14 Pages of Hot Product Previews STEREO • MULTICHANNEL AUDIO • MUSIC
Redefining Value Levinson’s NAD’s New Triumphant Amp & CD No.436 Player Amplifier Wadia Resurgent!
NHT Classic Three World’s Best $1k Speaker?
www.theabsolutesound.com Contents February 2007
Cover Story 64 NHT Classic Three Loudspeaker Chris Martens on an $800 three-way monitor with refinement, resolution, and imaging. 45 High End Returns to its Roots: The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Jonathan Valin, Robert Harley, and Neil Gader report. 88 Mark Levinson Nº 436 Monaural Power Amplifier A 35-year tradition of excellence continues, says Sue Kraft.
Equipment Reports Absolute Analog: 38 London Reference Phono Cartridge Jonathan Valin on a new reference with an old pedigree. 70 Tannoy Autograph Mini Loudspeaker Tom Martin gets a solid glimpse of the state of the art. 72 Plinius SB-301 Amplifier Neil Gader with a sneak preview. 74 NuForce S9 Loudspeaker Robert E. Greene reports on something different. 80 Wireworld Audio Silver Electra and Stratus 52 Series Power Cords Neil Gader plugs in. 82 Pioneer S-2EX Loudspeaker Bridging the divide between home and studio speakers, by Neil Gader. 94 Quad ESL-2805 Loudspeaker Jim Hannon on the latest classic elecrostatic; Paul Seydor comments.
The Cutting Edge 104 Wadia 270se CD Transport, Series 9 DAC, and 581 CD/SACD Player Alan Taffel auditions Wadia’s reference and entry-level players. 120 Krell LAT-1000 Loudspeaker Anthony H. Cordesman on an open challenge to the status quo.
February 2007 The Absolute Sound Contents founder; chairman, Harry Pearson editorial advisory board editor-in-chief Robert Harley editor Wayne Garcia executive editor Jonathan Valin 06 Letters managing and Bob Gendron 118 Manufacturer Comment music editor acquisitions manager Neil Gader and associate editor 16 From The Editor art director Torquil Dewar 18 Industry News 22 Future TAS senior writers John W. Cooledge, Anthony H. Cordesman, 26 Start Me Up Robert E. Greene, Chris Martens, Dick Olsher, Andrew Quint, Sallie Reynolds, NAD C 325BEE Integrated Amplifier and C Paul Seydor, Alan Taffel 525BEE CD Player; Nuforce P8 preamplifier Barry Willis and Chris Martens. reviewers and contributing writers 35 iTAS Soren Baker, Greg Cahill, Dan Davis, Andy Downing, Jim Hannon, Jacob Heilbrunn, Polk Audio I-Sonic. Robert Harley on the Sue Kraft, Mark Lehman, Ted Libbey, Swiss Army knife of desktop audio. David McGee, Bill Milkowski, Derk Richardson, Don Saltzman, Max Shepherd, Barry Willis
Music 120 hp’s equipment setup Danny Gonzalez 150 recording of the Issue web producer Ari Koinuma Tom Brosseau: Grand Forks
Absolute Multimedia, Inc. 131 Jazz chairman and ceo Thomas B. Martin, Jr. The scoop on the newest discs from Charles vice president/publisher Mark Fisher Tolliver, Steve Swallow, Exploding Star advertising reps Cheryl Smith Orchestra, Joe Zawinul, and Muhal Richard (512) 891-7775 Marvin Lewis Abrams. And, two hybrid SACDs from MTM Sales Chesky and a 200-gram Horace Silver LP. (718) 225-8803
reprints and e-prints: Jennifer Martin, Wrights Reprints 139 Classical toll free: (877) 652-5295, Outside the U.S.: (281) 419-5725, [email protected] Boris Berezovsky tackles Hindemith, Paul subscriptions, renewals, changes of address: Lewis interprets Beethoven piano sonatas, phone: (888) 732-1625 (US) or (815) 734-5833 (outside US), or write The Absolute Sound, Simon Rattle and Szymanowski’s Songs of a Subscription Services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris, IL 61054. Ten issues: in the US, $36; Canada $52 Fairy-tale Princess, Ryan Brown on Sacchini’s (GST included); outside North America, $71 (includes air mail). Payments must be by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, Oedipe a Colone, Kronos and Mogwai team American Express) or US funds drawn on a US bank, 35 with checks payable to Absolute Multimedia, Inc. up for The Fountain, and the Capucons editorial matters: Address letters to the editor, plumb Inventions. Plus, three SACD reviews The Absolute Sound, PO Box 1768, Tijeras, New Mexico 87059, or e-mail [email protected]. and LPs from Speakers Corner. classified advertising: Please use form in back of issue.
newsstand distribution and local dealers: 149 rock Etc. Contact IPD, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Suite 400, Bonita Springs, Florida 34134, (239) 949-4450 Reviews of the latest CDs and LPs from publishing matters: Contact Mark Fisher at the address Ghost, Clinic, Eric Clapton, Vince Gill, Yusuf, below or e-mail [email protected].
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Absolute Multimedia, Inc. Records of the Year 4544 S. Lamar, Bldg. G-300 Austin, Texas 78745 159 Cast ‘em in stone. Bob Gendron, Andrew phone: (512) 892-8682 · fax: (512) 891-0375 e-mail: [email protected] Quint, and Derk Richardson pick 2006’s best www.theabsolutesound.com albums.
160 TAS Back Page 11 Questions for Michael Hobson of 2007 Absolute Multimedia, Inc., February 2007. The Absolute Sound (ISSN#0097-1138) is published ten times per year, $42 per year for US residents. Absolute Multimedia, Inc., 4544 S. Lamar, Bldg G300, Austin, Texas 78745. Periodical Classic Records Postage paid at Austin, Texas and additional mailing offices. Canadian publication mail account #1551566. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Absolute Sound, Neil Gader. 160 Subscription Services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris, IL 61054. Printed in the USA.
February 2007 The Absolute Sound Letters And never once have I seen Jon Valin make the statement “SACD SACD Better is better than CD,” until now. With the possible exception of the Mark Levinson-produced recording that he so dearly loved awhile Than CD? back. JV has always praised CD, starting in the year 2000 with the As a subscriber who goes back to the very beginning of The MBL gear. Absolute Sound, I have come to the conclusion that my ears— Maybe it’s the recordings. I listen to Red Book only with occasionally described by friends as “golden”—must have turned Hyperion, Harmonia Mundi, Chesky [discs], etc.—recordings to “dross” (from old age?), because I don’t get it. that have 20-bit dynamic range, even on the 16-bit consumer I listen to, say, Ivan Fischer’s new recording of Mahler’s Second release. I’m a very happy listener. Symphony on Channel Classics, and am so stunned by the awesome John Harnick sonics of this SACD—and this has happened so often with other SACDs from Channel, Harmonia Mundi, Pentatone, even Jonathan Valin replies: While it is true that I had and have Abbado’s Mahler Sixth on DG—that I can’t believe people are still problems with the treble-range noise artifacts of certain SACD debating whether it’s superior to Red Book CDs. Have I suddenly players and SACD discs and did not and do not think that SACD become deaf? It’s clearly time for the industry to adopt SACD beats out all other playback media (as Mr. Mankiewicz does, and for quality music recordings and leave the television, computer, many others do), that does not mean that I think CD playback is and movie junkies to argue about other things important to them. superior to SACD. I quote from the very review that Mr. Harnick Music lovers should unite behind SACD and inevitably improve it mentioned: “The EMM Labs and the Krell [SACD players] share with time. Further debate will only exacerbate the economic woes certain generic virtues: Their overall clarity is markedly superior of the industry. to CD, and in the [EMM Labs] DAC6e’s case to vinyl; their dynamic Christopher Mankiewicz range and scale is superior to CD and, in the DAC6e’s case competitive with vinyl; their bass is significantly better defined and more extended than it is on CD or vinyl; and, minus the noise SACD Worse problem, their treble range extension and detail is much better than CD… The EMM Labs is in a class of its own, quite literally. It Than CD? simply doesn’t sound like anything else, and what it does well, it What can I say about Red Book CD? It’s definitely improving, as does unparalleledly well. While it doesn’t beat out analog disc or you confirmed with your Meridian CD player review: It “invites a tape in musical realism, it is competitive on its own terms. I just comparison to a live microphone feed.” Other reviewers in high- wish more SACD software was worthy of it.” end audio are reporting similar findings. A few highlights:Positive Having said this, let me also note, in defense of Mr. Harnick’s Feedback’s Robert Levi recently reported that the 20k Metronome position, that in spite of its superiority to CD I simply haven’t CD system surpassed Ed Meitner’s top-notch gear—even when found SACD a compelling enough alternative to vinyl to make it played SACD. Even Levi didn’t think this was possible. Then it my primary source and that when I listen to digital (and I do there are the Soundstage boys—with the Zanden gear up against listen to digital once in awhile) I tend to listen to CD, partly Esoteric’s latest SACD player. The verdict? “With (Red Book) because I have many more CDs than SACDs and partly because sounding this good, who needs new formats?” Even Jules CD playback, as I noted above, has improved enough, both Coleman, a respected on-line reviewer (there aren’t too many), on the software and the hardware side, to make it a pleasant spends most of his time with digital via the Reimyo CD player, alternative to LP. a big change of heart for an analog-kinda-guy. But his finding wasn’t aberrant. Even Mr. Analog, Michael Fremer, likes Red Book, especially after hearing the Zanden system in a recent A Couple issue of Stereophile: “For the first time, I no longer cared about the format.” Now that’s really saying something. Fremer liked of Mistakes Red Book almost as much as his big-time reference LP! None of Reading the November issue of TAS, I unfortunately could not these reviewers prefers SACD. I don’t know how they feel about help noticing a couple of, uhm, errors. DVD-A, since there are so few titles. SACD can’t fall back on Robert Harley’s reply to John Harnick’s letter is truncated—to this excuse. my eyes even before the middle of the reply. Too bad as this is a Oh, well, enough of that. What we might need is a little more very interesting matter and [RH’s] full reply is sorely missed. clarity in what we report. You say that DVD-A is “vastly better” Second, I am afraid that the rating boxes on the Shostakovich than CD in the previous Letters section of TAS, yet two issues SACDs on page 142 are incorrectly placed, because they do not ago you reported that DVD-A, through the Meridian, was (only) really reflect the qualifications in the text. The better rating would “a step beyond” its very laudable CD performance. Which one actually come closer to my own impression at least of the RCO is it? Live recording, and intimately knowing the qualities of Everett
February 2007 The Absolute Sound Letters
Porter and the PolyHymnia team, I would say that they did one day I wanted to wear a hat and use the little Stax at the same another superb job on this recording. time. While trying to get this to work, I discovered that the bass Nonetheless, a fine TAS issue it is. is actually excellent. I’m not suggesting Mr. Martin should wear Marcel Croese a hat when testing this particular headphone, but that he should try different positions for the headband. Maybe he just needs a Wayne Garcia replies: Apologies, Mr. Croese, for RH’s truncated reply. different size earpad. That error cropped up in pre-press and should have been caught. Another observation: I’ve now heard several stereo systems, including my own (modified Audio Note/Avantgarde), that sound a lot better when the expensive power cords are replaced Music Ratings with the cheapest non-twisted kind. Same experience with a friend’s Meridian/Pass Labs/Audio Physic setup. Anyone can try Reversal this at minimal cost. It seems to me that only flawed systems (or In the December issue (page 142, Shostakovich Symphonies rooms ) need specialist power cables. 7 and 11), the text seems to indicate that the Symphony No. 7 Cees Verhoeven has the better review, but the music and sonic squares seem to indicate the opposite. Are they reversed? Wendell Driggers Metal Lovers Unite I just wanted to drop you a line about your November 2006 issue. Bob Gendron replies: You are correct: The music and sonic ratings were As I was going through the music review section, imagine my accidentally switched on the discs when the book went to layout, and surprise when I saw album reviews of two of my favorite metal they are the opposite of what they should be. Our apologies. bands, Mastodon and Iron Maiden. I am probably what some would consider to be an “older metalhead” at the ripe age of 36 and have been listening to metal since I was around 10. I am More Detail on also a die-hard fan of jazz and classical music and have been a musician for a number of years. Now that I am a bit older, I Sonics in the actually have the means to afford some of the higher-end gear and buy all the music that I love so much. Music Section The reason for my letter to you is simple: It is very rare that I am relatively new to the world of hi-fi and enjoy the education a magazine of The Absolute Sound’s caliber prints a music review I am getting from reading your magazine. Often I see snippets of anything but a jazz or classical album. What you point out of analysis on the sonic characteristics of certain pieces of music in your review is something that most metalheads have known while reading album or product reviews, but I believe significant forever—jazz and classical influences are the backbone of value to your readers could be added by offering a section that metal music. All too often, metal is looked on by most of the went into more detail on what to listen for in certain pieces. For public, and all of the audiophile community, as just a bunch of example, a review of Tom Petty’s new album Highway Companion tattooed punks screaming and slamming on their guitars. People mentions “the soundstage is open, wide, and airy.” It would be who know metal, know that most metal bands have some serious educational for me to understand which songs best display these chops and do have the ability to play technically, as well as to write characteristics, so I know what to look for the next time I am technical compositions (unlike most of what has been forced listening to a new piece of music. down our throats on radio). Mastodon and Iron Maiden are just The new section might take one album and go into detail about two great examples of excellent musicianship in metal (or any two to three tracks [in regard to] what to listen for and what music, for that matter). I applaud you for putting these reviews in separates great systems from good systems in reproducing their your magazine when other publications simply ignore the genre sound. This would give newbies like me some insight on what altogether. Keep up the great work! to listen for and how to better understand what our systems are Jim Pusso doing well or poorly. At the end of some time I believe you will, on average, have a more skilled reader base which will appreciate your product reviews even more, since terminology will now Another Opinion of resonate with them from their past experiences. Rob (last name withheld) the NuForce Class D Amplifiers Of Hats and This is addressed to Wayne Garcia: Wayne: I’ve enjoyed your work for many years and have great confidence in your judgment Headphones and integrity. It don’t doubt for a moment that you’re describing In the November issue Tom Martin complains about a lack of exactly what you hear from the NuForce amps [Issue 166]. It’s bass with the Stax SR-001. I used to have the same problem, until just that what I hear is so incredibly different. In my system
February 2007 The Absolute Sound Letters
(Naim CD3/XPS2, 52/Supercap, Lingoed LP12 with Dynavector 17D3 cartridge, and Tom Evans phonostage) all I hear is magic. Playing Favorites I replaced a very expensive Naim amp with the NuForce amps I enjoy reading your magazine and have been a subscriber for and I can tell you, the Naim piece was mortally humiliated. The the last few years. I have noticed that there are some companies’ NuForce amps are remarkably detailed, stunningly dynamic, yet products which are regularly reviewed by you and/or your staff, rich and musical. There’s none of the flatness and brittleness you while others go largely ignored. I know there are hundreds, if not heard. To me they are simply the best deal I’ve ever encountered thousands, of offerings in each product category, but it seems as in audio. If my dealer had tried to take them back, I would have if the magazine has relationships with or prefers some companies fought him. I wonder if my experience has anything to do with over others. my speakers: They’re Ambience 1800 ribbon hybrids, made I have used the information in your magazine to help me by Tony Moore of Ambience Audio in Australia. These are research a number of my purchases and have found your reviews marvelous speakers, but perhaps more important, I believe Tony to be very helpful. The first review I read in your magazine was is using the NuForce amps to voice them. I guess it’s possible of the Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers (which I subsequently that these amps are chameleons, so sensitive to equipment that purchased). I have noticed that each year in your Editor’s Choice they can be spectacularly good in one system and appallingly bad Awards that the 3A Signatures and the 5A Signatures are given in another. I’m glad my system is one they like. Just thought you recognition. It is for that reason that I am surprised that you might be interested. haven’t reviewed the newest addition to the Vandersteen line, the Name withheld by request Quattro. I love my 3A Sigs and a logical upgrade for me would potentially be the Quattro. Wayne Garcia replies: The more we work with Class D amplifiers, the Additionally, I have grown to be a fan of the Sunfire product more convinced I am that these designs are generally more sensitive line. I do business with a dealer who sells Krell, Classé, Rotel, to speaker and cable interfaces than we’re used to from linear and Sunfire, among others in his store. I have done business amplifiers—hence, the widely different experiences we reported with this gentleman for over twenty years and have come to truly in Issue 166’s Class D feature. If the Ambient speaker designer respect his opinion about high-end audio equipment, especially does use the NuForce to voice his speakers, then I’m sure you have with regard to value for the dollar. Earlier this year I told him a marvelous match. And thanks for the note, whoever you are. I wanted to purchase an expensive multichannel amplifier. He strongly dissuaded me from doing so and told me that not only was the Sunfire a better value, it may last longer because of its Not on SACD design and, when all is said and done, may sound better! Bottom Please inform Mr. Valin and Mr. Lehman that several of the RCA and line, I purchased the Sunfire Signature 7 and saved thousands of Mercury recordings in their “100 More Best-of-the-Century Classical dollars. “So what?” you are asking yourself. In your open letter Compositions” article (Issue 166) are erroneously listed as released in last month’s magazine you spoke of having dinner with Bob in the SACD format. These recordings include “best” numbers 71, Carver, and I must say I was shocked! In the last three years I have 73, and 77. Those recording have never been released in the SACD not seen a reference to one Sunfire product in your magazine format. (except possibly a sub). My point being, you respect and admire My wish is that those and any other classic Living Stereo and Living the man, his company manufactures some great value products, Presence recordings will be released in the SACD format. yet Sunfire is largely ignored by your magazine. James Citti I guess I’m just curious as to how products and companies are selected for review by your publication. Thanks in advance for JV replies: Mea culpa. Though the catalogue numbers are right, the your thoughtful response. Keep up the good work! three titles Mr. Citti mentioned are incorrectly identified as “Hybrid John Connor SACDs.” They are just plain ol’ CDs. RH replies: We’ve been trying to get a review sample of the Quattro for some time. I’ve heard the Quattro at shows where www.avguide.com it sounded superb (see our live coverage of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest at www.avguide.com, as well as our print coverage Watch for our live in this issue). coverage of the 2007 We have favorably reviewed Sunfire products in The Perfect Consumer Electronics Vision in past issues, and have a review planned of Sunfire’s Show beginning January 9 Theater Grand controller and amplifier in the next issue. We Join the discussion with intend to look at other Sunfire products in the future, perhaps TAS editors and readers at in TAS. our forum
Tune into Robert Harley’s new weekly blog Errata: In the last issue, we listed the incorrect price for Hansen Audio’s The King V2 loudspeaker. The correct price is $65,000 per pair.
10 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Letters Cheap Tabloid Blind Listening and Journalism? Numerical Ratings Open mouth—insert both feet! Re: “Robert Harley Comments After finding your book [Robert Harley’s The Complete Guide to on the Memory Player” (Issue 167, December 2006, pg. 121). High-End Audio] rather insightful I have subscribed to The Absolute Having e-mailed you numerous times over the years, I find Sound. While the reviews by individual contributors and the this one especially tough, but necessary. [With regard to your Editors Choice Awards are somewhat useful, it is pretty obvious Comment], cheap tabloid journalism comes to mind. that there is a good deal of subjectivity involved. Listening to There were any number of ways to raise questions, or express audio equipment is by definition a subjective experience, but you your concerns as to the technologies employed in the Memory could apply scientific methodology to your evaluations. Here, I Player without resorting to making your sidebar come across don’t mean electronic measurements in the lab. What I propose is as a diatribe. Makes me think you have a personal issue with blinded evaluation and scoring of products by your contributors [Memory Player designer] Mark Porzilli. And if that is why you in a group setting. Such methodology would significantly improve slammed him as you did, I recommend you take it up with him the credibility of your publication and serve your readers better. in private and not air your dirty laundry in TAS, which should be And it would be a lot of fun for you guys involved. above such childish fray! The other issue I would like to bring up is the disclosure of You could have found a way to air your opinion without being potential conflicts of interest. It would be important for your confrontational, which I have not known you to be over the readers to know if your contributors serve as consultants, have years. It seems to me that you unnecessarily painted yourself ownership interest, or other potential conflicts of interest related into a corner. How are you going to respond if the Memory to high-end audio companies. Player blows away anything you’ve ever heard? Finally, I would like to know if the reference systems listed Wouldn’t it have been wiser to wait and hear, then say something by your contributors were purchased, purchased at a significant like, “You know the claims Mark makes are contrary to what I discount or received for free. Obviously, this is a potential conflict have been taught (your teachers could have been wrong!), but of interest, but more importantly I would like to know if your nevertheless, the Memory Player.…” contributors have particular components because they really like I suggest you start figuring out how to get all the egg off your them or because they got a deal on it. face. Lehel Somogyi Robert Hart RH replies: I’ve participated in blind-listening tests, and can tell RH replies: I have never met Mark Porzilli nor had any contact you that they are extremely difficult to set up and run correctly. with him of any kind. I have no “personal issue” with him as you Nonetheless, I found the experience most interesting, despite my suggest. Even if I did, I would not use the pages of TAS to pursue belief that blind listening tests are fundamentally flawed. a “personal issue.” Reviewers cannot be consultants to the industry, nor can they I do, however, object strenuously to a manufacturer making have any financial involvement with high-end companies. In false technical claims about how a product works. The claim put fact, we are often offered products for evaluation in advance forth for why the Memory Player improves the sound is totally of production, with the evaluation given to the manufacturer baseless. I believe it is not just within my purview to point this rather than for publication. We decline all such requests. out, but is, indeed, my responsibility to alert readers when As for the source of reviewers’ reference systems, see this manufacturers invent far-fetched hypotheses to explain why issue’s “From the Editor.” their product works. You fail to note that my Comment stated unequivocally that the Memory Player might indeed produce a sonic benefit. Specifically, Upcoming in TAS I wrote: “This isn’t to say that the Memory Player doesn’t improve the sound. There are many instances in high-end audio where an • Comprehensive subwoofer feature audible change exists that cannot be explained by our limited • Wilson-Benesch Torus and JL Audio understanding of the science. Indeed, other mechanisms might be F113 subwoofers at work. But ‘a congestion and harsh odd (order) harmonics borne • Creek integrated amp and CD player of a synthetic tone’ is not one of them.” • Rotel RMB-1077 Class D amp Finally, I must disagree with your view that I should have • Updated PSB Alpha speaker and sub discussed my technical critique of the Memory Player’s claims in • Lyngdorf Audio DSP room-correction private with Mr. Porzilli. The company is making public technical system explanations for the Memory Player that are, in my view, simply • Amphion Ion and Mirage speakers false. It would have been a disservice to TAS readers (and to • Avid Acutus Reference turntable the truth) to withhold my opinion and allow those claims to go • Mobile Fidelity Carbon 3.5 cartridge unchallenged.
12 February 2007 The Absolute Sound EditorFROM THE Do Equipment Loans Corrupt the Review Process?
recent post on the reader would not expect us to compare a new power amplifier to what we considered the forum at our Web site reference five years ago. It’s simply impossible for reviewers to continually buythe AVguide.com (main thread: latest reference-quality components—in every product category—so that we can do “High-End Audio Industry;” our jobs. Asub-thread: “Reviewers, Manufacturers, Long-term loans also benefit the reader in that they alert the reader to those products and Prices”) suggests that the reviewing the reviewer believes to be reference quality. If you see a product listed under a reviewer’s process is somehow corrupt because Associated Components month after month, you can be assured that the product is reviewers routinely accept long-term special. We’re exposed to a wide variety of gear; only the crème de la crème remains in the equipment loans. The forum-poster posits reference system. Sharp-eyed readers can identify the truly exceptional products among that reviewers provide favorably biased all those that pass through our listening rooms. coverage to those manufacturers willing But what about the forum-poster’s assertion that this system is ripe for corruption? to leave the equipment in the reviewer’s Do reviewers really give overly favorable assessments to those companies who agree to home for an extended period of time. lend the equipment for months or even a few years? I can see how this system might at Absolutely not, and here’s why. The reality is that reviewers have access to long-term first glance seem suspect. But a more loans on just about any product they want. I could pick up the phone right now and have considered and thoughtful analysis virtually any piece of high-end audio equipment delivered to my home for an indefinite suggests that long-term equipment period. I don’t say that in a boastful way; it’s just the reality of the industry (which I loans are not only essential to delivering believe is far too review-driven). In fact, there’s often a conflict with a manufacturer accurate reviews, but serve the readers’ when a reviewer wants to return the gear; the manufacturer would rather see it stay in the best interests. Moreover, a little insight reference system—and have the product mentioned every month. With reviewers having into the reality of the relationship long-term access to nearly any piece of equipment, there’s no incentive to provide biased between reviewers, manufacturers, and coverage in a quid pro quo arrangement. Furthermore, why would a reviewer want to review samples reveals that no favoritism keep in his system any product that he or she didn’t believe was truly reference quality? or bias could possibly exist. Remember that we don’t just use our systems as test beds for reviewing; our hi-fi systems I start with the fundamental quandary also provide us with musical enjoyment when we’re not specifically conducting listening that long-term loans solve: Reviewers evaluations (which is most of the time). need reference-quality equipment to A key idea to making this system work is that the product is eventually returned to the accurately judge the component under manufacturer, either when the manufacturer wants it back, the product is discontinued, review—reference gear that they couldn’t or when the reviewer is ready to move on to another product. possibly afford to buy. It would be a There will always be a few cynics who see this system as fundamentally corrupt, but the great disservice to everyone involved fact remains that long-term equipment loans are not only a win-win-win arrangement for (particularly readers) if reviewers tried to readers, manufacturers, and reviewers, but essential to publishing accurate and informed evaluate a piece of equipment in a system product reviews. whose colorations obscured the qualities ______of the component under test. How could one evaluate a top-notch digital front end, Be sure to join us on the Web at AVguide.com for live coverage of the 2007 Consumer Electronics for example, if that front end were driving Show, complete with video segments on the most important product introductions, starting January a low-resolution, less-than-transparent 9. While you’re on AVguide.com, tune into my new weekly blog on high-end audio, which debuted preamplifier and power amplifier? The December 1. greater the review system’s transparency, the more precise, detailed, and accurate the description of the component under review. Moreover, reviewers need access to the latest gear to make comparisons Robert Harley to the product being evaluated. Readers Editor-in-Chief
16 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Thiel Audio Celebrates 30th Anniversary Industry The year 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of Lexington, NEWS Kentucky-based Thiel Audio, a well-respected manufacturer of Chris Martens high-end loudspeaker systems. Founded in 1976, Thiel Audio now offers a product line of 15 Many TAS readers know of the beautifully made high- models that are sold in over 30 Terry Cain sensitivity speaker systems produced by the Walla Walla, countries worldwide. Health Fund Washington-based firm of Cain & Cain. What they may From the beginning, Thiel has not realize is that Terry Cain, founder of Cain & Cain, was been lead by chief designer Jim Drive: Taking diagnosed a little over year ago with what has been described Thiel, who has worked tirelessly as a “debilitating combination of Lyme disease and progres- to create ever more sophisticated Care of sive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease.” At this and refined designs for time- and point Cain has sold his business to an associate, moved from phase-coherent loudspeakers. Our Own his home to a special care facility, and is, with support from Along the way, Thiel’s research his wife Leslie, actively fighting for his life. However, health care costs are such that Cain has touched on a number of badly needs help from the high-end world to which he has been, until now, such a vibrant areas involving loudspeaker contributor. As a means of rendering assistance to Cain, the Terry Cain Health Fund has enclosure construction and been established, and there are essentially two ways in which readers can help. design, including the innovative First, make a direct donation to the Terry Cain Health Fund. Readers can submit con- use of materials such as tributions via any of the methods shown below. aluminum, concrete, and marble. • Personal checks: Make payable to Terry Cain Medical Fund and mail to: Thiel’s research on subwoofer Bank of America, Attention Freddie Young design has yielded three patents. 10459 N. 28th Drive At the same time, a significant Phoenix, AZ 85051, USA part of Thiel Audio’s long- (602) 674-4901 standing business success • Direct deposit: Terry Cain Medical Fund, Bank of America, is attributable to company Account # 4570 0033 9418 president Kathy Gornik, who • Wire Transfer: Terry Cain Medical Fund, Bank of America, Wire Routing #0 2600 is responsible for the firm’s 9593, Account # 4570 0033 9418 vision, policies, and marketing Note: All monies deposited into the Terry Cain Medical Fund accounts, above, will be strategy. Gornik has also served exclusively used to support Terry and his wife Leslie in their fight for Terry’s life. as Chairman of the Consumer Second, participate in a new/used audio equipment sales program conducted Electronics Association (CEA), for Cain’s benefit under the auspices of the 6moons Webwww.6moons.com site( ). and as past Chairperson of CEA’s Under this program, sellers may offer new or used equipment for sale, pledging a Audio Division. Gornik was the clearly marked percentage of the price of their equipment to the Terry Cain Health founder and first Chairperson of Fund. Buyers, in turn, may purchase equipment, secure in the knowledge that a CEA’s High Performance Audio clear-cut percentage of the purchase prices paid will go directly to Terry’s account. subdivision, which she helped to For further information on how you can help, follow this link: www.6moons.com/ create. showcase/terrycain/terrycain.html. A Factory-Approved History of McIntosh Laboratories McIntosh Laboratories, based in Binghamton, New York, has announced the impending release of a factory-approved company history, titled For the Love of Music. To research and create the text, McIntosh tapped British audio writer Ken Kessler as its chosen historian. McIntosh sources told The Absolute Sound that the decision to work with Kessler on this project was influenced by widespread appreciation for the work Kessler did in crafting his masterful 2003 book Quad: The Closest Approach—a history of the British hi-fi firm Quad and of the legendary Quad electrostatic loudspeaker. McIntosh assisted Kessler wherever possible in his research, and as a result For the Love of Music brings to light fascinating historical details that even die- continued on next page 18 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 19 Industry News continued from previous page hard McIntosh aficionados might The Philadelphia find eye-opening. For example, a chapter specifically dedicated to Orchestra Downloads rare, and in some cases one-of-a- kind, McIntosh products reveals This past September, the Philadelphia costs $4.99), a user can download a that the Eishenhower-era Air Force Orchestra became the first major 256 kbps MP3 file. This is twice the One—then a propeller-driven American symphonic institution to sell data-rate of an iTunes file and, while Lockheed Constellation—featured its recordings as downloads. This comes no one will confuse the format with the a McIntosh MR55A tuner and at a time when, for economic reasons, absolute sound, these MP3s are quite MC40 power amplifiers, each unit releases of orchestral music by labels listenable, even on a high-end system. modified to have its traditional big and small are ever more infrequent. Significantly better, however, are the RCA jacks replaced with mil-spec The Philadelphia Orchestra itself was FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) connectors. without a label affiliation until Ondine versions, available for a dollar more. In Kessler also reveals that McIntosh began issuing some live performances comparison to the MP3s, these sound at one time supplied special on SACD in late 2005. In addition, like a good compact disc burned from kilowatt vacuum tube amplifiers to the distribution of classical recordings your computer to CD-R. the U.S. Navy for use in submarines. is increasingly problematic with the To produce these downloads, the Interestingly, those monster amps disappearance of “deep inventory” Philadelphians have turned to nugs.net used just two output tubes apiece retailers such as Tower Records. Now, enterprises, a company that has provided (dual EIMAC 4-400As), measured we may see symphony orchestras taking “band-to-fan” distribution for rock only 8" deep, and required forced- both the record company and the record artists like Phish, Metallica, and the air cooling. store out of the equation. Dave Matthews Band. The Philadelphia Later, Kessler devotes a chapter The Philadelphia Orchestra Online Orchestra is its first classical client. Brad to McIntosh’s sometimes reluctant Music Store’s initial offering features 27 Serling, founder and CEO of role in the evolution of the selections. Roughly half are from recent nugs.net (and a long-time reader of giant sound-reinforcement systems concerts, including performances of all TAS), grew up in Philadelphia and used by rock bands worldwide. nine Beethoven symphonies conducted observes, “The Orchestra has a long McIntosh amplifiers, for example, by Christoph Eschenbach, the PO’s history of being on the cutting edge provided all the power needed for current music director. Also available and was the perfect orchestra to launch sound reinforcement at what was are readings of Schubert’s Symphony its own direct-to-fan download service.” arguably the most famous (and No. 9, a Shostakovich Fifth led by Of note, Serling has plans to offer influential) rock music festival of all Wolfgang Sawallisch, as well as several 24-bit FLAC files in the future. “We time: Woodstock. By interviewing other performances from Philadelphia believe there will be more demand in the designers of the Woodstock associate conductor Rossen Milanov. the classical market for high-resolution system, Kessler takes us back to a The remaining 13 selections are recordings than in the live rock market. time when high fidelity was still taken from the Orchestra’s celebrated Many of our clients do in fact send us young, and high-performance Centennial Collection and present 24-bit masters of their live recordings, sound-reinforcement systems archival material led by Leopold which we then dither to 16 bits for were in their infancy. Kessler Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo download release. All of the festivals also details one of the finest, Muti, and Sawallisch. The repertoire we work with, from Bonnaroo to audiophile-grade rock band sound ranges from Brahms (Variations on a Lollapalooza to Austin City Limits, for systems ever assembled; namely, Theme of Joseph Haydn) to Respighi example, capture everything in 24 bits, the Grateful Dead’s famous “Wall (The Pines of Rome) to Penderecki so we are sitting on a high-resolution of Sound” line-array system, which (Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima). archive we can tap into in the future as was driven by a whopping 28,800- Audiophiles are typically skeptical 24-bit playback becomes more user- watts worth of McIntosh MC2300 of music downloads, expecting friendly.” power amplifiers! compressed music files and inferior DVD-Audio/SACD-quality For the Love of Music is a lavishly sonics under critical—i.e., non- recordings for sale over the Internet? illustrated, 314-page book that will iPod—listening conditions. The Sounds like it’s coming. soon become available through Philadelphia project addresses this The current Philadelphia McIntosh dealers. Suggested retail concern head-on, providing two Orchestra downloads are available price should be around $150. options for the consumer. For $0.99 through the PO’s Web site: www. to $9.99, depending on the length thephiladelphiaorchestra.com. of the program (a typical symphony Andrew Quint
The Absolute Sound February 2007 21 FutureTAS Chris Martens
Next-generation Monitor Audio Bronze Series loudspeakers The British firm Monitor Audio, which by tradition has named its top three lines of speakers after precious metals, has announced its next-generation Bronze Series loudspeakers—the most affordable of Monitor’s high-end speaker families. The new Bronze models have a host of updates, including new C- CAM (ceramic-coated aluminum/magnesium) tweeters and MMP-Mk2 (metal-matrix polymer) midrange and bass drivers, revised crossover networks, and improved cabinets offered in black oak, walnut, or cherry “pearlescent vinyl finishes.” Based on firsthand observation, we can say these new vinyl finishes can be, and probably often will be, mistaken for real wood veneers. There are seven Bronze models in all, ranging from the BR1 two-way monitors ($299/pair) up to the 2 ½- way BR6 floorstanders ($799/pair).monitoraudiousa.com
AcousTech Ultra and Limited automatic record cleaning machines Many TAS readers have at least passing familiarity with the beautiful and robust automated record-cleaning machines from the German firm Hannl. The only catch is that Hannls are quite expensive ($3299 for the Aragon model and $2499 for the Mera cleaner). Now, however, the folks at AcousTech have made the cost of owning a Hannl a bit more affordable by offering two new Hannl-built machines—the Ultra ($2199) and the Limited ($1899). Both compact (15" x 15" footprint) cleaning machines are unusually powerful and quiet, and feature automatic cleaning-fluid dispensers. The Ultra provides variable electronic platter speed and suction controls, plus a special chrome- plated disc-label-protection puck. Ultras are offered in a broad range of stylish colors including black, white, frosted red, blue, clear ice blue, and clear (as shown). The Limited model is similar to the Ultra, but provides two user-selectable suction levels (70% or 100%), and a fixed platter-rotation speed. The Limited comes in any color you’d like, as long as it’s black. store.acousticsounds.com
NAD Masters Series M5 SACD/CD player Hot on the heels of its A/V-oriented Masters Series M55 universal player, NAD has announced a new audio- only SACD/CD player called the M5 ($1799). The M5 features completely separate CD (PCM) and SACD (DSD) circuits, and, in the interest of achieving greater flexibility, includes HDCD, MP3, and WMA decoders. Though construed primarily as a two- channel player, the M5 can play multichannel SACD discs either in stereo or in 5.1-channel format. To facilitate use in multichannel systems, the M5 provides pre-sets for various popular 5.1-channel speaker system configurations, plus an extensive set of bass-management options. Unlike most audio-oriented players, the M5 provides video outputs so that set-up menu and MP3 playback options can be viewed on screen; purists, however, have the option of switching off the video outputs for “the cleanest audio possible.” Good though NAD’s M55 universal player sounds, NAD sources told TAS the new M5 sounds “substantially better.” nadelectronics.com
