Listening #59
"Why can't I just buy . . . a <I>bicycle</I>?"
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Music in the Round #27
Back in October 2001, when Larry Greenhill <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpreamps/700">told us</A> about the Sony TA-P9000ES multichannel preamplifier, it seemed the best thing since sliced bread. This affordable ($700) analog controller had two six-channel inputs, a six-channel bypass input, level controls for all channels, and a stereo bypass input. For those of us just dipping our toes into multichannel, it was welcome. Though no longer manufactured, the Sony is still a unique component, and one highly prized in the second-hand market. The TA-P9000ES was not, however, the answer to <I>all</I> our prayers—made to complement a digital processor, it basically has only two 5.1-channel inputs, if the TA-P9000ES is used independently.
Tim de Paravicini: King of Tubes
How many hi-fi professionals can say that they've designed at least one of every part of a complete recording system, from microphones to tape recorders to vinyl-disc-cutting electronics? Probably only Tim de Paravicini (footnote 1). Best known to audiophiles for his extraordinarily durable EAR valve amplifiers, Tim is also an electronics guru to the professional recording world. His global reputation today is based on more than four decades of making things better, building equipment that stands the test of time.
Maria Schneider at the Jazz Standard
I saw Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra at the Jazz Standard last night, for at least the 12th time in as many years, and they—both she and the band—get more and more dazzling with each visit. As I noted a couple months back, with the release of her latest <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/fredkaplan/082107jazz/">CD</A>, <I>Sky Blue</I> (available only from ArtistShare.com or MariaSchneider.com), Schneider’s compositions have grown both denser and airier—rich harmonies stacked on brisk, flowing melodies, swaying to rhythms at once buoyant, complex, and danceable. Her ballads are sweet and lovely without oozing into sentimentality. Her upbeat numbers are snappy without drifting into banality. In recent years, she’s been exploring Latin rhythms and styles—in Saturday night’s early set, she played compositions inspired by Brazil, Spain, and Peru, and it seemed absolutely authentic. Her band—17 members, many of whom have played with her for over 15 years—is drum-tight, and, perhaps because of this, the soloists soar more lyrically to more adventurous heights.
Random Thoughts & Recommended Components
<I>"All great editors are men able to see how stories, episodes, and personalities flow and merge one into the other to reproduce the pattern of a world that only their own inner eye perceives.</I>—Henry Robinson Luce, Founder, <I>Time</I> and <I>Life</I> magazines
Idle Idol
Easter Island isn't the only place with big heads lying about.
Not Too Big
"Sure, this box is snug, but I still fit in it," insists Huckleberry.
Return of the Zeppelin
No, not those guys, the real thing.
Rock of Ages
Jon Fine nicely spanks <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/opinion/20brooks.html">David Brooks for "putting on his old man hat."</A>
ATI Buys Theta Digital
Theta Digital, the "Digital Done Right" pioneer of separate DACs and transports, has been sold to Amplifier Technologies, Inc. ATI has pledged to immediately begin work on selected Theta audiophile and home-theater products.