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Document Document

MAY 1992

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AFFORDABLE LOAUDCSDPEPALKAEYERRS MIC RAD -JOHNSON PREAMPLIFIER PHILIPS TEDITION

Zeg a

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C OMING A TTRACTIONS

First, an apology. When 1write "Coming Attractions," Ihave to use afair dose of conjecture coupled with an appropriate amount of optimism about the next issue's content. Not everything planned always happens as expected, which sometimes leaves me with egg on my face. So it was with last month's promise that this issue would contain my review of Audio
Research's Classic 120 monoblocks and Robert Harley's review ofthe Nalcarnichi 1000mb CD
transport. For reasons pretty much out ofmy control, neither made it into print this month, for which Iapologize. Both will appear inJune (I hope).

Next, acouple of corrections: When we

compile "Recommended Componente' we ask

every manufacturer/distributor to confirm the

current prices of the components listed. In

April, one price slipped through the net.

Infinity's active Modulus subwoofer costs

$2000, not $1000. We also stated that Tand-

berg's TD20A-SE tape recorder was no longer

available. This got the attention of the new US

distributors, Tandberg International, of

Brewster, NY, who informed us in no uncertain

terms that this excellent Norwegian open-reel

deck is still around.

--John Atkinson

S TAF

Publisher LARRY ARCHIBALD
(505) 982-2366
Founder & Chief Tester J. GORDON HOLT
Editor JOHN ATKINSON
(505) 982-1411
Assistant Editor & Music Editor RICHARD LEHNERT
(505) 982-1411
Technical Editor TISOMASJ. NORTON
(505) 982-1411
Consulting Technical Editor ROBERT HARLEY
(505) 281-4756
Senior Contributing Editor DICK OLSHER
Contributing Editors (hardware) ARNIS BALGALVIS M ARTIN COLLOMS JACK ENGLISH
COREY GREENBERG LARRY GREENHILL JACK HANNOLD
KEN KESSLER GUY LEMCOE PETER W.M ITCHELL BEBO M ORONI M ARKUS SAUER DON A.SCOTT BILL SOMMERWERCK
SAM TÈ LLIG PETER VAN W ILLENSWAARD
BARRY W ILLIS Musician in Residence
LEWIS LIPNICK
Contributing Editors (music) PAUL ALTHOUSE
CARL E.BAUGHER ROBERT E.BENSON LESLIE S.BERKLEY
STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

WALLACE CHINITZ

Advertising Representatives

KEVIN CONKLIN

East ofthe Mississippi & Foreign

JOHN CRABBE

KEN NELSON

ROBERT DEUTSCH

NELSON &ASSOCIATES, INC.

M ORTIMER H.FRANK

(914) 476-3157

ROBERT HESSON

FAX (914) 969-2746

BETH JACQUES

YONKERS, NY

BARBARA JAHN ICOR KIPNIS
ROBERT LEVINE M ICHAEL Ross RICHARD SCHNEIDER DENIS STEVENS ALLEN ST. JOHN

West ofthe Mississippi & National Dealer LAURA]. ATKINSON
NELSON &ASSOCIATES, INC. (505) 988-3284
FAX (505) 982-5806 SANTA FE, NM

M ICHAEL LLMAN

Production Director

Director of Overseas Operations (UK)

REBECCA W ILLARD

M ARK FISHER

Production Manager

(011-44) 71-924-2655

DIANE HARRIS

Publisher of Chinese Edition EDWARD CHEN
FAX (011-886) 2-8734925
Subirripitoth US &CANADIAN RESIDEN-IS
(800) 238-2626 FROM OUTSIDE US CALL
(505) 982-2366
Classified Advertisements (505) 983 -9106
Business Fax (505) 989 -8791
Editorial Fax (505) 983 -6327
Circulation Director GLEN HIERSOUX
Promotions Director Tom Glum
Promotions Manager M ARY OLIVERA

Production ANDREW M AIN JANICE ST. M ARIE ANNE PEACOCKE JANET RESNICK
Ad Copy Manager M ARTHA PAYNE
Art Director DANIEL BISH
Cover Art JIM FINNELL
Support Staff TONI BUBICK M OLLY CRENSHAW DEBBIE FISHER .J..OHN FRYE
ODD KUMP M ARY PLAITS DANNY SANDOVAL STEVEN STONER

Fulfillment Manager CATHLEEN CHAMNESS

Typesetting COPYGRAPHICS, INC.

Business Manager M ICHELLE STOBNICKE

3

FEATURE S
71 ITWAS 30 YEARS AGO TODAY
To celebrate Stereophile's 30th year of telling it how it sounds, we offer thumbnail sketchesfromJ. Gordon Holt of typical 1960s record-company "house sounds."
80 STEREOPHILE'S SECOND TEST CD
Over 74 minutes of music recorded by the magazine's editors and contributors, and test signals to help you optimally set up your system and listening room by ear. _Phu Atkinson gives atrack-by-track rundown of the disc's contents.
179 PHILIPS COMPLETE M OZART EDMON
In thefirst oftwo articles, Mortimer H. Frank starts his review of the 182-disc Philips Complete Mozart Edition by listening to the 20 volumes of instrumental recordings.

117 124 132 137 137 137 137 137 137 137
137

EQUIPMENT REPORTS

M ICROMEGA TRIO CD PLAYER (ROBERT HARLEY)

CONRAD-JOHNSON PREMIER 7A PREAMPLIFIER (JACK EM,LISII)

BRYSTON 4B NRB POWER AMPLIFIER (LARRY G REENHILL)

TANNOY 609 LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, CO REY GREENBERG, ROBERT HARLEY, at 1140MAS J. NORTON)

N ELSON- REED 5-02/ CM LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, ROBERT HARLEY,

et THOMAS J. NORTON) A/D/s/ SAT 6LOUDSPEAKER

(JOHN

ATKINSONN, OROMBEA'RT

HARLEY,

-11-10MAS J. NORTON, et DICK O LSHER)

M IRAGE M 490 LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, ROBERT HARLEY, GUY LEMCOE, 11-10MAS J. NORTON)
PINNACLE PN8+ LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, ROBERT HARLEY, &THOMAS J. NORTON)
KEF Q60 LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, ROBERT H ARLEY, et THOMAS J. NORTON)

SPICA SC -30 LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, ROBERT H ARLEY, St 1140MAS J. N ORTON)

FOLLOW- UP
BLACK DAHLIA LOUDSPEAKER (JOHN ATKINSON, ROBERT HARLEY, 111 THOMAS J. NORTON)

4

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

M AY 1992

VOL.I5 No.

©Stereophile -- Val. 15 No. 5, May 1992, Issue Number 148. Stereophile (ISSN #0585- 2544) is published monthly, $35 per year fin 'S residents by Stereophile, 208 Delgado, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Second-class posiage paid at Santa 14.. NM and at additional mailing en POSTMASTER: send address Ames to Stereophile, PO. Box 52977, Boulder, CO 80322-2977.

COLUMNS

7 19 49
179 191

ASWESEE IT
Peter W Mitchell tackles the worrisome question of hearing loss.
LETTERS
Topics this month: the digital tape tax, soundstage quality, Larry Archibald's "Final Word" column on the US automobile industry, and more debate on the implications of Robert Harley 's recent "Listeners' Manifesto" article.
INDUSTRY UPDATE
High-end newsfrom the US and UK, including the latest news on the digital tape tax, J. Gordon Holt pays tribute to his mentor, the late Paul Weathers, Peter Mitchell on the welcome demise of the CD longbox, Amis Balgalvis with the news that DMP is to make LPs available oftheir recordings, and alate reportfront the 1992 Winter CESfrom Peter Mitchell.
BUILDING ALIBRARY
In thefirst oftwo articles, Mortimer H. Frank reviews Philips's Complete Mozart Edition. He starts this month by listening to the instrumental recordings.
RECORD REVIEWS
Yo! Luka Bloom sings Rap, but shoulda stood in bed. Also, Emmylou's new album, a remarkable soundtrackfrom Until the End of the World, and aclutch ql RL's new super-concise "Outtakes." Under "Jazz" are reviewed unreleased Bill Evans recordings, abrace oflive 'Marc dates, and Abbey Lincoln's You Gotta Pay the Band. Elsewhere, it's Opera Month: three new recordings of Strauss's Salome, one each of Frcischütz and Faust. Plus: Litton conducting Bernstein's Symphony 2, Gunther Schuller practicing the Art of the Rag, and recently rediscovered works of P.D.Q. Bach. And, as ever, lots more.

215 M ANUFACTURERS' COMMENTS 242 THE FINAL WORD
Stercophile Publisher Larry Archibald on "bigger" doesn't necessarily mean "better."

INFORMATION

3 227 233 104
241

COMING ATTRACTIONS W HERE TO BUY Stereophile AUDIO M ART Stereophile TEST CDs
ADVERTISER INDEX

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

Stereophile's
Test CD2

.· eginning with the first Mark Levinson products, we defined quality in audio, using superior components and
craftsmanship to heighten the experience
of music in the home. Twenty years later we not only continue this tradition, but enhance it with state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing, so that today's Mark Levinson audio equipment
is aworld-wide reference standard. The NQ 23.5 Dual Monaural Power Amplifier is
one example of this evolution. An improved version of the widely
acclaimed N2 23 amplifier, the N9 23.5 is not the sort of update that merely takes advantage of newer and better parts, or that corrects flaws in the original design. Rather, it incorporates substantial
improvements in four areas: self-referencing voltage reference in the power
supply regulator amplifier, a new active balanced input stage, an enhanced

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The sonic improvements are as easy to hear as the electronic theory behind them can be difficult to grasp: greater dynamic
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Mark Levinson* products are designed and manufactured by MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES
PO Box 781, Middletown, CT 06457 FM (2031346-1540

As W E S EE
PETER W .M ITCHELL
1911"·911111111
COTTON BALLS AND
DELICATE PRECISION INSTRUMENTS

ytopic today is not the hardware that we use to reproduce sound, but the delicate precision instruments we use to detect it: our ears. Our enjoy-
ment ofmusical sound is important enough to justify spending thousands of dollars on recordings, electronics, loudspeakers, and concert tickets. What is it worth to preserve your hearing so that you can continue enjoying great sound 10 or 20 years from now? I've
been conducting an experiment for the last 30 years, at acost ofless than apenny aday. It began when Iwas 17.
In the New Hampshire countryside where Igrew up, the loudest noises on an average day were crickets, cows, and an occasional rifle shot. When Imoved to Boston to attend college the levels ofambient noise were much
higher, and Ihad to ride subway trains every day. The clatter and screech of steel wheels

on rails, strengthened by reflections off nearby tunnel walls, was painfully loud. In self-defense Istarted to wear earplugs.
When Idrove my old car 200 miles to New
York on weekends, Ifound that if! wore earplugs during the four-hour drive, Iarrived at my destination feeling much fresher and
less fatigued. And when Iskipped Art History class on Fridays to stand in line for cheap "rush" tickets to Boston Symphony concerts,
Idiscovered that wearing my earplugs on the
way to the concert made aremarkable difference to the sound Iheard. Entering Symphony Hall with fresh ears, Inoticed that the
smallest details of musical timbre and hall ambience were wonderfully vivid. Those faint sounds were obscured if! left the ear-
plugs at home and exposed my ears to the raucous din ofcity traffic, sirens, bus engines, and subway trains while traveling to the hall.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

7

As Ilater learned, audiologists call this "tem- afresh pair ofplugs. Unlike most commercial

porary threshold shift" (TTS): the noise ex- earplugs, which are designed to attenuate

posure altered my threshold of hearing.

sounds by 20 to 40dB, asmall wad of cot-

Most people experience some ITS every ton stuffed into the ear canal provides only

day. Any exposure to loud sound will do it. about 10dB of attenuation. The absorption

The higher the spl and the longer the expo- varies smoothly with frequency from about

sure, the greater the threshold shift. You may 5dB in the bass up to amaximum of 15dB

not be aware of it, because the perception of in the highs.

ordinary sounds such as conversation and TV

With such relatively modest attenuation

doesn't change. A 10dB shift in your thresh- Ican even listen to voices and music from the

old ofhearing won't be obvious unless you're car radio while driving. Isimply crank up the trying to focus on faint sounds that are barely volume and treble to compensate for the

detectable--and perhaps not even then. After plug's slight dulling of the sound, and thus

anight's sleep, or just afew hours in aless noisy environment, the ears recover from their stress--unless the noise was extremely

achieve asatisfying ratio of desired signal to unwanted ambient noise. Isuppose the resulting sound might be too loud and bright

loud (over 110dB). Ifthe noise is loud enough, for fellow passengers in acar pool, but I

or your exposure long enough, the change usually drive alone Ofcourse, Icould avoid

in your hearing may become apermanent this if Iowned aquiet-riding Cadillac or

loss and may affect your perception of all $40,000 Lexus, but I'd rather buy acheap car

sounds, not just faint ones.

and spend my money on recordings, concert

After 30 years Istill wear earplugs when- tickets, and stereo gear.

ever Ispend more than afew minutes in any

Professionals in the hearing-protection

environment with sustained noise levels field sneer at cotton earplugs because they

above 80dB spi. That includes all vehicles-- don't provide enough blockage to protect

cars, buses, trains, and airplanes. In places like against dangerously loud sound. True enough. mid-Manhattan and downtown Chicago, When Iwant to doze during across-country

with their constant din ofsirens, taxi horns, plane trip, Iswitch to compressible-foam ear-

and buses, Iwear plugs even when Iwalk down the street.
Am Ithus cut offfrom the world? Not at

plugs made by the E-A-R division of the Cabot Safety Corp. They provide 20 to 30dB
of attenuation, enough that Ican't hear the

all. My regular earplugs don't obstruct sound, stewardess asking if Iwant adrink. And when

theyjust reduce its volume alittle. Ordinary Itake my favorite Remington rifle to the local

conversation involves sound levels around shooting range Iwear David Clarke ear de-

60dB spl. Cutting back to 45 or 50dB spl fenders. They look like old-style headphones,

doesn't make conversation any more diffi- with big cups that seal tightly around the ears

cult to understand, since the surrounding and make it difficult to hear any speech at all.

background noise is reduced as well. Wearing

Those alternatives are great for occasions

earplugs has never impaired my ability to when you really don't want to hear the sounds

hear normal speech. (But Isometimes have around you. Cotton plugs, on the other hand,

to take one out when trying to hear afaint have the uniquely valuable property ofpro-

voice on the telephone.) During the years viding auseful degree of ambient noise re-

when Iworked in an office, with the constant duction while not obstructing the normal

rushing noise from airconditioning vents in activities of everyday life. Icall them my

the ceiling and'the clacking of typewriters "Dolby B" plugs: everything is slightly softer

in the adjacent office, Iused to leave cotton but still well within the normal range ofper-

plugs in my ear canals all day long, removing ception. Before long, the ear/brain system

them only at night when Igot home to my adapts to living in aquieter world and you

quiet basement apartment. Most of my co- forget about them. Many's the time I've come

workers never knew Iwas wearing them. home at the end ofthe day, stepped into the

.My earplugs are simple wads ofsterile cot- shower, and suddenly become aware ofwads

ton fiber. Ibuy abag of 300 cotton balls at ofwaterlogged cotton falling out ofmy ears.

adrugstore, and each ball contains enough

Is there apoint to this story? We're almost

cotton for three or four earplugs. The cost there. When Ibegan wearing earplugs, my

is low enough that Ican start each day with only purpose was to reduce the annoyance

8

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

L IS

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of subway noise. But since the purpose of riding the subway to Boston University was to study science, Ibegan to learn something

are old enough to vote they no longer hear tones above 18 or 20kHz. When you're thirtysomething you cease being annoyed by

about acoustics and physiology as well as the 15.75kHz whistle emitted by the horiastrophysics. It is well known that severe zontal flyback transformer in every TV set.

noise exposure produces notjust temporary And now that I'm fortysomething, many of threshold shift, but permanent hearing loss. my compatriots no longer hear much above

The louder the noise, the less time it takes to 10 or 12kHz.

stress the inner ear beyond its ability to recover.

Is this progressive top-end rolloff in our

In the extreme, if you stand next to the ears apurely age-related phenomenon? Or

140dB blast of a105mm army howitzer, a might it be partly aresult oflong-term noise

single bang may leave you with apermanent exposure in an industrial society? Pre-indusimpairment. Ifyou listen to aheavy-metal trial societies, like those Indians in the Peru-

rock concert at 115dB for an hour, you'll cer- vian Andes, were rarely exposed to noise

tainly experience TI'S or some ringing in levels above 60dB spl--and then only in brief

your ears, but you'll probably recover the bursts (twigs cracking, adog's bark, occa-

next day. But ifyou expose yourselfto those sional thunderstorms). For much ofthe day levels for several hours every day, your loss the average noise level in the rural countryside

may be severe and permanent. Some ofthe where Igrew up (away from highways, farm

most famous rock musicians have learned this tractors, and other engines) is no higher than

lesson the hard way.

40dB spl.

This relationship is codified in OSHA

Is anything known for certain about the

regulations for factory workers. People may effects of long-term exposure to moderate

be exposed to an ambient noise level of85dB noise levels? Ihaven't seen any good statistics

spi for an 8-hour shift, but the permissible to answer this question. Much ofthe available exposure time is halved for every 6dB in- data on top-octave loss is based on 20th-

crease in spi. This is amodel ola cumulative century European and American populations effect: damage occurs when the product of that have lived with noise-making machines

duration and intensity exceeds acertain thresh- all their lives. Idon't know whether people

old. (For the average person the subjective intensity, or perceived "loudness," doubles
with each 6dB increase in spi. But this is only an average; some people need only 3dB, while others require more than 10dB to perceive asubjective doubling.)
Since the rules were created for industrial

in the 17th century retained their top octave
better than we do today. A comparison of hearing data for modern urban vs rural populations probably wouldn't prove much; since 1940, most farmers have spent much oftheir time atop tractors, 6' from an un-mufflered engine.

situations, and were devised to prevent severe impairments that affect aworker's ability to
understand normal speech, they don't extend below 85dB or above eight hours. But what about subtler impairments--for example, a loss ofthreshold sensitivity that doesn't alter
your perception of speech but reduces your
ability to hear low-level ambience and detail? Is there any reason to assume that the cumulative effects ofnoise exposure cease below
85dB? Might 16 hours ofexposure at 80dB

But the example of the Peruvian Indians, if true, is suggestive. So is the well-known
gender difference. The numbers cited above were only for males. Adult women appar-
ently hear high frequencies more acutely than
most men do. Is this due to genetic factors? Or is it actually an effect oflong-term noise
exposure? On the average, men spend much more time in noisy environments than women do. Whether inborn or due to socialization, this disparity begins in childhood. Boys are

have an effect--or several years at 60dB? Ibecame interested in the effects oflong-
term noise exposure shortly after Istarted using earplugs. Iread about remote tribes of Peruvian Indians whose high-frequency hear-

more likely to engage in active games involv-
ing alot ofshouting and screaming, while girls play quietly with dolls. Adolescent boys gravitate toward guns, loud cars, and boomboxes, while girls chat with friends. Statisti-

ing was reported to be as good at age 70 as achild's. A baby's hearing may extend to nearly 25kHz, but by the time most people

cally, men drive twice as many miles as women, make longer trips, and drive noisier
vehicles (motorcycles, sporty cars, pickups,

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

11

N9 30
REFERENCE DIGITAL PROCESSOR
PRIDE IN THE DETAILS.
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The presence of "high technology" in our society has, for some, come to mean the absence of craftsmanship. Massproduced look-alikes are everywhere, even in the realm of so-called high-end audio. The quality that you see and hear in aMark Levinson component is not the result of automated mass production--rather, it is the result of painstaking attention to the details of design, and of pride in the art of craftsmanship.

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 aproduct that defines quality.
It is with great pride, then, that we introduce the Mark Levinson Ne 30 Reference Digital Processor. Five years of exhaustive research into digital audio yielded aprocessor worth waiting for, deserving of the Levinson marque.
The Ne 30 is atrue 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 Ne 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 Ne 30, we recommend that you visit your Mark Levinson dealer for afull audition.

MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES

·,are designed and manufactured by 0 Box 781. Middletown. CT 06457 FAX (203; 346-1540

heavy trucks). Men become soldiers, fly air-
planes, and work with loud machinery in auto repair shops and industrial factories.
Now that women are sharing more equally in these activities, will they start losing their highs at the same rate as men? Housework
has also become noisy in the modern era as aresult ofwashing machines, blenders, garbage disposals, vacuum cleaners, et al. Our grandmothers did their housework with less noise and alot more effort. Nevertheless, the
evidence to date indicates that the gender dis-
parity may be getting worse rather than better. In astudy reported last November at the annual meeting ofthe Gerontological Society of America, tests for hearing losses in adults between 30 and 80 revealed that men ofevery age had impairments twice as severe as women in the same age group. And at the mid-treble frequencies involved in speech perception, men's impairments became worse with age at afaster rate than women's.
I'm presenting questions and hypotheses here, not definite answers. It may be that top-
octave loss is not related to long-term noise exposure. Whatever the case, top-octave rolloffprobably involves adifferent biological mechanism than impairments caused by intense sound. It's well known that hearing
losses due to extremely high sound levels occur first and most importantly at the frequencies where the ear is most sensitive, between 2and 4kHz. This may be because
the tube resonances in the ear canal cause the actual sound-pressure levels at the eardrum to be highest at those frequencies. Those, unfortunately, are also the frequencies most
critically needed for speech comprehension. If you spend too much time shooting guns, driving sports cars, occupying afront-row
seat at heavy-metal rock concerts, or playing oboe in asymphony orchestra while sitting directly in front of the first trumpet, the first

At 40 Iwas still bothered by the TV flyback whistle that my friends had become oblivious to. Ino longer hear it today (at 49), but my ears are still good to 14kHz. Clearly my top-
octave loss has progressed more slowly than the statistical average for American males. In most other respects Ihave the usual symptoms ofmy age: achingjoints, gray hair, and an inability to read (or see anything clearly) without eyeglasses. I've never regarded my-
self as aparticularly "golden-eared" audio critic; perhaps my ears have just been lucky.
One more bit of evidence is suggestive. Several years ago Ihad an audiometric exam, which measures the threshold of hearing at various frequencies.' Both ears were within
the "normal" range, but they were not identical. The left ear was about 10dB less sensitive than the right, particularly in the 24kHz region. This disparity may be only a biological accident, but Ihave another theory. For 20 years Ihabitually drove with my driver's-side window rolled down during the warmer half of the year. Even with earplugs, my left ear was exposed to substantially higher levels of noise--wind turbulence, engine noise, and the roar oftrucks and buses in the next lane. Could two decades of such exposure be the reason for the permanent threshold shift in my left ear? Idon't know, but after learning the result of that hearing test Ichanged my driving habits. Now Ikeep the window rolled up and use the air conditioner.
The brain automatically compensates for modest changes in threshold sensitivity. It's like the automatic-level control in atape
recorder, adjusting its "gain" to maintain a constant recording level. From the inside of my head I'm not aware ofany difference between my left and right ears. And when you experience atemporary threshold shift due

sign ofpermanent damage is that you start 1Iencourage Stenrophile writers to have regular audiograms-1

asking everyone to repeat what they just said. At any rate, having hypothesized at age 19
that long-term noise exposure might have some effect on hearing, Istarted the cotton earplug habit. By cutting my subjective noise
exposure in half, Ihoped to reduce or deter whatever losses might inevitably befall me.

had one last summer, for example. (At age 43, my hearing appears to be better than normal between 500Hz and 2kHz, though Ihave some slight threshold shift--still within the region classified as "normal:' however--in both ears above 4kHz.) But note that audiograms, which only extend up to 8kHz, do not test your upper-frequency hearing limit. You can use the test tones on our second Test CD--track 27, index points 30 to 37, which cover frequencies of 8kHz, 10kHz, I2.5kHz, 14kHz, 15kHz, 16kHz, 18kHz, and 20kHz--to check for yourself where you can no longer hear the tone. I

Has the experiment succeeded? Ihave no rigorous scientific proof. But my high-
frequency limit, which was 18kHz when I turned 20, was still at 18kHz when Iwas 30.

can hear the 16kHz tone, for example, but not the ones above

that. Don't play these tones too loud, however. We don't want

you either to deafen yourself or to blow out your tweeters by

increasing the volume ofatone above your hearing range For

more information on our new CD, sec the article elsewhere

in this issue.

--JA

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

13

In choosing aCD player, you can play the numbers...

...or play the music. o

Recently more and more CD players have been promoted by akind of
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to excessively loud sound, you may be unaware of it unless the shift is so great that familiar sounds (like your wife's voice) are altered. By then it may be too late; you may have stressed your inner ear beyond its ability to recover.
It may be that the capacity of the hearing system is afinite resource. Ifwe don't use it up by constantly assaulting it with loud noise, it will still be available, unimpaired, when we
want it most--for music and other important pleasures. I've become so conscious of this issue that Iam even bothered by constant noises that are not loud, such as the whirring
power-supply fan in the personal computer that Isit in front of all day. I've been using PCs since 1981, and the first thing Ido when Ibuy anew one is to slow down its excessively loud fan. My next desktop PC will
have no fan at all, thanks to low-power chips
that were developed for laptop portables. Even if ten years of fan noise has no effect at
all on the hearing system, its suppression lets me enjoy music while Iwork.
Whether long-term exposure to moderate noise levels has any permanent effect remains
an open question. My experience doesn't prove anything, but it is sufficiently sugges-
tive that I'm going to continue wearing earplugs just in case, whenever I'm not at home or at aconcert. Ifyou value the pleasure you experience from subtle aspects of high-end sound reproduction, you might want to do the same For asimple test, try wearing cotton plugs for an hour or two before acriti-
cal listening session, especially while driving to aconcert or audio store. Take them out
when you arrive, and see whether the resulting freedom of TI'S enhances your perception.
What is known beyond doubt is that pro-
longed exposure to high-intensity sound causes permanent hearing loss. If you're lucky, you may get awarning. Abuzzing or ringing sensation in the ear, particularly one
that continues for hours after the loud exposure, is aclear indication ofinner-ear over-
load. Butjust as you can burn apermanent scar into your retina by staring at the sun through thin clouds, you can permanently damage your hearing with high spls and not notice anything wrong until afterward. So ifyou experience ringing and don't notice a
permanent loss the next day, consider yourself well warned: don't expose your unre-

placeable ears to such loud sounds again. When Itook my teenage nephew to aVan
Halen heavy-metal rock concert afew years ago, the amplified sound was so loud--even in arelatively distant upper-balcony seat--
that it was impossible to converse at all, even by yelling directly into his ear. Ikept my earplugs in, except for afew brieflistening tests. Even so, Inoticed some TTS in my hearing
after the concert. My nephew, and the other
kids nearby, experienced severe rrs with ringing in the ears and some difficulty understanding conversation on the way home.
High-intensity sound is thrilling. It produces a"rush" that is fin to experience--like
sex. But since you can get that orgasmic thrill from abriefburst ofintense sound, is there really asignificant added benefit from continued exposure lasting longer than an hour?
And is it worth the risk ofpermanent hearing loss? Injured knees can be replaced, but you
only get one pair ofears, and they have to last for the rest of your life.
High sound levels are not the exclusive property of rock music. Ajazz combo can produce some pretty intense sound in asmall
club, even without the amplification that
most groups use these days (even on brass instruments!).2A symphony orchestra also can produce an impressively big sound for listeners in the first 20 rows. I've measured
sustained levels above 100dB spi, and transient peaks up to 115dB, during the finale of Mahler's Symphony 2("Resurrection"), the
Turangabla Symphony of Messiaen, and in a Wagner aria sung by sopranoJessye Norman. But such grandiose levels are produced in
classical music for only briefperiods, afew seconds or afew minutes at most. It would be too much ofastrain on the musicians to continue playingfortissimo for longer. Acoustic music usually doesn't endanger its listeners.
In playback, it's easy to overload your ears by playing loud passages constantly. Ionce spent aday at CES demonstrating anew
surround-sound system to visitors, using (among other things) atape ofthe end ofthe "Resurrection." We used big speakers and a 700W amp in order to match the levels that

2Beforejoining Hi-Fi News &Record Review in 1976 as alowly

copy editor. Iworked full-time as amusician, playing bass

guitar. While all my professional work was with electric

ensembles, the loudest group Iever experienced was an all-

acoustic amateur big band. Until you've sat non to the drums

in front of full saxophone and brass sections, you don't know

what the words "dynamic range" really mean.

--JA

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

15

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would be heard in the best seats in the hall. At the beginning of the day it sounded wonderful, building up to agloriously big, spacious, powerful climax. The highest levels produced some TTS, as indeed the live sound
would. Normally that wouldn't matter; after hearing that sound at aconcert Iprobably wouldn't be exposed to high spls again until the next day, perhaps not until the next week. But as the demonstrations continued Iplayed the same tape over and over without giving
my ears achance to recover, and my ITS became progressively more severe. Iinadvertently began turning the volume up in order
to produce the same subjective impression. By the end ofthe day Iwas playing the system so loud that the woofer voice-coils in the surround speakers were banging against their magnets. Did you ever go into ahi-fi showroom and wonder why the salesman was
playing the system so loud? He, like me, probably was temporarily deaf from hearing loud music all day.
Most living-room stereo systems can't generate +110dB sound levels without producing pretty obvious distortion. If it can, your family and neighbors may serve as effective regulators to keep you from habitually

blasting your ears. But while testing car ste-
reo components, Ihave measured peak spis as high as 130dB. And headphones can generate dangerous levels without even straining.
Koss, the American headphone company, has become concerned about the propensity
of some listeners to fry their ears without knowing the risks. Several years ago aKoss headphone radio featured ayellow warning light that flashed whenever the sound level
in the headphones exceeded 95dB. Since significant risks are presented by the combina-
tion of high-powered PA systems and thou-
sands of people cheering in an enclosed stadium, Koss has embarked on aprogram of giving away compressible-foam earplugs
at major rock concerts and indoor sporting
events. Koss distributed 10,000 pairs of plugs at aMetallica concert last November (during which sound levels up to 116dB were measured in the audience), and 35,000 pairs at the Super Bowl in January.
High-intensity sound can be great fun in small doses. But like chocolate candy and free sex, excess may have serious and long-lasting
consequences. Music offers subtle pleasures too, and it would be ashame to lose our ability to enjoy them.

