Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable & Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm; Hana ML phono cartridge.
Digital sources: BorderPatrol DAC SE, Tascam CD-200iL CD player.
Preamplification: Shindo Laboratory Allegro preamplifier, Tavish Design Adagio phono preamp.
Power amplifiers: Shindo Haut-Brion.
Integrated amplifiers: Heed Audio Elixir, Parasound Halo Hint 6, Schiit Audio Ragnarok, Cary SLI-80HS.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93.
Cables: Digital: Mytek (USB). Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II.…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Trenner & Friedl Osiris's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. As the speaker's front baffle is angled back by approximately 10°, I wasn't sure at first what would be the optimal axis on which to measure the Osiris's farfield behavior. I usually place the microphone level with the tweeter. However, with the speaker supported by its rectangular feet, the center of the Osiris's coaxial drive-unit is just 27" from the floor,…
As the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven approaches, artists worldwide have begun issuing complete recordings of his oeuvre. At the top of a fast-growing list, three stand out: Andris Nelsons' recording of Beethoven's nine symphonies with the Wiener Philarmoniker (Decca), Igor Levit's issue of Beethoven's Complete Piano Sonatas (Sony), and the subject of this review, the Miró Quartet's 8-CD set of Beethoven's Complete String Quartets (Pentatone PTC5186827). Amazon declares that the CDs won't be available in the U.S. until November 15, but you can already download them the…
There has never been a record producer like Manfred Eicher, founder and sole proprietor of ECM records, the German-based jazz (and sometimes classical) label that celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.
Eicher doesn't quite win the all-time prize for longevity. Edward Lewis started Decca (UK) in 1929 and owned it until 1980. David Sarnoff controlled RCA from 1919–1970. William Paley did the same at Columbia from 1938-1988. But unlike those other, financially heftier titans, who deferred to department heads and studio producers, Eicher has supervised every single one of ECM's albums—…
The label's breakthrough came in 1971, when Eicher produced Facing You, a solo piano album by Keith Jarrett. (It was recorded in Oslo, where Jarrett was touring with Miles Davis's band.) Soon after, Jarrett signed a contract with Columbia, but then, in 1973, in an astonishing move, since dubbed "The Great Purge" and "Bad Day at Black Rock," Columbia dropped Monk, Mingus, Evans, Ornette Coleman, and Jarrett all on the same day. Eicher wrote Jarrett again, offering to sign him to ECM. Jarrett agreed, on the condition that he could do whatever he wanted. Eicher, of course, assented.
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Sidebar: Fred Kaplan's 10 Favorite ECM Jazz Albums
I don't pretend to have heard more than a fraction of ECM's vast catalog, but these are the 10 ECM jazz albums that I like best—on musical criteria, though the sound on these is never worse than quite good. I'm including only albums produced by Eicher, not the few he reissued (for instance, Jimmy Giuffre's 1961) or discovered in some tape vault (such as Paul Bley's When Will the Blues Leave). In alphabetical order:
Art Ensemble of Chicago: Nice Guys
Paul Bley: Solo in Mondsee
Chick Corea & Gary Burton…
It was 77 degrees on October 31 and the weather on the drive down reminded me of an amplifier I once owned: dark, gray, and dry. The weather app on my phone said there were tornado warnings for the Washington, DC, area, but that could not diminish my excitement about going to Capital Audiofest at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville Maryland.
I felt a few drops of rain as I hauled my suitcase into lobby. We had gotten there safely, and Gary Gill and Christina Yuin (the show’s organizers) welcomed us as we entered the lobby. Check-in was easy, there were friends and hugs everywhere, and then I…
Why?
That's the question that many will ask about the new Grand Prix Monza equipment rack, prices for which start at $19,000 for a four-tier, 42"-tall rack and can even stretch to $29,500 for my review sample, which comprises a double-width, fourtier, 42"-tall rack (two side-by-side stacks of four shelves each) with two matching Monza amp stands. Why spend all that money when a solid oak table, built-in shelving, or Great Aunt Tillie's antique cabinet might do the trick?
Alvin Lloyd, owner/designer of Grand Prix Audio, has an answer for you. "Much like room acoustics, you need to…
The only quick comparison we could perform involved the amp stands. With Lloyd's help, I moved the 125lb D'Agostino Progression monoblocks from their Monaco amp stands to their Monza equivalents. Cables were hardly bent in the process, and the Progressions didn't even have time to cool before being reconnected. Only one hitch: Given the Monza's shorter shelf length—optional longer shelves were not yet available—only half of each of the Progressions' feet rested on the shelf. After we listened, to avoid potential damage over the long term, we placed three Apex footers under each amp.
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-column modular equipment stands with polymer-filled stainless steel legs, carbon-fiber support platforms, and Sorbothane viscoelastic polymer dampers; polymer footers with changeable ball interfaces.
Dimensions: Amp stand 6" high by 23" wide by 20" deep. Equipment rack: Two-shelf 24" high, triple-shelf 36" high, four-shelf 42" high. Custom heights available. Support level thickness: 2.7" including shelf. Outer dimensions, single stand: 23" wide by 20" deep. Outer dimensions, extension bay: 21" wide by 20" deep. Shelf dimensions: 20" wide by…