It's an unlikely mix of homages, but with an equally surefooted and agile band, it works. And on Preminger's latest album, Before the Rain (on the Palmetto label), his band—pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist John Herbst, and drummer Matt Wilson—is all that.
The disc consists mainly of slow ballads, some originals, some standards, simmered in polyrhythms, cool in…
What I expected of them—in the short term, at least—was this: They were required to answer three new questions, written for their benefit on that still-vibrating…
Seriously now, the question(s): In order to do great things, is it important for a manufacturing company to have a distinct point of view, in the same manner as an individual artist or artisan? And if so, does the abandonment of that point of view necessarily correlate with a decline in quality—of ideas, if not of consumer goods themselves? Compare, contrast.
The number of the color
In the earliest days of the CD, during a time…
I can relate. I've worked hard to put in my 10,000 hours as a critical listener, both as an audiophile and as a full-time, professional musician. In one area, however, I feel I'm still working up to that 10,000 hours: writing reviews for Stereophile. Few people can say they've spent 22 hours a…
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with remote control. Volume control: 63dB range in increments of 1dB. Inputs: 2 XLR/RCA, 3 RCA only. Voltage gain: 26dB. Frequency range: 1.5Hz–60kHz. Power output: 150Wpc into 8 ohms (21.8dBW). Maximum output voltage: ±35V. Distortion at 1kHz, full power: 1%. Input impedance: 30k ohms balanced, 20k ohms single-ended. Damping factor: 150. Output noise <300µV. Power consumption: 225W.
Dimensions: 19" (490mm) W by 7" (180mm) H by 19" (490mm) D. Weight: 67 lbs (30.5kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 22624.…
Digital Sources: Theta Miles (S/PDIF output), Bel Canto CD2 (with VBS1 power supply) CD players; Benchmark DAC1 & DAC1 HDR, Bel Canto DAC 3.5VB, CEntrance DACport D/A converters; Sony Vaio laptop computer.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Labs Aleph 3 & XA30.5, Rogue Audio M180 monoblocks.
Integrated Amplifier: Simaudio Moon i3.3.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30.
Cables: Digital: Kimber BiFocal X, Stereovox HDVX coaxial, Wireworld Gold Starlight AES/EBU, Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure Balanced & Pure.…
To perform the measurements on the Pass Labs INT-150, I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). Before doing the testing, I ran the INT-150 at one-third its rated power for 60 minutes, which thermally is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-A/B output stage. At the end of that period, the heatsinks along the chassis sides were way too hot to touch. This amplifier needs plenty of ventilation.
The maximum gain at 1kHz was basically to specification, at…
I listened over and over while reading Jack Teague’s wonderful liner notes, telling his story of how he got to know Abner Jay, how he got scolded by Abner Jay, how he got to mow the man’s lawn one hot summer day, how he got to rub lotion on the man’s dry legs when the man was finally confined to a hospital bed, getting ready to leave this world.
I just kept flipping the record over and…