Tweedy: Oh, I think there was a conversation about the two approaches, but it would have been very frustrating to try to make a really meticulously studio-crafted album at the same time we were dissecting Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I think that's maybe one of the things that contributed to the joy of just going through all those tracks with a…
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Mettler: You probably had to be of two brains at that point, because you had to be technically reverent to Yankee based on the way you wanted to perform it but still be completely wide open while recording Cruel Country. Was it easy to do it that way?
Ethan Philion: Meditations on Mingus
Philion, bass; nine others
Sunnyside SSC 1666 (CD). 2022. Philion, prod.; Nick Broste, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Philion, bass; nine others
Sunnyside SSC 1666 (CD). 2022. Philion, prod.; Nick Broste, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
The works of the greatest jazz composers are often neglected today because most current jazz musicians are obsessed with writing their own stuff. Enter Ethan Philion, a Chicago bassist who reveres Charles Mingus and believes, correctly, that Mingus's music is underperformed.
Meditations on Mingus is rich with rewards that only come from accessing a genre's strongest repertoire. It contains 50- and 60-year-old…
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 *****
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 ****
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…