Daniel Durchholz
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: Will the Circle Be Unbroken
EMI America CDPB 7 46589 2 (2 CDs). 1972. William E. McEuen, prod.; Rick Horton, Rex Collier, engs. AAD. TT: 119:30 When I was a high school student back in the late '70s, one of my part-time jobs was as a Saturday-night deejay at a country radio station in rural Missouri. Country's Top 40 was utter dreck then, as it pretty much is now, so every week I'd dig into the station's archives for a few things to play that would make it seem worthwhile coming in for another week. I was delighted when I discovered Will the…
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Jon Iverson
JOHN LENNON: Anthology
Capitol C2 8 30614 2 (4 CDs). 1998. Yoko Ono, prod.; Rob Stevens, prod., eng.; Mike Rew, Chris Habeck, Mike Anzelowitz, asst. engs. AAD. TT: 4:27:40 There's no way a music lover can pick only two albums each year for the annual "R2D4," so I thought a four-CD boxed set might be a way of sneaking some extra notes under RB's radar. This monumental set appeared late in '98, but nothing I heard in '99 could dislodge it from the top spot. This is as much a sentimental choice as anything else, and by now most folks know whether they like John Lennon or…
JOHN LENNON: Anthology
Capitol C2 8 30614 2 (4 CDs). 1998. Yoko Ono, prod.; Rob Stevens, prod., eng.; Mike Rew, Chris Habeck, Mike Anzelowitz, asst. engs. AAD. TT: 4:27:40 There's no way a music lover can pick only two albums each year for the annual "R2D4," so I thought a four-CD boxed set might be a way of sneaking some extra notes under RB's radar. This monumental set appeared late in '98, but nothing I heard in '99 could dislodge it from the top spot. This is as much a sentimental choice as anything else, and by now most folks know whether they like John Lennon or…
Paul Messenger
MASSIVE ATTACK: Blue Lines
Wild Bunch WBRCD1, Virgin 7 86228 2 (CD, also originally released on LP). 1991. Massive Attack, Jonny Dollar, prods., mix. ADD TT: 45:09 Today's dance-music genres seem to be becoming increasingly ephemeral, disposable, and self-referential, but Massive Attack's handful of albums provide a soundtrack to the 1990s that stand out as beacons of class and originality. Usually referred too as "trip-hop," MA's music has only a passing resemblance to hip-hop, rap, big beat, drum'n'bass, and other dance styles. Smooth, subtle, and fundamentally…
MASSIVE ATTACK: Blue Lines
Wild Bunch WBRCD1, Virgin 7 86228 2 (CD, also originally released on LP). 1991. Massive Attack, Jonny Dollar, prods., mix. ADD TT: 45:09 Today's dance-music genres seem to be becoming increasingly ephemeral, disposable, and self-referential, but Massive Attack's handful of albums provide a soundtrack to the 1990s that stand out as beacons of class and originality. Usually referred too as "trip-hop," MA's music has only a passing resemblance to hip-hop, rap, big beat, drum'n'bass, and other dance styles. Smooth, subtle, and fundamentally…
Wes Phillips
IAN TYSON: Old Corrals and Sagebrush & Other Cowboy Culture Classics
Bear Family BCD 15437 (CD). 1989. Ian Tyson, prod.; Richard Harrow, eng. AAD. TT: 69:05 Ian Tyson has produced the classic cowboy record here. His renditions of "Leaving Cheyenne" and "Whoopie Ti Yi Yo" sound definitive, but the disc's true strength lies in Tyson's own songs about life as a working rancher in the West today (which he is), as well as some well-chosen covers on the same subject. The West Tyson sings of is defined by hard work and low wages, and his love of the land and of the lore…
IAN TYSON: Old Corrals and Sagebrush & Other Cowboy Culture Classics
Bear Family BCD 15437 (CD). 1989. Ian Tyson, prod.; Richard Harrow, eng. AAD. TT: 69:05 Ian Tyson has produced the classic cowboy record here. His renditions of "Leaving Cheyenne" and "Whoopie Ti Yi Yo" sound definitive, but the disc's true strength lies in Tyson's own songs about life as a working rancher in the West today (which he is), as well as some well-chosen covers on the same subject. The West Tyson sings of is defined by hard work and low wages, and his love of the land and of the lore…
Kalman Rubinson
MAHLER: Symphony 9
With Commentary Disc by Benjamin Zander
Benjamin Zander, Philharmonia Orchestra
Telarc 3CD-80527 (CD). 1999. Robert Woods, David St. George, prods.; Adam Philip, eng. DDD. TT: 87:02 (Commentary disc: 76:42) While there's still a lot of time left, this magnificent recording is an appropriate millennial nominee for "R2D4." First, the Ninth is Mahler's final completed symphonic statement on fate and human existence, and, at the end of his century, there is not yet a more trenchant musical commentary. Second, this recording represents the first…
