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Abner Jay: Last Ole Ministrel Man

Last night, I listened to Mississippi Records’s latest Abner Jay release, Last Ole Ministrel Man, a lovingly packaged 10”, three songs on each side, rawer than winter in New York City.

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…

Esoteric D-07 D/A processor

In November 2009, I took part in an intriguing comparison between live and recorded sound. I first recorded a live piano recital in 24-bit/96kHz digital, then allowed the audience to immediately hear the recording in the same room. (See my February 2010 thoughts on the comparison here.) For playback, I used two of the mono Esoteric D-01VU D/A converters locked to the ultra-high-precision Esoteric G-0Rb "atomic" master clock. I was very impressed by the sound of this cost-no-object digital system, so when I visited the Japanese company's room at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show and saw their…

Esoteric D-07 D/A processor Page 2

During the review period, Soundkeeper Recordings' Barry Diament sent me his new release Equinox, from drummer Markus Schwartz and Lakou Brooklyn (CD, Soundkeeper SR1002). This naturally miked recording of acoustic instruments showed off the D-07's good side—its superbly clean midrange, its natural instrumental timbres, its persuasive way with percussion—but also its slight drying-up of the recorded ambience. Paul Beaudry's double bass was also a little less well defined than I would like, particularly in his solo plucked riff at the start of "Yanvalloux."

The D-07's USB input worked…

Esoteric D-07 D/A processor Esoteric D-07 D/A processor Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Multi-input, two-channel D/A processor with optional remote control, digital-domain volume control, two switch-selectable digital reconstruction filters, and switchable upsampling of PCM data to 2x or 4x PCM or DSD. Digital inputs: 2 S/PDIF (2 RCA, 1 TosLink), 1 AES/EBU, USB 1.1, TTL word clock on 75-ohm BNC jack. Digital output: TTL word clock on BNC jack. Sample rates accepted: 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192kHz (S/PDIF, Optical, and AES/EBU); 32, 44.1, 48, and 96kHz (USB); XLR input can receive DSD data from Esoteric P-05 transport. Analog…

Esoteric D-07 D/A processor Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xeMP universal player; G4 Mac mini running OS10.5.8, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.6; Shuttle PC with dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, Foobar 2000, Adobe Audition 3.0; dCS Debussy, Benchmark DAC1 D/A converters; Halide S/PDIF Bridge USB-S/PDIF converter.
Preamplifier: Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CTM-600 monoblocks, Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7.
Loudspeakers: Harbeth P3ESR, Acapella High Violoncello Mk.II, Gradient Helsinki.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox XV2 electrical S/PDIF, DH Labs…

Esoteric D-07 D/A processor Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to perform the measurements on the Esoteric D-07 (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. To test the D-07's performance via its USB input, I used my MacBook running OS10.6 and Bias Peak Pro 6 to play WAV files of the various test signals I use.

Apple's USB Prober utility identified the D-07 as being manufactured by "ESOTERIC USB Audio" and…

Silverman's Beethoven Cycle Continues in San Jose

Canadian pianist Robert Silverman, whose artistry has made him an audiophile legend, is set to continue his complete Beethoven Sonata Cycle Series in San Jose, CA. The four remaining concerts are scheduled for February 3 and 10 and April 7 and 14 in the excellent acoustic of San Jose's Le Petit Trianon Theatre. All proceeds from the performances will benefit the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

Producer of the series, Michael Silver of Audio High in Mountain View, CA, has retained Marc Wilsher to make high-resolution digital recordings of the entire series. Judging from an…

Now On Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.34 No.2

The February 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. You want it, you need it, you love it. A quick look at what’s inside:

In “As We See It,” John Atkinson welcomes our readers to the new and improved Stereophile.com, and applauds the many outstanding hi-fi dealers across the nation who help spread the passion for high-quality recorded music.

In “Letters,” I get ripped to shreds over my horrible taste in everything and my general lack of worth. The author of the letter (name withheld, unsurprisingly) had a clear case of the “No Pussy Blues.” He should take…

Yes, the World Saxophone Quartet Can

Yes We Can is the most jolting, swinging, all-round best album by the World Saxophone Quartet in nearly 20 years.

WSQ, which was formed in 1977, still has at its core two of the founding members, David Murray on tenor sax and Hamiett Bluiett on baritone. The alto parts, which have shifted over the decades, are taken up here by Kidd Jordan and James Carter (the latter also on soprano at times). They’re all playing at peak power.

In its original guise, with Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake on altos, WSQ was the signature jazz band of the 1980s, the spearhead of a spontaneous “neo-…

White Wilderness and Minitel

John Vanderslice’s seventh studio album, White Wilderness, marked by the enchanting, fluid maneuvers of the Magik*Magik Orchestra, was released last Tuesday. The entire album&#151nine twisting, coiling songs, spanning 31 minutes&#151was recorded in just three days, but sounds as purposeful and carefully conceived as a special gift.

Meanwhile, Vanderslice has another gift up his sleeve: He is building a new recording studio&#151San Francisco’s first not-for-profit recording space&#151structured as a co-op at a cost of $200/day. It will be called Minitel, after the early…