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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…

"Hee, hee, hee!" I cackled maniacally as I listened to Däfos at what I jokingly refer to as a "realistic" volume. The Aerial Acoustics Model 10Ts sounded great—dynamic and uncolored, and seemingly impervious to the most spectacular transients. And detailed? I was hearing stuff I'd never heard on the disc before.

thump thump thump

Like that muffled thumping. I'd listened to this track literally thousands of times and never noticed it before.

thump thump thump

Actually, it was kind of spastic—it didn't really go with anything…

Hmmm. Let's pull out another old friend...ah-ha! Vivaldi recorder concertos by Il Giardino Armonico (Teldec 91852-2). This is early music as death-metal: Vivaldi played at breakneck speed with particular emphasis on dynamic contrast and farfetched modulation. The…

Description: Three-way, floorstanding, dynamic loudspeaker with reflex-loaded bass cabinet and separate tweeter/midrange module. Drive-units: 1" titanium-dome tweeter, 5.3" (136mm) dual Kevlar/epoxy-laminated-cone midrange unit, and 10.7" (271mm) bilaminate composite-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 360Hz, 2.7kHz. Crossover slopes: fourth-order, 24dB/octave, acoustic Linkwitz-Riley. Frequency response: 28Hz-20kHz, -2dB, -6dB at 23Hz. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms, 3 ohms minimum. Amplifier requirements: 50W minimum, >100W…

I measured the Aerial 10T using the DRA Labs MLSSA system (v.10.0A), an Italian Outline speaker turntable, and a B&K 4006 ½" microphone calibrated to be flat on-axis at my typical measuring distances. My estimate of the Aerial's B-weighted sensitivity was exactly to specification at 86dB/W/m. (My congratulations to the 10T's designers for not exaggerating this figure, a practice pandemic among the speaker industry, I've found.) This respectable figure implies that the speaker will play reasonably loud with an amplifier of around 100W.

Its plot of electrical…

Meantime, I have a shopping basket full of Naxos recordings to recommend for this "Records To Die For" issue. Two recommendations? Nah. How about twenty-four! Do your "R2D4" shopping here and save money.

True, the price has gone up. Naxos CDs used to list for $5.99 and retail for $4.99. Now the "suggested" list…

Tellig: The sound of many recent Naxos discs is of demonstration quality. What's behind the improvement?

Heymann: A number of things. We now have our own mastering and production studio in London: K&A Productions. We are co-owners, actually. K is for Klaus, and A is for Andrew Walton, my partner in the studio.

We are able to record in better venues. Venue…