search

Recording of February 2016: <I>A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters</I>

John Coltrane: A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters
John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, tenor saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, Art Davis, bass; Elvin Jones, drums
Impulse! 80023727-02 (3 CDs). 1965/2015. Bob Thiele, orig. prod.; Rudy Van Gelder, orig. eng.; Harry Weinger, Ashley Kahn, reissue prods.; Kevin Reeves, reissue mastering. ADD? TT: 2:43:31
Performance *****
Sonics *****

While every jazz fan has his or her favorite period of John Coltrane's career—the promising Prestige years, the "hits" on Atlantic, the single knockout punch of Blue Trane, his lone album…

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI Second Generation turntable

The stats are impressive: Quebec's Oracle Audio Technologies, formerly Trans Audio (footnote 1), has been in business for 37 years, during which they've sold nearly 11,000 Oracle Delphi turntables. That's not bad for a perfectionist turntable—and especially not bad for a perfectionist turntable whose first and most estimable competitor, the Linn Sondek LP12, was well established by the time of the Delphi's debut, in 1979.

And yet . . . one might also say that the LP12, having created the market for high-end turntables, plowed the road for the Delphi. True though that may be, there's no…

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI Second Generation turntable Page 2

Through the undamped Oracle with Oracle SME tonearm and my own well-worn Denon DL-103 cartridge, both cuts were vibrantly colorful and present, with an absolutely enormous sense of scale; musically, they were good, but the playback lacked the really good sense of momentum and flow that I associate with my favorite record players. To be shallow and crass about it: The sound rated an 8 or a 9, the musicality a 6.

All right. Riendeau then lowered the damping fingers on the bottom of the subchassis ever so slightly, until their tips just barely dimpled the surface of the silicone pools below…

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI Second Generation turntable Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI Second Generation: Belt-driven, suspended-subchassis turntable. Motor: AC synchronous. Speeds: 331/3, 45rpm.
Dimensions: 18.5" (475mm) W by 5.9" (150mm) H by 14.2" (363mm) D. Weight: 35 lbs (16kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: 11087.
Prices: $8950 with wall-wart power supply; add $800 for Turbo power supply ($1150 if purchased separately).

Oracle SME Tonearm: Pivoted, dynamically balanced, nominally 9" tonearm with one-piece, die-cast, magnesium-alloy armtube. Pivot to spindle: 215.35mm. Effective length: 233.15mm.…

Oracle Delphi Mk.VI Second Generation turntable Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; Abis SA-1.2, EMT 997 tonearms; EMT OFD 25 & OFD 15 & TSD 15 pickup heads; Denon DL-103, Miyajima Premium BE Mono II cartridges.
Digital Sources: Halide Designs DAC HD USB D/A converter; Apple iMac G5 computer running Audirvana Plus 1.5.12; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Hommage T2 step-up transformer, Shindo Laboratory Aurieges Equalizer Amplifier phono preamplifier & Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Laboratory Corton-Charlemagne (monoblocks)…

An Open Letter from Bill Low of AudioQuest

An open letter from myself and AudioQuest to the community—to everyone who cherishes the truth, regardless of their opinions about audio and digital cables, regardless of their opinions about AudioQuest.

For good reason, there is growing internet “buzz” about the recently published findings of Mark Waldrep on his Real HD-AUDiO blog.

Mark’s findings are very relevant, and the implied malfeasance is extremely serious.

I was first made aware of Mark’s post this last Friday, January 22. I immediately wrote to everyone at AudioQuest who either is in contact with Home…

Meridian Updates its Products to MQA

Meridian Audio's hotly anticipated firmware update for its MQA-ready electronics has arrived. Starting February 4, owners of Meridian's Explorer2 DAC (above), Prime headphone amplifier, 808v6 Reference CD player, 818v3 Reference Audio Core, Special Edition loudspeakers and 40th Anniversary systems will be able to upgrade their products and hear the full benefits that MQA-encoded files can deliver.

Free firmware updates for the above mentioned personal audio products will be available for download from the "Support" pages at www.meridian-audio.com on February 4. Owners of 800 Reference…

I Come From Down in the Valley

To be Springsteenesque about it, are two records, like hearts, really better than one? It’s the question that’s hovered over The River since its release in 1980 and is at least part of the motivation behind, The Ties That Bind, the latest extras-loaded boxed set to focus on Springsteen’s glorious back catalog. To focus the question even more, was the single record, the first version of the The River which was also called The Ties That Bind, that Springsteen turned into his label in 1979, a more coherent record, than the 20 track, double LP, The River that it had morphed into by October 1980…

Newvelle Jazz

The movement towards a super premium vinyl “experience,” and the larger notion of vinyl as a lifestyle is getting another eager supporter as a new subscription-only label, Newvelle Records, launched this week via a Kickstarter campaign. To see their pitch click here.

The twist here is that Newvelle is specializing in jazz recorded in New York City at East Side Sound studio exclusively for them. I’ve spoken with the principals of the label, Elan Mehler and Jean-Christophe Morisseau several times and their plan seems quite sound and from what I’ve heard of their first two releases, a…

Shane Buettner, Intervention Records

"With all due respect, what the hell is the matter with you?"

Over the years, I've felt obligated to ask this question of several friends who somehow concluded that their life's work involved founding a record label.

"That is the best question isn't it?" Shane Buettner said with a big laugh. "Why do I want to hurt myself this badly and spend a lot of money doing it?" He smiled again, with a mild shake of the head.

"Actually, yes—that's exactly what I mean."

So went the conversation between the former Home Theater editor and me, conducted over Cobb salads (hold…