Sidebar 3: Measurements As might be expected, the VTL IT-85 runs hot, but not too hot to touch, even after the one-hour preconditioning. A clone of the input signal was available from the processor outputs, this unaffected by the volume-control setting, and the amplifier didn't invert signal polarity from these outputs, the preamp outputs, or the main speaker outputs. The VTL's input impedance was a moderate 19k ohms, and maximum voltage gain into 8 ohms was a high 40.2dB.
As CS tried biamping his speakers using the IT-85 and a sample of VTL's ST-85 power amplifier, I checked the…
Fig.4 plots the VTL's small-signal THD+noise percentage against frequency; the level of distortion rises both at the frequency extremes and into loads below 4 ohms. The content of that distortion is mainly low-order harmonics (fig.5), but with low frequencies reproduced at high levels (fig.6), the third and fifth harmonics are the highest in level, which might make the amplifier sound a little forward-balanced. Even just below clipping, the level of intermodulation distortion (fig.7) was acceptably low, the difference product just reaching the -60dB line (0.1%).
Fig.4 VTL IT-85,…
Records To Die For creates one of two problems for the Stereophile writer: either she can't come up with the names of two (or, in the case of new writers, five) recordings of world-class music in world-class stereo sound, or he comes up with so many his hard-drive crashes trying to narrow down the choices. Do they complain to me about this? Do they whine, squeal, snivel? Do they drag their heels, turning in copy a month late? Do they refuse the task altogether, naming out-of-print mono LPs by the cutout-bin load, and their favorite badly recorded rock albums from their drug-drenched days…
Barry Willis
SCOTT HAMILTON QUARTET: In Concert
Scott Hamilton, tenor sax; Chris Flory, guitar; John Bunch, piano; Phil Flanigan, bass; Chuck Riggs, drums; Eiji Kitamura, clarinet
Concord Jazz CCD-4233 (CD only). Carl E. Jefferson, prod.; Tameo Kawada, Isao Itoh, Phil Edwards, engs. TT: 52:52 Scott Hamilton and crew pump joyous life into nine great old Swing Era standards in this June '83 live recording made in Tokyo's Yamaha Hall. Only 28 at the time, Hamilton was wonderfully out of sync with his contemporaries in mining the rich veins of the past; we are much the richer for…
Sam Tellig
PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet
Excerpts from Suites 1, 2, & 3
Myung-Whun Chung, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
DG 439 870-2 (CD only). Lennart Dehn, prod.; Wolfgang Mitlehner, Tonmeister; Reinhard Lagemann, eng. DDD. TT: 63:22 Since the mid-'80s, Myung-Whun Chung has conducted mainly opera. The experience shows. This performance/recording has everything: delicacy, subtlety, a wonderful way of bringing out details in the score---and, most of all, drama. What it avoids is bombast---the entire performance is very well thought out, with a real a sense of the story…
Allen St. John
LYLE LOVETT: I Love Everybody
Curb/MCA MCAD-10808 (CD). Lyle Lovett, Billy Williams, prods.; Nathaniel Kunkel, Gil Morales, engs. AAD. TT: 53:04 The all-acoustic arrangements may be as lovely as Julia Roberts' smile, but don't be fooled. The songs on I Love Everybody are as disturbing as Lyle Lovett's hair. Stop humming along to "Creeps Like Me" long enough to really listen to the lyrics. If your skin doesn't crawl just a little, you'll never babysit my dog. Lovett's novella set to music is populated with sleazy pick-up artists, jealous lovers, and full-blown weirdos…
Markus Sauer
HENRI TEXIER "AZUR" QUARTET: An Indian's Week
Henri Texier, bass, percussion; Glenn Ferris, trombone; Tony Rabeson, drums; Bojan Zulfikarpasic, piano, Fender-Rhodes; Michel Portal, bandoneon; Louis Sclavis, clarinet, soprano sax
Harmonia Mundi/Label Bleu LBLC 6558HM83 (CD). Michel Orier, prod.; Bruno Menny, eng. DDD. TT: 74:37 One of the joys of living in Europe is the number of cultures open for inspection and enjoyment. In the US, it's relatively rare to find reviews of albums from non-English-speaking countries. You don't know what you're missing. This…
Robert J. Reina
With all these wonderful new releases, not to mention fairly recent releases and undiscovered golden oldies from my 8000+ vinyl and CD collection, where do I begin? What criteria should I use for my first BIG FIVE? Do I cover only eclectic stuff, do I go for a balanced blend, SHOULD I MAKE A STATEMENT? I shall use one very simple criterion.These five recordings are those which have received the most plays on my system over the past six months. For whatever reasons, they've got me hooked.
STRAVINSKY: Les Noces, The Rite of Spring
Eric Kujawsky, Redwood… Russ Novak
GIL EVANS: Out of the Cool
Gil Evans, arranger, conductor, piano; The Gil Evans Orchestra
Impulse A-4 (LP, nla), Impulse/MCA MCAD-5653 (CD). Creed Taylor, prod. AAA/ADD. TT: 37:04
LALO SCHIFRIN: New Fantasy
Lalo Schifrin, arranger, conductor, piano; The Lalo Schifrin Orchestra
Verve V6 8601 (LP, nla). Creed Taylor, prod.; Rudy Van Gelder, eng. AAA. TT: 33:43 The Schifrin is out of print, so I don't feel bad about cheating to list two of the greatest big-band jazz albums. These guys know how to modulate the dynamics of a big band and avoid the trap of boring…
Lewis Lipnick
WILLIAM WALTON: Symphony 1, Cello Concerto
Robert Cohen, cello; Andrew Litton, Bournemouth Symphony
London 443 450-2 (CD only). Chris Hazell, prod.; Simon Eadon, Philip Siney, engs. DDD. TT: 73:57 Although Robert Cohen's performance of this undeservedly obscure cello concerto is superb, the real jewel here is Andrew Litton's electrifying interpretation of Walton's First Symphony. While there certainly are many other fine recordings of this masterpiece, none that I've heard has the refinement and energy created by Litton and the Bournemouth SO. This complex, thickly…
