Fine Tunes #33
This month, "Fine Tunes" offers a grab-bag of useful and inexpensive tips for the impecunious tweaker searching for better sound.
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Jonathan Scull
Creek 5350SE integrated amplifier
Creek Audio founder/designer/co-owner Michael Creek is a quiet, friendly, unassuming man. Unlike some ego-driven electronics designers who tout their products very loudly from their pulpits, Michael Creek has been quietly designing high-quality, musical, and affordable integrated amps in black-metal boxes for nearly 20 years. His target market is the passionate music-lover who wants something a notch above an entry-level NAD or Rotel receiver, but whose bank manager would frown on splurging on electronic separates.
McIntosh MC1201 monoblock power amplifier
While walking home from the office the other day I passed a gleaming, perfectly detailed Harley-Davidson, lightly customized, as many are these days. I didn't stop and drool, but I couldn't unsnap my eyes from it. As I drew parallel to that hawg, a Ricky Martin look-alike threw his leg over the saddle and thumbed the starter. No, you don't have to be a tattooed, beer-gutted redneck anymore to rear up and <I>slam</I> down on a kick-starter of one of those beasts. These days, it's all done with the push of a button. Dude.
The Fifth Element #1
From the days of Les Paul's chum Mary Ford, through Amanda McBroom and Jennifer Warnes, right up to Patricia Barber, audiophiles have been fascinated, and sometimes obsessed, with female vocals. I nominate to membership in that select sorority another Patricia, in this case O'Callaghan, whose third CD has just been released worldwide by her new label, Teldec.
How far has audio advanced in the last 20-30 years?
Have we come a long way baby, or are we still struggling to get out of the chute? Do you think audio reproduction has made much progress in getting listeners closer to the real thing in the last 20-30 years?
Delos International Emphasizing SACD, But Not Dropping DVD-A
Contrary to rumors circulating on the Internet, audiophile recording label <A HREF="http://www.delosmus.com/">Delos International</A> is not abandoning the DVD-Audio format. A quick call to the Hollywood, CA–based company cleared up some confusion created when a few people noticed that "DVD-A" doesn't appear anywhere on the Delos homepage.
Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow?
One of the dirty little secrets of the recording business is that some of its most precious assets are slowly self-destructing. In one example, a popular mastering tape supplied by Ampex to recording studios during the '70s and early '80s has been found to prematurely shed its oxide coating at an alarming rate due to poor quality control of the binding agents that hold the magnetic particles to the Mylar.
Copyright Owners', Consumers' Rights Examined in CEA Conference
Where does "fair use" end and piracy begin? Can consumers have open access to digital information and entertainment while respecting the rights of the creators of such content? Is there an inevitable collision between consumers and the rights of intellectual property owners? Can a happy balance be found in a world of high technology?
Billy Higgins Update
A few weeks ago, we ran an <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10957/">item</A> concerning drummer Billy Higgins' declining health and rapidly growing medical expenses. Apparently, his fans have come through generously, because we just received the following:
New Life For An Old Musical Style?
Who says classical music is having trouble finding a contemporary audience? According to the latest <A HREF="http://www.arbitron.com/">Arbitron</A> webcast ratings, for December, 2000, classical music and internet-only webcaster <A HREF="http://www.beethoven.com">Beethoven.com</A> ranked number one with the most aggregate tuning hours (ATH) for the month. ATH describes the sum total of all hours that listeners tune to a given channel.