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L ETTERS

We regret that resources do not permit us to reply individually to letters, particularly those requesting advice
about particular equipment purchases. Were we to do this, asignificant service charge would have to be
assessed--and we don't have time to do it anyway! Although all letters arc read and noted, only those of
general interest are selected for publication. Please note, however, that published letters are subject to editing, particularly if they address more than one topic.

COLD, DAMP, & BORED

Editor:

I'm on to you guys. Imean, what is this thing

about controversies, lately? Either you have

alot ofnutty readers out there, or you must be hard up for letters.

First, you had the Armor All affair.

Then, the CLOCK controversy.

Then, the COREY GREENBERG thing.

And by the way, the first thing Ilook for

when Iget your magazine is CG's oeuvre.

Even when he writes about building your

own PASSIVE BUFFERED PREAMP.

(Whatever the hell that is!)

Then you had these women readers com-

plaining they were "getting no respect."

Now you've opened anew can ofworms:

'60s or '70s music vs the new stuff. A 52-

year-old (his words, not mine) sharing with

us HIS LIST of favorite new music and

includes Red Hot and Blue (a terrific album).

He must have missed afew decades. Another

reader with aLIST implies "The Beach Boys,

Bob Dylan--who?," and then gives us Union

Carbide--well, maybe he's just kidding. It's agood thing your magazine was about

the only one who didn't ask who killed

KENNEDY.

Ifthese Cognac-induced ramblings sound like criticism, no, not at all! But hey, this is

California. It's cold and it's damp and I'm

bored.

JAMES HEPBURN

Laguna Beach, CA

COREY GREENBERG WAS RIGHT Editor: Corey Greenberg was right on the money

in February about Steve Earle; he is real country, in the outlaw tradition of Willie, Waylon, and David Allen Coe Garth Brooks, Clint Black, et al, have turned country music into homogenized pap. Their whitebread, interchangeable, polite music must have poor Hank spinning in his grave. Of course, this is the reason it has crossed over into popular music. It resembles most of the crap that is dominating rock today. You will never see Steve Earle at the Grammys! Who needs it? Keep telling it like it is, Corey.
HANK M OSKI New Haven, CT
HE'S RIGHT; HE'S WRONG! Editor: In "As Reviewers See It" ("As We See It:' December '91, Vol.14 No.12), Corey Greenberg is absolutely correct in classifying an electric guitar, played through an amp, as an acoustic occurrence. It's about time people understood this.
However, he is just as absolutely incorrect in thinking that amiked recording ofan electric guitar, played through an amp, can be used to determine the musical accuracy oía playback component or system. Unless the listener (ie, reviewer) was present at the recording, or unless he has complete familiarity with, and documentation of, the exact guitar, amp, and processing devices used, and how each and every control on all three were set, the above assumption is absurd. Trust me on this one, guys. There are simply too many variables, each one compounding the others, to make such aclaim.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

19

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Even the specific pickups, pots, and capacitors in every different guitar can make abig difference. IfCG hears arecording ofalate '63 Strat played through aspecific amp and speaker, and he claims that (for example) the D/A processor being reviewed sounds too bright, he may as well be telling your readers that the earth is flat.
The only way such arecording can be used to judge playback accuracy is if the listener is completely familiar with the exact pieces used, and the exact setting used on each and every control on said guitar and amp. - Don't get me wrong; Idon't mean to bash CG. I'm glad that someone there is finally beginning to address this whole issue.
While we're on the subject, would anyone consider trading me aDay-Sequerra FM Reference Tuner for my '56 TV-front Fender Deluxe guitar amp? (I guess Ishouldn't wait by the phone, huh?)
M ICHAEL KANKIEWICZ Buffalo, NY
See the arrice in this issue discussing Stereophile's second Test CD, which includes amusic track recorded by CG without benefit ofmicrophones. Can it be used tojudge tonal accuracy? Only in very broad terms. But can it be used to examine such aspects ofperformance as image depth and soundstage palpability? Sure. Try itfor yourseff. --JA
THAT TAPE TAX Editor:
All this banter about home taping and blank tape tax (eg, Stereophile "Letters," December '91) has me confused. First, acouple ofpoints that have been made before, but frame my stance: Home taping (only) when followed by distribution, is clearly theft and piracy. However, penalizing the guiltless with a blanket tax is not appropriate. Furthermore, the government should not be levying such taxes that benefit special-interest groups. What's next? Atax levied on behalfofcreditcard companies to recoup losses due to fraud? Whatever happened to the simple notion of absorbing "the costs ofdoing business" and adjusting the prices and rates accordingly?
Now to apoint that Ihave not seen made before. This blank-tape tax is touted as a means for record companies and artists to gain compensation for lost revenues and royalties. A general principle in civil law is that one may not seek double compensation

for damages and injuries. For example, if a

person is injured and collects insurance paid

on behalf of the injurer, he is not permitted

to seek further compensation for that par-

ticular injury or loss via lawsuit or whatever,

from the culprit responsible for the loss, even ifthe insurance compensation does not com-

pletely cover the damages.

In effect, by accepting the tape tax as com-

pensation for losses, record companies and

artists should now be considered already

compensated and further action should not

be possible. Thus the marketing of pirated recordings may now be immune to lawsuit

as long as the pirated recordings are sold on

digital tape for which the tax has been paid.

Idon't know ifthis line ofreasoning will ever

be used in court, but in the minds ofmillions

ofcitizens, home taping and distribution may

now be ethical, since compensation has been paid, regardless ofwhether the compensation

is "adequate" (after all, the tax rate was

negotiated). Thus, Iam surprised that the

recording companies really think this tax, which I'm sure they view as only asmall frac-

tion of what they think they deserve, is a

good idea.

DANIEL Ts'o

The Rockefeller University, New York, NY

BEWILDERMENT Editor:
After reading Robert Harley's review of the Linn CD player inJanuary, Imust admit Iput
down the magazine in bewilderment. In all previous reviews of CD processors, one of RI-I's main criteria for them to be considered
good was an accurate soundstage. He chose his reference partially because of its huge, accurate soundstage.
Now we come to the Linn. Its soundstage
isn't huge, but intimate and natural? Does this mean that the Linn is more accurate? But what of all those times RH described the huge
soundstage of other processors as accurate because he attended the recording?
Ihope you can see the disparity here. Soundstaging accuracy has always been a most valued aspect of any Class A compo-
nent in Stereophile before. Therefore, which is it? Is the Linn truly accurate and Class A, and all the other "Technicolor" units Class Bor below; or is the Linn really an inaccurate
Class B product? Bad show, Bob!
BOB GASH Lee's Summit, MO

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

21

Ican understand how Mr. Gash may have inter-
preted acontradiction in my valuejudgments regarding soundstaging. No contradiction exists in my
mind, but aclarification ofthe issue may resolve his bewilderment.
The problem arisesfrom the often misunderstood
word "soundstage." When Idescribed the Linn's soundstage as "intimate" and "natural," Imost certainly did not mean that the presentation was lacking depth or space. Any component that truncates reverberation decay, strips away the sense ofair and bloom around instrumental outlines, or shrinks the apparent
size ofthe recorded acoustic would not receive ahigh recommendation as did the Linn. Indeed, the Linn threw asuperb sense ofspace and depth.
The Linn's presentation ofsoundstage differed
from that ofother Class A digital products in its portrayal ofimage size. This is directly related to
my descriptions ofthe Linn's "laid-back" character. At alive performance, the greater the distancefrom the performers, the smaller the apparent size of
individual instruments (and the entire presentation). Thus the Linn's presentation ofindividual image
size was consistent with its overall perspective. This is the semantic confusion: the term "sound-
stage" applies not only to width, depth, and space, but also to the whole picture ofhow images are por-
trayed within the presentation. When the Linn's soundstage was described as "intimate," this does not automatically mean that depth, width, and sense
ofspace were lacking. Ahi-fi system has the impossible task ofrecreating
the apparent size ofthe original event. A chamber groupfrom Row Rhas an apparent width of at most,just afewfeet; an orchestrafrom Row Chas
an apparent width ofperhaps W.1Yet loudspeakers,
placed aconstantfewfeet apart, are expected to recreate this vast range. My descriptions of the Linn's
soundstage that distressed Mr. Gash ("intimate" and "natural") referred to its ability to portray realistic ("natural') image sizes, particularly with chambergroups and smalljazz ensembles. Infact, Ispe-
cifically stated--on p.168, paragraph 2--that the
Linn's soundstage was more suited tojazz quartets and chamber groups than to large-scale music. Ievengave two examples ofCDs that benefitedfrom
the Linn's particularpresentation. Ichose the word "intimate" because it conveyed both this special qual-
ity of the Linn's sonics and its unique musical characteristic: the Linn created agreater affinity between the listener and the music than occurs with
most other digital products.

IAt an all-Mozart concert Iattended afew nights ago. Iwas

reminded ofjust how small achamber group sounds in real

life.

--RH

Finally, there is the question ofcomponents' vary-

ing interpretations ofthe music. It's possible to enjoy

two very different presentations without summarily

rejecting one as "wrong." 1enjoyed music interpreted

by the Linn, even though it ddfered radicallyfrom,

say, aTheta's interpretation, which Ialso enjoyed.

The Linn more accurately portrayed smaller-scale

music; other Class Aprocessors excelled in presenting

lamer-scale music--impressions Ispecifically stated

in the review. Part of the reviewer's charter is to

accurately describe these varying interpretations so

that the reader can consider products that best suit

his or her individual sonic and musical tastes. Had

1expressed valuejudgments without describing in

detail what I'd heard, Mr. Gash's concerns would

be valid.

Idiscuss the varying interpretations of digital

processors--and making value judgments about

them--in more detail on p.153 of Vol.14 No.5.

urged prospective buyers to listenfor themselves and

choose the products whose interpretations best match

their individual tastes.

--RH

MORE ZAPPA REVIEWS?!?
Editor: Iwould like to see the objectivists and subjectivists work together in an attempt to discover how components vary; we dearly have audible differences where no currently measurable differences exist, but few clues as to why. Unless we accept exotic theories such
as listener-induced telekinetic quantum variations in the components, there must be
macroscopic (and therefore repeatably measurable) differences, however subtle. Or, of course, those ofus who hear unmeasurable
differences (in cables, for example) are univer-
sally deluded. Without meaningful measurements, we
depend largely on listeners (who, due to internal biochemical changes, the events of
their day, and individual tastes, experience considerable variation). Worse, equipment improvement will continue to be atedious,
expensive process ofsubjective trial and error. Subtle measurements, such as the DIA converter noise-floor data, may some day produce avery fruitful union of the objectivist/subjectivist dichotomy.
Corey, did you really have to steal your milk crates from Safeway-AppleTree? The
Phar-Mor in Hancock Center has them on
sale for less than three bucks! Grow up, get some class, but keep on reviewing. Ithink there's atalent under the bozo façade. ..

22

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

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And more Frank Zappa reviews, please!
THOMAS ICAGLE Austin, TX

TRADE IMBALANCES & HIGH-END HI-FI Editor: In light of the recent discussion about trade
imbalance and the insult and counter-insult with Japan, Ifind that there is aparallel situation with regard to high-end audio. Idon't mean to imply that Dan D'Agostino and Lew Johnson should go to Japan with President Bush to ask the Japanese to buy more amps, but if the American (high-end) audio industry as awhole doesn't watch it, they might
be in the same predicament as the auto industry. It seemed like only afew years ago that GM (makers of Corvettes and Cadillac) were sniggering at the feeble attempts by amotorcycle manufacturer (Honda) to build cars. Seemingly overnight, they won the Formula 1championship, and [now] sell the most compact sedans.
The whole high-end audio community, the manufacturers, and Stereophile should concentrate their efforts on popularizing the idea of"hi-fi" and "hi-fi" components.? The High End shouldn't shut itself off and become a
club community ofthe upper-class elite. For example, Stereophile shouldn't have adebate about which amps could drive the Divas. It should instead ask Apogee why their woofer inverts phase and is hard to drive by an average-to-good (ie, affordable) amp. Stereophile shouldn't applaud acompany that could
produce a$3000 D/A converter and consider it agood deal. Good deal for whom? Those wealthy customers in Taiwan won't be
affected, but what about those laid-offyuppies back home? How many of us, for instance, have the discipline to brown-bag
our lunches for three yearsjust so we can buy adecent tube preamp?
Ithink that the survival of the high-end industry is in the widening of the market; so that, for instance, a200W Mark Levinson
could be sold for three to four times the

M2IadTorhnti'istnim-neLvoaoglnvaetnsh,astptewoaekaelsrashr,ogubeluedtxthweanevte,neh"iengdahtmwoeai-ynbstrbiialllnlmdbo"oarrreedcsaowsgahnroietwniieonsng.s

iPniotnheeeprubalnidc Ythaamtathhae.reAarceaosethienrpsotienrte:oScoommpeoonneendtescbiedseiddetso

ufoprghrisad(eusheids)Ba&mpKhaamdpnsevteoraheKraerldlo, fbBut&Kth.eHpeontecnetihaeldbeucyiedreds

to keep what he has Sony/Columbia CDs

iannsdtesadp.enBdachkistomtohneetyrabdeuyiimnbaglamnocree.

Adcom counterpart instead of eight times.

Also, more companies need to put more

effort into R&D. It is refreshing to hear that

Theta could produce cheaper and better

product, for instance. It's also important that

the (American) industry shouldn't feel so

superior that "they" can never catch up.

Remember,just afew years ago we thought

that theJapanese couldn't produce adecent

phono cartridge. Now where are Shure and

ADC in comparison?3

GREG JUHADI

Honolulu, HI

THE QUALITY DEFICIT Editor:
Iwant to concur in LA's opinion of The
Quality Deficit as expressed in "The Final Word" in February 1992. LA's insights cut right to the heart of the matter. The Japanese have worked amajor industrial revolution in the electronics and automobile industries. In electronics, they did it because we let
them--and perhaps even helped. The transistor was developed by Bell
Laboratories here in the US. The Japanese
took the idea, developed and expanded on it, and outdid us at our own game. Then, by their predatory pricing policies, orchestrated by their government, or perhaps with its tacit approval, they made it impossible to compete with them. The result: the American transistor industry was driven to near extinction!
The automobile is quite another matter. The pent-up demand for automobiles at the
end ofWorld War II allowed American auto-
mobile manufacturers to sell anything and everything they could turn out--and at a
premium. They charged for the privilege of buying one oftheir pre-war-engineered cars! As aresult, they got into bad habits. Because the consumer would accept anything, that's

3(JIatpias na-wmealdle-)kmnaokwen feaxccteltlheanttR,oatfeflo(rUdaKb)leanCdDHaprlamyaenr/s.KaSrodiot'ns

entirely possible for companies like these to come up with near-state-of-the-art CD players for around $1000 in the near future. Iwonder how the likes of Proceed, Krell, and CAL Labs meet this challenge. It sure is an enigmatic time for highaeaInrnddiodduMcnn'oadtncsitwunhametreocnrsosrhy.noteuOur.,bnebauomtnpetshh)ianmngdas,ytbhfeaatltltwebryeatlnhodevewcha(eysauscpihedreastDhMoiannr'gatsnsatarzye

o4uAtctoufatlhley,setmheicnoontdiuocnttohratmaUrSkectomispaanmiyetsh.haWvheilbeeeitnmdaryivbeen

true in the area ofDRAM chips, Ibelieve that US companies

like Intel totally outscore the Oriental competition when it comes to advanced chips such as microprocessors. In fact, my

impression is that the US specialized chip industry seems to

be doingvery well.

--JA

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

25

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what the industry turned out. If they could sell it, why not? The law of supply and demand worked then, as it's working now. The only difference is that then, we liked the results. Now, we don't. But, the economic law is the same.
As LA correctly pointed out, theJapanese studied the American market and improved their product. Because of their commitment to quality, they captured the American consumer because the word got out that for a product to be made in Japan was no longer aderision, but rather an accolade. Quality shines wherever it is created or exists. It is its own attraction and justification.
Ofcourse, theJapanese and the rest ofthe world buy American products. But only the best. There are ahandful ofnames that come to mind, including the ones you mentioned in the high-end electronics business.
The laws ofeconomics work on aworld scale, and on us individually.
IRVING M ARMER Boston, MA
CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION ! Editor:
Iwas very upset after reading LA's "Final Word" column entitled "The Quality Deficit" [February 1992]. I'm sure that agood deal ofmy sensitivity on the issue stems from my being anot so wealthy person employed in the American auto industry, but Ithought his comments were callous and very untimely.
I, too, was embarrassed by President Bush's recent trip to the Far East. His motivation for the trip was purely political, and it was acomplete waste oftaxpayers' money. Taking along aherd ofDetroit executives was like sending aherd ofStereophile reviewers to the AES convention.
It is time to let the public know that when they make achoice to purchase any imported product over adomestic equivalent, they are hurting our country. US industries generate over ten times the tax revenues than does the sale of an import. US industries also generate supplier- and service-industry ripples throughout the country that multiply the benefit. These revenues are the basis for our roads, health care, defense, social security,
etc. I'll wager that one out of every five of your subscribers are, at least somewhat, dependent on the US auto industry and its employees.

You say that the Japanese didn't have a huge head start, but they have had many advantages. The US financed their recovery after World War II. You stated that Toyota had no automatic toehold in the US; but they did, and still do, have the total support oftheJapanese government on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
Talking about the high quality of the Japanese auto is like talking about the high quality ofJapanese mid-fi stereo components. They start most of the time, are inexpensive, are efficient, and require little maintenance. But would you say that aToyota is ahighend car, especially when compared to Jaguar, Mercedes, or even Lincoln and Cadillac? That hasn't been my experience.
J. Gordon Holt would never have published anything like this article when he was in control ofStereophile. Ihope he isn't too disappointed as he watches Larry Archibald, John Atkinson, and the rest of your crew destroy the integrity that he worked so long and hard to establish. There is amuch larger issue at stake than LA's little article would imply, especially at such atime ofrecession. Ican't believe that you actually published such drivel. Please cancel my subscription immediately, and refund any unused portion of my subscription cost. GREG SALATIN
Anderson, IN
INACCURACIES 8£ OVERSIMPLIFICATIONS ? Editor: Ihavejust finished reading LA's column in the February issue, and Iam stunned at the number of inaccuracies and oversimplifications in this column. In an effort to set the record straight on the American auto industry, Ioffer the following arguments.
First, the reason that US cars hardly sell inJapan has more to do withJapanese industrial politics than with the inherent value of the products. In arecent Detroit News article (copy enclosed), L.R. Windecker discussed restrictive trade practices dating back to 1936, when the dominant auto producers in Japan were Ford and GM. The Japanese government tried to tax the US producers out ofthe country in 1936, then forced them out in 1939 by refusing to grant them production allocations. In 1952, when foreign producers attempted to enter the postwar Japanese market, the government refused to grant them

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

27

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market access, stating that the domestic industry had to be protected from superior imported products. Although the government relented in 1955, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) con-
tinued to limit imports and restrict foreign production in Japan. This pattern of MITIinspired protectionism persisted into the late 1970s, long after the Japanese industry had matured. Faced with such poor prospects in Japan, the Big Three concentrated on the
American and European markets, where the legal barriers to producing and selling cars were less daunting. Had Ford and GM been allowed to resume Japanese production in 1952, they would probably be fully competitive in Japan, as they are in Europe.
Second, LA's perception of the quality difference between US and Japanese cars is at least five years out of date. Although Jap-
anese cars enjoyed alarge quality advantage over US brands in the early 1980s, domestic producers have since narrowed the gap significantly. The industry's internal quality sur-
veys still show aslight quality gap between US vehicles and their Japanese counterparts, but they also show that American quality is improving at afaster rate. Third-party surveys such as J.D. Power's confirm the indus-
try data. LA's statement that US cars "break much more often" is simply wrong, and betrays alack of familiarity with today's American cars.
Finally, his suggestion that US auto executives look to high-end audio producers for tips on selling in Japan is ludicrous. Unlike US automakers, the producers of high-end audio were not forced by Japanese law to set up their own retail distribution networks, but were allowed to market their products through stores that also handled Japanese brands. There are also fewer serious Japanese competitors in high-end audio than in the automotive mass market; with few exceptions, the best Japanese equipment cannot match the sound quality of Krell, Mark Levinson, or Audio Research. If Sony (or any other Japanese supplier) were to design and
build atrue high-end product line at alower price than imported equipment commands, the American High End would have afar tougher time selling in Japan.
Isuggest that LA confine his future comments to audio equipment and recordings, which he discusses with wit and authority,

and leave auto-industry commentary to Car

and Driver.

DONALD P.BILGER

Livonia, MI

WELL DONE, LARRY! Editor:
Very well done "Final Word" in February. We need this kind of thing said more often.
JOHN CHANCELLOR New York, NY

Thank you, Mr. Chancellor, but Ialso appreciate the critical letters. Frankly, I'm surprised there wasn't more ofan outraged response--certainly, had Stereo Sound (Japan's leading magazine) published an article sharply critical ofthe sound ofJapanese electronics, there would have been alot ofangry letters in their pages.
lam sympathetic with Mr. Salatin. IfStereophile's sales were sharply down due to competition from aforeign competitor, lwould take none too
kindly to praise of that competitor. Nevertheless, my response would be aradical attempt at improving Stereophile; Iwouldn't shoot the messenger who brought the bad news, as Mr. Salatin has done in canceling his Stereophile subscription. And his
tactic ofromparingJapanese cars, most ofwhich are humble Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans, to Cadillac and Lincoln, is unworthy. Compare them with cheap GM and Chrysler cars and they come out very well. Compare Cadillac and Lincoln with Mercedes and Lexus; the American vehicles don't look that great (though Ipersonally like Lincolns for carrying alot ofpeople).
And please understand that, unlike somefoolishJapanese politicians, Idon't blame American workers, who are certainly not lazy. Recent arti-
cles published in The Economist and local newspapers make it clear that Americans are the most productive workers in the world, and that Americans work quite alot more now than they did in 1970. (The Europeans think we're nuts.) America's auto industry suffers notfrom lazy workers butfrom unimaginative, cowardly, irresponsible, and overpaid leadership.
Mr. Bilger makes some interesting, fact-filled arguments. Although he may like better the opinions Iexpress about recordings and audio equipment, I'm actually better qualified to comment about cars: my professional years in the auto industry number 16 (with an additional nine spent as aconsumer who rents about 50 cars ayear), while I've only professionally been in audiofor 10. And Idon't dis-
agree that theJapatiese erectfonnidable trade barriers toforeign competitors. Along with his letter, Mr.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

29

Bilger enclosed an article written by L.R. Windecker that appeared in aDetroit newspaper detailing the
charges Bilger makes in his letter. CertainlyJapan,
if it hopes to continue exporting at its current rate, will have to open its domestic markets toforeign competitors or simply face an all-out trade boycott
(which, by the way, would have adisastrous effect
on all other industrial economies). Some companies overcome these trade obstacles,
though. BMW and Mercedes are status symbols inJapan, and sell very well among the wealthy (they cost about twice as much there as they do here) for asimple reason: they outperform, on one level or
another, most or allJapanese cars. Their standard offit,finish, and reliability, though not up to the Japanese standard, is excellent--clearly better than their American counterparts. They even go to the
trouble ofmanufacturing cars with right-hand drive! Have you ever noticed how many Swedish,Jap-
anese, and British vehicles were sold in the US with right-hand drive? Virtually none, because those countries knew that, no matter how good their cars, it was unreasonable to expectforeigners to accept
cars where the driver had to sit on the wrong side. Ford, GM, and Chrysler have yet to attempt this
advanced strategy.5 And Mr. Bilger's ownfacts condemn his argu-
ment. He concedes that American cars deserved the
reputation they acquired in the '70s and '80sfor poor reliability, just as Iproclaim thatJapanese cars started out with adeserved poor reputation in this
country. They're better than that now--why don't
theJapanese realize that and buy our cars? But you can't make headway in aforeign market selling more expensive cars which only come close to the native
product in terms ofreliability. No, you have to beat out the native product, and notforjust ayear or
two--you have to do itfor long enough that the
general market perception changes. (Three-anda-halfyears after Stereophile became amonthly publication in mid-1987, people would ask us just
when we were going monthly!) But American cars, though much better than they
used to be, still don't match mostJapanese carsfor
reliability. According to anewspaper article Iread
recently, the best American cars used to have twice as many reliability problems as the averageJapanese car; now the margin has been narrowed to 30%.
THIRTY PERCENT IS STILL A LOT!
When the Americans are plus or minus 5%for several years in arow, they'll have something to crow

5Apparently the only American automobile manufacturer

to export right-hand drive cars to Japan is Honda! Accord

Coupes for the Japanese market are made in their Marysville,

Ohio plant.

--JA

about to not only theJapanese, but to Americans as well. (I stillfeel that American car companies are only dragged kicking and screaming into making reliable, high-quality cars,just as they were reluctant to raise fuel efficiency, provide practical, spaceefficient vehicles, or install airbags--but Iguess we can expect the leopard only to mind its manners, not change its spots.)
Which all distractsfrom my original argument: George Bush should have sent the US car manufacturers to visit high-end audio companies tofind out why theformer have such ahard time selling cars to both Americans andforeigners. Mr. Bilger says it best: "IfSony. ..were to design and build atrue high-end product line at alowerprice than imported equipment commands, the American High End would have afar tougher time selling inJapan." That's atactic US auto manufacturers haven't tried, because they've lost any vision ofexcellence. They're unwilling to try to make something to aworld-class standard, apparently because the risk would be too great.
America's industries became world-famous because ofpeople willing to "bet the company" on anew and excellent product. High-end audio companies do this routinely and, because the products they make are truly great, they're successful at it.
--LA
THE ETERNAL SUBJECT Editor: Iwas greatly interested in Larry Archibald's ideas expressed in "The Final Word" in the February issue of Stereophile. A letter Ihad written to our local newspaper states similar views about the pharmaceutical industry, but with adifferent slant (see enclosed reprint).
Now acomment on double-blind testing, discussed by Robert Harley in two excellent articles in the January issue. Double-blind testing is, of course, not new to the pharmaceutical industry. In most clinical drugtesting programs acontrol group is dosed with aplacebo, aharmless coated sugar pill, in order to account for psychosomatic effects. The identity of the placebo group or the drug group is not known to either the clinical practitioner or the patient until the code is
broken. There seems to be adifference in the way
double-blind testing is done on audio equipment and on pharmaceuticals. With drugs, apatient receives either the placebo or the active agent, never both. In audio, Ihave the impression that if, say, $10/foot speaker cable

30

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is being compared to lamp cord, that the source is alternately switched through one and then the other. All ofthe testers then try to detect adifference or state apreference.
This switching introduces adistraction that could cloud the results, particularly if the test involves musical enjoyment. Abetter way might be to split the testers into two groups and allow one group to audition only the premium cable and the other only the lamp cord (neither group knowing to which they are listening). The detailed subjective sonic impressions ofthe two groups can then
be compared to detect the relative quality of the two cables. LEONARD M. WEINSTOCK
Hilton Head Island, SC
OBJECTIVITY & REFERENCES Editor: The question of whether there can be objectivity in listening to and evaluating hi-fi components and whether such objectivity is even desirable is an interesting topic. Iwould venture to say that such objectivity is really just an "idea" when it comes to the actual listening experience.
The part that memory plays in listening to amusical event is at the crux ofthis matter. Each ofus has stored in the brain and organism (it is now known that even individual cells have akind ofmemory) all ofour past experiences, including those of amusical nature;just how this occurs is ofgreat interest to people ofmany scientific fields, but that it does occur appears incontrovertible. I would not be able to recognize the sound of aguitar, for instance, if Ihad never before heard what aguitar--any guitar--sounded like. And those ofus somewhat familiar with the sounds oflive musical instruments have
probably heard many different kinds ofparticular instruments, so that many differing sounds might all be recognized as guitar sounds, though the guitars themselves would each have unique sonic characteristics. Of course, what Iam saying could be taken to extremes, and we would begin to get an idea
of how complex the system of memory and sensation is.
Let's say that Ihave never heard the sound of live music, other than heavy metal music
played in large auditoriums at extremely loud levels. IfIgo looking for ahi-fi system, taking along copies ofMegadeath, or whatever, then Iwill most likely find most "accurate" the

system that most closely reproduces the live

concert sound Iam used to. How an unam-

plified acoustic guitar might sound over such asystem--well, Idon't know. But can one

deny the point ofreference which such aper-

son brings to his or her musical experience,

and say that such asystem is "inaccurate"?

It may very accurately reproduce the sound

of distorted electronic instruments at 100dB, as this relates to the live concert event.

So we need to know where we are coming from when talking about this stuff, and

this will be based on our points ofreference

which are apart ofmemory. Our experiences

differ in both large and subtle ways. Many people might agree upon the type ofinstru-

ments being heard over ahi-fi system (again,

this points to some shared past experience

with that particular sound), but each person's

experience would have most likely been

somewhat different, and sojudgments made

on more subtle levels may begin to show up

those differing experiences. Where, please tell

me, is the objectivity in all of this? And is objectivity even to be ofconcern? Or would

it be more helpful, truthful, and accurate to

become familiar with our prejudices, thereby

gaining abetter understanding ofwhere we

are coming from? This is revealed when we

begin to share our personal tastes, preferences, musical experiences, etc.

What is wrong with this approach? Music

is an experience involving the senses, with some aspects of memory actively engaged,

and has emotional outcomes as well; not only

is it not possible to become 'scopes and

metered instruments, but why would we

want to?

Another approach which may simplify the

whole thing is to find components through

which one truly enjoys listening to one's

favorite recordings, and leave the technobab-

ble, picky critiques, endless evaluations, and determinations of accuracy to those paid to

do this sort ofthing! There is aWife Accep-

tance Factor; what about aSheer Enjoyment

Factor?

