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2010 Records To Die For Page 3

BRIAN DAMKROGER

LISZT: Piano Concerto 1
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto 2
Artur Rubenstein, piano; Alfred Wallenstein, RCA Victor Symphony (Liszt); Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Rachmaninoff)
RCA Living Stereo LSC-2068 (LP). 1962. John Pfeiffer, prod.; Lewis Layton, John Crawford, engs. AAA. TT: 49:38

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 2 is one of my favorite piano works, and the Rubenstein-Reiner-Chicago reading is the one I'd grab if the house were burning down. Truth be told, I marginally prefer Vladimir Ashkenazy's performance with the Moscow Philharmonic (Decca…

2010 Records To Die For Page 4

MATTHEW FRITCH

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: Tallahassee
4AD CAD2215 (CD). 2002. Tony Doogan, John Darnielle, Michael Ivins, prods.; Doogan, eng. AAD? TT: 44:04

A codependent couple heads down to north Florida to bottom out on drugs and tear each other apart—and then things really get ugly. Somewhere between an episode of Cops and a Tennessee Williams play, the lyrical narrative running through the brisk folk-pop songs of Tallahassee turns us all into voyeurs, witnessing a once-romantic relationship descend into Southern-gothic madness. John Darnielle can sometimes be an overly wordy…

2010 Records To Die For Page 5

DAVID LANDER

J.S. BACH: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2
Angela Hewitt, piano
Hyperion CDA67301/2 & CDA67303/4 (4 CDs). 1998, 1999. Ludger Böckenhoff, prod.; no eng. listed. DDD. TT: 4:24:11

Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard works have inspired illustrious disciples. Rosalyn Tureck spent most of her 88 years exploring their contrapuntal intricacies, and in 1955 Glenn Gould all but set fire to Columbia's 30th Street studio while blazing through the Goldberg Variations, for which he was lionized. Now we have Angela Hewitt, who, in 11 years ending in 2005,…

2010 Records To Die For Page 6

STEPHEN MEJIAS

VIVIAN GIRLS: Everything Goes Wrong
In The Red ITR 179 (LP). 2009. Mike McHugh, prod., eng. AAD? TT: 36:01

It really is the greatest thing: Listening to this record on the hi-fi immediately takes me back to that strange, magical night at Bamboo Beach in the sandy town of Isabela, Puerto Rico, the perfect setting for a Vivian Girls performance. With a smile that illuminates the entire island, Kickball Katy is just inches away, playing these tugging, lassoing riffs on her little Hofner bass; Cassie Ramone is off to the right, kneeling on the floor with her…

2010 Records To Die For Page 7

ROBERT J. REINA

HETH AND JED: Between the In and the Out
Space Rock SR-65092 (CD). 2005. Jed Weinstein, prod., eng.; Heth Weinstein, Jamie Cardiloro, prods. DDD? TT: 37:01

Weinstein brothers Heth and Jed (www.hethandjed.com) write catchy pop love songs with infectious melodies and subtly sophisticated harmonic structures that allude to an intellectual depth that grabs the mind and soul equally. The pair's greatest strength is their ability to formulate and elaborate electronically manipulated electroacoustic arrangements that echo early Brian Eno as much as the folk singer-…

Music Matters 6 in Seattle this Wednesday

Pacific Northwest audio retailer Definitive Audio is holding its sixth Music Matters, "A Night of the Best in 2-Channel Audio," this coming Wednesday (February 9) at its Seattle location (6206 Roosevelt Way NE) from 5–10pm.

Appearing in person and each giving presentations lasting 30 minutes, will be representatives from Audio Research, Ayre Acoustics, B&W, Classé, Finite Elemente, GoldenEar, Harmonic Resolution, Linn, Meridian, Peachtree Audio, Transparent, and Wilson Audio, while Stereophile editor John Atkinson will be demonstrating the benefits of high-resolution audio and the…

<i>Share the Joy</i>

This is one of those albums that will turn an otherwise ordinary Tuesday into a special day. I’ll definitely be running over to Other Music on April 12th to pick up Vivian Girls’s third full-length release, Share the Joy. (With a title like that, it’ll be easy for me to pretend that the album was created just for me. I’m all about sharing the joy. Plus, lead singer and guitarist Cassie Ramone says that Share the Joy is “more hi-fi” than the previous records!)

The album is Vivian Girls’s first on Polyvinyl Records and their first with current drummer, Fiona Campbell. (Previous drummer…

Hales System Two loudspeaker

Last July I reviewed the $4850/pair Hales System Two Signature loudspeakers and enthusiastically recommended them. In fact, they displaced the B&W 801 Matrix 2 as my reference loudspeaker, and have become a fixture in my listening room. Over the past seven months, my impressions of the Signatures have been largely confirmed: transparent and uncolored midrange, resolution of fine detail, precise imaging, superb transient abilities, and, most importantly, an ability to thoroughly involve the listener in the music. These qualities earned the Signature a Class A recommendation in Stereophile'…

Hales System Two loudspeaker Page 2

Like the Signatures, the System Two's three drivers are mounted in a D'Appolito configuration, with the tweeter in the acoustic center of the two woofers. This arrangement simulates a point-source radiation characteristic as well as reduces lobing (variations in vertical radiation patterns) for smoother dispersion and reduced sensitivity to listening height.

The crossover is second-order electrical, resulting in effective third-order slopes when combined with the drivers' acoustic rolloff. The Butterworth filters feature Wonder Cap and Solen polypropylene capacitors, Solen 14-gauge air-…

Hales System Two loudspeaker Page 3

The System Two's treble had a tendency toward tizziness, the degree of which is highly dependent on the amount of toe-in toward the listener. Pointing the System Two nearly straight ahead with a little toe-in somewhat ameliorated the slightly excessive mid-treble energy. There is a tradeoff between best imaging (listener on-axis) and treble smoothness (listener about 20° off-axis). With a little experimentation, I was able to strike a good balance. Another factor that contributes to a fizzy top end is the amount of treble energy in the recording. The System Two is highly revealing of…