22 February 2007 The Absolute Sound FutureTAS
B&W CM7 floorstanding loudspeakers British speaker manufacturer B&W says its CM Series loudspeakers offer “best-of-both-worlds” appeal, an allusion to the fact that the CM’s combine the gorgeous, understated appearance of “old school” wood-finished cabinets (available in wenge—as shown—rosenut, or maple), but are equipped with drive units based on 21st-century Nautilus-derived technologies. The flagships of the CM range are the new CM7 floorstanders ($1800/pair), which feature a 25mm Nautilus TM tube-loaded dome tweeter, a 130mm Kevlar midrange driver, and a 165mm paper/Kevlar bass driver. The speakers feature what B&W terms “ear-tuned first and second order crossover networks.” bwspeakers.com
Marantz SA-7S1 reference SACD player Marantz has announced what can only be considered a new “Statement Class” SACD player, the soon-to-be- released SA-7S1 ($6999). Many design features of the SA-7S1 aim to minimize noise and vibration. To this end, the player features a copper-clad chassis with a double- layer floorplate, a toroidal power transformer with a copper shielding case, and a special “Digital Isolator” said to improve D/A converter ground separation. Marantz stresses that the player features “completely separate digital and analog stages.” The SA-7S1 also incorporated a newly designed aluminum transport mechanism, Marantz’s phase-error- compensation system, high-accuracy NPC SM5866A5 DACs, and a low-jitter clock. Interestingly, Marantz includes two other features not commonly seen in most high-end players: a feature that allows the player to sync to an external clock, and a phase-inversion switch. marantz.com
Sutherland Ph3D battery-powered phonostage Many audiophiles are familiar with Sutherland’s $3000, battery-powered PhD phonostage, but what they may not have anticipated is the firm’s new Ph3D, a $1000 battery-powered phonostage that promises to make many essential aspects of the Sutherland sound available at an unprecedented low price. The Ph3D leverages design insights drawn both from the more costly PhD and the Sutherland-designed AcousTech PH-1P—both of which are well-regarded performers at their respective price points. The Ph3d is powered by 16 D-cell batteries, said to be good for about 800–1200 hours of use, and provides user-adjustable gain and loading settings. One simple way in which the Ph3D cuts costs without cutting performance is by foregoing the PhD’s automatic signal-sensing/automatic-shutoff circuitry. Instead, the Ph3D features a somewhat prosaic but perfectly effective on/off toggle switch. A faceplate-mounted LED serves both as a power-on indicator and voltage monitor. store.acousticsounds.com
The Absolute Sound February 2007 25 Start Me Up NAD C 325BEE Integrated Amplifier and C 525BEE CD Player
Barry Willis
Two years ago, part of my pitch to TAS Editor-in-Chief Robert Harley and Senior Writer Chris Martens about joining the Absolute Multimedia team was my enthusiasm for affordable high-performance components. “The difference between ultra-high-end gear and mass-market stuff is smaller than ever before—and shrinking,” I asserted, to wry smiles. “And New benchmarks for somebody ought to be covering affordable excellence.” affordable audio I’ve just come away from a marathon listening session involving a $299 CD player and $399 integrated amp, and I’m more convinced than ever that great sound, real soul-satisfying musical sound, can be had on a painfully tight budget. The gear that provoked this revelation is the NAD C 325BEE integrated amplifier and C 525BEE CD player, new entry-level two-channel components that, right out of the box, had a compelling synergy with a pair of DALI IKON 6 loudspeakers. Launched at the CEDIA Expo in September, the NAD pieces were heralded as the latest evidence of the manufacturer’s commitment to two-channel playback. Also implied in that announcement was NAD’s commitment to the huge market of budget-minded music lovers. Incorporating many technical advancements—the “BEE” suffix stands for engineer Bjorn Erik Edvardsen, who was intimately involved in the design of both products—the two components are claimed by NAD to establish new benchmarks for affordable audio. After extended and enthusiastic listening, I believe this claim is not mere marketing hype. Using Nordost SPM interconnects and speaker cable—I’ve previously justified this “not-in-the-real- world” hookup by explaining that SPM is so transparent that it reveals all of the components’ contributions to the soundscape—the NAD/DALI system delivered stunning detail and layered harmonic textures that were completely unexpected from equipment in this price niche. The Best of Boubacar Traore [Wrasse] was the first CD I popped in the player, and what an eye- opener it proved to be. The world-weary voice of the Malian bluesman and his backing chorus overlaid with alto-relievo plucked strings and drums emerged in the room like an orchestrated swarm of butterflies. Perhaps subconsciously expecting a flat lifeless soundstage and a bit of cheap hi-fi shrillness, I was completely unprepared for both the degree of detail and sheer musicality that the NADs delivered. Chrissie Hynde’s heartbreaking live cover of Ray Davies’ “I Go to Sleep” from The
26 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Start Me Up NAD C 325BEE Integrated Amplifier and C 525BEE CD Player
Pretenders’ The Isle of View [Warner Bros.] NAD amplifiers, which NAD says, “adds the machine to market at under $300. had a dimensionality that we normally huge reserves of dynamic headroom The drawer is undamped and makes associate with much more expensive without adding cost by ingeniously some noise as it slides in and out, and electronics, and seemed as immediate as it matching the amplifier to the speaker load the blue-and-white backlit display doesn’t must have been for the audience that sat . . . adjusting the power supply parameters have enough contrast to be read across in rapt silence through her performance. of the amplifier to best cope with the the room in high ambient light. Pacing and bass impact were great too. On actual musical signal and specific speaker But where it counts the player is very Shadowland [Sire], K.D. Lang’s thumping loading characteristics.” well executed, with improved optical country tearjerker “I’m Down to My Last The amp’s good sound can also tracking circuitry and a 20-bit Burr- Cigarette” picked me up and carried me be attributed to “trickle-down” Brown DAC chosen for low-level linearity along like a high-rolling big rig on an improvements derived from NAD and resolution of detail. Borrowing open stretch of interstate. Putting the Masters Series products, including a “new from much more upscale designs, the C Gershwin classic “Summertime” through DC Servo that eliminates sound coloring 525BEE has separate power regulators the up-tempo jazz blender is, I suppose, capacitors in the signal path,” and a for the digital and analog sections, for an experiment worth trying, and club “patented distortion-canceling circuit that lower contamination of the analog diva Kitty Margolis makes an admirable uses both feedback and feedforward to output by digital noise. The player attempt in Heart & Soul/Live in San reduce distortion and improve amplifier also features metal-film resistors and Francisco [Mad-Kat]. Her three-piece band stability. The optimized circuit layout polypropylene capacitors in key areas for works up a lather in this extended improv, lowers internal impedance, improves accurate frequency response, in addition every drum whack and every plucked bass grounding, and eliminates subtle magnetic to high-quality Burr-Brown op-amps in string fully articulated by the NADs and distortions.” the output section. DALIs. In use, the C 325BEE was very quiet— Recognizing the likelihood that the C Although rated at only 50Wpc, the residual noise was barely audible with an 525BEE might be used as a transport C 325BEE is claimed to have dynamic open input and the volume control turned feeding an external DAC, NAD engineers power of 210Wpc into 2 ohms, meaning fully clockwise. But with high-sensitivity buffered the coaxial output with a it can deliver enormous bursts of current loudspeakers like the IKON 6s, there transformer from the converter itself. into very low-impedance loads without was never any need to push the volume The digital output’s 75-ohm impedance bogging down. This ability is enhanced by control beyond the 10 o’clock position. is, as NAD claims, ideally matched to the “PowerDrive” technology found in all The amp was also tremendously dynamic, digital cables, reducing the potential for with open, effortless sonics. jitter or timing errors. Like the remote for The chassis design is a classic NAD the amplifier, the CD player’s remote is Specs & black box and looks almost identical to simple and easy to use, and also without products the company built 30 years ago. a backlight. Unlike its sibling, it doesn’t Pricing A nice feature is the removable jumpers operate the amp. between the preamp and power amp The owner’s manual says the C 525BEE NAD Electronics International 633 Granite Court sections, providing expansion options plays standard CDs plus CD-Rs, and Pickering, Ontario not otherwise possible. In addition to warns about potential playback glitches L1W 3K1, Canada using the C 325BEE as a preamp feeding using off-brand recordable blanks. The (905) 831-6555 nadelectronics.com a separate power amp, you could also use player handled every factory-issued CD the pre-out signal to drive a subwoofer, perfectly, but got a bit balky with one of C 325BEE Integrated Amplifier by replacing the pre-out/main-in jumpers my Memorex compilation discs—one Power output: 50Wpc into 8 ohms Inputs: Seven line-level inputs on RCA jacks; with Y-adaptors. that’s played in every other disc player pre-out/main-in connectors; IR input and The amp comes with an easy-to-use without a problem, including a now very output; 12V trigger remote control that also includes all the long-in-the-tooth Marantz CC-65SE Dimensions: 17.25" x 4" x 11.5" Weight: 17.6 lbs. transport functions for the CD player. changer. Price: $399 Its volume control operates smoothly NAD’s C 325BEE/C 525BEE combo and in small increments, allowing is one of the best bargains in audio today. C 525BEE CD Player Outputs: Analog stereo pair on RCA, digital precise adjustments to listening level The pair offers superb detail, tremendous coax, and digital optical (TosLink) without abrupt changes. The remote dynamics, excellent soundstaging, and a Dimensions: 17.25" x 3.5" x 11.5" offers no backlight at this price point, simply amazing amount of musicality at Weight: 10.4 lbs. Price: $299 unfortunately. a ridiculously low price. I found them not The C 525BEE disc player is good only easy to listen to for many hours at Associated Equipment sounding but a tad rough ergonomically. a stretch, but also downright compelling. DALI IKON 6 loudspeakers; Nordost SPM interconnects and speaker cables; Tributaries This isn’t a serious criticism, but an You may, too. TAS TX500 power conditioner observation that the right decisions were made about where to cut costs to bring
28 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Start Me Up
NuForce P8 Preamplifier
Chris Martens
For obvious reasons, many audiophiles-in-the-making begin their quests for great sound with modestly priced integrated amplifiers or receivers. However, as they gain experience and develop a passion for more revealing sound, there often comes a time to take A splendid the plunge into the world of separate components. When that happy moment arrives, listeners introduction to the naturally seek out the best entry-level (or near-entry-level) preamplifiers they can find. Over the world of high-end years, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to live with some excellent affordable preamps, but separates two in particular stand out in my mind. The first is the award-winning Rogue Audio Metis, a tube- powered unit that I reviewed in Issue 160. The second is the solid-state NuForce P8, which is the subject of this review. Both the Metis and P8 are sonic overachievers that offer different but complementary interpretations of the absolute sound. I’ll first recount the sound of the Rogue Audio Metis as a means of setting the stage for discussion of the NuForce P8. The Metis, like many good vacuum-tube-powered preamps, offers almost magical harmonic richness and rightness in the midrange. However, unlike tube designs that sound rolled-off or softly focused at the frequency extremes, the Metis exhibits evenly balanced frequency response and nearly the level of control you might expect from a good solid-state preamp. But if the Metis is a tube preamp with some solid state-like qualities, then the NuForce P8 is its complementary opposite—a solid-state preamp that offers certain tube-like virtues. The P8’s sonic signature centers around traditional solid-state clarity, definition, tonal balance, and control, but with a twist. Unlike solid-state designs marred by a cold, sterile, or hyper-analytical sound, the P8 instead exhibits an extremely subtle and engaging touch of warmth, which affects the preamp’s presentation from top to bottom, but is most noticeable through the bass and lower midrange. As the P8 breaks in, this quality of warmth evolves, imparting some of the refined harmonic complexity associated with tube preamplifiers. At the same time, the P8 maintains the sort of sharp focus and taut control that are the hallmarks of good solid-state designs. I should also mention that the P8 proved as quiet as the proverbial tomb (though nowhere near as, er, dead- sounding), offering a noticeably lower noise floor than the Metis. Not only does the P8 sound good; it is also a joy to use. If, like me, you find that settingexactly the right volume level is one of the keys to achieving great sound, then you’ll love the P8. The preamp
The Absolute Sound February 2007 31 Start Me Up NuForce P8 Preamplifier
transparent P8 let me hear how artfully the producer had added them to the mix. As the song unfolded, things became even more interesting as backing vocalists join Collister on stage, with a few voices entering initially and then a full chorus arrayed in a broad semi-circle behind her. What I didn’t anticipate was the P8’s ability to reproduce the voices of the backing vocalists with essentially the same precise focus and spatial localization I had observed on Collister’s voice. With the chorus present, the width and depth of the soundstage supports precise volume adjustments became apparent, so the entire back wall via—picture this—a digitally-controlled, of my listening room was filled with analog resistor-based volume control voices supporting Collister on stage. At that offers settings ranging from -70dB its best, this little preamp thoroughly to +30dB in .5dB increments! There are explores discs, effortlessly delineating so many settings possible that the P8’s complicated, interwoven timbral, textural, Specs & remote control offers “jump ahead” and spatial details. controls that let you fast-forward to 25%, Good though the P8 is, comparisons Pricing 50%, or 75% of maximum volume. with tube preamplifiers such as the Metis In practice, the P8 is most in its element reveal areas where it might be improved. NUFORCE (NPHYSICS) when playing material that incorporates First, the P8’s highs tend to sound 356 South Abbott Avenue Milpitas, California 95035 rich layers of inner details just begging slightly dry and two-dimensional relative (408) 426-4165 to be revealed, and when fed recordings to the sweeter, more three-dimensional nuforce.com that offer precise, accurate imaging and treble response good tube units achieve.
Type: Solid-state stereo preamplifier soundstaging cues. For example, I put on Second, the P8 never fully captures the Inputs: Four stereo analog audio inputs Christine Collister’s Love… [Rega, LP] to vivid, vibrant tonal colors that tubes, at (three RCA, one mini-jack) sample the artist’s thoughtful cover of their best, can reproduce. In fact, those Outputs: Two stereo analog outputs (one the classic Joni Mitchell song “Amelia,” tonal colors may even be a form of balanced XLR, one single-ended RCA), headphone output (mini-jack) and there discovered a small treasure coloration, but if so it’s a coloration that Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.75" x 16.5" trove of musical riches. The song opens brings listening sessions alive Weight: 6 lbs. with Collister singing alone at center Which preamp sounds more musical? Price: $1195 stage, her solo voice joined only by a faint The answer depends on your priorities. ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT wash of wind noises appropriate to the The Metis is arguably more magical and Wilson-Benesch Full Circle analog system; song’s aerial theme. What first struck me involving in the midrange and treble Linn Sondek LP-12 turntable and Ittok LVII was the textural depth and focused sound region, and it provides an onboard mm tonearm; Benz Micro ACE L phono cartridge; Musical Surroundings Phonomena and of Collister’s voice, which offered an eye- phonostage. On the other hand, the Sutherland Ph3D phonostages; Musical opening contrast to the higher but thinner P8 is quieter, more flexible, and more Fidelity Tri Vista SACD and kW SACD and more diffuse sound of Mitchell’s revealing of subtle inner details, and players; NuForce Reference 9 Special Edition voice from the original recording. Where it offers greater definition, broader and Kharma MP150 monoblock power amplifiers; Audio Research D330.2 stereo Mitchell’s voice soared up and away frequency response, and unequivocally power amplifier; Epos ELS 303, NHT Classic like the spirit of the departed Amelia superior bass. Both preamps compete Three, Paradigm Reference Signature S8, Earhart, Collister’s voice has a beguiling, effectively with models twice their and Mirage OMD-28 loudspeakers; Furutech Alpha Reference interconnect and speaker earthbound richness that the P8 captured price, and either would make a splendid cables; RPG and Auralex room acoustic beautifully, adding an intriguing new introduction to the world of high-end treatments dimension to the song. Even the wind separates. Either way, know that the Metis effects worked well, probably because the and P8 both serve music well. TAS
32 February 2007 The Absolute Sound iTas Polk Audio I-Sonic Desktop Audio System
Robert Harley
Polk Audio’s new I-Sonic brings a wide range of music sources to a desktop or bedroom audio System—and does so with surprising sound quality. The curvaceous, nine-pound I-Sonic might look like a “table radio,” but appearances are only skin deep. The $599 I-Sonic is much more than a good-looker, both in terms of format capabilities and The Swiss Army knife fidelity. In addition to including an AM/FM tuner, it is XM-ready (antenna and XM subscription of desktop audio required) as well as HD Radio-ready. (HD Radio is a free radio service delivered digitally by your favorite local terrestrial-based stations. HD Radio’s multicasting feature allows local radio stations to broadcast many “hidden” channels of different music. Find HD Radio stations in your area at www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio/hdradio_find_a_station/SA.) The I-Sonic’s integral disc drive lets you play music CDs and even DVDs, meaning that it can function as the video source (via S-video and composite-video outputs) for a small home-theater system, offering greatly improved sound quality compared with your TV speakers. The I-Sonic is also compatible with Picture CD so you can display photos on your TV monitor. In addition to the I-Sonic’s ability to deliver music and video from a wide range of formats (AM/FM/XM/HD Radio/CD/DVD), it can be connected to an external source such as an iPod or other music player through its stereo line-level input jacks. A nice feature allows you to store up to 30 radio presets in any combination of AM, FM, XM, or HD Radio. A dual alarm clock completes the package. I particularly like the I-Sonic’s informative and useful front-panel display, top-mounted “soft” buttons that change function depending on which source is selected, and curvaceous, compact enclosure. In fact, the I-Sonic’s user interface and overall design are exceptionally well thought out. None of this versatility would matter if the I-Sonic didn’t satisfy musically. It would not be an overstatement to say that I was shocked by how good it sounded, particularly when playing CDs. The most impressive aspect of its sound was its extremely smooth and flat tonal balance. Polk apparently didn’t play tricks with frequency response to appeal to a mass audience, such as boosting the upper bass to conceal the lack of low bass, peaking the midrange for greater “presence,” or brightening the treble to add “clarity.” Instead, the I-Sonic sounded like a high-quality mini- monitor in its overall balance. This smoothness translated into a natural presentation that I could listen to for hours at a time (in my office while working) without fatigue. In fact, I replaced my
The Absolute Sound February 2007 35 iTas
165.0 160.0 155.0 150.0 145.0 140.0 135.0 130.0 125.0 120.0 115.0 auto 30.0 100.0 1000.0 1000.0 log Frequency - Hz
office separates system (which included a the same way I would a high-end product. pair of $600 mini-monitors) with the I- The I-Sonic is that good. Sonic. The I-Sonic’s combination of attributes After I’d had the I-Sonic for a few is compelling: compact size for a desktop; weeks, Polk’s Paul DiComo sent me its access to music from a wide range of frequency-response plot. (He was in the sources; great sound quality; and reasonable R&D area and noticed a response plot on price. I’ve enjoyed a lot of music through a computer screen, and seeing how flat it it—and discovered some great new music was, assumed it belonged to one of Polk’s (on XM’s Channel 72, for example). The upper-end products. The engineer told I-Sonic obviously won’t be the main audio the surprised DiComo that the response system for any of us, but in the office or was that of the I-Sonic.) The plot is flatter bedroom, it far exceeds expectations. than that of many freestanding speaker The I-Sonic is one of those products I systems—and sounds that way. never wished for, but after just a few days The I-Sonic has other qualities going with this tabletop marvel, I wondered for it beyond a smooth and natural tonal how I’d ever lived without it. TAS balance. Bottom-end extension, weight, and definition are mind-blowing for such a compact system. Even with the lowermost octaves missing, the I-Sonic Specs & provides enough information in the bass to be musically satisfying. For instance, on Pricing the terrific new piano-trio CDJan Lundgren in New York (a Japanese disc imported by Polk Audio 5601 Metro Drive East Wind Imports), Peter Washington’s Baltimore, Maryland 21215 marvelous, swinging bass playing was (800) 377-7655 clearly evident and musically coherent. www.polkaudio.com http://isonic.polkaudio.com The treble was also surprisingly clean and free from tizz, simultaneously Inputs: XM mini-USB tuner, FM antenna, sounding airy and extended. I would AM antenna, line-in (RCA), line-in (stereo even go so far as to describe the treble as mini-jack) Outputs: Audio line-out (RCA), headphones having a sense of delicacy and refinement. (mini-jack), composite video, S-video In addition, the I-Sonic’s four speakers Format compatibility: AM, FM, XM, HD (two forward-firing and two rear-firing) Radio, CD, DVD-Video, Photo CD, MP3 (on CD) deliver remarkably similar tonal balance Dimensions: 14.5" x 4.75" x 9.75" and spaciousness from anywhere in the Weight: 9 lbs. room. It says much about the I-Sonic that Price: $599 I’ve described its sound quality in much
36 February 2007 The Absolute Sound AnalogAbsolute
London Reference Phono Cartridge
Jonathan Valin
The london (formerly “Decca” or “Decca London”) cartridge has the longest and most distinguished pedigree of any piece of phonographic gear currently on the market. It has been around in one form or another since before the stereo era—the result of some extraordinarily ingenious and enduring engineering by the Special Products group of the Decca Record Company. (The current London Reference cartridge has no connection to Decca Radio & TV Ltd., which sold the rights to the cartridge’s design and manufacture to former Decca engineer John Wright and Presence Audio in 1989.) What sets, and has always set, Decca cartridges apart is the way they generate sound. All phono cartridges convert the physical motion of a stylus into an electrical signal. Most use a cantilever—a long thin metal tube equipped with a flexible rubber ring that acts as a fulcrum—to transmit the vibrations from the stylus at one end to the moving magnets or coils at the other. It was Decca’s contention that the resonances of the cantilever, the damping effect of the rubber fulcrum, and the sheer mass of the magnetic engine at the far end of this virtual “see-saw” caused losses of clarity and dynamic range—what Decca called “cantilever haze.” To sidestep these problems Decca came up with a cartridge without a cantilever. Here’s how it works. A diamond stylus is mounted at the tip of a small flexible piece of slightly angled iron, which, in turn, is glued at its rear to a rubber block (to keep it centered) and further held in place by a tie-back cord (to prevent the angled-iron armature from moving forward).
A new reference from London
London Stylus and Armature
38 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Absolute Analog London Reference Phono Cartridge
The armature is then situated directly small quantities, slight variations in their I could go on—and on—about the within the magnetic field, with the construction can also cause variations practical and theoretical plusses and magnet and coils that generate the in flat frequency response. (Finding a minuses of these fascinating beasts. But signal from vertical modulations of the “good” Decca used to be an audiophile let’s look at the latest iteration. stylus immediately above it and those pastime back in the seventies, although The innards of the London Reference that generate the signal for horizontal recent-vintage Londons have been far cartridge are essentially the same as those modulations of the stylus immediately to more uniform in sound quality.) of the Decca Mk V that was reviewed in its sides. The iron armature is magnetized Second, Deccas have always been Issue 2 of TAS. It still uses the “positive by these stationary magnets, and its very picky about tonearms. Decca’s own scanning” technique, although its magnets movement causes lines of magnetic damped unipivot arm was once considered are now made of rare-earth materials, flux to cut through the coils, inducing a best. Outside of the used market, however, its internal wiring is audiophile-grade, voltage (a variation on the moving-iron Decca arms are no longer available (and I and its stylus, as noted, is an expensive or induced-magnet design). Decca called would not recommend that you try to find ultra-low-mass fine-line diamond. (The this system “positive scanning.” (See one used, although a new model Decca London Reference can also be ordered illustration below.) tonearm will be available in the near with a 78rpm or mono LP stylus.) Unlike future). Even in Decca arms, “positive- the plastic-bodied Mk V, the Reference is Magnet scanning” cartridges were indifferent housed in a gorgeous two-piece aluminum Pole Piece Pole Piece trackers. Though that has changed to an chassis to provide better damping and Plastic Vertical Coils extent with the London Reference (which shielding and, unlike the early Deccas, it Support Beam is equipped with a superior ultra-low-mass has four output pins (rather than three). Lateral Coil Armature fine-line stylus), what has not changed is At $5295, it is also quite expensive. a positive-scanning cartridge’s sensitivity I hadn’t had a positive-scanning Magnet Magnet Tip to dirt and groove wear. Where a moving cartridge in my system for years, so I Pole Pieces coil will plough through dirty or severely wasn’t sure what to expect from the scratched grooves (thanks, in part, to its London Reference. I think I was imagining As you can see, the only moving part greater mass, higher compliance, internal something like a really good Grado on in a Decca cartridge is the tiny angled- damping, and heavier tracking force), a steroids. Well…I was wrong. iron armature that holds the stylus. The Decca cartridge will not. You simply have From the moment I dropped the mass of magnets or coils do not have to clean your records if you plan to replay stylus into a groove, I knew I was hearing to be leveraged at the other end of a them with a positive-scanning cartridge something I hadn’t heard before— cantilever; there is no haze-inducing like the London Reference. Otherwise dust something remarkable. I listen to a lot rubber damping ring at the cantilever’s will pile up on the stylus, causing audible of twentieth-century chamber music in pivot point; and the motion of the mistracing and, if enough dirt accumulates, which strings are snapped or played with stylus is translated directly to the coils outright mistracking. You will also have to vigorous bow strokes. It only took a few and magnets that literally surround it, live with the louder reproduction of tics bars of the Schnittke Quasi una sonata insuring superior rise times. and pops. [EMI] for me to realize that the pizzicatos, Many audio manufacturers make Third, because Deccas essentially use collés, ricochéts, and martelés on this claims for the technological superiority one (large) magnet to translate vertical remarkable LP were being reproduced of their designs. The fact that Decca modulations (stereo information) into with breathtaking realism—not merely “positive scanning” cartridges have been electrical signals, channel separation is better than what I was used to hearing, around for better than fifty years should inherently not as high as it is with moving- but “breakthrough” better. As I’ve written tell you that, in this case, the claims are coil and moving-magnet designs with before, most analog rigs tend to screw mostly justified. Deccas are clearer and separate magnets for vertical modulations. up the speed and duration of plucked faster than much of their competition. As a result soundstage width suffers a bit and forcefully bowed strings (and other Lest this turn into a love fest, let in comparison to the best conventional transients), making them sound either too me note the not-so-good news about cartridges, though not enough, in my abrupt or too stretched-out in tone and “positive-scanning” pickups, before opinion, to be anything like a disqualifier. time. The London Reference reproduced I turn to the first new “Decca” in 12 Fourth, the Decca moving-iron string transients with such “fool-you” years—the London Reference. First, cartridge is a very-high-output device. The realism that I felt—and I seldom feel this largely because it doesn’t use a rubbery current London models generate 5.0mV way—that I’d been carried substantially damping ring on a cantilever, the Decca (you read that right—five millivolts), which closer to the absolute sound. cartridge is relatively “undamped.” This could make them unsuitable for use with Happily, the London Reference’s adds to its aliveness but can, in some certain contemporary phonostages that virtues did not stop with strings. Any instances, also add treble-range brightness may overload with signals that strong. instrument played percussively—the and aggressiveness. As Deccas were (and (Be sure to keep this in mind when mighty Bösendorfer on Grazyna continue to be) hand-made in relatively contemplating a purchase.) Bacewicz’s Kleines Triptychon [Muza], the
40 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Absolute Analog London Reference Phono Cartridge
through-the-floor bass drum on George But the London Reference cartridge or low-level resolution). Crumb’s A Haunted Landscape [New World wasn’t just preternaturally quick; it was also Now for the bad news. All of the Records], the stinging cymbals on Roberto downright natural in timbre. It is weird, and provisos that I mentioned above about Gerhardt’s Libra [Decca Headline]—was rather astonishing, to hear a cartridge that earlier Decca cartridges still apply: just that much more realistic than what I’d doesn’t have the slight rise in the upper- (1) You will need the right tonearm, come to expect from typical moving coils. midrange and treble or slight suckout in preferably a damped unipivot or damped Decca’s famous, long-standing claim of the upper bass and lower mids of most straight-line-tracker that is happy with a superior transient speed—which, frankly, moving coils but that still maintains— relatively low-compliance cartridge and a I thought would be invalidated by the and, in the case of instruments played relatively low VTF of 1.8–1.9 grams (I’ve performance of contemporary mc’s— percussively, exceeds—typical moving-coil had good luck with the Kuzma Air Line, still held up. transient speed. The results are uniquely less good with the Walker air-bearing “right”: a presentation with the lifelike air, arm); (2) you will need a phonostage that body, and fullness of tone color of a great is capable of handling 5.0mV signals Moving-Iron Cartridges moving-magnet or moving-iron cartridge without overloading (in my experience, without the comparative sluggishness or the Audio Research PH7, the Lamm LP2, The London “positive scanning” opacity of either. While I wouldn’t say that and the Aesthetix Io all fit the bill); (3) design is a variation on the little- the London Reference was quite the equal you will need to clean your records and used moving-iron (also called in very-low-level resolution of my then- the London Reference’s stylus regularly (a “induced magnet”) principle. reference Clearaudio Titanium “Fingers” gentle sweep with the Decca 2+2 Record How it works is less intuitive moving coil—the more expensive Brush should suffice for the stylus); and than the workings of a moving- Clearaudio Titanium is a veritable sonic (4) you will have to put up with less clean coil or moving-magnet cartridge. vacuum cleaners when it comes to tracing on well-worn discs and occasional All operate on the principle that picking up fine detail and an unaparalleled mistracking on really deep scratches. a voltage is induced (created) soundstager—it was very, very close, with, If you’re willing to live with these when there’s a magnetic field, a as noted, superior realism on transients idiosyncrasies (and I grant that several can conductor, and relative motion and timbres, even in the bass (which, with be annoying), you’ll be hard put to find a between the two. When a the Reference, is naturally round, full, fast, more lifelike phono cartridge. Oh, some conductor cuts through magnetic and deep) and treble (which was sweeter will beat it out here and others there, but lines of flux, electrons in that and airier than the Clearaudio, though a bit overall a properly functioning London conductor are put into motion. softer and less extended). Reference is, indeed, a reference-quality (This relationship between On vocals…well, the Decca has always pickup—and I use it, along with the Air electricity and magnetism was been famous for its way with voices. But Tight PC-1, as my reference. Just don’t say discovered in 1820 by the Danish when you listen to a song you’ve heard a I didn’t warn you about its quirks. TAS physicist Hans Christian Oersted. hundred times, like Randy Newman’s “I In his honor, the unit of magnetic Love L.A.” [Warner], and suddenly realize field strength is the oersted.) In that you can not only distinctly hear the a moving-magnet cartridge, the two back-up singers—one male, one coils are fixed and the magnets female—going “ah, Ah, AH, AH!” in the Specs & attached to the cantilever move chorus, but can also, for the first time, back and forth in response to tell from the timbre of their voices that Pricing modulations in the LP’s groove. one is Lindsey Buckingham and the other May Audio Marketing Inc. But in a moving-iron cartridge, Christine McVie (as the album jacket tells 2150 Liberty Drive, Unit 7 the magnets and coils are both you)…well, that’s pretty darn amazing! Niagara Falls, New York 14304 stationary. The stationary magnets The London Reference is far and (800) 554-4517 instead magnetize a piece of soft away the best non-moving-coil cartridge mayaudio.com iron, which is moved by the stylus I’ve ever heard and would’ve been TAS’ Type: Moving-iron cartridge with positive in the groove (thus the alternate 2006 High-End Cartridge of the Year, scanning name, “induced magnet”). Such if it didn’t have the bad luck of coming Compliance: 15x10-6cm/dyne laterally, cartridges have very high output up against the Air Tight PC-1, which 10x10-6cm/dyne vertically Input impedance: 47k Ohms (optimum 33k voltages, on the order of 2–7mV. landed on my doorstep a week or two Ohms) The innovation in the London after the London Reference and, frankly, Input capacitance: 100 to 300pF (optimum cartridge is obviating the need marginally outdid it in transient realism. 220pF) Output: 5mV at 5cm/sec for a cantilever, and instead Even at that, I would have to say that the Recommended tracking force: 1.5 to 2 connecting the stylus directly to London Reference is still the more natural grams (optimum 1.8gm) the moving iron. —Robert Harley in timbre and very nearly the PC-1’s equal Price: $5295 in speed (though not in soundstage width
42 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 43 High-End Returns to its Roots: The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
he Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, now in its third year, was held October 21–23 at Denver’s Marriott Tech Center Thotel. This show has expanded from its home-grown beginnings to become a major event, attracting exhibitors and attendees from all over North America. The Rocky Mountain show has a distinctive vibe all its own— one that serves as a reminder that the high-end audio industry sprang from passionate enthusiasts working in garages or on kitchen tables. As with the previous two events, this year’s show featured an interesting mix of “mainstream” high-end brands (Wilson, Thiel, JM Lab, VTL, Mark Levinson, Linn), esoteric marquees (deHavilland, Audio Aero, DarTZeel, Eben), and quite a few enthusiasts/designers looking for their first recognition or showcasing outrageous inventions that will likely never become production-line products. We covered the show live at our Web site, AVguide.com, and bring you here the most significant and best-sounding Rocky Mountain show-goers products, along with a sampling of interesting prototypes and get registered curiosities. —Robert Harley
Text and photography by Jonathan Valin, Robert Harley, and Neil Gader
The Absolute Sound February 2007 45 The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
(or poorer) man’s MAGICO Mini. The Jonathan Valin on the Show’s Highlights Omega Max Hemp could be one of ong gone are the salad days when high-end stereo stores flourished in those great bargains that come along virtually every large town and you could read about something fabulous once in a paper moon—or it could be Lin TAS, then go out and audition it at your local audio emporium. Now, a boondoggle. I plan to review a pair in most of us have to travel to hear the latest and greatest, and for many the the near future to find out which. hi-fi show is the place to travel to—the only stereo store where all the new goodies are on display. Sounds Real Audio Room As if to seal this point, attendance was way up at this year’s Rocky Mountain As was the case with the Gershman Audio Fest, with visitors coming in from every corner of the country to Black Swans, I’ve not been a fan of hear what couldn’t be heard elsewhere. As was the case in 2005, they were Wilson-Benesch loudspeakers, which, rewarded with a very-good-sounding mix of mainstream and exotic. Though in the past, have sounded sumptuously not quite as analog-oriented as it was in 2005 (or quite as uniformly fabulous- detailed and extremely free of box sounding), the 2006 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was still a feast for the ear. coloration but overly cool, passive, and My beats were the big exhibit rooms on the ground floor and mezzanine analytical. Maybe it was the addition of W-B’s own $9500 Torus Infrasonic of the Marriott Tech Center, and the smaller suites on the second and some of Generator (soon to be reviewed by the fifth and ninth floors. With select LPs, a handful of CDs, and a wonderful moi), maybe it was deHavilland’s $10k CD-R of the Copland Third Symphony in hand, I traveled from room to room GM70 amps and $5k Mercury preamp to room. Here are the highlights. (plus Cardas cable), but W-B’s newest entry, the $15k 2.5-way floorstanding Gershman Acoustics good transients, rich timbres, and terrific A.C.T., had all of the virtues of W-B’s Over the years I’ve respected Gershman bass. (The Black Swan was reviewed by former entries (little-to-no box or driver Acoustics loudspeakers but never really Anthony H. Cordesman in Issue 168 of coloration, an abundance of fine detail) warmed up to them. This year I finally TAS.) came around—or the speakers did. The Gershman three-way Black Swan ($30k), Art Audio/Gill Audio/ with its ingenious sub-alignment system, Omega Room is far and away the finest transducer I’m a big fan of any speaker that Eli Gershman has designed. Driven sounds like a single-driver sound by Red Rock Audio monoblocks and source, which is one of the chief the Exemplar DAC/preamp, the Swan reasons why I prefer two-ways, ’stats, showed very well on a variety of music, planars, and omnis to hybrids and with a soundfield that was big and multiways. But…you can’t sound spacious (though darker and not quite more like a single-driver source than as boxlessly open as that of the MBL a, uh, single-driver source—and that 101 Es—for which, see Best of Show), is precisely what the $2695 Omega Max Hemp loudspeaker is. The folks behind the Max Hemp actually use hemp for their single full-range driver (with whizzer tweeter). Stiffer than paper, hemp, like paper, has very little sonic signature Pretty as a picture: Wilson-Benesch of its own. With its added A.C.T. speakers strength it makes for a superb driver material. The Omega Max may not—by its very nature— be one of the fuller-range speakers without many of their flaws. Sweet and on the market, but it may be one of lovely in balance, supremely open and the purer. Driven by the $7000 Art airy, with a front-to-back layering that Audio Diablo SET amp, $6500 Gill was scarce on the ground at RMAF, Audio Design Alana preamp, $2350 the A.C.T.s were impressive. I did think Sheu-Analog ’table, and $2250 that two Torus subwoofers should have Schroeder arm, it was virtually been used for best imaging—the folks at colorless and boxless-sounding in Sounds Real Audio used only one and it Speakers you can smoke? the midband, so beguilingly and should have been turned down a bit in The Omega Max Hemps effortlessly natural on voice that it amplitude. Nonetheless, this was one of made me think it might be a poor the better sounds at RMAF.
