Jonathan Scull

500 Issues And Counting: a Publishing Milestone
Features
Jonathan Scull  |  Jul 15, 2021
We're all involved with the world we live in. Friends from 20 years ago? Hey, nice to see ya, put on a little weight I see. Generally, you hang with your crew, although you might miss the bigger picture that way.

I wrote for Stereophile from 1993 through 2002, and I remember my experiences fondly, including the pure pleasure of listening to music on all that wonderful audio equipment. But I hung with my tribe and never fully appreciated the crucible in which Stereophile was formed. It's a genuine saga; cue Ennio Morricone's soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in the West.

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Fun with Moose and Squirrel
My Back Pages
Jonathan Scull  |  May 26, 2021
'Cause it's hard to say what's real / When you know the way you feel—Flaming Lips, "One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21," from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

In a recent Zoom meeting, some friends got into a dust-up about how "real"-sounding high-performance audio systems can be. The consensus was that there was no chance at all of real, live sound. A label owner waved it off as impossible: "Fuhgeddaboudit," he said. He's from New York, like me.

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Tim de Paravicini, RIP
News
Jonathan Scull  |  Dec 18, 2020
Dammit! Tim de Paravicini, the Baron as he was known, passed from this mortal coil on December 17th, 2020. I loved the guy. His deep, steeped, sharp-elbowed engineering bona fides in matters of electronics, cars, planes, and life earned him plaudits from all over the world. [Editor's Note: this appreciation of Tim's life and work now includes personal memories from John Atkinson]
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Something's Coming
My Back Pages
Jonathan Scull  |  Nov 23, 2020
So, what's "this thing of ours"? I'm only half-kidding. High-end audio is deadly serious for many passionate audiophiles. Some measurement types defend their turf without thought—without mercy—and often deride subjectivists, like me, who believe if you like what you hear, then that's what counts, enjoy. Objectivists say if you can't measure it, then it doesn't exist. Well, goes the retort, you don't know what to measure, your instruments aren't refined enough, and on and on.

The struggle continues to this day for some reason, and boy-howdy is it ferocious, especially regarding cables.

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Timbre Technology TT-1 D/A processor
Digital Processor Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Nov 08, 2019  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1995
As the sides of the slim-line Timbre Technology TT-1 DAC are radiused rather than flat, it's elegant compared to its typical boxy competition. While the TT-1's handsome shape stands out more than your average audiophile device, its curved sides help create a stronger, less resonant shape than the usual box, and serve as just one of the many elements contributing to a high degree of mechanical integrity and damping.
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Tom Jung: I Want More!
InterviewsMusic and Recording Features
Jonathan Scull  |  Feb 08, 2018  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1999
Tom Jung of DMP (Digital Music Products) is known as one of digital's early adopters. He's also an outspoken proponent of Sony's Super Audio CD over DVD-Audio. As I was intending to review Sony's first SACD player, the SCD-1, I invited Tom to Kathleen's and my Manhattan loft to investigate further. Tom and son Paul, who's responsible for DMP's sales and marketing, arrived with a passel of big drives, a DSD computer controller, and electronics designed by Ed Meitner.
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Reference 3a Royal Master Control loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Nov 11, 2013  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1996
8883aroyals.1.jpgThe match between amplifier and speaker for single-ended operation is critical, which is why John Atkinson suggested I let Wavelength's Gordon Rankin lead when it came to choosing a speaker to partner his special-edition Cardinal amplifiers. If you're not talking roughly 92dB sensitivity and a fairly benign load, say no lower than 6 ohms, you're just not talking single-ended. That precluded running the Cardinals on the big Avalon Ascents with their lowish 86dB sensitivity (in spite of the relatively benign impedance curve).

After more discussion it became evident that the best speakers to use were the very ones Gordon employed in his own reference system—the Swiss-made Reference 3A Royal Master Control loudspeakers.

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Ted Denney's Excellent Adventure
Interviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Sep 05, 2013  |  First Published: Nov 01, 1995
Ted Denney at the 2003 CES. (Photo: John Atkinson)

As I had been impressed with Ted Denney's Synergistic Research cable, I thought that asking him for 25,000 words on his thoughts on cable design and performance would be an appropriate accompaniment to my Symphonic Line Kraft 400 amplifier review.

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Symphonic Line Kraft 400 monoblock power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp ReviewsAudacious Audio
Jonathan Scull  |  Aug 16, 2013  |  First Published: Nov 01, 1995
Things didn't start off auspiciously. I'd been after Symphonic Line's Klaus Bunge for more than a year to send me the Kraft 400 Reference monoblocks. Finally he called. He said he was going to be in town for a few days, and he had with him a pair of what he described as his "traveling" Kraft 400s, which he proposed to leave with me.
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Rolf Gemein: the Heart of the Matter
Interviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Aug 16, 2013  |  First Published: Nov 01, 1995
I'm not sure why, but people tell me things. Maybe it's because they realize I listen. They reveal themselves, sometimes in charming and unexpected ways. So I was almost prepared for my three-way conference call with the designer of the Symphonic Line Kraft 400 power amplifier, Rolf Gemein, in Germany and Indianapolis-based importer/distributor Klaus Bunge. I started by asking Rolf about his design philosophy . . .
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