connect
better wires. With small pliers you can
pry off the tiny stoppers on the ends of
the posts and plug a banana connector into the end. Note, however, that
the connection will be firm only if the
posts are themselves tight. We strongly
suggest retightening them every few
months.
The rear panel also has 15-pin
computer-style plugs to allow you to use
QUAD’s Ampbus cables in lieu of proper
interconnects. It surely won’t come as a
surprise that we favor the interconnects.
We were reminded of the bad old days
when QUAD components (and those
of several other British manufacturers)
came with those dreadful round DIN
plugs. At least now you have a choice.
We gave the QSP more than 100
hours of break-in time, and then we did
some serious listening in our Omega
system, comparing it to our Moon W-8
reference amplifier. This was another
all-LP review, bringing a smile to the
faces of our panelists.
This review is incomplete in this,
the free version of UHF. You can buy
this issue, in either paper or electronic
version, but there are savings to be made
if you subscribe.
For a subscription to the print issue,
go to:
www.uhfmag.com/subscription.html
But you can also subscribe to Maggie’s electronic version:
www.uhfmag.com/maggie.html.
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Listening
Feedback
CROSSTALK
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Back Issues
THE ACOUSTIC COLLECTION:
This is the closest we can get to a book on
acoustics by Paul Bergman. Issues No.7784: eight issues available for the price of five
issues. Including Paul Bergman’s complete
series on acoustics for audiophiles (room size
and acoustics, taming reverberation, absorbing
sound, absorbing unwanted low frequencies, diffusing sound, soundproofing, speaker placement
and room acoustics, and signals for acoustic
measurement).
No. 92: Reviews: The Mastersound Evolution
845 tube amplifier, the Eximus DP1 preamplifierDAC, two USB interfaces for much better
computer audio, from M2Tech and Stello. Plus
the 3T hybrid interconnect from Van den Hul
and both interconnects and digital cables from
Atlas. Home theatre: A guide to the state of the
art so far. Features: A look back on this, our
30th anniversary, a chat with A.J. Van den Hul,
Paul Bergman’s audio lexicon, and the latest
from Vegas. Also: The classical music genres:
Romantic, Baroque, modern, etc.
No. 91: Reviews: The Benchmark DAC1 HDR,
the Audiomat Phono2, the Moon 300A power
amplifier, the Trends palm-sized power amp,
and two software packages for music playback:
Pure Music and Amarra. Home theatre: The 3D
wave...is this the year it catches on? Features:
Are humans programmed to need music? Show
reports, from Toronto and Montreal. And how
Reference Recordings has reinvented vinyl. Plus:
Reine Lessard on why the Beatles live on and on.
No. 90: Reviews: The Moon 100D converter and
110LP phono preamp, another phono preamp
from Nerve (who?), the Thorens TD-309 turntable, the Revolver Music 5 loudspeaker, a blind
test of two new interconnects from Atlas. Home
theatre: Apple’s second stab at a set-top box for
your TV. Features: Paul Bergman reveals how
precious master tapes turned out to have short
lives, and we have more show reports. Plus: Toby
Earp on the great Count Basie.
No. 89: Reviews: The Moon 300D converter,
the Allnic L-1500 tube preamplifier, the Leema
Elements phono preamp, the ELAC FS 249
loudspeaker, and a tube headphone amp from
Trends. Home theatre: We compare a new LEDbacklit HDTV from Samsung with our reference
plasma. Features: We look at 3D films, and reveal
why most of them are bogus, we cover the best
and worst from Vegas and Montreal, and Paul
Bergman looks at the elements that make up a
computer music source. Plus: Rachmaninoff, the
great 20th Century neo-Romantic.
No. 88: High resolution music: We open our
copies of Reference Recordings’ HRx 24/176.4
recordings, and check how good they can sound
right now. Reviews: Two speakers, the Reference
3A Episode and the Audes Orpheus. An amazing
four-box CD player from Cyrus. Cambridge’s
affordable DACMagic. Blue Circle’s unusual
Fon Lo phono preamps, two new cables from
BIS, and headphones from AblePlanet. We try to
determine whether a “better” USB cable sounds
better. Plus: Paul Bergman on why many “stereo”
recordings are done with a single microphone.
No. 87: Digital: We review the April Music Eximus
CD player, and we plug things into its digital
inputs. We also try to get great sound from the
increasingly popular Apple Airport Express.
Analog: We listen to the Audiomat Phono-1.6,
successor to our reference phono preamp, and
a hand-wound step-up transformer from Allnic.
Plus: A lovely little tube amp from Audio Space,
the Pioneer BDP-11FD Blu-ray player, and a
feature article on good sound in bad times.
No.86: Analog: The Scheu Analogue Premier
II turntable and Cantus arm, and two phono
preamps: the Allnic H-1200 and the Moon LP3.
Also: We continue our investigation of speaker
connectors by putting WBT nextgens on our
reference cable, we listen to Beats headphones,
and the Shure SE530 and SE420 phones. We put
the Zoom H2 palm-sized digital recorder through
a tough test. Plus: color space in home theatre,
Paul Bergman on analog in a digital world.
No.85: Integrated amplifiers: the luxurious
Sugden A21SE and the affordable Vecteur
Ai4. We evaluate Eichmann’s new Quiessence
cables, and chat with Keith Eichmann himself.
We listen to a very good mid-priced speaker
cable with four different connectors, and the
results leave us stunned. Plus: We choose
(and evaluate in depth) a new HDTV reference
monitor, Paul Bergman winds up his series on
acoustics, and we tell you how to transfer music
to hard drive without saying you’re sorry.
No.84: Digital streaming: the awesome Linn
Klimax DS and the Off-Ramp Turbo 2 interface.
Also: the classic Harbeth HL5 speaker, the
affordable Moon CD-1 and i-1 amplifier, and
a great phono stage from Aurum. Plus: UHF
chats with Linn’s Gilad Tiefenbrun and Harbeth’s
Alan Shaw, Paul Bergman discusses signals for
acoustic measurement, and we look at the prospects for 3-D…at home and in the cinema.
No.83: Digital: The Raysonic CD128 and a lowcost player from VisionQuest. Other reviews: The
Moon LP5.3 phono stage, the Castle Richmond
7i speaker, the upscale Mavros cables from
Atlas, and a retest of the Power Foundation III
line filter, with a better power cord this time. Plus:
The acoustics of speaker placement, the two
meanings of video image contrast, and a portrait
of super tenor Placido Domingo.
No.82: Amplifiers: A large sweet tube amplifier
from Audio Space, the Reference 3.1, and the
reincarnation of an old favorite, the Sugden A21.
Digital: Bryston's first CD player, and the Blue
Circle "Thingee," with USB at one end and lots of
outputs at the other end. Plus: the BC Acoustique
A3 speaker, a small subwoofer, two more London
phono cartridges, line filters from AudioPrism
and BIS, a blind test of three interconnects, Paul
Bergman on soundproofing, and a thorough test
of Sony's new-generation Blu-ray player
No.81: Digital: The newest two-box CD player
from Reimyo, and the magical Linn Majik
player. Headphones a new version of our long
time reference headphones, from the Koss pro
division, and the affordable SR-125 headphones
from Grado. Plus: The astonishing Sonogram
loudspeakers from Gershman, a small but lovely
tube integrated amplifier from CEC, and the
London Reference phono cartridge.
No.80: Equipment reviews: From Linn, the
Artikulat 350A active speakers, the updated
LP12 turntable, the Klimax Kontrol preamplifier,
and the Linto phono stage; ASW Genius 300
speakers, ModWright preamp and phono stage.
Also: Bergman on absorbing low frequencies,
emerging technologies for home theatre, and
coverage of the Montreal Festival.
No.79: Digital players: Simaudio’s flagship
DVD (and CD) player, the Calypso, and Creek’s
surprising economy EVO player. Phono stages:
A slick tube unit from Marchand, and the superb
Sonneteer Sedley, with USB input and output.
Plus: the talented JAS Oscar loudspeakers, the
Squeezebox plus our own monster power supply.
Also: Bergman on what absorbs sound and what
doesn’t, what’s next in home theatre, Vegas
2007, and the secrets of the harmonica.
No.78: Integrated amplifiers: the affordable
Creek EVO, and the (also affordable) Audio
Space AS-3i. Loudspeaker cables: six of them
from Atlas and Actinote, in a blind test. Plus:
the astonishing Aurum Acoustics Integris 300B
complete system, and its optional CD player/
preamplifier. Whew! Also: Bergman on taming
reverberation, how to put seven hours of uncompressed music on just one disc, and the one
opera that even non-opera people know.
No.77: Electronics: The Simaudio Moon P-8
preamplifier, the successor to the legendary
Bryston 2B power amp, the Antique Sound Lab
Lux DT phono stage. Plus: the Reimyo DAP-777
converter, an affordable CD player/integrated
amp pair from CEC, and five power cords. Also:
Paul Bergman on room size and acoustics, how
to dezone foreign DVDs, and how to make your
own 24/96 high resolution discs at home.
No.76: Loudspeakers: a new look at the modern
version of the Totem Mani-2, an affordable ELAC
speaker with a Heil tweeter, and the even more
affordable Castle Richmond 3i. Plus headphone
amps from Lehmann, CEC and Benchmark, a
charger that can do all your portables, and the
Squeezebox 3, which gets true hi-fi music from
your computer to your stereo system. Bergman
on speaker impedance and how to measure it.
No.75: Amplifiers: The new Simaudio Moon W-8
flagship, and integrated amps from Copland (the
CTA-405) and CEC. Speakers: the Reference 3a
Veena and the Energy Reference Connoisseur
reborn. Plus the Benchmark DAC converter. And
also: Bergman on the changing concept of hi-fi
and stereo, a chat with FIM’s Winston Ma, and
the rediscovery of a great Baroque composer,
Christoph Graupner.
No.74: Amplifiers: Mimetism 15.2, Qinpu A-8000,
Raysonic SP-100, Cyrus 8vs and Rogue Stereo
90. More reviews: Atlantis Argentera speaker,
Cyrus CD8X player, GutWire MaxCon 2 line
filter, Harmony remote, Music Studio 10 recording software. Cables: Atlas, Stager, BIS and
DNM, including a look at how length affects
digital cables. Plus: the (hi-fi) digital jukebox,
why HDTV doesn’t always mean what you think,
and Reine Lessard on The Man Who Invented
Rock’n’Roll.
No.73: Integrated amplifiers: Audiomat Récital
and Exposure 2010S. Analog: Turntables
from Roksan (Radius 5) and Goldring (the
Rega-designed GR2), plus two cartridges, and
four phono stages from CEC, Marchand and
Goldring. The Harmonix Reimyo CD player,
Audiomat Maestro DAC, ASW Genius 400
speakers, and the Sonneteer BardOne wireless
system. Plus: Paul Bergman on the making of an
LP and why they don’t all sound the same.
No.72: Music from data: How you can make your
own audiophile CDs with equipment you already
have. We test a DAC that yields hi-fi from your
computer. We review the new Audio Reference
speakers, the updated Connoisseur singleended tube amp, upscale Actinote cables, and
Gershman’s Acoustic Art panels. How to tune up
your system for a big performance boost.
No.71: Small speaker: Reference 3a Dulcet,
Totem Rainmaker, and a low cost speaker from
France. A blind cable test: five cables from Atlas,
and a Wireworld cable with different connectors
(Eichmann, WBT nextgen, and Wireworld). The
McCormack UDP-1 universal player, muRata
super tweeters, Simaudio I-3 amp and Equinox
CD player. Paul Bergman examines differences
behind two-channel stereo and multichannel.
No.70: How SACD won the war…or how DVD-A
blew it. Reviews: Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal
player and Shanling SCD-T200 player. Speakers:
Reference 3a Royal Virtuoso, Equation 25,
Wilson Benesch Curve. Other reviews: Simaudio
W-5LE amp, the iPod as an audiophile source.
Plus: future video screens, and the eternal music
of George Gershwin
No.69: Tube Electronics: Audiomat Opéra ,
Connoisseur SE-2 and Copland CSA29 integrated amps, and Shanling SP-80 monoblocks.
Audiomat's Phono 1.5, Creek CD50, GutWire's
NotePad and a music-related computer game
that made us laugh out loud. Paul Bergman on
the return of the tube, and how music critics did
their best to kill the world’s greatest music.
No.68: Loudspeakers: Thiel CS2.4, Focus Audio
FS688, Iliad B1. Electronics:Vecteur I-6.2 and
Audiomat Arpège integrated amps, Copland 306
multichannel tube preamp, Rega Fono MC. Also:
Audio Note and Copland CD players, GutWire
MaxCon power filter. And there’s more: all about
power supplies, what’s coming beyond DVD, and
a chat with YBA’s Yves-Bernard André.
No.67: Loudspeakers: An improved Reference
3a MM de Capo, and the Living Voice Avatar
OBX-R. Centre speakers from Castle, JMLab,
ProAc, Thiel, Totem and Vandersteen. One of
them joins our Kappa system. Two multichannel
amps from Copland and Vecteur. Plus: plans for
a DIY platform for placing a centre speaker atop
any TV set, Paul Bergman on the elements of
acoustics, and women in country music.
No.66: Reviews: the Jadis DA-30 amplifier, the
Copland 305 tube preamp and 520 solid state
amp. Plus: the amazing Shanling CD player,
Castle Stirling speakers, and a remote control
that tells you what to watch. Also: Bergman on
biwiring and biamplification, singer Janis Ian’s
alternative take on music downloading, and a
chat with Opus 3’s Jan-Eric Persson.
No.65: Back to Vinyl: setting up an analog
system, reviews of Rega P9 turntable, and
phono preamps from Rega, Musical Fidelity
and Lehmann. The Kappa reference system for
home theatre: choosing our HDTV monitor, plus
a review of the Moon Stellar DVD player. Antivibration: Atacama, Symposium, Golden Sound,
Solid-Tech, Audioprism, Tenderfeet. Plus an
interview with Rega’s turntable designer,.
No.64: Speakers: Totem M1 Signature and
Hawk, Visonik E352. YBA Passion Intégré amp,
Cambridge IsoMagic (followup), better batteries
for audio-to-go. Plus: the truth about upsampling,
an improvement to our LP cleaning machine, an
interview with Ray Kimber.
No.63: Tube amps: ASL Leyla & Passion
A11. Vecteur Espace speakers, 2 interconnects (Harmonic Technology, Eichmann),
5 speaker cables (Pierre Gabriel, vdH ,
Harmonic Technology, Eichmann), 4 power
cords (Wireworld, Harmonic Technology,
Eichmann, ESP). Plus: Bergman on soundproofing, comparing components in the store.
No.62: Amplifiers: Vecteur I-4, Musical Fidelity
Nu-Vista M3, Antique Sound Lab MG-S11DT.
Passive preamps: Creek and Antique Sound
Lab. Vecteur L-4 CD player. Interconnects: VdH
Integration, Wireworld Soltice. Plus: the right to
copy music, for now. Choosing a DVD player by
features. And all about music for the movies.
No.61: Digital: Audiomat Tempo and Cambridge
Isomagic DACs, Vecteur D-2 transport. Speakers:
Osborn Mini Tower and Mirage OM-9. Soundcare
Superspikes. And: new surround formats, dezoning DVD players.
No.60: Speakers: Monitor Audio Silver 9,
Reference 3a MM De Capo, Klipsch RB-5,
Coincident Triumph Signature.
SEE MORE AT:
http://www.uhfmag.com/IndividualIssue.html
EACH ISSUE costs $6.49 (in Canada) plus tax (15% in QC, 14% in ON, NB, NS and NF, 12% in BC, 5% in other provinces), US$7.69 in the USA, CAN$15 elsewhere (air
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Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383, or www.uhfmag.com. Some back issues are available electronically at www.uhfmag.com/maggie.html for C$4 each, plus
applicable taxes.
Well Tempered Versalex
Room
Listening
Feedback
I
t’s probably safe to assume that
Bill Firebaugh is a Bach fan. It
was 1985 when he designed his
first turntable and named it for
one of Johann Sebastian’s most famous
keyboard pieces. His company never did
climb into the exalted heights occupied
by the best-known turntable makers, but
he has endured…which is more than can
be said of some once famous companies
we all know.
The Versalex model name has a less
obvious origin, though anyone with
some notion of Latin will recall that
“lex” means “law,” and is therefore
likely to conclude that the name means
“against the law.” That seems fitting
because, throughout his career, Firebaugh has maintained that “the law”
(i.e. what is considered obvious by his
competitors, and thus mandatory) is
wrong.
Let us then examine the problem of a
turntable platter’s bearing. We’ve known
since the 1970’s that the major source
of noise and vibration in a turntable is
likely to be not the motor, as was once
assumed, but the bearing. Most turntable designers, therefore, concentrate
on establishing a friction-free contact
between the platter spindle and the
shaft, with as little play as possible. The
ways of doing this are well established.
Typically, that means tapering the shaft
of the platter that rests against a ball
bearing at the bottom of the well, soaked
in light oil. Tapering the shaft means its
rotating surface is small, and one can
expect minimal noise if the machining
is of good quality. However, Firebaugh
long ago pointed to a problem with such
bearings. The belt from the motor to
the platter pulls the platter laterally, and
therefore the shaft will rub against the
side of the well. Problem!
To make matters worse, the tight
tolerances leave little room for even light
oil to find its way between spindle and
well.
Others have noticed the same problems. On some turntables the belt goes
from the motor to the sides of the platter,
then on to a second pulley on the other
side. That eliminates the side thrust, but
the second pulley adds a new source of
vibration, thus swapping one problem
for another. Tiny holes may be drilled
into the spindle to let oil circulate,
but Bill Firebaugh found that measure
unsatisfactory.
Firebaugh’s solution is to use the
side of the well as the bearing, reducing
noise and vibration as much as possible,
but there’s more to it than that. His
spindle is much smaller than the well in
which it spins, leaving room for lubricant, and it is supported at five points:
from underneath, and at each of four
lateral points. The supports are nitrite
rubber, the material used for engine
piston seals. The lubricant is not oil but
silicone, which also provides damping of
vibrations.
The Versalex comes with Firebaugh’s
own LTD arm, and that’s not of conventional design either. Like a turntable, a
tone arm must be made according to
requirements that conflict. Make the
bearings too tight and you have excessive friction. Make them too loose and
they will “chatter,” adding spurious
vibrations to the desired vibrations you
need to recover from the record groove.
What’s more, excessive play will hamper
the arm and cartridge’s ability to recover
subtle information from the groove.
His solution was to suspend the centre
of the arm (actually a black golf ball)
from an overhead support with a twisted
monofilament thread. The ball bathes
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Well Tempered
Versalex turntable and LTD arm
Price: C$4975
Size (WDH): 48 x 41.5 x 18.2 cm
Most liked: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
xxxx.
Least liked: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
xxxx.
Verdict: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
xxxx.
elenisi.
Listening Room
in silicone, which damps out vibration
and keeps the arm centred. By twisting
the filament loop, you apply antiskating
force, all without resorting to the usual
Rube Goldberg weights and pulleys.
The plinth of the Versalex is made of
a slab of Baltic plywood, with a decorative walnut veneer glued to the top. The
rubber feet are hollow so they can absorb
vibrations. There is an outboard power
supply to run the single-speed motor —
you select the desired platter speed by
looping the monofilament drive thread
around the appropriate pulley.
The LTD arm, which is also available separately, does not have its own
output cable. Instead, it is fitted with
a pair of good quality output jacks,
into which you plug the interconnect
cable of your choice. That adds to the
cost, to be sure, but considering the
mediocre cables supplied with all too
many turntables, we can only applaud.
This article is available in complete
form in either our print issue or in Maggie’s electronic edition.
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CROSSTALK!
Listening Room
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Get UHF from Maggie
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This is the version for computer, iPad, Android almost anything.
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Come visit Maggie
Moon 300D v.2
Room
Room
Listening
Listening
Feedback
T
hat Si m aud io c reated a
terrif ic digital-to-analog
converter with its 300D is
by now well established. We
liked it so much that we bought one. It
joined our reference systems initially
in conjunction with an Apple Airport
Express, linked by optical fibre. Since
then we have added other equipment,
including a dedicated computer, and that
has made our CD player obsolete.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
The original 300D, reviewed in UHF
No. 89, like all the other DACs arriving
on the market, is an increasingly familiar
device. It converts a digital signal, which
can come from a CD player, a computer
or some other digital source, into a twochannel analog signal that can be amplified and sent to loudspeakers. There are
plenty of devices for doing this, more or
less well. Your iPod contains a DAC, and
so almost certainly does your computer.
The 300D, however, does the job better
than other DACs we have heard, including some that were far more expensive,
but older.
How do you connect a DAC like this?
There are several ways.
The 300D has two coaxial inputs,
known as S/PDIF (which stands for
Sony/Philips Digital InterFace). An
S/PDIF cable looks like half of an analog
interconnect pair. Most CD players
have S/PDIF digital outputs, so that
they may be used as transports, leaving
an outboard DAC to do the conversion
to analog. DVD players once had such
outputs too, though you we should warn
you that most recent ones do not.
The 300D, by the way, does not
have an AES/EBU balanced input (the
acronym refers to the organizations
that established the standard, the Audio
Engineering Society and the European
Broadcast Union). It does have balanced
analog outputs, as you’ll see from the rear
panel, shown on the next page.
There is an optical input, to which
you can connect a TOSLINK optical
cable (the “TOS” in the acronym stands
for Toshiba, which first popularized it).
That’s the input you’ll use from an Apple
Airport Express, which has a digital
optical output. So do all Macintosh
computers except the MacBook Air, and
some Windows computers.
Finally, there is USB, the interface
found on all modern computers to connect keyboards, mice, hard drives, cameras and a host of other devices. USB can
also be used as an audio input or output,
and the upgrade to the USB circuitry is
the major reason for the upgrades of the
300D and some of its competitors.
Early consumer DACs didn’t come
with USB inputs at all, because a USB
cable is limited to a length of 5 metres,
which makes it impractical unless the
computer is close to the music system, or
is actually part of the music system. The
first USB connections were often afterthoughts, off-the-shelf chips of the type
used in low-cost computers, with limited
capabilities. Resolution was typically
limited to 16 bits with a 48 kHz sampling
rate. Some companies went so far as to
state, incorrectly, that the 16/48 limit
was that of the USB standard. Modern
USB links are also asynchronous (see the
Synchronous and Asynchronous sidebar on
page 46).
Many audiophiles now add compact
computers to their music systems as
sources, and they need full resolution
from USB. That’s our case, and we have
been using an outboard USB device, the
Stello U3 (reviewed in UHF No. 92), to
convert USB to S/PDIF. Simaudio has
now engineered its own USB circuit,
which is the major upgrade included in
version 2 of the 300D. Simaudio says
other unspecified refinements have been
added as well.
The price has also been “improved,”
and we’ll get to that shortly.
This second version of the 300D
looks identical to the original, and
Simaudio offers a factory upgrade. The
front panel is untouched, and one result
is that the 300D still has no remote
control. We think that should be the next
improvement on Simaudio’s to-do list.
We would need to listen twice to the
new 300D. Since we use the outboard
Stello to connect to our 300D’s coaxial
input, we would simply substitute the
new 300D to determine whether it
sounds different. We would then remove
the Stello and use the 300D’s own USB
input. We selected four recordings, two
of them high definition, two in standard
Red Book CD format.
The first was the Rachmaninoff
Symphonic Dances (Reference Recordings
HR-96), a 24-bit 176.4 kHz recording
from the company’s magnificent HRx
series distributed on DVD-ROM for
loading onto a hard drive.
We weren’t sure whether we were
hearing a meaningful difference. With
both converters the quality was superb.
