Stereo Review SPECIAL: EUROPEAN AUDIO NEW ROCK LAB TESTS: FROM EUROPE TANDBERG TPA -3016A HOW TO GET AMPLIFIER AND STEREO TV TCA-3018A PREAMP HOW TO CARE FORJAMO CBR 120 SPEAKERS VIDEOCASSETTES REVOX B215 TAPE DECK 2220V A)$ 311IASII07 ID H-3I1Nr10 VOTE aiAci 8W 06AUr fTV2. 5600VOTE HD826v0EV 82ZOP 1I9I0-S****x******86SZ tiA TABLE TAPETRANSPORT - TysemoitsCel,*tt WE'VE JUST EXTENDED OUR DYNAMIC RANGE, and the distance betweenus and everybody else. Introducing the new Sony UX series of tapes. to Sony. With a gauss measurement of 2,000, At last, tapes now in a class with today's improved UX-ES comes in with dramatically higher specs +4 Frequency Response cassette recording than any music tape. UX-PRO +2 technology and But our new UX-PRO UX-PRO Q.. music sources. Now, goes UX-ES one better Ceramic tape guide -2(Input Level -20dB) whether you record by including enhance- (dB)0c 2050 100 1K 10K2OK(Hz on Sony UX or the ments even in the cassette incomparable Sony UX-PRO, you'll be using tapes housing. We developed a with finer and more evenly dispersed magnetic 3 -plate, high -precision particles, along with improved coercive force to shell. And we created a hold those particles even better than before. unique ceramic tape guide Lower shell For an example of what that with an amazing ability means to you, take UX-S: it's to absorb vibrations. It priced equivalently to virtually eliminates modulation noise. The comparable cassettes, result gives you the finest magnetic medium in yet delivers sound the quietest cassette housing Sony has ever made. comparable to their Now you have four new Sony UX Type II high -end Type II tapes. tapes to choose from. And four ways to And when you take experience the thrill of leaving the competition UX-ES, you enter a realm that belongs entirely far behind. SONY 01986 Sony Corporation ofAmerica. THE ONE AND ONLY Sony and The One and Only are trademarks of Sony CIRCLE NO. 53 ON READER SERVICE CARD ANC 3 FM 1 B OPEN + dB 4 77-1 12 CLOSE V.BF EG1 TUN 0 4b. E/A BAL FAD 12 -dB Takenonface value alone, this is the most remarkable COMPUTER CONTRO car stereoin the world. 250Hz 500Hz 1 k H Nov I It TA 'E REMAIN DOLBY NR POWER AUTO BI -AZIMUTH HEAD K RC- 999 LOCAL ABSS TUNIN ri I-1NA/ NI Introducing the phenomenal a track anywhere on a side. than skin deep. It represents the Kenwood KRC-999 cassette And scan the first five culmination of 25 years of tuner. If the face plate isn't seconds of every cut. superior audio technology from enough to make your jaw drop, And take stations with the Kenwood. Consider it wait you hear the way the 999 strongest signal and automatic- our anniversary sounds. And performs. ally program them into memory. present to the world It's the most advanced car Heard enough? of music. stereo ever made. How about the lowest signal For the Kenwood dealer nearest Nriod. to noise ratio available. Metal you, call 1 -800 -CAR SOUND. "Sure," you say, "I've heard tape frequency response of that before." But how many car 20 - 22.5k (± 3dB). A 7 -band KENWOOD stereos have you heard that are graphic equalizer that instantly STEREO FOR YOUR CAR driven by a 16K ROM computer' converts to a spectrum analyzer. A computer that lets you Or an automatic azimuth - customize the sound to suit your adjusting hyperbolic - car's environment. contour tape head. And And pre-set electronic three drive motors. volume levels. Yes. The beauty of And automatically seek out the KRC-999 is more CIRCLE NO. 29 ON READER SERVICE CARD sEL6G"ra° SUBcILTER t4pE Mt: LIZA:NESS TJNER PHOM3 CO:AUX !VALK 2 3 MEMORY_ FM sTEPE° 1111ik,, Ur..1 C.1.1141110.17.00 AM/FM LI MI 1 tllllllllll1 1 11I-r- 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 - LI 7 TO :$61 Enter the World of Digital Technology Radio Shack's Command Performance Receiver Tie Real sic" STA-780 receiver puts precision 0.08% TAD. You cam connect a compact -disc control ano cynarie c audio power at your -i iger- player, TV -sound source, tape deck, turntable and tips. The digital -synthesized tuner features a two pairs of speaker systems. All this for just sea-ch mode that lets you scan up and dcm n the $349.95. Come in for a test -listen. FM and AM bands The system stops at each sta- tion and locks it on -channel., automatically skip- ping over weaker stations. lt also provides vou with a feather-touci control bar for manual tun n: Radue Ihaek and a computerized memory to store six FM and A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORAVON six AM stations to- instant recall. Exact station fre- r quencies a -e shows on the digital fluorescent dis- Send Me Your 1986 Catalog! play. The STA-780 3oests a full array of 27 contrc Is Ma Ito: Rad,o Shack, Dept. 87-A-031, including tape morito-, loudness and subsonic fil- 300 One -rand/ Center. Fort Worth, TX 7610? ter. And 21 LED function indicators keep sou in complete command. The amplifier delivers the NAME power to get the most from today's digital audi 3 STREET equipment. 