46 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest “I ain’t likely to review this number—it’s just too big and weird. But it’s worth an audition if you have a wide room.”
Welborne Labs/Cogent Loudspeaker Room What would an audio show be without a few genuine oddities? I’ve already commended one exceptional-sounding example—the Omega Max Hemp speaker. Here is another—slightly Wilson MAXX 2s with recording engineer par excellence Peter McGrath more extreme—instance. The $58k Cogent True-to-Life is a two-way horn single “sweet spot” loudspeaker, in that Audio Unlimited (Maroon loudspeaker—a genuine giant combining spot it had remarkably lifelike presence Peak Room) on voice, violin, piano, and guitar. I In yet another turnaround, I found ain’t likely to review this number— myself impressed by the $48k Wilson it’s just too big and weird. But it’s MAXX 2s—speakers that have not worth an audition if you have a wide always impressed me in the past. room, are “into” horns, and can find Clearly part of the MAXX 2s’ newfound the Cogents at a hi-fi shop (or much appeal (for me) was attributable to the more likely) at another hi-fi show. source material—the great recording engineer Peter McGrath’s fabulous Evolution Acoustics MM- mastertapes (or, in this case, master- 3 loudspeaker (Larkspur data recorded to hard drive), including Room) simply phenomenal recordings of Jonathan Tinn’s latest offering—the the Copland Third Symphony, the mammoth Evolution Acoustics Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto, MM3 ($33k) three-way—sandwiched and the Brahms Piano Quintet and Viola a central ribbon tweeter between Sonata. We probably could have been separate curved enclosures housing listening to Dixie Cups and strings, and two ceramic midrange drivers I still would have been wowed by the and two giant woofers in a quasi- McGrath sound. As it was—driven by D’Appolito configuration. Although very powerful but somewhat analytical True-to-life, indeed: The Cogent capable of considerable delicacy, $40k Boulder 2060 stereo amp, the horn loudspeaker system tonal sweetness, and lifelike imaging, $40k Boulder 2010 preamp, and the the MM3s were either underdriven $37k Boulder 2020 DAC (fed from by the $18k 100Wpc Dartzeel Peter’s hard drive), the MAXX 2s had a horn-loaded mid/bass field-coil driver NHB-108 amps Jonathan was using or tremendous dynamic authority and slam that is said to work from 300Hz down inherently polite because they were sorely in the bass (and everywhere else, though to about 50Hz with a horn-loaded stressed by the plucked strings, brass they tended to be a bit bright, rolled, mid/tweet field-coil driver that works fanfares, and big bass drum thwacks of and clinical in the treble). Still, in a show from 300Hz up to 20kHz. Bi-amped by the Copland Third Symphony. On less where the sound was slightly less across- Welborne Labs DRD45 and DRD300B demanding material, however—like Joni the-board fabulous than it was last year, SET amps and fed from a vintage Studer Mitchell’s “All I Want” from the great the MAXX 2s stood out. tape deck, the “True to Life” rather DCC LP test pressing of Blue—they were earned its name. Though definitely a rather lovely on voice and dulcimer.
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JV’s Best of Show Tara Labs/MBL of America
Robert Harley Reports on Significant Introductions, High-Value Systems, and Interesting Curiosities Linn Debuts New Majik Line In a show dominated by fairly esoteric- Best of Show: The great MBL 101 Es looking gear, the new Linn Majik products stood out not only for ord knows I’ve raved before about the MBL 101 E Radialstrahlers—the their “ordinary” looks, simplicity of $47,900 four-way omnis from Berlin’s Wolfgang Meletzky that lay fair claim operation, and mainstream appeal, but L to being the world’s best loudspeakers—and Tara Labs’ “Zero” interconnect for the terrific sound they produced. and “Omega” speaker cable. But what’s a reviewer supposed to do when Meletzky’s The Majik line, which made its speaker, his attendant electronics (the $74k MBL 9011 monoblock amps, the $19k North American debut at the show, MBL 6010 D preamp, the $21k MBL 1621 A CD transport, and $21k MBL 1611 E is an attempt to bring Linn’s flagship DAC), and cable guru Matthew Bond’s sensational wires keep showing so well at technologies developed for its more hi-fi expo after hi-fi expo? If anything, the 101 Es’ astonishing openness, resolution, expensive products (specifically the imaging, coherence, neutrality, and dynamic nuance and clout were even more in stunning CD12 CD player, Klimax evidence this year in Denver. Everything I listened to through them sounded more preamp, and Chakra power amplifiers) freed-up and alive than it did through other speakers I heard at the show—more into mid-priced products. The system included the Majik CD like the real thing and less like reproductions coming out of a box or a screen. So, player ($3500), Majik Kontrol preamp once again, the 101 Es earn my Best of Show. (The MBL 101 Es—TAS’s 2005 Product ($3100), and Majik 2100 power amplifier of the Year—were reviewed by JV in Issue 154. The Tara Labs’ Zero interconnects ($2650) driving a pair of Linn’s Ninka and Omega speaker cables were reviewed in Issue 157.) loudspeakers ($2000). In the demo, a pair of Majik 2100 amplifiers drove the Ninkas in active Runner-Up GTT Audio/ (or AKTIV, to use Linn’s Video Room terminology) configuration, The reformulated versions of Dutch with Linn’s outboard speaker designer Charles van Oosterum’s electronic crossover splitting Kharma Midi-Exquisites, the $75k four- up the frequency spectrum way floorstander I extolled in Issue 152, and one amplifier driving sounded gorgeous driven by exactly both woofers and the other the same MBL electronics that sent the amp driving both tweeters. 101 Es into orbit. However, you couldn’t The sound I heard was find two more different presentations. extremely engaging and Van Oosterum’s Midi-Exquisites are like communicative, highly exquisite miniatures—all subtlety, grace, detailed without being analytical. I spent more time and fine detail; Wolfgang Meletzky’s MBL listening in the Linn room 101 Es are like giant landscapes—all bloom, than in any other, simply scope, and dynamic excitement. Both are because I kept wanting to great transducers, but I ended up slightly hear “just one more track.” preferring the MBLs because, when all Charles van Oosterum with Kharma’s That’s a good sign. Watch is said and done, they sound less like Midi Exquisites for a full review of the Majik loudspeakers. components—they just might live up to their name.
50 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
LP with a mouse, delete and the highly regarded Audio Physic line rearrange tracks, and access a host of speakers. The Sonics were driven by of other functions. Price: $129. A the Belles Soloist 3 preamp and Soloist 3 Windows version is in the works. power amplifier that retail for just $795 and $995, respectively. The amplifier Horn Speakers on your puts out 65Wpc into 8 ohms and can Desktop double its output power into 4 ohms. A horn-loaded desktop audio Watch for a review. system? That’s right—Ferguson Finally, I was greatly impressed by Hill Studios has scaled down its the value offered in the Odyssey room. large horn system for the desktop The system was $5800, complete with with the FH007 mini-system. The the Stratos 180W monoblock power $1195 system includes two horn amplifiers ($2395 per pair), Tempest speakers, two direct-radiating preamp ($1125), and Odyssey’s mid/bass drivers in spherical floorstanding loudspeaker. The products enclosures, and a 16Wpc stereo are built to a high standard and produced amplifier that can accept line- a sound that was better in many ways level input from an iPod or than more expensive systems I heard at other source. The transparent the show. Ron Sutherland shows off his $995 enclosures and horns make the battery-powered Ph3D phonostage system seem to disappear—very Prototypes, cool. The company is about to introduce a matching subwoofer Inventions, and with an 8" driver and 100W amplifier for Curiosities An Affordable Battery- about $250. Ferguson Hill is distributed Powered Phonostage? in the U.S. by Ultimate Audio Video in A 1960s Idea Resurrected Acclaimed designer Ron Sutherland has Deerfield, Illinois. The strain-gauge phono cartridge, taken the circuit ideas from his terrific invented in the 1960s and soon $3000 Sutherland PhD battery-powered Great-Sounding Affordable thereafter sold to Matsushita phono preamp and created a $1000 Gear (Panasonic), which let it languish, version called the Ph3D, with some Three rooms at the show stood out for seemed destined for the hi-fi museum clever tricks to reduce the build cost. For the combination of great sound, low until the concept was resurrected example, the battery holder is formed price, and high value. The first was the by Soundsmith and demonstrated by bending the chassis metal rather than $1500-per-pair Dragonfly loudspeaker at the RMAF. As everyone knows, requiring another internal component. from Soundsmith. This stand- a phono cartridge works by moving The array of conventional “D” cells last mounted two-way had a highly refined coils within a magnetic field (or vice 1250 hours. Battery power results in lower presentation, a huge soundstage, and the versa in moving-magnet cartridges) to noise, which is particularly important in a dynamics of a much larger system. induce a voltage. But in a strain-gauge phonostage. The unit has adjustable gain- I was also taken by a new loudspeaker cartridge, the moving cantilever applies a and cartridge-loading, high-quality input from Joachim Gerhard the founder of varying pressure on a tiny silicon rod. A and output jacks, and high-end parts. Rip Your LPs For those of you who want to archive your LP library to a music server or portable music player, Channel D Software has the solution with its Pure Vinyl software for transcribing LPs. When used with an outboard analog- to-digital converter, this Mac-based program takes in a digitized signal, performs RIAA equalization in the digital domain, and allows you to edit and compile music tracks from LP. What’s special is the cool user interface that lets you see an on-screen graphic representation of the LP you’ve digitized. You can select start and stop The strain-gauge phono cartridge makes a comeback— points by “scrubbing” across the virtual no extra charge for the blue LED
52 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 53 The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest constant current (supplied by the phono preamplifier) flowing through the silicon “The DSP-based rod is modulated by the cantilever’s Emerald Physic motion, creating an electrical replica of the audio signal. Because the constant- CS1 is a current source is in the phono preamp, a fascinating strain-gauge cartridge must be used with a companion phonostage. product and at The advantages include extremely low moving mass (no coils or magnets a list price of to move, which confers outstanding $4950 could trackability), wide bandwidth (response to 50kHz), and no hum or susceptibility represent a to electromagnetic interference. stunning value.” The world’s most outrageous power With a current source right there at amplifier—the Amber Waves the end of the tonearm, designer Peter Audio monoblocks based on an RF Ledermann couldn’t resist adding a transmitting tube bright blue LED on the cartridge to help locating tracks in the dark. power transmitters. A pair of 304TLs is used in push-pull configuration to The Power of DSP in loudspeakers were demonstrated by deliver 200W. Although the tubes have Loudspeakers Emerald Physic, a new company with long since gone out of production, the Digital signal processing (DSP) in a most unusual product, the CS1. manufacturer claims that there are plenty loudspeakers is such a good idea that The four-piece system employs a 1" available on the open market. The price I’m surprised so few designers take compression-driver tweeter mated to of the monoblocks: $42k per pair. advantage of it. With DSP, a designer two 8" midrange units in one flat open can create any crossover slope he wishes, panel, coupled with another open panel A New Twist on Planar- equalize the system, and time-align the consisting of four 15" woofers in a Magnetic Loudspeaker drivers. dipole configuration (two forward-firing, Technology The advantages of DSP-based two rear-firing). A DSP unit from DBX Along with the Amber Waves provides the electronic crossover and monoblocks, the strangest-looking other processing. Six amplifier channels (and lowest spouse-acceptance-factor) are required, although the amplifiers can product at the RMAF had to be the be low power owing to the system’s high giant four-way quasi-ribbon-based sensitivity (100dB/1W/1m). Panorama loudspeaker from Symposium The demo I heard produced a super- Acoustics. The designer was closed- precise spatial presentation, smooth and mouthed about technical details, but did flat tonal balance, wide dynamics, and say that some aspects of the ribbon are terrific bass extension without the bass lumpiness one often hears in hotel rooms. The downside is that the CS1 is a “form-follows-function” design, meaning that it has rather utilitarian cosmetics and finish. Nonetheless, the CS1 is a fascinating product and at a list price of $4950 could represent a stunning value (the dual-woofer-column version is $6750). Full production is scheduled to commence in January. World’s Most Outrageous- With DSP crossovers, equalization, Looking Amplifier and time alignment, along with a The most outrageous-looking compression-driver tweeter and massive amplifier I’ve ever seen had to be the Amber Waves Audio monoblocks. dipolar woofer arrays, the Emerald These massive, 200-pound units are If Spouse Acceptance Factor isn’t Physic CS1 sounded shockingly good— built around a 304TL tube, a high- a factor, the Symposium Acoustics and for $4950 complete power device used in the 1940s as RF Panorama might be for you
54 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
novel, including very loose diaphragm fixed some of the room-induced bass tensioning, extremely light diaphragms problems, and a Wadia 521 DAC ($6k) (Kapton), and very powerful magnets provided digital-to-analog conversion. (neodymium). Conventional cone drivers Total system price: $322,400. loaded into a transmission-line enclosure The source for this cost-no-object provide the bottom end. The prototype system was . . . downloaded music! A Neil Gader (estimated price: $60k) had a sensitivity tablet PC on a WiFi network accessed Wraps it Up of 93dB, and was demonstrated with music files stored on a computer that This was my first Rocky Mountain Audio 12W power amplifiers. The company had been downloaded from Music Fest (RMAF), and let me tell you this show plans to bring the technology to Giants. Music Giants is the only products “under $10k.” company offering full CD-quality, is a long, long way from Vegas, baby. uncompressed downloads. With this Except for my inability to stop humming Crossover-less, system, you could access through the John Denver tunes, its funky, cottage- Single-Driver Speaker tablet PC a huge music library with high-end vibe made it a sheer pleasure to A small but passionate company uncompromised sound quality and have attend. Fact is there are few contrasts in called Stereo Dave’s Audio Alternative it reproduced at the highest level. The high-end audio as bold as the comparison demonstrated their crossover-less, system’s intent was not only to show off between CES and RMAF. Vegas is Big single-driver Creation 650 loudspeaker. the sound quality of Halcro electronics Audio—trade only, buttoned-down, The 6.5" driver is mounted in a deep and XLO cables, but that downloaded with the buzz of business tension in each enclosure with an 8"-square baffle. music doesn’t always equate to mediocre airless room. At Rocky Mountain, the The $2300-per-pair Creation 650 can sound. For the record, the file format atmosphere is relaxed, and the consumer be mated to the company’s Genesis 12 was Windows Media Audio (WMA) prevails. RMAF is a gathering of fervent subwoofer ($895) for extended bass lossless. true believers, where the faithful response. rededicate themselves to that old time The sound I heard from the religion of High End. Crowding the halls Stereo Dave’s systems was amazingly are audiophiles of all persuasions: the immediate, direct, and communicative— vinyl junkies, the monaural flat-earthers, probably the result of getting the and terminal digiphobes, as well as the crossover out of the signal path. In RH’s Best of Show byte-heads and tech geeks lining up to addition, the speakers completely n a show of many terrific lay hands on gear that ran the gamut disappeared into the soundstage, sounding rooms, there from the heavenly to the hopeless. which was rich with spatial cues. Top- I were a few standouts. But all were united in a common end extension and dynamics were On an absolute level cause—the pursuit of great sound. surprisingly good for a single-driver (without regard for price), It’s also a world where small system. I’ll have to say the MBL companies exist under the radar $300k+ Megasystem from 101 E loudspeakers driven and even prosper on the crumbs Halcro, XLO, and Music by MBL’s top-of-the-line of word-of-mouth and user Giants electronics gets my top newsgroup buzz. As one local The show’s most ambitious system vote. This system was so loudspeaker designer said, his had to be the room put together by alive, dynamic, spacious, business is purely consumer- Halcro, Music Giants, and XLO Electric. and convincingly musical direct—a euphemism for Occupying the show’s largest room (34' on a wide range of Internet distribution and zero x 60'), the system included Wilson Audio material. dealer network. But in at least MAXX 2 loudspeakers ($48k) driven by I also greatly enjoyed one sense, RMAF is exactly like two pairs of bridged Halcro dm88 power the Gershman Black CES—sonic quality was all over amplifiers ($86k), and a Halcro dm10 Swan ($30k), which has the place. What follows are preamp ($18k). Two Talon Thunderbird never failed to sound examples of sound that to these passive subs ($22k) helped out in the wonderful at shows. ears was nicely dialed in. bass (as if the MAXX 2s needed it), The Swans threw a huge driven by two Halcro dm38 amplifiers and open soundstage, ($19k). Crossover duties (between the and delivered deep Soundsmith is a MAXX2s and the subwoofers) were bass extension. cooperative of designers handled by a Pass Labs XRV1 ($6k). The who ply their skills under entire system was connected with $115k the mentoring eye of worth of XLO’s reference-quality Signal Peter Ledermann, an Delivery System cabling, comprising audio designer, inventor, all of XLO’s Limited Edition cables. A and former Director of Rives Audio PARC room equalizer ($3k) Engineering at Bozak
56 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 57 The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
warm (not bloated), balanced, and detailed, with great dynamic punch and acceptable extension. They reminded me of the compact British studio-monitor tradition at its best. Although I was sitting well off-axis, soundstaging along the long wall of the room was excellent with a strong central image on a Lindsey Buckingham solo recording featuring his incredible finger- picking technique. I especially like Soundsmith’s “have-it-your- way” mindset regarding upgrades. In this instance, both Firefly models offer the option of ribbon Soundsmith made quite an impression on tweeters for $700 a pair. No NG and RH with its $995 two-way mini- wonder Soundsmith’s motto is, “The IDS-25 monitor “We have seen the future…and we (image, depth, can fix it.” Corporation. It produces MOSFET Even though Ayre Acoustics and spaciousness— minimum-feedback amps, a strain- Vandersteen were shoe-horned in a small get it?) is the gauge cartridge and preamp with room, the system had “star” written all corresponding circuitry for the strain- over it. Not overpowering in scale, it was brainchild of gauge cartridge, and some speakers pure musicality in its ease and spacious retired McIntosh that perked up my ears. Traditional in soundstaging. The new Ayre Mx-R appearance, both of these two-way monoblocks ($16,500/pr.) and K-1xe designer Roger compacts sport a wide-bandwidth 1" preamp ($7000) represent a stylistic Russell. It’s a 7.5' soft-dome tweeter. The larger Monarch departure for Ayre—their narrow uses a 6" woofer (a 4.5" woofer is used width and increased depth are today’s tower design that in the Dragonfly). The sonics were popular profile. The Mx-Rs’ platform houses an in-line is an ultra-rigid, aircraft-grade aluminum chassis with circuitry array of twenty- that improves upon Ayre’s zero- five 3.5" woven- feedback fully-balanced designs. Orchestral microdynamics fiberglass drivers were exceptional, no doubt due per side.”