STEW GLICK

Springwater, NY

THE UNSCIENTIFIC "OBJECTIVIST " Editor: While Robert Harley's "The Listeners' Manifesto" (Vol.15 No.1, January 1992, p.111) has
added valuable food for thought, he has also

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

33

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added unnecessary complication and con-
fusion to the issue by connecting the "ob-
jectivist" approach to supposedly flawed assumptions of Western science. Instead, the flaws in the so-called objectivist approach
are actually quite simplistic, having nothing to do with the limitations of science. The objectivist approach fails on its own terms,
because it is not scientific at all. The alternative to the "objectivist" approach should not
be called a"subjectivist" approach, because, as Mr. Harley correctly points out, the alternative should combine objective measurement with subjective listening. Unlike the
objectivist position, this alternative can reflect acorrect understanding of scientific methodology.
The objectivist's position (or positions)
actually rests on several unverified assumptions. One of these assumptions is that presently existing instrumental testing methods using a) presently existing test equipment and
b) the presently used battery oftests, can filly determine which audio components sound
best and which sound alike. The scientific
approach is to accept this position as a hypothesis to be tested. To the extent any of the so-called objectivists accept this position apriori, it is they who are being unscientific. But their failure to use scientific methodol-
ogy goes beyond this. Listening tests are the only way to test the
objectivist's hypothesis, for only by listening
can one tell which components sound alike
and which do not. Many objectivists realize that listening tests are required, so they
rely upon certain limited types of "blind" listening tests. These testing methods are questionable not because they are "blind," but because they are too limited. In addition,
they raise yet another question: Who deter-
mines what sounds better in listening tests? The majority? The statistical average ofarandomly selected group? The experienced reviewer? The novice? The objectivists typically add another option assumption: Ifmost people cannot hear it, or if Icannot hear it,
no one else can. This assumption is not derived from objective evidence; on the contrary, it is very unscientific and even absurd.
In fact, we already know, and can determine as objectively as it is possible to deter-
mine, that the ability to hear varies from one person to another. Let's take the simple example of ear tests performed in the office of a

typical qualified specialist, whom I'll call the "ear doctor." The ear doctor knows that some people can hear a20kHz sinewave, and some
cannot. (I know that Iused to, but cannot
now.) Similarly, some people can hear aparticular level of sound at lkHz, some cannot. Note that the ear doctor can only determine
whether apatient can hear aparticular sound through alistening test and by asking the patient what he or she can hear. No qualified
ear doctor will tell apatient, "Everyone else can hear this, so you must be hearing it
regardless of what you say:' Conversely, no such doctor could reasonably tell apatient,
"You did not hear that. No one else I've tested has:'
Obviously, the ear doctor's reliance on
listening tests does not make that approach unscientific. The listening testjust happens to be anecessary part of the inquiry.
The point here is not that an ear doctor can
determine who can best test audio equipment, but that to test aperson's hearing, we
have to conduct alistening test and ask the person what can and cannot be heard. In this
respect, we cannot do better than the ear doctor. Just as an ear doctor would be commit-
ting malpractice if he or she told you what you hear based on what others have heard, the "objectivist" cannot say that "no audible
differences exist" if anyone claims to hear them.
Let's look at this from another angle. Sup-
pose awind quintet plays before asmall audience, and only one person in the audience is an experienced musician. If the oboe is slightly out oftune, it is not unlikely that only
the musician would know it. Some of the audience may vaguely sense that something is not quite right, but most of them would probably not know that the oboe was slightly out of tune, and many might hear nothing
wrong at all. If the same piece were repeated
with the oboe in tune, it is quite likely that only the musician could positively state that he or she could hear the difference between the in-tune performance and the slightly out-
of-tune performance. Ifsomeone took apoll and found that only the musician noticed the difference, are we to condude that the musi-
cian was wrong? Obviously not. Listening to audio equipment is not unlike
this. Many types of distortion consist of
"out-of-tune" noises added to the music. This is not to say that musicians would

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

35

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generally make good reviewers of audio equipment, but the more attuned you are to how the music should sound (whether you are amusician or an acute listener), the more
likely you are to notice adifference ifasmall amount of "out-of-tune" distortion is added. [See my Test CD article elsewhere in this issue. --Ed.]
The problem with listening tests to "prove" that audible differences can or cannot be heard lies in devising an adequate test, just as the problem in testing any hypothesis is
finding an adequate experiment to test it. The
"objectivist" is theoretically correct in insisting that such listening tests should ideally be "blind!' The "objectivist" is wrong, however,
to assume that any particular "blind" test is adequate. Typically, "blind" testing to date has involved listening under the confining conditions Mr. Harley has described. The underlying assumption in these blind tests is that significant differences among audio components can be heard quickly under pressure. The flaw is not in the concept of blind testing, which is theoretically correct,
but in its limited application. For example, every experienced reviewer
and listener knows the phenomenon of "listener fatigue." Sometimes it takes several hours, or even days and weeks, oflistening to notice that more irritations are present in reproduced sound when listening to one
component than are present when listening to another that is comparable. In view ofthis, one "blind" test to consider performing would be to give an experienced equipment reviewer two different amplifiers contained in identical boxes. The reviewer could compare them in the environment he or she is used to and listen to them over along period of time. Then the boxes could be passed on to another reviewer. Ihave no doubt that such
long-term blind testing would produce consistency among many trained reviewers, not only in showing that Amplifier Ais different
from Amplifier B, but also in defining exactly what those differences consist of. Pure subjectivity is transcended by agreement among subjects about what they have heard.
In principle, obtaining agreement among subjects is no different from objectivists agreeing that the needle on the dial or the digital display "says" acertain thing. You have to look at the meter to read it. Is what I see the same as what someone else will see?

Objectivity, even in science, is based upon agreement among perceiving subjects. Doesn't the objectivist claim boil down to adubious assertion that what one "sees" is more objective than what one hears?
Thus, the flaws in the objectivist positions are really quite simple. The objectivists fail to be objective in acknowledging and testing their own assumptions. Mr. Harley's article
misses the point when he criticizes the objectivists' "fillge premise" that "audio equipment
quality can be reduced to aseries ofmathematical representations" (p.119). First, scientific inquiry does not necessarily require mathematical representations or models, but
it does seek models which have some predic-
tive value, and mathematical models are paradigm examples ofsuch models. But more
importantly, just as with the objectivist positions, we must ask Mr. Harley, "How do you know that no such mathematical representations can be discovered?"
The answer is that you cannot know (unless you have access to adeity no one else can access) without experimentation and test-
ing, and even then you can only prove the affirmative (that there are such aset ofmathematical representations and here they are), not the negative (that no such representations can be discovered). It is one thing to say that
no currently known mathematical models can correlate to audio equipment quality (which is probably true); quite another to say
that no mathematical models can ever be found to correlate to listening ability. The lat-
ter is unprovable. Ifyou use such an unprov-
able assertion as your thesis, you have entered the realm ofreligion, not ofscientific inquiry. In this respect, Mr. Harley's anti-mathe-
matical position and the "objectivist" position rest on similar ethereal and apriori ground.
An important goal of component testing (and here, Mr. Harley seems to agree) should
be to discover the instrument tests which best correlate to the listening experience ofthose who can hear adifference. It is agoal, in keeping with scientific inquiry, of finding the means of predicting results using the appropriate models. This goal appears to be in keeping with the usual approach of Stereophile's best equipment reviews, which: 1)
combine extensive listening tests with instrument tests, 2) attempt to correlate the two, 3) determine when the two do not seem to

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

37

<Application of high purity copper (99.9999% or purer) to audio and video products> in the U.S.A. is a patent of Nippon Mining Co.,Ltd. (U.S. Patent No.4, 792, 369)

correlate, and 4) incorporate new means of

instrument testing when they become avail-

able and appear promising. Eventually it may

be possible to find the battery ofinstrumental

tests which can predict which audio compo-

nents will sound best to acute listeners. But

acute listeners, ofnecessity, remain the final

judges.

JOHN L. HODGE

Montpelier, VT

OBFUSCATION ?
Editor:
Robert Harley's 26-page obfuscation entitled "The Listeners' Manifesto" [January 1992,
Vol.15 No.1] best illustrates the subjectivists' refusal to address the objectivists' singular objection: the lack of blindness in listening evaluations.
Rather than addressing this primary issue, Harley concocts alitany ofstraw-man arguments: blast instantaneous NB comparisons,
chuck the purportedly "nontransparent" ABX comparator, eschew a"test" protocol. Instead, sit in the comfort of your home before your own familiar playback system, request afriend to install the audio compo-
nent in question, use whatever cabling the manufacturer suggests, relax, take adeep breath, and give agood long listen for as long as you want--months, even. Just one simple request: do not peek at the identity ofthe component.
Is that too much to ask? With respect to the
sound of the component, that knowledge is totally irrelevant. Yet everyone--subjectivists and objectivists alike--would have to admit
that at the very least, the possibility exists, even among self-styled "professional listeners," that such information could influence and thereby compromise the listening evaluation. And that possibility--some would say probability (but let us not argue the point)-- is intolerable to acredible attempt to be
objective in one's subjective assessment of an audio component's sonic performance.
Until the audiophile community adopts
alistening protocol which is as blind as Harley's arguments to the contrary, itsjudgments can only be regarded as suspect. JEFF SILBERMAN (an objective subjectivist)
Baltimore, MD

NOT AFRAID OF A BLIND TEST Editor: Ihave been following the double-blind test-

ing discussion for some time, and Idon't understand what Stereophile is so afraid of. I think all of your metaphorical tales of the mysteries of perception and criticisms of
ABX are acrock (you supply the contents). How can you expect to be treated with any
credibility when you shy away from the only
type of testing that removes preconception and bias? Please don't give me any more of the peering-through-an-eyepiece or takinga-test-makes-me-nervous stuff. Iam not asking for any specific methodology like
ABX; just make the test double-blind. Put two amps behind ascreen and have someone else do the switching. Ifyou can't reliably identify aKrell from aPeavey without reading the nameplate, how can you ethically rec-
ommend one over the other? You don't need to convince me that a
Levinson amp sounds better than a"Best Buy" Pioneer receiver, but the vast majority ofelectronic design engineers do need convincing. Until credible evidence appears to the contrary, these engineers will continue putting electrolytic capacitors in the signal path and using cheap op-amps.
Worthless dealer demonstrations and fivedigit prices make accurate reviews essential
to high-end consumers, but how can we weigh your opinions? What protection do we have that you have not been fooled? Ihave some expensive choices to make (like anew
DAC), and your dragging your feet against double-blind testing isn't helping at all. Pick some "easy" comparisons, be scrupulously double-blind, and put an end to this "they all sound alike" mentality.
M ICHAEL G.FORD Orange, CA
THEY KNOW WHAT'SBEST FOR US Editor: Iam apre-Electrical Engineering student here in Houston, and Ijust want to make clear the fact that not all engineers are in agreement with the AES and its sympathizers. Even though all differences in audio equipment cannot be shown on testing devices, most engineers realize that differences do exist.
This high-end bashing by some members of the AES therefore has me worried, to say the least. Iam afraid someday the government will tell me that Icannot buy the $6000 Tookie-Flookie speaker cables because they

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

39

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are too expensive and have been proven by ate the Linn Karik in the same issue. He notes

laboratory equipment to sound no better that the Linn made him 'feel right:' which

than less expensive cables. It does not matter was "the most valid indicator of quality, and

that Iam an adult, free to make my own deci- that listening for specific performance attrib-

sions, that Ican hear adifference, and that I know what Ilike.

utes could preclude this perception offeeling right." How, then, could he be sure that it

With all that has been said, the government wasn'tjust his differing interpretations ofthe

might come in and say, "Certain people have found that this or that piece ofaudio equip-

music each time he heard it that made him feel right?

ment does not represent agood value to the

Doesn't the use ofmusic call into question

general public. Because of this we will now your evaluation techniques as well? Even if

take away your right to buy certain things. you overlearn the program material, as Bob

We do this because there are those who know what is best for you!!"

Stuart recommends (a good idea), how can you be sure that the musical meaning won't

Not to get overly dramatic, but Ithink that influence your evaluation? Stuart suggests

George Orwell might get alittle upset ifhe that other research disciplines use stimulus

was here to see what is happening. If the without content. So how about it: test sig-

general public wants to buy this or that cable, nals, anyone?

either on the advice ola dealer, manufacturer,

Oh, and yes, Mr. Harley "put the Linn CD

orjust because they want to say they have the player up against some very tough compe-

most expensive cables available, they certainly have that right. Ifacustomer decides to buy acable without listening to it first to see ifit

tition" in his single-presentation evaluations, and later "compared" it "with other digital processors," apparently using music for both

meets his or her own needs--then it is that kinds of evaluation. Aren't these just A/B

individual's choice to do so. These people tests? The single-presentation method has

should not be misled by unscrupulous people, but they should also be able to buy what

more time and distance between comparisons, but they both include some kind ofA/B

they want.

comparison.

And just what are we supposed to use as

"Can You Trust Your Ears?" helps quantify

speaker cable--lamp cord?!? Yeah, right!!! listener bias to help consumers make better

CLAYTON DREYER buying decisions. It validated phenomena

Houston, TX that appeared in earlier research: eg, even

COMIC-BOOK REPORTING Editor:
In the January 1992 Stereophile, Robert Harley's coverage of the October AES Convention continued the great comic-book
reporting that we have all come to love. Stereophile has become awonderful amalgam of Amazing Comics and The National Enquirer.
Naturally, Idisagree with most ofJA's and Mr. Harley's coverage, but more specifically
Ihave aquestion about something he said on p.73. Here, Mr. Harley stated that my research ("Can You Trust Your Ears?:' AES
Preprint 3177), which shows that listeners are strongly biased to report differences when given two identical alternatives, ". ..calls into
question the whole idea of A/B testing. Because music has meaning, we interpret it differently each time we hear it. These differ-
ent interpretations often obscure the audible effect one is trying to disprove exists." (sic)
However, Mr. Harley uses music to evalu-

trained, experienced listeners are biased to report differences when presented with two identical alternatives. Therefore, bias control is perhaps the most important element of good-quality subjective evaluation.
Aren't ABX and other double-blind evaluations just KB comparisons, similar to your own, with listener bias control added? Blind comparisons aren't limited to length or fast switching intervals. In fact, one of the first
amplifier tests published took three weeks to get 40 trials. Others have employed sin-
gle listeners with personal reference systems. Another very early one used highly regarded listeners. In these tests, when bias controls are added to comparative evaluations ofelectronic signal-path devices, the results rather strongly support the conclusion that important sonic differences between such devices are nil. Stereophile's own tests verify this con-
clusion. In other words, when bias controls
have been added, your own research fails to support your hypotheses.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

41

You might be well advised to start listening closely to the content ofyour own research. It shows that amplifiers and CD tweaks stop making you feel better when the faceplates and name tags are removed. It's not bad news. ..be thankful N-Ray machines are no
longer available. In summary, if "Can You Trust Your
Ears?" calls A/B testing into question, it calls Stereophile equipment evaluations into ques-
tion as well. Iread your magazine with interest and good cheer. Many of my friends, including me, want to think of Stereophile as the product ofwell-meaning, ifoccasionally misguided, good guys in white hats.
J. Gordon Holt, in my opinion, fit that,
description, but your defensively biased reporting, persistent rejection of contradictory information (for example, any experiment with null results, even your own), endorsement ofill-fated ideas like Armor All, and mean-spirited comments, make it increasingly hard tojudge the color ofyour headgear. Chill out, Dude.
Tom NOUSAINE Cary, IL
STEPS TOWARD THE TRUTH? Editor: Iattended the loudspeaker cable workshop at the 1991 AES Convention in New York and came away with impressions very different from Robert Harley's ("Audio McCarthyism," January 1992).
The loudspeaker cable workshop was an opportunity to discuss and learn about the technical, aesthetic, and legal issues surrounding this controversial subject. It was
not intended to be the last word on the subject, and it certainly was not the conspiratorial persecution of "critical listeners" suggested by Harley. As Irecall, Dan Dugan introduced the workshop as amere step toward the truth. Never did Ihear him claim to know the "truth" regarding cables, and certainly no one suggested that "if they couldn't measure it, it didn't exist." That statement is more often used to discredit anyone looking for physical or statistical evidence.
The listening test was probably meaning-
less, but who suggested it was conclusive? It was done in apractical manner which, if far from perfect, at least was honest and out in the open. For some, perhaps it was awaste of time. Ienjoyed the chance to hear 30-

gauge wire and learn about ABX testing. The presentations given by the panelists
were well within their respective areas of expertise. Ifound each to be intelligent and articulate. The psychologist and lawyer were especially interesting because they were not
audio experts and had no vested interest. Psychologist Jeff Corey spoke authoritatively (and accurately) on scientific methods, but
pointedly did not draw conclusions about speaker cables.
Lawyer Wilfredo Lopez presented consumer protection law in general terms. Most ofwhat Iheard sounded like good, common sense. Deceptive advertising is illegal, and making unsubstantiated claims is deceptive. As Iunderstand it, one cannot imply im-
proved performance by simply using technical-sounding jargon. Technical terms must have widely accepted definitions. The Department of Consumer Affairs is asking for awell-reasoned consensus from the audio community on the merits of sophisticated cable designs, and practical terms which describe those merits. Harley's Doomsday account of future legal consequences is a frightening piece of disinformation.
Surely, the majority of AES members recognize the limitations of conventional signal measurements and are open-minded
about advancements in cable design. However, the combination of extraordinarily expensive cables and questionable performance gains has roused afew skeptics-- hardly the "Spanish Inquisition." Harley needs to show some token concern for innocent, even ignorant consumers. ..His characterization ofthis workshop as "Audio McCarthyism" and his portrayal of Dan Dugan as another Senator McCarthy is a pathetic attempt to bury the debate.
WALTER SARGENT
Stony Brook, NY Electrical Engineer, member AES, MEP
Stereophile has stated many times in print its oppo-
sition to double-blind,forced-choice, ABX-presentation test procedures. There is hardly the space here to go over the complete reasonsfor that opposition yet again, so Irefer readers to RH's article in VoL15 No.1, p.111,for afull exposition, as well as back to Mr. Hodges letter above. Briefly, however, despite
Mr. Nousaine's statement that blind tests strongly suggest that "important sonic differences. ..are nil," having myselftaken part in many such tests, Iam

42

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

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forced to the conclusion that obtaining null results must have been the motive behind the methodol-
ogy adopted in nearly all of them. In addition, as in any scientific procedure, the
variables in alistening test must be reduced tojust the one to be examined by that test. The methodology advocated by Mr. Nousaine, Mr. Ford, Mr. Silberman, et al, actually introduces additional variables that no one has yet explained to our satisfaction why they don't matter. Sighted listening as practiced by Stereophile, ofcourse, has adfferent set ofdrawbacks, but at least they are ones that arepre-
dictable and can be allowedfor by aprofessional reviewer/experienced listener, as suggested by Mr. Hodge. (Pace, Mr. Silberman--but why do you use the words "self-styled professional"for people
who do earn their livingsfrom what they do?) Let me illustrate thisjirst point with an example
takenfrom my own experience. Amid Mr. Nousaines obfiescatory bluster over NB tests--RH was
talking about blind A/13 tests as practiced by Mr. Nousaine, ofcourse (see my comments infootnote 5in this month's panel speaker test)--he asks the
question--sarcastically, Iassume--"Test tones, anyone?" Having taken part in blind tests that have used both tones and music, Ihave found tones (which, by definition, do not change with time) to
be afar more efficacious signal sourcefor use in blind tests than music. Using an asymmetrical signal in ablind test with the ABX box back in 1983,for example, Iconsistently scored 10 out of 10 detecting acoustic polarity reversal, whereas with music, my
identification dropped to that due to chance. Does this mean that absolute polarity is inaudible with music? Not necessarily. An equally strong hypothesis can be made that the changing nature ofmusic with time renders the ABX methodology invalid. The
fact that the overall published evidence supports the audibility of absolute polarity with music
suggests that this latter hypothesis is the correct one. Doesn't it?
There is also apracticalpoint here. Ifour review methodology is suspect, then our descriptions ofsound quality and our valuejudgments will also be sus-
pect, bearing only arandom relationship with reality. We publish as much supporting information in our reviews as possible to enable readers to test our conclusionsfor themselves. Every month, therefore, we give everyone the opportunity to test the validity of what we say. Ifour descriptions and conclusions are at variance with reality, then Stereophile has no
business staying in business. Ifthey do correspond with reality, then all the philosophical objections don't amount to ahill ofbeans.
Regarding the "Wire Roast" at the October 1991

AES Convention, Iam happy that, despite theprotestations ofMr. Sargent and Mr. Nousaine, Robert Harley accurately reported what occurred and was said. As the entire affair was taped, Iencourage
readers to order the cassette tape ofthe session, therefore. (Contact Conference Copy, Inc., 2222 Avenue
X, Brooklyn, NY 11235. Charge-card orders are accepted at (718) 934-2890) And to those who seem tofeel that Stereophile somehow "has it in" for the Audio Engineering Society, please note that
both Bob Harley and Ihave been AES members for many years and regularly attend the conventions. We have nothing but respectfor the vast majority
ofthe Society's membership; the criticisms made in ourfanuary issue referred to the actions and statements ofatiny number ofvery vocal activists with an agenda Ifeel to be at odds with the interests of the Society as awhole.
Please do not assume that our opposition to the legal implications ofDan Dugan's "Wire Roast"
means that we support deceptive advertising or the dissemination ofdisinformation, as has been suggested elsewhere. Thefact is, however, that, as Mr. Dreyerpoints out,for asmall number ofpolitically
motivated militants to try to set up an apriori set ofrestrictions on trade is Orwellian in its implications. Under current law, fa consumerfeels that
he or she has been duped, remedies are easily available. (I also note with interest that retailers often allow customers to try before they buy with cable.)
To set up an alternate system where only those
manufacturers who can satisfy criteria established by asmallfaction of the AES membership are allowed to bring their products to market is an anti-
democratic action that Icannot support. As Michael TSaliba said in our March "Letters" column, "We must be constantly wary ofthose who purport to usegovernment to promote the well-being ofthose other than themselves."
And who, if not the consumer, is qualified to
decide what is and what is not deceptive advertising? One ofthe advertisements used by Mr. Dugan in
his presentation to illustrate his thesis (all takenfrom Stereophile, Mr. Sargent) concerned the Duotech Cable Enhancer, which "burns in" cables and inter-
connects. Imust admit to having been skeptical myselfwhen Ifirst learned ofthis product. Yet if
you turn to this issue's "Industry Update," you will read that Peter Mitchell (one ofStercophile's more conservative writers) took part in alistening test where he concluded that this box does appear to make adifference to the sounds ofcables! There is
nothing as strange or as complex as reality, some-
thing that the Nousaines and Dugans ofthis world would apparently like not to be true. --.IA

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

45

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US: Peter W. Mitchell
As expected, the bill to impose a"royalty" tax on all digital recorders and tapes encountered only slight opposition during its scheduled mid-February hearing before the House Copyright Subcommittee. Favorable tes-
timony came from representatives ofthe electronics industry (Radio Shack), the recording industry (Capitol/EMI), musicians (Barry Manilow), and songwriters. Legal experts
recommended some minor changes in legal language and royalty accounting procedures.
The only real opposition at the hearing came from Wayne Green, publisher of CD Review. He reminded Congress of an earlier promise that it wouldn't pass ahome-taping bill unless the music industry proved that it needed relief from genuine sales losses--a
claim that Congress's own official OTA study found little basis for. Audio Week quoted
Green's assertion that the royalty tax appears to be asubsidy for the six international megacorporations that control 95% of all record sales; le, asource of extra income at no cost to them.
CD Review depends on advertising from record companies, so you could say that Wayne (a New Hampshire maverick of long standing) was biting the hand that feeds him. But
for years he has done music lovers agenuine service by promoting the work of small
independent labels, in part by producing and

distributing cheap sampler CDs that expose people to amuch greater variety ofinteresting music and good recordings.
Since the bill has many cosponsors, including several members of the committee, it could pass Congress as early as April. But
one Congressman asked Radio Shack chairman John Roach how he could defend the
royalty ifconstituents view it as aripoff--and why it shouldn't be viewed as atax. Roach's reply: Consumers are being educated that the bill is afair compromise whose benefits out-
weigh the small cost; and the royalty is not atax because the money will flow to copyright owners, not to the government.'

IYeah, right, and--in the words of Mike "Wayne Campbell"

Myers--"Monkeys might fly out of my butt!" As Isaid last

September, ifit swims like aduck and quacks like aduck, it's

aduck. This "royalty," like the proposed levy on cable TV

service to compensate the networks for their falling market

share, is atax. ATAX! The real reason hardware manufac-

turers are supporting the tax is because they fear that without

it, the record industry will block the introduction of those

potential cash cows DCC and MD, just as they did with DAT

And once aprecedent has been set by the introduction ofthis

tax, then you just watch what other areas of business will be

next to jump on the gravy train.

In my humble tax-paying opinion, the government should

not be in the business of raising money for the specific benefit

of asmall number of privately owned conglomerates--one

smaller in number since Britain's Thom-EMI agreed to pay

5877.2m and assume $86m worth of debt for the last remain-

ing big independent. Virgin, in early March--without the

latter having to raise alanguid finger. Lobbyists, those

involved in funding PACs, and politicans with their snouts

in the trough, will no doubt disagree, however.

--JA

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

49

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US: J. Gordon Holt
Iwas saddened to learn recently that audio pioneer Paul Weathers passed away on February 23. Best known in audio circles as the
inventor ofthe Weathers FM phono pickup, Paul was abrilliant inventor and avery special person.
Born and raised in 1904 in rural Indiana, Weathers was aJunior in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University when he was
recruited by the RCA Victor company to do design work. (He intended to return to Pur-
due to finish school, but never did.) While
at RCA, his contributions were as diverse as inventing adevice for optically checking softdrink bottles for rat hairs and cigarette butts,
and debugging some ofthe early RCA color
video recorder designs. After 14 years, he left RCA to do freelance consulting, and shortly
thereafter founded Weathers Industries to
market the world's first (and second-to-last) FM phono pickup. Ayear or so later, Iquit High Fidelity magazine to work for Weathers Industries.
Paul was avery thoughtful and gentle
person--a marvelous man to work for, despite aformidable demeanor. (When Iknew him,
he looked abit like Brutus Thomapple's boss in the "Born Loser" comic strip.) He had a
prodigious temper, but almost never raised
his voice in anger; instead, he would signal his displeasure by turning bright red.
Weathers was not, however, agreat business-
man. He loved adesign challenge, but when
it was met he lost interest and moved on to
the next challenge, preferring to leave such trivial technicalities as production and sales to his loyal manager, Martha Cuneo. (Marty
worked for Weathers for more than 40 years, until his death.) Worse, when he'd solved a problem, he didn't care what happened to the
solution. A friend ofhis said Paul had probably given away more ideas (to consulting clients) than most people come up with in alifetime.
After the FM pickup, Weathers Industries produced a low-mass, viscous-damped
wooden tonearm for it, then aunique turntable that used alightweight platter, avery-
low-friction bearing, and asoft-contact idler drive to minimize rumble and maximize speed stability. Next was the PS-11 pickup system, astereo cartridge that tracked cleanly at an unprecedented 1.5gm. (Claimed to be
astrain-gauge cartridge, the PS-11 was actu-

ally ahighly refined ceramic-transducer system. It was explained to me that, since "everyone" knew ceramic pickups were godawful, the deception was necessary to avoid consumer prejudice. That was probably true, although Ididn't agree at the time.)
Then there was the Trio--possibly the first satellite/woofer system ever marketed. The satellites had wide lateral dispersion and were designed to look like largish books (with a fine-mesh dull-aluminum spine). They were intended to be concealed in abookshelf, to minimize diffraction effects and avoid drawing attention to the sources of the sound. The down-firing woofer, in an enclosure barely
4" deep, had its cone mass-loaded to lower its resonance, and its own dedicated amplifier was equalized to provide amore or less flat
response to around 38Hz--pretty respectable bass extension even today.
My job at Weathers Industries was to turn out technical information bulletins for dealers. These irregularly published newsletters2first covered such mundane topics as price changes, new-product information, and service and maintenance tips. Then Iadded hints and suggestions about installing Weathers products. Then Iadded ashort record-review section. Then Istarted including arabble-rousing editorial in each issue. Then we noticed that
many dealers were asking for multiple copies ofeach issue, to hand out to customers. That was when Idecided to publish Stereophile.
When Imentioned my plans to Paul, his response was typical. He thought it was a good idea, urged me to do it, and wished me luck. (I later learned that he was disappointed
when Ileft, but he never told me himself. That's the kind ofman he was.3)Ileft Weathers Industries in '62 to start this magazine
In the mid '60s, Weathers Industries was bought out by Advance Industries, which later sold it to Teleprompter Corp Teleprompter had made big money selling script readers for TV announcers, and had decided to diversify. Unfortunately, they had no idea what perfectionist audio was all about, and allowed their Weathers division to languish. Paul quit in 1966 and retired.
Of course, it couldn't last. Within days, he
2Early Stereophile subscribers soon learned the meaning of that word. One of them even suggested we call the magazine an "aperiodical."
3Areal businessman would have found ways to make sure Iwould never again find work in audio.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

51

was itching to be doing something again, and his next project was ahome-electronics repair facility called Weathers Audio/Video Service, which actually repaired anything that looked even remotely electronic, including microwave ovens, garage-door openers, and TV remote controllers. Many of the people from Weathers Industries joined the new company, but it got started during aminor recession and did not exactly take off right away.'
In more recent times, Paul read aStereo Review article by Julian Hirsch about anew subwoofer, and his reaction was, "No, this design is WRONG." He then spent some weeks designing asubwoofer that he felt overcame the failings of the one he'd read about, and was finishing the design ofadedicated amplifier to drive it when he came down with what seemed to be abad case of flu. Hospitalized, he complained bitterly about the waste of time; he wanted to be working. Lab tests revealed nothing, but he suddenly took aturn for the worse and was gone. An autopsy showed he was riddled with cancer. He was 86.
There is apossibility that Paul Weathers's last design--the powered subwoofer--may be released as aposthumous product. I'd like to think that would have pleased him, but I don't really believe it. He had already wrapped up that challenge, and would have been ready to move on to something else. That's the way he was.
US: Peter W. Mitchell
After atwo-year debate about issues ofcost, recycling, graphics, shoplifting, and retailstore convenience, the record industry has decided on areplacement for the longbox. The 6" by 12" longbox was invented only because American retailers wanted to display CDs in existing LP bins instead of buying new display racks designed for CDs. In most of the world, CDs are sold in their jewelboxes. For nine years US consumers have been battling with paperboard boxes and plastic blister packs to get at the CD, booklet, andjewelbox within--and discarding amoun-
tain of trash in the process. Publisher Wayne Green campaigned vigor-
ously against the longbox in his CD Review (formerly Digital Audio) magazine. Since the
4It's still in business, at Route 73 and Cushman Ave., Berlin, N.108009. Tel: (609) 753-1929.

