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The MOG May 2012…
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Stereophile is not all about reviewing hi-fi, and thanks to our all-knowing and thrill-seeking Music Editor, Robert Baird, we cover exciting new releases in each monthly issue for you to consider on your hi-fi escapades. In this post, I listen to all records we reviewed available on streaming services MOG and Spotify from our May 2012 issue, provide my own two-cents, and link to the playlists from the two services. With a premium account, one can stream at 320kbps Ogg Vorbis files from Spotify, and MOG users can stream 320kbps MP3s for free!
At the recent New York Audio and AV Show, I was impressed by both the sound and appearance of Well Rounded Sound’s desktop speakers.
Designed and manufactured right here in NYC, the Well Rounded Sound speakers use American hardwoods from sustainably harvested forests. While several WRS models are available wrapped in bright colors of New Zealand wool, the company’s flagship desktop design, the WRS WP 2, is finished in handsome American Walnut. You love American Walnut. The WP 2 uses a bamboo-reinforced paper-cone driver, has a rated impedance of 8 ohms, sensitivity of 88dB, and…
Follow-Up from June 2012 (Vol.35 No.6):
In the April "Letters," reader Lenni B labeled me "prince of price no limit." But in 2011 I reviewed some reasonably priced phono preamplifiers, including, in my October column, the PTE MMMC ($1600). I said that it sounded "flat, cardboardy, and glary" in moving-magnet mode, but had to cut short my review when, on deadline day, I received an e-mail from designer Jim Rush. He said he'd made numerous changes in the moving-magnet section, including switching from passive to active RIAA equalization, upping the power-supply voltage to increase overload…
Yesterday afternoon, John Atkinson and I snuck out of the office, rode the subway down to Astor Place, and walked over to the Standard Hotel on Cooper Square. Once we figured out how to get inside the beautifully designed building—there is nothing standard about the Standard Hotel—we were welcomed into the Sonos Sound Library. Devised by Sonos and Cool Hunting as part of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and NoHo Design Week, the Sonos Sound Library mixes acoustic treatments with fine furniture and places Sonos Play:3 wireless speakers around the room to create a fun,…
I have no real foundation on which to discuss the merits or shortcomings of symphonic music—I’m too busy contemplating Drake, Mike Posner, and Nicki Minaj—but I have heard that the Ninth is considered “the cursed” symphony.
I think it begins with Beethoven, who died after completing his Ninth. Mahler, I’ve read, was so disturbed by the thought of a Ninth, that, after completing his Eight, he tried to dodge The Curse by writing Das Leid von der Erde. But, oh, The Curse can’t be so easily duped: Mahler finally completed a Ninth, but died while working on his Tenth. Gotcha!…
Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa and Arbos
Tabula Rasa: Fratres (2 versions); Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten; Tabula Rasa
Gidon Kremer, Tatjana Grindenko, violins; Keith Jarrett, piano; Alfred Schnittke, prepared piano; Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Dennis Russel Davies, conductor; Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Saulus Sondeckis, conductor; cellists of the Berlin PO
ECM New Series 1275 (CD). Heinz Wildhagen, Peter Laenger, Eberhard Sengpiel, Dieter Frobeen, engs.; Manfred Eicher, prod. AAD. TT: 55:04
Tabula Rasa: Fratres (2 versions); Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten; Tabula Rasa
Gidon Kremer, Tatjana Grindenko, violins; Keith Jarrett, piano; Alfred Schnittke, prepared piano; Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Dennis Russel Davies, conductor; Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Saulus Sondeckis, conductor; cellists of the Berlin PO
ECM New Series 1275 (CD). Heinz Wildhagen, Peter Laenger, Eberhard Sengpiel, Dieter Frobeen, engs.; Manfred Eicher, prod. AAD. TT: 55:04
Arbos: Arbos; An den Wassern zu Babel; Pari Intervallo; De Profundis; Es sang for…
As the music swelled in the background, Humphrey Bogart leaned toward Ingrid Bergman and tenderly said, "Mnn mmmm mnn nnrm murrrmr."
Damn! I hate when that happens. I ran the laserdisc back and played it again, this time louder.
"MNN MMMM MNN NNRM MURRRMR," said Bogart.
When you think about it, the center channel is probably the most important channel—if you don't believe this, watch a movie sometime with the dialog speaker turned off and see how compelling the experience is. I mean, I like explosions, rocket launches, and train wrecks as much as the next guy, but what I…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, horizontal-axis, dynamic design with Environment and Placement adjustment. Drive-units: 1" titanium-dome tweeter, 5" plastic-cone midrange unit, two 7" long-throw cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 450Hz, 4kHz. Frequency response: 55Hz–22kHz, ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 6 ohms, 4 ohms minimum. Amplifier requirements: 50W minimum. Dispersion: –0, –3dB, 45° horizontal.
Finish: Catalyzed Satin Black.
Dimensions: 9.5" H by 24" W by 11" D. Shipping weight: 46 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 000055…
Sidebar 2: Round up the usual suspects
I used the CC3 in a home-theater system employing the Aerial 10Ts as left and right speakers and the Aerial SR3R rear-channel speakers. Other components included the Chiro C-800 preamp/processor, Chiro C-200 and C-300 amplifiers, Marantz LV510 laserdisc player (sending the digital signal through an Assemblage DAC1 and Sonic Frontiers UltraJitterbug), and Straight Wire cables.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 3: Of all the lousy labs in the world...
A quick check on the CC-3's B-weighted sensitivity revealed it to be within spitting distance of the 86dB/W/m 10T at 84.5dB/W/m. The 1.5dB difference is basically inconsequential. Its impedance with the tone controls set to their worst-case positions—Program = "0," Environment = "+"—drops below 4 ohms in the midrange (fig.1) but is otherwise not too demanding. The peak at 53Hz reveals the tuning of the sealed box.
Fig.1 Aerial Acoustics CC3, worst-case electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (Program = 0,…