L/Trrw\ILrirec MECHANICS 1.-LEE--1-1EL-2 CLASS ACT JBL L7 SPEAKER L=;_(.2LIN_LILJL--2 WE PICK THE BEST OF SEVEN L2 1NON, JVC, L2-LONEER, SAN US $2.95 UK £1.95 CAN $3.50 11,1[01. o I iIII I 2(1()CA.Z.;1) THE SOUND OF PURE GENIUS. It is most evident in a passion for details. The subtle refinements that elevate genius beyond that which is merely exceptional To honor this ability in gifted young musicians, Sony has created the "ES Award For Musical Excellence," in conjunction with The Juilliard School. To reproduce, with equal passion, the glorious details of music, we have created the Elevated Standard series of ultra -fidelity components. For a listening experience you will find truly prodigious, call 1-800-828-1380 for information. ©1992 Sony Corporation of Arnenca All rights reserved. Sony s a Trademark of Sony. DECEMBER 1992 A/V Receivers, page 46 Peter Asher, page 60 FEATURES A/V RECEIVER ROUNDUP Leonard Feldman 46 THE MECHANICS OF SONY'S MINIDISC: BEYOND THE CADDY Leonard Feldman 56 THE AUDIO INTERVIEW: PETER ASHER Ted Fox 60 1992 ANNUAL INDEX 176 EQUIPMENT PROFILES NOBIS CANTABILE AMPLIFIER Bascom H. King 72 YAMAHA CDC -835 CD CHANGER Leonard Feldman 103 AUDIX SCX-ONE STUDIO MIKE SYSTEM Jon R. Sank 108 JBL L7 SPEAKER D. B. Keele, Jr. 114 AURICLE: PIONEER ELITE PD -65 CD PLAYER Leonard Feldman 126 AURICLE: MOBILE FIDELITY SOUND LAB ULTRAMP PREAMP AND AMP Anthony H. Cordesman 130 MUSIC REVIEWS CLASSICAL RECORDINGS 138 ROCK/POP RECORDINGS 148MiniDisc, page 56 JAZZ & BLUES 160 DEPARTMENTS FAST FORE -WORD Eugene Pitts III 4 SIGNALS & NOISE 6 TAPE GUIDE Herman Burstein 11 AUDIOCLINIC Joseph Giovanelli 16 WHAT'S NEW 22 BEHIND THE SCENES Bert Whyte 33 CURRENTS John Eargle 36 ROADSIGNS Ivan Berger 40 THE BOOKSHELF 134 The Cover Equipment: Nobis Cantabile amplifier The Cover Photographer: ©Michael Groen reuda Audio Publishing, Editorial, and Advertising Offices, Bureau 1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019. Subscription Inquiries, (800) 274-8808; in Canada or other foreign countries, (303) 447-9330. Photo CD, page 38 No30 REFERENCE DIGITAL PROCESSOR PRIDE IN THE DETAILS . Mark Levinson° components have earned a reputation for their rugged reliability, uncompromising fit and finish and, above all, superior sonics. We at Madrigal Audio Laboratories are understandably proud of this reputation. The presence of "high technology" in our society has, for some, come to mean the absence of craftsmanship. Mass- produced look-alikes are everywhere, even in the realm of so-called high -end audio. The quality that you see and hear in a Mark Levinson component is not the :-esult of automated mass production-rather, it is the result o' painstaking atten- tion to the details of design, and of pride in the art of craftsmanship. display digital recent intensity leleet T181-11 evinson REFERENCE DIGITAL PROCESSOR polarity copy protect as/Mu emphasis NY 30 standby omen Mark Levinson components are handcrafted in limited quantities and to exacting specifications. All who participate in their production share the feeling of pride that comes from knowing that they contribute to a product that defines quality. It is with great pride, then, that we intro- duce the Mark Levinson N2 30 Reference Digital Processor. Five years of exhaustive research into digital audio yielded a processor worth waiting for, deserving of the Levinson marque. The N2 30 is a true reference: it neither adds to nor subtracts from the music. It brings to your home the accuracy as well as the essence of the performance. Finally, the promise of digital audio is fulfilled. The N2 30 is proof that state-of-the-art digital and analog technology can coexist with craftsmanship. The subject here, however, ultimately is music, and the heart of music is in the listening. To fully appreciate the quality of the N° 30, we recommend that you visit your Mark Levinson dealer for a full audition. gvInson Mark Levinson' products are designed and manufactured by MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES P.O. Box 781, Middletown, CT 06457 FAX (203) 346-1540 FAST FORE -WORD Audio V.P. Editor -in -Chief:Eugene Pitts III Art Director: Cathy Cacchione 4ssociate Art Director: Linda Zerela Technical Editor: Ivan Berger Managing Editor: Kay Blumentha Associate Managing Editor: Teresa Carriero Associate Managing Editor: Douglas Hyde Directory Editor: Ken Richardson issue. In my view, the taped copies of Assistant Editor Music: Michael Bieber both individual songs and whole discs Associate Editors: one makes for friends or for use in the Edward Tatnall Canby, Bert Whyte Senior Editors: car or at the summer retreat are fair Leonard Feldman, D B. Keele, Jr., David Lander use. I cannot