KEITH MOERER
IRON AND WINE: Our Endless Numbered Days
Sub Pop 640 (CD). 2004. Sam Beam, Brian Deck, prods., engs. AAD? TT: 44:49
On the list of people least likely to create great music would have to be a bearded film-studies professor who is also a Miami-based family man. But with Our Endless Numbered Days, Sam Beam, aka Iron and Wine, proved the extraordinary power of his finger-picked acoustic guitar and pure voice, as hushed and intimate as a lover's whisper. The melodies are haunting or beautiful—sometimes both—and Beam's lyrics approach poetry in the best sense of that word.…
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CRAIG ROSEBERRY
MARIANNE FAITHFUL: Before the Poison
ANTI/Epitaph 86732-2 (CD). 2004. PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Hal Willner, Rob Ellis, Head, prods.; Rik Simpson, Head, mix. AAD. TT: 39:04 Legendary rock icon Marianne Faithfull re-emerges with her latest emotional exorcism, Before the Poison. A timeless collection of lenitive euphoria, the set pairs Faithfull's signature slow-burning smoky growl and brooding lyrics with inspired collaborations from contemporary alt rockers PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, and Blur's Damon Albarn. Such tracks as the lo-fi garage-rock opener, "The Mystery of Love,"…
MARIANNE FAITHFUL: Before the Poison
ANTI/Epitaph 86732-2 (CD). 2004. PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Hal Willner, Rob Ellis, Head, prods.; Rik Simpson, Head, mix. AAD. TT: 39:04 Legendary rock icon Marianne Faithfull re-emerges with her latest emotional exorcism, Before the Poison. A timeless collection of lenitive euphoria, the set pairs Faithfull's signature slow-burning smoky growl and brooding lyrics with inspired collaborations from contemporary alt rockers PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, and Blur's Damon Albarn. Such tracks as the lo-fi garage-rock opener, "The Mystery of Love,"…
DAVID PATRICK STEARNS
BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis
Teresa Stich-Randall, soprano; Norma Procter, contralto; Richard Lewis, tenor; Kim Borg, bass; BBC Chorus & Symphony Orchestra; Jascha Horenstein
BBC Music BBCL 4150-2 (2 CDs). 2004. Tony Faulkner, remastering. ADD. TT: 112:06 There comes a point where you close the book on particular artists from the past, having heard their studio recordings at every possible career stage, plus any number of live radio broadcasts. Yet the late, Russian-born conductor Jascha Horenstein continues to astonish from beyond the grave. The truly…
BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis
Teresa Stich-Randall, soprano; Norma Procter, contralto; Richard Lewis, tenor; Kim Borg, bass; BBC Chorus & Symphony Orchestra; Jascha Horenstein
BBC Music BBCL 4150-2 (2 CDs). 2004. Tony Faulkner, remastering. ADD. TT: 112:06 There comes a point where you close the book on particular artists from the past, having heard their studio recordings at every possible career stage, plus any number of live radio broadcasts. Yet the late, Russian-born conductor Jascha Horenstein continues to astonish from beyond the grave. The truly…
Nowadays, when most people think of New Zealand, the first things that probably come to mind are the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, its director, Peter Jackson, or sheep. Certainly, LOTR was a great achievement in film history and, as its auteur, Jackson reaped no small fame for his efforts, as well as multiple Academy Awards and several krillion dollars. The country is also well known as a place where sheep outnumber humans by something like 12 to 1. However, New Zealand is also the source of some very fine audio equipment; both Perreaux and Plinius are proudly headquartered in…
As noted above, Morrison and Thomson went back and forth with the treble voicings of the various SA-250s; in the SA-Reference, they've struck a nearly ideal balance. This amp has unaccented and grainless highs—not too soft, not too forward, the amp's top octaves are now like Baby Bear's bed: just right. Even in this day and age, one still occasionally encounters a solid-state amplifier that doesn't sound quite right on the harmonics generated by orchestral strings. Though they're not yet extinct, such amps are now much less frequently encountered than they were 15 or 20 years ago. In its…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state two-channel power amplifier. Output power (both channels driven, 20Hz–20kHz): 300Wpc RMS into 8 ohms (24.8dBW), 450Wpc RMS into 4 ohms (23.5dBW); 1000Wpc RMS into 8 ohms (30dBW) in bridged and true balanced mono modes. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.2dB, 0dB at 0Hz, –3dB at 70kHz. Distortion: typically <0.05% THD at rated power, 0.1% THD and IM worst case prior to clipping. Current output: 70A short-duration peak per channel (fuse-protected). Risetime: typically <4µs. Input impedance: 47k ohms. Gain: 32dB on RCA inputs, 38dB on…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: SOTA Cosmos Series III turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector XV-1S cartridge.
Digital Sources: Plinius CD-101 CD player, Simaudio Moon Orbiter universal player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead phono stage; VTL TL-7.5 Reference, Audio Research Reference 3 line stages.
Power Amplifiers: Chord SPM14000 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2. Interconnect: Acoustic Zen Silver Reference & Silver Reference II, Nordost Quattro-Fil. Speaker: Nordost Valhalla,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
With both balanced and unbalanced inputs and the capability of being switched on the fly between class-AB and class-A output-stage operation—I would prefer to say "high-bias current" rather than "class-A," as the amplifier does not operate in true class-A up to its specified output power in this mode—the Plinius SA-Reference offers a lot of variety for measurement options. I did a full set of measurements in balanced, class-A mode, with spot checks in unbalanced and class-AB operation.
I preconditioned the amplifier by running both channels at one-third…
MartinLogan's Gayle Sanders has almost single-handedly raised the electrostatic/dynamic hybrid loudspeaker to a position of prominence in the High End. First, there was the MartinLogan Monolith (reviewed in Vol.8 No.3 and Vol.9 No.3), followed by the much more affordable Sequel (reviewed in Vol.11 No.12, Vol.12 Nos.8, 9, and 12, and Vol.14 No.2). Then came the subject of this review, the Quest, and most recently the diminutive Aerius, reviewed by JA elsewhere in this issue.
Looking at the progression from Aerius to Quest, a definite trend is apparent. First, the woofer increases in size…
Sonic Impressions
Young DO (that's Daniel) settled onto the sofa next to me for what was really his first exposure to the Quests. He liked them immediately, and in a big way: "Better than the Sound-Labs!" he quipped, referring to the Sound-Lab A-1s that had recently vacated the reference room.
Young DO (that's Daniel) settled onto the sofa next to me for what was really his first exposure to the Quests. He liked them immediately, and in a big way: "Better than the Sound-Labs!" he quipped, referring to the Sound-Lab A-1s that had recently vacated the reference room.
What a first impression! Was this true? Were the Quests, at a third the price, indeed superior to the A-1s? That observation stuck in the back of my mind, and for the next several weeks I digested its significance. You know, young DO was right—in some respects the Quests were better than the A…