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P-300 with MultiWave part 2 Goldberg then suggested another variant: adding a single odd harmonic to each sinewave fundamental to produce "partial" squarewaves, with flat tops that would allow capacitors in the power supply to be charged for a longer time (footnote 1). In the production version of the MultiWave board, the user can select either a pure sinewave (variable from 50Hz to 120Hz, as before), or one of nine MultiWaves that are sequences of sinewaves or partial squarewaves. For example, the SS1 setting has a 50Hz partial squarewave followed by two 120Hz partial squarewaves; SS4 is a…
P-300 with MultiWave part 3 My final test of the differences made by MultiWaves came about accidentally. I was playing with various settings, and turned off the system at the end of the day. A friend came by the next day to listen to the system and I fired it up. He was duly impressed, and the sound of the system was certainly very good in general terms, but I was a bit disappointed—the sound just didn't seem as open, as unrestrained dynamically as it had been in the past. I then thought of checking the P-300's display. (In my system, I have the display facing away from the listening area.)…
Sidebar: The PS Audio Lab Cable
The way Paul McGowan tells the story on PS Audio's website, the Lab Cable was developed because of a need to have a sonically neutral power cable in the reference system used for the final voicing of the Power Plant. They tried a number of power cables, from off-the-shelf shielded Belden to $2000/meter audiophile cables, but found each had distinctive sonic characteristics.
So they decided to build their own, based on two principles: minimum resistance/impedance and maximum shielding. They used 6-gauge, 1057-strand copper wire for each conductor,…
Robert Deutsch wrote about the P500 Power Plant in February 2006 (Vol.29 No.2):
The product responsible for the return of PS Audio to the audiophile market was the P300 Power Plant. Introduced in 1999, the Power Plant is essentially a power amplifier designed to serve as the AC power source for audio and video equipment, producing clean, low-distortion 115V/60Hz AC (or whatever voltage/frequency is standard in a particular country). While some people thought that this power-regeneration approach represented overkill and an inefficient way of dealing with noise and voltage variations in…
Toljus.
That's what we used to say in Fall River, Massachusetts. It's short for "I tol' youse guys," as in "I toljus that SACD and DVD-Audio mean a push for surround sound."
Sure enough, we got a clearer indication at Home Entertainment 2001 in May that that's exactly what proponents of the two new digital audio formats have in mind: replacing two-channel stereo with multichannel surround—maybe even speakers on the ceiling.
The public thinks that the ultimate is "CD-quality sound"—perfect sound forever, if you will. But to get the new digital audio formats moving, the…
We heard a surround-sound demo of SACD vs DVD-Audio using the same Telarc recording: Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien, with my former music prof at Brown, Erich Kunzel, conducting the Cincinnati Pops. This is from the new 1812 album, which is available in three versions: dual-layer SACD (SACD-60541), DVD-Audio (DVD-70541), and perfect sound forever (CD-80541).
Overall, I didn't care for the sound. I didn't blame the speakers, because I've heard the Maggie 20.1s sound very good indeed in a two-channel setup. Nor did I fault the recording—it sounded swell when I took it home (regular CD, of…
Ken Kessler, for one, is aghast at the prospect that recording engineers will remaster his favorite two-channel rock recordings—moving the drummer over here, the bass player over there, completely rearranging the spatial characteristics of the original recording and making a mockery of what the musicians, perhaps now dead, intended. "Move the drummer over to the left rear, Fred. Bring the vocalist forward a few feet."
Ken's favorite rock recordings—ruined. I'm not so worried myself, because the surround-sound bandwagoneers will likely ignore Ukulele Ike, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como.…
Letters in Response appeared in October 2001 (Vol.24 No.10):
I agree with Mr. Tellig
Editor: I agree with Mr. Tellig: I don't require my audio machinery to convince me that I'm "there." The venue is playback of recorded music in my listening room, which is its own raison d'être. I'm quite satisfied with both the limitations and the wonders of stereo. So, to any and all industry advocates of drums-left-rear: get out of my face and ear with that stuff, please!—Steve Bartelt, sdbart@uniontel.net
Sam's right
Editor: I just read Sam Tellig's thoughts on multichannel…
Kessler's dreaming
Editor: Flattered as I am that Sam Tellig quoted me twice in his August column, I must clear up a matter lest I appear a Luddite. My remark about CD via the MartinLogans sounding good enough "to make you wish that SACD and DVD-A would just go away" has solely to do with my fear and hatred of another format war. We all know what they do to consumer confidence. My dread of SACD and DVD-Audio is not an indicator of my feelings toward multichannel, which I welcome.
In fact, I am considered a "traitor" by elements of the UK audio community precisely because I adore…
NRBQ: Dummy
Edisun ED-17 (CD). 2004. NRBQ, prods.; Billy Shaw, prod., eng.; Alan Stockwell, Joey Interlande, Chris Anderson, engs. AAD? TT: 37:11
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Edisun ED-17 (CD). 2004. NRBQ, prods.; Billy Shaw, prod., eng.; Alan Stockwell, Joey Interlande, Chris Anderson, engs. AAD? TT: 37:11
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Probably the highest compliment that can be paid a group is when even their most fanatical fan base has trouble describing their music—and the compliment is even greater when the group has a history as long as that of the New Rhythm and Blues Quartet. NRBQ has made refusing to settle into a single—or any—musical genre their unique contribution to the canon of western popular music: If it comes into…