Gerard thought there was a minor difference in the sound of the strings, but
wasn’t certain it represented an improvement. Albert focused on what seemed to
be a minor difference in the woodwinds.
Toby thought the new 300D might possibly be quieter and more transparent,
and that the strain of melancholy in
Rachmaninoff’s music might be more
apparent. Our notes were filled with
question marks.
We removed the Stello from the circuit
and ran our BIS Audio USB cable from
the computer directly to the new 300D’s
own USB input. The Moon showed up
right away in the Audio & Midi Setup
utility of our MacBook Pro, and once
again we selected a resolution of 24 bits
and a sampling rate of 176.4 kHz.
It was obvious from the start that
the 300D’s USB circuit had been vastly
improved — with the old one we could
not have played at such high resolution
at all. Depth and percussive impact were
superb. Were we hearing more than we
had using the outboard Stello USB box?
As the music continued, we weren’t
so sure. Gerard liked the detail in the
complex structure of the large orchestra,
and especially the clearer harmony of the
woodwinds. “The difference isn’t huge,
but it’s real.” Toby and Albert liked the
newer DAC’s version initially, but then
found the music less involving. Why? It
was certainly not because we were getting bored with Rachmaninoff!
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Moon 300D v.2.0
Price: C$2200
Size (WDH): 19 X 28 X 8.5 cm
Inputs: USB, coaxial (2x), optical
Outputs: Coaxial, balanced
Most liked: USB finally modernized
Least liked: Sticker shock, rhythm
sometimes weaker (USB)
Verdict: An overdue improvement to
a landmark product
The Bruckner was going to be a
tough test, in part because rhythm is
such an important part of its appeal.
With our original 300D and its outboard
USB box, we loved what we heard. The
new DAC, with its own USB circuit,
sounded impressive as well. Louder
instruments, notably the brass, seemed
more restrained, letting us hear softer
background details more clearly.
There was another difference too.
When we had first listened to the piece
with our own DAC, we had initially set
the volume uncomfortably high and
begun again at a more reasonable volume
(we choose this by consensus). Albert
wanted to hear the Scherzo at the same
level through the new DAC. Surprisingly, that high level now seemed more
bearable.
Gerard added a negative note, one
involving timing. The rhythm of the
Bruckner is very strong, and you should
be able to mark it with your hand. With
the new 300D it was noticeably harder to
do. We would return to the older DAC
to confirm that.
That problem cropped up again
on What a Wonderful World, which is
a swing piece. In nearly all respects it
sounded wonderful, with a strikingly
natural piano sound. Yet the rhythm
seemed weaker, and all three of us
noticed it.
The final song, Soft Lights and Sweet
Music, was a delight, as it nearly always
is. Margie Gibson’s mastery of phrasing,
the way she slides from one note to the
other, were superb. The accompanying
Room
Feedback
Listening
We continued with another recording, in 16/44.1 resolution this time,
the Scherzo from Bruckner’s Symphony
No. 9 (RR-81CD). We have often used
this remarkable recording in equipment
evaluations, in either its original HDCD
form or its enhanced SACD version. It
is supremely enjoyable, but also highly
revealing.
Only Toby thought he detected a
possible improvement, preceding his
explanation by saying “I have to be
careful.” He thought the new 300D
brought him closer to the music, farther
from the confusion and bombast that
is the hallmark of this music when it is
inadequately reproduced.
Albert and Gerard, however, found
both renditions outstanding.
The third piece was 24/176.4, just
like the first. It had come from a flash
key from Fidelio, and featured the
Mathias Landaeus Trio playing What a
Wonderful World. This is an outstanding
recording, projecting a vast space, with
depth and an attractive “roundness” to
the instruments. It was wonderful with
both DACs. Toby wondered whether,
just possibly, he was hearing more with
the newer DAC, but suspected that he
was noticing more because he was hearing
the music for the second time.
We should mention that we sometimes counter this real danger by returning to the reference for another listen.
If the difference is real, it will become
evident.
We ended with Margie Gibson’s Soft
Lights and Sweet Music from her Say It
With Music album. There might in fact
have been a small difference favoring the
newer 300D but, perhaps significantly,
we didn’t all focus on the same aspects
of the song. Albert thought the piano
seemed louder, with a little more detail
emerging. Toby thought the sound was a
little more glassy and edgy with the older
DAC, and that the newer one revealed
extra detail and a quieter background.
Gerard estimated that certain sounds
were “punchier” with the newer DAC,
but he wasn’t sure of that either. “If this
had been a blind test,” he said, “I don’t
think we would have spotted any of this.”
We agreed.
We now came to the second part of
the test, using the same four recordings.
Synchronous and Asynchronous
These terms have to do with timing. Phone calls are synchronous: you and the
person you’re calling must be there at the same time. E-mail is asynchronous: you
can send a message whether the recipient is available at that moment or not.
Early digital connections were synchronous, meaning that there was a one-way
link between the digital signal source and the DAC. Such connections suffered
from high jitter, a cyclic inaccuracy in timing, caused by the DAC’s dependence
on a noisy and imprecise clock signal derived from the CD or other source. Better
players were asynchronous, establishing a two-way link. That means the DAC “told”
the source when to send the data, and assembled it using its own master clock.
Because the first USB inputs on consumer DACs were mere afterthoughts, they
were typically synchronous. However, USB is a two-way pipe and lends itself well
to the vastly superior asynchronous system.
instruments — piano, cello and bass —
were gorgeous. There was depth and
wonderful presence. Yes, but was it
better than it had been with the original
300D plus the Stello? Toby thought he
had found one syllable that had been a
little edgy but was now smoothed out.
Not much there. We were comparing
superb with superb.
But what about rhythm? We listened
to another Gibson song, Puttin’ on the
Ritz, a bouncy show tune, and we could
hear that our own DAC communicated
the rhythm more solidly.
Now here are the tough questions.
Is the new 300D worth its higher price,
and if you have the older one, as we do,
should you upgrade?
We are not among those who shout
greed when a product’s price rises. There
are many factors determining a manufactured product’s price, from manpower
cost to price of materials. The size of the
market is important too. Many high-end
audio products sell in tiny numbers,
making economy of scale impossible.
On the other hand, competition places
downward pressure on prices. There is
an explosion in the number of quality
DACs now, and the reasons are obvious.
Simaudio would have weighed all of
these factors in setting its price.
We have seen the price of the 300D
climbing, from the original $1600 to
$1800 and now to $2200. The 300D
has more and more competitors, but it
remains one of the world’s finest DACs.
We will change ours for another if a new
one can help us do our job better. That
time has not yet come.
As noted, the original 300D can be
upgraded to the v.2 standard for $800.
This is done at the factory and arranged
through your authorized dealer. That
sounds like a lot, but a proper USB
input is mandatory if you want to have a
dedicated computer as part of your music
system, as we do.
You do have other choices. We’re
using an outboard USB interface, whose
price of $495 is well below that of the
300D upgrade. However, we also needed
a digital cable to run from the Stello USB
box to the DAC. Ours, an Atlas Mavros,
sells for $599. Do the math, and you’ll
see that we are not exactly saving money.
That’s the combination we are staying with for the time being, and it is
giving us unparalleled sound, to enable
us to do our work, but also to warm our
souls.
Room
Listening
Feedback
CROSSTALK
The 300D was an excellent reference
quality DAC, and there I sat, expecting to
be impressed by its new incarnation.
Well, I enjoyed the music tremendously.
It was almost frustrating, however, to notice
how beautiful it sounded and find that I had
nothing to say about it. What I really mean
is that I had nothing to add because, as far
as I could tell, it didn’t add anything.
The USB section has been improved
from so-so to very good, okay. But “very
good” is far from reference quality, as is the
rest of this DAC. If its price were unchanged
I would have recommended this model over
the previous one to any serious music lover
and audiophile. At its much higher price, I’m
not so sure.
—Albert Simon
It really was way past time Simaudio
added a proper USB circuit to its otherwise
superb 300D converter. It has, and that’s
good. That circuit is not yet state of the art,
however, and considering that the price has
risen by some $600, that’s a disappointment.
I don’t want to overstate this. Anyone
using the simple USB input in the original
300D would not have been pleased. The new
one is immensely better, no question about
it, and I suspect many purchasers will love
it. The reality is, however, that it still sounds
better through its other inputs.
—Gerard Rejskind
I was expecting the upgraded Moon converter to sell itself to me easily. The original
300D was tremendously good, and only the
limitations of its USB input kept me from
putting one on my shopping list. On this
new version, music via the coax input hardly
spoiled the impression. The Rachmaninoff
was perhaps a little quieter, the Bruckner
made more musical sense to me. I noted the
piano’s timing on What a Wonderful World —
it truly is a wonderful world when a piece of
gear like this one can get you further into
the music. The new 300D, via its coax input,
was no worse, and perhaps a little better than
the older one.
But the next time around, using the
USB input, that timing wasn’t quite right.
Two plays of Margie Gibson’s delightful
version of Puttin’ on the Ritz made it clear
that, with the USB input, this new 300D
didn’t have as solid rhythm as the older
model. Oh, counting time on this piece isn’t
easy. Margie syncopates like the Duke, and
there were two moments when I lost it even
with the older model DAC. But on USB, the
new model never quite let me get settled in.
Hi-res capability via USB is a real upgrade,
but I missed the rhythm.
—Toby Earp
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An Affordable DAC
Listening Room
D
o you really need to spend
thousands of dollars for a
digital-to-analog converter
if you aspire to good music?
No. In fact, we can name one good one
that costs “mere” hundreds, namely the
Moon 100D. It even has asynchronous
USB. But the 100D costs over $600.
How well can you do at much less than
half its price?
Brik is a Taiwanese company that
makes an entire series of small audio
products, all of them in the same size
box, shaped like — yes — a brick.
These components can be stacked,
the way hi-fi components once were,
or they can be inserted into cases that
the company offers as an option. The
series includes a phono preamplifier, a
small integrated amplifier, a headphone
amplifier and an Internet radio. And of
course, this converter. The DAC comes
with a “wall wart” power supply, but
an optional power supply is available,
capable of supplying clean power to the
other components in the series as well.
All of these modules are the same price.
The DAC is a simple enough device.
Its only front-panel switch selects among
the three inputs: USB, coaxial and optical. A switch at the rear selects output
level so that you can match it to the gain
of your amplifier and run your volume
control at a comfortable level. Because
the unit is small, its USB input is miniature, not the usual USB-B jack. We used
the cable supplied with the Brik, rather
than our own premium-grade BIS Audio
cable.
We ran the Brik for some 200 hours,
using the USB and then the coaxial
input, then listened to it alongside our
Moon 300D DAC. Yes, we know the
300D is far more expensive, but our
reference system would actually be made
from perfect products, if such existed. We
avoided selecting the same recordings
we had used in evaluating the 300D v.2,
to avoid the temptation to make inappropriate comparisons.
For reasons we have explained, our
reference system uses an outboard
USB box, a Stello U3, which then feeds
our DAC’s coaxial input (the Stello is
reviewed in UHF No. 92). We used the
same initial setup with the Brik.
The first selection was Jennifer
Warnes’ Way Down Deep from her album
The Hunter. This is another of the songs
she wrote with Leonard Cohen. This
song is clearly about (ahem!) sex, and
features percussive effects that will stress
any loudspeaker. And any source too.
We were in agreement that the Brik
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Brik DAC
Price: C$250
Size (WDH):  14 x 16.3 x 5 cm
Inputs: Mini-USB, coaxial, optical
Outputs: Coaxial
Most liked: Surprisingly good performance with S/PDIF source
Least liked: Mediocre USB performance
Verdict: Terrific for some applications
did well, though it was not the equal
of our reference converter. The sound
was by no means thin, but the resonant
percussive punch was considerably
reduced, and that certainly took away
from the song’s mesmerizing impact.
There was a good side, however, because
the voices — those of Jennifer and her
backup singers (Blondie Chaplin, Kevin
Dorsey and Warnes herself ) — were
easier to understand. As for Warnes’ own
solo voice, it was less silky but exhibited
none of the all-too-familiar artifacts of
bad digital.
We continued with an old favorite,
the Elegia from Arensky’s Piano Trio
No. 1 on the Dorian label. This longvanished recording feat ures t hree
Canadian-based musicians billed as the
Rembrandt Trio. Properly reproduced,
this recording carries you off into a
dream world. Poorly reproduced, on the
other hand, it merely puts you to sleep.
It is as fragile as a gossamer web. Would
it survive?
It did. Yes, the piano notes were
a little punchier, and the very softest
passages were a bit less magical, but
that’s not what we were thinking about
while we listened. “Logically, this seems
impossible,” said Steve. “Nice work,”
added Albert.
We would hesitate to review a digital product without including Margie
Gibson’s Say It With Music album (Sheffield CD-36), because her songs are at
once sonically revealing and musically
delightful. Or they should be. We
selected the perky ballad The Best Thing
for You.
The song held together and remained
enjoyable when played through the
Brik. There were certainly differences,
however. Margie’s voice was noticeably
grainier, and the lack of smoothness
made it seem more artificial, taking
away a little of its natural warmth. Piano
chords were punchier and trailing notes
shorter. The depth was curtailed. There
was plenty of detail in both voice and
accompanying instruments, but in a song
like this, mere detail is not what’s most
important.
And yet, long as the list of flaws may
seem, the essentials of the song survived
and it remained supremely enjoyable.
Through its coaxial input, then, the
Brik turned in a respectable performance. We listened briefly to the optical
input, running an optical cable from
our Airport Express. Performance was
similarly fine. Which left the USB input
to be listened to. That is where many
DACs fail.
Until recently, most of them actually
lacked a USB input altogether, because
so few customers could be expected
to have a computer within easy reach
(5 metres or less) of their music systems.
The first DACs to have this essential
input implemented the feature with a
low-cost synchronous circuit that might
have worked fine for a keyboard or a
mouse, but not a high-grade audio component. See the sidebar, Synchronous and
Asynchronous, on page 46 that explains
the difference. The inexpensive chips
behind these circuits cannot handle
high-definition signals, and do none too
well with standard-definition files either.
That, unfortunately, is what Brik
used. When plugged into our MacBook
Pro via its camera-style USB cord,
the Brik converter identified itself as
a “C-media USB headphone set.” The
C-media is a multiuse chip from Taiwan
that includes a headphone amplifier,
though Brik has not used it. The dual
DAC on the chip is limited to 48 kHz
sampling rate and 16 bits.
Naturally, we were expecting the
worst with this chip, and it didn’t disappoint us! We listened again to the
Margie Gibson song, which had now lost
much of its appeal. Notes seemed truncated and the overall sound was more
distant. Margie’s voice, normally so
smooth, was now hard-edged. Paradoxically, everything seemed mushy because
detail was deficient. Albert was kinder,
finding the song “not so bad,” though
limited to two dimensions.
We think that the high-end audio
industry needs to invest in the development of a hi-fi oriented USB chip. Such
chips exist, though on the evidence they
are expensive. Economy of scale would
help, we suspect, and a superior chip
could be made available to all manufacturers without resulting in everyone’s
products sounding alike.
So much for the future; let us return
to this inexpensive little box. The
conclusion is obvious. Brik has made an
inexpensive DAC that — through two
of its three inputs — can produce real
music likely to please you. The third
input might as well not be there.
We give the Brik DAC, therefore, a
conditional pass. If your source is coaxial
or optical — and it very well may be —
it’s a bargain.
This is a good DAC but not a great
one. That is not meant to be disparaging,
since it actually sounded better than it has
any right to. Just don’t expect to be blown
away by the music you’ll hear. It does certain things better than expected but, as is
often the case, it is lacking in other areas.
The listening experience was not as satisfying when I kept comparing every aspect of
the reproduced performances.
However, as soon as I stopped being
so analytical I started enjoying the music
and, yes, there was music coming out of our
speakers, and it had no trouble filling the
room.
As I said, a good DAC. Entry level
would I say? Yes. And for a while.
—Albert Simon
whether you should consider one depends
on your plans for it. If the source will be an
Airport Express, a CD transport or a dedicated computer equipped with an optical
output, you can expect good performance
at low cost. If you want to listen to highresolution files, however, you would need
a proper USB connection. The Brik’s USB
input doesn’t do the job, and it drops the
quality below what I consider acceptable.
Of course, I mean what I would consider acceptable for my main music system. If
a couple of the Brik devices will be feeding
your kitchen system or sitting next to your
computer, you may be more forgiving.
The optional power supply may make it
sound even better.
—Gerard Rejskind
This is an astonishingly good DAC, but
Most of us would agree that you usually
get what you pay for. If you spend a lot you
get a lot in return. If you don’t, you won’t.
Well, once in a while a product comes
along that gives a lot and costs only a little.
Bass sounded the way it should, treble
too. I kept listening for clues that this
DAC was cheap, of mediocre quality, but I
couldn’t hear any. When coupled with the
Stello USB interface, it played Way Down
Deep just the way Jennifer Warnes would
like to hear it, and it presented the full orchestra almost as well as its more expensive
counterpart.
Even without the help of the Stello, it
sounded better than was believable at this
price point. At just half the cost of a first
class ticket to a Rolling Stones concert in
the Big Apple, this big little DAC is a steal
of a deal.
—Steve Bourke
Room
Listening
Feedback
CROSSTALK
The three music selections we used
for this review were on a remote Mac
Pro computer’s hard drive, streamed to
a MacBook Pro via Wi-Fi (that sounds
complicated, but operationally it just
works). From the MacBook, a BIS Audio
USB cable took the signal to our Stello
U3 USB interface, then via an Atlas
Mavros digital cable to a Moon 300D
converter. That is how we now listen to
most digital music. All three selections
were from Red Book CDs.
Two Power Filters
Room
Listening
Feedback
W
e need hardly tell you
that controversy swirls
over the use of filters to
be placed between your
music or cinema system and your local
power utility. You may be told the power
is just fine the way it is, and any residual
electrical interference that remains
will be dealt with perfectly adequately
by your product’s own power supply.
Indeed, we know of amplifiers that
include small filter networks right inside
their chassis.
We also know that the critics are
blowing smoke.
And we know that because we can
hear the results for ourselves. If we
remove the filtering from either of our
music systems, we are horrified by the
increased shrillness and harshness.
What’s more, our eyes confirm what
our ears tell us, for when we first added
a filter to our cinema system, the next
thing we had to do was lower the contrast
on our plasma TV. Yes, filtering has that
kind of effect.
Not all filters, unfortunately, work
well, or at all. Many are made of plastic
and have unshielded cords, and are thus
vulnerable to more spurious noise than
they can possibly take out. Some include
so-called surge suppressors, which can
supposedly protect your system against
events that hardly ever occur outside
urban legends (see the sidebar, Conditioning Versus Protection, on page 52). Some
have connectors that can be charitably
described as “dodgy.” Such “filters” are,
unfortunately, in the majority.
Our original reference system, in the
Alpha room, still uses an Inouye SPLC
filter, long out of production, as well as
a Foundation Research LC-2 for the
power amplifier. Both our Omega audio
system and our Kappa cinema system
are equipped with GutWire MaxCon
Squared filters. We did the listening
for the review of these two products on
our Omega system. We listened first
with our GutWire filter in place, then
we listened again, substituting first one
filter, then the other.
There was a reason we made this
an all-digital test. Digital components
generate plenty of noise, which often
propagates through the power wiring.
And perhaps we should repeat a surprising anecdote we’ve written about before.
At one time, our Omega system
included a power bar that had cost
perhaps $4 at Walmart, but that surely
couldn’t matter, because none of the
main system was actually plugged into it.
It fed the little light over the turntable,
and also a portable computer charger.
We needed a longer cord, however, and
we substituted an all-metal power bar
along with one of our shielded power
cords. Wow! Everyone noticed, without
prompting, that a veil had been lifted
from the music. That power bar had
not been feeding anything vital, but its
unshielded cable was crossing all the
other cables. That was enough!
The GutWire 4 Bar
This filter looks very much like
the MaxCon Squared it replaces, with
four Hubbell outlets. The green dots
on the outlets indicate their hospital
grade rating, and the IEC jack is from
Furutech. GutWire does not specify
what is inside the device, other than to
say that there are no series components
that would limit current to a large power
amplifier.
The case is m illed alu m i nu m.
GutWire says the filter uses “ERPi
(Improved Electron Rectification Processing) Level 2.” We’re not certain
what that could mean, since if you
rectify AC you get DC. GutWire cites
“extensive use of natural minerals like
Binch-tan and Microcrystalline Quartz.
Both minerals can release negative ions
and far infrared (FIR) which helps to
improve the flow and ‘cleanness’ of the
AC current.” We should mention that
the company also makes a titanium and
germanium iPhone case with claimed
health benefits. Just so you know.
The 4 Bar costs $1099, about the
same price as our MaxCon. Like the
MaxCon, it has no captive power cord,
and none is supplied, which means you’ll
need to add your own, an extra expense.
That’s not an item on which you will
want to pinch pennies.
We began with Carmen Lundy
singing ’Round Midnight from her Self
Portrait album ( JVCXR-0005-2). We
listened to it with our older GutWire,
and then we substituted the 4 Bar and
listened again.
The song sounded different, but we
weren’t initially certain whether that
difference was an improvement. Though
the volume had been left untouched,
both Albert and Gerard thought the
Kingsound KS-010 Current Smoother
This filter from China looks like
a serious product, housed in a mauve
anodized aluminum chassis with screwin spike feet and a captive power cord.
It has six outlets to the GutWire’s four.
Though they have no hospital-grade
designation, they offer a tight connection, and inserting a plug into any of the
outlets requires some force. Its power
cord is both stiff
and short. When we gave it a half twist in
order to orient it so that the plug was the
right way up, the unit flipped over! The
version of the KS-010 we reviewed costs
$595, but there is, fortunately, another
version with the same model name but
a longer cable (1.8 metres), available for
$695. That $100 surplus may seem like
a lot for just an extra length of wire, but
it is expensive wire. Even at that price,
though, the Kingsound still comes in
well below the price of nearly all other
power filters.
W hy spiked feet on a box that
contains no audio circuitry? That’s
presumably to stabilize it against ambient vibration, and it is what you would
want to do with an amplifier or digital
player as well. In an electronic circuit,
any joint is potentially microphonic and
can generate noise if it moves. Broadband noise contains higher frequencies,
which can propagate from one conductor
to another. The spikes may or may not
make a difference, but including them is
good practice.
Kingsound says the device does not
contain the usual resistors and coils that
might limit current. So what is in it? The
documentation mentions only “the same
technology found in advanced medical
equipment and voltage regulating principles normally used in laser devices.”
That’s more than a little vague, but it’s
all we were able to find out.
The power cord, as already noted,
is captive, and it is not the usual offthe-shelf AC cabling. It is made from
OCC single-crystal copper with double
shielding, cryogenically treated (we can’t
vouch for the usefulness of this last
feature, but Kingsound doesn’t charge
extra for it). The wall plug is a Furutech,
with conductive surfaces of
pure copper, not the
usual brass, nickel, etc.
Though the KS-010 has
six outlets, they are daisy-chained,
which means that there is a shorter path
to the one nearest the power cord than to
the one at the other end. That was where
we plugged in our Moon W-8 power
amplifier, which would require all of the
current the KS-010 could pass on. With
everything plugged in, we let it all warm
up for 10 minutes and listened once more
to our three selected recordings.
The opening of ’Round Midnight
was superb, with plenty of detail and
wonderfully clear lyrics. Yet there was
something wrong. The bottom end was
constrained, almost anemic, and everything seemed smaller. Kingsound claims
that the KS-010 doesn’t limit current,
but our W-8 demands a lot of current.
