His two post-coma albums before this one, Alone at the Vanguard and Whirl, while strong, had the feel, especially in retrospect, of recovery projects. The new one is something else, the work of a pianist—an…
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Fred Hersch's new double-disc album (on the Palmetto label) might be called Alive at the Vanguard, instead of the customary Live at . . . , for two reasons. First, it's a declaration that Hersch, who's had HIV-positive for many years and not long ago slipped into a coma for six months, is alive. Second, this music is alive: fire-breathing with adventure, dance, spirits of all sorts.
One of my formative audiophile experiences was the first time I heard electrostatic speakers. I walked into an audio store and heard music played by a live jazz combo. But where were the musicians? I saw none, though I did notice a couple of room-divider panels in the part of the store where the music seemed to be coming from. Eventually, it dawned on me that these must be loudspeakers—but they sounded like no other speakers I'd ever heard, and nothing like the Advents I had at home.
Those room dividers turned out to be KLH Nine electrostatic speakers. My Advents, good as they were,…
To comply with European Union regulations for electrical equipment, the Montis's subwoofer amplifier and the bias-voltage power supply for its electrostatic panel are put in standby mode after 30 minutes of no signal input. In standby mode, the power consumption is reduced to 1W, and it takes the speaker a second or two to wake up when you start to play music again. At first I found this delay disconcerting—it made me wonder if something was wrong—but eventually I got used to it. An electrostatic's bias voltage is known cause its panels to attract dust, which requires having to occasionally…
In terms of bass extension, it was clear from just casual listening that the Montis didn't lack in this department; more critical listening made me realize that the Montis was even better than I'd first thought. "Temple Caves," from Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, begins with a synthesizer note that separates the men from the boys: midsize floorstanding speakers that lack the benefit of a powered sub can only vaguely indicate the note, and small stand-mounted speakers omit its fundamental frequency entirely. Through the Montises, the synthesizer note was unambiguously present in a way that shook…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, floorstanding, electrostatic loudspeaker with a powered dynamic woofer. Drive-units: 44" (1118mm) H by 11.3" (287mm) W XStat CLS electrostatic high-frequency transducer (radiating area, 497in.2 [3209cm2]); 10" (254mm) high-excursion, aluminum-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 340Hz. Frequency response: 29Hz–23kHz, ±3dB. Horizontal dispersion: 30°. Vertical dispersion: 44" (1120mm) line source. Sensitivity: 91dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms, 0.52 ohm at 20kHz. Compatible with 4, 6, or 8 ohm rated amplifiers. Woofer amplifier: 200Wpc (4 ohms).…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Source: Ayre Acoustics CX-7eMP CD player.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance.
Power Amplifiers: Audiopax Model 88 Mk.II, McIntosh MC275LE, Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7.
Integrated Amplifier: PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium.
Loudspeakers: Avantgarde Uno Nano, GoldenEar Triton Two.
Cables: Interconnects, speaker cables, AC: Nordost Valhalla.
Accessories: PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 5 AC regenerator; Arcici Suspense Rack, PolyCrystal equipment stands; Nordost Sort Kone TC footers; Furutech RD-2 CD…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the MartinLogan Montis's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. A note on these measurements is in order:
When a speaker is measured, there is a hidden assumption that the distance between speaker and measuring microphone is significantly larger than the speaker's greatest dimension. With all but very large box speakers, this assumption is true. However, it is almost never true with panel speakers…
I was setting up for some musical demonstrations I was to present for a Music Matters evening at the ListenUp! store in Boulder, Colorado, in May 2011. For these events, an audio store invites manufacturers (and the occasional journalist) to demonstrate to local audiophiles the musical benefits of high-end audio playback. In Boulder, I was to share the store's big listening room with Dave Nauber, president of Classé Audio, who had set up a system with B&W Diamond 802 speakers, a Classé stereo amplifier, and a preproduction sample of Classé's new CP-800 preamplifier ($5000), all hooked up…
Pressing Menu allows you to adjust balance, switch to dual-mono, and activate the tone controls. Pressing Menu, then System Set-Up brings up a screen where you can program the parametric equalization, tone control, input-volume offset and maximum, bass management, and DC trigger and display options. You can also define up to six custom configurations that can be recalled at the touch of a button, as well as program the eight function keys on the remote. If you enable EQ or the tone controls, "EQ," "Tone," or "Mono" appear at the bottom right of the Home screen.
The menu offers more…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, solid-state preamplifier with touchscreen display, DSP-implemented tone and equalizer controls, 10 digital inputs (AES/EBU, 3 S/PDIF on coax, 4 S/PDIF on TosLink, asynchronous USB, front-panel USB host input for iPods, etc.), and analog inputs (2 pairs balanced on XLR jacks, 3 pairs unbalanced on RCAs). Analog outputs: 3 pairs balanced on XLRs, 3 pairs unbalanced on RCAs, headphones on ¼" (6.35mm) jack. Other inputs/outputs: Ethernet, trigger, CAN-Bus, IR. Frequency responses: 8Hz–200kHz, <1dB, stereo analog bypass; 8Hz–20kHz…