in part to the twin power transformers. With the Mx-R outputting 300W into 8 ohms and doubling that into 4 ohms and analog courtesy of the Linn LP12, the Vandersteen Quattros ($6995/pr.) exhibited a sense of control and liveliness that was stunning. The new Thiel CS 3.7 loudspeaker ($9900/pr.) is a Fresh Ayre: Debut electronics from striking departure for Thiel. Its Ayre plus Vandersteen Quattros silver-ribbed woofers, sparkling equaled some of the show’s sweetest sounds concentric mid-tweeter array, and rounded aluminum top cap are aggressively eye-catching. However driven by the silky Thiel debuted its all new and striking CS new VTL MB-450 Signature 3.7 alongside VTL’s latest, the MB-450 monoblocks ($13,500/pr.), monoblocks Marantz SA-11S1 SACD player
The Absolute Sound February 2007 59 The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
IDS, a new kid on the block, demo’ed its 25-driver, crossover-less IDS-25 loudspeaker
($3500), and Cardas wiring this system was both dynamic and delicate. It also produced the kind of natural soundstage on some Mark Knopfler tracks that is rare in this kind of show environment. The new Thiel is an arresting improve- ment over its predecessors. But a good deal of the credit should rightfully go to VTL. Beautifully turned out with a luxurious extruded aluminum panel that frames a complement of eight 6550 (or KT-88) output tubes, the MB-450s demonstrated solid bass control and pitch definition. These products promise Paired with jewel-like Nagra electronics, Verity Audio premiered the modular and to be key releases in 2007. popularly-priced Rienzi The IDS-25 (image, depth, spaciousness—get it?) is the brainchild are all Cardas wire. Not surprisingly with near-electrostatic transparency. of retired McIntosh designer Roger the IDS-25 was being propelled by a Low bass was a bit light but I expect Russell. It’s a 7.5' tower design that room full of McIntosh gear, including room optimization might improve houses an in-line array of twenty-five the massive MC501 monoblocks, performance. Expect pricing in the 3.5" woven-fiberglass drivers per side. MCD1000 transport, and MDA1000 $19,000/pr. range. Because the drivers are full-range, the D-A, as well as an MS300 server. The Although the Verity Audio and system is essentially crossoverless, yet sound was articulate without being edgy, Nagra exhibit was moved to a much boasts frequency response down to tonally of a piece at any height position, larger space than planned, it didn’t 20Hz when used in conjunction with its and exceedingly clean. Its greatest spoil the debut of Verity’s new modular outboard equalizer. Internal connections strength was a boxless, unified character speaker the Rienzi ($7995/pr.). With
60 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Third Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest
NG’s Best of Show GTT Audio/ Video Room fter much teeth gnashing the Kharma room featuring the Midi Exquisite MkII got my nod for best overall sound over the MBL room—by a nose. A What turned the tide for the Kharma was the experience of hearing a particular piece of familiar music. When I sat down, “Black Magic Woman” was playing—a song as loathsome as the “Macarena.” However, when Carlos Santana launched into his solo, I began hearing details and dynamics I’d never noticed before—the punch and ring of each guitar string, the skins of the drum kit. The micro- and macro-dynamic interplay was stunning. But it was the meat-on- the-bone lower-mids and bass that were the real surprises. I knew the Kharma line could sound beautiful, but the lighter balance of smaller models made me wonder if they could rock. (Not an issue at the MBL exhibit!) Truth is, the Midi Exquisite system provided a combination of high end and high excitement like few consumer its two-way head unit (also available or trade show encounters I’ve experienced over the last few years. True, its system separately at $3195/pr.) sitting atop price will make anyone lacking the surname Gates or Buffet gasp aloud. But think a sub-bass module, it was one of the of it this way—it’s a steal when you consider that it sounds like a million bucks. prettiest speakers at the show. Aided by Silversmith Audio Silver interconnects and speaker cable (interconnect, $1400 appreciation for the system’s expressive midrange detail and microdynamics. The top for a three-foot pair; speaker cable, end was particularly effortless and had the kind of bloom that I sometimes miss from $2500 for a six-foot pair), the sound was digital playback. The Nagra CDC-CD Player ($14,995), playing through Nagra’s PL-L smooth and coherent with excellent low- line stage and PSA amplifier ($8495 and $6595 respectively), was yet another stunning level detail. I listened to a combination exercise in miniaturization from the Swiss company known for its film-industry of vocal favorites from Lyle Lovett to recorders. The CDC is equipped with output, level, and balance controls, and both Rosanne Cash, and came away with an XLR and RCA outputs. I’d like to hear this system again in a room more suited to the scale of the Rienzi. Audio Analogue of Italy has recently revamped its lineup to stunning effect. Especially the Maestro integrated ($3495) and its companion CD player ($2495). But the Enigma is something else! It’s a 54Wpc CD-receiver with a tube preamp section that’s designed to be inconspicuous on a shelf, yet capable of high performance. Its all aluminum looks are to die for. Paired with the right compact speaker, it should give new meaning to the term “lifestyle high end.” The VSM-MX is the latest iteration of Merlin Music System’s floorstander. Driven by Joule Electra VZN-100 amps ($18,000/ pr.), the perennially musical Audio Aero Capitole CD player ($9000), and JPS cabling, it was a standout with translucent highs, a wide open soundstage, and electrifying transients. Other gear that caught my eye and ear were the new PS Audio Trio 1/4 PAGE AD control amplifier, a Class D design boasting 100Wpc ($1795), the Digital Link 3 with a fully discrete output stage and USB ($1000), and new Power Plant Premier, which boasts 85% efficiency and 1500W output ($2195). Noteworthy, too, was the Amphitryon, a full-range planar-ribbon speaker from Analysis Audio ($24,000/pr.) that was clean and fast as can be. It joined Bybee and its roll-out of a new line of power conditioners due to hit the market by early ’07. The Bybees will be priced in the $995–$3495 range. Also impressive were the Flying Mole digital electronics. The company’s PA-S1 preamp ($1595) and DAD- M310 180W monoblocks ($995 each) smoothly reproduced an eclectic mix of musical genres, ranging from the subterranean blasts of Kodo drums to the buttery lilt of Jennifer Warnes. TAS
62 February 2007 The Absolute Sound TAS Cover Story
NHT Classic Three Loudspeaker More honest than finicky by Chris Martens • photography by Adam Voorhes
64 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 65 TAS Cover Story
64 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 65 TAS Cover Story
sk any veteran audiophile to suggest good speakers in the $800 price range and odds are that he or she will Aname one of the many fine two-way bookshelf models now available. This is a hotly contested market segment, so there are plenty of attractive and sensibly price options to choose from. But if you wanted my opinion, the speaker I’d propose wouldn’t be a two-way model at all. Instead, I would direct your attention to NHT’s brilliant new Classic Three—a three-way, stand-mount monitor that reproduces music with refinement, resolution, and imaging specificity that few affordable two-way speakers can match. Reveals subtleties with effortless grace
Many of us instinctively think of the audio spectrum as having three main constituent frequency bands—bass, midrange, and treble—and a clear-cut advantage of the Classic Three is that it provides three anodized aluminum drive units specifically optimized to cover each band (the anodizing process is said to eliminate the hard, “pingy” quality some listeners associate with aluminum-diaphragm-equipped drivers.) By comparison, many affordable two-way speakers can sound somewhat compromised, as if their woofers are being forced to go higher and tweeters to go lower than would normally be optimal. The Classic Threes, however, neatly sidestep this problem by covering the middle range of the music with dedicated 2" dome midrange drivers that offer excellent transient speed, the ability to resolve details well, and a healthy measure of dynamic punch. NHT’s switch to the three-way format pays sonic dividends at the top end of the audio spectrum, too, allowing use of an incredibly light and responsive small-diameter (.75") dome tweeter. This driver offers terrific dispersion and captures high- frequency details with disarming ease and a near-complete
66 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 67 TAS Cover Story
freedom from treble histrionics. Just be sure to take time to install the NHT-provided, X-shaped, foam-rubber dampers that go between the Threes’ midrange drivers and tweeters. Once the damper is in place, the tweeter rarely sounds like a separate driver at all; instead, it sounds like a natural integral extension of the voice of the midrange driver, which is as things should be. The one criticism I would offer of the midrange driver/ tweeter array may actually be a backhanded compliment: These drivers are truth tellers that will faithfully report shortcomings, if any, in associated components or program material, sometimes exhibiting traces of edginess or momentary hardness on abrupt transients. But the good news is that, in spirit, the Classic Threes are more honest than finicky, meaning good affordable amplifiers and A/V receivers can drive them effectively. At the same time, however, the speakers offer more than sufficient resolution to show why higher-performance ancillary components might be a worthwhile investment. Finally, completing the picture is a 6.5" woofer housed in a sealed enclosure. This driver doesn’t offer as much low-frequency reach as I’ve heard from the best competing bass-reflex two- way systems (e.g., the Paradigm Studio 20s), but it compensates through extremely good pitch definition and control. This design choice makes perfect sense given that the last thing you would want to match up with the Classic Three’s responsive midrange/ tweeter would be a sluggish, lugubrious-sounding woofer. Bass extends down to about 45Hz, but enthusiasts who crave deeper bass response should perhaps consider NHT’s Classic Four floorstanders ($1800). The Fours are based on the Threes, but add an excellent, built-in, passive subwoofer that pushes bass response down to the mid-20Hz range. Put these elements together and you’ve got a bookshelf speaker that reveals subtleties in music with the effortless grace typically associated with more expensive designs. I put on “I Believe I’ll Go Back Home” from master blues harpist Little Hatch’s Rock With Me Baby [Analogue Productions, LP], and marveled at the way the Classic Threes showed Hatch’s amplified harmonica dancing along
66 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 67 the fine line between a saturated but clean sound and a deliberately TAS Cover Story raw and overdriven one. In fact, the Threes made it obvious that Hatch not only plays the harmonica, but his microphone and amplifier as well, picking and choosing moments where he deftly pushes the amplifier into momentary distortion. Many affordable speakers would have homogenized Hatch’s harmonica sound, but the Threes instead caught all the little details that show Hatch’s true mastery of the instrument. Even more impressive was the way the Threes handled the sound of Count Basie’s ensemble on “One-Nighter” from Basie Jam [Pablo, LP]. First, the Threes nailed the cool, reedy voice of Basie’s electric organ, and gently highlighted the economical yet soulful accents and fills Basie contributes throughout the song. The Threes also showed how the bandleader uses the spaces between notes to create unexpected pools of silence that showcase distinctive phrases about to be played by other band members. Best of all, the Threes created rock-solid images of the ensemble on stage so that, as solos are traded back and forth, the listener comes to appreciate the song as a roundtable conversation between performers who not only play but also listen with great intensity. The point, really, is that the Classic Threes show the myriad small ways in which master musicians make choices and adjustments as they perform, partly to perfect their tone and partly to respond to fellow players. When speakers get this good, listeners feel they are being let in on precious musical secrets—as if granted the privilege of hearing the music from the inside out, just as musicians often hear their own performances. I’ve enjoyed this experience with fine mid-priced and expensive speakers before, but rarely with ones that cost as little as the Classic Threes do. As I see it, whether listeners are spending $800 or $80,000 on a new pair of loudspeakers, they want the same thing—namely, to get as close as possible to the heart and soul of the music. No other affordable bookshelf speaker I’ve heard does a better job of that than NHT’s Classic Threes. TAS Specs & Pricing NHT 6400 Goodyear Road Benicia, California 94510 (800) 648-9993 nhthifi.com
Type: Three-way monitor loudspeaker Driver complement: .75" dome tweeter, 2" dome midrange driver, 6.5" woofer Frequency response: 45Hz–20kHz Sensitivity: 86dB Impedance: 8 ohms Recommended amplifier power: 150 watts maximum Dimensions: 7.5" x 13.75" x 10.375" Price: $800
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT Linn Sondek LP-12 turntable and Ittok LVII tonearm; Benz Micro ACE L phono cartridge; Sutherland Ph3D phonostage; Musical Fidelity kW SACD player; Nuforce P8 preamplifier and Reference 9 Special Edition monoblocks; Kharma MP150 monoblocks; Furutech Alpha Reference interconnect and speaker cables; Sanus Steel Foundation stands; RPG and Auralex room acoustic treatments
68 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Equipment Report Tannoy Autograph Mini Loudspeaker
A solid glimpse of the state-of-the-art
Tom Martin
first auditioned a pair of BBC LS- 3/5a mini-monitors in the 1970s and Iwas shocked to find that they ran toe- to-toe with a set of giant electrostatics. Duly chagrined, I’ve tried to be careful ever since about bringing too many assumptions to the reviewing table when it comes to small speakers. The extensive debate on the AVguide.com forum about the MAGICO Mini illustrates the emotional problems created by small speakers. Some of our readers have argued that if there are speakers at similar prices that “do more,” then smaller speakers that “do less” should be rejected out of hand as bad values and poseurs. If this logic appeals, then this review is not for you. Consider the Tannoy Autograph Mini. As you can see, these look like a giant Tannoy floorstanding speaker from the 1950s, except that they’re only 13.5" tall. Very cool. Of course, everything has a price, and the Autograph Minis are $1800 per pair. Fortunately, there is a real speaker backing up that price. The cabinet finish is impeccable. Rather than creating a fashion statement, Tannoy has taken the design seriously. It has loaded the Mini with the smallest dual-concentric (tweeter placed at the center of the woofer) driver ever. The tweeter is made of titanium and response goes out to 54kHz. The speakers and crossover are integrated in a way that reduces phase errors. The sound from these little guys is plenty impressive. Tannoy has wisely decided not to try to make the Mini sound like a miniature Wilson MAXX II, i.e., seemingly flat from 20Hz to infinity. The Mini has a midrange-dominant sound that is lively and clear, but not
70 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 71 Tannoy Autograph Mini Loudspeaker
harsh or brittle. Music really swings on frequencies are smooth and naturally the Mini, with a very natural dynamic extended, again allowing each instrument Specs & flow for each instrument. This speaker to sound open and dynamically real. The gets the midrange right, both dynamically tweeters are very revealing, though; so Pricing and harmonically. I think the Mini works you’ll want to use a good front end. Tannoy Ltd. North America musically for this reason, and also because These speakers are not going to fill a 335 Gage Avenue, Suite 1 N2M 5E1 it is so coherent. large room at 105dB (though maximum Kitchener, Ontario, Canada In the bass, the Minis are an exercise SPL is rated at 111dB at one meter). (519) 745-1158 in artful trade-offs. The upper bass On the other hand, the dual-concentric tannoy.com is emphasized, leading to very good driver arrangement makes them ideal Type: Two-way bass-reflex loudspeaker definition. Impressively, the bass roll-off as nearfield monitors. From 2 or 3 feet Driver complement: 4" fiber-pulp woofer of the Minis doesn’t result in a thin sound away they sound phenomenal, and I think and .75" titanium tweeter or bass-bloat at certain frequencies. this is partially because the distance from Frequency response: 68Hz–54kHz (–6dB) Sensitivity: 88dB However, let’s be clear—midbass is light the tweeter and woofer to your ear is Nominal impedance: 8 ohms and low bass non-existent. I simply didn’t always the same no matter how far away Dimensions: 5.25" x 13.5" x 8.25" find that these limitations got in the way you are. This is easily the best desktop Weight: 8.8 lbs. of a lot of the music (though this is not monitor I’ve heard. So, sure, the Minis are Price: $1799 the speaker for hip-hop or the White expensive for their size and application, Associated Equipment Stripes). but how many other sub-$2000 audio Naim CD5i CD player; Panasonic DVD S27 The Mini’s imaging is amazing, too, with products give you a solid glimpse of the DVD player; Naim Nait 5i and Sonic Impact the sound rarely seeming to be trapped in state-of-the-art? TAS Super T amplifiers; Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects and speaker cables; Usher S-520, the boxes, though like most small speakers Onkyo D-TK10, and PSB Alpha B speakers soundstage height is restricted. The high
70 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 71 Equipment Report
Plinius SB-301 Amplifier A Sneak Preview
Neil Gader
he Plinius SB-301 has been in Musician III and Rowland Model 201 system and by doing this increases the scale my system only a week, but monoblocks. They’d all taken their best of the soundstage. Thanks to a lowering T even in that short time span this shot, often with excellent results. I wrote of the noise floor, the micro-halos and 310Wpc New Zealander has reignited the ATC review in spite of a feeling that comet trails that can cling to transients music in ways that are nothing short of there was still untapped performance to have all but vanished. Solo violin, for enthralling. The largest beneficiary of the be had from a treble that seemed slightly example, is not only harmonically more Plinius’ charms, by far, was my compact crimped at times rather than expansive, extended but sweeter (a characteristic loudspeaker reference, the ATC SCM20- and dynamics that sounded constrained, that seems hardwired into the SB-301’s 2. “Transformational” might sound like especially in the mid and upper bass. personality), as if the arteries that send too strong a word, but it applies. This is all a roundabout way of saying treble information to the tweeter had At the time I wrote the review of that the SB-301, a high-bias Class AB received a sonic angioplasty. the ATCs, I was fairly confident that I’d solid-stater has permitted the ATCs to These conclusions are preliminary, extracted as much of their potential as I finally and fully (I think) clear their throat and it remains to be seen just how good could, and had accurately described them, and shrug off the dynamic handcuffs. the SB-301 truly is. What I do know is including shortcomings that resided Bryn Terfel’s rosewood baritone now that thanks to the Plinius the ATCs are mostly in the treble octaves. I knew the emerges with unbridled gusto. The Plinius without doubt a better speaker than I ATCs, an acoustic-suspension design unlocks the tendency of the ATCs to gave them credit for being. How the amp with 83dB sensitivity, hungered for power compress mid- and upper-bass dynamics, fares driving the demanding MBL 121 in the same way that a Hummer craves without which a presentation is dulled will be its next test. TAS fossil fuel. But it was not as if they’d and diminished in texture and complexity. been wanting for powerful amplification. It sculpts an orchestral soundstage with Over the months they’ve been driven by confidence and grace, layering air and Elite Audio-Video Distribution the crème de la crème of high-power amps, images to the back of the hall. It creates (800) 457-2577 x22 including integrateds like the Plinius 9200, dimensionality and openness with soloists eliteavdist.com the Chapter Précis, and the MBL 6011, as and orchestral sections alike. It extracts Price: $4995 well as Class D amplifiers like the Spectron midbass extension and clarity from the
72 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Equipment Report NuForce S9 Loudspeaker
A matter of some controversy
Robert E. Greene
efore you even hear a sound, you know this one is something B different. Symmetric driver array speakers are common enough, and the cabinet, though a little unusual in shape and visual texture, is basically still a box. But what is this with the tweeter? It is down in a round hole, like a horn. Designer Bob Smith of SP Tech and co-designer Casey Ng of NuForce like to call this “waveguide-loading” rather than horn-loading or even shallow- horn-loading. But whatever you call it, it is not the way most consumer speakers treat their tweeters, although similar “waveguides” are more common in pro monitors such as those from Mackie and Genelec. There is logic behind it. The waveguide makes the tweeter transfer energy to the air more effectively at lower frequencies so one can use a lower crossover frequency (the S9s are fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley at 1.25kHz, and some of SP Tech’s other models run the tweeter down even lower). Moreover, the more efficient coupling of the tweeter diaphragm to the air makes for lower distortion and greater output capability. This may seem like techno-babble, but it works. The S9s are extraordinarily clean-sounding, and they will also play really loudly for a speaker of moderate size—without losing that cleanness. The measured distortion levels are comparable to electrostatics, and the listening impression is of ultra-pure sound. In addition, the $5500 S9s have a very “black” background, with the carefully damped cabinet presumably contributing here. Their ability to reveal the details of sound expanding into ambient space is startling: Try the Delmoni Plays Ysaÿe- Kreisler-Bach recording from Water Lily (reissued by John Marks Records) to hear something stunning along this line.
74 February 2007 The Absolute Sound NuForce S9 Loudspeaker
suggest. These differences are enough to make the speaker a matter of some controversy; as always, you will need to listen for yourself. First of all, the S9s are directionally sensitive, especially horizontally. At 30 degrees off-axis, where many box speakers have hardly changed from on- axis except in the extreme top, the S9s are down something like 4dB or more from 4kHz on up. Since this is an aspect of the waveguide and thus a deliberate part of the design, you need to listen almost exactly on-axis horizontally—and vertically, too. Beware the careless demo! You may never hear what the speaker is capable of unless you position yourself exactly right. On account of their steep off-axis roll-off, the S9s put less high-frequency energy in the room on the whole than do “wide-dispersion” speakers. To my mind—and ears—this is very much to the good. Live music usually has very little top end in the reverberant field. (I wrote about this in TAS many years ago. You can see my original article on how this works in concert halls, “Records and Reality: How Music Sounds in Concert Halls,” on regonaudio.com.) And the S9s’ combination of essentially flat response on-axis but rolled off-axis behavior sounds natural, like a live concert. Incidentally, the roll-off is very regular, without large dip-and-return phenomena. We are not speaking here of induced colorations, but rather of a natural in-room balance from reduced higher frequencies and freedom from room effects. But it does make the S9s sound different from those with less control of dispersion in the top end. The S9s are not phase-linear, but the the time the bass is covered. It is often said that speakers with wide recessed tweeter time-aligns the drivers. Treble is all there, too—indeed, a little radiation in the higher frequencies image Perceived transient behavior is excellent. more than all there. The extreme top better. For listeners sitting off to the side The mid-tweeter-mid arrangement min- of the S9s takes off into the wild blue there is some modicum of truth in this. imizes bounce off the floor, so the yonder. You will notice the increased But only a centered listener can hear sound arrives at the listening position “air” in high percussion, for example, correct stereo anyway (time of arrival is unimpeded. Things like drum kits are from the extra energy in the top octave. wrong for off-center positions), and for remarkably convincing and well defined. Cymbal crashes come across well—too a centered listener imaging is better if the The S9s also have good bass extension well, as it were—compared to what is on speaker is spreading less high-frequency (–2dB at 40Hz, 24dB/octave roll-off) recordings. energy around the room. for a smallish speaker, and the bass But the S9s are rather more different In practice, the controlled-dispersion integrated nicely into my room, as well. from other speakers of similar overall S9s image superbly for a centered listener, For absolutely deepest bass, you will need frequency extension than such simple aided not only by their controlled radiation a subwoofer, but for most music most of descriptions of bass and treble would pattern but also by their coherence:
76 February 2007 The Absolute Sound NuForce S9 Loudspeaker
They really do function essentially as a point source, with all that provides for imaging behavior. And with the ultra-low diffraction of their smooth waveguide, they do a good job with recordings like the somewhat playful outside-the-speaker images of Tiden bar gaar [Opus 3]. The S9s do many fundamental audio things superbly well, but how do they actually sound? In overall balance, they are basically flat and neutral. The only significant tonal caveat is that they are somewhat irregular, with some ups and downs in the 1kHz–10kHz range compared to the smoothest speakers. There is a dip in the 1–2kHz range and comparatively a bit of extra zip in the octave or so above 2kHz. (Don’t even think about the switch on the back of the speaker that ups the 2–3kHz range.) I know that acoustician Vilhelm Jordan determined years ago that musicians typically like a little extra zing around 2kHz, but a little cut in the 2–5kHz range with the Z Systems rdp-1 made string sound, for instance, more natural beautiful on, say, Dvorák’s “Silent natural timbre and precise positioning, and accurate, and indeed quite magically Woods” [Dorian]. Both the cello and the and people sounded like people. Even big Steinway here were fantastic. How test CD announcements (“left channel”) good to hear the top piano notes so free could be intriguing in their realism. of distortion. In any case, the intrinsic And on Crusin’ with the Desotos [Wilson Specs & resolution of the S9s enables one to hear Audio], the vocal in “I’m Ready” was into the action and ambience of complex especially convincing. Instrumental Pricing music in a very rewarding way, regardless presence could be superb, too. The Nuforce, Inc. of tonal balance. gorgeous recording by cellist Ofrah 356 South Abbott Avenue The S9s did well on the ultimate test, Harnoy of Schubert’s Arpeggione sonata Milpitas, California 95035 (408) 627-7859 reproduced-versus-live music. As it hap- [BMG] all but put the cello right in front nuforce.com pened, I was doing much of my listening of you, so clean and natural was the to them during a time when my orchestra sound and precise the imaging, though Type: Two-way stand-mounted loudspeaker (St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra) was the cello was slightly less “soft” tonally Driver complement: Two 6.5" aluminum mid/bass drivers, 1" textile-dome tweeter, preparing for a concert. So when I listened than usual. waveguide-loaded to things like the Sitkovetsky/Bach Goldberg To me the S9s embody so many Frequency response: 40Hz–25kHz Variations, in an arrangement for string effective and unusual ideas that they Recommended amplifier power: Up to orchestra [Nonesuch], I had an almost unquestionably need to be heard and 200Wpc Sensitivity: 89dB immediate memory of the real sound of thought about. One might hope for a Nominal impedance: 4 ohms a string orchestra. Few speakers fail to bit smoother mid/upper-mid/lower Dimensions: 9" x 22.5" x 17.5" be humiliated by such a recent memory treble. But that aside, will the controlled Weight: N/A Price: $5500 of reality. The S9s were really convincing radiation pattern and the associated in this nearly direct comparison with live approach to overall room sound seem Associated Equipment music. And with their unstrained dynamic as wonderfully natural to you as it did Classé CDT-1 transport and DAC-1; behavior, they were convincing on large- to me? Listen for yourself, and be sure Benchmark D-to-A converters; Z Systems rdp-1 digital preamp and EQ device; Plinius scale music like full orchestra, as well. The that you listen positioned correctly. 12 and Bryston BP-25 preamps; Bryston famous Byron Janis Rachmaninoff Third Then think about what live music 14B ST and Nuforce Reference 9 amplifiers; Piano Concerto on Mercury was very well really sounds like. I think you will come Liberty Audio Suite and Liberty Praxis measuring equipment done from top to bottom. away as impressed as I did. TAS Voices were surprisingly realistic in their
78 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Equipment Report
Wireworld Silver Electra 52 and Stratus 52 Series Power Cords Counter to conventional wisdom
Neil Gader
ireworld has taken a fresh solid and well defined in pitch but not keeping with the Silver Electra’s slightly look at the power cord, and overly controlled, and excellent dynamics. darker personality, cymbals suggested a W in so doing has produced a Backgrounds and silences between different flare pattern and pitch with the line that runs counter to conventional notes are as quiet as I’ve experienced. Wireworld than with the Kimber—the wisdom. The five models in the 52 Series The Silver Electra is mellow and dark Wireworld imparting a broader spread bear little physical relation to the heavy in overall character; sibilance is kept in and slightly deeper tonality, while the and unwieldy things audiophiles are used check; and hard transients are lightly Kimber seeming to be pitched a little to. Wireworld’s AC cords are defiantly rounded rather than honed to a razor higher and crisper, with a more compact lightweight and flat in profile, and pliable edge. As a result, when a player’s hand spread. enough to negotiate corners—critical glides up the fingerboard of a string The Wireworld Stratus relies on less when hunting for outlets. I listened to bass the metallic growl of the strings is expensive materials than the Electra, but two of the new models—the second- not quite as pronounced. Soundstaging at a fraction of the price it imparts the from-the-top Silver Electra ($700) and is unerringly neutral, neither laid-back essence of its more expensive sibling in a the entry-level Stratus ($100). nor forward. However, during Patricia slightly warmer, softer version. As it’s not The Silver Electra uses OCC (Ohno Barber’s “Hunger” from Mythologies [Blue as lively or open as the Silver Electra, it Continuous Casting) silver-clad copper Note], the high-octane rhythm section should be matched with components conductors and silver-clad brass contacts wasn’t presented with quite the pinpoint proportionate to its price. And that goes in a composite insulation, which was imaging I expect from this track. for the Silver Electra, too—an excellent chosen over single-material insulation for The Silver Electra elegantly balances power cord that consistently performed its ability to absorb high-frequency energy. the qualities of two of my favorite power at its best when coupled to the best gear. As David Salz, president and chief designer cords—delivering the hard-charging TAS for Wireworld, explains, the flat geometry dynamism of the Virtual Dynamics reflects a coiled conductor design which Reference and the naturalistic spatial “exploits inductive and capacitive filtering qualities of the Kimber Palladian. effects.” In other words, the point is to Although it doesn’t quite capture the full pass only the 50/60Hz AC power signal, impact of the snare from Elton John’s Wireworld while attenuating other frequencies to “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” on 12349 SW 53rd Street, Suite 201 prevent line noise and harmonics from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Cooper City, Florida 33330 “infiltrating the component’s power [Island], or the sustained piano notes (954) 680-3848 wireworldcable.com supply.” during Tom Waits’ “Take It With Me” on Prices: Silver Electra, $699.95/2m; Stratus, The Silver Electra has a balanced Mule Variations [Anti/Epitaph], in both $99.95/2m midrange, a rich bass response that’s instances the differences are subtle. In
80 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Equipment Report Pioneer S-2EX Loudspeaker
Bridging the divide
Neil Gader
y offering qualities we typically associate with audiophile B speakers as well as those from the pro-monitor world, Pioneer’s EX Series bridges the divide between two distinct listening cultures. It combines a recording- studio ethic, rigorous construction quality, and most significantly, technology plucked directly from the playbook at Pioneer’s pro-audio “skunkworks,” the highly regarded TAD (Technical Audio Device) division. Though TAD’s first home-audio effort, 2003’s M-1 speaker, was critically acclaimed, its $40,000 tag priced most of us out. The more down-to-earth EX Series was designed and built at Pioneer’s Speaker Design Center in Paris by a team comprised of TAD and Pioneer engineers. Andrew Jones, the chief designer of the M-1, served as sound advisor, and the EX Series also received feedback from sound engineers at London’s legendary AIR Studios. The $6000 S-2EX is a three-way, stand- mount compact in a bass-reflex enclosure. The baffle has a gentle curve in it, as well as a backward slope, that serves to time-align the transducers at the listening position. Weighing in at over sixty pounds, the cabinet is bolstered by multiple layers of laminated MDF, ranging in thickness from 30mm to 100mm; the side panels are curvilinear to reduce internal standing waves. With its massive internal bracing, the enclosure’s resemblance to a ship’s hull is striking. As with the TAD M-1, a concentric driver unifies the tweeter and midrange transducers. Although it’s a dead ringer for the M-1’s driver, the EX midrange cone is magnesium rather than the M-I’s far more expensive beryllium. In either case, break-up modes don’t appear until well into the ultra-sonic range. The beryllium tweeter, however, is pure TAD, and TAD technology informs
82 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Pioneer S-2EX Loudspeaker
the bass cone, as well. Here the diaphragm is of one-piece construction (as opposed to the more commonly found separate center-cap), which Pioneer feels adds greater rigidity while pushing resonances outside of the cone’s audible frequency range. Finally, the huge 65mm voice coil has been engineered for extreme power handling and dynamic headroom. Sonically, the S-2EX isn’t hobbled by the usual constraints of a compact speaker. It may sit on a stand, but it speaks with the voice of a three-way through and through. As its high-powered studio- monitor bloodline implies, the S-2EX is designed to play at prodigiously loud levels that would harelip any number of sophisticates from the high end. Orchestral scale is remarkable for a speaker of this dimension; symphonies spring to life, with the walls of the venue seeming to breathe like a bellows. The S-2EX doesn’t subdue dynamics, either. Concert grand pianos are not submissive instruments—at close range the energy and transient attack from any
nine-footer will churn your insides. In this its character is mostly determined by regard, the only other speaker of this size the recording. The downside is that bad Specs & that compares is another compact three- recordings are not enhanced by syrupy way, the MBL 121. colorations—the S-2EX exposes every Pricing In terms of tonal balance, this is one blemish, as if illuminating them in high Pioneer Electronics of the more neutral speakers I’ve heard in definition. The upside of such resolution P.O. Box 1540 some time. Its midrange seems spot on; is that the best recordings have never Long Beach, California 90810 (800) 421-1404 its treble is highly extended if a little dry sounded better. Even familiar chestnuts pioneerelectronics.com at its limits; and bass response extends seemed completely refreshed, as if I’d deep into the midbass with perceivable unknowingly acquired a newly remastered Type: Stand-mounted, bass-reflex reserves below 40Hz. Its upper bass and version. From the opening bars of Järvi loudspeaker Driver complement: 1.4" concentric tweeter, lower mids (the bugaboos of compact and the Cincinnati Orchestra’s reading 5.5" concentric midrange, 7.12" woofer speakers) never seem to run short. Cabinet of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra [Telarc], Frequency response: 34Hz–100kHz resonances and port anomalies are so low each orchestral section is clearly defined Sensitivity: 86.5dB Impedance: 6 ohms that you quickly forget this is a bass-reflex in space. From the immediacy of low- Dimensions: 11.5" x 22.25" x 16.75" design. There is also a sensation of weight level drums and winds, to the ripeness Weight: 62 lbs. in the mids that deepens the presence of of plucked strings, and later, the elegance Price: $6000 male and female singers. Both jazz singer of massed strings decaying into the Associated Equipment Claire Martin, from Linn’s Too Damn Hot, acoustic of Music Hall, the sound was Sota Cosmos Series III turntable; SME V and a cappella specialist Laurel Massé, on effortless and expansive. During Vaughan pick-up arm; Shure V15VxMR cartridge; Feather and Bone [Premonition], exhibited Williams’ Antarctica [Naxos], the speaker MBL 1531, Simaudio Moon Supernova, and good body and chest resonance. resolved the bronze waves radiating from Sony DVP-9000ES digital players; Plinius 9200 and MBL 7008 integrated amps; The S-2EX communicates a precision the cymbals and the tenderness of the Tara Labs Omega, Nordost Baldur, Kimber sound geared to resolving details at celeste with low-level detail I’d never Kable BiFocal XL; Wireworld Silver Electra & all levels, micro and macro. Even heard before. Even difficult-to-sort-out Kimber Palladian power cords; Richard Gray line conditioners; Sound Fusion Turntable familiar recordings take on a greater cello lines or the rumblings of the organ stand complexity and a physicality bordering were multifaceted, not just undefined on the tactile. Like any great speaker, throbs. The trombone and brass sections
84 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Pioneer S-2EX Loudspeaker
assaulted me with energy, and the (the cupped-hands effect). And because monitor versus audiophile speakers. Some crescendo was so horrifyingly powerful there is no beaming, this point-source- will find the tweeter a revelation in terms that I needed to trim the volume. like performance nails the exact position of resolving detail; others will regard it However, if I had to single out a and angle of something like a concert as a bit too business-like, controlled, and performance characteristic of the Pioneer grand on stage. It’s also tailor-made for clinical. I found amplification and cabling that trumped all others it would be image reproducing the soloists and the deep were crucial as well. My only regret is that focus. It possesses a driver coherence layers of voices in a large chorale—in I didn’t have the new Plinius SB-301 on comparable to the best two-way mini- fact, the more voices the merrier. hand. It’s an amplifier that has already monitors, but with the bone-crushing The only area where there might be made me reassess the performance of power of a three-way. The kudos goes a “cultural” disagreement about the other components in the audio chain, to the concentric driver—a design that S-2EX is the character of its treble. including speakers. (See my Sneak Preview I’m often not a big fan of, though this Tonally, I think its response is near dead- on p. 74.) one has won me over. Its remarkably bang neutral. But with Rutter’s Requiem I’ve nothing but profound admiration uniform off-axis response offers a wider [Reference Recordings], cello transients, and respect for the Pioneer S-2EX. I’ve than normal sweetspot. Andrew Jones the rattles of a tambourine, or the top never experienced a larger envelope of of TAD explained that, because of the strings of a violin can seem exposed, performance from a stand-mounted transducer’s relatively shallow throat lacking a cushion of air for harmonics speaker. It’s not a flowery romantic, but and the fact that the midrange cone to ride upon. Also, Sinatra’s smoky voice its brand of musical truth is seductive, behaves as a waveguide for the tweeter, on “Angel Eyes” from Only the Lonely nonetheless. While there will never the transducers match each other’s [Capitol] exhibited a slight hardness and be one speaker that suits everyone’s directivity at their respective crossover a less yielding character. This was the taste, the Pioneer S-2EX should be points. The benefits are improved power one area where I could foresee the fur required listening for any self-respecting response and the absence of hollowness flying—enlivening the debate of studio audiophile. TAS
86 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Equipment Report
Mark Levinson Nº 436 Monaural Power Amplifier
A 35-year tradition of excellence continues
Sue Kraft
f all the gear I’ve had the and perhaps too polite. It was all-in-all amplifiers I’ve had in my system. The 35- good fortune to own over the still a nice unit, though, and one that I year tradition of excellence continues. O course of the past two-and-a- never had any remorse about buying. The One aspect of the Levinson’s half decades, the Mark Levinson Nº 31 only thing I did regret back in the early- performance I did have a change of heart Reference CD transport, Nº 35 digital-to- to mid-90s is that I never completed the about over time was whether or not this analog converter and Nº 38S preamplifier system I had worked so hard to assemble amp was as “laid-back,” as my initial easily stand out as some of the finest with Levinson amplification. impressions indicated. After first listening components to grace my listening room. So it was with much anticipation that I with the Focus Master 3 loudspeaker, I Few will disagree that the Nº 31 was an awaited the arrival of the Mark Levinson paired the 436 with the B&W 800D. While absolute work of art when it came to both Nº 436 monoblock power amplifier for it still didn’t have the fireworks of, say, a sound and build-quality. (Still makes me review. I was also quite excited at the Krell amp, the presentation seemed more grin to think about how incredibly cool it prospect of hearing how these $12,500, dependent on the recording than on any was to show off that motorized lid to all 350Wpc brutes would mate with the inherent characteristic of the amplifier. my audiophile buddies.) In combination stellar imaging and accuracy of a Another contributing factor could very with the Nº 30 DAC (as well as the more loudspeaker like the B&W 800D. Would well have been the more up-front nature affordable Nº 35), these two stunning my decade long wait to finally hear a pair of the B&W versus the Focus Master 3. pieces made for arguably the best CD of Levinson amps in my system meet my Whatever the reasons, the match between playback available at the time. expectations? At the risk of ruining the the 436 and 800D seemed particularly The Nº 38S was also beautifully ending for those who are actually able good. crafted, and while it embodied the same to resist reading the conclusion first, I’m Listening to Aaron Neville’s rendition kind of sonic sophistication that has been afraid I knew the answer to that question of the Sam Cooke classic “Respect the hallmark of Mark Levinson products nearly straight out of the box, and have Yourself,” from Bring it on Home…The since the company’s inception back in heard nothing in the months to follow that Soul Classics, [Burgundy Records], the the early 70s, I found the preamplifier would change my mind. The 436 is easily last thing you’d describe this amplifier to be a bit less engaging than expected, one of the best and most pleasurable as being is laid-back. The 436 can crank
88 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Mark Levinson Nº 436 Monaural Power Amplifier
Technical Info
