Van Gelder frequented the jazz clubs of New Jersey in his youth, and his goal, once he started recording musicians, was to capture the dynamics, warmth, and spaciousness of live…
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Rudy Van Gelder, pioneer recording engineer, creator of "the Blue Note sound" (and the many sounds that imitated it through the years), died at the age of 91 this week. Every true jazz fan and true audiophile has grown to venerate Van Gelder—at least the work he did in the 1950s and '60s for the innovative labels of the day: not just Blue Note but also Prestige, Impulse!, Riverside, New Jazz, and scattered others.
The news is not simply that Best Buy/Magnolia stores' 82 Hi-Resolution Listening Stations which they developed in the US in conjunction with Sony, have proven so successful, and generated so much interest in hi-res, that the company has added 250 more listening locations around the country. It's also that we now have data that shows a major reason for the expansion: Far more people care about sound quality than many would have you believe. In fact, we audiophiles represent far more than a thin slice of the listening public pie chart. Audiophiles comprise a 15% market segment that exercises a…
Sad news: We heard this morning that Wes Phillips, who was Stereophile's deputy editor 1995–1999 and a valued contributor 2000 to 2011, passed away yesterday morning after several years of chronic ill health. Wes (right) is shown here at his leaving lunch, 1/1/99 with (L–R) music editor Robert Baird, then-publisher Larry Archibald, and editor John Atkinson. Wes is survived by his wife Joan. We will post more information as it becomes available.
All of Wes's writings for Stereophile can be found here. His first equipment review, in October 1994, was of the Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven…
Wednesday August 31, 6:30–8:30pm, Encore Home Entertainment Systems (2115 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, FL 34239) is hosting a special NAD/PSB/Bluesound event. Travis Huff, the Central Regional Sales Manager for Lenbrook America, parent company of NAD, PSB, and Bluesound products, will be discussing and demonstrating the introduction of the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) audio codec into NAD and Bluesound components for 2016. Featured models include the NAD MDC module and all six Bluesound network-streaming player, speakers, and electronics products.
Here will be refreshments, hors d'…
The graphic above was created with data provided to me by the CTA (Consumer Technology Association). I understand that this data cannot possibly account for every single pair of headphones sold in any given year, but I believe that this is the most accurate account of data currently available to us.
As we can see from these graphics, compared to turntables, headphones account for a much larger part of the consumer tech industry.
This is to be expected for a number of reasons. Here are the obvious ones:
Size. They're small and portable, making them less of a…
After a weekend of online reading about the inestimable Rudy Van Gelder and listening to many of his great studio engineering jobs for Prestige and Blue Note, I came to the conclusion that perhaps my favorite example of Rudy’s engineering, as well as classic bebop on Blue Note, is also one of the very first live records, one that showed the advantages of the 12 inch long player and also the great improvements in recording technology that had become widely available after WWII. To my ears and intermittently functioning brain, Art Blakey’s A Night At Birdland, Vol. 1 remains a landmark of both…
To those who were into audio in the late 1980s and early '90s, the name Audio Alchemy is a familiar one. I've owned DACs and jitter-reducing devices made by Audio Alchemy and Perpetual Technologies (the first successor to the original AA) and found them to provide excellent performance at modest prices. Indeed, at the time, many in the industry felt that the Audio Alchemy products were underpriced, leaving too little room for profit, and that this led to the company's demise. The new Audio Alchemy—led by its original designer, Peter Madnick, and having on staff other employees from the old…
Listening to the DPA-1Ms through the Wilson Sabrinas, without directly comparing them with any other amplifier(s), I was impressed with their clear, open sound, resolution of fine detail, dynamics, and freedom from coloration. All of these characteristics were evident in the playback of my usual test CDs, which included the Chesky Records Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc, Vol.1 (CD, Chesky JD37), Reference Recordings' orchestral sampler Tutti! (RR-906CD), Harold Farberman's The All Star Percussion Ensemble (CD, Golden Strings GS CD005), Sylvia McNair's Sure Thing (CD, Philips…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, class-D, monoblock power amplifier. Inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 3.5mm trigger. Outputs: 2 pairs five-way binding posts. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.25dB. Output power (0.1% THD+N, 1kHz): 325W into 8 ohms, 400W into 4 ohms. Nominal THD+N (1W into 8 ohms): 0.05%. Signal/noise (1kHz): 100dB, unweighted. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Output impedance: 0.06 ohm. Channel separation (1kHz): 80dB. Gain: 20 or 26dB, switchable.
Dimensions: 10.4" (267mm) W by 3" (76mm) H by 11.5" (295mm) D. Weight: 16.1 lbs…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Acoustic Signature WOW XXL turntable & TA-1000 tonearm, Soundsmith MIMC cartridge.
Digital Source: PS Audio PerfectWave Memory CD player & DirectStream DAC.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Renaissance Black Path Edition.
Power Amplifiers: Theta Digital Prometheus monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sabrina
Cables: Interconnect, Speaker, AC: Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference.
Accessories: PS Audio PerfectWave PowerPlant 5 power conditioner, Synergistic Research PHT Phono Transducer,…