We left most of our gear, including
the Moon P-8 preamplifier and 300D
DAC, connected to the Kingsound, but
plugged the amplifier directly into the
Hubbell duplex outlet in the wall.
And that made all the difference.
The orchestra had returned to its
normal size, and Carmen Lundy’s voice
had once again found all of its warmth
and smoothness. Her lower tones had
more natural resonance. We hung on
her every word. “This is almost like the
reference,” said Steve.
We cont i nued w it h t he Doug
McLeod Blues song, and once again
we were pleased with what we heard.
His acoustic guitar sounded lively and
realistic. McLeod himself had wonderful
presence, and his voice was clear and
expressive. Rhythm was strong.
Were the lyrics actually easier to
follow than they had been with our
MaxCon filter? Both Gerard and Albert
thought they were. “The guitar had less
punch when it was slapped,” said Steve,
“but the lyrics were better defined. It’s
a matter of emphasis.”
Room
Listening
Feedback
song sounded louder…too loud, in fact.
One result, however, was that some of
the fine details in Lundy’s voice and in
the strings were more apparent. “Certain syllables were too prominent,” said
Gerard, “and they began to annoy me.
The sibilance was more pronounced
as well.” Steve, by contrast, liked the
“bigger and fuller presentation,” and preferred the 4 Bar. Albert also praised the
more airy and dynamic sound obtained
with the 4 Bar.
We continued with Doug McLeod’s
Blues number, Run With the Devil from
Come to Find (Audioquest AQCD1027).
Gerard noted right off that the song
seemed louder than it had been with
our MaxCon filter, even though the
MaxCon, like the 4 Bar, has no currentlimiting elements. Some syllables were
more prominent, as with the first song.
Steve found the sound more forward.
The increased apparent loudness
(which, we must stress, is due to a subjective effect) also brought advantages.
McLeod sometimes lets phrases tail
off, making his final syllables difficult
to hear. With the 4 Bar, we found the
text easier to follow (and it is worth
following). His guitar was even more
percussive, and we mean that as praise.
“The guitar is palpable,” said Albert
admiringly.
The final piece was Norman Dello
Joio’s Fantasy on a Theme by Haydn for
wind band (Klavier K11138). This is an
impressive recording, with percussion
that can shake the floor and your whole
body. Gerard found the woodwinds a
little too forward with the 4 Bar, but
really the performance was outstanding
with both filters. Neither Albert nor
Steve found the differences significant.
As you can see, the new GutWire is
only a little different from the old one.
But we had a challenger waiting.
Conditioning Versus Protection
If we mention AC power conditioner to most people, they think of a very different device that is much more common: the surge protector. The two are not the
same, and in some ways they are opposites.
The rationale behind the surge protector is that there may be power “surges”
(quick rises in line voltage beyond the usual voltage) that can destroy your expensive
equipment. A surge protector looks like an ordinary power bar, but contains some
sort of magic circuit that will either moderate a surge in some unknown way or
else “take a bullet,” sacrificing itself to save your other gear.
Fortunately, such surges are rare, and that’s putting the worst face on it. When
was the last time you lost a refrigerator to a “power surge”? Huge power surges can
result from lightning strikes, but the resulting voltage will usually be high enough
to leap across several centimetres, and will bypass any protective circuit.
Our lawyers would like us to add that if you live in certain vulnerable places,
especially rural areas, you may see more power surges than city people would.
The other thing you should know is that the typical surge protector is of dreadful quality, and will make you think you’re listening to a $200 boom box.
With the final wind band piece,
we were unanimous: the Kingsound
KS-010 is a high-class piece of gear.
The impact of the tympani was huge,
even greater than with the reference
filter (perhaps plugging the W-8 directly
into the wall would be a good idea there
too). Impact aside, there seemed to be
improved definition of the woodwinds,
possibly because there was no veiling
to hide them. “The woodwinds sound
entirely natural,” said Gerard. “They’re
magnificent.”
Final conclusions
Both filters sound very good, and
either one can make your system sound
its best.
The Kingsound has some obvious
advantages over its rival: more outlets,
the included high-grade captive cord,
and spiked feet. Disadvantages include
its inability to handle a power amplifier
the size of ours, and a power cord that,
in its cheaper version, is too short to be
useful.
You are no doubt aware that there
are many power conditioners on the
market, at widely divergent prices. Some
are protection circuits rather than filters,
and — unless you live out in the country
at the top of a treeless hill — you’ll want
to avoid them. An acceptable filter will
have outlets offering a tight connection, and enough of them to accept all
the products you need to feed. It will
have a large, shielded power cable with
a high-grade wall plug that has proper
mechanical connections, not a cheap
molded plug. Or, of course, it may have
no cord at all, letting you make your own
choice.
Last but not least, it will have to
actually do something. Something good.
That should go without saying, but don’t
count on being able to determine that by
reading the literature.
Room
Listening
Feedback
CROSSTALK
At only half the cost of the GutWire
4 Bar, the Kingsound might turn out to be
a bargain. Let’s see now: it has inputs for
power cords, it has a sleek, streamlined look
that I like. I like its color too. How about its
function?
No problem for detail, and the bass
performance rang true. The music provoked
a visceral response, similar to what I remembered from the reference line conditioner.
The GutWire 4 Bar is close in performance to its older sibling, which happens to
be our reference. Both of these conditioners
are high-calibre products, and either one
can improve the overall performance of a
high-end system.
—Steve Bourke
We should never underestimate the
importance of good, clean power. The process of testing it is never simple, however,
since any unit designed to do the cleaning
stands in its own way.
When I hear details and improvements
that I had never noticed before, without
losing the music I knew, I conclude that the
unit is more transparent than the previous
one. That happened with the GutWire as I
became aware of a richer orchestral texture,
lyrics that became clearer and an image that
appeared to be even more convincing than
the reference.
And yet, even if it sounded different,
I also loved the music played through the
Kingsound. I felt, more than heard, a good
sense of balance through the pieces that we
listened to. All the elements that I appreciated above were present, but less obviously
so. It didn’t make a point of sounding better,
it just let the music flow. And, seemingly,
very close to the reference.
—Albert Simon
I’m bothered by the poor quality and
quantity of information available for both
of these devices. Poor documentation is
common for audio cables, and it is often due,
at best, to development that has been done
largely by ear, or, at worst, because the cables
have been made from unicorn tears and fairy
dust. A power filter should be a little more
straightforward.
So if you ask me how the GutWire
and the Kingsound work, I can’t tell you. I
presume the designers know, but in fact they
may be a little vague on the details too.
But what you want to know is what happens when you plug your gear into one of
these and you listen to music.
In both cases, good things happened. Or,
more accurately, bad things didn’t. I liked the
4 Bar less than its predecessor, but it really
doesn’t restrict current. The Kingsound
couldn’t deliver all the current demanded
by our very large amplifier, but it otherwise
equalled and perhaps even outperformed the
more expensive GutWires. If you get it with
the longer power cord, I recommend it.
—Gerard Rejskind
Radar For
THIS MAGAZINE IS INTERACTIVE!
Your Turntable
H
ow do you know whether
your turntable is turning at
the right speed? With most
turntables it doesn’t matter,
because if the speed is wrong you can’t
change it. We’re rather in favor of correct speed being baked-in anyway, but
sometimes it’s not. These two devices
can allow you to check the platter speed.
What you do with the information is
then up to you.
Of course, you don’t need an expensive device to read the speed of a turntable platter. The simplest speed-check
Room
Listening
Feedback
Yes, we know the SpeedNic is a
one-trick pony, but so are Triple Crown
winners.
W hy wouldn’t your fixed-speed
turntable be going at the right speed?
It might not if it is having traction
problems. Can it be that the drive belt
is slipping? If so, the drag of the stylus
in a highly modulated groove can slow it
down intermittently. The SpeedNic can
confirm it, after which you’ll do what you
have to do.
Fortunately, neither of our turntables
(a Linn LP12 and an Audiomeca J-1)
showed any detectable speed variation
on either the 33 or 45 r/min speeds (the
SpeedNic has a setting for 78 r/min as
well). Our J-1 turntable actually does
have variable speed control, and the
SpeedNic made adjustment easy. Just
for fun, we also tried it on an old directdrive table with variable speed. Setting
the speed was easy, much easier than
with the turntable’s own neon-lit strobe
display. Playing a busy groove or putting
extra weight on the platter had no visible
effect either. Because the strobe disc has
such clear markings, any speed error
would be obvious.
There is no external power supply,
since the SpeedNic does not depend on
the power-line frequency to generate its
stroboscopic light. It runs in fact on batteries, namely three alkaline C cells. We
wished there were a proper battery door
on the unit, but in fact the batteries are
accessible only by removing four Philipshead screws from the bottom plate.
That’s a clear inconvenience, though
It work in three ways.
LEDs draw little current, and the unit
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and a third r/min. The two SpeedNic It may also be useful for anyone with a
devices include a beautiful aluminum turntable that does not have fixed speed,
strobe disc, but also a quartz-controlled like our Audiomeca. It could even have
LED light that will allow an accurate a permanent place next to the turntable
reading. LEDs, like neon bulbs but itself. It’s a handsome product that will
unlike incandescents, turn on and off make a good-looking turntable look even
instantly.
better.
Samsung Boom Box
Room
Listening
Feedback
I
f you associate Samsung with
either smartphones or (as we do)
top-grade TV sets, you’ll see this
device, the DA-E750, as something
(as Monty Python would say) completely
different.
tisi.
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Samsung DA-E750
Price: C$600 (street price)
Size (WDH): 45 x 24 x 15 cm
Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0/Apt-X,
Airplay, AllShare, Apple and Samsung
docks
Rated power: 20 watts/channel
(main), 40 watts (woofer)
Most liked: Stunning looks
Least liked: Digital volume control
reduces resolution
Verdict: A tweak away from perfection
elenisi.
luptat.
Od tat lor sim nisci tat at ut iril eum
vullaor se ex enim dignim digna commodolore commy num veniam dolut
nonsed delenim.
THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
ATLAS HYPER SPEAKER CABLES
INTERCONNECTS
ATLAS HYPER SYMMETRICAL
Oxygen-free continuous
cast (OCC): each strand
is a single copper
crystal. Two internal
conductors, plus double
shielding (copper Mylar
plus braided screen).
ORDER: AHS-1 Hyper Symmetrical, 1m, $425, AHS-2, 2m, $539
ORDER: AHSB-1 Balanced, single crystal XLR, 1m, $725
ATLAS ELEMENT
A big winner in one
of UHF’s blind tests
of speaker cables is
Hyper 2, an oxygen
free stranded wire
in Teflon dielectric.
Plus connectors (add
Eichmann Bayonet bananas, $99.95/set, two sets needed for AH2,
three for biwire), or Furutech, as shown, $85/set). Hyper Biwire is
Hyper 2 with an added set of solid core wires for the highs.
ORDER: AH2, Hyper 2 cable, $34.95/metre
ORDER: AHB, Hyper Biwire cable, $54.95/metre
ATLAS ICHOR SPEAKER CABLE
We did a blind test, and
this supposed starter
cable wiped the floor with
a much more expensive
one. Which we dropped.
And then they improved
it further with the Integra
connector, which is noncompressing and solder-free.
ORDER: AELI-1, 1 m pair Atlas Element Integra, $99
55
EICHMANN BULLET PLUGS
The first phono plug to maintain the impedance of
the cable by using metal only as an extension
of the wire. Hollow tube centre
pin, tiny spring for ground. Two
contacts for soldering, two-screw
strain relief. Gold over copper. Got
silver cable? Get the unique Silver Bullets!
ORDER: EBP kit 4 Bullet Plugs, $77.95
ORDER: EBPA kit 4 Silver Bullets, $154.95
EICHMANN CABLE PODS
Minimum metal, gold over tellurium
copper. Unique clamp system: the back
button turns but the clamp doesn’t.
Solder to it, or plug an Eichmann
banana into it, even from inside!
ORDER: ECP, set of four posts, $119.95
CONNECTOR TREATMENT
Continuous-cast single-crystal cable, ready for biwiring. It costs
just $235 per meter of double cable (a 2 m pair has 4 meters of
wire). We suggest adding the Eichmann Bayonet bananas, $99.95
per set of 4, or Furutech connectors, $85 per set of 4.
PIERRE GABRIEL SILVER
UHF’s reference systems still include some of Pierre Gabriel’s silver
interconnects and speaker cables. Now they’re back, with a superb
silver interconnect, fitted with WBT’s superb nextgen silver locking
connectors. Also available with copper nextgen connectors.
SINGLE CRYSTAL JUMPERS
Not biwiring? Dump the free jumpers
that came with your speakers. Atlas
jumpers are made from single-crystal
copper, gold-plated spades.
ORDER: ACJ, four single crystal
jumpers, $99.95
DIGITAL CABLES
ORDER: PGI-1, 1 m interconnect pair, silver nextgens, $995
ORDER: PGI-2, 2 m interconnect pair, silver nextgens, $1595
ORDER: PGIC-1, 1 m interconnect pair, copper nextgens, $879
MAVROS OCC
TOSLINK OPTICAL DIGITAL
The best we’ve found yet, though we’re still looking. Add the
mini-TOSLINK adapter
for Airport Express or
computers with hybrid
jacks.
ORDER: TD-1.8 TOSLINK cable, 1.8m length $22.95
ORDER: TD-3 TOSLINK cable, 3m length $29.95
ORDER: TMT mini-TOSLINK adapter, $3.95
ATLAS MAVROS CABLES
We’ve adopted them for our Alpha system, which sounds better
than ever. This is a four-wire monocrystal cable with porous
Teflon dielectric, available with OCC spades, as shown, or with
rhodium-plated locking bananas. We can upgrade to WBT
nextgen locking bananas.
CONNECTORS
EICHMANN BAYONET BANANAS
ORDER: AMBCu-3, 3 m pair, OCC spades or bananas, $2999
ORDER: AMBCu-5, 5 m pair, $4800
ORDER: WBT, upgrade from rhodium bananas to WBT nextgen
locking bananas, $130 per set of four (3 sets needed for biwiring)
WBT makes banana plugs and spades for speaker cables, all of
which lock tightly into any post. All use crimping technology.
These nextgen connectors are far superior to previous versions.
This was our long-time reference, originally selling for $399. We
now have a limited stock at a drastically reduced price.
ORDER: AOD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $239
This is our new reference digital cable. We recommend it for the
best systems.
ORDER: AMD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $599
SPEAKER CABLES
WBT NEXTGEN CONNECTORS
ATLAS OPUS DIGITAL
ATLAS MAVROS DIGITAL
Truly terrific, a pair of these connects our phono preamp to the
preamp of our Omega system. Single-crystal copper.
ORDER: AMI-1, 1 m Mavros interconnect pair, $1499
ORDER: AMI-2, 2 m Mavros interconnect pair, $2100
DeOxit (formerly ProGold)
cleans connections and
promotes conductivity. It
comes in a squirt bottle
even for connections you
can’t reach. NASA likes it,
and so do we.
ORDER: PGS, can DeOxit fluid, $43.95
The Eichmann Bayonet banana uses
a minimum of metal, and tellurium
copper at that, but clicks tightly into
any binding post with spring action.
For soldering or crimping, or both.
ORDER: EBB kit 4 Bayonet bananas,
$99.95
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
ORDER: WBT-0610 Kit 4 angled nextgen bananas, $160
ORDER: WBT-0610Ag Kit 4 nextgen silver bananas, $310
ORDER: WBT-0681 Kit 4 nextgen spades, $160
ORDER: WBT-0681Ag Kit 4 nextgen silver spades, $310
The high-tech minimum metal “nextgen” phono plugs. Easy to
solder, with locking collar. Silver version available.
ORDER: WBT-0110, kit 4 nextgen copper plugs, $190
ORDER: WBT-0110Ag, kit 4 nextgen silver plugs, $300
FURUTECH CONNECTORS
Rhodium-plated banana tightens
under pressure. Installs like WBT banana. The spade installs the
same way too..
ORDER: FTB-R, set of four bananas, $85
ORDER: FTS-R, set of four spades, $85
TWO CABLES INTO ONE JACK
Need to feed two preamps into
two amps? This solid Y-adapter
(two jacks into one phono plug)
is gold over brass, with Teflon
dielectric.
ORDER: FYA, one pair Y adapters, $20
56
SILVER SOLDER
MOON PHONO PREAMPS
This is a lovely solder, from the
company that makes Enacom
line filters (which we also like).
Wakø-Tech solder contains 4%
silver, no lead.
ORDER: SR-4N, 100 g solder
roll, $59.95
Simaudio has done it: come up
with a world-class phono
preamp that does
magic. The 310LP
(formerly the LP5.3)
is one of the best
available. Adjustable
MM/MC.
ORDER: Moon 310LP, silver (black available on order), $1599.
ANALOG PRODUCTS
Special price on interconnect, one per 310LP order.
ORDER: Hyper Symmetrical, 1m, $425, for $265
ORDER: Hyper Symmetrical, 2m, $539 for $399
ORDER: Hyper balanced, 1m, $725, for $535
ORDER: AMI-1, 1 meter Mavros, $1499, for $1199
ORDER: AMI-2, 2 meter Mavros, $2100, for $1749
LONDON REFERENCE
Yes, we can supply the awesome London
Reference phono cartridge that we have
adopted as a reference. Other models on
special order. This unique cartridge has
a line contact stylus, and an output of
5 mV, right for an MM preamp.
ORDER: LRC cartridge, $4695
Even more
astonishing: the
110LP includes
much of the 310LP
technology, still
offers MM/MC,
but costs only a
fraction. Lively and
musical, it’s difficult to match.
ORDER: Moon 110LP, $599 (silver, black if desired)
Special price on interconnect, one per 110LP order.
ORDER AEL-1, Atlas Element, $99.95, for $59.95
GOLDRING ELITE
If you have limited funds and you
want an MC cartridge with a line
contact stylus, this is a great choice.
It's a detuned version of the very
expensive (but discontinued) Excel
we still own.
ORDER: GEC cartridge, $745
NOTE: The Moon preamps are shipped set for moving magnet
setting. We’ll reset it to your specification so you won’t have to.
TURNTABLE BELT TREATMENT
What this is not is a
sticky goo for belts on
their last legs. Rubber
Renue removes
oxidation from
rubber belts, giving
them a new lease on
life. But what astonished us is what it does to even a brand new
belt. Wipe down your belt every 3 months, and make analog sound
better than ever.
ORDER: RRU-100 drive belt treatment, $18.95
J. A. MICHELL RECORD CLAMP
Clamp your LP to the turntable
platter. We use the J. A.
Michell clamp, machined
from nearly weightless
aluminum. Drop it on,
press down, tighten
the knob.
ORDER: MRC Michell
record clamp, $75
ORDER: MRC-R clamp for
Rega and short spindles, $85
LP RECORD CLEANER
MORE ANALOG…
TITAN STYLUS LUBRICANT
Amazing but true: dabbing a
bit of this stuff on your stylus
every 2 or 3 LPs makes it
glide through the groove
instead of scraping. Fine artist’s brush not included, but readily
available in many stores.
ORDER: TSO-1 Titan stylus oil, $39.95
ZEROSTAT ANTISTATIC PISTOL
A classic
adjunct to a
record brush
is the Zerostat
antistatic gun,
especially in dry weather. Squeeze
the trigger and release: it ionizes the
air, which becomes conductive and
drains off the static charge. By the
way, it works for a lot more than
LP’s. No batteries needed. Good for LPs, jamming printers, and
anywhere static is a problem.
ORDER: Z-1 Zerostat antistatic pistol, $94.95
LP SLEEVES
Keep your records clean and
scratch-free. Replace dirty, torn
or missing inner sleeves with
quality Mobile Fidelity sleeves,
at an attractive price.
ORDER: MFS, package of 50
sleeves, $30
VINYL ESSENTIALS TEST LP
Concentrated cleaner for LP vacuum cleaning machines.
Much safer than some formulas we’ve seen! Half litre, mix with
demineralized or distilled water to make 4 litres.
ORDER: LPC, $19.95
EXSTATIC RECORD BRUSH
The Super
Exstatic. Includes
a hard velvet pad
to get into the
grooves, two sets
of carbon fibre
tufts. We use it every time!
ORDER: GSX record brush, $36
This precision-made German test record lets you check out
channel identification, correct phase, crosstalk, the tracking
ability of your cartridge (it’s a tougher test than the old Shure disc
was) and the resonance of your tone arm and cartridge. When we
need to test a turntable, this is the one we reach for.
ORDER: LP 003, Image Hifi Test LP, $48.95
CLEANER POWER
KINGSOUND CURRENT
SMOOTHER
MoFi WET/DRY BRUSH
STYLUS CLEANER
We’re often asked how we clean the stylus on our cartridge. The
Enzow Zerodust gets used after every play. Its gummy surface
sucks dust from the stylus, and washes under the tap.
ORDER: Enzow Zerodust, $66.95
The Super Exstatic (shown
above) is the best dry
brush we know, but if
your LP needs a wash and
you don’t have a vacuum
machine handy, this
is the one to have in
hand. Dampen it with a
good record-cleaning fluid
like our own LPC.
ORDER: MFB record brush, $36
ORDER: MFB plus LPC (4-litres), $46
ORDER: Replacement kit for MFB, $36
Economy priced, but astonishingly effective —we wouldn’t run
our system with less. We had been waiting eagerly for a power
filter that actually worked and didn’t have a price in four digits.
This is it. A solid cast-metal body houses six high-grade AC outlets
(not hospital-grade, but offering wonderfully tight contact). The
1.8-metre OCC (single-crystal) captive power cord is cryogenically
treated and fitted with a pure-copper Furutech plug.
NOTE: The photo shows a unit with a shorter and less practical
power cord. It would cost less, but we don’t recommend it.
ORDER: KS-010, Current Smoother $695
UHF 14 POWER CORD
UHF14 POWER
BAR
Most power bars knock
voltage down, and
generate more noise
than a kindergarten
class. The UHF14 doesn’t. It
features a 1.5m 14- gauge shielded
cable, Hubbell hospital-grade fourplex, and
Furutech gold-on-copper wall plug. ORDER: UHF14-PB, $239
Need it longer? Add $20 per metre extra
MORE POWER TO YOU
Better access to
electrical power.
Change your 77-cent
duplex outlets for these
Hubbell hospital-grade
outlets. Insert a plug
and it just snaps in.
A tighter internal
connection as well.
The cheapest improvement you can make to your system.
ORDER: AC-DA Hubbell duplex outlet, $23.95
ORDER: AC-D20 20A duplex, red color, $28.95
INSTANT CIRCUIT CHECKER
When we put a quality
AC plug on our kettle,
boiling time dropped by
90 seconds! One of the
best AC plugs we have ever
seen is the Hubbell 8215
hospital-grade plug. It connects to wires under high pressure,
and it should last forever.
ORDER: AC-P2, Hubbell 8215 cord plug, $25.95
Amazingly good at a
much lower price are
these two cord plugs
from Eagle. Male and
female versions.
ORDER: AC-P1 Eagle male cord plug, $5.95
ORDER: AC-PF Eagle female cord plug, $5.95
Why do big name DVD players come with those
tiny two-prong plugs for their
cords? A good shielded power
cable will do wonders!
ORDER: DVD-A, GutWire
adapter, $39
UHF/
FURUTECH
POWER CORD
We were so pleased with
the performance of our
UHF14 cable that we
wanted to hear it with the upscale Furutech connectors. Wow! Pure
copper IEC connector and copper/gold wall plug.
ORDER: UHF14F-1.5K, 14 gauge power cable kit, $149.95
ORDER: UHF14F-1.5 14 cable, assembled, $174.95
GUTWIRE G CLEF POWER CABLE
It has 24/192 resolution on coax, optical and asynchronous USB.
