here - UHF Magazine

Transcription

here - UHF Magazine

ANALOG: A new turntable from Thorens,
and two affordable phono preamplifiers.
MORE REVIEWS: An economical converter
that can be the heart of your digital audio
system, a speaker from Revolver, and the
Roksan K2 amplifier.
PLUS: Apple’s second stab at a TV front end,
why some master tapes weren’t made to
last, coverage of the Vegas and Montreal
shows, using your gear to record your own
No. 90 CAN $6.49 / US $7.69 and lots more.
RETURN LABELS ONLY OF UNDELIVERED COPIES TO:
270 rue Victoria, Longueuil, QC, Canada J4H 2J6
Printed in Canada
ISSN 0847-1851
Canadian Publication Sales
Product Agreement
No. 40065638
Products of special value, at The Audiophile
Boutique
Of course you know about The Audiophile Store, which
has been an important part of UHF Magazine since
1988. Over at the Boutique, we have products you
may not see at the store. They may be limited editions,
demos, discontinued lines, always at the best prices we
can get you.
Come see us at:
www.audiophileboutique.com
Expect analog, digital loudspeakers, cables, music, and lots more.
audiophileboutique.com
a division of UHF Magazine
www.audiophileboutique.com
(450) 651-5720
What do we know about indoor FM and TV
antennas that they don’t?
A lot, it turns out. With the stampede to satellite
and cable over the past 20 years, the design of
dipole antennas has been left to the makers of
junk.
It was years ago that UHF designed a high-quality
antenna for its own use. It was so good we
offered it for sale as the Super Antenna, and saw
thousands of them sold. Why? Because it’s better.
In this, the Super Antenna’s latest incarnation,
we buy one of those antennas, rip everything
out until we are left with the rods and the
case, and we rebuild it. We add our own
high-quality transformer (the junk antennas
don’t have one), and a luxurious low-loss
multi-shielded cable with a 24K gold-plated
F-connector.
The broadband design covers the range from
analog channels 2 to 69, including the entire
FM band. And yes, it does a fine job with the full range of
digital channels, including over-the-air HDTV.
SEE THE SUPER ANTENNA MkIII at The Audiophile Store, page 57
Rendezvous
Revolver Reloaded34
Revolver was known for its (revolving) turntables.
We meet up with Charles Greenlees, one of the
people behind the new Revolver.
Issue No. 90
The Listening Room
The Revolver Music 536
It’s not a turntable, as you might expect, but a
loudspeaker.
The Thorens TD-309
The venerable turntable company continues to
search for new paths.
39
Roksan Kandy K-242
The second generation of this British company’s
smaller amplifier.
Moon 100D Converter45
Can Simaudio replicate the performance of its
terrific 300D digital-to-analog converter in a
package half the size and well under half the price?.
Phono Stages47
We listen to the new incarnation of Simaudio’s
smaller phono preamp, and to another that costs
like a family outing at McDo.
Interconnects and Accessories50
Inexpensive products from Atlas and Nerve. Yes,
Nerve.
Cover story: An affordable DAC for the heart of your
digital music, the Moon 100D, sitting atop a much older
technology, reborn, the Thorens TD-309 turntable.
Features
The Vegas Shows 2011
18
by Gerard Rejskind
The Consumer Electronics Show and T.H.E. Show
scramble to reinvent themselves
Nuts&Bolts
Not Made to Last
28
by Paul Bergman
Analog is forever. Unless you’ve recorded with tape
that went downhill as soon as you opened the box.
Cinema
Apple TV, Take Two31
There’s a new Apple TV, but is it better? And what,
if anything, can you use it for?
Music? Make Your Own52
They said the Apple tablet is only for consuming
content. Turns out they were wrong.
Software
Count Basie: Big Band Nobility63
by Toby Earp
Bandleader and composer “Count” Basie wasn’t
nobility, but to music lovers he was and is royalty.
Software Reviews70
by Steve Bourke and Gerard Rejskind
Departments
Editorial4
Feedback7
Free Advice
10
Gossip & News
78
State of the Art
82
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine    3    
UHF Magazine No. 90 was published in September, 2011.
All contents are copyright 2011 by Broadcast Canada. They
may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system,
without written permission from the publisher.
EDITORIAL & SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE:
Broadcast Canada
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LONGUEUIL, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383
E-mail: uhfmail@uhfmag.com
World Wide Web: www.uhfmag.com
PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Gerard Rejskind
EDITORIAL: Paul Bergman, Steve Bourke, Toby Earp,
Albert Simon
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY: Albert Simon
ADVERTISING SALES:
Alberta & BC: Derek Coates (604) 522-6168
Other: Gerard Rejskind (450) 651-5720
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plus applicable taxes
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ELSEWHERE (air mail):
CAN$118 for 13 issues
ELECTRONIC EDITION: C$40, 13 issues*
*Applicable taxes extra
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PRINTING: Interglobe-Beauce
E-EDITION: www.uhfmag.com/maggie.html
FILED WITH The National Library of Canada and
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ISSN 0847-1851
Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product No. 0611387
UHF invites contributions. Though all reasonable care will
be taken of materials submitted, we cannot be responsible
for their damage or loss, however caused. Materials will
be returned only if a stamped self-addressed envelope is
provided. It is advisable to query before submitting.
Ultra High Fidelity Magazine is completely independent of
all companies in the electronics industry, as are all of its
contributors, unless explicitly specified otherwise.
4   ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Editorial
Subscribe, get a free iPad
That’s not our offer, I hasten to add, because we don’t have that sort of
budget. It’s a plan being considered, supposedly, by a Montreal newspaper, La
Presse. Not that the paper itself has announced such a plan. It’s been leaked
by Radio-Canada, and it seems totally off the wall.
Or perhaps not.
So far, the economics of an electronic version of an existing publication
doesn’t look too good, and it’s easy to figure out why. At first glance it would
seem cheaper to deliver an electronic version of La Presse (or UHF) than
to buy the raw paper, run it through presses, assemble the pages, truck the
finished publication around, and then pay a large markup to distributors and
newsstand owners. In fact the saving is not what it seems, and believe me, as
a publisher I’ve looked at the figures long and hard.
Let’s say a print run of 20,000 drops by half because 10,000 readers have
switched to the digital edition. Big saving, you’d think, because electrons weigh
less than paper. In fact we’ve saved…nearly nothing. That’s because, although
a print run is expensive, cutting it in half hardly saves you anything at all.
Adjust the color registration on one of those big presses, and there go 5000
sheets already. Four-color printing is labor-intensive, and shortening the print
run just means running the huge press a couple of minutes less. Not a lot of
saving there. As long as there are any readers who want the printed edition,
there are scant economies to be made. Dump them all onto the electronic
edition, though, and the savings might pay for all those iPads after all.
We suspect La Presse executives have just been using the idea as a talking
point, but it’s less crazy than it looks.
Speaking of the iPad…
As of this issue, we introduce Maggie, our new electronic delivery system
for virtual copies of UHF. It does away with some of the frustrating problems
we have fought against with the old plug-in system. The issues will now be
in unprotected PDF form, readable on any hardware that is capable of reading that format. That includes Windows PC’s, Macs, Linux, Unix, and…yes,
iPads and other tablets. You can, in short, read the magazine on anything
much newer than an IBM Selectric.
If you’re subscribed to the old version, you’ll have been shifted to the new
one automatically.
We’re still looking at other publication venues too, but I think you’ll like
Maggie, and she’s going to take a load of worries off our shoulders as well.
My health bulletin
Yes, I was seriously ill in the Summer of 2010, with a massive heart infection that required open-heart surgery. It’s natural that people still ask me how
I’m doing, a year later. I’m happy to say that I’m better than ever. Not only
did I make a swift recovery, but the surgeons appear to have repaired heart
damage that may have been there for a long time.
Next year, incidentally, UHF will be 30 years old. You think I’d miss
that?
YOUR MAGAZINE WITHOUT THE DOG EARS
We’re like you. We hate those folded-down corners on magazines we
just paid good money for. May we suggest a solution?
Strangely enough it’s the expensive copy that’s likely to be tattered,
torn, and… yes, dog-eared. We mean the newsstand copy.
The reason is obvious. Where do copies sit around unprotected?
At the newsstand. Where do other people leaf through them before you
arrive, with remains of lunch on their fingers? At the newsstand. Where
do they stick on little labels you can’t even peel off? Beats us why,
but they do.
Our subscribers, on the other hand, get pristine copies protected
in plastic, with the address label pasted on the plastic itself, not
the cover.
We know what you really want is a perfect copy, and the fact you subscribed and
paid a little less doesn’t mean you’ll settle for less.
As if that weren’t reason enough, there’s the fact that with a subscription you
qualify for a discount on one or all three of our much-praised books on hi-fi (see
the offer on the other side of this page).
One more thing. Some newsstands run out of UHF four days after the copies
arrive. Have you missed copies?
SAVE EVEN MORE WITH MAGGIE’S ELECTRONIC EDITION!
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So what’s our advice? Well, sure!
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Much, much more to read…
This is our original book, which has been
read by thousands of audiophiles, both
beginners and advanced. It’s still relevant to
much of what you want to accomplish.
It’s a practical manual for the discovery and
exploration of high fidelity, which will make
reading other books easier. Includes in-depth
coverage of how the hardware works,
including tubes, “alternative” loudspeakers,
subwoofers, crossover networks,
biamplification. It explains why, not just how.
It has full instructions for aligning a tone arm,
and a gauge is included. A complete audio
lexicon makes this book indispensable. And
it can cost as little as $9.95 in the US and
Canada (see the coupon).
This long-running best seller includes
these topics: the basics of amplifiers,
preamplifiers, CD players, turntables and
loudspeakers. How they work, how to
choose, what to expect. The history of hi-fi.
How to compare equipment that’s not in the
same store. What accessories work, and
which ones are scams. How to tell a good
connector from a rotten one. How to set up
a home theatre system that will also play
music (hint: don’t do any of the things the
other magazines advise). How to plan for
your dream system even if your accountant
says you can’t afford it. A precious volume
with 224 pages of essential information for
the beginning or advanced audiophile!
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Feedback
270 rue Victoria
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
What’s your opinion on the fact that
you have to update your Blu-ray player in
order to play the latest discs? What next,
will I have to update my CD player, my
television, my hearing aids? No wonder
the music industry, especially high end,
is so f--d up. Big Brother is getting
paranoid.
Lets bring back the VHS tape, so
we can just put the damn thing in the
machine and watch the movie, or an LP
on the table and just enjoy the music.
The entertainment industry should
pay more attention to quality than to
their fears of getting pirated. Wal Mart
knows that people shoplift and they do
a certain amount of surveillance to keep
their thefts down to a minimum, but
they don’t search everyone as they leave
the store. All this anticopy protection is
equivalent to being strip-searched by the
entertainment industry. I’m fed up with
it and I bet a lot of others are too.
Just saying.
John Pylypchuk
THUNDER BAY, ON
We’re with you, John. Your letter arrived
just as we were updating our Pioneer Bluray player so that it could play the latest Fox
releases. Why? Because of new anti-copying
measures. Of course the Fox films are ending
up on torrent sites anyway, but some paying
customers with expensive players are left
with unplayable films. To add to the frustration, the update from Pioneer (and Sony for
that matter) appears to have been designed
by the same people who take away your water
bottle at airport security checks.
I would like to add a footnote to Paul
Bergman’s thought-provoking article
Remembering Stereo in UHF No. 88.
The first attempted use of multiple
channels to convey location, noted by
Bergman, are the famous 1932 experiments conducted by Bell Laboratories.
However, as often happens, history
contains a few surprises.
In 1881, Clément Ader used a series of
telephone pickups installed at the Paris
Opéra to transmit live performances
to the Paris Electrical Exhibition, with
pickup and one receiver for each ear.
The December 31, 1881 issue of Scientific
American (pp. 422–423) reported, “One
of the most popular attractions at the
Paris Electrical Exhibition is the nightly
demonstration of the marvelous powers
of the Ader telephone, by its transmission of the singing on the stage and the
music in the orchestra of the Grand
Opera at Paris, to a suite of four rooms
reserved for the purpose in one of the
galleries of the Palais de l’Industrie
... Everyone who has been fortunate
enough to hear the telephones at the
Palais de l’Industrie has remarked that,
in listening with both ears at the two
telephones, the sound takes a special
character of relief and localization which
a single receiver cannot produce ... As
soon as the experiment commences the
singers place themselves, in the mind of
the listener, at a fixed distance, some to
the right and others to the left. It is easy
to follow their movements, and to indicate exactly, each time that they change
their position, the imaginary distance at
which they appear to be. This phenomenon is very curious, it approximates
to the theory of binauricular audition,
and has never been applied, we believe,
before to produce this remarkable illusion to which may almost be given the
name of auditive perspective.”
Ader’s invention was commercialized in France as the Théâtrophone, a
subscription service that transmitted live
performances in stereo over telephone
lines to homes and hospitality businesses. Those located in hotels and cafes
could be coin-operated. Théâtrophone
operated from 1890 until 1932. I believe
that a similar system may have been
operated by Bell Telephone in the US,
but I cannot locate the reference at the
moment.
In modern terms, Ader’s system was
a “spaced pair” of microphones, and
thus differs from the technique most
commonly associated with Blumlein’s
name. However, these two approaches,
along with an intermediate setup called
a near-coincident pair (ORTF, etc.),
form the three basic techniques most
often considered by purists for stereo
recording. As the late Robert Fine, Bert
Whyte, and many others have found out,
you can make some extremely satisfying
stereo with two or three spaced mics.
Kevin Hayes, President
Valve Amplification Co., Inc.
SARASOTA, FL
I would dearly love to subscribe to the
electronic version of your magazine but
as of yet, it’s not able to be viewed on an
iPad (though iPads are able to view and
store PDF documents through iBooks).
Can you tell me if this will be happening
soon?
Mike Homuk (Sent from my iPad)
I want to be able to read the electronic
version of UHF on an Android tablet
and a Windows PC. If I could, I would
subscribe digitally once my snail mail
subscription expires. Do you know if the
MagZee plugin will work (now or future)
in Android?
In the latest issue, you talk about an
iPad version. This will not be an acceptable solution for me. Zinio would be
much better in that I already subscribe
digitally to several things there. I don’t
want to have a separate app for each
subscription! So my vote would be for
Zinio.
Love the magazine.
Dave Lang
TORONTO, ON
We’ve now gone with our own version,
which you can see at www.uhfmag.com/
maggie.html. We considered Zinio, which
we also use, however it is the most expensive
service we know of, and — we don’t know
about you — but we find the Zinio software
annoyingly buggy. Our new Maggie issue
is a DRM-free PDF and can be read on
the software of your choice on Windows,
Android, or whatever you may buy.
Coming up in issue No. 91 of
Feedback
Two class T/D amplifiers, one tiny, one huge.
The Benchmark HDR DAC and preamp.
The Audiomat Phono-2 preamplifier.
New software for better music from your
computer.
Music and your brain: why you crave music.
More from the shows in Toronto and Montreal.
And much, much more!
Yours is the best audio magazine I
know of, and you can be assured of my
faithfulness.
I particularly appreciate your articles
on digital, especially those allowing me
to reproduce on my music system the
digital audio files stored on my computer
disc drive.
Michel Charlebois
RIGAUD, QC
After reading your article Montreal
2010 (UHF No. 89), I must add my
experience with some “men in brown.”
Some years back I had sold a pair of
near perfect condition speakers on eBay.
They were professionally packed by
the shipping company and going from
Ontario to a few hundred miles in the
USA. Later I was notified by the buyer
(including a photo) showing that both
speaker cabinets were somehow damaged. One was scratched badly and the
other actually broken and split beyond
repair. Whoa! Luckily I opted for insurance, which they did honor.
It must be a nightmare for UHF with
all the shipping and receiving of expen8   ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
sive high-end equipment. Could you
imagine ordering an EAR Disc Master,
with two tone arms, using UPS? I may
trust them with a bag of coal. What is
the solution other than doing your own
transporting?
Bob Salsbury
BATH, ON
We ourselves use Expedited Mail much
of the time, and very occasionally FedEx,
with good results, Bob. Actually we think
accidents can happen with any transporter,
but the anecdotes we hear do seem to centre
around “the men in brown.”
Did you have a chance to hear the
Bybee Music Rails being demoed at
Vegas? I think it is very interesting
when three separate e-mags all go gaga
over them. Stereo Times and Enjoy the
Music were two of them. Sorta like a
power conditioner on a card right inside
the amp. A flash of brilliance perhaps?
Lloyd Smith
MALAGASH, NS
We did, Lloyd, but the system in the room
they were using was so horrible we found a
judgement impossible to make. Later in the
day, Bybee gave us a private showing in the
Reference 3a room. It might be wrong to
say we went gaga, but we did (then) hear a
difference.
On a cold winter evening in January,
I was flipping though some back issues
of UHF (and listening to Mahler — the
two seem to go together somehow), and
I saw an article that I never thought I
would ever see printed in the audio press,
in UHF No. 84, Is Hi-Fi Too Expensive?
I’m writing to commend the article
and the responses that follow by both
you and Costa Koulisakis of Simaudio.
I know that this is an old article, but
I was surprised to find it within your
pages, and I was prodded to write, since
we are going though the worst economic
downturn since the Great Depression.
I sincerely applaud you for having the
bravery to raise the issue in the world of
high-end audio.
Not only did Mr. Meyers dare to
address the elephant in the room of
high fidelity — the astronomical costs
of the equipment — he did so in an
extremely effective way, by emphasizing
the opportunity cost of other purchases
or savings that could be made with the
same amount of discretionary income.
From a careful read of his article, I don’t
believe that Mr. Meyers was against
owning expensive stereo equipment
but rather was critiquing the spiral of
consumerism that audiophiles fall into
by reading stereo reviews after entering
into the pastime. The main message I
discerned from his article was to think
carefully and critically before spending
on the next potential stereo upgrade not
just frame the question as what is the best
to buy next but realistically, what is the
best way to send limited money.
To this point, I would like to add my
own: there are many musicians struggling very hard to continue to strive
for innovation and excellence in their
craft. While the author soberly makes
the comparison between the prices of
new, state of the art, high end equipment
and paying down one’s mortgage, I’d
like to add the comparison of acquiring
new stereo equipment vs. attending live
music. For every new pair of intercon-
nects one considers buying- in hundreds
of dollars — or for every new component
one considers purchasing — in thousands
or tens of thousands (or God forbid, hundreds of thousands!) of dollars, is there
a missed benefit of spending some or all
of that money instead on experiencing
music live?
I recently heard the reproduction of
a blues singer on a $100,000 system at a
local dealer’s store. I was stuck by the
bitter irony that the musician himself
had likely never made anything near the
amount of money over the course of his
life comparable to the value of the system
on which his voice and playing were
now being reproduced. I don’t think we
should let that happen to the musicians
we treasure.
Patrick Burek
HAMILTON, ON
Wrongly we hope, Jean, even if we still
ourselves still prize the LP.
The Beatles collection on the USB key
actually has higher resolution than the CD,
with 24 bits of data, though the sampling
I’ve been reading UHF for many
years now, and have always wondered
why you choose to use US spelling on
certain words in your articles. The last
time I looked UHF was a Canadian
publication. But, for example, you spell
colour as color and favour as favor. Why
would that be? It’s so…un-Canadian.
If it’s a spell check issue, just use the
UK setting.
Robert Quigg
MUSKOKA, ON
No, it’s not a spell-check issue, but our
own style guide includes a mix of worldwide
(mostly British) English and North American usage, and we strive to be as consistent
as possible. We are not alone in dropping
the “u” on many words — when color TV
came in, even the CBC didn’t call it “colour.”
However we favour...er, favor certain other
Canadian spellings. And so it’s metre not
meter, theatre and centre, not theater and
center, synthetizer not synthesizer, judgement not judgment. And to us, the letter
“z” still rhymes with bed.
Sorry to hear (or rather read) about
your health problems. I’m glad you’re
fine and back at UHF. I hope you’ll be
around for many years to come, as the
magazine would not be the same without
you.
Daniel Marois
GATINEAU, QC
So glad to hear that Gerard is mending well.
Many years ago my wife was diagnosed with an atrial valve pathology.
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She became a candidate for artificial
valve surgery back in the 1960’s. A
second opinion determined it was in
fact a respiratory problem, which is still
being managed easily. Of course, the
original valve is still intact and ticking
away 50-plus years later.
On reading your recent article about
iPads, etc I recall a graduate neurophysiology lecture also during the same
period. It was stated that images transmitted from a monitor and those from
hard copy had different physical wavelengths and characteristics. Transmitted
images tended to be processed by the
right brain, but reflected images from
hard copy were apparently processed by
the left brain.
Thus, it would seem that reading a
real book may result in perhaps a different interpretation when compared
to reading it “online”. I hope that audio
signals always contain the same physical
characteristics regardless of the current
and varied electronic media sources.
Gordon Krip
BEACONSFIELD, QC
Feedback
Let me first of all congratulate you
once again for your excellent work.
I’m writing because I am perplexed
by the technological bent of high fidelity.
I’ve been reading you for two decades,
and I have well understood the importance of the source in extracting the
maximum musical information from any
given medium (CD, vinyl). The other
day, I was astonished to find, at my record
store, the collection of Beatle songs…on
a USB key! Can such a key really contain
all of the information found on a CD? I
know it could potentially contain more
(4, 8 or 16 GB), but is it the same quality
of information, able to transmit all of the
musical nuances?
Nowadays more and more music is
stored on computer hard drives, and
even Linn favors this approach. But
can a hard drive costing under $200
really give us the same sound quality as
the good old disc? Also, if the music is
transferred from a disc, a cable must have
been used, and that potentially means a
loss in sound quality. I worry about the
future of high fidelity.
Jean Dufresne
SHERBROOKE, QC
rate is unchanged at 44.1 kHz. The music
is compressed with the FLAC codec, which
is lossless. Yes, the quality should be at least
equivalent to that of the CD set, though, as
you may have noticed, at a higher price.
Transferring music from a CD is done
typically without external cabling at all, And
the music is not played directly from the hard
drive, which is merely a storage medium,
since it is loaded into memory as you listen.
Of course lots can go wrong, as it can with
analog as well, but the potential is enormous,
The challenge we’ve taken on is to explain to
audiophiles how they can get the maximum
of musical pleasure no matter the medium
they choose. And we’re optimistic.
Free Advice
270 rue Victoria
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
power source rather than converting it.
That’s actually an oversimplification, but
for instance we did note that our reference disc player, the Linn Unidisk 1.1
is less sensitive to power cord problems
than most CD players (we use a shielded
power cord on it anyway).
However we think your dealer is
overstating the side effects of power conditioners. It’s true that some conditioners
limit current because they include series
elements, usually coils. The current
flows through them on its way to your
equipment, and the disadvantage is
evident, especially with high-current
products such as amplifiers. However,
power conditioning can be done with
parallel filters, which don’t hinder current flow.
We should add that such conditioners
can’t protect against catastrophic events
such as lightning strikes, though in most
locations the odds against such an event
are astronomically high.
I’ve really been enjoying my Well
I currently own a dedicated stereo
Tempered Turntable for the last 10 or music system (no video — just music)
so years, but of course that upgrade bug made up of the latest generation Linn
has bitten me and I’m thinking that I Akurate line of components, all fitted
need either a better cartridge (I have a with the new Linn Dynamik power
Grado Gold Prestige ) or a better phono supply.
preamp (I have a Pro-Ject SE). The
For some time now, I’ve been toying
sound is very good, but I think that one with the idea of adding a good quality
or the other is limiting the turntable. power conditioner to replace my APC
I’ve been thinking of moving to one of power bar. I’m looking for a unit that will
the Grado wood-bodied cartridges, or provide unlimited power to my system,
going to the Grado PH1 phono. I don’t that will clean noise on the mains but
want to upgrade both at the present time, without adversely affecting the sound
but which path would provide the most and dynamics, plus protect my system
notable improvement?
from power conditions like power spikes,
I’ve really enjoyed the sound from surges, etc.
My CD player is getting old and I’d
the Grado. It was a good move up from
Talking to my local dealer, I was like to save money by looking for better
an Ortofon. The rest of my gear is from told that all power conditioners (no sounding ways to play digital. I already
Audiolab (pre and power), with Mission matter the price) will always take away have a USB Thingee (the basic one,
M33i speakers.
from the
sounddo
(i.e.,
affect
Where
theadversely
questions
for the with RCA outputs only) plus an Airport
Brian Davies our
sound),
and
that
removing
noise
also
Express and an Airport Extreme. I have
famous Free Advice section come
from?
LONDON, Our
ON readers
removes
details
from
the
music.
I’ve
not gotten a Toslink cable yet to test the
send them to us at uhfmail@uhfmag.com.
also The
exchanged
some
e-mails
with
Linn
Airport Express.
questions, and our answers,
Going to the Grado was certainly a may
engineers,
and
they
too
are
telling
me
appear on line, in the magazine, or both. Would the Thingee be superior to
move up from an Ortofon, Brian. We’ve to stay away
from reply
powerbyconditioners,
the Airport? I guess they cannot be set
We don’t
mail,
always been impressed by what Ortofon due to and
the we
newdon’t
Linngive
Dynamik
power
up to work together, but I tend to go for
it for free
knows about cutting records, notif so
supply.
They
are
telling
me
that
it
would
the Airport for convenience.
you request that your question not be made public.
much about what they think about play- be aWe
waste
of
money
to
invest
in
one
of
Have you tested the optical cable
do ask for your name and city.
ing them back. Do you know they still these units sinceAsk
theyaway!
will not benefit my from Atlas (can be had for £36) against
make the same tone arm that has existed setup.
the brand you are selling at the Audiofor what must be half a century? ‘Nuff
My stereo music system includes the phile Store?
said!
Linn Akurate DS, Linn Akurate KonIulian Alexandru
The cartridge or the phono preamp trol, Linn Akurate 4200 power amp (4
YORK, England
might be good targets for upgrade, and ch x 200W), Linn Akurate 226 powered
we would favor changing the cartridge sub, Linn Akurate 212 bookshelf speakRipping your CDs to a hard drive is
if, like your Well Tempered turntable, ers (bi-amped) and the VPI Scoutmaster not really a hassle, unless your computer
it is a decade old. However, if your turntable (including VPI SDS).
is in an attic accessible only by a ladder.
Audiolab gear is of similar vintage, the What do you suggest I do?
You just change discs each time you walk
power amplifier might deserve priority.
Angelo Giaccio by the computer, and let the software add
Though we’re not in a position to evaluLASALLE, QC the titles all by itself from the Internet.
ate the newer Chinese-built Audiolabs,
Little-known fact: even if you digitize an
the old British Audiolab power amplifier
Angelo, we agree with half, or per- LP, there’s a good chance the software
had a grey and gritty sound that might haps three-quarters, of your dealer’s can find the titles anyway.
have been due in part (but probably not advice.
We selected the cable in our store by
entirely) to its hyperactive protection
Linn has used switching power sup- comparing with several other brands,
circuit. The preamplifier had less obvi- plies for some time in its products. Such including some expensive ones, and this
ous limitations.
supplies essentially remanufacture the was the one that offered a good mix of
GET FREE ADVICE!
performance and durability. We’ve talked
to Atlas about the possibility of making
a glass TOSLINK cable, though. An
experience with a long discontinued (and
extremely expensive!) glass cable seemed
especially promising.
We really liked the Blue Circle
Thingee, because it allowed use of a
computer with a USB connection with
a converter that didn’t have USB. More
and more DACs do have USB inputs
now, and more and more computers have
optical digital outputs. That includes
the Airport Express, and our own tests
indicate that an optical connection will
yield better results than USB.
and I use a budget DAC — the recent
Cambridge DACMagic. I do not foresee
any vinyl in my near future. My amp
is a Sugden Signature 41 that I bought
used after digging up a review in UHF.
My speakers are Nautilus 805’s, and I
went through too many amps with these
before settling on the Sugden power.
The amp’s not perfect, but I’m pleased
with the musicality, warmth and strong
center image it brings to my B&W’s.
Do you think the Sugden Au-51 might
still be worth buying? I can get it from a
dealer in supposedly mint condition for
around the same asking price as, say, a
new NAD-C165 (random item for price
reference, as I’m sure Danish Kroner
does not mean a lot to you guys). I’m also wondering if a proper preamp
even makes a lot of sense, as only stuff
being fed to the DAC digitally is used
for critical listening anyway. Maybe I
Get UHF on your desktop or iPad
anywhere in the world!
In fact most plasmas are bright
enough for all but the most over-lit
rooms, Renato, and they are usually run
in “torch mode” in big box stores.
The quality difference is critical
mainly for films. We do indeed favor
plasma, as you saw in our review, but
whichever technology you choose, you
may want to create separate profiles for
daytime TV and films in a darkened
room.
I’m looking for a new preamp, and I
was thinking of a used Sugden Au-51. I
will not have the chance to try-at-homebefore-buying, and as I’m having a baby
soon, money’s an issue.
I do all my more critical listening
through lossless files from my computer,
An issue of UHF anywhere you live for C$4.00
Subscribing for as little as C$20 (tax in Canada only)
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Congrat ulat ions on t he release
of another great issue of your magazine! More importantly, great to hear
that you are back in good health!!! I’ve
been a reader for many years and should
probably subscribe again instead of waiting in anticipation for it to be available
on the newsstand. I’m in the market for a flat panel
screen, and in reading your recent comparison between plasmas and LCD’s,
I found it interesting that plasmas are
still superior. Our family room, where
the television will be located, is very
bright. Is it still true that LCD’s should
be favored over a plasma for bright
rooms? Not that we’ll be watching many
movies during the day, just children’s
programming.
Renato Rossi
“…these loudspeakers had
let the music
come through
and touch us.”
UHF Magazine No. 90
Five-star Review
Altronics Stereo 2000
TORONTO, ON
(416) 233-8906
All that Jazz
COOKSTOWN, ON
(705) 717-7300
LIBER
259 Edgeley Blvd, Unit 10
CONCORD, ON L4K 3Y5
(905) 532-9004 (647) 997-4607
FAX: (905) 532-9105
TR
www.libertytrading.ca
AD
ING libertytrading2009@gmail.com
TY
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Revolver Music 5
would do well to just get a proper DAC
with a volume control built-in and some
preamp capabilities for my secondary
sources (like the Benchmark). What do
you guys think?
Sune Kempf
NØRREBRO, Denmark
The Benchmark is very good, Sune,
and we will be reviewing the latest version in our next issue. Whatever your
choice of DAC, in most installations a
good preamplifier still makes sense, and
PALL MALL &
PALL COURT
the differences among preamps are more
than significant. The Sugden Au-51c was
our-long term reference, as of course you
know. It remains a very good choice. We
would point out only that it may be as
much as 20 years old, and you need to be
sure that, in an electronic product of that
age, the capacitors and switches remain
in good condition.
I would like to ask you some questions
about Blu-ray technology.
Following articles in UHF, and
on the recommendation of a friend, I
would like to purchase a Blu-ray player.
However I have reservations. I’ve heard
it said (the rumor machine…you know)
that Blu-ray is doomed in the shorter or
longer term. The future, not too distant
in the view of some, is direct download
into a computer, connected to a projector or some other display. Now I know
you don’t have a crystal ball, but you’re
“connected.” Perhaps you’ve heard information on the truth of these rumors?
On the other hand a friend of mine
praised Blu-ray, but added that it was less
impressive with older films. I wonder
whether there might be, on the Web or
elsewhere, a Blu-ray buying guide. For
example, I’m a James Bond fan, and I
have all the films on DVD. I wouldn’t
want to invest money on new media if
there will be little difference.
Jean Dufresne
SHERBROOKE, QC
The advantage offered by Blu-ray
depends not so much on the age of the
film as on the care used in the transfer,
and of course the condition of the film
stock itself. To choose some examples,
Casablanca, shot in 1942, is superb in
its Blu-ray version, as is the 1952 An
American in Paris. On the other hand, the
made-in-Quebec version of the Edith
Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose is no better in
Blu-ray than on DVD. The original BBC
Planet Earth series looks better on DVD
than the French-dubbed Planète Terre.
On the whole the Bond films have
been well transferred, though the first
two (Dr. No and From Russia With Love)
are aged now, and both color and contrast are off. However there are some
Bond titles you’re more likely to watch
again and again. Those are the ones
worth picking up in Blu-ray.
Downloading of film through the
Internet is already a reality, even in
Canada, through such services as iTunes
and Netflix. However the Internet pipe
is a narrow one, and downloaded films,
even though labelled “HD,” undergo
massive compression. They are aimed
at an undemanding public, just as MP3
music files are intended for people who
are anything but fussy. For those who
want superior resolution, there is nothing on the horizon to replace Blu-ray.
I have been attempting to set up a
system using a YBA Intégré amplifier,
a pair of Totem Mites and an M&K
MX-70B subwoofer. I realize that I will
have to use the speaker-level inputs on
the sub, but I am hesitant to connect the
Mites to the speaker level outs of the sub
for fear of quality loss in the signal.
I am thinking of using one set of
speaker terminals on the Intégré to
drive the Mites, and the second set to
drive the subwoofer input). I understand
that I will be bypassing the high pass
filter on the subwoofer with this setup
(full range program will be sent to the
Mites), but I am concerned about a possible impedance drop in the load the
amplifier sees. I think it might be okay,
because the amplifier is not really driving
the subwoofer, it is just giving it a signal
input that the sub would then go on to
amplify on it’s own. But I am not sure of
this logic.
Thanks for your help (great magazine
by the way, I have been reading it for
years).
Benjamin Mayer
TORONTO, ON
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You don’t need to worr y about
unduly loading the YBA Intégré, Benjamin, because you are correct that the
subwoofer, being self-powered, has an
input impedance so high it might as
well be infinite. You are also correct that
connecting your Totem Mites through
the subwoofer’s high-pass filter would
result in a performance hit. When we
know that even a speaker connector is
not truly transparent, we can readily
guess that an active filter plus its wiring
and connections will do something to
the sound. Something you don’t want
done.
