LATEST ADDITIONS

Mahler's Great Song Cycles Beautifully Performed

Jason Victor Serinus Aug 02, 2017

With so many great studio and live recordings of Mahler's three song cycles for solo voice readily available, any new contender has to offer something very special. On their new Pentatone hybrid SACD, Mahler Song Cycles, which is also available as a hi-rez PCM or DSD download in both stereo and surround here and here, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra under Marc Albrecht present interpretations of Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), the five Rückert-Lieder (settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert), and Kindertotenlieder (Songs to Dead Children) that can stand up against those of, to mention only a few leading mezzo-sopranos/contraltos of the last 70 years, Kathleen Ferrier, Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Brigitte Fassbaender, Anne Sofie Von Otter, and Frederica von Stade.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

Massdrop x HiFiMAN HE4XX Planar Magnetic Headphones

Tyll Hertsens Aug 02, 2017

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Oh boy. The folks at Massdrop have gone and done it again. Just got their new Massdrop x HiFiMAN HE4XX in for measurements and a quick listen before the drop.

Recording of the Month

Recording of October 1980: Growing Up In Hollywood Town

Margaret Graham Aug 01, 2017

Lincoln Hayorga and Amanda McBroom: Growing Up In Hollywood Town
Lincoln Hayorga and Amanda McBroom
Sheffield LAB-13 (LP).

This is a gorgeous recording. And would you believe, it's multi-miked? Sheffield's first since 1975, according to the notes. Ms. McBroom has that purity of intonation that once distinguished Julie Andrews' voice. This, plus a predominantly-string backup orchestra delivers a rich, warm sound. Each of the songs here is a gem in its own right, and the collaboration of McBroom and Mayorga creates moments here that are magical. My favorite is the song entitled "Amanda," with its frontier flavor and unadorned lyrics, followed by Mayorga's'waltz, "Wistful Lady."

J. Gordon Holt Tube Power Amp Reviews

VTL/Manley Reference 350 power amplifier

J. Gordon Holt Aug 01, 2017

Manley is not a new company; it's the last name of the president and chief designer of VTL, David Manley, whose Model 300 has been my reference standard power amp for the past two years. In fact, Manley is not even a new brand name; it's the name of VTL's "deluxe" line of electronics, built (ostensibly) to industrial standards of ruggedness and reliability.

It's customary to think of "the tube sound" as being warm, rich, weak through the deep bass, fat through the midbass, forward through the midrange, bright through the middle highs, and soft at the extreme top, with superb rendition of depth and spaciousness. The "solid-state sound," by contrast, is generally thought to be cool, detailed, and pristine, with powerful deep bass, controlled midbass, rather reticent (laid-back) midrange and mid-highs, and a somewhat crisp high end, with variable (roulette-style) reproduction of depth and spatiality.

Robert Baird

Rock'n'Roll Music

Robert Baird Jul 31, 2017

Chuck Berry's Swan Song

Fred Kaplan

William Parker Quartets, Meditation / Resurrection

Fred Kaplan Jul 30, 2017

William Parker, Bronx-born bassist-composer extraordinaire, is one of the few jazz musicians who came up through the avant-garde (making his first big marks as a sideman to Cecil Taylor and David S. Ware) yet manages to fuse its techniques and innovations with standard rhythms, a sense of blues that might have wafted up from the Delta, a dash of wit, and a seemingly effortless swing.

His new two-CD album, Meditation / Resurrection (on the AUM Fidelity label), was recorded in the course of a single day last October, at Brooklyn's System Two Studio by Michael Marciano, who also mixed it live, to give it the feel of a spontaneous set at a club.

Robert Baird

RIP New Vinyl (because the WSJ says so)

Robert Baird Jul 29, 2017

This kerfuffle oughta sell a few more Welch/Rawlings records, though.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

Sennheiser HD569 Around Ear Sealed Headphones

Tyll Hertsens Jul 29, 2017

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Sennheiser has been "remastering" their line-up for the past little while and I've been itching to get a little ear time on some of the more affordable models. In a marvelous turn of events, they sent me a couple of boxes filled with headphones for me to measure, evaluate, and cherry pick for for good values. Here's the first one...

Fred Kaplan

Thelonious Monk: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960

Fred Kaplan Jul 28, 2017

Et tu, Thelonious? We've come to expect new discoveries from the vaults, annually or more often, by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, and Sonny Rollins. But who knew there were hidden gems by the gnomic Monkand from a professionally recorded studio session, no less!

Art Dudley Listening Phono Cartridge Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews

Listening #176: MusiKraft Cartridge Bodies & EMIA Phono Transformer

Art Dudley Jul 27, 2017

How can you tell a classic product from the hi-fi hoi polloi? One sure sign is when third-party developers spring up around the thing, offering parts and service intended to maximize its performanceor just to keep it on the road. Thus regarded, a few true classics emerge: Quad's ESL and ESL-63 loudspeakers. Altec's 802 and 806 compression drivers. The Linn LP12 and Garrard 301/401 turntables. The Rega RB-300 tonearm and its direct descendants.