TWO LOUDSPEAKERS

Transcription

TWO LOUDSPEAKERS

TWO LOUDSPEAKERS: A deceptively small
high-end speaker from Küdos, and an
affordable large speaker from Gershman.
REVIEWS: An inexpensive integrated
amplifier from the Netherlands, and new
products for computer audio from Japan
and Taiwan.
PLUS: A critical look at the Compact Disc for
music delivery, where to get a bargain on a
home cinema processor, and the making of
No. 94 CAN $6.49 / US $7.69 the greatest film ever about classical music.
RETURN LABELS ONLY OF UNDELIVERED COPIES TO:
270 rue Victoria, Longueuil, QC, Canada J4H 2J6
Printed in Canada
LATE FALL 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 fiveyear warranty, $1950.
The Moon 250i integrated
amplifier, originally
$1800, factory-refurbished
for $1395. Plus brand
new 350p preamplifiers,
330A stereo amps, and
400M monoblocks, with
400 watts per channel.
Factory warranty.
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
Issue No. 94
Cinema
Home Cinema with a Receiver28
It can be done, and we tell you how. Before you buy,
check the back.
The Listening Room
Küdos Super 10
31
From Derek Gilligan, formerly of Neat, a small but
high-achieving loudspeaker. And a hgh-end speaker
stand worthy of it.
The Gershman Idol34
Best known for large and very expensive speakers,
this Canadian company aims for a more affordable
range, and nails it.
The Van Medervoot MA26038
The what? It’s a class A integrated amplifier. It’s
a high-resolution DAC. It’s under $2,000. Any
questions?
The ADL GT4041
From Furutech, here in one box is an MM/
MC phono preamp, a USB DAC, and a means of
sending analog audio to your computer.
Digital boxes from Kingrex45
A complete DAC, and a pair of USB adapters for
other DACs that can use the help, all at budget
prices.
Cover story: The Küdos Super 10 and the Gershman
Idol, two groundbreaking loudspeakers reviewed in
this issue.
Features
Salon Son & Image 2013
by Gerard Rejskind and Albert Simon
Another successful show in downtown Montreal.
14
Toronto 2013
20
by Gerard Rejskind and Kathe Lieber
Two of us tour Toronto’s third try at a modern high
end show.
Nuts&Bolts
Inside the Compact Disc24
by Paul Bergman
As the CD slowly yields its place to the down–
loadable music file, here’s how it works, what it can
do, and what it can’t.
Software
The Making of a Masterpiece57
by Kathe Lieber
Only one good film has ever been made about a
classical composer…and it’s about Mozart.
Software Reviews64
by Steve Bourke and Gerard Rejskind
Departments
Editorial4
Feedback7
Free Advice
9
Gossip&News71
State of the Art
74
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine    3    
UHF Magazine No. 94 was published in December, 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.
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PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Gerard Rejskind
EDITORIAL: Paul Bergman, Steve Bourke, Toby Earp,
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4   ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Editorial
Amadeus
It was nearly 30 years ago that Milos Forman directed a cinema version
of Peter Shaffer’s stage play about Mozart and Salieri, Amadeus. It was the
first and only (so far) movie about a classical composer that was not arrant
nonsense, and even today it remains a masterpiece that should be seen by all
who care about music. In this issue, Kathe Lieber writes about how it was
made. I hope that, if you have never seen it, her article will persuade you to
get it. Or to see it again with fresh eyes.
Whither the CD
When I was writing that headline, I misspelled the first word, typing
“Wither the CD.” It was a significant slip. Indeed, it is widely believed that the
Compact Disc, the music-delivery system of choice since the mid-eighties, is
withering away. And indeed that the other optical discs, including DVD and
Blu-ray, are not long for this world either.
It’s probably too soon to write the epitaph for the Compact Disc, though
perhaps not too soon for its biography. In this issue you’ll find exactly that.
Paul Bergman looks at the CD’s origins, its development at the hands of
numerous engineers and inventors, and the actual commercial launch of this
remarkable, though imperfect, music medium.
It appears obvious what medium will replace the Compact Disc, or is
replacing it already: the downloadable file. Music downloading began in the
last century as an unofficial (the record companies would say illegal) activity.
Big Music was slow to react, suing Napster out of existence instead of buying
it, which would have been the rational response. Apple’s iTunes store brought
downloading back into the respectable world, and other companies belatedly
joined in. Even so, exclusive distribution contracts actually prevent most of
the world from obtaining the music they want and would pay for. And you
can still find music company executives who will say with a straight face that
transferring a CD that you have paid for to your iPod is “theft.”
The world — even the industrialized world — lacks the Internet bandwidth
to let everyone download music in full resolution, even CD resolution, even
if copyright holders would let them. That of course goes double for movies,
which can be had in full resolution only via Blu-ray. Not everyone cares.
Reviewers often claim that this or that Bluetooth loudspeaker has “great”
sound. Many of these speakers, even those costing $300 or more, are mono.
Our readers, however, are people who care about music and want to hear it
under the best possible conditions. We audiophiles are a minority, but when
were we ever anything else? High-resolution downloadable music is a good
option, but most of it is available in only one country of the 193 UN members.
The Compact Disc will no doubt wither away, but for demanding audiophiles
it remains a vital option.
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Feedback
270 rue Victoria
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
I recently resubscribed after a decadelong hiatus (yes, I feel much shame),
having been a subscriber since about
UHF No. 15, I believe. I bought both of
your books back in the ‘90’s and the most
important nugget I took from them/you
was “Source is the key.”
Consequently, I’ve never considered
an iPod (or other) as a source (I’m still
with an Esoteric CD player, Bryston and
NHT).
I’m definitely interested in Neil
Young’s Pono project, however.
Marv Maciura
LAKE MARY, FL
Panasonic 4K upscaling Blu-ray player to
their plasma TV. The dealer I purchased
from has no more of the cable and tells
me it is no longer available. So what to
purchase, if I cannot find another locally,
and from whom? I prefer buying locally
when possible, or at least from a Canadian company.
Your wonderful magazine has been
a real treasure over the years; it helps
reconnect me with music and soothe the
soul.
Larry J. Bazinet
CALGARY, AB
distance was relatively new and still in
development. Long-distance clarity was
still a problem. Feedback helped to solve
this. Keep in mind we’re not speaking
about anything that can remotely be
thought of as high fidelity. A bandwidth
of a couple of hundred Herz to a few
thousand Herz was sufficient for longdistance voice transmission. So even this
earlier form of feedback made a huge
difference in intelligibility. Whatever
problems there were in applying feedback, with the time delay inherent in it,
were not a barrier to sufficient clarity.
Allen Edelstein
HIGHLAND PARK, NJ
Allen, there is a parallel in the development of HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital), a technology, still used today,
that gets more information through the
relatively narrow pipeline of the Compact
Disc. Pacific Microsonics, which invented
HDCD, was purchased by Microsoft, which
We did review some HDMI cables a used it in its Windows Media codec in order
I have a question about the type of number of issues back, Larry, and we did to push more information through the
music being played on these high-end
We remember
have somewhen
Atlas aHDMI
number
cables
of competitors
in our store. would
Internet’s narrow pipeline.
systems. In your magazine, I see aput
loton However,
line only that
onlywas
thenot
cover
a success
image
forand
us, and
the table of
of references to classical and jazz music. we wound up using
contents.
the last of our HDMI
I’ve been reading all the back UHF
I like to listen to Pink Floyd, We
Rush,
wouldcables
tell them
ourselves.
that Those
you don’t
were,goinfishing
any case,
without
bait.
issues
on getting music off a computer,
Boston, Led Zeppelin, Alan Parsons,
Sure, weHDMI
live from
1.3 what
cables,you
which
spend
are now
through
obsolete.
our site
andand
I find them extremely helpful.
etc. What is your take on using high-end
the pages
They
of our
won’tprint
handle
issue.
3D,
Butand
youthey
could
won’t
spend days
They should be required reading for
equipment for listening to this type of handle 4K
reading
either. material for free.
the staff at the Apple Genius bars.
music?
We think that’s the only way we can convince you of the
Keith Leslie
Steve Craggs
I was wondering
UHF difference,
if reviewing the new
TORONTO, ON
PETROLIA,
of ON
why you
Bryston
mightloudspeakers
want to trust
was
usin
with
yourthe
plans?
future of your
music or home theatre
Alex
system.
Bagnall
We rather agree that Apple’s front-line
Steve, we do most of our equipment
We have readers on every
FORT
continent
McMURRAY
except Antarctica.
staff should be better acquainted with highreviews using acoustic music, because an
Most of them discovered us on line. end audio, Keith. A lot of audiophiles are
instrument that has not already been ampli We’ve
They read
beena talking
lot of our
to free
Bryston
material.
about adding Mac minis to their music systems.
fied will reveal more about the accuracy of several possible
And then
reviews
they
in joined
the months
us. ahead. There’s more to computer music than iPods
the system we’re listening to. However, when
and the iTunes store.
we’re off duty we listen to a wide array of
It has always fascinated me that the
music. Even in our reviews, we’ve included same man, Harold Black, who invented
It was with interest and also some
recordings by The Eagles, Mike Oldfield, the better-known feedback concept sadness that I read Rick Meyers’ FeedBurton Cummings, Paul Simon and — also invented feedforward for similar back letter in UHF No. 93, regarding
yes — Pink Floyd. A good system will make purposes (see Feedback and Feedforward his predicted demise of the professional
any music sound better.
in UHF No. 93). Obviously, he was not a audio reviewer and professional audio
one-track thinker. And if memory serves publications. I think he raises some very
Is it possible that your store will carry me correctly, he preferred feedback to valid points and, while I may not agree
an HDMI cable in the future? A review feedforward, not because one worked with them all, it certainly got me thinkof HDMI cables sold in Canada for use better than the other, but because ing about some things.
I don’t recall exactly when I started
with Blu-ray players would be great.
feedback was passive and simpler to
I have had a good experience using implement. It was more elegant.
subscribing to UHF Magazine, but I do
the Chord Active 3 metre cable, but It helps to recall what problems he know that it was a very long time
unfortunately I gave it to my girl- was attempting to attack. Harold Black ago ... decades ago, in fact, and I was
friend and her mother to connect their worked for Ma Bell, AT&T, when long reading it off the bookshelf prior to
WHY A FREE ISSUE
Get UHF from Maggie
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Feedback
An issue of UHF anywhere you live for C$4.00
Subscribing for as little as C$20 (tax in Canada only)
subscribing. I started getting interested
in good-quality audio back in my college
days, when a classmate proudly introduced me to his new Dahlquist speakers.
I had never heard of them back then, and
I remember thinking that they looked
terrible and couldn’t possibly sound any
good. Boy, was I wrong! There was a
soundstage with depth. That was my
epiphany, that stereo audio systems can
sound truly magical.
Over the years, at one point or
another, I have subscribed to many
audio publications like Audio, Stereophile,
The Absolute Sound, Andrew Marshall’s
Audio Ideas Guide, The Inner Ear Report,
and some others I just can’t recall. I say
“subscribed,” because my subscriptions
to them have all lapsed over time. Yet,
where these magazines have come and
gone in my life, UHF has stayed.
Why is this? There must be some
reason this magazine is so near and dear
to me and, I suspect, to others too. Are
you hiding subliminal love potion messages in your pages that compel me to
stay?
You mentioned that you consider the
least valuable part of the magazine to be
the reviews. That is interesting, because
I am sure that I would have first picked
up UHF all those years ago to read some
review that caught my eye on the front
cover. I also know the Feedback and Free
Advice sections struck me as completely
fresh and original. To this day, I read
those sections word for word. Something
I learned early from UHF but nowhere
else was the concept of the source component being the most important. Great
downstream components only serve to
make a bad source all the more apparent.
Nobody else was saying this back
then. In fact, some were promoting quite
the opposite. I also remember somewhere
along the way, before the Internet really
took off, that you predicted that “in the
future” you would be able to buy music
through your computer from a virtual
store. At that time I thought you were
losing touch with reality. That could
never happen! Just too futuristic. Well,
we all know how that bold prediction
turned out…and you were right again.
There have been some articles that
have been just stellar reference material
over the years, such as Paul Bergman’s
series on acoustics. Paul’s articles are
always top-notch, and written so we Joes
can actually understand them.
I have seen reviews warning of
underachieving equipment, which Rick
mentions in his letter to you, and I have
seen you not back down to poison ink
from both manufacturers and readers
alike. I love Gerard’s State of the Art
column and I even have a signed copy
of his book, which I know will be worth
millions some day. No? Well, it’s still
near and dear to me, anyway.
There is also something that you do
as professional reviewers, which is to
carefully change only the device under
test into your reference systems. In my
scientific background, this makes perfect
sense, because you change only one variable at a time.
You have intimate familiarity with
those systems and the changes that
components inserted into them impart
to the sound.
You don’t tell me that placing exotic
wooden pucks between the floor and my
speaker cables at a perpendicular angle to
the earth’s magnetic field will drastically
reduce the veil between my ears and the
music. You keep things real.
So what is it that makes UHF so
great? I think I know what it might be,
and I think it is something that is earned.
That would be trust and respect. Over
the decades, you guys have been steadfast
in your philosophies and approach to
audio. And over most of this time you
have been correct, in my opinion.
Do I think Rick was right in his
prediction that the sun is setting on the
expert reviewer? I don’t know. I hope not.
Then again, I do know that it will take
a long time before any Internet jockey
can earn the trust that I have in UHF.
As long as UHF is around, I’m here
with you all the way to the end. You guys
are the best, period.
Stephen Gibson
DORCHESTER, ON
Great magazine, please keep up the
good work. We like opinions, and you
are definitely opinionated.
But I don’t want a digital edition,
I like to have the paper copy. We get
enough digital text as it is already.
Peter Clarkie
DUNROBIN, ON
Free Advice
270 rue Victoria
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
You used to use a YBA One (Delta?)
as a reference amplifier with Totem
Mani-2’s. Was it the high-current version? I have Mani-2’s, but my YBA One is
rated at 85 watts, and is not high current.
I was wondering if the Mani-2’s
would sound even better with a more
robust amplifier. Everything sounds
great but I wonder if I am “overpowering” the amplifier.
David Ebertt
DRAYTON, ON
David, we had the very first version
of the YBA One, even before it picked up
its “Alpha” designation. After a number
of years, parts were beginning to wear
out, especially the input and output
connectors (we plug and unplug things
a lot), and even the handles were coming
loose. We asked to have it upgraded to
the HC version.
Now bear in mind that we’re describing only our own experience, but it
was not a happy one. The HC version
sounded very good, but we no longer
considered it to be of reference quality.
We sold it at a low price (the buyer was
delighted — no surprise there), and we
substituted a Moon W-5LE, which is
still in our Alpha reference system today.
The Mani-2 speakers are rather
finicky about amplifiers, and can even
be damaged by a bad one, but it’s easy to
exaggerate that. When we reviewed the
very first Mani-2’s many years ago, we
broke them in with a 60-watt amplifier
and had no problems. We then did the
listening with — you guessed it — our
YBA One. We even took the Mani-2’s,
along with the YBA, to the Montreal
show (back in the days when we were
exhibiting). The ambient noise at a show
requires running a system louder than
you might at home. You know what?
They sounded terrific, and nothing
burned up.
My question has likely been addressed
numerous times, but it is this.
I have a 2007 desktop iMac, and I
listen to a lot of music online. The computer is connected to a $179 Logitech
speaker set. To improve sound quality,
a hi-fi shop recommended the NAD D
3020 Hybrid Digital amp and a set of
good-quality speakers.
I would also like — if possible — to
play through the same speakers my CD/
LP/cassettes/78 collection (none of it yet
transferred to digital), besides my music
on iTunes.
My budget
forMaggie
this purpose
is modest
How
Works
(around $2,000).
Is
there
anything
UHF is, and has been you
recommend? Your
is the most
for magazine
many years,
trustworthy
source
I
feel
I
can
turn
to;
a print magazine. But we
know
everyonemore
else seems
to
be
reaching
into
and more audiophiles
my back pocket
asking a
wantbefore
to readI finish
it on their
question.
As
you
have
discerned,
I am
computer or iPad. And they’re
sure, I have
no
idea
where to
start.
willing to save money too.
WouldClick
any here,
of this
andequipment
let Maggie be
useful in my
quest?
explain how to get the full
Mirage M5siversion
speakers,
NAD 7020
for $4.
receiver, NAD
3150
amp,
NAD
5320 CD
And we mean a PDF version
player, Marantz
2252B
receiver,
Marantz
without digital rights
5010B management
cassette player,
Rega
Planar
2
you can transfer to
turntable,the
Michell
Focus
One
turntable,
device of your choice.
Magnum Dynalab Signal Sleuth, Super
Antenna Mk.3.
David Waite
SUTTON, ON
Actually, David, we rather like Logitech products, including their desktop
speakers, but they are what they are...and
what they are is nothing close to high
fidelity. The shop you mention no doubt
recommends NAD because that’s what it
carries, but that’s a logical upgrade. The
original NAD 3020 came out many years
ago, and was one of the most affordable
really good integrated amplifiers you
could then buy. So successful was it that
the company has kept the model name
in the new D series.
Time marches on, of course, and
the new version has a built-in digitalto-analog converter, which means it has
digital inputs as well as the usual analog
inputs. You can connect it to your iMac
through its USB port, and the quality from digital music stored on your
computer hard drive, in either lossless
or uncompressed form, will stun you.
You won’t need to add a CD player to
the system. As for the cassette player,
it’s very much a legacy product, but if
you have important material on cassette,
you’ll want one.
We note, however, that you’re looking at a couple of turntables. The modern
3020 does not have a phono input. It
can easily be added, however, with an
outboard unit.
The Magnum Dynalab Signal Sleuth
is a tunable radio-frequency amplifier
for the front end of your FM tuner. We
reviewed it many years ago, and (along
with our own Super Antenna) it pulled in
distant stations with surprising quality.
You won’t need it for nearby stations, but
if you have a favorite that’s a long way off,
we’d go for it.
My iMac computer is in a different
room from my audio system. I would like
to use iTunes to play 24/96 and higher
resolution music files wirelessly through
my system’s DAC. Would you have any
suggestions for hi-res transmitting/
receiving hardware? I have an Apple TV
but it’s capable of only 16/44.
I’ve heard about the AudioEngine
D2, and that may be the answer, but I’m
not sure of the quality of its DAC. Do
you have any information or feedback on
this product?
Also, I would prefer to connect the
digital optical out from the iMac but
could use USB if need be.
Bob Salsbury
BATH, ON
A direct connection from your computer to a good USB DAC is your best
bet, Bob, but USB is limited to a distance
of 5.5 metres, and of course you can’t
string the cable across a doorway. If a
direct connection is not an option, the
only other option is a wireless system.
You’re right, the Apple TV is limited
to 16/44.1, and so is the Airport Express,
Make an
appointment
to discover the
Cantata series
Music Center,
seen here, and its
partner, the C50
integrated amplifier
by Resolution
Audio of California,
Their impressive sound and modern look will seduce you.
www.audiopassion.ca 514-636-6960
info @ audiopassion.ca
Jean Maurer•Kuzma•Heed Quasar•Vibex•Air Tight•Dynavector
Audio dealers from outside the Greater Montreal area are welcome to inquire
Advice
Feedback
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play through my DAC. What setting
should I use? There is Apple Lossless,
AAC, AIFF, mp3 (no) and WAV. FLAC
is good, so I’m told, but not for iTunes.
Which one will preserve hi-res and
HDCD-encoded music?
Also, can you recommend sites for
hi-res music that Canadians are allowed
access to?
Adam Childs
PRINCE GEORGE, BC
at least in their present incarnations.
The AudioEngine devices will get you to
24/96 resolution. That’s not as good as
the 24/192 resolution you could get from
your iMac with a suitable converter, but
it’s an improvement. It will not, however,
play at intermediate sampling rates. For
instance, some high-resolution music
files, including Reference Recordings
HRx, have a sampling rate of 176.4 kHz.
The AudioEngine can’t match that, of
course, but neither can it play at half that
rate, 88.2 kHz. Because 96 doesn’t divide
evenly into 176.4, there will be audible
artifacts. This limitation is shared by a
number of converters.
I want to import my own CDs,
DV Ds, etc., as well as downloaded
high-resolution music, into iTunes to
We use Apple Lossless for CD-quality music, Adam, and it preserves HDCD
encoding just fine. We use AIFF for
higher resolutions. FLAC is also a lossless ccodec used by a number of online
music sellers. There are numerous free
conversion utilities that can decompress
FLAC files and turn them into whatever
you prefer.
Your second question is a tougher
one. One of the best-known sources of
high-definition music is HDTracks, and
you’re right that it sells in only one of the
192 United Nations member countries,
namely the USA. David Chesky, whose
eponymous company owns HDTracks,
told us Canadian access was coming
“soon,” but that was in early 2011.
For what it’s worth, some Canadians
are buying from HDTracks anyway,
hiding their identities by using PayPal,
and then just lying about where they
live. Isn’t it amazing the lengths some
companies will go through to avoid
selling their products to customers who
are willing to pay for them?
Other companies offer high-resolution music without regional restrictions,
though, including Linn, Naim, Fidelio,
Analekta, ATMA Classics, etc. There’s
a list of HD music sources available
from http://www.audiostream.com/
content/hd-music-download-sites.
Unfortunately, Audiostream has the
usual American blind spot, leaving you
to find out for yourself which will sell
outside the US. The sites themselves are
not always terribly forthcoming. Look
for an FAQ. You may need to click on
the site map, and then look for an FAQ.
It’s been many years since I’ve bent
your ear with a question and I will try to
make it short as possible.I have a chance
to pick up an Alphason HR100-S tone
arm as part of a trade (I won’t be out
of pocket at all). I believe you have an
Alphason mounted on your LP12 turntable. I am currently using a Linn Ittok
on my own LP12.
Would the HR100-S be superior
to my Ittok, which has been in use for
nearly 20 years? The current owner of
the Alphason claims the bearings are
just fine. The Alphason arm needs to be
rewired, something I am not confident
of being able to manage on my own. Do
you know of someone in Canada who
fortunately no one makes those any
more.
My System consists of the following:
Linn LP12 turntable with Linn Basik
Plus arm, Shure V15 VxMR cartridge
and recent Cirkus upgrade, Bryston
2BLP amplifier, and .5B phono preamp
few years back, just
GET(factory-repaired
THE COMPLETEaVERSION!
before
warranty
expired),
The Alphason is indeed superiorYou’ll
havethe
noticed
that this
free 3A MM
speakers,
M14 Biwire speaker
to the Linn Ittok arm, and we would version
ofMonster
UHF Magazine
Atlas Equator
interconnects.
recommend it, assuming it’s in good
is notcable
quiteand
complete.
But you
can
amcomplete
considering
a used Wakonda
condition. We do have a friend whose getIthe
version
with
Alphason was rewired, but the techni- preamplifier
from Maggie
forthe
$4.Brilliant slimline
power
supply.
I amwe
also
cian who did it swears he will never get Click
here,
and away
go!looking at a
involved in anything that complicated Linn Kairn phono, or perhaps adding a
again. The Achilles heel of the arm is superior phono section to the Bryston.
its silver Van den Hul wiring, which When I first purchased my LP12, I heard
sounded very good, but has only grown magic I have not been able to capture
more brittle with the years. Ours has fully since, so I’m guessing it was either
the original wiring, and we don’t change the Linn Electronics (circa K1/K2, or
cartridges unless we need to, because… perhaps the Linn Kabers).
well, you can probably guess the reason.
Could you please let me know if any
The Alphason is, however, a good of the three proposed upgrades makes
match for prett y much all modern sense, or whether I should be looking
cartridges. Very high-compliance car- elsewhere.
tridges of old might have trouble trackDon Simms
ing a warped LP with an Alphason, but
PINCOURT, QC
Don, we have given Linn products
some very warm reviews and, like you,
we own an LP12 turntable. However,
we doubt the magic came from either
the K1 or K2. The Wakonda is an
economy preamp of the sort that no
longer has a raison d’être, since there
are now so many great integrated amplifiers. Indeed, your 2BLP, old though
it is, remains one of our favorite small
integrateds. And your 3A MM speakers
are efficient and don’t require Herculean
power.
If you’re looking to upgrade your
phono preamp, we don’t think the Kairn
is going to do what you want. But is
that the next step? The Shure V15 was
a very good cartridge…emphasis on the
word was. It’s now decades old, and it
may or may not perform as it once did.
Perhaps that was where the magic went.
We wish Shure still made the V15, but
unfortunately they seldom do what we
think they should. We would try some
adjustments to the Linn and especially
its arm, but that may not be enough.
Your article on the Moon 300D DAC
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could do the job for me? Do you have
even a ballpark idea of what that might
cost me?
I am using an Ortofon KontrapunctB LOMC cartridge. Would it be a good
match for the Alphason arm?
Michael Pratt
PRINCE GEORGE, BC
Apple doesn’t sell those. They sent me to
The Source and Best Buy, but nothing
there or at Future Shop. My DACMagic already does a surprisingly good job of playing music from
an old Macbook via its USB connection.
Would it be better to use the optical out
from the laptop (I know I can get an
adapter at the UHF store), or is the USB
now as good as the optical connections?
Keith Leslie
TORONTO, ON
USB is superior on the very best new
DACs, Keith, but for most DACs optical
is superior. We would go with optical.
You Want Them!
Advice
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MIMETISM
TRACK AUDIO
CMI, it’s all about the music!
www.crownmtnimports.ca
info@crownmtnimports
905-441-1142
in UHF No. 93 suggests readers use the
TOSLINK optical out from the Apple
Airport Express, and goes on to say that
“all Macintosh computers except the
MacBook Air” have the digital optical
output.
Unfortunately, I found out that’s
not the case when I went to the Apple
store to buy a Mac mini to hook up to
my Cambridge DACMagic Plus. After
the Genius Bar gave me three different
answers regarding the Mini’s headphone
jack, they finally determined it does not
have a TOSLINK output, and is strictly
analog-out via the mini-headphone jack.
