LATEST ADDITIONS

As We See It
Squeezing the Music 'til the Bits Squeak
John Atkinson  |  Jul 07, 1994
In this space last January, I enthused about the sound of linear 20-bit digital recordings which, I felt, preserve the quality of a live microphone feed. "I have heard the future of audio—and it's digital!" I proclaimed, which led at least a couple of readers to assume I had gone deaf. Putting to one side the question of my hearing acuity, 20-bit technology has been rapidly adopted in the professional world as the standard for mastering. The remaining debate concerns how to best preserve what those 20 bits offer once they've been squeezed down to the 16 that CD can store. Sony's Super Bit Mapping algorithm and Harmonia Mundi Acustica's redithering device have been joined by new black boxes from Apogee Electronics, Lexicon, and Meridian; it appears likely that, in next to no time at all, all CD releases will be offering close to 20-bit resolution—at least in the upper midrange, where the ear is most sensitive.
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Interviews
John Tchilinguirian: Energetic Speakers
Robert Deutsch  |  Jun 07, 1994
Canadian speakers from such companies as Mirage, PSB, and Paradigm have acquired international reputations for offering good sound at more-than-competitive prices. The latest Canadian speaker manufacturer to hit the big time might well be Energy, which has actually been around for about 15 years, but has only recently introduced a flagship speaker. Energy's $6000/pair Veritas v2.8 earned Tom Norton's commendation for having produced one of the best sounds at the 1993 Las Vegas WCES. [TJN's review appears in this issue.—Ed.]
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Recording of the Month
Recording of June 1994: Mirror Blue
Allen St. John  |  Jun 03, 1994
RICHARD THOMPSON: Mirror Blue
Capitol CDP 7 81492 2 (CD). Tchad Blake, eng.; Mitchell Froom, prod. AAD. TT: 55:13
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Recording of the Month
Recording of May 1994: Gershwin: Original Works and Transcriptions for Solo Piano
Igor Kipnis  |  May 10, 1994
GERSHWIN: Piano Music
Rhapsody in Blue (solo piano version by Gershwin); 3 Preludes; "Sleepless Night"; Impromptu in 2 Keys; Song Transcriptions: "Sweet and Low-Down," "Maybe," "Clap Yo' hands," "So am I," "Looking for a Boy," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "That Certain Feeling"; Second Rhapsody (solo piano version by David Buechner)
David Buechner, piano
Connoisseur Society CD 4191 (CD only). Patricia A. Duciaume, eng.; E. Alan Silver, prod. D?D. TT: 59:26
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Recording of the Month
Recording of April 1994: Under the Pink
Michael Ross  |  Apr 24, 1994
TORI AMOS: Under the Pink
Atlantic 82567-2 (CD). John Beverly Jones, Paul McKenna, Eric Rosse, engs.; Eric Rosse, Tori Amos, prods. AAD? TT: 56:52
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As We See It
Ticket Prices
John Atkinson  |  Mar 31, 1994
Stereophile Consulting technical editor Robert Harley and I were walking down Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue trying to remember where we'd parked our rental car. We were in town for the Fall 1993 Audio Engineering Society Convention, and had just had dinner with record reviewer Beth Jacques.
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Recording of the Month
Recording of March 1994: Pärt: Te Deum, etc.
Les Berkley  |  Mar 31, 1994
PÄRT: Te Deum, Silouans Song, Magnificat, Berliner Messe
Tõnu Kaljuste, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Talinn Chamber Orchestra
ECM 1505 (CD only). Manfred Eicher, prod.; Peter Laenger, Andreas Neubronner, engs. DDD. TT: 66:01
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ReferenceFeaturesJ. Gordon Holt
Space...the Final Frontier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Mar 17, 1994
High-end audiophiles are space freaks---we relish the warmth and spaciousness of a fine, old performing hall almost as much as we do the music recorded in it. But my attendance at a series of orchestral concerts held last summer brought home to me---as never before---the sad fact that our search for the ultimate soundstage is doomed to failure: we're trying to reproduce three-dimensional space from a two-dimensional system, and it simply can't be done.
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Records To Die For
1994 Records To Die For
Stereophile Staff  |  Feb 19, 1994
Here we go again---the usual Stereophile suspects rounding up some very unusual suspects of their own, and all collected in "Records To Die For," the highest annual concentration of surprising recommendations in the biz. Reviewers of wares soft and hard pick their absolute most favoritest recordings, each of which must be a) a topnotch performance in b) topnotch stereo sound. But be warned: some of us cheat (if we can get away with it).
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Recording of the Month
Recording of February 1994: The Yellow Shark
Richard Lehnert  |  Feb 07, 1994
ZAPPA: The Yellow Shark
Ensemble Modern; Peter Rundel, Frank Zappa, conductors
Barking Pumpkin R2 71600 (CD only). Frank Zappa, prod.; Spencer Chrislu, Harry Andronis, Dave Dondorf, engs.; Todd Yvega, Synclavier asst. DDD. TT: 72:00
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