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Recording of July 2007: <I>The Third Quartet</I>

JOHN ABERCROMBIE: The Third Quartet
John Abercrombie, electric & acoustic guitar; Mark Feldman, violin; Marc Johnson, bass; Joey Baron, drums
ECM 1993 (CD). 2007. Manfred Eicher, prod.; James Farber, eng. DDD. TT: 59:45
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

John Abercrombie has never become a star like the other major jazz guitarists of his generation, Pat Metheny and John Scofield and Bill Frisell. He gives up nothing to them in chops or artistic depth, but Abercrombie lacks the instincts of a crowd-pleaser. There are guitar hooks that are guaranteed to bring the masses to…

Life, Love, and The Big Ahh

A fellow member of the Bay Area Audiophile Society recently forwarded to me a link to Wikipedia's entry for audiophile. It's a horror. Even before the page defines the word, it begins with a large question mark, circled in green, and the warning, "This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references."

The one-sentence definition that follows, "An audiophile, from Latin audire 'to hear' and Greek philos 'loving,' can be generally defined as a person dedicated to achieving high fidelity in the recording and playback of music…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker

Bookshelf loudspeaker. The phrase may be common usage, but I really dislike describing small speakers as "bookshelf" models. Place a pair of high-performance minis on a bookshelf against the wall and you destroy much of the sound quality for which you've paid. Yet place the same speakers on good stands well away from room boundaries, and while it could be argued that their footprint is no smaller than a conventional tower speaker, with the best designs you'll get true high-end sound, particularly regarding the accuracy of midrange reproduction and the stability of stereo imaging.

In…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) horn-loaded, flat-diaphragm, Helical Conductive Transducer (HCT) tweeter; 5" (127mm) honeycomb-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.8kHz. Crossover slopes: second-order low-pass, third-order high-pass. Frequency response: 40Hz–40kHz, ±2dB. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms, "compatible with 8 ohm load." Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplification: 50–200W.
Dimensions: 14.6" (371mm) H by 7.6" (193mm) W by 14.2" (360mm) D. Weight: 22 lbs (10kg) each.
Finishes: High-gloss…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Benchmark DAC 1 D/A processors; Slim Devices Squeezebox WiFi music player with Apple Mac mini running OSX for media storage.
Preamplifiers: Mark Levinson No.326S, Ayre K-5xe.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: PSB Alpha B1, Stirling LS3/5a V2, Harbeth HL-P3ES2.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest OptiLink-5 S/PDIF. Interconnect (balanced): AudioQuest Cheetah, Ayre Signature Series, Crystalconnect. Speaker: AudioQuest…

AAD Reference Silver-1 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

The AAD Reference Silver-1 was of below-average sensitivity, at an estimated 84dB(B)/2.83V/m, which, all things being equal, will demand more watts than usual from the partnering amplifier. However, the Silver-1's impedance modulus (fig.1, solid trace) remains high over almost the entire audioband, with a minimum value of 5.4 ohms at 284Hz. And although the electrical phase angle (fig.1, dotted trace) reaches ±45°, this occurs only when the impedance is high, meaning that the Silver-1 will not demand much current from the amplifier. It should work well with tube…

Focal Electra 1037 Be loudspeaker

With the introduction of the 1000 Be series in 2005, Focal slipped its exclusive, high-performance beryllium tweeter out of the stuffy-looking Utopia series and into a sleeker, more stylish, more modern form.

The sound kept pace with the new look: from warmish, comfort-food rich to faster, leaner, low-fat nouvelle. The 1000 Be series brought Focal to the attention of a new segment of the audio enthusiast marketplace and, according to the company, the handsome, floorstanding 1027 Be ($7995/pair), enthusiastically reviewed by Sam Tellig in Stereophile in November 2005, quickly became a…

Focal Electra 1037 Be loudspeaker Page 2

The moody, Coltrane-esque title track of guitarist Pat Martino's East! (SACD/CD, OJC/Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2018) sounded every bit like the somewhat flawed but immediate and transparent 1968 recording that it is, and while the piano exhibited the boxy, distorted coloration typical of that era, it didn't get lost in additive lower-midrange slop, while the delicately drawn percussion shimmered cleanly against a black backdrop. Locked into the right channel, the sound of Martino's hollow-body electric guitar believably combined wood, vacuum tubes, strings, and the soul of Wes Montgomery.

…

Focal Electra 1037 Be loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-way, floor-standing, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" inverted beryllium-dome tweeter, 6.5" W-cone midrange unit, three 7" W-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 230Hz, 2kHz. Frequency response: 33Hz–40kHz, ±3dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 93dB/W/m. Recommended amplification: 40–400W.
Dimensions: 49 3/16" (1250mm) H by 11 15/16" (303mm) W by 15¾" (400mm) D. Weight: 112.2 lbs (51kg).
Finishes: Gloss black and aluminum baffle with rosewood side cheeks.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 10A000037, 10A000038.
…

Focal Electra 1037 Be loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Grand Prix Audio Monaco turntables; Continuum Audio Labs Cobra, Graham Phantom tonearms; Lyra Titan i, Air Tight PC-1, EMT Jubilee JSD 5 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW DM25 DAC & transport, Alesis Masterlink BPT-modified hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, NAT Signature, S.A.P. Anniversary phono preamplifiers; Musical Fidelity kWP, darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Musical Fidelity kW, Ayre MX-R (monoblocks); darTZeel NHB-108.
Loudspeakers…