J. Gordon Holt

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J. Gordon HoltPhono Cartridge Reviews
Shure V15-IV phono cartridge
J. Gordon Holt  |  Sep 10, 2015  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1979  | 
The Shure Brothers have been making magnetic cartridges since the early 1950s (they had been exclusively microphone manufacturers prior to then), and their continuing R&D program has resulted in new, improved models every few years rather than every 6 months (as seems to be the rule these days). As a result, Shure has the appearance, to most audiophiles, of a stodgy, plodding, rather "establishment" manufacturer that can be trusted to make a solid, reliable product but nothing brilliantly innovative or—for that matter—nothing remarkably good either.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltSolid State Power Amp Reviews
Infinity HCA power amplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Sep 15, 2015  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1979  | 
Imagine if you can a power amplifier with the bass richness, midrange liquidity, and high-end accuracy of the best tube amplifiers, and the inner detail, transient attack, and bass solidity and range of the best solid-state amplifiers. If you can imagine that, you can visualize what this amplifier sounds like.
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J. Gordon HoltThink Pieces
Perfection: Here at Last?
J. Gordon Holt  |  Oct 12, 2015  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1979  | 
Long-time Stereophile readers May be dismayed by what appears to be our unfettered satisfaction with some of the recent crop of new components. Aren't we, after all, dedicated to the pursuit of perfection? Do we really feel that some products are all that close to it? The answer to both questions is "Yes."
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J. Gordon HoltRecording of the Month
Recording of October 1979: The Telarc 1812 Overture
Margaret Graham, J. Gordon Holt  |  Aug 29, 2017  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1979  | 
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture (Op.49), Capriccio Italien (Op.45 ), "Cossack Dance" from Mazeppa (LP), plus Marche slav, Op.31, Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene Onegin , Op.24, Festival Coronation March (CD).
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Kiev Symphony Chorus; Children's Choir of Greater Cincinnati, Erich Kunzel cond.
Telarc Digital DG-10041 (LP, CD-80041 (CD). 1979 (LP), 1984 (CD). Edited at Soundstream, Inc. Robert Woods, prod.; Jack Renner, eng. DAA (LP), DDD (CD). TT: 35:19 (LP), 60:23 (CD).

I must say I'm getting a bit bored with the 1812 Overture, but as long as there are audiophiles, it will be recorded due to the stringent demands it can make upon one's playback system. This version produced by Telarc is going to be hard to beat. The cannon fire is unbelievable.

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HistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
How to Write an Ad
Lucius Wordburger  |  Dec 31, 2000  |  First Published: Sep 03, 1979  | 
Everyone knows that advertising people make more money than ordinary people, but many assume that the high pay is because ad writing is so difficult. This is not true. Low-income people can write advertisements, too, so just in case somebody should accost you on the street and ask you to write an advertisement, here is how you may go about it.
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HistoricalJ. Gordon HoltTube Preamp Reviews
Berning TF-10 preamplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  May 30, 1995  |  First Published: May 30, 1979  | 
Several issues back, we reviewed rather enthusiastically a pre-production prototype of this preamp. The original was an unprepossessing-looking device on two chassis, interconnected by a 3' umbilical, with a squat little preamp box and an even squatter power supply with humongous cans sticking out the top. We averred that it sounded nice. The production model is so nicely styled and functionally smooth that we wondered if it might not be another Japanese product. 'T'ain't.
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Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsJ. Gordon HoltHistorical
Infinity RS-4.5 loudspeaker system
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 05, 2006  |  First Published: May 05, 1979  | 
There are certain manufacturers for whom every new product implies the promise of countless modifications, Usually a month or so apart, culminating inevitably in a version so far removed from the original that it must be assigned a new model designation—usually a letter suffix ranging from A, to D. By the time E is envisioned, another CE Show is approaching, so the decision is made to give the unit an exterior facelift and a brand-new model number. Presto! A new product for CES.
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Solid State Preamp ReviewsJ. Gordon Holt
Harman/Kardon Citation Eleven preamplifier
J. Gordon Holt  |  Oct 28, 2007  |  First Published: Apr 28, 1979  | 
This is not a new component, but like most others that aspire to very high standards of performance, it has undergone some changes (for the better) since it first went into production.
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As We See ItJ. Gordon HoltHistorical
High Fidelity at the Crossroads
J. Gordon Holt  |  Apr 17, 1979  |  First Published: Apr 18, 1979  | 
101 years ago, the tinfoil cylinder started it all. Within 22 years, its heyday was done, and public support swung to favor the then-new wax-mastered disc. 1948 saw the switch to a slower speed and a finer groove, but the flat disc, traced by a stylus, has held sway for almost 80 years now. Even today, people with multi-speed turntables and a couple of arms (or plug-in cartridges) can reproduce from a single phono unit the earliest or the latest discs merely by the flip of two switches (for speed change and cartridge change). All that is about to come to an end.
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J. Gordon HoltStand Loudspeaker Reviews
Spendor BC-1 loudspeaker
J. Gordon Holt  |  Oct 01, 2000  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1978  | 
666Spendor_BC1.jpgThis smallish loudspeaker system has been getting high ratings in the English audio magazines for some years but was not available to US consumers until recently, when the small firm (literally a Mom'n'Pop enterprise, footnote 1) arranged for US distribution through Audio International.

