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Manfred Eicher: "You Can't Record Everybody" Fred Kaplan's 10 Favorite ECM Jazz Albums

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…

The 2019 Capital Audiofest Is Underway!

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…

Grand Prix Audio Monza equipment supports

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…

Grand Prix Audio Monza equipment supports Page 2

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.

…

Grand Prix Audio Monza equipment supports Specifications

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…

Grand Prix Audio Monza equipment supports Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD Transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD running Roon; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, two TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable; Small Green Computer linear power supply (3) & 200W Linear Power Supply; external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression monoblocks.
…

At the Linear Tube Audio Headphone Lounge

I have been beating the headphone drum at Stereophile since I started in 2014. By 2016, when I reviewed Linear Tube Audio’s inaugural product, the microZOTL2.0 line-stage/headphone amplifier, I was falling asleep with AKG K812s on my head. (Now I’m falling asleep with HiFiMan Susvara and RAAL-requisite SR1a ribbon headphones.) To me, headphone listening is the gateway to audio’s newest wonderland.

Therefore, naturally, I had to start my Friday morning CAF adventure at Linear Tube Audio’s Headphone Lounge, which featured the full array of LTA’s handsome amplification featuring casework…

Rooms Vs. Vinyl

“Herb, did you see all that vinyl?”

I had woken up not long before, fallen out of bed, and descended the hotel stairs to the Atrium—to the sight of what appeared to be many tens of thousands of vinyl records. I had dragged myself away and met Herb Reichert for breakfast, where we made plans for Stereophile’s coverage of Capital AudioFest 2019. But the vinyl kept drawing me back.

Herb's response: “Ken, there’s over 80 rooms!”

Held for the 4th year at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville, Maryland by organizer and founder Gary Gill, this year’s CAF has increased its vendor count…

VPI Vanquish Turntable, DS Audio Cartridge, Meitner Phono EQ, EMM Labs Streamer, DAC, Preamplifier and Amplifiers, Credo Audio Ltd. Loudspeakers, Kimber Cable

It’s easy to get lost at this hi-fi party. Do I follow my carefully chosen itinerary or my ears, leading me down seemingly endless hallways where music emanates from every corner and cranny?

One such adventure of the latter kind led me to John McGurk’s AudioShield room, where Credo Audio Switzerland, in conjunction with Meitner, EMM Labs and VPI, presented a system with a big, immersive soundstage.

As explained by Amadeus Meitner, the system included the DS Audio W2 optical cartridge ($4500), brand new VPI Vanquish Magnetic Direct Drive Turntable (prototype), EMM Labs DS EQ1…

Alta Audio Alec loudspeakers; Krell K-300p Phono Stage, Illusion line preamplifier, and Duo 300 XD amplifier; VPI HW-40 Anniversary Edition Turntable

The lighting in the Krell-Alta Audio room was bleak, gray, colorless. The only color in the room was the blue from the lights on Krell’s never-before-played-in-public K-300p phono preamplifier ($TBD), Krell Illusion line-level preamplifier ($7700), Krell Duo 300 XD amplifier, and Krell CEO Walter Schofield’s shiny blue jacket. Before lighting-induced dystopian melancholy took hold, I was greeted by the dual grins of Walter and the always fun story teller Michael Levy, CEO at Alta Audio.

As I sat down, Walter said, “Herb, did you ever think the old Krell sounded hard, gray, and transistor…