The full review of version 1 is in UHF No. 89. The review of this
version is in issue No. 93.
To sweeten the deal, we’re offering bundles on our two Atlas
digital cables, in the favored 1.5 m length. By getting the bundle,
save on an Atlas Opus cable (usually $239).
ORDER: 300D V.2, $2200
ORDER: 300D v.2 + Opus digital cable, $2350
ORDER: 300D v.2+ Mavros digital cable, $2600
With the purchase of a 300D, get the UHF14F shielded power
cable with Furutech connectors (assembled, one per purchase).
Instead of $174.95, pay just $124.95.
ORDER: UHF14F-1.5 (bundled only), $124.95
AN IMPORTANT NOTE We still have stock of the older 300D,
which is our reference. The main difference is in the USB input,
which is now asynchronous.. A factory upgrade is available for
$800.
A MORE AFFORDABLE DAC
Its conversion circuit is
identical to that of
the superb 300D.
We were amazed
to find that, on
some recordings,
it sounded much
like its bigger brother.
The front panel is silver, but we’ll supply it in black on request.
Get it in a bundle, and get a bargain on the interconnects you’ll
be needing.
ORDER: 100D converter, $649
ORDER: 100D plus Element 1m cables, $699
ORDER: 100D plus Hyper Symmetrical 1m cables, $899
SUPER ANTENNA MkIII
Multiple shielding, including external electrostatic shield connected
to a clip. Used by UHF. Length 1.7 m, longer cords on order. G Clef 2
has 195 conductors, 3 shields providing 98% shielding.
ORDER: GGC G Clef, Square 1.7m, $385
Making your own power cords for your equipment? You’ll need
the hard-to-get IEC 320 connector to fit the gear.
ORDER: AC-P3 10 ampere IEC 320 plug, $9.95
ORDER: AC-P4 15 ampere Schurter IEC 320 plug, $18.95
IEC ON YOUR DVD PLAYER
No budget for a premium cable? Make your own! We use several
ourselves. Foil-shielded, to avoid picking up or transmitting noise.
Assembled or as a kit. With Hubbell 8215 hospital-grade plug and
Schurter 15 A IEC 320 connector. For digital players, preamplifiers,
tuners, and even medium-powered amplifiers.
ORDER: UHF14-1.5K, 14 gauge power cable kit, $74.95
ORDER: UHF14-1.5 14 gauge cable, assembled, $99.95
Need it longer? Add $20 per metre extra
This is the one with the big IEC connectors whose contacts are
rotated the other way. It’s for certain large power amps. Marinco 20
amp hospital-grade wall plug, which fits only a 20 amp wall outlet.
Available with a 15 amp Hubbell wall plug instead.
ORDER: UHF14-20-1.5 cable, assembled, $99.95
HOSPITAL-GRADE CONNECTION
BETTER DIGITAL
MOON 300D v.2 DAC
20-AMPERE POWER CORD
Plug it into an AC outlet, and the three lights can
indicate a missing ground, incorrect polarity, switched
wires — five problems in all. The first thing we did
after getting ours was phone the electrician.
ORDER: ACA-1, Instant Circuit Checker, $21
57
THORENS TURNTABLES
AND GOLDRING CARTRIDGES
AVAILABLE ON LINE
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore
The Super Antenna is our best-selling store product of all time?!
We designed it years ago for our FM tuner, then realized how well
it worked with off-air television. It also works wonderfully well
with digital TV. We use four of them ourselves. How is it done? Our
antenna has no stupid rotary switch to muck things up. It uses
a high-grade video transformer, and with a low-loss multipleshielded 75 ohm cable and gold-plated F connector, it has low
internal loss. It covers digital TV bands as well as FM.
ORDER: FM-S Super Antenna, MkIII, $59.95
58
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
THE SUPERSPIKE
It’s blue, and it’s a sort of modelling clay
that never dries. Anchor speakers to
stands, cones to speakers, and damp out
vibration. Leaflet with many suggested
uses.
ORDER: AT-2, Audio-Tak pack, $10
TENDERFEET
Machined cones
are wonderful
things to put under
speakers or other
audio equipment.
They anchor it
mechanically
and decouple it
acoustically at
the same time.
Tenderfeet come in
various versions:
tall (as shown) or
flattened, in either
anodized silver or black. Tall Tenderfeet have threaded holes for
a machine screw. If you have a fragile hardwood floor, add the
optional Tendercup (shown above) to protect it.
ORDER: TFG, tall silver Tenderfoot, $18
ORDER: TFGN, tall black Tenderfoot, $23
ORDER: TFP, flat silver Tenderfoot, $15
ORDER: TFP, flat black Tenderfoot, $17
ORDER: TCP, silver Tendercup, $15
ORDER: TCPN, black Tendercup, $17
ISOBEARINGS ARE BACK!
Long discontinued, this product from Audioprism
is back. Of the many anti-vibration products
we have tried, this is the one that is by far most
effective for both vertical
and lateral vibration.
(Unfortunately, some of
the most famous ones
don’t work at all.) Each
Isobearing consists of a
small ball and a cup to receive it.
There are two models, each with a weight rating. The rating
indicates the maximum weight each Isobearing should bear, but
for optimum performance it should bear at least half of its rated
weight. Use three or more Isobearings, placed according to the
weight of the different sections of the amplifier, digital player,
etc. We now use Isobearings on our DVD player, and we’re glad
they’re back.
ORDER: ISO-M, single Isobearing, 2 kg/4.4 lbs $25 each
ORDER: ISO-G, single Isobearing, 7.5 kg/17 lbs $40 each
AUDIO-TAK
AN ON-THE-WALL IDEA
This is unique: a sealed unit containing a spike and a cup to
receive it. It won’t scratch even hardwood floors. For speakers
or equipment stands, on bare floors only. Four sizes of threaded
shanks are available to fit speakers or stands.
ORDER: SSKQ, 4 Superspikes, 1/4” shank, $75
ORDER: SSKT, 4 Superspikes, 5/16” shank, $75
ORDER: SSKS, 4 Superspikes, 6 mm shank, $75
ORDER: SSKH, 4 Superspikes, 8 mm shank, $75
WHAT SIZE SUPERSPIKE?
A good ruler will let you figure it out. The stated size is the outer
diameter of the threaded shank. Then count the threads:
1/4” shank: 20 threads/inch
5/16” shank: 18 threads/inch
M6 (6mm) shank: 10 threads/cm
M8 (8mm) shank: 8 threads/cm
OTHER
SUPERSPIKES
We have also have a Superspike foot
(at right) that replaces those useless
feet on CD players, amps, etc., using
the same screws to fasten them. And
there’s a stick-on version (not shown) for other components.
Need to fasten a speaker
securely to the wall? Nothing
beats the Smarter Speaker
Support for ease of installation
or for sheer strength. And
it holds the speaker off the
wall, so it can be used even
with rear-ported speakers.
Easily adjustable with two
hands, not three, tested to an
incredible 23 kg! Glass-filled
polycarbonate is unbreakable.
Screws and anchors included,
available in white only.
ORDER: SSPS-W, pair of white speaker supports, $29.95
TARGET WALL STANDS
We keep our turntables on these, secure from floor vibrations,
wonderful for CD players, amplifiers, and all components.
ORDER: VW-1 Target single-shelf wall stand, $225
ORDER: SSKF, 4 Superspike replacement feet, $80
ORDER: SSKA, 3 stick-on Superspike feet, $50
FOUNDATION SPEAKER STANDS
The ultimate loudspeaker stand, made from patented high-density
material. There is nothing deader. Available in Canada and US
only, Stands will be drop-shipped to your address by Focus Audio
via UPS.
ORDER: FFA one pair 24” Foundation stands, $1495
ORDER: VW-2 Target dual-shelf wall stand, $280
AUDIOPHILE RECORDINGS, RECOMMENDED BY UHF STAFF
REFERENCE RECORDINGS
Tutti (HDCD, SACD)
A terrific symphonic sampler from Reference, with dazzling music
by Bruckner, Stravinsky, etc. Also available as RR’s very first SACD
release. Wow!
30th Anniversary Sampler (HDCD)
A collection of excerpts from recent Reference albums.
Yerba Buena Bounce (HDCD)
The (terrific) Hot Club of San Francisco is back, with great music,
well-played, wonderfully recorded by “Professor” Johnson!
Crown Imperial (HDCD)
The second chapter of the famous Pomp&Pipes saga, with the Dallas
Wind Symphony, in a set of perfectly recorded pieces in glorious
HDCD.
Organ Odyssey (HDCD)
Mary Preston, the organist of Crown Imperial, in a dazzling program
of Widor, Mendelssohn, Vierne, and others.
Beachcomber (HDCD)
Fennell and the Dallas Wind Ensemble. Includes Tico Tico, A Chorus
Line, and a version of 76 Trombones you’ll remember for a long time.
Serenade (HDCD)
A collection of choral pieces, wonderfully sung by the Turtle Creek
Chorale, with perhaps the best sound Keith has given them yet.
Trittico (HDCD)
Large helping of wind band leader Frederick Fennell doing powerhouse music by Grieg, Albeniz, Nelhybel, etc. Complex and energetic.
Nojima Plays Liszt (HDCD)
The famous 1986 recording of Minoru Nojima playing the B Minor
Sonata and other works is back…in HDCD this time!
Fennell Favorites (LP)
The Dallas Wind Symphony: Bach, Brahms, Prokofiev and more.
Fireworks on this rare Reference LP.
Nojima Plays Ravel (HDCD)
Nojima’s other hit disc, now also in glorious HDCD.
Jazz Hat (HDCD)
Pianist Michael Garson, in re-releases of some of his famous recordings
Garden of Dreams (HDCD)
David Maslanka’s evocative music for wind band.
Blazing Redheads (LP)
Not all redheads, this all-female salsa-flavored big band adds a lot of
red pepper to its music.
Felix Hell (HDCD)
The young organ prodigy turns in mature versions of organ music of
Liszt, Vierne, Rheinberger and Guilmant. Huge bottom end!
American Requiem (HDCD)
Richard Danielpour's awesome Requiem mass is all about war, and
about the hope for peace too, with a dedication tied to 9/11.
World Keys (HDCD)
Astonishing young pianist Joel Fan amazes with music from all the
world, including that of Prokofiev and Liszt
Ikon of Eros (HDCD)
Huge suite for orchestra and chorus, by John Tavener. Inspired by
Greek Orthodox tradition. Overwhelming HDCD sound.
Say It With Music (CD)
Margie Gibson sings Irving Berlin in what may be one the greatest
jazz vocal recordings of all time. And she’s right in your living room!
Growing Up in Hollywood Town (XRCD)
The Amanda Albums (CD)
How did they do it? The two complete McBroom recordings, Growing
Up in Hollywood Town and West of Oz, on one terrific CD
I’ve Got the Music in Me (CD)
This was originally Sheffield’s LAB-2 release. If you haven’t heard
Thelma Houston belt out a song, you’re in for a treat.
Kodo (CD)
A Japanese neo-folk group plays astonishing music, including a 400pound drum that can take out a woofer. Or a wall!
Harry James & His Big Band (Gold CD)
Harry said he would have done this recording for free, because he
sounded better than ever.
Tower of Power (CD)
This high-energy big band was originally recorded directly to disc.
The new CD has been mastered from the original LP, not the digital
tape copy.
OPUS 3
Test Records 1, 2 & 3 (SACD)
A blast from the past! Here are 14 cuts from the samplers that
launched Opus 3. They sound better than ever, too.
Swingcerely Yours (SACD)
An SACD re-re-release of tracks from superb vibraphonist Lars
Erstrand, from 1983 to 1995. Long overdue!
Autumn Shuffle (SACD/LP)
Ugglas plays a number of different guitars, and borrows from jazz,
Blues, and (yes!) country. Piano, organ, trombone, bowed saw, etc.
Showcase 2005 (SACD)
The latest Opus 3 sampler, with Eric Bibb, Mattias Wager, the Erik
Westberg Vocal Ensemble and lots more, in glorious SACD.
Just Like Love (SACD/LP)
The newest from Eric Bibb, less oriented to Gospel and more to Blues.
Bibb’s group, Needed Time, is not here, but he’s surrounded by half a
dozen fine musicians. A nice recording.
SHEFFIELD
Drum/Track Record
Beyond (SACD)
The second recording by the versatile guitarist Peder af Ugglas (who
also did Autumn Shuffle, below), who plays every instrument there is:
jazz, rock, blues, country. From Sweden???
Organ Treasures (SACD)
All those showpieces for big organ you remember hearing through
huge systems…only with all of the power and the clarity of Super
Audio. 4.1 channels, plus 2-channel CD.
PLUS THESE HDCD RECORDINGS:
Pomp&Pipes (HDCD)
From the Age of Swing (HDCD)
Swing is Here (HDCD)
Copland Symphony No. 3 (HDCD)
Medinah Sessions, two CDs for one (HDCD)
Ports of Call (HDCD)
Bruckner Symphony No. 9 (HDCD)
Ein Heldenleben (HDCD)
The King James Version (CD)
Harry James and his big band, live from the chapel!
Unique Classical Guitar Collection (SACD)
An SACD, mastered from analog, of some of Opus 3’s long-discontinued classical guitar LPs. Terrific!
Comes Love (HDCD)
Another disc by the terrific Swedish Jazz Kings, led by saxophonist
Tomas Ornberg, proving again Sweden understands jazz. The sound
is luminous, sometimes dazzling.
It’s Right Here For You (HDCD)
Is there, anywhere, a better swing band than The Swedish Jazz Kings
(formerly Tömas Ormberg’s Blue Five)? Closer to Kansas City than to
Stockholm, they are captivating.
Test CD 4 (SACD)
A sampler of Opus 3 performers, clearer than you’ve ever heard them
before. Hybrid disc.
Test CD 5 (HDCD)
Another of Opus 3’s wonderful samplers, including blues, jazz, and
classical music. A number of fine artists, captured with the usual pure
Blumlein stereo setup. A treat.
Showcase (SACD/LP)
Available as a hybrid SACD/CD disc, or a gorgeously-cut LP, with
selections from Opus 3 releases.
Good Stuff (DOUBLE 45 LP/HDCD/SACD)
As soothing as a summer breeze, this disc features singer Eric Bibb
(son of Leon), singing and playing guitar along with his group. Subtle
weaving of instrumentation, vivid sound.
Spirit and the Blues (DOUBLE 45 LP/CD/SACD)
Like his father, Leon Bibb, Eric Bibb understands the blues. He and
the other musicians, all playing strictly acoustic instruments, have
done a fine recording, and Opus 3 has made it sound exceptional.
Tiny Island (SACD)
If you like Eric Bibb and his group Good Stuff as much as we do, pick
this one up.
20th Anniversary Celebration Disc (HDCD)
A great sampler from Opus 3. Includes some exceptional fine pieces,
jazz, folk and classical. The sound pickup is as good as it gets, and the
HDCD transfer is luminous.
59
Levande (CD) �
The full recording from which “Tiden Bara Går” on Test Record No.1
is taken. Believe it or not, this great song isn’t even the best on the
album! A fine singer, doing folklike material…and who cares about
understanding the words?
Concertos for Double Bass (CD/SACD) �
This album of modern and 19th Century music is a favorite for its
deep, sensuous sound. And the music is worth discovering. It is lyrical,
a delight in every way.
Across the Bridge of Hope (SACD)
An astonishing choral recording by the Erik Westberg Ensemble,
famous for its Musica Sacra choral recording.
Musica Sacra (HDCD/SACD)
Test Record No. 4 (LP)
PROPRIUS
Now the Green Blade Riseth (CD/SACD/LP)
Religious music done a new way: organ, chorus and modern instruments. Stunning music, arranged and performed by masters, and the
effect is joyous. The sound is clear, and the sheer depth is unequalled
on CD. The new SACD version is the very best SACD we have yet heard!
Cantate Domino (CD/SACD/LP)
This choral record is a classic of audiophile records. The title selection is stunningly beautiful. The second half is Christmas music, and
includes the most stunning version of O Holy Night we’ve ever heard.
Antiphone Blues (CD)
This famous disc offers an unusual mix: sax and organ! The disc
includes Ellington, Negro spirituals, and some folk music. Electrifying performance, and the recording quality is unequalled.
Antiphone Blues (SACD/HDCD)
This is the Super Audio version, with a Red Book layer that is HDCDencoded. The best of both worlds!
Jazz at the Pawnshop (LP/CD/SACD)
Jazz with legendary, nearly perfect sound, famous in audiophile
circles for years. The LP is double, and includes extra tracks.
Jazz at the Pawnshop 2 (CD/SACD)
From the original master, another disc of jazz from this Swedish pub,
with its lifelike 3-D sound. Now a classic in its own right.
Good Vibes (CD)
The third volume of Jazz at the Pawnshop. And just as good!
Sketches of Standard (CD)
ANALEKTA
Violonchello Español (CD)
I Musici de Montréal comes to Analekta, with a stunning album of
Spanish and Spanish-like pieces for cello and orchestra.
Vivace (CD)
Classical or rock? Claude Lamothe plays two cellos at the same time
in an amazing recording of modern compositions.
Pauline Viardot-Garcia (CD)
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian steps into the role of 19th Century
singer and composer Pauline Viardot so convincingly that listening
to her is like going back in time. One of the best classical recordings
of all time!
Romantic Pieces (CD)
How does James Ehnes manage to get such a sweet sound from his
60
Stradivarius? Czech pieces from Smetana, Dvorak and Janacek. The
playing is as glorious as the tone, and the sound is sumptuous.
Cantabile (CD)
The Duo Similia is made up of striking blonde twins, who play flute
and guitar. Familiar airs from Mozart, Fauré, Elgar, Ravel, lots more.
Fine listening.
Nota del Sol (CD)
The Labrie twins are back, with a delightful recording of flute and
guitar music by Piazzola, Pujol and Machado. Joyous works.
One-man band St-Onge plays dozens of instruments — scores for
fourteen films which never existed outside of his imagination. Fun
pretext, clever, attractive music that makes you wish you could see
the films!
MOBILE FIDELITY LPs
HI-RES MUSIC (FOR DVD PLAYERS)
My Aim Is True
Yes, the original Elvis Costello album, back on quality vinyl.
Brazilian Soul (24/96 DVD)
Guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, plus percussion and
bass, in an intimate yet explosive recording of samba and bossa nova
music. Great!
Jazz/Concord (24/96 DVD)
It's 1972, and you have tickets to hear Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Ray Brown
and Jake Hanna at the Concord Jazz Festival. You won’t ever forget it.
You can be there, with this high resolution disc that goes in your DVD.
Fantasia (CD)
A third, gorgeous, recording by the twins, on flute and guitar.
Fritz Kreisler (CD)
Possibly the best recording of Kreisler’s delightful violin music: James
Ehnes and his Strad bring a new magic to this fine disc.
French Showpieces (CD)
Awesome violinist James Ehnes, with the Quebec City Symph. takes on
Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Chausson, Massenet, and more.
Handel (CD)
Superb soprano Karina Gauvin is joined by the Toronto chamber
ensemble Tafelmusik in a series of glowing excerpts from Handel’s
“Alcina” and “Agrippina.” The sound is smooth and lifelike, with an
acute sense of place.
Little Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach (CD)
Over 30 delightful pieces, most by Bach himself. Soprano Karina
Gauvin’s voice is mated to Luc Beauséjour’s harpsichord work. The
sound is deep, detailed and warm, truly of audiophile quality.
Rhythm Willie (24/96 DVD)
Guitarists Herb Ellis and Freddie Green, with bassist Ray Brown and
others. This is an uncompressed 24 bit 96 kHz disc that can be played
on any DVD player. Awesome!
Trio (24/96 DVD)
Pianist Monty Alexander with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown. “Makes CD
sound seem as if it’s coming through a drinking straw.” Playable on
any DVD player, uncompressed.
Seven Come Eleven (24/96 DVD)
Herb Ellis and Ray Brown again, but this time with guitarist Joe
Pass (he and Ellis alternate playing lead and rhythm), and a third
guitarist, Jake Hanna. This is a live recording from the 1974 Concord
Jazz Festival.
Santana
This is the one with the lion on the cover, remastered from the
original sereo master, pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Whites Off Earth Now
The 1986 album by the Cowboy Junkies, recorded on two-track with
the legendary Calrec microphone and its 3D sound.
Don’t Cry Now
Linda Ronstadt’s 2008 LP, with I Can Almost See It, Desperado, etc..
Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt from much longer ago, 1977: It’s So Easy, Carmelita, I
Never Will Marry, etc.
Prisoner in Disguise
Linda Ronstadt from 1975: Love is a Rose, Tracks of My Tears, I Will
Always Love You, and more..
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
No one ever did the late-night blues better than Old Blue Eyes. Check
out the songs: Willow Weep For Me, Blues in the Night, Ebb Tide…
Sinatra and Strings
With Don Costa’s lush orchestra, Sinatra sings Night and Day, Misty,
Stardust, All Or Nothing At All, and Yesterdays. Oh, and lots more.
Nice and Easy
Sinatra sings love ballads on this famous recording: How Deep is the
Ocean, Fools Rush In, Try a Little Tenderness, and Dream..
Vivaldi: Motets for Soprano (CD)
The wonderful soprano Karina Gauvin tackles the gorgeous but very
difficult vocal music of Vivaldi: two motets and a psalm.
Soular Energy (24-96 DVD/ 24-192 DVD-Audio)
Perhaps the world’s greatest bassist, the late Ray Brown, playing with
pianist Gene Harris, whom Brown called one of the greats. The proof
is right on this 24/96 recording, made from the analog master. Side 2
has a 24/192 DVD-A version.
AUDIOQUEST
KLAVIER
La Fille Mal Gardée (XRCD)
A fine ballet with the Royal Ballet Company orchestra, from the
original 1962 Decca recording. Exceptional
Sonatas for Flute and Harp
These same great artists with sonatas by Krumpholz and Damase, as
well as Spohr and Glinka. Oh yes, and a spectacular solo harp version
of Ibert’s hilarious Entr’acte .
Film Spectacular II (XRCD)
The orchestra of Stanley Black plays some of the greatest film music
of bygone years. From the original Decca Phase 4 tape.
Mississipi Magic (CD/SACD)
The legendary Blues, Gospel, rock and world beat singer and musician Terry Evans, in an energetic recording we loved.
Come to Find (CD)
The first by Bluesman Doug McLeod, as impressive as the second, and
no Blues fan should resist it.
You Can’t Take My Blues (CD)
Singer/songwriter Doug MacLeod and colleagues present one of the
most satisfying Blues records ever made.
Unmarked Road (SACD)
The third disc from the great Blues singer and guitarist Doug McLeod
is every bit as good as the first two.
Obseción (CD)
The Trio Amadé plays Piazzola, Berstein, Copland, and Emilion
Cólon…who is the trio cellist. The Colón and Piazzola is definitely
worth the price of admission. Lifelike sound.
Hemispheres (CD)
The North Texas Wind Symphony with new music by contemporary
composers who know how to thrill. Some of the best wind band sound
available.
Bluesquest sampler (CD)
SILENCE
Styles (CD)
Is this ever a surprising disc! Violinist Marc Bélanger worked up these
string études for his music students, but they actually deserve to be
put out on a gold audiophile disc! The more strings he adds, the better
it gets.
Fable (CD)
Easygoing modern jazz by Rémi Bolduc and his quartet, on this gold
disc. Some exceptional guitar and bass solos.
Musique Guy St-Onge (CD)
Norman Dello Joio (CD)
This contemporary composer delights in the tactile sound of the wind
band, and the Keystone Wind Ensemble does his music justice. So
does the sound, of astonishing quality!
