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Follow-Up: Decibel 1.2.3 & Pure Music 1.8

Decibel 1.2.3 & Pure Music 1.8, September 2011 (Vol.34 No.9)

In "Listening" in the July 2011 issue, Art Dudley wrote about his experiences with three digital music players for Macintosh computers: Amarra, Decibel, and Pure Music, each of which ensures that the bits it presents to the DAC are the same bits as those stored in the file, and at the same sample rate (footnote 1). That column was prepared in early April; when new versions of Decibel and Pure Music became available in June, I thought it useful to write a short Follow-Up.

Decibel, a bare-bones, playlist-oriented…

Recording of August 1988: </I>The Walking</I>

Jane Siberry: The Walking
Reprise/Duke Street 25678-1 (LP), 25678-2 (CD). John Naslen, eng.; Jane Siberry, John Switzer, John Naslen, prods. DDD. TT: 53:03

I came to Jane Siberry's music pretty late in the game. This is her fourth album, and the third released by a major label—No Borders Here and The Speckless Sky were released by Open Sky/Windham Hill a few years ago. Hadn't heard 'em (footnote 1). Didn't need to. On the basis of The Walking alone, it was clear Siberry is one of the most important singer/songwriters we've got.

Had to laugh when I read Reprise's promo…

Eminent Technology Two tonearm

If analog disc is fading, it is a twilight of the gods. Tonearms, cartridges, and turntables get steadily better; the overall quality of the best analog disc systems today is far better than it was two years ago. Bruce Thigpen and Edison Price's new Eminent Technology Two tonearm is a case in point. It has evolved from a highly specialized product for only the bravest of audiophiles to a reference quality arm that any dealer can install, and any audiophile can safely use. More importantly, it may have no sonic equal at any price.

The Technical Background
Bruce Thigpen was one of the…

Eminent Technology Two tonearm Guy Lemcoe November 1989

Guy Lemcoe offered some ruminations in November 1989 (Vol.12 No.11):

When I travel to larger cities, the first thing I do after checking into my room is to consult the Yellow Pages under "Records, Tapes & Compact Discs"—for a certified vinyl junkie, discovering a source of used records in a strange city can be economically disastrous as well as socially alienating. Be upfront with your friends about your addiction, or you may find yourself returning home alone! Not empty-handed, though! If you extend your search to used-bookstores (which usually have a few records stashed away…

Eminent Technology Two tonearm Martin Colloms March 1990

Martin Colloms wrote about the Eminent Technology Two in March 1990 (Vol.13 No.3):

Much has been written in these pages on Eminent Technology's parallel-tracking, air-bearing tonearm ($950), so I will only be brief. I must report that I find the Series Two ET to be a most creditable product, overcoming my earlier mixed feelings about it which were based on my auditioning of the original model. It does need a highly stable support and in these series of tests, it worked well in combination with the Roksan Xerxes turntable (footnote 1).

I was never entirely comfortable with the…

Eminent Technology Two tonearm Guy Lemcoe October 1991

Guy Lemcoe maximized the performance of the ET 2 tonearm in October 1991 (Vol.14 No.10):

"What's in the box, Guy?" asked Nicholas Potter, Santa Fe's sole purveyor of used records and CDs.

"CDs," I replied.

"Always glad to see 'em, especially the classical ones. Cleaning out the closet?" he queried.

"In a sense, yes. They don't sound so good anymore,"

"Why?"

"Because I've made some improvements to my system—tweaked my ET tonearm," I replied.

"That's the one with the air bearing, isn't it? The one you hook up to an aquarium pump?"

"…

Eminent Technology Two tonearm Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Air-bearing straight line tonearm with detachable arm tubes. Wide range of user adjustments.
Price: $850 (1984); $950 (1989–1991); $2900 (ET2.5, 2011). Approximate number of dealers: 80.
Manufacturer: Eminent Technology Inc., 225 E. Palmer Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Tel: (904) 575-5655. Web: www.eminent-tech.com/main.html.

Polk Audio UltraFit 3000

The outer walls of the Cooper Square Hotel reflect blue sky and angle gently as they rise to the penthouse suite. When construction on the hotel began, New Yorkers cried “Abomination!” at the idea of a glass-sheathed high-rise towering over the short brick buildings of the East Village. Now that the Cooper Square Hotel has integrated itself into the Bowery’s landscape, it is the ambitions of the building’s architects that are remembered, not New Yorkers’ gripes.

In this penthouse suite on the eve of September 13, Polk Audio presented their line of UltraFit active headphones to members of…

Did you go to an Audio Show this Year?

Miles Live in Europe, 1967

In his autobiography, Miles Davis wrote that all his live concerts through the 1960s were taped by someone and that Columbia Records, his label in those days, would no doubt release them after he died.

He was so right. Not that I'm complaining.

A few years ago, after the umpteenth of these high-concept releases, I thought that Columbia (now Sony) must have reached the end of the Miles treasure trove. But it seems the fun is just beginning. The latest multidisc set (three CDs and one DVD) is Miles Davis Quintet: Live in Europe, 1967, subtitled The Bootleg Series, Vol.1.

…