MAHLER: Symphony 9
With Commentary Disc by Benjamin Zander
Benjamin Zander, Philharmonia Orchestra
Telarc 3CD-80527 (CD). 1999. Robert Woods, David St. George, prods.; Adam Philip, eng. DDD. TT: 87:02 (Commentary disc: 76:42) While there's still a lot of time left, this magnificent recording is an appropriate millennial nominee for "R2D4." First, the Ninth is Mahler's final completed symphonic statement on fate and human existence, and, at the end of his century, there is not yet a more trenchant musical commentary. Second, this recording represents the first…
David Sokol
STEVIE WONDER: Songs in the Key of Life
Motown 374 630 340 2 (2 CDs). 1976. Stevie Wonder, prod.; John Fischbach, Gary Olazabal, engs. AAD. TT: 104:42 Staggering as it is, Stevie Wonder was barely 26 when he released this musical monolith, a 21-song exploration that bridged the pop and soul worlds with compassion and spirituality, was the rage in the mid-'70s, and continues to sound utterly fresh today. Although Wonder was already a major star (this was his 16th album, after all), the scope of Songs earned him a spot beside Dylan, Lennon, and McCartney as one of the…
STEVIE WONDER: Songs in the Key of Life
Motown 374 630 340 2 (2 CDs). 1976. Stevie Wonder, prod.; John Fischbach, Gary Olazabal, engs. AAD. TT: 104:42 Staggering as it is, Stevie Wonder was barely 26 when he released this musical monolith, a 21-song exploration that bridged the pop and soul worlds with compassion and spirituality, was the rage in the mid-'70s, and continues to sound utterly fresh today. Although Wonder was already a major star (this was his 16th album, after all), the scope of Songs earned him a spot beside Dylan, Lennon, and McCartney as one of the…
David Vernier
BENJAMIN BRITTEN: Britten the Performer
Fauré: La Bonne Chanson, Op.61. Purcell: Five Songs (realized by B. Britten). Schubert: Three Songs. Schumann: Liederkreis, Op.39.
Peter Pears, tenor; Benjamin Britten, piano
BBC Music BBCB 8006-2 (mono CD). 1958-59/1999. Ivor Walsworth, prod.; Derek Horsman, remastering eng. ADD. TT: 74:58 We are very fortunate to have such priceless musical treasures as this document, recorded live, of one of this century's most fruitful and mutually inspiring artistic partnerships. That something very special is going on in these…
BENJAMIN BRITTEN: Britten the Performer
Fauré: La Bonne Chanson, Op.61. Purcell: Five Songs (realized by B. Britten). Schubert: Three Songs. Schumann: Liederkreis, Op.39.
Peter Pears, tenor; Benjamin Britten, piano
BBC Music BBCB 8006-2 (mono CD). 1958-59/1999. Ivor Walsworth, prod.; Derek Horsman, remastering eng. ADD. TT: 74:58 We are very fortunate to have such priceless musical treasures as this document, recorded live, of one of this century's most fruitful and mutually inspiring artistic partnerships. That something very special is going on in these…
This series of articles is based on a paper presented at the 103rd Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, September 1997. The preprint, "Loudspeakers: What Measurements Can Tell Us—And What They Can't Tell Us!," AES Preprint 4608, is available from the AES, 60 East 42nd Street, Room 2520, New York, NY 10165-0075. The AES internet site, www.aes.org, offers a secure transaction page for credit-card orders.
In the first two articles in this series, I examined the loudspeaker's electrical behavior and how it behaves in the time domain. But the on-axis amplitude response is the most…
Second is the microphone mounting arrangement. The MLS technique is very sensitive to reflections of the sound emitted by the loudspeaker. It is important, therefore, to mount the microphone so that any reflections from the stand and its associated hardware occur after or at the same time as the inevitable reflections from the room boundaries. The B&K microphone is held endwise by a female XLR plug that is flush-mounted into a 2m length of ½" plumbing pipe. This pipe is held in a conventional microphone stand, but with the upright and clamp 1.5m away from the microphone capsule. Fig.23…
A final matter should be discussed. It is a hidden assumption when measuring a loudspeaker's amplitude response that the microphone is in the far field; ie, is more than a couple of wavelengths away at the lowest frequency of interest. An alternate way of looking at the matter is that the microphone should be at least as far away as the largest dimension of the loudspeaker to be measured. With my standard microphone distance of 50", this assumption will no longer be true for large loudspeakers. With big speakers, such as the various kinds of panel speakers, there will be a proximity effect […