Its USB ports are not outputs.
So I purchased an Airport Express
to get the optical output (my existing
Airport Extreme has no digital out) to
try sending music via Wi-Fi. I asked the
Apple rep specifically about the cable and
was told it was a regular TOSLINK connection and did not require an adapter.
Of course it does need an adapter, but
I’m currently shopping around for a
pair of ProAc Response floorstanding
speakers. The model I’m most interested
in is the all-new ProAc Response D30R
floorstanding speaker with the ribbon
tweeter. One thing I noticed is the “rodshaped” binding post links, since the
ProAc speakers have four binding posts
per speaker for biwiring or biamping.
In your professional opinion, should I
use a single pair and keep the included
binding post links, or use a single cable
and replace the links with some good
quality jumpers, or just go biwire?
What jumpers would you recommend? What are the benefits of using
jumpers or biwiring?
Antonio Giaccio
MONTRÉAL, QC
All else being equal, Antonio, we
would choose biwiring, which will give
you a superior connection to the tweeters, and thus lower distortion. However,
biwiring costs more, and one really good
cable will outperform two mediocre
cables. If you do choose single wiring,
you should use high-quality jumpers
rather than the ones furnished free with
the speakers. The Atlas jumpers are very
good.
Could I set up a hi-fi using Windows 8 as a source of music, with a USB
output from a laptop connected to a USB
DAC (another box), then to an integrated
amp or preamplifier?
What software do I need? I will use a
hard drive or SSD to store only 100 units
of CD materials for now.
Or should I go to a MacBook Pro
because it has a built-in digital output
port? Or should I use USB as digital
output to a USB DAC?
Dean Esprez
SAINT-LAURENT, QC
Macintosh computers, and especially
the Mac mini, are particular favorites
for this, and for good reason, but you
can indeed use a Windows PC for this
purpose. The Shuttle PC, like the Mac
mini, is small and silent, but if you
already own a suitable Windows laptop,
the price is right!
You’ll want to add suitable software,
since the Windows version of Apple’s
ubiquitous iTunes is not as good as the
Mac version. Foobar is freeware and is
popular with audiophiles. You’ll want
to find a DAC with a high-grade USB
circuit, which is relatively rare, or use
an external USB box like our Stello U3.
My main interest in buying a DAC
such as the Moon 100D would be to
listen to Internet FM radio. I am looking
for very acceptable CD-quality sound.
What can I expect?
Hubert Pilon
OTTAWA, ON
I have been a follower of your magazine from day one. While the first copies
you sent me were back copies that were
“xeroxed,” I have been a subscriber ever
since. Your success is impressive.
I am contacting you in the hope you
can help me regarding a problem I have
with my Audiomeca J-1 turntable.
The system began to give me problems when the turntable would suddenly
stop. Pressing the start button a few
Advice
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The limitation of Internet radio is
that, in order to get the sound through
the Net’s narrow pipeline, lossy compression is used. However, the digitalto-analog circuitry present in the typical
computer will make the damage worse.
Going from the USB connection of your
computer to the 100D DAC will give you
the best possible results.
If your computer will not be close to
the DAC, we recommend Apple’s Airport Express, which provides a wireless
link, and can be connected to the 100D
via a TOSLINK optical cable.
times got it started again but it has now
finally completely stopped and I can’t
start it. I have had a local technician look
at it and, although I thought it was the
switch, he tells me it is the motor that
has seized up. Is this possible?
Can you suggest anything I could
resort to, to have this problem fixed? I
understand that Audiomeca is no longer
in business.
Bill Steen
VANCOUVER, BC
It is certainly possible for a motor to
seize up, Bill, and there can be several
causes. Most common is congealing of
the motor lubricant. The J-1 has been
around for a long time, and so has its
lubricant.
W hat you need is someone who
knows how to service small motors.
That might not be an audio technician.
Small motors are found in scientific and
industrial instruments. Fixing the motor
is probably the only option.
Features
Montréal 2013
T
he snow should have been
long gone by the time Mont rea l’s Salon Son&Image
opened on March 22, but
snow is a tradition of the Montreal show.
So is success. The show was goodsized bot h in terms of number of
exhibitors (especially good exhibitors)
and in terms of traffic. What’s even
more important is that there were some
genuine innovations.
One of them was that speaker with
the funky stand on the next page. It’s
the Raidho D-1 from Denmark, which
was being demonstrated with detail
and energy by Lars Kristensen. It’s a
two-way speaker, with a ribbon tweeter
that is Raidho’s own, and a woofer that
is even more unusual, with a ceramic
cone treated with carbon under enough
pressure to form diamond. I came back
for more than one session. The upstream
gear was from Jeff Rowland (amplification) and Esoteric (the CD player). This
speaker was, for me, one of the highlights
of this year’s Salon. This sort of perfor-
by Gerard Rejskind
mance doesn’t come cheap, at $30,000.
There was another unusual speaker,
the spiderlike LEEDH (the name is a
French acronym), which you can see on
page 17. It has nine drivers, though I
counted a “mere” seven, all with cones
suspended in liquid ferrofluid. I like
weird speakers, whether they’re good
or not, but this one is more than merely
good, and I went back to listen to it
several times as well. The music had
presence and was a joy to listen to.
Wilson Audio was represented by its
medium-sized (for Wilson) Alexia loudspeaker, associated with Luke Manley’s
wonderful VTL tube electronics. I try
to get to the Wilson/VTL room before
the crowds arrive, so I can lend an ear
to some of Peter McGrath’s wonderfully fresh master recordings. Peter
is an exceptional recording engineer,
sales manager for Wilson, a music lover,
and — as any true audiophile would
say — a kindred spirit.
This article is incomplete, but of
course you can get it in either the print
version or Maggie’s electronic edition. If
Maggie’s electronic version floats your
boat, drop by www.uhfmag.com/maggie.
html. The rest is in what looks like Latin,
but isn’t.
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Features
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Montréal 2013
With Friends
Features
Feedback
H
ere we were, my guests and
I, taking our first steps at
the start of what would
turn out to be another great
show in Montreal. For those reading this
annual feature for the first time, here is
how I like to do it. Every year, I invite
two or three friends and acquaintances
to tour the show with me. I choose
people who love music but are not too
familiar with high-end audio, and take
down their comments as we move from
room to room.
“What am I supposed to listen to?”
they often ask before we start. “I don’t
know much about the technology.”
“Listen to the music and be aware
of how you feel when you listen to it,”
I usually reply. “I’ll fill you in on the
technical details if needed.”
My rule is never to write about their
negative comments. We’re not conducting hasty listening tests, just sharing
impressions. And, like most visitors to
this large and wide-ranging show, they
never actually manage to enter, let alone
sit in, every room. I let them decide
which rooms they want to walk into and
how long they want to stay.
by Albert Simon
Drawn to the large Audio Pathways
room, Monique was already sitting
upright, completely focused, in front of
the RJH Audio Preference One speakers
before we even had time to glance at the
rest of the room. She was soon joined by
her husband Bernard, and we all enjoyed
Jennifer Warnes singing The Will. The
Audia Flight Two integrated amp and a
Bel Canto DAC, all linked by Kimber
cables, made up the rest of the system.
The music sounded beautifully natural
and flowed easily, notwithstanding the
huge room. “Clean, clean, clean,” said
Monique in a whisper. “A true delight,”
she added, looking back as we left the
room. Spoken like a true audiophile, I
thought.
In the Audioville room, Bernard was
all excited as we listened to Loreena
McKennitt singing Incantation from her
latest album An Ancient Muse. (We had
attended her last concert in Montreal
together.) Chord’s latest achievements —
CD player Mk III, CPA Reference
preamp, SPM 5000 MkII power amp,
DSX 1000 Music Streamer with the
built-in QBD 76 DAC — recreated her
performance through the impressive
Totem Element Metal speakers. “Just
like attending a concert at Place des
Arts,” said Bernard, grinning broadly.
We were then treated to Chan Chan,
the ever popular song by The Buena
Vista Social Club, in the Plurison room,
feat uring the st unningly designed
Devialet D-Premier amplifier and the
Focal Electra BE speakers, standing far
apart in front of white curtains stretched
along the wall. The music emanated
from a laptop computer. Driven with
power and enthusiasm, the large speakers easily filled the modest-sized room
with the rich percussion sound of the
Cuban group. As soon as they began
to sing, Monique got up, walked over
to the person in charge and asked to
(gulp!) raise the volume. When I raised
my eyebrows, she smiled. The music
came at us with the relentless power of
huge, cascading ocean waves. “Very well
balanced,” she said, as we stepped back
into the hallway. “Such a wide range of
sounds,” added Bernard quietly.
I didn’t say anything to my guests
before entering the Audio Pathways
room featuring the incomparable Raidho
D-1 speakers (D is for “Diamond”). On
the previous day, I had listened with awe,
along with Gerard, to the music coming
out of these Danish-made gems. They
were driven by Jeff Rowland’s Corus
preamp and stereo power amp 625, starting with the Esoteric P-05 CD player
and Jeff Rowland’s Aeris DAC, all linked
by Transparent Reference cables. Lars
Kristensen had been quite eloquent and
explicit about the technology involved
and the creativity that led to the exquisite
sound of their speakers, but I wanted to
check if what we heard and loved would
be noticed by my friends without prior
warning. We walked into the quiet room
between pieces. Monique sat in the
centre armchair, Bernard next to her.
When the Oscar Peterson Trio started
to play, I could feel the music coming
to life in front of us. Holding his chin,
Bernard focused intently, and Monique
sat erect and motionless. At the end,
she turned toward me. “I’m enthralled,”
she said. “It’s so clear, the speakers are
small and yet the music wraps around
us. Extraordinary!” she added, while
Bernard nodded vigorously.
On this page: The Tri-Art bamboo
turntable, the Moon “Canadian” amplifier,
Bernard and Monique, and the LEEDH
loudspeaker.
Monique. “It’s amazing.” “Especially the
bass,” added Bernard. After listening to
Estate from my CD of Daniel Mille’s Sur
les quais, we were left wondering how it
could possibly be done. “I feel a mixture
of amazement and respect,” concluded
Monique. “Remove the excess noise,”
I said, “and the essence of the music
remains.” Bernard had just the right
words: “The brain has no
need to correct in order
to normalize.”
B e f or e t he y le f t ,
my friends wanted to
listen to the music again
through the Raidho D-1
speakers and their
system. Monique,
who had brought
along her CD of
Verdi’s Il Trovatore, wanted
to hear the sublime D’Amor
Sull’Ali Rosee (On the Rosy
W i ng s of Love) at t he
beginning of Act IV, sung
by Leontyne Price. The
room was packed; a hush
of anticipation seemed to
add another layer to the
silence. And then it started.
We f roze, mesmerized.
“I’m giving it first prize,”
said Bernard as we stepped
slowly out of the room, his
eyes looking straight ahead
at nothing in particular,
it seemed. “I’ve heard it
on other systems,” said
Monique. “There
are usually
some peaks,
some intense
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We then listened to the Pie Jesu from
Rutter’s Requiem, for soprano, cello,
flute, harp, organ and choir, a solemn
and deeply moving piece. “Just for that,
it was worth coming to the show,” said
Monique, looking at both of us and
seeing our smiles. “I’ve heard nothing
better,” said Bernard decisively.
In the next room, another pair of
Raidho speakers, the S2, was playing
as part of an interesting system that
included an Audia Flight CD One M
player, a Strumento No. 1 preamp and
a No. 4 power amp, with Transparent
cables. We listened to The Gates of Istanbul by Loreena McKennitt, followed
by 1 BR/1 BA from my CD by Vienna
Teng, Dreaming Through the Noise. “I
can’t get over the bass coming out of this
system,” said Bernard, shaking his head
in disbelief.
Stepping into the Higher Note room,
we were greeted by Philip O’Hanlon,
who seemed to know more music selections than anyone else at the show. An LP
was playing, Into the Labyrinth by Dead
Can Dance, and we listened to The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove played on a Luxman
PD-171 turntable with the Luxman
L-550 AX class A integrated amp, featuring the Lecua audio circuit, and Vivid
B-1 speakers. Next, we listened to Louis
Armstrong’s famous St. James Infirmary
and Ray LaMontagne’s This Love is
Over, both played from a laptop through
the Luxman DA-06 DAC. “It sounds
so realistic, so natural,”
said Monique, looking
extremely relaxed in her
listening chair. Bernard
turned to me. “It’s like
being at a concert,”
he said, spreading
his arms.
In the Coup de
Foudre room, we
listened to Peter McGrath’s
master recordings, always
a treat. The large room
featured the VTL family of
tube electronics, including
the TP-6.5 Phono stage, the TL-7.5
series III Line stage and the MB-450
monoblocks, linked by Transparent
Reference cables to a pair of Wilson
Alexia speakers. Monique had an unusual
question after listening to a few selections. “Why are the recordings always
live?” she asked. I realized that she was
making comparisons with the music
she had listened to in most of the other
rooms. “Well, isn’t that how music usually happens, in real life?” I replied. I
pondered all the life that is often lost in a
controlled studio recording. The search
for perfect sound and perfect interpretation has a price…although Glenn Gould
disagreed in his later years.
And then we listened to excerpts from
Peter’s recent recording of Carmen. The
stage was suddenly in front of us, the performers walking among us. “You don’t
just hear the singers,” said Monique
excitedly, “you hear the whole stage they
were performing on.” I thought of the
many opera recordings I own. Except
for some DVDs, few, if any, are live
performances, alas.
Their biggest surprise came when we
walked into the room where the LEEDH
speakers were featured, marking this
model’s world premiere at the Montreal
show. The tiny speakers filled the room
with an astonishing avalanche of detail as
we heard Los Calchakis singing Gabriel
Garcia Marquez. The voices were just
right, and the timbres had an uncanny
realism. “How do they do it?” asked
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moments, but here, here, it was like a
meditation. Nothing else exists, we don’t
move, we don’t even breathe.”
After they left, I thought with shame
of some visitors’ comments I couldn’t
help overhearing during my repeated
tours of the show. (Warning: rant ahead.)
Like those two guys who just met in
the hallway, each carrying a bag full of
sleek pamphlets. One says to the other,
“I’ve just seen something really nice! A
pair of power amps…” And the other
says, interrupting, “Big monsters, were
they?” Or the guy who walks into every
room and immediately asks the person
in charge, “How much is it?” “Which
item do you mean?” “The whole thing.
Everything that’s playing right now.” He
waits for the (usually) large dollar figure,
says nothing, sits to listen for a minute
or two and then he’s off. Don’t you think
we can do better? So much creativity,
so many skills to arrive at a decent
product and then this? Would
you ever say to a friend after a
concert that you had just seen a
huge double bass? Or would you
ask a musician who was about to
play a Prokofiev sonata, “How
much does your violin cost?” Well,
would you? Yes, I know, you read
UHF Magazine.
Touring the show with Michel the
next day was a very different experience. Determined to spend more time
listening to music, he welcomed the
opportunity to be here at this time. A
friend of his who has managed to build a
“dream system” (yeah, right) is a regular
at this show, but it was Michel’s first
time. He was unstoppable, going from
one room to the next, yet found no need
to comment most of the time. He had
brought along his CD Beat — La fiesta
mondiale de percussion, and asked to play
it in the Audioville room, which featured
the latest line of Chord components (see
above), finding their true voice through
the Element Metal speakers by Totem.
“Did you hear all that?” said Michel,
fidgeting excitedly on his seat after listening to the first track, Canoeland. Of
course, I thought, how could I not hear
the electrifying display of fireworks. “I
mean, more specifically, all those tiny
high sounds,” he explained. “Usually
they’re just not there, they’re lost. But
not here!”
There was a wide room lined with
rows and rows of tables featuring an
incredible array of headphones, all
connected to sound systems. Michel
walked slowly between them, trying
some phones on, nodding occasionally,
eyes lost in space. No comment escaped
his lips. We moved on.
In the Charisma Audio room, an
Amadeus GTA turntable was playing My
Silent Love, a sweet piano tune, through
an AE tube Preamp, a Calyx power amp
and a pair of Capriccio Continuo speakers. Michel liked what he heard, but he
was really taken with the acoustic panels,
which he thoroughly examined, one at a
time. He was convinced they contributed
a great deal to the quality of the sound
in the room. Interesting, I thought, but
not surprising, coming from an architect. We lingered longer than usual in
the Higher Note room, Michel unable
to part with the sound of Graceland,
the deservedly famous Paul Simon LP,
playing on the above-mentioned system.
“The impact is excellent,” he said, “and
the depth too.”
Another room (Coup de Foudre) featured PMC speakers and another turntable, the Ovation by Clearaudio. “I love
the sound,” said Michel, “and I love the
design. I can’t get over the evolution of
turntables happening today, as I’m witnessing here for the first time.” Later, sitting in front of the Raidho D-1 speakers,
Michel asked to hear Spanish Moonlight
from his percussion CD. “Here I can
hear everything again,” he said. “Look
how clearly separated all those sounds
are.” I asked to play Dirait-on, a track
from my CD Lux Aeterna, a selection of
American composer Morten Lauridsen’s
tened to the amazing sound
of the Fairfield Four on an
AMR CD player. “Excellent
sound quality,” said Michel.
“And it’s an original creative
design.”
We spent time in the
Gershman room, featuring
their latest Idol speakers,
listening to Stevie Wonder’s
The Sky is Crying. Michel
didn’t hesitate. “They really
sound very good,” he said. I
noted that the music came
from an Elite CD player
linked to a Quad amplifier, with Gutwire cables
throughout.
The last room Michel
wanted to comment on featured the LEEDH E2, the
small speakers that roared.
Mozart’s Voi che sapete (you
who know), a lovely aria from
Le Nozze di Figaro, was on, sung by Anne
Sophie Van Otter. I then asked to hear
a track from my CD of the Safri Duo
(Danish percussionists) with the Slovak
Piano Duo, playing K im Helweg’s
America Fantasy, a tribute to Leon-
ard Bernstein
inspired by West Side Story. It seemed
as if every detail, every brushing, every
touch was revealed and brought to light.
Michel liked it too, noting that it was
particularly clear, but compared to other
systems on which he listened to the same
On this page: The Brodmann VC-7
loudspeaker, Michel, and the MBL C15
monoblock.
On the previous page: Blue Circle’s
starlit room, the BC Acoustique EX 888
amplifier, and the Chord DSX1000 music
streamer.
piece, this one could use a bit of help in
the bass register. A subwoofer might do
it, I suggested. He agreed.
We ended our journey, a cup of coffee
in our hands, sharing some thoughts
on music and time. Do we really make
enough time to listen to music,
Michel wanted to know, and
if not, why not? I suggested
that time is life, more essential than money, and noted
that when we eventually leave
this planet, we’ll have run
out of time. Time is the real
capital: it can’t be bought, borrowed or replaced. It can only
be spent. We should cherish it
above all else and spend it with
great care. Michel agreed and
realized that he was unwilling to
keep on hurrying through life, on business or for other purposes. And listening
to music, we agreed, was a way to enjoy
being instead of always doing.
Music is a sculpture in time, isn’t it?
When superbly reproduced, music seems
to have — for some of us, at least — a
sobering effect on our priorities. It
beckons us to stop, sit a while and listen.
When we do, are we merely listening to
the music, I wonder, or perhaps lending
an ear to that part of ourselves that
knows?
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choral works. The
powerful yet sweet
sound of the huge
Los Angeles Master
Chorale was a blessing to our tired ears.
“Super,” concluded
Michel. “The sound
seems to come
from the back,” he
added. “I feel as if
I’m surrounded by
the music. It’s really
striking.”
Michel was then
attracted, in another
room, to the sound of
Susan Wong’s album
Step into My Dreams.
The room was large,
yet the system was
able to handle the
music nicely, starting from its source,
a laptop, through
a BC Acoustique
EX888 integrated
tube amp, to a pair of
shiny black BC Acoustique
ACT A2.1 speakers. “Great,” he said,
nodding, serious and thoughtful. As you
have probably noticed, some people don’t
share too much when they’re nodding,
serious and thoughtful.
A n u n ident if ied la rge
orchestral work was playing
in a room featuring the large
Broadmann speakers. Narrow
and deep, with beautifully
finished cabinets, the units
were placed quite far apart. An
Electrocompaniet CD player
and its DAC were linked to a pair of
their AW 400 amps. “The specific
design of these speakers,” noted Michel,
“including their side woofers, distributes
the music through the room instead of
coming directly at us.”
He also liked the sound in the TriArt room and was intrigued by the
bamboo turntable (yes, the room even
had a nice bamboo fragrance) playing Ralph’s New Blues by the Modern
Jazz Quartet when we walked in. The
amplifiers, also by Tri-Art, were also
housed in bamboo, feeding a nice pair
of Rosso Fiorentino speakers. We lis-
Toronto 2013
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T
his was the third edition of
TAVES (the Toronto Audio
Video Entertainment Show),
and it was make or break
time. Or so many people believed. In
2011, the new team — with the help of
Michel Plante and Sarah Tremblay of
the Montreal Salon — needed to prove
that a good high-end show could be
staged in Toronto, despite years of bad
experiences. In 2012 the new organizers
needed to show that they could go it
alone. And in 2013…
This had to be the year of growth.
Potential exhibitors had sat out the
new TAVES in 2011, presumably to
see whether it would be worthy of their
money and effort. The second show had
held its own. This one needed to be the
best organized, but also the biggest.
It was, I thought, tightly organized,
with a goodly number of team members,
who seemed to be everywhere. Which
is as it should be. The visitors I talked
to (including a certain number of UHF
readers) were mostly pleased, though two
would have liked to see more recordings
on offer. A number of exhibitors told me
they were pleased as well. Of course, if
the number of exhibitors is low, that’s
good for the exhibitors who do show up.
My impression is that there were
fewer exhibitors this year, with some big
names missing. Where was Totem? Any
sign of MBL or VTL? Merely counting
names doesn’t tell the whole story, since
some companies that had previously
taken a room settled for a static display
on a table.
One such exhibitor was Charisma
Audio. Charisma had a room last year,
but only a table this time around. Too
bad, because there were several new
products I would have liked to hear. You
can see three of them on the next page.
At top is the new version of Bill Firebaugh’s Amadeus turntable (you’ll recall
that we reviewed his flagship turntable,
the Versalex, in our last issue). The most
noticeable change is that the tone arm
pivot is no longer obviously built around
a golf ball. The ball is still there, but it’s
been cut in half, so that the top of it is
no longer visible.
Below it is the first phono cartridge
to bear the Charisma name. The MC-1
is a low-impedance moving-coil pickup
with line-contact stylus. It comes in an
attractive wooden box, for just under
$1,000.
by Gerard Rejskind
And just below that is an unusual
a mpl if ier f rom Aud io Space, t he
WE-91B. It’s what seems to be a faithful replica of a Western Electric singleended amplifier, with 300B output tubes,
and such niceties as choke filtering in
the power supply, an expensive feature
you seldom see in modern designs. The
amplifier promises 6 watts/channel, a
moderate amount of power in the days
of the original. The (very modern) price
tag is $5,599.
Want the full report? Check out
either the print issue or Maggie’s electronic edition.
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Above left: Linar A120, Copland CTA405, Spectral DMA-200S Series 2 amplifier, Cambridge Minx
Above: Carot One Ernestolo amplifier
Next page: Focal Grande Utopia in the
King Edward lobby, Samsung 4K TV,
Samsung curved OLED TV
A Newbie’s
Guide to TAVES
O
by Kathe Lieber
think you’ll remember
which exhibitor makes
the perfect speakers that
won’t break your budget,
but you may not. Grab
a brochure or business
cards and make copious
notes.
6 . Ta k e f r e q u e n t
breaks. It’s a little like
wine-tasting — you need
some silence bet ween
listening sessions to clear
your palate – in this case,
your ears and your discernment. Walk around
the block or just sit in the
lobby and people-watch.
T h is yea r’s d isplay of
motorcycles attracted an,
er, interesting crowd.
7. Don’t be shy about
talking to other attendees.
You already have a strong
interest in common. Many
friendships are forged this
way.
8. You probably don’t
need to bring your own
CDs for exhibitors to play.
In most of the rooms, a
wide range of music was
being played via computer.
9. Hydrate, hydrate,
hydrate.The dry air of the
hotel finally got to me.
When we left Friday night
and found a restaurant, I
downed three glasses of ice
water before even thinking
about wine.
10. Wea r you r best
walking shoes. This may
seem obvious, but on the
evidence it’s not. You’ll
be putting on some serious mileage just walking
around the show.
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ff to TAVES — my first
t ime. It’s early November, and the weather is iffy.
People attending the show
have made a variety of sartorial choices,
from sandals to parkas, but most are
wearing suits or jeans, backpacks ready
to swallow up new purchases.
We blend into the crowd.
The Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show, held at the historic
King Edward Hotel on King Street
in downtown Toronto, is compact and
well organized. We attend on Friday
and Saturday, heading back on Sunday
as the show is winding down. Friday is
a reconnaissance mission, taking notes
on which rooms we want to revisit on
Saturday — along with a few rooms we
hadn’t noticed the first time around.
My suggest ions for f i rst-t i me
participants:
1. Open your eyes and especially,
open your ears. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the snazzy displays and the
seductive music playing, but keep your
eyes on the prize. What are you really
in the market for – serious equipment?
LPs? CDs?
2. K now your decibel level. We
skipped several rooms to protect our
hearing. Smart exhibitors understand
that not everyone wants to hear music
pumped up to ear-splitting volume.
3. Bring your credit card. Even if you
tell yourself (and the exhibitors) that
you’re “just looking” or “just listening,”
you’re bound to find something irresistible: a CD or LP from an artist you
love — or one you’re hearing for the first
time.
