Herb Reichert
Sonny & Cher: "I Got You Babe"
Atco Records AT.4035 (7" single). 1965. Sonny Bono, prod.; Stan Ross, eng.
I promise you, whatever age you are now, your lifeforce will be greater after you've heard Sonny Bono sing Put your little hand in mine / There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb. Bill Voss of Technics played Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" from a 12" Greatest Hits disc, and it earwormed its way into the next month of my life. When I got home from the show, I bought a VG+ version of the single on eBay for $11.95, and every time I see…
Jason Victor Serinus returned to the Innuos Statement in November 2023 (Vol.46 No.11):
On April 2020, when I reviewed the original version of the top-of-the-line, two-box Innuos Statement Music Server/Streamer (then $13,750, now $16,700+), it was able to do all of the things you would hope a server could do: play back music from its internal SSD or an external NAS; stream music from several music-streaming services; and easily play and rip music from CDs inserted into a built-in disc drive (a feature some other servers lack). I liked that it allowed me to use either Roon or—for those who…
The January 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands—a whole new year, a whole new volume of your favorite hi-fi magazine! And we’re starting the year off right. In my opinion, this is the best-looking cover we’ve put together in a while. The layout is clean and well-balanced, the image is dynamic, and the colors are vibrant and attractive. Those colors largely stem from the cute, little Chordette Gem DAC. Graphic designer, Natalie Baca, borrowed the fuchsia of the Chord’s chassis for the cover’s border, and took the gold of the Chord’s output jacks for our logo and cover…
German manufacturer Canton Elektronik has a strong presence in Europe, but distribution of its loudspeakers in the US has been sporadic. Consequently, the most recent review in Stereophile of a Canton speaker, the Reference 3.2 DC, was in 2010. When we heard, in December 2020, that Bluebird Music would be bringing Canton back to North America, we were eager to review a Canton loudspeaker. Balancing performance and price, we selected the Reference 7K, which costs $6995/pair.
Description
The Reference 7K is a handsome three-way tower, 1m tall and finished in high-gloss lacquer—black…
I have reviewed several network-connected music servers in recent years, from Antipodes, Aurender, and NAD. All performed well but are relatively expensive, and their associated player apps didn't equal Roon's user friendliness in terms of interface, organization of the library, and inclusion and updating of metadata. So when Roon Labs introduced their own server, the Nucleus+, I first reviewed and then purchased it, along with a lifetime subscription to Roon. But at $2498 without an internal drive for storing music files, the Nucleus+ is still relatively expensive, and even Roon's less-…
Takács Assad Labro: Pieces for bandoneón, string quartet, piano, and voice
Takács String Quartet, Clarice Assad (piano and voice), Julien Labro (bandoneón)
Yarlung YAR59691 (24/88.2 download). 2024. Bob Attiyeh, J and Helen Schlicting, prods.; Bob Attiyeh, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Yarlung's latest "audiophile" recording is a breath of fresh air in every respect. Offering seven accessible, beguilingly fresh works, all composed within the last 53 years (and several quite new), it brings together stellar artistic forces: the 49-year-old Takács String Quartet;…
Franck: Symphony In D Minor
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande
Berlin Philharmonic/Daniel Barenboim
DG 486 6008 (CD). 2024. Marco Buttgereit, prod.; Gregor Schweiger, eng.
Performance **
Sonics ****½
I was rather hoping, given the Berlin Philharmonic, that this might improve on Barenboim's earlier Franck recording with the erratic Orchestre de Paris, which was afflicted by his faux-Furtwängler mannerisms. This one has a few ensemble problems characteristic of Barenboim's conducting, but the textures are consistently clear. Still, as Bernstein's Cunegonde sings, "Ah, 'twas not…
Mozart: Horn Concertos
Alec Frank-Gemmill, B-flat horn; Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, cond.
BIS-2635 (reviewed in native 24/96). 2024. Thore Brinkmann, prod.; Brinkmann, Håkan Ekman, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
When I recollect the soundtrack to my acid-tinged summer of 1967, several LPs stand out: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's you-know-what, The Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties, Richie Havens's Mixed Bag, and Dennis Brain's equally famed recording of the Mozart Horn Concertos, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan.…
Danny Elfman: Percussion Concerto, Wunderkammer
Colin Currie, percussion; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, cond.
Sony Classical 906443 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2024. Danny Elfman, prod.; Peter Cobbin, Kirsty Whalley, Dennis Sands, Patricia Sullivan, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
It's time to go out on a limb. Are Danny Elfman's Percussion Concerto and the other works on his new album "great music"? Should this classical music, from the former lead singer and songwriter of new wave band Oingo Boingo—who composed film scores for Pee-Wee's Big…
Danish String Quartet: Prism V: Beethoven, Webern, Bach
Danish String Quartet
ECM 2565 (reviewed as 24/96 download). 2023. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Markus Heiland, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Almost five years after they released the first recording in their Prism series, the Danish String Quartet gives us Prism V. As in previous installments, the DSQ has paired a late Beethoven string quartet—here the extraordinary, final String Quartet No.16 in F major, Op.135—with a related fugue by J.S. Bach and a quartet by a later master.
What has changed is maturity.…