longbox existed only for the retailer's convenience, he suggested that CD shoppers should also give the retailer the resulting trash-disposal problem: whenever you buy
adisc, remove it from the longbox in the store and take only the jewelbox home. A few sympathetic record stores even installed trash
barrels near their cash registers. Two antilongbox bills were introduced in Congress
that would prohibit any retail packaging more than an inch wider or longer than the CD or cassette itself. Ecology-minded musicians in Hollywood took up the campaign,
and the battle wasjoined to find aless wasteful package.
The principal candidates were oflongbox dimensions, in order to save the LP bins.
Albums by Sting, Bonnie Raitt, and the Grateful Dead were released in the Digitrak, acellophane-wrapped paperboard package that could be folded to jewelbox size for storage at home. Warner/Elektra/Asylum favored the Eco-pack, amodified Digitrak
with ahard-plastic stiffener, but this still generated some non-recyclable trash. Another folding paperboard package, the Ccase, had pockets for discs and program booklet. The C-case was said to be totally environment-safe: it used no petroleum-
based plastic, its paperboard was made from recycled paper, and even its inks and coatings
were nontoxic and biodegradable. None ofthese cardboard alternatives dealt
with the issues that motivated the design of the jewelbox in the first place. CDs don't wear out, may last for decades, yet require focusing tolerances ofonly afew millionths oían inch during play. Thejewelbox has an
expansion hub that supports the CD with no pressure anywhere on its surface, in order to
minimize warping or deformation ofthe disc during years of storage. When it seemed that the industry might be on the verge of abandoning the jewelbox, acounter-campaign began. Surveys showed that, unlike long-
boxes and blister packs, jewelboxes are sel-
dom discarded. When they are, they can easily be recycled since they arejust polystyrene There were proposals for packages that
would display the jewelbox folded open within atransparent plastic wrap, allowing
the front and back of the booklet to be seen as well as the disc; but the problem of dis-
posable trash remained. The RIAA finally capitulated. In April

52

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1993 the US will join the rest of the world, packaging the CD jewelbox in nothing more than acellophane wrapper. Record stores are stuck with the problem of replacing their old LP bins with new CD racks, and of making CDs harder to steal. Shoplifters may find DCC cassettes and MiniDiscs even more tempting, since they are smaller. So, although opponents often claimed that the longbox added adollar to the retail price ofevery CD, don't expect to see prices drop when the longbox vanishes. Some of that money may be used to pay for new display racks and antishoplifting technologies.
US: Amis Balgalvis
Say DMP and the response is: "digital." After all, DMP stands for Digital Music Products. It's well known that DMP records nothing but jazz and releases nothing but CDs.
The man behind DMP is TomJtmg, aperfectionist who works incessantly to create the best product possible, with realistic sonics being avery high priority. Having had many conversations with him about playback equipment choices, Iknow Tom to be aman dedicated to getting the most out of the CD medium. The many accolades accorded his efforts testify to his success.
But DMP is about to release--guess what? --LPs. Ikid you not. Just got offthe phone with Tom, and they're well on their way.
As Iwrite, DMP is in the process ofevaluating DIA converters--after all, their masters are pure digital--in order to get the best possible analog signal for feeding the cutter-head amplifier. The Sony 1630 is not for them, thanks. Mastering will be done at Masterdisc by none other than Bob Ludwig and Tom Jung himself, using the Direct Metal Mastering process. Then it's off to Germany for pressing the LPs, using--get this-220gm vinyl. Itold you Tom was serious about his work.
To those surprised by this development, don't be. Tom was recording and producing LPs long before digital. Ihave on my shelves aDirect-to-Disc LP on the Sound 80 label, recorded by Tom in 1978. And he was actively pursuing that career well before then. It's refreshing to know that Tom's roots are firmly entrenched in analog, and that we'll
be able to sample the latest fruits ofhis work on LP.
Four titles are scheduled for the initial

release: Tricycle, Different Strokes with the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble, Warren Bernhardt's new Reflections, and aDMP All Star LP featuring popular tracks from various previously released works.
When? Sooner than you think. Those who attended Stereophile's High End Hi-Fi Show last month may have gotten achance to hear the DMP LPs--the plan was to have several sets of test pressings make the rounds at the various exhibits Tom said they were working to meet that date (for obvious reasons). At any rate, production should be far enough along by now to have finished LPs in time for next month's Chicago CES.
UK: Ken Kessler
Maybe Ispoke too soon. Last month, Itold you ofvinyl's demise; this month, would you believe pro-vinyl backlash? And not just from loonie-tunes audiophiles?
You know that the audiophiles haven't given up, and that turntables, arms, and cartridges continue to--at least--warrant reviews. But who'd have thought that one of the few retailers coping well with the recession is a shop which stocks only analog sources and tube equipment? Not I, but that would be to disbelieve sources Iknow to be dependable. And if someone can run adecent business stocking just tube gear and turntables, then there's hope for all of us.
I'm at aloss to explainjust why LPs seem to be enjoying acomeback, other than attributing it to the shock-horror nature of W.H. Smith's announcement to stop selling them. Maybe that inspired the diehards (non-audiophile variety) to come out of the closet. Hell, this morning when aphotographer came by to do ashoot for one of the magazines, he was pleased to see my turntable a-spinning, commenting that he still couldn't come to grips with CD and had yet to buy aCD player. And this guy was acivilian, not acard-carrying hi-fi casualty. But his reluctance to go for CD sounded just like the utterings ofany analog-committed audio casualty.
In this morning's post, Ireceived the latest mailing from Demon Records' mail-order service, Blackmail. These semi-regular mis-

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

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sives are agodsend for those who don't have
access to other than the kind ofshops which think that "back catalog" is some kind of profanity. As Demon is, first and foremost,
areissue label dealing with cult or specialinterest artists, it's to their benefit to offer their releases directly to the consumer. The catalog contains material from Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Al Green, Graham Parker, and others, plus killer reissues from Ace Records, so it's not some desperate company trying to flog medieval music or trendy ethnic dross. And still they have to supplement the major
retailers, which are unequaled in their competence.
And what's emblazoned across the front of this six-page folder? "Vinyl Is Not Yet Liq-
uidated." Iquote further: "On the inside pages of this brochure you will see alist of some 300 albums, aselection from atotal ofover 1000 titles of which the majority are still available on vinyl, aformat that we will continue to support!' The list goes on to include
every title with the available formats indicated after each entry. Oh, and there's even an inducement to "Buy Four and Get One Free," which means that five LPs can be pur-
chased for £5.99 each, cheap by today's standards.
Now I'll admit that acasual remark from acivilian and amail-out from arecord company aren't sufficient grounds for celebration. And Ihadn't really thought too much
about the increase in the number of black vinyl LPs I've received lately for review, after
acouple of years when nearly 97% of the review copies arrived on CD. And then I picked up the March issue ofRecord Collector and just had to think again.
Record Collector is the UK's Number One collector's magazine, sort of like aBritish Goldmine. It's noted for its discographies, broad taste, and (one major weakness) an obsession with the market value of collect-
ibles, usually with prices which have no bearing on reality. But that's something easily
ignored. Anyway, the magazine has always been evenhanded about LPs and CDs, merely accepting the latter as another format to collect. And while it has always monitored vinyl's demise, the magazine has never dealt
with the topic other than matter-of-factly. With nothing but admiration for their
researcher (and afree plug by telling you that Record Collector can be ordered from 43-45

St. Mary's Road, Ealing, London W5 5RQ, England), Ilearned that apressure group has been formed, calling for "a halt in the rush
to coerce everyone to switch to CD," and casting doubt over the "falsely hyped, socalled perfect sound of Compact Disc:' This is heavy stuffto publish in amagazine with an advertising base made up almost entirely of dealers, many of whom stock expensive
import CDs, and reissue labels heavily into digital.
Among the sigh-inducing points in this
news item were: ·Tony Wadsworth, in charge of current
releases at BMI, confirmed the label's support of vinyl as long as there's demand.
·A survey by industry magazine RPM
showed that, of sales for the Top 75 albums for rock acts, 20% were on vinyl (this confirms remarks made to me by an Our Price
Records employee who preferred to remain anonymous), but that vinyl sales for major acts like Tina Turner and Queen were low. ·7" singles still sell in decent quantities, primarily ifasingle hits the Top 10; below that
point, CD singles are the preferred format. But on to the pressure group: Analogue
Addicts has been around for ayear, and exists to support the specialist shops which haven't followed the lead ofthe majors in axing vinyl.
Amusingly, the group cites activity in America (cg, CBS reissues such as the Robert Johnson
box, which was not released in the UK on vinyl) as proof that consumers still want the
option to buy LPs. What this group can do, besides lobby for the shops stocking vinyl,
is unclear. I'd be the last person to suggest holding record-company executives hostage, but AA is seriously committed to restoring
freedom of choice to the music-buying consumer. If you want to add your support, contact Analogue Addicts at 22 High Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD21 2AA, England.
Again, Idon't want to create false impres-
sions; you'd be disappointed if you visited the UK expecting it to be awash in LPs. The
real world is gearing up for DCC and CD-I, even though the launch of the former has
been delayed until "autumn," while the latter's UK launch date is also unspecified. What
might preempt both is CD-R (recordable CD), with Meridian and Mission trying to be first in the shops. Apparently, Meridian already has review samples of their CD-R
player prepared and about to be dispatched.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

57

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No one has yet answered the question, "Why bother?" For the professional sector, CD-R will have quite realistic applications, especially for studios sending out working roughs for musicians to hear at their leisure, for record labels wanting to send out advance CDs rather than cassettes to important reviewers, and for radio stations doing small
runs for limited distribution. But for the home user? It seems like amighty expensive way to put together your own compilations,
or to rip off someone else's CD/LP/tape. One quite amusing defense ofCD-R, run-
ning counter to the glimmer of avinyl revival, is the use of the format to archive one's LP library. Tape all your records and play the CD-Rs. Iseem to recall asimilar argument for DAT, which now stands for
"Defunct And Terminated." As for the costs of the blank CDs, well,
they'll have to sell for less than half the price of the CD being, er, copied. That's why the blank cassette did so well as ahome recording medium: atop-quality C-90 costs athird of
the price oían LP, afifth the price ola CD. If the blanks sell for £8 or more, the format will have about as limited an audience as a system can have without being declared a
total non-starter. But, unlike DAT, CD-R has one saving grace: Even if you end up not
recording with it after the novelty wears off, at least it will play conventional CDs.
So expect avery confusing Autumn '92 in the UK, what with CD-I, DCC, and CD-R all vying for the limited disposable income available for hi-fi purchases, and from cus-
tomers who barely understand CD, let alone the rest. To make matters even more amusing,
Pioneer--according to the Channel 4TV show "Video News"--will be relaunching
laserdiscs with renewed vigor.
Leaving aside PAL-related problems with establishing the format, the reason why laserdiscs never took off in the UK is down to choice. Put politely, there was "bugger all"
choice of titles, unless Dire Straits videos are your cup oftea. The smart buyers purchased the Pioneer dual-standard player (NTSC and
PAL) and ordered software from the laserdisc-rich US, or even Japan (an activity which UK labels hate with apassion). So despite the UK's reputation as video-mad (which it is), the best home video system has
never had any impact here. Why should 1992's relaunch be any different?

Think about this magic expression: "combiplayer" Theta got in there with its audiophile transport, to supplement the Pioneer device which plays all sizes of laser-read discs. But who'll be the first with alaserdisc player which reads normal 5" and 3" audio CDs, 8" and 12" laserdiscs, and CD-UCD-ROM, with CD-R recording capability as well? My nod is to Meridian, now owned by the wealthy Polk. Produce amachine like that, with at least five years' intrinsic nonobsolescence, price it at under £1000, and you've got alicense to print money.
US: Peter W. Mitchell
In the April Stereophile, you found reports from the 1992 Winter CES (held inJanuary in Las Vegas) from my colleagues, who wore out the soles of their athletic shoes trudging throughout the entire show searching for every new high-end product. As usual Itook amore selective approach, trying to identify the most important new developments in electronics and the loudspeakers that seem most deserving oía full review.
Beginning with the semi-trivial, the Fisher division of Sanyo surprised everyone with an innovation. (Sanyo is better known for having some ofJapan's lowest-cost manufacturing facilities than for inventing new product ideas.) The new Fisher PCD-7 portable CD player ($499) actually featured two innovations: 1) Its operating controls are not on the player itself, but on the headphone cord. So ifyou're strolling in the park with the player concealed in abelt pack, tote bag, or padded carrying case, you no longer have to reach into the bag to find the Pause control; the buttons and LCD display are halfway down the cord. Borrowing from Sony's Mini Disc, the PCD-7 has an anti-skip mode in which the disc spins at double speed and more than ahalf-second ofread-ahead data is stored in afour-megabit memory. Ifvibradon causes the player to skip, the pickup has time to get back on track before the memory's contents have been dumped out to the decoder. Don't be surprised to see this feature in many CD portables next year.
In amore esoteric vein, Iwas attracted to ademonstration of the Duotech Cable

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

59

Enhancer ($179) by abrochure whose head- Indeed, the difficult part of this notion is to

line read "Sounds like snake oil, but works devise away to synthesize harmonics with-

like magic." This product "burns in" new out producing harsh-sounding intermodu-

cables more rapidly and thoroughly than lation distortion products at the same time.

simply playing music through them would.

The Marantz CDR-1 compact disc

It exercises the cable with arelatively highlevel signal (10V peak-peak and 0.5A), consisting ofharmonically rich squarewaves that

recorder crowns anew series ofcomponents, based on Philips technology and built in Japan, with gold front panels resembling the

are varied randomly in frequency over awide legendary products produced by Saul

range. I'm generally skeptical regarding Marantz aquarter-century ago. Distribution

claims made about cables; would Ihear a is limited to only two dozen US dealers. Like

difference? In three sets of A/B comparisons Pioneer's CD recorder, the CDR-1 is said to

between aburned-in cable and one that had be totally Red Book-compliant, meaning

been used only slightly, Idid hear aclear difference in the character of the sound. In

that CDs recorded on it will play on any consumer CD player--unlike afew earlier CD-

two out ofthree Ipreferred the un-burned-in Rmachines whose discs will work in most

cable, but that's not the point. What counts is that this device does appear to make an
audible difference.

players but perhaps not in all. Like the Denon CD-R deck introduced
last summer, the Marantz CDR-1 is aimed

In the years before the CD was launched mainly at recording studios. Typical appli-

many listening tests were done, involving cations: reference discs ofmixdowns for per-

audiophiles in Japan as well as the US and formers to audition at home, compilation

Europe, to discover their high-frequency CDs ofcotrunercialjingles for radio station

limit ofhearing. Typically these studies began use, and limited-production runs (50 or 100

with awide-range recording made with CDs) of special-purpose recordings. But in

microphones and recorders extending to contrast to the $20,000 Denon, the $7000

40kHz or so; then various filters were price of the Marantz is approaching the level

switched in and out to discover at what cutoff at which some audiophiles might want one

frequency people began to hear asubtle for personal use.

difference in "air" or timbre. Many adults

CD-R is a"write-once" format; after a

were unable to hear filter cutoffs as low as disc is recorded with its final TOC (table of

151cHz, while younger listeners heard differ- contents) track, it can't be altered, erased, or

ences up to 18 or 20kHz. These studies led re-recorded. So why would you want one?

to the choice of a44kHz sampling rate for digital audio with amaximum recorded

Two possible reasons come to mind: 1) Besides recording CDs, it also plays them,

bandwidth of 21kHz for music.

and thanks to its industrial-grade low-jitter

Despite this body of research, aminority transport it might prove to be asuperior-

of audiophiles have always insisted that a sounding player. 2) According to David

wider bandwidth sounds subtly better. A Birch-Jones of Marantz, CDs recorded on

recent study, mapping electrical activity in the CDR-1 exhibit acleaner "eye" pattern

the brain, indicated that ultrasonic harmonics than most mass-produced discs. (This refers

may have an effect even in listeners who can- to the actual radio-frequency signal at the

not hear discrete tones above 201cHz in atest. optical pickup.) Also the deck has acalibra-

New Pioneer Elite CD players contain a tion mode that records atest track in a

"Legato Link Conversion" circuit that attempts to address this issue by synthesizing

reserved area on each blank disc and automatically adjusts the intensity of the record-

the ultrasonic harmonics that are missing ing laser to generate pits ofoptimum depth.

from digital recordings. It's the obverse of

Result: Discs recorded on the CDR-1 may

adecade-old dbx product, known as the sound better than conventional pressings.

"sub-harmonic synthesizer" or boom-box, which detected bass tones and added "missing fundamentals" an octave lower. Evidently the Legato Link detects high-frequency tones and enerates harmonic overtones. Such a

Meridian's Bob Stuart was even quoted in England's Audiophile magazine to the effect that aCD-R copy ola mass-produced CD can sound better than the source disc! If this proves to be so, perhaps we can envision spe-

process is, of course, aform of distortion. cial audiophile CDs that are manufactured

60

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

individually on CD-R decks rather than
being mass-produced in amolding press. Or, in view of the limitations of the U-Matic VCRs used to make most CD master tapes, perhaps it's time to revive the popular "direct-to-disc" movement that worked so well in the 1970s: Bypass any master tape and record direct to aCD-R from the microphone preamp.
To demonstrate the CDR-1 and the new
DCC recorder, Marantz was using apair of Snell Type Bloudspeakers, which have been
reviewed both pro and con in these pages.
After praising the Snell Bsound that Iheard at lastJune's CES, Iwas shocked at how poor the review pair sounded in Stereophiles Santa
Fe listening room afew weeks later. Besides the sluggish bass and thick lower-midrange that Larry Greenhill described in his insightful February 1992 "Follow-Up:' the imaging
was surprisingly flat, lacking any depth or
"air." Remarkably, in the Marantz exhibit room Iagain heard the excellent qualities that
had so impressed me last June. Not only was the bass not fat, it even seemed alittle lean for my taste. (I like amore bass-rich balance than some folks do.)
My colleague E. Brad Meyer noticed aclue to this puzzle: Like most industrial buildings,
the CES demo room had afalse ceiling. Above the acoustical-tile panels were an airspace, ventilation ducts, and arigid roof Such an arrangement--a lightweight boundary with an air cavity behind it--is known in recording studios as a"bass trap." Wood-
frame houses often contain bass traps: inadequately stiff walls, ceiling, and floor that
transmit bass energy to adjacent spaces. The Snell B seems to be "voiced" for such
environments, which are very common in the northern half of the US. However, in a modern high-rise apartment building (with
aprecast-concrete floor, ceiling, and outer walls), or the style ofhousing common in the Southwest (a solid concrete floor, no basement, and heavy exterior walls that don't flex), all ofthe bass energy stays in the room,
producing abass-heavy sound. In such housing you're better offwith aspeaker that has aleaner bass balance, or with aseparate sub-
woofer whose level and contour can be tailored to match the room.
Meanwhile the Snell exhibit featured the BMinor ($3300/pair), aless bulky version ofthe Bwith asingle woofer in afour-sided

enclosure instead oftwo woofers in afivesided box. It seems to have many of the B's
qualities, but with its less overwhelming bass, it might work better in Santa Fe.
When Iwandered into the Swan's Spealcets room on the second day of the show Iwas surprised and delighted to encounter proprietor Jim Bock, visibly suffering from lung
cancer but alert and happy to be there. When he told me that he had fine-tuned the balance
of the $6000/pair Cygnus speaker system,
strengthening its lower midrange slightly to undo the slight forwardness that I'd heard at the previous CES, Isat down expecting some
serious listening pleasure. But the sound of familiar CDs was disappointingly bright and
hard. The former slight excess around lkHz
had seemingly been replaced by a2kHz peak; yet aquick pink-noise measurement with my
Ivie spectrum analyzer revealed smooth response in that region. Jim's on-axis MLSSA
response curves confirmed my measurement. Could there be an off-axis mid-treble hump that was being reflected off the side walls?
Jim suggested adifferent hypothesis: The unpleasant quality might be due to the Wadia
X-32 decoder which he had borrowed and was not happy with. Iwas skeptical; I've heard differences among D/A converters, but never
one that so obviously resembled afrequencyresponse peak. To persuade me, Jim played a
familiar LP (Jennifer Warnes singing Leonard Cohen's "Bird on aWire"). The speaker's
sound was rich, warm, and liquid-smooth--no
trace ofapeak. Obviously there was something
not right with the D/A, so Ipromised to come
back after they had obtained another from adifferent company. (When Ireturned home Ilooked up the X-32 in last October's "Recommended Components" and read,
". ..aforward presentation in the mid-treble' It was forward, all right--like apoke in the eye!)
The next day the new D/A was in, but it needed to be burned in for afew hours. So Ireturned again on the last day with the same CDs, and experienced sound that was shockingly wonderful. That the Cygnus speaker is capable ofgorgeous sound was not asurprise; Jim Bock is awise designer with an
excellent ear, and the Cygnus deserves your attention. But Iwas shocked by the size of
the sonic transformation that had been wrought by achange in D/A processor. We're not talking about asubtle improvement here,

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

61

Audition the B&K M-200s at aDealer Soon:

"That's the big news with the Sonata Series M-200 Monoblocks: they are real high-end amps, not very far short of the best solidstate amps available. And like Iwas telling Apogee's Jason Bloom the other day, 'What abargain!'"
-- Sam Tellig, STEREOPHILE, January 1991, Vol. 14, No. 1

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Call or write for information and the name of your nearest dealer.

STEREOPHILL, MAY 1992

folks. This was some of the best sound I've ever heard from CDs, anywhere--with "bloom" and air and surging dynamics that seemed to breathe with each musical phrase. It took alot ofwillpower to drag myselfaway
to cover the rest of the show. The D/A that accomplished this wonder was from the Valve Amplification Company, whose power amps have been praised in these pages. The VAC DAC ($4990) combines jitterresistant passive logic circuits and dual-
differential Bitstream D/A with class-A triode output stages. Its front-panel indicator is instant nostalgia: a"magic eye" tube like
those in FM tuners of 30 years ago!
Irving "Bud" Fried believes that impulse response is the best test ola loudspeaker. If the impulse response is truly correct, more conventional measurements such as fre-
quency response will also be right. Fried
favors transmission-line loading, not only for subwoofers but also for midrange drivers.
With such loading the driver is free to accelerate quickly without having to work against back-pressure in the enclosure Some
Fried designs have impressed me more for
lively dynamics than for tonal accuracy, but the D/2 system is an unqualified triumph.
This slim tower speaker consists ofthe Fried
C-3/L minimonitor atop the matching D/2 subwoofer. Familiar CDs achieved that magical quality, which Iseek but seldom find, of
airy transparency and great resolution of inner detail without excess brightness. Voices and instruments were located in space with
amazing specificity, enveloped in air that I could almost reach out and touch. Musical timbres had an authentically lifelike texture, without "hi-fi" hype. Highs glistened like sunlight sparkling on dew, without grit or
edge, and piano was genuinely percussive
without becoming strident or penetrating. Did Ilike the sound? Iwanted to stay there all day, listening to one CD after another. The
D/2 system lists for $4500/pair, but ifyou're skilled at carpentry you can assemble it from akit for less than half-price.
The Peak One and Peak Two speakers from Wavefront Acoustics look and sound like many studio monitor speakers. The cabinets feature an internal lattice construction that, like the B&W "Matrix" design, stiffens the cabinet to prevent resonance The speakers
play very loud, with alot ofdynamic impact and an impressively clear, analytic presen-

tation ofwell-resolved detail. But the image
seemed shallow and the treble too bright, with slightly wiry strings and apinched quality to the saxophone. Ifound myself wondering whether the Roonfilme panels that had been placed near each speaker might be aggravating rather than alleviating the problem of reflected off-axis sound.
Forty years ago an acoustics textbook by Olson illustrated why building speakers in rectangular boxes is abad idea. Flat front panels affect adriver's radiation pattern, and edges act as secondary re-radiators because
ofdiffraction. But most speakers are still built this way because amolded, cornerless, semi-
rounded cabinet is avery expensive form to make, especially ifit also has to be rigid and non-resonant. Case in point: the Pro-Klaim I, produced by acompany called Speaker
Art by Spectrum Dynamics. On one hand it's abasic two-way dynamic speaker, with
an 8" woofer and 1" soft-dome tweeter. On the other hand it costs $15,000 and sounds
like it. This is one of the most transparent, airy, uncolored, mud-free speakers Ihave heard. Bass is clean and strong to below
25Hz, highs seem to go on forever, and the midrange is as clear as polished crystal. My
first thought was that aspeaker this transparent belongs in every mastering studio, so that engineers would know exactly what's
in their recordings. The speaker is 15" wide and deep, stands 4' tall, and appears to have been sculpted out of polishéd stone with a sloping front and rounded corners. The enclosure, actually adense molded polymer
composite, also sounds like stone when rapped with aknuckle. My sole reservation
was that the speaker's overall tonal balance was slightly too bright, at least for playing CDs; it might be just right for LPs, which
usually have aslightly mellower balance But after the show ended and the exhibitors were
packing up, Iran into designer Bill Gross in the hall. He reported that rearranging the RoomTune panels in the room had alleviated the excess brightness.
The Beolab 8000 from Bang & Olufien
resembles an organ pipe, or perhaps abig aluminum pencil with its sharp point embedded in ablack cast-iron base to keep it
upright. Only 6" in diameter by 4' tall, with aflat black grille on the front, it seemed cal-
culated to create low expectations. The company's previous metal-column speaker, the

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

63

Only a single gain stage between the source and the
loudspeaker.
The Acurus Direct Imput Amplifiera
With 100 watts of High Sensitivity AmplificationTra,
it eliminates the need for a preamplifier.
MONDIAL DESIGNS LIMITED
2Elm Street, Ardsley NY 10502 · 914-693-8008

Penta, didn't impress me much, so Iwas prepared to dislike this shiny cylinder as well. The room was almost empty and too reverberant, which Isuppose is appropriate for a speaker whose appearance cries out "Danish Modem." In spite of everything, the speaker sounded really good. Highs were smooth and spacious, lows went alot deeper than you'd expect from apair of4" woofers in a slim cylinder, and the midrange was well balanced. Isuppose Ishouldn't have been
surprised. B&O products always represent aradical design statement, but they sometimes produce fine sound too. The 8000 is an active system with internal equalization,
an electronic crossover, and two built-in 80W power amps for the tweeter and dual 4"
woofers in the popular D'Appolito configuration.
The Clearfield Metropolitan (WOO/pair)
from Counterpoint makes adifferent statement. Five feet tall by 2' wide, this is not a system that disappears into the decor. Fortunately it's available in several fine wood fin-
ishes, including Rosewood; since you can't avoid seeing it, it may as well be abeautiful
piece of furniture. It also sounds exquisitely
smooth and musical, though not especially airy. Its lows may be abit too rich in rooms that hold bass, but it was apleasure to hear.
The Philips DSS930 digital active (selfpowered) loudspeaker resulted from athreeyear development project. It employs digital signal processing to make atime-coherent,
phase-correct crossover, and also uses DSP to equalize its driver irregularities and low end.
This yielded asystem that measured flat within 0.5dB in the anechoic chamber but really didn't sound good. Philips then spent another year fine-tuning the design to yield
an optimum combination of accurate on-axis output and smooth off-axis room sound. Since Bitstrearn DIA and bi-amplification are
built in, the speaker accepts adigital signal from aCD player or other source. Logic circuits identify the speaker as the left or right channel and as one of three systems, so that you can have amulti-room setup fed from
asingle digital source or control center, operated by remote control from anywhere. Ifthe CD player is in another room but is acur-
rent Philips model, the digital connecting cable will carry remote commands from any room back to the player. Price: S2400/pair for the amplified speakers plus S520 for an

optional DSC950 system controller that accepts avariety ofanalog and digital inputs. The sound of the system, badly sited at one end ofaroom in front ofapicture window, did not have the vivid clarity ofsome audio-
phile speakers, but it was consistently smooth and spacious. Its voicing was skillfully done,
producing amusically natural balance from abroad range ofCDs. Overall it appears to
be an uncomplicated, easy-to-use system designed for people who are more interested
in musical pleasure than in the complex technology in the box.
The Pfleid FRS-20S, named for German designer Peter Pfleiderer, is billed as afullrange point-source speaker. Like the concen-
tric Tannoy and KEF Uni-Q systems, the Pfleid aims to avoid the complex phasing
problems and peculiar radiation patterns caused by using multiple drivers. Most ofthe sound comes from asingle wide-range coaxial driver. Electronics compensate for its phase shift, yielding aphase-coherent output that evidently is able to produce acoustic squarewaves. Supplementary tweeters on the
top and sides of the cabinet add useradjustable energy to the room's reverberant field, compensating for the coaxial's off-axis droop and the absorption of the room. The
sound of this unorthodox system was strik-
ingly clear, well-balanced, and spacious. Even when playing quite loud, it didn't exhibit the intermodulation distortion Iwould expect
from what is basically asingle-driver system. ATC, the British maker of superb tri-
amplified active studio monitors, introduced
anon-amplified two-way home speaker two years ago, the SCM20, which sounds remark-
ably similar to its big studio cousins. Its little brother, the new SCM10, uses a5" woofer (with ATC's usual extra-deep magnet gap for low distortion at high SPL) with a1" Vila
tweeter in an 8" by 10" by 15" enclosure, priced around $2000/pair. Alt demonstrated it with aDAT ofalive BBC broadcast ofMah-
ler's "Resurrection" Symphony, and the sound was simply staggering in its impact, realism,
and soundstaging. This minimonitor handled the huge dynamics of the symphony without strain. It even reproduced the last movement's
low organ-pedal tones at believable, if not room-shaking, levels. Like earlier Alt designs, the SCM10 combines both pinpoint imaging and well-resolved detail with plenty ofdepth and air.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

65

The all new mkII generation of the Icon is afitting sequel to its predecessor. Sporting a handsome new package and anew CAL laser drive, the Icon mkII represents extraordinary value.
1812 ( hapi Street Huntington Beach, CA 92647 714441-1140 FAX: 714-841-2427

Last year Icriticized the TARDIS speaker from Soundsrnith for midrange coloration and dull highs. Redesigned and renamed the Timelord ($5100/pair plus 53500/pair for matching subwoofers), this system is aslim 6' column with acurved front that places its tweeter and four 6" midwoofers at auniform distance from the listener. It now has gorgeously smooth and spacious highs, atransparent midrange with plenty of dynamic impact, and awell-focused soundstage.
One of the biggest surprises at the show came from one of the smallest and cheapest speakers. The PSB Alpha costs only $199/pair. The first model in anew series from PSB, the Alpha promises to be anew entry-level best-buy. Only 9" by 9" by 13" with a6" woofer and 1/2 "tweeter, the Alpha was impressively articulate, detailed, and remarkably uncolored for its price. (Don't get me wrong: the PSB Stratus Mini, at $1000/pair, sounds alot better. In some ways the Stratus Mini sounds better than the big Stratus that TJN reviewed favorably in these pages last year. But the Alpha is ahelluva speaker for someone who has only $200 to spend.) Itold designer Paul Barton that he should marry the PSB Alpha with the roomshaking 5500/pair SW10 tubular subwoofers
Its
KIMBER KABLE's new A/C PowerKord' is designed to leave the magnetic field at the wall. This cable replaces the otherwise "weak link" between the wall and your equipment. The multi-conductor design divides the usually strong electromagnetic field into smaller fields, the braided pattern then cancels the fields. The braided design also eliminates interference from external sources such as nearby power transformers and other ordinary line cords.
The PowerKordTM features ahospital grade right angle or straight 110 Volt A/C plug (right angle shown above), and an IEC 15 amp female connector.
KIMBER SABLE · 2752 So. 1900 West · Ogden. Utah 84401 Tel. 801-821-5530 · Fes 801-827-8980

from Definitive Research. That combination, bi-amplified with acouple ofbudget amps from Adcom, Rotel, NAD, or Parasound, would yield truly full-range sound and amazing performance for less money than many Japanese rack systems.
It has become atraditional mantra ofaudio writers to bemoan the scarcity of goodsounding new products at atypical CES. We often characterize CES with phrases like "the wake by the lake" (Chicago) and "just alot of high-tech glitter" (Las Vegas). But at this show Iwas impressed by the relatively large
number of good-sounding exhibits, many featuring new speaker brands not previously
seen. Idon't think I'm being generous here, or that I've suddenly lost my critical faculties. The reality, Isuspect, is that within recent years the major driver manufacturers (Vifa, SEAS, Dynaudio, Audax, Peerless, et al) have acquired new measuring tools like MLSSA that revealed just how bad most of their woofers and tweeters really were. As a result, loudspeaker system designers now have a much better selection of highperformance drivers to choose from. With the aid of better-sounding capacitors and several computer programs that eliminate a lot oftrial and error from the tasks ofdesigning an enclosure and crossover network, an excellent loudspeaker is no longer alucky accident.
US: Thomas J. Norton
Guy Lemcoe recently noticed that his barely used bottles of Kontak, acontact cleaner listed in "Recommended Components:' had nearly evaporated. Ipulled out my own two as-yet-unsealed sets: ofthe four bottles, one was nearly empty, one less than aquarter full, and two nearly full. According to John Hunter of Swniko, Kontak's distributor, the plastic stopper inserted in the bottle under the cap should be kept to prevent evaporation. (There was no correlation in my samples between evaporation and stopper insertion.) We expect new samples, and will investigate further. Meanwhile, Kontak users should make sure all seals are tight; little enough precaution, considering Kontak's $50 cost.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

67

Rotel RCD-965BX

&lest Buy

of sound that many high-end products wouldn't have ahopeof achieving. This is aBest Buy wills knobs on.