4. Exhibitors are always willing to
talk to serious audiophiles. If they’re
busy, take a business card and follow
up later. You can’t buy equipment at the
show, but you can do a lot of listening
and ask a lot of questions.
5. Take notes – lots of notes. You may
Nuts&Bolts
Inside the CD
T
he Compact Disc is dying, if
you can believe innumerable
tech columnists and Web
pundits. I do not include
myself in that camp, though I recognize
that the CD player is on its last legs.
Though the number of players still in
use remains huge, we can expect that
once they fail, they will not be replaced.
Computer drives can handle CDs just
fine, and — as we shall see — there
are reasons why they can actually do it
better.
But let’s back up to the late 70’s, when
record companies were showing their
then-new digital recorders. The sound
they produced was billed as essentially
perfect. Since bits are bits, numbers are
numbers, it followed that there could be
no deterioration. All that was lacking was
a way to put digital audio into the hands
of consumers. That would surely come,
at least eventually.
But “eventually” might not be soon
enough. Because recorded music is an
optional expense, unlike food and housing, the sharp recession of the 1980’s hit
the record industry hard. Record sales
fell. It was hoped a digital revolution
would offer something “new” that could
tempt consumers. Better yet, it might
persuade them to buy their music libraries all over again. Digital’s high-tech
image would surely justify a much higher
selling price. A consumer product was
needed, and it was needed fast.
The race to digital
At the time, however, the technology
wasn’t ready. A prototype of a digital
optical disc was developed by Philips
as early as 1974, but solid-state lasers
of the time had a lifespan that could be
measured in mere minutes. Even professional digital media were problematic. I
was present at demonstrations of digital
tape in the 1970’s, and I was beguiled by
the fact that a digital music file could be
copied and recopied many times with no
significant alteration. However, every
few minutes the music would be interrupted by a burst of raucous noise, as
by Paul Bergman
the flow of pristine data was interrupted.
A consumer medium, which must be
used without the watchful coddling of
on-the-spot engineers, would surely be
a disaster.
Digital audio was the fruit of many
inventors, but the companies piloting
what would become the Compact Disc
were Sony and Philips. Both were record
companies, and therefore both were
eager, if not desperate, to make the
medium work as soon as possible. If the
actual audio quality turned out not to be,
at least initially, all that it could be, the
industry reasoned, not for the first time,
that most of its customers were not that
fussy.
The two prototypes became one, and
then arrived on the market. The data was
laser-etched onto a glass master, which
was then used to make a die, which in
turn pressed final copies. The data was
pressed into a sheet of polycarbonate,
with aluminum (or sometimes gold)
acting as a reflecting mirror. A laser and
a photocell were used to read the data,
which would then be turned back into
analog information. However, a pure
digital optical disc could not hold anything close to an hour’s worth of digital
data, using technology that existed at
that time.
A shortcut was introduced, though its
existence would not be front and centre
in public declarations. The music was
recorded digitally — as a series of binary
digits — but it was actually stored on the
disc in analog form.
This requires an explanation.
How the CD works
A microscope image of the disc
surface is shown on the next page. The
laser used to make the master burns pits
into the substrate. Since the pits are read
from the reverse side, however, they look
like tiny mesas. The flat spaces from
one pit to the next are called lands. Pits
and lands do not, however, correspond
to binary data (ones and zeros), which is
why the familiar “bits are bits” argument
buttressing the CD’s “perfection” is not
applicable.
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Nuts&Bolts
Feedback
Editor’s note: We’re aware
that Paul Bergman’s technical articles are among
the most popular of all we
publish. We wish we could
leave it in its entirety in this,
the free edition of UHF, but
we know you would like us
to make enough money to
go on publishing.
Pick up Maggie’s electronic version, complete,
for $4, at www.uhfmag.com/
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iliscipissi.
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Nuts&Bolts
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Come visit Maggie
Cinema
outputs on our Onkyo, since we had no
intention of using any of them. Instead,
we were looking for preamplifier outputs,
line-level outputs that could feed our
own high-grade power amplifiers. And
here they are.
Home Cinema
With a Receiver
Y
ou know us: receivers are not
what help us make it through
the night. We’ve always known
that cramming a lot of gear
into one chassis was going to result in
compromises, sometimes ugly ones. Try
eating supper with your Swiss Army
knife, and you’ll get new respect for
single-purpose devices.
But nearly all the best multichannel
cinema processor chips can now be
found tucked into receivers, along with
five to 12 power amplifiers and (for some
reason) an AM/FM tuner. And perhaps
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. Can
a receiver be a good choice if you have
a yearning for something superior?
Perhaps. We’re here to help.
What you see above is the rear of our
Onkyo TX-NR709 (reviewed in UHF
No. 93, and subsequently added to our
Kappa system). This relatively inexpensive unit ($1,000 list price, $600 street
price) packs a lot of technology, including the Marvell Qdeo deinterlacing and
upscaling chip, used in some far more
expensive units. It also includes power
amplifiers. A lot of power amplifiers.
Count the binding posts on the Onkyo,
and you’ll see there are 11 amplifier
outputs. Not bad…for what is billed as
a 7.2-channel system.
But actually, you probably won’t care,
because those are class D amplifiers.
We don’t want to be too harsh about
this technology, but you’ll recall from
your school days that if your report card
included a D, you didn’t go boasting
about it to your parents.
Class D is highly efficient, produces
little heat and can be implemented with
inexpensive chips. Not recommended,
though we’ll get back to that.
Somet h i ng you need to k now
about mass-market receivers (i.e. those
designed to sell in very large numbers)
is that their names change frequently.
Competition is fierce, and so new models
are constantly required. A new model
may have added features, such as 3D,
AirPlay and Wi-Fi, but it may also have
fewer features, so that it can undersell
the competition. Example: many of the
latest TV sets don’t have analog output
jacks anymore. Ever wonder why? Audio
jacks cost money. Not much money, but
even pennies add up.
Let’s look at what’s available, but
remember that by the time you read this,
models will have changed, and so will
features.
Onkyo
We gravitated to this brand because
it had long offered somewhat better
build quality and design than some of its
competitors. Of course, things change.
We ignored the plethora of amplifier
You may have noticed that there
aren’t 11 of them, but the receiver has
only 7.2 channels anyway, and only 5.1
of them are “real.” Plenty good enough.
Let’s have a look at the current Onkyo
catalog. Here’s a current 7.2-channel
receiver, the HT-RC560. From the
front it looks rather like ours, but turn
it around and see what’s there.
You won’t need a magnifying glass to
notice that lots is missing. Output jacks,
notably. The only analog output jacks are
for the subwoofer and the “second zone”
(speakers located in another room).
List price in Canada is $629, but you
shouldn’t buy it.
Nor should you buy the TX-NR616,
which can feed a third remote zone, but
has no preamp outputs, despite its $729
price. Let’s go upscale a bit.
Ah, that’s better. It’s the TX-NR717,
with a price tag of $1,049. As they usually say in the fine print, dealers may sell
for less. The receiver includes the same
Marvell Qdeo chip we have in ours, with
upscaling for new 4K television sets. It
has fewer output variations than ours,
and it also lacks the S-video connections
for use with some VHS decks. Onkyo
figures you should have moved on by
now.
and go all the way to the Pioneer Elite
SC-75.
SHOW REPORTS
The analog output panel is the block
at top right. Left, right and subwoofer,
and that’s it. And that’s for $1,200. Ouch!
It seems we need to spend a little
more. Very well, then, let’s budget $1,800
Sony doesn’t fool arou nd w it h
countless intermediate models, as some
manufacturers do. The STR-DA5800ES
leaps all the way to $2,500. It does have
Marantz
This is one of the original high-end
audio companies, though of course it
has been sold and resold many times
since Saul Marantz stepped down as
CEO in 1964. Its lower-priced receivers
lack analog preamplifier outputs, but we
found what we were looking for with the
SR5008.
The Marantz can upscale video to
4K resolution, but uses neither of the
current well-known video processors.
It’s equipped with AirPlay, for streaming
wirelessly from an iPhone or iPad. Street
price is around $929 (but remember that
street prices are always considerably
lower than the list prices mentioned for
the other models).
Denon
The company was born in Japan,
making audio components that were
meant to appeal to a somewhat more
demanding clientele. Today, Denon is
the “D” in D&M Holdings (Marantz is
the “M”).
Denon offers a dizzying array of A/V
receivers, covering a broad price range.
Most do not include analog preamplifier
Cinema
Feedback
Pioneer
This venerable Japanese company
also has a reputation for better-thanaverage quality and design. In the early
Now we have a full array of outputs,
days of plasma TV, its Kuro sets were including dual subwoofers. The SC-75
the best available. It has long marketed does have the Qdeo processor, of course,
an upscale series of both audio and video along with 4K video passthrough and
components under the Elite name.
reclocking of the Blu-ray signal for lower
But let’s begin with the non-Elite
Shows jitter.
in LasThe
Vegas,
SC-75 lets you play music or
products, which are of course cheaper. in video
Toronto,
from your iPad or iPhone using
There are four A/V receivers and
in that
of course
Apple’s
in Montreal.
lossless AirPlay, or with MHL
line, but only the
most
expensive
Sure,
you
can findone,
countless
2.0, show
the equivalent
reports onsystem
line, but…
for Android
the VSX-1123-K, at $700, includes
the itsdevices.
UHF adds
own unique take.
Qdeo chip. Let’s see
what
it has.
Even
ourelse
show
pictures areFor
better,
$,3000,
havethe
youSC-79
noticed?
is billed as
We cover the shows
“The on
Audiophile.”
line, for free.
It has more powerful
And then we expand onamplifiers,
the experience
but they’re
in UHF
still
itself.
class D, for
Goingbetter
to a show?
or for worse.
Either way, follow it through our eyes.
Sony
Some audiophiles dismiss this venerable company out of hand, but it’s the
engineering powerhouse behind SACD
The small analog output section (the and Blu-ray, and it makes a $27,000
four jacks at upper right) include just loudspeaker that offers genuine highleft and right channels and subwoofers, end performance. What about its video
which makes it unsuitable for high- offerings?
quality surround sound. But what did we
Well, we looked at the rear of the
expect for $700? Perhaps we’ll do better STR-DA1800ES, which has a price tag
with Pioneer’s Elite line. Surprisingly, of $690. No joy. We thought we saw a
perhaps, it starts at $600 for the VSX- set of analog outputs, but they turned
43, but it doesn’t have the facilities we’re out to be zone outputs, for sending music
looking for.
throughout the house. Nor is there
The SC-71 has the desirable Qdeo high-end video upscaling, such as Qdeo.
video chip we have in our Onkyo (and The feature list is filled with specs for
whose performance we can vouch for), its ability to simulate different concert
but let’s have a look at the rear panel.
venues, up to and including the Berlin
Philharmonic Hall. Not for us. But then
we saw this one.
analog inputs for all 9.2 of its channels. It includes 4K passthrough, and
3D passthrough as well, if you have
a 3D-capable TV. Upscaling is done
with the Faroudja chip rather than the
competing Qdeo.
This large receiver is loaded with
features, including an overwhelming
set of 11 power amplifiers. They provide
both surround-side and surround-back
channels, “front high” channels (for
front information, which of course is
not supplied by available sources), and
you can biamplify your main speakers.
Of course, if you’ll be using the power
amps unused, that’s of little interest.
outputs, and we had to go well upscale
to find one that did. The Denon AVR4520CI (at $2,700 street price in Canada)
has all the jacks you could want.
Cinema
Feedback
Like most of its competitors, the
Denon offers 4K upscaling, but there’s
no mention of the specific technology
used. Which means nothing, but we
continue to be impressed by the Qdeo
processor we get to see every day. Actually, we like Faroudja too.
The Denon has AirPlay, for streaming from iOS devices.
Yamaha
We haven’t always been thrilled with
this company’s amplifiers, but we’ve
always wanted to believe, because no
other audio manufacturer is so intimately involved with music. Its pianos
are played by some of the world’s top
musicians. Yamaha also makes guitars
and clarinets, among other instruments.
Check the logo on a Yamaha motorcycle:
it includes a trio of crossed tuning forks.
Like other manufacturers, Yamaha
doesn’t bother with preamp outputs
on its lower-priced receivers. However,
its AV-R1075, at a street price just
over $1,150, has it all, or enough of it.
Like nearly all modern receivers, the
Yamaha has 4K passthrough. It can do
“HDMI upsampling,” but it has none of
the high-end chips that can be found in
some competing receivers.
Of course, you may or may not want
your receiver handling your picture. It’s
notable that one of the very expensive
standalone cinema processors, the
Bryston SP-3, includes no video processing at all, leaving the job to your TV set
or projector. If you have a very high-end
set or TV, that may be your best bet. But
today’s cutting edge may not be cutting
edge in a couple of years.
Aligning your channels
Proper alignment of cinema surround sound affects two parameters:
loudness and phase. When we installed
our Moon Attraction processor over
a decade ago, we did it the easy way.
We placed a microphone at spectator
position, then pushed a button and let
the electronics do the rest. Today’s
A/V receivers make it even easier: most
come with a microphone, and an autoalignment system called Audyssey.
But if you’re using a receiver as a
processor, you’re in for an ugly surprise:
Audyssey doesn’t work with outboard
amplifiers. Why not? Nobody thought
you were going to do this.
There is a workaround, fortunately.
Phase can be set manually: use a tape
measure to determine the distance from
each speaker to a central viewing position. Then use the pink noise generator
to put sound through each of the speakers in turn, and use the remote control
to set the correct level.
You will, of course, need some way to
measure sound pressure levels. Several
companies make meters to do this, but if
you have a smartphone, or even an iPod
touch, there’s an app for that. Several
apps, in fact. Search for “SPL” on the
application store for your device. Ours
is from Ultimate Ears, and it’s free.
These SPL meters must be calibrated
against a standard meter in order to be
accurate, but for this purpose it doesn’t
matter, because you want to compare
levels, not find their absolute value.
The Audyssey system also applies
equalization in order to cancel out room
resonances. We wouldn’t let that circuit
near our home cinema anyway.
Growing into home cinema
Whatever price you are willing to pay
for an A/V receiver, adding high-quality
power amplifiers will pump up the price.
It can be a lot to pay for all at once.
But you may be able to save some
money, at least temporarily. If you get a
receiver instead of a standalone processor, you get a whole lot of “free” power
amplifiers, at least five and often more.
They operate in class D, and we’d guess
the implementation is not the best in
existence, but free is free.
You’ll certainly want higher-quality
amplifiers for what we usually refer to as
the “main” channels, namely left, right
and centre, but what about the surround
channels? We don’t want to dismiss their
importance, and in the best films they
play a major role, but a lot of directors
consider them an afterthought, adding
a little ambience, and perhaps now and
then having a car crossing from rear left
to right front. You may choose to use the
free amps for the rear channels, at least
for a while.
Some receivers even let you use
unneeded built-in amplifiers to biamplify. We’re not sure how useful that is,
but whatever.
Can home cinema and music coexist?
Is the use of a receiver, even a carefully chosen one, a compromise? Of
course it is, though you may be getting
many of the same chipsets that you
would get with some quite expensive
standalone cinema sound processors.
But perhaps you don’t want to make the
same compromises when you listen to
music. Can you use the same electronics for both and not feel you’re missing
something? Yes.
If you have a modern preamplifier or
integrated amplifier, have a look at the
rear panel, and you may see something
like this:
What’s a video input? It’s one that
bypasses the volume control. Plug the
left and right front outputs of your A/V
receiver into that input, and the receiver
will adjust the volume. When you turn
to another input, however, none of the
video stuff is in the circuit. You have the
best of both worlds.
The Listening Room
Küdos Super 10
I
s it Danish? There’s an umlaut
on the “u,” and the elegant finish
is what you might associate with
Scandinavia. In fact, the Super 10 is
from the UK. It was designed by Derek
Gilligan, who was one of the designers
of Neat speakers, also from the UK.
Indeed, until 2005 Küdos was one of
Neat’s brands.
The Super 10 is one of Küdos’
smaller models, but that doesn’t make it
an economy speaker. It comes in at just
under $7,000, about 10% more if you
choose a fancier finishes, like the elegant
tineo (South-American applewood) of
our speakers. And why wouldn’t you?
The Super 10 is deceptively simple.
Its woofer/midrange is an 18 cm driver
with a hand-treated paper cone, customassembled by SEAS of Norway. Its metal
dust cap dissipates heat when the speaker
is driven hard. The tweeter, also from
SEAS, has a cloth dome. The crossover
network is of minimalist design, using
high-quality parts, such as Mundorf
Mcap Supreme capacitors. Küdos says
its drivers are designed to have complementary rolloff curves, so there is little
for the crossover to do beyond preventing loud bass tones from blowing the
tweeters.
At the rear is a single pair of large
J. A. Michell binding posts (we mourned
them when they disappeared, but they’re
back). Biwiring is neither needed nor
possible, and that’s deliberate. Küdos
can, however, provide speakers with two
sets of binding posts, not for biwiring,
but for biamplification.
Protective screens are supplied, as
they must be in a world of dogs and small
children. They are held on magnetically,
with no retaining hardware showing.
Küdos makes stands for its smaller
models, and indeed the company began
in 1991 as a maker of loudspeaker stands.
However, we were supplied with different ones, the Track Audio Precision 600,
also from the UK. The
Canadian Küdos distributor also brings in those
stands, and particularly
recom mends t hem. At
$2,800 for the pair, they
cost as much as a pretty
good pair of speakers, but
the value is evident. They
are dense and dead, with a
gorgeous finish. The feet
are individually adjustable, and one includes a
spirit level. It’s a beautiful
product. There is no way to
affix the speakers solidly to
the top plates of the stand,
so we used three dollops
of Audio-Tak, taking care
to push the speakers down
firmly so they could not
move.
Because the Super 10’s
are small, we thought of listening to
them in the Alpha system, against our
Living Voice Avatar speakers. But CMI’s
Alex Tiefenboeck suggested it wouldn’t
be unfair to put them up against the
mighty Reference 3a Supremas in the
Omega system. All right by us, though
it was going to be a challenge.
This was another of our “all-analog”
reviews, which never fails to bring smiles
to our panelists. Initially, we selected
five recordings we have used in the past,
and played them through our reference
loudspeakers. As always, we marked the
position of the speakers with masking
tape, carted them out, and placed the
Super 10’s on the stands in the same
position. While our power amplifier
was warming up again, we experimented
with the placement of the speakers.
We determined that positioning them
exactly like our own speakers gave us
both accurate tonal balance and a very
good stereo image. We also determined
that we needed to run music 2 dB louder,
which suggests that the sensitivity might
be 89 dB rather than the stated 87 dB.
Küdos says the speakers can be driven
with as little as 25 watts/channel, and we
see no reason to doubt their word.
Room
Listening
Feedback
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Room
Listening
Feedback
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Room
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Gershman Idol
T
his Canadian company has
long been known for large,
heavy speakers, and (this is
almost redundant) expensive
speakers. Its highest-profile model is
the two-part Black Swan, with a price
deep into five digits (about $30,000) and
a weight close to four digits.
Of course, such speakers have a
limited market. The husband-and-wife
team behind the company, Eli and Ofra
Gershman, have tried to create more
affordable speakers before. The original
Avant Garde speaker (first reviewed in
UHF No. 43) cost some $4,600 in 1995.
There was the pyramid-shaped X-1
speaker that is best forgotten. And there
was the Sonogram, which cost $3,000
when we reviewed it (enthusiastically) in
UHF No. 81 in 2007, but its price has all
but doubled since. Now comes another
attempt to make a floorstanding highend speaker and hang a low price tag on
it.
You might suppose that building
even a good-sized loudspeaker at low
cost can’t be that difficult. Check any
big box store and you’ll see speakers
this size for way under $1,000. Check
online sources and the price will be
even lower, below $500. What’s so tough
about making speakers for $3,000? The
answer becomes obvious if you put a pair
of those cheapies into an actual system.
Of course, what they produce is (with
apologies to the late Douglas Adams)
something that is almost, but not totally,
unlike music. We’ve seen such speakers
on the assembly line, and it ain’t pretty.
But that’s not what we’re talking
about here.
The Idol is a tall but narrow speaker,
with only the slightest amount of rounding of its edges. Though the external
walls are parallel, the internal walls
are not, to minimize internal standing
waves. The innards use a design Eli
Gershman calls “Variable Regulation
Line Technolog y.” That sounds as
though it could refer to “transmission
line” technology, an alternative to the
usual tuned reflex port enclosure, but we
aren’t certain. There is a large port at the
bottom of the speaker, with an art deco
grille whose appearance echoes that of
the grille over the drivers. The veneer
looks as though it could be some sort of
synthetic material, though it is in fact
real wood.
Because of the height of the Idol, the
2.5 cm soft-dome tweeter is under the
woofer, so it’s at ear level for a seated
listener. The woofer is a 15 cm polypropylene unit. The crossover is made with
point-to-point soldering rather than with
the more common printed circuit board.
There are just two very large binding
posts (see page 32), and thus biwiring is
neither possible nor necessary. A bolt-on
outrigger base, which seems to be made
of a composite material, resists tipping.
Machined aluminum cones are included.
Because of the bottom port, the cones
must be used, but we would recommend
them in any case.
Despite the Idol’s imposing height, it
is surprisingly light, and it’s easy for one
person to carry. For high-performance
speakers, by the way, weight may or may
not be a good thing. You might expect
that a very rigid speaker would have a
high mass. On the other hand, mass can It used to be called speaker efficiency, and it was rated in percentage. A speaker
store energy, and that’s not such a good with 4% efficiency was one that used 4% of the music to produce sound, and turned
thing. There’s no magic formula for high the other 96% into heat. Naturally, that made them sound, shall we say…inefficient.
fidelity.
The industry now prefers the term sensitivity.
Eli Gershman is not a seat-of-the- Here’s how it works. If a speaker’s sensitivity is rated at 90 dB, it means that
pants designer. For many years he has if you feed it with a 1 kHz signal at 1 watt (that would be 2.83 volts if the speaker
been trucking his prototypes to Ottawa impedance is 8 ohms), a microphone at
to use the famous National Research 1 metre in front of the speaker, on axis,
Council’s anechoic chamber. That will read a level of 90 dB. That still makes
includes the Idol. Of course, an anechoic it highly inefficient (under 2% efficiency),
chamber is meant for measuring, not but it’s not so blatantly obvious.
listening, and Eli does plenty of that in By the way, that rating method works
a normal living room.
accurately only in a totally non-reverberOur sample speakers were fresh from ant space, such as the anechoic chamber
the Montreal Salon, and were perhaps shown here. Do your measurements in a
reasonably well broken in, but we added big empty room, and you can fudge your
another 50 hours anyway before giving way to a much better spec.
them a listen in our Omega room. We
were comparing them to our Reference timbres accurately so that the listener there too. Gerard praised the warmth
3a Suprema II speakers, which of course can tell one instrument from another of the solo viola as well as the bassoon,
cost some six times more. We always in the same family. Steve thought one though he found the massed violins
experiment with alternative placements instrument sometimes bled into another, lacking in smoothness. Steve, on the
for loudspeakers under test, but we but their identities never got confused. contrary, loved the strings’ shimmering
quickly determined that positioning It was a good beginning.
quality. “It’s not the reference,” said
them like our reference speakers made
We continued with a much more Albert, “but it’s very good.”
them sound best. You’ll want to experi- recent Reference Recordi ngs LP,
ment as well.
Stravinsky’s Firebird (RM-1502), one duis dignisc iliscipissi.
Gershman doesn’t specify sensitivity, of the most lifelike orchestral recordTum veliquat ulpute dolore volore
but we estimated that we needed to run ings we have heard. Its famous ending facipsum esequat. Ut lan veliquat praese
everything 4 dB higher than with our includes not only brass but a large bass facilit lutpat nibh euguero ea feuguer
reference speakers, which are rated at drum that is a challenge to reproduce, suscing enismod dolorero odiamco
91 dB.
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We began the session with Façade fare. They did rather well, in fact, but ulputat. Utpation utpat augait am, core
work inathree
(Reference Recordings RR-16), Wil- Itperhaps
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it up… Web page.
Remember
when you’d have to circle little numbers
The Idols can’t match the
bottom-end
on as
a card
Brand/model:
you would then
Gershman
mail in?Idol
reach of our reference, which came
dolesto eu feu feu feuipsu scipit ad molDoesn’t
Price:
seem
C$2,995
like a long time ago?
no surprise, but it’s well balanced,
with that
orem ex ero odolobore dolobortie digna
very good impact on percussion. The Size (HWD): 113 x 17.5 x 21 cm
recording’s great depth was not flattened, Sensitivity (our estimation): 87 dB
though Steve thought it was reduced to a Nominal impedance: 6 ohms
mere two planes, front and rear. Albert Most liked: Outstanding musical
wanted to hear part of the suite again performance
with 2 dB more volume, and he liked the Least liked: Somewhat austere in its
ese dolore dolutat, volobore diat praesway the extra energy helped open up the appearance
tismod te facilla facil inci blan et aliquis
Verdict: Gershman performance at a
space.
The key to a speaker’s success with price
this recording is reproducing the varied
Speaker Sensitivity
Room
Listening
Feedback
THIS MAGAZINE IS INTERACTIVE!
Cil et veraessisl utat, sed tio dionsendipit nit aliquisi eu facincidunt lobor iure
do ero dignit.
Room
Listening
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CROSSTALK
My overall impression is that these are
transparent speakers, and as such they don’t
lie. Or, should I say, they can’t lie. Give them
a good signal, well-amplified, travelling
unhindered through super-tolerant cables,
and they’ll reward you with music you can
just relax your brain into.
Give them a poor signal — a recording
that isn’t up to the best standards — and
they’ll slap it right back at you. You’ll know.
They won’t sweeten the music to make it
more palatable, because they just can’t. I
think that is a rare quality.
