Music in the Round #88: SPL Volume 8 and SMC 7.1

Music in the Round #88: SPL Volume 8 and SMC 7.1

Jan 02, 2018
I have not been attending audio shows as often as I used to, and this January, for the first time in more than 20 years, I'm skipping the annual Consumer Electronics Show. My personal return on investment has become hard to justify, especially when attendance at each annual CES requires a round trip from New York City to Las Vegas, Nevada. More important, audio shows now seem focused mostly on either two-channel music playback or multichannel home theater, whereas what interests me is listening to music in surround sound.

Joint Recordings of April 1975: Brain Salad Surgery, Ummagumma

Joint Recordings of April 1975: Brain Salad Surgery, Ummagumma

Jan 02, 2018 First Published:Apr 01, 1975
For a long time there, it seemed like anyone who walked into a good hi-fi shop and used the word "rock" and/or "bass" had a better-than-even chance of being "Lucky Man-ed" until his ears bled. I'm choosing Brain Salad Surgery as my favorite currently popular Rock offering partly because I've had it long enough to get over the first, transitory, blush of enjoyment, and mainly because most of the people I run into who have high-quality systems rate this group as one of the best. And EL&P come out with some very high-quality discs, making them the system demo group. I know of several expensive speaker systems that have been listed KIA as a result of several-hundred-watt amps and EL&P.

Legendary Jazz Bassist Ron Carter Talks About Music, Recording, and Hi-Fi

Legendary Jazz Bassist Ron Carter Talks About Music, Recording, and Hi-Fi

Jan 01, 2018
From left to right: Gideon Schwartz, Ron Carter, and Stephen Mejias in the listening room at Audioarts.

I'm sitting next to Ron Carter in the listening room at Manhattan dealer Audioarts, trying not to cry. We're listening to "All Blues," the title track from Carter's 1974 CTI release—a meditative rendition of the Miles Davis masterpiece that has been slowed-down and elongated in such a way that it practically pulls tears from eyes as easily as Carter pulls notes. It's hard to believe that anyone other than Carter has ever touched this piece. Right now, it belongs entirely to him. The system through which we listen is doing a fine job of articulating Carter's distinct combination of purpose and passion. To describe his performance as mere magic would be an insult to his craft, yet to focus too heavily on his discipline would be an injustice to his art.

Cecilia for the New Year

Cecilia for the New Year

Dec 31, 2017
Cecilia Bartoli is back. After far too long without a new "solo" recording venture, the phenomenal mezzo-soprano returned to the microphone this past March, three months before she turned 51, to record nine Dolce Duello (Sweet Duels) with the 1759 baroque cello of Sol Gabetta. Supported by Sol's ensemble, Cappella Gabetta, under the leadership of her violinist brother, Andrés Gabetta, the two women deliver one sweet delight after the other.

Is High-Rez coming to Apple Music? Probably Not.

Is High-Rez coming to Apple Music? Probably Not.

Dec 29, 2017
A recent post on Roon's forums drew my attention to an apparently new category at Apple Music, Apple's streaming service. The post pointed to an Apple Music page listing music curated by the ECM music label. After ECM "Playlists," "New and Noteworthy," and "Recent Releases" is a section labeled "High-Resolution Masters."

Quad S-2 loudspeaker

Quad S-2 loudspeaker

Dec 28, 2017
One of the better things about bookshelf loudspeakers is that they're innately portable. Though not generally considered the sort of music-reproduction machines you'd bring to a party, a 12-step group, or a Burning Man rave (though you certainly could), high-quality bookshelf speakers are overlooked tools in the eternal work-in-progress of introducing lovers, friends, and family to our beloved lifestyle. So during the first week or three of breaking in the Quad S-2 bookshelf speakers, I thought, Why keep these to myself? It's strict Stereophile policy that all gear be evaluated in the context of the reviewer's reference hi-fi rig(s), but there's no law against sharing the joy.
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