The new location has been completely renovated to give customers a luxurious…
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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.
Recently, we've been asking a representative sample of Stereophile subscribers for suggestions as to how the magazine could be improved. We got 'em, in droves. And the one thing that led every list of suggestions we received was: "Publish more often!" Second in importance was: "Do more reports on affordable components, and let's have more suggestions for cheap ways of improving existing systems."
So, we did a considerable amount of soul-searching. Putting together an 80-page magazine every 3 months without a resident staff isn't easy, but we had finally reached a state of organization…
The Sheffield Track Record
Robbie Buchanan and James Newton Howard, keyboards; Lennie Castro, percussion; Nathan East, bass guitar; Mike Landau, guitar; Carlos Vega, drums. Ron Tutt, and Jim Keltner, drum solos. TT: 22:13.
Sheffield LAB-20.
Robbie Buchanan and James Newton Howard, keyboards; Lennie Castro, percussion; Nathan East, bass guitar; Mike Landau, guitar; Carlos Vega, drums. Ron Tutt, and Jim Keltner, drum solos. TT: 22:13.
Sheffield LAB-20.
What, a recording of rock backup tracks? Who could care less? Me, is who. Quibble over the program if you will (actually, it isn't all that dull, and two of the numbers are fun to listen to), but this wasn't released for the program material. You might call it a tantalizing sample of where a lot of rock sound begins, before it is fuzzed,…
To put it mildly, Jack Vad (second row in photo, orange shirt) was dismayed. The Grammy Award–winning media producer and chief engineer for the San Francisco Symphony had just returned from the 2014 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and was trying to make sense of his experiences there. When he'd carried his latest recordings, which I think are superbly recorded, into rooms at the show and asked if he could play them, exhibitors were anything but enthusiastic.
Vad, who at RMAF 2014 also appeared in an "Experts Ask the Experts" panel discussion, and presented formal demos of the same recordings…
Estrella Morente: Amar en Paz
Estrella Morente, voice; Niño Josele, guitar
Calle 54/Sony Music 88875011922 (CD). 2014. Fernando Trueba, prod., exec. prod.; Nat Chediak, exec. prod.; Jose Luis Crespo, eng.; Jim Anderson, mix; Alan Silverman, mastering. DDD? TT: 66:29
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
Estrella Morente, voice; Niño Josele, guitar
Calle 54/Sony Music 88875011922 (CD). 2014. Fernando Trueba, prod., exec. prod.; Nat Chediak, exec. prod.; Jose Luis Crespo, eng.; Jim Anderson, mix; Alan Silverman, mastering. DDD? TT: 66:29
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
What makes a great singer great is a magical combination of virtuosic physical skills with mental and emotional powers of interpretation that allow you to hear and feel a lyric's subtext: the emotions the songwriter hoped to evoke by a turn in the melody.
"Because love is…
Register to win a Synergistic Research Acoustic Enhancement Atmosphere (MSRP $2,250.00) we are giving away.
According to the company:
The Synergistic Research Atmosphere is a room acoustic enhancement device that allows one to modify and improve the perceived soundstage as well as the quality of the sound from top to bottom of one’s system; all of this totally controlled by an iPad/iPhone app. What is even more remarkable is that this task is accomplished without a direct connection of any kind into one’s system components. At this point, I’m sure most of you will want to…
Publisher's Note: For the first time since I've published Stereophile, we are running two completely different—and opposed— reports on the same product. Normally, we try to reach some conclusion as to why reviewers come up with opposite views on a product, and resolve the problem prior to publication. In this case, the problem lies in the differing sound systems used for review. Since some readers will have systems like SWW's, and others will have systems more like JGH's, I felt it was valuable to run both reviews.
For the record, SWW's reference system consists of Dayton Wright XG-lO…
In terms of detail, the 520 sounds moderately veiled in comparison to most CD players (particularly on moderate to high level passages), giving it a somewhat distant sound. Again, this proves to be a benefit on the many CDs that suffer from harshness or glare. The distant sound also imparts a more musical and somewhat slower char™ acter to the 520. The 520 also has a slight electronic air (resembling a very fine grain) that results in a somewhat dry sound, putting the 520 into an unusual category-dry and yet musical.
So, to sum up, the 520 is a mixed bag. Features and ergonomics are…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Programmable compact disc player with wireless, full-feature remote control. Loading system: front drawer. Frequency range: 2Hz–20kHz. Dynamic range: 96dB. Channel separation: 95dB. Total harmonic distortion: 0.003%. Maximum output level: 2V.
Dimensions: 17" (430mm) W by 3.25" (80mm) H by 13.25" (335mm) D. Weight: 14 lbs (6.7kg).
Price: $650 (1985); no longer available (2015).
Manufacturer: Sony Corporation of America, One Sony Drive, Park Ridge, NJ 07656 (1985). Sony Electronics Inc., 16530 Via Esprillo, San Diego, CA 92127-1708. Tel: (858…
Several seconds after I began listening to it, I knew that Theta Digital's Prometheus monoblock amplifier ($12,000/pair) was different from other amplifiers. The violins and brass were more dynamic, and had more pace. The orchestra sounded more three-dimensional, depicted in relief by a degree of hall ambience I hadn't heard when I played the same recording through my reference solid-state stereo amplifier, a Mark Levinson No.334.
I've experienced other such "revelations" on first hearing a new audio component. Sometimes this first impression is accurate, as with the unique transparency…