January 2023…
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Turns out rock stars are human after all. Which means music fans should prepare themselves for the coming toll. The next few years are certain to be brutal: Bob Dylan, 81; Paul Simon, 81; George Clinton, 81; Brian Wilson, 80; Carole King, 80; Keith Richards, 79; Jimmy Page, 79; Sly Stone, 79; Rod Stewart, 78; Neil Young, 77; Pete Townsend, 77, and the inexorability rolls on. The news is even worse among the pre-rock era stars, where it's a matter of any day now: Tony Bennett, 96; Burt Bacharach, 94 (footnote 1); Sonny Rollins, 93. Even the ageless one, Willie Nelson, is 86.
Music Matters, the mostly annual audio showcase from Definitive Audio in Seattle, made a welcome return March 8–9 after a two-year pandemic-imposed hiatus. Divided into two two-hour sessions, the 16th edition of the private, ultra-concentrated audio show in miniature saw invitees moving between 20-minute presentations in four rooms, with ample time left for visiting systems in two others and schmoozing with industry legends.
Between several national and regional product premieres, presenters at Music Matters 2023 emphasized the importance of Definitive Audio (with locations in…
Most of us were not born with musical tastes intact. Tastes develop over time as we learn and experience new music and other things. An open mind, an ear attuned to songs and sound, and a procession of mentors and musical guides make for a musical life that's rich and full. To my way of thinking, the best life has a soundtrack that's varied and constantly expanding.
Which is not to say there aren't transformative events. Prior to my lightning-strike moment—about which, more in a minute—the blues were all around me, as they always are around all of us. As a kid attuned to rock'n'roll,…
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto & Chamber Works
Isabelle Faust, violin; Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, cond.
Harmonia Mundi 902718 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV download). 2023. Jiri Heger, prod.; Aurélien Bourgois & Alix Ewald, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Isabelle Faust, violin; Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, cond.
Harmonia Mundi 902718 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV download). 2023. Jiri Heger, prod.; Aurélien Bourgois & Alix Ewald, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
You might think that by 1931—the year Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) completed his unforgettable Violin Concerto in D Major—orchestral instruments were the same as those used today. Far from it. According to the website of Claire Givens Violins (footnote 1), pure-gut D strings began to disappear after WWI and were…
And to begin with we took out as many [books] as we could. ... We'll take this one and this one, this one, and that one too. ... And we read not one of them all the way through.
At the beginning of the 2022 novel Checkout 19, by Claire-Louise Bennett, I encountered some ideas that resonate in interesting ways with my recent experience of recorded music. The first idea is expressed in the quote above: You take out many books from the library—as many as they'll allow—and you don't read any of them all the way through. There's too much temptation to move from one to the other, "tossing one…
There's a good case to be made that the world's greatest—and strangest—audiophile culture resides in Japan. Probably the most important notion the Japanese have introduced to our hobby is that home audio isn't merely a way of heightening the musical art of others but can be an art in itself. This idea's most flamboyant embodiment was the poet, journalist, chef, and amplifier builder Susumu Sakuma, better known as Sakuma-san.
After having built many amplifiers as a young man, Sakuma-san experienced an epiphany: Amplifiers that measured well often failed to make him feel deeply. He soon…
The La Scalas' sound varies remarkably depending on amplification, and they demand and reward high quality; the prospect of them being driven by a big-box-store receiver fills me with sadness. Choosing the right amplifier to use with them wasn't entirely straightforward and required a fair amount of trial and error. The Klipsches' sky-high sensitivity may suggest otherwise, but a single measurement never tells the whole story. I listened to them with five amplifiers controlled by the superbly transparent and tuneful PrimaLuna EVO 400 line stage; here's what I heard.
Ayre AX-5…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way horn-loaded loudspeaker. High frequencies: Klipsch K-771 compression driver with a 1" polyimide diaphragm loaded with a polymer Tractrix horn. Midrange: Klipsch K-55-X compression driver with a 2" phenolic diaphragm loaded with a polymer exponential horn. Bass: Klipsch 15" K-33-E woofer with fiber-composite cone loaded with an 8' bidirectional folded horn. Crossover frequencies: 450Hz, 4.5kHz. Frequency response: 51Hz–20kHz ±4dB. Sensitivity: 105dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: "8 ohms compatible."
Dimensions: 40" (1016mm) H × 24.25" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Garrard 301 turntable in a Box Furniture Co. plinth; Thomas Schick 12" tonearm and headshell. Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua, Hana Umami Red, Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, Ortofon SPU Classic G, and Zu/Denon 103 cartridges.
Digital sources: Lejonklou Källa, Sonnet Morpheus, and Denafrips Iris DACs; Sonore ultraRendu; Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i5 server running Roon Core.
Preamplification: Shindo Aurieges and PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifiers; Manley Steelhead RC, Sutherland Little Loco, and Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono preamplifiers.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Because of the Klipsch La Scala's bulk—it weighs 201lb—I measured the speaker in AH's apartment. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the La Scala's behavior in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses. The loudspeakers were driven by the Manley Mahi Mahi amplifiers AH used for his auditioning. For the measurements, I left off the grille that covers the high-frequency and midrange horns, as AH preferred the sound without them.
The La Scala's sensitivity is specified as an…