The Spendor BC-1 is about as unimpressive-looking as any other smallish three-way loudspeaker, of which there are countless hundreds of models being made in the US at present. In fact, we were so ho-hummed by the mundane appearance of this speaker that we found it hard to connect the pair up and give them a listen.

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As We See ItJ. Gordon Holt
The Audio Centennial (+1) Revolution
J. Gordon Holt  |  Apr 02, 2015  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1978  | 
Despite the myriads of technological breakthroughs announced month after month with tedious regularity by manufacturers of pickups, amplifiers and loudspeakers, there are only five developments in the 101-year history of audio reproduction (footnote 1) that we would call truly revolutionary. We will doubtless offend many by stating that Edison's phonograph was not one of them. It was the starting point, it was not a turning point. Emile Berliner's disc was revolutionary, in that it changed the whole format of sound reproduction, and made possible true mass production of recordings (footnote 2).
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J. Gordon HoltRecording of the Month
Recording of October 1978: For Duke
Margaret Graham, J. Gordon Holt  |  Sep 05, 2017  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1978  | 
Bill Berry and His Ellington All-Stars: For Duke
Works by Duke Ellington
Bill Berry, cornet; Ray Brown, bass; Frankie Capp, drums; Scott Hamilton, tenor sax; Nat Pierce, piano; Marshal Royal, alto sax; Britt Woodman, trombone.
M&K Real-Time RT-101 (direct-to-disc LP).

This is to-date the best direct-to-disc recording I have heard. For once I can't complain about the high end being shrill or hard. The balances are excellent and the performances superior, with each member of the group getting his chance to show off. Marshal Royal's saxophone solos must be heard to be believed, Everyone present is obviously having a good time making music, which is the way it always ought to be but often isn't.

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Audacious AudioFloor Loudspeaker ReviewsJ. Gordon Holt
Beveridge 2SW loudspeaker system
J. Gordon Holt  |  Dec 08, 2015  |  First Published: May 01, 1978  | 
This is an electrostatic column speaker, 6' tall and costing $6000/pair. An integral, fan-cooled amplifier is located in the base. The 2SW is said to cover almost the entire frequency range and is based on a patent, number 3,668,335, issued to manufacturer/designer Harold Beveridge on June 6, 1972. Internal acoustic lenses in front of the electrostatic panels widen the speaker's dispersion: In the Beveridge literature, it says "This 6-foot high device consolidated the entire frequency range into a vertical line source, and uniformly disperses it over a horizontal pattern, 180 degrees wide. The beaming characteristics of the high frequencies are ingeniously translated into the same dispersive pattern as the low frequencies, creating a perfectly balanced cylindrical sound wave front."
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As We See ItHistoricalJ. Gordon Holt
We Did It!
J. Gordon Holt  |  Apr 29, 1978  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1978  | 
In 1960 the high-fidelity field was in a period of stasis. The hi-fi boom was starting to crest out, and there were three magazines for audiophiles: High Fidelity, Stereo Review, and Audio. The first two were (and still are) little more than vehicles for their advertising, more dedicated to promoting their advertisers' wares than in advancing the state of the art. Audio was more into equipment testing than either of the mass-hi-fi magazines, but it too was contributing to the stagnation by listening to its test results rather than to the components.
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J. Gordon HoltRecording of the Month
Recording of April 1978: The Power and the Majesty
J. Gordon Holt  |  Oct 03, 2017  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1978  | 
This is more to my liking than the other records I review this month! Side 1 is devoted entirely to a real humdinger of a thunderstorm, replete with rain, thimble-sized hailstones, and five minutes of someone diddling with a set of wind chimes. Side 2 is four sequences in the saga of Steam Locomotive 4449, which was refurbished from rusty decrepitude to haul the bicentennial Freedom Train 28,000 miles around the continent.
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