The Nº 436 monaural power amplifier has been designed as a single- chassis unit to accommodate the needs of both the discriminating music lover as well as the current trend towards home-theater applications. In an effort to appease the space conscious, the 400 series has been made more compact than previous Levinson amps (3" lower), while still maintaining an overall appearance that is unmistakably Mark Levinson. The 436 can be mounted precisely in any standard equipment rack or placed on any standard shelf. For trickier custom installations, Levinson also offers shelves made specifically for the 436, affording proper ventilation and cable routing. Anyone who has sliced a finger on a razor sharp external heatsink will appreciate the 436’s thermal management system. It utilizes a new crosscut internal heatsink whose extrusion are visible only from a 3" x 10" opening in the top panel of the chassis. At lower temperatures, convection-cooling causes currents to flow vertically through the chassis. As temperatures rise, two thermostatically-controlled variable-speed whisper fans located at the front and back of the heatsinks draw cool air from behind the faceplate and through the horizontal channels of the tunnel-like heatsinks, exhausting out the rear panel. (The tunnel is isolated to prevent dust from settling on and possibly damaging Specs & any of the amp’s internal circuitry.) I’ve never been particularly keen on amplifiers that use fans for cooling, as they are invariably noisy and can Pricing often be heard during quiet musical passages. In the case of the 436’s Mark Levinson whisper fans, I never noticed they were running, not even when the A Division of Harmon Specialty Group amplifier was being pushed hard. And I did listen for them. 3 Oak Park Bedford, Massachusetts 01730 In addition to the safety afforded by the internal heatsink, the 436 also (781) 280-0300 provides a pair of handles on the back panel for lifting the unit, as well marklevinson.com as for protecting the rear connections. (The trend among manufacturers not to offer any means to lift heavy amplifiers has long been one of my Type: Solid-state monaural power amplifier Power: 350Wpc into 8 ohms; 700Wpc into pet peeves.) The back panel also includes a pair of custom loudspeaker 4 ohms binding posts, XLR and RCA input connectors, and a variety of control Number and type of audio inputs: One devices and communication ports. The front panel sports a spiffy pair of each, balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA Dimensions: 17.75" x 7.65" x 20.21" silver aluminum wings attached with standoffs to the main black chassis, as Weight: 85 lbs. well as power and standby buttons and the classic Mark Levinson logo. Price: $12,500 When it comes to internal circuitry, the 436 shares many design features with previous versions of Levinson amplification, as well as “trickle-down” ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT Meridian 808, G08, and Marantz PMD- technology developed for the flagship Nº 33 and Nº 33H. Based on a truly 320 CD players; Van Alstine Ultra DAC; balanced topology, the 436 houses a massive power supply with a high- Meridian G02 control unit, Sonic Euphoria capacitance, low-noise toroidal transformer and four large capacitors passive, and Van Alstine Ultra preamps; Meridian G57, Atma-Sphere Novacron OTL, totaling a whopping 80,000pF of energy storage. For power distribution, and McCormack DNA-500 power amps; oxygen-free copper bus bars improve the efficiency of the amplifier Coincident Super Eclipse, Von Schweikert and eliminate variances commonly found with typical wiring harnesses. VR4jr, and B&W 800D and 704 speakers; To help maintain the signature Levinson “house sound,” the carefully Coincident TRS, Paul Speltz anti-cable, and Harmonic Technology speaker cables; chosen output stage is the same as that used in previous iterations—eight Harmonic Technology and Audio Magic matched pairs of bipolar output devices. In addition, ”adaptive biasing” interconnects; Cardas RCA to XLR adapters; is used to manage the output stage’s power source for enhanced Class AB Elrod and JPS power cords; Bright Star Audio and Symposium Svelte shelves; operation without excessive heat build up or wasted energy. And rather Chang Lightspeed Encounter, PS Audio than compromise with less costly circuit board materials, Levinson chose Ultimate outlet; Echo Busters and ASC room Arlon composite, as it is said to allow for a more precise transmission of treatment the AC signal. SK
90 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Mark Levinson Nº 436 Monaural Power Amplifier
with the pros. Even at the highest volume sculpted and layered as I’ve heard. also deserve another mention, as they levels my ears could tolerate, bass control Listening to track three, separation was added a whole new dimension to the bass was absolutely rock-solid. Images were superb; each key-strike of the piano was fiddle. The detail and pinpoint imaging locked in place as well, with no hint of clear and distinct, effortlessly flowing as if of the string plucks were also the best congestion or smearing. The equally on wings across the space in front of me. I’ve heard on this disc. impressive midbass was punchy and The first time I listened to this recording It’s tough to find any fault with an robust, while vocals were as full-bodied with the Levinson amp, I’ll have to admit amp like the Levinson. In a side-by-side and textured as I’ve heard from this to backtracking the Meridian 808 CD with the McCormack DNA-500 I did artist. player at least a half dozen (or more) find the high frequencies of the 436 to What I enjoyed most about working times just to verify I wasn’t imagining be just a tad soft. This explains my initial these amps hard was that I never felt what I was hearing. This is the closest I’ve impression that the 436 leaned just a bit assaulted afterwards. As contrary as it felt to recreating the wholeness of a live to the dark side. (Funny thing, though, may sound, there was an overwhelming performance in my listening room. Makes after listening to this amplifier for just sense of effortless power that was me wish I could have been at Carnegie a day or two it doesn’t seem dark at all.) invigorating yet relaxing at the same time. Hall to actually witness the event. The McCormack actually performed And I loved the precise definition, tight As seductively and involvingly as the surprisingly well against the 436 and is in control, and authoritative dynamic punch 436 rendered Latin guitarist Jesse Cook’s my view a top contender at its price point. in the deep bass as well as the midbass. “Cancibn Triste” on Obsession: New But the Levinson in pretty much every The 436 seemed to make music “pop” Flamenco Romance [Narada], I never found regard easily justifies its $5000 premium from the loudspeakers. And when you’re this amplifier to be too polite. (In my view, over the DNA-500. talking about making a speaker like the excessive politeness can ofttimes equal For me, this hobby has always been B&W 800D “pop,” that is one special boring.) Once again, three-dimensionality, about connecting to the music. As treat, indeed. resolution of detail, and separation were ruggedly built and aesthetically pleasing as Shifting gears a bit, Aaron Neville was superb. I also found the violin to be the 436 may be, it would just be another certainly fun, but it was Keith Jarrett’s especially natural with nice texture and cold hard piece of machinery full of The Carnegie Hall Concert [ECM] that tonal color. As amplifiers go, I’d give parts without the emotional connection impressed me the most, revealing the true the 436 very high marks for musicality. that it provides, and that I believe we finesse and sophistication of the 436 and And listening to old favorite Nickel Creek all seek. The exceptional performance its abilities to adeptly draw the listener [Sugar Hill], I’m not ashamed to admit the of this classic Levinson amplifier will into the music. Three-dimensionality was vocals on “Out of the Woods” brought surely impress, but it will be the masterful sensational. The wall-to-wall spaciousness a tear to my eye. They were absolutely ability of the 436 to engage the listener was infused with a wealth of rich detail gorgeous—full, natural, and textured— that earns it a permanent home in your that didn’t seem to have a beginning or the best I’ve heard on this recording. The system. If I were a rich woman, I would end, along with images as beautifully robustness and definition of the midbass buy this amplifier in a heartbeat. TAS
92 February 2007 The Absolute Sound Equipment Report
Quad ESL-2805 Loudspeaker Compelling and addictive
Jim Hannon
ave you ever had a reference the stock 63s to reference quality. Sure, 2805, that may very well execute the “old component in your system for I’ve lived with speakers since then that man’s” design even better. To be sure, the H years and sold it because you have moved more air or were better in ESL-2805 is far more than just a welcome felt that something else just had to be certain specific areas like macrodynamics, cosmetic upgrade to the already excellent better? Perhaps my biggest audio regret frequency response at both extremes, and (and still available) ESL-988. is selling my Crosby-modified Quad bass authority, but in each case I sacrificed One of the pleasant surprises offered ESL-63s with their matching stands. The some of the musicality, coherence, by the ESL-2805 is that it reduces the major Crosby modifications to the stock transparency, and realism I had grown already low distortion of the ESL- ESL-63—designed by Richard Lees and accustomed to with the Crosby Quads. 63, yielding even better transparency, implemented by Jerry Crosby—included Within their limits, both that speaker, as coherence, soundstaging, and transient a much stiffer frame, far better internal well as my latest pair of original (recently quickness. Instruments and voices wire, parts, and connectors, a thinner dust refurbished) Quads have given me more sound even more natural and lifelike. cover, a more transparent grille, and other moments when I thought I was listening For example, the timbre and inner detail improvements. Crosby’s beautiful wood- to the real thing than any other speakers of the cello is absolutely striking on the finished floor-to-speaker stand raised the I have owned . . . and perhaps that I Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello speaker about 18 inches off the floor, have heard. Many thought the Crosby [Mercury/Speakers Corner], performed so the panels were at ear level, and the modifications were able to wring the by Janos Starker. The cello is a very telling stands could be mass loaded with sand last ounce of performance out of Peter instrument for loudspeaker evaluation, or shot. The full Crosby modifications Walker’s brilliant design, but now comes and on the 2805, as Starker traverses vaulted the very good performance of a new version from Quad itself, the ESL- its range, you’ll notice there are none
94 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 95 Quad ESL-2805 Loudspeaker
of the crossover distortions, suck-outs, leanness but with a natural richness one strings and voices right, an added bonus or discontinuities between drivers that associates with that instrument. Stand-up with the 2805 is that full orchestras sound plague virtually all multi-driver designs bass on a wonderful jazz recording like not only richer but also more powerful. to some degree. With this new Quad, the Basie Jam [Pablo/Analogue Productions] Admittedly, a large horn system or great cello sounds like the real thing and so do is spot-on—full-sounding yet without dynamic speaker like the Eben X-3 is guitars, trombones, voices, and pianos. any bloat or sluggishness. The low end even better at reproducing hard transients You won’t hear aberrations in timbre of the piano benefits from added power and macrodynamics than the 2805, but between drivers, or, in the Quad’s case, and weight, providing a better foundation listening to Giulini conduct the “Dies between panels—just a stunning musical for that instrument, but one can still Irae” of Verdi’s Requiem [EMI] on the naturalness and realism. cause the panels to occasionally lose their Quad is still quite thrilling, even if the While I did expect the 2805 to excel in the composure on a fortissimo from something sound is a bit dynamically compressed. acknowledged areas of Quad’s strengths, like the Beethoven Appassionata sonata The welcomed higher dynamic ceiling I was unprepared for the improvements [Harmonia Mundi], but at somewhat of the 2805 makes it more suitable for a in dynamic range, bass extension, control, higher volume levels than with the 63 or wider range of music beyond small-scale and weight. The cello sounded even Crosby. Microdynamics on these speakers classical and jazz. I found myself pulling better on these speakers than on my are first-rate. out rock albums that I typically keep in beloved Crosbies, without any upper-bass While Quads of all stripes get massed their jackets when I’m listening to Quads. Eric Clapton’s guitar soared through the Quads on Cream’s Wheels of Fire Design Elements [Polydor/Simply Vinyl], and the 2805s even acquitted themselves quite well on The inspiration for the 2805 came from several visits by Quad’s David electronica selections from the Barcode Patching to the legendary listening room of SME founder, the late Alistair Brothers’ Swipe Me [Universal], where Robertson-Aikman (also see last issue’s Industry News), where two sets of the lightning-quick impact of the kick nude ESL-63s were set up at right angles, their panels rigidly mounted on drum and percussion propel the music high-mass custom frames, and topped off by hundred-pound weights. (For forward. more on this fascinating set up, see Ken Kessler’s excellent ode to Quad, Image focus is another improvement Quad: The Closest Approach.) Hearing what the panels were capable of over the 63, and it may even better the when manufacturing constraints were removed, Patching asked the Quad fine performance of the Crosby. Most engineers to come as close as possible to the structural integrity Aikman large panels flap in the breeze a bit, which had achieved, but in a product that could be manufactured. The Quad causes images to smear, reducing clarity team-effort significantly increased the mass of the frame and base, while and focus. The 2805 has a rear brace and adding a damped connecting brace from the top of the speaker to the base stiffer frame that keep the panel firmly in to tighten up and triangulate the structure. These changes not only keep its place (see sidebar). Just listen to the new the speaker from rocking back and forth, but also improve bass response reissue of the Shostakovich Symphony and dynamic range while reducing distortion and smearing. Additionally, No. 9 [Everest/Classic Records], or many the mounting of the panels within the frame has been reinforced, a brace of the Lyrita recordings. The images are has been added to the metal grille, and the grille apertures have been rock-solid and particularly on the Lyritas, widened to reduce rear reflections from the back grille. Besides the rear the soundstages are breathtaking. This, brace, the most obvious external change is the speaker’s new and greatly too, is first-rate performance. improved cosmetic appeal. The most likely question for Quad Quad has continued to improve the quality of its ESLs by bringing aficionados is how the ESL-2805’s most of the component manufacturing and production in-house. For midrange compares with that of the example, the delay lines used to be outsourced to a third party, but are original Quad (57). In many respects now manufactured by Quad, improving reliability and preventing arcing the ESL-57 is similar to an excellent of the panels. The panels themselves are now capable of higher excursions SET amplifier, possessing phenomenal and sound pressure levels, and are now used in the 2805 and 2905, as well transparency and clarity in the midrange, as in the latest versions of the 988 and 989. but with limitations elsewhere. In terms Because the Quads are dipoles, you’ll need to spend some additional of midrange performance alone, the stock time with placement and perhaps room treatment to realize the full ESL-63 was somewhat veiled compared potential of this speaker. I preferred the heavy-duty floor-coupling system, with the stunningly beautiful and open with its massive spiked feet that ground the speaker securely to the floor, ESL-57, whereas the Crosby Quad, to the flat feet that Quad also includes. You can also use the spiked feet to particularly on its matching stand, was the change the rake of the speaker to raise the height of the image. JH original’s equal. While the 2805 is superior to the ESL-57 in many other areas, it falls
96 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 97 Quad ESL-2805 Loudspeaker
Paul Seydor comments
Not long ago while evaluating another speaker, I deliberately didn’t listen to my long-standing references, Quad 988s, for almost a month. When I hooked them back up, it took maybe about ten seconds of listening before I thought, “Man, this is really low coloration.” That may help explain why I greet with apprehension, if not dread, any attempt to improve upon what I have elsewhere called Peter Walker’s masterpiece—the ESL‑63, of which the 988 is the direct, though much better built and thus superior, descendent. Can’t they just leave well enough alone? No, they couldn’t, and I’m glad they didn’t. In my opinion, the 2805 is the best Quad speaker ever made—this from somebody who owns, loves, and all but genuflects before the 63/988 and the 57. My principal worry proved groundless: the overall tonal balance— that is, the 63/988’s neutrality and vanishingly low coloration—remain unchanged, as do its transparency and that legendary disappearing act. Indeed, the new model is even more transparent—subtly cleaner, clearer, and purer. (Quad’s Dave Patching claims a reduction by half of the distortion from the 988, which already boasts figures more typical of amplifiers than speakers, i.e., 0.1%.) So what is different? Jim Hannon—with whose evaluation I concur in almost every particular—has already described how much heavier, more rigid, and more substantial the housing is. The sonic consequence is a noise floor lower than that of the 988, which itself has one of the lowest around. Inasmuch as no speaker makes a sound if no signal is present, how can it have a noise floor as such? Because all speakers are made from materials that have resonant characteristics and other vibrational properties that once excited—in other words, every time the speaker attempts to reproduce a signal—muddy or otherwise contribute to the reproduction, usually to its detriment. This is why good designers pay so much attention to materials, cabinets, bracing, and mounting. For structural strength and integrity, the housing of the 988 represented a welcome and substantial improvement over both previous Quad ESLs; that of the 2805 is by an order of magnitude superior still; reproduced sounds now emerge from a background of almost digital‑like silence and blackness. I am not exaggerating. Almost every experienced listener, including the most jaded and cynical, who has heard these new speakers in my listening room has remarked upon this effect in one form or another with absolutely no urging from me. Two other aspects of the 63/988 are also improved: bass response and ultimate loudness capability. The 2805 still cannot overwhelm a room with the kind of pressurized bass you get from woofers—no dipole planar can—but there is a noticeable increase in both bass extension and power that while not dramatic is not subtle, either. As for loudness, no, the 2805 is still not for headbangers, but if you’ve been tempted though never quite persuaded by past Quads because they play almost loud enough, then you owe yourself an audition of this new one. If you own and love the 63 or 988, let me reassure you that yours are still among the small handful of the finest loudspeakers ever made for home use, so I’m not about to suggest you replace them with this one: On most music the differences are quite small, the changeover cost large, even allowing for Quads’ high resale value. But on an initial purchase—the 988 remains in the Quad lineup—go for the 2805 if you can at all manage the additional $2350/pair. To give you some idea of how special this speaker really is, one evening I put on Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. I’ve listened to cuts on this albums dozens, perhaps hundreds of times to check some aspect or other of equipment performance, but that night I wound up doing something I had not done in over fifteen or twenty years: listening to it all the way through for the sheer pleasure of it. And so it went with favorite CD after treasured LP. Inasmuch as no one can truly say he or she has heard every product, even every plausible product, the phrase “the best” should be used strictly subjectively, as rhetorical strategy rather than literal claim. In that spirit, then, let me conclude by stating that for my money—no idle phrase here, as there is no way the 2805s are being returned— the best speaker of the twentieth century is now the best speaker of the twenty-first. These are henceforth my reference monitors.
98 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 99 Quad ESL-2805 Loudspeaker
slightly short of the original’s “reach-out- so much air that it flaps the legs of your and-touch-you” midrange magic. Mind trousers, you should look elsewhere, or Specs & you, it’s only in comparison with two of try the larger ESL-2905. Yes, you could its brethren that the 2805 suffers, as it also add a subwoofer or two, but I was never Pricing has a wonderful midrange, and perhaps, completely successful doing this with the Taiga llc without its grille cloth and raised on Crosby or the original, as even the very 310 Tosca Drive floor-to-speaker stands, like the Crosby, good subs I tried impinged on the Quad’s Stoughton, Massachusetts 02072 (781) 341-1234 it would be their equal in the midrange. purity. taigallc.com However, those hooked by the ESL-57’s The Quad ESL-2805 is a superior midrange may be unwilling to give it up— execution of Peter Walker’s ground- Type: Full-range electrostatic loudspeaker even though the 2805 is a better overall breaking design and vaults the per- Frequency Response: 37Hz–21KHz (-6dB) Impedance Variation: 8 ohms nominal speaker. formance of the Quad even higher up in (range: 4–15 ohms) Perhaps the biggest compliment I can the reference category. The addition of Sensitivity: 86dB give any speaker is that the ESL-2805 mass, rigidity, and bracing to the frame, Dimensions: 27.36" x 40.94" x 15.16" Weight: 76.6 lbs. made me lose track of time again and better parts, as well as improvements in Price: $9000 again. It sounds so “right” that I found the manufacture of the panels produce a myself drawn to the music, to the artistry result that is one of the most musically ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT of the performer, and to the essence of satisfying in high-end audio at any price. SME 20-12 turntable; VPI Aries (TNT V platter, bearing, SDS), Graham 1.5 (w/2.2 the composition. The natural timbre, The dynamic ceiling and bass-performance bearing), Koetsu Black and Sumiko coherence, clarity, and subtle details envelope have been extended, so that Celebration cartridges; Musical Fidelity that one hears in a live performance the Quad may be a viable alternative to Tri-Vista 21 DAC; Art Audio Vinyl Reference and Quad 24 phonostages; MFA Venusian kept me transfixed until my reverie was people who listen to more than small- preamp (Frankland modified); Quad II Classic interrupted by the sound of the cartridge scale works. Moreover, the 2805 produces and PrimaLuna Prologue Six amplifiers; hitting the end of the record. Admittedly, music with a realism and naturalness that Quad ESL-57 (PK modified) and Hyperion if you are a headbanger, or must hear the are compelling and addictive. Prepare to HPS-938 loudspeakers; Nordost Valhalla deepest notes of a pipe organ or synth, get sucked into the music—and into the or like to have your speaker system move soul of the performance. TAS
100 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 101 CuttingTHE Edge
Wadia 270se CD Transport, Series 9 DAC, and 581 CD/SACD Player
Alan Taffel
Patek Philippe is a Swiss watchmaker believed, in many circles, to produce the finest timepieces on earth. The pride of owning a Patek accrues both from itssuperb craftsmanship and from an understanding of the skill required to make one. You see, despite the The Patek Philippe of fact that most of these devices never need winding and offer functions that can include moon digital audio? phase, multiple time zones, or a perpetual calendar that takes into account the varying days of the months, Pateks are entirely mechanical. In a world of electronic quartz movements, that makes these watches something one rarely encounters: a highly advanced anachronism. Wadia’s flagship digital front end—to call it a CD player, particularly in light of functionality to come, seems a disservice—reminds me of nothing so much as a Patek Philippe timepiece. The 270se transport and Series 9 Decoding Computer and Dual-Mono DACs are, to say the least, beautifully turned out. The chassis are hewn from thick, solid slabs of brushed aluminum; switches gives authoritative tactile feedback; and moving parts, such as the CD drawer, operate with a divinely silken sensuality. These components, right down to the nicely organized remote, have something more than heft—they have gravitas. Within these luxurious confines reside the aforementioned anachronistic elements. This is not to say there is a dearth of technology; on the contrary, a case can be made that the 270se/ Series 9 is the most technically advanced digital front end extant. Even the most humble sub-
104 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge
component—such as the digital volume require some means of interconnection. high-precision, thermally compensated control that most manufacturers dispatch Unfortunately the industry standard, master clock within the 931. Utilizing with a chip—is the object of intense S/PDIF, is inherently prone to jitter due a proprietary signaling scheme called analysis, creative design, and meticulous to its serial, asynchronous nature and to ClockLink, the other chassis’ clocks are implementation. However, it is also the fact that the receiving unit must derive slaved to the master, virtually eliminating true that these products hew to a set of an imbedded clock signal. Single-chassis inter-chassis jitter. technical principles that have long since players circumvent this problem entirely; In one last technical flourish that had been abandoned by virtually every other one master clock controls everything me doing the time warp again, the Series high-end manufacturer. within a rigidly accurate synchronous 9 relies on an abandoned means of digital Consider, for example, the matter of environment. The sonic benefits, as a audio connectivity: ST glass fiber, which filtering the digital signal. When CDs bevy of designers have discovered, are is not to be confused with the sonically were an embryonic format, the filters manifest. wretched TosLink plastic fiber. Here available in off-the-shelf chipsets were again is a technology which showed early crude and sonically deleterious. Wadia Wadia wears the advantages, but which was overtaken was a pioneer in the use of software- connoisseur’s suit by subsequent developments—in this based algorithms to do the job far more case highly improved drivers for coaxial accurately and benignly. Since then, While Wadia does build integrated CD interconnects. Nonetheless, Wadia believes chipsets have incorporated most of those players (see below for the separate review glass is still the best available bit-transport advanced techniques and are used in even of the model 581), the flagship system medium. So while the 931 controller, in very expensive units. At the same time, announces the company’s conviction its role as a digital source switch, offers another school of digital design advocates that ultimate sound quality can only be fiber, coax, and AES/EBU inputs, only the simplest possible signal path and has achieved with separate chassis. Indeed, the fiber option supports ClockLink. done away with filtering altogether. For Wadia has gone even further in this Furthermore, fiber is mandatory between its part, Wadia remains confident that its direction by separating not only the the 931 and the dual 921 DACs. software-based filter algorithms trump all transport and the model 921 DAC, but Regardless of the potential merits of other approaches. by cleaving the latter into a mono pair Wadia’s approach, which I will address Similarly, the proliferation of separate and by interposing a fourth chassis, the in a moment, it is incontrovertibly an transports and outboard DACs now 931 Decoding Computer, to handle expensive one. The cost of fabricating seems so very 90s. By and large, the digital switching and volume and system separate high-end chassis—here amplified industry has shifted to all-in-one players control. Of course, such an arrangement by the quad-chassis configuration—is at every echelon. There are sound is a prescription for jitter run rampant, only the beginning. Well-designed digital reasons for this reversal. Separate chassis but Wadia counters that by means of a inputs and outputs are surprisingly
106 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge
dear, and represent yet another savings enjoyed by single-chassis designs, which Tweaking Excellence don’t need them. The DSP’s software- based filters are a lot more expensive You might rightly expect a $40,000 CD player to sound its best right out of than standard chipsets. Likewise, optical the box. Well, this one didn’t. Far from it. As shipped, the Wadia flagship’s transmitters and receivers are far more sound was flat, boring, and dynamically stunted—a pale shadow of what costly than their electrical counterparts. it was to become. The manufacturer and distributor suggested and All of which, combined with its no- supplied the obvious fixes: audiophile-grade power cords and vibration- compromise build-quality, accounts for isolating feet. These made a welcome but minor improvement. So I got the system’s staggering circa-$40,000 serious. price tag. First, I swapped out the long fiber run between the 931 Controller But there’s more. Just as with separate and the 921 DACs. The lengthy interconnects had been necessitated by components in a hi-fi system, the 270se/ Wadia’s directive to place the DACs next to their associated power amps. Series 9’s multi-box approach behooves But moving the DACs beside the Controller made possible a dramatically owners to invest in the best possible shorter fiber run, which in turn made an immediate sonic improvement. interconnects. In this case, a set of six is Mind you, fiber is supposed to be immune to length-based sonic required: two between the transport and deterioration, but my experience proved otherwise. the 931 (one clock, one data) and four Next, I began fiddling with AC polarity and grounding. I have found that between the 931 and the 921 (one clock many components are happier with reversed AC polarity and/or having and one data per channel). It turns out their ground floated. Since there are four chassis in the system, each with that good optical cable isn’t cheap, as I four possible polarity/ground combinations, performing this tweak was ruefully discovered during the course mind-numbingly tedious. However, it was well worth the effort. Simply of optimizing the system (see sidebar). floating the ground to the 931, for instance, had a remarkably positive I achieved excellent results using Aural effect on the sound’s openness. Symphonics Optimism v2.2006, and I Up to this point I had been using Wadia-supplied fiber, but at about wouldn’t dream of owning this system this time Tommy Dzurak of Aural Symphonics opined that his Optimum without them. But the required half- v2.2006 interconnects would be markedly superior to the Wadia links. He dozen adds a cool $6000 to the grand sent me the required set of six and I promptly hooked them up. Initially, I total. That line item is entirely absent in found them to be a step backwards; in particular, they were gumming up all-in-one players, and is radically less in all the rhythms. However, fiber cables, like their electrical counterparts, a two-box coax rig (my reference coax have a correct directional orientation. This, too, shouldn’t be so, but is. interconnect costs $85). Aural Symphonics is fully aware of this phenomenon, yet doesn’t mark The question, of course, is how does their cables for directionality. I therefore plunged into determining the Wadia’s extravagant, modern-convention- proper orientation for each of the six cables. When that was done, the flouting architecture fare when it comes to sound far exceeded what I had achieved with the Wadia fiber in virtually sound? After all, for all its skillful design every parameter. and craftsmanship, a Patek Philippe is A few final tweaks included: turning off the 270se’s “Resolution a less precise timekeeper than any $5 Enhancement” feature which, like sharpness and noise-reduction video watch from Target. Is it also true, then, circuits, is actually a sonic detriment; placing Goldmund Cones under the that the Wadia’s commitment to a largely transport in place of the ceramic feet supplied by the distributor; and bygone approach translates to inferior bypassing my preamplifier in favor of connecting the DACs directly to the sonic performance? Or is Wadia simply amps via long electrical interconnects. With these last tweaks, the sound the only company left willing to make finally achieved a level of realism and liveliness—and more importantly, the considerable investment necessary to the music crossed a threshold of engagement and lucidity—that had been bring difficult and costly but ultimately previously unattainable. superior technology to market? The moral of the story? Even expensive, scrupulously engineered To answer these questions, I listened components require diligent effort on the part of the owner or dealer to to the Wadia first as a system, then piece sound their best. Also, a manufacturer’s recommendations for achieving by piece. I found that its sound, like its the best sound should not be considered sacrosanct. Likewise, theory is technology, strong-mindedly adheres to a just that; there is no substitute for determining reality through actual particular philosophy. I can best describe trial. As always, let your ears, rather than a theory or owner’s manual, be this philosophy—and its contrast to the final judge. AT others—by referring to Issue 166, in which Jonathan Valin eloquently describes the dichotomy between two excellent speakers. The MAGICO Mini, he states,
108 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge are “a connoisseur’s speaker,” largely due hear every previously cloaked reverb of fills empty space with something akin to its exemplary neutrality and resolution. every vocal on every one of your pop to real air, the Wadia fills it with… In contrast, the MBL 101 Es, though less CDs. Soundstaging is another area of nothingness. Also, the Wadia, in pure, are “excitement machines (that) great faithfulness to the source. The stage keeping with its generally more austere bring every kind of music to irrepressible is wide, yes, but also astonishingly deep. A presentation, is slightly less Technicolor life.” The very same dichotomy applies to triangle being played behind an orchestra in its portrayal of timbres. These factors the Wadia flagship and my reference CD emanates from waaay behind the speaker help explain the reference’s greater vitality, player. In this case, the Wadia wears the plane. Then there are the rhythms, which but not why it imparts a more relaxed connoisseur’s suit. through the Wadia unfold at neither a listening experience. Suffice it to say, The 270se/Series 9 is supremely pure— hurried nor a laggardly pace. Like Baby though, that both systems are extremely it lacks any trace of noise and is absolutely Bear’s bed, chair, and porridge, they are engaging, the Wadia for its purity and neutral. It is also deeply resolving. Put just right. intricacy, the reference for its more direct these together and you have a player that Though it may seem that I’ve showered and visceral presentation. extricates the smallest details, but never the Wadia with every possible accolade, spoils them through exaggeration or I still haven’t touched upon its most Its most distinctive edginess. Own the Wadia, and you will distinctive (and addictive) characteristic: (and addictive) its “planted” quality. The sound seems to emanate not from wood or metal, but characteristic is its from shear granite. This is undoubtedly “planted” quality Specs & due to the Wadia’s massively overbuilt construction, which appears to garner When I deconstructed the Wadia Pricing the same benefits as do similarly wrought assemblage and listened piece by piece, Wadia speakers: a lack of any sonically extraneous I was surprised to discover that the 1556 Woodland Drive elements; bass with the whomp of a pile transport was a heavy contributor to Saline, Michigan 48176 (734) 786-9611 driver (but perfectly defined); and tightly the system’s reduced energy level. I was wadia.com focused imaging without a trace of the able to significantly amp up the vitality peach fuzz haze we usually hear. quotient by substituting my Goldmund 270se Transport My reference front end is not up to the Mimesis 36 reference deck for the 270se. Outputs: ST glass fiber-optic digital, BNC S/PDIF coaxial digital, AES/EBU digital Wadia’s standards in any of these areas. After doing so, for example, “Oh My Dimensions: 17" x 7" x 16.5" The Wadia mercilessly exposes its aging Soul” from Richard Thompson’s excellent Weight: 52 lbs. design and concomitant flaws. Yet the Front Parlour Ballads [Cooking Vinyl] Price: $9950 reference is much more of an “excitement became significantly less restrained, with Series 9 Decoding Computer machine.” Listening to it is a different greater separation of musical lines, more Inputs: ST glass fiber-optic digital (2), BNC experience. The Wadia invites you to tonal sonority, and, yes, more excitement. S/PDIF coaxial digital (2), AES/EBU digital (1), approach it and appreciate its considerable Meanwhile, none of the Wadia transport’s TosLink digital (1) Outputs: Balanced stereo analog, single- charms; the reference relaxes you, opens virtues were left behind. Now, the Mimesis ended stereo analog your receptors, then mainlines the music 36 is one of the best CD transports ever Dimensions: 17" x 7.25" x 16.25" (931), 17" into your cortex. Personally, I prefer this built, and when it was new fifteen years x 4.1" x 13.4" (each 921) experience, but not everyone will. ago, it cost more than the 270se does Weight: 40 lbs. (931), 43 lbs. (each 921) Price: $27,850 How and why the reference does today. Nonetheless, it is significant that what it does is difficult to say. There are the 36 proved superior in every respect 581 Integrated CD/SACD player some obvious sonic factors. For instance, despite having neither ClockLink nor a Outputs: Stereo analog balanced, stereo analog single-ended the dynamic range of the reference is TosLink to aid it. The 270se’s standing Dimensions: 17" x 7" x 16" markedly wider than the Wadia’s. As a suffered even further when I connected Weight: 48 lbs. familiar illustration, listen to the first line both transports to my reference DAC. Price: $6950 of Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why,” Denied ClockLink and fiber, the Wadia ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT from Come Away with Me [Blue Note]. On transport’s sound just fell apart; images Goldmund Studietto turntable; Graham 2.2 the Wadia, she sings, “I waited ’til I saw wandered and resolution deteriorated tonearm; Clearaudio Insider Gold cartridge; the sun.” On the reference it sounds more markedly. Through the same DAC, the 36 Goldmund Mimesis 36 CD transport & Mimesis 12++ DAC; Arcam FMJ DV-27A like, “I WAIT-ed ’til I saw the sun” There had none of these problems. DVD/DVD-A player; Goldmund Mimesis 22 is a dynamic spike on the first syllable of I was curious how much of a difference and Aesthetix Calypso preamps; Goldmund the second word that, while definitely the fiber was making in all this, so I Mimesis 29.4 power amplifiers; Metaphor present through the Wadia, is far more compared fiber and coax links the only 1 & 2 speakers; B&W ASW850 subwoofer; Empirical Design cables and power cords; emphatic on the reference. way I could: between the 270se and the Goldmund cones; ASC Tube Traps There are other, more subtle sonic 931 Controller. The two proved to be fairly differences as well. Where the reference close, but the fiber was clearly better. The
110 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge coax connection was thinner sounding, and details were slightly etched, although Wadia Resurgent! its presentation was also a bit airier and more relaxed. Still, the fiber—at least Mistakes and misfortune can befall even the most decorated of people— with the benefit of ClockLink—offered or companies. Consider the tumultuous history of Wadia. Twenty years cleaner rhythms, fuller timbres, better ago, the company was a founding member of a movement to transform imaging, and a more natural rendition of the nascent, sonically unpalatable compact-disc format into something details. the high end could embrace. Along with its main rival, Theta Digital, These results confirm the efficacy of Wadia advanced a raft of innovations that made CD’s transformation both ClockLink and fiber, which enable possible: outboard digital-to-analog convertors, glass-fiber connectivity, the 270se to perform far better than it proprietary clocking schemes and mechanical isolation to minimize jitter, otherwise would. Indeed, the 270se needs and software-based upsampling filters that blew away the crude chipsets these features. But the results also point then available. out that there is no substitute for getting Wadia’s first products were intended merely as proofs of these the bits right in the first place. With the concepts—test beds for technology destined to be licensed to others. But Mimesis 36 driving the Series 9, the the components were so favorably received, the company was obliged to sound achieves a level of coherence and manufacture them in earnest. By the early 1990s, Wadia had become a drive that, when combined with all of the firmly established builder of statement digital products. Wadia’s previously noted virtues, is highly Its first stumble occurred shortly thereafter. In an effort to build on its compelling while still true to its intended initial success—and to deliver some profit to its venture capital investors— connoisseur character. Wadia undertook an aggressive expansion of product lines and research So is the 270se/Series 9 worth $40,000? initiatives. Hindsight now makes clear that these efforts were premature. In purely sonic terms, my view is that The new thrusts strained limited financial resources and nuked the balance it is not. This is not because the Wadia sheet. Likewise, the modest development team was forced to divert its doesn’t sound wonderful, for in so many attention away from core products, causing a slowdown in new releases. ways it does. But thanks to the pioneering But these setbacks proved temporary. The company’s recovery began efforts of companies like Wadia itself, when, in the mid-90s, the frustrated but dogged investors opted to let there are now several players in the $7000 Wadia’s founder and President, Don Moses, dedicate himself to technology range—including the T+A 1245R, the development. In came a new management team led by entrepreneur Goldmund SR-DVD, and Wadia’s own Steven Jeffries. This division of labor ushered in Wadia’s second golden 581—that offer virtually all of the 270se/ age. Jeffries and crew upgraded the firm’s core digital technologies, Series 9’s strengths (minus that inimitable streamlined its organizational structure, simplified the product portfolio, “planted” quality), plus some. modernized manufacturing facilities, and invested in sales and marketing. Yet in the Wadia’s case there are other Wadia’s output, reputation, revenues, and profits flourished. Even today, factors that may mitigate the extraordinary products from this era trade for robust premiums within high-end used- investment it commands. The first is that, equipment circles. assuming all your sources are digital, the Buoyed by success, Wadia was once again anxious to expand. This time, Wadia requires no intervening linestage rather than overtaxing internal growth, it embarked on an acquisition between it and the power amps. Quite binge. To scale up manufacturing capacity and to broaden the product a few CD players on the market with an line, Wadia in 1999 purchased UltraAnalog. The highly regarded maker extra input or two and a volume control of digital chipsets also built high-quality CD players that were sold under make the same claim. In practice, however, a variety of high-end brand names. At the same time, Wadia applied most such players actually benefit from resources to launching its PowerDAC product. And a year later, following linestage intervention, since their internal in the footsteps of companies like Meridian and Goldmund that had output stages and volume controls can’t transitioned from source-component to full-system providers, Wadia match those of a good linestage. The completed its lineup by purchasing a speaker maker, Hales Design Group. Series 9, though, is an entirely different But integrating the newly acquired businesses proved just as arduous story. Its volume control is incredibly and expensive as had organic growth. Management, development sophisticated, and its output stage is resources, and money all became too thin-spread to handle the dispersed pure Class A, has plenty of power, and facilities, multiple product initiatives, and disparate business models. Given is quiet as a tomb. Did I mention that it time, the skilled management team may well have righted the situation. sounds glorious? So this is the rare case Unfortunately, the Asian stock market chose this moment to crash, casting where, if all your sources are digital, you into a depression the region that accounted for nearly 50% of Wadia’s can confidently spend more on the front revenue. Once more Wadia tumbled—this time, harder and farther. end, knowing you will gain some back by By 2000, all but one of Wadia’s remaining investors had lost faith in foregoing a separate linestage.
