Description: Three-way loudspeaker system. Drive units: 1" soft-dome tweeter, 5" cone midrange, 9" plastic-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 150Hz, 3kHz. Frequency response: 27–150Hz ±3dB, 150Hz–16kHz ±1.5dB, 16kHz–21.5kHz ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 50–300W.
Dimensions: 48" H by 24" W by 9" D. Weight: 95lb each.
Price: $1500/pair, also available for $750/pair directly from the manufacturer (1989); no longer available (2020). Approximate number of dealers: 2 (1989).
Manufacturer: Vortex Acoustical…
search
Sidebar 1: Specifications
In a 2014 profile in the New Yorker, Paul Elie, author of the book Reinventing Bach, wrote, "There it was again: the stinging treble, the spooky overtones, the strings snapping and booming under his hands—the sound of a Tele being played as skillfully and exuberantly as it can be played."
The musician in question was Jim Campilongo, lead guitarist for the Little Willies—the alt-country band that features Norah Jones on piano and vocals—and a player's player whose trio has enjoyed residencies at New York's The Knitting Factory, The Living Room, and Rockwood Music Hall. Indeed, on his 2018…
Sidebar 1: Jim Campilongo's Hi-Fi System
I would call Jim Campilongo an audiophile, but he doesn't think of himself that way. "I watch videos on YouTube sometimes, guys talking about cables or super-expensive speakers. To me, that's an audiophile, if we're going to define one." Fair enough.
Whatever you call him, Campilongo appreciates good sound. His current system is a mix of old and new: Marantz DV8300 universal disc player; Pro-Ject Debut Carbon turntable with Ortofon 2M Red cartridge; McIntosh C 26 solid-state stereo preamplifier (introduced in 1968); Dynaco Dynakit…
Sidebar 2: JC's Signature Sound
A few years ago, Fender released a limited-edition Jim Campilongo Signature Telecaster. (Other Signature Teles have been created for and signed by Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Andy Summers—and Jimmy Page, who also favored a '59 model. That alone gives an idea of the esteem in which he's held in the guitar world.) And not long ago, Newburgh, NY-based luthier Chihoe Hahn worked with Campilongo to create yet another Tele-based signature model, the Hahn Guitars Model C.
Campilongo's session-work toolkit? "I just bring my Telecaster, maybe my 1958…
Sidebar 3: Records by Jim Campilongo
Jim Campilongo & the 10 Gallon Cats (Blue Hen, 1996)
Loose (Blue Hen, 1997)
Table for One (Blue Hen, 1998)
Heavy (Blue Hen, 2000)
Live at the Du Nord (Ethic, 2000)
American Hips (Blue Hen, 2003)
Heaven Is Creepy (Blue Hen, 2006)
Orange (Vinyl, Blue Hen, 2009)
Dream Dictionary (Blue Hen, 2014)
Last Night, This Morning (Vinyl, Blue Hen, 2015)
Live at the Rockwood Music Hall NYC (Vinyl, Blue Hen, 2018)
Best of Jim Campilongo (Vinyl, 2020, Sundazed)
On May 5, Joel Davis, founder and CEO of JD Events (JDE), the company that mounts the annual AXPONA—Audio Expo North America—proposed a “rollover plan” settlement for companies that had committed funds to the canceled 2020 show, which had been scheduled for April, postponed until August, and then, finally, canceled. The plan attempts to “right the ship in the midst of this pandemic storm” and to demonstrate the company's “long-term commitment” to continuing to serve the audio industry. Many exhibitors were unhappy that, in canceling the show, did not offer refunds of funds already committed…
At the end of April, Adrian Low, the proprietor of Toronto retailer Audio Excellence, emailed me. "I've been interviewing audio luminaries for some time," Adrian wrote, "partly because I am so interested in how they started, their experiences, and also to share these with fellow audio enthusiasts." Adrian told me that they match and donate all the funds they receive from these videos to the Salvation Army (footnote 1). He had just posted video interviews with Dan D'Agostino and Wilson Audio's Peter McGrath to the store's YouTube channel and asked if he could interview me.
We connected…
On Sunday, March 22, at 8pm, the state of New York shut down, governor's orders. Here in the Big City, most stores are closed—even Starbucks, or at least the ones near me. In my neighborhood, up on Broadway, a grocery store is open, and a drugstore, a hardware store, and a couple of bodegas. Some bars and restaurants are open for takeout only, some advertising COCKTAILS TO GO in big black letters painted on bedsheets—New Orleans comes to NYC. (Meanwhile, New Orleans itself, also a coronavirus hotspot, apparently is desolate, the bars closed, a hard thing to picture.)
Here in the city,…
Eriks Eenvalds: Translations
Portland State Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry, cond.
Naxos 8.574124 (CD, auditioned as 24/96 WAV). 2020. Erick Lichte, prod.; John Atkinson, Doug Tourtelot, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Portland State Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry, cond.
Naxos 8.574124 (CD, auditioned as 24/96 WAV). 2020. Erick Lichte, prod.; John Atkinson, Doug Tourtelot, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
I'll admit to a conflict of interest in choosing as Recording of the Month a work co-engineered by our very own John Atkinson. We—I, who nominated the piece, and Editor Jim Austin, who ultimately chose the winner—have both worked with John for years. And I'd never deny it was moving to sit next to him during his recent visit to Port Townsend following the…
I own and enjoy loudspeakers from seemingly opposite ends of the audiophile spectrum: I'm a huge fan of minimally efficient yet otherwise overachieving flat-panel designs, such as my Magnepan LRS speakers. Yet I'm just as smitten with another, equally outside-the-norm alternative: high-sensitivity full-range loudspeakers, such as my Zu Omens—especially when driven by tube electronics. It's an ongoing yin and yang that keeps my home system in a constant state of flux: Alternating between loudspeakers that use such different technologies, while maintaining relatively optimal positioning for…