Chip Stern
DUKE ELLINGTON: Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra, Fargo, North Dakota, November 7, 1940
Duke Ellington, piano, arranger; Rex Stewart, cornet; Wallace Jones, Ray Nance, trumpets; Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown, trombones; Barney Bigard, clarinet; Johnny Hodges, alto sax; Otto "Toby" Hardwick, clarinet, alto sax; Ben Webster, tenor sax; Harry Carney, baritone sax; Freddie Guy, guitar; Jimmy Blanton, bass; Sonny Greer, drums; Ivie Anderson, Herb Jeffries, vocals
VJC-1019/20-2 (2 CDs only). 1940/1991 Jack Towers, eng. AAD TT: 2:34:38 Hey, while…
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Steve Stoner
CLIMAX BLUES BAND: FM Live
Sire SAS-2-7411 (2 LPs only, nla). 1973. Richard Gottlehrer, prod.; Jim Price, eng. AAA. TT: 74:14
As one of the most underrated English blues bands from the '70s, you'd have been hard pressed to find a harder-working group than the Climax Blues Band; seemed like every time a major rock band was coming to town, CBB was the opening act. Although they released a fair number of studio albums during their career, FM Live---recorded live in 1973 at the Academy of Music in New York and broadcast live on WNEW-FM---shows CBB doing what they did…
CLIMAX BLUES BAND: FM Live
Sire SAS-2-7411 (2 LPs only, nla). 1973. Richard Gottlehrer, prod.; Jim Price, eng. AAA. TT: 74:14
As one of the most underrated English blues bands from the '70s, you'd have been hard pressed to find a harder-working group than the Climax Blues Band; seemed like every time a major rock band was coming to town, CBB was the opening act. Although they released a fair number of studio albums during their career, FM Live---recorded live in 1973 at the Academy of Music in New York and broadcast live on WNEW-FM---shows CBB doing what they did…
Michael Ullman
CHICO FREEMAN: Chico
Chico Freeman, tenor sax, flute, bass clarinet; Richard Abrams, piano; Cecil McBee, bass; Steve McCall, drums; Tito Sampa, percussion
India Navigation IN 1031 (LP/CD). 1977. AAA/ AAD. I might have chosen Chico Freeman's late-'70s recording Spirit Sensitive, which has been reissued by Analogue Productions; or Freeman's more recent India Navigation disc, Still Sensitive. What Chico offers here is a more wide-open framework for improvisation, beginning with his long duet with bassist Cecil McBee on "Moments." Freeman's tenor sax is clear and…
CHICO FREEMAN: Chico
Chico Freeman, tenor sax, flute, bass clarinet; Richard Abrams, piano; Cecil McBee, bass; Steve McCall, drums; Tito Sampa, percussion
India Navigation IN 1031 (LP/CD). 1977. AAA/ AAD. I might have chosen Chico Freeman's late-'70s recording Spirit Sensitive, which has been reissued by Analogue Productions; or Freeman's more recent India Navigation disc, Still Sensitive. What Chico offers here is a more wide-open framework for improvisation, beginning with his long duet with bassist Cecil McBee on "Moments." Freeman's tenor sax is clear and…
My last visit to Planet Halcro transformed my audio life. All but the newest readers will recall that the Australian dm58 power amplifier was Stereophile's Amplification Component of the Year and overall Component of the Year for 2002. To this day, I have yet to hear any amplifier that equals the dm58's combination of complete neutrality, harmonic generosity, lightning reflexes, and a sense of boundless power that is difficult to describe. Though some others have come close, the dm58 shines as a singular beacon of excellence among power amplifiers.
After designing an amplifier…
It was a total gas to listen through the Halcro to such highly complex sound collages as Manu Chao's Esperanza (CD, Virgin 10321 21), Future Sound of London's The Papua New Guinea Translations (UK CD, Jumpin' and Pumpin' CD TOT52), and Porcupine Tree's Voyage 34: The Complete Trip (UK CD, Delirium DELEC CD074). Such recordings are painstakingly constructed assemblages of multiple interlocking layers. When a component cuts through the murk as thoroughly as did the dm10, not only the details themselves but the spatial, timbral, and temporal relationships of all of those details come together…
Sidebar 1: Steel Cage Death Match, or Four Front Ends Considered
During the period I was reviewing the Halcro dm10, VTL TL-7.5 Reference, and BAT VK-51 SE preamplifiers, John Atkinson decided it would be enlightening to have me listen to these state-of-the-art contenders in comparison to the venerable Mark Levinson No.32 Reference (reviewed by Jonathan Scull in January 2000). How, we wondered, would the new boys stand up when compared not only with each other, but also with a long-term resident of Class A of "Recommended Components"? So, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I did just…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Full-function preamplifier with remote control and switch-mode power supply. Inputs: 3 unbalanced (RCAs), 3 balanced (XLRs) (both conventional voltage mode); 1 current mode (RCAs). Phono input has variable phono capacitance and load resistance. Outputs: 2 pairs unbalanced (RCAs), bridgeable and 2 pairs balanced (XLRs), bridgeable, both conventional voltage mode; 2 pairs current mode (RCAs), 1 pair for unbridged connection, the other pair used in bridged mode; 1 pair tape output (RCAs); ¼" stereo headphone jack. 6-pin XLR for control data. Maximum…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Analog source: SOTA Cosmos Series III turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector XV-1S cartridge.
Digital sources: Esoteric DV-50 universal digital player, Classé Omega CD/SACD player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead, Aesthetix Io Signature phono stages.
Power amplifiers: Lamm ML1.1, VTL MB-450 Signature, Halcro dm58, McIntosh C501 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Focal-JMlab Nova Utopia Be, Legacy Audio Focus 20/20.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2. Interconnect: Acoustic Zen Silver Reference & Matrix Reference, Nordost Valhalla,…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
It's rare to find ground-lift switches in consumer audio equipment, much though they are needed, but the Halcro dm10 is one such component. Arranging the grounding between my Audio Precision System One to get the lowest noise was therefore a relatively simple business, without me having to reach for a "cheater" AC adapter. I also used the dm10's supplied Shunyata AC cord. (Note that I was only able to measure the dm10 in conventional voltage mode. I also didn't test the headphone jack, which I will do in a Follow-up.)
I first tested the dm10's phono stage.…
In recent years, computer modeling, finite-element analysis, and laser interferometry have brought about a huge increase in our knowledge about what makes the moving-coil loudspeaker drive-unit work. Nevertheless, it has remained fundamentally unchanged since it was invented by Rice and Kellogg more than 60 years ago. That doesn't mean that it hasn't been refined considerably; in this review I examine the performance of a design whose drive-unit technology has been taken to the limit of what is currently possible, the B&W Silver Signature.
To celebrate its 25th anniversary in 1991,…