The Absolute Sound February 2007 113 The Cutting Edge
Another mitigating factor is the resolution formats that may come along. Wadia’s current and future capabilities. But I suspect all this value-oriented 581 CD Player The Series 9 is not presently limited to talk is largely beside the point for those in CD source material; it will accommodate the market for such a costly component. f Wadia’s flagship Series 9 is the any digital signal up to 96/24. And those For them, the Wadia is first and foremost family patriarch, the new 581 CD/ signals, no matter how humble (XM a product of superb craftsmanship, ISACD player is the renegade son. The radio, anyone?) receive the full Wadia extravagant design, flawless operation, and two bear obvious physical similarities and digital treatment. Further, the Series 9 performance that stands as a benchmark both are built around massive, chiseled- was built with upgradeability in mind, and within its chosen philosophy. Just like a from-solid-aluminum chassis. Internally, Wadia promises support for any higher- Patek Phillipe timepiece. too, it is clear that these components were spawned from the same gene pool: They share identical digital volume Wadia Resurgent! circuitry and Class A output stages; they use the same DACs, though the $27,850 the company and bailed out. The sole holdout, Shared Ventures, took Series 9, in its characteristic over-the-top control of the company and moved it to Ann Arbor, Michigan. There manner, employs eight per channel while resided Digital Imaging, whose research paralleled that of Wadia, but on the $6950 581 gets by with a mere two; the video side. The idea was to create a technology partnership between and ClockLink jitter reduction is standard the firms, one that would allow Wadia to re-emerge in accordance with on both. As for Wadia’s crown jewel, its its original business plan as a licensor of advanced technology to other DigiMaster upsampling filter software, manufacturers. This plan attracted both potential customers and new the 581 gets a less sophisticated but interest from the venture community. But just as it about to launch, the conceptually identical version. events of 9/11 sent financial markets cowering, and the plan unraveled There are virtually no operational for lack of funding. differences, either. The 581 I tested was For the next five years, a stripped-down Wadia—still oriented toward a pre-production prototype that exhibited licensing technology—focused on R&D. Money for marketing and new a few tics, but Wadia is aware of these product development was non-existent, but a recuperating Asia bought and promises they’ll be corrected in enough existing models to maintain a pulse. From a U.S. perspective, production units. As expected, given the Wadia simply disappeared. Competitors, of course, eagerly stepped into price spread, the 581 can’t quite match the the breach. Finally, in 2005, the last investor wanted out. polished smoothness of the $9950 270se Yet what could have been Wadia’s death knell proved instead to be its dedicated transport’s drawer. Nor would resurrection. A small group of the company’s executives and employees anyone mistake the more affordable decided that they themselves would take ownership. In January of 2006, machine’s remote for the flagship’s brick- the buyout was completed. John Schaffer, who had been the firm’s Vice like hunk. But the user interfaces are President of Sales and Marketing, became President. Having witnessed past identical, and the remotes are functionally problems firsthand, Schaffer decided to play strictly to Wadia’s strengths interchangeable right down to the handy of sophisticated digital processing and high-end products incorporating reverse-polarity button. that technology. Yet despite all these physical, Schaffer and his team have their work cut out for them; the digital operational, and topological similarities, landscape has altered significantly during the company’s half-decade the Series 9 and 581 offer radically of limbo. But Wadia is taking bold steps to re-establish its eminence. different presentations of music. To be They have introduced a flagship $40,000 digital front end, the sure, the 581 retains many of the Series 270se transport and Series 9 DAC/digital preamplifier (see review). 9’s qualities. Both share a marvelously Meanwhile, the just-released 581 CD/SACD player leverages much of the unhurried sense of “inevitable” pace, as Series 9’s technology within a more form-and-price-friendly package. well as resolution not only of primary Both units encompass significant upgrades over Wadia’s past products, details, but of subtle events taking place vividly illustrating that even while the company was silent running, its in the deep background. And both commitment and creativity never abated. illuminate the rear of the soundstage like The high end is a decidedly crowded place. But it will always accom- nothing else. But this is where the two modate firms with a passion to explore the limits of audio technology and diverge, for the Series 9 is all about purity, which bring the fruits of those labors to products both extreme refinement, and control. It presents music and moderate. Wadia began as a pioneer, and despite nearly unfathomable with modest scale and dynamics in order setbacks, it never lost its pioneering spirit. Let us, therefore, be to ensure that nothing gets out of hand. grateful for Wadia’s return to the fold, and hopeful that this resurgence Within these self-imposed bounds, it is proves permanent. AT exquisitely intricate. In contrast, the 581’s sound is big and
The Absolute Sound February 2007 115 The Cutting Edge
At this point, I was running the 581 I listened to the same track through my and all other sources through my linestage boisterous, with a penchant for grand reference player, I found that I didn’t to facilitate comparisons. In such a gestures—even if that means things care about any of that. Instead, I was configuration, the 581 has some sonic occasionally become a tad unruly. Because completely taken over by the movement’s limitations worth noting. Compared to this player takes itself less seriously, it sublime beauty. I sat riveted, afraid even both the reference and the Series 9, the possesses a musical ease that the Series to swallow lest I spoil the moment. 581’s imaging is more approximate, and its 9 lacks. All of which translates to very The 581, though, gave a performance soundstage narrower. It also has a distinct different listening experiences. The Series I’ll not soon forget. The nuance of the “white” bias to its tonal coloration; there 9 is rather shy about its charms, and Series 9 was fully intact, but along with is not quite enough oomph and warmth requires the listener to make the initial it came the full emotional wallop the at the low end to balance the ultra-clear approach. The 581, on the other hand, reference had delivered, and even more so. top. The sound is in no way thin, but grabs you immediately, effortlessly, and As the movement progressed, it became pianos, for instance, have less weight relentlessly. Overall, it bears a far closer apparent that the 581’s dynamic range is than they might have, and orchestras do resemblance to my reference Goldmund so broad, it makes my reference—which not sound quite as ravishing. The 581 transport and DAC than to its own elder. I’d thought irreproachable in this area— can also get a little ragged when, say, a These distinctions were made plain sound almost compressed in comparison. full-throated Anita Baker cuts loose. So when I listened to my favorite choral Likewise, the 581 is so open, the although the 581 is a near dead-ringer for piece, the Duruflé Requiem [Telarc], on reference—which isn’t remotely closed- my reference player, and though both get all three front ends. The recording isn’t in—sounds nearly cloudy. Consequently, the music right, in a direct comparison bad—choruses are notoriously difficult when the final orchestral and choral lines the reference sounds more realistic and is to capture with anything approaching swelled and dovetailed beyond anything smoother and easier to listen to. realistic scale and sonority—and there is I’d imaged possible, the effect was However, all of my quibbles with the no beating Robert Shaw and the Atlanta literally breathtaking. We are all aware that 581 vanish when it is connected directly to Chorus’ complete mastery of the form. CDs theoretically possess tremendous power amps. Like the Series 9, and unlike Through the Series 9, every line of the dynamic range, but we hardly ever hear the myriad CD players that support but “Kyrie” was perfectly delineated, as was it. Listening to the 581’s phenomenal fail to benefit from such an arrangement, every orchestral and vocal nuance. The dynamics, I felt for the first time that the the 581 incorporates an absolutely superb piece was a cerebral feast. However, when format’s promise was fulfilled. output stage and a completely benign
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This player is happiest when there is no linestage standing between it and a good amp digital volume control. This player is happiest when there is no linestage standing between it and a good amp. The sound becomes far more natural and pure, with greater air and imaging authority. The whitish cast, too, is gone, replaced by warmer, more true-to-life colors. And the narrowish soundstage now stretches comfortably across the room. In this configuration, the 581 rivals any CD player I have heard. The 581 also plays SACDs. Based on serial disappointments, I have come to expect multi-format players to founder with one medium or another. In particular, many SACD players fail to sound as good as a top-notch CD player. The 581 is itself a top- notch CD player, so it has its work cut out for it if SACDs are to sound even better. But they do. Listening, for example, to the Telarc hybrid disc of Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony, the SACD layer was quieter, more expressive, and lovelier than the CD layer, though it did have a slightly more distant perspective. And when things got loud and complex, nothing collapsed or broke up as CDs are wont to do. If you are collecting discs in this format, the 581 is one of the few players I’ve heard that will do them justice, albeit in two channels only. In sum, Wadia’s new 581 is a landmark release. It incorporates the strengths of the company’s most sophisticated designs, but combines them with a newfound sense of musical freedom. The result is irresistibly compelling, especially if you use the 581 as its own linestage and hook it directly to a power amp. Need another digital source? Consider the 581i ($8450), which is identical to the 581 but offers four digital inputs in four formats (glass fiber, BNC coax, TosLink, and AES/EBU), as well as a digital out. Need some analog inputs, too? Well, you’re stuck buying a linestage. Even then, the 581 richly deserves a serious audition. TAS
118 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge
An open challenge to the high-end status quo Krell LAT-1000 Loudspeaker
Anthony H. Cordesman
the Krell LAT-1000 is Dan D’Agostino’s effort to bring the same kind of no-holds barred approach to speaker design that he has brought to his Evolution Series electronics. He led the design team and voiced the speaker using Evolution gear— some of the best equipment around—and though the LAT-1000 is by no means the most expensive speaker ever made, at $55,000 it is costly enough to put it firmly in the “superb or failure” category of high-end products. Happily, the speaker does, indeed, come close to being superb. With the right amplification and setup, it can be one of the most musically realistic speakers around. However, that very musical realism makes the LAT-1000 highly controversial in terms of accuracy in frequency response and timbre. It is deliberately voiced very differently from most speakers on the market, and, as a result, raises a question that deserves far more attention in the high end: Is it the purpose of the high end to create the most technically accurate component in each link of the audio chain, or to create the most realistic and enjoyable illusion of listening to live music? As you might expect for the price, the LAT-1000 is a physically imposing speaker. Its cabinet, made of incredibly solid extruded aluminum, weighs 250 pounds, which is a lot for an enclosure with a relatively modest size of 54.6" high by 14.7" wide by 14.7" deep. Just watching it being carried up my front stairs made my back ache in sympathy. In practice, however, the LAT-1000 slides easily enough on a carpet to allow one person to experiment with different room placements and setups. You will have to log on to the Krell Web site and download the manual to get a clear picture of just how complex the enclosure and crossover design are; this is not a simple box, but a three-way dynamic speaker design pushed to the state of the art. A special aluminum sub-enclosure houses the midrange and tweeter, isolating them from the main cabinet; the drivers include three 8" custom-made aluminum-cone woofers, two 5.25" magnesium-cone midrange drivers, and a 1" neodymium tweeter. The crossovers are divided among three different circuit assemblies—one each for the woofer, midrange, and tweeter networks, and all using 4-ounce copper traces, WIMA capacitors, and air- core inductors. The LAT-1000 is not designed to be all things to all amplifiers. It has a nominal impedance of 3-4 ohms, but this includes areas between 1kHz and 2kHz that drop to nearly 2 ohms, and major peaks below 50Hz that rise well above 30 ohms. Its complex mix of second- and third-order crossovers also seem to put more strain than usual on an amplifier. As might be expected, the LAT-1000 worked perfectly with Krell’s new Evolution series electronics, and equally well with my high-power, high-current Pass X600.5s. It did not, however, work well with solid-state amplifiers that do not have high-current as well as high-wattage capability or have trouble with very low or complex loads. Not only do dynamics become restricted, but I could hear small changes in imaging and coherence. Low-to-medium-power tube amplifiers are simply out. They can’t properly drive this
120 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge speaker and can’t control its bass with the get accurate deep bass in real-world damping needed to show just how tight listening rooms unless you are willing to and accurate it can be. I can’t tell you work for it.) how well it will work with more modern Krell did not provide vertical and high-power tube amplifiers, having none horizontal dispersion data for the on hand, though my experience LAT-1000, but it became obvious indicates that lots of clean that this speaker sounds best with power solves most tube-amp the height of its tweeter nearly drive problems. at ear level, far enough from the Speaker cables can also side walls to limit reflected energy be an issue. My Kimber, to reasonable levels, and with Discovery, and Straightwire its “feet” adjusted to the angle cables worked fine, but I’d recommended in its instruction advise against speaker cables manual. It is also far more coherent, with load networks or with and has far better imaging stability, minimum impedance and at a reasonable listening distance capacitance, unless you are willing (10 feet or more). to sacrifice microdynamics and Finally, the speaker “grille” a bit of detail to make the load consists of thick rubber strands. easier on the amplifier. One other These are very attractive but vibrate point in passing: The LAT-1000s constantly when the speaker is have no provisions for bi-amping playing loud, and have some impact or bi-wiring, and no frequency on the smoothness and dispersion of adjustments. The speakers are the upper octaves. You might consider obviously not designed for removing them. The differences may tweaking. be slight, but they’re real. The Krell LAT-1000s have an Though you will get very musical unusual frequency-response curve. sound out of this speaker even with The manufacturer’s specifications minimal setup, if you give setup the for their nearfield response shows right attention, the LAT-1000 is one a -5dB down point of 30Hz in the of the few speakers that does come free field, but there is a +2dB peak close to reproducing the illusion of live around 60Hz, a slow drop of about music. Transparency, excellent small- -5dB from 130Hz to 800Hz, and then and large-scale dynamics, deep bass, and a very gentle drop of about 2–3dB smooth, extended frequency response to 20kHz. I’ll touch upon the sonic over most of the spectrum are sound impact of this frequency response in qualities you can take for granted, but a moment, but—like all speakers with what really makes the LAT-1000 sound truly deep bass—the LAT-1000s need a different is its unique timbre. Like Sonus bit of attention to room boundaries, and Faber’s and Wilson’s, Krell’s speakers are getting this right is slightly more difficult voiced more to sound like music than to than usual. meet some laboratory standard. The Krell rep (who came with the As I have explained earlier, the speakers) did very well simply placing the manufacturer’s frequency curve does not LAT-1000s in my usual room location. claim flat response and—within the severe To get the very best results, however, I limits of home measurement— needed to find the rear-of-the-speaker- the curve Krell specified is the to-rear-wall distance that provided just frequency response I got and a touch of bass reinforcement in the heard. This means the overall 30–40Hz range, without reinforcing response of the LAT-1000 is the peak around 60Hz. I got the proper “warm” by the standards of most result in a few hours listening by ear, and of today’s speakers. It definitely has in about an hour using a one-third-octave been tuned to give more of the kind of frequency-response meter. (Let me stress, deep-bass power you hear in a concert that I’d recommend such adjustment for hall or club than to win a race for flat virtually any serious monitor. You don’t response. You also don’t get the high
122 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge
levels of dispersed treble energy you deal of time listening to live, unamplified hear in many competing speakers, and acoustic music. Most CDs are mixed in the midrange does not have the punch ways that provide far more close-miked and detail of speakers that have flatter upper-octave information than you are frequency-response curves. ever going to hear in a live performance. I believe, however, that Krell is right A lot of jazz recordings on CD suffer and the other designs are musically wrong. from the same problem. I rarely hear a As someone who travels enough to hear CD that has the same bass content as concert halls and live performances all over a club, even though most clubs do use the world, my interest lies in reproducing sound reinforcement systems. the live listening experience and not A speaker like the LAT-1000 not only what has become an obsessive interest in brings back the music in music, it gets upper-octave detail at the cost of anything the best out of a far wider range of CDs, approaching musical realism. I want DVDs, or SACDs than a speaker that the timbre I hear live, not the frequency exaggerates the upper octaves. I also found response that measures well in a lab. it to be as realistic with my older LPs as This may sound strange coming with modern, close-miked, complex- from a reviewer who uses TAD-1 and mixdown CDs. Having grown up listening Thiel 7.2 speakers as references. Both to Reiner in the old Orchestra Hall the measure flat and both are capable of Chicago Symphony used in the 1950s, I extraordinary detail. A reviewer, however, found the sound of RCA Red Seals do a needs reference equipment that can act good job of getting the timbre right from as a reference and not Row D backwards. After simply provide the This speaker all, most classic LPs most musical sound. provides real were mastered using Moreover, speaker speakers with this kind and listening-position musical pleasure of timbre—not today’s layout and the choice with virtually every b r i g h t e r- s o u n d i n g of warm electronics designs. and/or warm eq can decent recording I did find the deep provide the same musical realism as bass voicing of the LAT-1000 somewhat tuning the speaker. controversial. The speaker does raise the These choices aren’t necessary with the energy level of the deep bass without Krell LAT-1000. The low midrange and providing the kind of added energy upper bass have the warmth they should. below 40Hz that some audiophiles who Strings and brass do not glare or harden; use subwoofers have gotten used to. It flute sounds the way it does live; a grand also requires careful placement. As I piano can fill the room without suddenly already noted, you don’t want to reinforce changing its timbre on high notes and standing wave energy in 50–60Hz losing much of its warmth; female voice region, and you do want a bit of room becomes balanced and aspirants natural. reinforcement below it. The character of individual instruments But, this kind of response does have becomes much more apparent. In musical virtues with the right room setup. short, the LAT-1000 offers audiophiles Go out to any good orchestral hall or something they really need if they listen decent acoustic jazz environment and to live acoustic music listen carefully to the bass energy you Other audiophiles may have a very actually hear live. Forget about reference different reaction. If you don’t listen to recordings, and really listen. Audiophiles a lot of live acoustic music you are going who obsess over bass below 45Hz miss to be conditioned to listen for more the point. Relatively little music takes upper-midrange energy and more upper- you down to the true acoustic depths. octave “air” than you will hear with these Almost all music depends for much of speakers. This is particularly true of high- its aesthetic impact on the bass between enders who have grown up listening to 45Hz and 100Hz, and far too many CD, without having had the analog LP systems now lack natural musical energy experience and without spending a great below 60–70Hz.
124 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Cutting Edge
For organ, electronic music, and the the listening position and speakers to odd note or passage below 40Hz, there allow the drivers to blend seamlessly. are bigger speakers that do provide more I’d also adjust the space between them energy and more realistic sound at the true so a naturally miked solo grand piano bottom of the bass. I suspect, however, recording, or string quartet, have natural that with most such music you’ll find the width, image size, and depth. LAT-1000s sound remarkably natural. With this kind of set up, the LAT- They may not be the ultimate speaker if 1000s become truly musical and “alive.” your goal in life is to spend a few minutes You get the kind of Row F sound that of listening to low-frequency test tones, anyone who loves live performances but they’re great for hours of actual almost inevitably prefers to what you listening. hear sitting in the front rows. Jazz, vocals, One other caution. The LAT-1000 and solo instruments come together with is scarcely a mini-monitor and does equal realism and warmth. not provide the same kind of driver Like every speaker in this price range, integration and coherence at close you would be insane not to listen and listening distances that you get with a full- buy on the basis of your own taste and range ribbon, a full-range electrostatic, or judgment. You, and many of my fellow a dynamic speaker’s integrated tweeter reviewers, may well not agree with me that and mid/bass drivers. You do need to the high end has tended to drift away from give the LAT-1000s space: a big listening musical realism and become obsessed with room and enough distance between upper-octave detail and energy. I would, however, make it a real point to listen to the LAT-1000s simply to hear one of the speakers that dares to be different. I would Specs & do so after listening to live acoustic music rather than “hi-fi.” Pricing This speaker provides real musical Krell Industries, Inc. pleasure and does so with virtually every 45 Connair Road decent recording, not just a few that suit Orange, Connecticut 06477 (203) 799-9954 its timbre. I believe it shows it’s time we krellonline.com went back to creating high-end systems based on core values: Reproducing the Type: Three-way floorstanding bass-reflex actual sound of music and not seeking loudspeaker Driver complement: One 1" tweeter; two maximum information at the cost of 5.75" midrange; three 8" carbon-fiber music’s soul. TAS woofers Frequency response: 28Hz–30kHz Sensitivity: 89dB Manufacturer Comment Nominal impedance: 3 ohms NuForce S-9 Loudspeaker Recommended amplifier power: 200W or The design goal of the S-9 was for greater Dimensions: 14.7" x 54.6" x 14.7" it to be one of the most faithful Weight: 250 lbs. reproducers of live music, and Price: $55,000 we are very glad to have Robert Greene’s recognition. We would like Associated Equipment VPI TNT HX-X turntable and HWJr 12.5 to take this opportunity to mention tonearm; Van den Hul Black Beauty, Sumiko the contribution of SP Technology Celebration and Koetsu Onyx Cartridges; Loudspeakers as the primary designer McIntosh MVP-861 SACD/DVD-A/DVD player; PS Audio Lambda CD transport and collaborator of the NuForce (modified); Tact 2.2X digital preamp-room S-9 speaker project. Also worth correction- equalizer-D/A converter; Pass pointing out is that the S-9 comes Xono phonostage; Pass X0.2 linestage; standard with an external crossover. Pass X600A power amplifiers; TAD Model 1 and Thiel 7.2 loudspeakers; Kimber Therefore, further enhancements, Select, Transparent Audio Reference XL, such as a passive crossover upgrade and Wireworld Super Eclipse and Eclipse or converting to an active crossover, interconnects and digital cables can be done with ease. Jason Lim
The Absolute Sound February 2007 127 Music Jazz
Charles Tolliver: With Love. Charles Tolliver and Michael Cuscuna, producers. Blue Note 69315. For those who weren’t already acquainted with his quirky, brilliant big-band record- ings from the 70s on his own Strata-East label, the re-emergence of trumpeter- bandleader Charles Tolliver on the New come out of the gate swinging hard in 3/4 York scene in recent years has been a time, fueled by drummer Victor Lewis’ revelation for jazz fans. Here is a working muscular bashing and sly syncopation. big band that expertly straddles the great The separate horn sections engage in a divide between the intelligent, unerring, fierce three-way conversation from the well-oiled-machine aesthetic of the Buddy outset, swirling around Lewis’ bombastic Rich or Maynard Ferguson aggregations pulse like separate swarms of bees circling and the ragged-around-the-edges, free- the hive. Tolliver’s trumpet solo here is wheeling aesthetic of the Sun Ra Arkestra bristling with energy, almost sounding or Cecil Taylor Orchestra. That is to say, distorted through the sheer force of his Tolliver makes judicious use of dissonance urgent blowing. That same bursting-at- and edgy solos, wedding them with preci- the-seams energy can be felt on “Right sion hits and tightly synchronized section Now” (which he originally recorded 40 playing. He strikes this tight/loose bal- years ago on a Jackie McLean Blue Note ance throughout his audacious and always date) and on the adrenalized closer “Hit stimulating Blue Note debut as a leader, The Spot,” featuring an incendiary alto Steve Swallow seamlessly melding hard bop and avant- sax solo by Handy. with Robert garde while still holding the reigns on his Tolliver’s inventive take on Thelonious Creeley: So There. powerhouse large ensemble. Monk’s “’Round Midnight” includes some Swallow, producer. Tolliver’s writing tends to be busy, dramatic mid-song shifting, whereby the ECM/Xtra/Watt 7932. marked by lots of harmonic movement trumpeter blows blistering, white-hot On his fourth release in six years, jazz and intricate interplay between the lines over an off-to-the-races uptempo bassist Steve Swallow teams up with trumpets and trombones (left speaker) section. His stirring “Mournin’ Variations” poet Robert Creeley (who is reported to and saxes (right speaker). And the solo (originally recorded on Tolliver’s 1975 have written to the music of jazz pianist sections groove just enough to allow album, Impact) opens with an intriguing, Bud Powell), pianist Steve Kuhn, and the for some unrestrained blowing by a chamber-like intro for woodwind quartet Cikada Quartet for a set of evocative crew of killer soloists, including pianists before resolving to a dynamic modal and introspective pieces that stand as a Stanley Cowell and Robert Glasper, alto section that turns Billy Harper loose on heartfelt homage to Creeley, who died in saxophonists Craig Handy and Todd a probing tenor solo. Tolliver adds fuel to 2005, shortly before the completion of Bashore, baritone saxophonist Howard the fire with a stinging post-bop trumpet this project. Johnson, and the great Trane-inspired solo of his own that is, like the recording Indeed, Creeley’s reflective readings tenor saxophonist Billy Harper. itself, unconventional, stimulating, and are the heart of this work in which words The rambunctious opener, “Rejoicin’,” always swinging. Bill Milkowski and music play against one another. In an is a perfect distillation of this potent Further Listening: Charles Tolliver: effort to transcend the music-and-poetry group’s appeal. Tolliver and company Impact; Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day genre, Swallow has said that he tried to
Music Sonics Extraordinary Excellent Good Fair Poor
130 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 131 momentum and emotional force than fine detail, which doesn’t undercut the band’s Jazz current status as the most exciting hybrid orchestra in the universe as we know it. Derk Richardson “get inside Bob’s breathing as he spoke Further Listening: Chicago the lines.” The resulting warmth and Underground Orchestra: Playground; intimacy reveal that Swallow has admirably Frank Zappa: The Yellow Shark succeeded. Over the course of 18 tracks, Creeley muses on life’s beauty and frailty while Swallow and company provide a soft Joe Zawinul: Brown bed of sparsely arranged sound, buoyed by Street. gorgeous string-quartet charts and melodic Zawinul and Joachim Becker, bass lines. Throughout, Kuhn and Swallow producers. Heads Up 3121 (two CDs). produce a wide range of sounds and styles A co-founder of Weather Report, the that perfectly compliment Creeley’s gentle lapses the decades that ostensibly separate premier fusion band of the 70s, Joe ruminations. the late 1960s from the early 21st century. Zawinul is now celebrating his 20th year There is a welcoming cozy, quality Originally organized for a Millennium as leader of the Zawinul Syndicate. But about the recording. For instance, Park concert for the Chicago Cultural for this ambitious two-disc set, recorded “Return,” a poem about the quality of Center and the Jazz Institute, Exploding live in October 2005 at his Birdland quiet, is a distillation of every peaceful Star Orchestra becames the audio vehicle club in Vienna with the WDR Big Sunday afternoon you ever spent curled for Mazurek’s fanciful multimedia sci-fi Band Koln, the Austrian-born maestro up with a good book or soothing cup of narrative involving supernovas, electric tea. That Swallow and his cohorts capture eels, and the cosmic travels and transfigu- that feeling without the slightest hint of rations of a sting ray. sappiness is a testament to their artistic The late Sun Ra might have recognized talents. At times, as on the playful bass- reflections of his own intergalactic and-piano duet “Miles,” Kuhn sounds like visions, as well as echoes of his Arkestra’s Vince Guaraldi on his best Charlie Brown “solar-myth approach” in the sound recordings, brimming with a youthful of the ESO. Mazurek tapped Chicago’s exuberance that belies the maturity of free-jazz, electronic music, and post- the music. rock scenes for this recording’s 14-piece Sonically, Swallow has opted for a ensemble (notably Nicole Mitchell, somewhat narrow soundstage that still flutes/voice; Jeb Bishop, trombone; leaves plenty of room for Creeley’s Corey Wilkes, flugelhorn; Josh Berman, poems to breath, yet despite these slight cornet; Jeff Parker, guitar; and John constraints, this is one of Swallow and McEntire, marimba/tubular bells, plus Kuhn’s finest performances and sets reeds, bass, drums, synths, vibes, and the benchmark for similar projects. percussion). Snaking, chugging, roaring, revisted pieces from his past. With a core Greg Cahill and drifting through the seamless three- group consisting of Syndicate drummer Further Listening: Steve Swallow/ section suite—from the collectively Nathaniel Townsley, former Weather Ohad Talmore Sextet: L’Histore Du improvised “Psycho-Tropic Electric Report and Syndicate bassist Victor Clochard: The Bum’s Tale; Courage: Eel Dream” (inspired by Mazurek’s Bailey, and former Weather Reporter The Way Out is Via the Door recordings of electric eels) through Jim Alex Acuna on percussion, these newly Baker’s pretty piano feature “Black Sun” expanded renditions of familiar Zawinul and into the diverse “Cosmic Tomes for compositions from his Weather Report Exploding Star Sleep Walking Lover”—the orchestra years take on a decidedly new flavor while Orchestra: We Are triumphantly traverses pathways cleared losing none of the intense momentum All From Somewhere Else. by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Frank and drive that were signatures of that Rob Mazurek and John McEntire, Zappa, Soft Machine, and Philip Glass on swaggering fusion juggernaut. producers. Thrill Jockey 181. the way down uncharted wormholes of And at age 74, Joe has not lost a step. In the decade since he teamed with drum- its own devising. He still burns with unparalleled speed, mer Chad Taylor in the Chicago Un- The shifting emphases, from sections to dexterity, and creativity as a synth soloist, derground Duo (which morphed into a solos, and from reeds to brass to keyboards as heard here on blistering tracks like the quartet and an orchestra), Rob Mazurek to percussion to lead guitar, make for aptly-titled “Fast City” (from 1980’s Night has taken his cornet and electronics ever pleasantly disorienting headphone Passage), frantic “Badia/Boogie Woogie deeper into interstellar regions where listening. But through speakers, despite Waltz” medley (which first appeared composition and improvisation fold back a wide soundstage, the sonics sometimes on 1978’s Grammy Award-winning live upon each other in a time warp that col- blur into a molten mass that has more album 8:30), and “March of the Lost
