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The Fifth Element #89 The Dynatrack Conundrum

Sidebar: The Dynatrack Conundrum

I am grateful to Richard Lane, Tom Fine, Bob Ludwig, and Dale Manquen for educating me about a fascinating footnote in the history of sound recording: 3M's Dynatrack tape machines of the 1960s.

Dynatrack was an ambitious, pre-Dolby noise-reduction scheme that recorded two tracks for each channel: an NAB-standard track, and a "boosted" track with fixed high-frequency pre-emphasis to overcome tape hiss. Therefore, a stereo recorder required four tracks, while a four-channel recorder required eight tracks.

The clever feature of Dynatrack was…

The Silos

Though it was brief, The Silos had their indie rock flavor du jour moment. Now, their second record, Cuba, one of the quieter, semi-unknown masterpieces of what was then just starting to be called alternative rock (and so be doomed by imitators), has been re-released on white vinyl by Nashville’s Dualtone label who also reissued it on CD in 2002. This was once a fairly pricey item on the collectors market. Despite a slight edge warp in my copy and the fact that it was likely pressed at URP which can be problematic, this new LP is an improvement over any digital or ahem!, cassette version, I’…

Some Enchanted Evening

It seems likely that Frank Sinatra, who famously stuck both feet in his mouth, by calling rock 'n' roll a “rancid-smelling aphrodisiac” created by “cretinous goons,” had a similar feeling about Bob Dylan: an uppity hippie poet with a nasal voice and unruly hair, who was music’s future and the antithesis of Frank’s 60s booze and broads-soaked Rat Pack. It also seems likely that along the way Bobby probably murmured a few unkind things about Frank and his establishment entourage. But if you live long enough…though in some ways it seems natural that Dylan, who’s never been shy about paying…

The March Issue Has Arrived

The March issue has arrived. And it’s an issue of contrasts. Featured on the cover is Theta’s Prometheus monoblock, a class-D tower of power offering 320W into 8 ohms. You’d think that at $12,000/pair the Prometheus was expensive, but its price pales in comparison to the $54,000 Boulder is asking for its state-of-the-art 2110 preamplifier! Fortunately, the 132-page March 2015 Stereophile also features reviews of a very affordable turntable from Pioneer and a high-value tower loudspeaker from DALI.

Couple all that with Art Dudley on the new version of Wilson’s Duette speaker and the…

Music Matters in Wisconsin, Thursday February 19

Thursday, February 19, from 5–8pm: Sound World (3015 West Wisconsin Avenue, Appleton) will host a Music Matters event. Featured gear will include Cary Audio's new TL-300d tubed preamp, CAD-211FE monoblock power amplifiers, SA-500.1 monoblock power amplifiers, and DCM-600SE digital media center; MartinLogan's Neolith loudspeakers; NAD's Masters Series M12 preamp, M22 power amplifier, M17 processor, and M27 multichannel amplifier; and AudioQuest's NightHawk headphones.

Daryl Berk (Cary Audio), Dennis Chern (MartinLogan), Travis Huff (NAD), and Jim Scatena (AudioQuest) will be on hand to…

Keith O. Johnson: Reference Recordings

Keith Johnson is the man responsible for the records issued by Reference Recordings, from Professor Johnson's Astounding Sound Show through Tafelmusik—not to mention upcoming releases of Your Friendly Neighborhood Big Band and Respighi's Church Windows. As is frequently the case, Johnson's astounding recordings result from his intimate (molecular-level) knowledge of the process with which he deals and his ingenious adaptations to squeeze the most out of available (and not so available) technology. He is also one of the few critics of digital recording who has actually used a digital recorder…

Keith O. Johnson: Reference Recordings Page 2

Johnson: Oh, they're brand names. People can buy them, and they'll actually work quite well on many machines. But it does take a special machine to get the best out of them. When you get rid of head saturation, for example, some of these tapes are absolutely superlative. We get very little smearing problem, the recordings are highly articulated, and they seem to stay that way.

Holt: Obviously, one of the attributes of your own recorder is that its record head will take a lot of current through it.

Johnson: That's one thing, yes.

Another problem that analog has is the…

The Mavs in Mono

The Mavericks, perhaps the greatest non-country act to ever come out of Nashville (via Miami) and a band that writes terrific tunes, gives a powerhouse live show and has one of the most compelling voices in all of pop music today as a front man, decided, according to their latest official biography, to mix their second record since a 2011 comeback in mono. A call to their publicist confirmed that they recorded and mixed in mono. Very charming and brave on some level. In case there was any confusion, they also named it Mono.

With the band in Europe and not doing stateside interviews, I had…

Music Matters 10 in Seattle, Thursday

This coming Thursday, February 26, 5–9pm, Definitive Audio (6206 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle) will host Music Matters 10, an annual event devoted exclusively to the reproduction of music—and the grand commencement of the dealership's 40th Anniversary Celebration.

Guests will have the opportunity to listen to music through world-class stereo systems in six expertly tuned sound rooms. Manufacturer representatives will be on hand for demonstrations and discussion.

Featured products will include the new Audio Research G Series amplification (above), presented by Dave Gordon;…

Hi-Fi Centre Opens Friday in New Vancouver Location

Hi-Fi Centre, of Vancouver, BC, is pleased to announce the opening of a brand-new, 5000-sq.-ft. audio/video showroom, in the Gastown district. The grand opening event will take place on Friday, February 27, 2015, in the new store located in the newly renovated BC Electric Building, at 433 Carrall Street. The 30-year-old, family-owned Hi-Fi Centre, founded by Alex Kivritsky, represents some of the finest manufacturers of high-performance audio, home theater, whole-house audio, compact systems, and headphones.

The new location has been completely renovated to give customers a luxurious…