search

November 2022 Classical Record Reviews

Sarah Willis: Mozart y Mambo: Cuban Dances
Sarah Willis, French horn; Havana Lyceum Orchestra/José Antonio Méndez Padrón
Alpha878 (CD, reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2022. Christoph Franke, prod.; Andreas Wolf, Julian Schwenkner, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****

Joy unbounded—just what many of us need right now. In a reprise of her first recording of this sort, Sarah Willis, Berlin Philharmonic French horn player and internet star, teams up with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra to complement Mozart's first two horn concertos with a new work, "Cuban Dances for Solo Horn, Strings,…

VAC/Von Schweikert/Kronos/Esoteric/Aurender/Hana/Ultra Q

When I walked into the Potomac room, a large VAC/Von Schweikert system was playing vintage Steely Dan tunes (Gaucho era) via vinyl into the sprawling space—what's not to love? While one exhibitor poked me in the ribs for criticizing their choice of Michael Jackson's Thriller at last year's event, the Yacht Rock flowing out of the mighty Potomac room suited me perfectly. And it sounded fantastic.

This big rig included a Kronos Pro turntable with Black Beauty tonearm and Ultra Cap power supply ($51,000) running a Hana Umami Red cartridge (3900). An Esoteric K1 Grandioso CD/SACD player ($31,…

Distinctive Stereo/Genesis/Element/Merrill/VPI/Aurender/AudioQuest

The Distinctive Stereo/Genesis Advanced Technologies/Merrill Audio Advanced Technology room celebrated Genesis's 30th anniversary with the debut of the Genesis Tribute Loudspeakers ($125,000/pair), in honor of Genesis founder, the late Arnie Nudell, "advanced with the latest innovations in materials and technology by current designer, Gary Leonard Koh," stated a press release.

The "by commission only" Tribute recalls the design of the original IRS model with its wide "wings," servo-controlled subwoofer, dipole line-source, 48" planar-magnetic midrange unit, and nine proprietary 1" ring…

Bache Audio & Alexus Audio from Brooklyn

I have to admit, at past shows, Bache Audio's Greg Belman has urged me to visit his and Alex Choren's shared Alexus Audio room, and I've begged off, "too busy" the usual lame excuse. But this time I didn't and damn! I was glad I made it into this small oasis of good music and excellent high-fidelity reproduction.

Based in Brooklyn, Belman and Choren are of Russian origin, and their thick accents are oddly comforting. They brought the biggest box of vinyl I'd yet seen at CAF, and the goodies they played on their natural, sweetly detailed system included Pee Wee Russell's Portrait of Pee…

Alta Audio/Infigo Audio

I scrambled into the room shared by Infigo Audio and Alta Audio where Alta Audio's Michael Levy was introducing his new Titanium Hestia II floorstanders ($37,500/pair). I always dig Hans Looman's Infigo amplifiers; Hans always plays cool and unusual music, and his amps are small beasts of potent power, snap-crackling dynamics, and surprisingly large, super-scaled soundstages.

The Titanium Hestia II is a three-way tower speaker with drivers arranged in an open-back D'Appolito configuration, featuring a 6" titanium- cone midrange driver above a ribbon tweeter, plus new 7" titanium midrange…

Songer Audio/Whammerdyne Audio

Two relative newcomers from Oregon made me ponder the question: Does West Coast-based audio differ from its East-Coast brethren? That's definitely the case with East- vs West-Coast jazz and hip-hop. I don't know the answer. What say you?

Ken Songer's two-way, open-baffle, dipole, S2 loudspeaker (specified as 30Hz–20kHz, ±6dB, and 93dB) ($37,000/pair) features a front baffle constructed of 1.7" thick solid hardwood. Its handmade 10" field-coil driver with a cone made of washi paper is "magnet mounted" via an electromagnet housing to a 2.5" thick hardwood and glass-filled nylon support. The…

The Vinyl Revivers/Black Ice/Klipsch/Ortofon/Pro-Ject/Audio Desk System

Black Ice amplification joined with Klipsch speakers and a Pro-Ject turntable to create a high-octane rig that played contemporary pop, rock, and blues like Stevie Ray Vaughan riffing with '90s German techno.

A Pro-Ject turntable with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge sent signal to a Black Ice Fusion F159 MM/MC phono stage ($1875), with two 6922/6DJ8 tubes and azimuth correction, Black Ice Fusion F360 preamp ($2500, above), using a 6SN7 dual triode with zero negative feedback in a Jim Fosgate design, Black Ice Fusion F100 power amp using four EL84s for 120Wpc ($7800; $8200 w/KT88s;…

Robyatt/VPI/Miyajima/DNM Design/Finley Audio

Robin Wyatt (left) with VPI's Matt Weisfeld (right)

Robin Wyatt's Robyatt room wins my early, best sound of show. Playing recordings I thought I knew well, as well as those I'd never heard, his exacting, tonally true, vivid, physical, natural and extremely transparent system left my jaw on the floor and other's mouths agape.

My usual spiel re: Billie Holiday: "Forget her later period Verve pressings, you want the Columbia Masterworks reissued Billie, when she's young and her is life ahead of her, her style joyful."

Spinning the Analogue Productions mono reissue of…

High Water Sound/Codia Acoustics/TW-Acustic/Zen Sati/New Audio Frontiers/Horning Hybrid Systems

High Water Sound's Jeffrey Catalano is a an evolved being, existing on a higher plane, his rooms part meditation, part deep music immersion seminar, part discovery/journey. Year after year, Jeff assembles some of the best-sounding rooms you'll ever hear at any show. And often with equipment as unique and revelatory as Jeffrey himself.

This year at CAF was no different, Jeff's system and choice of vinyl inspiring, calming/stunning, informing and educational.

High Water Sound's front-end comprised a TW-Acustic LS 3 Motor-Copper turntable ($24,000), Gianz 12" tonearm with Tzar DST…

Command Performance AV/Gryphon/Marten/J.Sikora/Lyra/Doshi/Aurender/Berkeley Audio Design

Jeff Fox and Jessie Bentley of Falls Church, Virginia's Command Performance AV graciously opened their room to me, pre-showtime. I chose their vinyl copy of trumpeter Erik Truffaz's 2000 album, The Mask, for play on their J. Sikora Reference turntable, ($47,000; gloss finish with Reference power supply) the co-winner of our Product of the Year Award in the analog category, and its new J. Sikora KV Max Zirconium Series 9" tonearm (TBA), a CAF world premiere, running a Lyra Atlas Lambda SL cartridge ($11,995).

Comprised of a reduced-weight aramid fiber (think Kevlar) armtube, zirconia…