LATEST ADDITIONS

Video: Art Dudley and Herb Reichert on Listener Magazine
Jana Dagdagan
Jana Dagdagan  |  Aug 07, 2017  |  18 comments
In this video, shot in Art Dudley's listening room, Art and Herb Reichert reminisce together about Listener and its legacy.
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Sony CDP-X555ES CD player
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Corey Greenberg  |  Aug 03, 2017  |  First Published: Feb 01, 1992  |  0 comments
I'll give the Giant Japanese Conglomerates one thing: they build their CD players like Humvees. The Sony CDP-X555ES ($900) exudes pride in ownership; from the simulated-wood side panels to the copper-shielded chassis, the Sony is a very impressive-looking player. Typically, however, Sony chose to marry a very sophisticated digital section with what appears to be a standard mid-fi analog section featuring Texas Instruments 5532 dual op-amps, carbon composition resistors, and inexpensive electrolytic coupling caps. The 555ES has both fixed and variable outputs, and a Toslink optical output. There is no coaxial digital output.
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Krell KST-100 power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Martin Colloms  |  Aug 03, 2017  |  First Published: Jul 01, 1991  |  0 comments
There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of amplifiers; it's hard to choose which ones to review. Big-name operators are difficult to ignore, while smaller outfits often complain of neglect. In the case of a new and moderately priced introduction from Krell there's no need to find excuses: it's available, it's likely to be important judging from this company's track record, and we'd all like to see just how well it performs.

This review features the KST-100 stereo power amplifier. Initially this product was differentiated from the more expensive Krell components by having an all-black livery. However, as customers showed a preference for Krell's traditional anthracite finish, the KS series is now also available in this finish.

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Mahler's Great Song Cycles Beautifully Performed
Jason Victor Serinus
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 02, 2017  |  14 comments
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.
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Recording of October 1980: Growing Up In Hollywood Town
Recording of the Month
Margaret Graham  |  Aug 01, 2017  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1980  |  2 comments
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."

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VTL/Manley Reference 350 power amplifier
J. Gordon Holt, Tube Power Amp Reviews
J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 01, 2017  |  First Published: Feb 01, 1991  |  0 comments
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.

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Rock'n'Roll Music
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Jul 31, 2017  |  0 comments
Chuck Berry's Swan Song
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William Parker Quartets, Meditation / Resurrection
Fred Kaplan
Fred Kaplan  |  Jul 30, 2017  |  3 comments
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.

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RIP New Vinyl (because the WSJ says so)
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Jul 29, 2017  |  32 comments
This kerfuffle oughta sell a few more Welch/Rawlings records, though.
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Thelonious Monk: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960
Fred Kaplan
Fred Kaplan  |  Jul 28, 2017  |  3 comments
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 Monk—and from a professionally recorded studio session, no less!
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