reasonably object if you Contributing Editors/Artist: pass along this copy of Audio to a M. Aldred, H Burstein, D. L. Clark, friend to read or even if you make a A. H. Cordesman, T Costa. J. Diliberto. F Driggs, J. Eargle, S. Elliott, E. J Foster. J. Giovanelli, copy of the Annual Index. B. H. King, E M. Long, R. D. Long, F Lovece. The essential thing here is money. I J. W Poses. J. R. Sank, J. Sunier, M. Tearson. do not make a living from last year's J & S T::ven, M. Wright ideas or work. To say that one cannot General Manager: Greg Ropert: Production Director: Silvia Coppo;a In those last frantic days of the last make compilations that would never Production Manager: Kerry Tonning Congressional session, a piece of exist as commercial releases because Research Manager: Dru Ann Love legislation of interest to me, and they come from three competing labels Office Manager: Nadine Goody Operations Manager: Sylvia Correa which I believe will affect you, has been is ... well, passing strange to me. Ad Coordinator: Linda Neuweiler passed. I recently spoke about this bill But there was a lawsuit, more V.P./Group Publisher: Nicholas Matarazzo to the New Jersey State Bar threatened than real, though it could (212) 767-6035 Association's Entertainment and Arts have eaten up millions of dollars in V.P./Associate Publisher: Tony Catalano Law Section, lawyer fees, just like the Betamax case (212) 767-6061 The bill, S.1623, is called the Audio that was essentially about the same ADVERTISING Regic.nal V.P !Ad Director, East Coast. Home Recording Act (AHRA) and puts issue. Now, my lawyer friend, who Charles L. P. Watson (212) 767-6038 a new type of "tax" on digital recorders invited me to speak to the N.J. Bar Regional Account Mgr.. and blank recording media. The Senate Ch'istine B. Forhez (212) 767-6025 section, pointed out to me on the way Regional V.P /Ad Director. Midwest: passed it by unanimous consent the home that in the Betamax case the R. Scott Constantine (212) 767-6346 day before I wrote this. The essence of Supreme Court really didn't decide that Regional V.P. Ad Director. West Coast: Bob Meth (213) 954-4831 the bill is that there will be a 3% royalty it was legally proper to copy on a VCR, Western Mgr.: Paula Mayeri (213) 954-4832 fee on the factory price of the blank saying simply that the Court saw no National Record Labe! Sales: MAG Inc media (read Digital Compact Cassettes substantial financial damage from Mitch Herskowitz (212) 490-1715 Steve Gross (212) 490-1895 and MiniDiscs) and a 2% surcharge on copying. That's the narrow interpretation the factory price of digital recorders, of the ruling. Well, times have changed, H - with a $1 minimum and an $8 and the movie industry is doing the twum: maximum. The money collected will go copying now; they're in the rental Chairman. Daniel Filipacchi to performers, record companies, business, a whole new industry, and President, CEO. and COO. David J Pecker publishers, and songwriters. Exec. V.P. and Editorial Director: Jean-Louis Giniore they're fatter than ever. In that regard, Sr. V.P./Dir. Corp. Marketing: Paul DuCharme Now note that this is on digital the Recording Industry Association of Sr. V.P.4Dir., Corp. Sales, Mag. Network: Jay Burzon recorders and media, not analog. America has just reported that "the V.P./Dir. of Strategic Planning, Adv. & Circ.: Patrice Listf led Further, it says that it is now "legal" to industry's midyear dollar value of $3.8 V.P., Chief Financial Officer: Paul De Benedicts copy in the home, even though it has billion represents a healthy 11.33% V.P., Dorp. Communications. Jolie Cross Doyle been possible to do so for 100 years or increase over midyear 1991." (In V.P , General Counsel: Catherine Flickinger V.F., Mfg. & Distribution: Anthony Romano more-just roll one cylinder machine up addition, the RIAA says that both CD V.P., Circulation Leon Rosenfield to another, horn to horn.I wonder if unit shipments and dollar value are for there aren't enough teeth in present AUDIO. December 1992, Volume 76. Number 12 the first time larger than those for AUDIO .ISSN 0004-752X, Dewey Decimal Number piracy laws? Why didn't this issue get cassettes.) This tax represents a new 621.381 or 778.5) is published monthly by Hachette settled long years ago? Why did it have revenue stream for them, at the Magazines, Inc.. a wholly owned subsidiary of Hachettia Publications, Inc.. at 1633 Broadway, to come to the fore only when expense of the audio industry. New York, N.Y. 10019. Printed in U.S.A. at Dyersbuig technology would allow home The bill also requires inclusion of the Tenn. Dcstributed by Warner Publisher Services Inc Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y.