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This midrange neutrality and detail resolution went hand in hand with the 109's superb ability to render subtle low-level dynamic inflections. In the tango collection Serà Una Noche (CD, MA Recordings M052A), Gabriel Rivan's subtle midrange phrasings on bandonán breathed in and out in uncolored fashion, as if he were in my listening room. The 109 also liked well-recorded piano performances. Listening to Robert Silverman's reading of Rachmaninoff's Sonata 1 in D Minor (CD, Stereophile STPH019-2), I found it easy to follow the subtle phrasings emerging from the rich lower midrange of his…
Robert Harley
STEPS AHEAD: Steps Ahead
Michael Brecker, tenor sax; Eliane Elias, piano; Eddie Gomez, bass; Mike Mainieri, vibes, synthivibe, marimba; Peter Erskine, drums
Elektra Musician 60168-1/2 (LP/CD). Steps Ahead, prods.; James Farber, eng. AAA/AAD. TT: 47:07 Since its 1983 release, Steps Ahead's eponymous first record hasn't been far from my turntable, CD transport, or car stereo. This group of extraordinarily talented players brings a modern touch to straight-ahead acoustic jazz that carries the music forward from where they found it.
STEPS AHEAD: Steps Ahead
Michael Brecker, tenor sax; Eliane Elias, piano; Eddie Gomez, bass; Mike Mainieri, vibes, synthivibe, marimba; Peter Erskine, drums
Elektra Musician 60168-1/2 (LP/CD). Steps Ahead, prods.; James Farber, eng. AAA/AAD. TT: 47:07 Since its 1983 release, Steps Ahead's eponymous first record hasn't been far from my turntable, CD transport, or car stereo. This group of extraordinarily talented players brings a modern touch to straight-ahead acoustic jazz that carries the music forward from where they found it.
Steps Ahead played live together…
Not only was the Reference 75 capable of rendering dynamic swings on great recordings from pppp to ffff; I was also able to hear 10 to 15 dynamic intervals between pp and p. In short, the amplifier was able to reveal musically meaningful dynamic variation in recordings I'd previously thought sounded rather flat. Even soloist János Starker's performances in the cello concertos of Saint-Saáns (CD, Mercury Living Presence 432 010-2) and Dvorák (CD, Mercury 432-001-2), both with Antal Doráti conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, were presented with thundering dynamics, every attack of…
David R. Adler
Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía: Passion, Grace & Fire
Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía, acoustic guitars
Columbia 38645 (LP). 1983. Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía, prods.; Dennis MacKay, others, engs. AAA. TT: 31:49
Fusion guitar connotes amps cranked to 11, but John McLaughlin was deep into an all-acoustic phase when he partnered with Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucía for this studio session. It's more than just some of the most pyrotechnic playing you'll hear—there's a wondrous precision and nuance in…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Both the Arcam Alpha 10 integrated amplifier and 10P power amplifier are discussed in this section. The power amplifier in the 10P is virtually identical to that in the 10; the few minor differences found on the test bench are noted here.
Both amplifiers shut down about 30 minutes into their one-hour, 1/3-power preconditioning test, after running relatively hot but not alarmingly so. The protection circuits of both appear to be very sensitive; I ran into delays a number of times at the test bench when the amplifiers shut down. Each amp's heatsinks seem…
The last few years at our annual Home Entertainment Show, many readers have come up to me and asked: "How do you select which speakers to review?" In my case, most candidates are either new products that have impressed me when demonstrated at our HE Shows, or new products from manufacturers whose designs have impressed me in the past. Occasionally, editor John Atkinson gets wind of a speaker and asks if I'd like to review it. But once in a while, a manufacturer reads a rave review of a competing product that makes his or her blood boil.
That's what happened with Usher Audio…
Home Entertainment 2006 in L.A. The weather is fine. The restaurants are cool. The company is très neat. I can't wait to schmooze with manufacturers, writers, dealers, and meet, for the first time, writers of letters to the editor of Stereophile. Play some jazz with John Atkinson and Immedia's Allen Perkins—one smokin' drummer since he's been studying with Peter Erskine (Joni Mitchell, Weather Report, Diana Krall). Of course, my prime objective at the Show is to seek out the best-sounding affordable loudspeakers, to keep my review hopper full for the next year.
This time, the choice is…
MICHAEL FREMER
THE BAND: The Band
Capitol STAO-132 (LP). 1969. The Band, John Simon, prods.; Joe Zagarino, Tony May, engs.; Robert Ludwig, mastering. AAA. TT: 44:01
THE BAND: The Band
Capitol STAO-132 (LP). 1969. The Band, John Simon, prods.; Joe Zagarino, Tony May, engs.; Robert Ludwig, mastering. AAA. TT: 44:01
Holed up in Sammy Davis, Jr.'s, Hollywood Hills pool house, the Canadian-American aggregate known as The Band produced and recorded one of the great albums of the 1960s—one that somehow managed to capture the feel of Civil War America with the authority of a Matthew Brady daguerreotype. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up On Cripple Creek" may be better known, but the album's quiet masterpieces are "…
Further sonic improvements were brought about through use of the Purist Audio Designs System Enhancer CD and the Gryphon Exorcist. I experimented with the various speaker cables I had on hand, and found the Dunlavy D-8 to provide the best overall match. Both the Purist Colossus II and TARA RSC interconnects worked well in the system, the Purist cable sounding a bit more mellow.
The CAT SL-1 Signature preamp was Stereophile's 1993 "Product of the Year," and I had no reason to believe that combining it with the KSA-100S would be in any way problematic, but I wanted to check out how the…
Jeff Joseph always causes a stir at Stereophile's annual Home Entertainment Shows. No matter which speakers he exhibits, he invariably gets wonderful sound in his room. He's fooled more than one Stereophile writer who thought he was listening to Joseph's flagship Pearls when, behind a curtain, it was actually two of his in-wall models that were playing. And his competitors seem to envy his hi-fi show sound more each year.
My experience with Joseph Audio speakers had been limited to show demonstrations, as their prices have always far exceeded my self-imposed ceiling for "…