I measured the second sample of the Cambridge Audio Azur 851A (serial no. FE C10427K 1205 0137) using my recently recalibrated Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com, and the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before performing any measurements on an amplifier, I run it for an hour at one-third its specified maximum power, which, thermally, is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-B or -AB output stage. I cut short this preconditioning with the Cambridge 851A after 30 minutes, however, because its case was getting very hot—the top-panel grille over the…
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Are you trying to decide between high-resolution downloads and LP reissues? In the market for a hi-rez portable audio player? A zealot bravely fighting back in the Loudness Wars? Change is inevitable, and in the audiophile world it's the spice that keeps things interesting—there's always a new remastering or idea product just around the corner. Minds and tastes, too, can change. In answer to the eternal question "What are you listening to now?," we present the 2015 edition of "Records to Die For," our annual album of snapshots of the minds and ears of Stereophile's staff.
The idea, as…
DAVID R. ADLER
Reid Anderson: The Vastness of Space
Reid Anderson, bass; Andrew D'Angelo, alto saxophone; Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Ben Monder, guitar; Marlon Browden, drums
Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT 096 (CD). 2000. Reid Anderson, prod.; James Farber, eng. DDD? TT: 64:35
Before he rose to jazz renown as bassist of the Bad Plus, Reid Anderson put out two keeper Fresh Sound albums and then this, a quintet session that should rank as a classic of turn-of-the-millennium New York jazz. Two tracks, "Prehensile Dream" and "Silence Is the Question,"…
BRIAN DAMKROGER
The Smithereens: Especially for You
Enigma ST-73208 (LP). 1986. Don Dixon, prod.; James A. Ball, Gray Russell, Carol Cafiero, Paul Special, Frank Pekoc, engs. AAA. TT: 44:14
Especially for You isn't just a great and great-sounding rock album, it might just be the rock album. "Blood and Roses" got all the attention, and yes, it truly does reach in and grab your soul. But the real stunners are the two cuts that precede it, "In a Lonely Place" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep." Suzanne Vega's background vocal in the former is spectacular, and…
STEVE GUTTENBERG
The Spencer Davis Group: The Best of the Spencer Davis Group
EMI America CDP 7 46598 2 (CD). 1987. AAD? TT: 34:06
If you've had your fill of Auto-Tuned and/or Pro Tooled tunes and crave musical authenticity, travel back to mid-'60s British R&B—specifically, to this collection. It may have been guitarist Spencer Davis's group, but it was Steve Winwood's singing and keyboards that put the band over the top with two Stateside megahits, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man." The formula for all 12 tracks here is simple enough: The group pours…
RICHARD LEHNERT
Molly Drake: Molly Drake
Squirrel Thing ST-4 (mono CD). 2012. Recorded by Rodney Drake; John Wood, Cally, prods.; Simon Heyworth, mastering. A–D. TT: 37:31
In my small town is a shop, less an antique shop than a compendium of ephemera—things not valued in their own time, or ever intended to be kept or cherished. The shopkeeper sometimes binds together similar items—postcards, concert programs, tickets—in small albums of plastic sleeves. I once opened one of these tiny volumes to find a series of strips of thin, colored pasteboard, each the…
PAUL MESSENGER
Was (Not Was): Born to Laugh at Tornadoes
Geffen GEF 25592 (UK LP). 1983. Don Was, prod., mix; Jack Tann, David Was, prods.; Robert Kinkel, asst. eng.; Duane Bradley, Ken Collier, mix. AAA. TT: 35:31
Was (Not Was): Born to Laugh at Tornadoes
Geffen GEF 25592 (UK LP). 1983. Don Was, prod., mix; Jack Tann, David Was, prods.; Robert Kinkel, asst. eng.; Duane Bradley, Ken Collier, mix. AAA. TT: 35:31
I don't know how this LP found its way into my collection in the early 1980s, but I've no regrets. Having lost it for years, I've now rediscovered what turns out to be a real gem. It's beautifully recorded throughout, and shows such great variety in both style and personnel that categorization is impossible. Each track comes as a fresh surprise, and none more than…
MARKUS SAUER
Vincent Segal: T-Bone Guarnerius
Vincent Segal, electric & acoustic cello; Magic Malik, flute, vocals; Glenn Ferris, trombone; Gilles Coronado, Seb Martel, guitar; Piers Faccini, guitar, vocals; Vic Mona, mandolin; Pascal Palisco, accordion; Mama Chandja, vocals
Label Bleu LBLC 6646 (CD). 2003. Pierre Walfisz, prod.; Philippe Teissier Du Cros, eng. ADD? TT: 66:06
Hot on the heels of my selection for R2D4 2014 of Chamber Music, his collaboration with Ballaké Sissoko, let me introduce you to another Vincent Segal album. T-Bone Guarnerius…
Call me stuck in the 1970s, or stuck in two-channel audio, but for me surround sound still conjures the idea of quadraphonic sound, which if I’m not mistaken was kind of like LaserDisc, or DVD-A: ideas whose time never came. To be fair, I also live in a New York apartment and the chance of me optimizing my environment to take full advantage of 5.1 recordings is nil. I have heard 5.1 recordings, recorded in surround which is key, played on a proper rig, that have been a very pleasurable listening experience, and one very different, though not necessarily better, that those in the two-channel…
Hats off and heads down. Let Joe Grado's passing fill our collective hearts with enduring feelings of gratitude (for what Joe brought to the quality and character of the audio industry over six decades) and respect (for his myriad inventions and human fortitude that delivered musical joy and aural insights to countless listeners and audio professionals throughout the world).
Joe Grado was a mechanic, an engineer, an inventor (with scores of patents), an inveterate tinkerer, an artist, an operatic tenor, and an old-school American entrepreneur. Joe Grado and Saul Marantz can legitimately…