These speakers don’t seem to have their
own sound. They’ll reveal, however, the
sound of the rest of your system, for better
or for worse. When you have them in your
system, they’ll be the benchmark by which
you can judge any future upgrade to your
system. And if that upgrade is a substantial
one, you’ll be able to enjoy it to the fullest
through these speakers.
You’ll know. And you’ll be thankful. And
happy.
—Albert Simon
similar price of the new Idol is sustainable. It
offers great value, and especially, great music.
—Gerard Rejskind
I’ll forgive a lot with a speaker whose
price tag is tailored to the less pecunious.
I’ll give up sparkle and low-end rumble.
I’ll even (reluctantly) give up some of the
illusion of depth. However, I draw the line
at harshness and shrillness, and I insist on
musical emotion.
With these new Gershman speakers, I
got what I wanted, or at least what I needed.
Whatever may be missing is not what is
essential to the enjoyment of music. The
Idols understand rhythm, and they are never
tiring to listen to. Pair them with a suitable
amplifier, and you’ve got something.
Was the Sonogram a higher performance
speaker? Yes it was, but I never did believe
its absurdly low $3,000 price could be maintained. I think, or at least I hope, that the
What a humdinger of a sound garden
jumped out of these beauties! I love the art
deco look of the grilles, too. With the grilles
on or off, the music quality was outstanding.
Stravinsky shimmered. Cohen moved me
to the place where feelings run very deep,
as usual, and Façade gave its master class in
instrumentation.
What also impressed me was the quality of the bass and the “hush.” Though the
room didn’t shake the way it had when the
reference speakers had been at work, it still
made the orchestral kettle drums roll like
thunder.
If your system needs a change, these are
easy to recommend. Serious value here, I
swear.
—Steve Bourke
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. 93: Reviews: The Quad Elite QSP currentdumping amplifier, the Well Tempered Versalex
turntable, the upgraded version of Simaudio’s
Moon 300D DAC, a low-cost DAC from Brik,
power conditioners from GutWire and Kingsound,
two devices to check turntable speed, and a tube
boom box from...Samsung. Home cinema:
Onkyo’s $600 cinema sound solution. Features:
Bergman on feedback and feedforward in
amplifiers, audio then and now, and the glorious
history of the violin. Plus: A three-show roundup,
and a heads-up on hot movies and recordings.
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: A two-box CD player from Reimyo,
and the magical Linn Majik player. Headphones:
a new version of our long time reference headphones, from Koss, 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, 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…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 audiophile source. Plus:
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.
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plus applicable taxes.
oping, but the realistic stereo image
was very good, the dynamics remained
impressive, and the varied instrumental
timbres were mostly fine. “There was
flow and definition, and the music was
well served,” said Toby. Steve agreed,
but commented that the comparison
was a reminder of how good our reference is.
We continued with Way Down Deep,
a Leonard Cohen song from Jennifer
Warnes’ album The Hunter (Private
Music 01005-82089-2). The song is
punctuated by a very large drum we
couldn’t identify. It sounded bigger than
a bass drum, perhaps closer to a Japanese
Kodo drum. Not every system could do
o, we had never heard of this the analog inputs, and about the same it justice, and we weren’t sure a small
amplifier either. There are on the coaxial input. We then wanted amplifier could begin to handle it.
no prizes for guessing that to determine whether it’s a competent
But the MA260 did just fine, surprisit’s from the Netherlands. amplifier with either digital or analog ing us. That huge drum had satisfying
It’s one of a number of amplifiers from source. If it isn’t, then the presence of impact, which indicates that the ampliAudioart. All are actually of European the DAC is meaningless.
fier’s power rating is by no means an
manufacture, though you might not
Accordingly, we began the test of empty boast. It wasn’t quite the same,
guess that from their prices.
the amplifier only, ignoring the DAC. however, with the trailing part of the
At one time, any integrated amplifier We were using a digital source (a Mac drumbeat shallower, as though the
you could find included a phono input. computer, a Stello U3 USB interface amplifier had given its all on the initial
Some still do, and the renewed popular- and a Moon 300D DAC), connected to thump. Toby found that interesting but
ity of vinyl is making the phono preamp one of the MA260’s analog inputs. We less musical and therefore less satisfymore and more of a “must-have” feature. selected four pieces of music, one from a ing. Steve, on the other hand, found
remember when
number
of competitors
The really modern amp, however, has aWe high-definition
file,athe
other three
from thewould
drum less distracting, since he
put CD-resolution
on line only only
the cover
table of to concentrate on fine details,
digital input. And preferably more than
(16/44.1
kHz)image
music.and thepreferred
one.
For this test we contents.
moved to the Alpha including Jennifer’s voice. Gerard noted
We would
tell
themLiving
that you
don’t
go fishing
So here’s the Van Medevoort, with
room,
whose
Voice
Avatar
OBX without
a slightbait.
increase in sibilance and felt less
Sure,speakers
we live from
what
spend
through
just two analog inputs but four digital
might
be ayou
better
match
for our
at site
easeand
than with the reference, but he
the pages
of our print
But Reference
you could spend
daysthe energy in the song, largely
inputs. That means, if you’re still in
this amplifier
thanissue.
the giant
admired
reading
material
for Omega
free.
doubt, that this quite affordable ampli- 3a Suprema
speakers
in our
undiminished.
We think
that’s
onlyweway
we can
convince youWe
of had
the another selection with lots of
fier includes a full-fledged digital-tosystem.
Asthe
usual,
began
the session
analog converter. You don’t even need by listening to UHF
difference,
all the
selections with power at the bottom end, Norman Dello
any sort of cable to link the two, since
of whythe
you
might own
wantelectronics:
to trust us awith
the future
of your
system’s
Copland
Joio’s
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn
they live happily side by side in the same CTA-305
music
home theatre
tube or
preamplifier
and asystem.
Moon (Klavier KS-11138). It opens with an
compact chassis. We figure this could be
We have
readers
onamplifier.
every continent except Antarctica.
W-5LE
power
astonishing outburst of percussion, and
the future…or at least it could be if it’s
Most of them discovered us on line. then moves into delightfully complex
any good. Our goal was to determine The amplifier
They read a lot of our free material. brass and woodwind. The impact of the
whether that was the case.
Andwith
thenthe
theyRachmaninoff
joined us.
We began
tympany made us gasp, because you
Leaving the DAC out of the equa- Symphonic Dances (Reference Record- don’t expect this sort of power from a
tion, the MA260 already looks like some ings HR-96, also available in HDCD small amplifier — though we should not
sort of deal. The raw spec: 50 watts and LP). This is a powerhouse for large have been surprised by now. Of course
per channel in class A. This is such a orchestra and piano, and therefore a it couldn’t quite maintain the great
spectacular boast that we wondered challenge for the entire system. The clarity we had heard with our reference
why Audioart bothers inflating the spec high resolution of the HRx version (24 amplification. Though the rhythm and
sheet by claiming 70 watts/channel music bits with a sampling rate of 176.4 kHz) the dynamic construction were very
power. That meaningless figure went out gives it lots of potential.
good, some of the woodwinds, notably
decades ago.
It was a good beginning. True, there the clarinet, were less natural in timbre,
But let’s not get sidetracked. Our was some reduction in the visceral and certainly less smooth. When they
MA260 was brand new, and we gave it impact of the orchestral tuttis, and the all played together, there was a certain
a couple of weeks of break-in time on sound stage was smaller and less envel- confusion that left Steve uncomfortable.
Van Medevoort MA260
N
Room
Listening
Feedback
WHY A FREE ISSUE
We now moved on to the Jennifer
Warnes song. “The music is way down
deep,” quipped Steve, and indeed that
huge drum remained impressively deep
and powerful. He would have liked
better definition on the drum, though,
remembering how it had sounded with
our reference electronics. He liked the
ascending slide of the bass guitar, with
the audible fingering.
Toby actually liked it better, finding
the overall sound more coherent. “I
wasn’t as much at ease with this sound,”
said Gerard, “but the song doesn’t really
suffer. On the basis of what we’ve heard
so far, I would say that the DAC is well
suited to this amplifier.”
There is plenty of low-end energy on
the Norman Dello Joio wind band piece
too, and the MA260’s DAC handled it
well. “It has impact in all the best ways,”
said Steve. If the dynamics were very
slightly constricted, we had little difficulty picking out the different groups
of instruments, notably the woodwinds.
We were pleased with the lack of any
hardness on the leading edge of the brass
phrases. “A few transients were still too
noticeable,” said Gerard, “but I maintain
my judgement — this DAC is well suited
to the amplifier.”
Could the amplifier, with its DAC,
do justice to the Margie Gibson song?
It could. Steve thought the accompanying cello had lost some of its distinctive
timbre, but that in all other respects the
song worked well. “The failings, such as
they are, are minor,” said Gerard. Toby
agreed, commenting that the song hung
together well, with emotional power and
much of its magic.
Thus far, the Van Medevoort amplifier was proving to be wonderfully well
balanced. But it needed to pass one more
test.
Using USB
The acronym stands for Universal
Serial Bus, and it largely replaced other
once-common computer connections,
Room
Listening
Feedback
“I liked the silent background, though,” our Stello USB interface was connected
said Toby.
directly to the amplifier, without our
We ended this initial listening Moon 300D DAC between the two. If
session with a selection from Margie the DAC was as good as the 300D — or
Gibson’s wonderful Say It With Music at least a good enough match for the
album (Sheffield CD-36), the song I amplifier itself — we would hear no
Got Lost in My Arms. It’s so good it is difference.
nearly impossible to spoil, but when it’s
We began with the Symphonic Dances.
reproduced right it totally captivates
How Maggie
you. The
Works
MA260’s DAC can’t handle the very
It remained very good, with
UHF
impecis, and high
has been
(176.4 kHz) sampling rate of this
cable rhythm and phrasing, though
for many
at HRx
years,digital file. Nor does it allow a settimes it sounded as though
a print
it was
magazine.
too ting
Butofwe
know
half
that sampling rate, 88.2 kHz.
loud. Was the amplifier running
more and
out more
of We
audiophiles
had then no choice but to select
breath? Sibilance was more prominent,
want to read the
it onDAC’s
their maximum sampling rate of
and there was an occasional
computer
touchorofiPad.
And they’re
96 kHz.
This is not optimum, because
hardness. “It’s the difference
willing
between
to save 96
money
too.
doesn’t
divide evenly into 176.4.
enjoyment and fascination,”Click
said here,
Steve.and letAnd,
Maggie
no doubt for that reason, the
Added Toby, “With the reference
it’s topiece
explain how
get the
fullsound as deliciously lifelike
didn’t
luminous, whereas with this version
it for
version
as it$4.
had. There was still plenty of impact
is merely very well lit.”
And we mean
a PDF
from
the full orchestra, and the handoff
A preliminary conclusion?
an from
versionAs
without
digitlthe
rights
piano to the double basses
“ordinary” integrated management
amplifier, the
you was
can transfer
to Rachmaninov’s music
very good.
MA260 is more than ordinary.
thereof your
theBut
device
choice.
remained
deliciously melodic. Certain
was more to come.
instruments seemed to have moved
forward, however, and they lacked the
Going digital
gossamer delicacy we had heard with
In this first session we had been full resolution playback. The depth had
using one of the amplifier’s two analog become noticeably shallower. “There
inputs. What makes the Van Medevoort just isn’t the same dynamic tension,” said
unusual, however, is its plethora of digital Gerard, “but it still sounds reasonably
inputs. You can see them in the photo good.”
above. The amplifier contains a fullThe three other recordings were
fledged digital-to-analog converter. If all CD-resolution, and so we set the
that DAC was good enough to do justice sampling rate on our Mac’s audio and
to the amplifier itself, that would mean MIDI preference panel to 44.1 kHz.
the MA260 was a bargain.
The presence of the built-in DAC
Summing it up…
required that we break in the amplifier
not once, but twice. Or two and a half Brand/model: Van Medevoort
times, perhaps. We ran over 100 hours Price: C$1,990 (launch price)
on the amplifier using the same input we Size (WDH): 43.4 x 36.8 x 7.8 cm
would be using for the listening session. Rated power: 50 watts/channel
And then we ran it in again for the same Analog inputs: 2
amount of time using the coaxial digital Digital inputs: USB, coaxial, optical
input. After that, we did a brief run-in Most liked: Excellent amplifier performance, very good DAC
time using the USB input.
Why so little? Because, as we shall Least liked: Poor USB circuit
see, the USB seems to be an afterthought. Verdict: The integrated amp of toWe used the same recordings as in morrow, but tomorrow is now
the first session. This time, however,
such as serial and parallel. In its earliest
incarnation, USB was used to connect
such peripherals as keyboards and mice,
but in its later versions it became fast
enough to handle hard drives, music
players and tablets. USB is an advantageous interface for music DACs too,
because it is bidirectional, allowing a
computer and its peripheral to talk to
each other. It can also supply a limited
amount of electrical power, obviating the
need for a separate power supply.
Audio designers were slow to catch
on to USB, though more and more
audiophiles were buying small and inexpensive computers to act as dedicated
music servers, placed next to the music
system. When they realized which way
the wind was blowing, many designers
bought off-the-shelf circuits that proved
to be woefully inadequate.
That is what Van Medevoort appears
to have done. Though the company
claims its USB circuit is not synchronous
(based on one-way communication
between computer and DAC), it is limited to 16 bits and a 48 kHz sampling
rate. The chip used is a Burr-Brown
PCM2704, which is supposed to operate
even on a Windows PC without a driver.
For what it’s worth, even our Stello interface box sounds awful with Windows
unless April Music’s driver is used. In
any case, resolution of 16/48 is a sign of
an obsolete chip.
We plugged our BIS Audio USB cable
directly from our MacBook Pro to the
amplifier, without using our Stello U3
outboard USB interface box, and listened
to Margie Gibson again.
The result was dreadful, with Margie’s voice transformed, and not in a
good way. The magic was gone. The
decay of the notes was truncated, “the
way it would be on a $500 CD player,”
said Gerard.
“More like a $200 player,” suggested
Toby.
It was as we had expected. A usable
USB circuit would have been the cherry
on the sundae. Even so, it’s a terrific
sundae. If you’re using an MA260 with
a dedicated computer, you’ll probably
prefer to use an optical connection,
which, like the coaxial circuit, works
very well.
Conclusions
The Van Medevoort MA260 is, in
nearly every way, the very model of what
a good, affordable integrated amplifier
should be. It has plenty of clean power
and doesn’t run out of breath easily. It
has a built-in DAC of suitable quality,
capable of giving superb results with
its coaxial and optical inputs. Last but
hardly least, its attractive price reminds
us that good engineering need not cost
more than bad engineering.
Room
Listening
Feedback
CROSSTALK
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esto delis.
ADL GT40
T
You might assume that Furutech
has achieved such an attractive price by
using cheap parts, as plenty of manufacturers do. If so, it doesn’t show. The
finish of the chassis speaks of quality,
and the jacks at the rear are premium
grade, with Teflon insulation.
Since this device can perform so
many tasks, we needed to do four separate reviews. We wondered how good a
DAC it is, how good a phono preamp it
is, whether it is a good choice for headphone listening, and whether it is useful
for, say, digitizing your LPs.
The DAC
There are more and more converters coming onto the market, as audiophiles shift their music libraries onto
convenient computer hard drives. A
substantial number of these DACs are
low in cost, and you won’t be surprised
to learn that you can’t make a silk purse
from a sow’s ear.
How good can a $500 DAC be? For
that matter, how good can it be if it also
performs three other major functions?
But one question at a time.
Plug the GT40 into a computer, and
it identifies itself by name and model
number. It offers a large number of
sampling rates, but most are not useful
to anyone but telephone engineers:
for instance, 32 kHz down to a mere
8 kHz. The useful rates are 44.1 kHz
(standard Red Book CD) and 96 kHz.
We wish there were an intermediate rate
Room
Listening
Feedback
he acronym stands for Alpha
Design Labs, a division of
Furutech, the Japanese company known for high-end
audio connectors, cables and other gear.
Furutech’s products are on the luxurious, and therefore expensive, side. The
new ADL line, by contrast, aims at value
for money.
Not that there’s anything obviously
cheap about this affordable product. It’s
billed as an “audio interface,” because it
defies conventional description. It is a
digital-to-analog converter. It is a phono
preamplifier, able to accommodate
both moving-magnet and moving-coil
cartridges. It is a headphone amplifier
with a full-sized front-panel jack. And
all this for under $500. Wow!
But, as they say on the shopping
channel, wait, there’s more! It also contains an analog-to-digital converter,
which means it can be used to transfer
LPs, cassettes or any other analog audio
source to your computer hard drive. All
it lacks is a turnip twaddler (see Bloom
County).
Like many small audio products, the
GT40 uses a “wall wart” rather than an
internal power supply. The blue button
is the on/off switch, and it is also the
pilot light. The red/green button allows
you to choose whether you want to use
an analog input (phono/line) or a digital
source (USB). Another switch at the rear
lets you toggle between a turntable and a
high-level source, such as a cassette deck.
of 88.2 kHz, for reasons we’ll get to
presently.
We selected four recordings,
three of them high-resolution,
listening to them with our reference setup (a Stello U3 interface
and a Moon 300D DAC), and then
substituting the GT40.
The first recording was David
Chesky’s modern orchestral suite
Urbanicity, available on HDTracks
(supposedly off-limits to Canadians, but
don’t get us started). Like many other
HDTracks recordings, it’s in 24-bit
96 kHz resolution.
Steve hated the music and couldn’t
get past that. Albert and Gerard were
impressed by the low-frequency impact
on the plentiful percussion Chesky
clearly loves. The GT40 reproduced
a little less of the recording’s depth,
though it remained more than reasonable. Of course the ADL could not quite
keep up with the performance of our
reference setup. Some brighter instruments seemed too far forward, and the
volume sometimes seemed too loud.
Turning it down resulted in lost detail,
however.
We continued with the Manouche
Swing Quintet, playing I Fall in Love Too
Easily (on the Fidelio label). This too is a
24/96 recording, and of course the GT40
played it at full resolution. The ADL
brought forth a lot of fine detail, and it
maintained strong rhythm — important
for swing music. There was very good
separation of the instrumental timbres,
and this time there was no confusion.
There were, of course, signif icant differences. With the reference
t he inst r uments — especially t he
saxophone — had an appealing warmth.
Some of that was lost. “When the instruments play louder, and especially when
the trumpet returns, you want to turn
down the volume,” said Albert. “With
the reference you want to turn it up.”
We wanted to include the Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances we had much
enjoyed in some of our other reviews.
This Reference Recordings HRx release
(HR-96) is supplied on a DVD-R as a
high-resolution music file, ready to be
transferred to your hard drive. However,
the sampling rate is 176.4 kHz. Keith
O. Johnson selected that rate because it
Room
Listening
Feedback
is exactly four times the sampling rate
of the CD, 44.1 kHz. We wished the
GT40 could accommodate a rate of 88.2
kHz, half the rate of the original. But it
doesn’t, and so we had to set it to 96 kHz.
Of course, 96 doesn’t divide evenly into
176.4.
All considered, then, the GT40 did
well, giving the orchestra pretty much
all of its energy. “The bass slam and the
bottom end have great impact,” said
Steve. “The timbres just shimmer. This
converter handles the demands of the
full orchestra with aplomb.” Of course,
it didn’t quite match our own DAC’s
full-resolution performance. Depth was
shallower, and Albert missed the sense
of the hall space, which we could hear
more clearly with our reference. Still,
he pronounced the rendition nearly as
good.
These days we often end a session
with Margie Gibson’s gorgeous recording, Say It With Music, because…well, it’s
highly revealing, and besides, we like it.
We ended with the romantic ballad, Soft
Lights and Sweet Music.
The ADL did outstandingly well.
Margie’s voice had a little less weight
and less of a “halo” effect, and the
opening piano chords bordered on the
strident, but her astonishing presence
was intact. “I forgot to compare,” said
Albert, “because nothing called itself to
my attention. It was just super.” Gerard
commented that this was probably better
than you could get from even the finest
CD player.
And that was pretty much our conclusion. Strictly as a DAC, the GT40 is a
terrific success. But converting digital
to analog is only one of the arrows in its
quiver.
The phono preamp
Why would you want a DAC and a
phono preamp in the same box? The
obvious appeal is that it makes it easy to
turn analog sources, notably LPs, into
digital files, ready for your computer or
your iPod. We’ll get to that shortly, but
first we wanted to see whether the phono
section is something you would want to
listen to.
Everything we’ve said about cheap
digital-to-analog converters also applies
to cheap phono preamps. Typical prob42   ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
lems include noise, opaque sound and
shrill and unnatural highs. How much of
a phono stage can you include for $500…
when some of that money has to go into
a DAC, an ADC (the opposite of a DAC)
and a headphone amp? We would soon
see.
We selected two very high-quality
LPs we knew would present a major
challenge. If the GT40 turned out to
have one of those simple phono stages
like the ones described in experimenters’
notebooks…it would take only two LPs
to show it up. We used the turntable
from our Omega system: a fully trickedout Linn LP12 with Alphason titanium
arm and London Reference cartridge.
We listened to the recordings with our
Audiomat Phono2 preamp, and then
substituted the GT40.
Of course, you’ve noticed that the
GT40 includes a volume control. For
this purpose, we turned it all the way up.
That way, the signal would not actually
be travelling through the control at all,
and we could expect the best possible
quality.
The first recording was a longdiscontinued two-disc blockbuster from
Reference Recordings, Beachcomber
(RR-62), from which we selected the
spectacular 76 Trombones.
We were split on the GT40’s rendition. Steve and Albert were both
impressed. Steve noted a certain “mist”
between him and the music, but Albert
loved the high energy level. “There’s a
bit of shrillness in the tuttis, but there
was nothing I found irritating. I’m very
surprised.”
Gerard was more critical, though he
Summing it up…
Brand/model: ADL GT40
Price: C$499
Size (WDH): 15 x 11 x 5.5 cm
Most liked: Outstanding performance at a bargain price
Least liked: No setting for 88.2 kHz,
no analog volume control for recording.
Verdict: If the Swiss Army came out
with a high-end audio product, this
would be it.
agreed that the ADL exhibited none of
the flaws common to low-cost phono
preamps. “There’s wonderful impact,” he
said, “but the instruments have rougher
textures and the piccolo is too shrill.
When the music gets loud, it just seems
too loud.”
The second selection was No Frontiers, the title tune from Mary Black’s
best-known album. The song is luminous even on the difficult-to-find CD,
but it is entrancing on the LP.
The volume control on the GT40 is
not calibrated, and as we explained we
had been running it at full volume to
get the potentiometer out of the circuit.
We were choosing volume, as usual, by
consensus. It would be possible to use
instruments to get volume exactly the
same between two components, and
there’s a certain contingent of audio critics who believe louder is always better,
and therefore if levels are not matched
within a tenth of a decibel, a comparison
cannot be valid. For reasons we have
explained, we consider that argument
bogus. We did once, brief ly, use a
microphone to match levels exactly, but
our ears were telling us that the volume
wasn’t right. We went back to following
our collective judgement, and we know
that you’ll do the same. You’ll listen at a
level that seems right to you.
That was what we had done, but on
some passages we found our chosen
volume not truly comfortable. We
reduced it by some 2 dB (our reference preamp is calibrated in tenths of
a decibel), and we were happier. Mary
Black’s remarkably expressive voice still
had plenty of power. There was plenty
of detail as well, in her voice and in the
accompanying instruments. We hung on
every word, on every syllable.
But of course the ADL could not
match our Audiomat. Instrumental
timbres were less attractive. “There were
fewer variations, and also less finesse,”
said Albert.
All three of us had our criticisms,
because we are used to such a high
level of performance from our own
phono preamp. However, this is not
the first affordable phono preamplifier
we’ve listened to, and it is difficult not
to be impressed. We have minimum
demands — proper reproduction of lively
energy and detail, and not ever annoying
us — and the ADL GT40 met those
demands easily.
Why would you want to turn your analog material into digital? The major reason
is convenience. You probably don’t keep a cassette deck in your music system, even
if you still own one. And much as you may enjoy your LPs, you may want to hear
them on your iPod or in the car without buying that music all over again.
Though the physical hookup is quite straightforward, you can’t record without
recording software. A number of companies make it. We ourselves are fond of
Audacity, an open-source multichannel recording package that is free and can be
installed on Mac OS X, Windows or Linux. Audacity’s advantages (did we mention
that it’s free?) include astonishing flexibility and excellent performance. It is stable,
furthermore, not crashing just as you’re trying to save a two-hour recording. We
give it a lot of points for that.
Below is the main window of Audacity. Note that you can record many track
pairs, and then mix them down, just as music producers in professional studios do.
Audacity does have its quirks. You may tear out your hair because you can’t get
an input signal, and then you realize that you have to click on the meters before
they’ll register anything. If you stop the recording (instead of pausing it) and you
start recording again, Audacity will put the new recording on new tracks.
Though you’ll be recording an LP or other work as a single pair of stereo tracks,
you’ll want to split them into individual selections before either burning the music
to CD or adding it to your playlist. Some recording software can do this automatically by detecting the silence between tracks and adding a marker. We have yet to
find one that can do it perfectly. If you need to fix up the markers, you’ll probably
find it easier to do the job yourself in the first place.
You can tag the markers with the titles of the tracks, but you may find that when
you import the tracks into your music management software, such as iTunes, the
track titles will appear as if by magic anyway. That’s because Gracenote, the same
online database that fills in the titles when you rip a CD, can actually listen to the
opening track and match it up with the correct recording. Of course, that works
only if the LP you’ve digitized is also available on CD or other digital source.
Audacity’s export options are numerous, and you may find them bewildering,
but once you have the settings right all will be easy from then on.
Incidentally, the GT40 can record in standard CD Red Book format, which is
probably what you’ll choose for most purposes, but you can also choose to record
in 24/96 resolution, and with a good source the difference is clearly audible. For
most purposes, CD-resolution is just fine. You can, however, burn a 24/96 file onto
a blank DVD, playable on any DVD player ever made. How it will sound depends
on the player.
