Wine Spectator's executive editor posted a response on the magazine's website. Surprisingly—at least I was surprised—he refused to admit any fault on his magazine's part, and in fact rather contentiously stood his ground…
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Then came the coup de grâce: Last year, blogger Robin Goldstein submitted an entry for a fake restaurant—and won an award. Osteria L'Intrepido could now legitimately display a Wine Spectator award in its window, if only it existed. Perhaps more important, Goldstein points out, the wine list he created for his fake restaurant was, intentionally and unmistakably, sub-par.
I'm on record with the opposite point of view: English suits me just fine, thanks. If, as is parroted time and again, our noblest goal is to compare reproduced music with real music, then it seems hypocritical to suggest that a vocabulary that has served the latter for centuries is somehow not up to the task of describing the former. Indeed, generations of composers, musicians, musicologists, and listeners have managed to convey their meaning without such expressions as macrodynamics, image structure, dimensionality, or grain.
So I've tried, whenever possible, to avoid the jargon of…
My favorite moment in the Zack Snyder film Watchmen—apart from the Dylan-fueled title sequence, which itself contains some of the most memorable scenes in recent cinema—comes when retired crimefighter Daniel "Nite Owl II" Dreiberg arrives home to find the doctrinaire and mildly crazy Walter "Rorschach" Kovacs in his kitchen, eating beans straight from the can. The startled Dreiberg asks his visitor, "Would you like me to heat those up for you?"
Rorschach's spare reply: "Fine like this."
Not long ago, after I'd already spent a fair amount of time with the High Resolution…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Single-box digital-to-analog converter. Formats supported: all PCM-output audio codecs (AIFF, WAV, MP3, etc.). Digital input jack: USB only (type B plug). Analog output jacks: RCA. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–1.8dB. Maximum output voltage: 2.25V. Signal/noise ratio: 86dB, A-weighted, ref. full output. Power requirement (via USB bus): 250mA.
Dimensions: 4.1" (130mm) L by 2.1" (55mm) W by 1.2" (30mm) H. Weight: a few ounces.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: None found.
Price: $99. Approximate number of dealers: 9.
Manufacturer: High…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; EMT 997 tonearm; Shindo SPU, Ortofon SPU 90th Anniversary, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player; Sony PlayStation 1; Wavelength Cosecant v3 USB DAC (with Apple iMac), High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer+.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer, Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Shindo Haut-Brion.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.
Cables: USB: Belkin Pro Series, Kimber B Bus. Interconnect: Audio Note AN…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I examined the measured behavior of the Music Streamer using the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and "As We See It" in the January 2008 issue), as well as, for some tests, my Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. I drove the Music Streamer with the USB 2.0 output of my Intel MacBook running OS10.4.11 for the testing, playing back WAV files using Bias Peak 6.2 and operating off battery power. As the Streamers are bus-powered, I wondered if it was possible that they might perform slightly differently…
I have reviewed and owned so many Paradigm speakers that they feel almost like members of the family. I've owned the v.2 and v.3 versions of the Reference Studio 60, and reviewed the v.3 version in Stereophile (in December 2004, Vol.27 No.12). My long and intimate relationship with this speaker is founded on the best of reasons: We are extremely compatible. The Studio 60, in all its incarnations, is large enough to be used as a full-range speaker with nearly any program material, and yet is compact enough to be easily accommodated in my relatively small Connecticut listening room. It neither…
The clarity and distinction of voices dissolved my initial disappointments about the driver and crossover configuration of the v.5. I dug out my usual suspects, including Sara K.'s Solo Live (CD, Stockfisch SFR 357.6055.2), and Margo Timmins on the Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session (CD, RCA 8568-2). This helped me to appreciate that Paradigm Reference has, in the Studio 60 v.5, finally achieved the midrange balance that it has long offered in its Signature line. Beyond—or, rather, below that, the v.5's midbass was full and clean enough that male voices similarly benefited.
One…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-and-a-half-way floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" G-PAL, ferrofluid-cooled dome tweeter; 5.5" S-PAL-cone bass/midrange unit; two 5.5" mineral-filled polypropylene-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 500Hz, 2kHz. Frequency response: 45Hz–22kHz, ±2dB (on axis), 45Hz–20kHz, ±2dB (30° off axis). Low-frequency extension: 29Hz (DIN). Impedance: compatible with 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB anechoic, 92dB in room.
Dimensions: 39.7" (1018mm) H by 7.8" (200mm) W by 11.7" (301mm) D. Weight: 50 lbs (22.7kg).
Finishes: Cherry, Rosenut, Black.
…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Denon DV-3800 Blu-ray player, Oppo DV-983H universal player.
Preamplifier-Processors: Arcam AV888, Integra DTC-9.8.
Power Amplifier: Bryston 9B STT.
Cables: All Kubala-Sosna: Interconnect: Fascination (balanced). Speaker: Fascination. AC: Emotion.
Accessories: APC S-15 power conditioner.—Kalman Rubinson