PURE PLEASURE LPs
Duke Ellington 70th Birthday Concert (LP)
A double 180-gram LP set, recorded live in England Includes Take the
‘A’ Train, Satin Doll, Perdido, many others.
After Midnight (LP)
A mono double-album of Nat King Cole’s greatest performances, with
his own trio. Includes Sometimes I’m Happy, Caravan, It’s Only a
Paper Moon, Route 66, You Can Depend on Me. A great classic, available on premium vinyl once more.
FIRST/LAST IMPRESSIONS
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante (XRCD)
Igor and David Oistrakh with the Moscow Philharmonic, in a glorious
1963 recording, from the original master tape.
Artistry of Linda Rosenthal (HDCD)
The great violinist Rosenthal plays favorites: Hora Staccato, Perpetuum Mobile, Debussy’s Beau Soir, etc.
Suite Española (XRCD)
The Albéniz suite, gorgeously orchestrated by Rafael Frühbeck de
Burgos, who conducts the New Philharmonia. Beautifully remastered
from the original 1963 tape.
Audiophile Reference IV (SACD)
A stunning sampler, with recognizable audiophile selections you have
never heard sound this good!
Songs My Dad Taught Me (HDCD)
Jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro and three other musicians, with a retro
collection of unforgettable tunes.
Café Blue (HDCD)
Gold HDCD version of jazz singer Patricia Barber’s 1994 classic, an
audiophile underground favorite.
61
Neil Diamond: Serenade (CD)
Just eight songs on this European CBS disc, but what songs! I’ve Been
This Way Before, Lady Magdalene, Reggae Strut, The Gift of Song,
and more. Glowing sound too.
Ballade
Pianist Jackson Berkey plays Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Satie on a
Baldwin SD-10 grand.
We Get Requests (CD)
An amazing 1964 Verve disc of Oscar Peterson with bassist Ray
Brown. FIM has brought it back on a silver CD that appears to be
XRCD in all but name.
MISCELLANEOUS
Christmas (LP)
The original Fresh Aire Christmas album from Mannheim Steamroller, and one of the best ever made.
Windsock
Some of the best New Age orchestral music on an audiophile label,
this suite was written and arranged by Rick Swanson
American Gramophone Sampler III
Once a staple of audio shows, these tracks from Mannheim
Steamroller[s Fresh Aire series are a prime example of Chip Davis’s
awsome “Baroque’n’Roll.”
Sources (CD)
A wonderful recording by Bïa (pronounced Bee-yah). She’s Brazilian,
lives in France, recorded this terrific album (in 5 languages!) in
Montreal. Just her warm voice and guitar, plus stunning percussion.
All We Need to Know
Jazz singer Margie Gibson’s first album since Say It With Music, on
Sheffield. No one sings the way she does! (NOW OUT OF STOCK)
La mémoire du vent (CD)
The original recording by Bïa, in French, Portuguese and English. If
you love her second one, don’t hesitate.
Urban Surrender
Ric Swanson again, with a fascinating suite for orchestra, and
sometimes choral voices.
Classica d’Oro (CD)
Some of the classical world’s most important heritage, on 50
audiophile-quality gold CDs, at just over $2 per CD. Fine artists from
Germany, Austria, the UK, Eastern Europe. Listen to excerpts on line.
Daydreams
Music for finding your inner self, with guitarist Ron Cooley, and a
good-sized little band. The title says it, though.
Blues for the Saxophone Club (HDCD)
Swing jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro, with guest artists, including
saxophonist Ernie Watts. The HDCD sound is explosive!
Through the Lens
The Checkfield group (John Archer and Ron Satterfield) in a classic
New Age mix of acoustic and synth music.
My Foolish Heart (CD)
A collection of live and studio pieces by Monteiro and other musicians,
notably saxophonist Ernie Watts.
Carmin (CD)
The third by Bïa. Different this time, with more money for production,
but it has been spent wisely. Superb songs, gloriously sung in Portuguese, French and the ancient Aymara language.
Coeur vagabond (CD)
Bïa sings French songs in Portuguese, Brazilian songs in French. A
delight, as usual from this astonishing singer.
Nocturno (CD)
Some are saying that this is Bïa’s best and most touching album since
Sources. See if you agree. You won’t be disappointed.
RED INDICATES RECORDINGS USED IN UHF EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
Payment by VISA or MasterCard, cheque or money order (in Canada). All merchandise is guaranteed unless explicitly sold “as
is.” Certain items (the Super Antenna, the EAC line filter, and most standard-length cables) may be returned within 21 days less
shipping cost. Other items may be subject to a restocking charge. Defective recordings will be exchanged for new copies.
HERE’S HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR SHIPPING COST:
IN CANADA: up to $30, $2.10, up to $60, $3.00, above $70 not counting taxes, free. In Canada shipping costs are taxable.
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TO OTHER COUNTRIES: up to $30, $5.40. Up to $60, $9.00. Above $60, 10%. Magazines, books and taxes are not counted
toward the total.
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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
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270 rue Victoria, LONGUEUIL, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383
Internet: www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
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62
VINYL ALBUMS
30th Anniv. Celebration
After Midnight (2 LP)
American Gramaphone III
Autumn Shuffle
Ballade
Blazing Redheads
Cantate Domino
Christmas
Daydreams
Ellington 70th B’day (2 LP)
Fennell Favorites
Frank Sinatra: Only the Lonely
Good Stuff (2 LP)
Heart like a Wheel
Jazz at the Pawnshop (2-LP)
Jazz Trio
Just Like Love
Louis Armstrong Plays Handy
My Aim is True
Nice and Easy
Now the Green Blade Riseth
One Flight Up
Painting Signs
Prisoner in Disguise
Rainbow People
Santana
Showcase
Simple Dreams
Sinatra & Strings
Spirit and the Blues (2 LP)
Takin’ Off
Test Record No.4
Through the Lens
Trittico
Urban Surrender
Vinyl Essentials (test)
Whites Off Earth Now
Windsock
Spirit & the Blues (SACD)
CD19411
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W782
48.00 Tchaikovsky: Symph. #6 (SACD) 5186 107
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CD19824
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7744SACD 37.95 Fable
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CD22042
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FL 2 3151
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FL 2 3159
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CD19623
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CD21002
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AQSACD1057 24.95 Harry Belafonte
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CD22031
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AN 2 8718
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10076
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AN 2 8815
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CD19401
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10068-2-F
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10074
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Violin hand-built by Albert Courchesne, lent to UHF, and photographed by Albert Simon
Software
iceman. The iceman impressed me most,
with his hooklike tongs that seemed an
extension of his arm, allowing him to
lift great blocks with astonishing ease. I
would think of those characters in pirate
stories, with hooks for hands.
Among these passersby was my favorite: the fiddler. Dressed in a dark suit
with a glistening white starched collar
and a black tie, he wore dark glasses and a
hat, which he would place on the ground
when he was ready to play, revealing his
slick black hair. A spiritual ancestor of
today’s subway musicians, he would play
passionately a few classical pieces for a
tiny audience, and with luck he would
find a few coins in his hat. Despite my
tender age, I thought his eyes reflected
all the sadness of the world.
Was he a talented musician without a
job? I recall him with emotion as I write,
thinking he had never had the chance to
play with a great orchestra as he might
have deserved.
When I look back on my childhood,
two musical instruments play a large
role: the piano and the violin. The latter
had belonged to one of my uncles, and
it awaited the opportunity to recover its
voice. As it rested atop our mahogany
piano, what dreams it evoked in me! The
violin is surely the most expressive of all
the bowed instruments, capable of filling
you with nostalgia, making your feet
dance, producing sounds that alternate
between plaintive and joyous.
The Magic of
the Violin
T
he alleyways of the world’s
g reat cit ies have always
been the playground of their
youngest citizens. Outdoor
stairways soaring high above their heads,
the mysterious sheds, back gardens of
unplanted sod are the theatres of their
innocent games and playacting.
The alleyways of my own childhood
were special. There I would find farmers
hawking their wares at the top of their
lungs, along with the ragman and the
by Reine Lessard
The beginning
Must we suppose that the violin is
the product of countless experiments
across the centuries? Can we say that
its genealogy is at once diffused and
diverse? Though many music historians
cite its long development, is that not like
saying that the agora of ancient Athens
was the precursor of the Internet? So
what? Does the violin have many cousins, as some researchers claim? Or did
it appear fully-formed, by spontaneous
generation?
The violin, it must be said, is at once
archaic and contemporary. Four and
a half centuries’ worth of musicians
aces, with their grandiose architecture
and opulent interiors, reflect the financial ease created by the newborn phenomenon of international commerce. In
all things there is a flamboyance reflecting the wealth resulting from seemingly
endless expansion. The rich — royalty,
nobility and high clergy — show their
wealth by filling their palaces with the
most sumptuous furnishings and decor.
In Italy, inspired by Antiquity, the arts
are borne to a level unequalled in human
Is it really the same instrument?
history
by such as Michelangelo, at once
GET THE COMPLETE
VERSION!
All musical instruments
throughout
painter,
sculptor,
You’ll
have noticed
that this
free architect and poet,
history have undergone major
and often
Raffaelo
Sanzio, known as Raphael,
version
of UHF
Magazine
surprising transformations.
might
painter
and Leonardo da
is notYou
quite
complete.
Butand
youarchitect,
can
well ponder what the medieval
Vinci,
painter, architect, sculptor, invengettrumpet
the complete
version
has in common with the much
more
torfor
and$4.
author.
from
Maggie
powerful modern trumpet, Click
whosehere,
valvesand away
Butwe
while
go!most of the arts take their
allow it to change key. Or what a late 18th cue from ancient Greece and Rome,
century piano, whose sound board would music is an exception. Only in literary
not have survived Beethoven’s energetic references can we find any hint of what
playing, has in common with the piano- music was like 20 centuries ago. We can
forte that followed it, to say nothing of suppose that the ancients used some
the modern piano? What of the guitar? form of musical notation, but if it existed
And what of percussion, which changed it has been lost. Thus music must be
radically over time? Some instruments reinvented as it is imagined to have been.
have vanished completely, such as the
Of course, it is fashioned in the spirit
recorder, replaced by the f lute, the of the new times: flamboyant. There is
clarinet, the bassoon and a growing a search for new sounds. With powerwoodwind family, its role relegated to ful brass added to the orchestra, string
period music.
instruments also needed a louder and
The violin alone is nearly unchanged. brighter sound, lest they be drowned out.
The violins of Amati, Guarneri and
In southern Europe, between the
Stradivari are the same instruments Adriatic and the Mediterranean, lies
found in modern symphony orchestras, Italy. In the north of Italy, at the foot of
having barely evolved.
the Alps, is Lombardy. In Lombardy are
But where did it come from, this the cities of Cremona, Milan and Venice.
prodigious instrument that alone can In one of those cities, there lives a certain
rival the female voice, to which it is man, perhaps a musician, or possibly
often compared, able to express the most an engineer, though that is but a guess.
varied emotions? How to explain that, What we know for sure is that he is a
after its invention, instrument makers luthier of genius. One day, this luthier
seemed so satisfied with their work that invents and makes the first violin.
they sought neither to improve it nor to
If his name is unknown, so is the year
replace it, content merely to imitate it? of his invention, though it is thought to
Was it so very perfect?
have been around 1520. The chronicles
I believe that the answer is yes, that of the time have left us not a phrase, not
the violin was, one day, invented in its a word, to mark such a seminal event.
final and perfect form, as though noth- Yet we do know that the violin appeared
ing could ever be added.
in its final form, to be perfected over
two centuries by such men as Amati,
Italy, forever Italy
Guarneri and Stradivari.
Let us look back to the spirit of
In Brescia, around the middle of
renewal that washed over the end of the 16th century, lives a luthier named
the 15th century on the eve of the pre- Gasparo da Saló, who, with his student
Baroque period. The Renaissance pal- Giovanni Paolo Maggini, attempts to
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and music lovers have contemplated
it, adored it, made it sing, drawn from
it dances, laughter, sobs, reverie. Four
and a half centuries’ worth of experts
have failed to elucidate the mystery surrounding its unknown inventor, its date
of birth, its creation in its nearly final
form.
I shall reluctantly turn to conjecture.
I shall however stay with the basics: the
violin and its rapid rise.
transform the viol into a sort of rudimentary violin. The viol has six metal
strings and two sound holes whose two
ends curve in the same direction. Its
evocative sound has little power. Da
Saló, born in 1540, creates a bowed
string instrument that looks not unlike
the violin we know. It will be called the
viola da braccio (literally a viol braced on
the arm), but it is not yet a violin.
At about the same time in Cremona,
Andrea Amati — 20 years older than de
Saló — founds a school for luthiers and
builds instruments with four strings,
instruments we would recognize as
violins. In fact, the oldest surviving
violin was built in Cremona by Amati
himself. That can lead us to believe
that he came into possession of the
secrets of this mysterious genius of
Lombardy. Perhaps he somehow found
plans for the instrument, or even had
the chance to hold in his hands the precious object he would later reproduce.
But he himself is not the inventor
of the violin, and that has been proved
beyond doubt. We can say, however, that
he was the first famous luthier of Cremona. With the gift of an extraordinary
acoustical sense, he worked diligently
to find the right balance between the
instrument’s acoustical and aesthetic
qualities. He perfected his violins by
seeking out the right woods, and by
importing from the Orient, by way of
requires the warmth of the sun to set
the lacquers, and that is is why they are
behind on their deliveries. The violin
ordered was probably made by one of
The violin’s rapid rise
The violin has a stupefyingly broad Amati’s two sons, both master luthiers.
range of expression, It can produce a They develop a style that will remain
tone that is at once sustained and varied, until Stradivari later makes changes that
as only the human voice could previously will lead to the modern violin.
A member of the illustrious Amati
do, and its sound is remarkably powerful.
At its beginnings, its loud and strident dynasty, A ndrea’s grandson Nicoló
sound offended the influential, which is (1596-1684), distinguishes himself by
to say the nobility and the high clergy, the meticulous care he brings to his
who found it vulgar. But impoverished violins, whose finish and sound are of
musicians playing for local festivities great beauty. Among his many students
quickly saw its advantages and were are A ntonio Stradivari and A ndrea
eager to acquire the new and inexpensive Guarneri — the second will found his
instrument. Beating time with their feet, own dynasty, ending with Bartolomeo
they played on public squares and in tav- Giuseppe (1687-1745) and Giuseppe del
erns, providing a magnificent alternative Gesù. Nicoló will die in his 50’s, leaving
behind some 250 violins, of which some
How Maggie
to the poor viol, which struggled
to make Works
beenhave survived.
itself heard out of doors. UHF is, and has 150
The technical, acoustical
forand
many
aesyears, Del Gesù, though he will follow the
of his master, experiments with
thetic challenges of
a print
the new,
magazine.
largerButexample
we know
multiple variations in the dimensions,
orchestras and the increasingly
more and
vast
more
con-audiophiles
and other elements. Over
cert halls required louder
want
instruments.
to read it onarchitecture
their
time
he makes the sound board less
Pressing the violin into
computer
service became
or iPad.a And
they’re
convex
necessity, and that necessity
willing
finally
to save
won
money
too.and lengthens the sound holes,
that his violins play louder. The extra
over the critics. Thus Click
the violin
here,began
and let so
Maggie
explain
how tobyget power
the fullof del Gesù’s Guarneris charms
its meteoric rise which —
stimulated
a number of great violinists, including
for $4.
opera — accelerated toward version
an apogee
Though Paganini owns more
And we mean
PDF
no instrument had ever reached
in so a Paganini.
than
one Stradivarius, he has a particular
versionofwithout
rights
short a time. This invention
the 16thdigitl
century took but a few
management
decades to you
attain
can fondness
transfer tofor the Guarneris — undera status that is unmatched —
the device
I would
of say
your standable
choice. considering the power of his
unmatchable — rising from mere folk playing — and he owns the most famous
instrument to first instrument of the of them, known as El Canon. (We should
note that a contemporary violinist, the
orchestra.
Evidence? In all accounts of the age, late Yehudi Menuhin, also preferred a
it is said that in 1560 Charles X, the Guarneri for playing certain works. A
king of France, commissioned Amati Guarneri from 1729 is shown on this
to make him 38 bowed instruments, page.)
That said, the greatest luthier of them
including six violas, eight cellos and 24
violins. Such was the reputation this all — greater than Nicoló Amati, greater
instrument of Cremona enjoyed even than Guarneri del Gesù — eclipsing all
in faraway France, for Cremona was others, is Antonio Stradivari (1644?the world centre of the luthier’s art, its 1737). He builds not only violins but
violins selling for twice the price of those also cellos and violas. His instruments
from Brescia, and that would continue. outshine all others in the perfection of
their form, the amplitude of their sound,
Why? This anecdote says it all.
Galileo (1564-1642), the famous and the incomparable varnish used to
astronomer, through the good offices of protect them from the ravages of the
a monk, orders a violin for his nephew years. No wonder musicians and collecbut becomes worried as time passes tors today are willing to bid awesome
with no sign of the instrument. In an sums to obtain a Stradivarius.
The true artisans of modern violinexchange of letters, one of the monks
explains to his impatient client that the making have taken this immortal megaperfection of an instrument of Cremona star as their model.
Venice, the ingredients to make his
lacquers.
Software
Before starting his studies with
Nicoló Amati, Stradivari is already an
accomplished sculptor, despite his youth.
In Cremona, luthiers and artists live
in the same district. Fascinated by the
violin, he knocks at his neighbor’s door
one day. Nicoló quickly sees his young
student’s immense potential, with skills
far above those of his other apprentices.
In the first years of his apprenticeship,
Stradivari is influenced by his illustrious
master and makes only Amati models,
violins that are known today as “Amatized” Stradivaris. No doubt because of
the excellence of his work, he has labels
printed bearing the inscription Alumnus Nicolai Amati. After his teacher’s
anyone else: some 1200 violins, as well
as altos and cellos. Nearly 500 of these
instruments have survived, though
most have been modified to conform
to modern standards. Inevitable though
those changes were. we can only regret
that we will never hear the sound of the
philes: two designers can use the original instruments.
same loudspeaker configurations or
Two of Stradivari’s sons, apprentices
death in 1684, Stradivari the same amplifier circuits and obtain in their father’s workshop, died not long
lightly modifies the dimensions of the very different results. In the same way, a after him. The youngest, little interested
violin, making the sound-board even master luthier may have all the required in violin-making, sold the instruments
less convex, accentuating the curve of talents, have access to the finest woods, and remaining violin parts to a collector
the waist, and slightly straightening find the ideal varnish, and imitate per- who was one of the master’s admirers.
the sound holes. He works tirelessly to fectly the proportions of the Stradivarius Some of his tools and gauges are today
improve his creations, and through his violin, but what he makes will not have in the Cremona Museum. But the master
knowledge of chemistry he pays great the same perfection. Violin-making is left few clues to his techniques, aside
attention to the varnishes with which science, yes, but it is first of all art. And from some sketches of violins with inlaid
he finishes his instruments.
genius.
wood, which he had built occasionally.
His reputation extends beyond the
In the 19th century, a collector-dealer
enters our story, buying a considerable
borders of his country, bringing him Where are they now?
orders from all over, for which he is
Some of these antique violins are in number of violins, some already famous.
of course well paid. He is prolific until museums. That’s the case of del Gesù’s His name is Luigi Tarisio and he lives
1698, when his wife dies, leaving him El Canon, at the Palazzo Municipale of in Milan.
He is a carpenter by trade, and his
with six children. Dejected by the loss Genoa. The School of Violin and Viola
of the woman he loves, he stops making Makers also keeps a number of antique work takes him into homes across Italy.
violins and sells his house.
instruments in the Palazzo dell’Arte, as Though not himself a violinist, he has
One day, however, he meets a woman do a number of cultural institutions in boundless passion for the instrument.
20 years his junior, and finds both love England and elsewhere in the world. The Each time he sees a violin in a home, he
and renewed creative ardor. She will Lady Blunt, the Stradivarius shown on purchases it, often for a trifling sum. He
bear him five children, and he will give this page, was sold for nearly £10 million becomes one of the top experts on the
himself to his art with renewed passion. for Japanese earthquake relief.
violin and quickly builds up a phenomWe are now in 1700. A hundred and
The most famous and most contro- enal collection. Among these jewels of
fifty years and much water have flowed versial of all the violins of the Golden the art of Cremona is a 1716 Stradivarius
under the bridge since the time of Age is The Messiah. Stradivari had never he purchased from its owner, the Count
Andrea Amati. Ever in quest of perfec-Yes,sold
we it
getand
asked,
constantly,
it had
never been played. Cosio de Salabue.
Happy though Tarisio is amid his
tion, Stradivari regards each instrument
what we will
be 1904
reviewing
in ourkept
next
issue.
Since
it has been
like
a sacred
know
reviews
are essential.
as a new opportunity to improve And
his we
relic
in the
illustrious
Hill Collection at treasures, one day he decides to sell
equipment
reviews
are nothing
if not
plentiful.It some of them. Gathering them in a
art. Reducing the convexityBut
a few
mil- the
Ashmolean
Museum
in Oxford.
Readers
long
toldthe
us that
what makes
UHF in large burlap sack, he walks from Milan
limetres, or refining the shape
of thehavehas
spent
intervening
centuries
to and
them
are the
other articles.
sound holes, he gives each ofparticularly
his violins valuable
museums
private
collections,
and it to Paris, arriving dusty and filthy. Not
taking the time to freshen up, he walks
Articles
about
ideas,remains
about the
nuts andcondition.
bolts of the technology,
a unique timbre and ever
greater
visual
in pristine
about
and film,
beauty. His art is at its peak, and betweenand also
Why
didmusic
Stradivari
refuse to sell into a luthier’s workshop and opens his
are the
now and his death in 1737 he will sign his which
this violin
or very
allowreasons
it to be played? That bag. The luthier watches him, agape,
wondering how this filthy character
systems to exist.
greatest creations. It is his goldenfor
age.our lovingly-created
remains an enigma.
Not that
stop publishing
reviews.
Violin-making in Cremona
takeswe
thewill ever
I can’t
resist thehardware
temptation
of can have come into possession of such
world by storm, continuing its extraor- mentioning the famous Red Diamond, treasures. Judging the book by its cover,
dinary development until the death of a Stradivarius violin that may have he offers a nominal sum for the violins,
Stradivari at the age of 93. His instru- inspired François Girard, the young and Tarisio naively accepts.
“I have several more like these at
ments, so perfect in their own time, are director of The Red Violin, a hit with
still suited to modern music.
moviegoers and music lovers alike. I home,” he tells the buyer before leaving.
Montreal luthier Jules Saint-Michel can’t tell you which private collector On the way home the truth hits him: he
told me some years ago that no one had acquired it after it had passed through didn’t get a fair price for his instruments
ever bested Stradivari. A luthier might the hands of several illustrious virtuosos, because he looked so pitiful. He decides
do less well, or try to do as well, but but I know that Stradivari built it in 1732. to return to Paris, this time dressed to
doing better is impossible.
Throughout his long life, Stradivari the nines.
A year later we find our man in Paris
The idea will be familiar to audio- built more string instruments than
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sound of a violin that was so sweet and
fine that it was heart-rending. We looked
at each other. Impossible! They’ve managed to make this good a recording, with
a sound so perfect even in the high notes?
We peeked through the doorway and
saw…Angèle Dubeau with her Strad!
You may say that without the talent of
the artist even a Stradivarius will sound
banal. No doubt, but in the hands of a
master it is the quintessence of the art.
Many of the great instruments of the
Golden Age are still around, played by
great violinists who either own them
or have them on loan. Certain philanthropic collectors do lend out their
instruments, happy to hear them singing
once more in the hands of a master. The
late violinist and collector Isaac Stern
regularly lent out his classic instruments
to talented but impoverished violin
students.
