<B>K.D. LANG: <I>Hymns of the 49th Parallel</I></B><BR>
Nonesuch 79847-2 (CD). 2004. k.d. lang, Ben Mink, prods.; David Leonard, John Morrical, engs. AAD? TT: 47:24<BR>
Performance <B>****&#189;</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****</B>

<I>Stereophile</I> is devoted to getting the best sound from a home audio system. But as I have <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/533">written before</A>, audiophiles don't have access to an <I>absolute</I> sound, only to what has been captured in the pits or grooves of their discs, which is itself the result of a creative process. The playing back and the making of recordings are therefore two sides of the same coin. This is why I get actively involved in recording projects and why I publish articles about those projects, the most recent of which appears on p.50. "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/804k622">Project K622</A>" describes the making of a new recording of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (work number 622 in the K&#246;chel catalog of Mozart's compositions, hence the article's title), which is being released both on hybrid SACD and on 180gm vinyl. (You can buy both from our secure "<A HREF="https://secure.stereophile.com/stereophile/recordings.shtml">Recordings…; page.)

The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced. Even when set up perfectly, a pivoted arm describes an arc across the disc surface, maintaining tangency to the groove at only two points on that arc. Yet despite numerous attempts at building and selling linear-tracking tonearms, few remain on the market, and most are fraught with technical problems. Linear-tracking arms can be anything <I>but</I> linear, committing more sins of geometry as they meander across the record surface than do their pivoted brethren.

The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced. Even when set up perfectly, a pivoted arm describes an arc across the disc surface, maintaining tangency to the groove at only two points on that arc. Yet despite numerous attempts at building and selling linear-tracking tonearms, few remain on the market, and most are fraught with technical problems. Linear-tracking arms can be anything <I>but</I> linear, committing more sins of geometry as they meander across the record surface than do their pivoted brethren.

The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced. Even when set up perfectly, a pivoted arm describes an arc across the disc surface, maintaining tangency to the groove at only two points on that arc. Yet despite numerous attempts at building and selling linear-tracking tonearms, few remain on the market, and most are fraught with technical problems. Linear-tracking arms can be anything <I>but</I> linear, committing more sins of geometry as they meander across the record surface than do their pivoted brethren.

The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced. Even when set up perfectly, a pivoted arm describes an arc across the disc surface, maintaining tangency to the groove at only two points on that arc. Yet despite numerous attempts at building and selling linear-tracking tonearms, few remain on the market, and most are fraught with technical problems. Linear-tracking arms can be anything <I>but</I> linear, committing more sins of geometry as they meander across the record surface than do their pivoted brethren.

The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced. Even when set up perfectly, a pivoted arm describes an arc across the disc surface, maintaining tangency to the groove at only two points on that arc. Yet despite numerous attempts at building and selling linear-tracking tonearms, few remain on the market, and most are fraught with technical problems. Linear-tracking arms can be anything <I>but</I> linear, committing more sins of geometry as they meander across the record surface than do their pivoted brethren.

It's true&mdash;you never forget your first love. And no, I'm not talking about little Jackie Lynn Neeck in my second-grade class when I was seven years old. I still remember her, almost as vividly as I remember my first encounter with a fantastic stereo system, and therein hangs a tale.

It's true&mdash;you never forget your first love. And no, I'm not talking about little Jackie Lynn Neeck in my second-grade class when I was seven years old. I still remember her, almost as vividly as I remember my first encounter with a fantastic stereo system, and therein hangs a tale.