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Recording of the Month
Recording of June 2020: Ešenvalds: Translations
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 13, 2020  |  23 comments
Eriks Ešenvalds: Translations
Portland State Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry, cond.
Naxos 8.574124 (CD, auditioned as 24/96 WAV). 2020. Erick Lichte, prod.; John Atkinson, Doug Tourtelot, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½

I'll admit to a conflict of interest in choosing as Recording of the Month a work co-engineered by our very own John Atkinson. We—I, who nominated the piece, and Editor Jim Austin, who ultimately chose the winner—have both worked with John for years. And I'd never deny it was moving to sit next to him during his recent visit to Port Townsend following the release party for this new album, Translations, watching him shed tears as we listened together to the heavenly voices of the Portland State Chamber Choir singing "In paradisum" (2012), which Latvian composer Eriks Ešenvalds dedicated to his grandmother, who died the morning of the premiere.

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As We See It
DisConcerted
Jim Austin  |  May 12, 2020  |  45 comments
On Sunday, March 22, at 8pm, the state of New York shut down, governor's orders. Here in the Big City, most stores are closed—even Starbucks, or at least the ones near me. In my neighborhood, up on Broadway, a grocery store is open, and a drugstore, a hardware store, and a couple of bodegas. Some bars and restaurants are open for takeout only, some advertising COCKTAILS TO GO in big black letters painted on bedsheets—New Orleans comes to NYC. (Meanwhile, New Orleans itself, also a coronavirus hotspot, apparently is desolate, the bars closed, a hard thing to picture.)
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HistoricalInterviews
John Atkinson: a Career in Audio
John Atkinson  |  May 11, 2020  |  29 comments
At the end of April, Adrian Low, the proprietor of Toronto retailer Audio Excellence, asked if he could interview me. "I've been interviewing audio luminaries for some time," Adrian wrote, "partly because I am so interested in how they started, their experiences, and also to share these with fellow audio enthusiasts."

We connected with Skype and, in the two videos embedded below, Adrian and I, along with Jan and Vilip from Audio Excellence, talk about many things connected with my 52 years as an audiophile, my 43 years in audio magazine publishing, and my 33 years at the editorial helm of Stereophile.

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News
AXPONA: Moving On from Here
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 11, 2020  |  6 comments
On May 5, Joel Davis, founder and CEO of JD Events (JDE), the company that mounts the annual AXPONA—Audio Expo North America—proposed a “rollover plan” settlement for companies that had committed funds to the canceled 2020 show, which had been scheduled for April, postponed until August, and then, finally, canceled. The plan attempts to “right the ship in the midst of this pandemic storm” and to demonstrate the company's “long-term commitment” to continuing to serve the audio industry. Many exhibitors were unhappy that, in canceling the show, did not offer refunds of funds already committed to the show by exhibitors and sponsors.
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Music and Recording Features
Jim Campilongo: Telecaster Master & Audio Enthusiast
Ken Micallef  |  May 08, 2020  |  10 comments
In a 2014 profile in the New Yorker, Paul Elie, author of the book Reinventing Bach, wrote, "There it was again: the stinging treble, the spooky overtones, the strings snapping and booming under his hands—the sound of a Tele being played as skillfully and exuberantly as it can be played."

The musician in question was Jim Campilongo . . .

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Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Vortex Screen loudspeaker
Robert Harley  |  May 07, 2020  |  First Published: Jul 01, 1989  |  5 comments
One of the joys of reviewing audio reproduction equipment is discovering a little-known product that provides an extraordinary level of performance and musical satisfaction at an affordable price. These components, sometimes made in a garage, reflect the designer's single-minded zeal for musical accuracy, not the sometime corporate mentality of meeting a price point or catering to the latest fad.
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Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Classé Audio DR-3 power amplifier
Larry Greenhill  |  May 06, 2020  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1985  |  13 comments
Classé Audio's DR-3 once again brings to the fore the issues of class-A vs class-AB, weighty vs small and efficient, and brute-force expensive vs clever and inexpensive.

A well-worn, if unproven, audiophile rule of thumb says that a small, quick amplifier will sound better than a very powerful one. Among low-powered amps, those that operate in "pure" class-A are thought to be sonically superior. Pure class-A means the amplifier must run a constant high bias (more than one ampere), so the output devices never turn off.

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News
Streaming Salvation for the Sequestered--UPDATED 5/5!
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Mar 25, 2020  |  58 comments
Specific Live Streams (Scroll down for ongoing series):

  • Thursday, May 7 10pm EDT: The Noe Music Listening Club features composer Jake Heggie discussing and performing his music and that of his music heroes. Sign up here.

  • The Metropolitan Opera streams live performances for 25 hours. This week’s schedule is:

    May 6 Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin
    May 7 Strauss’s Capriccio
    May 8 Puccini’s La Bohème
    May 9 The Opera House
    May 10 Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana / Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.

    • More...

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News
AXPONA Canceled; No Refunds for Exhibitors - UPDATED
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Apr 30, 2020  |  57 comments
Editor's note: On May 5 around 2:40pm, JD Events sent a letter to 2020 AXPONA exhibitors and sponsors outlining a plan to apply 100% of 2020 exhibitor payments to future shows, with 50% credited to the 2021 show and 25% to each of the two subsequent shows.

See below for the original story published 30 April.

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Phono Cartridge Reviews
Shure V15 V-MR phono cartridge
Sam Tellig, Anthony H. Cordesman, Michael Fremer  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1984  |  14 comments
I was all set to give up on moving magnets until the new Shure VI5-VMR (MR stands for Micro-Ridge stylus) arrived. In a word, it's terrific. I was slightly disappointed with the original V15-V: I just didn't think it was a significant improvement over the Type IV. What I missed was fine detail—especially in the high frequencies and during heavily modulated passages. The original V was not quite up to the sound of certain moving coils. Which is not to say the original V was a bad buy: moving coils cost twice the price and you need a stepup. I could recommend the original V without hesitation.
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