Okay Computer Sound
I've been using a pretty-good-sounding and very inexpensive (ca $200) Onkyo SE-U55 outboard USB-based converter with my Mac G4. It has optical and coaxial digital as well as analog line inputs and outputs, and built-in A/D and D/A converters so that, with the appropriate recording software (I use Peak LE 2.58 for Mac), I can feed it a cassette deck's analog output and store it digitally on the G4's hard drive. The Onkyo also has a headphone jack with volume control, which the Sutherland 12dAX7 doesn't, so for sheer versatility, the SE-U55 can't be beat. But while the…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: USB-based vacuum-tube D/A converter and preamplifier with USB 1.0 data input. Sample rates supported: 32, 44.1, 48kHz. Digital word length supported: 16 bits. No specifications given. Supplied with USB cable and setup CD-ROM.
Dimensions: 14.75" W by 3" H by 8" D. Weight: 10 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: None visible (pcb is marked "0001").
Price: $1600. Approximate number of dealers: 5.
Manufacturer: Sutherland Engineering, P.O. Box 1633, Lawrence, KS 66044. Tel: (913) 841-3355. Fax: (913) 841-3737. Web: www.12dAX7.com.
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Computers: Apple Macintosh G4, Apple iBook.
Power amplifier: Hafler DH-200.
Loudspeakers: Eminent Technology LFT-11, Acoustic Energy Aego2, and Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 210D powered satellite-subwoofer systems.
Cables: Discovery Cable Essence interconnect.—Michael Fremer
Sidebar 3: Measurements
To test the Sutherland 12dAX7, I used a Dell 866MHz Pentium 3 desktop PC fitted with both USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 ports, with the test signals in WAV format and output using CoolEdit 2000. Installing the device was simple. When the special symmetrical USB cable—with a flat connector at each end—was hooked up, the PC's new hardware wizard recognized the 12dAX7's Burr-Brown PCM2702 chip and installed the necessary driver files from the CD-R supplied by Sutherland. I could then choose the 12dAX7 as the output device from within CoolEdit 2000. I later used my Apple iBook…
When Cantus's artistic coordinator (and Stereophile reader) Erick Lichte phoned me in the summer of 2000 about my recording this Minnesotan male-voice choir, it didn't occur to me that I was entering a long-term relationship. But just as sure as 16-bit digital is not sufficient for long-term musical satisfaction, my first Cantus CD led to a second, and now a third. (All available from this website). For Deep River, I traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the city has spent millions of dollars to transform the downtown high school into a gloriously warm-sounding, state-of-the-art…
The outputs of the DPA 4003 omnis were brought up to line level with their power supply-preamp then fed to two channels of an eight-channel Metric Halo MIO 2882—an immensely versatile, FireWire-controlled preamp and A/D converter. This was hooked up to an Apple Titanium PowerBook G4, and my original plan was to record the two omni channels straight to the laptop's hard drive using Mac OS X and the Bias Peak 3.0 program. However, I could not get a reliable lock with the program clocked from the MIO 2882, which in turn was slaved to the master dCS converter. While the MIO had no trouble locking…
Sidebar 1: Deep River: Track Listing
Deep River, Cantus CTS1203
Cantus is: Brian Arreola, Brad Erbes, Michael Hanawalt, Albert Jordan, Lawrence Williford, Peter Zvanovec (tenors); Kelvin Chan, Alan Dunbar, Adam Reinwald (baritones); Erick Lichte, Tom McNichols, Timothy Takach (basses).
[1] Ezekiel Saw de Wheel, arr. Harry T. Burleigh 1:60
[2] Heav'n, Heav'n, arr. Harry T. Burleigh 1:45
[3] Poor Man Lazrus, arr. Jester Hairston 2:01
[4] King Jesus Is A-Listening, arr. William L. Dawson 3:06
[5] This Ol' Hammer, arr. John W. Work III 6:17
[6] Great God A'Mighty,…
Sidebar 2: Recording Setup
Microphones: two DPA (B&K) 4011 ½" cardioids (ORTF pair), two DPA 4003 ½" omnis (close-spaced pair on Jecklin disc), two EarthWorks QTC-1 ¼" omnis (spaced pair)
Microphone preamps: two Millennia Media HV3Bs (4011s & QTC-1s), DPA HMA4000 high-voltage power supply/preamp and Metric Halo MIO 2882 (4003s)
A/D converters: two dCS 904s (4011s and QTC-1s), Metric Halo MIO 2882 (4003s), all word-clock-synchronized, running at 88.2kHz with 24-bit word length
Session recorders: Nagra-D (QTC-1s), Tascam DA-38 with Prism MR-1024T (4011s), UniQpc 2.4MHz…
Sidebar 3: Who are Cantus?
Cantus was founded in fall 1995 when four students—Brian Arreola, Albert Jordan, Erick Lichte, and Kjell Stenberg—came together in their sophomore year on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, a place renowned for its virtual wellspring of activity in choral music. Their objective was to spend time away from the rigors of college life doing something they enjoyed: singing. During the next two years the ensemble grew to 12 members and began performing at venues on campus.
Three of the four guys were cellists who reveled in playing…
The following letter appeared in May 2004 (Vol.27 No.5):
That's incorrect
Editor: I look forward to hearing Cantus' Deep River CD. However, I have deep reservations and concerns about the premise of the recording. In March (p.53), Erick Lichte is quoted as trying to create a recording that mirrors the African-American experience and goes on to attempt to re-create the ideals of Burleigh, Hairston, and Work.
None of this works. How can a bunch of guys who live in the American Heartland and have been trained in the classical tradition possibly understand the African-American experience…