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Recording with the GT40
If you’re like us, you consider vinyl
to be one of the best high-fidelity media
ever, and still an attractive choice today.
Why would you want to transfer LPs to
digital?
There are numerous reasons. If you
use a portable player, such as an iPod, on
the go or in your car, you may want to
bring along music you have only on LP,
and don’t want to buy all over again. And
perhaps you have personal archives on
cassette or even open-reel tape, and you
would like to preserve them digitally and
have convenient access to them besides.
It has long surprised us that audio
manufacturers don’t make the process
more convenient. True, for about $120
you can get a plastic turntable that
automatically turns vinyl into MP3 (yes,
MP3 — forget any better formats). We
probably don’t need to explain to UHF
readers why you should abandon music
all ye who enter here. So where are the
better solutions?
The key to digitizing your analog
media is the ADC…the reverse of the
familiar DAC we talk so much about. It
stands, of course, for “analog-to-digital
converter.” We’ve been using an Edirol
UA-25 for some years, but who is Edirol?
It’s a division of Roland, the people who
make those professional synths you see
at rock and jazz shows. And there’s the
problem. You’ll see Roland at large music
stores catering to professional musicians,
not at the electronics or audio stores
you’re likely to hang around.
What’s more, such interface boxes are
generally designed for the convenience
of pros, not audiophiles. The front panel
of our Edirol, for instance, has XLR
connectors meant for microphones. The
high-level inputs use mono phone plugs,
which we bet you don’t have in your
drawer. There are no real volume controls, either, just “sensitivity” controls.
One quick anecdote: a few years back
we called Roland asking whether our
Audiophile Store could become a dealer
for Edirol, explaining we could expose
their products to a new customer base.
We got blown off.
Digitization: the Software
You can use the GT40 as a complete
path from your turntable to your computer. Or, if you prefer to use your own
phono preamp, or if your analog source
is a tape deck, say, you use the GT40’s
line input. You then connect it to the
“record out” jacks on your preamplifier
or integrated amplifier (most still have
them, even if they don’t have a tape circuit). On your computer’s audio control
panel, choose the GT40 as a source. You
can also choose to record in normal CD
resolution (16/44.1) or higher resolution
(24/96).
In our tests we used Audacity, opensource multitrack recording software
(see Digitization on the previous page),
but you may choose pretty much any
audio recording software, free or paid.
What we discovered when we fired up
the software is that in recording mode,
the volume knob controls output, not
input. The recording volume must
therefore be controlled through the
computer’s control panel. This is a lossy
system, and ADL’s very short manual
tells you to set the software volume
control to maximum. We found that,
by happenstance, that worked well for
the recordings we tried, but we wish
there were some other sort of sensitivity
control.
That said, we very much liked the
results we got recording with the GT40.
You might think that the recording function is a mere accessory, and in fact most
reviews we’ve read don’t mention it. It is,
however, a terrific thing to have.
The headphone amplifier
You can spend thousands of dollars
on a dedicated amplifier to drive headphones, but even a lot of receivers come
with headphone jacks. Is this more than
an afterthought?
For this test we plugged the “record
out” circuit of our Moon P-8 preamplifier into the GT40’s line input, as we
would if we wanted to digitize an LP,
and then we tried two favorite LPs, Mary
Black’s No Frontiers and The Dallas
Wind Symphony’s A Chorus Line (from
Reference Recordings’ Beachcomber
album). We listened with our reference
headphones, the professional-level Koss
PRO/4A A A (unrelated to later Koss
phones of the same name). The first
thing we noticed is that the phone amp
has all the gain you could possibly want,
and then some.
We had reservations about the Mary
Black song. Though this amplifier digs
out the fine details, rendering transients
with speed and punch, the song grew
tiring to listen to well before the end.
But that may not be the way you
would listen. We suspect we were
actually hearing the A DC and the
DAC back-to-back. We plugged the
GT40 into our computer via USB and
listened to Margie Gibson’s Soft Lights
and Sweet Music. It was glorious, with
neither harshness nor shrillness, but
plenty of detail and emotion. We then
bumped it up to 24/96 and listened to
the Manouche Swing Quintet’s I Fall in
Love Too Easily. It was about as good as we
could have asked for, with smoothness
and gorgeous instrumental timbres.
Not bad for a headphone amplifier that is only a small part of a $500
product!
Conclusion
This is a beautifully designed and
well-built product, offered at a most
attractive price. It can do a lot, and it
does it well. Its functions and performance are totally out of synch with its
low price.
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CROSSTALK
Considering what it was up against in
our reference system, this unit is a wonder.
Actually it’s a wonder strictly by being a
phono preamp, and the fact that it’s also
a USB-connected DAC is a tremendous
bonus. It would be very good if it fulfilled
its different roles merely adequately, but I
was grinning widely when I realized it was
more than adequate. Way, way more than
adequate.
I suspect that some of our readers, sadly,
have never listened to a decently played LP.
This unit can smooth the way to the vinyl
playground. Granted, you’ll need some more
coin for a decent turntable and cartridge, but
you can certainly afford to wait and save,
while enjoying a substantial upgrade for your
computer-generated music.
—Albert Simon
Most everybody might agree that a
device purporting to perform many different
audio functions well is a device that tries too
hard. Is this tiny box of nicely polished metal
really as capable as it claims? And at a little
under $500, how could it do four crucial
audio jobs well at such a totally modest price?
I was skeptical going into the test, but
amazed coming out of it. Bass slammed and
roared, timbres were very believable, and
complex orchestral passages were handled
with ease. Yes, the reference was better in
most respects, but not better by a gigantic
margin. This dandy little fistful of audio
dynamite must be on steroids, because it hit
a whole bunch of musical phrases right out of
the park. Impressed? You bet I am. High-end
performance at a low-end price is what you’re
going to get.
—Steve Bourke
If you’ve been following our recent
articles, you know that, difficult as it is to
make a great DAC of any sort, making a great
USB DAC is even less common. The GT40
is a USB DAC — indeed, it can’t connect to a
digital source by any means but USB — and
it gets fantastic results. I don’t mean that it is
anywhere close to the state of the art, because
at this price that would be fantasy, but it gets
the basics right. There are so many products
at much higher prices that don’t.
Of course, that’s not all. The GT40 is
also a phono preamp that is way better than
average, an ideal match for all but the very
top turntables. And it can even let you turn
your analog media into digital. Oh, I have
criticisms there too, but it puts a lot of power
into your hands.
Notice something. We called it an excellent DAC with a good phono preamp thrown
in, or a very good phono preamp that also
comes with a DAC. And a headphone amp.
Where is this thing made? Japan? China?
Taiwan? Who knows? Who cares?
—Gerard Rejskind
Digital From KingRex
I
where anyone will walk on it. Alternatives would include Apple’s inexpensive
Airport Express, which connects via
optical fibre, or turnkey systems such as
those from Bryston, Simaudio and Linn.
Many audiophiles, however, are adding
small computers to their music systems
and using a USB interface box to get the
best performance from the DAC of their
choice. Such standalone interfaces may
be transitional technology, but we’re glad
to have it available.
Though our Stello is powered by
the computer, both of the KingRex
interfaces come with “wall wart” power
supplies. KingRex does offer an alternative power supply, which we will get to
shortly.
The UC192
The “192” in the model name refers
to the maximum sampling rate that the
unit is designed for, in this case 192 kHz.
That’s the highest sampling rate of any
high-resolution music files we have seen,
and it coincides with the maximum
resolution of both our Stello U3 and
our Moon 300D DAC. The unit costs
$259, little more than half the price of
the Stello.
As with our Stello, the output of
the UC192 offers you a choice of either
S/PDIF (the familiar coaxial cable) or
AES/EBU (balanced cable). The box is
too small for the usual XLR balanced
connector, however, and KingRex supplies a proprietary balanced cable with a
much smaller plug. We recommend the
coaxial cable.
As usually happens, the KingRex
devices require no driver to work with
a Macintosh computer. A driver for use
with Windows computers is included
in the box, but unfortunately it is
on a miniature CD-R. Though such
undersized CDs were once popular for
music singles, they can jam in a modern
computer drive, actually damaging it and
requiring an expensive replacement. If
you’re running Windows, we strongly
recommend downloading the driver
from the www.kingrex.com site’s support
section. Just click on the word “dirver.”
(We know, we know, but then our
Chinese is not error-free either.)
We selected four digital music files,
three of them high-resolution, and
listened to them with our full Omega
reference system. We then substituted
the KingRex UC192 for our Stello,
leaving everything else the same, and
listened again.
We began with the modern orchestral suite Urbanicity by David Chesky
(yes, the co-owner of the Chesky record
label and HDTracks). Recorded in
24/96, it features a good deal of energetic
percussion, as Chesky’s music usually
does, with rich and complex orchestral
textures. It is a difficult work to reproduce adequately.
And the KingRex performed quite
poorly. Certain instruments seemed
more easily audible, but that was largely
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s the name a little redundant? Isn’t
“rex” Latin for “king”? By whatever
name, this series of products from
Taiwan is really quite a series,
including a preamplifier, amplifiers,
loudspeakers and lots more.
The two devices pictured here are the
ones that initially grabbed our attention.
They are USB interfaces. What they
do is take a digital music signal from a
computer, via a cable from the ubiquitous
USB connector, and turn it into the
S/PDIF signal that nearly all converters
can understand.
Regular readers will know that UHF
uses exactly such a device in its own
reference systems. Ours is the Stello U3
from Korea’s April Music. With a price
of $495, it is rather more expensive than
the cheaper of the two KingRex boxes,
but it remains for the moment the very
best we have heard. To any of these boxes
you must add a coaxial digital cable.
Good ones don’t come cheap.
You may also realize that in an ideal
world, none of these devices would be
needed. Your DAC would come with a
full range of input connections, including USB. Most now do, but the USB
circuit is too often a mere afterthought,
with low resolution and even worse
precision. That will change, but the
evolution is excruciatingly slow.
We should add that connecting your
DAC to your music system in this way is
possible only if the computer is close to
the DAC. A USB cable’s length is limited to a little over 5 metres, and it goes
without saying that it can’t be placed
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because of the lack of depth. The bass
drum and the tympani had considerably
less impact. Textures were rougher. The
baritone sax sounded dark. “The piece is
a lot less lively,” said Toby, “though my
foot did tap.” The performance space
was much less defined, and indeed the
whole orchestra seemed to move toward
the right. This was an awful start.
It got better, but not much. We
bumped the resolution up to 24/176.4,
the resolution of the Rachmaninov
Symphonic Dances (HR-96). The space
was better reproduced than with Urbanicity, but there wasn’t much apparent
depth. Instrumental timbres were mostly
distinct, but they were less entrancing
than they had been with our Stello, and
on some passages the instruments would
bunch up in most unnatural fashion.
“Some passages seem too loud,” said
Gerard, “apparently because the UC192
is not handling the digital information
properly, and sometimes it seems too
soft, because detail is so poor.”
Rather dispirited now, we continued
with a swing version of I Fall in Love Too
Easily by the Manouche String Quintet
on the Fidelio label. Not good. The
plucked bass was solid enough, but the
trumpet became annoying well before
the end, and the rhythm guitar had an
unappealingly dark tone. “The velvet has
been replaced by jute,” concluded Albert,
and Toby likened the sound to what you
would see through a window screen.
We know there are great advantages to
high-resolution digital, but they weren’t
getting through.
The UC192 did quite well, though
only by comparison, on the final song,
Margie Gibson’s Soft Lights and Sweet
Music (from Say It With Music, Sheffield
CD-36). She had very good presence,
and we liked the resonance of the piano
notes. She had lost her characteristic
warm sound, however, and that’s something we can’t forgive. When she rose in
volume, well…said Albert, “You realize
that the Stello really isn’t expensive.”
We were glad it was over, frankly, and
we weren’t looking forward to the next
part of the session.
The UC384
The name says it: this USB interface
goes beyond 24 bits and a sampling rate
of 192 kHz all the way to 32
bits and 384 kHz. We had a
question: why?
Is there any music actually available in that resolution? None that we know
of. Even 24/192 material is
difficult to come by, because
until very recently music
wasn’t recorded with such
high resolution any way.
There is always a lingering
suspicion that very highresolution files, which cost
extra and take up both extra
bandwidth and hard drive space, have
been…ahem, tweaked.
As you can see from the picture on
the previous page, the UC192 and the
UC384 look exactly alike. Oddly, the
UC192 can actually be set to a 384 kHz
sampling rate, probably because it uses
the same chip. It’s considerably more
expensive, though, at $499 for the version shown. A cheaper version, with
coaxial output only, goes for $329.
We selected only two of the recordings we had just listened to, convinced as
we were that the differences between the
two interface boxes was one of labelling,
and that this one would be as dispiriting
an experience as the first one.
We were wrong.
We began with Urbanicity, which
sounded much closer to the way we had
heard it with our Stello reference. There
was a broader sound stage, with good
depth and a pleasant variety of timbres
and textures. “There’s a wider sound
stage and a nice variety of timbres and
textures,” said Toby, “and I liked the
swoop of the strings. More than my foot
was moving this time.”
Yet even this KingRex was no match
for the Stello. The dynamics were
weaker, and the instruments seemed
too close to one another. “The rhythm
is strong,” said Gerard, “but that’s about
all the praise I can muster.”
We bumped the resolution up to
176.4 kHz and listened to the Symphonic
Dances. We agreed that it sounded rather
good. There was a fine sense of the space
that had been mucked up by the other
KingRex, and the instruments were less
forward. They were easier to pick out,
too, without the confusion we had heard
earlier. “You can concentrate on how
good a recording this is,” said Albert,
“whereas with the first one the question
didn’t even come up.”
But good may not good enough, and
we maintained our reservations. “The
timbres are less juicy,” said Toby. “On
the dance of the woodwinds, the timbres
are not as rich.”
We wondered why there was a difference at all. We operated both units
well within the resolution limits of the
UC192. Gerard wondered whether the
difference might be random, the result
of poor quality control.
But we agreed that it scarcely mattered. The UC394 we reviewed actually
costs four dollars more than the vastly
superior Stello U3. Even the cheaper
one is no bargain. You would save a few
dollars from a large budget (good DACs
and proper digital cables are not cheap),
but you would be throwing away a lot of
musical enjoyment.
We had another KingRex product we
had been wanting to try, the UPower,
shown above. It’s an accessory power
supply for various KingRex products,
including these two. It replaces the wall
wart, and you’ll notice the blue “charging” light on the front. The UPower
includes a battery pack, which you
recharge. There are advantages to running from a high-current battery rather
than from the power line.
But we decided not to try it with
either of the USB boxes. Adding the
UPower would add another $229 to the
bill. That could be justified if the units
were already at least acceptable, but
they’re not.
We decided to end the review there.
deep, and we could hear that she was
some distance from the microphones.
Albert found the words especially clear,
with what seemed to be additional
energy in certain passages. The piano
accompaniment was gorgeous, full of
subtle details and sensitivity. Pacing was
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We could hear the most subtle modulations of Gibson’s remarkable voice, and
the piano was fine as well. The sound was
lively, with no loss of focus, no blurring
of passages.
Of course, the UD-01 was not really
a match for our reference combination.
The sound was a little drier, and less
refined too. Toby even noted occasional
confusion on the high notes. Still, we
were pleased. “They’ve made compromises, but they’ve kept the music,”
commented Toby.
Optical linking
All three of the KingRex products
reviewed here use a USB connection to
your computer. As we’ve seen, making a
good USB connection is not always easy,
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The UD-01 DAC
Unlike the UC192 and UC394, which
can be termed accessories, the UD-10
is a full-fledged DAC. Here, USB is not
merely an option but the only digital
input. You come out of the computer into
the UD-01, and then on to your amplifier with an ordinary pair of interconnects. Unlike the two USB boxes, this
one can’t handle high-resolution audio,
limited as it is to 16/48 kHz. Other USB
DACs with that sort of spec have been
trash. Fair warning.
The session with this DAC came at
the end of a long day: long not because
a lot of hours had gone by, but because
time creeps by slowly when you’re not
having fun. So what now? KingRex had
whiffed twice, and we were supposed
to believe that it could make a full USB
DAC for $330 that wasn’t going to drive
us even deeper into a funk.
Well, it didn’t. We love this sort of
surprise.
We had selected three recordings,
two of them CD-quality, and only one
in high resolution.
We began with Pauline Viardot-Garcia’s art song Haï Lulli, sung by Canadian
soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. We were
bracing for the worst, but what we heard
delighted us. The space was broad and
We decided to end the session with
the Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances,
though we understood the disadvantage
of including it. This HRx file from Reference Recordings is essentially a copy
of Keith O. Johnson’s master recording,
done in 24 bits with a sampling rate of
176.4 kHz. But the UD-01 doesn’t support that sort of resolution. It is limited
to 16 bits, with a maximum sampling
rate of 48 kHz (used only for movies
and early digital recordings). It is essentially limited to CD quality. We would
have to truncate the 24 bits to 16, and
downsample the data by four times. Call
us curious, but we wanted to know what
would happen.
The music was certainly diminished,
but the result was not the catastrophe we
had feared. There was less of a sense of
the spacious concert hall, but it was by
no means all gone. The impact in the
tuttis was impressive. The instrumental
timbres — even those of the delicate
woodwinds — came through well. The
strong rhythm was irresistible. Once
again, the compromises had been made
in the right place. “There’s still a reduction on the refinement we could hear
with our reference setup,” said Gerard,
“but the music doesn’t really suffer.”
We talked a little more among ourselves about exactly what was missing
and what still had us marvelling, but by
now we were convinced. This Taiwanese
company, despite its failings with the
two USB interface boxes, has a hit on
its hands with this little USB DAC.
We should mention that there exists
a “pro” version of the UD-01, at a price
of $485. It’s about twice the size, with
an inboard power supply instead of a
wall wart, using a standard IEC power
cord. It’s still limited to CD resolution,
however, and its higher price places it up
against some rather stiff competition.
We were happy that we had listened
to the three KingRex products in what
turned out to be the right order. The day
had still seemed long, but we had ended
on a high note.
but is there any other way to connect a
DAC to a computer?
We have already mentioned the
optical (TOSLINK) connection. We
don’t consider TOSLINK the equal of
properly implemented USB, but what
if you don’t have properly implemented
USB?
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Making the Connection
At one time, connecting an outboard DAC was simple: it could connect only to
a CD transport or CD player. You plugged a cable, usually a coaxial digital cable,
from the transport’s output into the DAC’s input, and voilà!
Connecting to a computer is more complicated, because you need to “tell” the
computer what output to use — its
default is usually its built-in loudspeakers. Windows has a control
panel for that. With a Mac, often
favored by audiophiles because
you can buy one that is small,
silent and easy to set up, you use
the Audio MIDI Setup panel of
the System Preferences. With
Windows you will almost certainly need a driver, which may be included or will
at least be downloadable. With a Mac, OS X’s Core Audio is usually sufficient.
As you can see, the UD-01 identifies itself as a Burr-Brown PCM2702. A sampling rate of 44.1 kHz is the only usable choice (rates of 48 and 32 kHz are the only
others available). On the right-hand menu, you can choose between 16 bits and 16
bits/single channel.
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CROSSTALK
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THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
SPEAKER CABLES
INTERCONNECTS
ATLAS MAVROS CABLES
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
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
A four-wire
monocrystal cable
with porous Teflon
dielectric, available
with OCC spades,
as shown, or rhodium-plated locking bananas. We can upgrade to
WBT nextgen locking bananas.
ORDER: AMBCu-3, 3 m pair, OCC spades, or bananas, $2999
AORDER:
big winner
in one of UHF’s
blind
tests of speaker cables is
AMBCu-5,
5 m pair,
$4800
Hyper 2,
oxygen
free stranded
wire in bananas
Teflon dielectric.
Plus
ORDER:anWBT,
upgrade
from rhodium
to WBT nextgen
connectors
(see below).
Hyper
2 plus an
set
locking bananas,
$140 per
set Biwire
of fouris(3Hyper
sets needed
for added
biwiring)
of solid core wires for
the highs.
ORDER: AH2, Hyper 2
cable, $34.95/metre
ORDER: AHB, Hyper
Biwire cable, $54.95/
metre
Add the connectors
of your choice:
ATLAS HYPER SPEAKER CABLES
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.
BIS AUDIO EXPRESSION
We gave a terrific review to these admirable cables in UHF No. 88,
and we’re pleased to be able to offer them to you. They come with
the unique ETI (Eichmann) connectors.
ORDER: BEI-1, 1 m Expression interconnect pair, $480
ORDER: BEI-2, 2 m Expression interconnect pair, $640
CONNECTORS
NAKAMICHI CONNECTORS
Nakamichi was known for the world’s best cassette recorders,
but they offer connectors as well. These beautifully-made NAK-B
bananas make excellent internal contact. The locking version has
a collar you tighten to connect to the binding post under pressure.
ORDER: NAK-B kit 4 basic bananas, $5.00
ORDER: NAK-L kit 4 locking bananas, $20.00
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
PIERRE GABRIEL SILVER
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
49
CONNECTOR TREATMENT
ORDER: NAK-B kit 4 basic bananas, $5.00, but free with cable
ORDER: NAK-L kit 4 locking bananas, $20.00, but $16 with cable
ORDER: FTB-R kit 4 rhodium-plated locking bananas, $90
ORDER: NAK-L kit 4 lrhodium-plated spades, $90
ORDER: WBT-0610 Kit 4 angled nextgen bananas, $160
ORDER: WBT-0681 Kit 4 nextgen spades, $160
SINGLE CRYSTAL JUMPERS
Not biwiring? Dump the free jumpers that
came with your speakers. Atlas jumpers are
far better.
ORDER: ACJ, four single crystal jumpers,
$99.95
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
WBT NEXTGEN CONNECTORS
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.
DIGITAL CABLES
ATLAS OPUS DIGITAL
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
ATLAS MAVROS DIGITAL
MAVROS OCC
This is our new reference digital cable. We recommend it for the
best systems.
ORDER: AMD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $599
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
TOSLINK OPTICAL DIGITAL
SEE EVEN MORE PRODUCTS
IN OUR ON-LINE CATALOG
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
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
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, $90
ORDER: FTS-R, set of four spades, $90
50
STYLUS CLEANERS
TWO CABLES INTO ONE JACK
We’re often asked how we clean the stylus on
our cartridge. We were using the little bottle of
stylus cleaner made by…well, you know who. We
didn’t like the residue that built up on the stylus,
though. So our chem lab, which makes the LPC
record cleaner, came up with this one. If you
use the purest ingredients, including distilled
water, you get way better results. We wouldn’t
be without it.
ORDER: St(eye)lus, $11.95
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
ANALOG PRODUCTS
LONDON REFERENCE
But
then we
find this
product useful too. The
Enzow Zerodust has a
gummy surface that sucks
dust from the stylus. When
it gets dirty (and you’ll be
amazed how much dirt if picks up), just wash it under the tap.
ORDER: Enzow Zerodust, $66.95
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
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 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
COMING SOON: High-quality
rice-paper-like sleeves from
Japan. Price to be determined at press time.
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
Concentrated cleaner for LP vacuum cleaning machines. Much
safer than some formulas we’ve seen! It leaves no residues, because
we make it with the purest surfactant available, as well as distilled
water, not tape water. It’s affordable, because we offer it as a halflitre concentrate, which you mix with demineralized or distilled
water to make 4 litres.
ORDER: LPC, $19.95
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
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
MOON PHONO PREAMPS
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.
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
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
NOTE: The Moon preamps are shipped set for moving magnet
setting. We’ll reset it to your specification so you won’t have to.
DISCONTINUED
KINGSOUND CURRENT
SMOOTHER
VINYL ESSENTIALS TEST LP
LP RECORD CLEANER
EXSTATIC RECORD BRUSH
TITAN STYLUS LUBRICANT
MORE ANALOG…
BRAND NEW AND FACTORYREFURBISHED MOON PREAMPS,
AMPS, CD PLAYER, DACs
AVAILABLE ON LINE
www.audiophileboutique.com/
hardware
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.
Contact us for availability
SILVER SOLDER
Whatever you want to solder,
you shouldn’t use the toxic lead
solder found on most shelves.
We really liked this solder,
from Wakø-Tech. It contains
4% silver, no lead and we use
it ourselves, but we’re running
short too. We’re looking for a
new source, and we hope to be
able to
ORDER: SR-4N, 100 g solder roll No longer available
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
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
THE AUDIOPHILE BOUTIQUE
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
51
It’s our special store for special purchases, discontinued
products, one-offs, used but good products, available on line at
www.audiophileboutique.com. There are special prices on such
products as the Moon 350p, shown here. Or the 300D DAC, which
remains our reference. Or such power amplifiers as the 330A or
the 400M monoblocks. Or a Simaudio-designed Compact Disc
player with a digital input, so that you can use it with a computer
or any other digital source.
Available brand new or factory-refurbished, with factory
warranty.
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
52
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, $289
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, $329
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.
53
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
54
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.
55
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.
TO THE USA: up to $30, $3.00, up to $60,$4.20, above $60, 5%.
