Tchaikovsky: Symphony 5, Rimsky-Korsakov: Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh—Suite
London Symphony Orchestra. Gianandrea Noseda, cond.
LSO Live LSO0858 (CD). Nicholas Parker, prod.; Neil Hutchinson and Jonathan Stokes, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Noseda's Tchaikovsky 5 offers a more distinctive sound than the customary generic polish. The LSO strings' soft-edged attack produces a nice, cushiony backdrop for expressive woodwinds and crisp, focused brass. There's no tonal bloat—those midrange horn chords don't carry an ounce of extra fat—and balances are…
What do New York's Lincoln Center and the typical Stereophile reader have in common? Both have recently made large investments to achieve sonic excellence.
I doubt that very many Stereophile readers have spent as much as Lincoln Center did on the renovation of Geffen Hall: $550 million. But then few audiophiles' systems are supported by the likes of David Geffen, a $100 million contributor to the Geffen Hall project, or Joseph and Clara Wu Tsai, who gave $50 million.
Geffen made his contribution several years ago, setting the stage, as it were, for the renovation. Tsai's late-…
Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen
Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, Gregory Porter, Sarah McLachlan, Luciana Souza, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples, David Gray, Nathaniel Rateliff, vocals; Bill Frisell, guitar; Immanuel Wilkins, alto saxophone; Kevin Hays, piano, Estey; Scott Colley, bass; Nate Smith, drums; Gregory Leisz, pedal steel guitar; Larry Goldings, Hammond organ
Blue Note B003552102 (CD, available as download, LP). 2022. Larry Klein, prod.; Adam Greenspan, eng.; other engineers for seven vocal tracks.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
This is not just another…
In the very first copy of Stereophile I encountered, back when issues were digest size, one review infuriated me. The writer went on at inordinate length about the fine wines he'd consumed during the review period. On and on he went, gushing about the costly drinks, until I exclaimed (in a sentence laced with expletives), "What in the world does any of this have to do with audio?!"
Lifetimes later, I think I understand. Although to my recollection the connection was never made explicit, the writer was attempting to reinforce his credentials as a connoisseur in all matters.
An…
Readers familiar with the Alexia Series 2 will note several differences in size and shape. The width of the woofer enclosure—hence of the speaker itself—was increased by about ¼", depth by 1¼". The internal volume of the woofer enclosure is about 9% larger, that of the midrange enclosure 6.4% larger. Daryl says this allows for "a little more low-frequency extension and alacrity in the bass and a bit more midrange bloom." Not visible from the outside are more elaborate diffusers used inside the midrange enclosure. Sensitivity is claimed to have increased by 1dB, from 89 to 90, and crossover…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Multiway, bass-reflex floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" Wilson Convergent Synergy Carbon silk-dome tweeter in sealed carbon-fiber enclosure; one 7" QuadraMag alnico doped paper-pulp midrange unit in rear-slotted X-, S-, and V-Material enclosure; 8" and 10" hard paper-pulp woofers in rear-ported X- and V-Material enclosure. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m at 1kHz. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: 2.59 ohms at 84Hz. Minimum amplifier power: 20Wpc. Frequency response: 19Hz–33kHz ±3dB, Room Average Response.
Dimensions: 50.9" (1295mm) H…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini Apex DAC, Rossini Clock and Transport; Innuos Statement NextGen Music Server; Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio EtherRegen with AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown Master Clock, and Nordost QNet Ethernet Switch, all powered by Nordost QSource linear power supplies (2); Small Green Computer Sonore Deluxe opticalModule, Linksys mesh router, and Arris modem, all powered by HDPlex 300 linear power supply; Apple 2017 iPad Pro.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Progression…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
With Jason Victor Serinus's listening room 2900 miles from my home, measuring the Wilson Alexia V presented potential logistical problems. Fortunately, Elliot Fishkin of Manhattan audio retailer Innovative Audio was amenable to my measuring the Alexia Vs that had just been installed in one of their listening rooms. (Thanks, Elliot.)
As I was traveling from Brooklyn to Innovative on the New York subway, I used the Fuzzmeasure app installed on my Mac mini for the acoustic measurements rather than the bulky 1997-vintage PC that I use with DRA Labs' MLSSA…
It's a not untypical tale. Two veteran engineers, Jason Stoddard, who had extensive experience in product design, development, manufacturing, and marketing (footnote 1), and Mike Moffat, who had an impressive track record designing hi-fi products (footnote 2), got together in June 2010 to start an audio company. What wasn't typical was the new company's brand name: Schiit Audio. What also wasn't typical was the company's business strategy. Instead of introducing a small number of very expensive products, an approach that's increasingly common in hi-fi (footnote 3), Schiit products would be…
After a couple of days getting used to the sound of the Tyrs with the LS50s, though I wasn't aware of any treble grain, I felt that the top octaves sounded a little softened. I replaced the KEFs with the GoldenEar BRXes, which, when I reviewed them, I found offered a touch more top-octave energy in-room than the LS50s. That did the trick, and although the GoldenEars don't offer more low-frequency extension than the KEFs, their passive radiators allowed them to play louder in the bass, which was a benefit when I wanted to rock out with the MQA version of Will.i.am and Justin Bieber's "#…
