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Heretofore, SACD's ironclad copy protection has prevented users from getting a digital DSD datastream out of the player and into a modern processor. Thus, users have had to get their DSD from SACD players' analog outputs, which has resulted in great competition among manufacturers to offer the best D/A conversion and analog outputs for the buck. It has also resulted in arguments and finger-pointing about direct conversion of DSD to analog vs conversion via intermediary transcoding to PCM. All that was quashed with the arrival of the universal players from Oppo and Pioneer, which output DSD…
Sidebar: Recordings In The Round
ÅM: SONaR: Music for Harp & Accompaniment
Vere Meininge, Dette Blanke No, Det Var Mjukt
Ellen Segersted Bødtker, electric & acoustic harps; Berit Norbakken Solset, soprano; Hildegunn Riise, speaker; Alexandra Opsahl, recorder; Grex Vocalis (Carl Høgset, cond.), Oslo Kammersolister
2L 2L51SABD (SACD/CD+Blu-ray)
Yet another wonderful release from 2L! This set of works by Norwegian composer Magnar Åm has duplicate programs on SACD (5.0-channel DSD) and Blu-ray (5.0 dts MA, 5.0 LPCM 24/96, 2.0 LPCM24/96), and includes both discs.…
As founder of California-based Vacuum Tube Logic of America, David Manley is at the forefront of the current renaissance in vacuum-tube audio equipment. In addition to manufacturing some highly regarded audiophile components, VTL has introduced a line of tubed professional equipment that is finding its way into recording studios. David has a lifetime of experience in tube electronics, recording studio design, disc cutting, music recording, and most recently, analog/digital and digital/analog converter design.
David is highly opinionated, outspoken, and controversial. He expresses his…
We were talking earlier about analog and digital. I played some tapes at an AES meeting several years ago and they couldn't wait to say "Listen to all that hiss and horrible analog garbage. It's outclassed necrophiliac stuff here. It's not relevant anymore." And as you well know better than anybody in the magazine industry, the bulk of the stuff today is being mixed to 30ips half-inch analog. It's the medium of choice, even when budget constraints aren't an issue. So what does that tell you?
I think the AES does an outstanding job. I really believe that. I just think they're a bit over…
Audiophiles constantly seek ways to improve the experience of hearing reproduced music. Preamps are upgraded, digital processors are compared, turntables are tweaked, loudspeaker cables are auditioned, dealers are visited, and, yes, magazines are read—all in the quest to get just a little closer to the music.
These pursuits have one thing in common: they are all attempts by physical means to enjoy music more. But there's another way of achieving that goal that is far more effective than any tweak, better than any component upgrade, and more fulfilling even than having carte blanche in…
CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET: Fish Out Of Water
Charles Lloyd, tenor sax, flute; Bobo Stenson, piano; Palle Danielsson, bass; Jon Christensen, drums
ECM 1398 (841 088-2). TT: 57:50
KENNY WHEELER QUINTET: The Widow In The Window
Kenny Wheeler, fluegelhorn, trumpet; John Abercrombie, guitar; John Taylor, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Peter Erskine, drums
ECM 1417 (843 198-2). TT: 61:17
Both: CD only. Jan Erik Kongshaug, eng.; Manfred Eicher, prod. DDD.
Charles Lloyd, tenor sax, flute; Bobo Stenson, piano; Palle Danielsson, bass; Jon Christensen, drums
ECM 1398 (841 088-2). TT: 57:50
KENNY WHEELER QUINTET: The Widow In The Window
Kenny Wheeler, fluegelhorn, trumpet; John Abercrombie, guitar; John Taylor, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Peter Erskine, drums
ECM 1417 (843 198-2). TT: 61:17
Both: CD only. Jan Erik Kongshaug, eng.; Manfred Eicher, prod. DDD.
This pair of recent ECM releases brings us new music from two master musicians who have not been studio leaders for some time…
"Experience which is not valued is not experienced....Value is at the very front of the empirical procession."—Robert M. Pirsig, Lila
Of my many childhood memories of the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry, one particular exhibit sticks in my mind: a rectangular glass case about 4' long with many brightly colored geometric shapes suspended inside. The case is oriented so that the visitor approaches it from the side, wondering about the significance of this apparently random and meaningless jumble of colors and shapes.
Upon closer examination, the visitor sees an eyepiece…
The Type A has served as Snell Acoustics' flagship loudspeaker since 1974. The Type A Reference System reviewed here is the sixth update of the late Peter Snell's original three-way floorstanding design, and is the most radical departure from Snell's original. Gone is the pair of "upright bricks of polished wood and stretched cloth" (footnote 1) that delighted decorators because they functioned best against a wall. Today's Type A Reference $18,999 price tag (footnote 2) purchases two tall midrange-tweeter towers, two huge subwoofers, two short but heavy enclosures housing the outboard passive…
The eight output terminals on the back of the passive network enclosure connect to eight similar terminals on the rear of the Reference Tower via color-coded cable loom made by Kimber Cable. Although it seems that the inclusion of such a cable set with the speaker system might be an optional convenience, it doesn't pay to try and replace them with other types of speaker cable. Snell Acoustics provides this Kimber Kable hookup to standardize the system's performance by specifying the precise length and electrical characteristic of each connection.
The cable set consists of a ribbed black…
Despite this, the SUB 1800s do a much better job of blending powerful bass with the Reference Towers in a way that aftermarket subwoofers have yet to do. This is shown by the Type A Reference's exceptional sense of pace and an ability to involve the listener. Giorgio Moroder's soundtrack score for Cat People (MCAD 1498) is a good example, particularly the first cut, David Bowie's "Putting out Fire." The slowly building kick drum beat drives the music in a way not evident with any other loudspeaker. This sense of pace can be readily heard on Stanley Clarke's East River Drive album (Epic EK…