So we’re with you on connecting the
Mites directly to the amplifier, but you
will then need to adjust the subwoofer
carefully. Let us explain why, and of
course how.
If you did use the high-pass filter
to feed the Mites, you would choose a
crossover frequency, so that the filters
could arrange the transition between
the Mites and the sub. With a direct
connection you’ll be missing one of
the two filters, which is potentially a
problem. But in fact your Totem speakers
have their own high-pass filter, simply
because their response will drop off
below a certain frequency (a fairly high
one, because these are small speakers).
Leaving resonances out of the rather
unpredictable equation, you can expect
the response to drop by 6 dB/octave
below the woofer’s resonant frequency.
Your subwoofer will have its own rolloff
setting, and you will then choose the
same 6 dB/octave slope.
But what frequency do you choose?
Totem claims a lower limit of 50 Hz for
the Mites, but they and the subwoofer
need to overlap, and we would guess that
a frequency of 80 to 100 Hz will give
you a better result. Listen carefully to
determine whether you’ve guessed right.
Set it too low, and the sound will be thin,
despite the subwoofer’s contribution. Set
it too high, and voices and instruments
will have a tiring “chesty” sound.
Initially, you’ll probably set the subwoofer to be too loud, because everyone
does. After a couple of weeks of listening
you’ll want to check the settings again,
and pick adjustments you can live with
in the long term.
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I need help with selecting a pair of
speakers with probably not-so-unique
placement requirements.
I like to fill my house with music, and
my Linn Classik simultaneously powers
front-ported B&W and Wharfedale
speakers that are in adjoining rooms.
The B&W’s are mounted on downfiring brackets a foot down from the
ceiling, but do not sound at all boomy,
unlike the stand-mounted Wharfedales,
whose midbass hump is accentuated by
placement against the longer wall and
near the corners of a 14x10 ft room.
Speaker reviews in your magazine and
elsewhere appear to place them in a spot
well away from the walls. I don’t have
that option. Are there specific speaker designs (i.e.
front/rear ported, sealed, single driver)
that are friendly to placement against
the wall and/or in corners? I am open
to small towers as well as stand-mounts,
and they have cannot be limited to a
small sweet spot; everybody’s got to
enjoy them! My range is $1,500 to $2k,
and the Classik will be replaced later
with more wattage.
J. Mocarski
TORONTO, ON
Any speaker placed near a room
boundary (wall-floor, for instance) will
accentuate lower frequencies. This is
known as the “megaphone effect,” and it
funnels lows more than highs. Of course,
putting a speaker into a corner, near a
junction of three surfaces, will boost
them even more. Note that we said ANY
speaker.
But whether the result is desirable
or not depends not so much on obvious features as on the way the speaker
design has been opt imized. Some
designers actually make their speakers
take advantage of room boundaries,
with the result that they sound best near
walls or corners. That’s true of speakers
from Linn, Naim and Audio Note, to
mention only three. Folded horns, such
as single-driver Lowther-type speakers
actually give their best sound balance
only near a corner (there won’t be one in
your price range, however).
You’ve already guessed that a speaker
with tuned port at the rear will be wrong
for your needs, but what you need to
look at is the manufacturer’s placement
recommendation. Most speakers are
meant to be some distance from the wall,
but not all.
I have a nine-month old integrated
amp, a Moon 600i. It has developed a hum,
presumably from the transformer(s). It
is not coming through the speakers, as
I am able to get behind the amp and
listen. The first three or four months of
ownership it did not have this hum.
I have disconnected the speaker
cables and all other cables, I have tried
providing power from a different household circuit, I have tried disconnecting
the main internet cable source from our
house. I am at a loss as what to try next.
I have heard where this hum may be a
ground loop hum. Not too sure what this
means or if this is the issue or how to
address this. Or if this hum is harmful.
Would a power conditioner or a
power regenerator help with this?
Owen Konski
FORT MCMURRAY, AB
Owen, much as we favor the use of
filtering of the bilge that comes into your
home from the power line, it’s not going
to help in this instance. Your problem is
not a ground loop, because if it were the
hum would be coming from your speakers. What you’re hearing is mechanical
kind is now back at the magazine having
defeated the obscure bacterium which
afflicted him this past year!
Peter Boulton
KENORA, ON
Peter, the formats you can use depend
on the computer software you use for
playback, not on the DAC itself. FLAC
(Free Lossless Audio Codec) is very
good, and is compatible with a number
of software packages. If you use iTunes,
either by itself or as a back end to such
software as Pure Music, you would
choose the Apple Lossless format. For
high-definition files, you would use
WAV. The Moon 300D can handle files
with 24 bits and a sampling rate of up to
192 kHz, and pretty much everything in
between.
You’re right that we very much liked
the Linn Klimax DS, which then represented the state of the art in computer
music playback. The Ikemi player, outstanding as it is, is older technology and
will not sound as good as the Klimax DS
(it will, however, decode HDCD, which
most newer gear cannot). Nor will it play
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vibration of the power transformers All-Cu interconnects. The speakers are
(your 600i has two large ones). This is ASW 400 and speaker cables are by BIS
not uncommon, though it is seldom loud Audio.
I am happy with the music the system
enough to be perceptible from normal
listening position even in a very quiet makes but am in the process of adding
my music to a large 2 TB hard drive in
room.
Simaudio uses toroidal (doughnut- order to play music directly from my
shaped) power transformers, secured by computer. As well, if I can play music
from
computer this
will mean I can
bolts through their centres. If the bolts GET
THEtheCOMPLETE
VERSION!
download
higher resolution
music from
are loose, as can happen in transport, You’ll
have noticed
that this free
Internet.
UHFMagazine
Magazine No. 89 feathe transformers may not only vibrate the
version
of UHF
tured
a review
of theBut
Moon
but transmit the vibration to the chas-is not
quite
complete.
you 300D
can DAC
recommended
sis. If you have proper tools and you and
gethighly
the complete
versionthis DAC for
off the
As well,
are comfortable around the innards of playing
frommusic
Maggie
for computer.
$4.
UHF here,
Magazine
No. 84
reviewed the
electronic devices, you can remove the Click
and away
we go!
top cover and tighten the bolts. If you’re Linn KlimaxDS and spoke in glowing
in any doubt about this, call Simaudio’s terms about the music this Linn Klimax
technical service manager. He’ll prob- played.
ably refer you to the authorized dealer,
Is the music played by the Linn
who can do this for you while you wait. Klimax DS much superior to that offered
by the Moon 300D? Would the music
I have been a longtime subscriber to played by the Linn Klimax DS beat out
UHF. I always enjoy the magazine and that played by the Ikemi?
have been the recipient of good advice
I also want your thoughts about ripon several occasions over the years.
ping my CDs to the hard drive using
My system consists of a Rogue Zeus FLAC format. Is this a format that the
amp, a Copland 301 preamp, a Linn Moon or the Linn could play?
Ikemi CD player and Atlas Voyager
I am very pleased that Gerard Rejs-
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higher definition music files.
That said, technology never stands
still for long. Because the 300D is new,
it outperforms some very expensive older
converters. What’s more, the availability
of Wi-Fi routers operating on the 5 GHz
band has brought a quantum leap in the
quality of music through Wi-Fi. What
we hear from an Airport Express feeding
a Moon 300D is bested only by Linn’s
expensive (and discontinued) Unidisk 1.1
player.
However, note that the Klimax DS
(like Linn’s other “DS” systems) uses
Wi-Fi only for control. The signal itself
travels along an Ethernet cable, which
can be awkward if your computer is
on a different floor from your music
system. The advantage, however, is that
the bandwidth is wide enough for even
the highest resolution signal, whereas
Airport Express, in its present incarnation, is limited to the Red Book CD
standard. To get the same advantage
with a conventional computer, you will
need to place it close to your music
system. Some audiophiles are using small
fanless computers, such as the Mac mini,
right alongside their audio gear.
I’d like to transfer my LPs to my
PC, and later to download to my iPod
Classic.
I have an older Dual turntable, and
unfortunately don’t get a chance to listen
to LPs as often. I bought a Dual USB
transfer apparatus and tried it out only
on one LP so far.
There seems to be a high-pitched
noise in the background that transfers
to the Audacity program. It doesn’t seem
to be caused by grounding, as grounding
causes more of a constant hum. This
Howpitched
Maggie
noise is high
andWorks
seems to vary
UHF is, and has been
in frequency.
many
I noticed for
that
if I years,
shut off my TV
a print
magazine.
But we
know a
(which
is close
to my stereo)
it lessens
bit. Also,
more
if Iand
unplug
more
the
audiophiles
AC cord from
my laptop
want
it lessens.
to read Nevertheless,
it on their
it’s
computer or iPad. And they’re
still there.
I saw
willing
that to
there
saveismoney
a Pro-Ject
too. III
Debut turntable
Click here,
with
anda USB
let Maggie
plug. Have
you heard
explain
of this
how
andtoisget
it any
the full
good? It
seems to sell for
version
$799, for
a little
$4.steep just to
transfer LPs.
And
I noticed
we mean
youa use
PDFan Edirol
UA-25version
interface
without
box. digitl rights
I’m
management
not sure how
you can
to transfer to
the
recorded
the
LPdevice
from the
of your
Audacity
choice.
program
to my music files. I’m also not sure what
settings to use in the Audacity program.
Audio I /O playback? File formats,
uncompressed Export format, AIFF 16
bit PCM, 32 bit PCM, WAV 16 or 32 bit,
etc., etc.
Bob Denderys
MISSISSAUGA, ON
Our guess is that you’re hearing RFI
(radio-frequency interference), Bob.
It can result from routing of cables,
including power cables, or from grounding. You also need to be sure that the
turntable’s internal grounding, including grounding of the motor, is intact.
Experiment also with the placement of
the Dual USB device itself.
A number of turntables now come
with USB plugs, which means that they
contain not only a phono preamplifier
but also an analog-to-digital converter
(those two items would be the ones in
your Dual device). They are generally
of what can charitably be called limited quality, though they are no doubt
adequate for an iPod or for making CDs
for the car.
We’ve used 24-bit/96 kHz recording to transfer an LP to a DVD, rather
than to a Red Book CD. For an iPod, we
suggest 16 bits and 44.1 kHz, the CD
resolution. AIFF and WAV are technically nearly identical, but WAV is the
Windows standard, and AIFF is Apple’s
format. The iPod can handle them both.
Once you’ve set the export format in the
output, choose Export from Audacity’s
File menu.
My dad buys your magazine regularly,
and I have a question that has probably
been asked before.
My father recently gave me a turntable. I am 16 and am just getting into
vinyl records. I just bought a Yamaha
RX-V365 and was surprised to learn
that it did not come with any phono
input jacks. My dad suggested I needed
a phono preamp.
If I end up getting a preamp, which
input jack do you recommend I plug the
preamp output cables into: Auxiliary
(on front of receiver), CD, DVD, DVR,
CBL, MD/CD-R.
All of these jacks will be left open as I
will only be using an optical audio cable
going from my TV to the receiver.
Nick Cook
TORONTO, ON
All of them will work fine, Nick,
because all of them “expect” a similar
signal: about 2.5 volts, unequalized.
The label is just a convenience. We’d be
tempted to use the MD/CD-R input,
simply because it’s unlikely ever to be
used for anything else. “MD” refers to
the long dead Sony MiniDisc format,
and CD-R refers to standalone CD
recorders, which were a commercial flop
because they required special, expensive
blank discs.
The one we’d least advise is the
“AUX” on the front, because plugging
a cable into a front panel is fugly.
At one time pretty much any receiver
or amplifier would have had a phono
input, if not always a good one, because
turntables were the home music source.
We didn’t then refer to records as “vinyl,”
because what other records were there?
Enjoy your vinyl. We think you’re on
the verge of an exciting discovery.
We understand why you’re puzzled,
Ralph. Your Monitor Audio speaker
is the smallest member of the popular
Silver series, and if you upgrade from
that you’ll want to make as big a leap
as possible. That’s for the usual reason:
it’s inevitable that you’ll lose money
on a trade, and you want to make it
worthwhile.
In the Rega line, we would suggest
settling for no less than the RS5, which,
despite its size, you should be able to get
for under your $2000 limit (and that’s
not counting the very real resale value
of your S1 speakers). Have you heard
them under reasonable conditions, to
Feedback
Advice
Free
I’ve been on a slow but steady upgrade
path. I’m enjoying my latest addition,
a Rega Mira amplifier, the version just
before the Mira 3.
My system is a simple and basic one,
which consists of the Mira and Apollo
CDP with Monitor Audio S1 speakers,
connected with PNF Audio cables, and
a Monster Power HTS-2600 Mk2 conditioner. I do however feel I could get a
little more from the Regas with better
speakers.
Typically my room will average 12’
x 20’ (I am an apartment dweller). I’m
looking to spend no more then $2000
on a pair. Each step I have taken has
yielded sonic improvements, but the
choice of speakers that would be a good
match is puzzling me. Any thoughts on
a pair of Rega RS3’s or RS5’s? Any other
suggestions you may have as to upgrades
would also be appreciated.
Ralph Schulz
CALGARY, AB
determine that they are what you want?
We know doing that is not always possible, but it’s always an advantage.
There are of course other possibilities, from Reference 3a to ELAC to
Totem to JAS to Harbeth — all speakers
we have given warm reviews to. Not all
of them are as affordable as the Regas,
and so the Rega could still be a good
choice.
FREE ADVICE ON LINE!
www.uhfmag.com/FreeAdvice.html
Feature
Vegas 2011
P
eople in Las Vegas are always
glad to see t he Consumer
Electronics Show arrive each
January, because it is by far
the biggest draw in a city that lives on
the visits of outsiders. And their money.
The money, alas, is in perpetually short
supply. You can see why. If you’re going
to skimp on your electric bill or your trip
to Vegas, the choice isn’t difficult…
Nor are the big casinos doing that
well with local customers, many of whom
no longer have jobs. What are they
going to do, spend their unemployment
cheques in the places where they used to
work?
Even so, Vegas takes on a nearly
normal sheen during CES, with its 149
thousand visitors or so. That’s an official
CES figure, by the way, which would set
a record if it were true, but I’m tempted
to take it with a grain of salt. I walked
into restaurants which once had weeklong waiting lists and was shown right
to a good table. Just a day before CES
opened, I was getting e-mails from my
by Gerard Rejskind
hotel telling me that were still plenty of
rooms available!
Part of the fun of going to CES was
to see what new and extravagant casinohotel had sprouted since last time. Well,
how about the City Center complex,
shown above? Extravagant is the word,
with cutting-edge architecture, two
giant hotels, million-dollar condos
and shopping areas, with an automated
monorail linking them. Trouble is,
City Center actually opened last year. I
commented back then that the shopping
areas had hardly any stores, and that the
stores that were present (Cartier, Louis
Vuitton, Chanel) were probably there as
bait, and might not even be paying rent.
This year? Same stores. Same empty
spaces.
To add to the fun, City Center is
owned jointly by MGM, which since
filed for bankruptcy, and the city of
Dubai!
Even so, the complex did get built,
even if it took an extra year. Check the
hotel-casino (if that’s what it is) on the
next page, The steel skeleton, on the site
of what used to be the Stardust, looks
exactly the way it did a year before,
only more reddish. Because it’s rusting.
One could say the same of the Vegas
economy.
What has ballooned to occupy the
economic vacuum is the illicit trade. It’s
well known that Nevada is the only US
state to have legalized prostitution, but
Clark County, where Vegas is located,
is not one of the areas chosen. Not that
you could tell, with all the “hot babes
to you” signs going up and down The
Strip. Even the taxis, which once bore
mainly ads for the Cirque du Soleil and
Céline Dion, now bear phone numbers
of hookers.
There’s still money, though it is
unevenly distributed. The fanciest
places — Caesars, The Mirage, Wynn,
Encore, The Bellagio — have crowds,
and their storefronts are not empty. But
the Las Vegas Hilton, the Tropicana
and the Riviera are clearly in desperate
straits, and the Sahara, once the venue of
the CES high end exhibits, has thrown in
the towel. In the less popular downtown
Fremont Street, you can still find $12
roast beef dinners with a free glass of
Two Buck Chuck. Not a sign of booming
times.
For CES visitors, of course, hard
times mean better deals on rooms and
even food.
Notwithstanding my doubts about
the official attendance figures, the horde
of journalists attending CES seems to
be expanding exponentially. That’s no
doubt because of the exploding numbers
of technology bloggers. CES used to run
a tight ship and turn away anyone whose
business card might have come from
Kinko’s, but that’s harder to do in the age
of citizen journalism. The result is that
the press conferences by the big exhibitors, such as Panasonic or LG, are now
housed in the very biggest ballrooms…
and even so not everyone can get in.
In fact…want to be at the next CES?
Check the sign on the next page. You no
longer need to be connected with the
operating system, the first
Android OS intended for
tablets. Hmm, sure, only
Google was still working
on Honeycomb in January,
so how could…
I should add that, if I’m
paying so much attention
to tablets, it’s because the
only (so far) successful one,
the iPad, has a number of
music and audio-related
applications.
The other big noise at
CES was 3D.
Oh, t here had been
3D exhibits, and pretty good ones too,
the previous year, but this time 3D was
everywhere, in nearly every section of
the show. Some of it was terrific. Much
of it was laughably awful.
Indeed, it was often much worse than
it had to be, because the supply of actual
3D movies — that is, movies with two
images shot with separate lenses spaced
like a human’s two eyes — is critically
short. Most “3D” movies are animated
features, with the 3D effect faked in the
computer (as is the rest of the movie).
Other films are “converted” in post
production, which mostly runs counter
to the laws of physics. See When 3D Falls
Flat in UHF No. 89 for the depressing
details.
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consumer electronics industry. If you’re
on good terms with your travel agent,
the details are at www.ceatechenthusiast.
com.
The venues for CES 2011 were the
usual ones. The majority of exhibitors
are at the gigantic Las Vegas Convention Center, known to CES habitués as
“the zoo.” Though some high end audio
exhibitors are at the zoo, and next door at
the decaying Hilton, the wiser ones are
at the Venetian, right on The Strip. The
competing high end audio event, T.H.E.
Show, is nearby at the Flamingo. On
press day, just before the show opens, the
Sands Convention Centre, just behind
the Venetian, is pressed into service as
well.
To counter the waning crowds, CES
has been adding lots of specialty sections,
featuring, for instance, accessories for
iPods and iPads, or “green” technologies. Even so, it was easy to predict what
was going to get the most ink this year:
tablets and 3D.
A year before, tablets barely existed,
because Apple had not yet brought out its
spectacularly successful iPad. That was
then, this is now. I saw a lot of iPads at
the high end section of the show. Most
were being used as remote controls for
server-based music systems, though one
company was using one as the actual
music source.
This year there were, I was told, some
82 tablets on show, not including the iPad
itself, since Apple has never attended
CES. I got to play with a number of
them, which seemed to have been put
together at the last possible second.
The no-name ones barely worked, with
unresponsive screens, and lags of several
seconds between a tap and the resulting
action. The only one I saw which worked
at all was the Samsung Galaxy Tab, with
a screen halfway between those of an
iPhone and an iPad. Perhaps it’s because
I’m used to the iPad, but the Samsung
kept reacting in odd and unintuitive
ways.
Several people told me that I had
missed the best of the “iPad killers,”
the Motorola Xoom. It wasn’t being
exhibited officially, but I was told that
there was one floating around, and it was
terrific. Really? But the Xoom’s claim
to fame was its use of the Honeycomb
Feature
Feedback
The previous years the best 3D
demos had been done by Panasonic and
Samsung, and that was largely true this
time as well with one notable exception.
The few films that actually were in 3D
looked very good with both systems.
Since those are also the brands we have
lately been recommending even for 2D
No, I’ve never heard of it either, but the
designer of this camera understands
something that Panasonic, clearly does
not.
There’s one more TV manufacturer who deserves mention, and that’s
Mitsubishi. It’s not the name you’ll see
most at your local Big Box store, to be
sure. Mitsubishi last year showed off its
LaserVue video display, which attracted
a lot of attention. LaserVue was back
in an improved version, and there was
(naturally) a 3D demo that scored among
the very best at the show.
You might be wondering how it works.
It’s actually a DLP (Digital Light Processor) display, using the Texas Instruments cells as moving mirrors to reflect
light where it’s needed. The difference
is that, instead of using ordinary light, it
television,
comes asVERSION!
GET THEthat
COMPLETE
uses color laser beams. LaserVue doesn’t
noYou’ll
surprise.
have noticed that this
free
come
cheaply, with a good-sized display
Panasonic,
version ofhowever,
UHF Magazine
having an anticipated price tag of around
undermined
is not quiteits
complete.
credibility
But $6000.
you canYes, I know. Mitsubishi was not
with itsget
3Dthe
camescope…a
complete version
taking orders.
camcorder
from
whose
Maggie
lenses
for $4. A lot of the competition in 3D televiare so
Click
close
here,
theyand
were
away
all we
go!was over the type of glasses worn.
sion
but touching. The demo Polarized glasses, the sort used in the
was done with miniature last 3D boom of the early 60’s, are light
models (shown at left), and cheap. Active glasses, whose liquid
where the shallow depth crystal shutters open and close so that
was less evident. Sony has each eye sees only the image meant for it,
a camera like that too. are heavier and require batteries. They
What is the matter with are arguably better, but the promoters of
these people?
polarization weren’t conceding anything.
It is possible to make a Both glasses make the image darker, and
reasonable-sized camera the cheaper the glasses the darker they
w i t h n a t u r a l s p a c e are.
between its “eyes.” Look
I do consider active glasses superior,
no further than this one. but I saw some bad ones, and it’s not
hard to see what can go wrong. The TV
image must alternate quickly between
the left and right images, and any lag in
the screen will cause a faint ghosting:
the left eye sees a bit of the right image,
and the right eye a bit of the left. Plasma
screens usually have less lag than LCD’s,
and indeed the best 3D demos I saw were
on plasma screens. However the active
shutters in the glasses also use LCD’s,
and they too can suffer from lag.
Several companies were showing
custom glasses of supposedly higher
quality, despite the fact that the industry
has yet to standardize 3D glasses. The
ones shown claim to eliminate “harmful
It’s from a company called Aiptek. digital rays,” whatever those are. Having,
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in the past, been burned by analog rays,
I want to be extra careful!
Several companies were showing 3D
that could be viewed without glasses.
None of the demos were very good,
not because they weren’t yet perfected,
but because they were ill-conceived.
However there was one such demo from
a Toronto company, and it’s worth a
mention. It’s called 3DeeCentral (3deecentral.com), and the system is designed
for viewing on portable computers or
such devices as iPhones. Because you
don’t expect the same resolution as from
our expensive HDTV, you can forgive a
lot.
How does it work? The screen is
overlaid with a lenticular slide that
directs the two images to the respective
eyes. Lenticular screens compromise
resolution, and they require that your
head be in the right place relative to
the screen, but that’s not an onerous
requirement when you are dealing with
a personal device. What I saw was still
at the demo level, in fact, but there’s
potential there. The company will sell
you a lenticular slide for your device,
and it has both free and downloadable
material on its Web site.
Material is also available in less desirable anaglyph form, which is why there
is a pair of red-blue glasses sitting on the
computer at right.
But 3D was not the only selling point
of TV manufacturers. This was also the
year of the connected appliance. Like a
lot of journalists I couldn’t get into the
Samsung press con (I saw excerpts on the
Internet later that day). I did get into the
LG conference, and in both cases there
was a lot more laughter than applause.
Remember, years ago, the refrigerator that could connect to the Internet
and warn you that you were low on
yogurt? It’s back! As for TV sets, both
companies have sets that let you surf the
Net (doesn’t anyone remember Microsoft’s failed Web TV?), make Skype
video calls (don’t forget to comb your
hair and change your underwear), and
pull in Netflix movies.
All right, that last part actually makes
sense, unless of course you want actual
HD resolution. The rest is what I call
“because we can” technology.
In previous years some TV makers
were showing off what was purported
to be superior sound. Not this year, and
you wouldn’t have heard it if they had.
Both LG and Samsung, with their citysized displays, seemed convinced that
they could build excitement if there was
enough ambient noise. What we heard
was not actual TV sound, nor was it
music in the ordinary sense. I’m sure
some focus groups, somewhere, signed
off on this auditory pollution. I think
that anyone who spent all four days
in the midst of a sound field that loud
will have suffered permanent hearing
impairment.
As for me, I cut my visit short!
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CES — and for that matter any other audio-oriented show — features more loudspeakers than anything else, and why not? A loudspeaker
that is guaranteed to produce sound (well, noise at least) is easy to build,
even if making a good one is harder. I do have my favorites, some of them
because they are unusual, some because they sound so downright good.
The one at left is an example of a good one. The man with the beard
is Richard Vandersteen, one of audio’s legendary designers, along with his
Model VII. Vandersteen made his reputation on affordable speakers, all
of which still exist, but this is his magnum opus. It’s based on the familiar
Model V, with corrected time and phase and a push-pull amplifier for the
built-in subwoofer. The drivers are unusual: they are sandwiches, with
carbon fibre as the bread, and balsa wood, familiar from model airplanes,
as the filling. Richard says the drivers can act as true pistons.
As I’ve suggested, the Model VII is in no way an economy model, with a
price of $45,000, explained in part by
the cabinets, which are made
of carbon fibre. “You can’t
put wood veneer over carbon
fibre,” says Richard, and so
the cabinets are painted. You
can order your speakers in any
automotive color you might
want.
The Evolution Acoustics
MMMicroOne speakers (at
right) cost just $2000 a pair,
a nd seemed g rossly m ismatched, with a far more
expensive Playback Designs
player and DarZeel electronics
(unknown to me as well), plus
a MacBook Pro and an Ampex
ATR-100 recorder for playing
copies of analog masters. Hearing the original version of Joni
Mitchell’s Both Sides Now was an experience! Yes, that’s an air motion transformer
used as a tweeter (formerly the Heil tweeter, but the patent has expired), and a couple
of ceramic matrix woofers. I spent a lot
of time listening.
Another affordable loudspeaker kept
me listening longer than I had intended:
the Studio Electric Monitor, at left. Studio
Electric in the past has made round speakers, and
so the monitor is relatively conventional…except for
the grille, intended to evoke a classic radio. The grille
material is from Germany, and is the same material used on such microphones
as the Neumanns. Sure enough, removing the grilles made no audible difference
to the sound.
And what sound! The little Studio Electrics just disappeared on recording
after recording, an amazing feat for a $2550 loudspeaker. They were backed by
the Benchmark DAC1 HDR, which is at once a digital-to-analog converter (the
original was reviewed in UHF No. 75), a remote-controlled preamplifier, and for
good measure a very good headphone amp. We already have an HDR on hand,
for review in our next issue. The HDR is $1895, which would seem to make this
system an astonishing bargain, though I need to add that there was also a $9000
hybrid tube/MOSFET amplifier, from Studio Electric itself.
However not all speakers are intended for such intimate listening, and I
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t hat, t he powered
subwoofer comes in.
These are not huge
speakers, and so the
prices may surprise
you: $8,000/pair for
the main speakers,
$12,000/pair for the
subs. Why so high?
T he c abi net s a re
machined from solid
blocks of aluminum.
I’ve seen this done
before and it doesn’t
come cheap!
So what are the
results? The demo
was being done with a
admit to having been taken Townshend Rock turnby the massive wall-mounted table (“not as good as the
Wisdom Series LS4. Despite one we have at home”)
their size (and they’re very with a Shelter 901 cartall, 84”, or 213 cm) they’re tridge, and a Modwright
not even called upon to handle KWA amplifier. Sure
very deep bass, since below 80 enough, the weak point
Hz a pair of STS subwoofers was the turntable, which
take over.
let t h rough aud ible
What I took to be ribbons rumble, something you
are in fact planar drivers. don’t hear often these
Designer Mark Glazier (above) days (that subwoofer
is holding one. In each ele- really works!). On an
ment, a magnet is placed on either side Eric Bibb LP the rhythm was excellent, but the tone a bit dull.
of a stretched piece of film. The red The original Trinity Sessions by the Cowboy Junkies was much
sections in the panel are the dedicated livelier, and…yes, the subwoofer reproduced the rumble of the
tweeters.
How Maggie Toronto
Works subway all too well.
The subwoofers use a UHF
pair is,
of and
15” has been
And then there’s the speaker above, which I listened to in
(38 cm) woofers in what Glazier
calls years,
for many
the last hour before the show closed.
a regenerative transmission
line. But we
a print magazine.
knowForce from a Swedish company called Perfect8 (the
It’s The
Efficiency is extremely
high:and
100 dB
more
more audiophiles
name is derived from the figure-eight radiation pattern of the
for the main units, 101 dB
the it open
want for
to read
on their
baffle). Like the Audio Machina, this impressively-tall
subwoofers. The LS4 is $40,000
each. Add
computer
or the
iPad. And
mainthey’re
speaker is designed to go down to just 50 Hz. Note the
subwoofers at $10K each, and you
haveto
a total
willing
save money
activetoo.
glass subwoofer next to it. The drivers are mechanically
bill of $100,000. Plus extra for
a house
Click
here, big
and let
decoupled
Maggie from the sides, each made up of three layers of plate
enough for it all. But the resultexplain
was awesome.
how to get
glass.
theThe
full claimed bottom cutoff is 8 Hz! It’s possible that, at
Few speakers can handle percussionversion
the wayfor $325,000,
$4.
this was the most expensive speaker at CES.
this system can.
And we mean a PDF
But was it the best? I don’t believe it can give its all in
Now here’s an unusual speaker,
one digitl
version the
without
less than
rightsa palace ballroom. The left speaker was perilously
at the left.
management you can
transfer
close
to thetowindow, which — unlike the speaker itself —
It’s an Audio Machina
the device
CRM,
of your
choice.
was
not made from three panes of glass. The room’s resowith an optional subwoofer (the nances were clearly being excited by the music. That said,
module at the bottom). The reason I heard a number of tracks from the hard drive server, and
the subwoofer is optional is that everything sounded impressive and — if you’ll forgive the
the top speaker (a two-way, but a adjective — transparent.
three-way does exist) goes down
The Perfect8 was not the only glass speaker, though.
to a perfectly satisfactory 50 Hz. The Soulsonics from Slovenia looked like smaller Perfect8’s,
There is no crossover, just the and sounded smooth despite an awful room. One of the two
speaker’s natural rolloff. Below models, however, had been broken in transit. Oops!
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Feedback
Totem Acoustic does launch a new speaker now and again,
but it seemed to me that for the longest time the line had
consisted mainly of the same speakers. Not necessarily a bad
thing, I hasten to add. But Vince Bruzzese was at CES with
the prototypes of a whole new series, called Element.
Nothing “elemental” about these speakers, destined to
occupy the top end of the Totem line. Vince explained that
some five years of research has gone into the proprietary
drivers. The magnetic cradle is very deep, allowing a oneinch (2.56 cm) throw without the voice coil leaving the
magnetic field. “There is no crossover in the woofer
section at all,” he said, “just as in the Tribe 3 and the
Tribe 5.”
Do you manufacture it yourself?
Yes we do, it’s entirely assembled in-house.
We call it the thousand-dollar driver, because
there’s eight hours of labor in each one.”
There are several models, I see.
There is the monitor, which is called the Fire.
It’s a two-way speaker, with the crossover-less
woofer system. I think it’s especially strong in
the midrange and highs, creating a space that is
unequalled. We don’t talk specifics, but the Fire is
fairly full-range. Not as much as the two floorstanders, of course. The intermediate-sized Earth floorstanding speaker has one active driver and a passive
driver, also ported.
Prices?
The Fire will retail
for $5995, the Earth
for $8995, and the topof-the-line Metal for
$12,995. The Metal has
two active woofers, plus
the tweeter we developed for the series.
Do these speakers
replace existing models?
Act ually not,
they’re a supplement.
But people who are thinking about speakers costing 50 or 60
thousand dollars should take a look at these. There will be a
subwoofer and a centre channel as well.”
Are there grilles?
“Yes. They’re held on magnetically, so there’s no visible
hardware.”
You’re still using those complex cabinets?
“Complex cabinets with crossbracing and borosilicate
damping. The Earth is the only speaker I’ve ever heard of
that has both a passive radiator and a port. People ask us what
they’re like, and I like to say that the Earth is a super-Hawk,
and the Metal is a super-Forest.”
***
Among other notable speakers were the Ocean View,
named for the recording studio of the same name. Viola
amplifiers were driving them (an easy job, because they’re
large and therefore uncommonly efficient). Sources included
a digital recorder and another of the last of the great Ampex
analog recorders, the ATR-100. Ocean View claims a lowerfrequency cutoff of 18 Hz, and of course an organ solo at full
volume was quite breathtaking.
The Yg Anat III, a $111,000 modular
aluminum speaker, still billed as
“the world’s best speaker,” did
sound very good despite the
usual awful room. The
demo was done with
a recording we had
not heard in years, Le
temps passé by French
chansonnier Michel
Jonasz.
If there are a lot of
loudspeakers at CES,
there are also a lot
of amplifiers, with
t ube and solid
state. The ones
that draw the
most stares
are the ones
t h at lo ok
like large
industrial sculptures,
or possibly military hardware. That sort everything, and
of design costs money, no matter the perhaps we can give it a listen
innards and the sonic quality.
and see whether it still represents value.
One of the expensive ones was the It also comes in black lacquer and white, headphone amp
KR Kronzilla, at the bottom of the by the way, though it was the red model besides! You’d be right in
previous page, one of whose output that was getting all the attention. There associating this Japanese company with
tubes cost like a good integrated amp. will also be a phono preamp with the expensive connectors and other prodThis 100 watt monoblock costs $32,000 Paris name, featuring the same bevelled ucts, hence the surprise.
a pair, and it was by no means the most corner and the same lacquers.
expensive one at the show. But then it
Also much in evidence were new
was playing with Consensus Conspiracy digital-to-analog converters, to help
speakers, with ceramic drivers, which hard-core audiophiles get actual high
cost even more. Good sound? Sure.
fidelity from their computers. The
On the other hand, the 230-watt ADL GT40, at right, surprised me…
Xindak PA-1 monoblock, above, is $5200 not because it offers 24/96 sound for
in Lasbut
Vegas,
a pair. Made in China, of course. Along Shows
some $500,
because of who makes
in Toronto,
with a pair of Vandersteen Quattro it: Furutech!
