Last Night, In Other Music
<i>Photo: David Black</i>
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Thiel’s New SCS4T Loudspeaker
On Friday, John Atkinson and I visited the lovely home of <a href="http://www.wircmedia.com/">WIRC Media</a>’s Micah Sheveloff, press representative for Thiel and Bryston.
What is your favorite speaker technology and why?
Recent reviews in <I>Stereophile</I> have highlighted a wide variety of loudspeaker design approaches. What is your favorite speaker technology and why?
Music in the Round #43
The debate over which audio component is most important in determining the quality of a system's sound is one that has been with us for decades. Recently, it came up in a conversation I had during a visit to a Manhattan high-end shop, when I was told about a discussion on the topic by <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/1101ivor">Ivor Tiefenbrun</A> (of Linn) and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/690wil">David Wilson</A> (of Wilson Audio Specialties). You don't have to be a seasoned audiophile to predict their respective positions, but when I was pressed to take a stand, I paused.
Meridian 207 Pro CD player
In a way, you could say that Meridian started the now epidemic practice of modifying stock CD players (usually of the Philips-Magnavox species). The original Meridian player, the MCD, was a reworking of the first-generation Philips and was <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/285meridian">praised by J. Gordon Holt</A> in these pages in his 1985 review (Vol.8 No.2). The Meridian Pro (Vol.8 No.6) won similar plaudits, and is still to be seen lurking in JA's system. And the original 207 was well-received by MC in Vol.10 No.3.
California Audio Labs Tempest II CD player
Snickering was heard from the major consumer electronics purveyors when California Audio Labs came out with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/654">original Tempest</A>, their first CD player using tube output stages. But not from the audiophile community. It was, all things considered, an inevitable product; I'm certainly not the only one who wondered—before the emergence of California Audio Labs—who would be the first to build such a unit. The obvious candidates were Audio Research or Conrad-Johnson. But those companies apparently read the audio tea-leaves and, perhaps perceiving the early high-end hostility toward the new format, apparently decided to bide their time. (With regards to tube players, they're still biding it, though C-J has had a prototype player up and running for some time.)
Recording of October 1989: Ysaÿe Kreisler Bach
<B><I>YSAŸE KREISLER BACH</I></B><BR>
J.S. Bach: Partita No.2, BWV 1004, Kreisler: Recitativo & Scherzo, Op.6, Ysaÿe: Sonata, Op.27 No.2<BR>
Arturo Delmoni, violin<BR>
Water Lily Acoustics WLA-WS-07 (LP), WLA-WS-07-CD (CD). Kavichandran Alexander, eng., prod. AAA/AAD. Subsequently released on CD as John Marks Records CD JMR 14G (footnote 1). TT: 48:03
New & Old Treasures by Maria Schneider
Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra plays at Birdland in midtown Manhattan this week, an unusual season and setting (usually they play at the Jazz Standard around Thanksgiving). The occasion is the premiere of a new, commissioned composition, and at Wednesday’s early set, it sounded as lovely as anything she’s written: joyful, melancholic, adventurous, pensive, with a samba swing.
Best Coast Coming Soooooooooon
Remember <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/the_world_is_crazy/">this rad video</a>?
New Products from Marantz
Marantz has introduced four new, relatively affordable products: two integrated amplifiers and two disc players. All carry on the sleek, attractive design of the company’s reference components, featuring the classic Marantz star logo (cool), sculpted faceplates, and solid-looking build.