Listening #86

Listening #86

On two occasions I've caught myself wondering how to afford a pair of Wilson Audio loudspeakers. Interestingly, both happened within the past year. The first was in April 2009, at the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/ssi2009/wilsons_to_the_maxx">Son et Image show in Montreal</A>, during a demonstration of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/wilson_audio_specialties_m… Series 3</A>. The experience was notable for its blend of genuinely great sound with genuine musicality: Each performance unfolded of its own natural accord, with human randomness and nuance, and without the fussy, mechanical, shallow artifice that attracts some audiophiles in the way a carnivorous plant attracts flies&#151;and, if they're lucky, kills them (the audiophiles, that is).

The Fifth Element #58 Contacts

The Fifth Element #58 Contacts

February is traditionally the month for music features, so I start this column with some recordings you really should hear. This year I had a greater-than-usual number of worthy candidates for "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/Records%202%20Die%204">Records To Die For</A>." Which discs got named as R2D4s and which got column coverage was, to quote the Iron Duke, a near-run thing.

The Fifth Element #58 Page 3

The Fifth Element #58 Page 3

February is traditionally the month for music features, so I start this column with some recordings you really should hear. This year I had a greater-than-usual number of worthy candidates for "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/Records%202%20Die%204">Records To Die For</A>." Which discs got named as R2D4s and which got column coverage was, to quote the Iron Duke, a near-run thing.

The Fifth Element #58 Page 2

The Fifth Element #58 Page 2

February is traditionally the month for music features, so I start this column with some recordings you really should hear. This year I had a greater-than-usual number of worthy candidates for "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/Records%202%20Die%204">Records To Die For</A>." Which discs got named as R2D4s and which got column coverage was, to quote the Iron Duke, a near-run thing.

The Fifth Element #58

The Fifth Element #58

February is traditionally the month for music features, so I start this column with some recordings you really should hear. This year I had a greater-than-usual number of worthy candidates for "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/Records%202%20Die%204">Records To Die For</A>." Which discs got named as R2D4s and which got column coverage was, to quote the Iron Duke, a near-run thing.

Recording Rules for Orchestras Page 3

Recording Rules for Orchestras Page 3

During my recent interview with the Sheffield Lab people in connection with their Moscow recording sessions (Vol.10 No.3), both Lincoln Mayorga and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/sheffield_steel_doug_sax">Doug Sax</A> had some unkind things to say about the cost of recording an orchestra in the US. Their complaints are justified. It costs more to record in the US than anywhere else in the world, and these astronomical costs are detrimental both to symphonic music in the US and to the audiophile's pursuit of sonic perfection.

Recording Rules for Orchestras Page 2

Recording Rules for Orchestras Page 2

During my recent interview with the Sheffield Lab people in connection with their Moscow recording sessions (Vol.10 No.3), both Lincoln Mayorga and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/sheffield_steel_doug_sax">Doug Sax</A> had some unkind things to say about the cost of recording an orchestra in the US. Their complaints are justified. It costs more to record in the US than anywhere else in the world, and these astronomical costs are detrimental both to symphonic music in the US and to the audiophile's pursuit of sonic perfection.

Recording Rules for Orchestras

Recording Rules for Orchestras

During my recent interview with the Sheffield Lab people in connection with their Moscow recording sessions (Vol.10 No.3), both Lincoln Mayorga and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/sheffield_steel_doug_sax">Doug Sax</A> had some unkind things to say about the cost of recording an orchestra in the US. Their complaints are justified. It costs more to record in the US than anywhere else in the world, and these astronomical costs are detrimental both to symphonic music in the US and to the audiophile's pursuit of sonic perfection.

Canned Music

Canned Music

Everyone knows music is a good thing. More than merely good, it appears to meet some kind of human need, because every race in every land has a musical tradition going back to before recorded or recounted history. Some of their music may not seem like music to our unsophisticated ears, but as soon as someone discovered that two sticks of different sizes produced different pitches when struck on a venerated ancestor's skull, he advanced beyond mere rhythm to what must be considered music. (Two sticks would, presumably, play binary music: the first precursor of digital sound.) In fact, were there no music at all today, humankind would probably find it necessary to invent it on the spot, along with a mythology relating how it was created on the eighth day, after ingrown toenails.

Thievery Corporation - New find for me!

As usual, I'm behind the power curve, but I really like this stuff. The Cosmic Game is really etherial, hypnotic, melodic and well-recorded.

Check out this one featuring David Byrne:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifaNmSxp_04&feature=related

Then This follows on the album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HavRsf7fcLA

From Mirror Conspiracy:

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