With an analog-to-digof course
in Montreal.
speakers, they know how to make musicandital
converter,
a phono preamp, and a
Sure, you can find countless show reports on line, but…
as well.
UHF adds its own unique take.
As at all recent shows, the Compact
Disc seemed to be falling
Even
intoour
a black
show pictures are better, have you noticed?
hole, caught between the high-resolution
We cover the shows on line,
The
forman
free.
with the parrot
computer file and the And
resurgent
then we
LP.expand on the experience
may have
in UHF
beenitself.
a pirate in
There were plenty of turntables, with
Going to a show?
another life, but claims to
stacks of LPs (bonus: a visitor can’tEither
easilyway, follow it through
be aour
journalist
eyes. in this one.
stuff one into a pocket). And there were Below right, the NFS
dozens of laptop computers, mostly
room, with Apogee speakers lit by spooky Blisslights
MacBook Pros, supplying music in Red
(NFS means “not for
Book and higher resolutions.
sale”). As for the
One exhibitor, Focal, was actually
painted lady at left,
using an iPad as a wireless source for
she was promoting
a Micromega amplifier, which has what
something or other. Paint
is essentially an Airport Express built
perhaps?
right in. Of course the repertoire was
limited, but the sound wasn’t. The overthe-air transmission is done digitally,
without compression.
The turntable that drew the most
attention was the new Oracle Paris (the
red one, above). Like other Oracles, it
features dramatic styling. We actually
reviewed the original Paris (named for
the son of the Trojan King in Greek
mythology, not for the city) back when
it was the entry-level model. It’s a lot
more expensive today, as is pretty much
SHOW REPORTS
Seen at CES…
Feature
Feedback
Montréal 2011: First Look
Feature
Feedback
I
t has been many years
since there have been so
many audio shows for
consumers (as opposed
to CES, which is trade only)
across North America. A sign
of good times returning? It’s
a little soon for anything like
that level of optimism, and I
admit I can’t explain it. Amid
all those shows, including
Axpona and the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, the Montreal
show, now called the Salon
Son&Image, is an enduring
value.
For the second year in a
row the Salon was held at the
Bonaventure Hotel, high atop
a huge downtown concrete
structure that is widely considered an architectural marvel.
It’s a nearly perfect venue,
with plent y of (expensive)
parking and its own Métro
station. As in recent years,
the Salon exhibited signs of
seriously tight organization,
with Michel Plante and Sarah
Tremblay showing a mastery
of details.
This is only a first look,
because Albert Simon will be
delving into the show in more
depth in UHF No. 91.
As last year, there was a
lot more “son” than “image,”
amid what everyone told us is
a strong resurgence of twochannel audio at the expense
of multi-speaker surround.
W hat visitors to the show
will have noticed was how
immersive an experience two-channel
high fidelity can be. The quality of the
rooms (rather reverberant, but solid,
and very usable with a little care) really
helped.
The most impressive of the rooms
was the one shown above. It belonged
to the Montreal store Coup de Foudre,
dealer for Wilson Audio (those are the
Alexandrias in the picture) and VTL (a
showstopper Nessun Dorma.
Last year Peter had
brought the Sashas, the latest
version of the famed Watt
Puppies. Huge though the
room was, the much bigger
Alexandrias barely had room
to breathe. Still, they were
a hit, and we kept coming
around with visitors to show
them how high fidelity could
sound.
However you don’t
absolutely need $158,000
speakers to delight a music
lover. In a much smaller room
Jeff Joseph was back with his
new Joseph Audio Perspectives speakers (below), with
a MacBook Pro source and
Simaudio electronics. Jeff is
an old hand at setting up a
room, and as usual he had his
sounding about as good as
such a room can be made to
sound. True, the Perspectives
pair of Siegfried monoblocks was driving
the Alexandrias). Best of all, recording
engineer Peter McGrath (standing next
to an Alexandria), who is also Wilson’s
sales director, was along with some of
his recent recordings. Those recordings
ranged from solo piano (but a full-sized
concert grand at full-sized level) to solo
viol music by Marin Marais, to a scene
from the opera Turandot, including the
will cost uncomfortably close to $12,000, but
plenty of exhibitors had more expensive speakers
that didn’t offer the same “sit down and listen”
quality.
Also notable was the Vienna Acoustics Mozart
Symphony, at left. I have yet to hear a Vienna
Acoustics speaker sound bad or even mediocre,
but these are especially notable for the price:
US$3500. With (yet another) MacBook Pro as a
source, and a player, DAC and electronics from
Ayre, it was a major bargain. Incidentally, Vienna
Acoustics is now doing its own distribution, taking
over from Sumiko (which has since been sold, but
that’s another story). I talked to the company about
a review.
The speaker below left is a familiar one, but
it had never been shown in Montreal before. It’s
the MBL 101 MkII, a $70,000 omnidirectional
loudspeaker from Germany. The accompanying
electronics were also from MBL. The room had
great crowds each time I dropped by, and so it was
difficult to get a centre seat. That’s not necessary,
however, because the MBL’s 360º projection provided an image that could be heard way off-axis.
I was glad to see the MBL gear in Shows
Montreal,
in Las
butVegas,
I’ve never been comfortable with these
in Toronto,
speakers, and I didn’t stay around for long.
Totem’s new Element series,
and of
which
course
I had
in Montreal.
seen in Vegas, were playing in an exceedingly large
room, with impressive
Sure, youaudio-visual
can find countless
aids. Accompanied
show reports
by on
Classé
line,gear,
but…
they sounded credible despite
addsofitsthese
own speakers.
unique take.
the room, a tribute to the UHF
potential
I talked to Vince Bruzzese about a possible
Even
ourspeakers
show pictures
review of one of
these
as well. are better, have you noticed?
We
theBilling
shows itself
on line,
forworld’s
free. best speaker, it was in a much better
Not shown here is the
Ygcover
speaker.
as the
And
then
we expand
experience
in cube-shaped.
UHF itself. I would say it’s intriguing,
room than the
one
in Vegas,
but iton
wasthe
still
too big and
to a show? speakers in a proper setup.
and I would love to hear theseGoing
impressively-made
Either
follow it through
our It’s
eyes.
In the same room
wasway,
the amplifier
below right.
the Chapter Couplet 400S Reference,
from the UK, and the spec list makes it as unusual as its shape. It’s an expensive 400 watt/
channel power amp…and it’s class D. The one
shown is in our demo room, undergoing
more break-in, and you’ll read about
it next issue.
Starting last year, the Salon
began awarding lifetime
achievement awards to
industry figures. One
winner last year was May
Audio founder Nizar
A k hrass…who, alas,
died two weeks later.
To my total surprise, I
was a winner this year!
The other winner was
Totem’s Vince Bruzzese, who seemed
as su r prised as I
was.
Both of us remain
alive and well!
SHOW REPORTS
Feature
Feedback
Nuts&Bolts
Not Made to Last
A
t one time — and if you’ve been
around long enough you may
recall this — magnetic
tape was considered
to be the ultimate high fidelity medium. In many ways
it was, though our view
of tape has since shifted
somewhat.
Though researchers in various countries experimented
with magnetic tape:
m ag net iz i ng i ron
oxide particles on a
ribbon so that they
would correspond to
an analog (voice or
music) signal, it was the
Germans who perfected
the process. The magnetophon was used during the
War, to the great mystification of the Allies. They would
hear a radio address by Hitler at
a time when the Führer was known
to be elsewhere, yet there wasn’t the
telltale hiss and crackling of a shellack
disc. How could this be? When Allied
soldiers walked into captured German
radio studios they discovered the truth.
The magnetic recorder was a reality, and
the Germans had it.
During the occupation of Germany
the Allies used the captured magnetophons for their own broadcasts, and the
Ampex Corporation would bring out its
first version, a virtual copy known as
the Model 200A. The Ampex 350, used
in studios for decades, was a compact
version of the 200 and 300, and the later
AG-440 of 1966 was scarcely different.
Even the familiar Teac recorders of
later years were based on the German
wartime design.
In the US, the new Ampex recorders
caught the attention of Bing Crosby,
whose radio show always ran live, but
by Paul Bergman
which could be pre-taped at more pleasant hours thanks to tape which — unlike
disc recordings — had no artifacts to
give them away. Ampex, in turn, used
Crosby in its advertisements for the
Ampex 200A (see next page).
However my subject is tape rather
than tape recorders.
What to record on
Recorders were of no use without tape,
and so far only the Germans knew how
to make it. Initially, Allied broadcasters
were reusing German tape stock, but
that was not without risk. When General
Eisenhower used a magnetophon for a
radio speech on an imperfectly-erased
tape, Hitler’s voice could be heard in the
background. Eisenhower ordered one
of his intelligence officers, Major John
Herbert Orr, to find out how tape was
made.
Orr tracked down the engineer
who had designed the German
tapes, and got the formula
from him.
Once he was back in
civilian clothes, Orr
adapted the formula
to set up h is ow n
tape factory, under
the name Orradio.
However a surprise
awaited him. The
G er ma n eng i neer
had been working on
a vastly advanced tape
formula, and in his
will he instructed that
the formula be sent to
Orr. Orr now had the most
advanced tape formulation in
the world, which he marketed
under the name Irish. His company
would flourish, and it would eventually
be purchased by A mpex, the company making the magnetophon copies.
By then, other companies had found
ways to make their own magnetic tape,
initially on a paper base, then on acetate.
Ampex had a lead, however, and did well
against such competitors as 3M (Scotch)
and RCA.
Good as tape was, it seemed less
than perfect in the burgeoning age of
high fidelity. As long-playing records
became quieter, the hiss of a tape master
could easily be heard, as could compression of peaks when tape recorders were
overdriven. True, tape still seemed like
a promising hi-fi medium, and during a
time — from 1954 until the emergence of
the Westrex 45/45 stereo disc four years
later — it was the medium of choice for
home stereo playback. Indeed, it was the
only choice.
The emergence of Dolby noise reduc-
tion maintained the superiority of tape
for some time, but the reintroduction of
direct-cut discs (LP masters engraved
in real time with no tape intermediary,
as all recordings had been done before
tape came along) revealed the truth.
Notwithstanding the LP’s reputation for
surface noise, it could in fact be quieter
than tape, at least subjectively. Such
audiophile labels as Sheffield made the
shortcomings of tape evident.
An awful surprise
No, this free version is not complete, though you could spend a couple of
hours reading it. Want the full version?
You can, of course, order the print
version, which we have published for
a quarter of a century. You can get it
from our back issues page.
But we also have a paid electronic
version, which is just like this one,
except that it doesn’t have annoying
banners like this one, and it doesn’t
have articles tailing off into faux Latin.
Getting the electronic version is of
course faster, and it is also cheaper. It
costs just $4.00 (Canadian) anywhere
in the world. Tax applies in Canada
only.
It’s available from www.uhfmag.
com/maggie.html.
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Nuts&Bolts
Feedback
The search for lower noise
As the shortcomings of tape became
more evident, the tape itself became
worse rather than better, as multi-tracking became common (three channels
initially, then as many as 126 channels
using twin phase-locked recorders).
Multitracking made it necessary to mix
down, copying the master tape through
anywhere from two to five generations.
Hiss built up, and so did distortion.
Nat urally, t here was a push to
develop better tape formulations than
the one Orr had received from its
German inventor. Though Ampex was
famous for its recorders, many recording engineers trusted 3M’s Scotch tape,
which had very good brand recognition
because of its other products, notably
Scotch (adhesive) tape. Ampex wanted
to offer a formulation that would be
clearly superior to that of its competitors,
including those from Scotch.
They key to superior formulation
would be headroom, the ability of a tape
to accept more volume without either
compressing the volume or producing
excessive harmonic distortion (which
level was commonly considered to be a
maximum of 3%). A “hotter” formulation would let engineers record louder,
making the inevitable background hiss
relatively lower.
In the 70’s, Ampex did develop a
hotter formulation, and recording engineers adopted it with enthusiasm. Not
only was the formulation superior, but
its anti-static black back-coating would
reduce print-through, and it would allow
the layers of tape to spool more neatly,
avoiding edge damage.
What neither they nor the Ampex
engineers realized was that this “superior” tape would turn into a disaster for
the music world.
Nuts&Bolts
Feedback
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Cinema
Apple TV, Take 2
T
hat’s the old one at rear. The
new Apple TV is smaller,
cooler (at least in the thermal
sense), and cheaper. But is it
any more useful?
The answer seems to be yes, for reasons that go beyond the design of the
Apple TV itself.
Our review of the original unit can
be found in UHF No. 88, and it was less
than favorable. It cost a lot (well over
$200) for a unit that was mainly useful
for viewing movies rented or purchased
from the iTunes store, movies that were
themselves overpriced. You could stream
films that resided on its hard drive,
but those films had to be converted
to a format it could understand. We
found it useful for playing back PAL
(non-North-American) films, but there
are cheaper ways to get that job done.
Enter the second incarnation of
Apple’s “hobby” (which is how Steve Jobs
styled it). It’s small, it doesn’t heat up the
planet the way its predecessor did, it has
no hard drive of its own, and it’s more
affordable: US$99. Inexplicably, it costs
$119 in Canada, even though, as we write
this, the Canadian dollar is trading close
to US$1.02. Apple has adjusted some of
its prices (the MacBook Air is at par, and
the basic iPad is only $20 more than in
the US), but the Apple TV has been
overlooked.
The lower price, compared to the old
model, is due to the lack of a hard drive,
and the reason for its removal is that
higher-speed Wi-Fi networks are now
common, and much less expensive than
they once were. Media can be left on a
computer located on the same network
and streamed on demand. That includes
music, films and photos. Pick up a highcapacity media drive for your main
computer (plus a twin for backups!),
and the Apple TV can connect with
them through the ubiquitous iTunes and
stream them to your HDTV. Indeed, it
can do a lot more than that. It can also
pull in material from the Internet, a
point we’ll get to in a moment.
Streaming movies may be appealing,
but there are some catches.
Like the older Apple TV, the new
one won’t recognize the DVD format.
It knows only the h.264 format, which
is a standard, but if you’ve ripped a DVD
onto your computer and you want to call
it up on your Apple TV, you’ll need to
store a second copy of it in that format.
There are several utilities for doing just
that (we use the excellent Handbrake on
a Mac), but it’s inconvenient, you have to
do it in advance, and the copy chews up
extra hard drive space. Fortunately there
is a workaround, as we will explain.
The entire text of this article is available from Maggie, at www.uhfmag.com/
maggie.html.
tisi.
Cinema
Feedback
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Cinema
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R
Rendezvous
we can sell loudspeakers under
that name.
UHF: That has worked?
Greenlees: It has helped quite
a lot, though perhaps not as
much as we had hoped. If we
had had a turntable at the
beginning, it would have been
much simpler.
UHF: Are you actually making
turntables, finally?
Greenlees: Not at the moment.
We did have one, called the
Replay, a couple of years ago.
It was essentially made in the
Far East, though the bearing
and the tone arm were sourced
elsewhere. The Replay was
well reviewed and well received
in the UK, but it had inherent
problems and we’ve taken it off
the market for the time being.
We will re-release it sometime
this year.
UHF: Still made in the Far
East?
Greenlees: Partly made in
t he Far East. We’ve gone
on, to bring back the Rebel,
the turntable that Revolver
made originally. We’re going
to improve it a little bit, and
relaunch it.
UHF: We presume you bought
the design as well as the name.
e volver rose
rapidly, in the
1980’s, to become
one of the audio
world’s most famous suppliers of turntables. In some
markets, including Canada,
the company dared to take on
“perfect sound forever,” as
shown in the ad on the next
page, which ran in UHF
No. 22.
It was, ultimately, a
valiant fight, but a losing
one. Revolver made no other
products, unlike such companies as Linn and Rega, and
the niche that vinyl became
could not sustain it. However,
its name and designs were
purchased by new investors,
who have resurrected the
company, brought out a line
of loudspeakers (one of which
is reviewed in this issue),
and already have a prototype
for…yes, a turntable. We
talked with the cofounder of
the new Revolver, Charles
Greenlees.
UHF: You are not the original Revolver company.
Greenlees: That’s correct.
The original company was
The Making of the New Revolver
formed in the 1970’s by the late Colin
Higham when they made just turntables.
It has since been owned by several other
companies. We bought it, my partner
and I, Michael Jewitt, in 2001. We’ve
been making speakers, though possibly
we should have started with turntables.
UHF: People see your name, and they
still ask about turntables. They remember
them.
Greenlees: Very much so, more abroad
than in the UK. In any hi-fi show I go
to in Europe, Asia or North America,
I hear, “Oh, you’re the guys who used
to make the turntables.” Yes, it’s the
same brand, but a different management
company.
UHF: Where was the perceived value
in relaunching the Revolver brand ,
since Revolver was never known for
loudspeakers?
Greenlees: We bought the Revolver
brand because it’s much better to have an
established brand that’s known around
the world, rather than making up a new
name that would be a mélange of Jewitt
and Greenlees. Because people remember the turntables, there’s a better chance
Greenlees: We bought the design as
well as the name, yes.
UHF: From your vantage point, do you see
a great renewal of interest in vinyl?
Greenlees: Very much so. In the UK
vinyl is big in hi-fi magazines, and
everybody comes into a room and says,
“Aren’t you playing vinyl? Why are you
playing CD? We want to listen to vinyl.”
We want to supply that demand.
UHF: The original Revolver had the
advantage of its low price. It represented
value. Of course prices since then have risen
on everything including bread and milk.
hard-wired, without circuit boards. The
tweeter has an aluminum dome.
UHF: What were the design criteria for
the Music 5?
Greenlees: We felt we needed a floorstanding speaker to complement our
bookshelf models, the Music 1 and
Music 3, and we wanted a speaker that
would be particularly valve-friendly.
All our speakers are known for being
efficient and easy to drive, and thus
perfect for valve amplifiers. The Music
5 was originally called the R45 in cloth,
and then the RW45. The Music 5 is an
evolutionary version.
UHF: When did it appear?
Greenlees: The Music 5 has been out
for about three years, though it’s new to
the North American market.
UHF: Is your company looking at new
categories of products?
Greenlees: Essentially I’d like to stick
with loudspeakers and turntables. We’ll
have our two turntables, the Replay
and the Rebel 2, but we are loudspeaker
designers first and foremost. We do
need to make turntables because there is
market demand. Obviously, we want to
make money selling them, but we’re not
expecting to sell many hundreds.
However we are expecting to increase
our range of loudspeakers. We recently
launched a series of four-inch deep
custom-install on-wall/in-wall speakers.
These are high-performance speakers,
the Audio View I, II and III. They work
for home theatre, but they have their
own custom cabinets.
Rendezvous
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Can you still make, today, a turntable that
represents value?
Greenlees: We would struggle to compete with the likes of Rega and Pro-Ject,
who make thousands of turntables every
year. We’re looking to build a much
smaller number. The result is that it
will cost more than a number of other
products. However, many people like to
be able to buy something different.
UHF: Let’s talk about your loudspeakers.
Tell us about the first speaker that the new
Revolver produced.
Greenlees: One of the intermediate
owners of Revolver act ually made
loudspeakers on what was very much a
budget level, though they worked fine.
When we bought the brand, we wanted
to make loudspeakers that were different
from anything else around.
So we brought out loudspeakers
whose drivers had cloth surrounds…
no, not actually surrounds like the old
Mirage speakers, but cloth covers on
the sides and the backs. They had maple
top and bottom plates and front baffles,
so they would stand out in the shops.
Unfortunately they weren’t that well
received. We’ve since moved into using
real wood veneers, and those speakers
have gone down pretty well.
UHF: Do you have your own engineer, or
engineering team?
Greenlees: Michael Jewitt, my partner, is a renowned engineer, who has
designed speakers for Mordaunt-Short
and Heybrook. Some years back, when
Canon Audio spent a lot of money on
home theatre systems, as you may recall,
Michael was in charge of that.
UHF: Is the Cygnis now your flagship
loudspeaker?
Greenlees: Yes, or it was until very
recently. The Cygnis has been well
reviewed around the world, but last year
we launched the Revolver Cygnis-Gold.
It does resemble the original Cygnis,
but it is a much bigger loudspeaker, with
upscale performance, though it isn’t so
big you need a wardrobe to put it into.
UHF: Tell us about the Music 5, which is
slated for review in UHF’s next issue.
Greenlees: The Music 5 is a very nice
speaker using custom bass and midrange
drivers which Michael designed, and that
are made specially for us. The drive units
are carbon fibre, and the crossovers are
Listening Room
Revolver Music 5
R
emember Revolver? Though
t he company disappeared
from North American radar
years ago, a surprising number
of audiophiles perk up when they hear
the name. Revolver? Didn’t they make
turntables?
They did, and in fact they plan to
again (we’ve seen a prototype). The
firm’s name was based on the fact that…
well, turntables revolve. The company
was a one-trick pony, however, and
with the coming of digital that one
trick was becoming less and less viable.
Whereas some audio companies foundered because they tried to make too
many different products. Revolver failed
for exactly the opposite reason.
And so the company closed, though
its name and designs were subsequently
purchased, more than once in fact (see
Rendezvous in this issue). A reborn version of the turntable is on its way, but for
the moment Revolver is a loudspeaker
company.
We weren’t sure we understood the
business plan, actually. Isn’t it like, say,
buying Sony and then using their name
on running shoes? Still, the gamble
seems to have worked, since Revolver
really is getting brand recognition, and
the speakers appear to have established
themselves, at least in their home
market.
There are, of course, a lot of speakers
on offer in the world, far more than can
possibly be absorbed even by the combined audio and home theatre worlds,
so making speakers still carries a lot of
risk. Always has. It helps if there is some
unusual aspect to a speaker, and initially
we weren’t sure there was anything truly
unusual about the Music 5. Still, let’s take
a closer look.
The tall enclosures were finished
flawlessly in what is usually called piano
black, though dark cherry and maple are
also available. There are three identical
drivers in this three-way design. For
frequencies below 200 Hz, there are
two woofers in a tuned reflex enclosure,
with a resonant frequency of 37 Hz (in
a reflex speaker the resonant frequency
is also pretty much the lower response
limit). The midrange driver, which, like
the woofers, is a 16.5 cm glass-fibre cone,
is in an “infinite baffle” (not terribly
infinite, of course, but there is no tuned
port). The tweeter has an aluminum
dome. The crossover is hard-wired, with
no printed circuit board, with air-cored
and ferrite inductors, metal film resistors and ICW polypropylene capacitors.
The enclosure sits on spikes, with a very
slightly extended base plate to steady the
speaker, so that it doesn’t fall over onto
the cat.
The Revolvers do come with grilles
(you can see the anchors on the front
baffle), but they are not an æsthetic success, and they are unlikely to be used by
anyone who doesn’t have toddlers with
inquisitive fingers.
Our Music 5’s had toured a couple of
shows, but we were uncertain how much Like many other contemporary speakers, the Music 5’s are magnetically shielded
running time they had, and so we gave “for A/V use.” Why, and what does it even mean?
them another 100 hours of so. Conve- Not much anymore.
niently enough, we also needed to run Dynamic drivers, whether woofers or tweeters, have large magnets. With the
in some cables as well as the Moon 100D current trend of ever higher efficiency, the magnets have gotten larger and more
converter (reviewed in this issue). The powerful. Their magnetic fields can extend well outside the confines of the enclooriginal Apple TV was used to stream sure.
music from our remote computer.
That was a problem in the days when television sets used cathode ray tubes,
The listening session was done with either in direct view or in rear-projection configuration. In a picture tube, elecour Omega reference system, which tromagnets are used to sweep electron beams across the tube surface to create the
means we were comparing the Music 5’s image. It goes without saying that you don’t want outside magnetic fields interto our long-time Reference 3a Suprema fering with the precise placement of the beams. Even the earth’s relatively feeble
II’s. Initially we placed the Revolvers magnetic field could be enough to cause color splotches on a tube, and required
exactly where the Supremas had been, demagnetization.
and we liked the overall balance. Shifting
Our equipment
The problem
reviewswas
areespecially
unusual serious in compact systems, with speakers placed
them about yielded no improvement, and very
in aclose
number
to the
of ways,
TV set. Floorstanding speakers are typically farther apart, and
indeed seemed to make little difference.
themakes
magnetic
field
wasunique
a non-issue.
but what
them
truly
is But who uses picture tubes anymore? Why does
We would guess that these speakers anyone
bother with
magnetic shielding?
our Crosstalk
section.
would be easy to place in all but the
How
done?
You could do it by using an overall mu-metal shield, but
Actually,
whatisisshielding
especially
unusual
smallest rooms.
thatreview
wouldproducts
be expensive,
the shielding is typically done by strategically-placed
is that we
as a and
group,
The first recording on this all-vinyl magnets
typicallyto
ofcounter
three ofthe
us.main field. Is there a down side? We’d guess that the second
session was from an Angel 45 rpm LP We
field
has an
the speakers too. Perhaps it’s time shielding followed analog
listen
to effect
actualon
music,
of Mussorgsky’s monumental Pictures
television
intoAnd
the dusty
pages of history.
not sonic
excerpts.
we discuss
at an Exhibition (SS-45004), withwhat
Ric-we heard, though with no pressure
cardo Muti conducting the Philadelphia
to conform.
Orchestra. The final tableau, The Great and
If wethe
disagree,
so were
be it. well up to the with an effortless power that, at its best,
speakers
Gate of Kiev, has a lot going on, withButchallenge.
then comes
the came
Crosstalk.
What
through was the is breathtaking, and the speakers did well
plentiful contributions from brass,
The main
text of each
based mas- by her.
emotional
punchreview
of thisisorchestral
woodwinds, strings and the largeronperthe comments
made in the
discussion
terpiece. Nothing
is more
important,
Inevitably the bottom end could not
following
each
session.
cussion instruments. (The orchestration and
we were
pleased
with this initial quite match what we had heard with our
at the end, each reviewer
of Mussorgsky’s piano piece was done byButrecording.
reference speakers, but even so Steve
in thetoCrosstalk,
Maurice Ravel, who was never one to participates
We wanted
include some female was impressed by the bass and the way
a personal
comment
on thetoproduct.
leave an orchestral section with nothing
voices,
which seems
be a hurdle for it carried the powerful rhythm along,
We maymany
even adisagree
among
to do.)
loudspeaker
(andourselves.
for pretty much though he found the top end a little edgy
And
what?
Initially we set the volume to be the the
restyou
of aknow
system),
and we picked two. by comparison. Even the backup singers,
us they
love singing I’ve when they join Houston, were astonishsame as it had been with our Supremas, Readers
The first:tell
Thelma
Houston
us disagree.
but we found we needed an extra 2 dB Gotto
thesee
Music
in Me on Sheffield (LAB-2). ingly clear. Above all, the presence of the
Because
if we,
the “experts”
can
to make it sound comparable. That’s in
On this
direct-cut
LP, Houston
sings singers and the musicians was startling.
disagree, so can they.
line with the claimed sensitivities of the
We could have touched them.
our disagreements,
two speakers, which are 92 dB and 90 dBThey tell usSumming
The other singer was Mary Black
it up…
mostly minor but sometimes major,
respectively.
with the title song from her longempower them.
Revolver Music 5
The piece falls apart if the dynam- Brand/model:
discontinued LP, No Frontiers. If some
C$3000
That’sPrice:
just one
way UHF Magazine
ics are not maintained, and we were
speakers struggle with female voices,
Size from
(HWD):
93 x 25
x 31.8 cm
different
all other
magazines.
pleased with the ease with which isthe
these sure don’t! Black’s expressive voice
Revolvers handled this complex arrange- Sensitivity: 90 dB
was flawless, with superb inflection and
ment. There wasn’t quite the extended Impedance: 8 ohms
elocution, and sibilance that was totally
bottom end we had with the push-pull Most liked: Excellent overall balance, natural. We haven’t yet mentioned the
subwoofers of our own speakers, “but articulation and detail
stereo image, but it was excellent, as it
that could be an advantage in this piece,” Least liked: Lower midrange could
had been from the beginning.
said Gerard. “On the other hand, there’s use more muscle
The difference, and it was a minor
a little less of the low medium too.” Verdict: Looking for a speaker with
one, was in the accompanying guitar,
Albert agreed, finding that the brass, in an eccentric personality? Keep lookwhich had a bit less of its “woodiness.”
ing. Looking for music? Have a seat!
particular, had less weight.
If this hadn’t been a review session, we
But this is a challenging recording,
probably wouldn’t have noticed.
“Magnetic Shielding”
CROSSTALK!
Room
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Gerard proposed a rare LP from
the very early days of stereo, trumpeter
Shorty Rogers’ The Swinging Nutcracker
(RCA LSP-2110). This is a brilliant big
band reimagining of the Tchaikovsky
ballet, from which we selected the Like
Nutty Overture. (Hey, this was, like, the
late 50’s, and, like, hip people talked like
that, like.)
One of the features of this recording
is the delicious growl of the large brass
section, which RCA (uncharacteristically
for the time) captured superbly. The
Revolvers couldn’t resolve them quite as
perfectly as our reference speakers had,
because of a minor but noticeable shift
in tonal balance, and a slight hardening
too.
But the performance in the solo passages was superb. Both Albert and Steve
mentioned the tenor saxophones, which
were warm and realistic, with very good
presence. The woodwinds were helped
by the speakers’ talent for articulation,
a talent they had earlier demonstrated
with voices. The percussion kit, including the cymbals, was excellent too.
Did we mention the image? Gerard
was impressed enough to mention it in
his notes. And that was in comparison
with our reference speakers, which seem
to do this better than any other.
Steve and Albert wondered where
they might find their own copies of this
recording. Dream on!
As always when we review loudspeakers, we ended the session with Victor
Feldman’s Secret of the Andes, which has
a treacherous introduction for varied
Central-American percussion instruments that can reveal problems in both
drivers and enclosures. If most speakers
we write about do at least reasonably well
on this recording, it’s because we choose
to review products that have a fighting
chance of being recommendable. If we
included a broader range of speakers in
our reviews, you would hear much more
frequent horror stories!
But not here, because a speaker that
is not well put together would not have
racked up so much praise on the earlier
recordings. The notorious percussive
sounds were clear and quick, and there
was no boominess to homogenize them,
as there could be with lesser speakers.
Amid all the drumming, there is a
scraped gourd that can at times seem
startling. The Revolvers’ mastery of
transients allowed them to render that
gourd sound perfectly.
With the introduction over, Feld-
man’s jazz ensemble swings into a fast,
rhythmic tune. The lower midrange was
a little light, as before, which affected
the recording’s natural warmth, but
that wasn’t what we noticed most. What
was especially notable, as ever, was the
quickness on transient sounds: fast
starts, fast stops. That could be heard
in Feldman’s piano, in the kick drum,
and in the gorgeous electric bass. “With
a great recording like this,” said Steve,
“these speakers become even more
impressive.”
Not all listening sessions leave us in
a good mood, but this one did. It was
partly because we had been listening to
some good music, and on LP no less,
but also because these loudspeakers had
let the music come through and touch
us. The Revolver Music 5’s may seem
self-effacing initially. They won’t reach
out and grab you in the first seconds of
listening, because they have no obvious
sonic fingerprint they lay atop the music.
They’re not the sort of speaker that can
make all recordings sound alike. On
recording after recording, however, what
came through were the qualities of the
recordings, and — above all — the music
itself.
There is no higher praise.
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CROSSTALK
Not as large as some other floorstanders, the Music 5’s pack a Napoleonic punch,
projecting a wide, deep, full sound stage.
Add to that tons of complex detail and great
dynamics, and one thing became clear. They
would make an excellent match for high
quality upstream components. Given their
reasonable price and classic styling, they have
real appeal.
If this product is an example of what is to
come from the reborn Revolver brand, then
bring it on, and the sooner the better.
—Steve Bourke
Big surprise. Solid image. Great depth.
Wide stage.
Yes, but what about the music? Detailed
and lively, brimming with energy, lyrics you
can read and instruments you can see.
True timbres too, and great bass. Not a
huge, deep cavern of a bass, but a sharp and
accurate thunder weight when needed, with
no lingering over the next notes. A bit too
much energy in the highs? A little too much
glare in the highly-polished brass? Maybe.
But listen to the cymbals and what about that
percussion and those deep and warm tenor
saxophones.
Had enough? Not me. I could have
listened on and on. It is the kind of sound
that leaves you uplifted, and walking with a
spring in your step. Can speakers really do
all that? Not sure about all of them out there,
but these do.
—Albert Simon
You know how, sometimes, you give a
loudspeaker a first listen, and you suspect it
will turn out to be shrill and forward, and
then you discover that, in a proper listening
session, it’s just fine? Well, the Music 5’s are
the opposite.
In initial, casual listening, as a speaker
is undergoing break-in, it sometimes happens that the sound will pull me in, and I’ll
interrupt what I was doing to sit down and
actually listen. The Music 5’s didn’t do that,
and I figured they would turn out to be bland
and inoffensive. The actual review session
was an eye-opener. Bland? Not if you love
music!
These speakers are quick — the first
of a number of surprises — with a natural
snap to the transients and plenty of detail
in complex musical passages. Articulation
is exemplary. Their tonal balance is very
good too, with a minor exception already
mentioned. And they are easy to place for
best performance.
Put all that together, and the price seems
lower than you probably expect. These
speakers are a bargain.
—Gerard Rejskind
Thorens TD-309
D
we consider that it is the role of the
designer to get the platter to turn at the
right speed, not the purchaser. Still, there
was no sign of speed instability during
the period we had the turntable.
