DC offset, the ground switch, and spikes encore
Next, we listened to sound before and after calibration for DC offset. With DC offset compensated, three of Wolff's favorite test tracks—Kham Meslien's "Ta confiance" from the album Fantômes... Futurs (24/48 FLAC, Heavenly Sweetness/Qobuz), Rachael Yamagata's album version of "Duet" with Ray LaMontagne, from Elephants ... Teeth Sinking Into Heart (16/44.1 FLAC, Warner Records/Qobuz), and Jamie Woon's "Skin" from Making Time (16/44.1 FLAC, Polydor Records/Qobuz)—sounded more intimate, natural, clear, present, sharply defined, detailed,…
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Erin Morley & Lawrence Brownlee: Golden Age
Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ivan Repušić, cond.
Pentatone PTC 5187400 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2025. Morley, Brownlee, others, prods.; Michael Havenstein, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ivan Repušić, cond.
Pentatone PTC 5187400 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2025. Morley, Brownlee, others, prods.; Michael Havenstein, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
For lovers of the human voice—those who enjoy seeing how far it can stretch and opera buffs with a soft spot for bel canto glories—Golden Age is sheer pleasure. More than a host of bonbons, it showcases two of today's finest high-flying 19th century specialists, tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Erin Morley, in their glorious prime.…
Sometimes speakers talk to me. Usually when they do, they ask me to move them, or to move myself—the listening position—to suit them. The first time I recall experiencing this was at a Sonus faber listening event at the old McIntosh House in Manhattan—the first one, before they sold that one and got another one. That day, several speakers from a new Sonus faber line were being auditioned in various rooms throughout the mansion. As I listened to a smaller pair in a smaller room, I noticed I was leaning to the side. It was an off-center setup, with only a couple of feet between the speaker and…
David and Alma Wilson must be doing something right. They've been married for 50 years, and for 36 years, they've owned and operated Accent on Music on Main Street in Mount Kisco, New York, about an hour north of New York City. In a recent, lively Zoom conversation with the Wilsons, it became apparent that staying the course is a viable approach, for marriage and for business.
Ever since Accent opened in 1989, David and Alma have stayed true to their values and preferences. They sell vinyl records. They never stopped, even when cassettes and then CDs took over, and it seemed as if vinyl…
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto; Andrew Staples, tenor. Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, cond.
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902740 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2026. Jiri Heger, prod., eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto; Andrew Staples, tenor. Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, cond.
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902740 (CD; reviewed as 24/96). 2026. Jiri Heger, prod., eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Why award Recording of the Month to a project whose vocal soloists, though thoroughly committed, are in some respects less than ideal? Because the orchestra and conducting in this Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), one of the greatest works of music in the late German romantic idiom, shed such light on Mahler's achievement as…
The technical evolution of the Sabrina V over its forebear, the SabrinaX, can be gleaned by comparing a few key performance indicators. For example, the newcomer still achieves a higher sensitivity than the 87dB specification at 88.9dB despite being slightly less sensitive than the 'X (89.6dB, all ref. 1kHz/2.83V/1m). Also, the V's response is slightly less uniform than its predecessor's (see fig.2) with errors of ±3.80dB/±3.90dB (L/R) versus ±2.85dB/±2.90dB for the 'X (both 200Hz– 20kHz), and it's also a little tougher to drive. However, all this is traded for lower distortion and…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Varèse five-piece music system, dCS Rossini CD/SACD transport; EMM Labs DV2i DAC, Meitner MA3 Integrated DAC; Innuos Nazaré Music Server and PhoenixNET network switch; Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule Deluxe (2); Broadcom/Avago AFBR-5718PZ 1GB SX-SFP, Gen 5 Fiber Optic modules (2); Nordost QSource linear power supply (2); Sonore Audiophile Linear Power Supply; Synology 5-bay 1019+ NAS with Ferrum Hypsos linear/switching hybrid power supply; ASUS AX6000 and RT-AX88U Pro mesh routers, Netgear Nighthawk modem; Apple 2023 iPad Pro…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Modular, dual-mono line-level preamplifier with an 800 × 480 pixel, 24-bit RGB AMOLED display; eight inputs (four balanced on XLR, two each single-ended on RCA and BNC); four outputs (two fully balanced on XLR; one each single-ended on RCA and BNC). Relay-based input switching; 20-bit R-2R–based analog volume control with 236 0.5dB steps. Switchable, local and global feedback, absolute phase and mono settings. Max levels, input and output: +29dBu (16V RMS) balanced, +23dBu (8V RMS) single-ended. Input impedance: selectable 94k ohms or 600 ohms…
Brian Damkroger
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band: Ultimate Hits: Rock And Roll Never Forgets
Capitol Records 509999 41298 23 (Qobuz). 2011. Bob Seger, Punch Andrews, prods.; Brian Gardner, Robert Vosgien, engs.
My first choice this year was Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's 2020 LP Live Farewell at Madison Square Garden. It's a fantastic showcase of what makes Bob Seger so great, and we of a certain age find ourselves singing along with everyone in the audience. Unfortunately, it's a bootleg (albeit widely available), so out it went, and I set about…
Larry Birnbaum
Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis
Mary Halvorson, guitar; Adam O'Farrill, trumpet; Jacob Garchik, trombone; Patricia Brennan, vibraphone; Nick Dunston, bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Olivia De Prato, Maya Bennardo, violins; Victor Lowrie Tafoya, viola; Thomas J. Borden, cello
Nonesuch 7559791273 (CD). 2022. John Dietrich, prod.; Chris Allen, Scott Hull, engs.
Who says jazz is dead? Not Mary Halvorson, a former Anthony Braxton pupil who has reset the parameters of the avant-garde. A far cry from the screechy free jazz of the late 1960s, her sophisticated…