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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56
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
24.50
LP22060
35.00 Swingcerely Yours
CD22081
24.50
W782
48.00 Tchaikovsky: Symph. #6 (SACD) 5186 107
29.95
AG366
20.00 Test CD 4 (SACD)
CD19420
24.50
LP22042
27.95 Test Records 1-2-3
CD19520
24.50
AG37112.00 Tiny Island (SACD)
CD19824
24.50
RR-26
25.00 Trio (Audio DVD)
HRM2008
24.95
PROP7762 38.95 Tutti (SACD)
RR-906SACD 24.00
LPAG198415.00 Unique Classical Guitar (SACD).CD22062
24.50
AG36812.00 Unmarked Road (SACD)
AQ1046SACD 29.95
60001
48.00 Whose Truth, Whose Lies?
AQ1054SACD 29.95
RR-43
25.00
1-326
34.75 RED BOOK COMPACT DISCS
LP19603
47.95 20th Anniversary Celebration CD19692
21.00
CLP-7049
26.00 30th Anniversary Sampler
RR-908
16.95
7778-79
65.00 Alleluía
AN 2 8810
21.00
LP8401
22.95 An American Requiem
RR-97CD
16.95
LP20002
27.95 Antiphone Blues
7744CD
21.95
CL591
48.00 Artistry of Linda Rosenthal
FIM022VD
27.95
1-329
34.75 Bach Sonatas, violin & harpsi. AN 2 9829
21.00
1-317
34.75 Bach Suites, Airs & Dances
FL 2 3133
21.00
PROP9093 38.95 Beachcomber
RR-62CD16.95
BLP-4176
26.00 Best of Chesky & Test, vol.3 JD111
21.95
PPAN004
48.00 Beethoven Symph. 5 & 6
AN 2 9891
21.00
1-306
34.75 Blues for the Saxophone Club 26-1084-78-2 21.95
LP7723
22.95 Bluesquest
AQCD105221.95
1-30334.75 Bossa Nova
JD129
21.95
LP2100022.95 Bruckner: Symph. No.9
RR-81CD
16.95
1-321
34.75 Café Blue
21810
21.95
1-313
34.75 Café Blue (HDCD gold)
CD 010
39.95
LP19401
47.95 Cantabile
AN 2 9810
21.00
CLP-7050
26.00 Cantate Domino
7762CD
21.95
OPLP9200 27.95 Carmin
ADCD1016321.00
AG788
12.00 Classica d’Oro (50 gold CDs) GCM-50
119.95
RR-5232.00 Come to Find
AQCD1027 21.95
AG600
12.00 Come Love
CD19703
21.95
LP003
48.95 Companion
2296321.00
1-292
1-292 Coeur vagabond
ADCD10191 21.00
AG68712.00
Concertos for Double Bass
OPCD8502 21.95
Copland Symphony No.3
RR-93CD
16.95
HIGH-RESOLUTION MEDIA (SACD, DVD, ETC.)
Drum/Track Record
10081
21.00
Across the Bridge of Hope
CD22012
24.50 Ein Heldenleben
RR-83CD
16.95
Antiphone Blues (SACD)
7744SACD 37.95 Fable
SLC9603-222.00
Audiophile Reference IV
SACD 029
40.00 Fantasia
AN 2 9819
21.00
Autumn Shuffle (SACD)
CD22042
24.50 Felix Hell
RR-101CD
16.95
Beethoven/Mendelssohn
5186 102
29.95 Film Spectacular II
XR24 070
35.00
Beyond (SACD)
CD22072
24.50 French Showpieces
FL 2 3151
21.00
Brazilian Soul (DVD)
HRM2009
24.95 Fritz Kreisler
FL 2 3159
21.00
Cantate Domino (SACD)
PSACD7762 29.95 From the Age of Swing
RR-59CD
16.95
Conc. for Double Bass (SACD) CD8522
24.50 Garden of Dreams
RR-108
16.95
Good Stuff (SACD)
CD19623
24.50 Gitans
Y22503524.95
Jazz at the Pawnshop (3-SACD)PRSACD7879 90.00 Good Stuff
CD19603
21.95
Jazz at the Pawnshop 2 (SACD)PRSACD7079 37.95 Good Vibes
PRCD9058 21.95
Jazz/Concord (DVD)
HRM2006
24.95 Growing up in Hollywood Town LIM XR 001 38.95
Just Like Love (SACD)
CD21002
24.50 Handel
FL 2 3137
21.00
Mississipi Magic (SACD)
AQSACD1057 24.95 Harry Belafonte
295-037
19.95
Musica Sacra (SACD)
CD19516
24.50 Harry James & His Big Band 10057-2-G
24.00
Now the Green Blade Riseth PRSACD9093 29.95 Hemispheres
K1113721.00
Organ Treasures (SACD)
CD22031
24.50 Infernal Violins
AN 2 8718
21.00
Rhythm Willie (Audio DVD)
HRM2010
24.95 It’s Right Here For You
CD19404
21.95
Seven Come Eleven (DVD)
HRM2005
24.95 I’ve Got the Music in Me
10076
21.00
Showcase (SACD)
CD21000
24.50 Jazz at the Pawnshop
PRCD-7778 21.95
Showcase 2005 (SACD)
CD22050
24.50 Jazz at the Pawnshop 2
PRCD9044 21.95
Soular Energy (DVD/DVD-A) HRM2011
24.95 Jazz Hat
RR-114
16.95
Jazz/Vol.1
JD3719.95
Keep on Movin’
AQCD1031 19.95
Kodo
12222-221.00
La Fille Mal Gardée
XR24 013
38.95
La mémoire du vent
ADCD10144 21.00
Les matins habitables
GSIC-895
21.00
Levande
OPCD791719.95
Leyrac chante Nelligan
AN 2 8815
21.00
Liszt-Laplante
FL 2 3030
21.00
Little Notebook of Anna M. BachFL 2 3064
21.00
Masters of Flute & Harp
KCD11019
21.00
Medinah Sessions
RR-2102
16.95
Mendelssohn: 2 Violin Conc. FL 2 3098
21.00
Mozart Complete Piano Trios AN 2 9827-8 27.50
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Neil Diamond: Serenade
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Nota del Sol
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Amadeus — The Making
of a Masterpiece
T
he release of Miloš Form a n’s f i l m A m a d e u s i n
1984 triggered a wave of
“Mozartmania,” raising the
composer’s profile higher than it had
ever been in the nearly 200 years since
his death. Based on Peter Shaffer’s play
of the same name, which was the toast
of London’s West End starting in 1979,
before moving to Broadway, this marvel
of a movie is nominally about Mozart,
but not really — or at least not exclusively. Not a documentary or a “biopic,”
not a reliable history at all, it’s a classic
morality play, a Faustian drama starring
Antonio Salieri and…God (off-camera
but omnipresent). It is also an extended
meditation on the nature of genius and
immortality.
Quite apart from all these lofty
motives, however, Amadeus is an exceptionally enjoyable film, one that carries
the viewer away on a cloud of music
and carefully crafted characters whose
adventures we’re drawn into, and follow
with delight and curiosity. A nd it’s
leagues ahead of other films about
classical composers, nearly all of which
have been, not to mince words, maudlin
dreck.
Let’s start by looking at “what really
happened,” as far as we can figure it out
from this vantage point, adding to the
oceans of ink (and more recently, pixels)
that have been devoted to the topic
over the years. I’ll explore the creative
process, teasing out the multiple strands
of this intriguing story and tracing
its path from hit stage play to awardwinning movie — from verbal to visual
incarnation.
The director’s cut, by the way, could
be regarded as the third version of the
story, with 20 minutes of omitted scenes
that reveal what director Forman and
screenwriter Shaffer set out to do.
Will the real Salieri please stand up?
Antonio Salieri, to put it baldly, was
given a bum rap in both the play and
the movie. Far from being mediocre, he
was considered by his contemporaries
to be a gifted musician, composer and
teacher. He wrote more than 40 operas,
and his pupils included a few fellows you
may have heard of: Liszt, Schubert and
Beethoven. He swiftly rose to prominent positions at court, named court
composer and Kappelmeister (1778) and
by Kathe Lieber
then opera director (1791).
Born in 1750 (the year J. S. Bach died)
in the small town of Legnano, south of
Verona, Salieri spent most of his adult
life serving the Hapsburg monarchy.
(The rivalry between partisans of the
Italian and German styles at the Viennese court makes an amusing sub-text in
Amadeus — Salieri clearly had a foot in
both camps.) He lived a long and productive life, reaching the age of nearly 75,
extraordinary longevity for the time.
Did Salieri have reason to env y
Mozart? Well, yes — in terms of
Mozart’s precocity, his naturalness and
his ability to produce marvellous music
that required few, if any, rewrites. And
no, since Salieri’s own career path was
much smoother than Mozart’s. Salieri
was considered a highly competent
singing teacher, coaching many stars of
the operatic stage. He gave free lessons
to talented but impecunious musicians,
like Beethoven, who remained a friend
and admirer.
Salieri certainly had talent, as well as
a passionate love for the musical theatre.
His rather severe appearance in the film
(he is one of the few characters seldom
seen wearing a powdered wig) seems at
odds with contemporary descriptions of
him as a bon vivant. He was actually just
six years older than Mozart, but there
seems to be a generation gap between the
austere Salieri of the film and the childlike Mozart. The Mozart of Amadeus
seems to incarnate all that Salieri had
promised to banish from his own life:
instinct, humor, play, chaos, sex. (The
real-life Salieri had a happy marriage,
by all accounts.)
We see Salieri, on several occasions,
unable to contain his sense of wonder
at hearing and seeing Mozart’s work,
especially in the opera house. He steals
quietly into the theatre to see his rival’s
productions. Certainly he can be twofaced, but it’s a tribute to F. Murray
Abraham’s sterling acting that we
understand how deeply affected he is
despite himself. We see the penny start
to drop as he begins to realize his own
mediocrity — and comes to make his
Make me famous through
The riveting opening scene of the
the world, dear God! Make movie poses the question right away,
me immortal! After I die and a close viewing provides some clues.
let people speak my name Seeing old Salieri in an asylum, where he
forever with love for what I was taken after his suicide attempt, we
wrote! In return I will give wonder just how crazy he is and what
you my chastity — my indus- form his madness takes. His morningtry, my deepest humility, long confession to a young priest who
every hour of my life. And I knows nothing of Salieri or his nowwill help my fellow man all I forgotten music is a brilliant device, used
can. Amen and amen!”
as a frame for flashbacks and voice-overs
The bargain is apparently that advance the story.
accepted, at least initially.
His father dies suddenly and Mozart the wunderkind
off goes young Antonio to
So great was the influence of the film
Vienna, eventually finding that nearly 30 years on, it’s hard to know
himself appointed composer how much of the mental image we retain
to the court of Joseph II, of the vulgar, brilliant young composer
Emperor of Austria. A nd was actually created by Shaffer’s port hen t his “obscene boy” trayal of him in Amadeus and how much
appears, writing music of of it is “true.”
ethereal divinity, of a qualThe basic facts are well known: born
Yes,
get asked,
ity
towe
which
Saliericonstantly,
cannot in 1756, baptized Johannes Chrysostowhat we
will be reviewing in our next
issue.
aspire.
mus
Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart but
And
we know
reviews
areIn
essential.
What
is God
up to?
a generally known as Wolfgang Amadeus
But equipment
nothing
if not
plentiful.
pivotalreviews
scene, are
Salieri
offers
Mozart;
started playing and composing
Readers God
have along
toldbargain.
us that what makes
second
at a UHF
ridiculously young age; paraded
particularly
valuable
them are
the other
articles.
He
makes to
a clumsy
attempt
around
Europe by his father Leopold
Articles
about the
nuts andwife,
bolts of
technology,
to about
seduceideas,
Constanze,
Mozart’s
to the
perform
for kings, queens and minor
and
also to
about
music andonfilm,nobility; engaged as a court musician
promising to
speak
the Emperor
which
arewill
the return
very reasons
Mozart’s behalf
if she
that in Salzburg at 17; moved to Vienna,
foran
our
lovingly-created
systems
exist. he achieved fame (or at least
night for
assignation.
Again he
prays, to where
Not
that we will
stopand
publishing
reviews.
promising
to beever
chaste
humblehardware
if notoriety)
but alas, scant fortune, until
only God will let him write one piece his premature death at the age of 35 in
of music “with your breath in it” — 1791. Mozart left a legacy of more than
one piece imbued with divine musical 600 works — operas, chamber music,
genius. When Frau Mozart arrives as symphonies and much more — which
promised, Salieri understands that God remain unsurpassed for their musical
has rejected his offer, that his music will complexity and maturity, their nuanced
never rise above mediocrity.
combinations of emotions both dark
Envy is one thing, murder quite and bright. Just as in the film, he was
another. Did Salieri really believe he known for his remarkable ability to “take
killed Mozart, as he cries out in the dictation from God” — setting down his
first scene of the film? It seems a singer compositions with few if any corrections,
called Callisto Bassi spread the gossip fully formed in their perfection.
that Mozart was poisoned by Salieri —
a rumor later reinforced by a pair of Nature + nurture = genius
prominent Russians: Pushkin in his play
In The Genius in All of Us: New Insights
Mozart and Salieri (1831) and Rimsky- into Genetics, Talent, and IQ, David Shenk
second deal with God, or some might Korsakov in his opera of the same title writes that “Mozart’s breathtaking musisay, in Faustian terms, the devil.
(1898). However, it is said that in his last cal gifts were said to have sprouted from
But let’s back up a minute. Second moments, Salieri whispered to a friend, nowhere, and his own father promoted
deal? Yes. The teenaged Salieri attempts “I did not kill Mozart. I beg of you, tell him as the ‘miracle which God let be
to bargain with God for the first time: everyone.” Perhaps the “poisoning” was born in Salzburg.’
“Lord, make me a great composer! psychological — scheming to prevent
“The reality about Mozart turns out
Let me celebrate your glory through Mozart from winning a secure place at to be far more interesting and far less
music — and be celebrated myself! court.
mysterious. His early achievements —
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NOT JUST HARDWARE REVIEWS!
with the opera performances in the
film underscoring the musical rivalry
between Salieri and Mozart. In fact,
director Forman called the sequences
from The Abduction from the Seraglio, The
Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The
Magic Flute “the wonderful icing on the
cake.”
The music in the film is frequently
used to illustrate what is going on in
Mozart’s head — even as life events swirl
around him. Time and again, we see the
composer seeming to take dictation from
God, which is ultimately what Salieri
can’t forgive him for.
From stage to big screen
So how do you take a highly stylized
play and translate it to the big screen?
Think about all the things a director can
make happen on film compared to the
(relatively) small stage. Plays are generally static, limited by the physical size of
the stage and the cumbersome nature of
Top photo: Mozart (Tom Hulce) conducting The Marriage of Figaro.
Bottom photo: The Emperor Joseph (Jeffrey Jones) introducing Mozart to his
court.
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while very impressive, to be sure —
actually make good sense considering
his extraordinary upbringing. And his
later undeniable genius turns out to be
a wonderful advertisement for the power
of process. Mozart was bathed in music
from well before his birth…” His father
Leopold was a prominent musician,
composer and teacher who had made a
name for himself with the publication
of his treatise on violin-playing. When
Leopold became a father, he began to
shift his ambitions onto his children,
first his daughter, known as “Nannerl,”
but… “Then came Wolfgang. Four and
a half years younger than his sister,
the tiny boy got everything Nannerl
got — only much earlier and even more
intensively. Literally from his infancy,
he was the classic younger sibling soaking up his big sister’s singular passion…
with a fast-developing ear, deep curiosity
and a tidal wave of family know-how,
[Wolfgang] was able to click into an
accelerated process of development.”
And so, from the age of three, the
precocious musician had his GET
whole
THE (1979)
COMPLETE
VERSION!
had thrilled
critics and audiences
You’ll have
noticed
that this
family pulling for him with “a powerful
alike
in London
andfree
New York. Now he
version
of UHF
Magazine
blend of instruction, encouragement,
faced
the daunting
challenge of adapting
is not quite
complete.
youscreen.
can
and constant practice.”
Amadeus
for But
the big
get the complete
version
The father-son relationship we
Shaffer knew
he had his work cut
forHe
$4.was clearly passionate
see in Amadeus years later is, to put itfrom
outMaggie
for him.
Click here,
we go!
mildly, conflicted. Leopold looms large
aboutand
theaway
music —
in fact, to leap ahead
in Wolfgang’s life, and the son is clearly a bit, when the film crew visited the hall
still seeking his father’s approval. He in Prague where Don Giovanni had its
is well aware that he is disappointing premiere, he was found weeping in the
Leopold — not with his music, but with corridor, overcome by being in this place
his failure to, in modern terms, “get a of pilgrimage.
real job” and support his family properly.
Shaffer wrote about the process at
(The nervous giggle appears, notably, some length: “In the picture, the music
whenever Mozart has to deal with any naturally becomes more prominent than
authority figure, not just his father.) The in the play. This is not just because on
Leopold who comes to visit in the movie the screen one can show operas that can
wears a permanently sour expression, only be described on stage. The paradox
amplified by his disapproving portrait is that in a live theater one cannot sucon the wall. And his influence survives cessfully play long stretches of music
him — the father appears in the son’s without subverting the drama and turnoperas, first as the vengeful Commen- ing the event into a concert, whereas the
datore in Don Giovanni and later as the cinema positively welcomes music in
forgiving Sarastro in The Magic Flute.
floods…” (It is worth noting that Shaffer plays the piano well and worked as a
From verbal to visual
music critic for several years.)
Shaffer’s previous play, Equus (1973),
In most films the music is “incidenhad run for more than 1,000 perfor- tal” in every sense, filling in awkward
mances on Broadway, winning multiple gaps between bouts of action. Instead,
awards. The stage version of Amadeus Amadeus was shot around the music,
“Too Many Notes”
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MOZART: So then you liked it? You
really liked it, Your Majesty?
JOSEPH: Of course I did. It’s very good.
Of course now and then — just now and
then — it seemed a touch…
MOZART: What do you mean, Sire?
JOSEPH: Well, I mean occasionally it
seems to have, how shall one say? How
shall one say, Director?
ORSINI-ROSENBERG: Too many notes, Your Majesty?
JOSEPH: Exactly. Very well put. Too many notes.
MOZART: I don’t understand. There are just as many notes, Majesty, as are
required. Neither more nor less.
JOSEPH: My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in
the course of an evening. I think I’m right in saying that, aren’t I, Court Composer?
SALIERI: Yes. Yes, on the whole, yes, Majesty.
MOZART: This is absurd!
JOSEPH: My dear, young man, don’t take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It’s
quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it
will be perfect.
MOZART: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
scene shifts and costume changes. Much
as I love the intimacy of live theatre,
it can be frustrating — no close-ups,
no f lashbacks, little action to move
the plot along. How do you put across
epiphanies — those “eureka” moments
when a character suddenly makes a key
realization? In less-than-adroit hands,
there can be a lot of “telling” rather than
“showing.” Talking heads on stage can
cause drooping heads in the audience.
The movies — originally “moving
pictures,” remember — are quite another
matter. Think about the latitude the
medium of film gives writers and directors. The director can paint with broad
strokes. Indoor scenes, outdoor scenes,
close-ups, voice-overs, wordless scenes
that somehow advance the plot — nearly
everything is possible on the big screen.
The transformation Shaffer effected
with Amadeus makes full use of all this
potential.
Think about the sets — in particular,
the palaces, where we see room after
room of sumptuous furnishings, inhabited by glorious creatures in ball gowns
and britches and wonderful wigs. The
scene where Salieri unwittingly meets
Mozart exemplifies the stunning transformation from stage to screen. We see
Salieri in an elegant room at the palace,
about to indulge his sweet tooth as he
reaches for a bonbon. In rushes a lusty
young couple who begin to canoodle
under the table, leaving Salieri a frozen
witness to the scene, unwilling to reveal
his presence. And then we hear the first
notes of the music…and Mozart switches
gears and jumps up, realizing he should
be bowing to the Emperor and soaking
up the accolades of the spectators. We
see the horror on Salieri’s face as he
realizes that this must be the wunderkind — his rival. Throughout the film,
of course, our perceptions of Mozart are
filtered through Salieri’s eyes.
Shaffer and Forman use close-ups,
flashbacks and outdoor scenes to convey
mood and atmosphere (swirling snow
or freezing rain can wordlessly denote
depression). At the end of the film, on a
bitter winter’s night, we see Constanze
and her small son Karl jostled from side
to side in the coach as she rushes to the
side of her dying husband. Interspersed
are cuts showing the failing, dishevelled
Mozart rallying long enough to dictate
his last and some say greatest work, the
Requiem, to Salieri, who struggles to keep
up. We can feel the frenzy and desperation mounting as the music swells up to
surround us like the snow.
Writer’s block writ large
The adaptation process was described
in a New York Times article by Michiko
Kakutani in 1984. Shaffer and Czech
film director Forman spent four months
“holed up in a Connecticut farmhouse,”
which they called their “torture chamber.” They “suffered from writer’s block
together, listened to Mozart records
together, and improvised scenes from
the play together… They argued about
scenes and words, and the order of scenes
and words. They argued about who
would say what in the film. They even
argued about which would cook dinner.”
Forman, who had directed several
adaptations of novels (One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest, Ragtime and Hair), believed
that Amadeus was so theatrical that the
only way to proceed would be to demolish the original and totally re-imagine
it in film form. “You have to forget
about why the play worked…You have
to take the basic story and characters,
and the spirit of the play, and then start
from scratch.” Shaffer, not surprisingly,
retained a certain fondness for his original creation. The process, in the end,
was “adversarial, if still amiable.” The
playwright-turned-screenwriter was at
pains to “make the language accessible
to a large audience.” The actors were
now speaking more colloquially, as
when Count Von Strack says to Mozart:
“Look, young man, the issue is simple.
If you want this post, you must submit
your stuff in the same way as all your
colleagues.”
Moving the emphasis from the verbal
to the visual required a more naturalistic approach, said Forman. “Stage
by its nature is stylized, so everything
is stylized. Nobody pretends that the
wall of the stage is a real wall, nobody Salieri tells the God he does not
pretends that a tree is
How
a real
Maggie
tree. ButWorks
in understand, via the understandably
film, everything is real:
UHF
[the]
is,tree
andishas
real,
beenscandalized priest: “Because You will
buildings are real, everything
for manyis years,
real. not enter me, with all my need for You;
So people have to
a print
be asmagazine.
real as possible
But we because
know You scorn my attempts at virtue;
too — the way they
more
speak,
andthe
more
way audiophiles
they because You choose for Your instrument
want
read it on
a boastful, lustful, smutty infantile boy
behave has to sustain
thetoscrutiny
oftheir
computer
or iPad.
And they’re
and give me for reward only the ability
anybody who lives
and judges
people.
saverelying
money too.
to recognize the Incarnation; because
In this way, film iswilling
much to
more
Clickhuman
here, and
let Maggie
You are unjust, unfair, unkind, I will block You! I swear it! I will hinder and harm
on being accurate about
behavior
Your creature on earth as far as I am able. I will ruin Your Incarnation.
than literature is —explain
so youhow
haveto
toget
givethe full
version
for are
$4.
“All I ever wanted was to sing to Him. That’s His doing, isn’t it? He gave me
the character as much flesh
as you
And we mean a PDFthat longing — then made me mute. Why? Tell me that. If He didn’t want me to
capable of.”
versionunderwent
without digitl
serve Him with music, why implant the desire, like a lust in my body, then deny
Salieri’s monologues
the rights
transfer
me the
to talent? There is no God of Mercy, Father. Just a God of torture.”
most profoundmanagement
changes. In you
the can
play,
device
of yourIn
choice.
Salieri “confessed”the
to the
audience.
the movie, a new character, the young
priest Father Vogler, is the stunned
recipient of Salieri’s reminiscences,
interspersed with flashbacks and visuals
conveying information that required
lengthy soliloquies in the play.
The priest was not the only new
character added to the film. The maid/
spy Lorl is a useful dramatic device,
describing the intimate details of the
Mozart household to Salieri. The Archbishop, who is Mozart’s first employer, is
God 1, Salieri 0
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Previous page: Count Orsini-Rosenberg
and Kappelmeister Bono; Mozart (Tom
Hulce) and Salieri (F. Murray Abraham).
This page: Mozart composing The Marriage of Figaro; Salieri at prayer; Salieri
after being upstaged by Mozart.
new, and so is Mozart’s mother-in-law,
whose shrill tirade morphs wonderfully
into the Queen of the Night’s solo in The
Magic Flute. Other important characters,
The film was nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Oscars, such as Constanze, Mozart’s wife, and
four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes and a Directors Guild of America award. Leopold, his controlling father, play
•Tom Hulce (Mozart) and F. Murray larger roles on screen than they did on
Abraham (Salieri) received Oscar nomina- stage.
tions for their respective performances.
Mozart himself undergoes a sea
Abraham won Best Actor.
change between stage and screen. New
•The film also won Oscars for Best Pic- scenes, such as Wolfgang trying to
ture, Best Director (Forman), Adapted compose an opera (writing on a pool
Screenplay (Shaffer), costume design, art table) while his wife and father bicker in
direction, makeup and sound.
the other room, make the wunderkind
•Laurence Olivier presented the award composer a rounder, more nuanced
to producer Saul Zaentz. The great actor, character. He now emerges as “a conwho had been ill for some
Where
time
do and
the questions
was flicted
for individual, at once obnoxious and
suffering from amnesia, forgot to list the other nominees.
our famous Free Advice section
charming,
come from?
devoted both to his music
and to having a good rowdy time,” notes
•Budget: $18 million; box office: nearly $52 million.
Our readers send them to us at uhfmail@uhfmag.com.
•Original running time: 161 minutes; the director’s cut released
The questions,
in 2002 included
and our Kakutani.
answers,
nearly 20 minutes of restored footage.
The or
pivotal
may appear on line, in the magazine,
both.scene toward the end of
the film, in which a visibly ill Mozart dic•The screenwriter Sir (he was knighted in 2001) Peter Shaffer had
a twin
We
don’tbrother
reply by mail,
tates
the music for his sublime Requiem to
who was also a playwright. Anthony Shaffer wrote Sleuth (1970).
and we don’t give it for
free
Salieri,
is heightened
•Cynthia Nixon, who plays Lorl, the mousy maid, would
findthat
fameyour
and fortune
if you later
request
question not
be made
public. for dramatic purThe film takes on a frenetic pace
as Miranda in Sex and the City.
We do ask for your nameposes.
and city.