If you somehow get a 309 without its
instruction manual (which, fortunately,
is available on line), you may miss some
essential steps that are less than obvious,
such as removing the transit screws that
protect the suspension. Once they are
removed (and kept in a safe place, because
they aren’t captive) the suspension can be
checked visually. The inner cylinder of
each foot should show a 2 mm gap. If it
needs adjustment, either because of wear
or because you’re using a heavy accessory, such as a record clamp, you can
tighten or loosen the springs from the
top. Ours came correctly adjusted once
we had played a record on the platter…
and we wish we could say the same for
all the other adjustments. More on that
in a moment.
You may be wondering about that big
steel cylinder on the left front corner of
the turntable. At first glance it looks as
though it could be a record clamp, but it
is in fact a vital component in the suspension system. It’s not fastened down, but
simply placed over the adjustment hole
of one of the pillars (it has a felt bottom
to protect the plinth finish). It can be
moved slightly to tune the suspension,
Listening Room
on’t count on us to discuss
Thorens’ long, long experience, dating back to when it
began making music boxes
in the 19th Century. That company
closed years ago, and the brand was
bought by a new company. By and large
we prefer the new Thorens to the old
one, though we think it’s offering too
many models, without much unity in its
philosophy.
But we’re hoping that this new
turntable is an indication of a new direction. It grabbed our attention from the
start. For one thing it’s eye-catching,
whether you get it in red, like this one,
or in piano black. The 309 has a fully
suspended sub-chassis, a DC motor, and
a glass platter, resting on an aluminum
subplatter. The bearing under the platter — well-known to be a key aspect of
a turntable with high-end claims — is
from Japan. There is of course a drive
belt, and its tension is user-adjustable.
That adjustment is, obviously, useful as
the belt wears and stretches, though the
user is invited to find the tension that
will give the best sound.
Oddly, Thorens claims that changing
belt tension requires adjustment of the
turntable speed, and it’s not obvious to
us why this should be. There is, for that
reason, a speed adjustment. We are not
keen on this sort of adjustment, because
though we noted no difference over its
limited adjustment range.
Like several other Thorens tables,
the 309 has a DC wall wart as a power
supply. Next to the power inlet are a
pair of output jacks. We were pleased
to see that Thorens lets you choose
your own cables. Yes, a cable pair is
included in the box, but changing
them may be a worthwhile upgrade.
We reviewed the 309 using a pair of
Atlas Navigator All-Cu single-crystal
cables.
The tone arm, which fits in a round
hole in the plinth and can be changed,
is Thorens’ own, and it is both the 309’s
strength and its weakness.
It is a strength because Thorens got
a lot of the concept right, and has clearly
spent money where it counted most. It
is a weakness because it has a prototype
feel to it, and the 309 would be accessible
to far more (non-technical) people if it
came correctly adjusted out of the box.
To be fair, our 309 was an early production model, and it had been displayed at
a show.
Let’s take a closer look at the tone
arm, which you can also see in greater
detail on the next page. It is simple
in concept, as befits its presence in a
$2000 turntable, but some judicious
choices have been made. The arm tube
is made from rolled aluminum, with
randomly-placed inner dampers, to
absorb vibration over a broad band of
frequencies. Its functional length is
easily adjustable, because the top screw
on the pivot assembly can be loosened,
and the tube can then be moved forward
or back. About halfway down the tube
is a ring that looks like a stylus pressure
adjustment, though it is in fact another
vibration damper, not meant to be
moved. The double-isolated counterweight mounts on a threaded rod that is
below the arm tube, so that its centre of
gravity is on the same plane as the stylus.
This is a refinement that is ignored by
some major makers of tone arms.
Get the print issue, or Maggie’s
electronic issue, for the full text of this
article and every article in the issue.
From $4.
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tisi.
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Thorens TD-309
Price: C$2000
Size (WDH): 47 x 43 x 13 cm
Most liked: Serious value, serious
sound
Least liked: Inaccurate gauge, not
well set up out of the box
Verdict: Price for the cautious, performance for the carefree
dolobore eros.
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Room
Listening
Feedback
CROSSTALK
Roksan Kandy K2
Room
Listening
Feedback
T
his is the second incarnation
of a widely-praised amplifier, originally called just
the Kandy. We never did
review it, though we did review (and
praise) its larger brandmate, the Caspian
(UHF No. 56), now known as the M2.
The “K2,” as it’s commonly called, is
attractively-priced considering its stated
power, its build quality and its on-board
amenities.
Its appearance is not without controversy. As you can see from our photo,
the front panel is pretty much a mirror,
which means that, in any system, it will
be anything but discreet. Initially we
relied on the on-line documentation to
set it up, and wondered why the power
switch wasn’t just below the power cord,
where it was supposed to be. Surprise! It’s
on the bottom panel!
The jacks at the rear were not top
grade, but then we don’t expect that in
this price category, especially since there
are so many of them. There are a lot of
inputs, including one that bypasses the
volume control, for use with a video
processor, and an output of the preamp
section, for biamping or connection of
a powered subwoofer. There is even a
phono stage (MM only, not tested this
time around).
The binding posts tighten well, but
although they have a provision for bare
wires (really?), they can’t accommodate
spades.
We reviewed the K2 in our Alpha
system, whose Living Voice speakers are
particularly suited to human-scaled integrated amplifiers. We chose five recordings, played on our Linn Unidisk 1.1
player through a Copland tube preamp
and a Moon W-5LE power amplifier.
We then substituted the Roksan for our
electronics, and listened again.
We began with our all-time favorite
choral recording, Now the Green Blade
Riseth (Proprius PRSACD9093). It did
very well with this magnificent but
somewhat fragile recording, projecting
well-separated voices, very good tonal
balance and excellent spaciousness.
There seemed to be no shortage of
bottom end, as we might have expected
with some small amplifiers, but there
was a certain shift toward the higher
frequencies (“the sound is a little whiter,”
said Toby). In louder passages there was
a touch of roughness, and the tutti at the
end was by no means smooth. We could
less easily pick out individual voices, as
one can in a live environment. Still, we
have heard this recording embarrass
manufacturers of very expensive systems, and this time no one had reason
to blush.
For our next selection we returned to
an old favorite of pre-CD days (does that
ever take us back!), the Allegro from one
of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, played
by the four virtuosos of the Stockholm
Guitar Quartet (re-released on SACD
as Opus 3 CD22062). With the LP, we
used to count the guitars.
Which we did, and sure enough there
were four of them in the broad space.
Although we couldn’t characterize the
sound as thin, there was nonetheless a
shift in the timbres of the guitars, with
the sound of fingers on strings more
prominent than the woody bodies of
the instruments themselves. “My mind
wandered,” confessed Toby, “but then it
wandered back.” Albert found the guitars
more airy, without the grounding they
had with our reference. Still, we were
impressed.
We were doubly impressed by how
well the Roksan respected the driving
rhythm, always of paramount importance in the music of Bach. This important talent manifested itself throughout
the session.
We were a long way from Christmas,
but we put on a Christmas song anyway.
One of the showstoppers of the legendary Cantate Domino audiophile recording
is what is usually identified just as Christmas Song, though it is better known
under its French and English titles,
Minuit, Chrétiens and O Holy Night. It is
exceptionally dramatic, with the verses
sung by soprano Marianne Mellnäs
over organ accompaniment, and then a
huge chorus coming in for the famous
refrain. The SACD version (Proprius
PRSACD7762) actually matches the
original LP.
The solo verses were wonderfully
well reproduced, with Mellnäs’ voice
pure, and Alf Linder’s organ solid. We
were playing it quite loud, however, with
the result that the choral crescendos
were close to the amplifier’s dynamic
limits. The sound was then a little
zingier, with extra harmonics that are
not on the recording. Even so, Gerard
expressed surprise over how well the
voices hung together.
A ll the recordings used in this
session were SACDs, except for one
conventional CD. We always like to
include a female voice in evaluations,
and that of Margie Gibson (Say It With
Music, Sheffield CD-36) is a favorite for
two reasons. First, the higher tessitura
of a voice like hers can reveal serious
problems in pretty much any part of
the playback chain. And second, it packs
such an emotional impact that we never
get tired of hearing it…unless of course
the component under test spoils it. We
selected the sentimental ballad You Keep
Coming Back Like a Song.
It seemed clear that such intimate
music is perfect for this amplifier, and it
did well. Even the lower registers (piano,
bass and cello) were very good. There
was a plausible illusion of real space and
presence. The song remained, frankly,
marvellous.
It would be foolish, however, to
expect this inexpensive amplifier to
do the same job as our luxurious gear,
and of course we did notice differences.
Though Margie’s voice remained gorgeous, the effect was a little less mesmerizing. The tantalizing mixture of joy and
regret expressed in the song was less
evident. Once again, the limitations of
the amplifier’s dynamic power showed.
“There’s some overmodulation in the
higher registers,” said Toby, “a sin of
commission. With the Moon amplifier,
you get a smooth transition from loud
to soft, but with the Roksan it tips over
at one point.”
We had one more female voice, quite
a different one.
Jen Chapin’s SACD ReVisions (Chesky
SACD347) is one of the most realistic
recordings we have ever heard on any
medium. It is simple enough, with a saxophone on one side, a bass on the other,
and the third instrument — Chapin herself — in the centre. We selected Stevie
Wonder’s You Haven’t Done Nothin’.
Would Chapin’s effortlessly powerful
voice sound edgy with the Roksan? No,
and in fact we noted that Chapin’s natural edginess was somewhat smoothed
over, which took away a little from her
startling presence. The reediness of the
saxophone was somewhat diminished as
well.
But those were alterations you would
note if, like us, you were comparing the
K2 to $15,000 of gear. If you weren’t,
you would be drawn in by the impossibly
precise image and the strong rhythm (we
did tell you the Roksan is good at that).
“The bottom end is surprisingly solid,”
said Albert, “and you have no trouble
making out
the Maggie
murmurs Works
of the bassist.”
How
Toby added
thatis,a truly
great
recording
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and has
been
can give up some
and still sound
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great.a print magazine. But we know
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audiophiles
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is
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Summing
up…
Click here, and let Maggie
Brand/model:
Kandy
explain Roksan
how to get
the K2
full
Price: C$1785version for $4.
Size (WDH):
43 x 38a xPDF
10 cm
And we mean
version
Power (8 without
ohms): 125
watts/channel
digital
rights
Inputs:
5, plus tape
loop
MM to
management
you
canand
transfer
phono the device of your choice.
Most liked: Great energy, strong
rhythm
Least liked: Power more limited than
the specs suggest
Verdict: The designers spent your
money in all the right places
there a meaningful difference between
this economy amplifier and one with
similar specs but costing a good deal
more, such as Roksan’s own Caspian
M2?
The answer is yes if you have the sort
of loudspeaker and source that we have,
or if they’re on your wish list. We know
that the solidity of the bottom end, and
therefore the “size” of the music, does
not depend on frequency response alone.
We also know that power ratings never
tell the whole story.
No matter the cost of an amplifier, we
do have some non-negotiable demands.
Any amplifier with hi-fi pretensions,
at any price, needs enough power to
reproduce music at a pleasant level, if
not full concert volume. It needs a good
balance across the audible frequency
band. It needs a sense of rhythm. And
it must not have obvious flaws, such as
boominess or screechiness.
The Kandy K2 delivers that minimum handily. What actually impressed
us was that it gives you more than it
absolutely has to, and quite a lot more
than you might possibly expect at the
price.
Does that make the K2 a bargain?
We were unanimous on that. As Sarah
Palin would say, you betcha!
CROSSTALK
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dolessi.
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laor ilit lutpatin el in velisci ncilla facinibh
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Room
Listening
Feedback
Re facin henis nisl iustrud enim aute duis
dignisc iliscipissi.
Tum veliquat ulpute dolore volore facipsum esequat. Ut lan veliquat praese facilit
lutpat nibh euguero ea feuguer suscing enismod dolorero odiamco rtiscil lamconsequat
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augait am, core tisi.
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consequat adipis adiam, consed te ming
esent loborper iure commodio commodit
lum zzriure vullumsan henim iustin utatum
vel ilis aut loborperilla feum do odolore
commodolore dolore dolesto eu feu feu
feuipsu scipit ad molorem ex ero odolobore
dolobortie digna conullaor si bla consecte
et exerit lum alismolore ming esent vullamc
onullan henisl ute core vent volor si.
Sumsandre con hent ilit nim nis accum
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. 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 CES and the Montreal
Salon Son&Image, and Paul Bergman looks at
the elements that make up a computer music
source. Plus: Toby Earp on 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.
Moon LP5.3 phono stage, the Castle Richmond
7i speaker, the upscale Mavros cables from
Atlas, and a retest of the Power Foundation III
line filter, with a better power cord this time. Plus:
The acoustics of speaker placement, the two
meanings of video image contrast, and a portrait
of super tenor Placido Domingo.
No.82: Amplifiers: A large sweet tube amplifier
from Audio Space, the Reference 3.1, and the
reincarnation of an old favorite, the Sugden A21.
Digital: Bryston's first CD player, and the Blue
Circle "Thingee," with USB at one end and lots of
outputs at the other end. Plus: the BC Acoustique
A3 speaker, a small subwoofer, two more London
phono cartridges, line filters from AudioPrism
and BIS, a blind test of three interconnects, Paul
Bergman on soundproofing, and a thorough test
of Sony's new-generation Blu-ray player
No.81: Digital: The newest two-box CD player
from Reimyo, and the magical Linn Majik
player. Headphones a new version of our long
time reference headphones, from the Koss pro
division, and the affordable SR-125 headphones
from Grado. Plus: The astonishing Sonogram
loudspeakers from Gershman, a small but lovely
tube integrated amplifier from CEC, and the
London Reference phono cartridge.
No.80: Equipment reviews: From Linn, the
Artikulat 350A active speakers, the updated
LP12 turntable, the Klimax Kontrol preamplifier,
and the Linto phono stage; ASW Genius 300
speakers, ModWright preamp and phono stage.
Also: Bergman on absorbing low frequencies,
emerging technologies for home theatre, and
coverage of the Montreal Festival.
No. 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.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.86: Analog: We review the Scheu Analogue
Premier II turntable and Cantus arm, and we try
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, as well as the Shure SE530 and SE420
phones. We also 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.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.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
No.77: Electronics: The Simaudio Moon P-8
preamplifier, the successor to the legendary
Bryston 2B power amp, the Antique Sound Lab
Lux DT phono stage. Plus: the Reimyo DAP-777
converter, an affordable CD player/integrated
amp pair from CEC, and five power cords. Also:
Paul Bergman on room size and acoustics, how
to dezone foreign DVDs, and how to make your
own 24/96 high resolution discs at home.
No.76: Loudspeakers: a new look at the modern
version of the Totem Mani-2, an affordable ELAC
speaker with a Heil tweeter, and the even more
affordable Castle Richmond 3i. Plus headphone
amps from Lehmann, CEC and Benchmark, a
charger that can do all your portables, and the
Squeezebox 3, which gets true hi-fi music from
your computer to your stereo system. Bergman
on speaker impedance and how to measure it.
No.75: Amplifiers: The new Simaudio Moon W-8
flagship, and integrated amps from Copland (the
CTA-405) and CEC. Speakers: the Reference 3a
Veena and the Energy Reference Connoisseur
reborn. Plus the Benchmark DAC converter. And
also: Bergman on the changing concept of hi-fi
and stereo, a chat with FIM’s Winston Ma, and
the rediscovery of a great Baroque composer,
Christoph Graupner.
No.74: Amplifiers: Mimetism 15.2, Qinpu A-8000,
Raysonic SP-100, Cyrus 8vs and Rogue Stereo
90. More reviews: Atlantis Argentera speaker,
Cyrus CD8X player, GutWire MaxCon 2 line
filter, Harmony remote, Music Studio 10 recording software. Cables: Atlas, Stager, BIS and
DNM, including a look at how length affects
digital cables. Plus: the (hi-fi) digital jukebox,
why HDTV doesn’t always mean what you think,
and Reine Lessard on The Man Who Invented
Rock’n’Roll.
No.73: Integrated amplifiers: Audiomat Récital
and Exposure 2010S. Analog: Turntables
from Roksan (Radius 5) and Goldring (the
Rega-designed GR2), plus two cartridges, and
four phono stages from CEC, Marchand and
Goldring. The Harmonix Reimyo CD player,
Audiomat Maestro DAC, ASW Genius 400
speakers, and the Sonneteer BardOne wireless
system. Plus: Paul Bergman on the making of an
LP and why they don’t all sound the same.
No.72: Music from data: How you can make your
own audiophile CDs with equipment you already
have. We test a DAC that yields hi-fi from your
computer. We review the new Audio Reference
speakers, the updated Connoisseur singleended tube amp, upscale Actinote cables, and
Gershman’s Acoustic Art panels. How to tune up
your system for a big performance boost.
No.71: Small speaker: Reference 3a Dulcet,
Totem Rainmaker, and a low cost speaker from
France. A blind cable test: five cables from Atlas,
and a Wireworld cable with different connectors
(Eichmann, WBT nextgen, and Wireworld). The
McCormack UDP-1 universal player, muRata
super tweeters, Simaudio I-3 amp and Equinox
CD player. Paul Bergman examines differences
behind two-channel stereo and multichannel.
No.70: How SACD won the war…or how DVD-A
blew it. Reviews: Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal
player and Shanling SCD-T200 player. Speakers:
Reference 3a Royal Virtuoso, Equation 25,
Wilson Benesch Curve. Other reviews: Simaudio
W-5LE amp, the iPod as an audiophile source.
Plus: future video screens, and the eternal music
of George Gershwin
No.69: Tube Electronics: Audiomat Opéra ,
Connoisseur SE-2 and Copland CSA29 integrated amps, and Shanling SP-80 monoblocks.
Audiomat's Phono 1.5, Creek CD50, GutWire's
NotePad and a music-related computer game
that made us laugh out loud. Paul Bergman on
the return of the tube, and how music critics did
their best to kill the world’s greatest music.
No.68: Loudspeakers: Thiel CS2.4, Focus Audio
FS688, Iliad B1. Electronics:Vecteur I-6.2 and
Audiomat Arpège integrated amps, Copland 306
multichannel tube preamp, Rega Fono MC. Also:
Audio Note and Copland CD players, GutWire
MaxCon power filter. And there’s more: all about
power supplies, what’s coming beyond DVD, and
a chat with YBA’s Yves-Bernard André.
No.67: Loudspeakers: An improved Reference
3a MM de Capo, and the Living Voice Avatar
OBX-R. Centre speakers from Castle, JMLab,
ProAc, Thiel, Totem and Vandersteen. One of
them joins our Kappa system. Two multichannel
amps from Copland and Vecteur. Plus: plans for
a DIY platform for placing a centre speaker atop
any TV set, Paul Bergman on the elements of
acoustics, and women in country music.
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: Paul Bergman on
soundproof ing, c ompar ing c omponents
in the store, big-screen TV’s to stay away
from, a look back at the Beatles revolution.
No.62: Amplifiers: Vecteur I-4, Musical Fidelity
Nu-Vista M3, Antique Sound Lab MG-S11DT.
Passive preamps: Creek and Antique Sound
Lab. Vecteur L-4 CD player. Interconnects: VdH
Integration, Wireworld Soltice. Plus: the right to
copy music, for now. Choosing a DVD player by
features. And all about music for the movies.
No.61: Digital: Audiomat Tempo and Cambridge
Isomagic DACs, Vecteur D-2 transport. Speakers:
Osborn Mini Tower and Mirage OM-9. Soundcare
Superspikes. And: new surround formats, dezoning DVD players.
No.60: Speakers: Monitor Audio Silver 9,
Reference 3a MM De Capo, Klipsch RB-5,
Coincident Triumph Signature. Plus: a Mirage
subwoofer and the Audiomat Solfège amp. Paul
Bergman on reproducing extreme lows.
No.59: CD players: Moon Eclipse, Linn Ikemi and
Genki, Rega Jupiter/Io, Cambridge D500. Plus:
Oskar Kithara speaker, with Heil tweeter. And:
transferring LP to CD, the truth on digital radio,
digital cinema vs MaxiVision 48.
No.58: SOLD OUT
No.57: Speakers: Dynaudio Contour 1.3,
Gershman X-1/SW-1, Coincident Super Triumph
Signature, Castle Inversion 15, Oskar Aulos.
PLUS: KR 18 tube amp. Music Revolution: the
next 5 years. Give your Hi-Fi a Fall Tune-Up.
No.56: Integrated amps: Simaudio I-5, Roksan
Caspian, Myryad MI120, Vecteur Club 10, NVA
AP10 Also: Cambridge T500 tuner, Totem Forest.
Phono stages: Creek, Lehmann, Audiomat.
Interconnects: Actinote, Van den Hul, Pierre
Gabriel. Plus: Paul Bergman on power and current…why you need both
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Moon 100D Converter
S
and such “in-between” rates as 88.2 and
176.4 kHz. The USB input has even
been improved. It is now asynchronous,
for reduced jitter. Even so, Simaudio
recommends selecting one of the other
inputs if you have the option, and we do
too.
In this review, we put the 100D
against the 300D. Our source was a distant Mac Pro computer, with the signal
funnelled through an Airport Extreme
over the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band to an Airport Express. We used our own optical
cable to connect the Airport Express to
our Moon 300D converter (which is part
of our Omega reference system), and
the 100D, which is the subject of this
review.
We began with Normal Dello Joio’s
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn (Klavier
K11138), which opens with a percussive
passage of immense energy. At least it
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Moon 100D
Price: C$600
Size (WDH): 12.8 x 16 x 7 cm
Inputs: USB, TOSLINK, coaxial
Most liked: Outstanding performance
Least liked: Limited bandwidth on
USB connection
Verdict: The last barrier to the computer as audio source tumbles
Room
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tandalone digital-to-analog
converters are making a comeback, and for good reason. The
CD transport is only one of
two or more digital music sources, and
even for many audiophiles a CD is now
something they put into a computer
disc drive. The standalone player is an
endangered species.
As a result of these technological
shifts, digital-to-analog converters have
been getting better and better. Our own
reference DAC, the Moon 300D, has a
price tag of $1699, but it can outperform
DACS costing $5000 or more designed
not all that long ago.
But how low can you go? How low
should you go?
We’ve heard lots of low-cost DACs,
and they’ve largely left us wanting
more, usually a lot more. So how well
can Simaudio do for $600, the price of
the new 100D? The spec sheet looks
promising, because Simaudio has used
the same chipsets as in the more expensive unit. The analog circuits have been
simplified — there are, for instance, no
balanced outputs. The power supply has
been simplified even more. It is now an
18 volt DC wall wart.
It’s impor t a nt to note what is
unchanged, however. The 100D still
has a full range of inputs: USB, optical
and coaxial. It can still handle very high
definition signals, up to 24 bits with
sampling rates of as much as 192 kHz,
was that way with our own DAC. With
the 100D…
In fact the impact was every bit
as impressive, with plent y of wellcontrolled bass energy. This exceptional
recording has busy brass and woodwind
sections too, and we were pleased with
what we heard. The differences? They
were there, to be sure. Steve found the
music a little more distant, with less
definition. The orchestra seemed a little
smaller. Still, the differences didn’t leap
out at us, and we agreed that the 100D
was off to a great start.
The 100D also did well on a potentially difficult recording of soprano
and piano. We played Pauline ViardotGarcia’s Hai Luli (Analekta AN 2 9903),
with Isabel Barakdarian singing the song
by the 19 th Century composer. Once
again there were differences, but we
had to listen for them. “I’m still waiting
for a difference worth mentioning,” said
Albert.
Was the 100D too good?
Oh, we did note differences, the sort
of thing you become aware of with prolonged listening. Though Barakdarian’s
voice was as beautiful as ever, some of the
lyrics were a little more difficult to grasp.
There was somewhat less body and lowend definition, and Serouj Kradjian’s
piano had a somewhat hollow sound, at
least by comparison. Pacing was very
good, with no problems showing up on
the faster passage part way through the
song. So far, the 100D was doing well.
We then selected another female
voice, in a vastly different style, that of
Barbra Streisand. We listened to her
version of Jacques Brel’s If You Go Away,
from the jazz disc of the two-CD set
titled Love is the Answer. Here the differences between the two converters were
more evident, but just as important was
what was not different.
Streisand’s voice, in this second
half of her seventh decade, is smoother
and more expressive than ever. She has
always known how to communicate the
emotion of a song, and her instincts
have not let her down. The song sounds
gorgeous on our Linn Unidisk 1.1 player
with the original CD, it is about as good
with our 300D converter, and the 100D
by no means shamed itself. Streisand
knows how to use pacing and pauses
to establish the message of
a song, and the playback
system must not muck it
up. The 100D didn’t.
The color of the music
was changed somewhat,
however, with the accompanying guitar sounding
more hollow and therefore
less natural. “Her voice has
less presence,” said Steve.
“With the 300D I could
see her lips pronounce the
words.”
We returned to a complex orchestral
recording, the Scherzo from Bruckner’s
Symphony No. 9 (Reference Recordings RR-81CD). This was, of course,
the original HDCD version, not the
high-definition version included on the
Tutti SACD. We should add that neither
Moon converter includes the HDCD
decoding chip.
This amazing recording is a handful, and not surprisingly the 100D did
less well than its senior brandmate.
It was impossible not to notice the
reduction in body and weight. This is
a large orchestra, but now it wasn’t as
large anymore. The percussive impact,
however, remained very good, as it had in
the Dello Joio recording. There was still
plenty of detail in the quieter woodwind
passages, and the timbres of the individual instruments were well rendered.
It was evident that the 100D came
out second best in the comparison, but
we wondered how many supposedly high
end CD players could do that well.
We ended the session with a live
recording, Tears in Heaven from Eric
Clapton’s Unplug ged albu m. Like
Streisand, Clapton uses strategic pauses
for effect, and a surprising number of
CD players (not to mention speakers
and electronics) muck that up. Not this
one.
Oh, there was a difference, but it
seemed secondary: the bass
accompaniment behind
Clapton’s acoustic guitar
was less defined, and — as
we had noted in some of the
other recordings — it had
less weight. In the main,
however, we enjoyed what
had not changed. There was
a very good sense of the hall,
and above all the song was
touching. Albert left his page
blank.
You may already know
that Simaudio is pushing sales of the
100D by a unique exchange offer: trade
up to the 300D within a year and get
all of your money back (or 75% in the
second year).
We had added the 100D to our
Audiophile Store after a first listening
session had confirmed that it was at least
good enough that we could recommend
it. It took a lot more run-in time and this
extended session to reveal the truth: the
100D is almost too good.
We’re keeping our 300D, though.
The differences between the two DACs
are real enough, even if this remarkable product gets all the fundamentals
right.
Room
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CROSSTALK
Simaudio has brought a DAC to market
that is a strong, clear, decisive performer, and
it deserves to live in an audiophile’s dreams.
It makes very high quality sound, and sells
for an extremely low price.
Besides some subtle lightness in bass
and body, there was hardly any difference
between the 100D and its much more expensive brother, the 300D. They sounded as
though they were almost identical twins, so
similar was their style of presentation. And
to really sweeten the musical pot, Simaudio
offers a very generous upgrade deal. This
DAC is a bona fide bargain. Go for it.
Seriously.
—Steve Bourke
The reason I was so surprised by the
sound of this new DAC is that I thought the
300D was already something of a bargain.
Not very long ago you would have spent
many thousands of dollars to get the 300D’s
performance…and probably have come up
short anyway. Such is the pace of technological progress.
So, what to think of the 100D, which, at
a fraction of the price, sounds so much like
it?
Not that the two converters sound alike
by any means, but the key to making a
good economy audio product is balance. An
economy system needs enough of the good,
and no excessive amount of the bad. The
100D has that balance. You can hear what’s
right, but you’ll have trouble pinning down
what’s not so good.
What more could you ask?
—Gerard Rejskind
Amazing how often new components are
far better than expected after their top-ofthe-line siblings have established themselves.
I don’t know why you should look for a more
expensive DAC if you are planning a substantial upgrade in your system. Sure, it doesn’t
have a hefty power supply but don’t be fooled
by its light weight; this unit surprised me
with its authority and power. Audiences in
the 50’s and 60’s were similarly stunned when
tiny, black-clad Edith Piaf stood alone on a
huge stage and started singing.
You might need to raise the volume a bit
to appreciate that power – while the reference conveys it effortlessly at any level – but
you’ll discover music you didn’t really know
you had, sounding in ways you didn’t know
it could.
And later, after a year or two of that
nice warm up, when you’ll be regarded by
all as the super fussy audiophile type, you’ll
be ready to trade it in for the best. But you
might not want to.
—Albert Simon
Two Phono Preamps
I
The Moon 100LP is not in that
cheap-and-cheerful category, of course.
We have praised its predecessor, and
we were confident that the new version
would be equal to the task. No, the one
we had doubts about was the Nerve
preamp. A hi-fi phono preamp for just
a hundred bucks? Claiming that takes a
lot of…well, nerve.
But read on.
The Simaudio Moon 110LP
The 110LP is a new product, but
at the same time it’s not. At one time
Simaudio’s phono stages were not in the
same league as its justly famous power
amplifiers. Time marches on, however,
and with the earlier LP3, Simaudio’s
engineers showed what they could do.
A lot, it turned out.
The circuit of the LP3 was very similar to that of Simaudio’s more expensive
phono preamp, the LP5.3. That one
(reviewed in UHF No. 83) was so good
that, had we not already bought an Audiomat Phono-1.6, we would have bought
one The LP5.3 has since been replaced
by the restyled and slightly-enhanced
310LP). Of course, to hold the cost
down some sacrifices had to be made.
The LP3 had only unbalanced outputs,
and its power supply was now a 12 volt
wall wart. Still, unlike most economy
phono preamps, not only could it handle
a low-impedance moving coil cartridge,
but it could do it without sacrificing
anything.
The most obvious difference between
the LP3 and the new 110LP is cosmetic.
The new unit looks more like the highend product it is, and its styling matches
Room
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Feedback
t should be easy to build a phono
preamplifier. It deals with very
small currents, in contrast to a
power amplifier, say, which has
to juggle many watts, and plenty of
amperes as well. Such devices used to
be included aboard every amplifier and
every receiver. More recently, there are
even inexpensive computer software
programs that can do the job. What’s
so tough? And why would a phono preamplifier cost more than a family meal
at McDo?
In fact a phono preamplifier has a
tough job to do. Start with the fact that it
is handling a very small signal. A moving
magnet cartridge has a nominal output
of 0.002 volts, but that’s at maximum
level. Go 60 dB down, and we’re talking
about 0.000002 volts. A typical moving
coil cartridge has one more decimal place
in there!
Then there’s the fact that, unlike a
normal preamplifier, whose circuits are
expected to have flat frequency response,
a phono preamp needs to boost the high
frequencies an extra 30 dB or so, thereby
boosting the noise and harmonic distortion too.
As if that weren’t enough, a phono
cartridge, unlike most other audio
sources, works best if the phono preamplifier “looks” to it as much as possible
like a pure resistance. Good luck with
that!
Those are a few of the reasons inexpensive phono preamps sound horrible,
with inaccurate frequency balance,
screechy highs and smeared transients.
We’ve tried some of them before, and we
were always less than impressed.
Simaudio’s newer products. There’s
another difference, though. The wall
wart has been bumped up from 12 volts
to 18 volts, with a claimed improvement
in dynamics and possibly noise performance. As with the earlier unit, you need
to get out a screwdriver in order to adjust
the gain (MM/MC), the load resistance
and the capacitance.
Like all electronic products (and
most manufactured products, from car
engines to shoes) a phono preamp needs
to be broken in before it performs the
way it was designed. We used a special
break-in CD from Granite Audio. Its
low-level equalized signal “looks” to a
phono preamp like that from a phono
cartridge. We ran it for well over 100
hours, less than the 300 hours Simaudio
recommends, but what the hell!
Our question was a fairly simple
one. The LP3 had impressed us; would
the 110LP disappoint us? We listened
to our music selections with our reference phono preamplifier, connected to
the reference turntable in our Omega
system. Then we substituted the 100LP
and listened again.
We began with a recording that
is a legendary challenge to the entire
playback chain, from cartridge to arm to
electronics to speakers: the Chorus Line
Medley from the Dallas Wind Band’s
Beachcomber album (Reference Recordings RR-62). Its full-tilt introduction is
awesome enough in HDCD, but on LP
it pushes you back in your chair. There
is also some remarkable bass drum work,
captured as only Keith O. Johnson
knows how.
Sure, it sounded better with our
reference phono preamp, but the 110LP
did nothing to spoil our day. The impact
remained huge, and there was plenty of
detail in the complex orchestration. That
bass drum was just terrific as well.
The differences? The space remained
three-dimensional, but it wasn’t quite
as large. The snare drum was just a
little too crisp, the highs just a bit more
prominent and therefore rougher, as was
the brass. Albert liked the dazzle of the
brass but found the body lacking, with
less natural warmth. “The tambourine
was ‘whiter,’” and more emphasized,”
said Toby, who concluded nonetheless
that the Moon was a terrific preamp.
Room
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We then turned to a recording we
have owned for many years, which
includes one of the most natural violin
sounds known to us. The piece, for
Baroque violin and harpsichord, is Uccelini’s Sonata e correnti (Open Window
OW 002).
Like the wind band recording, this
one continued to sound very good,
with an excellent reproduction of the
hall sound. “But I found myself picking
out sounds rather than listening to the
performance,” said Toby. “There’s less
transparency, and less tension.” Once
again the solo violin had reduced body,
even though the Moon sounded by no
means thin. That allowed the harpsichord to predominate, while the bass,
on the contrary, was more discreet and
seemed less integrated with the overall
sound. “The violin is by no means shrill,”
said Gerard, “but its tone is a little less
warm and more ‘acid.’”
Were we nitpicking? That’s our job,
of course, but we still gave the Moon
high marks.
We needed to include a female voice,
whose higher overtones can reveal both
the qualities and the shortcomings of a
music system. We picked No Frontiers
from the long-discontinued LP by Irish
singer Mary Black. The 100D did even
better on this remarkable LP than it had
with the two others.
Of course we were listening for added
sibilance, a common artefact of systems
that are less than optimum. Black’s esses
were in fact a little disembodied, but
that was an easily forgotten flaw in an
otherwise impressive performance. Her
voice remained pure and powerful. “She
seemed to be forcing her vocal chords a
little more,” said Toby, “but it didn’t hurt
at all.” The guitar and the accompanying
bongos remained very good.
