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Through it all, the A95's natural, colorful timbral presentation endured. Playing Norman Blake's simply arranged and beautifully recorded The Fields of November (LP, Flying Fish 004), the newer SPU actually outpaced the old in giving a better sense of body to fiddle and cello alike, and Blake's singing had a bit more chest. The same could be said of the SPU 95's portrayal of Dame Janet Baker's voice on her French Songs, with the Melos Ensemble of London (LP, L'Oiseau-Lyre SOL 298); additionally, the new SPU handled that record's many peaks—as in Ravel's "Mefiez-vous des blancs"—without…
`Tis the season and yeah, I’ve been self–gifting, so what? At this time of the year, when you should be out there, fighting the credit card clutching crowds, thinking of others, trying to buy things that will surprise and delight your loved ones, it’s nearly impossible not to find a few things that you want as well right? That process just got a whole lot easier this week when the Music Direct catalog arrived. If you’re a gear or music geek, it doesn’t get much better than this annual 200 page tome, which this year has a really killer photo of young Bruce on the cover and a John Varvatos ad…
And so the first item to catch my eye was Mobile Fidelity's newly remastered LP pressing of Brothers and Sisters (1973) by The Allman Brothers Band. It also comes as an SACD if you prefer. This is the second time that MoFi, which is now owned by Music Direct, has reissued this album, the first being in 1994 (on CD) and 1995 (LP).
The second album released after the motorcycle accident that killed Duane Allman (1971) and the first after yet another motorcycle accident—three blocks from where Duane died—killed bassist Berry Oakley (1972), B&S became the Brothers biggest seller and…
It's time for another holiday gift list:
12. Holst: The Planets (24/96 download): $18
The Planets is the definitional crowd-pleasing orchestral warhorse—there are more than 40 recordings of it currently available in a dizzying array of over 90 couplings, sets, and formats. Add versions on synthesizer, pipe organ, brass ensemble, et al, and the total exceeds 100. There are good reasons for the work's enduring popularity: inspired orchestration, brief movements alternating between drama and repose, and memorable, rollicking big tunes.
The audiophile-approved recordings of The…
For the hard core, StroboSoft offers not only historical tunings (eg, Kellner, Rameau, Werckmeister III), but also proprietary Peterson "sweetened" tunings for guitars and other instruments. These tunings redistribute the error-allocation scheme of a piano's usual equal temperament, in the interest of making fourths and fifths ring more sweetly. I found StroboSoft to be challenging and educational, and it does work! (usually discounted; www.petersontuners.com)
To get the best results with StroboSoft, you'll need a good USB microphone (unless your computer already has a soundcard). Audio-…
The call I received from Music Hall's Leland Leard surprised me: "Hey, Bob, I think you'd be the perfect guy to review our new Ikura turntable!"
Hmm. It had been four years since I'd reviewed a record player: Pro-Ject's Debut III, in the February 2010 issue. And with the surging popularity of vinyl—hell, Rough Trade NYC's enormous new record store, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, even sells turntables—the thought of a plug-and-play turntable-tonearm-cartridge combination for $1200 intrigued me. Sure, Leland—send it on.
Design
The Ikura features a two-plinth design…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Music Hall Ikura Turntable and Tonearm: Motor: DC synchronous. Speeds: 331/3 & 45rpm (manual change). Speed deviation: ±0.9%. Wow & flutter: ±0.15%. Rumble: below –70dB max. Platter diameter: 11.81" (303mm). Platter weight: 2 lbs (0.91kg). Armtube material: aluminum. Effective tonearm length: 8.92" (228.6mm). Tonearm weight w/o counterweight: 250gm. Effective tonearm mass: 11gm. Overhang: 0.7" (18mm). Mounting distance of arm base: 212mm. Compatible cartridge weights: 2.0–16.0gm. Power supply: 115V/60Hz or 230V/50Hz. Power consumption: 2VA.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Rega Research Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge.
Integrated Amplifier: Creek Destiny.
Loudspeakers: Epos Elan 10.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330SG Terminator. Speaker: Accent Speaker Technology Black Orpheus. AC: manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Various by ASC, Bright Star, Celestion, Echo Busters, Salamander Designs, Simply Physics, Sound Anchor, VPI.—Robert J. Reina
For five years in this blog space, I've been urging, begging, audiophile record labels to reissue Masterpieces by Ellington, to my mind Duke Ellington's finest (and finest-sounding) album, on vinyl. Now Chad Kassem of Analogue Sounds has done it, and his QRP pressing is the jaw-dropper of the year—several years, actually.
The album was recorded at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio in Manhattan in December 1950 (that's no typo: 64 years ago), and even the Sony Legacy CD reissue that came out 10 years ago (with DSD mastering by Mark Wilder, but no SACD follow-up) sounded shockingly good…
The world's first download site devoted exclusively to ultra hi-resolution DXD downloads, Promates Music Store, has launched from Copenhagen. The brainchild of Peter Scheelke, who in 2003 helped found Digital Audio Denmark (DAD), creator of the world's first commercial DXD converter, the site currently offers 26 native DXD recordings (352.8kHz sampling rate and 24-bit bit depth) from labels Dacapo and OUR Recordings.
"We have to make people aware of DXD," Scheelke told Stereophile via Skype. "I'm starting off with enough material for people to test. Once people are aware of the format…