•Among those who auditioned for the role of Mozart were Mel Gibson, Mick
AskJagger
away! as Mozart simultaneously works on two
and Sam Waterston. One studio suggested Walter Matthau, but Forman considered great pieces: the Requiem and The Magic
him too old for the part. A very young Kenneth Branagh was originally cast as Flute — driven by some creative demon
Mozart, but Forman wanted American actors for the principal roles.
as well as his desperate need for money.
•The meaty role of Salieri has been played on stage by some high-profile actors, Shaffer described the deathbed scene
including Paul Scofield (original 1979 production), Ian McKellen, David Suchet and as “a night-long encounter between a
Michael York. Their Mozarts, wearing those wonderphysically dying Mozart and a spiritually
ful wigs, were played by, respectively, Simon Callow,
ravenous Salieri.”
Tim Curry, Michael Sheen and Neil Patrick Harris.
In fact, the dying man did dictate his
In the acclaimed film, Callow played the impresario
last great work — but not to Salieri. His
Schikaneder.
student, Franz Xavier Süssmayr, served
•Abraham originally auditioned for the minor role of
as scribe and completed the manuscript,
Count Orsini-Rosenberg, director of the court opera.
later claiming the Sanctus and the Agnus
Director Forman asked him to read for the old Salieri
Dei were entirely his own work. That
and was stunned. The rest, of course, is cinematic
in no way detracts from the dramatic
history.
impact of the scene in the movie. By now,
•In addition to modelling a wardrobe of wigs and
we’re thoroughly invested and engrossed
perfecting the “Mozart giggle,” Tom Hulce practiced four hours a day at the piano in the story, and the rivalry has been well
in preparation for the role, so that his fingering would perfectly match the music. established. We know Salieri’s heart is
He also studied footage of John McEnroe’s tennis tantrums.
filled with darkest envy, yet somehow
•Most of the movie was filmed in Prague, which is beautifully preserved, whereas it’s believable to see him help the dying
modern-day Vienna looks — well, too modern. Forman was thrilled to have the Mozart to set down his final work for
opportunity to shoot scenes in the Tyl Theatre, where Mozart had conducted the posterity (not without ulterior motives,
premiere of Don Giovanni two centuries before. Prague had the further advantage of course).
of being relatively cheap, as labor costs were much lower behind the Iron Curtain.
•The marketing campaign for the film, designed to attract a younger audience, Behind the scenes at the palace
included a music video aired on MTV, which intercut clips from the film with
There are so many small but wonimages of Elton John, The Who and Diana Ross to make the point that Mozart derful moments in the film. One of my
had influenced all the major icons — pop, rock, soul. (What, no Beatles?)
favorites takes place at the premiere of
•The numbering system used for Mozart’s works was developed by Ludwig von Figaro. We see Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones)
Köchel in 1862. The K. numbers run in loose chronological order.
surrounded by his little band of courtiers
and officials, sycophants to a man, all
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watching him closely. A raised eyebrow,
a yawn from him is sufficient to cut short
a production and ruin a career. As old
Salieri describes the scene to the priest,
“Mozart was lucky the Emperor only
yawned once. Three yawns and the opera
would fail the same night; two yawns,
within a week at most…” The show in
question was Don Giovanni, and it closed
after nine performances.
We are reminded more than once
that even the most brilliant musicians
were considered mere servants, subject
to the whims of their superiors at any
moment. Consider the historical context.
The story is set around the time of the
French Revolution (in which, among
many other events, the Emperor’s
sister Marie Antoinette lost her head).
Everyone is nervous, even (or perhaps
especially) the crowned heads of Europe.
Society is changing, and no one knows
where it is going.
Composers on Film
More than 60 biopics have been made
about classical composers. Watch these at
your own risk. (No, I haven’t seen them all.
There are limits to even the most diligent
research.) A small sampling:
•A Song to Remember (1945): a biography of
Frederic Chopin, starring Paul Muni and
Merle Oberon.
•Song of Love (1947): Paul Henreid plays
Robert Schumann while his devoted wife
Clara, played by Katharine Hepburn(!),
lends support.
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Back to the music
A large part of my extremely enjoyable “homework” for preparing this
article involved listening to a lot of
How Maggie Works
Mozart… but also to Salieri — who
might be more of a household nameUHF is, and has been
today had he not happened to live at the for many years,
a print
same time and place as that Mozart
kid. magazine. But we know
more and more audiophiles
In the end, the play leads to the movie,
want to read it on their
and the movie leads — back to the music.
or iPad. And they’re
Here are some highlights you’llcomputer
want
willing to save money too.
to revisit:
Click here, and let Maggie
explain how to get the full
The Abduction from the Seraglio
version for $4.
Concerto for two pianos, K. 365
And we mean a PDF
The Marriage of Figaro
version
without
without
digitlEnd
rights
(1960), starring Dirk
The Magic Flute (especially the Queen
of •Song
management
Bogard
you as
canFranz
transfer
Liszt
to and Geneviève
the Night aria)
Page of
as your
Countess
choice.
Marie d’Agoult.
Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. 466 the device
•The Music Lovers (1970): “Tchaikovsky
Don Giovanni
struggles against his homosexuality by
I could go on and on, but let’s not. marrying, but unfortunately he chooses
Settle down with a glass of wine and per- a nymphomaniac whom he cannot sathaps some chocolate, and savor Amadeus, isfy”(!); starring Richard Chamberlain
the movie. Then return to the music, the and Glenda Jackson, directed by Ken
Russell.
real star of Amadeus.
•And on television, the Wagner series
Previous page: Salieri (F. Murray Abra- (1983), starring Richard Burton, Lauham) composing, and overcome by the rence Olivier and Vanessa Redgrave.
beauty of Mozart’s music.
•My favorite title, just for fun: God Rot
Top right: Salieri helping Mozart finish Tunbridge Wells! (1985 TV movie) about
his Requiem, but warning that he’s “going Handel, starring Trevor Howard.
too fast.”
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Steve Bourke
Gerard Rejskind
Music of Edward Elgar (LP)
Stern & Kansas City Symphony
Reference Recordings RM-2508
Gerard Rejskind: Across the centuries,
England was a music lover’s paradise, but
it wasn’t in the forefront of music production. In the late 17th century, Henry
Purcell would be the last major British
composer for the next three centuries.
Even so, his best-known work, the opera
The Fairy Queen, is seldom played today.
In the following centuries, Britain was
home to a number of great composers,
such as Handel and J.C. Bach, but they
were all from elsewhere.
Which brings us to the 20th century
and the two composers represented
on this admirable double LP, Ralph
Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar.
Both are major composers, and both are
explicitly British.
Vaughan Williams was initially noted
for his collections of English folk songs
of the Tudor period, and had he done no
more, he might today be better known
as a musicologist than as a composer. At
the age of 36, however, he yearned for
something more, and he went to France
to study with Ravel for all of three
months. Ravel’s influence can be heard
in some passages of the music Vaughan
Williams would write, though Ravel
once said that Vaughan Williams was
his only student who didn’t write music
like his. His influences were more from
the Tudor period, that of Shakespeare
and Thomas Tallis.
One of his best-known works, the
Fantasia on Greensleeves, is found on
this double 45 rpm LP (also available
in HDCD as RR-129). As Tudor-era
melodies go, Greensleeves is bound up
in certain myths, the most doubtful
of which is that Henry VIII wrote it.
That’s almost certainly not true. I have
an entire album of songs that Henry
did write, or possibly purloined without
credit, and not one points to the talent
needed to write a truly memorable tune.
The legend may actually have originated
with Flanders and Swann, the British
comedy duo of the late 1950’s. I remain
convinced that any composer who begins
with a tune like Greensleeves as a basis for
variations is already on the right path and
is going to have an easy time of it.
The Fantasia runs under five minutes,
however, and a longer and much less
familiar piece fills up the first of the two
LPs. The Aristophanic Suite was incidental
music Vaughan Williams wrote for
a stage production at his alma mater,
Cambridge University. Its overture is
best known. Titled The Wasps, it uses
the violins to produce an appropriate
buzzing sound, and the piece is often
compared to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight
of the Bumblebee. There is, however, much
more than this brief overture.
It is gentle, evocative music, reaching
back to the folk melodies he once collected. At the same time, he has a command of the instruments in the modern
orchestra. He uses both strings and
woodwinds to good advantage in establishing atmosphere. He also employs that
much underused instrument, the harp.
Edward Elgar is featured on the rest of
the album, and his style is quite different
from that of Vaughan Williams. Elgar
is best known for flamboyant, patriotic
music, such as the Pomp and Circumstance
Marches, the second of which became the
song Land of Hope and Glory. The work
featured here, the Enigma Variations, is a
delight, full of rich orchestral interplay.
Why an enigma? The suite is made
up of a set of orchestral pieces, each
intended to be a portrait of someone who
was then well known. He didn’t identify
them, and that was, to be sure, a challenge to musicologists who attempted to
decode their identities. The final one is
easy enough — Elgar himself. The first is
believed to be his wife Alice. The others
bear initials, and the actual identity of
the subjects is of much less importance
to us than to Elgar’s contemporaries.
There’s a parallel here to William
Walton’s Façade, a suite written to
accompany poems by Edith Sitwell,
whose protégé he was. The music
and poems are sometimes performed
together, but Sitwell’s work appears to be
a series of barbed comments on personalities of the day, and with the passage of
time we just don’t care (Walton’s music
is gorgeous, however).
Elgar’s variations are intricate and
beautiful, with memorable themes. The
opening variation is sombre and elegiac,
sustained by the sumptuous strings.
The fourth variation is a lively piece, in
which the full orchestra takes flight. The
ninth variation, the Adagio, is an elegiac
piece of almost heartbreaking intensity.
The twelfth variation is an Andante for
strings, with a particularly touching solo
for violas.
Reference Recordings has worked
with the Kansas City Symphony often,
notably on the award-winning album
Britten’s Orchestra (RR-120 and RR120SACD). That album included the
Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, in
which each instrument or instrumental
group gets a solo. A weak section will
be spotted immediately, and there isn’t
one. Nor are there weaknesses on this
album. The Kansas City is a world-class
orchestra, with a world-class conductor
in the person of Michael Stern.
These suites are available on CD
RR-129), with the usual HDCD encoding, and there are HRx and SACD versions too. I had heard only the HDCD
recording, and the LP version is several
cuts above. This is how a symphony
orchestra should sound, and you are
plunged into the very soul of the music.
Reference Recordings continues to
redefine everything that analog can be.
Time has passed, however, and stylistic similarities seem less important
than a century ago, if indeed they are
noticed at all. In 1933, two Conservatoire
musicologists dusted off the score and
considered the symphony on its own
merits. It was premiered in 1935, and has
often been played and recorded since. Its
score was turned into a ballet, not once
but twice.
Its belated fame is well deserved.
The opening Allegro Vivo is a set of
lively variations on an attractive melody,
led by the full orchestra. The variations
are somewhat repetitive, without the
rich and inventive development the Shostakovich Symphony No. 7
mature Bizet would have managed. “Leningrad”
After an extended introduction, the Dmitriev/Saint Petersburg Academic
Adagio’s lovely main theme, of the sort Symphony
Bizet invented for Carmen, is carried Water Lily WLA-WS-77-SACD
Georges Bizet
by the woodwinds, with variations for Steve Bourke: Over the long haul, some
West & San Francisco Ballet Orch.
plucked strings. The Scherzo is lively, composers and certain pieces of their
Reference Recordings RR-131
and leads to the final Allegro Vivace. works have become controversial, not
Gerard Rejskind: Countless composers The symphony may be derivative, as always for a good reason. Because their
of the great musical eras — Renaissance, Bizet himself clearly thought, but only music has been associated with historical
Baroque, Classical and Romantic — die-hard musicologists
Yes, we get asked,
constantly, events, such as major wars and national
will care.
have left us great masterworks that are
what
will be includes
reviewingtwo
in our
next conflicts,
issue.
The we
recording
other
the indirect result has been
still performed and recorded today. works. And
knowwas
reviews
are essential.
Jeux we
d’enfants
a four-handed
negative. The quality of their musical
Have you ever wondered how many we But
equipment
reviews
nothing
if not creations
plentiful. has therefore been called into
piano
piece from
1872,are
a set
of short
don’t have, how much great music has pieces
Readers
have longbetween
told us that
what
makes
UHF and too harshly criticized. The
alternating
gentle
and
question
somehow disappeared? It’s estimated particularly
lively. Four-handed
valuable piano
to them
wasare
popular
the othermusic
articles.
itself has been misinterpreted by
that half of Vivaldi’s compositions Articles
were before
aboutradio
ideas,and
about
recordings,
the nutswhen
and bolts
most of those
the technology,
who imagine that it contains some
lost, for instance. Schubert’s Unfinished homes had
anda also
piano.
about
However,
music and
Bizet
film, hidden nationalistic agenda, or that the
Symphony was discovered only through later orchestrated
which it,
arewith
the the
very
assistance
reasons composer deserves to be punished for his
happenstance.
of Hershey
for our Kay
lovingly-created
and Roy Douglas,
systems
and
to exist.
political views and opinions.
Add to that George Bizet’s SymphonyNotitthat
became
we will
a ballet
ever stop
for the
publishing
Théâtrehardware
de
reviews. generations of listeners
Succeeding
in C. Bizet is mainly known for two Monte Carlo (interesting detail: the can judge the music on its own merits,
operas, The Pearl Fishers and Carmen. He decors were by painter Joan Miró).
without letting prejudices of another era
didn’t live long enough to know that the
The other work on the CD is the influence them, and that is fortunate for
second would become the most popular Variations chromatiques, built around a all music lovers. The alternative might
opera of all time. His fame rests almost rather gloomy theme, originally written be the permanent loss of some very fine
entirely on that single work.
for piano, and pretty much forgotten. music.
He did write a symphony, though The work was finally orchestrated by
Dmitri Shostakovich and his “Lenit was lost for many years. One story Felix Weingartner in 1933, the same year ingrad” Symphony were victimized by
had it that it was found accidentally in a that the Symphony in C was rediscovered the shifting attitudes of the public,
suitcase in an attic in 1933. The truth is in the archives of the Conservatoire. though when it was first performed it
rather less dramatic. The Symphony in C Weingartner, it should be noted, would served as an important inspiration to the
is a youthful work, composed as a school go on to conduct the premiere of the population of the city of Leningrad in
exercise at the Conservatoire de Paris when Symphony in C.
1942. The German siege of the city had
he was 17. He never published it, conThere are better versions of this already condemned a million civilians
sidering it too derivative. He was then delightful music. The performance to their deaths. To raise the morale of
studying under Gounod, and indeed, by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra the survivors, Shostakovich announced
certain musicologists have found obvi- is competent, but it seems bloodless, over the radio that he had completed two
ous parallels between the symphony and lacking in energy. The sound, encoded movements of a symphony dedicated to
Gounod’s own symphonies. The score in HDCD, and which I listened to with Leningrad and its starving citizens.
went into the Conservatoire’s archives, the proper decoder, is exemplary, but it
Not satisfied with just making music
where it might have slept forever.
can’t add what is not there.
to help the war effort, Shostakovich
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volunteered to be a fireman in the heart have had on the people of Leningrad, force, one plays it with the forearms.
of Leningrad’s danger zones. His request and it may move you too, if not in quite The modern piano has a sound harp
was refused, and he was evacuated to the same way.
made of steel, not wood, so that higher
a safe house outside the city, where
string tension can be maintained, and
he completed his symphony’s third
the instrument can play loud enough
movement.
to be heard in a large hall accompanied
Hitler’s brutal siege of Leningrad
by a full orchestra. The pianist must
continued, and he arrogantly predicted
apply more force to the keyboard, and
that the city would fall by the ninth of
therefore play with the shoulder. The
August, 1942. As the date approached,
performance is inevitably different.
the people of Leningrad answered
Unlike Badura-Skoda, Kaneko plays
Hitler with a fiercely brave action. They
a modern pianoforte, built in 2004.
decided to perform Shostakovich’s 7th
If its sound is less “authentic,” it does
Symphony as an affirmation of their will
not suffer from the inevitable squeaks
to live. As only 15 musicians remained
and creaks of an instrument that is two
alive from Leningrad’s own orchestra,
centuries old, however well restored.
others were recruited from the Russian
That sound is clean and clear, with an
army and the general population. Most,
admirable tone (except for slight mistungaunt and wasted from a lack of food,
ing, audible in the opening Rondo in A
could rehearse for just 15 minutes at a Mozart: From his “Golden Age”
Minor). Kaneko takes advantage of the
time. With a superhuman effort by the Yoko Kaneko
low string tension to play with remarkconductor and this family of musicians, M•A Recordings MAJ 507
able sensitivity. She has a light touch, for
they found the strength to reach the Gerard Rejskind: Did Mozart really instance on the Adagio from the Sonata
musical standard that the symphony have a “Golden
Yes, Age”?
we getHe
asked,
beganconstantly,
compos- in C Minor, K.457, and in the delightful
demanded. Loudspeakers were set up ingwhat
around
wethe
willage
be of
reviewing
seven (his
in actual
our nextRondo
issue.Allegretto from the same work. She
everywhere so that all, including the age is open
Andtowe
interpretation),
know reviews
and
areheessential.
was is playful, but not too much so, in the
Germans, would hear the music. The But
35 when
equipment
he left us
reviews
his twoare
final
nothing
symphoif notMolto
plentiful.
Allegro from the C Minor Sonata,
Russian army launched a giant artillery nies
Readers
as well
have
as The
longMagic
told usFlute
thatand
what
hismakes
UHF
K.457.
The Adagio that follows is pure
unfinished Requiem.
valuable From
to them
hisare
teens
the to
other
articles.
barrage at the Germans just before particularly
delight.
So is the C Major Sonata, K.545,
Articleshis
about
death,
ideas,
he appeared,
about thesome
nutssaid,
and to
bolts
be ofone
theoftechnology,
Mozart’s most familiar late works.
the performance, so that Germany’s
and also
from
about
God.
music and film, Like several of Mozart’s compositions,
own artillery would not interrupt the taking dictation
The young
which
Japanese
are thepianist
very reasons
Yoko it sounds simpler than it is, and actually
performance. Concertgoers dressed
for has
ourselected,
lovingly-created
as Mozart’s
systems
goldento exist.
requires great virtuosity to deliver all of
in their finest and the musicians wore Kaneko
that
a period
we willfrom
ever1784
stopto
publishing
his final year,
hardware
reviews.
its richness.
many layers of clothing to keep theirNotage,
Less familiar probably is the Adagio
emaciated bodies warm, though it was 1791. She plays on a pianoforte (referred
a hot August evening. Conductor Karl to on the booklet as a fortepiano, though in C, K.356, which Mozart wrote for an
Eliasberg was given several potatoes to that instrument had a different shape), ephemeral instrument called the glass
starch his collar, though spuds were more the ancestor of the modern piano. harmonica. Not a harmonica at all, the
precious than gold in the starving city. Though the pianoforte looks and sounds instrument is a mechanized version of
Was that premiere a success? From resolutely modern alongside such older “musical tumblers,” in which you tap
the opening to the finale, it symbolized keyboard instrument as the harpsichord, on a series of glasses filled with water to
the defiance and strength of Leningrad’s it is today considered a “period instru- various heights, which therefore emit
population. One witness recalls that it ment,” used to bring us closer to the way different notes. The glass harmonica
seemed as though the evening sky, at the composer — in this case Mozart — was invented by none other than Benfirst cloudless, became a “storm bursting would have played and heard the music. jamin Franklin, and was adopted for
The claim is controversial, because crit- therapeutic use by Franz Anton Mesmer
with music.”
Just five years later, the “Leningrad” ics maintain that Mozart and Beethoven of hypnosis fame. Mesmer was a friend
Symphony was denounced by many critics would have jumped at the chance to play of the Mozart family, and Mozart was
as simply a wartime example of Soviet a modern Steinway or Bosendorfer, had intrigued enough by the instrument to
write two pieces for it, including this
propaganda. Today it has earned a good it existed.
The choice of instrument affects not Adagio. It is more a curiosity than a serideal more respect. And it certainly
deserves recognition as a testament to merely the sound, but also the actual per- ous work, and it is quite short.
formance. Paul Badura-Skoda, who has
The sound is very good, as it usually
the power of the human spirit.
Giving this symphony some or all recorded a good deal of the repertoires is from M•A Recordings. Captured with
of your attention is one way to revisit of Beethoven and Mozart on period a single pair of custom-made microa heroic piece of history. It is so easy to instruments, points out that, because phones, the recording has superb focus,
imagine the effect the symphony must the fortepiano requires less physical but also a good measure of ambient
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reverberation. It is a superb opportunity
to hear some of Mozart’s late masterpieces on an instrument that would have
been familiar to Mozart himself.
There’s a Time (LP)
Doug MacLeod
Reference Recordings RM-2507
Gerard Rejskind: In UHF No. 93, I
reviewed the HDCD release of this new
Blues recording by Doug MacLeod,
arguably his best ever. Much as I liked
it, I did warn you that the LP version
might be worth waiting for.
And it followed hard upon. This is a
double album, cut at 45 rpm, and pressed
in accordance with the label’s usual
standards. It is, in a word, flawless.
There’s an intensely natural feel to
this recording, and for good reason.
It was done in a natural space, the big
studio at George Lucas’ Skywalker
Ranch, with no overdubbing. No headphones. Just MacLeod himself, who uses
different guitars for different songs,
bassist Denny Croy and drummer Jimi
Bott, clearly happy to be making music
together.
And together is the operative word.
There’s no sense of competition. The
bass foundation is solid, but it never
overwhelms. Bott’s percussion work is
often subtle but exquisite. Everything
is in support of the songs.
And they’re great songs. The Up Song
will lift your spirits. My In-laws Are Outlaws will make you laugh. And the song
that has become my long-time favorite is
Dubb’s Talkin’ Religion Blues, a hilarious
takedown of religious fundamentalism.
Of course, this double LP costs a lot
more than the single CD with the same
songs. Is the extra expense worthwhile?
If you have the turntable to do justice
to this superb LP set, then yes. There’s a
difference between hearing everything
perfectly and being there with the musicians. This recording bridges that gap.
It isn’t the sort of sonic powerhouse you
get with a large orchestra. It is, in fact,
something far more precious.
Nightclub (LP)
Patricia Barber
Premonition 90763.1
Gerard Rejskind: The unconventional
ways of Patricia Barber have become
familiar to her growing fan club, of
which I am one. Her husky voice is rich
in the lower registers, her arrangements
are complex, ref lecting her classical
music training, and her compositions
are highly original. In Nightclub, however, she takes on the well-known jazz
standards. It is one of my favorite Barber
albums, and here it is on a double LP.
Don’t expect the usual. The album
opens with Bye Bye Blackbird, which is
normally a lively up-tempo song. Not
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All Around Man
Bottleneck John
Opus 3 SACD25001
Steve Bourke: Just a short while back, I
toured a fantastic museum exhibition in
Massachusetts. An artist had done portraits of many well known Bluesmen of
color from the past 60 years or so. Along
with the pictures was a video of a TV
show from the same period, spotlighting
a solitary Blues singer with a primitive
electric guitar and a tiny amplifier, alone
on stage in front of a large, mostly white
audience.
The performance was magnetic, and
I am sure that the spectators felt the same
way. I wish I could say the same about
this SACD.
The first two tracks are almost
painful to the sensibility of a Blues fan.
The pace of the music is so disjointed
it nearly stops altogether, then starts
again, then stops, and not in a rhythmic
way. It’s more like a pause that is much
too pregnant. By the fourth song, I was
hoping for some kind of change in the
quality of the performance.
The following number started to
swing in an authentic way, though, and
my spirits lifted. I began to warm to Bottleneck John’s vocal style. It reminded
me of a middle-aged Tom Waits, with
a dark, tired quality suggesting that the
artist has in fact lived some or all of the
Blues he sings about. All my life I been
caught up in a crossfire, he proclaims, and
I believe he speaks from the heart.
His voice is affecting and strong, his
slide guitar also rings true, but his piano
sideman is not on the same page. The
absence of a rhythm section for much of
the album is a serious mistake. A bright
spot is the mandolin’s appearance with
some catchy solo runs, but when the
sidemen try to sing backup they sound
like amateurs.
As this is an SACD, guitar resonances
shine through loud and clear. Can
high-end sound quality compensate for
the sometimes mediocre entertainment
found inside the plastic case? Not quite.
Here’s hoping that this very genuine
artist hires different sidemen for his
next project, and that he also demands
a new producer, one who will weed out
the obvious glitches instead of carelessly
leaving them in the mix. Bottleneck John
deserves and really needs a professional
team to support him.
here. She establishes the first verse, and playing Both Sides Now. I felt the hairs
then launches into intricate piano varia- rise on my forearms.
Joni Mitchell first sang this song a
tions, backed by Marc Johnson’s bass
and Adam Nussbaum’s drums. When long time ago, in 1969, but this wasn’t
she picks up the chorus, she is talking the voice of the young singer she then
her way through the song. Mesmerizing! was. This was the mature Joni Mitchell
The Sinatra song I Fall in Love Too Easily of the year 2000, who really had seen life
(he sang it in the film Anchors Aweigh) is “from both sides.” I determined to get
also taken at a slow tempo. But Barber my hands on this newer, mature version.
doesn’t play with the structures
We remember
of the when
number
competitors would
Thisa is
it…sortofof.
songs just to be different.put
She
onsheds
line new
only only Both
the cover
Sides image
Now isand
the the
finaltable
trackofon
light on the lyrics, and besides, her piano this CD,
contents.
and it begins well enough, with
variations are terrific.We would tell them her
thatsmoky
you don’t
go fishing voice,
without
bait.
and expressive
singing
There are countless
Sure,
discoveries
we live from
to the
whatfirst
youverse,
spendwhich
through
our siteclouds.
and
is about
be made on this double the
album:
pages
Barber’s
of our print
issue.
you
could
spendbegin
days to
Before
theBut
song
ends,
things
unique takes, including You Don’t Knowreading
material
free. doesn’t exactly
go wrong.