Still, we’ve characterized the sound of
our very favorite phono stages as magical, and the 110LP couldn’t quite deliver
all of that magic. “Normally I detest
vocal recordings that use doubling over
the chorus,” said Gerard. “Mary Black
makes it sound right, perhaps because
the multiple voices seem so coherent.
They’re just a little less coherent with
this phono preamp, though, and perhaps
that accounts for a little of the missing
magic.”
By now, we knew we wouldn’t have
to agonize over our conclusions. The
older LP3 was a terrific bargain, and
so is its successor. To sweeten the deal
even more, Simaudio dealers will give
you a 100% trade against the superlative
310LP in the first year, or 75% in the
second year. Talk about hedging your
bets!
The Nerve Audio PH1
This diminutive phono preamp is
reduced to its simplest possible form,
just as those ultra-cheap (and ultraawful) phono preamps are. It’s a metal
box with four jacks and a place to plug
in the 12-volt wall wart power supply.
There are no settings, since the PH1 is
designed for moving magnet cartridges
only, or for “high output” moving coil
cartridges.
There isn’t even a ground lug to
accept the separate ground wire from
a turntable. Some turntables don’t have
or need one, of course, but if yours
does you’ll need a clip to connect it to
something, such as a chassis. We used a
wire with a clip at either end between
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Moon 110LP
Price: $600
Size (WDH): 12.8 x 16 x 7 cm
Adjustments: MM/MC, input resistance, parallel capacitance
Most liked: Budget price with minimum compromise
Least liked: Adjustments require
opening the box
Verdict: Still the audiophile bargain
its predecessor was
our Linn turntables ground wire and
one of the connectors.
The Nerve might be problematic
with some interconnect cables, because
the jacks are somewhat recessed behind
the metal box, just as they once were
on Bryston gear. That’s a problem with
wide plugs such as the ones on our
Atlas Mavros cables. Not only do the
connectors need to fit, but the edge of
the connector must not touch the chassis. We would wind up substituting an
Atlas Navigator cable. We don’t like to
inject uncontrolled variables into our
tests, but we had little choice. Besides,
anyone buying a $100 phono preamp is
unlikely to mate it with a cable costing
over $400.
Naturally, we gave the Nerve lots of
break-in time, just as we had with the
Moon. We then added it to our Omega
system, not without some trepidation.
We’ve heard lots of cheap phono circuits,
and we were bracing for the worst.
If we tell you it wasn’t all that bad,
are we praising it with faint damns? The
Beachcomber LP is a challenge for the
whole system. It is far tougher to reproduce than a mere handful of recordings,
though the rewards are worth it. Just that
full orchestral tutti opening will put a
strain on whatever you’re listening on.
Well, the tiny Nerve box delivered
plenty of impact, no doubt about that,
perhaps just a little too much. We had
run the volume at the same setting as
with our reference. (Our Moon P-8
preamplifier, with its big red front panel,
makes this easy), but perhaps the Nerve
had more gain than the 110LP had. We
pulled it down 2 dB and listened again.
We were still not happy, because
lowering the volume by even that little
sucked some of the life out of this
remarkable recording. We realized that
the Nerve wasn’t louder than our reference, but a little rougher, and the upward
shift of the energy made everything
sound just a little too loud. The result
was that the brass was not only brash
but too bright, the instrumental timbres
not quite natural. Percussive details
were remarkable but less distinct, like
a picture whose paint has run. “I’m not
sure I would listen to this recording with
less than the Moon 110LP,” said Toby.
But wait a minute, remember that we
said we were bracing for the worst? Well,
we didn’t get it. We had begun with a
recording hugely difficult to reproduce,
and this inexpensive preamp had not
disgraced itself. “It’s not just better than
I had feared,” said Gerard, “it’s infinitely
better than I had feared.”
The second recording was also challenging, though in a different way. The
violin, magical through the best gear,
might turn shrill and cutting with this
preamp, and we were pleased to note that
it didn’t. Sure, there was a considerable
loss of information, so that the timbres
of the violin and the more discreet cello
sometimes got confused. The sound was
less rich, but we liked the coherence of
the sound, and even the very good reproduction of the space. Not bad. Better than
not bad.
If the Nerve did that well with a
violin, could it be expected to do as well
with a female voice?
If Mary Black’s voice didn’t have
all the richness it had with the 110LP
(to say nothing of our reference!), it
remained gorgeous, and that is nothing
if not an achievement! The sibilance had
increased, but it didn’t dominate. There
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Nerve Audio PH1
Price: $100
Size (WDH): 11 x 6 x 3.6 cm
Adjustments: None
Most liked: unexpected listenability
at a great price
Least liked: Awkward recessed jacks
Verdict: Should make competitors
blush, if they still know how
was extra brightness, but nothing like
what we had feared. There was a certain
roundness, and the all-important lyrics
lost none of their clarity.
We were so pleased that we listened
again, not with the reference but with
the Moon preamp. Was it better? Of
course it was, with added magic, and what
Gerard characterized as je ne sais quoi.
“The sound is better balanced,” judged
Toby, “but it’s not six times better.”
Of course you can’t judge a product
just by its price, and if you’ve got a really
good turntable, then one of the two
Moon preamps is a much better choice.
But perhaps you’ve got some other
preoccupation. You’re just thinking of
getting back into vinyl, after years of
digital. Or you were born in the digital
age, but you want to check out what this
renewed vinyl craze is all about. You’ve
picked out a first turntable that will let
you explore, and then you realize that
your amplifier doesn’t have a phono
input.
Has Nerve Audio got a deal for
you!
CROSSTALK
Let’s be clear at the outset, they are
not in the same league. They obviously
do the same work but one of them does it
okay, and the Moon does it with talent. We
handed them difficult music to reproduce,
it seemed, and neither of them could handle
it with as much talent as it required to be
entirely convincing.
If you have no means by which to get
music out of the grooves of those LPs that
were handed on to you, and not much immediately available budget, you’ll appreciate the Nerve. And you’ll find it surprisingly satisfying, especially when considering
what you paid for it. But don’t stop there,
and think that you now know what the fuss
is all about, in this analog business.
If you think you do, try the Moon for
a bit and you’ll really start to get it. The
grooves will reveal a good part of their secrets, and chances are you’ll be hooked.
Welcome to the club.
—Albert Simon
We reviewed by listening to the reference first, and then we moved down in
price. Going in that direction, there was a
tendency to notice what was missing each
time.
The Moon 110LP really didn’t lose very
much. Dynamics and soundstage didn’t
seem different at all. The edge on the brass
instruments in the Chorus Line medley was a
tiny bit more pronounced, their tones were
a little less rich. Mary Black’s voice had a
little less tonal color, so she sounded a tiny
bit more forced compared with the reference. Still, these things were hardly noticeable. What a good phono preamp this is!
As expected given its itty bitty price, the
Nerve lost more, starting with the extreme
low end. Instruments were less well differentiated, there was less of the guitar body
sound on the Black piece, and energy was
shifted up the spectrum generally.
That kind of observation doesn’t tell
the full story, though, or even the best
part. The glass was actually more full than
empty. The fact that my notes are all about
details, not the musical message, is significant.
Yes, save for the best phono stage you
can afford, but even with the least expensive one we heard, you’ll want to listen to
music.
—Toby Earp
Room
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The Nerve preamp is the one that caught
me by surprise. That’s because I knew that
the Moon 110LP was but a slightly refined
version of the older LP3, which was a terrific bargain we’ve recommended warmly.
Unless the Simaudio engineers had screwed
up, its successor had to be at least as good.
And they didn’t screw up, so no surprise.
Which brings us to the Nerve.
Contrary to what you might think, it’s
not the cheapest phono preamplifier available. You can actually land a serviceable
phono preamp for about $30, though frankly that would be $30 wasted. With a $100
preamp you can waste over three times as
much, right?
No, in fact, and there’s the surprise.
The Nerve doesn’t suffer from the very thin
lows or screechy highs that are hallmarks
of the typical low-cost phono stage (and all
phono stages that are much over 30 years
old). It delivers a reasonable representation
of what’s on the LP. At this price? Wow!
—Gerard Rejskind
Two Economy
Interconnect Cables
Room
Listening
Feedback
D
o audio cables make a difference? Many “experts” are
skeptical. You’ve heard this a
lot — no blind test of cables
has ever demonstrated that listeners can
tell the difference between one cable and
another. Or between two amplifiers. Or
between two CD players.
And if you believe that, can we interest you in buying the Champlain bridge
across the St. Lawrence river? It’s a mere
50 years old, and it’s going to be replaced,
so we can offer you a bargain…
But if you read us regularly you’ve
already figured it out. Blind tests have
been done on all of these products,
and listeners can hear the difference.
We’ve done blind tests ourselves, and
we are about to do another. We will
be comparing three cables. The first is
our expensive reference interconnect
cable, which has been with us a long
time, and remains excellent. The other
two are from Atlas, a Scottish company
making several very good cables. One
of us, Gerard, knows what they are, but
will not participate in the discussion.
The two others, Albert and Toby, have
no idea what cables these are, nor what
they cost. The cables are not visible to
them.
We use several Atlas cables in the
reference systems for our equipment
reviews, including Mavros, Navigator
All-Cu, and the Opus digital cable.
These same cables are available through
our Audiophile Store, as are some others.
The two cables we are reviewing were
under consideration for the store, in
fact, but they wouldn’t be picked up if
this blind test didn’t yield the results we
were hoping for.
The comparison was done in our
Alpha system, with the test cables placed
between our Linn Unidisk 1.1 player
and our Copland CTA-305 preamplifier.
We used just two recordings for this
comparison. If there was a meaningful
difference, these two well-chosen music
pieces would let us know.
Atlas Equator Superior
This relatively inexpensive interconnect ($90 for a 1 m pair) is popular, and
for good reason. Despite its affordable
price it’s made from good materials,
and — just as important — its connectors provide a tight fit to pretty nearly
any jack. Internally there are good news
too. Atlas uses crimping, not solder, with
a technique that does not distort the
cable geometry. It’s difficult to be sure
how each of these features influences
the actual sound, but at the very least it’s
good operating practice. In any case, the
sound would be the deciding factor, not
some hypothetical technical advantage.
What we were reviewing, however,
was a different version: same wire, but
with upgraded connectors. Could that
matter? We’ve come to think of connectors as the cable equivalent of the tires
on a car. A sedan with better rubber?
Sure. List price of the Equator Superior
is $130 a pair.
We began with a choral recording
we always enjoy hearing, but which is
also most revealing. It’s the Proprius
SACD Now the Green Blade Riseth
(PRSACD9093).
Toby liked what he heard, praising
the sense of depth and the detail in the
bass notes. He did wonder whether the
tonal color might be less rich, the reverberation shorter, and the triangle more
discreet. Albert had more reservations,
praising the clarity, but finding the sound
more distant. “You just don’t get into the
music. You’re no longer right there on
the stage with the singers, and they all
seem to be in a hurry to finish.”
As agreed, Gerard did not participate, though he would write in his own
notes that the louder passages were
less smooth, and that the final tutti in
particular seemed just too loud.
We then moved on to one of Margie
Gibson’s wonderful torch songs, You
Keep Coming Back Like a Song, from Say
It With Music (Sheffield CD-36).
Albert liked the very good feeling of
depth, but found that Lincoln Mayorga’s
piano was changed, and not for the
better. So was the cello, and so also was
Margie’s voice, though it remained warm
and realistic. Toby disagreed, finding her
voice less warm. “I noticed an acceleration of the rhythm,” he said. “The lower
registers were changed, too, and they
were less full. There’s still a nice balance
between joy and regret, but on louder
passages, such as when she sings from
out of the past, there’s some overloading.
Gerard’s notes were slightly different,
with praise for the cello and the bass, but
deploring some loss in the song’s fine
nuances.
The initial conclusion was that this
was not a bad cable, whatever it was. Note
that Albert and Toby were not told the
first cable’s identity until they had heard
the second cable. They had no idea what
either of them cost.
The Atlas Element
This new cable in the Atlas lineup is
intended to be an entry-level product,
as its name suggests, lower in price than
even the basic Equator. It costs $80 for a
pair.
That’s not the lowest price you can
pay for interconnects, but cheap cables
are grungy and awful, with few exceptions. What caught our eye on the Element was the connector, which was not
made of the bent metal of dubious origin
that is common in this range. Could we
recommend it?
We played the choral piece. Albert
and Toby, not knowing this was an $80
wire, suspected it might turn out to
be super expensive. “It’s very close to
the reference,” said Albert. “The space
is well rendered. The voices are well
defined, and we’re right in there with the
singers.” Toby liked it as well, praising
the warmth, as well as the harmonic
balance. “There’s more lower bass, and
upper bass too.”
Yet he wasn’t certain. The tone of
the tenors seemed a little harder, the
clarity somewhat diminished. Still, this
was the better of the two cables. Gerard,
who stayed out of the conversation, also
liked the sound, though some passages
still seemed too loud.
That was noticeable with Margie’s
song too: loud passages seemed louder
because they lacked the natural ease we
are used to hearing. “But with this cable
we’ve come home,” said Albert. “The
piano is rich and natural, and the cello
got its woody richness back. Margie has
her very special timbre back as well, and
all her intimate inflections are there.”
Toby agreed. “I was on the edge of
my seat,” he said. “Yes, there are differences compared to the reference. The
sound is a little less smooth, and there’s
a little “whispery” sound to Margie’s
voice that is more noticeable than with
the reference. But at the end of the song
she really ups the longing, and it comes
across.”
Gerard, who showed his notes only at
the end, had only praise for the cable.
Toby and Albert, as noted, knew
nothing of this cable’s identity, but they
recalled from an earlier conversation
that Atlas was bringing out an extremely
expensive interconnect, which Gerard
had said we wouldn’t be testing. What if
he had lied? Was this, after all, the super
luxurious cable?
Then all was revealed. Can we say
that the identity and price of the two
cables came as a surprise? How could
such a low-cost cable be taken, even
briefly, for a super high end product?
We didn’t take either cable apart, but
the Element looks as though it could be
a slightly thinner version of the Equator. Why, then, should it sound better?
Yet that sometimes happens. When we
reviewed the Atlas Hyper 2 speaker cable
in UHF No. 78, we also reviewed the
Hyper 3, a slightly thicker version. We
didn’t like it. Why not? Who knows?
We had included the Element in
this review because we were thinking
of including it in our Audiophile Store.
It was a shoo-in, an amazing value.
However we also made the decision to
drop the Equator from our catalog.
The Equator may sound prett y
good…but we’ve found better.
CROSSTALK
I was a little nervous as I went into my
first blind test for UHF, but no worries after
all, I could indeed hear differences between
these cables.
What was a surprise was my clear preference for the cheaper one. Yes, it did put in
a few things that weren’t there with the reference — a tiny little extra whisper on some
of Margie’s syllables, for instance. But the
whole performance kept me on the edge of
my seat, just as it should.
I don’t want to say the Equator Superior
wasn’t a superior cable. It delivered a pleasing tonal balance and I would have listened
to it again. But the Element cable came
much closer to the reference than anything
should at its price.
—Toby Earp
By any normal standard the Atlas
Equator, in either its standard or its premium version, is a pretty good cable. I’ve
told my friends about it for years, and they
were glad I had. But listen to it next to its
slimmer brandmate, and the result is…disturbing!
Now I’m the first to condemn the sort
of blind A-B or A-B-X test done by people
who haven’t got the memo that Galileo was
right and the sun doesn’t revolve about the
Earth. Those tests supposedly showed once
and for all that people can’t distinguish between one cable and another, and no blind
test has ever shown otherwise. Those are
lies, but they get repeated anyway. This test
wasn’t like that.
It wasn’t an A-B test, but a comparison
done with real music. And it was done with
a system that actually sounds good, not one
put together by people who think that amplifiers and CD players also all sound alike.
But it was a blind test, and the result was
clear. The Atlas Element may not be reference quality or anything near it, but it is
punching way, way above its weight. And
price.
I don’t know about you, but it’s the one
I’ll be recommending from now on.
—Gerard Rejskind
Room
Listening
Feedback
It is always a fascinating experience to
go through a cable blind test. Your mind is
free from any interference associated with a
brand or a price tag.
I was disappointed when I heard music
that I knew well being transformed. Mind
you it was all there, but recessed, somehow,
and lacking in warmth. I realized later on
that the actual experience of the music was
different. But when we started the tests
on the second cable (which turned out to
be the Atlas Element), I knew it to be just
right. The music was right and I felt right.
Can you just trust how it feels? I think
so. After all that is what is going to decide if
you’re looking forward to listening to music on your system tonight or if you’d rather
have it quiet.
—Albert Simon
Music? Make Your Own!
Room
Listening
Feedback
C
an you record and even create
music with a computer? Of
course you can. Indeed, a
majority of popular recordings today are created just in that way.
Technology gallops on, however, and
doing such work on your iPad, or
even your iPhone or iPod touch, is
no longer unthinkable.
The microphone shown here is one
we had seen at CES in Vegas in January,
and a brief trial had been convincing.
This hand-held condenser electret vocalist microphone might make the newest
electronic devices into more than just
tools for media consumption.
The iPhone, of course, does have a
built-in microphone, as any phone must,
as do the iPad and the iPod touch 4, but,
although they sound better than you
might expect, they are not usable for
music. The $6o iRig Mic is of far better
quality, and its form lends it to use by
singers or other musicians. It comes
with a clip to mount it on a standard
microphone stand.
Notice the plug, intended to be
plugged directly into the headphone jack
of one of Apple’s electronic devices. It
includes a passthrough jack so that you
can also plug in standard headphones,
and monitor yourself.
The right software
The accompanying software, called
iRig Recorder and available on the
Apple app store, is a free application
that lets you do four-track mixes. Note
that quaint cassette metaphor, meant to
recall devices like the Portasounds of old.
The program is free, though you must
register to unlock some features, and yet
other features must be purchased from
within the application.
Though the software includes a
volume control (separate from the mixer
you see in the image, which is for playback), the microphone itself has a twoway sensitivity control. The label is odd:
the lower position gives less sensitivity,
not more; it’s for use with louder sounds,
such as full-tilt rock bands.
The microphone itself is heavy, as
showing the iRig Clip, the device shown
on the next page, meant to hold the iPad
(a smaller one can hold an iPhone). You
can set the iPad’s screen to show some
of iK Multimedia’s software (that’s the
iTube shown on its screen), or the score
of the music you are playing or singing.
We were disappointed, therefore, to
discover that for the moment the app
is not available as a native iPad “HD”
version.
Though you can get a good start
with iK Multimedia’s own products, you’ll probably be pleased to
discover that the iRig microphone
works with other software too. Even
Apple’s plain vanilla “Dictation”
app, which comes with the current
devices, can be used with the iRig.
And that will do you fine for interviews and podcasts, for instance.
However, if making music is what
you’re after, you’ll want to spend
another…five dollars!
you expect a good microphone to be, and its pop
filter is excellent. Of course
when we compared it to our
own Earthworks condenser
microphones, which cost a few
thousand dollars, the difference
was evident. Still, this is no mere
karaoke microphone.
At CES 2011, iK Multimedia was also
Devices and software
to go beyond just
reproducing other
people’s music. Add
your iPad, iPhone or
even iPod. Really!
Getting the band together
Apple has long offered Garage
Band with its iLife suite of programs, free with new Macs. Though
certain musicians have found it to
be just what they needed, the $4.99
iPad version (it came out with the iPad
2, but it works with the original one too)
lets you do things you could only dream
of before.
Of course it records your voice. In
the image at top right on the next page,
you see its excellent VU meter, which
is superior to the iRig electronic meter.
Volume needs to be preset elsewhere,
though, so you can’t “ride the levels”
as you go. There are presets for effects,
such as telephone, bullhorn, chipmunks,
etc., which can be applied on playback
rather than during recording. However
it’s when you add in musical instruments
that the real magic begins. Garage Band
is a multitrack application, and voice
is probably the final track you will lay
down.
Check the drum kit shown on the
next page. On a computer, using a mouse,
you feel as though you are playing with a
single finger. With a multitouch device
like the iPad, you have ten fingers, and
you can play several of the percussion
instruments at once. The cymbals are
especially interesting, because they make
a different sound depending
on where you strike them.
The same is true of the
hi-hat. The one disappointment is the snare
drum, which you can
hit but not brush.
There are two
other drum kits
available, plus
three drum
machines.
piece. Unlike
Beyond t hat ,
the better syntheGarage Band includes “smart
tizers, they have
drums,” which actually play themselves.
no “coda” button,
You can drag images of a kick drum, a
nor can you transnare, hi-hats, cymbals, a shaker and
sition seamlessly
hand claps onto a stage, where their
from a smart
positioning determines their volume and instrument to manual,
the complexity of their playing. There is since they are different
even a die icon, to let Garage Band pick instruments. For that
a percussion combination at random.
reason, you’ll need to
There are other “smart” instru- do a fade at the end of
ments as well. Garage band includes a your composition.
Westrum
remember
when a number
competitors
guitar, which you can
the way
Oh yes,ofyour
com- would
put on
only position.
the coverGarage
image and
the table of
you would a real guitar,
butline
theonly
smart
Band
contents.
version (the third image at right) lets you includes
an eight-track
would
them
you don’t
go fishing
hit predeterminedWe
chords,
to tell
obtain
thethatrecorder,
so that
you canwithout bait.
Sure,
weThe
live from
you spend
through our site and
accompaniment you
want.
roundwhat
record
one instrument
the pages
of our printatissue.
But You’ll
you could
button lets you choose
the complexity
a time.
thenspend days
readingend
material
fora screenful
free.
of the accompaniment. There’s a smart
up with
think
the only
wetracks,
can convince
bass as well, and it We
works
the that’s
same way.
ofway
your
as in you of the
At bottom is the grand piano, which UHF
thedifference,
image on the next
of why
youanmight
wantpage,
to trust
future of your
can become anything
from
electric
andusdowith
yourthe
final
musicofor home
theatre system.
piano to a soul organ with a couple
mixdown.
Weten
have
readers
on everyAud
continent
except
taps. Because you have
fingers,
unlike
ioph i les
w i l lAntarctica.
Most play
of them
discovered
us onthat
line.
on a computer, you can actually
find,
with regret,
They
read a the
lot of
our free
chords on its keyboard, at least
if your
native
file material.
type of
And then
they joined
hands are not too large. It even senses
Garage
Band isus.AAC,
velocity, so that hitting a note harder the same lossy compresmakes it louder. Well…up to a point. And sion type that is used for
there is a smart version of the keyboard music purchased at the
as well, a handy resource if you resisted iTunes store. The iRig
piano lessons all those years ago.
Recorder lays dow n
For fun, you can also use the sam- your tracks in MP3,
pler, which lets you use a sound, such unless you buy a packas a giggle a dog’s bark, or (let’s get age of upgrades (the
juvenile here) a belch, and play it on a whole package can be
keyboard.
had for $5, however).
One unfortunate failing of Garage
If you’re a real musiBand’s smart instruments is that there cian, with an actual
is no way to get a proper ending to a synth or other elec-
WHY A FREE ISSUE
Room
Listening
Feedback
Room
Listening
Feedback
tronic instruments, note the iRig Midi
device shown on the next page. It actually allows you to connect your instrument to an iPad, to lay down a track
in iRig Recorder, Garage Band, or the
software of your choice. As we write this
the iRig Midi is not yet available on the
company site (at ikmultimedia.com), but
it’s expected to cost $70.
for MIDI instruments,
and microphones needing phantom power. It
costs $200, though it’s
not currently listed on
the Alesis on-line store.
You’ll need to find a
dealer, probably a large
music store.
Going pro
And more
Even if you’re a serious musician, the
Can you use an iPad
options we’ve outlined so far are likely to digit ize your LPs
to be useful as a sort of musical sketch- for you r iPod? If
book, a way to prototype
Going live
your songs before laying
In this article we’ve talked exclusively
down the final tracks with
in terms of recordmax imum qualit y. You
ing. However the
may want a better microiPad is being used
phone…or two of them
extensively by live musicians, and
if you care about stereo.
the devices and softCan you use an iPad or
ware we’ve menother iOS device for serious
tioned make that possible
recording? Perhaps.
as well. Search for “North
The iPad has no USB
Point’s iBand” on Youport, but a $30 adapter plugs
Tube or Vimeo, and
into the device and gives it
you’ll find an astonishone. A number of standard
ing Christmas concert done
USB devices can work with
entirely on iPads and iPhones (an
it, and we wondered whether
iPhone is actually used by the vocalist).
a n aud io conver ter box ,
These musician are terrific, and if you
containing both an analog-to-digital
have musical talent of your own, you
converter and the matching digital-tomay be inspired to do your own
analog converter, could work with
experimentation.
an iPad.
Perhaps. We tried our
No limits
Edirol UA-25, which we
It’s clear that those who said
use with a MacBook Pro The pages that follow are a catalog for The Audiophile Store.
that the iPad was only for consumpThe store belongs to UHF, and it is stocked with accessoriestion
and
for digital recording. It didn’t
of media had underestimated its
recordings
work, because t he UA-25’s
only we recommend.
potential, and we can expect possibilities
we have a conflict of interest? Actually we don’t,to
bepower source, including theDo
voltage
multiply. The iPad 2 is already faster
cause
anything
we
don’t
like
doesn’t
make
it
to
the
store.
We’re
for microphone phantom power, is the
and
more powerful than the original,
not tempted
cheat,
because
thelike
credibility
we’ve
up it is widely believed that the next
USB circuit. The iPad’s USB
adapter toyou
have
a device
the Alesis,
thebuiltand
over
the and
years answer
is worthis ayes.
lotWhat
more you’ll
than awind
fewup
sales.
If a iPad,
com- probably coming next Spring, will
does not meet standard USB
specs,
with,
petitor
makes
something
better,
so
be
it,
and
we’ll
even
say so a powerful new processor and
it doesn’t supply the electricity required however, is one long track, which is almost include
in
a
review.
to run a power-hungry external device. certainly not what you want. You’ll need will be able to do what remains beyond
Andcases
the store
protects
us from potential conflicts.
A powered USB hub may in some
an actually
audio editing
application.
the capabilities of the existing devices.
In
the
past,
advertisers
have
attempted
shake us down,
do the trick, though then it ties the iPad
You can send the whole to
recording
Expect developers of both software
cancel
if we published
down to a power source. threatening to to
yourtheir
mainads
computer
and edit something
there, andnegahardware to take advantage of its
a while,
but free
thenAudacity.
everyone knows
The converter box musttive.
also It
behasn’t
able happened
using suchfor
software
as the
talents.it
won’tdrivers
work. The
puts
eight pages
of advertisto operate without drivers, which
OrAudiophile
you can getStore
editing
software
for the
For the moment the iPad doesn’t
ing
in
every
issue,
and
those
are
pages
no
one
can
cancel.
are commonly available for Macs and iPad itself. TwistedWave Audio Editor work without a computer: you need to
Windows computers, but not for the costs $9.99, and the more basic Pocket connect it to iTunes just to activate it.
iPad. However the Avid Mbox Mini does Wavepad HD is free. When you’re done, With iOS5, coming soon, the iPad will
work, and the Alesis IO Dock (bottom you can use Wi-Fi or e-mail to send the be a full-blown independent computer,
right) not only works but is explicitly music to your main computer, where you and perhaps a key part of your musical
sold for use with the iPad. It has jacks can add it to iTunes or burn a CD.
life.
About the Audiophile Store
THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
ATLAS HYPER SPEAKER CABLES
INTERCONNECTS
ATLAS NAVIGATOR
Oxygen-free continuous
cast (OCC) cable: each
strand is a single copper
crystal. Two internal
conductors, plus double
shielding. The double shielding is copper mylar plus close-lapped
99.997% pure OCC copper multi-stranded screen providing 100%
RFI protection. This premium “All-Cu” version (shown here) uses
solid copper connectors that are also continuous cast. The copper
is then silver-plated and double-shielded. We use two in our
reference systems. NOTE: limited quantity available.
ORDER: ANA-1 All-Cu, 1m, $405, ANA-2 All-Cu, 2m, $495
ORDER: ANAB-1 All-Cu balanced, single crystal XLR, 1m, $675
A big winner in one
of UHF’s blind tests
of speaker cables is
Hyper 2, an oxygen
free stranded wire
in Teflon dielectric.
Plus connectors (add
Eichmann Bayonet Bananas, $99.95/set, two sets needed for AH2,
three for biwire), or Furutech, as shown, $70/set). Hyper Biwire is
Hyper 2 with an added set of solid core wires for the highs.
ORDER: AH2, Hyper 2 cable, $29.95/metre
ORDER: AHB, Hyper Biwire cable, $49.95/metre
ATLAS ICHOR SPEAKER CABLE
ATLAS ELEMENT
55
EICHMANN BULLET PLUGS
The first phono plug to maintain the impedance of
the cable by using metal only as an extension
of the wire. Hollow tube centre
pin, tiny spring for ground. Two
contacts for soldering, two-screw
strain relief. Gold over copper. Got
silver cable? Get the unique Silver Bullets!
ORDER: EBP kit 4 Bullet Plugs, $77.95
ORDER: EBPA kit 4 Silver Bullets, $154.95
EICHMANN CABLE PODS
Minimum metal, gold over tellurium
copper. Unique clamp system: the back
button turns but the clamp doesn’t.
Solder to it, or plug an Eichmann
banana into it, even from inside!
ORDER: ECP, set of four posts, $119.95
CONNECTOR TREATMENT
We did a blind test, and
this supposed starter cable
wiped the floor with a much
more expensive one. Which
we dropped.
ORDER: AEL-1, 1 m pair
Atlas Element, $76.95
Continuous-cast single-crystal cable, ready for biwiring. It costs
just $235 per meter of double cable (a 2 m pair has 4 meters of
wire). We suggest adding the Eichmann Bayonet bananas, $99.95
per set of 4, or Furutech connectors, $70 a set of 4..
SINGLE CRYSTAL JUMPERS
ATLAS QUADSTAR
Terrific in our blind test.
With Eichmann Bullet plugs,
or balanced with Neutrik
XLR's. Silver solder included with kit.
ORDER: AQS-1 pair Quadstar kit, 1m $124.95
ORDER: AQS-1A pair Quadstar assembled, 1m $199.95
ORDER: AQS-X pair Quadstar balanced kit, 1m $95.95
ORDER: AQS-XA pair Quadstar balanced, assembled, 1m $169.95
Not biwiring? Dump the free jumpers
that came with your speakers. Atlas
jumpers are made from single-crystal
copper, gold-plated spades.
ORDER: ACJ, four single crystal
jumpers, $99.95
DIGITAL CABLES
DeOxit (formerly ProGold)
cleans connections and
promotes conductivity. Small
wipes for cleaning accessible
contacts, or a squirt bottle for connections you can’t reach.
ORDER: PGW box 25 DeOxit wipes, $35
ORDER: PGS, can DeOxit fluid, $35
ORDER: PGB, both when ordered at the same time, $56
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
ATLAS COMPASS DIGITAL
MAVROS INTERCONNECTS
Truly terrific, a pair of these connects our phono preamp to the
preamp of our Omega system
Excellent performance at an affordable price. Single crystal pure
copper. The 1.5m version sounds way better than a 1m.
ORDER: ACD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $160
ATLAS OPUS DIGITAL
ORDER: AMI-1, 1 m Mavros interconnect pair, $1195
ORDER: AMI-2, 2 m Mavros interconnect pair, $1895
We dumped our reference cable for this one! And to be at its very
best, it has to be this length. There is a limited amount of this
cable left.
ORDER: AOD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $399
SPEAKER CABLES
ATLAS MAVROS CABLES
TOSLINK OPTICAL DIGITAL
We’ve adopted them for our Alpha system, which sounds better
than ever before. This is a four-wire monocrystal cable with
porous Teflon dielectric. We are not recommending them with
standard bananas or spaces, but we offer them either with ETI
Bayonet Bananas, at no extra cost, or WBT nextgen..
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 TOSLINK cable, 1m length $22.95
ORDER: TMT mini-TOSLINK adapter, $3.95
CONNECTORS
ORDER: AMBCu-3, 3 m pair, Bayonet bananas, $2150
ORDER: AMBCu-5, 5 m pair, Bayonet bananas, $3850
ORDER: AMSCu-3, 3 m pair, WBT nextgen bananas, $2390
ORDER: AMSCu-5, 5 m pair, WBT nextgen bananas, $4090
SEE EVEN MORE PRODUCTS
IN OUR ON-LINE CATALOG
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
EICHMANN BAYONET BANANAS
The Eichmann Bayonet Banana uses
a minimum of metal, and tellurium
copper at that, but clicks tightly into
any binding post with spring action.
For soldering or crimping, or both.
ORDER: EBB kit 4 bayonet bananas,
$99.95
ORDER: WBT-0610 Kit 4 angled nextgen bananas, $130
ORDER: WBT-0610Ag Kit 4 nextgen silver bananas, $290
ORDER: WBT-0681 Kit 4 nextgen spades, $130
ORDER: WBT-0681Ag Kit 4 nextgen silver spades, $220
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, $170
ORDER: WBT-0110Ag, kit 4 nextgen silver plugs, $280
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, $70
ORDER: FTS-R, set of four spades, $70
TWO CABLES INTO ONE JACK
Need to feed two preamps into
two amps? This solid Y-adapter
(two jacks into one phono plug)
is gold over brass, with Teflon
dielectric.
ORDER: FYA, one pair Y adapters, $20
56
SILVER SOLDER
MOON PHONO PREAMPS
This is a lovely solder, from the
company that makes Enacom
line filters (which we also like).
Wakø-Tech solder contains 4%
silver, no lead.
ORDER: SR-4N, 100 g solder
roll, $59.95
Simaudio has done it: come up
with a world-class phono
preamp that does
magic. The 310LP
(formerly the LP5.3)
is one of the best
available. Adjustable
MM/MC.
