Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay NAS 1019+; Roon Nucleus+ music server with HDPlex 200 linear power supply; Uptone Audio etherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiberoptic cable (2), Linksys routers (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/ HDPlex four-component, 200W linear power supply (3); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro; Apple 2017 Macbook…
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Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, content/roon-labs-nucleus-music-server">Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2) and Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 (3) and HDPlex 200 linear power supplies (3); Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8 GHz…
Digital sources: dCS Rossini DAC 2.0 and Clock; EMM Labs DV2 Integrated DAC; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys mesh router and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 linear power supplies; Roon Nucleus+ music server and Nordost QNET Ethernet Switch, both powered by Nordost QSource linear power supply; Apple 2017 iPad Pro and 2017 MacBook Pro laptop with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino…
The last thing I expected to rave about was a PS Audio Power Plant AC regenerator—not when, over a decade ago, I'd tested an early model, the Power Plant P600, and it shot 18"-high flames and acrid black smoke into my living room. And after reviewing two Power Plants for other publications, I concluded that, for all the good they did, they tended to homogenize the sound of my system.
Nonetheless, in fall 2018, after trying four power conditioners that either buzzed and hummed far…
Works by Chaminade, Smyth, Tailleferre, and Boulanger
Chandos CHAN 20238, CD (reviewed as 24/96). 2024. Jonathan Cooper, prod. & eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Despite the preponderance of classical orchestral blockbusters overplayed at audio shows, a goodly number of us enjoy nothing more than basking in the refined beauties of smaller-scaled chamber music. If you would like to spread your wings beyond the giant guys of the literature, the Neave Trio's exploration of trios composed early in the lives of Cécile Chaminade (1857–1944),…
CHSA 5322 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2023. Jonathan Allen, prod. & eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
A complete recording of the music of Oklahoma!, the groundbreaking Broadway musical that determined the future of this distinctly American art form, deserves a strong welcome. But from the Sinfonia of London rather than an orchestra based in New York?
Before accusing it of inauthenticity, listen up. Not only is this the first recording of the complete score, including all the dialogue incorporated within vocal…
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Reinbert de Leeuw & Edo de Waart
Challenge Classics CC72957 (CD, reviewed as DSD). 2023. Anita Wijnen, prod.; Jan Stellingwerff, Frank Mathijssen, engs. Abschied eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
The music of composer/conductor/pianist Reinbert de Leeuw (1938–2020) is as astounding as anything I've heard. His final two orchestral works, both recorded live, may have been composed 40 years apart, but both are complex, layered, and filled with dark, aggressive, and soul-…
Piano pieces (Bach) and songs (Watkins, Purcell, Pritchard, Frances-Hoad, and Wallen)
Ruby Hughes, soprano; Huw Watkins, piano
BIS-2568 (24/96 WAV download, also SACD). 2022. Robert Suff, prod.; Dave Rowell, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
I became a Ruby Hughes fan late, 13 years after she had won two prizes at the 2009 London Handel Singing Competition. Once I heard her tonal purity and simplicity, I was hooked.
Here, in a recital that includes two world premieres, Hughes and longtime collaborator Huw Watkins…
When I got to the Nordost…