Thefor
orchestra
Me, Alfie, Summer Samba,
We think
A Man
that’s
and athe cover
only way
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youfrom
of the
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butconvince
it subtracts
the
Woman (sung in French), and Yesterdays. song’s
UHF impact
difference,
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The LP includes a bonus
track
could want
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youI might
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the time
sheus
gets
to singing
about
love,
have done without, Santa Claus is Coming
music there’s
or homefartheatre
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to Town. Fortunately, it’sWe
at the
end on
havevery
readers
continent
except
Antarctica.
Asevery
the song
develops
further,
so does
and is easily skipped.
Most of them
discovered usand
on itline.
the orchestration,
gets worse and
The CD version is outstanding,
andreadworse.
They
a lot of
our free
Toward
thematerial.
end, she is waging a
this vinyl version is not an improvement.Andlosing
then battle
they joined
againstus.
a saxophone.
Her voice is rich, even opulent, and her
The rest of the album is an enigma,
piano is gorgeous, but there is an edge because it contains only one of Joni
to the sibilants that is not present on the Mitchell’s own songs, A Case of You.
CD. The LP mastering was done by the The other songs are standards: Comes
legendary Doug Sax, and this flaw is as Love, Don’t Go to Strangers, Stormy
unexpected as it is disappointing.
Weather, etc. In the album credits is a
certain Isobel Griffiths, who is billed
as an “orchestral contractor.” If she’s
the one responsible for the overly busy
arrangements, I would love to hear a
remixed version of the album with her
work mostly left out.
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WHY A FREE ISSUE
Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell
Reprise CDW 47620
Gerard Rejskind: I turned my attention
to this recording because of an experience I had a couple of years ago at CES
in Vegas. An expensive, very high-end
loudspeaker was being launched by — of
all companies — Sony. The source was
a collection of high-definition DSD
recordings. When I walked in, they were
So Beautiful or So What (LP)
Paul Simon
Hear Music HRM-32837-01
Gerard Rejsk ind: This was Paul
Simon’s final album, from 2011, with
his long-time producer Phil Ramone
(who died last March). The two began
working together in the 70’s, starting
with Simon’s self-titled album.
Paul Simon had dropped out of the
public eye (and ear) for some time. Think
of him, and you remember Graceland,
his work with the Zulu vocal group
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, or even his
songs with Art Garfunkel. Perhaps significantly, he is no longer on one of the
major labels. Hear Records is a division
of…Starbucks!
But you fire up the turntable, and
you can hear that Simon still has it.
He launches into Getting Ready for
Christmas Day, with a rhythmic guitar
and percussion introduction, and you
know it couldn’t possibly be anyone but
him. His voice is totally recognizable.
And of course the song isn’t really about
Christmas.
If I could tell my Mom and Dad that
the things we never had
Never mattered, we were always okay.
The next song, The Afterlife, has a
rhythm that suggests Graceland. It’s
about getting to the Pearly Gates, if that
is indeed what they are.
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line.
But Simon kills the waiting time
trying one of his pickup lines from back
when he was alive:
Hey, what’cha say, it’s a glorious day
By the way, how long you been dead?
There are other religious and quasireligious references too. In Love and Hard
Times, for instance:
“Well, we got to get going,” said the
restless Lord to the Son.
“There are galaxies yet to be born.
Creation is never done. Anyway, these
people are slobs here.”
And in the song Love is Eternal Sacred
Light:
Big Bang
That’s a joke that I made up
Once when I had eons to kill.
You know, most folks,
They don’t get when I’m joking.
Well, maybe someday they will.
In some songs, Simon is surrounded
by other musicians and a background
vocalist (his daughter Lulu), and sometimes he is alone with his guitar. In all
cases, Simon’s distinctive voice is never
covered up. He knows that his lyrics are
important.
The title of the album is also that
of the final song, and frankly it isn’t my
favorite. But this is a rich collection of
both words and music. Perhaps you’re
just discovering him, and then again
perhaps you first noticed him when you
saw The Graduate. Either way, this is an
album worth owning.
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JFK (Blu-ray)
Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek
Warner Bros.
Gerard Rejskind: As we mark the 50th
anniversary of the assassination of John
Kennedy and the collapse of the optimistic time dubbed “Camelot,” there
are fewer and fewer people asking that
perennial question: “Do you remember
where you were when Kennedy was
shot?” Most were not born. Yet the
names and places of the event remain
familiar. The Texas Schoolbook Depository. The grassy knoll. The picket fence.
The Zapruder film. The MannlicherCaracano rifle. Lee Harvey Oswald.
J.D. Tippitt. Jack Ruby.
It was more than 20 years ago, in
1991, that the always-provocative director Oliver Stone made this blockbuster
film, recreating the tragic events of
November 22, 1963. I think the film must
now be evaluated in two different ways,
first as a cinema creation, and then as a
documentary of what happened.
As a film, JFK is undeniably a masterpiece. We have few images of the
events in Dallas, but Stone uses them
skillfully, blending them with new foot- film point to these items, branding them
age in nearly seamless fashion. There is as false. Some are. The most important
of course the actual shooting. Only the one concerns the accused, Clay Shaw,
grainy 8 mm movie filmed by Abraham who is shown in the film admitting to
Zapruder shows that terrible moment. sometimes using the alias Clay Bertrand.
TV cameras did pick up earlier scenes But Shaw was not Clay Bertrand, and
of the motorcade, and to these Stone he was rightly exonerated. Just before
has added new scenes for continuity. the closing credits, we are told that
We can tell which are the new scenes the CIA has since admitted that Shaw
only because the real ones have been worked for them. Well, sure, but can
seen so many times before. Especially we believe that a high-flying American
masterly is the grisly scene of the autopsy businessman with contacts around the
at Parkland Memorial Hospital. There world would not have been approached
was no actual film of that autopsy, yet by the CIA? That does not make him a
we can see that the man on the stretcher conspirator to murder a president. Stone
really is John Kennedy. Working with is grossly unfair to Shaw. Clay Shaw
the still photographs of the event, Stone was homosexual, a fact that seems to
recreated the scene, using a startlingly give Stone much too much enjoyment.
realistic “body” by sculptor Gordon Worse still is that Stone not only claims
Smith of Toronto. The result is disturb- that Shaw participated in the planning
or the aftermath of the assassination, but
ing, because it is so realistic.
What about JFK as a documentary? actually shows him doing so.
Critics of the film also point to its
Stone took the risk of using the New
Orleans district attorney, Jim Garrison, depiction of the absurd “magic bullet
as his protagonist. Garrison, we know, theory,” which purports that a single
was the only prosecutor ever to charge one of Oswald’s bullets caused eight
anyone for the murder of the President, wounds in President Kennedy and Texas
namely prominent businessman Clay Governor John Connally, yet emerged
Shaw. Garrison was widely vilified as in nearly pristine condition. For the
a nut, obsessed with the JFK murder, demonstration in court, Garrison asks
and looking desperately for his moment two men, representing the President
of glory. Indeed, the film shows him and the Governor, to sit one behind the
increasingly absorbed in the countless other. But they were not seated that way.
was in the limousine’s jump
details of the assassination and especially
Yes, we getConnally
asked, constantly,
seat, much
lower
than
Kennedy. The
its bungled aftermath. It what
nearlywe
costs
him
will
be reviewing
in our
next
issue.
trajectory was, then,
his family. Shaw does go to trial,
butknow
he “magic
And we
reviewsbullet’s”
are essential.
simpler
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one plentiful.
Garrison posits.
is acquitted by a jury,
no one will
Butand
equipment
reviews
are nothing
if not
extensive
discussion
ever be indicted for the
murderhave
again.
Readers
long told The
us that
what makes
UHF of JFK on
imdb.com
that the
Warren ComFor the purposeparticularly
of the narrative,
valuable to
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mission
defenders,
despite
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ideas,rather
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nuts has
andvociferous
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technology,
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which areand
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verymany
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nut” theory.
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acted
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really could
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events in Dallas Not
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not as
hap- stop
wethey
will ever
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hardware
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pened. Garrison is shown to have posses- this remarkable bit of marksmanship
sion of information that would not have though he was known to be a poor shot,
been available to him. That is in spite of and the flight of the magic bullet has a
the fact that Garrison collaborated on simple explanation. Jack Ruby did as he
the film. In a wryly humorous touch, claimed, shoot Oswald to save Jackie
Stone has the real Garrison play Earl from the emotional pain of testifying at
Warren, whose commission concluded Oswald’s trial. Similarly, Sirhan Sirhan,
who shot Robert Kennedy, was also
that Oswald had acted alone.
Throughout the film, Garrison, acting alone. James Earl Ray, who killed
absorbed by the Kennedy case, reels off Martin Luther King, acted alone too.
Jury members who voted unanievidence and contradictions that would
make the Warren Commission’s conclu- mously to acquit Shaw said that they
sions impossible to believe. Critics of the did, however, accept the argument that
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there was a conspiracy. Stone, it should
be noted, has published an annotated
version of his screenplay, detailing comments by his detractors, and of course
his responses. The detractors were and
are many. Indeed, the film was vilified
in incendiary terms even before it was
released. Film critic Roger Ebert said
that Walter Cronkite excoriated him for
having given JFK a favorable review.
It is likely there will never be a dispassionate film about the murder of John
F. Kennedy. Nor will there ever be full
agreement on the facts, and how they
fit together. Fifty years on, there is still
too much passion, too much pain, too
much venom. That is the very reason
why Oliver Stone’s JFK is so important.
Evita (Blu-ray)
Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan
Pryce
Buena Vista 109379
Gerard Rejskind: This Blu-ray release
is especially welcome because the DVD
was so downright horrible. Designed
to display in “letterbox” mode on your
grandfather’s Trinitron, it had little
more definition than a VHS cassette.
The film deserved better, and it finally
got it.
Though Evita existed on Broadway
before Alan Parker directed the film
version, it is not a musical comedy but
an opera. The story is composed almost
entirely of arias, with stretches of recitatives, and virtually no dialogue. It
is difficult to classify, and perhaps that
partly explains its muted success on its
release in 1996.
But there are possibly other reasons.
The first is Madonna, unquestionably
a superstar, but one who causes some
people to break out in hives. Madonna
lobbied for two years to get the Evita
role, even coining the clever line, “Who
do I have to fax to get into this picture?”
The music was composed by Andrew
Lloyd Webber, another polarizing
figure. And the screenplay was cowritten
by yet a third, Oliver Stone. It’s a love/
hate trifecta!
Evita is, however, a masterpiece of an
opera, the moving musical reinvention of
a remarkable story.
That story is hardly unknown. In the
1940’s Argentina went through a series
of military dictatorships, not for the first
time, and, alas, not for the last. There
were coups d’état in 1930 and 1943, as
well as governments elected through
fraud. Colonel Juan Perón was part of a
military government at the end of World
War II (Argentina joined the Allied side
a month before V-E Day). He became
popular with trade unions, a popularity that cost him his job and finally his
freedom. Released from prison, he ran
for president in 1946 with union support,
and won handily.
Well before that, Eva Duarte entered
the scene. Born in a small town, she was
(as they used to say) an illegitimate child.
Moving to Buenos Aires in search of
opportunities, she used her good looks to
get ahead. She caught the eye of Colonel
Perón when he was still a member of the
military government, and campaigned
for his liberation once he was arrested,
and then for his election. As first lady in
the Perón régime, she was a hot political asset, but her free-spending populist style eventually made the régime
unpopular with the left-wing forces that
had elected her husband, including the
trade unions. Perón moved sharply to the
right, using the same brutal repression
against unions and the press that had
become all too common in the military
régimes that had preceded his. Spoiler
alert: Eva, virtually deified as “Evita,”
was stricken by cervical cancer, and died
in 1952 at the age of 33.
Now, how do you deal fairly with
such a story? The foundation Evita set
up still exists, and Perónism, though it
is widely seen as fascist, has not died out.
The Argentine government, fearing that
Evita might be treated with disrespect,
demanded to see the film script before
it would allow the use of the presidential
palace, the Casa Rosada, for the filming
of the famous Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina
scene.
Tim Rice’s solution was to invent a
new character, called Che, who acts as
a kind of Greek chorus, commenting
with growing cynicism on both the
Perón régime and Evita herself. Sometimes he is an unseen observer, singing
to the camera. In one scene, he is as a
bartender. In one key scene, he is one of
the union protesters who have turned
their back on Perón. In an astonishing
fantasy scene, he dances a tango with
Eva herself, in which they discuss her
politics in an interplay of bitterness and
self-justification.
Che is played by Antonio Banderas, a
non-singer who does a simply marvellous
job of interpreting the complex score.
His existence allows screenwriter Tim
Rice to have it both ways, showing Eva
as her admirers saw and continue to see
her, but balancing their admiration with
a cold eye on reality. Evita took the part
of the descamisados, the shirtless ones, but
gave glamorous cover to a fascist régime
that stomped on human rights and gave
countless Nazi war criminals refuge.
The text is intelligent, and the music
is superb, some of Lloyd Webber’s
best. Several of the melodies become
earworms, including, of course, Don’t
Cry for Me, Argentina, but also I’d Be
Surprisingly Good for You, High Flying,
Adored and the Oscar-winning You Must
Love Me. The music is omnipresent, with
hardly any dialogue at all.
The per for ma nces are superb,
including those of Madonna, and also of
Jonathan Pryce as Juan Perón. Watching
it makes you want to go to Wikipedia
to see the “real” story, and all that has
happened to Argentina since those heady
days of the 1940’s. Much of that history
has been tragic, with more military
coups, a war and some heavy-handed
repression that would have made Juan
Perón blush. Watching Evita, you’ll have
a good time, but you probably won’t want
to stop there.
Gossip&News
Simaudio Sold
At one time, Simaudio
was Sima Audio, a much
smaller company, founded
by Victor Sima. Victor’s
f inal product s were t he
Celeste amplifiers, such as
the 4070LE. Subsequently,
Victor sold his company to
Jean Poulin (shown here, on
a factory tour a year ago),
who took it to the big time,
and subtly altered its name to
Simaudio.
Nearly two years ago,
Simaudio moved out of its
rented digs in Boucherville,
Quebec, to its own building. Now, Jean has sold his
company.
But t he ne w ow ner s
are not really strangers to
Simaudio. One of t hem,
Costa Koulisakis, has been involved
in everything from service to marketing and business development, and for
many he is the public face of Simaudio.
Another of the buyers is the long-time
chief engineer, Thierry Dufour, responsible for many of its key designs over two
Industry
News
Speaking of Simaudio… The Moon CP-8 is a very expensive
home-theatre audio and video processor.
You probably know that it is not what we
of taking a screwdriver to products they
review. In 2010, they opened up a $3,500
Lexicon Blu-ray player…
…and do you know what they found?
An Oppo player costing some $500. In
that instance, the entire player, chassis
and all, had been dropped into a Lexicon
case.
Truth is, many AV products at all
sorts of prices use the same chips. Buying
from a mass-market company gets you
the technology for less, but that doesn’t
mean all the products have the same performance. To return to Simaudio again,
in 2001 we purchased a Moon Attraction, a cinema audio-video processor.
decades. The third is Louis Lemire, also
an engineer.
Simaudio’s products are now found
in some 50 countries. The company has
now moved into professional sound as
well. Ironically, that’s what Victor Sima
was doing before he caught the hi-fi bug.
are using in our Kappa (cinema reference) system. Very few of the CP-8’s
were ever built, and the price, some
$18,000, is no doubt a deterrent. It
certainly was to us. Instead, we acquired
an AV receiver from Onkyo, and simply
ignored its built-in power amplifiers.
What we got, at a substantially lower
price, is a pretty good product with the
latest chips, some of the same ones found
in more expensive products. So why is
the CP-8 so expensive?
The question was asked again after
the online magazine Audioholics opened
a CP-8 and announced that, inside, it was
actually a Denon AVR-2808C. Retail
price: $1,199. Ouch!
The people at Audioholics (is there
such a thing as audiohol?) have the habit
It turned out that the high-tech part
of the Attraction was borrowed from
the EAD TheaterMaster processor. A
glance at the remote control gave the
game away:
That doesn’t mean the Attraction
and the TheaterMaster had the same
performance. We had heard both, and
the Attraction, which had its own analog
and power supply circuits, was clearly
superior.
We still have it. It’s in our Omega
reference system, where we use it for
decoding HDCD discs.
Shopping for
a Show
We at UHF have a historic connection to the Montreal high-end show,
now called the Salon Son&Image. It was
started, in 1984, by our then-publisher,
Michel Prin. After a pause, it was taken
in hand by his sister, Marie-Christine
Prin, who ran it for two decades with
great success. More recently it has been
organized by Michel Plante (at right) and
Sarah Tremblay.
But changes were in the air. Michel
resigned as CEO to work in marketing
at Plurison/Audio Services Plus, the
distributor of Focal, Rega, Naim, Pathos,
MartinLogan, etc. And not long after,
the Montreal show was bought out.
The purchaser is the Chester Group.
Based in the UK, the groups also runs
shows in Sweden, Australia and (since
last spring) New York. It has added
Montreal to its list of cities.
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 filter: GutWire MaxCon2
Acoustics: Gershman Acoustic Art panels
The Kappa system
This is our home cinema system. As with the
original Alpha system, our limited space, ruled
out 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.
HDTV monitor: Samsung PN50A550
plasma screen
Source: Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray
player, Apple TV
Preamplifier/processor: Onkyo
TX-NR709
Power amplifiers: Van den Hul M-1
monoblocks (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, GutWire,
Wireworld
Line filter: GutWire MaxCon 2
All three systems have dedicated power lines,
with Hubbell hospital-grade outlets. Extensions
and power bars are equipped with hospitalgrade connectors.
It says the dates and venue for Montreal remain the same. Sarah Tremblay
will run the Salon, and will do the same
for the New York show. That show, by
the way, will move to Brooklyn, on an
unannounced date in the fall.
In the meantime, AXPONA (which
stands for “Audio Expo North America”), has also been sold. The purchaser is
JD Events, a trade show company based
in Connecticut. Unlike the Chester
Group, JD Events is not in the high-end
audio business. Its other exhibitions
are in such diverse domains as satellite
content delivery, customer engagement
technologies (whatever the hell those
are) and healthcare facilities. The next
Axpona will be in April in Chicago…
but not really in Chicago. It will be at
a hotel near O’Hare airport. Yes, the
elevated trains run to O’Hare, but it’s a
long way from one of North America’s
most culturally exciting cities.
Marketnews
If you’re not connected with the
Canadian consumer electronics industry, you won’t even recognize the title.
Marketnews is — or, more accurately,
was — a trade magazine, strictly limited
to industry insiders. That’s not unusual.
There are in fact many dozens (it used
to be hundreds) of magazines aimed only
at people inside a particular industry:
furniture-building, oil-refining, long-
ADVERTISERS
ADL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Audiopassion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Audiophile Store. . . . . . . . . . .49-56
Audiyo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
BIS Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3
Blue Circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Charisma Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Clarity Cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Crown Mountain Imports . . . . . . .12
THIS MAGAZINE IS INTERACTIVE!
Entre’Acte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Furutech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Keith Monks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Küdos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Liberty Trading. . . . . . . . . Cover 4
Living Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Maggie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Manley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Quad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4
Resolution Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Simaudio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Simon Yorke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Sonic Artistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
UHF Back Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . 39
UHF Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vicoustic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
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Gossip&News
distance trucking, etc. They don’t appear
Perhaps the most important issue of
on newsstands. They are “controlled- Marketnews was its annual guide, which
circulation” magazines: they’re free, but was a complete index of who distributed
you have to qualify.
what in Canada. It was a valuable source
What was unusual about Marketnews
It work in three
ways. in the consumer electronics
for anyone
was how terrific itInwas.
the Under
table of
publisher
contents, business
click on in
anCanada,
article title,
and for anyone with
Bob Grierson, longtime
and you
editor
areRobert
whiskedambitions
right to the
to article.
get into the business.
Franner (who died
In the
twolist
years
of advertisers
ago), and on the
Onesecond-last
of the finalpage,
stories on its lively
his successor, Christine
click on an Persaud,
ad name, it
andWeb
go right
thetitled
ad itself.
site to
was
Companies Recently
seemed to thrive. It was full of
Then
large,
click Gone
on anBust
ad, or Struggling and Why. We
glossy ads,
andaimed
your at
browser
other industry
will take
insidyou right
to thethat
advertiser’s
Web
are sorry
Marketnews
haspage.
joined that
ers, of course. The
Remember
picture when
above you’d
showshave
to circle little numbers
number.
one of its covers…which
on isa card
actually
you awould then mail in?
Samsung ad. Yes, Marketnews
Doesn’t that
wasseem
the like a long time ago?
only magazine known to us that openly
sold its cover.
In a world in which high-end audio
is pretty much written off, and mono
Bluetooth speakers are billed as having
“great” sound, Marketnews talked up
the good stuff. Recent articles outlined
the return of two-channel stereo and
attempted to help photo stores explain
lenses to their customers. For many
years, it had a “secret shopper” feature,
in which an insider would visit a store
searching for some product, and then
As the year ends, we pack our bags
write about what happened to him. for Las Vegas, the biggest of the big
The feature was revived in recent years, electronics shows. It’s accessible only to
though without naming the store.
the trade, but that’s us.
There was a subsidiary publication
CES press events begin on January 5,
titled Here’s How, which dealers could and the show itself runs through the 10th.
give to potential customers. How do you We’ll be there, preparing a report (with
set up a surround sound system? How do our usual wry insights) for our next issue,
you network your computers? It was all and at www.uhfmag.com/Vegas2014.
there.
H
State of the Art
ow big should a loudspeaker
be — I mean, ideally? That
question makes me think of
the (probably apocryphal)
story of Abraham Lincoln, who was very
tall, being asked how long a man’s legs
should be. “I reckon,” he replied, “they
should be long enough to reach the
ground.” Similarly, the speaker ought
be big enough to get the job done, and
no bigger.
But how big is that?
It is common to think in terms of bass
response. Because low frequencies have
long wavelengths, it seems inevitable
that a speaker must be large in order to
reproduce them. You’ve probably also
heard that a woofer cone must be large
in order to “move enough air,” and a
large woofer of course needs a large
box to house it. Actually, the air motion
thing is nonsense, but in fact choosing
a speaker size means trade-offs in terms
of advantages and disadvantages.
A large enclosure will have the
volume needed to “hold” a long (lowfrequency) wave, but no box is infinitely
rigid, and no material is completely
non-resonant. Increase the volume, and
you’ve also increased the enclosure’s
surface area. It’s difficult enough to keep
a small box from vibrating. Make it large,
and at low frequencies it may actually
produce more sound than the woofer
itself. That can’t be good.
If the enclosure is made large, it is
often to accommodate a woofer with a
large cone. It was once common to find
oversized “bookshelf” speakers with
cones as big as 38 cm in diameter. They
sounded terrible, because they were on
the wrong side of the size trade-off.
Their designers clearly assumed the
cone had to be large in order to “move
air.” Wrong assumption, even if there is
a grain of sense in it.
A large cone can be more efficient in
the lower frequencies, and that should
be an advantage, but it comes with
problems. A large cone is heavy, even if
you make it from exotic materials, and
a heavy cone will have plenty of inertia.
It will take energy and time to get it
by Gerard Rejskind
moving, and it will take time to stop it,
too. It’s easy to see that a massive cone
will smear the sound.
What about making the cone small?
That introduces another set of problems. In order to produce a powerful
low-frequency wave, the cone will have
to move back and forth farther than a
larger one would. To understand the
result, visualize what happens inside
the woofer, including the part you
can’t see. The cone is suspended by its
“surround,” the flexible ring around
its circumference, but also by an inner
corrugated ring called the spider. The
greater the cone motion, the more the
surround and the spider will need to flex.
Neither device has constant mechanical
resistance along its travel, and so the
movement of the cone will not be exactly
proportional to the magnitude of the
electrical signal from the amplifier. The
waveform will therefore be distorted.
There’s an electrical problem too.
The music signal is applied to the voice
coil, wire suspended in a fixed magnetic
field. That magnetic field is not identical
throughout, and if the cone moves too
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.
far, the voice coil will begin moving
beyond the magnetic field’s limits. The
result, once more, is distortion.
At one time, there were small speakers with potent bass using what was
known as acoustic suspension. The cone
was made f loppy, and the small air
volume inside the enclosure provided
the spring-like “suspension” effect. The
AR2 was probably the most famous of
these. Such speakers were, however,
highly inefficient, because it took a good
deal of energy to overcome the stiffness
of the air inside the cabinet. That meant
using a powerful amplifier, which often
introduced other compromises. Worse
was the fact that the woofer cone was
asymmetrically loaded, with a very
stiff air cushion at the rear, but normal
atmospheric pressure at the front. You
would expect the sound wave to be asymmetrical as well, and you would be right.
The other way to make a small
speaker is to use a tuned port, according
to what is known as the “bass reflex”
principle. Most modern speakers are
made that way. However, below the
frequency of resonance of the wooferenclosure combination, output rolls off,
and — what is worse — what does come
out is poorly controlled. A small speaker,
all else being equal, will have a relatively
high resonant frequency. You can see the
problem.
There is, in fact, no “right” size for
a speaker. There are superb speakers of
quite different volumes, and there are
plenty of ways to screw up the design too.
The job of a designer of loudspeakers
(or, indeed, anything else), is to select a
size and technology that can do what he
wants, to get the best he can from that
choice, and to minimize its inevitable
drawbacks.
We often say that a particular loudspeaker is “too big for its own good,”
meaning that it would have sounded
better had it been made smaller. Other
speakers are too small to serve as more
than desktop monitors. The best speakers, however, may come in nearly any
size. Your perfect speaker will be neither
too big nor too small.
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LPs
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UHF Magazine
No. 93
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TWO LOUDSPEAKERS

Transcription

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