ORDER: Moon 310LP, silver (black available on order), $1599.
ANALOG PRODUCTS
Special price on interconnect, one per 310LP order.
ORDER: ANA-1 Navigator All-Cu, 1m, $405, for $260
ORDER: ANA-2 Navigator All-Cu, 2m, $495 for $350
ORDER: ANAB-1 Navigator balanced, 1m, $675, for $475
ORDER: AMI-1, 1 meter Mavros, $1195, for $895
ORDER: AMI-2, 2 meter Mavros, $1895, for $1495
LONDON REFERENCE
Yes we can supply the awesome London
Reference phono cartridge that we have
adopted for ourselves. 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
GOLDRING ELITE
If you have limited funds and
want an MC cartridge with
line contact stylus, this is a great
choice. It's a detuned version of the
very expensive (but discontinued)
Excel we still own.
ORDER: GEC cartridge, $745
you
a
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, $14.95
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
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 AQS-1, Kit ,1 m Quadstar, $124.95, for $59.95
ORDER AQS-1A, Fully assembled Quadstar, $199.95, for $99.95
NOTE: The Moon preamps are shipped set for moving magnet
setting. We’ll reset it to your specification so you won’t have to.
LP RECORD CLEANER
Concentrated cleaner for LP vacuum cleaning machines.
Much safer than some formulas we’ve seen! Half litre, mix with
demineralized or distilled water to make 4 litres.
ORDER: LPC, $19.95
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
MoFi WET/DRY BRUSH
We’re often asked how we clean the
stylus on our cartridge. Two ways. The Zerodust gets used after
every play. And the Mobile Fidelity LP9 gets used every five plays.
ORDER: Enzow Zerodust, $66.95
ORDER: MoFi LP9 cleaner, $24
TITAN STYLUS LUBRICANT
Amazing, but true: dabbing
a bit of this stuff on your
stylus every 2 or 3 LPs makes
it glide through the groove
instead of scraping. Fine artist’s brush not included, but readily
available in many stores.
ORDER: TSO-1 Titan stylus oil, $39.95
ZEROSTAT ANTISTATIC PISTOL
A classic
adjunct to a
record brush
is the Zerostat
anti-static gun,
especially in dry weather. Squeeze
the trigger and release: it ionizes the
air, which becomes conductive and
drains off the static charge. By the
way, it works for a lot more than
LP’s. No batteries needed. Good for LPs, jamming printers, and
anywhere static is a problem.
ORDER: Z-1 Zerostat antistatic pistol, $94.95
LP SLEEVES
Keep your records clean and
scratch free. Replace dirty, torn
or missing inner sleeves with
quality Mobile Fidelity sleeves,
at an attractive price.
ORDER: MFS, package of 50
sleeves, $30
VINYL ESSENTIALS TEST LP
EXSTATIC RECORD BRUSH
STYLUS CLEANERS
MORE ANALOG…
The Super Exstatic (shown
above) is the best dry
brush we know, but if
your LP needs a wash and
you don’t have a vacuum
machine handy, this
is the one to have in
hand. Dampen it with a
good record-cleaning fluid
like our own LPC.
ORDER: MFB record brush, $36
ORDER: MFB plus LPC (4-litres), $46
ORDER: Replacment kit for MFB, $36
This precision-made German test record lets you check out
channel identification, correct phase, crosstalk, the tracking
ability of your cartridge (it’s a tougher test than the old Shure disc
was) and the resonance of your tone arm and cartridge. When we
need to test a turntable, this is the one we reach for.
ORDER: LP 003, Image Hifi Test LP, $48.95
CLEANER POWER
ENACOM LINE FILTER
Economy price, but astonishingly effective, we wouldn’t run our
system with less. It actually shorts out the hash on the power line.
ORDER: EAC Enacom line filter, $105
ATLAS POWER BAR
We were surprised by the massiveness
and the fit and finish on this
power bar. Would
those universal
(European/North
American) plugs
offer a tight fit? Do
they ever! The standard
IEC plug takes any power cord. With breaker and ground lug.
Bundle it with one of our own 14-gauge shielded cords, and save.
ORDER: APB power bar, $299
ORDER: APBU power bar plus UHF14 cord, $349
ORDER: APBF power bar plus UHF14F cord, $399
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
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
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
When we put a quality
AC plug on our kettle,
boiling time dropped by 90
seconds! One of the best AC
plug 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
MOON 300D DAC
It wowed us so much we got it for our reference system. It
has 24/192 resolution on coax and optical, 16/48 on USB. Its
performance astonished us, and we’re not easily astonished. The
full review is in UHF No. 89.
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 $150 on an Atlas Opus (our reference, by the way), or save
$60 on our very good Atlas Compass cable.
ORDER: 300D, $1598
ORDER: 300D + Opus digital cable, $1847
ORDER: 300D + Compass digital cable, $1698
Get another bargain: 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
NEED AN OPTICAL CABLE? See our favorites on the first
page of this catalog insert
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, $599
ORDER: 100D plus Element 1m cables, $639
ORDER: 100D plus Navigator All-Cu 1m cables, $899.00
SUPER ANTENNA MkIII
GUTWIRE G CLEF POWER CABLE
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
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
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
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
57
Multiple shielding, including external electrostatic shield connected
to a clip. Used by UHF. Length 1.7 m, longer cords on order. G Clef 2
has 195 conductors, 3 shields providing 98% shielding. Available
optionally with 20A IEC plug (for amplifiers requiring special plug)
ORDER: GGC G Clef, Square 1.7m, $385
ORDER: GGC-20 G Clef, Square, 20 amp 1.7m, $385
BETTER DIGITAL
IMPROVED CD WITH FINYL
The maker of Finyl claims it reduces surface
reflections and provides a higher contrast image for
the laser cell of your player. Use it just once. We get a
lot of repeat orders on it. One kit can treat over 200
discs. Or order the refill.
ORDER: F-1 Finyl kit, $40.00
ORDER: F-1R Finyl refill, $35.00
Did you know that 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 five of them
ourselves.
How is it done? Our antenna has no stupid rotary switch to muck
things up, and with a 1.8m low-loss multiple-shielded 75 ohm
cable and gold-plated F connector, it has low internal loss. It
covers analog and digital TV bands as well as FM.
ORDER: FM-S Super Antenna, MkIII, $59.95
58
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
THE SUPERSPIKE
It’s blue, and it’s a sort of modelling clay
that never dries. Anchor speakers to
stands, cones to speakers, and damp out
vibration. Leaflet with many suggested
uses.
ORDER: AT-2, Audio-Tak pack, $10
TENDERFEET
Machined cones are wonderful
things to put under speakers or
other audio equipment. They anchor
it mechanically and decouple it
acoustically at the same time.
Tenderfeet come in various versions:
tall (as shown) or flattened, in either
anodized silver or black. Tall Tenderfeet have threaded holes for
a machine screw, or for the optional hanger bolt, which lets you
screw it into wood. If you have a fragile hardwood floor, add the
optional Tendercup (shown above) to protect it.
ORDER: TFG, tall silver Tenderfoot, $15
ORDER: TFGN, tall black Tenderfoot, $16.50
ORDER: TFP, flat silver Tenderfoot, $10
ORDER: TCP, silver Tendercup, $10
ORDER: THB, hanger bolt for Tenderfeet, each $0.80
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?
Do you prefer spikes for your speakers? Target spikes and sockets
mount in wood. Drill the holes (but not all the way through!),
gently hammer in the brass sockets, and screw in the spikes..
ORDER: S4WS kit, 8 spikes and sockets, $30
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
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 two colors.
ORDER: SSPS, pair of black speaker supports, $29.95
ORDER: SSPS-W, pair of white speaker supports, $29.95
TARGET WALL STANDS
We keep our turntables on these, secure from floor vibrations,
wonderful for CD players, amplifiers, and all components.
ORDER: VW-1 Target single-shelf wall stand, $225
ORDER: SSKF, 4 Superspike replacement feet, $80
ORDER: SSKA, 3 stick-on Superspike feet, $50
SPEAKER STANDS
Your “bookshelf” speaker shouldn’t be on a bookshelf. We have the
four-pillar Target stands, in 24” or 28” height, ready to be filled
with sand.
ORDER: MR-24, one pair 24” Target stands, $325
ORDER: MR-28, one pair 24” Target stands, $349
ORDER: VW-2 Target dual-shelf wall stand, $280
AUDIOPHILE RECORDINGS, RECOMMENDED BY UHF STAFF
REFERENCE RECORDINGS
Tutti (HDCD, SACD)
A terrific symphonic sampler from Reference, with dazzling music
by Bruckner, Stravinsky, etc. Also available as RR’s very first SACD
release. Wow!
30th Anniversary Sampler (HDCD)
A collection of excerpts from recent Reference albums.
Yerba Buena Bounce (HDCD)
The (terrific) Hot Club of San Francisco is back, with great music,
well-played, wonderfully recorded by “Profesor” Johnson!
Crown Imperial (HDCD)
The second chapter of the famous Pomp&Pipes saga, with the Dallas
Wind Symphony, in a set of perfectly recorded pieces in glorious
HDCD.
Organ Odyssey (HDCD)
Mary Preston, the organist of Crown Imperial, in a dazzling program
of Widor, Mendelssohn, Vierne, and others.
Beachcomber (HDCD)
Fennell and the Dallas Wind Ensemble. Includes Tico Tico, A Chorus
line, and a version of 76 Trombones you’ll remember for a long time.
Serenade (HDCD)
A collection of choral pieces, wonderfully sung by the Turtle Creek
Chorale, with perhaps the best sound Keith has given them yet.
Trittico (HDCD)
Large helping of wind band leader Frederick Fennell doing powerhouse music by Grieg, Albeniz, Nelhybel, etc. Complex and energetic.
Nojima Plays Liszt (HDCD)
The famous 1986 recording of Minoru Nojima playing the B Minor
Sonata and other works is back…in HDCD this time!
Fennell Favorites (LP)
The Dallas Wind Symphony: Bach, Brahms, Prokofiev and more.
Fireworks on this rare Reference LP.
Nojima Plays Ravel (HDCD)
Nojima’s other hit disc, now also in glorious HDCD.
Jazz Hat (HDCD)
Pianist Michael Garson, in re-releases of some of his famous recordings
Garden of Dreams (HDCD)
David Maslanka’s evocative music for wind band.
Blazing Redheads (LP)
Not all redheads, this all-female salsa-flavored big band adds a lot of
red pepper to its music.
Felix Hell (HDCD)
The young organ prodigy turns in mature versions of organ music of
Liszt, Vierne, Rheinberger and Guilmant. Huge bottom end!
American Requiem (HDCD)
Richard Danielpour's awesome Requiem mass is all about war, and
about the hope for peace too, with a dedication tied to 9/11.
World Keys (HDCD)
Astonishing young pianist Joel Fan amazes with music from all the
world, including that of Prokofiev and Liszt
Ikon of Eros (HDCD)
Huge suite for orchestra and chorus, by John Tavener. Inspired by
Greek Orthodox tradition. Overwhelming HDCD sound.
Say It With Music (CD)
Margie Gibson sings Irving Berlin in what may be one the greatest
jazz vocal recordings of all time. And she’s right in your living room!
Growing Up in Hollywood Town (XRCD)
The Amanda Albums (CD)
How did they do it? The two complete McBroom recordings, Growing
Up in Hollywood Town and West of Oz, on one terrific CD
I’ve Got the Music in Me (CD)
This was originally Sheffield’s LAB-2 release. If you haven’t heard
Thelma Houston belt out a song, you’re in for a treat.
Kodo (CD)
A Japanese neo-folk group plays astonishing music, including a 400pound drum that can take out a woofer. Or a wall!
Harry James & His Big Band (Gold CD)
Harry said he would have done this recording for free, because he
sounded better than ever.
Tower of Power (CD)
This high-energy big band was originally recorded directly to disc.
The new CD has been mastered from the original LP, not the digital
tape copy.
OPUS 3
Test Records 1, 2 & 3 (SACD)
A blast from the past! Here are 14 cuts from the samplers that
launched Opus 3. They sound better than ever, too.
Swingcerely Yours (SACD)
An SACD re-re-release of tracks from superb vibraphonist Lars
Erstrand, from 1983 to 1995. Long overdue!
Autumn Shuffle (SACD/LP)
Ugglas plays a number of different guitars, and borrows from jazz,
Blues, and (yes!) country. Piano, organ, trombone, bowed saw, etc.
Showcase 2005 (SACD)
The latest Opus 3 sampler, with Eric Bibb, Mattias Wager, the Erik
Westberg Vocal Ensemble and lots more, in glorious SACD.
Just Like Love (SACD/LP)
The newest from Eric Bibb, less oriented to Gospel and more to Blues.
Bibb’s group, Needed Time, is not here, but he’s surrounded by half a
dozen fine musicians. A nice recording.
SHEFFIELD
Drum/Track Record
Beyond (SACD)
The second recording by the versatile guitarist Peder af Ugglas (who
also did Autumn Shuffle, below), who plays every instrument there is:
jazz, rock, blues, country. From Sweden???
Organ Treasures (SACD)
All those showpieces for big organ you remember hearing through
huge systems…only with all of the power and the clarity of Super
Audio. 4.1 channels, plus 2-channel CD.
PLUS THESE HDCD RECORDINGS:
Pomp&Pipes (HDCD)
From the Age of Swing (HDCD)
Swing is Here (HDCD)
Copland Symphony No. 3 (HDCD)
Medinah Sessions, two CDs for one (HDCD)
Ports of Call (HDCD)
Bruckner Symphony No. 9 (HDCD)
Ein Heldenleben (HDCD)
The King James Version (CD)
Harry James and his big band, live from the chapel!
Unique Classical Guitar Collection (SACD)
An SACD, mastered from analog, of some of Opus 3’s long-discontinued classical guitar LPs. Terrific!
Comes Love (HDCD)
Another disc by the terrific Swedish Jazz Kings, led by saxophonist
Tomas Ornberg, proving again Sweden understands jazz. The sound
is luminous, sometimes dazzling.
It’s Right Here For You (HDCD)
Is there, anywhere, a better swing band than The Swedish Jazz Kings
(formerly Tömas Ormberg’s Blue Five)? Closer to Kansas City than to
Stockholm, they are captivating.
Test CD 4 (SACD)
A sampler of Opus 3 performers, clearer than you’ve ever heard them
before. Hybrid disc.
Test CD 5 (HDCD)
Another of Opus 3’s wonderful samplers, including blues, jazz, and
classical music. A number of fine artists, captured with the usual pure
Blumlein stereo setup. A treat.
Showcase (SACD/LP)
Available as a hybrid SACD/CD disc, or a gorgeously-cut LP, with
selections from Opus 3 releases.
Good Stuff (DOUBLE 45 LP/HDCD/SACD)
As soothing as a summer breeze, this disc features singer Eric Bibb
(son of Leon), singing and playing guitar along with his group. Subtle
weaving of instrumentation, vivid sound.
Spirit and the Blues (DOUBLE 45 LP/CD/SACD)
Like his father, Leon Bibb, Eric Bibb understands the blues. He and
the other musicians, all playing strictly acoustic instruments, have
done a fine recording, and Opus 3 has made it sound exceptional.
Tiny Island (SACD)
If you like Eric Bibb and his group Good Stuff as much as we do, pick
this one up.
20th Anniversary Celebration Disc (HDCD)
A great sampler from Opus 3. Includes some exceptional fine pieces,
jazz, folk and classical. The sound pickup is as good as it gets, and the
HDCD transfer is luminous.
59
Levande (CD) �
The full recording from which “Tiden Bara Går” on Test Record No.1
is taken. Believe it or not, this great song isn’t even the best on the
album! A fine singer, doing folklike material…and who cares about
understanding the words?
Concertos for Double Bass (CD/SACD) �
This album of modern and 19th Century music is a favorite for its
deep, sensuous sound. And the music is worth discovering. It is lyrical,
a delight in every way.
Across the Bridge of Hope (SACD)
An astonishing choral recording by the Erik Westberg Ensemble,
famous for its Musica Sacra choral recording.
Musica Sacra (HDCD/SACD)
Test Record No. 4 (LP)
PROPRIUS
Now the Green Blade Riseth (CD/SACD/LP)
Religious music done a new way: organ, chorus and modern instruments. Stunning music, arranged and performed by masters, and the
effect is joyous. The sound is clear, and the sheer depth is unequalled
on CD. The new SACD version is the very best SACD we have yet heard!
Cantate Domino (CD/SACD/LP)
This choral record is a classic of audiophile records. The title selection is stunningly beautiful. The second half is Christmas music, and
includes the most stunning version of O Holy Night we’ve ever heard.
Antiphone Blues (CD)
This famous disc offers an unusual mix: sax and organ! The disc
includes Ellington, Negro spirituals, and some folk music. Electrifying performance, and the recording quality is unequalled.
Antiphone Blues (SACD/HDCD)
This is the Super Audio version, with a Red Book layer that is HDCDencoded. The best of both worlds!
Jazz at the Pawnshop (LP/CD/SACD)
Jazz with legendary, nearly perfect sound, famous in audiophile
circles for years. The LP is double, and includes extra tracks.
Jazz at the Pawnshop 2 (CD/SACD)
From the original master, another disc of jazz from this Swedish pub,
with its lifelike 3-D sound. Now a classic in its own right.
Good Vibes (CD)
The third volume of Jazz at the Pawnshop. And just as good!
Sketches of Standard (CD)
ANALEKTA
Violonchello Español (CD)
I Musici de Montréal comes to Analekta, with a stunning album of
Spanish and Spanish-like pieces for cello and orchestra.
Vivace (CD)
Classical or rock? Claude Lamothe plays two cellos at the same time
in an amazing recording of modern compositions.
Pauline Viardot-Garcia (CD)
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian steps into the role of 19th Century
singer and composer Pauline Viardot so convincingly that listening
to her is like going back in time. One of the best classical recordings
of all time!
Romantic Pieces (CD)
How does James Ehnes manage to get such a sweet sound from his
60
Stradivarius? Czech pieces from Smetana, Dvorak and Janacek. The
playing is as glorious as the tone, and the sound is sumptuous.
Cantabile (CD)
The Duo Similia is made up of striking blonde twins, who play flute
and guitar. Familiar airs from Mozart, Fauré, Elgar, Ravel, lots more.
Fine listening.
Nota del Sol (CD)
The Labrie twins are back, with a delightful recording of flute and
guitar music by Piazzola, Pujol and Machado. Joyous works.
One-man band St-Onge plays dozens of instruments — scores for
fourteen films which never existed outside of his imagination. Fun
pretext, clever, attractive music that makes you wish you could see
the films!
MOBILE FIDELITY LPs
HI-RES MUSIC (FOR DVD PLAYERS)
My Aim Is True
Yes, the original Elvis Costello album, back on quality vinyl.
Brazilian Soul (24/96 DVD)
Guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, plus percussion and
bass, in an intimate yet explosive recording of samba and bossa nova
music. Great!
Jazz/Concord (24/96 DVD)
It's 1972, and you have tickets to hear Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Ray Brown
and Jake Hanna at the Concord Jazz Festival. You won’t ever forget it.
You can be there, with this high resolution disc that goes in your DVD.
Fantasia (CD)
A third, gorgeous, recording by the twins, on flute and guitar.
Fritz Kreisler (CD)
Possibly the best recording of Kreisler’s delightful violin music: James
Ehnes and his Strad bring a new magic to this fine disc.
French Showpieces (CD)
Awesome violinist James Ehnes, with the Quebec City Symph. takes on
Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Chausson, Massenet, and more.
Handel (CD)
Superb soprano Karina Gauvin is joined by the Toronto chamber
ensemble Tafelmusik in a series of glowing excerpts from Handel’s
“Alcina” and “Agrippina.” The sound is smooth and lifelike, with an
acute sense of place.
Little Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach (CD)
Over 30 delightful pieces, most by Bach himself. Soprano Karina
Gauvin’s voice is mated to Luc Beauséjour’s harpsichord work. The
sound is deep, detailed and warm, truly of audiophile quality.
Rhythm Willie (24/96 DVD)
Guitarists Herb Ellis and Freddie Green, with bassist Ray Brown and
others. This is an uncompressed 24 bit 96 kHz disc that can be played
on any DVD player. Awesome!
Trio (24/96 DVD)
Pianist Monty Alexander with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown. “Makes CD
sound seem as if it’s coming through a drinking straw.” Playable on
any DVD player, uncompressed.
Seven Come Eleven (24/96 DVD)
Herb Ellis and Ray Brown again, but this time with guitarist Joe
Pass (he and Ellis alternate playing lead and rhythm), and a third
guitarist, Jake Hanna. This is a live recording from the 1974 Concord
Jazz Festival.
Santana
This is the one with the lion on the cover, remastered from the
original sereo master, pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Whites Off Earth Now
The 1986 album by the Cowboy Junkies, recorded on two-track with
the legendary Calrec microphone and its 3D sound.
Don’t Cry Now
Linda Ronstadt’s 2008 LP, with I Can Almost See It, Desperado, etc..
Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt from much longer ago, 1977: It’s So Easy, Carmelita, I
Never Will Marry, etc.
Prisoner in Disguise
Linda Ronstadt from 1975: Love is a Rose, Tracks of My Tears, I Will
Always Love You, and more..
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
No one ever did the late-night blues better than Old Blue Eyes. Check
out the songs: Willow Weep For Me, Blues in the Night, Ebb Tide…
Sinatra and Strings
With Don Costa’s lush orchestra, Sinatra sings Night and Day, Misty,
Stardust, All Or Nothing At All, and Yesterdays. Oh, and lots more.
Nice and Easy
Sinatra sings love ballads on this famous recording: How Deep is the
Ocean, Fools Rush In, Try a Little Tenderness, and Dream..
Vivaldi: Motets for Soprano (CD)
The wonderful soprano Karina Gauvin tackles the gorgeous but very
difficult vocal music of Vivaldi: two motets and a psalm.
Soular Energy (24-96 DVD/ 24-192 DVD-Audio)
Perhaps the world’s greatest bassist, the late Ray Brown, playing with
pianist Gene Harris, whom Brown called one of the greats. The proof
is right on this 24/96 recording, made from the analog master. Side 2
has a 24/192 DVD-A version.
AUDIOQUEST
KLAVIER
La Fille Mal Gardée (XRCD)
A fine ballet with the Royal Ballet Company orchestra, from the
original 1962 Decca recording. Exceptional
Mississipi Magic (CD/SACD)
The legendary Blues, Gospel, rock and world beat singer and musician Terry Evans, in an energetic recording we loved.
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.
Come to Find (CD)
The first by Bluesman Doug McLeod, as impressive as the second, and
no Blues fan should resist it.
You Can’t Take My Blues (CD)
Singer/songwriter Doug MacLeod and colleagues present one of the
most satisfying Blues records ever made.
Unmarked Road (SACD)
The third disc from the great Blues singer and guitarist Doug McLeod
is every bit as good as the first two.
Obseción (CD)
The Trio Amadé plays Piazzola, Berstein, Copland, and Emilion
Cólon…who is the trio cellist. The Colón and Piazzola is definitely
worth the price of admission. Lifelike sound.
Hemispheres (CD)
The North Texas Wind Symphony with new music by contemporary
composers who know how to thrill. Some of the best wind band sound
available.
Bluesquest sampler (CD)
SILENCE
Styles (CD)
Is this ever a surprising disc! Violinist Marc Bélanger worked up these
string études for his music students, but they actually deserve to be
put out on a gold audiophile disc! The more strings he adds, the better
it gets.
Fable (CD)
Easygoing modern jazz by Rémi Bolduc and his quartet, on this gold
disc. Some exceptional guitar and bass solos.
Musique Guy St-Onge (CD)
Norman Dello Joio (CD)
This contemporary composer delights in the tactile sound of the wind
band, and the Keystone Wind Ensemble does his music justice. So
does the sound, of astonishing quality!
PURE PLEASURE LPs
Duke Ellington 70th Birthday Concert (LP)
A double 180-gram LP set, recorded live in England Includes Take the
‘A’ Train, Satin Doll, Perdido, many others.
After Midnight (LP)
A mono double-album of Nat King Cole’s greatest performances, with
his own trio. Includes Sometimes I’m Happy, Caravan, It’s Only a
Paper Moon, Route 66, You Can Depend on Me. A great classic, available on premium vinyl once more.
FIRST/LAST IMPRESSIONS
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante (XRCD)
Igor and David Oistrakh with the Moscow Philharmonic, in a glorious
1963 recording, from the original master tape.
Artistry of Linda Rosenthal (HDCD)
The great violinist Rosenthal plays favorites: Hora Staccato, Perpetuum Mobile, Debussy’s Beau Soir, etc.
Suite Española (XRCD)
The Albéniz suite, gorgeously orchestrated by Rafael Frühbeck de
Burgos, who conducts the New Philharmonia. Beautifully remastered
from the original 1963 tape.
Audiophile Reference IV (SACD)
A stunning sampler, with recognizable audiophile selections you have
never heard sound this good!
Songs My Dad Taught Me (HDCD)
Jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro and three other musicians, with a retro
collection of unforgettable tunes.
Café Blue (HDCD)
Gold HDCD version of jazz singer Patricia Barber’s 1994 classic, an
audiophile underground favorite.
61
Ballade
Pianist Jackson Berkey plays Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Satie on a
Baldwin SD-10 grand.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Coeur vagabond (CD)
Bïa sings French songs in Portuguese, Brazilian songs in French. A
delight, as usual from this astonishing singer.
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.
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.
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
Neil Diamond: Serenade (CD)
RED INDICATES RECORDINGS USED IN UHF EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
Payment by VISA or MasterCard, cheque or money order (in Canada). All merchandise is guaranteed unless explicitly sold “as
is.” Certain items (the Super Antenna, the EAC line filter, and most standard-length cables) may be returned within 21 days less
shipping cost. Other items may be subject to a restocking charge. Defective recordings will be exchanged for new copies.
HERE’S HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR SHIPPING COST:
IN CANADA: up to $30, $2.10, up to $60, $3.00, above $70 not counting taxes, free. In Canada shipping costs are taxable.
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TO OTHER COUNTRIES: up to $30, $5.40. Up to $60, $9.00. Above $60, $6.00. Magazines, books and taxes are not counted toward
the total.
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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
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SHIPPING COST (SEE ABOVE)
TOTAL COST BEFORE TAXES
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62
VINYL ALBUMS
30th Anniv. Celebration
After Midnight (2 LP)
American Gramaphone III
Autumn Shuffle
Ballade
Blazing Redheads
Cantate Domino
Christmas
Daydreams
Ellington 70th B’day (2 LP)
Fennell Favorites
Frank Sinatra: Only the Lonely
Good Stuff (2 LP)
Heart like a Wheel
Jazz at the Pawnshop (2-LP)
Jazz Trio
Just Like Love
Louis Armstrong Plays Handy
My Aim is True
Nice and Easy
Now the Green Blade Riseth
One Flight Up
Painting Signs
Prisoner in Disguise
Rainbow People
Santana
Showcase
Simple Dreams
Sinatra & Strings
Spirit and the Blues (2 LP)
Takin’ Off
Test Record No.4
Through the Lens
Trittico
Urban Surrender
Vinyl Essentials (test)
Whites Off Earth Now
Windsock
Spirit & the Blues (SACD)
CD19411
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
19.95
CLP-7049
26.00 30th Anniversary Sampler
RR-908
16.95
7778-79
65.00 Alleluía
AN 2 8810
21.00
LP8401
22.95 All We Need to Know
GG-1
21.00
LP20002
27.95 An American Requiem
RR-97CD
16.95
CL591
48.00 Antiphone Blues
7744CD
21.95
1-329
34.75 Artistry of Linda Rosenthal
FIM022VD
27.95
1-317
34.75 Bach Sonatas, violin & harpsi. AN 2 9829
21.00
PROP9093 38.95 Bach Suites, Airs & Dances
FL 2 3133
21.00
BLP-4176
26.00 Beachcomber
RR-62CD16.95
PPAN004
48.00 Best of Chesky & Test, vol.3 JD111
21.95
1-306
34.75 Beethoven Symph. 5 & 6
AN 2 9891
21.00
LP7723
22.95 Blues for the Saxophone Club 26-1084-78-2 21.95
1-30334.75 Bluesquest
AQCD105221.95
LP2100022.95 Bossa Nova
JD129
21.95
1-321
34.75 Bruckner: Symph. No.9
RR-81CD
16.95
1-313
34.75 Café Blue
21810
21.95
LP19401
47.95 Café Blue (HDCD gold)
CD 010
39.95
CLP-7050
26.00 Cantabile
AN 2 9810
21.00
OPLP9200 27.95 Cantate Domino
7762CD
21.95
AG788
12.00 Carmin
ADCD1016321.00
RR-5232.00 Classica d’Oro (50 gold CDs) GCM-50
119.95
AG600
12.00 Come to Find
AQCD1027 21.95
LP003
48.95 Come Love
CD19703
19.95
1-292
1-292 Companion
2296321.00
AG68712.00
Coeur vagabond
ADCD10191 21.00
Concertos for Double Bass
OPCD8502 21.95
HIGH-RESOLUTION MEDIA (SACD, DVD, ETC.)
Copland Symphony No.3
RR-93CD
16.95
Across the Bridge of Hope
CD22012
24.50 Drum/Track Record
10081
21.00
Antiphone Blues (SACD)
7744SACD 37.95 Ein Heldenleben
RR-83CD
16.95
Audiophile Reference IV
SACD 029
40.00 Fable
SLC9603-222.00
Autumn Shuffle (SACD)
CD22042
24.50 Fantasia
AN 2 9819
21.00
Beethoven/Mendelssohn
5186 102
29.95 Felix Hell
RR-101CD
16.95
Beyond (SACD)
CD22072
24.50 Film Spectacular II
XR24 070
35.00
Brazilian Soul (DVD)
HRM2009
24.95 French Showpieces
FL 2 3151
21.00
Cantate Domino (SACD)
PSACD7762 29.95 Fritz Kreisler
FL 2 3159
21.00
Conc. for Double Bass (SACD) CD8522
24.50 From the Age of Swing
RR-59CD
16.95
Good Stuff (SACD)
CD19623
24.50 Garden of Dreams
RR-108
16.95
Jazz at the Pawnshop (3-SACD)PRSACD7879 90.00 Gitans
Y22503524.95
Jazz at the Pawnshop 2 (SACD)PRSACD7079 37.95 Good Stuff
CD19603
19.95
Jazz/Concord (DVD)
HRM2006
24.95 Good Vibes
PRCD9058 19.95
Just Like Love (SACD)
CD21002
24.50 Growing up in Hollywood Town LIM XR 001 38.95
Mississipi Magic (SACD)
AQSACD1057 24.95 Handel
FL 2 3137
21.00
Musica Sacra (SACD)
CD19516
24.50 Harry Belafonte
295-037
19.95
Now the Green Blade Riseth PRSACD9093 29.95 Harry James & His Big Band 10057-2-G
24.00
Organ Treasures (SACD)
CD22031
24.50 Hemispheres
K1113721.00
Rhythm Willie (Audio DVD)
HRM2010
24.95 Infernal Violins
AN 2 8718
21.00
Seven Come Eleven (DVD)
HRM2005
24.95 It’s Right Here For You
CD19404
19.95
Showcase (SACD)
CD21000
24.50 I’ve Got the Music in Me
10076
21.00
Showcase 2005 (SACD)
CD22050
24.50 Jazz at the Pawnshop
PRCD-7778 19.95
Soular Energy (DVD/DVD-A) HRM2011
24.95 Jazz at the Pawnshop 2
PRCD9044 19.95
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
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante XR24 069
38.95
Mozart: Soprano Arias
FL 2 3131
21.00
Musica Sacra
CD19506
19.95
Musique Guy St-Onge
SLC9700-2 22.00
Musiques d’Europe centrale 88001
24.95
My Foolish Heart
26-1084-92-2 21.95
Neil Diamond: Serenade
465012-2
16.95
Nocturno
ADCD1022721.00
Nojima Plays Liszt
RR-25CD
16.95
Nojima Plays Ravel
RR-35CD
16.95
Non-Stop to Brazil
JD29
19.95
Norman Dello Joio
K11138
21.00
Nota del Sol
AN 2 9817
21.00
Now the Green Blade Riseth PRCD9093 19.95
Obseción
K1113421.95
Opera for Two
FL 2 3076
21.00
Organ Odyssey
RR-113
16.95
Pauline Viardot-Garcia
AN 2 9903
21.00
Pomp&Pipes
RR-58CD16.95
Ports of Call
RR-80CD
16.95
Rio After Dark
JD28
19.95
Romantic Pieces
FL 2 3191
21.00
Sans Domicile Fixe
19012-2
24.95
Say It With Music
CD-36
21.00
Serenade
RR-11016.95
Sketches of Standard
PRCD 9036 19.95
Songs My Dad Taught Me
FIM0009
27.95
Sources
ADCD1013221.00
Spirit and the Blues
CD19401
19.95
Styles
SLC9604-222.00
Suite Española
XR24 068
38.95
Swing is Here
RR-72CD
16.95
Swingcerely Yours
CD2208
24.95
Telemann Sonatas for 2 Violins FL 2 3085
21.00
Test CD 5
CD20000
21.95
The King James Version
10068-2-F
21.00
Tower of Power
10074
21.00
Trittico
RR-52CD16.95
Tutti (HDCD)
RR-906CD 16.95
Ultimate Demonstration Disc UD95
20.00
Villa-Lobos
FL 2 3051
21.00
Violonchelo Español
AN 2 9897
21.00
Vivace
AN 2 9808
21.00
Vivaldi: Motets for Soprano
FL 2 3099
21.00
Vivaldi: Per Archi
FL 2 3128
21.00
We Get Requests
K2HD 032
38,95
World Keys
RR-106
16.95
Yerba Buena Bounce
RR-109
16.95
You Can’t Take My Blues
AQCD1041 21.95
Software
Count Basie:
Big Band Nobility
I
f you’ve seen the Coen brothers’
remake of the movie True Grit, you
probably remember one of the last
scenes in the movie. Mattie, the
heroine, has gone to a Wild West show
looking for the US Marshal who saved
her life years before. One of the show’s
headliners is Frank James, Jesse’s older
by Toby Earp
brother, and the always reckless Mattie
calls him trash to his face.