Il SI RI St I IS

Rotel's original RCD-865 whipped up a storm, especially from Philips which was atrifled miffed at someone else pipping it to the post with its own technology! And then there were the golden-eared reviewers who thought bitstream would never amount to much anyway.
We know better now of course, and so do the UK arm of Rotel which has spent the intervening two years working on its replacement -the RCD-%5BX. Visually its hardly adeparture from the original, though the satin-black alloy fascia with its clear fluorescent display is alittle softer on the eye. Extra features include index skipping whichjoins traditional track skip, search, repeat, random and program play options. There's anew slimline remote too, an attractive little handset that adds direct track access to the tally of widgets.
Inside it's all change with Philips' new SA A7323 PDM DAC replacing the SAA7320 used before. The 7320 family are all single-ended DACs using atotal of 256 times oversampling and second order noise-shaping. Nevertheles. sthe SAA7323, with its 352kHz dither, is much closer in execution to the 7320 than the intermediate 7321.
Meanwhile Rotel has acompletely new and wholly symmetrical board layout for this combination of SAA7310 decoder, SAA7323 DAC and analogue filter.
Lab report
This player conforms to accepted standards with anominal 2V output, though its performance elsewhere is still far from conventional. In particular although the
SAA7323 DAC avoids the sporadic highlevel idle tones of the SAA7320, various fixed signals, including the CLV reference tone of 7.35kHz, are still present. This drone is visible on the -70dB plot and, naturally enough, compromises the signal-to- noise ratio to the tune of about 5dB or so.
Meanwhile the 3D plot highlights the

third and fifth harmonic distortions that mark the 7320 family whileextended hum products can be seen to influence the player's frequency response at low levels. Interestingly, the new 1Hz noise modulation test reveals the 965BX to be the least affected of the group even if figures for linearity and stop-band rejection are far from state of the art.
Sound quality
There was no mistaking the calibre of this player, which was greeted with unanimous applause from our panel. Yet if one over-riding feature of its sound struck our listeners, other than its generally engaging character of course, then this was its sheer poise and elegance in handling all percussive sounds. Whether it was the lonecvmbal from Mary Black's Columbus, the harpsichord from Pachelbel's Canon, or the vibes and percussion from Marty Paich, all possessed an uncommon delicacy and clarity.
This senseof control and integration of even the most complex passages seems almost intuitive, for though the music has acomfortable 'at home' feel, the overall presentation is far from over-civilised or dusty. Our listeners complimented the player for its bubbly but incredibly refined performance, the music sparkling with enthusiasm and vitality but always tempered vvitha remarkably realisticsense of proportion.
More importantly, although our listeners were duly impressed with its technical proficiency, they were utterly transfixed by the sheer conviction and passion of the music itself.
Conclusion
Every group test has its star performer and, this time around, it's Rotel that carries home the honours. The RCD-9650X is a shrewdly balanced player, equipped with asensible range of facilities, solidly built and engineered to produce the sort

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Reprinted with permission of Hi-fi Choice, subscription details for magazine follow.
Cnooce may be obtained Irom World Wide Media 30 Montgomery St Jersey City New Jersey 02302
Subscraprons 1.800.544.6748 Retail Sales 1-800.345-6478 (dealers only,

111-FIC/KRCE

\OS LUBER owl

THE NEW CLASSICS
ROTEL RCD-965

In crafting a successor to its classic RCD·865 CD player. Rotel did not throw away the mould but chose instead to build upon the original's most attractive qualities So not only is there a visual resemblance with the 965s elegant fluorescent display and manageable battery of controls. but the sonic hallmark of the original -the lush, inviting quality - still exudes from this latest incarnation
The RCD-965 Iwhich carries the BX suffix) uses the very latest version of Philips original SAA7320 PDM DAC This is called the SAA7323, a chip that shares many of the technical and subiective features of its grandfather thereby forging a link between the RCD-865 and RCD-965BX
It you were to compare the two play ers back-to-back then you'd find the RCDt 965 was the more neutral, the more evenly balanced of the two. Nevertheless both players share the ability to communicate, to project the music in such a convincing way that the sheer presence of the individual instruments eclipses any incidental colouration of the whole
It's not that the RCID-1365 is cloaked or veiled exactly, but the RCD-965 is certainly the more transparent and delicate of the two The 865 is warm and richly detailed, but the 9658X is capable of reaching down and draw , ing out the deepest bass while also soaring to the highest treble with as tonishing poise and control
If Ihad to choose one word to de scribe the RCD-9656X then that word would be natural Not natural as in neutral, civilised and boring, but natural in the sheer authenticity of its sound The purity of its mid and treble is particularly impressive, sustaining the pristine crispness of percussion and the bite of acoustic guitar Everything takes on an engaging clarity
This is certainly the case with Christy Moore 's Smoke and Strong Whiskey where the typically robust timbre of his voice can easily blunt the delicate sparkle of both strings and percussion Not so with the RCD 965 which contains the tension and presence of his voice near the centre of the stage. while simultaneously teasing out the most exquisite detail from sax and guitars More importantly. all this is achieved without the mu. sic appearing in any way obvious or contrived It is, once again so very, very natural
Here s a player capable of throwing open a very wide and deep sound stage But instead of simply stretching the fabric of the music it manages to

'The 9655X Is capable of reaching down and drawing out the deepest bass while also soaring to the highest treble with astonishing poise and control'

pull out all those subtle inflections. the murmur of a bass guitar. the gentle decay of piano or the shimmer of a hi' hat All those elements in fact. that contribute to the atmosphere and am· bience of a recording. sustaining the generous soundstage with a natural, captivating vibrancy
There sarestyled remote control for instance, new index skip keys and even acoaxial digital output round the back Best of all. Rotel has now beefed-up the player's output from one volt to the standard level of two volts This makes comparison between the new Role' and other CO players rather easier when it comes to the crunch at your hefi dealer
Personally. however. Idon't think this latest Rotel need fear much senous competition ft's not lust good its the most captivating integrated player loe heard below f1000 And as you may know, I've heard a great deal of 'ern'
Paul Miller

BEST POINT natural sound WORST POINT no 'phone input
SPECIFICATIONS Type integrated Outputs fixed and digital (coax) Processor PDM 1311 Stream Remote yes
TESTED WITH Deltec 50S pre/power Snell Type JII speakers
RECORDINGS USED Christy Moore Smoke and Strong Whiskey (Newberry 50-9916)000221) Vello. Baby (Mercury 848-791)
RATINGS Value for money Performance Build quality Compatibility Overall verdict

Reprinted with permission of Haymarket Publishing. subscription details follow.
What H. ri/High Falehty may be °Women horn Eno Wager Assoc PO Box 188 Berkrey Hmonts New Jersey 0 USA Phone 9018665-7811 Subscnotron 545 00 per yea,

HIGH FIDELITY .

BEST BUY

Devastating...effortless...touch of the high life what do you call a CD player that literally screams quality at

you from beneath its silky black exterior? Our Best Buy winner this year -- the Rotel RCD-%5BX -- has shed all

but the bare essentials in single-minded pursuit of a sound that sets some extremely tough standards

Frirai

Az.rds, 1991

Selected Rotel RCO-9658X Stocking Dealers

ALABAMA Campbell Audio dVideo (205) 539.9806 ARIZONA Sounds Like Music (602) 993-3351 CAUFORNIA Beverly Ms Audio (2131 276-2001 Catania Sound (707) 526-7555
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Recycled Stereo Plus (408) 425-7587 Sound Distinction (415) 944.4740 Sound Goods Inc (415) 9434300 Stereo Plus (415) 861-1045 COLORADO Audio Alternative (3031 221 1496 Mountain MUSIC
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Sound Components Inc 1305) 232-8848 Sound Terrific in (8131 538-2266 GEORGIA Aude Solutions Inc (404) 381-0778 Music Audio (404) 565-2205 ILLINOIS Audio Consultants
1708) 864-9565 Paul Heath Audio 1P3r1o2M)u5s4i9c-a81I0nc0
1312) 883-9500 Select Sounds AN Inc abet 717-1100 The King Stereo (217 1523-5656 INDIANA Three Rivers Audio Co (219) 422-5460 Tone Studio (317) 257 0601 KANSAS Audepon Ltd
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IT W AS 30 Y EARS A GO T ODAY

econtinue our celebration of30 years ofcontinuous publication byfeaturing articles by J. Gordon Hoh from the early days, including aguide to review terminology and his snapshots of record-company "house sounds"frem Vold No.8, cover-dated August 1964. Incidentally, the rover of Val No.6 (pictured above) generated howls ofprotestfrom readers, including thatfrom Mr. Bradley reprinted this month, leading Gordon to conclude that "Audiophiles, it seems, do not like disembodied ears." Apopularfeature in ourfirst issues was thefinalpage graph or nomogram. This inonthç potpourri includes thegraphfrom Vold No. 7, which examined thefundamental relations/sip between asound's frequency and its wavelength, arelationship that remains as true today as it was in 1965. -JA
REPORT DIVINATION We have, on occasion, heard audio enthusiasts complain that test reports in other hi-fi publications arc useless because they don't come right out and label components good, bad,

or indifferent. Not so, we maintain. It is pos-
sible to divine the truc feelings of equipment reviewers in other publications through their
use of certain carefully chosen key phrases. For the benefit of those of our readers who wish to glean opinions from other equipment reports, then, we append ashort glossary of equipment report doubletalk.
"A fine piece of equipment."-1 can't find
anything specific to criticize, but Idon't like it.
"Worthy of consideration."--This is really pretty mediocre.
"Worthy of serious consideration."--One of the best I've ever come across.
"Among the very best."--Absolutely and indubitably the best available.
"A nice component for the money."--A terrible component, but it's just what you
deserve if you aren't willing to pay for good equipment.
"Its sound is quite rich."--It is muffled and
boomy.

STERLOPHILE. M AY 1992

71

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Ohio Ilotintin's Houe it Stern, 'Warrensville Progressive Ausho'CAumisu,
Pennsvicania Hi Fi HomeiState College Sulkies or Willow Elm t Grove
South Carolina Read Brothers SteresCharleton
Tennessee ComFeland AudiotNasinille
Texas Central Audio Systems/Austin Pallas Amito Corhnt ion·ton Audio Concepts/Houston Virrónia Glued Listener/Centre, die Wisconsin Salon OnetWiseonsin Rapid, University Audio Shop/Madison

"It is somewhat crisp-sounding'--It is

unbearably shrill.

"Its sound is undistinguished, which of

course is true of live musicr-1 don't like it.

"Some listeners may prefer it to most com-

peting unitsr--I don't like it.

"Musically-oriented listeners will like

itr --I like it.

"This would be afine component, were

it not for that one little shortcoming."--It

stinks.

--JGH

STEREOPHILE'S 1964 RECORD COMPANY RATINGS
Every record company turns out an occasional lemon and an occasional masterpiece, and most of them manage to produce pass-

able discs most of the time. Some, however, have an unusual record for producing substandard or better-than-average discs, and it is on the basis of each firm's average output
that we have prepared the following list of record ratings, with record brands listed in order of descending quality. ..
BBC Broadcast Itanscriptions: Without adoubt the most realistic-sounding, musically natural recordings we have heard. Extremely wide dynamic range, full frequency coverage, and aminimum of audi-
ble gimmickry. Some of these have set standards that no other commercial discs have approached. Unfortunately, they are available only to radio stations; consumers can't buy them.

FREQUENCY VS. WAVELENGTH
Frequency vs. Wavelength
20
PS

0.5

0.2

Or

0.05 20

50

(0.01 CO 200

500

Kl

21`

roDZUOCV

SK

00 20,

Sound waves travel through air at aspeed

of about 1100 feet per second, so each

compression wave of a1100Hz sound

will follow 1' behind the preceding com-

pression wave. Thus, a110Hz sound will

have awavelength of10', and an 11,000Hz

sound will comprise waves VIoofafoot

long. The wavelengths ofother audio fre-

quencies may be read from the graph above

In amulti-way loudspeaker system,

drivers that are electrically in phase may

produce acoustical misphasing ifthe sound

from one driver unit must travel farther

to the listener than the sound from ano-

ther. If the difference in path length equals

one half of the wavelength of the cross-

over frequency, the tweeter's rarefaction waves will coincide with the woofer's
compression waves, causing cancellation. Multi-way systems should be constructed so that all driver-element diaphragms are the same straight-line distance from the
listener's head. In the listening room, sounds reflecting
from between parallel walls set up standing waves at frequencies which are related to the distance between the walls, produc-
ing zones of exaggerated pressure and zones of reduced pressure in the room. The deepest standing wave occurs at that frequency whose wavelength is twice the distance between the reflecting walls which are farthest apart. Other standingwave resonances occur at multiples of the lowest frequency resonance, and these
combine with the standing-wave patterns
of other room boundaries to create a
complex pattern of "hot spots" and "dead spots" at different frequencies throughout the listening area. Judicious loudspeaker
placement and acoustical treatment can usually minimize standing-wave response irregularities, but if two or more room dimensions are the same, the augmented standing-wave patterns are almost impossible to smooth out. The best possible listening room will be dimensioned in a ratio of 1to 1.25 to 1.6, as this will give the broadest, smoothest distribution of standing-wave patterns.--J. Gordon Holt

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

73

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STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

English Columbia/EMI: Similar in overall sound to the BBC discs, but with
rather less dynamic range. Quiet surfaces. Vanguard: Natural, musical-sounding,
with very wide frequency range and fairly wide dynamics. Good surfaces, few tracing problems. Most Vanguards have an easy, ungimmicked quality that allows the listener
to enjoy the music without having his attention continually drawn to the fact that he is listening to a"hi-fi" recording.
Deutsche Gramtnophon: Generally good balance, with nice sense ofperspective
and wide frequency range. Dynamic range moderate (comparable to domestic Colum-
bia). Surfaces very good, generally clean tracing.
London: Some high-end tip-up and low-
end boost, with obvious but not usually offensive evidence ofmultirnilcing. Very wide
dynamic range; widest dynamics of any commercial firm. Full-range, very slickly recorded, not entirely natural-sounding but, in general, musically appropriate. Very quiet surfaces.
RCA Victor: Until Dynagroove came along, Victor was close to the top of the list
for sound quality among US manufacturers. Some sizzle at the high end of most discs,
but sound was generally natural and rich, with good low-end range and fairly wide dynamics.
Dyer-Bennet This label must be included
here for the simple reason that Ye Editor is responsible for the mastering and processing of folk-singer Richard Dyer-Bennet's records.
All of Dyer-Bennet's discs, from Number 1002 to the latest, were taped and disced "straight," without any tonal compensation of any kind (except for RIAA equalization). Differences that exist between different discs stem from the use ofdifferent microphones,
different recording locations, and different disc mastering services. The latest two releases--Numbers 9and 10--have the best
sound on them, although they are quite dissimilar. Number 10 is probably closest to
being aperfectly natural representation ofthe singer's voice.
Rittenhouse: This small, shoestring operation has produced only two discs to date,
one on mono only, the other on mono and
stereo. Neither one has fully captured the sound ofthe master tapes (which we had an opportunity of hearing), but they both have

asense of spaciousness and openness that
indicate that the producers are definitely trying to make honest, natural, musical-sounding discs. The stereo disc (of Dubois' Seven Last Words ofChrist) has amore natural illusion
of depth and spaciousness than any commercial disc we have heard for along time.
Kapp: Brilliant, razor-sharp sound, but
surprisingly natural nonetheless. Fairly wide dynamic range, good surfaces, realistic stereo
illusion. Recordings are larger than life, but appropriate to the music.
Westminster: The first releases from this company were excellent on all counts. Later
efforts, particularly the more recent stereo releases, have been very variable, ranging
from quite natural but rather lacking in depth, to shockingly gimmicked, with sudden and drastic manipulations of instrumental balance.
Surfaces generally good, tracing generally
clean, overall frequency range good but not spectacular. Dynamics about on apar with domestic Columbia.
Command Classics: Super-high-powered sound, but not very natural. Low bass
attenuated, highs hard and wiry, with fre-
quent tracing problems. Little or no sense of
instrumental perspective. Excellent surfaces. Mercury: Rather close-up, hard sound,
with slightly steely high end and rolled-off low end. Wide dynamic range (almost com-
parable with London's discs), quiet surfaces, and nearly always some tracing problems, particularly in inner grooves.
Everest: Afew ofthese are excellent, but many are plagued with very severe distor-
tion, which sounds like acombination of tracing problems (due to poor cutting or processing) and plain, ordinary electrical over-
load distortion. Wide dynamic range, good surfaces, but generally hazy, grainy sound despite razor-sharp highs.
Domestic Columbia: Very variable. The best are rich, warm, and very natural-sound-
ing, with fairly respectable dynamic range. The average is shrill, steely, and plagued with shockingly conspicuous manipulations of microphone balances. Surfaces only moderately good.
Angel: Much the same as Capitol, but with good sense of perspective. Surfaces generally good.
Capitol: Relatively limited dynamic range, thin low end, and an artificially brilliant,

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

75

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STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

steely-sounding high end, with tracing prob-

lems. Surfaces variable. Orchestral sound has

no perspective.

Vox: This firm has the dubious distinction

of having never produced areally good re-

cording. Stereo illusion is often good, but all

Vox discs we have heard have had agrainy,

veiled quality and limited dynamic range.

RCA Victor Dynagroove: These have

varied from horribly shrill and distorted to

quite pleasant-sounding, but none of them

has ever come close to re-creating the sound

of alive orchestra. Surfaces good, tracing

clean (most ofthe time), and dynamic range

almost nonexistent.

--J. Gordon Holt

something that's been sorely needed for a

long time--but your record reviews are

hopeless.

D. L. WINTERS

Brooklyn, NY

We can't espouse "fire and drama "for Claire de

Lune, but we do like to hear it when awork calls

for it. To us, far too many recorded performances

lack spontaneity, and it is this that we seek, rather

than any specyic emotional qualities. At least our

record reviews arefairly consistent in interpretive

viewpoint, so any reader can, by trying afetv ofthe

recordings we recommend, ascertain whether or not

he agrees with us and canjairly safely trust (or dis-

trust) ourfuture recommendations.

--JGH

ANATOMICAL ALLERGY Sirs:
Your cover on the July-Oct. 1963 issue was the most disgusting thing I've ever laid eyes on. This is one copy of The Stereophile that isn't going to grace my coffee table. A few more covers like that and Ifor one am going to cancel my subscription.
W.BRADLEY Syosset, NY

What do you have against ears?

--JGH

DOWN WITH EFFICIENCY

Just received my first copy of The Stereophile,

and it caused ariot and complete work stop-

page in our office and lab. You should have

a"Caution--Do Not Open Except In Com-

plete Seclusion" sticker on the envelope. The

next time I'll be prepared. Great stuff--you

pull no punches!

A. L. SCHMIDT

Las Vegas, NV

We're glad to hear you enjoyed yourfirst issue, and are grated that The Stereophile did its bit, how-
ever small, to reduce office efficiency. --JGH

HI-FI DISCS Bravo for your article about the lousy sound on commercial recordings. Iam damned happy to see someone finally speaking up about the highhanded tactics of these record companies that purvey all that sonic garbage under the name of "high fidelity."
Iam afraid, though, that we perfectionists are too small aminority to be able to bring any pressure to bear on the record makers. The only thing they understand is ledger sheets, and therejust aren't enough ofus to influence their sales measurably.
Roy HUME Denver, CO
Ahappy consumer almost never writes letters to
express his appreciation. So afew thousand letters from dissatisfied ones are likely to look like asignecantgroundswell ofopinion, particularly to companies as conscious oftheir publie image as the record manufacturers.
Again, we urge our readers to write to the erring recordfirms andgive 'em hell, politely butfirmly.
--JGH

WRONGHEADED REVIEWS
I've bought several recordings on the basis ofyour recommendations, and while Isuppose Ihave to agree with you about their
sound, Iam damned if! agree about the interpretations.
You seem to think that everything must have "fire and drama" to be worth listening to. There is more to music than unbridled emotionality, and Ifor one prefer more restrained, introspective readings.
Istill like the rest of the magazine--it is

FEELTHY FI

For the benefit of those sheltered souls

who haven't already heard this, we cite the

report of the tourist who, on returning

from avacation in France, was accosted

by a customs inspector who asked

bluntly, "Are you bringing in any por-

nography?" To which said tourist al-

legedly replied, "Heck no, Idon't even

own apornograph."

$ --JGH

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

77

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STEREOPHILE'S SECOND TEST CD

Back in the Spring of 1990, Stereophile introduced itsfirst Test CD. Featuring amixture oftest signals and musical tracks recorded by the magazine's editors and writers, it sold in large numbers--around 50,000

had been produced at last count. Even as we were working on thatfirst disc,

however, we had plans to produce asecond disc that would expand on the use-

fulness ofthefirst andfeature amore varied selection ofmusic. The result is

our Test CD 2, introduced this monthforjust $7.95 plus $2 postage and handling

(see the advertisement elsewhere in this issuefor ordering details). With aplaying

time ofover 74 minutes, the new disc should prove an invaluable tool to help

audiophiles optimally set up their systems and rooms by ear--and the music's

pretty good, too!

--JA

80

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

TRACK INFORMATION
[I] Channel Identification (DDD) 0:37 Left then Right, _John Atkinson (Fender Precision bass
guitar), with spoken introduction by Richard Lehnert [2] Channel Phasing (DDD) 0:46 Out-of-phase, then in-phase, John Atkinson (Fender Pre-
cision bass guitar fitted with Rotosound round-wound strings), with spoken introduction by Richard Lehnert Instrument amplifier Fender Bassman 50, fitted with ARS tubes Microphone (voice): B&K 4006 omnidirectional Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M Recorder: Manley Analogue to Digital Converter, Aiwa HD-S1 DAT, AudioQuest Lapis balanced interconnects
No matter how purist the engineer's approach, all recordings are at least one step removed from the real thing in that the sound has to be picked up by amicrophone. An electric instrument, however, allows the opportunity of recording its electrical output without any original sound being produced. In this way, the low-frequency phase integrity of the original "sound" would be preserved absolutely, something audiophile playback systems almost never have to deal with. The result is areference sound with ahigh peak:mean ratio, meaning that even though it requires asystem with alarge dynamic-range capability to be passed through without distortion, it doesn't sound very loud.
JA therefore decided to use aFender Precision bass guitar for this disc's traditional channel and phasing checks. He ran off a couple of riffs, recording the instrument's output in mono in three different ways: taking adirect feed from the instrument; taking atap from the Fender Bassman amplifier's_output terminals; and, as acheck, milcing the speaker cabinet. The second version was the one which ended up on the CD, the amplifier's tone controls being used to add adegree of treble bite to the sound and boosting the level of the instrument's bottom octave but not otherwise significantly changing its fundamental character.
Fig.1 shows the first 4s of the final "pop" on the instrument's Estring in Track 2, produced by slapping the string hard with the right thumb, while fig.2 shows the first 4Orns (1/25s). (hie scale has been expanded in fig.1, cutting off the top ofthe initial transient, to show more clearly the way in which the note's envelope changes as it decays.) You can see that the waveform starts with an almost square, positive-going pulse, running nearly all the way up to the OdBFS level. This enhar-

monic, positive-going click is the sound of
the string hitting against the fretboard, and is followed by acomplicated waveform, the low-frequency (41.2Hz) fundamental being
overlaid with considerable and slowly changing amounts of higher harmonics (each harmonic has afrequency an integer--whole number--multiple of the fundamental: 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, etc.).
The Fender Precision bass, tuned one
octave lower than the lower four strings of the regular guitar, was introduced in 1951 by the late Leo Fender as amore portable, less
unwieldy substitute for the double bass or bass fiddle. In the ensuing 40 years the Fender has solidly established itselfin virtually every
field of music other than classical, its combination of percussive transients coupled
with aunique, woody tone becoming one of the foundation stones ofrock music JA bought the instrument used on these tracks secondhand in 1968; it served him faithfirlly during

I00. data -
4.· 1.4 I.· 0.4 ·

î

0 ·

M43.4 Tam -

4400 o

Fig. IFender Precision bass guitar. E-string transient at end of Track 2(4s time window)

Fig.2 Fender Precision bass guitar, E-string transient at end of Track 2(40ms time window)

hirer 8040400414.414·04 4.

It

*0.·

.40.0 1,444·40,

IODO 0

Fig .3 Fender Precision bass guitar, spectrum of Estring transient during initial decay period (10Hz-lkHz)

STEREOPH1LE, M AY 1992

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STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

his career as asession musician. It was actually made in 1964, before Fender was bought
by CBS, and has been re-fretted twice in that time. (The wide vibrato JA uses on these riffs is anathema to long fret life, particularly when the bass is fitted with "round-wound" strings.)
Despite what might be thought, the fre-
quency spectra ofelectric (as opposed to electronic) instruments is complex. Fig) shows the spectrum of the low E string of the
Fender bass, taken directly from the instrument's output. The fundamental frequency is 41.2Hz-the left-most peak-but the second harmonic at 82.4Hz is actually 11.8dB
higher in level! (You can also see that the bass, being ahigh-impedance, inductive source,
picks up alittle 60Hz hum-the small peak at -80c1B between the fundamental and sec-
ond harmonic.) Harmonics sticking up above

the FFT analyzer's noise floor can be seen all the way up the 17th at 700Hz, which lies 65dB below the fundamental level; as with any instrument, it is the precise ratio of the harmonics, detailed in Table 1, that gives the Fender bass its characteristic tone.
It is important for ahi-fi system to be able to pass the harmonics of recorded sounds with the ratio of their levels, which corresponds to the "timbre" of the sound, intact. As Ron Streicher and F. Alton Everest say in their 1992 book, The New Stereo Soundbook, "Preservation of spectrum is essential to the presentation of timbre. ..to maintain the illusion for the listener:"
Later along in this CD, you'll be able to
1Published by TAB, this book is an excellent guide to the pros and cons of the various microphone techniques used on this CD.

