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Once upon a time, manufacturers and distributors of high-end-audio gear were at least minimally respectful of one another. Yes, there was that whole stupid Linn vs. SOTA thing in the 1980s, fueled primarily by one writer and one editor at one magazine. And, yes, there was a period of time during which the owners of Magnepan and Apogee Acoustics stopped making friendship bracelets for each other. Still, people got along well enough. From time to time one could even hear the smartest designers—Nelson Pass, J.C. Morrison, Denis Morecroft, Bruce Thigpen, and Touraj Moghaddam stand out in my…
With "Don't Cry No Tears," from Neil Young's Zuma (LP, Reprise MS 2242), my system sounded less tonally complex with the Kimber Toniks than with my Shindo cables; with the latter in place, it was easier to hear and to appreciate the distinctions among, say, the different drum-kit sounds in different songs. (On this as on so many Neil Young albums, different tracks were produced by different people; in those produced by David Briggs, including the above, the drum sound is somewhat rawer, while the kick drum in other tracks sounds overdamped and thuddy by comparison.) But with a $80 Kimber…
Sidebar: Contacts
Acoustic Revive, Sekiguchi Machine Sales Co., Ltd., 3016-1 Tsunatori-machi, Isesaki-shi, Gunma Pref. 372-0812, Japan. Tel: (81) 270-24-0878. Fax: (81) 270-21-1963. US distributor: Acoustic Revive USA., Mooresville, NC 28115. Tel: (704) 230-0029. Web: www.acousticreviveusa.com.
Kimber Kable, 2752 South 1900 West, Ogden, UT 84401. Tel: (801) 621-5530. Fax: (801) 627-6980. Web: www.kimber.com.
Nordost Corporation, 200 Homer Avenue, Ashland, MA 01721. Tel: (800) 836-2750, (508) 881-1116. Fax: (508) 881-6444. Web: www.nordost.com.
As I write this, in early August, the global economy is in flux and the stock market gyrates, seeming in stark contrast with the gleaming, luxurious audio components that surround me. Perhaps there is some prescience in my rising interest in reasonably priced, high-performance products, as exemplified by the Oppo Digital BDP-95 universal Blu-ray player, which I reviewed in this column in September. Surely there must be other products that provide truly excellent sound at prices strikingly lower than expected.
Preamplifier-processors are terrifyingly complex, but their market is small and…
I was quite taken with what I heard from my system with the XPA-5. Compared to the Bryston 9B, the Emotiva seemed to lack treble, yet that did not obtrude into my normal enjoyment of the music: all the treble was presented in proper balance. With the Paradigm Studio/60s, this may even have been a salubrious effect. At the bottom end, the XPA-5 seemed more full but less precise than the Bryston, but again, that distinction was largely erased by using good subwoofers and bass management. Neither amp ran out of power in this system, so no advantage was realized from Bryston's use of an…
Sidebar 1: Contacts
AcoustiSoft, 4 Lake Court, Belleville, Ontario K8P 5M8, Canada. Tel: (613) 242-0677. Web: www.etfacoustic.com/RPlusDSite/index.html.
Dayton Audio, PO Box 52, Springboro, OH 45066-052. Tel: (937) 743-8248. Fax: (937) 743-1678. Web: www.daytonaudio.com.
Emotiva Audio Corporation, 135 Southeast Parkway Court, Franklin, TN 37064. Tel: (877) 366-8324, (615) 790-6754. Web: emotiva.com.
RoomEQ Wizard, John Mulcahey, Home Theater Shack. Web: www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/.
XTZ AB, Gamla Nissastigen 19, 314 41 Torup, Sweden. Tel: (46) (0)345-20049. Fax: (46…
Sidebar 2: Recordings In The Round
BARTÓK: Rhapsodies 1 & 2 for Violin & Orchestra, Violin Concerto 2
Includes alternative versions of movements.
Barnabás Kelemen, violin; Zoltán Kocsis, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungaroton HSACD 32509 (SACD)
Every time I hear of a new release in Hungaroton's "Bartók New Series" I expect something special, and this disc is further fulfillment of that expectation. Although these releases do not feature performers with the biggest names, the musicians recorded do come with unquestioned credentials for this music…
One of the most important sopranos of the early music movement—truly one of the great singers of our time—has died. Montserrat Figueras, who together with her husband, viola da gamba master Jordi Savall (left in photo), revivified vast amounts of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertoire, succumbed to cancer at age 69.
Diagnosed over a year ago, Figueras continued to record and perform through August. She died at her home in Bellaterra, Spain, with her husband and children Arianna and Ferran at her side.
A strikingly beautiful woman, Figueras was possessed of a clear, shining…
On Thursday, November 17, Sound By Singer celebrated the grand opening of their new showroom with an evening of music and product demonstrations.
Occupying the entire second floor of 242 West 27th Street, Sound By Singer offers three listening rooms with gear from respected brands such as Clearaudio, Harbeth, LFD, Luxman, Musical Fidelity, VPI, Zanden, and more.
In the image above, we see Bluebird Music’s Jay Rein, in Singer’s largest listening room, providing a demonstration of a cost-no-object system incorporating Peak Consult loudspeakers.
Business hours are by…
I’ve quickly and deeply fallen in love with Sharon Van Etten’s album, Tramp, to be released by Jagjaguwar on February 7th. My review is scheduled to appear in our March issue, but I’ll tell you now that this is an album worth owning and playing again and again.
Van Etten’s voice is strong and provocative, her phrasing clever and compelling, the mood she conjures reminiscent of Chan Marshall’s early passion and longing, but more urgent, more dangerous. Van Etten sounds as though she’s been through some difficult, unhappy things, but has freed herself; she’s aware of her sadness, yet…