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Philips CDR880 CD-R/RW CD recorder Measurements

Sidebar 4: Measurements

I performed a full set of measurements on the CDR880 as a CD player, followed by a selection of recorder tests, from both analog and digital inputs. The CDR880's maximum output was 1.9V RMS, almost 0.5dB below the standard 2V, sourced from a low output impedance of 200 ohms in the midrange and treble. Below 20Hz the source impedance rose to 622 ohms, which is still low. The output polarity was absolute-phase correct.

The CDR880 featured superb error-correction/concealment, playing through all the standard missing-data tracks on the Pierre Verany test CD…

Philips CDR880 CD-R/RW CD recorder Specifications

Sidebar 5: Specifications

Description: CD-R recorder with CD-rewrite capabilities and digital S/PDIF inputs/outputs (coaxial and optical). Recording: S/N Ratio: 90dB. Dynamic range: 95dB. THD: 85dB. Record sample rate: 44.1kHz for line input/output; 32–48kHz for coaxial or optical digital inputs (automatic sample rate conversion). Maximum analog input: 700mV RMS. Analog input impedance: 50k ohms. Playback: Frequency range: 20Hz–20kHz. S/N Ratio: 105dB. Dynamic range: 98dB. Line output voltage: 2V RMS. Power consumption: 15W. Operating temperature: 5–35°C.
Dimensions: 17" (435mm) W by…

100 Waltzes for John Cage

Composer Kevin James looks a bit tired of making field recordings. Recordings for 100 Waltzes for John Cage were captured during 45+ nearly continuous hours of driving around New York City. Photo: The [kāg] ensemble.

Tuesday&#150Thursday, August 21–23, 7:30pm: In celebration of John Cage’s 100th birthday, The [kāg] ensemble will perform Kevin James’s 100 Waltzes for John Cage at the DiMenna Center, Mary Flagler Cary Hall (450 West 37th Street, New York).

Inspired by Cage’s 49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs, for which a score was created by randomly selecting 147 locations on a…

Chelsea Light Moving: "Groovy & Linda"

And speaking of birthdays, today is Thurston Moore’s. To celebrate, let’s groove and flail to Chelsea Light Moving’s latest track, “Groovy & Linda.” The song, like most from Thurston, is a twisted love story. I’ll let him tell it:

Not to be confused with the 1968 coffee house folk song by Tom Parrott (recorded for Smithsonian Folkways), this chug n’ shred burner is a psycho reflection of late 60s NYC East Village hippie idealism slayed and splayed in an Avenue B tenement boiler room. Groovy was the boy born James Leroy Hutchinson from modest American means and Linda was Linda…

Cholera in the time of love

After all this time, I think I finally get it.

*****

I was recently reunited with an old friend from high school. My best friend from high school, in fact. Our families got together, everyone got along, and as the dust of conversation settled toward the rug of companionable silence, talk turned to work. And when the inevitable happened, and my old friend and his wife—classical-music lovers both—asked how much a person had to spend these days in order to get a good music system, I answered their question with a question—a question that, crazily enough, just popped into my head:…

Recording of August 2012: Joplin: <I>Treemonisha</I>

Joplin: Treemonisha
Anita Johnson, soprano; AnnMarie Sandy, mezzo-soprano; Chauncey Packer, Robert Mack, tenors; Edward Pleasant, high baritone; Darren Stokes, Frank Ward Jr., basses; others; Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers, Rick Benjamin
New World 80720-2 (2 CDs). 2012. Judith Sherman, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 99:06
Performance ****
Sonics *****

The great ragtime composer Scott Joplin had grander ambitions than just the magnificent miniatures for piano he's famous for. When he died, in 1917, he had spent much of the previous 10 years polishing and campaigning for his…

Urban Fidelity Art Speakers

When I first met Josh Ray at a hi-fi show several years ago, I was impressed by his desire to bring high-end audio to a larger audience&#151an endeavor that I can easily appreciate. At the time, Josh sat atop the masthead of the forward-thinking audio review website, Sonic Flare. Along with Danny Kaey and a small cast of writers, Josh made Sonic Flare a fun and interesting web destination. But while SF’s reviews were consistently informative, I always wondered if Josh’s interests were more aligned with promoting the overall idea and allure of high-end audio.

Today, Danny Kaey has…

ADAM Audio Classic Column MK3 loudspeaker

It was three or four years ago, at a CEDIA Expo, that I first happened upon Advanced Dynamic Audio Monitors, aka ADAM Audio. What grabbed me was the array of imposingly high-tech speakers comprising their elite Tensor line. Sitting out in the middle of the floor of the Atlanta Convention Center, they not only looked more advanced than anything else around, they had the audacity to sound superb in a totally inappropriate acoustic situation. Despite the surrounding busyness of the Expo, I was able to sit down and actually enjoy the Beatles' Love on DVD-Audio. Clearly, these guys knew what they…

ADAM Audio Classic Column MK3 loudspeaker Page 2

Listening
Considering all the technical attention ADAM has lavished on their X-ART drivers, it was interesting that my attention was first drawn to the low end of the audioband. The extreme bottom end was extremely detailed and extended. A classic test track, "Cosmic Hippo," from Béla Fleck's Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (CD, Warner Bros. 26562-2), offered a good demonstration of the Column's bass. The first verse usually sounds full and deep through most competent systems, but in the second verse the bass line is an octave deeper, which often results in a significantly more woolly…

ADAM Audio Classic Column MK3 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-and-a-half-way, reflex-loaded tower loudspeaker. Drive-units: X-ART ribbon tweeter, X-ART ribbon midrange, two 7.5" (186mm) HexaCone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 150, 800, 2800Hz. Frequency range: 33Hz–50kHz. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Power handling: 200–300W.
Dimensions: 47.5" (1205mm) H by 9" (230mm) W by 12" (300mm) D. Weight: 70.5 lbs (32kg).
Finishes: Gloss Black, Cherry, Walnut.
Serial Numbers of Units Reviewed: H-06021, H-06022.
Price: $7000/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 12. Warranty: 10…