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Prologue: The context for this review is that back in the 1980s, preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers with remote controls didn't exist. In early 1985 I borrowed a sample of Acoustic Research's Stereo Remote Control, which I believe was designed by Ken Kantor (later to find fame with NHT) and set it up in my bedroom. It drove a pair of powered loudspeakers with auto turn-on, and I very quickly grew to appreciate, not just the sound quality, but the convenience of being able to control the system from the comfort of my bed. So what did JGH think of the SRC?—John Atkinson
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Infrared remote control unit for high-level signal sources. Inputs: Main, Tape Monitor, EPL Return. Outputs: Main, Tape Play, EPL Send. Remotely controlled functions: System Off/On, EPL/Main selection, Volume, Channel Balance, Mute. Non-remote switching for Tape Play/Monitor/Source. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Output impedance: 330 ohms main or 220 ohms plus Source, Tape, or EPL output impedance. THD: 0.01% or less, 20Hz–20kHz at 1V out. Clipping level: 4.5V peak input.
Dimensions: 11.5" W by 1.5" H by 5.5" D.
Price: $159.99 (1985); no longer…
Imelda May: 11 Past the Hour
Decca/UMO (16/44.1 stream, Qobuz). 2021. Cam Blackwood et al., prods., Dan Moyler, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ***½
Decca/UMO (16/44.1 stream, Qobuz). 2021. Cam Blackwood et al., prods., Dan Moyler, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ***½
11 Past the Hour breaks a four-year studio hiatus for Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May. Her 2017 album Life Love Flesh Blood was notable for moving into ballads and away from her earlier debt to rockabilly; this new venture shows off her husky voice's bluesy shades.
May has an ear for collaboration, as she demonstrates doubly on the Southern rock–inspired "Just One Kiss." Noel Gallagher, lead vocalist from Oasis, holds his…
Punkt.Vrt.Plastik: Somit
Kaja Draksler, upright pianos; Petter Eldh, bass; Christian Lillinger, drums, percussion
Intakt 353 (CD). 2021. Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh, Christian Lillinger, prods.; Martin Waschkowitsch, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Kaja Draksler, upright pianos; Petter Eldh, bass; Christian Lillinger, drums, percussion
Intakt 353 (CD). 2021. Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh, Christian Lillinger, prods.; Martin Waschkowitsch, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
There's a lot to unpack with Punkt.Vrt.Plastik, but doing so doesn't feel like a struggle. Unfortunately, doing so doesn't quite make things crystal clear.
First the name. "Punkt" is Swedish for dot. "Vrt" is Slovenian for "garden." "Plastik" is German for "plastic." The three words represent the nationalities of the…
Hexagon: Les petits nerveux
Works by Poulenc, Roussel, Saint-Saëns
Bridge 9079 (CD). 2021. Max Wilcox, prod., eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Works by Poulenc, Roussel, Saint-Saëns
Bridge 9079 (CD). 2021. Max Wilcox, prod., eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Apparently, this is a recent disinterment of an older production. The exhumation proves worthwhile.
French composers have favored wind timbres since the oboe and bassoon colors of the Baroque. In the 19th and 20th centuries, this evolved into a predilection for wind-and-piano chamber music. Saint-Saëns reveled in the instruments' capacity for virtuosity. A century later, Poulenc alternated uneasy, precarious sustained…
Photo: John Atkinson
As the pandemic abates and reopening progresses, times are still uncertain. Industries worldwide continue to be obstructed. Parts and materials costs have risen sharply. Shipping rates, and shipping demand, have spiked. The recent Suez Canal blockage didn't help. All this has led to widespread supply-chain difficulties.
The audio business is not immune. Disruption and delays have troubled manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and customers for several months.
I spoke with audio manufacturers and distributors recently about how these late-pandemic/…
Over a lifetime of audio shows, I've consistently enjoyed Dynaudio speaker demonstrations. Each time, I've told Dynaudio North America's Michael Manousselis that I'd love to review the speaker on display that year. But I never followed through. So, when Jim Austin suggested I review a Dynaudio speaker "because they haven't gotten much press," it resonated with my deep-seated guilt. A little research revealed that the last Dynaudio speaker Stereophile reviewed was the 40 Special in November 2018. The last floorstander was the Dynaudio Sapphire in 2009!
When I set about selecting a…
Using a recording of higher resolution, superb acoustics, and skilled engineering, the transparency and soundstage offered via the Confidence 30s can be literally breathtaking. On the album From Heaven on Earth – Lute Music from Kremsmunster Abbey (24/352.8 download, Challenge Classics CC72740, from spiritofturtle.com), Hubert Hoffmann plays three Partitas for solo lute written by Ferdinand Fischer. The recording, by Bert van der Wolf, was not made in the abbey but in Galaxy Studios in Mol, Belgium, which Hoffmann describes as "one of the quietest recording studios in all of Europe." With…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way loudspeaker in bass-reflex enclosure. Drive-units: 1.1" Esotar3 dome tweeter, 5.9" (150mm) MSP midrange driver, two 7" (180mm) MSP bass drivers. Crossover frequencies: 290Hz, 2nd order and 3.7kHz, 3rd order. Frequency response: 38Hz–22kHz, ±3dB. Impedance: 4 ohms (minimum 2.8 ohms @ 85Hz). Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m). Recommended amplifier power: not specified. IEC power handling: 350W.
Dimensions: 54.4" (1382mm) H ×14.3" (364mm) W × 16.7" (424mm) D, including feet and grille. Net weight: 97.4lb (44.2kg).
Finishes: Midnight High…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, custom Baetis Prodigy-X4i music server running JRiver Media Center v27 and Roon 1.8, exaSound s88 streaming DAC and Okto DAC8 Pro D/A processor. QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: None. Switching performed with a Coleman Audio 7.1SW.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD C 298.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima2 Studio with IsoAcoustics Gaia I isolation feet.
Cables: Analog interconnects: AudioQuest Earth/DBS balanced, Kubala-Sosna Anticipation (RCA). Speaker cables: Benchmark Studio&…