JUNE 1982 $1.25 Stereo Review CAR STEREO: What are minicossette and stereo -AM prospects? NEW AUDIO PRODUCTS: Turntables, headphones, accessories INTEREVIEW: Songwriter Karla Bonoff EQUIPMENT TEST REPORTS: Aiwa AD -3800U Cassette Dec< McIntosh MC 2255 Power Amplifier Ohm Walsh 2 Speaker System J.C. Penney Model 3263 AM ,!FM Stereo Receiver Shure V15 Type V Phono Cartridge DISC SPECIALS: cordon Lightfoot Paul McCartney Marshall Crenshaw Bunny Bergan Lou Reed Wynton Marsalis ALKAN & GRIFFES: Piano Roundups BACH: All-star Brandenburjs RODRIGO: Two Concertos 11 11 TOTH, AA ONeiRSH ID ern AdINnOD S092 90 NONOH708 MAU° 8W 98tair rTp9 960DS097. HD8 9628EV awcritical praise, shock the ionvalue for themoney. one else in the business is doing it. Common sense and uncommon engineering have been a hallmark of our company since its beginning. We still do things a little differently than most. The result is high performance, exceptional value and very often a limited supply. You won't find Sherwood everywhere. It might be smart to start looking now. For the location nearest you, please call toll free: 1-800-323-1717 (in Illinois 1-800-942-8881), Operator #441. How Sherwood receiversmanage toch competition and still provideuncomn ile the creation of music is an art, the re-crea- "Aside from sheer power, the S-9200 CP could more Won of music is a science. But it's not a pure sci- than hold its own against receivers selling for several ence. For better or worse (typically worse) a delicate times its price balance has to be struck between the passionate desire However, our 20 watt receiver does face stiffcompe- for sonic purity, and the reality of a paycheck. A little tition. From our 30 or 40 or 60 watt receivers. too much in one direction and phenomenal statistics In each case the additional power is accompanied are exceeded only by phenomenal price. Too much in by additional features, additional finesse and im- the other direction and the price is right but the sound proved pleasure. is wrong. The S-9600 CF, for example,is rated 60 watts RMS Tricky business making choices. But something per channel with no more than .05% THD into 8 we've been doing with quiet success for more than 25 ohms. An eight -stage discrete phono pre -amp section years. When in doubt, we opt for performance. filters out subsonics and prevents transient distortion. And the critics seem to think we do it right. The discrete DC power amp section is stable into 2 We're Sherwood. ohm and reactive loads. The tuner section has GOOD ENOUGH 1.6 uV usable sensitivity, ISN'T GOOD 75 dB stereo signal to ENOUGH. noise ratio, and Touch A little over a year ago, Lock Tuning. America's leading con- About the S-9600 CP, sumer research magazine High Fidelity reports rated a Sherwood stereo receiver first in a field of fif- in their January 1982 issue: teen better known pieces of equipment. "Noise and distortion are extremely Our competition was probably shocked. low, frequency response is extremely flat, We were obviously pleased. Because it seemed to and there are no disappointments prove that we'd been going about our business the elsewhere to spoil the listening right way after all. And because favorable reviews are experience." good for sales. Beyond that, Sherwood Despite that, we phased out the winning re- virtually guarantees its ceiver almost immediately and replaced it with performance. something better. EVERY SHERWOOD The continuing evolution of Sherwood receivers brings us now to the 9000 series. Our best to date. YOU BUY, IS USED. Before you open the car- THE BALANCE OF POWER. ton on a Sherwood receiver, Stereo manufacturers typically promote the receiv- you'll know the exact per- er in their line that offers the biggest power rating, formance characteristics for theory being bigger is better. Here's what the Novem- that unit. We call that Cer- ber 1981 Stereo Review Equipment Test said about one tified Performance. It's the of the smallest receivers in our line: result of testing each piece, "Not only did it comfortably surpass many of its key one at a time, then adjusting, performance ratings, but some of those ratings are well and testing again. That seems above the norm for receivers in its price class. For to be the only reasonable example the FM S/N we measured on the S-9200 CP approach to testing, but no was among the best we have yet found in a receiver at any price. "Under practical listening conditions it can deliver far more power than its very conservative Sherwood ops=== ratings would suggest. 17107 Kingsview Ave. , Carson, CA 90746 In Canada: The Pringle Group, Oman, CIRCLE NO. 42 ON READER SERVICE CARD Sherwood: A series of intelligent choices. Air Radio Shack's New Tower System Brings Great Music to You... Combines Computer Design with Ferrofluid Damping Magnificent reproduction at a moderate price! The to 20,000 Hz. Ferrofluid damping prevents "ring- new Realistic Optimus®-T-300 is designed to bring ing" and contributes to the system's superior over- you clean, well-defined sound with a tremendous all transient response. The crossover provides 150 watt power handling capability. A powerful optimum separation of each speaker element. 