That is admirable, though it no doubt
leaves the young violinist in perpetual
insecurity, never knowing when the
instrument that is “an extension of his
being” may be taken from him.
The anatomy of the violin
The modern family of bowed instruments is composed of the violin, the
viola, the cello and the double bass.
Similarly-shaped, the four instruments
are built in the same way, differing only
in size and of course tonal range.
Don’t be fooled by the apparent
simplicity of the violin. This tiny and
lightweight instrument contains over
70 different parts, shaped and glued
together by hand. And don’t be fooled
by the similarity in appearance to that
ancient instrument, the viol, whose
sound is familiar to those who have seen
the film Tous les matins du monde. Seen
from the front the two instruments do
look similar, but then you notice the
differences.
The most obvious difference is that
the viol has six strings and the violin
only four. Unlike the violin, the viol has
frets, like a guitar. The viol’s sound box
is larger, and though its sound is rich, it
doesn’t carry, whereas the violin’s sound
is both clear and powerful.
The viol’s body consists of a convex
sound board mounted onto a flat and
rigid box to make a simple resonant
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once more, where he becomes friends violins that are the most eagerly sought
with a man named Vuillaume, certainly after for their sound and their beauty, but
the greatest French luthier of his day. also because they are so well preserved.
Now and then, Tarisio brings him That last point greatly influences the
instruments, never failing to add, “I have price.
at home one of Stradivari’s most famous
Closer to home, the Canadian vioviolins. It belonged to the Count Cosio linist Angèle Dubeau has an authentic
de Salabue. It was built in 1716, and it Stradivarius of 1732 that, some years
has never even been played.” Intrigued back, was at the centre of a hotlyand eager, Vuillaume and other luthiers contested legal battle from which she
hope to see, at last, the mysterious violin. emerged victorious. She had purchased
One day Vuillaume’s son-in-law, it from another fine violinist, Arthur
a famous virtuoso, tells Tarisio: “You Leblanc, when she obtained her masters
know, your violin is like the Messiah. in music at the age of 15. Her precious
He is always prophesied, but we never instrument, “Arthur,” had undergone
see Him arrive.”
minor alterations long before she bought
Time passes, and one day Vuillaume it: its neck was lengthened, and its sound
hears of the death of Luigi Tarisio. board reinforced to improve resistance
We remember
when
a number
of competitors
Hastily gathering
all the money
he can.
to increased
string would
tension. Nearly all
putto
onMilan.
line only
only the
image
and the table
he hies himself
Tarisio
had cover
antique
instruments
haveof
been similarly
lived by himself in a room in which contents.
he modified.
allowed no We
visitors.
would
It was
tell them
there that you
he don’t
go fishing
without
bait.detractors
Dubeau
replies
to some
died, alone, aSure,
violinwe
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live from
to his
what
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you who
spend
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that the
th
That violinthe
is The
pages
Messiah,
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print
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days are overthat will remain.
reading material
blown,
for free.
and she adds her voice to those
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the you
violins
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exceptional
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instruments, Stradivaris or
time — he buys not onlymusic
The Messiah
We have
readers
onstored
every continent
Guarneris,
except
either
Antarctica.
bought or borrowed.
but also Tarisio’s
other
violins,
Mostorofeven
themindiscovered
usthe
on opportunity
line.
to play other
any which way, in drawers
a I’ve had
read
a lot of our
excellent
free material.
violins, including a Vuillaume,
stable. The collection isThey
worth
millions
And then theyand
joined
I very
us.much enjoyed them, but a
even then.
Cer t a i n ex per t s cha l lenge t he Stradivarius — I mean an instrument
authenticity of The Messiah, claiming built in Stradivari’s mature years — is
it is a copy, the real one having been unsurpassed. It has an infinitely large
lost. Oh, the fantastic stories told about palette of colors. It is perfect on every
the famous violins and violin-making in string. Its low notes are velvet, its high
notes are pearls.”
Cremona during the Golden Age!
She adds: “You know, an ear that is
A word about the theft of string
instruments, especially those of Cre- trained to recognize different sounds can
mona at its peak. How do you fence a tell a Stradivarius from another violin.
Stradivarius or a Guarneri? In most If I gather a group of music lovers in a
cases, the thieves are found and the room and I play them the same piece
instruments returned to their rightful on different violins, they can tell which
violin was the Stradivarius.
owners.
“A violinist’s instrument is an extenEach year, the world’s capitals are the
scene of violin auctions, which of course sion of his being. For my part I have
attract not only eager musicians but also tamed my violin, and it has tamed me,
collectors and speculators. The prices because a violin of such quality requires
fetched by the violins of master luthiers special care. It can be capricious. For
of the mid-17th century to the death of instance, it’s very sensitive to changes
Stradivari have continued to soar. But it in temperature and it is quite fragile.”
is the precious violins of the 18th century
Some years back, we had dropped
that dominate these filled events. Even by her record producer to pick up some
if Guarneri del Gesù’ instruments reach discs, and while we waited we heard,
exceptional prices, it is the Stradivarius coming from around the corner, the
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body. The vibrations of
the strings are transmitted by the bridge to the
sound board, whose own
vibrations are accentuated by the resonance
of the body. Two gracefully sculpted holes let
the sound escape. In the
viol they are C-shaped,
whereas in the violin
they are longer, in the
shape of a cursive ƒ. The
longer sound holes let
t he v ibrat ions t ravel
along the grain of the
wood.
But there are even
more basic dif ferences, for the violin is
a remarkable acoustical
invention.
The violin’s body is
a hollow box with two
resonant faces, not just
one. The front face is
the sound board, convex
in shape and reinforced
by a bar. The rear face,
also convex, looks nearly
identical. Both are thin,
t hei r c u r ved shapes
helping to resist t he
pressure of the bridge and the internal
soundpost. The two are joined by the
ribs. A thin and rounded wood piece,
the bridge, elevates the strings above
the surface of the sound board. Because
of the near symmetry of the chassis,
the acoustical energy transmitted to
the sound board by the bridge is then
retransmitted to the back by the soundpost, a tiny movable piece that seems of
little significance but is in fact essential
to the sound (its French name is l’âme,
which means “the soul”). The soundpost
is a small pine cylinder pressed between
the sound board and the back, which
the luthier inserts and positions very
precisely through a sound hole of the
completed violin. The vibration of the
two interacting panels sets up a threedimensional sound field. This acoustical
phenomenon gives the violin not only its
sonic energy, but also the richness and
warmth that is at the very heart of its
power over the emotions.
Scroll
Tuning pegs
Fingerboard
Neck
Sound board
Rib
Back
Waist
Sound hole
Purling
Tail piece
Making a violin requires great skills,
including remarkable manual dexterity,
solid technical mastery and an authentic
passion for the instrument and the art
of violin-making. Even in our age of
unprecedented technological advances,
it is unthinkable to build a quality violin
by industrial methods. It requires a
cycle of aging of the woods, followed
by lacquering. The lacquers must be
applied in several coats, each given time
to harden before the next is applied. The
wood must dry over time, perhaps even
a number of years.
Strange as it may seem, the first
luthiers knew by intuition and by empirical knowledge gleaned through countless
experiments what modern acousticians
have confirmed scientifically about the
design, the mastery of shape, its acoustical aptitudes and the choice of woods.
Maple is used for the back, the ribs and
the neck, ebony for the fingerboard,
the tailpiece and the tuning pegs, and
pine for the soundpost,
the sound board and its
reinforcing bar.
The spruce pine originally used came from the
Alps of Lombardy, which
may explain Cremona’s
place at the heart of violinmaking. Pine for modern
violins mostly comes from
Switzerland and Germany.
The violin of the future?
I shiver with horror to
think that the violin nearly
vanished in the very first
century of its existence.
History speaks of the diseases, the Black Plague
and cholera, that deciBridge mated the population of
much of Europe between
1630 and 1650. Nicoló
Amati was the only survivor of the master luthiers
of that time. On his shoulders rested the future of
the violin. His premature
death would have meant
the death of the violin as
well, and the entire development of music would
have changed.
As already noted, the height of the
bridge was reduced several times to let
the violin to play louder. In the early 19th
century, the tuning of the orchestra was
raised, with middle A migrating from
its traditional frequency of 416 Hz to
440 Hz, requiring a stronger sound
board bar and a longer neck to prevent
the increased string tension from actually breaking the instrument.
More recently, since the War, the
tuning has been increased even further
to beyond 440 Hz, in order to make
the orchestral sound “brighter.” That, I
believe, shows a lack of respect for the
composers and also poses a danger for
the human voice and the instruments
of the orchestra. Union agreements
signed by the musicians of the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra — and reportedly
other orchestras as well — contain a
clause limiting middle A to a maximum
of 442 Hz, in order to protect the instruments. Not every orchestra member is
the elements of geometry. And that he
had talent as a sculptor…for was that not
his first métier?
The indispensable bow
You can’t write about the violin without mentioning the bow, since, to state
the obvious, one cannot exist without
the other. Yet for a long time musicians
considered the bow a mere accessory. If
it broke, they shrugged and replaced it.
That has changed.
If the origin of the violin is shrouded
in mystery, we can say the same for the
bow. What were the first bows made of,
and to play what instruments? We can
imagine that they were rather simple.
Bows had already evolved by the middle
of the 18th century, and though they were
made in the luthier’s workshop they
would be the creation of the assistant,
not the master. Small wonder that the
makers of the bows in the 17th and most
of the 18th century are quite unknown.
But in the second half of the 18th
century the Tourte family of France
enters the stage, and the bow undergoes
profound transformations. The Tourtes
take the art of bow-making to such a
summit that their creations will remain
unmatched. The son, François Xavier, is
known as the “Stradivari of the bow.”
We mustn’t ignore the contributions
that violinists themselves made to the
development of the bow. Modern bowmakers still call on the best virtuosos
to evaluate the quality of the bows they
make and the value of their ideas for new
innovations.
For centuries, horsehair has been
preferred for bows, especially white
horsehair, which is long, sturdy
and fairly easy to find. Attempts
to substitute synthetic or metallic materials have been fruitless.
Laymen, of which of course I am
one, may be surprised to learn that
some musicians take more care in
choosing their bows than their violins, because the bow determines the
play of the violinist’s muscles. Some
even pay more for the bow than for
the violin!
Over the past few decades, the
cost of high-quality bows has shot
into the stratosphere. A good bow
is as much a work of art as a good
violin, and you need a small fortune to
afford a good Tourte, just as you need a
large fortume to acquire a Stradivarius
or a Guarneri.
The singing wood
Alive, I was mute. Now that I am dead,
I sing softly.
So said one day a tree, become a
violin. The words are not mine, and
they are translated from Latin, but I am
making them mine, with apologies to the
conservationists.
Used with discernment, the wood
of a tree is a powerful tool in human
hands. The paper and the boards from
our forests are the source of our means
of survival, communication and the arts.
And that includes the creation of sublime
musical instruments.
Since the Baroque period, through
the Classical and Romantic eras, the
violin has been at the heart of the development of Western music. It is present
in folk, jazz, chamber music, and of
course classical orchestral music. Can
we imagine a chamber or symphony
ensemble without one or more violins?
Is it not the violinist who, before each
concert, gives the note to which all the
other musicians tune their instruments?
Apart from the conductor, the first violin
is the only musician who enters the stage
alone, to the applause of the already
charmed spectators.
The pitiless passage of time has left
no signs of age on the violin, which has
lost none of its sonic beauty nor its power
to bewitch us. Ancient but never old, it
is irreplaceable.
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fortunate enough to own a Stradivarius, but all play instruments of
great value. Will we one day see
a priceless violin snap in two, or a
singer’s voice irremediably damaged, all to serve a conductor’s
whim?
As for some future violin, built
to be strong enough to sustain
even greater string tension, Jules
Saint-Michel rejected the idea.
“No one will invent a new violin
for that. Luthiers are conservative
to the depths of their souls. Like
the violinists who aspire to play
like Paganini, luthiers dream of
making a violin as good as those
of Stradivari, who took his art to the
zenith.”
What may help to explain the unique
sound of the Stradivarius is its incomparable varnish. Matching that varnish is
the ideal of every luthier. Research has
given us the formula for the varnishes he
used, and we know how he applied it, but
knowing the formula isn’t everything,
just as knowing a great chef’s recipe
doesn’t mean you can cook as well as he
can. No two cooks will ever achieve the
same results.
I have concentrated on the famous
Italian masters and mentioned the great
French luthier Vuillaume, but other
immensely talented luthiers could also
be found in Switzerland, Germany,
Hungary and all the way to Scandinavia,
where master luthiers still make fine
instruments today.
Each violin is unique, just as each
living being is unique. Even a moderately
practiced eye will distinguish between
one violin and another. The trees whose
wood is used may have grown in different climates, but even two pieces of
wood from the same source cannot be
identical. As for varnishing, it is an art
that rests more on the luthier’s skilful
hand than on the actual composition
of the varnish, and so the final finish is
characterized by the style and the ability
of each luthier.
Another distinctive sign is the scroll,
the spiral form at the end of the neck. Of
course it has no influence on the sound,
but each luthier brings great care to its
shape. It is said that Stradivari’s superb
scrolls indicate that he was familiar with
Software Reviews
Steve Bourke,
Albert Simon
and Gerard Rejskind
From the New World
Hamelin/Youth Orch. of the Americas
Fidelio FACD029
Albert Simon: Fidelio recorded this
album during a live performance at the
Domaine Forget in scenic Charlevoix,
Quebec. Two tube microphones were
used and a dCS converter provided the
amazing resolution of 24 bits/352 kHz
DXD in the Xtract HD process. This
is, in short, a set of high-definition files,
ready for transfer onto a computer hard
drive. I should add that both this recording and the Holst (the next review) are
also available as conventional CDs.
I find it important to mention all that
before talking about the music itself.
There are tons of recordings available of
Dvorak’s Symphony From the New World,
but I’ve never heard one that sounded
like this and, in this case, the quality of
the sound and the recreation of the venue
are an integral part of the joy of listening
to this popular symphony. I was instantly
transported to the fifth row when the
first notes of the Adagio introduction
appeared on the right side of the stage,
played by the violas and cellos.
Dvorak was asked to be director
of the new National Conservatory of
Music in New York City in 1892. He
stayed only three years in the US, always
longing for his Czech homeland, even
spending part of his summers with his
countrymen in Spillville, Iowa, a small
town known as a Bohemian settlement.
Premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 16, 1893, the symphony is said to
have been composed partly in New
York and partly in Iowa, inspired both
by Black folk songs and by Longfellow’s
poem Song of Hiawatha. The romantic
melodies — which seem to have more
in common with his native Bohemia
than the Americas — flow abundantly
throughout the work and would sound
familiar to most music lovers, having
been played in countless circumstances.
Neil Armstrong even took a recording of this symphony to the Moon on
Apollo 11.
Three of Dvorak’s students contributed to the popularity of the English
horn tune in the Largo when, 30 years
later, they fitted it with a “Negro Spiritual” text. The most famous one, often
referred to as a hymn, remains Fisher’s
Going Home.
Listening to the majestic opening
of that Largo on horns, trumpet and
trombone reaching from centre back on
the large stage, I put aside all my speculations and waited for the tender and noble
tune on the English horn. Sheer beauty!
It was a tad faster than I am used to —
after all, Dvorak did change his original
Adagio to Largo. But no matter. I was
there, in the middle of the fifth row, and
that was quite an experience, all the way
to the last coda and bursting applause.
But wait, this work is not the only one
on this album, aptly subtitled Musiques
du nouveau monde (note the plural).
There are two other interesting pieces
by contemporary composers, Danzon
no. 2 by Mexican composer Arturo
Marquez, and Bootlegger’s Tarantella by
Canada’s John Estacio. The danzon is
a traditional Cuban dance that became
popular in Mexico during the 1940’s.
Its charm lies in the contrast between
an easygoing theme and a vivaciously
syncopated rhythmic one, and you can
“see it all happen” on stage in this lavish
version. Such energy and enthusiasm
from those young performers in the
Youth Orchestra of the Americas, conducted by Jean-Pascal Hamelin.
The Bootlegger’s Tarantella is an overture to John Estacio’s opera Filumena,
which premiered in 2003. It is a little
gem, starting with a startling bang and
developing in a cascade of fascinating
themes and rhythms, reminiscent of
some movie scores. It swells and flows
like a joyful stream bounding over
glistening rocks. A happy ending to a
sensational album.
Holst: The Planets
Buzz Ensemble, Mélanie Barney
Fidelio FACD028
Albert Simon: The deep low growl of
the organ opens the stage in a sombre
mood, guided by the shining brass
hovering above it. War is on the way.
Mars has risen defiantly, and his march
is a relentless crescendo, exploding into
a shattering climax. This arrangement of
The Planets is a delight. The organ and
the brass blend with such fluidity that I
couldn’t help imagining an underwater
dance between a whale and dolphins.
Venus, the Bringer of Peace is a soothing balm on the wounds of Mars, and
the interwoven textures of brass and
organ seem to float airily above the wide
stage. Recorded in Montreal’s St-Viateur
d’Outremont Church, whose organ dates
from 1913 and was totally restored in
1991, it lets you hear and actually feel
the huge space where the performance
took place. Proof that the 24 bit/96 kHz
Xtract HD process was carried out
impeccably.
four-channel surround DSD. The four
microphones are quite close together, and
the stereo/surround effects depend on
the precedence of arrival of each sound,
and not on mere volume differences.
For a number of years, Kimber has
been demonstrating his recordings in
large, heavily-damped rooms at shows
such as CES and RMAF in Denver. If
you like what you hear, you can buy some
of the performances on SACD.
This is one of those SACDs. The
young Taiwanese pianist Fan-Ya Lin
came to study music in Ogden, Utah,
even though three other conservatories,
including Juilliard, had accepted her.
Ogden just happens to be where Kimber
Kable is located.
Still in her early 20’s, she has a
remarkable maturity. On this superb
recording she takes on some challenging
works, including a piano transcription of
Bach’s Toccata in C Minor (not the famous
one for organ, but unmistakably Bach)
and Beethoven’s appropriately-titled
Appassionata sonata. She certainly does
have the passion of youth. She can play
with effortless power when power is
required. You can’t play Chopin the same
way you play Beethoven, however, but in
three Chopin works, a Nocturne, an Étude
and a Ballade, she has the sensitive touch
that is needed.
I had heard an excerpt from this
recording on K imber’s ow n fourchannel installation, and I was sold. This
SACD is similarly superb, both musically
and sonically.
Remarkable as they are, IsoMike
recordings are not Ray Kimber’s bread
and butter, though. Buy this recording,
and every penny will go to one of the
charities Ray supports.
Emerging
Fan-Ya Lin
IsoMike 5604
Gerard Rejskind: Ray Kimber is best
known for the audio cables that bear his
name, but he has other passions in his
life, beyond wires, and indeed beyond
ordinary commerce.
One of those passions is IsoMike, a
recording method introduced a decade
ago that used a pair of microphones on
either side of a large cardioid-shaped
baffle. In 2006 he began to record in
Janitsch: Sonate da camera vol. 1
Notturna
ATMA Classique ACD2 2595
Steve Bourke: A quiet Saturday afternoon was the perfect time to enjoy these
Baroque sonatas. Four of the five are in
minor keys, and all of them cast two
different types of oboe, the standard and
the d’amore, in the leading roles. They
are a pure delight.
The mood for the most part is on
the serene side of melancholia. Bold and
aggressive it surely is not. Melancholy
does not have to mean unhappy though,
and the unusual oboe d’amore is of particular interest.
The oboe d’amore’s voice is created
thanks to the narrower bore of the hole
drilled through its length. Today it is
seldom heard as a regular member of
the symphony orchestra, and for no
good reason. The standard oboe usually
takes the d’amore’s parts, robbing the
audience of an opportunity to hear a
wonderful instrument. Its deep, musky
timbre deserves to be experienced more
often than it is.
Johann Janitsch, composer of these
sonata da cameras, studied law before
deciding on a career in music. In spite of
his vocational switch, he enjoyed a high
level of success, becoming a member of
Frederick the Great’s court orchestra,
where he played the double bass. Thanks
to the orchestra’s short season, from
December to February, he had enough
extra time to compose pieces for the
following year.
These Quadro sonatas were created for another purpose altogether.
Every Friday Janitsch invited amateur
musicians to join him and several other
members of the court orchestra for the
simple joy of making music together.
The sonatas were generously composed
by Janitsch to enrich this regular gathering. In so doing he began to democratize
Berlin’s culture. Musicians from the
Prussian middle class rubbed musical
shoulders with the court elite.
Amateurs and professionals alike
must have been impressed by the quality
of Janitsch’s sonatas, because 250 years
later everyone, from every background,
has access to their beauty.
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Holst wrote The Planets during World
War I and initially called it “a series of
mood pieces.” He later considered it a
progression of life, starting with Mars,
a tormented beginning, Jupiter, the
“prime” of life, Saturn (said to be Holst’s
favourite movement), the mature years,
and Neptune, the mystic, shrouding the
end of life. For those interested in the
ancient symbolism of astrology — not
the ridiculous daily horoscope — it is
important to note that Holst had Alan
Leo’s book The Art of Synthesis in his
library, and he may have been introduced
to this influential astrologer at that time.
Regardless of the origins of this
work, I was truly impressed by Enrico
O. Dastous’ sensitive arrangement for
organ and brass. It is a natural, as if it
had to be written for this combination
of instruments. A nd the wonderful
interpretation by the five musicians of
the Buzz Ensemble was perfectly right
and balanced in each movement. Mélanie
Barney handled the organ with superb
virtuosity and gave it the sweet touch of a
breath when a subtle yet solid foundation
is needed.
It leaves me wanting to hear it again.
Right now.
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can, but that is because they have not
heard either live. I have, and they sound
nothing like what you are likely to hear
on this or any other recording of this
tired warhorse.
This one is worse than most, however. The EMI recording is from 1972,
the period when studios were using “hot”
tape formulations that turned out to be
short-lived (see Not Made to Last in UHF
No. 90). This sounds as though it may be
a CD mastered from a sixth- or seventhgeneration tape. It is gritty and distorted
even in the long orchestral introduction.
long before we get to the ordnance and
the bells.
The recording includes two much
better Tchaikovsky pieces, the overture
to Romeo and Juliet,and the Marche Slave.
But frankly, who cares?
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Previn/London Symphony Orchestra
Hi-Q HIQXRCD7
Gerard Rejskind: We are all pretty
much aware that not every note that
came from the pen of Tchaikovsky (or
Mozart or Beethoven or Brahms) is of
equal value. Tchaikovsky was responsible
for numerous deathless masterpieces,
but he also wrote for money, as most
composers are compelled to do. The
1812 Overture, commemorating the
defeat of Napoleon’s Grand Army by
the Russians (with the help of a harsh
winter, poor supply lines and disease),
was an example of political composing.
Tchaikovsky wrote it long after the fact,
with a premiere in 1882 in Moscow. It
was commissioned for the consecration
of the Temple of Christ the Redeemer,
which was a memorial to Napoleon’s Lucky Lucky
defeat.
Patricia Deslauriers Trio
In this musical recounting of the Silence GSOCD-5227
long battle, in which only a small frac- Gerard Rejskind: Before I get to the
tion of Napoleon’s half million
Where
soldiers
do the
music,
questions
let me
for introduce the cast of
survived, there are some
our obvious
famous anachFree Advice
characters.
sectionPatricia
come from?