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132 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 133 arranged on banks of keyboards but conceptualized in an Ellingtonian fashion Jazz by Zawinul. All the music on this ambitious collaboration was adapted and arranged by Vince Mendoza, with the exception Children” (from 1988’s The Immigrants). of “Procession.” Outstanding soloists And equipped with new digital synths from the ranks of the big band include and sampling technology that didn’t exist alto saxophonist Karolina Strassmayer, during Weather Report’s heyday, Zawinul who digs into the heavy groove of “Black is also able to conjure new and better Market” with uncommon post-bop sounds, heard to particularly good effect authority and wails with funky abandon on a moving rendition of “A Remark on “March of the Lost Children,” and You Made” (from 1977’s Heavy Weather), New Yorker John Marshall, who offers the triumphant shuffle-swing flag-waver some beautifully lyrical trumpet work on “Night Passage,” and on the ambient the anthemic “In A Silent Way.” intro to “Procession” (title track from Kudos to WDR recording engineer Muhal Richard Weather Report’s 1983 album). Gerald Ernst for capturing the present Abrams, George Bailey provides a remarkably unerring drum sound heard throughout, as the Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell: time feel and eminently funky bottom resonant boom of the kick drum and Streaming. throughout the proceedings. And crisp slam of the snare are essential to Abrams, Lewis, Mitchell, producers; Townsley, a whirlwind on the kit, supplies propelling the kinetic music. Often in recorded by Tom Hamilton and Rich the kind of muscular, quick-handed, concert, and certainly in large ensemble Lamb. Pi 122. crisply interactive groove playing that situations, the drums tend to get buried “If people could fall back on the Zawinul adamantly requires of drummers. in the mix. But here, the intensity of fundamental primordial aspects of their The 15-piece WDR Big Band Koln, a Townsley’s precision playing is preserved own human nature,” George Lewis said marvelous outfit that has collaborated on in tact. BM in a recent interview, “it would be a lot several occasions with other prominent Further Listening: Zawinul easier for them to understand and to hear musicians, lends a majestic lift to the Syndicate: Vienna Nights; Scott this music.” Indeed, the “letting go” of compositions, which were originally Kinsey: Kinesthetics prejudices about how sound “should”
134 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 135 be organized to qualify as “music” is in-the-moment awareness of the aural Nicholas Payton, essential for entry into, and pleasurable stimuli that comes at them in the trio Bob Belden, partaking of, the “dissonant” conundrums and duo settings. They hear, process, Sam Yahel, John Hart, Billy of free jazz. But it’s abundantly evident and respond so instantaneously that even Drummond: Mysterious throughout this outlandishly ingenious the most fractured, superficially chaotic Shorter. trio session that Lewis (trombone and jumble of sound has a wondrously Bob Belden and David Chesky, laptop), Muhal Richard Abrams (piano natural flow and spaciousness. The latter producers. Hybrid stereo. Chesky and percussion), and Roscoe Mitchell quality is amplified by exceptional sonics 321. (saxophones and percussion) rely on that capture a realistic spectrum, from It’s formulaic, but what a formula! Gather more than “primordial” instinct to remain the deepest rumble of bass piano keys to together world-class jazz players and first- compassionately engaged and responsive. crystalline tinkling of bells. rate tunes built around a solid theme, add Representing three different genera- It all blows up what could have been an expert production team, and wait for tions of the jazz avant-garde, Abrams, aural equivalents of Jackson Pollock- and the results. And the latter are exceptional now 75, Mitchell, 66, and Lewis, 53, are Mark Rothko–like canvasses into post- on a pair of new discs from the Chesky intimately familiar with one another’s Calder mobiles, held together not by wire, label’s New York Sessions series. musical vocabularies and temperaments, but by mutual respect and affirmation. At 88, veteran jazz pianist Hank Jones and possess deep knowledge of musical DR plays those 88s like no one’s business, and cultural history. That gives them a leg Further Listening: Muhal Richard tapping into an endless fount of ideas. up on those who depend on raw intuition Abrams: Spihumonesty; George Clarinetist Eddie Daniels once remarked and unfiltered reactivity. Lewis: Conversations that Jones “is the synthesis of jazz piano What you hear in the four extended from stride to bebop.” Well said. A tracks of Streaming—beneath the dense convivial session of standards, his West tonal clusters, brassy splatters, reedy SACD of 5th aptly harkens back to the golden- bleats, hop-scotching and pinnacle- Hank Jones, era New York clubs located between 5th conquering runs, and shape-shifting Christian McBride, and 7th Avenues that spawned the bebop electronic beds—is the pregnant silence Jimmy Cobb: West of 5th. revolution. of listening. These men are masters not David Chesky and Eleana Steinberg- Jones, who is joined here by former only of their instruments and individual Tee, producers. Hybrid stereo. Miles Davis drummer Jimmy Cobb and lexicons of extended techniques, but of Chesky 313. young-lion bassist Christian McBride,
134 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 135 red-hot band led by tenor and soprano and trumpeter Art Farmer trade excellent saxophonist Bob Belden, who during solos over the Teddy Kotick (bass)/ Jazz the past 15 years has released a series of Louis Haynes (drums) rhythm section. similar jazz recordings that re-imagine the “Soulville” is a playful minor blues that works of everyone from the Beatles to begins and ends with a start-stop beat and has a buoyant touch that suits these Rachmaninoff, Puccini to Prince. Kotick’s cat-walking bass line, bridged by a tunes, which range from an eight-minute However, this is the first time Belden middle section where once again Mobley’s rendition of the spry Ogden Nash/Kurt has set his sights on a jazz composer, and and Farmer’s horns take flight, followed Weill showtune “Speak Low” to Thad is joined by trumpet star Nicholas Payton, by Silver’s own “When Johnny Comes Jones’ tender ballad “A Child is Born.” keyboardist Sam Yahel (on Hammond Marching Home”-themed piano solo. And the blues is never far away. Wes B-3 organ), guitarist John Hart, and “Home Cookin’” is a funky, down-home Montgomery’s light-hearted romp “Mr. drummer Billy Drummond. The breezy number with plenty of sass and swing, Walker” gets an airy Latin-tinged workout arrangements often bear a light, swinging as Jones lays down long lyrical lines in a 70s vibe that is particularly well-suited to bluesy chat with his partners. Jones digs Payton’s clear, bell-like tone, reminiscent even deeper to unleash brilliant soul- of Clifford Brown and Blue Mitchell. inflected blues chops on Charlie Parker’s And the players meld surprisingly “Billie’s Bounce,” which also showcases well. Check out the interlocking solos Cobbs’ deft percussion skills. on the nearly nine-minute version of But it’s the intimate ballads—especially “Footprints” or the dreamy harmonies on Billy Strayhorn’s “Lotus Blossom,” Victor “Teru.” This cohesiveness is due largely to Young’s “Stella By Starlight,” and Cobbs’ Yahel (who has played in the Yaya 3 organ own “Eleanor”—that really stand out, trio with saxophonist Joshua Redman) and thanks to the warmth of these recordings. Drummond’s ability to provide the right amount of rhythmic glue. Ultimately, Mysterious Traveler does what every good tribute CD should: It showcases all the strengths of the original material and invites the listener to explore Shorter’s while “Metamorphosis” adds a dash of works, while highlighting the inventiveness samba-infused spice. The album ends with of five young players who succeed in the record’s only non-Silver-penned tune, their quest to be worthy standard-bearers. a lovely and mellow take on the Wood- Thanks to Chesky’s commitment to high- Mellin ballad “My One and Only Love.” quality sonics, that’s a ticket to ride. GC Mastered by Bernie Grundman on a Further Listening: Charlie Haden/ tube mono cutter, the sound of Stylings is Hank Jones: Steal Away and notably rich, warm, and rather midnight- Footprints: The Life and Music of hued. The horns in particular are strikingly Wayne Shorter natural sounding. Hank Mobley’s tenor has a throaty, burnished quality, his smooth solos unfurling like so much smoke; Art Farmer’s trumpet is likewise HOT WAX natural, without the bright, spitty, too- Horace Silver close feeling recorded trumpets often Quintet: The have. The dynamic range ebbs and flows The instrumentation caresses the listener; Stylings of Silver. with a natural balance, and while the bass you’d be hard-pressed to find a recording Rudy Van Gelder, engineer. Classic and drums are also nicely captured, Van of light brushes and cymbals that possesses Records/Blue Note 1562 (200-gram Gelder had mixed results with Silver’s more realism. mono LP). piano, which generally lacks body and Meanwhile, the edgier sensibilities and Classic Records’ outstanding series of Blue weight, especially in passages when the full adventurous musical vision of tenor and Note mono reissues continues with 1957’s ensemble is playing. soprano saxophonist Wayne Shorter— The Stylings of Silver, which finds the Hard Never mind this minor complaint. Fans the former Miles Davis sideman and Bop pianist/composer and his bandmates of vintage Blues Notes and especially of longtime Weather Report member— in terrific form from start to finish. Silver and his excellent horn players will fuels Mysterious Shorter. This set of eight A rousing pace is immediately find Classic’s release a welcome place on Shorter compositions features tracks established with the minor-key workout the record shelf. Wayne Garcia culled from the reedman’s mid-60s and “No Smokin’,” in which the musicians Further Listening: Horace Silver: early 70s recordings, the exception being really get a chance to stretch their stuff, …and the Jazz Messengers (Classic “Masquelero” from Miles Davis’ Sorcerer. and continues with “The Back Beat,” mono pressing); Hank Mobley: Hank The tunes provide the framework for a wherein tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley Mobley (Classic mono pressing)
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136 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 137 The Suite “1922” was written 20 years earlier, when the young Hindemith was considered a scandalous avant-gardiste. Music Its five pieces include movements called Boston and Ragtime, and a flashy, percussive Shimmy, all done with the requisite ferocity. The longest though, is the poetic Classical Night Piece, which Berezovsky plays with consummate tenderness. Paul Lewis recently stepped into the This is one of those CDs where you fray with a disc devoted to the three don’t think about the sonics because sonatas of Opus 31. The release at the engineering does what it’s supposed hand, which accommodates ten more to do—stays out of the way and lets sonatas on three CDs, is the second Hindemith: Ludus you hear the music. The piano is solidly installment of a complete cycle, its tonalis; Suite located in the aural picture, timbres are release timed to coincide with Lewis’ “1922.” Boris Berezovsky, piano. accurate, and the listening perspective concert performances of the canon in Anna Barry, producer; Neil is that of a good seat in a decent hall. Europe and the United States during Hutchinson, engineer. Warner Dan Davis the 2005–2007 seasons. Lewis comes to Classics 63412. Further Listening: Berezovsky: the task with strong credentials, having Hindemith’s Ludus tonalis isn’t often Chopin-Godowsky Etudes; Liszt: coached with Alfred Brendel, and with the heard, perhaps because its name doesn’t Transcendental Etudes help. The CD’s booklet freely translates it as “Game of (musical) notes,” but the Latin title doesn’t inspire confidence in pleasurable listening, nor does the work’s complexity. Its prelude and postlude flank a dozen fugues that alternate with 11 interludes, indicating a Bachian exploration of polyphony and tonality. Add to that its technical challenges, daunting for pianist and listener alike. But when played with the easeful virtuosity and vitality pianist Boris Berezovsky brings to it, it’s hard not to want to hit the repeat button. Berezovsky’s performance of Ludus Beethoven: Piano tonalis reminds us that Hindemith wore Sonatas Opp. his composing technique with a grace 13 (Pathétique), 14, 22, 53 that enables the most complex sections (Waldstein), 78, 79, 90, 101, 106 to sound eminently musical. The subdued (Hammerklavier). Prelude and peaceful first Fugue draw the Paul Lewis, piano. Martin Sauer, listener into the music, and by the time producer; Philipp Knop, engineer. the playful second Fugue comes around, Harmonia Mundi HMC 901903.05 thoughts of “where has this music been (three CDs). all my life” surface. We start with the premise that, individually Like a great chef, Hindemith mixes and and especially collectively, Beethoven’s matches the flavors on offer, following piano sonatas are works about which no the serene sixth Fugue, for example, with one pianist can say everything there is to a spicy, light-hearted march interlude. The be said. Which in turn means they cannot interludes include some the work’s most be over-recorded; there’s always room for riveting music; some offer quicksilver new views of this music, new responses fleetness, others crushing energy, still to its opportunities and challenges. others, like the longest, the seventh Nevertheless, interpretive benchmarks Interlude marked Molto largo, monumental have been laid down for these works by weight. Berezovsky’s playing throughout some very great artists, so a newcomer has is superb, dashing in the virtuoso a lot to contend with when he goes into the sections, gently delicate when called for, studio: What Beethoven put on paper, and and always with a firm line holding the what the several generations of keyboard structure together. giants have engraved for the record.
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138 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 139 The music largely replaces the composer’s hothouse impressionism with more Classical muscular stuff, including full-blooded choral sections, hyperactive percussion, and violent rhythms, along with sections support of an outstanding label that has like the depiction of a misty mountain an excellent record of identifying young pasture. Rattle’s orchestra and chorus are talent and backing it for the long haul. All up to the music’s demands but a weak he lacks, to judge from what is here, are tenor detracts from the whole. the imagination, personality, and musical Recorded in 2002, Harnasie suffers brilliance to make an impact in a crowded from a reverberant setting, light bass, and field— precisely what Beethoven himself a veiled recording that obscures details. was trying to do when, as a young pianist, Engineered in 2006, the Songs Of A Fairy- he wrote the earliest of these works. tale Princess also lack immediacy. But the The playing is deliberate, punctilious, Szymanowski: Love Songs Of Hafiz, made in 2004 and in and to a great extent, uninvolving. Harnasie. Songs the same venue, Birmingham’s Symphony What shines through is not Beethoven’s Of A Fairy-Tale Princess. Love Hall, is well-detailed, with firm bass and a brilliance—the daring harmonic feints, Songs Of Hafiz. nice bloom to Karnéus’ voice. DD the unorthodox structural gambits, Soloists, City of Birmingham Further Listening: Szymanowski: the surprising turns of phrase, and Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, King Roger (Rattle); Harnasie (Wit) the overwhelming forcefulness of the Simon Rattle, conductor. Stephen argument—but his rationality. Lewis Johns, producer; Mike Clements, can be commended for bringing out engineer. EMI 64435. the smooth connections between ideas, A fortuitous injury exempted the poise, and the joyful command of Szymanowski from service in the killing the piano’s sonic resources that are to fields of World War I, which he spent at be found in these pages. On the other his family’s estate in the Ukraine. There hand, he has little use for rubato (how he began his desertion of his earlier dryly he ends the second movement of Germanic hyper-Romantic style for more the Pathétique), too often allows the drama exotic musical climes, producing the two of Beethoven’s long-range harmonic song cycles on this disc, Songs Of A Fairy- action to fizzle (for example, the march tale Princess and Love Songs Of Hafiz. in Op. 101), and comes nowhere near Based on translations of medieval conveying the dynamic scale Beethoven poetry, the eight Love Songs are lushly calls for in these scores (a real drawback sensuous, permeated by flutes and harps, in the Hammerklavier). While it’s hard to the tinkling of bells, and perfumed reconcile the Apollonian and Dionysian orchestration typified by muted violins Sacchini: Œdipe à impulses in this music, the composer’s and delicate washes of color. But they Colone. great exponents—among them Kempff, make their full impact through the singing Soloists; Opera Lafayette, Ryan Serkin, and Gilels, even Pollini and of Katarina Karnéus, whose lovely mezzo Brown, conductor. Max Wilcox, Brendel (on a good night)—have been adds further sensuality to the luxuriant producer; Wilcox and Antonio d’Urzo, able to do so. orchestra. The six Songs Of A Fairy-tale engineers. Naxos 8.660196-97. It used to be the piano was one of the Princess utilize texts by the composer’s You remember Oedipus at Colonus? You hardest instruments to record; now it’s sister; the three on this disc orchestrated don’t? It was the last of three dramas one of the easiest. The sound on these years later, full of impressionist, fragile by Sophocles based on the story of discs is close up and very good, though coloristic writing. If they seem to Oedipus—the one in which that there’s a bit too much room reflection for have less impact than the Love Songs, quintessentially tragic figure reaches the my taste, as though the goal were to make it’s primarily because soprano Iwona end of his road, having come to terms with Berlin’s Teldec Studio sound less studio- Sobotka’s uningratiating voice makes the terrible deeds of his young adulthood. ish and more like a recital hall. The mike their abundance of wordless melismas While Antigone, from that same cycle, placement, not far off the strings and sound more effortful than luxurious. inspired far more 18th-century operatic just in front of the pianist’s face, captures Sandwiched between the two song settings, Oedipus at Colonus eventually made a lot of breathing and vocalizing in cycles is one of Szymanowski’s most it to the musical stage thanks to a 1785 addition to the ample weight and bright popular scores, the ballet Harnasie. It was libretto by Nicolas François Guillard, tone one expects from a modern Steinway. written in the 1920s and explores another which Antonio Sacchini set the following Ted Libbey exotic terrain, the highland music of the year. Of course you’ve heard of Sacchini. Further Listening: Beethoven Tatra Mountains. The plot concerns the You haven’t? He was a contemporary of sonatas (Gilels); Beethoven sonatas eponymous bandit band’s abduction of a Haydn, and a leading opera seria composer (Serkin) complicit bride from her wedding feast. in the second half of the 18th century.
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140 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 141 Gretchell as Polyneices and Tony Boutté as Beyond the cachet of the science-fiction Theseus) and well-realized accounts from adventure flick itself, the score boasts Classical François Loup in the role of Oedipus and the built-in classical-crossover appeal of Nathalie Paulin as Antigone. almost anything Kronos lays its bows to, The recording, made from a concert the trendy post-rock allure of the Scottish He bounced around—Naples, Venice, performance with additional sessions, band Mogwai, and the intrigue generated London, Paris—and suffered his share admirably captures the ambience of a by the wedding of the two. of disappointment along the way. His medium-sized hall, perfect for this music, Kronos—violinists David Harrington death at age 56, no doubt hastened by and affords a solid, detailed image of and John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt, and dissipation, came just weeks after Marie the orchestra and principals (the chorus, cellist Jeffrey Ziegler—leads the chamber Antoinette reneged on a promise to placed slightly distant, occasionally world in exotic collaborations. But this have this opera, Sacchini’s masterpiece, comes off sounding a bit indistinct). The amalgamation was less than live. Mogwai performed at Fontainebleau. sound has immediacy and an appealing recorded its parts in Glasgow the month Notwithstanding that sad denouement naturalness, but falls just short of the before Kronos went into Skywalker Sound to Sacchini’s career, Œdipe à Colone entered bite and weight needed to produce a truly in Northern California, and a vocal chorus the repertory of the Paris Opéra and arresting sense of presence. TL was tracked independently in New York survived long enough to earn the praise Further Listening: Gluck: Orphée et City. For all the long-distance runaround, of Berlioz, who particularly liked the way Eurydice (Opera Lafayette); Mozart: however, the end result is tremendously the title character’s conflicting emotions Die Zauberflöte (Christie) powerful. The twain do meet in nine tracks are limned in the penultimate scene of Act that reach an eight-and-a-half-minute cli- III, where the libretto aspires to the noble max in the breathtakingly dramatic “Death language of Corneille. Unfortunately, that Is the Road to Awe,” which gives Howard is also where it departs from the tragic Shore (Lord of the Rings) a run for his mon- grandeur of Sophocles, substituting a ey before yielding to a reflective solo-piano happy reconciliation of Oedipus with denouement, “Together We Will Live For- his son Polyneices for the altogether ever.” grimmer conclusion of the original. But Like most film scores, The Fountain in late 18th-century France, as close as the does not range too far afield from a few “déluge” was to coming, one still had to fundamental themes, including a particular bring an opera to a happy conclusion, and repeated five-note motif (the backbone end it with a ballet. of “Stay With Me”) that echoes in one’s Of course, the real problem with Œdipe memory like tubular bells. But Mansell’s à Colone was not so much conceptual— simple melodies burst with emotion when quite a few masterpieces are flawed—as stretched to their dynamic extremes. circumstantial: 1786 was also the year Solo turns are de-emphasized in a mix of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. By then, Kronos Quartet that strives for cumulative effect and opera had headed in a new direction, and and Mogwai: achieves it on a huge, deep, reverberating works like Œdipe, which with its dignified The Fountain. soundstage in which individual elements manner and emotional restraint harks Scott Fraser, producer. Nonesuch inch forward with striking clarity and back to Gluck and the style of the 1760s, 79901. then recede into a chiming, droning, were already outmoded. Still, Berlioz was With credits ranging from CSI episodes rumbling blur. With no gratuitous pop right to admire it, and there is much to to the films Doom, Pi, and Sahara, Clint song tacked on, and pieces ordered in a admire in this recording, which effectively Mansell had transformed himself from logical narrative, The Fountain makes for brings the opera back into circulation alt-rocker—as guitarist/vocalist for the rich, pleasurable, and evocative listening— after more than a century and a half. British band Pop Will Eat Itself—into especially without accompanying visuals. Credit first of all Ryan Brown, a serious composer. Although inhabiting Derk Richardson relatively recent arrival on the early music a tier below such Oscar-toting big guns Further Listening: Philip Glass: scene in the nation’s capital, for creating as John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and The Hours: Music from the Motion a first-rate period-instrument company James Horner (as well as legends like Picture; Craig Armstrong: Film in the Opera Lafayette Orchestra and Morricone and Rota), Mansell may soon Works 1995-2005 Chorus, and doing the spade work to be considered a top-shelf film-score prepare a performing edition of Sacchini’s stylist by genre aficionados who prefer score. Brown conducts an affecting darkly romantic atmospheres á la Angelo Inventions. Music Of performance. His tempos are well judged Badalamenti and Gabriel Yared to mega- Bach, Eisler, Beffa, and the playing is energetic and shapely, orchestral blockbuster bombast. Bartók, Klein, Martinu, Kreisler. despite occasional little insecurities in the The Fountain, Mansell’s third score for Renaud Capucon, violin; Gautier string ensemble. The singing and French director Darren Aronofsky, and second Capucon, cello. Etienne Collard, diction are excellent across the board, with using San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet, producer; Frédéric Briant, engineer. standout work from the two tenors (Robert should exponentially increase his following. Virgin 32626.
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142 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 143 for soulful expressiveness. The disc ends in 2003. This live concert recording with Fritz Kreisler’s Miniature Viennese from last January doesn’t quite make full Classical March, a brief, sweet dance movement in amends for the ancient transgression. which the Duo becomes a trio with the There’s a slick homogenization to addition of pianist Aude Capucon. Salonen’s interpretations that is only The performances are first-rate. If the heightened by the LAPO’s brilliant but solid engineering may very slightly harden sometimes bland virtuosity. Missing the violin’s upper reaches, it also gives us a is the last word in direct emotional sound picture full of vitality and captures potency—erotic power, the power of the colorful playing of the Capucons. nature, the power of the supernatural. Balances are good and the musicians are The beginning of the Stravinsky work closely placed center stage, avoiding the lacks a sense of organic awakening, even unrealistic soundstage spread often heard if it’s accurate as hell. “The Augurs of in chamber recordings. DD Spring” isn’t sufficiently emphatic and Further Listening: Capucon Duo: “Spring Round Dances” should be far Face à Face; Brahms: Piano Trios (G. more terrifying. Part Two’s Introduction Capucon) is short on the misty mysteriousness that so many other performances possess. Likewise, The Miraculous Mandarin evokes The shadow of Nazi Germany hangs only a generic sense of menace, not the over much of this disc. Aside from Bach dangerously depraved aura it should and contemporary French composer generate. Trombone glissandos aren’t Karol Beffa, all the composers here nearly lewd enough. were refugees or victims of Nazism. The Of great interest is the rarely heard Capucons begin with Bach, playing seven original version of Night on Bald of the 20 Duos for Violin and Cello arranged Mountain—for all practical purposes, an by Frederick Neumann from a variety of entirely different piece than the familiar the master’s works. At first it seems odd Rimsky-Korsakov arrangement. It’s to hear familiar pieces like the Gavotte fascinating but, it must be said, Rimsky’s from the English Suite No.3 played by a version is far more musically and pair of strings, but the music takes on an dramatically cogent. extra degree of expressivity along with DG’s sound features a robust bottom elegance in this fine recording. Beffa’s end—organ at the beginning of the Masques I and II, works that occupy almost Bartók, all those bass drum thwacks a third of the disc’s 73 minutes, tend to SACD in Le sacre—and smooth instrumental the dolorous, indulging in a sometimes- Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring. sonorities. The surround option doesn’t animated kind of minimalism that rather Bartók: The Miraculous add much to a feel for concert hall; oddly, vanishes from the mind after listening. Mandarin. Mussorgsky: Night there’s atmosphere but little air. Even A transcription of Bartók’s early Popular on Bald Mountain. multichannel devotees may choose to Hungarian Melodies, seven miniatures add- Los Angeles Philharmonic listen to the very good DSD stereo mix. ing up to about six minutes, pack a punch Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Andrew Quint beyond their length with catchy tunes, conductor. Sid McLauchlan, Further Listening: Stravinsky: rhythmic thrust, and wide emotional producer; Fred Vogler, engineer. L’histoire du soldat (Järvi) (SACD); range. Hans Eisler’s two-movement Duo Hybrid multichannel. Deutsche Mussorgsky: Night on Bald opens with an attractive minuet followed Grammophon 289 477 6198. Mountain (Reiner) (SACD) by a puckish vivace movement, both played This SACD release—an increasingly fetchingly by the Capucons. The Moravian infrequent event for Universal Classics— Gideon Klein left few works in a brief life brings together three orchestral Brahms: Piano that ended in a Nazi concentration camp showpieces known for their elemental Concerto No. 2. Four Piano in 1945. The first movement of his Duo energy, performed by Esa-Pekka Salonen Pieces, Op.119. is full of fiery contrasts; the second, a and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Marc-André Hamelin, piano; Dallas Lento, ends in mid-phrase, its unfinished Walt Disney Concert Hall. Stravinsky and Symphony Orchestra, Andrew state adding to the music’s emotional im- Disney had, as they say, “a history.” For Litton, conductor. Andrew Keener, pact. Fellow Czech Bohuslav Martinu’s the classic 1940 animated film Fantasia, producer; Andrés Villalta, engineer. 1958 Duo No. 2, like his first essay in the the iconic producer distorted both the Hybrid multichannel. Hyperion form, is a powerful, compact work that meaning and musical substance of The 67550. explores the coloristic and dramatic pos- Rite of Spring, infuriating the composer. Marc-André Hamelin is still best known sibilities of the two stringed instruments; Le sacre was on the program when Disney for his “super-virtuoso” technique and its rhythmically supple Adagio is notable Hall, endowed by Disney’s widow, opened interest in off-the-beaten-track nine-
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144 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 145 first bars of the opening movement, solo slowly building her sorrowful song. horn and piano define the character of The eight-minute Valse-Scherzo was Classical the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall composed just before the Concerto— at the Meyerson Symphony Center in all of Tchaikovsky’s violin pieces were Dallas; the warm sound and mid-hall written within a three-year period—and sonic perspective wear well. The Op. is overtly virtuosic. There’s not great 119 pieces were recorded in an obviously musical substance but Tchaikovsky fans smaller venue in Suffolk, capturing will be happy to make its acquaintance. Hamelin’s carefully shaded yet assured Even if Fischer’s style isn’t as flamboyant touch. AQ as others, with the Valse-Scherzo, and Further Listening: Scharwenka/ in the Concerto’s finale, her technical Rubinstein: Piano Concertos execution does not disappoint. The (Hamelin) (SACD); Godowsky: program closes out with Souvenir d’un lieu Complete Studies on Chopin’s cher, two-thirds of which is a “Méditation” Etudes (Hamelin) that was the original slow movement of the Violin Concerto. It’s followed by two much shorter pieces, one fast and one of moderate tempo, that have the feel of recital encores. teenth- and twentieth-century keyboard Yakov Kreizberg is a sensitive partner material. (See the TAS interview on the podium and at the keyboard. He with Hamelin in Issue 129.) Here, he carefully shades the accompaniment to demonstrates his authority with core the Canzonetta, especially the winds, as Romantic-era repertoire. subtly as Fischer shades her dynamics and Hamelin and conductor Andrew tone color. The RNO reaffirms its status Litton achieve a kind of mind-meld in as one of the world’s great orchestras. their reading of the Brahms Second These recordings were studio Concerto. They collaborate to realize jobs (Moscow and Hilversum, near both the quasi-symphonic nature of the Amsterdam) with sonics for the violin/ piece—the expansive Allegro non troppo piano work describing a smaller acoustic. in particular—as well as the intimate The 5.0 multichannel is naturally character of the two interior movements Tchaikovsky: spacious; there’s correct scaling of the that indeed come across “like chamber Violin Concerto. Sérénade violin. Pentatone’s encoding is gentle on music writ large,” as the liner notes put it. mélancolique. Valse-Scherzo. top, possessing plenty of air around the This is music-making of the highest order, Souvenir d’un lieu cher. soloist. AQ intensely communicative and attuned to Julia Fischer, violin; Russian Further Listening: Khachaturian/ the composer’s mastery of narrative form National Orchestra, Yakov Prokofiev/Glazunov: Violin and structure. Hamelin, who is a powerful Kreizberg, conductor and piano. Concertos (Fischer/Kreizberg) player in person, never just pounds away, Job Maarse and Sebastian Stein, (SACD); Tchaikovsky: Violin always performing with nuance, plasticity producers; Stein, engineer. Hybrid Concerto (Bell/Tilson Thomas) of tempo, and subtle variation in tone multichannel. Pentatone 5186 095. (SACD) color. He’s quite willing to share the This disc presents all the music center stage with Dallas’ superb principal Tchaikovsky wrote for solo violin, cellist in the gorgeous Andante. For the material ranging from a genuine warhorse HOT WAX finale, though, the pianist’s extraordinary (the Violin Concerto in D major) to Villancicos. technical facility can’t help but reveal infrequently encountered material. Julia Atrium Musicae itself as the Concerto is brought to an Fischer, still only 23, performs with an de Madrid, Gregorio Paniagua, exhilarating conclusion. emotional depth that belies her age. director. Jean-François Pontefract, The disc is filled out with the four pieces Above all else, Fischer is a profoundly engineer. Harmonia Mundi/ of Brahms’ Op. 119, three Intermezzos lyrical player. The outer movements of Speakers Corner HM 1025 (180- and a Rhapsody. They’re beautifully this excellent version of the Concerto gram LP). shaped, with the gentle autumnal quality may be too low in voltage for some of much of the composer’s late music. tastes, but it will be hard for anyone to Danses Anciennes Every note is carefully considered, yet resist Fischer’s exquisite rendering of de Hongrie et de these readings never seem fussy. the central Canzonetta—sad and soulful Transylvanie. Although Concerto No. 2 is a live without becoming sappy. Likewise, Clemencic Consort, René Clemencic, recording, you’d never know it from the Sérénade mélancolique, often provided as a director. Alberto Paulin, engineer. lack of audience noise and Hamelin’s filler on concerto recordings, is beautifully Harmonia Mundi/Speakers Corner note-perfect execution. As they play the shaped. Fischer starts almost reticently, HM 1003 (180-gram LP).
