Listening room not up to snuff? Kalman Rubinson fires up the Rives Audio PARC 3-Band Parametric Equalizer to see whether it can tame a wild acoustic beast. KR reports that at "low frequencies, electronic EQ can be implemented without introducing significant distortion or noise in the midrange, where the ear is most sensitive."
Tonal accuracy vs. soundstage? "Achieving an optimum balance between the two philosophical extremes of recording is where much of the art lies. It also begs the question, of course, of why it's impossible to have both: a recording with a virtual-reality sense of imaging that also captures all the sound without any coloration." While recording the Sonata CD for Stereophile, John Atkinson wrestles with every recording engineer's dilemma. Read about the struggle to capture Robert Silverman performing Liszt's monumental B-Minor Piano Sonata and the ultimate solution in "Fate, I Defy You," added this week to the archives.
In his essay "Let's Face the Music and Dance," John Marks, founder of John Marks Records, asks: "Does high-end audio have a future?" Of course it does, he says. But will it be one worth the price? Marks writes, "for most of its potential consumers, high-end audio is now a matter of sharply diminishing economic returns. A large incremental expenditure guarantees only a relatively modest, even marginal improvement in sound quality." How to forge ahead anyway? Marks offers his advice to our "dysfunctional" audio family.
In his review of the Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve monoblock amplifier, Michael Fremer notes, "Conrad-Johnson is one of audio's 'marquee' companies, and charges accordingly." MF uncovers what you really get for your $7000, aside from 140Wpc and a top-shelf name.
In his review of the Meridian 508.24 CD player, Wes Phillips finds the machine "a beautiful design with impeccable technical credentials—a CD player that belongs, with only a few others, at the very sharpest portion of the leading edge, and that joins them in producing sound that is highly musical and hard to criticize."
February's the month when Stereophile publishes its coveted "Records To Die For" feature, wherein everybody working for the magazine gets to make like a music critic and add their two cents' worth about what gets them excited (musically speaking). R2D4 2001 is on newsstands right now, in the February issue of Stereophile; to commemorate its publication, we add the 2000 "Records To Die For" to the online archives.
"Even right out of the box, it's obvious that the Wadia Digital 861 CD player is something special," writes Brian Damkroger in this month's issue. "Its heft and finish are beyond the usual high-end standards." But how about the sound?
For his review of the diminutive Acarian Systems Alón Petite loudspeaker, Wes Phillips explains that the "li'l guys frequently image like bandits—which some of us just can't resist." Also included is Robert J. Reina's followup review of Alón's matching PW-1 woofer system, from February 1997, along with his take on the Alón Petite.
Sam Tellig triggered a hailstorm of comment with his original review of the RadioShack Optimus CD-3400 portable CD player. After Tellig suggested that the modest player just might be a cheapskate audiophile delight, writers Corey Greenberg, Jack English, John Atkinson, Barry Willis, and Robert Harley each added his two cents. Some revealing but hitherto unpublished measurements are also included.