Deslauriers is a noted
ronisms. La Marseillaise,
Our readers
which
sendTchaithem toMontreal
us at [email protected].
jazz bassist. Guy St-Onge
kovsky used to represent The
the questions,
French, is
and
Quebec’s
our answers,
most prolific composer,
may appear
the magazine,
and musician.
or both. He can play
was banned in Napoleon’s
time. on
As line,
for inarranger
don’t reply
a number
by mail,
of instruments, and even
the Russian national anthem,We
which
andnot
weyet
don’treleased
give it for
a CD
freeon which he played more
is used as counterpoint, it had
if you
thatcase,
your question
than twonot
dozen
be made
of them.
public.
He also owns a
been written. This
is request
not, in any
We
dosoask
for your
wonderful
name and
studio
city.
and mastering suite set
Tchaikovsky’s best work. If
it is
often
Ask on
away!
a quiet lake in the Laurentians, the
recorded today, that is because modern
technology has made it easy to add what studio where this recording was made.
was problematic in the 1880’s, the sound The music is that by Richard Desjardins,
of live cannons and the clanging of the best known as a singer. His are the kinds
bells of Moscow. It is, in short, a hi-fi of songs whose words you actually listen
to, be they about love or various social
showpiece.
Or it would be if there were a hi-fi issues. He is also, however, an excepsystem in existence that could reproduce tional tunesmith, and this trio, which
the sound of either cannons or bells. also includes drummer Paul Brochu,
Some audiophiles believe that theirs transposes the tunes into a jazz setting.
This isn’t the first time Richard
Desjardins’ music has been covered.
French singer Francis Cabrel, some years
back, did his own version of Desjardins’
Quand j’aime une fois j’aime pour toujours
as a country song, of all things. A good
song is a good song, and they are the raw
material for this excellent album.
In many jazz groups the bass is purely
a rhythm instrument, like the drums.
However, in the first song, 335 Nord,
Deslaurier’s bass carries the melody,
with chords from St-Onge’s piano highlighting the tune and Brochu’s drums
adding the subtlest of subtle effects.
Throughout the album, Deslauriers
and St-Onge alternate as soloists. The
arrangements are often intricate, but you
never lose track of the melody, which is
a mark of good jazz.
Heard detached from the words, these
truly are exceptional melodies. Jenny was
a superb love song, and remains very fine
in this jazz instrumental interpretation.
Tu m’aimes-tu, the song that first made
Desjardins famous, is delightfully intricate and is well handled here.
The recording is on St-Onge’s own
Silence label, which has in the past
released several gold audiophile-quality
CDs. Like earlier Silence discs, this one
too sounds natural and delightful.
GET FREE ADVICE!
Live at Montreux (DVD)
Miles Davis
Eagle Records
music stars redo their older hits — but
Miles Davis was not in the habit of looking back. He made it a rule throughout
his career never to return to earlier
material, no matter how much money
he could earn by doing so.
As an audio-visual panorama of Miles
Davis’ various visits to the Montreux Jazz
Festival, this is an important historical
document. As pure entertainment, it is
no less valuable.
There’s a Time
Doug MacLeod
Reference Recordings RR-130
Gerard Rejskind: Doug MacLeod
says that early in his singing career, he
was not yet certain about this choice of
calling, and he found himself sitting on
a curb in Norfolk, Virginia, with Ernie
Banks (the Bluesman, not the baseball
player). He told Banks he didn’t know
whether he had the right to sing the
Blues, because he had never picked
cotton or known any of the hardships
that are in the background of the great
Bluesmen.
“You ever been lonely?” asked Banks.
“Yeah.” “You ever been hurt? Scared?
Needed money? Needed lov ing?”
“Yeah.” “That’s the Blues too, son. Write
about that.”
And he has taken that advice to heart
across more than 20 albums, including
several audiophile-quality discs for
Audioquest Music. Now he’s landed at
Reference Recordings. Resident engineer Keith O. Johnson, justly famous
for some of the world’s greatest classical
and jazz recordings, has created his first
Blues album. You would expect this to be
Doug MacLeod’s best-sounding album,
and of course it is, but I would argue that
it is in fact his best album ever.
In technical terms it seems disarmingly simple, without the omnipresent
overdubbing and sound processing that
have done so much to make the words
“high fidelity” such a travesty. On a
cavernous soundstage at George Lucas’
Skywalker Ranch, MacLeod sat down
with bassist Denny Croy and drummer
Jimi Bott, and just played and sang.
This is not a two-microphone purist
recording, because Johnson cares only
about the results he wants, and he takes
whatever is needed to get them. He puts
us right there, in front of the musicians.
And we don’t want to leave.
MacLeod uses several different
guitars, which are identified in the
booklet, which also includes pictures of
the instruments. The emphasis is on his
lyrics and guitar work, with solid backup
by Croy’s bass and percussion accents by
Bott that are often subtle and delicate.
This album is different from most Blues
albums you may have heard. I recognized
one earlier song, Run With the Devil,
which was on the Come to Find album.
This time, MacLeod has dropped the
“walking” rhythm of the earlier version
in favor of a delivery that is nearly conversational. It’s different, but it works.
Some Blues singers are almost painfully earnest, but MacLeod’s songs have
always had more than a little humor
to them. The Up Song is a play on the
many ways the word “up” can be used,
and it is anything but a downer. On My
In-laws are Outlaws, MacLeod claims
poetic license, “which they tell me is
just a little less important than a fishing
license.” The Entitled Few could have
been a campaign song for the recent US
presidential election — I leave you to
guess which candidate might have liked
it.
MacLeod returns to the tradition
of the talking Blues for Dubb’s Talkin’
Religion Blues. In that song, MacLeod
gets into a discussion with a preacher
who warns him he’s bound for hell unless
he believes what the preacher believes.
On the first run-through of the CD, I
played that one several times in a row.
I can think of but one reason not to
order this wonderful HDCD album,
and it is this. Reference is promising a
two-disc vinyl version.
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Steve Bourke: Miles Davis once said
that “the beginning and the end is
everything. You’ve got to start and stop
gracefully.”
Starting he surely does on this amalgam of nearly two decades of appearances at the famed Swiss festival, but he
takes his own sweet time. The first five
minutes offer up just his electric bassist,
playing a two-beat. The camera catches
Miles flashing two fingers in a signal to
his bandmate, but we have not yet heard
a single note from his trumpet. Percussion arrives to keep the bassist company.
Davis is hunched over, seemingly preoccupied. Still no music has emerged from
his instrument. I am starting to lose
patience.
Finally, the stuff that helped to make
him a jazz hero and pop icon arrives. A
hesitant, melancholic stream of notes
leads towards more empty musical space,
but it is the very space that draws us in.
Suspense in music, the kind more often
associated with great theatrical drama,
floats in the air around the trumpeter.
Get on with it, come on. I want more of
that.
Davis never does disappoint all the
way through these highlights. Though
his styling starts to become familiar, it is
never, ever predictable. I am tempted to
compare him to John Scofield, though I
prefer Davis’ approach. He makes music
the listener can step into. Too often a
jazzman’s dominating virtuosity separates him from his audience, pushing
it away from what could have been an
emotional connection.
Miles Davis’ jazz is democratic, not
elitist, not too proud. He gives us music
at a pace that makes it accessible to
almost everyone. It welcomes us into his
jazz universe, with no spaceship needed
for the voyage. Says Robben Ford, one of
Davis’ guitarists, “Miles’ music has the
sparseness of the blues. His use of space
is uncanny. Nobody has as large a field
to explore.”
Along with his style and considerable substance, Miles delivers one other
bonus inside this Montreux retrospective. He reprises some of the earlier
compositions that he and Gil Evans
developed together. This time he has
Quincy Jones and a full orchestra behind
him. So what, you might think, lots of
Rainy Days and Mondays, I Need to Be in for DVD, then for Blu-ray, and even for
Love or We’ve Only Just Begun, you’re in mobile phones. It now has an extension
for a surprise, and I suspect a happy one. of its video sound technology, with
Karen’s warm and solid lower register the awkward name of Dolby TrueHD
commands attention, and the emotional with Advanced 96k Upsampling. This
impact of the songs is often overwhelm- admirable concert by the San Francisco
ing. The age of the ballad will never be Symphony is among the first releases
over, no matter the current fad, and no with this new process.
Film sou nd is pret t y much all
one sang a love ballad the way she did.
I could argue with the choice of recorded with a digital sampling rate of
the 20 songs on this Japanese-made 48 kHz, just above that of the Compact
gold album. For instance, I would have Disc. A good Blu-ray player or A/V
We remember
when
a number
of Me
competitors
included
Desperado
and Don’t
Cry For
receiverwould
will increase that to 96 kHz
put on line
only
the cover
image
table of What more can Dolby
Argentina,
andonly
left off
Calling
Occupants
of and
by the
upsampling.
contents.
Interplanetary Craft. However,
this col- bring to the table?
We
would
them
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you don’t
go fishing Let’s
without
lection
hastell
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more
problem.
be bait.
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ourkHz
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forwas
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can be no better
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by repeating
each sample once (films
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of glossi- work the same way: each frame is shown
of
whybut
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ness,
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edge that makes
listening
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We have
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about
five readers
songs in.on every continent except
done
by interpolation: generating an
Most alternative,
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The obvious
if you have
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turntable, is
to find
some
original
should have been. Dolby claims to have
then
joined
LPs. Otherwise,And
there
arethey
earlier
Car-us. an interpolation algorithm that is more
penters CD releases that might be more precise than what your own system could
satisfying than this one.
possibly do on the fly.
The San Francisco Symphony was
part of the city’s rebuilding effort after
the devastating earthquake and resulting
firestorm of 1906, and it celebrated its
centenary in 2011 with this gala concert.
Over the years it has had several conductors who can reasonably be termed
legendary, including Pierre Monteux,
Josef Krips and Seiji Ozawa. In 1995
it snared the excellent Michael Tilson
Thomas from the London Symphony.
He is of course on the podium for this
gala.
An orchestra needs to be good to
rise to the challenge of a work such as
Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide
to the Orchestra, because every instrumental section gets a solo. The slightest
weakness will be easily noticed. It is clear
that the San Francisco is a thoroughly
100th Anniversary (Blu-ray)
homogeneous orchestra. Under Thomas’
San Francisco Symphony
confident direction and firm pacing, it
SFS Media
shines.
Gerard Rejskind: Dolby has come a
The major work of the evening is
long way from the technology that made Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, with
it famous all those years ago, tape noise Itzhak Perlman as soloist. It seems odd
reduction. It developed surround sound, to recall that other musicians of the time
first for older media such as VHS, then were scandalized by this concerto. It was
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WHY A FREE ISSUE
Carpenters Gold
Karen and Richard Carpenter
A&M 5328998
Gerard Rejskind: They were brother
and sister, Karen and Richard Carpenter.
He arranged and sometimes wrote the
songs, and she brought her warm and
expressive voice to hit after hit. They
achieved extraordinary success, releasing
10 albums, not counting the posthumous
ones, and amassing three Grammy
awards as well as 15 other nominations.
Can it possibly be 31 years since Karen
died suddenly at the age of 32 from complications due to her lifelong anorexia?
After the first two Grammies they
won in 1970, Carpenters (they preferred
not to use “the” before their name) produced a record-breaking run of hits. Yet
their very success made them a target for
hipper critics, just as Céline Dion’s success has attracted hatred. This was the
age of rock music, with untrained voices
bellowing over guitars and percussion.
Punk rock debased the musical currency
further. Carpenters’ ballads were out of
sync, as though they had been born too
late. Richard Carpenter blamed their
label, A&M, for projecting an overwhelmingly wholesome image of them
in an increasingly chaotic popular music
world. I would argue that he contributed
to the problem with his anachronistically
lush arrangements, with massed strings
and nostalgic piano. It didn’t help that,
toward the end, their repertoire contained more and more retro songs from
decades past, such as Please Mr. Postman
and Jambalaya.
But no matter. If you have never
listened attentively to Karen Carpenter’s
expressive mezzo-soprano voice singing
expected that, before a soloist begins,
is a great old Peugeot. I have a friend in
there will be an orchestral introducBeverly Hills who has one.”). He is taken
tion, with the exposition of the main
to a party where these long–departed
themes, on which the soloist will present
luminaries are to be found, sometimes
variations. In this case, the solo violin
wandering from party to party. Chamis the first instrument you hear, and it
pagne flows. Gertrude Stein even offers
does its own exposition, thank you. Of
to read the manuscript of his novel and
course, most concertgoers care little
critique it.
about technical cavils, and the concerto
That’s where the film begins to
has become a favorite of the Romantic
derail, and the problem lies in Allen’s
repertoire. Perlman has a total mastery
script. I’m aware that he got an Oscar
of the concerto, and he makes his 1714
for it, but it contains fatal errors that
Stradivarius sing with a warmth and
just keep on coming, and once I had
smoothness that serve the beauty of the
noticed them I could no longer suspend
concerto flawlessly.
my disbelief. Gil talks more like a hack
There are two other works on the
screenwriter than a novelist, and his 21stprogram: Aaron Copland’s well-known
century patter would have been incomBilly the Kid ballet suite and a thoroughly
prehensible 90 years earlier. Start with
forgettable Short Ride in a Fast Machine
the first paragraph of his manuscript:
(not short enough, if you ask me).
beguiled by the city of the title. Among “What was prosaic and even vulgar to
Since this is an anniversary concert, those under the spell of Paris is Gil one generation has been transmuted by
the Blu-ray includes a historical docu- (Owen Wilson), a successful Hollywood the mere passing of years to a status at
mentary. You can of course go right to screenwriter who would rather be a nov- once magical and also camp.” The word
the music if you wish.
elist. He falls head over heels in love with “camp” in this context is archaic today,
It’s difficult to be sure what contri- the City of Lights, prepared to move a sign of terrible writing, but would have
bution the Dolby upsampling system there because his literary heroes, such as been gibberish in 1920. Yet the line is
makes to the pleasure of the experience, Ernest Hemingway, did. He is in Paris greeted with approval. He seems to be
but the sound is among the very best I with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams), rooted back in the 1960’s. “I’m pretty
have heard from Blu-ray. I should also who does not share his enthusiasm, good at picking up vibrations,” he says.
Yes, we
asked,
constantly,
mention the sharp film work. As soon as and warns
himget
that
she can
never live He refers to his fiancée as “sexy,” which
we will
reviewing
in ourNor
nextdoissue.
an instrument or group of instruments what
Hemingway greets at face value, and
anywhere
butbe
the
United States.
Andparents,
we know
reviews
aretoessential.
begins to play, the camera is there, Inez’s
who
have yet
forgive adds that “there’s a bit of a disconnect
But equipment
are nothing the
if not
with the big things.” When Hemingway
without a millisecond of delay. You can,
France for reviews
having “betrayed”
USplentiful.
have We
longcan
toldguess
us that
what
makes UHF
asks him whether he has read his book
of course, simply listen without lookingReaders
over Iraq.
that
sending
particularly
them are the
other
(which would have been A Farewell to
at the screen, but the taut visuals add
out the valuable
weddingtoinvitations
would
be articles.
Articles
ideas, about the nuts and bolts of theArms),
technology,
Gil exclaims that “I love all your
immensely to the understanding
of theabout
premature.
and isalso
music
film,In works.” Hemingway doesn’t react to this
workings of the complex and wonderful
Allen
no about
stranger
to and
fantasy.
which
are the
very reasons
machine that is the symphony orchestra. Sleeper he
travelled
a century
into the misplaced statement, nor does anyone
for ourand
lovingly-created
to exist.ask what he means by having “panic
Need I add that I recommend it future,
in Everything systems
You’ve Always
Not that
we will
publishing
hardware
attacks” or being “a Hollywood hired
highly?
Wanted
to ever
Knowstop
About
Sex he played
a reviews.
sperm. In this film, Gil (clearly an avatar hand.” If we suppose Gil writes the way
Midnight in Paris (Blu-ray)
for Allen himself) is a young writer who he talks, Gertrude Stein might well
Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard
falls in love with Paris and mysteriously have advised him to have his manuscript
Sony Pictures
returns every night to the 1920’s, where translated into English.
Curiously, many of the worst anachGerard Rejskind: It is common to say he meets his cultural heroes, Hemingthat it has been many years since there way, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott and Zelda ronisms are not found in Allen’s original
has been a good Woody Allen film. It Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Picasso, Jean script, and thus were added later. On
is every bit as common to say that a Cocteau, and a gregarious yet solemn the other hand, Stein’s advice, in the
mediocre Woody Allen film is better young woman named Adriana (Marion original, is laden with anachronisms to
than a good film from most directors. Cotillard, who for once does not need the breaking point, and Allen wisely took
Is this, finally, the Woody Allen film we to hide her French accent). Adriana them out.
Owen Wilson began to irritate me
were waiting for? Yes and no.
has lived with Picasso and Utrillo, and
Yes, because there is a lot to love in he quickly learns to prefer her to his well before the film’s midpoint. We know
he is a stand-in for Allen, but he takes
this imaginative story, and especially in uncultivated fiancée.
its setting. No, because…well, we shall
Gil’s nightly time travel always hap- the opportunity to imitate the Woody
see in due time.
pens the same way: at exactly midnight Allen of the Annie Hall era. He does it
Countless are those who have been he is picked up by an antique limo (“This effectively, but before the end I found
NOT JUST HARDWARE REVIEWS!
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him no more attractive than his appalling fiancée and horrible prospective
in-laws.
Which leaves us with…oh yes, we’ll
always have Paris. Paris in the rain has
never looked better.
The Red Violin (Blu-ray)
Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore
Alliance
Gerard Rejskind: Short stories can’t
easily make a transition to the screen,
unless they are fleshed out and the sauce
is diluted to the point where it becomes
watery. One device for putting together
several short stories into a film is to
link them together by some device. In
The Yellow Rolls-Royce the device was a
gaudily painted luxury car. In this one
it is a violin.
In truth, the Golden Age violins
played by today’s top classical musicians
are often more than three centuries old,
and inevitably they have passed through
many hands, picking up a history of their
own. The stories that make up this film
are linked by a violin, whose bright red
lacquer makes it unique. The reason for
the color is a mystery, though it will be
explained before the film is over.
The story is, however, rooted in the
present. At an auction house in Montreal, a number of precious artifacts are
being auctioned off, including the red
violin of the title. There are several
bidders, who want the violin for different reasons. As the auction progresses,
the events in the violin’s life are told in
flashback, starting with its creation in
1681 in Cremona by a master luthier
named Nicolò Bussotti. He is such a
perfectionist that he carefully examines
and lavishly praises a violin made by an
apprentice, and then smashes it against
his workbench. The red violin, born of
tragedy, will be his masterpiece and will
carry his legacy across the ages.
We see it in several ages, though
the transition from one to the other is
seldom made explicit. It is played by a
young orphan of exceptional talent but
uncertain health, mentored by Georges
Poussin, allegedly the inventor of the
metronome. It somehow finds its way
into the hands of a Roma violinist. It
becomes the inspiration of Frederick
Pope, a dashing Romantic-era violinist,
a cross between Paganini and Liszt. It
finds its way to China at a dangerous
time for musicians, Chiang Ching’s
Cultural Revolution. Finally, there it is
in a Montreal auction house. An American expert on the Golden Age of string
instruments, Charles Morritz (Samuel
L. Jackson), identifies this red violin as
the red violin, and of course that drives
up the bids.
There are many surprises I shall not
reveal, but the film also leaves us with
some philosophical questions. Is musical
skill the same thing as artistic sensibility? Should a great art creation go to the
one who can best appreciate it, and not
merely to one who can afford it? Does
art trump man-made laws?
Director and co-screenwriter François Girard has chosen not to dub any of
the languages of the film, which include
Italian, German, English, French and
Chinese, simply subtitling as necessary.
Joshua Bell is the violinist we hear playing the Oscar-winning score by John
Corigliano.
The Red Violin was originally released
over a decade ago on a dreadful DVD.
This Blu-ray version, I need hardly
explain, is a vast improvement.
Skyfall (Blu-ray)
Daniel Craig, Judi Dench
MGM
Gerard Rejsk ind: W hen was t he
last time a Bond picture got an Oscar
nomination? In fact it’s happened before.
Goldfinger earned one for sound effects,
and the dreary Thunderball got a nomination for visual effects. Sheena Easton
won an Oscar for the song For Your Eyes
Only, but that was 30 years ago.
Not that Skyfall, the third film with
Daniel Craig as Bond, has done that
much better. For all the talk about being
in contention for best actress and even
best film, Skyfall got two Oscars, and
one of those went to Adele for the title
song.
Of course, the Oscar is not the
ultimate sign of excellence, even if does
have the highest profile. Skyfall has been
widely praised as the best Bond picture
ever, and there is a good deal to the
claim. It is grittier and more realistic,
abandoning the illusion that its hero is
indestructible and forever young. Craig
is visibly older than he was the last time
he starred in the role (the insolvency of
MGM caused a long delay), and so he is
no longer the debonair young Lothario.
But then, the original Ian Fleming story
structure is creaky in the joints too.
An earlier Bond picture, shot independently, had a similar premise. In
Never Say Never Again, an older Sean
Connery is brought back to an MI6
which, like him, has aged. There is a
new M, who has little time for the old
double-0 nonsense, and sends Bond to a
fat farm to “eliminate the free radicals.”
In an economically-troubled Britain,
there have been budget cutbacks, and
even Q’s gee-whiz gadgets don’t always
work. In Skyfall, M is still played by the
admirable Judi Dench, but she is also
winds up in a desk job. Well, a desk job
isn’t as final as death, even if it sometimes
feels that way, and the next director can
always reverse the decision.
Oh yes, Sam Mendes says he’ll be too
busy to direct the next Bond film. We
can only hope that “too busy” is code
for “more money, please.”
Romeo and Juliet
Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey
Paramount
Gerard Rejsk ind: One crit ic has
referred to this Zeffirelli production as
the greatest film ever made of a Shakespeare play. In fact, it does not deserve
that limitation. This 1968 movie is one
of the greatest films of the 20th century,
and since film began in that century,
we could call it one of the greatest of
all time.
The play is of course about love.
Though Shakespeare wrote it early in
his career (it is at the centre of the magnificent Shakespeare in Love), it contains
some of the Bard’s most poignant and
beautiful poetry, polished as poetry
rarely is. However, directors have all too
often sought out older actors who were
presumed to possess the experience to do
justice to Shakespeare’s text. You can still
find an audio version of Albert Finney
and Claire Bloom reading the play.
Despite their wonderful mastery of the
text, they have no feel for the explosive
emotions of two teenagers in love.
What Franco Zeffirelli did was give
emotion priority over the mechanics of
the reading. The two protagonists were
mere teenagers — Juliet was 12 according to the text — and so he recruited
teenagers for the roles. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey are barely older
than the characters they are playing,
respectively 18 and 17 when the film
was released, younger when they were
before the cameras. Their unbridled,
unreasoned passion might ring hollow
in seasoned Shakespearean actors, but it
has the glow of truth in these bright-eyed
youngsters. A youthful Michael York,
who would play d’Artagnan in The Three
Musketeers, is totally plausible as Tybalt,
the hot-blooded teenager with more
pride than judgement, ready to draw a
sword at any imagined slight.
Zeffirelli trimmed the text to make it
more conversational, but did not change
it — after all, Shakespeare knew what he
was doing. He coached his young actors
in the details of Elizabethan English.
Even the rantings of the emotionally
disturbed Mercutio (John McEnery) are
made to sound like real talking rather
than dead words on a page. The choreography of the deadly battles of young
people on the streets of Verona — all
too contemporary, alas — is masterful.
All this is buttressed by a superb music
score by the great Nino Rota.
No, you can’t buy this masterpiece
in Blu-ray, and even the aging DVD
is difficult to find. I tracked down just
a handful of copies in the US, none in
Canada. Only a few copies are available
in France, in PAL format, naturally.
