Because the Bryston B100-DA has a D/A section and offers both preamplifier output and power-amplifier input jacks, it's really three products in one. (The review sample was not fitted with the phono option.) I performed a full set of measurements on each section and also on the amplifier as a whole. I preconditioned the B100-DA by running it for 60 minutes at one-third power into 8 ohms, which is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-B output stage. At the end of that time the heatsink was way too hot to touch, and even the front panel was hot. The amplifier…
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A.J. van den Hul calls the Black Beauty a phono cartridge "just for friends." In a way, this Black Beauty was made specially for me—it's been tweaked for an undamped linear-tracking arm. Says so right here on the box: "Forsell Version." But before you explode, know that Mr. van den Hul will be pleased to do the same for you. He'll adjust the suspension of any Black Beauty– or Grasshopper-series cartridge for your arm and 'table. Or, should you specify, for "the preamp and load impedance, a particular brand of records to be played, the type of music generally played (jazz being more dynamic…
I began with the headshell more or less parallel to the platter and a VTF (vertical tracking force) of 1.35gm, as routinely used with the 'Hopper IV. A good place to baseline VTF with Grasshopper- and Black Beauty–series cartridges is to apply enough weight that the stylus emerges from the center of the hole in the pole piece (the front face of the cartridge) when under load in a moving groove. This may change over time as the suspension loosens up, so check it again after the cartridge fully breaks in. (van den Hul suggests 200 hours as about right, but you'll be hearing most of what the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Moving-coil phono cartridge with boron cantilever. Stylus shape: VDH-1S. Stylus radii: 2µm x 85µm. Equivalent stylus tip mass: 0.32mg. VTA: 22°. Frequency range: 5Hz–65kHz. Recommended tracking force: 1.3–1.45gm; 1–1.2gm optional. Output voltage at 1kHz at 5.7cm/s: 500µV RMS. Channel separation at 1kHz/10kHz: >30dB. Recommended load impedance: >200 ohms. Recommended tonearm mass: 6–10gm.
Price: $4000 (1999). Standard rebuild: $500. Approximate number of dealers: 35.
Manufacturer: van den Hul BV, The Netherlands Web: www.vandenhul.com.…
Sidebar 2: J-10's Mini R2D4
I'm putting the LPs I spun in a sidebar because the albums are all my absolute favorite best-of-the-best, and heartily, hugely recommended to all music lovers.
Jazz-wise, you can't lose with Milt Jackson and John Coltrane's Bags & Trane (Atlantic 1368), The Modern Jazz Quartet (Atlantic 1265), and Bags Groove (OJC-245, with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Milt Jackson, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke—what a lineup!). Then there's The Timekeepers/Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson (Pablo 2310-896), It Don't Mean a Thing If…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
The Forsell Air Force One did most of the work, with brief but musical moments on Ms. Spotheim's La Luce turntable and SpJ arm. The Forsell and its Flywheel sit atop a pair of Signal Guard II anti-resonance platforms, which help greatly in isolating them both from the environment. Phono cable was exclusively XLO Signature. A good deal of time was logged on the Nagra PL-P preamplifier, using its hot-rod tape outs and with its internal MC transformers engaged, volume adjusted with the input potentiometers. Other preamps included the YBA Signature 6 Chassis…
I have not seen Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and I am not likely to. But the phrase cultural learnings of America is a good jumping-off point for an important topic: cultural literacy.
I am in favor of cultural literacy—at least in theory. In practice, though, problems can crop up. "Cultural literacy" is the notion, fostered by thinkers such as Allan Bloom (The Closing of the American Mind), former Education Secretary William J. Bennett (The Book of Virtues), and E.D. Hirsch (Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know),…
6. Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced?
For further listening: Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood. B.B. King: Live in Cook County Jail. Bill Frisell: Have a Little Faith.
For further listening: Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood. B.B. King: Live in Cook County Jail. Bill Frisell: Have a Little Faith.
Hendrix burst upon the psychedelic music scene in 1967, but he had served a long and difficult apprenticeship in the R&B clubs of the South. He was also an accomplished jazz player. The story is told that Les Paul walked into a club, heard Hendrix auditioning, was flabbergasted, but had to leave before Hendrix had finished playing. Assuming that Hendrix had been hired, Paul later asked the club owner when…
Sidebar: Musical Cultural Literacy For Americans!
1. George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
2. The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
3. Willie Nelson: Red-Headed Stranger
4. Miles Davis: Porgy and Bess
5. Christopher Parkening: Parkening Plays Bach
6. Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced?
7. Duke Ellington: Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
8. Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
9. Roy Harris: Symphony 3
10. Marvin Gaye: What's Going On
11. Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark
12. Steely Dan: Aja
The Cultural Results Are In
In my April 2007 "Fifth Element" column I invited readers to submit their lists of 12 works or recordings that exemplify American musical life—music that people should be aware of, if they aspire to cultural literacy in American music.
The response was very gratifying—just about 65 entries. It was wonderful to see how many readers really know and passionately care about music! The overall quality of the lists was very good. Picking 12 winners was not easy. At all.
I must stress that my judging was entirely subjective and idiosyncratic. I gave…