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Recording of July 2025: <I>Shades of Sound: Gil Evans Project Live at Jazz Standard Vol.2</I>

Ryan Truesdell: Shades of Sound: Gil Evans Project Live at Jazz Standard Vol.2
Truesdell, conductor; 23-piece orchestra
Outside in Music 2014/2025 (reviewed as CD). 2025. Truesdell, Dave Rivello, prods.; James Farber, Tyler McDiarmid, Geoff Countryman, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

Ryan Truesdell launched his Gil Evans Project in 2012 with Centennial. It contained 10 Evans arrangements, including two original Evans compositions, that had never been recorded. The project was made possible by the fact that Truesdell had been granted access to the Evans family archives…

The Horn Supremacy: Silbatone Goes Full Throttle

South Korea's Silbatone delivered sound with startling intensity and scale. In a show known for polished, high end presentations, its Munich demo was an all out sonic spectacle—part sensory onslaught, part performance art. This was music as a full contact experience.

Michael Chung, who owns Silbatone, co hosted the room alongside former Sound Practices editor Joe Roberts. Together they walked visitors through the system's technology. Silbatone designers J.C. Morrison and Stefano Bae were also present.

Center stage stood an enormous 1935 era Western Electric field coil…

Tables Turned: Thorens Goes From Big to Bite-Sized

While Thorens CEO and owner Gunter Kürten was busy with customers, company representative Michael Gorny walked me through the brand's latest lineup of high-end products.

The sharp‑looking new TD 404 DD turntable ($4950, all prices approximate if converted from Euros) features a resonance‑damped platter, the direct‑drive motor from the TD 124 DD, an electronic tonearm lift, integrated stroboscope with pitch control, three height‑adjustable spring‑loaded feet, gold‑plated RCA outputs, balanced XLR connectors, and is compatible with the optional TPN 124 linear power supply.

…

GAIA Goes Neo: IsoAcoustics Plants a Firmer Foot

Ken says: At High End Munich, IsoAcoustics introduced its new GAIA Neo and GAIA-TITAN Neo series of isolation feet. Designed for both consumer and OEM use, the Neo models improve on the established GAIA line with updated engineering. The first custom versions will be integrated into the new JBL Summit Makalu, Summit Pumori, and Summit Ama speakers, as well as the Marten Coltrane Extreme loudspeakers—all of which debuted at the show.

IsoAcoustics founder and CEO Dave Morrison, along with his son Sean, were on hand to answer questions and demo the new technology. Their Munich demo system…

Nagra, DeVore Fidelity at Resolution A/V in Red Hook, Brooklyn

On May 29, Adam Wexler's Resolution A/V, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, debuted new products from two heavy hitters in the audio world: Brooklyn's DeVore Fidelity and renowned Swiss brand Nagra.

"These brands have staying power," Wexler noted in a conversation after the event. "Nagra equipment is woven into our culture, having played a large role in music and film. DeVore has been around for a very long time as well. The speakers they design don't frequently change. When John designs a speaker and he says it sounds good, it sounds good, and then it sells for more than 13 years without any…

Audiophile Societies

AUDIOPHILE SOCIETIES

Attention all Audiophile Societies, have your society or club information posted here. To do so, e-mail Chris Vogel at vgl@cfl.rr.com and request an info-pack.

Chris Vogel suggests that if there is no Audio Society in your area, just take the initiative: "A simple monthly or bi-monthly meeting for listening and auditioning should do just fine. You can specify a theme such as CD players and have members bring one for auditioning. E-mail is invaluable for posting, updating, and sending reminders. Some type of food, snack, and/or refreshment is…

Past eNewsletters

PAST eNEWSLETTERS

December 8, 2006
• Chinese Whispers Are Now Shouts, by Ken Kessler
• Tower Records R.I.P., by Wes Phillips

November 7, 2006
• New from Nagra, by Ken Kessler
• You Shall Knows Us By Our Trail of Unfiled Discs, by Wes Phillips
• This Month's Audio URL, from Wes Phillips

October 10, 2006
• Compared to What? by Wes Phillips
• Acoustic Energy WiFi Internet Radio, by Wes Phillips
• Soundmatters FULLstage Hd, by Wes Phillips
• Audica MPS-1 Personal Audio System, by Wes Phillips…

KEF R107 loudspeaker

The Model R107 represents the flagship of KEF's Reference Series, and is second only to the Professional Series KM-1 in KEF's product line. Anatomically, the 107 resembles a person. Beneath a decorative "hat," there's a special head assembly akin to the head on the old Model R105. This head assembly contains the brains of the 107, namely a T33 ferrofluid-cooled tweeter and an improved version of the classic B110 midrange driver, featuring a better voice-coil and a new polypropylene cone. The nerve center is also here, in the form of two passive dividing networks and load-impedance equalizing…

KEF R107 loudspeaker Page 2

KUBE stands for KEF Universal Bass Equalizer and takes the form of a separate solid-state component that connects in the tape monitor loop or between the preamp and power amp. The KUBE supplied with the 107 includes a speaker-specific equalization module that provides level equalization for the tweeter and mid driver, as well as an inverse of the 107's LF response. Furthermore, the KUBE allows the user to control several parameters not previously accessible. First, the LF cutoff is adjustable in four steps: 50, 35, 25, and 18Hz. Second, "Q" of the bass response is continuously variable from…

KEF R107 loudspeaker 1986 Measurements

Sidebar: 1986 Measurements

I decided to measure the 107 before doing any serious listening (something I usually do not do) so I could sort out the KUBE options and optimize the 107's response for my favorite placement. With the bass cutoff set at 18Hz (the setting I used for my auditioning), the 107 puts out energy down to 20Hz, which is as low as I can measure. In fact, bass output is so extended that the 107 can readily overload a listening room. Standing-wave resonances were excited in my room like never before, including an especially nasty one at 60Hz. The contour control cannot…