Guy Lemcoe
BACH: The Six Partitas
Glenn Gould, piano
Columbia M2S 693 (2 LPs), CBS M2K 42402 (2 CDs). Howard Scott, Paul Myers, prods. AAA/AAD. TT: 97:45 Gould's idiosyncratic performances of these six suites gently lift the listener above the everyday musical experience. He performs with such introspection that the listener seems a self-conscious voyeur. Some have said these recordings sound dry and sterile. I suggest these critics get better systems. My mint, gray-label "360 Sound" pressing presents a superbly focused image of the soloist in an intimate acoustic which…
Thomas J. Norton
THE CHIEFTAINS: The Celtic Harp: A Tribute to Edward Bunting
With Janet Harbison, Belfast Harp Orchestra
RCA 61490-2 (CD only). Paddy Moloney, prod.; Brian Masterson, eng.; Spencer Chrislu, Dave Dondorf, asst. engs. ADD. TT: 54:42 Much of this compilation is adapted from Irish harp music compiled and published by harp aficionado Edward Bunting in the late 18th century. It's a delight from beginning to end, combining the infectious music-making of the Chieftains---veteran purveyors of traditional Irish music---with the unconventional yet euphonious sound of a…
Markus Sauer
ILLINOIS JACQUET: The Blues; That's Me!
Illinois Jacquet, tenor sax, bassoon; Wynton Kelly, piano; Tiny Grimes, guitar; Buster Williams, bass; Oliver Jackson, drums
Prestige 7731/Fantasy OJCCD-614 (LP/CD). Don Schlitten, prod.; Danforth Griffiths, eng. AAA/ADD. TT: 43:07 I recommend this record as an example of what's offered from Fantasy's Original Jazz Classics catalog, which brings to a new audience wonderful records in mostly good, sometimes excellent remasterings which occasionally surpass the original pressings. This record's highlight is a bassoon version of…
Allen St. John
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
Columbia JC/CK 32432 (LP/CD). Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, prods.; Louis Lahav, eng. AAA/AAD. TT: 46:50
Channeling Van Morrison and Eddie Floyd as much as Elvis, a 24-year-old Springsteen entered 914 Studios in the Summer of '73 to record his second album, not knowing if he'd get the chance to make a third. He emerged with one of the most densely populated, fullest albums ever committed to tape. Springsteen's tragicomic tales about Spanish Johnny, the Singing Junkman, and a cast of thousands are…
Sam Tellig
FRANK SINATRA: The Columbia Years, 1943-1952: The Complete Recordings
Frank Sinatra, The Voice; orchestras under the direction of Axel Stordhal, Percy Faith, Harry James, Mitch Miller, Xavier Cugat, Sy Oliver, Hugo Winterhalter, Morris Stoloff, George Siravo, Jeff Alexander, Mitchell Ayres; With: Phil Moore Four, Tony Mottola Trio, Page Cavanaugh Trio, Metronome All-Stars, Alvy West & the Little Band; Additional vocals by Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Mitch Miller Singers, Modernaires, Charioteers
Columbia CXK 48673 (12 CDs only). Joe Higgins, Morty…
While large, floorstanding speakers appear to offer the most material for the buck, I feel that small stand-mounted speakers both offer the best value in sound quality, as well as standing the best chance of sounding good in moderate-sized listening rooms. In recent months Stereophile has reviewed a varied group of such speakers. In order of descending price, these include the Acoustic Energy AE2 Signature ($5495/pair, November '95); Dzurko Acoustics Jaguar ($4500/pair, reviewed elsewhere in this issue); Totem Mani-2 ($3995/pair, February '96); Platinum Audio Solo ($2498/pair, November '95…
The CDM 1's tonal balance was fundamentally neutral. Voices were reproduced without any lispiness or chesty boom, two colorations endemic among affordable loudspeakers. While the CDM 1's bass didn't go as low as that of the Silver Signature, which has a significantly larger cabinet as well as a larger-diameter woofer, it was quite impressive for what is still a small speaker. There was some slight exaggeration of the upper bass; not enough to be annoying, but sufficient to make me feel the speaker was a little larger than it really is. On classical music, this added a satisfying bloom to the…
Sidebar 1: Description Specifications: two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (18mm) metal-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) Kevlar-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 3kHz. Frequency response: 64Hz-20kHz ±2dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 30W minimum.
Dimensions: 15" (381mm) H by 9" (229mm) W by 11" (280mm) D. Weight: 18 lbs each.
Serial numbers of review samples: 008013/14.
Price: $1100/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 247.
Manufacturer: B&W Loudspeakers, Ltd., Meadow Road, Worthing, West…
Sidebar 2: Review Context My relatively small room measures around 19' by 16.5' with a 9' ceiling. Each of the loudspeakers was positioned for the best sound (with only one pair of loudspeakers in the listening room at a time), generally some 3' from the rear wall (which is faced with books and LPs) and approximately 5' from the side walls (which also have bookshelves covering some of their surfaces). Each pair of speakers sat on 24" Celestion Si stands, these filled with lead shot and spiked to the concrete floor beneath the rug/pad. Although none of the speakers had major cabinet…
Sidebar 3: Measurements I estimated the CDM 1's B-weighted sensitivity to be around 86dB/2.83V/m, a typical figure for a smallish speaker. Its impedance traces (fig.1) revealed it to be a relatively undemanding load for an amplifier, with minimum values around 5 ohms in the lower midrange and high treble. The reflex port tuning is indicated by the "saddle" in the magnitude trace at 40Hz. Note the slight glitch in both magnitude and phase traces between 900Hz and 1kHz, this a clue to the presence of some kind of resonance.
Fig.1 B&W CDM 1, electrical impedance (solid…