10" woofer working together with a 10" high -com- High -frequency and midrange level controls let pliance passive radiator delivers deep, rich bass you adjust the sound the way you want. An oiled response you can "feel" as well as hear down to a walnut veneer finish wood enclosure makes it look solid 44 Hz. Its 5" midrange driver is in an airtight, as good as it sounds. Visit Radio Shack today and acoustically treated sub -enclosure that gives you hear this superb speaker yourself-there's nothing excellent transient response, minimizes unwanted else like it for the money. 259.95 each. resonances and prevents sound coloration. The original performance is reproduced with stunning Built and Sold exclusively by accuracy and clarity. The 1" soft -dome tweeter is positioned at ear level and provides controlled dis- Radio lhaeli persion characteristics for excellent stereo imaging A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION Retail price may vary at Individual stores and dealers. 5 -Year Limited Warranty-see 1982 catalog 341, page 25. FORMERLY HI FI STEREO REVIEW (ISSN 0039-1220) JUNE 1982 VOLUME 47 NUMBER 6 e CEquipment NEW PRODUCTS Roundup of the latest audio equipment and accessories 13 AUDIO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TwoTypes of CX?, Weak Link, Amp Sandwich LARRY KLEIN 18 TAPE TALK Mike Placement, Modulation Noise, Test Tapes CRAIG STARK 22 TECHNICAL TALK Testing Turntables JULIAND.HIRSCH 24 EQUIPMENT TEST REPORTS Laboratory test results on the Shure VI 5 Type V phono cartridge, Ohm Walsh 2 speaker system. McIntosh MC 2255 power amplifier, J.C. Penney Model 3260 AM/FM stereo receiver, and Aiwa AD -3800U cassette deck JULIAN D. HIRSCH, CRAIG STARK 28 CAR STEREO 1982 An updating for those who must have music wherever they go IVAN BERGER 56 RATING LOUDSPEAKERS FOR "ACCURACY" A manufacturer's view of a controversial subject ROY ALLISON 60 AUDIO PRODUCTS AT LAS VEGAS CES-Part 2 Reports on turntables, headphones, accessories, and video sonics 62 Tie cWusk INTEREVIEW: SONGWRITER KARLA BONOFF ". the songs always end up being about me or my life" NOEL COPPAGE 88 BEST RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH 68 Gordon Lightfoot: "Shadows" 68 Griffes: Piano Works 70 Debut: Wynton Marsalis 70 Alkan: Piano Works 71 POPULAR MUSIC 74 Paul McCartney: "Tug of War" 76 Lou Reed: "The Blue Mask" 84 Marshall Crenshaw: Debut 80 The Complete Bunny Berigans Volume I 92 Toots and the Maytals: "Knock Out!" 82 CLASSICAL MUSIC 96 Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 104 New American Music 114 Rodrigo: Two Unfamiliar Concertos 110 rfie9tgu lars BULLETIN WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE 5 SPEAKING OF MUSIC WILLIAM ANDERSON 6 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 8 GOING ON RECORD JAMES GOODFRIEND 52 ADVERTISERS' INDEX 114 COVER: Design by Borys Patchowsky; photo by Bruce Pendleton. COPYRIGHT 1982 BY ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. All and at additional mailing offices. Authorized as second-class mail by the Post rights reserved. Stereo Review. June 1982, Volume 47, Number 6. Pub- Office Department, Ottawa, Canada, and for payment of postage in cash. lished monthly by Ziff -Davis Publishing Company. Editorial and Executive POSTMASTER: Forms 3579 and address changes should be sent to Stereo Offices at One Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016; Telephone: 212 Review, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 2771, Boulder, Colorado 80302. 725-3500. Richard P. Friese, President; Furman Hebb, Executive Vice Pres- SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: All subscription correspondence should be ident; Selwyn Taubman, Treasurer; Bertram A. Abrams, Secretary. Also addressed to Stereo Review, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 2771, Boul- publishers of Backpacker. Boating. Car and Driver, Cycle, Flying, Popular der, Colorado 80302 Please allow at least eight weeks for change of address. Electronics, Popular Photography. Psychology Today, Skiing, Stereo Direc- Include old addressaswellas new-enclosingifpossible an address tory, Tape Recording & Buying Guide, and Yachting. One-year subscrip- label from a recent issue. PERMISSIONS: Material in this publication may tion rate for the United States and its possessions, $9.98; Canada. $10.98. All not be reproduced in any form without permission. Requests for permission other countries, one-year subscription rate $14.98, cash orders only, payable should be directed to John Babcock. Rights and Permissions, Ziff -Davis in U.S. currency. Second-class postage paid at New York, New York 10016 Publishing Company. One Park Avenue, New York. New York 10016. Introducing TDK AD -X. The normal bias tape with Super Avilyn technology. New TDK AD -X is the first normalnew AD -X can easily To ensure years of bias audio cassette to use TDK's handle strong signal reliable use, AD -X is Avilyn magnetic particle-based input without over - housed in TDK's Labo- on the renowned Super Avilyn for- saturation.