True Grit is fiction of course, but
Frank James did indeed appear in a Wild
West show in the year 1903. You can
see why he made the bill — you needed
the stamp of authenticity then as now.
Transportation in that year was by rail,
or on horseback, towns were being electrified, people were trying to live down
the wildness of the previous century.
Earl Hines and Bix Beiderbecke were
born, and William Basie came along one
year later. (Jazz itself was in its infancy,
having been invented in 1902 by Mr.
Jelly Roll Morton.)
All three of the new boys made it to
the big time, Hines as a bandleader and
piano genius, and Beiderbecke posthumously, a legend after his death at 28.
Basie, later Count Basie, led one of only
three big bands to survive the postwar
wave of orchestral extinctions. He
recorded with his band, in its different
incarnations, right up to the year before
his death in 1984.
Curiously, there is no single thing
that stands out to explain the Basie
band’s survival. Perhaps you could pin
it on Basie himself. Musically, he is an
attractive character with an understated
style you could almost call sly. He seems
to like to let you think he’s strolling
along in a syncopated kind of way, then
sneak up and surprise you with a merely
perfect note on the offbeat. The best way
to hear this kind of thing is on one of his
less common small-group recordings,
because the brass tends to take pride of
place on the other ones.
Basie appears to have preferred it this
way. He did take solos, but the piano in
the Basie band was part of the rhythm
section, an anchor more than it was the
star. “Keep an eye on the sparrow,” he
told his band…and the sparrow was the
piano man. “He don’t know nothin’, but
just keep your eyes on him, and we’ll all
be together.”
In music as in society, understatement is next to modesty, and it’s always
attractive. Basie’s beginnings were
modest, and there’s nothing about him
Feedback
Software
to suggest modesty wasn’t one of his
virtues. Not the false kind either. If he
was modest it was because he knew he
had reason to be. “I don’t know why I sat
down at that piano,” he said. “It wasn’t
bothering anybody.” Basie was based in
Kansas City at the time of this story,
already “the Count” in name, out on tour
in Ohio with the Bennie Moten swing
band at the beginning of the Thirties.
The bus stopped for sandwiches, and the
place had a piano. When Basie started
messing around with it, someone went
out and got Art Tatum. It was Tatum’s
piano.
Basie had heard stories about Tatum,
and years later could still see him in his
mind’s eye, coming into the bar on his
toes, his head weaving slightly. It was like
watching Joe Louis come through the
ropes. After it was all over, and Tatum
had wiped the floor with the Count, one
of the girls at the bar told him, “I coulda
told you.”
“Why didn’t you, baby? Why didn’t
you?” was the helpless reply.
Now just about anyone in the USA
at the time, with the possible exceptions
of Earl Hines and Sergei Rachmaninoff,
might have lost a piano duel with Art
Tatum. Basie felt he was a choice victim
for a setup, though. A few months earlier, on layoff in New York City, Basie
had been at the Roseland Ballroom listening
to Coleman Hawkins
play with the Fletcher
Henderson Band, when
Henderson looked over
f rom t he pia no a nd
asked Basie to spell him
for a moment. Basie
demurred, Henderson
insisted, but when Basie
got up to the piano and
saw the sheet music, it
had “too many sharps”
for him, and he just went
back and sat down. On
the way he caught sight
of Henderson laughing.
Basie’s peers wouldn’t let
him forget his limits. He
was a new band leader at
the time, too…
But we had better backtrack a bit and get caught
up with him.
He was born in Red Bank, New
Jersey, not all that far from New York
City, and he was not much of a scholar
while he was growing up. “I used to stay
in one grade so long it was shameful.” He
dreamed of joining a carnival and travelling, but didn’t see the use of studying
geography. He hung around the Palace
silent movie theatre in Red Bank, did
odd jobs there until he was allowed to
help with the projector.
After he sat in for the piano player
one evening, his mother paid twentyfive cents each for piano lessons from a
German lady. He learned to play a few
ragtime tunes and then drifted away
from his teacher. His father bought him
a trap drum set, and he got good enough
to play for dances, but then the young
Sonny Greer sat in a few times, and
Basie realized he didn’t have that kind of
talent. (Greer went on to a distinguished
career with the Ellington band.) Basie
and Greer won a piano contest around
this time, and Basie gave Greer the
credit.
You might think these inauspicious
beginnings for someone whose 16-man
jazz orchestra became one of only three
to survive into the Fifties and long
past the big bands’ heyday — indeed,
in those very Fifties alone, he toured
Europe several times, met Her Majesty
the Queen of England, and recorded
eighteen LPs. But to Basie, his kind
of music required dedicated playing
more than formal practice. Years later
he said it was never his way to sit at a
piano practising for hours. With him it
was a matter of working out with other
musicians. Basie’s ragtime, stride piano,
then jazz were music of the poor, popular
music, and this was the dawn of the Jazz
Age. Jazz at its finest is improvisational,
which is why Mr. Morton’s claim to have
invented it is absurd and why it is possible to argue that the flavour of jazz is
not perfectly adapted to sheet music. We
know great jazz from names, dates and
recordings rather than published scores,
and Basie got his start in a band playing
“head” arrangements, worked out in
rehearsal from a lead or “head” without
being written down. A band that can do
that well is together indeed... But we are
in danger of getting ahead of ourselves
again.
An irregular schoolgoer and eventually a dropout, Bill Basie went through
his teens in New Jersey, trying not to
spend too much time at home, playing
piano at parties and dances and having as
good a time as possible. He could flop at
a house he knew, or his pals would bring
him home and put him to bed. Once
they just left him on the stairs, where
his father found him in the morning and
told him he smelled of gin. One evening,
when he was about fifteen or sixteen, he
got drunk to avoid a cutting contest — a
piano duel — with Donald “The Lamb”
Lambert (who later on did duets with
Tatum), and considered it a very narrow
escape.
It was a scratch existence. Basie’s
father had been a coachman for a local
judge, but when the automobile became
fashionable the elder man didn’t graduate to chauffeur. Instead he looked after
the grounds of several big houses. One
summer he asked his son to help, but
Basie took the train to Asbury Park with
his friend Elmer Williams, who played
saxophone. They slept in the pool hall
where the musicians hung out, stole rolls
from the restaurant delivery baskets, and
had to take the train back home after a
week. The next summer went better.
Basie formed a group with Williams, a
Basie was on his way now, but that
word “sepia” should make us sit up and
take notice. It refers to the dark brown
color of a natural ink, and it was used in
show business in preference to the words
“colored” or “Negro” current in even less
egalitarian milieus. It bears remembering that we are not yet a century out of
this usage. Billie Holiday had not yet
sung Strange Fruit, about the lynching
of Blacks in the American South. Led by
Martin Luther King, hundreds of thousands had not yet marched on Washington for an end to racial segregation.
When Basie and Elmer Williams
needed tuxedos for the Krippen show,
they weren’t welcome in just any New
York clothier’s — somebody from Hippity Hop probably called ahead to the
store to say they were coming. Black
hotels in the towns they toured through
were way off on the other side of the
tracks; some places had no hotels which
would take in a “sepia” guest at all. Black
show people would look for handwritten
notices pinned up backstage, or they
might be met at the train station by a
landlord who knew they were coming.
Racial discrimination was endemic, so
woven into the life of every day that it
was practically invisible. When the road
manager laid out the rules for the Krippen company before they left, there was
to be absolutely no mixing — but other
than that they were going to be just one
big happy family!
See the complete article in our print
issue, or from Maggie’s DRM-free iPadfriendly electronic issue. From $4.
tisi.
dolesto eu feu feu feuipsu scipit ad molULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine    65    
Software
drummer and a violinist and played the
Hongkong Inn until one night he found a
new man sitting in his place at the piano.
Basie then parked cars, and the tips were
worth more than the piano gig.
At the end of the summer, though,
things went slack, and they went back
to the pool hall and the delivery baskets,
until they bumped into Williams’ Uncle
Ralph, who put them up at his house of
ill repute. The regular gig they were
looking for continued to elude them.
And then one day in 1924, a friend, a
chef called Smitty, said if they were really
serious about trying their luck, Basie
and Williams could stay at his place in
Harlem.
They had been in New York only a
week when, one afternoon, they ran into
Sonny Greer taking a break on the sidewalk, in between sets at the Kentucky
Club. Greer took them down into the
club and they heard a pianist, Willie
‘The Lion’ Smith, and another one
named Duke Ellington. The boys from
New Jersey emerged after dark, full of
their experience, and strolled homeward,
but they stopped when they heard music
coming out of another downstairs place.
They had to go in.
They paid for a soda. Basie thought
he could take this piano player and asked
to sit in, but the band leader, a trombonist named Lou Henry, told him to come
back later. When Basie and Williams
(and their host Smitty) reappeared for
their audition, Basie played his first set
in New York. He didn’t “take” the piano
player, but even with the flashy tricks
he used then, throwing his hands in the
air, jumping up from the piano, he went
over well. Henry told them where to try
out for the other act he was with, which
turned out to be a burlesque show called
Hippity Hop, with a star called Katie
Krippen. Hippity Hop took them on,
the only sepia performers on the bill, and
Basie, greatly daring, insisted on nothing
less than forty dollars a week. The show
was a success, touring from Missouri
to Montreal in the luxury of chartered
Pullman cars, and one of the times
they got back to New York, Henry’s
conscience got the better of him and he
started paying Basie and Williams the
eighty dollars he thought they should
have been getting all along.
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vulla coreet, venim eugiate dolore dion-
tisi.
Rud doloreet wis alit ut lum in henisULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine    67    
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ismodoloreet at.
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eum vullaor se ex enim dignim
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commod magniat. Ut wisisim zzrit
nonsequatie magnit nos nonsed delenim
dolenis adiatem zzrilisit ad doluptat.
Quat ip eugait wissenis adipissecte do
eu feugait praessit ute veniamc onulla
feugueril et lore min essenis nos et amet
lore molobor percipit in eniam, vulla
coreet, venim eugiate dolore dionseniam
nulla conse dip ex exerat, sequat nosto
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perilluptat. To commy nim
iustio duipis num nostrud
magna facip euis exerosto
dolor sequipit augait lor se
commodo lobore dolore
conse conumsandit aliquisci
tet lore tio eugait ad magnit
utpat la feum nisl exercil
lutatio consed tatem zzrilit
aliquam quat utpat wisit
praestie feuisim num do od
exer augait duisse et lumsan
etuercilisit nonsectet wissi
blamcon utpat verostio et
wisi tetueros nos autat lutat
prat, commy nullamet adip
esto delis dignisl dolorpe
rcilis eum eu feu feugiam
zzrit utat, con elenisi.
Com mod dolest r ud
te te euis alis niamconsed
eummod te tet ing exerili
quat u m mod dolute tem
zzrit at alit, con ut iusto dit
nos accum nummodiam,
luptat.
The Basie band lives on
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lobor iure do ero dignit ullaortion ute
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Software Reviews
by Steve Bourke
and Gerard Rejskind
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1&2/
Reformation Symph.
Louis Lortie/Quebec Symph. Orch.
ATMA ACD-22599
Steve Bourke: Louis Lortie looks out
at us from his red designer’s chair with
the air of a man in full. The mature and
famous artist inviting any real music
lover to sample the best. He has come
a long, long way from his first performance at age thirteen with the Montreal
Symphony. Many of the world’s finest
orchestras have welcomed him onto
their stages. The Daily Telegraph let it
be known that he was “one of perhaps
half a dozen pianists who it is worth
dropping everything to go and hear.”
The BBC described him as a “superlative
pianist.”
He is, then, a major international star
whose recordings may live well into the
analog and digital future of the classical
piano. More than this, he is also a fine
conductor who, as Beethoven did two
centuries before, leads the orchestra
from the keyboard. (Ludwig Von B.
would crouch, his head almost touching
the keys when he played pianissimo. As
the music increased in volume, he would
rise to his feet, his arms pumping the
air, his head bobbing in perfect time.
Then, when the fortissimo arrived, he
would jump up into the air, his enormous
emotional self carrying him forward.)
Lortie produces a similar vitality
in his fresh version of these three Mendelssohn compositions, especially two
concertos. His playing is intense and
driven, but never too much so, while the
Orchestre Symphonique de Québec is a
disciplined and passionate partner to his
virtuosity. Together they thunder along,
then abruptly slow to a mellow stroll.
This very fast, then very slow, pattern is
repeated regularly and gives balance to
the melodic phrasing of the concertos,
particularly the first.
T he D m ajo r s y mpho ny, Mendelssohn’s fifth, is placed third in the
program, perhaps to soften the mood
created by the power of the concertos.
He named it the Reformation Symphony
to celebrate the tercentenary of the
creed of the Lutheran Church. The first
two movements are liturgical pieces,
which show off Mendelssohn’s mastery
of orchestration. The feel of the music
is light and piquant, not solemn and
serious as the Reformation title might
suggest. Martin Luther would have
approved, had he been alive to hear this
symphonic tribute, for he himself was a
skilled composer and singer as well as a
religious reformer.
You may be Lutheran or atheist, or
at any rate a music lover like the rest of
us. I expect that you too will approve
of this fine music along with its sound,
which is clear and balanced, in keeping
with ATMA’s usual very high standard.
Chopin Études, Sonatas &
Impromptus
Janina Fialkowska
ATMA ACD2 2554
Gerard Rejskind: This Montreal-born
pianist was quickly noticed when her
career was launched in the 1970’s, and for
good reason. From the first she played
such composers as Chopin, Liszt and
Mozart with a delightful mix of emotion
and clarity. In 1974 she won the Arthur
Rubinstein piano competition, and had
the great man himself as mentor. That
helped her obtain the international reputation that her talent would, in any case,
have eventually justified, because she was
able as a result to be invited to play in
major venues around the world. Rubinstein was convinced that Fialkowska was
born to play Chopin.
This double CD dates back to the
1990’s, well before a serious health issue
put her brilliant career on hold. In 2002
she developed a cancer in her left arm,
surely a pianist’s worst nightmare. To
preserve her arm she was initially treated
with radiation, though surgery was eventually required. A muscle from her back
was grafted into her arm to replace the
cancerous one that was removed. With
pain and weakness in both her arm and
her back, she used her beloved Chopin
as muscle therapy. Against all odds, she
returned to the concert stage to great
acclaim. She does not of course have the
energy she once had, nor can she devote
herself to the rehearsal time she would
need to maintain her full repertoire.
Fortunately, we have these remarkable recordings of Chopin works. Now,
not everyone can play Chopin, whose
music requires a very particular sensitivity that even some of the world’s most
celebrated musicians lack. Fialkowska
has it. In the Études on the first disc,
she plays with considerable speed,
though without sacrificing the clarity of
Chopin’s often complex structures. Nor
does she spare the emotion, slowing the
pace when the music requires it, employing just enough rubato to suit the music,
to draw us into the composer’s pensive
world. Listen to the 5th Étude of the op.
25 set, which she takes at considerable
speed, slowing at the end, establishing
the atmosphere of melancholy we often
find in Chopin. The 7th Étude of the
Among the high praise Janina Fialkowska has received, some was intended for
same set is introspective, bordering on another pianist.
the tragic, and Fialkowska gets it exactly
British pianist Joyce Hatto, who died in 2006, brought out, late in her life as she
right.
was suffering from terminal cancer, an astonishing array of a hundred recordings,
This is an intimate recording, and we which drew praise from critics and astonishment that, with such playing, she was
appear to be seated close to the piano in a not better known. After her death, it was noticed that her recordings were not
salon. She plays in a fashion suited to the unlike those of certain other artists, and indeed that certain mistakes in her playing
room and our closeness. The final Étude perfectly matched mistakes made by other artists.
of the op.10 set is played with less drama
Her producer, who was also her husband, had figured without Gracenote, the
and exuberance than we often hear, but remarkable on-line software that can “listen to” and identify music, so that iTunes
Chopin himself played more often in can fill in the title and artist listings when you insert a CD into your computer.
salons than in large concert halls, and he When a reader of the magazine Classics Today inserted Hatto’s CD of Liszt’s
would probably have played it this way Transcendental Studies into his computer, iTunes showed it as being by Hungarian
as well.
pianist Laszlo Simon, and being on the BIS label.
I was more enthusiastic for the first
The masquerade quickly unravelled. Hatto’s late works were all plagiarized
disc than the second. In the B flat minor from some of the world’s greatest artists, including Janina Fialkowska and another
Sonata, she seems at times rushed, taking Canadian pianist, Marc-André Hamelin. The Reference Recordings disc, Nojima
away from the majesty of the Scherzo, for Plays Liszt was also pirated. As for the conductor listed on the concertos, he didn’t
instance, and the famous Marche Funèbre actually exist.
at times seems somewhat mechanical. In
Hatto’s husband says he did it all for love.
the Fantaisie-Impromptu, op. 66 she seems
adapted to any size of ensemble…but the
at times uncertain. The recording has a Reference Recordings RR-117
less intimate feel, too, though both discs Gerard Rejskind:
Yes, we get
Percy
asked,
Grainger
constantly,
was larger the better. This recording brings
were recorded — at a two-year interval truly
whatanwe
will be reviewing
our next
together Grainger’s groundbreaking
international
artist.inBorn
in issue.
Andhe
wemoved
know to
reviews
are where
essential.work in the folk field and his love of wind
— in the same hall, the George Weston Australia,
England,
reviews
nothing
if not plentiful.
bands.
he equipment
collected folk
music are
on the
then-new
Recital Hall at Toronto’s Ford Centre. But
Readerscylinders
have long
told
us that
what
makes UHF
Lincolnshire Posy, the title piece, is a
and
made
them
relive
Still, if I am criticizing the second Edison
valuable
them
are the
othersuite
articles.
of arrangements of pleasant folk
in arrangements
far to
more
famous
than
CD it is only by comparison with the particularly
Articles the
about
ideas,melodies.
about theHe
nuts
andabolts
melodies,
technology,
and is among Grainger’s bestoriginal
spent
goodof the
nearly perfect first one. Playing Chopin
and also
about music
film, loved works. Every bit as familiar are
in Europe
as a and
concert
requires a blend of intelligence and deal of time
which are
the very
favoring
thereasons
Nordic Molly on the Shore, Shepherd’s Hey, and the
feeling that are sometimes difficult to pianist, particularly
forofour
lovingly-created
systems
to exist.
Irish Tune From County Derry, instantly
Grieg
and Delius over
the Gerreconcile. Janina Fialkowska succeeds in music
recognizable
Not manic
that we
will ever
stop publishing
hardware
reviews. under its other title, Danny
music
of Mozart
and Beethoven
bringing both of these essential ingredients to a double CD of some of Chopin’s (though he seemed to approve of Bach Boy.
The Dallas Wind Symphony shares
and Brahms well enough). Moving to
greatest music.
the United States at the start of World a concert hall with the excellent Dallas
War I, he became an army bandsman Symphony Orchestra. The richness of its
and acquired a taste for military bands sound has been well captured by Keith
initially, and then wind symphonies O. Johnson, with the powerful percuslike that of Dallas, featured on this sion he seems to record better than
anyone else. Like nearly all Reference
recording.
Indeed, both folk music and wind Recordings CDs, this one was encoded
bands were at the heart of his musical in the compatible HDCD process. I
vision. Though he was a celebrated listened to it with proper decoding,
virtuoso pianist, he chafed against the which makes the dynamics pop out of
limitations of interpreting another art- the silence, though it will sound fine on
ist’s music, which he saw as a recreation any system good enough to reproduce
rather than a creation. With folk music its musical forces.
That said, I must confess to some
he was free to reinvent the melodies and
their settings. With the wind band, he unease with Jerry Junkin’s interpretation,
could explore the broad gamut of rich which stresses the powerful rhythms and
Lincolnshire Posy (Percy Grainger) tonal colors, and he invented what he the tonal colors, possibly at the expense
Junkin/Dallas Wind Symphony
called “elastic scoring,” which could be of the original folk melodies. The result
Fialkowska Pirated
NOT JUST HARDWARE REVIEWS!
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is dazzling, but it struck me as emotionally cool. You may react differently.
The Battle of Killiecrankie
La Nef/M. Hall/M. White
ATMA ACD22510
Steve Bourke: In the modern musical
marketplace, two different genres are
often combined to produce a kind of
musical hybrid. Classical and jazz have
often been blended, with very mixed
results, and not too long ago country
and western music became, after some
mixing and matching with rock’n’roll, a
new form we now call Country Rock.
“Classical Celtic” is what I call
the music on this ATMA disc. Celtic
because this is a complete program of
traditional Scottish folk tunes, and classical because the usual male or female
folk singers associated with Celtic music
have been replaced by two operatic art
singers, a soprano and a countertenor.
Does the injection of the classical
discipline improve, or at least enliven,
the Celtic traditional style? Very much
so. The two vocalists bring a disciplined
restraint to these songs, performing
them with great skill and emotional
depth. Why is this a good thing? Because
too often Celtic singers interpret their
ancient folk music in a predictable way,
sincere and heartfelt no doubt, but sentimental, as though they were longing
for the past to reappear. The stirring
melodies and lyrics can suffer because
of it.
Celtic is the obvious choice for
blending with classical for another
reason. Many of the tunes in the Celtic
tradition have been played for generations, including most of the ones found
here. The reason is simple, they are
beautiful melodies that have stood the
test of time. More than half of the eighteen tunes are deeply moving laments,
stirring marches, and love songs with
poetic titles like I Love My Love in Secret
and O Love Will Venture In. I enjoyed
reading the lyrics included in the booklet, too. It also contains some informed
historical background that helps to
explain the disc’s title.
La Nef, along with Meredith Hall
and Matthew White, really deserve
the attention they are seeking. The
Battle of Killecrankie is more than Scottish folk music, It is a Classical Celtic
interpretation of an important event in
Scotland’s history, and I will go this far
in declaring that it deserves to be in
Scotland’s musical archives, even though
it is an entirely Canadian production.
Black Coffee
Louise Rogers
Chesky SACD345
Gerard Rejskind: A great singer hardly
needs accompaniment, and can even
sing without accompaniment at all.
Louise Rogers opens this album of jazz
standards (read: pop songs of long ago)
with Comes Love, accompanied only by
Rick Strong’s bass. This prewar song,
done by everyone from Artie Shaw to
Billie Holiday to Ella Fitzgerald, has
clever lyrics, and Rogers delivers them
with a twinkle of the eye, and a pleasant
breathiness in the higher pitches, but
without the affectations of too many
jazz vocalists, and without distorting
the original. Ella, by the way, is Rogers’
model, which suggests her ambition.
She continues with more standards,
including Easy to Love, Sentimental Jour-
ney, Pennies From Heaven, and Ain’t Misbehavin’. Rick Strong (Rogers’ husband)
is joined by the electric guitar of Paul
Meyers, who takes an occasional solo,
and the discreet support of drummer
Billy Drummond. There are 14 songs
listed, but there are two hidden tracks
in a slightly different style. In the first
one Rogers shows off her command of
scat singing.
She began her career in her native
New Hampshire, but came to New York
in 1997, where she has sung with a variety of jazz stars, including Clark Terry,
Tito Puente and Lionel Hampton. She
and her husband also play small venues
including, so help me, a Starbucks (which
possibly explains the inclusion of the title
song). She and Strong are very much
involved in musical education, using
jazz to introduce young children from
nursery age to music.
Louise Rogers credits producer
David Chesk y with getting her to
sing in such a relaxed fashion, without
affectation, without trying to wow the
listener. I haven’t heard her previous
recordings (she has several, for adults and
children, on other labels), but I suspect
Chesky’s advice was wise. This album is
a delight.
Like several recent Chesky SACD’s,
this one was recorded with the wonderful Soundfield microphone, and it is
startlingly realistic, with a stable image
and a natural presence you can hear on
all too few recordings.
Teach Me Tonight
Knud Jörgensen Jazz Trio
Opus 3 CD8421
Gerard Rejskind: The title of this new
SACD grabbed my attention right off,
because Teach Me Tonight was number
and Albert, an alternative, just as violent,
one on the hit parade when I was a kid.
version of Frankie and Johnny.
That’s where Tin Pan Alley successes go
But if you’ve enjoyed the songs Bibb
to die: they become jazz standards.
had penned himself, as on his previous
But then I noticed Knud Jörgensen’s
albums, there are four of them as well.
name. Now there was a name I hadn’t
On the whole they are more joyous and
seen in a long time. Was he still around?
rhythmic than the older songs.
No, in fact. He died in 1992, at the age of
Opus 3 co-founder and recording
64. What Opus 3 has done is re-release
engineer Jan-Eric Persson says he used
on SACD a 1984 recording of Jörgensen
the same tube stereo microphone he had
on piano with bassist Sture Akerberg
used on Eric Bibb’s original recordings,
and drummer Johan Dielemans. Because
starting in 1977. The result is very good,
it was originally destined to be an LP
but Bibb has a busy schedule, and he
rather than the then very new Compact
recorded these songs in several short
Disc, it is in two-channel stereo, and it is
sessions. The result is that the sound is
LP-sized, running under 40 minutes.
Blues, Ballads & Work Songs
not always the same. There is a differIt is common for those who dislike Eric Bibb
ence in Bibb’s voice between the first
the audiophile recording movement to Opus 3 CD22111
and second tracks. The last four tracks,
argue that good sound doesn’t trump Gerard Rejskind: The very title of this which are Bibb’s own songs, have a difgood playing (I agree of course), and new album by the superb Blues guitar- ferent sound altogether, closer to that of
that, in particular, Swedes just can’t play ist and singer Eric Bibb smacks of the his best-known albums. That’s more an
jazz. Actually Jörgensen was Danish, but socially engaged music of yesteryear, observation than a complaint, however.
countless recordings, from both Opus 3 from such people as The Weavers and If you enjoy what Eric Bibb has been
and the other Swedish label, Proprius, Pete Seeger. Bibb comes by it all honestly. doing for the past 35 years, you’ll want
attest to the fact that you don’t need to Seeger (who was part of the Weavers) and this album.
be born in the USA to do justice to the Odetta were family friends. His father
very American music form that is jazz.
is of course the folk singer Leon Bibb,
Jörgensen’s inspiration was Duke and his godfather was Paul Robeson
Ellington, and appropriately the set (of Old Man River fame). In the era of
begins with a seven-minute version Senator McCarthy, Seeger and Leon
of Satin Doll. The other six pieces are Bibb couldn’t get radio play. Bibb exiled
standards, including the title song, but himself to Canada and Robeson to East
also Softly as in the Morning Sunrise, Too Germany. Eric Bibb himself divides his
We remember
when aLondon
numberand
of competitors
time between
Stockholm, would
Late Now, and It Might As Well be Spring.
on line
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These are good versions, with a veryput
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by both
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Pete Seeger,
But you Leadbelly,
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result is that this is a terrific recording. the Kingston
think There’s
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stereo from now on (including the Eric from
And then
they joined
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substance).
There’s
Bibb recording whose review follows). is a controlled
They will be two-channel because, he ger Lee, an often-bowdlerized tale of Gerard Rejskind: I don’t know how
says, audiophiles are not interested in murder, originally published by folklorist much introduction Phil Collins requires.
John Lomax a century ago, and adapted Only three artists have ever sold more
surround.
I would add that he’s probably right, by countless artists from Lloyd Price to than 100 million albums as both a princithough the dominant reason is that The Grateful Dead. It is sung by Bibb pal band member and as a soloist. Collins
SACD’s brain-dead anti-copying system in a style closer to the original. There’s is one, and you may have heard of the two
makes it all but impossible to hear them James Oden’s Goin’ Down Slow, a pure others, Paul McCartney and Michael
in surround outside of the recording Blues song, on which Bibb accompanies Jackson! He was the original drummer
himself on his guitar. There’s Frankie of the progressive rock group Genesis,
studio.
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whose members were musically literate
at a time when a lot of rock musicians
knew two chords and were working on
a third. He sang backup on a couple of
songs by front man Peter Gabriel, and
took over after Gabriel left.
But that was a long time ago, and Collins has been a superstar in his own right
for many years. In this 2010 concert at
New York’s Roseland ballroom, Collins
returned to the songs he was humming
when he was a teenager. As you might
suppose, that gives the concert a retro
feel, and I mean that in a good way.
Though Collins grew up in the land and
the era of the Beatles, America beckoned.
In that day, the dominant new American
sound was that of Motown.
For this concert Collins actually
recruited some artists of that day,
such as the Funk Brothers. He has
six Motown-style backup singers, all
African-American, three men and three
women. The women wear shiny spangled
minidresses that would have looked right
at a Supremes concert. Collins himself
wears a black business suit and a silver
tie. The band members are all behind
desks with Collins’ initials on them,
suggesting the Big Bands of even longer
ago. The songs are by everyone from
the Ronettes to the Marvelettes to Phil
Spector to Stevie Wonder to Smokey
Robinson. The fact that he sings these
very American songs with more than
a trace of a British accent adds to the
curiousness of the experience, but it is
by no means disturbing.
The concert has a surprisingly intimate feel, despite the boom-mounted
cameras that zoom in and out, because
the Roseland is not huge. It looks even
smaller once the spectators get up and
dance, as Collins encourages them to
do.
Naturally, the sound is a multimicrophone affair. Collins has a microphone, each of the band members have
one, and so do the six backup singers. It
largely works, and it struck me that I was
probably hearing better sound than the
people at the Roseland.
The Blu-ray transfer is excellent,
and favors the brightness of the colors
of both the costumes and lighting. The
dts sound (Dolby and PCM stereo are
also available) makes little use of either
the rear channels or the subwoofer channel, which is just fine. This is a terrific
concert with a good feel to it, and its two
hours whiz by quickly.
Irish Tour 74 (Blu-ray)
Rory Gallagher
Eagle Vision
Gerard Rejskind: There is a story that
Jimi Hendrix was once asked what it was
like being the world’s greatest guitarist.
“I don’t know,” he replied, “ask Rory
Gallagher.”
Despite what the title of this Blu-ray
suggests, it is not a concert recording, but
a film documentary about Gallagher by
Tony Palmer. In the astonishing opening, we see Gallagher, his face dripping
with perspiration, playing for a crowd in
an unnamed Irish hall. The spectators
are mesmerized, and so is Gallagher. He
and his band members play off each other
and keep raising the energy level. At
one point Gallagher’s worn Stratocaster
guitar appears to be speaking with a
human voice, and we understand what
Hendrix was getting at.
Palmer and his cameraman followed Gallagher around, mostly in and
around Cork, a port city on the southern
coast where in fact Gallagher lived.
The concert scenes are intercut with
offstage scenes and we hear Gallagher
talking about his music and his life.
“I could write a Top 20 tune,” he says,
“but I wouldn’t.” In one astonishing
backstage sequence, we see him and his
band members jamming to Paganini.
Did you know that Paganini played the
guitar, reportedly as well as he played
the violin?
We see Gallagher autographing the
arm of a fan, an arm we know will never
be washed again. We see him shopping
for guitars in Cork, and talking shop
with the store owner. We also see him
playing a mandolin with the same magical dexterity with which he handles his
beloved Stratocaster.
The guitars he looks at are acoustic,
not electric, because his original Stratocaster follows him everywhere, though
by then many of its parts had been
replaced. We see him practicing acoustic
guitar, and explaining that he can do so
much more with his fingers than with a
plectrum. He talks about what you can
do with an acoustic guitar, and what he
does on stage with his electric instrument. And then he is back on stage with
As the Crow Flies, with acoustic guitar
and a harmonica this time, and the
magic continues. Gallagher is one with
his instrument, and he lifts the audience
with him.
It is amazing to see an artist master
an instrument to that level, and I don’t
think you’ll be able to think of many
comparable examples. He is one with
his music too. In the moments after a
particularly spectacular session, we see
him, once again, backstage with his
fellow band members. He is weary but
elated. “Sometimes it’s a little easier to
come down from a show,” he says, “and
sometimes it’s more of a trance, when
you lose yourself in your music, and the
audience gets into it, and they go along
with you. That’s all it is. It’s when the
audience and the musicians get involved
emotionally that things really take
off.”
But it may be impossible to live a
normal lifetime with that level of intensity. His aging guitar, already in shabby
shape in 1974, with its many transplanted
parts was, alas a metaphor for Rory Gallagher himself. By his mid-40’s his body
was showing the ravages of the bottle and
the prescription drugs he was abusing.
He underwent a liver transplant, but died
from complications at a young 47.
Palmer’s documentary was originally
shot for theatrical release, and has been
restored for Blu-ray and DVD. Don’t
from their players. I am firmly in the film isn’t for everyone. Indeed, its biggest
second group.
fans will admit that, on first viewing,
The story is set in “the summer they were not certain they would be
of love,” which is not in the 60’s but staying through the end. The writers
in 1899, heralding the tenets of the of Spectacular, Spectacular have a feel
Bohemian Revolution: truth, beauty, for neither plot nor lyrics. The show’s
freedom, and, above all, love. The two A rgentinian star must be replaced
major characters are Christian (Ewan because he suffers from narcolepsy, and
McGregor), a penniless American writer falls asleep during scenes. Christian
who is fascinated by love but has never meets this unlikely troupe when their
actually been in love, and Satine (Nicole dancing caves in the floor and they fall
Kidman), the long-legged exotic dancer into his apartment below. He is the only
and courtesan at the famed Moulin one to suggest plausible lyrics for what
Rouge cabaret. Christian and Satine, turns out to be The Sound of Music, and
get it? This is a morality play, in case we so he will become both the writer and
the star. He will then fall in love with
haven’t guessed.
The setting is Paris, and more par- his co-star, who is of course Satine.
But things are not so simple. Zidler
ticularly Montmartre, though actually
every frame was shot in Australia. The has run out of money, and he is seeking
amazingly detailed set allows the camera the patronage of a thoroughly slimy
to zoom in and out in impossible fashion, duke with a squeaky voice (Richard Roxlike an exceptionally detailed Google burgh), who also has his eye on Satine.