Table I Fender Precision bass guitar, round-wound strings: Harmonic Spectrum of open Estring (fundamental = 41.203Hz)

Harmonic 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Note E E
E G#

Frequency 41.2Hz 82.4Hz 123.6Hzi (123.471Hz) 164.8Hz 206Hz (207.652Hz) 247.2Hz (246.942Hz)

Level/Percentage

of fundamental

0.0dB

100.00%

+ 11.8dB

390%

-5.8dB

51.5%

-7.8dB

40.8%

-I3.3dB

21.5%

-23.0dB

7.1%

(Middle C, the note on the ledger line between the bass and treble staves, has afrequency of 261.626Hz)

7th 8th
9th 10th 1lth
12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th

D

288.4Hz (293.665Hz)

-26.6dB

4.6%

E

329.6Hz

-7.3dB

43.0%

F#

370.8Hz (369.994Hz)

-15.8dB

16.6%

G#

412Hz (415.305Hz)

-24.7dB

5.7 %

A

453.2Hz (440Hz)

-52.6dB

0.23%

B

494.4Hz (493.883Hz)

-52.4dB

0.24%

G#

535.6Hz (554.365Hz)

-32.6dB

2.35%

D

576.8Hz (587.33Hz)

-59.5dB

0.1%

D#

618Hz (622.254Hz)

-51.9dB

0.26%

E

659.2Hz

-58.8dB

0.12%

F

700.4Hz (698.456Hz)

-64.5dB

0.06%

1Musicians will notice that these arc not the frequencies ofthe notes in the Equal Tempered Scale, which divides the octave into 12 equal intervals, the frequency of each being that of the previous note multiplied by the 12th root of 2. (These frequencies are shown in brackets.) The 7th, 13th, and 14th harmonics, in particular (D, C#.
and D), are noticeably flat compared with the equivalent note produced by equal temperament tuning, while the Bs are all slightly sharp. Astretched string, knowing nothing of mathematics, gives a"natural" harmonic series
where each note is an integer multiple of the fundamental. Once you've heard music played with such a"natural" tuning, equal temperament will always sound out of tune. So why doesn't everyone use natural tuning?
Because you need to retune your instrument for every key you need to play it in, which is hardly convenient for
music composed after the time of Scarlatti.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

83

hear how much of each of various kinds of distortion are audible. It's not giving any secrets away to reveal that second-harmonic distortion--ie, the distorting component is adding atone one octave above every note ofthe music--is inaudible even in large quantities. Fig3 shows you why: areal instrument like the bass guitar already has large amounts of second harmonic present in its spectrum; adding alittle more can hardly be expected to change the instrument's basic tonal quality. But because adding even small amounts of high-order harmonics changes the ratio of harmonics--hence the timbre of the instrument--by arelatively large amount, they will be more audible.
Incidentally, because distortion harmonics are "natural" harmonics--see Table 1--with the exceptions of the second, fourth, eighth, sixteenth, etc., they will not be in tune with the same notes occurring in the music, assuming it has been played on instruments with equal-temperament tuning. This might well lead to amore-than-expected increase in "graininess" to the sound of the distorting device.
MUSIC TRACKS
[3] Acoustic Drum Solo (DDD) 3:37 Russ Henry (Yamaha drums) [4] Acoustic guitar solo (DDD) 3:07 Gavin Lurssen (steel-strung Martin D-28 guitar)

Recording Venue: David Manley Recording Studio, Chino, CA
Recording Date: November 9, 1991 Recording Engineers: Robert Harley, David Manley Microphones: Manley Gold Reference Stereo in
crossed, coincident figure configuration Recorder: Manley Analogue to Digital Converter,
Panasonic 3700 DAT
Robert Harley writes that when the idea of making asecond Stereophile Test CD was proposed, he 'jumped at the chance to record some fresh tracks. The plan was to record acoustic instruments in afairly live studio with asingle pair ofmicrophones and avery pure and simple signal path. No artificial reverberation, no 'accent' mikes, no signal processing, no equalization, and no compression. In short, Iwanted to capture the natural sound ofthe instruments in the room without electronic 'enhancement'--the engineer as transcriber rather than creator. The session would also give me the opportunity to describe and photograph the performers' and microphones' positions in the room, giving Test CD listeners avisual perspective ofthe sounds they were hearing.
"There was no better place to do this than David Manley's recently built recording studio afew miles from the Vacuum Tube Logic factory in Chino, California. Everything about the studio was ideal for this project, from the room's acoustic design to the recording signal path. The recording room, which is 29'

Russ Henry sits at the drums 84

Gavin Lurssen

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

wide, 38' long, and has a12' ceiling that peaks at 17', was designed by David for making purist recordings. The room is very live as recording studios go, with wood walls and ceiling. The four side walls form low-frequency slat absorbers (60% oftheir area) to control the low-frequency reverberation time Solid con-
struction and double-doors provide acoustic isolation.
"Although the room is superb, what really sets this studio apart is the microphones and
signal path. Every piece ofelectronics in the
signal chain is tubed and designed by David--microphones, mixer, monitoring
electronics, and analog tape machine electronics. The microphone used in these two recordings was the Manley Gold Reference Stereo (tracks recorded with the mono ver-
sion, the Gold Reference, weren't included
on the Test CD). Both types were built from scratch--including having the 3iim diaphragms sputtered with gold. The dual-
capsule stereo microphone was used in its figure-8 pattern, in aBlumlein (vertically coincident crossed figure-8) configuration. Inside the stereo microphone are eight tri-
ode tubes (in four envelopes), which amplify the microphone level signal to line level. The microphone preamp is thus in the micro-
phone This technique not only obviates the
need for atransformer in the microphone, but also eliminates the usual practice of sending
tiny microphone-level signals (a few mil-
livolts) down long cables to the microphone preamp, usually found in the recording con-
sole. The microphones are mounted in upside-down microphone stands and hung on beams suspended from the ceiling. The entire beam assembly can be raised and lowered
by apulley system. This arrangement keeps cables off the floor and prevents footfalls and other structure-borne vibration from getting in the mikes.
"David's recording console is very differ-
ent from those found in today's recording studios. Modern consoles are usually the size of a pool table and covered by many
hundreds ofbuttons and knobs--with many
hundreds of corresponding components underneath. These often include dozens of op-amps (5532s are very popular), cheap capacitors, carbon resistors, and yards ofpcb traces--all powered by supplies with poor isolation and regulation. By contrast, David's
console is asmall rectangular box the size of

David Manley's stereo microphone
apreamp with 10 knobs to adjust the levels of up to 10 microphones, two master level controls, and monitoring level adjustments. The all-tube circuit is based on the VTL Ultimate Preamplifier and uses the new (and very expensive) MIT capacitors. The mixer's stereo output drives the Manley Reference A/D
converter (which in turn drives two DAT machines) and the input ola vintage Studer C37 1/ 2 "analog tape machine retrofitted with David's custom tubed record and playback electronics. Also on hand is aMitsubishi X86 HS open-reel digital 2-track. The 'HS' stands for high sampling rate (96kHz), and the machine has 20-bit AID converters, 20bit storage, and 20-bit D/A converters. We chose not to use the Mitsubishi for this session: besides having to throw away the four cat= bits ofresolution when making a16-bit CD master tape, we would have had to samplerate-convert from 96kHz to the CD's 44.1kHz, amajor sonic compromise When making the CD master tape, we used the DAT masters as the source.
"The electronics, tape machines, and monitoring system are in amotor home parked next to the studio. Large windows in each permit visual interaction between the musicians and engineer. This motor home

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

85

arrangement has advantages: greater acoustic isolation between the recording room and control room, and easy transportation of these special electronics to aconcert hall for on-site recording. All the recording electronics
are powered by 240VAC instead of 110V. "David has installed amastering room next
door and is now rebuilding several Scully
lathes. These lathes, with their new custom air-bearing turntables and modified cutting
heads, would be almost unrecognizable to their designers. Having amastering room
next to the studio provides aterrific opportunity: cutting direct-to-disc records. The entire facility was built to keep purist recording alive and to make LPs and CDs for release
on VTL's ViTaL label. "I was particularly eager to record drums
using purist techniques. Nearly all my experience as arecording engineer has been in
multi-track studios where the drums are close-miked (using as many as adozen micro-
phones), equalized, gated, reverb'd, and spatially positioned with the recording consoles pan pots? Ihad previously recorded drums with as few as three or four mikes (stereo overhead pair with individual mikes on the kick drum or kick and snare drums), but

never by themselves in alive room withjust
two mikes. "When Ilistened to the drums before put-
ting up any microphones, Iwas encouraged;
this was one of the best-sounding kits I'd heard. Drummer Russ Henry had spent the previous week installing new heads and tuning the studio's house Yamaha kit. No matter low good the room, microphones, elec-
tronics, or recording techniques, the secret to getting good drum sounds is to use goodsounding drums.
"After some experimentation with microphone placement (and lots of experimentation with placement of the drums in the
room), the crossed figure-eight pair ended up 21/ 2 'above, and slightly forward of, the
drummer's head. The stereo mike was behind
the drums rather than in front of them to achieve abetter ratio of drums to cymbals.
We recorded several takes with varying levels

21 was at asession in which the output from each drum

microphone triggered preset electronic drum sounds from

banks of drum machines. To prevent the sound of one real

drum mistakenly triggering the wrong electronic drums.

noise gates were put on each microphone Getting all this to

work--including finding the right threshold for each gate--

was a20-hour ordeal. Do you think anyone was in the mood

for making music after that?

--RH

THE
P01 NT
OF AUDIO
AM PLI FICATION

86

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

of the spaced omnidirectional microphones
mixed in, but, after auditioning the tapes in Santa Fe, JA and Iboth preferred the greater image specificity and dynamics heard from the crossed figure-eights alone, despite the slightly reduced sense of space.
"Old habits die hard; Iwas briefly tempted to put another microphone on the kick drum to get more punch and impact. Iquickly came to my senses; this project was about
capturing the natural sound ofthe instrument in areal room, not creating artificial hype. What you hear is what actually existed in the room. Incidentally, this track should be played back at as high alevel as you can
manage--live drums are very loud. This drum
track is agood test ola system's dynamic range, LF extension, image specificity, and
ability to differentiate pitch. The various toms should each have adistinct pitch and appear
at individual points in space rather than sounding homogeneous."
Because the mikes were behind the drums, the kick drum is recorded with the wrong "absolute phase"--its sound starts with a
rarefaction rather than acompression. See if you can hear adifference when you reverse the polarity of the waveform by changing the

red and black connections to both loudspeakers.
About the guitar recording, Bob writes that "it was made with the single Manley Gold Reference Stereo microphone (in crossed figure-8 pattern) about 8' from guitarist Gavin Lurssen, who sat in the middle of the studio. Again, the Blumlein technique was chosen over the pair of spaced omnis; image specificity and the impression of the instrument existing independently inside the room was far more realistic with the crossed figure-8 configuration. The Martin D-28 guitar should be surrounded by the acoustic, with the room lit up' by sharp transient attacks, especially when Gavin hits the strings hard. The guitar had avery wide dynamic range, aquality the recording seems to have captured!'
15] Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat (excerpt) (ADD) 0:56
Performers unknown Recording Venue: Wilmington Music School, Wilming-
ton, DE Recording Date: 1968 Recording Engineer: J. Gordon Holt Microphones: two Sony C37 cardioids in ORTF con-
figuration

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Recorder: Ampex 60 1/21 /4 "open-reel recorder at 7.5ips (NAB EQ)
Transfer to digital: Nakamichi 1000 R-DAT, ReVox A77 Mk.IV open-reel recorder
Digital Transfer Engineer: Robert Harley
"ORTF" refers to atechnique devised by the French broadcasting organization (Office de RadiodO4sion-Telévision Française) whereby two directional ("cardioid") microphones are angled at 110° and spaced about 7" apart, the average distance between ahuman being's ears. The two microphones basically encode the directions of the voices and instruments by the different loudnesses they pick up. In itself this would give avery narrow stereo image--"fat mono," one writer described it--but by spacing the microphones apart, alittle time information is added which ensures that the image extends across the fill spread of the loudspeakers. (Sound reaching the microphones from the left, for example, will reach the left-facing microphone approximately 0.7ms before it reaches the right.) This is but one ofanumber of"purist" techniques, all ofwhich share the characteristic ofbeing able to capture a"real" soundstage, so that the listener's loudspeakers seem to disappear.

Featuring much smaller forces than the immensely scored ballets which preceded it, L'Histoire du Soldat ("The Soldier's Tale") was composed by Stravinsky in 1917. The music illustrates apoem by the French writer Charles Ramuz in which aviolin-playing soldier on leave is tempted by the Devil to trade his instrument for amagic book. One thing leads to another: though the soldier at one point wins back his violin from the Devil at cards and marries aPrincess, he ultimately loses everything dear to him and ends up in the Devil's thrall. This briefexcerpt, featuring the rude sound ofthe trombone and amellow trumpet, opens the "Royal March" tableau.
161 Sergei Prokofiev: Flute Sonata in D, Op.94, Allegro con brio (AAD) 7:00
Gary Woodward (flute), Brooks Smith (New York Steinway piano)
Recording Venue: Allan Hancock Foundation Auditorium, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Recording Date: June 12, 1989 Recording Engineer: Kavichandran Alexander (Water Lily
Acoustics) Producers: John Atkinson, Richard Lehnert Analog tape editor: Hugh Davies Microphones: two EAR The Mics (prototypes), set to
figure-8 pattern, coincident at 90°

Kavi Alexander adjusts his crossed EAR figure-8 mikes during the Poem sessions

SII OF'IIII F,M A1 1992

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Brooks Smith and Gary Woodward, as seen by the mikes

/. Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M
Recorder: Ampex MR70 1 2 open-reel recorder at 15ips Tape: Ampex 456 Transfer to digital: Bob Katz 128x-oversampling AID,
Ampex ATR-100 open-reel machine Digital Transfer Engineer: Bob Katz
The tube microphones were approximately 9' back from the flute, with the piano (its lid on the short stick) around 5' further back (see photo). The use ola "purist" microphone technique means that on agood system, the image of the musicians should "float" free ofthe loudspeakers, with the space between and behind them suffused with the somewhat cavernous sound of the empty hall. The flute image should be both very narrow and very stable. If it "wobbles," then possibly strong sidewall reflections of the sound from the loudspeakers, or reflections ofthat sound from acentrally placed equipment cabinet, are interfering with the way the direct sounds from the loudspeakers reach the listener's ears. The piano should have aslightly "boxy" character compared with the similar Steinway on Tracks 11 and 12, due to the rear wall of the stage, being some 3' or so behind the instrument. The piano image should extend from half-left (which is where the keyboard is) to half-right.

The finale of Prokofiev's Op.94 Sonata (written in 1943) features Prokofiev's most extravert and playful writing, with aprofusion ofornament for the flute and typical percussive effects in the piano part. "The flute is rarely silent, the piano never, and the entire impression is one of sheer exuberance and impetuosity," notes Denis Stevens, while JA loves the heroic broken chords at the start of the second theme. The complete sonata is included on Stereophile's Poem album?
[7] Franz Schubert: Ave Maria (DDD) 4:35 Takaoki Sugitani (violin), William "Pat" Partridge
(Aeolian-Skinner organ) Recording Venue: Christchurch Cathedral, St. Louis, MO Recording Date: October 1990 Recording Engineer: John M. Blaine Microphones: Three B&K 4006s (black grilles) in spaced-
omni configuration, with aSchoeps MK4 cardioid on violin Microphone preamplifier: Schoeps CMC 5 Recorder: Sony PCM-601ES AID converter, Sony Beta VCR, transferred in the digital domain to Panasonic 3700 DAT recorder [8] Traditional (arr. Charlie Canada's): &James Ittfirmary (DDD) 3:39
3The recording of Poem was described in Stereophile, Vol.12 No.9, September 1989. As well as Prokofiev's Flute Sonata in D. the LP includes Reinecke's Flute Sonata in E("Undine"), and the title work by the 20th-century American composer Charles Griffes. Poem is available on either LP or CD for $11.95 plus $2 shipping and handling: order from Stereophile, LP/CD Department, P.O. Box 5529, Santa Fe, NM 87502.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

91

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The Brassworks: Christopher Krummel (trumpet), Christopher Olson (trumpet). Frank Groome (horn), Thomas Vincent (trombone), Dana Hofer (tuba), Darren Saner (percussion)
Recording Venue: Christchurch Cathedral, St. Louis, MO Recording Date: March 1991 Recording Engineer: John M. Blaine Microphones: Two Schoeps MK4 omnis in spaced-orimi
configuration, with acentral pair ofcoincident Schoeps MK4 cardioids, crossed at 90° Microphone preamplifier: Schoeps CMC 5 Recorder Sony PCM-Fl A/D converter, Sony Beta VCR, transferred in the digital domain to Panasonic 3700 DAT recorder
Medically retired at arelatively early age, John Blaine is aStereophile reader from St. Louis who has been interested in recording since he bought an Ampex cassette recorder in the '60s to make tapes for his car. The Ampex didn't have Dolby, but it did come with acouple of "terrible" microphones. Friends asked him to record aconcert at Christchurch Cathedral, and he has been recording there ever since. He replaced the Ampex first with aTandberg open-reel machine, then aplethora ofdigital gear, and its mikes with first Shure dynamics, then AKG D200 dynamics, then finally the mix of B8cK and Schoeps condenser mikes he now uses.
"As cathedrals go, Christchurch is quite small, at 140' by 65', with a95' ceiling," notes John, "but it has adecay time ofaround 3s. When you're not recording too close to the sidewalls, it gives awonderful sense ofspaciousness, without being so large as to sound swimmy." John positions his mikes "to give the listener asense ofwhat they would hear in the optimum position in the hall." For this Schubert arrangement, he used three omnis for his main pickup, widely spaced around 50' from the violinist, who was standing next to the organ console in the gallery with the instrument's pipes around 8' behind him. To get abetter sense ofimmediacy, John placed aspot microphone, aSchoeps cardioid, about 8' from the violin. Its level was 30dB down from the main pickup, however. The organ itself, asuperb, classically voiced AeolianSkinner from 1966, is about 45' wide and has 77 stops and 67 ranks ofpipes, these about 40' from the main floor of the cathedral.
For the brass recording, John used two Schoeps MK4 microphones, set to acardioid pattern, coincident and crossed at 90°, coupled with asecond pair ofSchoepses switched to omnidirectional pickup and about 6' apart,

all four mikes being 20'-25' back from the ensemble. He chose to use the main pair as crossed cardioids because of their warmer sound, though they ultimatdy ended up about 10dB quieter than the omnis. John feels that this recording offers "a delicious sense of space." Indeed it does!
[9] J.S. Bach: Trio Sonata BWV 525, Adagio (ADD) 5:13 James Johnson (Flentrop organ) Recording Venue: Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA Recording Date: 1979 Recording Engineers: Peter W. Mitchell, E. Brad Meyer Microphones: four Nakamichi CM-700s, two cardioid
capsules in ORTF configuration, two widely spaced omnidirectional capsules Microphone preamplifier: Mystic Valley Audio custom mixer Recorder ReVox A77 1/ 4 "open-reel recorder at 15ips. with dbx noise reduction Transfer to digital: Sony PCM-Fl (modified) Digital Transfer: E. Brad Meyer & Northeastern Digital Recording Original commercial release: 1988,JamesJohnson Plays Bach, Titanic T1-162 CD. (Titanic Records, P.O. Box 204, Somerville, MA 02144-0204. Titanic recordings are distributed in the US by Hamionia Mundi USA.) T1162 was also available as an Ashmont LP.
Harvard's Busch-Reisinger Museum is a small chapel whose stone surfaces produce strong reverberation. The small organ, installed in 1958 by the Dutch company D.A. Flentrop, has a"positiv" rank ofpipes (often used for the melody) mounted on the front rail of the Museum's balcony, plus additional ranks of pipes 10' further back. To obtain an accurate recorded image of this spatial relationship, asemi-coincident pair ofdirectional cardioid microphones was used in an ORTF array. Widely spaced omnidirectional mikes were mixed in at alower level to enhance the sense of ambience and to reinforce the bass frequencies. (Unlike cardioid microphones, which tend to have arolled-offbass except when very close to the sound source, omnidirectional microphones have aflat response to single-digit frequencies, in theory even to DC.)
JA chose this track, not only because it is one of his favorite Bach pieces for the organ, but also because of the lovely registration chosen by Mr. Johnson. The organ pipes have an appealing "chiff" or "chirp" at the onset of each note. Peter Mitchell points out that listeners may perceive some of the rhythms as oddly disjointed, because low pedal notes often sound slightly behind (in time) the melodic line. This is an acoustic attribute of

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

93

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"tracker" (not electronic) organs: it takes a fraction of a second longer for soundpressure waves to build up and emerge from the large 8' and 16' pedal pipes at the back of the organ than from the small "positiv" pipes in front. This presents an artistic choice to the performer: whether to play the pedals slightly ahead of the beat, in order to make them sound on the beat. Brad and Peter discussed this question with James Johnson; he chooses to play all the notes on the beat, regarding "late" bass as part of the natural character of the organ.
Peter notes that he has also noticed asimilar situation in symphony orchestras. He once heard Erich Leinsdorf, in an interview, state alesson he learned from Toscanini about bass fiddles: they take alittle longer than midrange instruments to develop their tone at full amplitude. So if the conductor wants bass entries to sound exactly on the beat--giving the performance asense of urgency and momentum--the basses actually have to play slightly ahead of the beat. This, he said, was one of the secrets behind Toscanini's exciting performances.
1101 Mapping the Soundstage (ADD) 1:04 Larry Archibald (acoustic voice, footsteps, handclaps) John Atkinson (Cambridge SoundWorks Ambiance loud-
speaker) Recording Venue: Universalist Unitarian Church, Santa
Barbara, CA Recording Date: January 29, 1990 Recording Engineer: Kavichandran Alexander (Water Lily
Acoustics) Microphones: two EAR The Mics set to figure-8 pattern,
coincident at 90° and spaced vertically by 2" Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M, Cardas micro-
phone cables Recorder: Ampex MR70 1 /2 "open-reel recorder at 15ips Tape: Ampex 456 Transfer to digital: Manley Analogue to Digital Converter,
Aiwa HD-S1 DAT, Ampex ATR-100 open-reel recorder, AudioQuest Lapis balanced interconnects Digital Transfer Engineer: John Atkinson
Before we embarked on the formal sessions for Stereophile's Intermezzo piano album, we recorded Larry Archibald "mapping" the soundstage in the church, illuminating the bounds of the acoustic to be later excited by the piano with his footfalls and handclaps (see fig.4). The Blumlein microphone technique, using two figure-8 microphones "crossed" at 90°, accurately captures the directions of soundsources, though the slight degree of vertical spacing Kavi Alexander used somewhat widens the center of the stage.
Larry walks from the far left of the church

to the far right, facing out from the altar," a total distance of about 35'. In both cases the position of the images should lie well outside the loudspeaker positions (ifyou have apair ofspeakers that can image accurately). He then walks back to the center ofthe nave, then to the rear of the church about 60' from the microphone array. Clapping his hands, he then walks back up the nave to the microphone position and around the microphone (left to right), ending up in front ofthe piano. (Because stereo microphones cannot discriminate between soundsources in front of them and behind them, you should hear Larry move back behind the speakers rather than behind your listening chair.) JA's voice comes from asmall foldback loudspeaker placed on achair to the left ofcenter ofthe stage, right behind the piano stool and next to the pulpit.
All through this track you should hear unambiguously where Larry and the loudspeaker are. You should hear Larry's image well beyond the speaker positions, when appropriate, and well back in the distance when he is at the back of the hall. When he walks around the microphone position, you should also hear his image lurch to the far left, then back, then recede alittle. Ifhis position at any place seems confused or vague, then something in your system is not imaging as it should.
The microphones were left in the same position for both of the following tracks. In asense, therefore, this "mapping" sets the context for the image of the 9'-long piano.
1111 Brahms: Intermezzo Op.117 No.1 in E-flat (AAD) 5:24
Robert Silverman, New York Steinway D Recording Venue: Universalist Unitarian Church, Santa
Barbara, CA Recording Date: January 30, 1990 Recording Engineer: Kavichandran Alexander (Water Lily
Acoustics) Producer: John Atkinson Analog tape editor: Hugh Davies Microphones: two EAR The Mica set to figure-8 pattern,
coincident at 90° and spaced vertically by 2" Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M, Cardas micro-
phone cables Recorder: Ampex MR70 1/ 2 "open-reel recorder at 15ips Tape: Ampex 456 Transfer to digital: Pygmy AD-1, Panasonic 3700 DAT,
Ampex MR-20 open-reel recorder, Cardas Hexlink balanced interconnects Digital Transfer Engineer: Robert Harley
4As Larry was facing away from the altar, he refers to far left as "stage right" and far right as "stage left."

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

95

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Robert Silverman at the 9' Steinway, framed by the mike array (see fig.4)

Choir Stalls
Fddhack Speaker

Choir Stalls
Steps

Fig.4 The Universalist Unitarian Church, Santa Barbara, showing positions of the piano, mike array, and LA's path in Track 10

For this piano recording, Kavi Alexander had
wanted to capture abold, powerful piano sound, particularly as the instrument was
exciting the church acoustic to arather exces-
sive degree The microphone array was placed quite close, about 8' back just below the line
of the lid (see photo). The image of the Steinway should therefore bejust behind the plane
of the speakers, extending from the inside edge of the left-hand speaker, which is where
Robert is sitting, to the inside edge of the
right (fig.4). The use ofaBlumlein technique means that the image should be "solid," though there is aslight pulling to the sides noticeable with loudspeakers possessing sufficient resolving power, due to the slight
vertical spacing of the mikes. Regarding the recording's tonal quality,
those used to the typically bright sound of
"commercial" piano recordings will find its treble to be alittle soft. This accurately represents the true sound of the instrument in the hall at the microphone position, however. The complex manner in which notes decay, their harmonics intertwining, should be readily apparent, while the midrange should be evenly balanced, with no notes "jump-
ing" forward at the listener. In the bass, there should be astrong feeling ofweight to low frequencies, low bass notes having some of the quality of adeeply tolling bell.
The dynamics of the instrument's sound

STEREOPHILE. M AY 1992

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were well captured: in the words of Alfred Brendel, its volume ranges "from awhisper to aroar:' Kavi hit the 1/2" tape hard, reaching 14c1B over the 250nWb/m OVU mark, meaning that tape hiss was nonexistent even without noise reduction. The limiting factor affecting the recording's dynamic range is actually the intrinsic noise of the microphones rather than that of the analog tape; at arealistic playback level-96dB at the most at the listening seat for the very loudest passages--this can be noticed as asoft hiss. Not surprisingly, ifyou turn up the playback level so that what should be quiet passages become more "impressive," the microphone noise will become intrusive.
Whereas Stereophile's CD release of the three Op.117 Intermezzi, coupled with the Sonata in f, Op.5,5was mastered using the Manley Analogue to Digital Converter, this track was transferred to digital using the Pygmy AD-1, another well-respected unit. RH tried to keep the levels identical with both the A/D converters, so any differences you hear between this track and the same recording on Stereophile's Intermezzo CD will be due to the difference in converters. Remember: "Bits is bits"--or are they?
The first ofthe three Brahms Op.117 Intermezzi was written in 1892 and is prefaced by the opening couplet of "Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament:' an old Scottish ballad:
Schlafsanfi, mein Kind, schlafsanfi und schiln! Mich dauert's sehr, dich weinen sehen.
(Sleep soft, my bairn, now softly sleep! My heart is wae to see thee weep.) "Brahms used to call this lovely melody 'the lullaby of my griefs,' "wrote Denis Stevens, "and those who know anything of his life will be well aware ofthe sorrows he had to bear. Yet this is music to soothe all humanity, and has been capable of doing so ever since it first saw the light."
[12] Beethoven: "Mozart's Minuet in G" (ADD) 0:44 Robert Silverman, New York Steinway D Recording Venue: Universalist Unitarian Church, Santa
Barbara, CA Recording Date: January 30, 1990 Recording Engineer: Kavidiandran Alexander (Water Lily
Acoustics) Microphones: two EAR The Mica set to figure-8 pattern,
coincident at 90° and spaced vertically by 2"
5The recording of Intermezzo was described in Stereophik, Vol.14 No.2, February 1991. Intermezzo is available on either LP or CD for $16.95 plus $2 shipping and handling: order from Stereophik, LP/CD Department. P.O. Box 5529, Santa Fe, NM 87502.