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146 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 147 Back in the day—that is, the day before the compact disc—Harmonia Mundi was known as an early-music label and its su- perbly produced LPs. Speakers Corner gives us two marvelous specimens record- ed in the late 1970s. The villancico is a centuries-old form of popular Spanish poetry and song. Origi- nally music of the peasants, higher-class courtiers elaborated on the genre during the Spanish Golden Age (“Siglo de Oro”) while maintaining its popular character. Atrium Musicae de Madrid—four of the six multi-instrumentalists/vocalists are members of the Paniagua family—per- harpsichord, lute, etc.—but also more ex- ensemble plays, especially with drums, form fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ex- otic flavorings, notably bagpipe bombarde( ). things get a little murky—but still, these amples, purely instrumental pieces as well One delightful selection toward the end of grander selections have an undeniable as accompanied songs. The vocal selec- Side A, “Ritka”, is played, unexpectedly sense of occasion. AQ tions here deal mostly with love, including enough, on a xylophone. The 11-member
that of the marital sort. (“Kiss me and take Clemencic Consort renders all the dances MUSIC EDITOR BOB GENDRON’S SYSTEM me in your arms, my darling husband/and stylishly, in a rhythmically vital fashion. BAT VK-300x integrated amplifier;G allo in the morning you shall have a clean On the LP, the string instruments, as Nucleus Reference3 loudspeakers; Rotel shirt.” Now that’s a deal.) An astounding in the “Ötödik Tanze” that begins the RSX-1065 receiver; Sony SCD-CE775 SACD variety of period instruments are utilized, program, have a wonderfully earthy tone player; Panasonic DVD-RP91 DVD-A including guitars, recorders, viols, key- that brings to mind American bluegrass player; Clearaudio Champion turntable; boards, crumhorns, zither, dulcimer, and a as much as European classical music. The Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge; Bright Star Audio IsoRock GR3 speaker dizzying array of percussion. The constant unique, complex sonority of the bombarde supports; Synergistic Research, MIT, variation in texture and timbre makes this alone is worth the price of admission. Monster Cable, and Audioquest cables an absorbing listening experience, over all Sonically, the best moments occur when and interconnects; SolidSteel 5.5 rack too soon. In addition to the Renaissance- textures are relatively spare. When the full era material, Gregorio Paniagua incorpo- rates a few of his own brief compositions that are entirely in keeping with the char- acter of the old music. The recording is breathtaking in its clar- ity but believable as a real-time perfor- mance. Bells jump out at the listener with a life-like purity that can’t, as yet, be matched even by high-resolution digital audio. The same goes for the metallophones that ap- pear in several pieces, imparting an almost Indonesian, gamelan-like flavor to the ma- terial. The disc begins with a percussion cadence that convincingly moves from the middle distance to the foreground. Twenty years ago, Dances Anciennes de Hongrie et de Transylvanie was resident on Harry Pearson’s TAS Super Disc List. Like the Villancicos record, a wide range of striking instrumental colors are rendered in the service of a program designed to give a sense of the music performed in Eastern European feudal courts. We hear an intriguing blend of familiar “interna- tional” dance forms, such as the courante and sarabande, along with Hungarian, Slovakian, Czech, and Polish folk dances. The orchestration includes conventional forces of the sort that would have been heard in seventeenth-century France, Ger- many, or England—strings, brass, organ,
146 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 147 Music Rock
pianos are authoritatively captured, the inner tonalities of the wood and wires coming across with reverberant body and presence. And while seams occasionally show, the experimental “Hemicyclic saxophone squeals teaming with reverse- Anthelion” bests the bulk of similar feedback swirls before the cacophony attempts at stringing together segments, verges on the edge of meltdown. The lacking finesse yet compensating with challenging, somewhat overlong creation explosive depth. Bob Gendron presents Ghost’s trademark mingling of Further Listening: Kousokuya: 1979 Eastern and Western forms, sounding First Live; Amon Duul: Tanz der old and new in its blending of modern Lemminge electronics and traditional instruments. The group’s current arsenal includes contrabass, frame drums, recorders, and Ghost: In Stormy tabla, though its latest obsession is the Nights. “springer,” constructed by guitarist/ Taishi Takizawa, producer. Drag City vocalist Masaki Batoh, which incorporates 313 (CD or two-LP). metal springs, a resonance box, a plasma Since forming in 1984, Ghost has stayed ball, and rotating machine to emanate true to its mysterious and peripatetic heavy albeit fluid, theremin-esque tones. moniker, refusing to dance with any Such components factor into “Water single partner while tracing a creative arc Door Yellow Gate” and “Gareki No that has spanned Krautrock, prog, free- Toshi,” tympani-led marching tracks form jazz, folk, and art-rock without that hypnotize in their refusal to deviate permanently settling into any one field. from a set, recurrent percussive rumble. The collective’s personnel has embraced The former leans on fuzz-cutting guitars, similar flux; each of its seven prior foot-pounded pianos, ghoulish black- albums has been accompanied by at least metal orchestration, and Kubrick-inspired Clinic: Visitations. one lineup alternation, members coming cinematic bombast, while the sister song Clinic, producers. and going, appearing and disappearing. embraces the bamboo-snapping pulse of Domino 128. Until now. whisked cymbals. A riotous cover of the When Clinic burst onto the scene In Stormy Nights features the same five- Cromagnon’s “Caledonia”—complete in 2000 with its still-startling debut, person cast responsible for 2002’s Hypnotic with bagpipes from on high—completes Internal Wrangler, the Liverpool quartet Underworld, the Tokyo act’s peak moment the sequence, a reaction to what the was viewed as something of an oddity. in a career without a misstep. Here, the band perceives as martial governmental With its tightly-coiled guitar drone, quintet again twists the knob on the sonic policies. Though the lyrics are obscured, Ade Blackburn’s horror-film coo, and kaleidoscope and brings into focus a fresh the message is clear, Ghost’s achievement propensity for donning surgical masks array of cosmic colors. The record also in attaining body-shaking physicality during its live performances, the band marks a return to Ghost’s improvisory without turning to ear-deadening looked and sounded like a holdover from roots, echoing 1992’s pieced-together heaviness. the 60s garage era. Temple Stone in the 28-minute “Hemicyclic Pending on the format, In Stormy Now four albums into its career, Clinic Anthelion,” a fusion fused of segments Nights ends as it started—with mellow, hasn’t drifted far from the template it recorded at concerts. chimes-ringing, wander-the-hills folk that laid out on its debut; Visitations is awash Beginning with death-raygun zaps and relaxes as it exhales. This circle is altered in fuzzed-out guitar, howling melodica, unfolding into an incense-scented sortie on LP, where the ordering is slightly and creep-show organ. “Family” is an where noise-rock cozies up to meditative different due to the bonus presence of ominous introduction, locust-swarm Asian currents, the outré collage a sing-a-long version of “Caledonia”—a guitar enveloping Blackburn as he yelps echoes with manipulated frequencies total gas. Sonically, the acoustic studio desperate incantations. The nightmarish before segueing into free-jazz territory, material fares best, yet the stamping ”Children of Kellogg” is a midnight chase
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148 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 149 yet the sweltering weather triggered an uncanny sense of focus, wherein Rock Brosseau’s singing and playing retain an in-front-of-you simplicity that’s devoid of any sonic veil or interruption. Pockets of through darkened catacombs that closes air surround the percussion, guitar notes with a brief coda, the band catching Recording have lifelike decay, vocals are comfortably one last breath before an unavoidable of the Issue warm, and small studio echoes hover in end. “Animal/Human” opens like a the distance. The richness is palpable, and field recording from an ancient Druid every aspect is resoundingly natural. ceremony before time-traveling guitarist Musically, Brosseau keeps arrange- Hartley lets loose a flurry of off-kilter funk ments sparse, getting occasional guitar. A sinister “Harvest (Within You)” assistance not only from Hahn, but six finds drummer Carl Turney pounding out other musicians whose accompaniments a tribal rhythm as wind-strewn organ, rib- as one of the best American originals imperceptibly support, sweeten, and flesh cutter guitar, and Blackburn’s speaking- to emerge in the past three decades will out the acoustic-guitar frameworks and in-tongues chants close in, creating an shock anyone who comes into contact pure, serene vocals. There are poignant undeniable sense of claustrophobia. with his singular timbre and gorgeous waltzes (“Fork In the Road,” a weepy True, the album offers little innovation narratives. ballad that seems to dust off an old for anyone familiar with the band’s A singer-songwriter, Brosseau is a small brown bottle of liquor as it progresses, previous work, and there’s nothing fish in a what’s the biggest ocean in the Hahn’s deft playing in happy marriage that hits the emotional highs of Internal music industry. He’s an oddly beguiling with co-producer Doe’s sympathetic Wrangler’s “Distortions,” but with figure, a modest, straight-shooting, and harmonizing vocals); country-flavored Visitations Clinic has refined a style that’s old-fashioned soul whose effeminate shoe-tappers (“There’s More Than One wholly its own—a primitive, haunting voice and timeless compositions occupy Way to Dance,” Brosseau’s forehead- murmur that sounds as if it’s obscured by a parallel universe in which the early 20th line-rippling falsetto disappearing into centuries of cobwebs. and early 21st centuries coexist and where thin air as it persuades and soothes); and The production aids in this feel. technology, gadgetry, and advancements jazz-flecked folk (“Down on Skid Row,” The soundstage is surprisingly three- seem equally unnecessary and outdated. the slight cymbal taps kicking random dimensional, cocooning Blackburn The North Dakota native is in touch pebbles in a road). with reverb-heavy guitar and a low end with his geographical roots, in love with Yet it’s the four closing tracks that that can best be described as menacing. his homeland, and connected to history numb the mind, the batch directly and The imaging, however, is fair at best, in the same way Doc Boggs was with indirectly relating to North Dakota. The though even it adds to the quartet’s Appalachia, Charlie Patton was with self-explanatory “Here Comes the Water mystery. By its nature, the quartet favors Mississippi, and Lou Reed is with New Now” gives into inevitable disaster, a raw sound; Blackburn’s vocals are run York. On Grand Forks, Brosseau further Brosseau’s calmness reflecting how at through woodchippers, delivered from solidifies and deepens this relationship times humans must concede they have moss-caked dungeons and whispered while taking listeners to a land that’s no control and yield to higher powers, his like a dying man’s last pleas. The band accustomed to being ignored. repeated finger-picked figure paralleling follows suit, reveling in a dissonance The proper follow-up to 2005’s What the river’s stubborn flow, the subdued that is as mesmerizing as it is unsettling. I Mean to Say Was Goodbye (Recording of instrumentation functioning as a mini- Andy Downing the Issue, TAS 156), which last year was orchestra, the words a Noah’s Ark of Further Listening: Velvet bookended by the reissues of Tom Brosseau information. “Dark and Shiny Gun” leads Underground: White Light/White and the collection Empty Houses Are Lonely, on with curiosity-killed-the-innocent Heat; Can: Monster Movie the 29-year-old uses the new record as a themes, Brosseau subtly quivering and platform for his remembrances of the pausing during key moments, stepping devastating 1997 flood, an event with quietly and foreshadowing death with Tom Brosseau: Grand Forks. obvious parallels to Hurricane Katrina. ominous grace. “97 Flood” belongs to Gregory Page, producer. Brosseau also takes opportunities to the same folk songbook as Bob Dylan’s Loveless 24. ink vivid character sketches that tie into “High Water,” arresting with eyewitness Not many artists invite personal folklore as well as elicit romance description and majestic minature-blues both a former town mayor via his plaintive, fireside-lit croon. fills. and state governor to pen liner notes to Primarily recorded during the summer And while not traceable to any their album. Fewer still have current it- of 2006 in a garage in the San Diego suburb particular place, but instead concerning virtuoso violinist Hilary Hahn as a guest of La Mesa, Grand Forks transfixes with everyplace, “Plaid Lined Jacket,” devours performer, particularly when their identity uncanny presence. Longtime collaborator with universal pathos and uncommon is virtually unknown. And an even smaller Greg Page helmed the sessions, with X humanity. Brosseau brings a panhandler’s number are in the same echelon as Tom member John Doe assisting. There’s no physical being, daily routine, and bruised Brosseau, whose under-the-radar status sense of the heat that baked its makers, emotions to life, and with a compassionate
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150 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 151 Moreover, producers Gill, John Hobbs and Justin Niebank have framed Rock this breathtaking sweep of American music as well as could be imagined. The southern rock ‘n’ soul on Disc 1’s The twist, grants pride to the homeless, his Rockin’ Record is lean and driving; guitars bluebird falsetto striking a match of snarl all around the tracks or soar Allman- respectability for everyone who’s ever like into the ether, gospel-styled backing known what it feels like to be down-and- vocals are suitably heated but in proper out, desperate, lonesome, and poor, and perspective to the fevered leads (note yet, manages to keep an identity. Upon that on a disc that includes guest vocalists hearing Brosseau’s dignified coo, it’s Gretchen Wilson, Rodney Crowell and obvious he’s been there before. BG Del McCoury, Bekka Bramlett clears the Further Listening: Tom Brosseau: field with a gritty southern soul workout Empty Houses Are Lonely; on “The Rhythm Of the Pourin’ Rain”), a long history together—it was Cale, after Lou Reed: New York and the rhythm sections keep the groove all, who wrote two of Clapton’s biggest steady and centered. The stirring, ballad- hits, “Cocaine,” and “After Midnight”— oriented second disc (titled The Groovy The Road to Escondido is their first “official” Record, Gill’s lone misstep in that the title collaboration. One might say they waited hardly does justice to the often turbulent thirty-five years too long. emotional content here) is suitably Cale wrote 11 of the album’s 14 songs, majestic sonically on the orchestrated, which is a large part of the problem with socially conscious entreaty “What You Escondido. Besides the fact that Cale’s Give Away,” seductively spare in evoking lyrics are lame and singing weak—not the ballet of a last-call come-on in the that Clapton’s aren’t, between the two piano bar ballad “Faint of Heart,” and of them the vocals are so reticent they devastatingly melancholy in shaping a might as well have been singing into their sludgy soundscape for the winsome mea shirtfronts—there is little variation to the culpa “The Reason Why,” on which Gill’s songs. They’re pretty much all variations Sophoclean agonizing is lent spiritual on blues or country shuffles, either fast- resonance by the deep, humming organ paced or slow, with both men sharing or in the right channel even as the Floyd trading vocals and by-rote guitar riffs. The Vince Gill: These Days. Cramer-style slip-note piano on the left tracks are also, by and large, so casually Gill, John Hobbs, Justin evokes the spiritual drift Gill articulates and dispassionately tossed-off that the Niebank, producers. MCA Nashville in his self-flagellation. record’s 57-minutes seem twice that long. 7334-7337 (four CDs). Like these, the discs subtitled The There are a few highpoints: Brownie Audacious on the artist’s part and Country & Western Record (a honky-tonk McGhee’s “Sporting Life Blues” showcases courageous on the label’s part, Vince Gill’s album) and The Acoustic Record (mostly a Clapton’s vocal (he actually sings on four-disc These Days set—four albums of bluegrass album, with the Del McCoury this one) against a sparse background brand-new music—is at its most mundane Band sitting in on two numbers) are of piano, organ, harmonica, bass, and a country-music milestone. No artist in right where they need to be thematically, brushed snare. Even the slowed-down the genre’s history has ever simultaneously musically, and sonically. Every track guitar solos are very nice. The Clapton- released four new records. cannot be as transcendent as “The Reason John Mayer penned “Hard to Thrill” is For a fairly modest retail price, listeners Why,” but Gill’s remarkable achievement another winner, for the same reasons, and get 43 songs—all written or co-written by is in making 43 songs meaningful on features the sweetest guitar playing on the Gill, with the redoubtable Big Al Anderson some level, whether he’s going for a disc. Clapton is also responsible for one as his most frequent collaborator); all dance-hall scorcher or exploring the soul. truly embarrassing song, “Three Little exquisitely crafted in terms of form David McGee Girls,” in which he more than competes and content; all idiomatically on the Further Listening: Jim Lauderdale: with Paul McCartney for the “sentimental money as Gill works his way through Bluegrass; Ralph Stanley: Saturday slob” crown. southern rock ‘n’ soul, classic American Night & Sunday Morning Sonics are not bad, but like the music, pop, contemporary country-pop (which are altogether a little too smooth and in Gill’s sure hands owes more to the sterile, with no sharp edges or dynamic Beatles than to, say, Faith Hill), bluegrass, J.J. Cale & bite. Oh, things are clear enough, and the gospel, traditional country, honky tonk, Eric Clapton: guitars are firmly embedded in the mix, and western swing; and all rendered The Road To Escondido. rather than being made to stand out. As instrumentally with consummate skill Clapton and Cale, producers. noted above, both gents seem like they’re and electrifying commitment by a team Reprise 44418 (CD or LP). doing all they can to not have their voices of crafty veterans. Although J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton have heard, which, given the results, is probably
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152 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 153 with volume. A couple of songs that friendly sounding instrument. Maybe begin on reflective notes (“I Wonder” not as sweet and effortless as it was in Rock and “My Angel”) soon devolve into his youth, it’s mellowed too. And his bombast, just like all the others. Subtlety lyrics set the tone for the album. Corny and nuance are not in the playbook. Nor stuff about children playing in the park, not such a bad thing. Wayne Garcia is credit. You’ll need a magnifying glass and walking in the rain, but beware of Further Listening: John Mayall: to find the musicians’ names amidst the city after dark. A few tunes, such as Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton; Pickler’s encomiums to family, friends, “Maybe There’s a World,” sound like the J.J. Cale: Anyway The Wind Blows: and BNA staffers. And the songwriters old Cat Stevens, but too many are either Anthology are completely uncredited (except bland love songs (to woman or God is generically). unclear) or embarrassingly awful, like For his part, Chancey’s done a great job “When Butterflies Leave” and “Whispers crafting an aural assault that can be easily From a Garden,” in which Yusuf recites, transposed to the stage for a roaring not sings, some truly cringe-inducing concert extravaganza. Thus the greater passages (“…though day and night purpose of Small Town Girl as pure outwardly appear as enemies, yet both product designed to maximize profits. As serve one purpose—each seeking the an IPO, it’s a must to avoid. Be insulted; other”) against a world-music backdrop. be very insulted. DM The recording is quite vivid, dynamically Further Listening: Carrie lively, and upfront, and while the bottom Underwood: Some Hearts; Shania end is quite punchy, it doesn’t reach down Twain: Come On Over very far. Separation is rather wide, with tightly placed images, and even hints of air around instruments and a touch of depth. Yusuf ’s vocal is smooth, warmly captured, and prominent in the mix. Kellie Pickler: Stevens fans will find a few nuggets in Small Town Girl. here; just remember to carefully program Blake Chancey, producer. 19 the CD player. WG Recordings/BNA 01797. Further Listening: Cat Stevens: Tea By and large, didn’t 80s rock really suck? for the Tillerman; Slayer: God Hates So why does it keep coming back disguised Us All as mainstream country and biting us on the ass? If Faith Hill (who bears some responsibility for this disturbing trend) could freak out at the selection of American Idol alum Carrie Underwood as the CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year, wait’ll she gets a load of the cynical debut Yusuf: An other Cup. album of American Idol finalist Kellie Rick Nowels and Yusuf Pickler. Islam, producers. YA/Atlantic 94550. Producer Blake Chancey, who’s done Since his return to music in 1994, exemplary work in his career (especially recording some religious and children’s with the Dixie Chicks), finds his point of albums, Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens) reference in 80s arena rock as channeled has done many a good deed for any into the country mainstream by Shania number of excellent causes—from AIDS Twain’s Svengali, Mutt Lange, meaning you to world peace to fund-raising for victims throw a crying pedal steel or a screeching of the 2004 tsunami—and been widely fiddle into the midst of screaming recognized for humanitarian efforts. But Tartit: Abacabok. guitars, howling strings, and thundering the man’s first major-label release in 28 Vincent Kenis and drums and call it country. Pickler has a years is still tough to stomach, filled as it Michel Winter, producers. serviceable, reedy voice (think Dixie is with preachy lyrics, trite emotions, and Crammed 230015. Chick Natalie Maines without the soul, music that, by and large, simply isn’t very No music, it seems, is out of listeners’ crossed with Jennifer Nettles without the interesting. reach anymore. The trails blazed by such attitude). But she’s merely working on a The opener, “Midday (Avoid City After globetrotting “world music” pioneers set list; only the scripted between-songs Dark),” isn’t a poorly crafted tune, and as Alan Lomax, David Lewiston, and patter is missing. the first thing you’ll notice is that Yusuf ’s John Storm Roberts have become virtual There isn’t a moment that indicates singing voice has changed little over the superhighways, connecting Manhattan, she can do anything but blow you away years. It remains a smooth, warm, and Myanmar, Mongolia, and Mali. A steadfast
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154 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 155 New Yorkers proclaim to produce the U Wanna Ride,” featuring John Legend, best and most pure form of rap, and Jay-Z talks over almost all of Legend’s Rock Jay-Z is viewed as their ruler, a king who crooning, interrupting the momentum isn’t bashful about proclaiming his own and highlighting the superfluousness of greatness. There’s plenty of buzz and the emcee’s commentary and the R&B engineer with a mobile recording unit expectation surrounding the return from artist’s singing. Much of the same can be and a committed record label are all it feeble retirement of the highly regarded said for Kingdom Come. Soren Baker takes to bring nomadic musicians from Brooklyn rapper, whose catalog of hits Further Listening: Common: Electric Timbuktu into an African-music aficionado’s (and ever-expanding business ventures) is Circus; Rhymefest: Blue Collar home in Paris or San Francisco. thicker than a Chicago deep-dish pizza. Of the ensembles hailing from the Unfortunately, Jay-Z seems largely troubled border territories of Algeria uninterested in his own music on Kingdom and Mali, Tartit may be lesser known Come, which hits the types of highs than the electrifying Tinariwen, but this associated with Jay-Z’s better material but veteran “desert blues” band—founded in also contains uncharacteristically sloppy a southern Sahara refugee camp during songs that seem listless and uninspired the Tuareg uprising of the early 1990s— on both the lyrical and production sides. delivers a rougher, rawer, mostly acoustic Similarly, the sonics lack the typical punch sound that creates the sense of culture and precision of his earlier recordings. and place that has been creeping back into The mellow, piano-propelled “Lost the music of African superstars of late. One” provides a revealing look into Listening to such songs as “Eha Ehenia,” the unraveling of Jay-Z’s business “Al Jahalat,” “Tihou Beyantene,” and relationships with his former partners the title track, it’s easy to picture Tartit’s in the Roc-A-Fella company he helped five women and four men making music build, as well the seeming dissolution of for themselves by firelight in a tribal his romance with R&B and film starlet Menomena: encampment. A dry, unpolished, and Beyonce. The wailing samples and horns Friend and Foe. uncluttered mix situates the chant-like, on “Oh My God” and the Rick James- Menomena, producers. Barsuk 60. pitch-challenging voices, indigenous hand Menomena songs are fractured by design. drums, and stringed instruments (three- Brent Knopf, guitarist for the Portland, and four-string lutes, single-string gourd Oregon trio, created a computer program, fiddle, flute) in a virtual semicircle— Deeler, that allows the band to record rendering them distinct even while they sound fragments and piece them into overlap in a natural-sounding array. larger compositions, like archeologists We may know only through the liner reconstructing the skeleton of some notes that the soloists are singing morality ancient beast. tales about loyalty to family, fidelity On its third album, Friend and Foe, the to tribal traditions, the inevitability of band turns its ADD into something both impermanence, the necessity of political beautiful and ominous. Instruments play solidarity, and the miraculous power of hide-and-seek in the mix, guitars, drums, music. But the singers convey tremendous and saxophone surfacing briefly before emotional depth and nuance, and the being dragged back below. “Muscle ’N pulsating, midtempo instrumental swirls Flow” is indicative of the approach, cast a mesmerizing spell. As a bonus, on inspired funk of the title track work well skittish drums giving way to bowed guitar several tracks, electric guitarist Mohamed with Jay-Z’s chest-thumping, the tunes notes before a momentary spring shower Issaag Oumar’s insistent, corkscrew showcasing two of Jay-Z’s biggest assets: of piano douses the track. Vocals, provided lead phrases enhance the hypnotic ingenious wordplay and cold, calculating by all three members, aren’t recorded effect and spark additional voltage into delivery. until the musical backdrop is complete; the already transfixing performances. Too bad those moments are in short they hold the tunes together and offer a Derk Richardson supply, as much of Kingdom Come finds sense of continuity that might otherwise Further Listening: Tinariwen: The Jay-Z going through the motions. The be lacking. That’s not to say that the lyrics Radio Tisdas Sessions; Ali Farka most egregious errors occur when Jay- are any less shattered or conflicted than Toure: The River Z teams with Usher on “Anything” and the music. Friend and Foe is as torn as the Beyonce on “Hollywood.” The two title suggests, the band singing, “I got R&B stars deliver cheesy, vapid choruses a stranglehold on indecision”; “I once Jay-Z: Kingdom that match overwrought beats and believed you were my savior”; “Here I Come. uninteresting rhymes about strip clubs stand a broken man.” Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Just Blaze, et and being a celebrity, respectively. On the “Air Raid” finds the spurned trio baring al, producers. Def Jam 804502. reflective, we-made-it meditation “Do its teeth, lashing out with a guttural bass
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156 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 157 and scrapped demos. Shortly after issuing tween the lines, keeping everything a-bob 2005’s Prairie Wind, Young finally got seri- with murmuring organ chords, is purely Rock ous about committing to the venture, his hypnotic, the musicians’ caution-to-the- near-deadly brain aneurysm sending a re- wind phrasing, buzzing duke-it-out solos, minder to get a move on. The Canadian and melodious exchanges hitting not only a line, foghorn saxophone, and dreamy legend planned to package the first volume sonic level, but one that’s physiological. Ce- chorus that drifts in like a fleet of as a giant CD-DVD box set, taking advan- rebrally riveting and impossibly heavenly. paratroopers. “Weird” is even darker, tage of high-resolution sound and video As he did with Greatest Hits, Young again enamel-rattling bass and the lockstep capability. But then, the always-enigmatic leans on 96/24 DVD-V technology for march of military drums providing the firebrand got upset with how the Iraq war optimum sound. The results are a modest snarling soundtrack to a grainy snuff film. was being (mis)handled, and recorded improvement over the CD edition, as the By contrast, the tender “My My” tiptoes his guerilla Living With War (review, Issue soundstage heightened and widened, the on church organ, finger-plucked guitar, 162). crackling tones sharper, the bass shapelier, and eggshell piano. The schizophrenic No longer sidetracked, Young has at the details more focused. There’s a reel-to- nature of the tunes means that sometimes last released the first installment of the reel tape feel, though neither format solves the band abandons an idea before it Neil Young Archive Performance Series the slightly blurry imaging wherein the can fully develop (the too-brief sax-ual (NYAPS), a single-disc compilation of he players occasionally overlap. Can the 200- tension on “Weird”) while others linger and Crazy Horse’s stand at Fillmore East gram vinyl pressing be far away? Probably in harbor a shade too long. on March 6 and 7, 1970. Yes, this has clas- not, though first up is a “raw” edition of Sonics are likewise hit-or-miss, sic stamped all over it—there’s little need Living With War, stripped of background benefiting from the extra care given to for introduction. Back then, Young was gospel vocals. the out-front vocal harmonies. Imaging is not even two years removed from going And there’s more. Volume II of NYAPS slightly above average and the low end, solo while his mesmerizing debut with is allegedly being readied for a late spring especially the basset-hound howl of the Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is No- date, and the long-anticipated box is to saxophone, has an authoritative rumble— where, had just hit. Augmented with electric soon follow. If the forthcoming install- surprising when contrasted with the pianist Jack Nitzsche and guitarist Danny ments are anywhere close to what’s here, relatively small soundstage. Other times, Whitten, Young and his four-piece back- consider the reissues landscape cornered. the album’s lack of separation makes the ing band holed up for a handful of shows BG songs sound compressed, instruments at the famous New York hall, and this disc Further Listening: Jimi Hendrix: Band bumping up against one another like confirms, lay claim to a natural chemistry of Gypsies; Wilco: Kicking Television: guests at an overcrowded party. AD that prematurely ended with Whitten’s Live in Chicago Further Listening: Volcano!: overdose in 1972. Beautiful Seizure; Morphine: Just as it is on the depressive genius of Cure for Pain Tonight’s the Night, here, the tragedy is again magnified, albeit in a different manner. DVD-A The veritable looseness, simpatico under- standing, duck-neck grooves, scuffed raw- ness, and oven-baked soul that transpires amidst these 43 blissful minutes are on a par with the top-notch ensembles of John Coltrane, Grateful Dead, and Bob Dylan and the Band, where the music effortlessly assumes an organic posture that allows it to flow with the ease of a dripping spring. Young and Whitten don’t so much duel as they harmoniously embrace, the burned- ember tones splattered on agreeable coun- try-rock canvases that are melancholically gorgeous (“Winterlong”), pensively hope- ful (“Wonderin’”), and carelessly addictive Neil Young & Crazy (the prophetic “Come On Baby Let’s Go The Beatles: Love. Horse: Live at the Downtown,” Whitten’s signature tune). George Martin and Fillmore East. Of course, the serious jaw-scraping Giles Martin, producers. Apple/Capi- Paul Rothchild, producer. Reprise occurs during the extended workouts tol 79810. 44499 (CD and DVD). of “Down By the River” and, particu- A unique, eccentric, and occasionally ex- Neil Young has been promising to open his larly, “Cowgirl in the Sand.” The latter, a traordinary addition to the band’s catalog, archives for well over a decade, seemingly truly transcendent performance on which The Beatles’ Love underscores Cirque du hinting every year about plans for sought- Young and Whitten seem to be in each Soleil’s eponymous show, the disc’s twenty- after historical concerts, unreleased songs, others’ heads while Nitzsche reads be- six tracks weaving rebalanced tunes, archi-
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158 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 159 val matter, and samples and remixes that downright weird to hear truncated songs, umphs with channel separation, low-level achieve an effect unlike anything the Fab snippets of familiar vamps and intros, detail, and dynamics that are hallmarks of Four and “fifth Beatle,” producer George odd segues and multi-song transitions. the format. Martin, ever produced. That said, there are some enormously Martin understands the subtleties of Born of the longstanding friendship creative elements. It’s exhilarating to listen multichannel etiquette and knows that that George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil to rough takes of “Strawberry Fields For- the center-stage is paramount. Thus, founder Guy Lalibert shared, the concept ever” morph into the final version, or the the back channels are fully engaged and survived Harrison’s 2001 death. In 2003, ornate transition that seamlessly links “Sgt yet so tastefully balanced that vocals are Martin returned to Abbey Road to begin Pepper”/“In My Life”/“Penny Lane”/ never left in the shadows. He maintains in what in his words was “a soundscape “Piggies” or “Hello Goodbye” melting the haunting beauty of “Eleanor Rigby” of around one-and-a-half hour’s length into “Within You Without You.” There by delicately shifting double-tracked vo- using any sound I needed from the origi- are also clever track pairings—vide, the cals and harmonies to the rear, envelopes nal Beatles multi-track recordings.” After spiritual contrasts of “Within You With- the listener with the buzz-saw guitars receiving endorsements from Paul, Ringo, out You”/“Tomorrow Never Knows” of “Revolution,” and engages in some Yoko Lennon, and Olivia Harrison, Love and winking political ironies of “Revolu- playful fun during “I Am The Walrus” premiered at the Mirage in Las Vegas in tion” and “Back in the U.S.S.R.” by diagonally panning the menagerie of June 2006. If you have multichannel playback, voices from corner to corner. The hi-res Lacking the visual panache of the avoid the stereo-CD edition and opt for stereo mix is curiously missing, but this stage performance makes the repurposed the deluxe set with the high-resolution 24- disc offers a tantalizing glimpse of things Beatles music initially disorienting. And bit/96kHz DVD-A multichannel mix, a to come. for those who’ve committed to memory first for any Beatles title. Although the CD Neil Gader the sequencing of each album, it can be is good, the hi-res multichannel version tri- Further Listening: The Beatles catalog BEST ALBUMS OF 2006
2006’s Best 2006’s Best 2006’s Best Rock Albums ClassicalAlbums Jazz Albums By Bob Gendron, Music Editor By Andrew Quint By Derk Richardson 1. The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls In 1. Golijov: Ainadamar (Upshaw/Spano). 1. Ornette Coleman: Sound Grammar. America. Vagrant. (TAS 166) DG. (TAS 164) Sound Grammar. (TAS 165) 2. Joanna Newsom: Ys. Drag City. (TAS 167) 2. Theater of Voices/Fretwork: The Cries of 2. Nels Cline: New Monastery. 3. Mastodon: Blood Mountain. London. Harmonia Mundi. (TAS 164) Cryptogramophone. (TAS 166) Reprise. (TAS 166) 3. Berlioz: Requiem (Norrington). 3. Evan Parker: Time Lapse. Tzadik. 4 (tie). Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury. Hännsler. (TAS 167) Jive. & Ghostface Killah: Fishscale. 4. Paganini/Spohr: Violin Concertos 4. Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis, Def Jam. (TAS 163) (Hahn). DG. (TAS 167) Roscoe Mitchell: Streaming. Pi. (TAS 169) 5. TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie 5. Joel Fan: World Keys. Reference. (TAS 165) 5. Ben Goldberg: The Door, The Hat, The Mountain. Interscope. (TAS 167) 6. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Vänskä/ Chair The Fact. Cryptogramophone. 6. Scott Walker: The Drift. 4AD. (TAS 163) Minnesota). BIS. (TAS 168) 6. Matthew Shipp: One. Thirsty Ear. (TAS 162) 7. Alejandro Escovedo: The Boxing Mirror. 7. Rorem: Flute & Violin Concertos. Naxos. 7. Patricia Barber: Mythologies. Blue Back Porch. (TAS 162) 8. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Hamelin/ Note. (TAS 164) 8. Mission of Burma: The Obliterati. Litton) Hyperion. (TAS 169) 8. Rudresh Mahanthappa. Codebook. Pi. Matador. (TAS 163) 9. Renaud and Gautuer Capuçon: 9. Kenny Garrett: Beyond the Wall. 9. M. Ward: Post-War. Merge. (TAS 165) Inventions. Virgin. (TAS 169) Nonesuch. (TAS 167) 10. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the 10. Greenberg: Symphony No. 5. Sony. 10. Keith Jarrett: The Carnegie Hall Flood. Anti. (TAS 166) Concert. ECM. (TAS 165)
158 February 2007 The Absolute Sound The Absolute Sound February 2007 159 different parts of the room. After I got out of graduate school and had few BACK PAGE nickels to rub together, I got introduced to the high end.
11 Questions for Michael Hobson And the first system you put together? Founder and President, Classic Records It was a pair of Apogee Duettas run Neil Gader by a PS Audio solid-state amp, a CJ PV-5 preamp, a SOTA Star Sapphire with vacuum hold-down, a Sumiko FT3 Classic Records is now 13 years tonearm, and a Shinon Red cartridge old. Are you surprised at the with boron cantilever. resiliency of the vinyl market? I am actually. In the early 90s I was What’s the biggest “get” you’ve asked how long I thought this was achieved with vinyl reissues? going to last. My original prediction The first was with Miles Davis’Kind of was, “I don’t know; I think five years.” Blue. And when I heard Zarathustra, the Of course, that was when there weren’t LSC-1806 with Reiner conducting the many turntables and sales were going CSO. That was the first thing we ever down. So even though I’m trained as a did, so there was a special thrill in that. statistical economist, I guess I did a fairly miserable job. The market changed in a Is there a dream reissue that you positive way—a way I hadn’t originally haven’t nabbed yet? anticipated. The obvious things that come to mind are the Beatles. And there are Dylan Is it generational nostalgia or is titles that we’d want to get to. I’ve there something else going on? developed a degree of patience in terms There is definitely a segment that’s about of finding the right time and the right men like us trying to recapture a little bit approach. But it’s always timing that’s of their youth—maybe a simpler time, important. with a format that’s familiar and makes us feel warm and fuzzy. What still inspires you about your work? How do you explain how advanced formats like DVD-A and SACD have Interacting with people who say they fallen to the wayside, while the LP continues to enjoy such loyalty? love what I do, and to please keep doing There’s the nostalgia standpoint and what I call an analog revival to a stable point—not it. On a more selfish level, it’s sitting dying or growing but merely stable over time. And that was happening even before down with my children and listening to there were advancements on the higher-resolution digital fronts. Also during the digital something that, in my opinion is as good format wars, analog became a safe place to be. There was more [analog] hardware a job as we could do—a phenomenal being developed and further advances on the phonostage level and on the record level job in many cases. That gives me a lot itself—certainly from us. You could buy this format, upgrade your playback, and know of inner satisfaction. Even though it’s a it wouldn’t just fall by the wayside. business, with overhead and all that stuff, for me the musical experience makes It seems like LP mastering and playback keeps improving. Is there a it worth the effort and inspires me to lesson to be learned from this? continue to do this. Interestingly, all formats seem to follow the same path. I always say that it’s easier to encode than to decode. It’s only recently that we’ve been truly able to get off the disc It’s been said that you can tell a everything that was on there. And there’s still a lot of that going on with digital. The lot about a person by looking at lesson to be learned is that with any technology it takes time for us to learn how to the breed of dog they own. process it. Annie and Mugsey, your Jack Russells, are a breed noted for For the analog klutzes among us, do you still adjust your own VTA? energy and tenacity. Do you think I do actually, but I will admit that I’m not a super-tweaker record-to-record. Analyzing this says anything about you? the proper VTA and enjoying the music are separate processes, so I don’t spend a lot Jack Russells are known to be relentless, of time tweaking when I want to listen. and that’s absolutely, positively something I’m guilty of. Someone once said to me What is your earliest memory of high-end audio? that what makes you good makes you I was always a hi-fi buff, but I guess it was really mid-fi. One of those blissfully bad. For me it’s the relentless pursuit to ignorant things—like running four speakers at once with an A/B switch. I was kind make the best possible records. TAS of an early surround-sound proponent, even though it was only two stereo pairs in
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