Maps animation. Most movie lot depic- In return for his backing, he demands to
tions of Paris are wrong in a million hold the deed to the Moulin Rouge, as
ways to the eye of someone who knows well as a contract binding Satine to him.
the City of Lights. In Luhrmann’s Paris, This causes problems. Not only must
despite its spatial absurdities (a revolver Christian and Satine hide their growing
is knocked out of a character’s hand and love, but the duke begins to notice that
bounces off the Eiffel tower), the details, Spectacular Spectacular’s plot has certain
down to the sign on Christian’s rooming obvious parallels with Christian and
house, are just right. These details are Satine’s own relationship.
I shall give away no more of the plot,
among the pleasures
of this
film, which
It work
in three
ways.
and I shall
pleasures
so numerous
I hardly
In theare
table
of contents,
click know
on an article
title, only say that if you have seen
Verdi’s great opera La Traviata, you will
where toand
begin.
you are whisked right to the article.
to predict where the film goes
Butthe
letlist
meof
start
with the on
look
the be able
Moulin Rouge (Blu-ray)
In
advertisers
theofsecond-last
page,
next.
film.
Youon
would
expect
anyand
movie
featurNicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor
click
an ad
name,
go right
to the
ad itself.
But I have not yet mentioned the most
ing the can-can toThen
have click
lavishon
costumes
Fox
an ad,
controversial
and browser
riotous colors,
butyou
no right
depiction
Gerard Rejskind: If ever there was
and
a your
will take
to theofadvertiser’s
Web feature
page. of the film, one
Paris entertainment
thatnumbers
some moviegoers ultimately could
film crying out for the Blu-ray treat- turn-of-the-century
Remember when you’d
have to circle little
this brilliant.
ment, Baz Luhrmann’s quirky musical has ever looked
on a this
cardbright,
you would
then mailnot
in? accept. The music is drawn from a
true in that
the DVD
it istimehost
of popular artists, from The Beatles
Moulin Rouge is it. It is a riot of color, If this isDoesn’t
seem version,
like a long
ago?
textures and luminosity. In high defini- even more true of this perfect transfer (All You Need is Love) to Madonna (Like
tion both colors and textures pop out to Blu-ray. We get a first exposure to a Virgin) to Julie Andrews (The Sound of
from the screen. You can peer into the Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic vision in the Music). However the songs are sung not
shadows of this idiosyncratic version of Moulin Rouge floor show itself. The by the original artists, but by the stars
turn-of-the-century Paris, and when the wonders continue with Satine’s boudoir, of the movie (hearing the duke sing the
lights come up full you blink. This is how which is inside a large freestanding ele- Madonna song in a voice that evokes
phant, and continues in the show within the sound of a rusty hinge is an experiyou need to see it.
That said, this film, the third in a show (appropriately titled Spectacular, ence). But that appears later in the film.
Luhrmann’s trilogy (the first two being Spectacular). The owner of the Moulin Some spectators walked out as soon as
Strictly Ballroom and a biker version of Rouge is Harold Zidler (played by Jim John Leguizamo walked in as an absurd
Romeo and Juliet), is not for everyone, and Broadbent, who has never been better), caricature of the painter Toulouseeven its biggest fans will admit to serious who is dressed and behaves as though he Lautrec. The rest got eventually over
their surprise and settled in for delight
doubts about the first 15 minutes or so is directing a three-ring circus.
on first viewing. Some walked out, never
Now this is shaping up to be a rave after delight.
I am tempted to say that Moulin
to return. Others waited breathlessly for review, and it is, but let me deliver fair
the DVD to arrive, never leaving it far warning: as I’ve already indicated, this Rouge has shown us the future of the
expect the Blu-ray’s usual high resolution, because the image is so soft and dull
it might as well be VHS. The sound is
mono, except for some contrived panned
“stereo” effects. The tour is also available on CD and on a double LP, which
some will prefer because the music isn’t
interrupted by commentary.
But you won’t get it so that you can
admire Palmer’s filmmaking. If you don’t
know Rory Gallagher, you will make a
discovery. If you do, this film is probably
already in your player.
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musical comedy, but in fact I am not
so sure. If that were true, there would
since have been other films in the same
mold. There hasn’t been, because I think
Baz Luhrmann has set the bar too high.
Moulin Rouge is his masterpiece, and it
stands alone.
Alien (Alien Anthology, Blu-ray)
Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit
Fox
Gerard Rejskind: Said the tagline of the
original Alien film of 1979, “In space, no
one can hear you scream.” Not true…
unless, of course, you are the only one
left alive, which, by end of the film, may
or may not be the case.
The plot outline is so familiar that
it can almost be called a genre. In some
remote place, which can be an outlying
outpost or an isolated village, but in this
case an industrial company spacecraft,
some sort of alien life form lurks, or
perhaps a zombie. Humans who come
into contact with it become…like them,
though they appear, initially, unchanged.
That was the premise of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead of 1968. The
idea was picked up by John Carpenter in
his 1982 film The Thing. The result is not
only fear but rampant paranoia.
But back to Alien. The Nostromo is a
commercial towing spacecraft bringing
a huge mass of ore to a resource-hungry
Earth. It intercepts a strange signal from
a nearby planet. An SOS? A warning?
The Nostromo puts down its shuttle
in the pea soup fog of the planet, and
discovers the fossilized remains of an
alien spacecraft pilot. Oh yes, and some
large, leathery eggs, which of course they
bring back with them. This is the first in
a series of poor judgement calls.
Yes, an egg hatches, and yes the alien
creature appears to have been killed,
only one of the crew members is no
longer what he seems, for inside him…
Now, in a case like this, when contact
with the alien can turn you into an alien
too, there is one obvious rule: everyone
has to stick together. If the rule were
followed, of course, there would be
no story. The tale develops as it must
(and as anyone who has seen this genre
before can predict), and so, at the end,
no one can hear warrant officer Ripley
(Sigourney Weaver) scream. Or almost
no one.
The first film was directed by Ridley
Scott, who would go on to direct Blade
Runner, Gladiator and Blackhawk Down,
as well as Apple’s iconic 1984 TV ad. He
uses sustained shots that don’t disorient
the spectator, refreshing after what
passes for action direction today (see
the Bond film Quantum of Solace for a
particularly egregious example).
I’m left with a few questions. How is
it that, just as in Star Trek, gravitational
attraction is exactly equal to Earth gravity, including in interstellar space? Are
flame throwers appropriate appliances
to be stocked aboard a spacecraft? And
is deep space the right environment for
a cat? I’m just asking.
Aliens
Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn
Fox
Gerard Rejskind: It’s a general rule
that, if a film has been a big success, the
inevitable sequel will be a disappointment. But The Godfather is a well-known
exception, and so is Aliens, which is possibly superior to the original, though to
enjoy it fully you must have seen the first
one. The reason is that, as Alfred Hitchcock long ago noted, suspense depends
on the spectator knowing more than the
characters on the screen. We know all
about the aliens because we were there,
along with Sigourney Weaver (Ripley,
whose first name, we finally learn, is
Ellen).
The other characters, however, don’t
know about them, because they didn’t
believe her. As the film opens, Ripley
has been drifting through space in
hypersleep for 57 years. Though she had
gone to sleep in lingerie that revealed
more than it concealed, the lingerie
has turned, over the decades, to dingy
grey underwear that resembles prison
issue. She learns that her 11-year old
daughter has died at an advanced age,
along with pretty much everyone she
knew. Her flight credentials have been
suspended because, all those years ago,
she destroyed an expensive spacecraft
for a reason that cannot be now be
checked out, and which sounds, frankly,
unlikely.
The unpopulated planet has since
been settled, but by an uncanny coincidence of timing, contact has just
been lost with the colony. A crew of
US Marines (yes, US Marines) is sent
out, talking as though they had just
stepped off the set of Saving Private
Ryan but with absurd weapons like the
ones in Men in Black. Ripley is added as
a consultant, as is Carter Burke (Paul
Reiser), who represents Weyland-Yutani,
the multiplanetary company that owns
the outpost. Blasting aliens is all well
and good, but damaging the expensive
infrastructure would have a negative
impact on shareholder value.
At this point it seems easy to predict
that things will turn bad, and then
worse, but director James Cameron,
who co-wrote the story with David
Giler, keeps the heat on. A decade before
Titanic, he demonstrates that, as Yogi
Berra rightly said, “it ain’t over till it’s
over.”
Before I push on to the two lesser
films included in this anthology, let me
mention the quality of this Blu-ray set.
Alien is from 1986, and I suspect that
the film stock is no longer in prime
shape. Contrast is high, possibly to
keep the plentiful blacks from turning
grey, which means that the Blu-ray
high-definition process can’t weave all
of its usual magic to dig detail from the
spacecraft’s ominous shadows. I didn’t
see the original on the big screen, and
so I can’t tell whether the original film
held any more detail. The second film is
newer, with better-controlled lighting,
though it too shows its age.
But this is what we’re left with, two
classic films by great directors, in a video
rendering that is the closest we will get
to the original.
suggests worrisome possibilities, which Weaver? It’s simple. The screenwriters
the film plays with, but then seems looked up “cloning” on Wikipedia, but
to forget about. It would be helpful if never got past the first paragraph.
Check the credits, and you’ll see that
Ripley, who has now survived the aliens
twice, would tell the prison honchos Weaver had both a drama coach and a
what she knows, but that might limit the “movement” coach, whatever that is. And
body count. We know by now that the so she’s the best actress in a miserable lot,
survival rate for anyone around Ellen including Winona Ryder, who comes off
as downright robotic. For good reason,
Ripley is not high.
Though the first two films, and espe- it turns out.
Once again, it’s the humans versus
cially the second one, featured nearly
unbearable suspense, this one, after the aliens aboard an unnecessarily large
a while, becomes a dated video game spacecraft. The humans will come out
with exceptionally poor graphics. One second best, of course, but that’s nothing
of the original alien’s most terrifying new. However it’s difficult to feel much
characteristics, that it can “impregnate” suspense over the fate of characters you
a victim, with the result that no one can don’t care about, or — worse — that you
Alien3, Alien Resurrected
be trusted, is inexplicably discarded. The find downright repellent.
Sigourney Weaver
Once more the humans turn out to
resultwe
is that
the much-feared
alien might
Fox
Yes,
get asked,
constantly,
be corrupt and therefore, by implication,
wellbe
bereviewing
a rabid pitinbull.
Gerard Rejskind: I’m putting the what
third weaswill
our next issue.
that were
notare
awful
enough, the they will get what’s coming to them. In
and fourth film together for the sameAnd weIfknow
reviews
essential.
takes an
turnplentiful.
I shall the first film the Weyland-Yutani corporeason you put the banana skinsBut
andequipment
the scriptreviews
areunexpected
nothing if not
not describe,
which
is somakes
ill-advised
coffee grounds together on trashReaders
day.
have
long toldbut
us that
what
UHF rate guy figured that any creature with
I foundtomyself
allegiances
Alien3 begins much the way
particularly
Aliens that
valuable
them switching
are the other
articles. that many teeth could be weaponized. In
this one, the mad scientists are thinking
andabout
rooting
fornuts
the alien.
I wasof
especially
did. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver),
Articleshas
about
beenideas,
the
and bolts
the technology,
hoping
would
get the
adrift in hypersleep, and ends up, this and
also itabout
music
andwriters
film, of this more along the lines of new vaccines. If
studying the aliens could yield a vaccine
movie.
time, on a planet used as a maximum pointless
which are
the very reasons
Those writers, by
the way,
security prison. Since escape is unthinkfor our lovingly-created
systems
to appear
exist. to against stupidity, they could be on to
have
seen
thepublishing
ending of hardware
Terminator
2, something.
able, the prison stocks no weapons,
Not thatand
we will
ever
stop
reviews.
This final (we can hope) Alien film
not much technology of any sort (except and spent long hours figuring out how
when the plot requires it). Even the flash- to make their ending the same, only was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who
lights mostly have dead batteries. Need less interesting. It is, alas, their only is known for much better films, including Delicatessen, Amélie Poulin and A Very
I point out that Ripley was not exactly… success.
Long Engagement. This movie is off the
***
alone in her spacecraft?
Say, didn’t Ellen Ripley do a “Termi- beaten track for him, and it is far from
Oddly enough, though she was a
civilian in the first two films, she seems nator 2” at the end of the third film? (I his best work.
The score remains the same: two
to have picked up lieutenant ranking know that’s a spoiler, but you can’t spoil
during her sleep. The two dozen prison- something that’s already in advanced classic films, two pieces of pointless
ers haven’t seen a woman in a long time, putrefaction.) So how can you have dreck, plus days and days of interviews
and neither has the prison doctor. That yet another sequel starring Sigourney and documentaries.
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Rebooting the High End
will have to close their doors. We, as an
industry, should feel an obligation to discuss such issues and propose solutions.
Finally, I am very pleased to see that,
year after year, exhibitors are making the
effort to design more visually-attractive
displays which connect better with a
wider scope of customers — especially
those being introduced to higher quality
brands for the first time.
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Michel Plante is the CEO of the Salon
Son&Image, which ran in Montreal in
early April. At the Salon’s trade and press
cocktail on the Thursday, he gave a talk we
thought deserved to be read and re-read,
and not just by people in the business. We
reproduce it here.
Thank you for taking the time to
join us to celebrate our industry, and this
year, more specifically, the sales retail
consultants.
This year we decided to focus on not
just a single sales consultant, but all sales
consultants, to remind them that we
recognize the important role they play
in the development and survival of the
higher-end industry.
It is through their passion, their
knowledge and love for music, that these
technology evangelists allow for certain
high-end brands to exist in an already
crowded market.
Thirty years ago, retail sales consultants were enthusiasts at heart but
not necessarily trained salesmen. Their
passion for audio allowed them to succeed in the industry for many years.
We must recognize that, today, passion alone is not enough to compete in
the current state of the market.
As an industry we need to ensure the
satisfaction of our existing sales force,
and at the same time focus on attracting a new generation of highly-skilled,
well-trained sales consultants, and offer
them a more attractive compensation.
I encourage the members of this
industry to rethink their business models
in such a way that allows better compensation for sales staff.
Please join me in raising your glass
to the dedication of our industry’s outstanding sales force, while recognizing
that some changes need to be made.
However recognizing the need for
change in the way we conduct business
is not the only aspect that should be
addressed.
A Different
Take
Since the early days, formats have
dictated the direction of our industry and
prevented many superior products from
ever reaching their true potential. In the
recent years the increasing popularity
of digital music downloads has led the
music industry into a downward spiral,
in turn resulting in our industry nearly
losing a generation of customers.
From what I’ve witnessed at the show
today, I’m very glad to see just how many
new high-end audio product manufacturers have embraced the digital music
generation. Advancing in this direction
allows the new generation of music lovers
to relate to these products, and allows a
chance for our industry to reignite the
interest in high quality audio products.
We recently conducted a survey of
a number of retailers in the Montreal
area, to gain insight into the status of the
industry. We will share these statistics
with you shortly.
The most striking aspect of this
survey is the number of retail owners
who plan to retire within the next five to
seven years. What is shocking to me is
that very few have any kind of succession
plan in place. If all of these businesses
are put up for sale in a short time frame,
their value will depreciate drastically. Or
they won’t ever find a buyer at all, and
Here’s another view from a US publication
called Dealerscope. We agree with quite a lot
of what it has to say, though you can probably
spot the part we don’t.
It may be impossible to make longterm predictions, but the health of the
home audio industry seems likely to
remain solid for the foreseeable future.
For a variety of reasons, attention is
shifting to sound quality, and consumers want to maximize the possibilities
of quality audio to complement the
enhanced video content.
The message for dealers is optimistic
and urgent: Now is the time to take
advantage of this renaissance of sound
and to equip consumers with crucial
information. It is a powerful incentive to
truthfully explain to a customer that for
a fraction of the price it costs to upgrade
their video, they can radically improve
how they hear it.
Thinking back to an era the younger
generation might find difficult to appreciate or conceive, the sound dynamic
remained relatively straightforward for
the better part of a century. No matter
what type of component was playing
the music, it was still a two-channel
environment, powered by a receiver and
a set of speakers. The landscape changed
gradually but the eventual paradigm
shift was radical and seemingly perma-
nent. The ubiquity of digital files and
MP3 players made the consumption of
audio similar to personal computing: a
24/7, multi-location proposition. People
were able to take their music with them
wherever they roamed, and this concept
is considered anything but revolutionary
in 2011.
Of course, one casualty of that progress has been the antiquated concept of
listening to music as a primary activity.
Now with audio content more available
and affordable than ever before, it has
become more of a background entity,
The End of
Analog
Oh, don’t panic, they’re not killing
off turntables. We’re talking about the
end of analog over-the-air television.
In the US most analog TV stations left
the air in 2009. In Canada it will have
happened by the time you read this.
The big switchover was set for the end
of August.
But then again…
For practical purposes, the authentic
high-end audio tag applied to products
that sold for thousands, not hundreds of
dollars. As such, it seems safe to suggest
that the market for this obsession has
always catered to a wealthy, passionate minority. On the other hand the
ceaseless technological innovations in
the CE industry result in augmented
performance at lower prices — a typical
win-win for consumers.
We may be entering a new era where
audio performance is once again a
priority.
this, CTV is still not digital in Canada’s
second largest city (Montreal), whereas
the CBC has been broadcasting digitally for half a decade. Would someone
explain this to us?
Actually, we don’t know what the
private broadcasters are up to, beyond
the fact that they tend to underestimate
the number of over-the-air viewers by
an order of magnitude. The CBC, for its
part, is digital everywhere it has production studios, but not in the “regions.”
ThatTHE
couldCOMPLETE
mean, for instance,
that such
GET
VERSION!
cities
London
(Ontario)
and
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You’llashave
noticed
that this
free
Cityversion
could of
lose
their
English service.
UHF
Magazine
centres
could
isCountless
not quiteother
complete.
But
youlose
cantheir
minority
get thelanguage
completeservices
version (CBC in
Quebec,
Radio-Canada
The
from
Maggie for elsewhere).
$4.
corporation
has
been
given
extra year
Click here,
and
away
weango!
to install 27 more transmitters.
But even after all 27 transmitters are
active, only about 20 of the 30 markets
the CRTC has designated as mandatory
will be covered. Some markets, such
as big cities, require two transmitters
to cover both English- and Frenchlanguage services. The Conservative
government of Stephen Harper is freshly
re-elected with a majority, and has said
publicly that it thought the CBC could
easily find 5% of savings somewhere.
By the way, when the US switchover
was made, converters for older TV sets
cost about $60, and many consumers
got $40 government coupons to pay for
them. In Canada, the converters cost
$90 to $100, more than the value of the
nearly worthless elderly TV sets that are
analog-only, and there are no coupons.
Here’s a flash. A lot of the people who
can’t afford to subscribe to cable or satel-
lite (services that will be unaffected by
the switchover) are also those who can’t
afford even the cheapest of the new flatscreen digital TV sets. They also don’t
have money to go to the movies.
CD Sales
Falling?
It’s true as far as it goes. CD sales
keep dropping and have been dropping for years, as consumers discover
downloading. That was why record and
movie companies have been suing kids
and housewives. That is why the last
Canadian parliament had been preparing
to adopt a copyright “reform” that was
nothing if not draconian. How about a
$5000 fine for moving a movie from a
DVD you paid for to your iPad?
And with a newly-minted Conservative majority government, you can
expect the bill to reappear. And pass.
But then downloading is killing
music, and movies too, right? Or not.
A lot of the downloading is coming
through paid sources, notably Apple’s
iTunes. And now comes word that Netflix alone accounts for 30% of Internet
bandwidth use in the US…ahead of BitTorrents. Oh yes, and legal music sales
actually rose last year.
But there’s more. The Globe&Mail
recently ran an interesting article by
Dwayne Winseck of Carleton University, titled Restrictive Copyright Plays Into
Music Industry Myths. In fact, he says,
with official graphs to back him up, the
Gossip&News
Feedback
It was on August 5th, some three
weeks before the big switchover, that the
CBC got a one-year reprieve from the
CRTC. The reason? The CBC, though
it has known about this switchover for a
decade, doesn’t have the money to buy
all new transmitters.
Originally, we expected private
broadcasters to be the ones crying. CTV,
notably, a few years back actually threatened to abandon broadcasting entirely,
and to become — we suppose — some
sort of specialty channel, only specializing in everything. In fact as we write
an ongoing soundtrack to accompany
our information-overload existences: we
have music with us on our commutes,
while we exercise, even while we work.
Nevertheless the proclamations of
home audio’s (high-end or otherwise)
demise were premature. The resurgence
of home audio, led by new solutions,
attractive price points and what should
be regarded as a legitimate trend of a
more old-school listening experience
warrants the question: How do we
describe, or define, the audiophile in the
21st Century?
music business appears to be in peril
only if we focus on just one element of
the business, the “recorded music” segment. Doing that, however, ignores the
three fastest growing segments of the
business: concerts, Internet and mobile
phones, and publishing rights. Add those
up, and the picture is different. Winseck
says that the record industry may be
in decline, but the music industry as a
whole is not.
Google Dwayne Winseck and read it
for yourself.
Narrow
Bandwidth
You can’t hang around the Internet
much without running across firm predictions that physical discs (CD, DVD,
etc.) are doomed. It’s all downloads, now.
And Blu-ray? Fuggedaboutit! You can
stream HD from lots of sources.
Except that you can’t.
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 CD player: CEC TL-51X
belt-driven transport, Moon 300D
converter
Digital cable: Atlas Opus 1.5m
Digital portable: Apple iPod Touch
Turntable: Audiomeca J-1
Tone arm: Audiomeca SL-5
Pickup: Goldring Excel
Phono preamp: Audiomat Phono 1.6
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,
GutWire B-12, Wireworld
AC filters: GutWire MaxCon Squared,
Foundation Research LC-1
Acoustics: Gershman Acoustic Art panels
The Kappa system
This is our home theatre system. As with the
original Alpha system, we had limited space,
and that pretty much ruled out huge projectors and two-metre 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
DVD player (provisional): Pioneer BDP51FD Blu-Ray player
Preamplifier/processor: Simaudio Moon
Attraction, 5.1 channel version
Power amplifiers: Simaudio Moon W-3
(main speakers), bridged Celeste 4070se
(centre speaker), Robertson 4010 (rear)
Main speakers: Energy Reference Connoisseur (1984)
Centre speaker: Thiel MCS1
Rear speakers: Elipson 1400
Subwoofer: 3a Design Acoustics
Cables: Atlas, Van den Hul, MIT,
GutWire, Wireworld
Line filter: GutWire MaxCon Squared
All three systems have dedicated power lines,
with Hubbell hospital grade outlets. Extensions
and power bars are equipped with hospitalgrade connectors.
Streamed HD is not HD, it’s a cruel
parody, and the parody is about to get a
lot crueler.
There’s been a major debate in
Canada over Internet data caps, but let’s
not fool ourselves. Everyone does it.
Either they’re upfront and tell you you’re
headed for personal bankruptcy if you go
over a set download limit, or else you find
your speed being mysteriously throttled
back to rates you haven’t seen since you
bought your first dialup modem. Where
does streaming HD fit in?
It doesn’t, and Netflix Canada has
acknowledged it, by letting subscribers
throttle back their own streams to as
little as…well, Netflix itself says you’ll
be able to watch 30 hours of movies and
churn through just 9 GB of data. How’s
that for HD?
By our calculation, 30 hours of real
HD (Blu-ray) movies could require
600GB.
Blu-ray loses because streaming is
good enough? Yeah, right!
HMV Sold
HMV is Canada’s last major record
store chain. It belonged to the British
chain of the same name, until the mother
ship cast the Canadian division loose.
The buyer is also British, Hilco UK.
It paid just $3.23 million, which doesn’t
sound like a lot for 121 stores, unless you
consider that HMV appears to be on a
death plunge. Hilco will pay a lot more,
$25 million, to turn the chain around.
If, of course, it can.
CDs aside, HMV has been selling
downloadable music (which was such a
success even we didn’t know about it),
and Hilco will press ahead with that,
thereby going head to head against
iTunes, Amazon, and even Wal-Mart.
(Oh, wait, Wal-Mart just closed its MP3
sales business down, which could be a
sign.) They are expected to continue
HMV’s “store of the future” drive,
selling iPods, game controllers and
headphones. You know...stuff you can’t
find anywhere else.
We’re glad it’s not our money.
Elite TVs
Return
Well, sort of.
A lot of people wept when Pioneer,
makers of what were considered to be
the world’s best plasma HDTV’s, closed
down its entire Elite display division. But
now it’s returned, as you may have seen
from the ads.
Speaking
of Pioneer
You expect new receivers from a
company like Pioneer to boast new
features, though, if we’re frank, most
“innovations” don’t bring you much
more than you would have expected
two years ago, or possibly two decades
ago. The newest batch of Pioneer’s Elite
receivers, however, have a feature that
grabbed our attention. It’s Airplay.
ADVERTISERS
Allnic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Audiophile Boutique . . . . . . . Cover 2
Audiophile Store. . . . . . . . . . .55-62
Audio Zendo. . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3
BIS Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Blue Circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Charisma Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Europroducts International . . . . . 9, 17
Hammertone Audio. . . . . . . . . . .14
Liberty Trading. . . . . . . 12, Cover 4
Maggie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Mutine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3
Onda Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Revolver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Roksan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4
Simaudio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Super Antenna. . . . . . . . . . Cover 2
Thorens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
UHF Back Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . 44
UHF Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Well Tempered. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Feedback
Gossip&News
Only it hasn’t.
The new sets do bear the Elite logo,
just as the old ones did, only if you search
for the Pioneer name you won’t find it.
You also won’t kind the trade mark Kuro,
which identified Pioneer’s legendary
displays. You see, these are not Pioneers.
And there are some differences.
First, these are LCDs, not plasmas.
Second, they are actually made by Sharp
(which uses the Elite name under licence).
Now that’s not such bad news, because
Sharp displays are not too shabby, and
they even include Sharp’s extra (yellow)
subpixel for better reproduction of fields
of sunflowers. They’re more modern,
with network connection and 3D. But
did we mention that they’re LCDs?
However the price will seem familiar
to Elite aficionados. The 60” (152 cm)
model is $6000. And that’s the smaller
and cheaper of the two models. How
does $8000 sound.
Yes, for an LCD!
Airplay is an Apple technology, once
called Airtunes, though it was renamed
after it was given video capability. Airplay allows an up-to-date iPhone, iPod
touch or iPad to send audio (and, where
applicable, video) to an Apple device such
as the Airport Express or the Apple TV
(both of which we use ourselves — see
our article on the Apple TV in this
issue). However Pioneer has licensed the
technology, which is baked right in.
Understand that this is not some
scheme that delivers highly compressed
audio. Airplay can send digital audio
wirelessly in CD quality (that is, 16 bits
and a 44.1 kHz sampling rate) right to
a compatible device. The source can be
your computer, which is the way we do
things, but it can also be your iPhone,
iPod touch or iPad. Remember those
expensive devices for getting a fullresolution digital signal from your iPod?
Obsolete.
In Vegas in January, there was a room
using an iPad as a source. Not as a control system, but as the music source. An
amplifier from Micromega, with Airplay
in it, was at the receiving end.
There’s lots more to the Elite VSX53, including an Internet radio tuner,
and all the surround sound options
you’d expect. It’s on the Pioneer site, at
pioneerusa.com.
H
State of the Art
ere’s what it all comes down
to. This hobby of high
fidelity is not merely about
amplifiers, loudspeakers,
cables, disc players or technology. It is
about music.
That should be obvious, right? As
far as I can see it’s not. What has always
made UHF different from other magazines writing on (supposedly) the same
topic is that we consider music to be
the most important attribute of a music
system. That’s why it’s called a music
system.
You can see that philosophy in every
issue, even in our equipment reviews.
You’ll see us talking a lot more about
melody, harmony and rhythm than about
air and bass slam and liquidity of the
midrange. They are the building blocks
of music, and music is the raison d’être
of what we do here. I might mention,
parenthetically, that those aspects of
music cannot be measured by any electronic instruments I’m aware of, though
they can be heard by anyone who hasn’t
actually gone through an autopsy.
At one time (and I’ve been doing this
a long time), it was actually a struggle
to put this idea across. I’d hear a lot of
objections, or even sneers. You should
listen to the melody? Heck you can hear
the melody on a transistor radio! Rhythm?
If a boom box can reproduce anything, it
can reproduce rhythm, right?
Wrong in fact. Try this.
Listen to a piece of music with
strong rhythm. It can be anything from
heavy metal to Beethoven, because the
principle applies across genres. As the
music plays, try to follow the rhythm
with your hand, as though you were the
conductor. Is it easy to do? Wait…actually do it, don’t assume it will be easy to
do because…well, just because it has to
be. Why wouldn’t it be?
Yet it isn’t. The same could be said of
other musical elements, such as harmony,
and a more nebulous quality I like to call
coherence. What I mean by that word is
the way music hangs together. In complex music — and complexity can mean
as few as two instruments — the music
by Gerard Rejskind
should make sense. I don’t mean merely
that it should make sense intellectually.
Music is an emotional experience. It
appeals to the heart as well as the mind,
and indeed to the whole body.
You’d think melody, rhythm and harmony should be the least fragile elements
of the music, but in fact they are the
most fragile. It may not be immediately
obvious, but consider something. When
you’re at a live music performance, your
attention is riveted to the music, and
you are actually, actively, listening, not
merely hearing. Indeed, you can scarcely
do otherwise. Listen to the same music
on the radio, say, and I need hardly say
that the experience will be different.
Even if you strive to listen actively, you’ll
find that nearly anything can pull your
attention away. In many cases, the only
reason you’re drawn in to the music at
all is that you have heard it better reproduced — or, better yet, live — and the
radio version is just good enough to call
up memories of the much more powerful
emotional experience.
(That, by the way, is the reason musicians often are not natural audiophiles, as
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.
you might expect. Recorded music provides clues to the original performance,
but their memories and imaginations
fill in the holes. I’ve known a classical
musician who would happily listen to
Beethoven on shortwave radio!)
Of course, a real music system, even
a modest one, provides a much more
complete experience, but a gap remains
between live and “hi-fi”. Did you ever
look through your collection of recordings and found yourself unable to find
anything that tempted you? That’s a
sign your system is not nourishing your
soul. If it were, you’d be wishing you
had enough time to listen to all of your
recordings.
So far what I’ve written may sound
self-serving. If we write about music
and the other magazines write about
electrons, then we have a solid argument
for reading UHF rather than some other
publication. In fact it goes beyond that,
to encompass the way you shop for audio,
and the way you listen once you get your
purchase home.
If it’s genuinely useful for us to
evaluate audio equipment by listening
to (and for) the basic musical building
blocks, then it must be useful for you to
do the same when you’re shopping. If we
are right that the job of the system you
buy is to deliver some of the emotional
impact of a live performance, then that
is what you should be listening for too.
To do anything less may expose you to
making an error in your purchase.
That leads directly to the final aspect,
the way you listen to a system you’ve
installed in your home. If you agree with
the way we view music at home, then
actually listen…not to the system, but
through it, to hear as much of the original
performance as it can deliver.
You may have noticed that there’s
been a bit of a shift in our vocabulary,
too. Instead of talking about a hi-fi
system, or a stereo system (both sound
curiously dated in the 21st century), we
most often call it a music system.
Think of it that way, and I think
you’ll make wiser buying choices. You’ll
certainly have a lot more fun.
Why do
UHF readers
start reading
their magazines
at the back?
Countless readers have confirmed it over the
years: when they get their hands on the
latest issue of UHF, they open it to the last
page.
The reason all of them mention: Gerard
Rejskind’s last-page column, State of the Art. Since
the magazine’s founding, the column has grappled
with the major questions of high end audio. It has been
acclaimed by readers around the world.
Now, the columns from the first 60 issues of UHF are
brought together into one book. Each is exactly as it was originally
published, and each is accompanied by a new introduction.
Order your copy today: $18.95 in Canada or the US, C$32
elsewhere in the world, air mail included.
We are proud to announce that the
ROKSAN K2 integrated amplifier
has won the DIAPASON D’OR AWARD
for best amplifier of 2009!
Apollo
Atlas Cables
Audes
AudioPrism
Brik Audio
Discwasher
Dr. Feickert
Kandy K2
Gutwire Cables
“A neat balancing act, carried
off here with rare success”
London Decca
Art Dudley,
May 2010
GET ROKSAN AT:
Altronics Stereo
Toronto, Ont
416-233-8906
Living Sound Stereo
Markham, Ont
905-475-6300
Image Audio
Guelph, Ont
519-265-3840
Audio Two
Windsor, Ont
519-979-7101
Locke Street Audio
Hamilton, Ont
905-529-2522
LIBER
TY
TR
A
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LSA
All That Jazz
Cookstown, Ont
705-717-7300
Signature Audio
Vancouver, BC
604-873-6682
The Sound Room
Kingston, Ont
613-549-0445
Loyalty Sound
Calgary, AB
403-244-8843
Oz Entreprises
Orleans, Ont
info@ozenterprises.net
Everest Audio
Regina, SK
306-536-3884
Villeneuve Audio Video
Joliette, Qc
450-755-1696
Brooklyn Audio
Dartmouth, NS
902-463-8773
Audiophonie
Montreal, Qc
514-544-2788
6 Sons Audio
Winnipeg, MB
204-770-2341
WM. Layton Audio
Montreal, QC
514-866-1578
Mastersound
Mobile Fidelity
Nerve Audio
Nitty Gritty
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Onzow
Penaudio
Revolver
Roksan
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PALL MALL &
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259 Edgeley Blvd, Unit 10
CONCORD, ON L4K 3Y5
(905) 532-9004 (647) 997-4607
FAX: (905) 532-9105
www.libertytrading.ca
libertytrading2009@gmail.com
Stillpoints
Target Hi-Fi
Wattgate
Plus a wide range of
Audiophile XRCD /
K2HD / SACD/ LP

here - UHF Magazine

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