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[10] Frederic Chopin: Scherzo in b-flat, Op.31 (ADD) 9:49
Anna Maria Stanczyk (Hamburg Steinway piano)
Recording Venue: Derngate Centre, Northampton, England
Recording Date: September 22, 1983
Recording Engineer: John Atkinson
Microphone: Calrec Soundfield Mk.III, set to coincident figure-8s at 90 degrees
Recorder: ReVox A77 ¼" open-reel recorder at 15ips (CCIR EQ)
Transfer to digital: Nakamichi 1000 R-DAT
Digital Transfer Engineer: John Atkinson
Original commercial releases: 1984, Ensemble ENS 118 Real-Time cassette (Whitetower…

[11] Improvisation on Jerome Kern's "I'm Old Fashioned" (DDD) 3:39
Bruce Dunlap (acoustic guitar)
Recording Venue: Tijeras, NM
Recording Date: December 5, 1989
Recording Engineer: Robert Harley
Microphones: two EAR The Mics, set to omnidirectional pattern, spaced by 18"
Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M
Recorder: Nakamichi 1000 R-DAT

[12] Bruce Dunlap: "Threedledum" (DDD) 4:16
Bruce Dunlap (acoustic guitar), Dan Kolton (double bass)
Recording Venue: Chapel of Loretto, Santa Fe, NM
Recording Date: August 1989
…

[13] George Gershwin: "Summertime" (the "Lesley Test") (DDD) 1:51
(Lyrics by DuBose Heyward & Ira Gershwin)
Lesley Olsher (soprano)
Recording Venue: Stereophile's dedicated listening room, Santa Fe, NM
Recording Date: November 3, 1989
Recording Engineers: Robert Harley, Dick Olsher
Microphones: two EAR The Mics, set to cardioid pattern, in ORTF configuration
Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M
Recorder: Nakamichi 1000 R-DAT

As regular readers of Stereophile will be aware, the "Lesley Test" is an essential part of Senior…

[14] Robert Schumann: Romance, Op.94 No.1 (AAD) 3:04
Gary Woodward (flute), Brooks Smith (New York Steinway piano)

[15] Robert Schumann: Romance, Op.94 No.2 (AAD) 3:42
Gary Woodward (flute), Brooks Smith (New York Steinway piano)

[16] Robert Schumann: Romance, Op.94 No.3 (AAD) 4:09
Gary Woodward (flute), Brooks Smith (New York Steinway piano)

[17] Robert Schumann: Romance, Op.94 No.3 (AAD) 4:13
Gary Woodward (flute), Brooks Smith (New York Steinway piano)

[18] Robert Schumann: Romance No.3 (ADC Comparison Test) (…

[19] J.S. Bach: Concerto in d, after Vivaldi, BWV 596, Allegro (AAD with preemphasis) 4:50
James Johnson (Flentrop organ)
Recording Venue: Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Recording Date: 1979
Recording Engineers: Peter W. Mitchell, Brad Meyer
Microphones: four Nakamichi CM-700s, two cardioid capsules in ORTF configuration, two widely spaced omnidirectional capsules
Microphone preamplifier: Mystic Valley Audio custom mixer
Recorder: ReVox A77 ¼" open-reel recorder at 15ips, with dbx noise reduction
Transfer to…

[20-31] 1/3-octave warble tones at -20dB (DDD). All 0:22 except Track 20, which is 1:01
Center frequencies: 1kHz, 200Hz, 160Hz, 125Hz, 100Hz, 80Hz, 63Hz, 50Hz, 40Hz, 31.5Hz, 25Hz, and 20Hz

These warble-tone tracks were recorded on the Nakamichi 1000 from the output of an Old Colony Sound Lab warble-tone generator, the frequency quoted being the approximate center frequency of each. The generator contains a sinewave oscillator that is frequency-modulated at a rate of 5Hz or so; this is fast enough that the effect of low-frequency room resonances…

Thanks for the Test CD

Editor: I am writing to highly praise the duo of Bruce Dunlap and Dan Kolton—I hope they come out with a record, CD, or tape—excellent music...my cats were bemused by the dog recordings!—Brian Paulsens, Grand Forks, ND

Copyright & a long memory

Editor: Do I get residuals for playing in the 1948 High School Band whose recording was featured on the Stereophile Test CD? I can tell you stories of J. Gordon Holt's appearance in…

Editor: It was the best of discs, it was the worst of discs. But it was worth the money just for the microphone tests.

While recorded sound can never sound like the real thing, and listeners pick the kind of distortion they like, audiophiles seem the most offended by realistic reproduction, and seem to prefer some obviously exaggerated and unnatural sound. (Why else would audiophiles go to concerts with funny-looking ear extensions when the real sound is available to all, at no extra charge, with natural unaided ears?)

And why else would they…

Editor: I had as much fun toying with your first Test CD as I could see that you had in producing it. Ralph, the dog, sounds almost startlingly real as he barks from my speakers. And somehow, I did not expect your resident "Cheapskate" to have such a rich voice. Has he ever worked as a radio announcer/personality?

As to the various microphones, not only was I astounded at the striking differences between them, I was equally surprised to discover how bad some were! Of course, I have not heard J. Gordon Holt in person; but I could tell that the Shure SM-57 and…

Editor: I was extremely relieved to discover your little note packed with the Stereophile Test CD. You know, the one that says a free replacement will arrive within 8 weeks. The reason for my gratification? My CD arrived cracked in half (due to the misdirected efforts of the letter-carrier in attempting to make sure the parcel fit in my mailbox).

While I in no way intend this letter as a commentary on the postal system (when confronted by me, the letter-carrier said "he didn't hear it crack"), the simple fact is, the CD was enclosed in an ordinary, flimsy…