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November 2021 Rock/Pop Record Reviews

Shannon And The Clams: Year of the Spider
Easy Eye Sound (16-bit/44.1kHz streaming on Qobuz). 2021. Dan Auerbach, prod.; Richard Dodd, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ****

Shannon and the Clams celebrate the 1950s and '60s with New Wave and synth-pop colors of the '80s. Their terrific musicianship, led by Shannon Shaw's penetrating voice, make this Oakland band a valuable living archive of the best aspects of rock history.

When life took a stressful turn, Shaw called on the eight-armed Hindu goddess, Durga, which helped her face a lifelong fear of spiders and inspired…

November 2021 Jazz Record Reviews

Johnathan Blake: Homeward Bound
Johnathan Blake, drums; Immanuel Wilkins, alto saxophone; Joel Ross, vibraphone; David Virelles, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass
Blue Note B0034215-02 (auditioned in WAV, available as CD, 24/96 download). 2021. Johnathan Blake, Jimmy Katz, prods.; Tom Tedesco, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

It seems like Johnathan Blake is everywhere these days. He is the drummer of choice for a wide range of bandleaders. Since 2012, he has made four albums under his own name.

The third, Trion, was one of the strongest jazz records of 2019. The…

November 2021 Classical Record Reviews

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin; Isabelle Faust, violin; Antoine Tamestit, viola
Harmonia Mundi 902686.87 (Auditioned as 24/192). 2021. Pegasus Musikproduktion: Florian B. Schmidt, prod.; Schmidt, Aki Matusch, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½

Once you hear the vitality and exuberance of these performances and the recording's exceptionally clear, full, natural, colorful, high-resolution sound, you'll understand why the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin followed up its 1998 digital foray into the Brandenburgs with this rerecording. "Make a…

Complicated

Even though I'm the editor of Stereophile, I sometimes struggle to get my audio system to play. It's a little bit embarrassing. Just last night, I put on a record and there was no sound. I figured out the problem immediately: I'd forgotten to turn on the amplifiers. But the reason isn't always so obvious.

Back in the day, our stuff was simple; it just worked. There were power switches, a volume control, a source-selector, maybe a Tape Monitor button. Turn it on, select the right input, set the volume, and put on a record. If there's no music, make sure the Tape Monitor isn't pressed.…

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker

The Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V ($135,000–$151,000/pair) is the biggest, heaviest, most expensive loudspeaker I've had in my listening room. It replaces the original Alexx in Wilson's lineup; Michael Fremer reviewed the earlier Alexx, bought it, and owned it until replacing it recently with the Wilson Chronosonic XVX.

The V in the name—Alexx V—isn't the Roman number five; rather, it's a reference to Wilson's most recent proprietary composite material, "V." But more is new here than a new material. Wilson has recast its second-largest regular-production speaker along the lines of its…

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker Page 2

Presumably though—and this is important—it's better to be close to perfect time-alignment than it is to be far away, just as it's better to get close to ideal frequency response than to have frequencies all over the place. That assumption—that closer is better—informs the more modest time-alignment goals of many loudspeaker designers, a frequent objective of which is to simply have one driver hand off to the next in an orderly fashion: First the tweeter, then the upper midrange driver, and so on. JA has measured many loudspeakers that behave this way.

When it comes to time-alignment, it's…

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Multiway, bass-reflex, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" doped-silk dome tweeter in sealed enclosure; one 7" and one 5¾" midwoofer with "doped paper pulp" cones; 10½" and 12½" woofers with "hard paper pulp" cones; front- or rear-facing rectangular port. Frequency response: 20Hz–32kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 92dB/W/m@1 kHz; Nominal impedance: 4 ohms; Minimum impedance: 2.0 ohms at 250Hz.
Dimensions: 66" (1676mm) H × 15 3/4" (400mm) W × 27 7/8" (708mm) D. Weight: 500lb (226.8kg) each.
Finish: Cobalt Blue Satin, 19 other colors.
Serial…

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: SME 30/12 turntable with V-12 tonearm and Ortofon Windfeld Ti cartridge (in for review).
Digital sources: Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit, Roon Nucleus+; Denafrips Avatar CD transport; Synology DS918+ 4-bay Network Attached Storage device with 16TB; TP-Link 8-Port Gigabit network switch (unmanaged); dCS Rossini DAC.
Preamplification: Pass Labs XP-25 phono preamplifier, Pass Labs XP-22 line preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Pass Labs XA60.8 monoblocks.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon &…

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

Because of the Alexx V's size and bulk, I measured its performance in Jim Austin's listening room. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Wilson Audio Alexx V's frequency response in the farfield, an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone for the nearfield and in-room responses, and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the speaker's impedance.

Wilson's Peter McGrath had adjusted the positions of the Alexx V's tweeter and midrange modules so that their axes converged on the positions of JCA's ears, which, with him…

Re-Tales #15: The Beat Goes On

Finding fresh approaches to doing business isn't easy, especially in the current climate. But now it's becoming essential. Audio manufacturers, distributors, and dealers must figure out how to attract new customers while continuing to provide service for existing customers. Neither thing is easily accomplished in an era of change. But failure isn't an option. People with something to sell must connect with customers, and vice versa. Access is key.

Access can be via the internet, plus UPS or FedEx, plus, ideally, a 30-day return policy with free return shipping. But for some large and…