I'm not sure chicken soup is an appropriate…
search
Cellist Antonio Lysy, whose Yarlung Records recording Antonio Lysy at the Broad won a Latin Grammy for its inclusion of Lalo Schifrin's song "Pampas," has returned with a unique recording of South American-connected compositions and arrangements. Aptly titled South America (YAR80167DSD), the nine compositions honor Astor Piazzolla, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carlos Gardel, Antonio's violinist father Alberto Lysy, and Argentine bandoneon master Coco Trivisonno. There's even some Brazilian-tinged J.S. Bach and a work by Spanish cellist Pablo Casals.
For some years now, I've tried to free myself from playing physical media and get all my music organized on a server. It's not that I don't enjoy handling and playing discs, but it's almost impossible to keep track of them. When my collection was only a thousand or two LPs, I felt I could remember each one individually. But now I have several times that many silver discs, and I know I can't.
The fundamental issues are those of filing the music and then finding the music. It's easy to file a compilation disc like Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter on a shelf under "Collections," and…
Their front panels aside, the Halos A 52+ and A 51 look different. Most noticeable is the A 52+'s three-sided wrap, stamped from lightweight metal. Nonetheless, that cover wasn't resonant when in place, and when I removed it, I saw a high level of component quality, including substantial heatsinks. The rear panel is cleanly laid out in modular fashion; each of the five channels has, vertically arrayed from top to bottom: a balanced input (XLR), an unbalanced input (RCA), and a pair of multiway speaker connectors. The connections for the five channels are arrayed from left to right, with the…
When I reviewed the Mark Levinson No.536 monoblock, I said that its sound quality was second to none. However, its stratospheric price of $30,000/pair unnerved me—only seven of the 35 top-rated solid-state power amplifiers listed in the April 2017 edition of Stereophile's "Recommended Components" cost more, and a similar number (not the same models) deliver more power into 8 ohms. "But don't despair," I wrote—"Mark Levinson has just released a less expensive version of the No.536: the dual-mono, 250Wpc No.534 stereo amp ($20,000)." I requested a review sample of the No.534, to see if it…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Inputs: 2 unbalanced (RCA), 2 balanced (XLR). Outputs: 2 pairs Hurricane spade connectors with banana-plug sockets (not available on 230V models). Power output (20Hz–20kHz, 0.25% THD+N): 250Wpc into 8 ohms (25.5dBW),. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.05dB. Input sensitivity: 2.83V RMS output for 150mV input. Input impedance: 60k ohms (balanced), 30k ohms (unbalanced). Output impedance: 0.054 ohm, 20Hz–1kHz; 0.055 ohm at 5Hz; 0.056 ohm at 10Hz; 0.59 ohm at 20kHz. Signal/noise: >85dB, ref. level 2.83V RMS.…
A selection of gear from Gryphon Audio Designs, the Danish firm founded some 33 years ago by Flemming Rasmussen, will be introduced to listeners at a special event on Thursday, May 3, at The Sound Environment, 11021 Elm Street, Omaha, NE. On hand will be a selection of Gryphon electronics—including their Diablo 120 and Diablo 300 integrated amplifiers, Colosseum stereo class-A amplifier, Pandora preamplifier, Legato phono stage, and Scorpio S CD player—as well as Wilson Audio Alexx speakers, a TechDAS Air Force 3 turntable, and a full Vivaldi stack from digital specialists dCS. Philip O'…
The Final Tour, Volume 6 of Columbia Legacy's Miles Davis Bootleg Series—documenting Miles' quintet, featuring John Coltrane, live in Europe in March 1960—is one of the most revelatory new-old jazz albums in recent years. Of the five concerts on the 4-CD boxed set, one of them—the March 24 date in Copenhagen—is now out on 180-gram LP, and not only is the music thrilling, the sound quality is extraordinary: as vibrant as just about any live album in the Miles catalog.
The concerts took place one year after the band recorded Kind of Blue, but, though they play two of the songs from that…
We're well past the day when the sound of top-tier tube amplifiers can be described as "syrupy" or "too warm" or producing "soft bass." Equally true, solid-state designs have reached a level of maturity at which "sweetness," "fluidity," and "flow" are similarly applicable descriptors, thus smashing the cliché of "cold transistor sound."
One high-end audio manufacturer, resourceful in both tube and solid-state designs, has weathered selloffs, acquisitions, and fickle audiophile demands to create beautiful, enduring audio art under a name synonymous with Japanese high-end audio supremacy:…
The Luxman L-509X is the first audio component I've reviewed for which the operative descriptor is tender. Without my going all red-faced and teary on you, the L-509X seemed to enjoy reproducing the music as much as I enjoyed listening to/through it. Record after record, the L-509X illuminated every important aspect and area of the recording. It lived and breathed in the air around the notes, consistently creating big, solid, spatially natural images that presented me with: a) the roundness and complexity of each instrument, b) a holistic sense of the musicians' intent, c) excellent touch…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, solid-state, integrated amplifier with class-A/B output stage. Line inputs: Line In (4 pairs RCA), Main In (1 pair RCA), Balanced (2 pairs XLR). Line outputs: Rec Out (1 pair RCA), Monitor (1 pair RCA), Pre Out (1 pair RCA). Phono inputs, switchable: MM, high-/low-output MC (1 pair RCA). Output power: 120Wpc into 8 ohms (20.8dBW), 220Wpc into 4 ohms (20.4dBW). Frequency responses: phono, 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.5dB; line, 20Hz–100kHz, ±3dB. Tone controls: Bass, ±8dB at 100Hz; Treble, ±8dB at 10kHz. THD: <0.007% (8 ohms, 1kHz), <0.06% (8…