A huge range of models is apparently available—"apparently" because many machines are repackaged versions of a few basic designs. Prime originators include Yamaha, Philips, Nagaoka, Toshiba, Kyocera, Denon, Hitachi, and Sony, these serving certain specific model requirements as determined by…
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Four years after its launch, the CD medium would appear to have come of age, at least in production terms. Annual player manufacture is now big business, and there is hardly a major audio brand without a CD machine to its name—even such analog stalwarts as Audio-Technica and Shure have succumbed.
Sidebar 1: Test Program
The Cambridge CD player was subjected to a formal sequence of tests. In the lab, a range of tests was applied to explore the linearity and resolution of the machine. Factors such as shock and vibration immunity, error correction, and the like were all investigated. If A/B assessment is to be attempted, it is vital to determine absolute output levels, and it is well worth checking any deviations in frequency response which might affect the auditioning.
The precise bit resolution delivered is at present academic, as we have not yet been able to…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
On the filter 1 setting (fig.1), the response was essentially flat, measuring –0.2dB at 20kHz. On 2, the response fell away beyond 3kHz to –2dB, 20kHz. With filter 3, the output shelved just a little, this being the designer's preferred characteristic. On 4 (1 and 3 depressed), the bass rolled off early by 2dB into our low-impedance chart-recorder loading, while the high treble was slightly depressed—anti-fuzz, perhaps? On 5, the treble rolloff accelerated, while 6—all filter buttons depressed—gave a maximum level of cut at both extremes.
Fig…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Two-box, solid-state CD player.
Price: $2800 (1987); no longer available (2104).
Manufacturer: Cambridge Audio, England. US Distributor: Sumiko, Inc., Berkeley, CA 94705 (1987); Audio Plus Services, 156 Lawrence Paquette Industrial Drive, Champlain, NY 12919 (2014). Tel: (800) 663-9352. Web: www.cambridgeaudio.com.
Almost exactly four years ago, I posted a Blog that began like this: "Let's put the main point up front. The new duet album by Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden, Jasmine (on ECM), is a gorgeous piece of work: all standards, mainly ballads, nothing fancy (not overtly anyway), but such poignancy and quiet passion; it's a glimpse into the intimacy of the act of making art."
A follow-up CD is out now, Last Dance, and I'd describe it the same way. It was recorded at the same session, in Jarrett's home studio, over a four-day span in 2007. But this doesn't sound like an album of rejects; even the…
There’s something huge to be said for longevity in the music business and staying true to your vision, and Laura Cantrell, a singer songwriter with alt country leanings has been making thoughtful, well-constructed records since 2000, but here on her fifth studio record she seems to have hit a higher note. Cantrell has always had a strong but unadorned, almost girlish voice that hovers in a narrow range, but the big difference here is the material, most of which she wrote or co-wrote.
Recorded in her hometown of Nashville (though she lives in NYC) with a band that includes guitarist Kenny…
Recent Rolling Stone cover girl and one time Nashville Star runner–up Miranda Lambert who is most famous for her hell–raisin’ single “Crazy Ex–Girlfriend” is solidly mainstream Nashville country music. As a fan of the genuine country musicians of the past—Hank, Patsy, Lefty, Cash, Haggard, & Jones to name a few—I will admit to having an involuntary gag reflex when it comes to today’s mainstream country music, which is really just bland, over–produced, pop rock with the occasional fiddle or pedal steel if you’re lucky. And yet there are country stars today that know and respect the history…
Extreme, perhaps, in size—6'10" when fully extended (see the linked video below)—and certainly in price ($260,000/pair US price), the Estelon Extreme loudspeaker has arrived at its exclusive US dealer, Audio High in Mountain View and Los Angeles, CA. The brainchild of Estonian designer Alfred Vassilkov, 56, who describes it as the culmination of 30 years of research, each loudspeaker, pictured above with Audio High's Michael Silver, weighs 551.16 lbs (250kg), and measures 31.1" (790mm) wide by 32.28" (820mm) deep.
The speaker's frequency range is claimed to be 20Hz—45kHz, power rating…
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Hurricane
Epic/Legacy/Analogue Productions AAPB SRV33-BOX (6 LPs, 331?3rpm). 1983–1991/2014. John Hammond Sr., orig. exec. prod.; Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Hammond Jr., Richard Mullen, others, orig. prods.; Richard Mullen, James Geddes, Lincoln Clapp, others, orig. engs.; Chad Kassem, reissue exec. prod.; Ryan Smith, remastering. AAA. TT: 3:55:20
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Epic/Legacy/Analogue Productions AAPB SRV33-BOX (6 LPs, 331?3rpm). 1983–1991/2014. John Hammond Sr., orig. exec. prod.; Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Hammond Jr., Richard Mullen, others, orig. prods.; Richard Mullen, James Geddes, Lincoln Clapp, others, orig. engs.; Chad Kassem, reissue exec. prod.; Ryan Smith, remastering. AAA. TT: 3:55:20
Performance *****
Sonics *****
He was the shining star the blues world had always dreamed of: the rare performer who could break through to the musical mainstream. Yet alas, he flashed across the musical…
Record-business profits peaked 20 years ago, just before Napster and other file-sharing sites turned their world upside down. There have been occasional surges, but the future of the Compact Disc looks bleak, and while income from downloaded files is still climbing, the shift of profitability from à la carte music sales to unlimited streaming on demand seems inevitable. The realignment is already underway—the vast majority of today's music listeners, young and old, haven't bought a CD, file, or LP in years. It pains me to admit it, but after hearing, at the 2014 Midem music exhibition, a…