45 wals per channel, minimum rms CITY STATE ZIP into 8 ohms from 23-23,000 Hz, with no m3,e thar Pr se applim al parlicooling Nam Shack stores ind dealers Stereo Review IN11111111111111.111111:4, 111111111111111M11111111111111 BULLETIN 5 TECHNICAL TALK 26 EDITORIAL 8 POPULAR MUSIC 110 LETTERS 10 CLASSICAL MUSIC 117 NEW PRODUCTS 14, 134 VIDEO REVIEWS 123 AUDIO Q&A 20 THE HIGH END 136 EQUIPMENT HIRSCH-HOUCK LABS EQUIPMENT TEST REPORTS 31 Tandberg TPA -3016A Power Amplifier and TCA-3018A Preamplifier, page 31 ,1,4rItrrtginiggimilpmatmvowsmalion.! Revox B215 Cassette Deck, page 40 Jamo CBR 120 Speaker System, page 46 Recoton V624 ER.E.D. III TV Stereo Decoder, page 48 Harman Kardon HD500 Compact Disc Player, page 56 Hitachi DA -P100 Compact Disc Player, page 60 AUDIO CONTROL'S PHASE COUPLED ACTIVATOR 64 A user's evaluation by William Burton SPECIAL REPORT: EUROPEAN AUDIO TECHNOLOGY 68 Many important advances in audio have come from Europe, and European companies continue to be on the cutting edge of the technology by E. Brad Meyer and Peter W. Mitchell I v HOW TO GET STEREO TV AT HOME 95 Connecting your video system for the best sound by Dawn Gordon THE CARE AND STORAGE OF VIDEOCASSETTES 100 How to give your tapes a longer, better life by Larry Klein MUSIC EUROPOP 92 The European invasion of the Eighties may signal the most fundamental change in pop music in decades by Steve Simels BEST RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH 103 High achievement in both analog and Dvotak's Eighth Symphony, Simply Red, Beethoven's digital music reproduction is repre- Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 and 4, Joe Jackson sented by the European -made compo- RECORD MAKERS nents on our cover: the Thorens Phan- 132 tasie turntable with Ortofon MC Super The latest from Bananarama, the Alarm, Aprile cartridge and the Magnavox CDB850 Millo, John Cougar Mellencamp, the Royal Compact Disc player from Philips. Ta- Philharmonic, and more ble courtesy of Zona. Vol.. 51 NO. 8 AUGUST 1986 (ISSN 0039-1220) COVER! DESIGN BY SUE LLEWELLYN, PHOTO TOHRU NAKAMURA COPYRIGHT 0 1986 BY CBS MAGAZINES, A DIVISION OF CBS INC. All rights reserved. Stereo Review, August 1986, Volume 51, Number 8. Published monthly byCBS Magazines at 3807 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Editorial and Executive Offices at 1515 Broadway, New Yosk, NY 10036; Telephone (212) 719-6000. Also pub- lishers of Stereo Buyers' Guide, Car Stereo Buyers' Guide, Tape Recording Buyers' Guide, and Video Buyers' Guide. One-year subscription rate for the United States andits possessions, $9.98; Canada, $10.98; all other countries, $14.98, cash orders only, payable in U.S. currency. Second-class postage paid at Los Angeles, CA 90052, and atadditional mailing offices. Authorized as second-class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, Canada, and for payment of postage in cash. POSTMASTER /SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: Please send change -of -address forms and all subscription correspondence to Stereo Review, P.O. Box 2771, Boulder, CO 80302. Please allow at least eight weeksfor the change of address to become effective. Include both your old and your new address, enclosing, if possible, an address label from a recent issue. If you havea subscription problem, write to the above address or call (800) 525-0643; in Colorado, call (303) 447-9330. PERMISSIONS: Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Requests for permission should be directed to William S. Bunchuck, Rights and Permissions, CBS Magazines, One Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016. STEREO REVIEW AUGUST1986 3 Hear What You've Been Missing Introducing DPDTm from Proton _.__ _u If you're running that terrific new CD player off an wissitimmi amplifier or receiver that's three to five years old, you're missing out on a great deal of clean, uncompromising sound.Most amps of that vintage just can't create the extra headroom that's necessary for accurate digital reproduction. Every time the music hits a peak, your amp will be gasping for breath. And you'll definitely hear INN 1111111011 about it. Unless you have a Proton 40 Series amplifier or receiver with our exclusive, patented DPD circuitry. Reserve power in an instant DPD stands for Dynamic Power on Demand"'.