Why? I place the blame on today’s
paranoia about what we are pleased to
call child abuse. What studio today
would dare relaunch a film in which two
teenagers play a nude scene? Even when
the film was first released in 1968, Olivia
Hussey was not permitted into a cinema
to see it, because (gasp!) nude breasts
were shown briefly. Her own!
Yet Shakespeare’s play is in fact
about child abuse, the brutal forcing
of a 12-year-old girl into an unwanted
marriage under pain of death (faced with
her refusal, her mother says, “I wish the
fool were wedded to her grave”). The
film should be on school curriculums…
but don’t hold your breath.
Software
Feedback
getting on (she was 77 when the film
was made), and Whitehall is preparing
to ease her out. She has made several
mistakes. Her judgement call got agent
007 killed, and she lost a hard drive with
the names of NATO agents to Silva
(Javier Bardem), a psychotic version of
Wikileaks’ Julian Assange.
Of course, 007 is not going to stay
dead, but he doesn’t come out of his
ordeal in good shape either, and he
needs retraining before returning “to
the field.” He flunks every preparedness
test there is, but M covers for him and he
goes after Silva anyway. Silva, however,
was once a double-0 agent himself and
is one step ahead of him. Before setting
out, Bond meets the new Q, who is disconcertingly young and regards Bond as
he might his grandfather. Their meeting
takes place in an art gallery, in front of a
Turner painting showing a once-mighty
warship being towed away for scrap.
Judi Dench’s brilliant career, which
included roles in Shakespeare in Love, Tea
with Mussolini and Chocolat, is ending
with this role, and the writers have wisely
expanded it to the point of making her
Bond’s co-star. There were rumors she
might get an Oscar nomination, but the
people behind the gold statuette have
disappointed us before.
As in any Bond film, a lot happens
before the enemy is defeated. Bond
will need all of Q’s clever gadgets and
computer knowledge in the search. He
will even resurrect the old Aston-Martin
DB9 from Goldfinger, though we have
seen it destroyed twice before. It still
come with machine guns and an ejection seat, but no longer has a bulletproof
windshield.
In the Fleming books, Bond was
an upper-class English gentleman, and
Fleming initially opposed the casting
of the Scottish Sean Connery (he did
live to see Dr. No, however, and loved
it). In a nod to that casting decision, the
script does make Bond Scottish, and the
dénouement takes place in the Highland
manor where Bond spent an unhappy
childhood.
Skyfall does include one more happy
casting decision: Naomie Harris as Eve,
a younger double-0 whose panache
nearly steals the film from Craig. We’d
like to see her again, but at the end she
Gossip&News
Ask the Doc
When this short feature was first
published, in 1990, digital
radio was “coming.” It’s
long been here, but hardly
anyone is aware of it, and
23 years later this satirical
piece still stands.
Doc, have you heard anything
about this new digital radio that’s supposed
to be coming?
I’m sorry to say that, with my very
busy practice and having to do rounds at
the hospital, I’ve been falling somewhat
behind in the literature.
This isn’t in the literature, doc. There
was a demonstration put on the other day for
local notables and journalists. They all got on
a tour bus, and they were given headphones
so they could listen to an experimental digital
radio transmission.
An usual sort of leisure activity. As
you know, we doctors prefer golf.
It wasn’t a leisure activity. There was an
engineer from the CBC who spoke. According
to the newspapers, he said digital radio was
the medium of the future, though he thought
it would take quite a long time to come.
Ah! Then perhaps it will arrive at the
same time we begin commuting to work
in personal jet helicopters.
Personal jet helicopters?
That prediction was made at the 1930
World’s Fair. They said it would come,
though it would take quite a while.
Then you don’t think digital radio is
around the corner?
Well, we are arriving at corners
rather more frequently than we used to.
You should see how many times a week
I receive a prospectus for a new miracle
drug.
Is there any connection between that and
digital radio?
Well, new drugs frequently promise,
or seem to promise, radical improvements to problems of which most doctors
were not previously aware.
Is that like digital radio?
Not entirely. There are stringent legal reg ulat ions on
claims that may be made
for drugs. Perhaps the same
regulations should apply to
digital audio prescriptions,
but at the moment they do not.
I s it possible to transmit radio
digitally?
Certainly. Wasn’t it demonstrated to
journalists just the other day?
But that was just a demonstration. Is
it really practical? How can you transmit
sound digitally?
It should present little difficulty.
At the moment we are already recording sound digitally. That is to say, we
are recording only a list of data about
the sound, and a digital circuit at the
playback end of the chain uses the data
to reconstitute the original sound wave,
much as a doctor would use the data in
a medical history to reconstitute the
evolution of a pathology. Digital radio
would work the same way, except that
instead of recording the data on an optical disc, we would transmit it by radio.
That sounds complicated.
Preventing poliomyelitis was once
complicated too, but now the technology is well developed. In the case of
digital audio, not only do we know how
to encode and decode digital sound, we
have inexpensive integrated circuits for
doing it.
You mean that you could use an ordinary
FM station to transmit digital sound?
No, for the same reason you couldn’t
record digitally on an LP. Assuming you
As we enter our 31st
year, we go back in
time to UHF No. 27,
and our satire section,
“Ask the Doc.”
use the same 44.1 kHz sampling rate
as CD — which would seem logical —
then you would need to send, in each
second, 44,100 words of information,
multiplied by the 16 bits in each word.
That makes…ah…
I have a calculator in my pocket, doc. It
makes 705,600 bits.
Thank you. I’m afraid that after my
second pre-med year I was rather too
busy with physiology and anatomy to
have much time to practice mathematics. Of course, you have two channels of
sound, and so you need to…
So you have nearly a million and a half
bits per second.
I’m afraid so. Transmitting digitally
is equivalent to transmitting a 1.5 MHz
sound wave. It is rather beyond the
capabilities of present-day FM stations.
Digital stations will require rather more
bandwidth, and bandwidth is as scarce as
hospital beds.
Is there any way around this?
No doubt there is. Digital engineers
are good at data compression, in which
redundant information is eliminated. A
telephone line with an audio bandwidth
of 2.5 kHz can be used to transmit data
at nearly 20,000 bits per second on the
newest modems.
That’s eight times better. So if you use the
same techniques for digital radio, you would
need a bandwidth of only…
Only 176,400 Hz. I hope you didn’t
mind me borrowing your calculator.
With government restrictions on health
care spending, it’s difficult to budget for
new equipment.
Will digital radio sound better?
In the sense that digital discs sound
better, yes. If you drive through a city
with tall buildings, the error-correction
circuits will be rather busy, but if the
data can somehow be recovered, then
the transmission will be noise-free.
And if it can’t?
We doctors are aware that you can’t
save every patient.
Will I live long enough to get digital
radio, doc?
Take off your shirt, and I’ll get my
nurse to draw a blood sample.
Industry
News
Simaudio
Streaming
Gossip&News
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It was in 2011 that Simaudio moved
out of its rented quarters (two nearby
sites, for business and manufacturing)
and finally acquired its own building.
We got an early tour (Simaudio and
UHF are about a 15-minute drive from
each other) some two months later. The
company was barely settled in, and we
were frequently warned to watch our
heads and not trip over the tools. More
than a year later, the building was finally
completed and the press got the official
tour.
Simaudio CEO Jean Poulin is shown
in the top picture in an assembly area.
Nearly all assembly is done in-house,
though circuit boards are “populated”
(fitted with components) by another
nearby company. The bottom picture
shows Simaudio products awaiting
shipments to various parts of the world,
including (as you can see from the labels
on the wall) Russia and Hong Kong. We
were shown one gigantic space that was
empty but for a wooden bench in the
middle. It’s used to test Moon gear for
electromagnetic emissions, to be sure
it complies with international requirements, especially those of the European
Union.
The evening was also Simaudio’s
opportunity to preview its new MIND
audio streaming system (the acronym
stands for Moon Intelligent Network
Device). Unlike many other streaming
systems, it uses your own home computer network to store music. Some
audiophiles, including us, use a dedicated computer that is part of the music
system. The MIND module replaces
that extra computer. You connect it to
your router via Ethernet during setup
only, and after that it will stream over
Wi-Fi.
Simaudio recommends, as we do, a
dual-band router, which can use the lesscrowded 5 GHz band. Control is done
by a free iOS (iPad, iPhone, etc.) application. An Android version is promised as
well.
MIND doesn’t use iTunes, though
it can use the iTunes library as a source.
It can read the common audio formats,
including WAV, FLAC and Apple Lossless. The first MIND module offered
is the Moon 180, which connects via
AES/EBU, S/PDIF or TOSLINK to
the digital-to-analog converter of your
choice. Future Moon DACs will have
MIND compatibility as an option.
With this new technology and its
vast new space, Simaudio has grown
to world-class proportions. Recently a
Radio-Canada reporter visited us for an
interview and glanced admiringly at our
Moon electronics. He was astonished to
learn that this globally-famous brand
had its home not far from us.
And not just its home. In an era that
has seen so much manufacturing shifting to China, Simaudio intends to keep
production where it has always been, in
Canada.
Mac Sold
This news is about McIntosh, not
the Macintosh. The venerable American
company once belonged to Clarion
(yes, the car audio people, Heaven only
knows why), who balked at spending
the money that was clearly needed to
keep the company afloat. It was sold to
D&M Holdings, whose initials stand for
its major brands, Denon and Marantz.
D&M itself, once a Japanese company,
got hawked ab out ,
however, and at one
point belonged in part
to Bain Capital. Yes,
that Bain Capital.
A nd it wasn’t a
hands-off investment, either. It
seems there are
su its who t hink
they understand…
well, anything.
Now it’s been sold again.
The UHF Reference Systems
Equipment reviews are done on at least one of
UHF’s reference systems, selected as working
tools. They are changed as infrequently as
possible, because a reference that keeps changing
is no reference.
Gossip&News
Feedback
The Alpha system
Our original reference is in a room with special
acoustics, originally a recording studio, letting
us hear what we can’t hear elsewhere.
Main digital player: Linn Unidisk 1.1
Additional digital playback: CEC
TL-51X belt-driven transport, Moon
300D converter, Apple MacBook Pro,
Stello U3 interface
Digital cable: Atlas Mavros 1.5m
Digital portable: Apple iPhone 4S
Turntable: Audiomeca J-1
Tone arm: Audiomeca SL-5
Pickup: Goldring Excel
Phono preamp: Audiomat Phono2
Preamplifier: Copland CTA-305
Power amplifier: Simaudio Moon W-5LE
Loudspeakers: Living Voice Avatar
OBX-R
Interconnects: Atlas Navigator All-Cu,
Pierre Gabriel ML-1
Loudspeaker cables: Atlas Mavros with
WBT nextgen banana connectors
Power cords: Gutwire, Wireworld Aurora
AC filters: Foundation Research LC-2
(power amp), Inouye SPLC
The Omega system
It serves for reviews of gear that cannot easily
fit into the Alpha system, with its small room.
Digital players: shared with the Alpha
system
Turntable: Linn LP12/Lingo II
Tone arm: Alphason HR-100S MCS
Pickup: London Reference
Phono preamp: Audiomat Phono 1.6
Preamplifier: Simaudio Moon P-8
Power amplifier: Simaudio Moon W-8
Loudspeakers: Reference 3a Suprema II
Interconnects: Atlas Navigator All-Cu,
Atlas Mavros, Pierre Gabriel ML-1
Loudspeaker cables: Pierre Gabriel ML-1
for most of the range, Wireworld Polaris
for the twin subwoofers
Power cords: BIS Audio Maestro, UHF14,
Wireworld
AC filters: GutWire MaxCon 2, Foundation Research LC-1
Acoustics: Gershman Acoustic Art panels
The Kappa system
This is our home theatre system. As with the
original Alpha system, we had limited space,
and that ruled out huge projectors and screens.
We did, however, finally come up with a system
whose performance gladdens both eye and ear,
with the needed resolution for reviews.
The new buyer is Fine Sounds, the Italian company that owns Sonus Faber,
Wadia Digital and Sumiko.
It’s good to see McIntosh find a home
with an actual high-end audio company.
We will be following developments with
interest. We can already see improvements. For decades, even Mac’s classic
amps, like the MC275 above, came with
those horrible little barrier strips that
wouldn’t fit quality speaker cables. But
check the picture. Better, huh?
Thiel Sold Too
Since Jim Thiel’s untimely death in
2009 at the age of 61, the speaker company had been run by co-founder Kathy
Gornik. She hired a new engineering
team to transform Jim’s many paper
designs into reality, such as the CS3.7,
shown here.
HDTV monitor: Samsung PN50A550
plasma screen
Source: Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray
player, Apple TV
Preamplifier/processor: Simaudio Moon
Attraction, 5.1 channel version
Power amplifiers: Simaudio Moon W-3
(main speakers), bridged Celeste 4070se
(centre speaker), Robertson 4010 (rear)
Main speakers: Energy Reference Connoisseur (1984)
Centre speaker: Thiel MCS1
Rear speakers: Elipson 1400
Subwoofer: 3a Design Acoustics
Cables: Atlas, Van den Hul, MIT,
GutWire, Wireworld
Line filter: GutWire MaxCon Squared
All three systems have dedicated power lines,
with Hubbell hospital-grade outlets. Extensions
and power bars are equipped with hospitalgrade connectors.
Now the company has been sold to a
private equity firm based in Nashville.
Bill Thomas replaces Gornik as CEO.
ML In-Wall
Is this bad news for Thiel fans (and
we count ourselves in that number)?
Thomas says the company will inject the
capital needed to speed up research and
get speakers to market faster. The Thiel
facility in Lexington, KY, will remain,
as will many of the existing staff. It’s
clear that the new owners are taking a
hands-on role. We also hope they know
that progress can take time.
In the meantime, Gornik and her
daughter, Dawn Cloyd (who had been
taking care of international sales), have
found new homes with Quadrant Solutions. Quadrant makes permanent magnets and magnetic assemblies…in other
That’s MartinLogan (as it is now
words, they make parts for loudspeaker spelled), and this is one of the latest
companies. It’s a little like going from models, the Helos 12 ($329 in Canada).
Maggie
Works
making cars to making steeringHow
wheels.
If you
associate the company with tall
has beenelectrostatic speakers, this
We wish them both well. UHF is, and
high-end
for many
years, meant to go into the wall or the
product,
a print magazine.
But we
know
ceiling,
may
surprise you. Or perhaps
more and more
not,audiophiles
as this once exclusive brand long ago
want to read
it oninto
theirthe vast spaces of the Big Box
moved
computer
or iPad.
And they’re
Sony announced its new
“4K” TV
stores.
to save money
too.no opinion as to the relasets in Vegas, and it took willing
the stage
We have
Click here,
Maggie
at NAB (the National Association
of and
tiveletquality
of this speaker, but we do
Broadcasters) to launch them,
explain
at least
how have
to getan
theopinion
full
concerning in-wall
versionand
for $4.
in the US. The smallest, the Bravia
in-ceiling speakers. They’re fine
we mean
a PDF
XBR-55X900A, will cost $5,000.And
These
for supermarkets
and elevators, but we
version not
without
digitl rights
are LCD sets with LED backlight,
ourselves
wouldn’t touch them.
plasmas (which Sony has management
never made), you can transfer to
thelines.
device of your choice.
with resolution of 3,840 x 2,160
Sony 4K
ADL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Audiophile Store. . . . . . . . . . .55-62
Audiyo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
BIS Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Blue Circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Charisma Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Clarity Cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Divergent Technologies. . . . . . . . . 8
Entre’Acte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Europroducts International . . . . . . 15
Furutech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Keith Monks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Kingsound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Liberty Trading. . . . . . . . . Cover 4
Living Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Maggie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13, 43
Manley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Quad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4
Sunn Mook Acoustics. . . . . . . . . .13
There is of course no consumer
source for such high-resolution material,
but Sony Pictures has announced a new
line of “Mastered in 4K” Blu-ray discs.
They’re ordinary 1080p high-definition
films, but they’ve been mastered from 4K
material.
Well, all right, but has Sony seen
the film Baraka? It’s mastered from 8K
material, and it’s been available for years
(it’s recommended, by the way).
As we write this we’re still waiting
for OLED sets, promised by several
companies, including Sony.
Simaudio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Simon Yorke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Sonic Artistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The TV business is a dodgy one these
days, and in March a rumor sprang up
that Panasonic was dropping plasma
TVs. Not so, for now at least, but the
company will spend $2.7 million to
“restructure.” We suspect that means
job cuts.
Super Antenna. . . . . . . . . . Cover 3
Thorens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
UHF Back Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . 39
UHF Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Whither
Panasonic?
ADVERTISERS
H
State of the Art
ow loud should you listen to
music? That’s a discussion
you may have had many
times, first with your parents, then possibly with your significant
other, and perhaps with your neighbors.
Is there such a thing as too loud? There
certainly is. Too soft? Definitely.
One goal of a high fidelity system is
to reproduce, at home, the experience of
being at a live musical performance. It
follows that the music should be at the
same loudness it would be if it were live.
Now, I can already hear the objection:
you can’t play it as loud because your living
room is much smaller than a concert hall.
That’s a misconception. The perceived
loudness should be that of a live performance, and of course less acoustic
energy is needed to produce it in a small
living room than in Symphony Hall or
Madison Square Garden.
What happens if you listen at too low
a level?
If your source is the radio, probably
not much. Stations compete to be the
loudest on the dial, and so they use large
amounts of dynamic compression, typically some 30 decibels or so. The result
is that a (supposedly) soft passage will
be a thousand times louder than it would
be in real life. And so everything will be
easily audible, but the relationship of the
different sounds that make up the music
will be pretty much squished.
But the radio is not a real hi-fi source,
except in exceptional circumstances,
such as a live concert, and even then only
if the engineers can keep their hands off
the dynamics. Let us suppose that you
are listening to a top-quality CD, LP
or digital file, and that the sound is not
compressed. What then?
What then happens is that the softer
sounds will be very soft indeed. It might
not matter if you listen to rockers who
have turned their guitar amplifiers up
to “11,” but most music does include
soft passages that will be several tens of
decibels below max. In a real concert hall
or other musical venue, you would hear
them easily. At home, the answer is not
so clear.
by Gerard Rejskind
Natural, unamplified music has a
huge dynamic range. It’s true of a solo
piano, and so you can imagine the range
of a symphony orchestra or a jazz band.
Some dynamic peaks will actually not
have been recorded, because they consist
of very brief, very loud spikes of energy.
That may not matter, because a brief
spike will be at such a high frequency it
wouldn’t be audible anyway. Content at
very low level is another matter. When
you reproduce it, or attempt to reproduce
it, you are between a rock and a hard
place.
There is of course the danger that
a soft passage, especially in classical
music, will disappear altogether. Play a
symphony at background level, and some
pianissimo passages will be barely above
audibility. This may be true even if you
have pristine hearing, because any home
has background noise, originating from
heating or ventilation, refrigerators,
passing traffic, and all the sounds of
everyday living. The difference between
this background hubbub and the maximum loudness of the music is the real
dynamic range available to you.
STATE OF THE ART:
THE BOOK
Get the 258-page book
containing the State of the Art
columns from the first 60 issues
of UHF, with all-new introductions.
See page 6.
It won’t just be just soft passages
you’ll be missing, either. Certain important music-related cues are down in
the dust, and it is these cues that let
you hear the difference between two
otherwise similar musical instruments,
as well as harmony, depth, space and
other elements that add immensely to
the enjoyment of a recording.
Yet it is possible to listen too loud. If
you play music at louder-than-realistic
levels, then of course you could actually
damage your hearing, and ironically at
such punishing levels you will perceive
less, not more. Even at realistic levels,
which I am of course advocating, you
may be sabotaging your own pleasure.
That’s because not all systems are
capable of even adequate performance
at concert levels, and indeed that’s
one reason the best systems can be so
expensive. That fact may not be obvious,
because the ear can be easily tricked. If
distortion is high, you’ll think the sound
is loud. Do a test: turn the volume all the
way up on a small radio. Loud, isn’t it? In
fact it isn’t (a portable radio can work up
a tenth of a watt when the wind is blowing the right way), but distortion makes
it seem loud — that’s an established
psychoacoustic phenomenon. Distortion will actually mask that precious
low-level information. Some expensive
hi-fi systems sound reasonably good at
medium volume, but at loud levels begin
to sound like…well, hi-fi.
So how loud should you listen?
I would recommend listening so that
the loudest passages are at full concert
level, or as loud as the system is capable
of playing with low distortion, whichever
is softer. Of course you’ll hear the most
detail, including timbre and spatial cues,
if the room is quiet.
What happens if the maximum loudness at which your system sounds good is
well short of concert levels? Well, you’ll
be losing detail, and the quest for high
fidelity is a quest to preserve that detail.
A good system can play loud enough
to let you hear all of the music. A great
system can play that loud without sounding as though it’s playing loud.
I’ve got cable. What do I need your Super
Antenna for?
You might well wonder, but a surprising number of cable and satellite
subscribers are ordering it. The “HDT V” cable channels are mostly
compressed. A lot! Put the Super
Antenna on your T V’s second
input, and get local over-the-air
channels the way they are meant
to be viewed!
Ov er t h e y e a r s w e’ v e
s ol d
thousands. In this, the Super
Antenna’s latest incarnation, we
buy and rebuild a junk antenna.
We add our own high- qualit y
transformer and a luxurious
l o w - l o s s m u lt i - s h i e l d e d
cable with a 24K gold-plated
F-connector.
Its broadband design covers the
digital HDT V channels plus the
entire FM band.
SEE THE SUPER ANTENNA MkIII at The Audiophile Store, page 57
Why do
UHF readers
start reading
their magazines
at the back?
Countless readers have confirmed it over the
years: when they get their hands on the
latest issue of UHF, they open it to the last
page.
The reason all of them mention: Gerard
Rejskind’s last-page column, State of the Art. Since
the magazine’s founding, the column has grappled
with the major questions of high-end audio. It has been
acclaimed by readers around the world.
Now, the columns from the first 60 issues of UHF have been
brought together into one book. Each is exactly as it was originally
published, and each is accompanied by a new introduction.
Order your copy today: $18.95 in Canada or the US, C$32
elsewhere in the world, air mail included.
Apollo
April Music
Atlas Cables
Audes
AudioPrism
ESL 2912
Brik Audio
DH Labs
The second model in the ESL range,
it employs six electrostatic panels,
the inner two utilising a concentric
rings of anodes used to create
the point source image. While all
electrodes receive the same music
signal, each electrode area reacts
slightly differently, so that treble
frequencies appear to come from the
centre of the speaker. Construction
is of tensioned aluminum extrusions
coupled to stainless steel support
structures. Highest-quality
components are used. Three types
of protection systems protect the
panels from damage.
Elite QSP
The newest
version
of Quad’s
famous
currentdumping
amplifier
Discwasher
Dr. Feickert
Gutwire Cables
Kingrex
London Decca
LSA
Mastersound
Mobile Fidelity
Nerve Audio
Nitty Gritty
“I’d buy one of these in a heartbeat.”
Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News, April 2012
“This
inexpensive
amplifier is a
jewel.”
UHF Magazine
No. 93
LIBER
TY
TR
A
DING
100 Bass Pro Mills Drive, Unit 48
VAUGHAN, ON L4K 5X1
(905) 532-9004 (647) 997-4607
FAX: (905) 532-9105
www.libertytrading.ca
[email protected]
Orb Audio
Onzow
Penaudio
Quad
Revolver
Roksan
Sonneteer
Stillpoints
Target Hi-Fi
Wattgate
Plus a wide range of
Audiophile XRCD /
K2HD / SACD/ LP

UHF Magazine

Transcription

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