Microphone preamplifier: EAR 824M, Cardas microphone cables
Recorder: Ampex MR70 1/ 2 "open-reel recorder at I5ips Tape: Ampex 456 Transfer to digital: Manley Analogue to Digital Converter,
Aiwa HD-S1 DAT, Ampex ATR- 100 open-reel recorder, AudioQuest Lapis balanced interconnects Digital Transfer Engineer: John Atkinson
As acontrast to the Brahms Intermezzo, but again also to set the sound and image of the big Steinway within its acoustic context, we have included this bit of fun, recorded during the same sessions, with piano and microphones in the same place. With this lurching exception, due to amusic publisher's mental aberration, aminuet is always in 3/ 4 time Robert provides the appropriate emphasis on every fourth beat, but if you try counting aloud "1-2-3-4," starting on the work's very first note, you'll find that it all works out: "Mozart's Minuet in G:' in 4/4 time.
[13] Edward Elgar: The Dream ofGerontius, Part 1(conclusion) (ADD) 7:07
Stephen Roberts (bass), Oundk & District Choral Society, St. Ives Choral Society, St. Neots Choral Society. Huntingdonshire Philharmonic, conducted by Christopher Brown, with Arthur Willis at the organ ofEly Cathedral
Recording Venue: Ely Cathedral, Ely, England Recording Date: July 7, 1984 Recording Engineers: John Atkinson, Ivor Humphreys' Microphone: Calrec (AMS) SoundField Mk.III, set to
coincident figure-8 pattern at 90° Recorder: ReVox A77 Mk.1V 1/ 4 "open-reel recorder at
15ips (NAB EQ) with dbx Il noise reduction Tape: TDK GX Transfer to digital: Manley Analogue to Digital Con-
verter, Aiwa HD-S1 DAT, ReVox PR-99 open-reel recorder, dbx 224 noise-reduction unit, AudioQuest Lapis balanced and unbalanced interconnects Digital Transfer Engineer: John Atkinson
The Calrec Soundfield microphone, asinglepoint, multi-capsule design originally developed to make Ambisonic recordings, is supplied with asophisticated control center that, in addition to Ambisonic pickup, allows the user to select many different coincident stereo patterns. For this recording John Atkinson used the control center to synthesize apair of figure-8 microphones pointing left and right with an angle of 90° between them. This gives an extremely accurate recreation ofthe original soundfield, but as such apair of microphones picks up all the sounds to their rear as well as to their front, it's hard for the engineer to strike exactly the right balance between the direct sound of the instruments and the echoes of that sound from the hall's
6These days Audio Editor of Gramophone magazine.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

99

The audience's view of Gerontius in Ely Cathedral: the SoundField mike is on the tall stand above the conductor's head; the orchestra overflows into the arches each side of the nave.

walls, ceiling, and floor: the "reverberation." Small forward and backward movements in
microphone positioning also yield large changes in the recording's soundstage per-
spective. Because of restrictions imposed by the
Cathedral staff, who were worried about the microphone falling on members of the
audience, the only place it was possible to

place the SoundField mike was on ahigh stand about 12' above the conductor's head (see photo). This means that the image of the solo bass, who portrays the Priest, is set far
left, in theory beyond the outside edge of the loudspeaker. The large orchestra, on the floor,
is relatively much closer to the microphone than the 200-strong choir (who were on risers), which means that the strings, in par-

100

STEREOPH1LE, M AY 1992

Gerontius in rehearsal, with flautist Peter Walker of Quad just visible at the right of the photograph

ticular, sound somewhat dry. The orchestral image is also very wide, with the tympani,
double-basses, and harp at the edges of the soundstage. Note that what Gordon Holt calls the "brassy blattiness" ofthe trombones and trumpets is captured intact by the relatively distant miking. It's rare to hear these instruments this "brassy" and "blatty."
Overall, however, atremendous sense of space has been captured by the single-point technique, and the choir should sound distinct but set well back in the Cathedral's stone-faced acoustic. The organ pipes are
positioned on the middle left, in the vast altar space behind the choir. Elgar uses the instrument's pedals to underpin the work's tonal foundations at strategic points; sitting where
JA was, beneath the choir risers, he remembers the live sound of the 16' and 32' bass pipes shaking him to the core at the end of the work's first part.
As indeed this music, part both of the greatest work in the English choral tradition and of one of the greatest Roman Catholic pieces, should. Elgar wrote Gerontius, based on apoem by Cardinal Newman concerning the travails the soul of an ordinary man endures after death on the way tojudgment
and Purgatory, in the closing days ofthe Victorian era. Both the music and the spirit of the work have strong ties to Wagner's Parsifal, while the "Go forth upon yourjourney
Christian soul" theme heard in this extract

is based on one Elgar had composed with General Gordon of Khartoum in mind-- Gordon had been deeply moved by Newman's poem--for use in asymphony but which he then rejected. "This is the best of me. ..this, ifanything ofmine, is worth your memory," Elgar quoted from Ruskin on the work's manuscript score. Which makes it all the more surprising that the first performance, conducted by an unprepared Hans Richter at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival in October 1900, was acomplete disaster. It did not take many years, however, for the work's quality to shine through, and it is now widely regarded ("Pomp & Circumstance" aside) as being the work most closely identified with the greatest English composer.
1141 Corey Greenberg: Eden (AAD) 3:14 Corey Greenberg (electric guitars) Recording Venue: 1CBTS-FM Studio B, Austin, Texas Recording Date: December 16, 1987 Recording Engineer: Corey Greenberg Microphone: none (uh-oh ) Record= Otivi MX5050B-F1 Vs" 2-track and 1V1X5050B-111
4-track open-reel recorders at 15ips (NAB EQ) Recording Equipment: Tascam board, Yamaha SPX-90
digital effects unit, Chandler Tube Driver guitar preamp, Urei LA-4 compressors, Canare cable Transfer to digital: Manley Analogue to Digital Converter, Aiwa HD-S1 DAT, ReVox PR-99 open-reel recorder, AudioQuest Lapis balanced interconnects Digital Transfer Engineers: John Atkinson, Corey Greenberg
"I've always loved the music ofJimi Hendrix," writes Corey Greenberg. "Beyond his

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

101

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swashbuckling image lay an awesome com-
positional mind, coupled with perhaps the most gifted instrumental technique in the history of the guitar. Whether it was Jimi's ferocious blues power or his soulful rhythm playing, his music affects me like no other's; in my opinion, he's still the high-water mark.
"So when my friend Tracy asked me to help her with aproject for her Beginning Recording class at UT's Radio-TV-Film department, Iwas eager to lay down atribute
to the man who made me pick up aguitar in the first place. The project was: to come up with arecording that 'evoked amood'; I chose 'unbridled rage: and took my ideal-
ized vision ofthejust-born Eden as the visual
equivalent of my aural statement.Jeez, that sounds New Age-y.
"Anyway, it soon became apparent that studio tricks like backwards guitar solos weren't part of UT's course curriculum, so Tracy suggested that 'just take over the recording
duties as well as the playing; Ihad to swear never to reveal to her professor that it was / who had actually pressed the 'Record' and
'Stop' buttons, and after a solemn ritual involving swapped bloody handshakes and this weird butt-bumping dance to seal our unholy vow, Tracy went to get asandwich
and Igot down to work.
"While Iwould've preferred to mike my Fender Bassman guitar amp, the studio I
recorded Eden in is net next to KBTS-FM's
main studio; although the concept intrigues, screaming banshee freakout guitar leaking
out over the DJ's mike is not the stuff of which Arbitron ratings are made. So instead of miking the speaker ola tube guitar amp, Iplugged my guitar (and its attendant effect
devices) directly into the board, and tried to get as cool atone as Icould with creative EQ, reverb, and afew other tricks.
"In addition to the 'solo' guitar, alot ofthe ambient swell is also backwards guitar. This technique involves physically flipping the
analog tape over and listening to the backing tracks backwards while you lay down the new track. Why on God's Green Earth would anyone want to record anything backwards, you ask? Because, aside from the obvi-
ous phrasing reversal, recording aguitar backwards changes its inherent transient envelope; what's normally aloud note followed by asustained die-offbecomes afaint cry off in the distance that builds into a

BANG and then--whup!--it's gone. As the
tape is actually progressing from the end of the music to the beginning, acertain amount ofconceptual planning is agood idea, lest the backwards track end up as random-sounding as some of CS8cN's experiments along these lines. According to Hendrix's producer Eddie Kramer, Jimi had the uncanny ability to record asolo backwards, all the while knowing exactly how it would sound after the tape was
flipped back over. This is more the approach Iwas shooting for, so Ihad to play the ending
codafirst and the beginning primal burps last. Confused? Try DOING it sometime!
"All the sounds on Eden are guitar, includ-
ing the repeat-delayed volume-knob swells in the beginning that sound like voices `ahhh'-ing: but excluding the water and seagulls, which were courtesy of asoundeffects record we had lying around the studio. Incidentally, ifyou have access to an openreel deck, you can record Eden and flip the tape over to hear the solo 'forwards: although you'll also hear the subliminal message 'Eat lots of pork products:
"By placing the various guitars and reverbs all over the place, Itried to create adeep, spacious soundstage. Of course, this depth is entirely artificial, created as it was with a
Yamaha SPX-90 digital reverb twiddled to produce an extra-long reverb algorithm. The movement of the solo distorted guitar came
from aheavy hand on the pan pot and fader,
and not me running back and forth through the studio with my amp strapped to my back as suggested by TJN. All the guitars are first-
takes, the total time between actual recording and final mixdown being about two hours; I'm afirm believer in the Elvis Ethos: 'Take Care of Business, Lightning-Quick:
"The day John and Ispent transferring the 1/4" 2-track master to digital was both enlightening and unnerving. Because while we had the privilege ofusing the edge-of-the-art Manley A/D converter, aunit as superior to what's used for most commercial recordings as aGoldmund is to aFisher-Price, there was STILL audible degradation when comparing the DAT copy to the analog master! Imean,
it's not like we were using amega-tweaked tube Ampex 300 for the analog and a$99 Walmart CD player to solve the Great Analog/Digital Debate; the Aiwa DAT machine fed the super-bad Manley Reference D/A converter, while we played the analog master

STEREOPHILE. M AY 1992

103

STEREOPHILE'S NEW TEST CD 2
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ofEden back overJohn's stock Revox PR99

2), 4kHz (Index 3), 5kHz (Index 4), 63kHz (Index

deck. A better digital transfer setup doesn't
exist, yetJohn, TJN, RL, and Iall heard adistinct loss ofdepth. This was especially apparent

5), 8kHz (Index 6), 10kHz (Index 7), 12.5kHz (Index 8), 16kHz (Index 9), 20kHz (Index 10) [19] Music Articulation Test Mane (DDD) 1:19

at the end of the solo, when the raging guitar These tracks are intended to enable audio-

suddenly implodes; Ipurposely rammed philes to get ahandle on how their systems

down the fader during the original mixdown and loudspeakers interface with their listen-

to create amassive surge ofreverb toward the ing rooms, even if they don't have any test

'rear' of the soundscape. With the analog equipment.

master, my intended effect ofahuge wave of

The sound on Track 15 is random noise

ambience soaring out into space was clear; with equal energy per musical octave, re-

the DAT version, however, curtailed this last corded in dual mono. Called "pink" noise

gasp ofreverb, making it sound like the wave by engineers, it easily enables the listener to

was suddenly soaked up by the beach a hear loudspeaker problems. It should sound

good 50 yards before it was supposed to be. like absolutely smooth rushing water with

Tonally, the DAT copy is very faithful to the no band offrequencies sticking out any more

original master, but the sense of ambience I than any other. It should also not sound hol-

worked very hard to create with the various low or colored in any way, while the image

reverbs and production techniques is some- of the noise should appear to come from a

what foreshortened. As John said while we narrow point midway between the speakers.

listened to the playback, 'Ifyou never heard Ifthe sound ofthis track fails to meet any of

the original analog master, the digital transfer these criteria, then try sitting higher or lower,

sounds damn good!' Which it does. But for this doser or farther away, or moving the speakers

listener, the whole issue of 'digital sounds and/or nearby furniture. The second noise

drier cuz analog exaggerates ambience with signal is the same as the first except that each

resonant spume/phase anomalies/increased channel ofnoise was recorded independently.

distortion' has been settled for good.

The overall sound should therefore appear

"And last, even though this recording fea- to be very spacious. Listen, however, to see

tures electronically produced sounds, massive ifany frequency bands stick out or appear to

intentional distortion, completely unnatural give acentral image, particularly in the treble.

backwards guitars, tons of multi-tracking If this happens, then your speakers proba-

with absolutely no regard for correct polarity, bly have some resonant problems in those

and atotally artificial ambient environment, regions.

the audible tape hiss and AC hum are there

The warble-tone tracks (which roughly

because Irefused to use Dolby; Iam, after all, illustrate the extent ofthe terms "bass," "mid-

apurist."

range," and "treble") were recorded on aJVC

XD-Z1010TN DAT recorder from the out-

SUBJECTIVE ROOM & SPEAKER

put of an Old Colony Sound Lab warble-

DIAGNOSTIC TRACKS

tone generator, the frequency quoted being

the approximate center frequency of each.

[151 Pink Noise at -20dBFS (DDD) 1:24 Correlated between channels, then uncorrelated from
0:42 [16] Bass Decade 1 /2 -octave warble tones at
-20dBFS (DDD) 2:47 Center frequencies: 200Hz (Index 1), 160Hz (Index
2), 125Hz (Index 3), 100Hz (Index 4), 80Hz (Index 5), 63Hz (Index 6), 50Hz (Index 7), 40Hz (Index 8),

The generator contains asinewave oscillator that is frequency-modulated at arate of
5Hz or so; this is fast enough that the effect of low-frequency room resonances on the perceived level will be minimized, the test
tone changing sufficiently quickly that the

31.5Hz (Index 9), 25Hz (Index 10), and 20Hz (Index 11) [171 Midrange Decade 1 /2 -octave warble tones at -20dBFS (DDD) 2:32 Center frequencies: 250Hz (Index 1), 315Hz (Index 2), 400Hz (Index 3), 500Hz (Index 4), 630Hz (Index 5), 800Hz (Index 6), IkHz (Index 7), 1.25kHz (Index 8), 1.6kHz (Index 9), 2kHz (Index

resonance doesn't have time to fully develop. The bass warble tones can therefore be
used to give agood idea ofaloudspeaker's subjective bass extension in the listening room, either by listening or by using asoundlevel meter--Radio Shack sells quite agood

10) [18] ilreble Decade 93-octave warble tones at
-20dBFS (DDD) 2:32 Center frequencies: 2.5kHz (Index 1), 3.15kHz (Index

one for around $30. Set areference level with Track 17, Index 7, the lkHz band, then note by how much the sound level drops with

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

105

each successive warble tone? (Ifyour cassette deck came with amicrophone, put the mike
at your listening chair, set the recorder to
"Record," and monitor the sound level with
its meters.) The 200Hz-100Hz bands can be considered the upper bass, 80Hz-40Hz the

is to first listen to the quality of the tone sequence over headphones, then over your
loudspeakers. (The sound level should be set to your normal listening level.) "It is always
asurprise how unintelligible audio playback systems can be," notes Arthur Ncocon. "Some

midbass, and the remaining bands the low bass. Ifthese bass warbles sound or measure uneven, with some either sticking out more than others or missing in action, then try

sections of the test will sound out articulate `TAT, TAT, TAT,' representing dean, fast attack
transients, stable sustains, and rapid decays. But interspersed among these articulate pas-

moving the speakers or your listening chair around the room. The object is to get the
tones as even-sounding/measuring as pos-
sible. Tracks 17 and 18 offer sets ofwarble tones
covering the Midrange and Treble decades! so that you can measure the in-room re-

sages will be heard totally garbled 'BUDDULA, BUDDULA, BUDDULA' sounds. Ifyou listen close to the speakers, the garbled
passages will disappear, but as you back away from them into the room, the amount of garbled signal will increase rapidly!'
The Radio Shack SPL meter can be used

sponse of your loudspeakers without having to pop for an expensive spectrum analyzer. The lkHz warble tone can also be used

with the MATT signal. Set the speed to FAST and the weighting network to C SCALE.
Adjust the speaker volume and meter gain

to get arelative idea of aloudspeaker's sensitivity: measure the sound-pressure level
with aloudspeaker whose sensitivity you

so that the display does not peg the meter. Simply watching the meter needle is instructive: first experience afully articulate signal

know, then, without changing the playback
level, measure the spl of an unknown loudspeaker substituted into the system.

by holding the meter acouple of feet from the speaker, on-axis. The needle will vibrate rapidly as it follows the rapid loud-quiet-

The Music Articulation Test Tone was
supplied by Acoustic Sciences Corporation, the progenitor of the Tube and Studio Traps (see Stereophile Vol.9 No3 and Vol.15 No.2), and again allows you to get ahandle on your

loud-quiet of the tone-burst sequence. Now move back to the listening position and the
needle will not move nearly as wildly. It will barely quiver during the inarticulate passages and mildly fluctuate during the more articu-

loudspeaker positioning and your listeningroom acoustics. Essentially a"musical range intelligibility" or "Modulation Transfer Function" test, according to Acoustic Sciences'
Arthur Noxon, the test signal consists of a rapid sequence of tone bursts that starts at

ulate passages. The object of the test is to move your
speakers and/or listening position and/or add
acoustic treatment to your listening room to obtain the most articulate sound/SPL meter
reading across the entire frequency range of

28Hz, rises in pitch to apeak at 780Hz, then

descends back down the scale to 28Hz (see

fig.5). Each burst is 2Hz above the previous

one, there are eight bursts every second, and

each burst last 1/16s, followed by 1/16s of

silence. The frequency at any point in the test

is easily determined with astopwatch, there-

fore, as the tone burst changes frequency by

16Hz every second. For ascending tones, the

frequency = 28 +16t Hz, where tis the time

in seconds; for descending tones, the fre-

quency = 1532 -16t Hz.

The best way to audition the MATI' test

7Whereas the warble tones on the succeeding tracks increase in frequency, those on Track 16 decrease, to make it easier to judge bass extension by ear.
8The 20kHz warble tone is included for completeness's sake, but because of its proximity to the edge of the CD passband, its actual center frequency measures closer to 18kHz.

Fig.5 ASC Music Articulation Test Tone, plotting toneburst frequency (triangular curve) and amplitude (ragged curve) against track playing time

106

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

THE WEAVERS

Reunion ial rarnelie

twa

13: 611·Mlifàr."
Classics from the t

past brought back ert;eHgeete..r,r

to new life.

4

, Analogue Productions (LP) and Vanguard Classics (CD) -- -- are combining old recording techniques with the latest
jj mastering technology to create the ultimate sound. The Ill LP's are Limited Edition and mastered by Doug Sax.

NEW WEAVERS/REUNION AT CARNEGIE HALL 1963. Recorded on location at Carnegie Hall on May 2nd and 3rd at two historic concerts celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Weavers. Bernie Krause, Frank Hamilton, Pete Seeger, Erik Darling. Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, and Fred HeHerman. This LP has been on HP's list for years. This is real classic both musically and sonically. Like all Analogue Productions. it was mastered off the original master tape -this particular one was from a3track 15 IFS tape. Even though the tape is almost 30 years old it was in immaculate shape. It was also helped funded by The Absolute Sound Magazine fund for recorded
music. LP=AAPF 005 $25 CD=CVAN 2150 $16

COPLAND: FANFARE FOR THE

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recordings were made at the same session

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At

Symphonic Dances. The CD also has Ives: Washington's Birthday 1Decoration Day. LP=AAPC 004 $25

urieuteuts,e0,,ii N10111 Ill MI %DC

CD=CAPC 004 $16
COULD LATIN AMERICAN SYMPHONETTE "Both (Gottschalk' scores get the full treatment from Abravanel and his forces ... As for the Gould ... there are a

*-re

number of other versions in the catalogue ... but the Abravanel leaves these well

behind." -- HiFi/Stereo Review LP=AAPC 003 $25

CANTLOUBE!SONGS OF THE AUVERGNE This is the recording that has been on HP'S Hit list for years. It is considered by all to be the best recording and interpreta-
tion of these works. Netania Davrath sings in the original French dialect (Auvergne). "Beautiful voice, enchanting song, marvelous orchestrations." -- Stereo Review LP=AAPC 002 $25 CD=CVAN 8001 $26 (2 CD set)

THOMSON: THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS; SUITE FROM '111E
RIVER; Symphony of the Air /Stokowski (CD contains extra music.) "This is one
of the closest approaches on record, perhaps the closest, to the remarkable sound Stokowski achieved "Live" the remastering, by Doug Sax, is superbly done, easily surpassing the already very good original pressing." -- MEG., The Absolute Sound, Issue 72, July/August 1991 LP=AAPC 001 825 CD=CVAN 8013 $16

MASSENET LE CID-BALLET MUSIC. The City of Birmingham Symphony

Orchestra Conducted by Louis Fremaux. (CD contains extra music.) We will give

you afull refund if you are not impressed with its sound. "The orchestra's playing is

superb in its disciplined abandon. The sound is just as sparkling as the music. In short,

this is among avery small handful of the finest recorded orchestral presentations Ihave

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the test. A ldB swing ofthe needle indicates your room needs alot of help in that frequency region; 10dB or more is good to excellent performance.
If you have any comments on the MATT test, we are sure that Acoustic SciencesTel: (503) 343-9727, Fax: (503) 343-9245would be delighted to hear from you. In addition, recordings of MATT tests made in your room from the SPL meter's line output -be sure to turn off your cassette deck's Automatic Gain Control, if present-can be sent to ASC for processing into graphs for anominal charge (phone first).
DISTORTION 8c JITTER DEMONSTRATION TRACKS
[20] The Harmonic Series, 500Hz fundamental (L+R) (DDD) 0:24
500Hz, IkHz, I.5kHz, 2kHz, 2.5kHz, 3kHz, 3.5kHz, 4kHz, 4.5kHz, 5kHz, 5.5kHz, 6kHz, 6.5kHz, 7kHz, 7.5kHz, 8kHz, 8.5kHz, 9kHz, 9.5kHz, 10kHz, at -10dBFS
[21] Second-harmonic distortion (L+R) (DDD) 1:42
500Hz at -10dBFS + 0% second-harmonic distortion (Index 1), then 10%; 0% (Index 2), 3%; 0% (Index 3), 1%; 0% (Index 4), 03%; 0% (Index 5), 0.1%
[22] Third-harmonic distortion (L+R) (DDD) 1:42
500Hz at -10dBFS + 0% 3rd harmonic distortion (Index 1), then 10%; 0% (Index 2), 3%; 0% (Index 3), 1%; 0% (Index 4), 03%; 0% (Index 5), 0.1%
[23] Seventh-harmonic distortion (L+R) (DDD) 2:02
500Hz at -10dBFS +0% seventh-harmonic distortion (Index 1), then 10%; 0% (Index 2), 3%; 0% (Index 3), 1%; 0% (Index 4), 03%; 0% (Index 5),
0.1%; 0% (Index 6), 0.03% [24] Typical amplifier distortion signatures (L+R)
(DDD) 0:32 500Hz at -10dBFS (Index 1), 500Hz at -10dBFS +
tube THD (Index 2), 500Hz at -10dBFS + solidstate THD (Index 3) 1251 Harmonic et sub-harmonic distortion (L+R) (DDD) 0:22 licHz at -10dBFS pure (Index 1), IkHz +high-level panel speaker THD (Index 2). [26] Jitter demonstration track with spoken warning (L+R) (DDD) 0:48 IlkHz at -10dBFS (Index 1), IlkHz affected by lOns p-p jitter of 4kHz tone (Index 2), IlkHz pure (Index 3)
Audiophiles will be familiar with the term "Harmonic Distortion," but how many are really comfortable with what it means? When asignal passes through ahi-fi component, not only will it be reproduced, but so will higher-frequency "images" of that signal at integer multiples of its frequency (track 20). (These are also the notes that aplayer can pro-

duce from anatural horn or trumpet, by varying the tension of his lips.) To show this
effect, fig.6 is the spectrum ofapure 500Hz sinewave tone, asingle peak being visible at
the fundamental frequency. If ahi-fi com-
ponent adds what is termed "second-harmonic distortion:' then it will add aspuri-
ous tone at twice the fundamental frequency. This can be seen in fig.7, which indicates 10% of second-harmonic distortion by the peak
at lkHz. Another way of describing this would be to say that the spurious lkHz tone lies at -20dB (decibels) with respect to the fundamental. This is why the distortion spec-
tra featured in Stereophile and other magazines often have avertical scale calibrated in dB. Similarly, figs.8 and 9show 10% ofthird-
harmonic (3 x 500Hz = 1500Hz) and seventh-harmonic distortion (7 x500Hz = 3500Hz).
Tracks 21, 22, and 23 allow you to compare different levels of second-, third-, and
seventh-harmonic distortion with the pure tone, so that you can test yourself as to how much ofeach kind ofdistortion you can hear. Make anote at where you can no longer hear any difference between the pure and distorted tones.
In general, the audibility of any particu-
lar harmonic will depend on the distance between it and the fundamental on the spectrum's horizontal scale. For manufacturers and reviewers merely to quote asingle distortion specification-0.1% or -60dB, for example-is therefore no guide as to whether that distortion will be audible or not (something that Stereophile's founder, J. Gordon
Holt, has said for many years). To demonstrate this phenomenon, tracks 24 and 25 compare the sounds ofapure tone with dis-
tortion "signatures" typical ola classic tube amplifier near its clipping point (fig.10), an inexpensive class-B solid-state amplifier
(fig.11), and apanel speaker near its overload point (figs.12 and 13). (While all these spectra
were generated purely in the digital domain by the Audio Precision System One Dual Domain, they were taken from review measurements of real amplifiers and speakers from the last few years.)
The tube amplifier's distortion is high in level, around 3%, and includes some 120Hz
power-supply hum, while the THD of the solid-state amplifier is 10 times lower in level, at around 03%. Note, however, that the latter

108

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

·.·

Poo.,

- a ..It

-

\eeeleteelied.04/41,0001

Fig.6 Spectrum of pure 500Hz tone at -I0dBFS (100Hz-6kHz)

Pero %met

0. 1.0. a .It.

100.4.40 -
14404001c 4104.41., 10141 · -31.7 U. *I · -33.5 M. eq. · -34..] SO
Fig.I0 Spectrum of 500Hz tone at -I0dBFS with hum and distortion typical of aclassic tube amplifier near clipping (100Hz-6kHz)

-.0... 1
'

Irelmotow - It
Fig.7 Spectrum of 500Hz tone at -I0dBFS with 10% 2nd-harmonic distortion (100Hz-6kHz)
Fem. t.c.o· 114.1.1· - a .1. o

11. Imorelco -
41·44.100. tai·..t.y a. SI · -.a 121. woo . -4,o.o as
Fig. II Spectrum of 500Hz tone at -10dBFS with distortion typical of an inexpensive solidstate amplifier operating in class-B (100Hz-6kHz)

04. 11. 1.
Fig.8 Spectrum of 500Hz tone at -I0dBFS with 10% 3rd-harmonic distortion (100Hz-6kHz)

·

140.4 84.44·· 11.181.·· - a .It.

-40.0 -40.·
-40.·

40·04010.
Fig.I 2Spectrum of pure 'kHz tone at -I0dBFS (100Hz-6kHz)

Th rio

t... It 41.4 - II .1.

î

reMm5e10),40410
01.1.0.1
Fig.9 Spectrum of 500Hz tone at -I0dBFS with 10% 7th-harmonic distortion (100Hz-6kHz)

log 1·······00
Fig.I3 Spectrum of IkHz tone at -I0dBFS with distortion typical of aplanar diaphragm near its overload point (100Hz-6kHz)

is as audible--if not more audible--despite
its lower level, because its spectrum favors the higher harmonics. Track 25 is interest-
ing because apanel speaker is afundamentally chaotic system: when it distorts, it also adds subharmonic and enharmonic components--the mathematician Manfred Schroeder has said that the production of subharmonics is always an indication of chaotic behavior. Normal harmonic-distortion components of the 1kHz fundamental can be seen at

2kHz, 3kHz, 4kHz, and 5kHz, with the third
harmonic being the highest in level at -30dB or 3%, but astrong component at half the
fundamental frequency can be seen, as well as a couple of enharmonic components between lkHz and 2kHz. The 500Hz com-
ponent is 40dB down or 1%, but is very audible because its frequency is lower than that of the fundamental.
A different kind of distortion is that occurring in the digital domain due to timing

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

109

II IIII II 1
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uncertainty in the datastream. "Bits is bits," difference is being obscured by high levels say many engineers, but they're really only ofjitter in your player and/or processor.)

correct when those bits occur at precisely

defined intervals. Any regularly occurring timing imprecision in the digital data words will result in spurious tones appearing in the

CD PLAYER & TAPE RECORDER ALIGNMENT TEST TRACKS

signal when it is finally converted to analog
(see Stereophile, May 1990, pp.49-55 and 8185; December 1990, p.179; and October 1991, pp.63-69). The effect is worse at high levels and at higher frequencies. To demon-
strate this, track 26 offers first apure tone at
11kHz-WARNING: DON'T PLAY THIS TRACK 700 LOUD-followed by the same tone with the effect of the data words representing the tone beinguttered at afre-
quency of 4kHz (figs.14 and 15, respectively)? Each data word should be precisely spaced at 22/As (0.000022s) intervals; the uncertainly in the data word timing is lOns (0.00000001s) peak-peak. This is alittle higher than that encountered in typical CD players, but it has been exaggerated to make the effect clearly audible. In real life, too, the
jitter uncertainty would not necessarily be

127] Spot frequency tones at -20dBFS (L+R) (DDD) 6:15
10Hz (Index I), I2.5Hz (Index 2), 16Hz (Index 3), 20Hz (Index 4), 25Hz (Index 5), 31.5Hz (Index 6),
40Hz (Index 7), 50Hz (Index 8), 63Hz (Index 9), 80Hz (Index 10), 100Hz (Index 11), 125Hz (Index 12), 160Hz (Index 13), 200Hz (Index 14), 250Hz (Index 15), 315Hz (Index 16), 400Hz (Index 17),
500Hz (Index 18), 630Hz (Index 19), 800Hz (Index 20), IkHz (Index 21), 1.25kHz (Index 22), 1.6kHz (Index 23), 2kHz (Index 24), 2.5kHz (Index 25),
3.I5kHz (Index 26), 4kHz (Index 27), 5kHz (Index 28), 6.3kHz (Index 29), 8kHz (Index 30), 10kHz (Index 31), 12.5kHz (Index 32), 14kHz (Index 33),
15kHz (Index 34), 16kHz (Index 35), 18kHz (Index 36), 20kHz (Index 37)
[281 De-emphasis test tones at -20dBFS, (L+R) (DDD) 0:52
100Hz (Index I), IkHz (Index 2), 4kHz (Index 3), 10kHz (Index 4), 16kHz (Index 5)
[291 Noise Modulation lb« Tones (L+R) (DDD) 1:02
4IHz at -50dBFS (Index 1), -60dBFS (Index 2),
-70dBFS (Index 3), -80dBFS (Index 4), -90dBFS (Index 5), -100dBFS (Index 6) with dither

apure tone, but amixture oftones as well as

noise and hum. Nevertheless, we hope that you can hear the roughness in the decoded sound of the tone due to apurely digital
phenomenon. (If the two halves of track 26 sound identical, then it is likely that the

Track 27 consists of 37 sinewave tones, each lasting 10s, covering frequencies from below audibility to the top of the audio band, all recorded at the same level. These will enable anyone with an accurate voltmeter-we

can confidently recommend the handheld

Peer 000000·· 000·10·00 - Oloolt·
a.o · -10.0· i

Fluke 87 series as being flat in the audio
îband-to assess the frequency response and crosstalk of their amp, preamp, and tape

-00.0

decks. By contrast, the tones on track 28 have

been recorded with atreble boost. Termed

"pre-emphasis," this boost is canceled by a

1 1 M

ilereeYtileeee#1Ntetle""

30101.0

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complementary cut in the treble when the CD is played back, due to the CD player

Fig.14 Spectrum of pure Il kHz tone at -10dBFS (IkHz-30kHz, linear frequency scale)

detecting what is termed the "pre-emphasis flag:' ifset in the datastream. The result is that HF distortion and noise are reduced in level

(though there is an unfortunate tradeoff in

tower

Itudo -

alto

high-frequency headroom, which is why
î most discs are not pre-emphasized). Ifyour CD player's de-emphasis circuitry is oper-

ating correctly, these tones should all measure

-00.·

as being identical in level. Ifnot, then any pre-

Fig.I5 Spectrum of II kHz tone at -10dBFS, jittered with lOns p-p of 4kHz (IkHz30kHz, linear frequency scale)

9Because ofthe practical impossibility ofus applying specified amounts ofjitter in your CD player, this track actually contains the mirror-image situation: the data representing the 11kHz tone have been altered by calculating the effect of the same jitter added at the original AID conversion. Jitter is jitter, however, no matter where it actually originates, though in this case, the bits are no longer the same bits.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

111

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emphasized CDs will not be reproduced with the correct tonal balance. (Track 9on
this CD, for example--Peter Mitchell's organ recording--is recorded with pre-emphasis.)
Track 29 will enable those with access to
aspectrum analyzer to examine their CD player's performance with anew test pro-
posed by Audio Precision's Dr. Richard Cabot" at the February 1991 Audio Engi-
neering Society Convention in Paris. The test, based on psychoacoustic principles, attempts to predict the audible performance oía player's D/A conversion by measuring its noise modulation."
The technique is straightforward: the D/A
section is driven with the code representing alow-frequency sinewave, the player's output
is high-pass filtered to remove the test signal, and a1 /2 -octave spectral analysis of the
analog output is performed. The result is
plotted as noise level vs frequency. The mea-
surement is repeated at different input-signal levels, with each curve overlaid on the previous curves for easy comparison.12
The test-signal frequency is 41Hz, chosen because it is not an integer sub-multiple of the sampling frequency. The test signal will thus exercise the greatest number of steps in the DAC. Six signal levels are used, from
-50dBFS (FS = Full Scale) to -100dBFS, in 10dB steps.13
Basically, the technique measures noise-
floor shifts (a result ofquantization distortion) as afunction ofsignal level. There is adirect correlation between low-level linearity and
performance in this test. In addition to how
much the noise floor is modulated by signal level, the measurement reveals shifts in the
noise floor's spectral balance with changes in signal level. Ideally, the noise-floor spectrum
should remain constant with level, producing curves that exactly overlay each other. Psychoacoustic research by Louis Fielder at
Dolby Labs indicates that noise-floor shifts of 2dB are audible. Further, Dr. Cabot's paper asserts that the ear is very sensitive to

shifts in the noise floor's spectral balance;
changes on the order of ldB are reportedly
audible.
HIGH--LEVEL TEST TRACKS
[30] 19+20kHz at OdBFS with spoken warning (L+R) (DUD) 0:21
[31] 20kHz at OdBFS with spoken warning (L+ R) (DDD) 0:31 20kHz at -20dBFS (L+R)
These tracks--which must not be played at high levels--will be of no concern to the audiophile who is just interested in music, but will be found very useful to those with spectrum analyzers. Track 30 tests aCD player or D/A processor for intermodulation distortion--see Stereophile's reviews for more information. While only small children and bats will be able to hear the 19kHz and 20kHz tones, poorly performing CD players and amplifiers will produce audible tones much lower in frequency. Differences from the expected THD +noise differences between the two halves ofTrack 31 should be related to the amount ofjitter in the digital datastream.
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10 See Robert Harley's interview with Dr. Cabot in Stereophik, Vol.14 No.1, January 1991.
11 "Noise Modulation in Digital Audio Devices" is available for 83 from the Audio Engineering Society, 60E. 42nd Street, Room 2520, New York, NY 10165-0075. Tel: (212) 661-8528.
12 See Stereophile, February 1992, Vol.15 No.2, p.143.
13 To record digital data representing signals at or below the theoretical resolution limit of the 16-bit CD system, the appropriate amount of shaped dither noise was used.

