The Roon music-management and -playback system is no longer new (footnote 1). Its history, from its roots in Sooloos and Meridian, is outlined in Jon Iverson's review of Roon v.1.0 in the October 2015 issue. At the time, I found Roon intriguing but frustrating, primarily because it lacked support for multichannel audio. But in the last two years Roon has been improved and extended, driven in part by a lively user website that's supported by the active participation of company personnel. Turns out I wasn't the only one…
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Kalman Rubinson returned to Roon v.1.3 in September 2017 (Vol.40 No.9):
In football there's a saying to describe an unexpected outcome: "That why they play the games."
The recorded music equivalent might be "That's why you have to listen to the records." Much as you might be tempted to gaze at the cover art, remember a band's last record or think about the one time you saw them live and they really blew it, prejudging can be dangerous. In the end, you still gotta listen.
So there I was, waving around a CD copy of Pop Art Live, by 1970s power pop band, The Raspberries about to launch into a tirade about how most bands from the '70s should just stop.…
Who is Michael Lavorgna?
What is AudioStream.com?
What is AudioStream.com?
This video is the answer to all of your questions.
Warner's 5-CD box set, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: The Complete 78 rpm Recordings 1946–1952 is a vocal lover's dream. Filled with recordings made when the soprano was between 30 and 37 years of age—she was born December 9, 1915—this bargain bonanza confirms that Schwarzkopf's oft-brilliant, sometimes outré interpretations of art song and opera were an essential part of her artistic personality from the get-go.
The brilliance of Schwarzkopf' instrument, and the magic of her sweet head tones, was already in place when the first of these recordings was made. In fact, listening to these new…
The embrace of MQA by audio companies and labels has widened. At last weekend's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, MQA announced that its technology will be embedded in LG's new, globally distributed V30 flagship smartphone. In addition, two Sony Walkmans, the WM-ZX300 and WM-A40, will become equipped for MQA music playback. Pioneer and Onkyo also offer Tidal Masters (MQA) mobile streaming on their latest XDP-30R and DP-S1 models, and iFi is developing a nano iDSD Black Label DAC that features MQA integration.
At CEDIA, which takes place September 5–9 in San Diego, both…
The world has lost another irreplaceable musical legend in Steely Dan guitarist, bass player, songwriter, and co-frontman Walter Becker. I spent Sunday listening to Dan records, and trying to write about Becker's legacy. The guy was elusive, hard to read and reticent to the point of obsession (footnote 1).
Few rock bands have ever inspired such a sharp cleavage in fan opinion. And both sides are extremely passionate about their beliefs. One side despised the band's precision. For them they were a soulless mob of overprivileged SoCal studio cats (although Fagen was clearly a New Yawker)…
The Genesis 500 ($650) is the baby brother of Monster Cable's top-of-the-line Genesis 1000 cartridge. It is almost identical in physical appearance, differing only in its use of green body trim (the 1000 sports red pinstripes). All of the functional differences appear to be in the stylus and cantilever. The cantilever of the 500 is a hollow sapphire rod tightly attached to an inner aluminum tube (the 1000 has a diamond-coated boron tube cantilever). Its stylus is a 6µm x 35µm line-contact (3µm x 60µm for the 1000). Monster claims a stylus life in excess of 600 hours for the Genesis 500, more…
Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment
This included the Well-Tempered Arm, VPI HW-19 turntable (this time sans the mat I have used in previous tests), Klyne SK-5a preamp, PS Audio 200cx power amp, and B&W 801F Matrix loudspeakers on 11" Sound Anchor stands. (The production version of these stands is about 4" shorter.) Interconnects were Monster M-1000, speaker wire Monster M-1 (mono-wired).
The Well-Tempered Arm was chosen for these reviews because it is known to be well suited to a wide variety of pickups. All of the moving-coil pickups here are moderately low in compliance. Such…
Bill Berry and His Ellington All-Stars: For Duke
Works by Duke Ellington
Bill Berry, cornet; Ray Brown, bass; Frankie Capp, drums; Scott Hamilton, tenor sax; Nat Pierce, piano; Marshal Royal, alto sax; Britt Woodman, trombone.
M&K Real-Time RT-101 (direct-to-disc LP).
Works by Duke Ellington
Bill Berry, cornet; Ray Brown, bass; Frankie Capp, drums; Scott Hamilton, tenor sax; Nat Pierce, piano; Marshal Royal, alto sax; Britt Woodman, trombone.
M&K Real-Time RT-101 (direct-to-disc LP).
This is to-date the best direct-to-disc recording I have heard. For once I can't complain about the high end being shrill or hard. The balances are excellent and the performances superior, with each member of the group getting his chance to show off. Marshal Royal's saxophone solos must be heard to be…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Measurements were made with the spot frequency bands on the new CBS STR-330 test disc, backed up by the older CBS STR-100. The latter generally showed a greater high-end rise than the former in the frequency-response readings, and the results presented in the reviews are those given by the more recent recording. Test-record results provide useful information, but they are not an absolute. Test records from different sources invariably give slightly different results. STR-100 was used to assess crosstalk, and trackability was measured at 300Hz using the Audio…