LATEST ADDITIONS

The Band: The Last Waltz 40th
Rhino RR 273925 (2 CDs). 1978/2016. Robbie Robertson, prod.; Ron Fraboni, John Simon, co-prods.; Terry Becker, Tim Kramer, Elliot Mazer, Wayne Neuendorf, Ed Anderson, Neil Brody, engs. ADD? TT: 2:09:11
Performance *****
Sonics ****

To clear the air, if not the sinuses, let's dispose right now of the traveling-booger-matte controversy. If Robbie Robertson and the late Levon Helm are to be believed, in The Last Waltz, Neil Young performed "Helpless" with a very suspicious chunk of something hanging out of one nostril. When Young and his management became aware of the problem, the offending object had to be excised from the film stock using a matte laboriously inserted into every frame. At least, that's how the juiciest legend from one of rock's most legendary performances is usually told.

Last July and September I made two loudspeaker-related road trips: first to Rockport Technologies, in Maine, to audition their new Lyra; and then to high-end dealer-distributor GTT Audio, in deepest, darkest New Jersey, to audition YG Acoustics' new Sonja XV. Both speakers offer innovative, proprietary drive-units and heroic audio engineering, especially regarding their enclosures, which are constructed from aluminum. Both experiences took place in superbly well-designed and optimized listening rooms with front-end and amplification components that were beyond reproach. The sound quality offered by the Rockport and YGA speakers was simply superb, both stepping entirely out of the way to offer maximum communion with the music.

"Great" is not an adjective to be invoked lightly. But once you hear mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton hold forth on her debut solo album, All Who Wander (Delos)—available in 24/96 from HDTracks, which features songs by Mahler, Sibelius, and Dvorák, you will harbor no doubt that she is one of the great vocal artists of our era.

Since I focus on digital product introductions at CES, Crystal Cable wasn't on my radar until John Atkinson suggested checking them out last year when bringing Graham Nash to the show. Boy am I glad I did! Not only did Graham love his visit there in 2016 (and JA subsequently reviewed their speakers), Jake ended his CES 2017 tour on a high note in the room with an encore performance that brought tears to more than one visitor's eye.

Sometimes it's love at first sight. I know appearances can be deceiving, but I couldn't stop looking at Rogers High Fidelity's 114Wpc EHF-200 MK 2 amplifier ($15,900). The beautiful KT150 tubes, the glossy red front panel, and the thick plexiglass tube cover were eye candy.

What goes up, must go down. So we headed back to the stairs and then down five flights to the 30th floor where John DeVore was set up. We were now in the smallest size room you'll find at the Venetian, but still big enough to fit us all in, like a cozy, plush living room. John keeps his space dark and relaxing too, the emphasis clearly on our sense of hearing. So no flash, and I've tried to keep the brightness in the photos realistic to reflect how this room felt.

I was quite excited to see the original ELAC Discovery prototype exhibited last year at CES, and AudioStream's Michael Lavorgna favorably reviewed the production model late last year. The original Discovery includes Roon Essentials in the purchase price, which though having a cap of 30,000 tracks, gets you most of the way to a decent collection and streaming experience for a very reasonable $1,099.