Those of you who have a mind for dates may have noticed that this issue of The Stereophile is very, very late. This, the seventh issue, was supposed to have been a Merry Christmas November–December issue, but as things worked out, it doesn't even deserve the title of January–February issue. So, we think a few words of…
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Editor's Note: The editorial leader for the seventh issue of what was then called The Stereophile, cover-dated April 1964, was the first to introduce a recurring theme to the magazine's first 20 years of publication: an apology to subscribers for being late.—John Atkinson
It's that time of the year again. Here are my picks for the 10 best new jazz albums of 2016—and the four best historical releases:
New:
Henry Threadgill's Ensemble Double Up, Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi).
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Real Enemies (New Amsterdam).
Frank Kimbrough, Solstice (Pirouet).
Fred Hersch Trio, Sunday Night at the Vanguard (Palmetto).
Brad Mehldau Trio, Blues and Ballads (Nonesuch).
Wadada Leo Smith, America's National Parks (Cuneiform, 2 CDs).
Dave Douglas & Frank Woeste, Dada People (Greenleaf).
Krakauer's Ancestral…
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Target's HR50 20" tall stands are constructed entirely of steel and are ideal for even heavy bookshelf loudspeakers. Two rectangular risers bolt to thick top and bottom plates. The risers are fillable with aquarium rock or other media for even greater mass. Floor spikes, speaker pads and isolation spikes are included. The stands are made in Canada and distributed by Bryston Ltd.
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To enter the sweepstakes…
I prefer and have owned electrostatic speakers for most of my audiophile life. Depending on your point of view, this makes me either the most qualified or the least appropriate writer to review MartinLogan's new electrostatic loudspeaker, the Masterpiece Renaissance ESL 15A.
Oh, I've flirted with dynamic speakers. I've owned and loved—and ultimately, when I was an audio retailer, sold—models from Revel, Thiel, Vandersteen, and many others, while my long-term choice has been electrostats. And while I've spent plenty of time with electrostatic speakers from Acoustat and Quad, I've ended up…
PoweredForce Forward Bass is what MartinLogan calls the technology used in the Renaissance, and it differs from the system used in my BalancedForce 212 subwoofers in a couple key ways. First, the ELS 15A's woofers face front and back instead of to each side, as in the BalancedForce. ML claims that using proprietary, horizontally opposed, drivers in this way "reduces the destructive reflected energy from your front wall (the wall behind your speakers), resulting in easy placement for clean, pure, powerful bass response." Second, the Renaissance's cabinet is deeper from front to back, and…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid electrostatic–dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: 46" H by 15" W (radiating area 690 in2) XStat CLS electrostatic panel, two 12" (305mm) aluminum-cone woofers in asymmetrical chamber. Crossover frequency: 300Hz. Frequency response: 22Hz–21kHz, ±3dB. Horizontal dispersion: 30°. Vertical dispersion: 46" line source. Room correction (bass section): ready for Anthem Room Correction (ARC-2 v1.3.4351 software is a free download; the mike kit costs $100). Woofer amplifier: 2x 500W into 4 ohms, 2x 1kW peak, with 24-bit, DSP-based preamplifier.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) running OS 10.11.5, Roon v.1.2 Build 142, JRiver Media Center 19, iTunes 12, Amarra Computer Music Player, VLC, Reaper 5.20.100, XLD; Western Digital 2TB NAS Device; Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System (Control 15, QNAP TS-669, Pro NAS); Apple iPad Air 2 & iPhone 6. Digital Processors: Ayre Acoustics Codex, Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, Luxman DA-250, T+A Elektroakustik DAC 8 DSD.
Preamplifier: Marantz AV7005 in Pure…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As with the Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 90, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, it made more sense for me to measure MartinLogan's Masterpiece Renaissance ESL 15A at the reviewer's home than having them shipped to my Brooklyn lab. (I also wanted to take a listen to the speakers.) Also as with the BeoLab 90, I used a test setup different from my usual MLSSA software/hardware system, which is not readily transportable. (As MLSSA needs to be installed in a 1997-vintage desktop computer running MS-DOS, it isn't something I can take on a plane as carry-on baggage.)
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On a bright, warm day in September, at the memorial gathering for our colleague Wes Phillips, I overheard John Atkinson, in pre-ceremony conversation, discussing men's fashions: "What's popular these days," he said, with a degree of puzzlement that stopped short of disapproval, "is very long hair on just the top, with nothing on the sides and back." Then he added, this time with disdain, "What I don't understand is this trend where men wear dress shoes without socks—which I have actually seen!" The fact that we were in Park Slope, Brooklyn—the very jaw of the hipster possum—may have triggered…
The second great discovery took longer to unfold, but began before I'd even made it all the way home with the speakers. I paused for lunch at a rest area on the New York State Thruway, where I also opened the Tiguan's hatch, photographed the Flamencos—lying face up, side by side, taking up virtually all of the car's interior, from the rear window to the backs of the front seats—and attached the photo to a text to my wife. Within seconds, she texted back:
"Holy shit—gorgeous "
Naturally, I thought she was being sarcastic. That impression persisted until the end of the day, when…