I found this over at Mark Betcher's "Unearthed in the Atomic Attic" blog, where you can actually hear the album's entire second side. Fun stuff.
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I'm about to out Yves-Bernard André as one of the great unknown tweakers of high-end audio. (My own predilection for stepping into uncharted tweakwaters is well known.) Yves-Bernard, his wife and partner Ariane Moran, and importer/distributor Daniel Jacques of Audio Plus Services seemed perfectly sanguine about letting the cat out of the bag. And why not? In a singular way, the YBA audio solution encompasses both the supertweak and the more-casual-about-equipment music lover.
The YBA CD 1 Blue Laser (or Lecteur CD 1, as it's known at home in France) breaks new ground. It is very French in…
Pressed for details, both Yves-Bernard and Daniel were casual and rather opaque concerning digital doings in the CD 1 Blue Laser. (A growing trend; Ensemble's Urs Wagner recently proved similarly coy about his digital wares. But "Just listen to the sound" is a compelling argument.) YBA: "You can say it's an oversampled 18-bit digital system with double converters."
I'm told the DACs are modified by YBA. Interestingly, there is no filter on the output. The CD 1 is similar to the Forsell D/A in that regard—and somewhat similar in sound. During the design phase, Yves-Bernard mentioned that…
I turned quickly to another disc simply entitled Francis Poulenc (Adda 590042), an all-digital French production. Track 7, Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano, was a wonder and a joy to hear. First impressions were of a special kind of palpability that seemed to originate in the sense of fullness of harmonic information rather than in sharp focus. This proved a hallmark of the Blue Laser's sound.
In spite of what I might begin to characterize as a slightly cerebral sound, you still might find yourself, as I was, lifted practically out of your seat with the loveliness and refinement of the…
Sidebar 1: Review System
We wired up the system with Synergistic Research's new Designer's Reference interconnect. Rather dear at $1800/yard, this stiff, serpentine, oddly colored green cable secured line-level connections. I tried a lot of interconnects before settling on them, including YBA's own fine-sounding cables (in which you find the same wire as used throughout their components; no small consideration).
I'll try this latest Synergistic supercable with many more components before issuing any sweeping generalizations, but so far, it may be the best interconnect I've ever…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Before telling you about how the YBA CD 1 measured, I must report some serious problems with the measurement sample. First, the display flickered on and off, staying on only after I jiggled an unmarked rear-panel switch. Second, the CD 1 required repeated attempts to read the table of contents of some discs. Once the CD 1 read the ToC, it had problems searching certain tracks. The player would look for the track, not find it, then shut off. To search a later track on the disc, I had to skip just a few tracks at a time, wait for it to start reading data, then skip…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: integrated two-box player with separate power supply, blue LEDs, belt-drive laser-diode pickup and transport mechanism, and nonmagnetic case (aluminum and polished stainless steel). Dual 18-bit converters. Analog outputs: one pair single-ended RCA. Digital outputs: TosLink and S/PDIF on RCA coax. Frequency range: 2Hz–19kHz (analog bandwidth >400kHz). Harmonic distortion: ,0.07% at 1kHz. Maximum output voltage: 500mV. Output impedance: <20 ohms. Power consumption: 20W.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by 3.75" (95mm) H by 13" (330mm) D. Weight (…
At a time in history when the music business seems less interested in making anything of lasting value than in churning out disposable music—hits intended to be consumed for a few days via iPod, then left behind—the notion of cherishing the masterpieces, the records to die for, seems a lost art. Yet it's exactly that state of being—as when Lady Gaga's latest outfit commands a bigger spotlight than the recent Pink Floyd reissues—that makes our annual "Records To Die For" feature that much more essential.
Most audiophiles first amass a pile of music, then go out and get them some high-end…
DAVID R. ADLER
BRIAN CARPENTER'S GHOST TRAIN ORCHESTRA: Hot House Stomp: The Music of 1920s Chicago and Harlem
Brian Carpenter, trumpet, harmonica, voice; Dennis Lichtman, clarinet; Andy Laster, alto saxophone; Matt Bauder, alto & tenor saxophone, clarinet; Curtis Hasselbring, trombone; Ron Caswell, tuba; Brandon Seabrook, banjo; Mazz Swift, violin, vocals; Jordan Voelker, viola; Rob Garcia, drums
Accurate 5062 (CD). 2011. Danny Blume, eng., mix. DDD? TT: 38:46
BRIAN CARPENTER'S GHOST TRAIN ORCHESTRA: Hot House Stomp: The Music of 1920s Chicago and Harlem
Brian Carpenter, trumpet, harmonica, voice; Dennis Lichtman, clarinet; Andy Laster, alto saxophone; Matt Bauder, alto & tenor saxophone, clarinet; Curtis Hasselbring, trombone; Ron Caswell, tuba; Brandon Seabrook, banjo; Mazz Swift, violin, vocals; Jordan Voelker, viola; Rob Garcia, drums
Accurate 5062 (CD). 2011. Danny Blume, eng., mix. DDD? TT: 38:46
It's great to hear pre-swing big-band charts done up in high fidelity. But Boston-based trumpeter Brian…
ARIEL BITRAN
PHISH: Rift
Elektra 61433 (CD). 1993. Barry Beckett, prod.; Pete Greene, Kevin Halpin, engs.; Greg Parker, asst. eng.; Chris Bailey, Tom Walters, studio assts. AAD.? TT: 67:54
PHISH: Rift
Elektra 61433 (CD). 1993. Barry Beckett, prod.; Pete Greene, Kevin Halpin, engs.; Greg Parker, asst. eng.; Chris Bailey, Tom Walters, studio assts. AAD.? TT: 67:54
If there's any place to start with this wacky prog-jam-jazz-funk outfit, it's definitely Rift. A fan favorite, this record served as a transition for the band (the Rubber Soul of their studio recording career), moving from loose-tied but lifting jams (Lawn Boy) into more of the same equally elongated yet highly structured guitar solos, this time surrounded by condensed progressive-rock…