The most straightforward way of encoding an analog…
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For many, the current hot topic in the world of high-end audio is Direct-Stream Digital (DSD), a method, developed by Sony and Philips, of digitally encoding an analog signal. The irony is that DSD is nothing new. The basis of the technology dates to 1946. Stereophile described it in “Industry Update,” as early as Vol.19 Nos.1 and 5, and again in Vol.20 No.9. And, almost exactly 14 years ago, in November 1999, John Atkinson went into greater detail, contrasting DSD with the more common Pulse-Code-Modulated (PCM) encoding used on CD:
For me, and many people like me, the 365 days that comprise a calendar year are more than just a tidy representation of a brief period of life. Those 365 days mark a period of music discovery, filled with disappointments, surprises, and, if we’re lucky, one or two completely life-altering revelations.
If discovering a new artist is great, even better is discovering an entire record label of exciting new artists. It happens for me with increasing reliability: In the past few years, my musical world has grown dramatically, to now include Type, Preservation, Modern Love, Editions Mego,…
This is Carter B. of Austin, Texas, one of the winners of our CAD MH510 over-ear headphone sweepstakes. After I sent Carter and our second winner, Jesus C. of Plainsboro, New Jersey, their prizes, I realized the Stereophile office had one extra set of these headphones. Hmm…
I was in the market for some monitoring headphones, and CAD traditionally makes microphones for recording. Could the CAD MH510 ($159.00) be the headphone I was looking for?
What Are These Things and What Can They Do?
The CAD MH510 sweepstakes announcement already had me intrigued:
Growing…
REFLECTIONS
Jim Walker, flute, Mike Garson, piano
Reference Recordings CD RR-18CD.
Jim Walker, flute, Mike Garson, piano
Reference Recordings CD RR-18CD.
DEBUSSY: Quartet in g
RAVEL: Quartet in F
The Cleveland Quartet
Telarc CD-80111.
What do you listen to when you've heard Reference Recordings' Symphonie Fantastique, Telarc's 1812 Overture, and Sheffield's Firebird, the last of your audiophile guests have gone home, and tomorrow's a workday but you're too hyped up to go to bed?
These.
Both are from record companies whose reputations were built on sonic blockbusters, but the subjects of this review are about as…
BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Massimo Fraccia
Chesky CR-1.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Massimo Fraccia
Chesky CR-1.
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No.2 in c
Earl Wild, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
Chesky CR-2.
Chesky? Massimo Fraccia? Is this a put-on?
No, it's not. Chesky is a new record company which, at a time when everyone is predicting the imminent demise of the LP, has just launched its first two LPs and is threatening to follow them with more.
David Chesky is a young composer/musician who, despite some impressive credentials in the classical music…
When I became Stereophile's editor in 1986, the median age of the magazine's readership was the same age as I was then, 38; ie, half the readers were younger than 38, half older. According to our most recent reader survey, the median reader age is now 48, meaning that in the intervening 19 years, that median reader has aged at half the rate of the rest of us. A nice trick. But older that reader certainly has become, which has led to cries of doom from some quarters of the audio industry.
The fear is that as members of the baby-boom generation increasingly look backward at their 50th…
Starting December 20, 2013, Winamp will no longer be available for download. A warning was posted on the Winamp website yesterday. Winamp served an instrumental role in the proliferation of downloaded music giving music fans an easy way to play music on their computer.
Initially developed as an .mp3 player in 1997 by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev, two former students at the University of Utah, Winamp quickly transformed into the player of choice for many eager .mp3 downloaders, who hoarded files from Napster, Kazaa or any other free source they could find. This does not mean that…
As a privileged reviewer-type person, I was sent the souped-up, all-rosewood, bi-wirable version that sells for $2905/pair. They're quite handsome and very solidly built, weighing in at a respectable 50 lbs each. At $2275–$2905/pair, the Baton is Swans' most affordable speaker, and reportedly employs many of the technical refinements of their larger, more costly models.
The Baton uses the tried-and-true two-way dynamic design, with a 7" coated-paper woofer and a 1" fabric-dome tweeter. The tweeter comes with a little Marigo dot stuck to its center to shape its response. It's not a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, rear-ported, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: one 7" coated paper-cone woofer, one 1" soft-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 48Hz–18.5kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 5 ohms. Maximum power handling: 200W.
Dimensions: 9" W by 11" D by 38" H. Weight: 50 lbs.
Finishes: black fabric with rosewood top, standard; all-rosewood option, $500.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: A4.159 & 160.
Price: $2275/pair. Bi-wire option: $130; (1995); no longer available (2013). Approximate number of dealers: 20.
…
Sidebar 2: System
The CD player used for my debut Stereophile review was a Kinergetics KCD-20B that I've modified somewhat. (I promise not to modify anything while I'm reviewing it!) Recently, I've been using the best preamp in the world: no preamp at all. What? I don't listen to vinyl? I must not be a real audiophile. The power amplifiers currently in my system are Nelson Pass–designed 15W single-ended "Zen" monoblocks (footnote 1). They have just one large MOSFET in the signal path, and I have to tell you they sound wonderful because I built them. I pick flowers to give to them, and I'…