Before I sat down to write about the new Led Zep concert film, Celebration Day, I watched the old Led Zep…
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Here in the age when rock stars like Jagger and Richards are not only still breathing, but are now turning 70—“I’d rather be dead than sing “Satisfaction” when I’m 45,” Mick once said with a straight face—seeing older bands reunite and “play” can be very disappointing. There are some, who shall remain nameless, that I have sworn off of completely. The past can never really be recaptured. And no one escapes the ravages of time. Neither they nor you are as young as you once were.
Just in time for the New Year, Cookie Marenco of Blue Coast Records has released the first-ever DSD (Direct-Stream-Digital) download of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra's recording of Mahler's Symphony No.1. Recorded live in Davies Symphony Hall in September 2001, shortly after 9/11, and first released as a hybrid SACD in 2003, the recording is one of the only four Mahler symphonies in SFSO's complete Mahler cycle that were recorded directly to DSD.
The Mahler 1 files, available in four formats, are all derived directly from San Francisco Symphony's master, not from a copy of the…
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen
Birgit Nilsson, Hans Hotter, Wolfgang Windgassen, George London, Gustav Neidlinger, Gerhard Stolze, Gottlob Frick, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kirsten Flagstadt, Set Svanholm, James King, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, many others; Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti
Decca 0289 478 3702 2 (17 CDs, 1 BD, 1 DVD). 1958–66/1997/2012. John Culshaw, prod.; Gordon Parry, eng.; James Lock (1997), Philip Siney (2012), remastering. ADD. TT: 14:36:56 (Ring only)
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Birgit Nilsson, Hans Hotter, Wolfgang Windgassen, George London, Gustav Neidlinger, Gerhard Stolze, Gottlob Frick, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kirsten Flagstadt, Set Svanholm, James King, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, many others; Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti
Decca 0289 478 3702 2 (17 CDs, 1 BD, 1 DVD). 1958–66/1997/2012. John Culshaw, prod.; Gordon Parry, eng.; James Lock (1997), Philip Siney (2012), remastering. ADD. TT: 14:36:56 (Ring only)
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Gramophone called it "the recording…
To say that a digital source "sounds like analog" has always struck me as coming up short. The notion that one format sounds like another is not really sensible or even ideal. While I love listening to LPs, there are some physical attributes of vinyl that, ideally, you don't want to reproduce. You know what I'm talking about because, every chance they get, LP haters remind us about pops, ticks, skips, surface noise, inner-groove distortion, etc. So when we say that a digital source sounds like analog, what we're really saying is that it doesn't sound like digital.
What does it mean to…
A couple of weeks ago, I listed my favorite records of 2012. There are over 100 records on that list. And, even though I do believe that all those records belong on the list, I can’t help thinking that one person can’t possibly really, deeply, truly get to know 100 records in just 365 days. After all, I regularly hear new things in records that I’ve been enjoying for years.
Well, then, how really deeply, truly do I know any record? Does it matter? Whatever.
Here’s another list: Records that I didn’t get around to in 2012, but that I hope to spend quality time with in 2013. These…
I miss Sonic Youth.
In this video, produced by Pitchfork.TV, we see the band's most recent and, in my opinion, tightest, strongest, best, lineup—Steve Shelley (drums), Kim Gordon (gtr/vox), Thurston Moore (gtr/vox), Lee Ranaldo (gtr/vox), and Mark Ibold (bass)—performing "Calming the Snake," from the 2009 album, The Eternal.
Michael Lavorgna and I were sitting at the small bar at Great Jones Cafe. We had just ordered the round that would put us over the edge, and I was trying to explain to Mark Ibold what made Sonic Youth so special. Ibold was tending bar…
Most reviews are straightforward. One preamplifier or power amplifier replaces another. DACs are swapped out. A new pair of speakers takes up residence in the listening room.
But some products demand a complete revision of a system's architecture. Such was the case with Devialet's D-Premier ($15,995). Not only is this French product an integrated amplifier, with phono and line analog inputs; it has digital inputs and an internal D/A section. And since v.5.5 of its operating system, the D-Premier can also act as a high-resolution WiFi audio streamer, working with Devialet's Asynchronous…
As much as I loved using the remote's volume control—the only other remote with a "real" volume control was the one Hafler provided for the Iris preamplifier from the late 1980s—I used the iPhone app most of the time, as I appreciated being able to see the volume setting, the amplifier's display not being visible from my listening chair.
Sound quality
For the first couple of weeks of my auditioning, I used the AIR app running on my Mac mini to send WiFi data to the D-Premier. The sound was never less than excellent. But over time I felt that the upper midrange was a little glassy…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled, solid-state integrated amplifier with software-assignable inputs, LCD screen, switch-mode power supply, and high-efficiency (85%) output stage. Inputs: 2 S/PDIF on TosLink; 1 pair RCA jacks assignable to phono or line; 1 pair RCA jacks assignable to phono, line, or two S/PDIF digital inputs; 1 AES/EBU digital input on XLR; 1 pair RCA jacks assignable to 2 S/PDIF digital inputs, analog preamplifier output, or subwoofer output and S/PDIF digital output. Main outputs: 2 pairs of binding posts. Other inputs/outputs: HDMI (not yet…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo turntable, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B phono cartridge.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini laptop running OS10.7, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.86; Shuttle PC with Lynx AES16 soundcard & dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, Foobar 2000, Adobe Audition 3.0; Halide, Empirical Audio Off-Ramp 4 USB-S/PDIF converters; dCS Debussy D/A converter; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Preamplification: Liberty B2B-1 phono preamplifier, Classé CP-800 D/A…