V e,INSIIOGHT
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E QUIPMENT R EPORTS
M ICROMEGA TRIO CD PLAYER
Robert Harley

Micromega Trio CD player
Three-box CD player with Bitstream D/A conversion. No other technical specifications provided. Dimensions: 13 8"W by 8'," Hby 14" D(including rear panel cables). Weight: 16kg (35 lbs). Price: $7500. Approximate number of dealers: 4. US distributor: Versa Dynamics, 36 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011. Tel: (212) 243-8553.

"Technical details provide no useful information about the sound ofthe player and we therefore have nothing to say about the product's internal workings."
That was John Bicht's reply to my techni-
cal questions about what makes the Micro-- mega Trio CD player tick. His response was

unique; manufacturers are usually happy to tell me anything Iwant to know about how their products work. Designers are often like
proud parents, exulting in their creation as they talk me through the unit's topology. They want Stereophile readers to know all
about the little tweaky tricks and esoteric

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

117

components used in their handiwork. Not so Versa Dynamics' John Bicht.' He
has adisdain for specifications and the technical descriptions of products found in reviews. Versa Dynamics' view is that what really matters is how the product reproduces music--something that no amount of technical understanding or description can convey. John's advice to me was, "If! were writing the review, I'd say, 'It's three boxes and this is how it sounds: "
He has apoint: some audiophiles tend to be swayed by aproduct's technical description rather than by apersonal musical evaluation. Indeed, some high-end advertising appeals to this tendency by printing alaundry list of the product's technical highlights: number of power-supply regulation stages, DIA conversion method, etc. This type of speananship is more suited toJapanese massmarket equipment than true high-end products. John Bicht's fundamental premise--that specifications say nothing about the product's ability to communicate the music-- is right on the money.
On the other hand, technical descriptions provide an insight into the designer's philosophy; the product is the direct physical embodiment ofwhat he feels is important in high-end design. In addition, atechnical understanding ola wide range of products sometimes suggests correlations between certain techniques or technologies and musical characteristics To me, understanding what the designer did and why he did it offers a fascinating glimpse into the whole process ofhigh-end product design. This is especially true in the rapidly changing field of digital processor design; the technology is so new that every designer has adifferent idea about what's important in making amusically satisfying product. By understanding and presenting each designer's approach, aclear consensus may emerge about what matters musically in digital to analog conversion.
While atechnical understanding can be useful, it must not substitute for listening to your favorite music through the product under consideration. Even areview that reports on the product's sonic and musical
1John is the designer of the state-of-the-art Versa Dynamics turntables, and the founder of that company. With the market for LP playback equipment declining, he has turned his attention to the digital arena, starting with distribution of the French-made Micromega line of digital products.

characteristics cannot answer the fundamen-
tal question at the very core of high-end audio: "Do Ienjoy music more when it is
reproduced by this product?" Indeed, it was the answer to this question
that shaped my opinion of the Micromega Trio.
TECHNICAL DE SCRIPTION
The Micromega Trio CD player is an unusual design. The unit comprises three slim black boxes--power supply, DIA converter, and CD transport--stacked atop one another. The top-loading transport is covered by a hinged plexiglass top, this concept created by Micromega and now used by Krell and others. Electrical connection between them is through a9-pin D connector (power sup-
ply to transport) and a37-pin D connector (power supply to digital processor). Micromega provides both standard RCA coaxial and Toslink S/PDIF interfaces between the transport and processor. A braided ground lead connects the power supply to the transport and processor. These ground wires' slipon connectors permit avariety of grounding arrangements. An additional braided ground cable permits ground connection to apreamplifier. Analog output is via apair of high-quality gold-plated RCA jacks.
Arow ofmembrane-type touch switches runs across the transport's front panel. These provide transport control functions such as Play, Stop, Skip, and Fast Forward/Reverse. The transport can be programmed to play up to 20 tracks. An LED display shows track and index number, and can be switched from the front panel to display time information instead (but not both simultaneously). The small remote control provides Stop, Pause, Play, Skip Forward, Skip Backward, and Repeat functions.
The power-supply front panel has apower on/off switch, voltage selector (120V or 240V), ground lift switch, and four useraccessible fuse holders. Each of these fuses is accompanied by an LED to indicate if the fuse has blown.
The D/A conversion box itself has four switches: polarity inversion, mute, attenuation (12dB), and coaxial/optical input selection. A row of three small LEDs indicates which ofthree sampling frequencies is being received.
An unusual mechanical grounding scheme

118

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

is used in the Trio: each piece has two rub-
ber feet and one spike. The transport's spike rests on asolid metal cylinder in the power supply that is slightly taller than the chassis. This metal cylinder is attached to the power supply's spike, which rests on the D/A converter's metal cylinder. The D/A converter's spike rests on the equipment rack. This arrangement provides rigid coupling straight through the three units in the front left-hand corner, and elastic coupling at two other points.
Looking at the unit in more detail, the power supply contains five transformers but
little else. One of these transformers is part ofacircuit that prevents the unit from blowing up ifit is plugged into a240VAC supply
and the front-panel switch is set to 120V. The other four transformers supply 16 regulated supplies, only one of which is located inside
the power supply itself. The only regulation in the power-supply box is a7805 (+5V)
regulator attached to avery large heatsink. All other voltage regulation is performed in the transport and processor, next to the cir-
cuits they supply. Sixteen electrolytic capacitors (either 2200g or 3300µF) are by-
passed with what appear to be film types. The power-supply box provides rectified and
filtered DC for regulation in the other two boxes (transport and processor) via the D connectors. Four of the supplies go to the transport, and 12 to the digital processor.
With the front-panel ground switch in the
"GND" position, the negative-polarity side of the circuitry is pulled to ground level.
The transport is built around aPhilips
CDM 3mechanism. Aclear plexiglass top opens for placing the CD on the spindle, and
aheavy clamp goes on top ofthe CD. Like the mechanical grounding arrangement on the three boxes, the transport mechanism itself is mounted rigidly on the front lefthand corner with aball-and-socket system and elastically at two other points. Adamping material covers the bottom exterior and portions of the chassis interior. The decoder and control chip is from Philips. Although
it appears that four of the 16 supply stages go to the transport, Icounted nine three-pin (T0-220 type) voltage regulators on the transport control board. I've never seen so many regulators in aCD drive.
The Trio's digital processor is based on the Philips SAA7321 Bitstream chip. Rather than

use one chip for both channels, the Trio employs two 7321s (one per channel) for differential operation. An unbalancing circuit follows each 7321, converting the differential signal to single-ended, thus rejecting unwanted noise and distortion common to both signals. The output stage is fully discrete and uses high-quality film caps and metal-film resistors. Two rows of logic chips run the unit's length, separating the left and right audio signals and correcting their timing for
input to the two Bitstream DACs. The popular Yamaha YM3623B S/PDIF chip is used in the digital input circuit. Most ofthe pro-
cessor's voltage regulators are discrete rather than the ubiquitous three-pin IC type.
Overall, the Trio's design is, shall we say, idiosyncratic. The three-box approach, toploading drive mechanism, D connectors, and
elaborate mechanical grounding system all contributed the impression that the Trio was
not designed with a"follow-the-pack" mentality. Ergonomically, Ifound the transport's small pushbuttons (with their even smaller type) somewhat inconvenient. Ialso felt the
manual was lacking; the English translation was rough, the remote control wasn't even mentioned (there was one button on the remote marked "ALEA" whose function I
never discovered), and the warranty terms were provided in French but not in English.
Further, there is no mention that the three units should be stacked for the mechanical
grounding to work as intended, or any other indications of how the Trio should be set up.
True, most of these omissions have nothing to do with the product's sound, but Ithink for $7500 the purchaser is entitled to more complete documentation.
Afew notes about setup. WhenJoin Bicht brought the unit to my listening room, he imposed three conditions: 1) that all microprocessor-based equipment throughout the house be turned off (VCR, microwave, clocks); 2) that all light dimmers be turned off; and 3) that the Trio be installed on asolid stand. None ofthese was aproblem: the first two conditions were easily accommodated, and Ihave alead-shot-and-sand-filled (and spiked) Merrill Stable Table. John Bicht's response to the Stable Table was, "Well, it will
have to do." ". ..have to do?" What doesJoint Bicht put his equipment on? Iasked. Very short slabs ofgranite custom-cut by atomb-
stone maker!

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

119

He was right to be concerned about setup: the Trio is very fussy. In addition to the above conditions, the unit sounded its best only after afull day ofwarmup. Further, the clear plexiglass transport top should be covered with acloth to prevent light from getting in. Covering the unit made anoticeable difference in the presentation. The Trio also sounded better with all the cables physically separated from each other, especially the coaxial digital cable and analog output cables. It's probably also agood idea to keep the digital cable away from the power-supply links. Finally, because of the plexiglass cover and top-loading design, the Trio needs the uppermost space in asolid rack--unfortunately the place where most of us have our LP turntables.
LISTENING Power amplifiers auditioned with the Trio included the VTL 225W monoblocics, Boulder 500AE, McCormack DNA-1, and Parasound HCA-2200. Most of the listening impressions reported here were obtained with the VTLs. The preamp was an Audio Research LS-2 line stage, and loudspeakers were primarily the Hales System Two Signatures augmented with aMuse Model 18 subwoofer. Loudspeaker cables were biwired runs ofAudioQuest Sterling/Midnight and interconnects were Expressive Technologies IC-1 (Trio to preamp) and AudioQuest Lapis (preamp to subwoofer). Other digital products on hand for comparison included aWadia 2000, Kinergetics KCD-55 Ultra, and PS Audio's new UltraLink. Transports driving these stand-alone processors included the Nakamichi 1000mb (full review next issue) and aTheta Data, both via the glass fiber interface. All AC power to the system (except the Muse Model 18 and the VTLs) was conditioned by aTice Power Block and Titan.
When John Bicht was visiting with the Trio, Iwas less than impressed by the unit. It sounded alittle rolled offin the treble and lacking in detail. Moreover, the Trio didn't grab me musically. Manufacturers' visits, however, are not the ideal conditions for auditioning components; besides the reviewer being underJA's constraint ofnot giving the manufacturer any indication of what he thinks of the product, the conditions are generally not conducive to immersing oneself

in the music. Iliked the Trio alittle better during the first
few short analytical listening sessions, in which Iattempted to get ahandle on the Trio's "sound." It was, however, only when Ispent long sessions with the Trio and my favorite music that this product's special qualities emerged.
During these sessions Ifound myself intensely involved in the music, not the Trio's "sound." While Irealized Iwould have to analyze and describe the Trio's character for this review, this way oflistening was thrown out the window in favor of enjoying the music Ithus ended up with two sets ofnotes: sonic and musical impressions. I'll start with
the musical. First, the Trio didn't allow passive listening.
It was the antithesis of bland and boring. I found myself swept up in the music, involved in every note and nuance ofthe performance. The Trio provided what seemed like amore direct connection between the musicians' expression and me. Discs brought out for one or two tracks were listened to and enjoyed in their entirety. There was the urge to play disc after disc, extending the listening sessions without regard for the passage of time. The Trio was one ofthose rare products that leaves you exhilarated and tapping your foot from the previous disc while the next disc is
chosen and put on the transport. Moreover, this kind of involvement con-
tinued throughout long listening sessions. The Trio was one ofthe most fatigue-free and easy-to-listen-to digital products I've auditioned (joining the Linn Karilc/Numerik and
Mark Levinson No30). There wasn't the sense ofreliefwhen the music stopped or was
turned down--always the sign something is wrong with aproduct. Instead, there was the urge to turn the music up and keep listening.
In short, the Trio was superbly musical. Ieventually had ahard time putting my finger on what the Trio does that makes music
so compelling, but its fiindamental ability to involve the listener in the music was extraor-
dinary and without question. Moving on to the specific performance
attributes, the Trio's most salient characteristic
was its laid-back presentation. The music seemed to exist more behind than in front of
the loudspeakers. The treble was exceptionally smooth and free from digital hash. The white-noisy grain that often overlays the tie-

120

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

ble was mercifully absent. Further adding to the relaxed presentation, the Trio had noticeably less high-frequency energy than other digital processors, yet didn't sound closed-in in the top octave. Instead, it rendered HF-rich instruments with awarmth and naturalness
reminiscent ofgood analog. There was, however, areduction in high-frequency detail
when compared with, say, the Kinergetics KCD-55 Ultra. Through the Trio, fine detail tended to be more subdued than salient. This characteristic is perhaps partly responsible
for the Trio's unfatiguing presentation, but Ifelt the KCD-55 Ultra presented more information to the listener. Ishould add that the Trio lacked an artifact I've heard from
other Bitstream-based digital processors: a tendency toward treble hardness as level increases and on transient peaks (especially snare drum).
The mids were wonderfully warm, liquid, and lacking in hardness. Instrumental tex-
tures were soft and unforced, further adding to the overall sense ofease. Massed voices and instruments were more like curtains of silk
than sacks ofburlap. That analogy is an over-
statement, but nevertheless conveys the Trio's remarkably smooth and natural portrayal of
musical textures. There was no hint of the
roughness or irritating brittle character many digital front ends impose on the music. In
comparison with the KCD-55 Ultra, the Trio's midrange presentation was much more soft, liquid, and laid-back.
Bass presentation was reminiscent of another digital processor that uses the 7321 Bitstream chip: the Meridian 203. The Trio's
bass was warm and full rather than taut and
punchy. Its portrayal ofbass was in line with the rest ofits characteristics: alittle soft, less
precisely articulated, and with adistinct sense of bloom. This was very different from the
bass presented by the No30, the KCD-55 Ultra, Theta, and Wadia processors. Those products tend to have arock-solid punch,
tautness, and dear pitch articulation. The Trio also had less extension--that "center-of-theearth" depth wasn't there--and was missing the sense ofeffortlessness and "snap" in the bass that characterizes the other processors mentioned. Although Ipreferred the bass rendering of these other processors, the Trio nevertheless conveyed the music's values.
Iwas particularly impressed by the Trio's resolution of space and soundstaging. The

presentation was expansive, deep, and conveyed the sense of the recorded acoustic.
Moreover, the apparent depth and width of the presentation changed with each recording. It was as though the Trio was accurately revealing what was recorded on the disc. On Robert Lucas's Usin' Man Blues (AudioQuest AQ-CD1001), adisc that can throw apalpable sense of space, the Trio was clearly
superior to the KCD-55 Ultra. The acoustic surrounding Robert's guitar and vocal was
beautifully fleshed out, seeming to envelop the instrumental outlines. The Trio also had amore immediate sense ofRobert sitting in the listening room. On my guitar and bass recording from the first Stereophile Test CD, the instruments had more bloom around them, and the sense of space was greater and more like the actual acoustic of Santa Fe's
Loretto Chapel where the recording was made On CDs in which the space is generated electronically--AhmadJamars Crystal (Atlantic 781793-2), for example--there was agreater expansiveness and feeling ofopen-
ness. Moreover, the Trio presented music as individual instrumental images, not one synthetic continuum in which all outlines are
homogenized. In one sense, the Trio's presentation of
dynamics was excellent; in another, it was merely ordinary. The first aspect in which
the Trio was superb was in its ability to convey the fine dynamic structure ofmusic. This includes, for example, reproducing hand-held percussion (not adrum kit) with an imme-
diacy and sudden attack. The leading edge of small-scale transients gave music an immediacy and vibrancy. In the second meaning of dynamics--sheer slam and overall impact --the Trio was not on the same level as the other processors mentioned. The Trio lacked
the explosive dynamics that give adrum kit, for example, alive feel.
When Iforced myselfto listen analytically, the Trio seemed good (especially its portrayal of instrumental textures and freedom from
HF hash), but not outstanding. It was only when Ilistened for the sake ofthe music that Ifound myselfenjoying the Trio immensely.
Every time Ifired up the Trio, Ihad the same reaction--forget about reviewing and enjoy the music. This is perhaps the best testimonial to the product. Prospective purchasers auditioning the Trio are therefore advised to spend some time with their favorite music,

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

121

not the dealer's audiophile demonstration discs. It is only when the music--not the sound--is paramount that the Trio rises from the good to the superlative.
MEASUREMENTS The Trio put out 2.21V when decoding a full-scale lkHz sinewave. This is slightly higher-05dB--dian the CD standard of2V, but typical ofmost CD players and DIA converters. Commendably, both channels had identical output voltages.
Frequency response (fig.1) was flat, but exhibited some ripple in the passband as a result ofthe digital filtering performed by the SAA7321 Bitstream chip. The rolloff of 0.25dB at 20kHz is negligible, while the deemphasis error (not shown) was virtually nonexistent. The left and right traces in fig.1 overlap perfectly, confirming the perfect channel balance.
Looking at the Trio's reproduction of a lkHz squarewave (fig.2), it exhibits
the typical shape of the linear phase digital filter found in the 7321 Bitstream chip.
The channel separation curves (fig3) revealed good channel isolation (110dB left to right, 115dB right to left at lkHz), but had an unusual decrease in the low frequencies.
This type of curve is usually indicative of low-frequency power-supply-related noise at 60Hz, 120Hz, and 180Hz. Here's why: In the channel separation measurement, one channel is driven and the other channel's output is measured and plotted. Any noise present in the undriven channel will thus appear as adecrease in channel separation at the noise frequency.
Fig.4 confirms this diagnosis. The plot is aspectral analysis ofthe Trio's output when decoding a-9031dB 1kHz sinewave. The power-supply-related noise is apparent at 60Hz, 120Hz, 180Hz, and so on. Many processors have this kind ofnoise ifthe ground-
ing between the unit and the Audio Precision System One is not optimized for the unit. Ithus tried every conceivable grounding connection between them--cheater plugs to lift the mains ground, every possible grounding variation between the units, with and without the power supply's front-panel ground-lift switch activated. No matter what Idid, the power-supply frequency components appeared in the spectral analysis. A spectral analysis of the Trio's output when

decoding atest track of digital silence (all
encoded data words are zero) shows the power-supply-related noise in the lower portion of the audio spectrum, but no con-
verter artifacts or idle tones (fig.5). Note that the upper-frequency limit of this test is
200kHz. In addition to skewing the results of the
channel-separation test, the low-frequency noise also made the Trio's linearity error
appear much worse. As can be seen in fig.6, the apparent positive error increases as the
level decreases. This is not conversion error in the DAC, but the noise seen in fig.4. This is confirmed by the fact that the dotted trace in fig.4 (right channel) is lower in noise amplitude, and the right channel has less
apparent "linearity error" in fig.6.

Fig.1 M cromega Trio, frequency response (right channel dashed, 0.5dB/vertical div.)

Fig.2 Micromega Trio, IkHz squarewave at OdBFS

It·I0 Malt« 1·1.02 mu(fl) we neillI010 -LIAM
ins we

12 17.3139 Ap

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Fig.3 Micromega Trio, crosstalk (10dB/vertical div.)

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STEREOPH1LE, MAY 1992

The Trio's intermodulation spectrum when reproducing acombination of 19kHz and 20kHz at fill scale is shown in fig.7. The 24.1kHz component (sampling frequency of
44.11cHz minus 201cHz) is fairly high in level, being 52dB below the test signal. Using a
new technique described in last February's Stereophile, Imeasured the Trio's noise modulation (fig.8). In this test, the converter is
driven with the code representing a41Hz sinewave at four levels (-60dBFS, -70dBFS, -80dBFS, and -90dBFS). A spectral anal-
ysis ofthe converter's output is performed and plotted as noise vs frequency. The ideal

DIA converter would have perfectly overlapping traces and adecreasing noise floor as frequency decreases. The Trio had ahigherthan-average noise level, and the tightness of the traces was only moderately good. For some comparison noise-modulation curves and afull explanation ofthe technique, see pp.143-145 in our February '92 issue.
The Trio's reproduction of a-9031dB lkHz sinewave, captured by the Audio Precision's 16-bit A/D converter, is shown in fig.9. It has aslightly unusual shape in that the negative-going portion ofthe waveform appears alittle like aspike.
Unusually, the Trio doesn't invert absolute polarity when the front-panel switch is
in the invert position and the LED indicates "180°." Iknew about this for some of the

Puree Spectrum Pagelterle - II welt@

-00 ·0 ·

Fig.4 Micromega Trio, spectrum of dithered 'kHz tone at -90.31dB with noise and spuriae (s-octave analysis, right channel dashed)

-00

rms·

30000 0

Preuremp, - Treerher) · -94.I7

Fig.7 Micromega Trio, HF intermodulation spectrum, 300Hz-30kHz, 10+20kHz at OdBFS (linear frequency scale)

I. MUSIC« 191-MISI

11218(M)

MI 92 Ilt.47:21

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Fig.5 Micromega Tr'o, spectrum of silent track, 30Hz-200kHz with noise and spuriae ('A-octave analysis, right channel dashed)

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Fig.8 Micromega Trio, noise modulation, -60 to -90dBFS (5dB/vertical div.)

on,

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Fig.6 Micromega Trio, departure from linearity (right channel dashed, 2dBivertical div.)

SlEREOPHILL, M AY 1992

Fig.9 Micromega Trio, yndithered IkHz sinewave at -90.3IdB
123

auditioning and compensated for it when making direct comparisons with other digital processors. Output impedance was alow 7.5 ohms at 20Hz and 8.6 ohms at lkHz, rising to 18.4 ohms at 20kHz. This low output impedance suggests the Trio will work well with passive level controls.
When playing the Pierre Verany test disc, which has intentional dropouts in the digital data stream to test the CD player's errorcorrection ability, the Trio played track 30 but stumbled on track 31. As the track number increases, the dropout severity also
increases. The higher the track number the player will play without glitching, the better its error correction. The Trio was only fair in this regard; some players get through track 33 or 34.
Finally, Imeasured avery low level ofDC at the output: 200µV at the left channel,
1.1mV at the right.
CONCLUSION The Micromega Trio is one of those rare products that grabs you musically and won't
let go. Paradoxically, the Trio was forward, immediate, and incisive musically, yet smooth and laid-back sonically. Specifically, the Trio's treble smoothness and fundamental musicality made for long, fatigue-free listening sessions. In the individual areas usually used

to judge digital processor quality, the Trio was good: the treble was free from hash,
midrange textures were rendered with anatural warmth, and the soundstage was expansive. None of these specific attributes, however, could account for the special bond
created between music and listener that I experienced with the Trio. It seemed to create amore direct path between the listener and
the music's expression. Ihad some great times with the Trio in the system.
While Iliked the Trio, it was not in the
same league as the Mark Levinson No.30, a processor clearly in aclass by itself. How-
ever, Ifound myself enjoying music more
through the Trio than the KCD-55 Ultra driven by aTheta Data (a comparably priced combination), despite the latter processor's
obviously greater strengths in bass impact and articulation.
Finally, the Trio isn't aproduct for tweakers. Although it allows experimentation with different digital interconnects, the product should be thought olas aCD player, not a transport and processor that can be used with other transports and processors.
Ifyou want adigital front end with which you can forget about everything except the music, the Micromega Trio may bejust what
you're looking for.

CONRADeHNSON PREMIER 7A PREAMPLIFIER
Jack English
Vacuum-tube dual-mono preamplifier. Inputs: phono (MC or MM), tuner, CD. Tape: 2sets of inputs and 2sets of outputs. Outputs: 2sets, both phase-inverting, recommended for amplifiers with input impedance of 10k ohms or higher. Level control: 23-position stepped attenuators with front-panel LED level indicators. Tube complement: two 6CW4s and four 6GK5s per channel. Phono section: 40dB gain; overload in excess of 150mV at IKHz; RIAA equalization ±0.25db (20Hz-20KHz); hum &noise 80dB below 10mV input. Line-level section: 29dB gain; 20V maximum output; bandpass, 2Hz to more than 100kHz; hum &noise 88dB below 2.5V output; distortion less than 0.25% THD or IMD at IV output; output impedance less than 200 ohms. Dimensions: audio chassis, 19" W by 7" Hby 16%" D; power supply, 19" W by 3.5" Hby 16" D. Net weight: 60 lbs. Price $8950. Approximate number of dealers: 75. Manufacturer Conrad-Johnson Design, Inc., 2800R Don- Avenue, Fairfax, VA 22031. Tel: (703) 698-8561. Fax: (703) 560-5360.

Conrad-Johnson launched the all-tube Premier 7in 1988 as an all-out sonic assault on
the state of the preamplifier art. A great deal
has happened since then. For starters, C-J has gotten agreat deal of feedback from cus-
tomers, dealers, and reviewers. None other than J. Gordon Holt (Stereophile, November

1988, Vol.11 No.11) concluded that: "It appears that nothing which could possibly have improved its sound had been omitted.. ..It is, in fact, about as close as any tubed preamp has come to being perfectly neutral in sound --in nearly all respects." In the now-defunct Sounds Like. ..(issue 3), Sam Burstein con-

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STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

Conrad-Johnson Premier 7A preamplifier

cluded that "It is, with certain reservations, absolutely delightful to one's musical senses" And, speaking ofabsolutes, even Harry Pearson gave the Premier 7arave in the first round ofhis preamplifier survey (TAS, issue 58). As icing on the cake, John Atkinson (Sterrophile, Vol.12 No.8) concluded that the 7had "the requisite degree of sonic magic to make it aClass A recommended preamplifier."
In spite of universal bottom-line accolades regarding the original 7's sonic performance, there were criticisms, the most significant focusing on the 7's inconvenience in use. And, to alesser extent, various reviewers disagreed on certain aspects ofthe 7's sonic performance. But for all practical purposes, C-J had clearly achieved their primary objective ofoffering apreamp that was at the cutting edge sonically.
Meanwhile, C-J continued to learn from the development ofother products, and the competition continued to improve. The time had come for arevision. Impressively, C-J has hung tough with their stated objective ofconcentrating primarily (ifnot exclusively) on sonic excellence, avoiding ergonomic improvements if they thought such changes would threaten the sonic integrity ofthe basic design. Ithink it important to review the criticisms of the 7to gain the necessary insights into what C-J has created in the 7A.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 8c

ERGONOMICS
JGH discussed at length the Premier 7's tech-
nical parameters in Vol.11 No.11. Isuggest
rereading that description, which remains germane to the 7A; Gordon has done amuch betterjob oftackling this monster product's
technical aspects than Icould.
There have been two significant changes to the 7. Based primarily upon things learned
in the development of other products, C-J has revised the phono stage--the only audio circuit change--and built in line filters based
on the opinion that "cleaning up the line is agood thing." But what about all of those
ergonomic issues raised by prior reviewers? ·Dual Volume Controls: While two volume controls may be inconvenient, they are essen-
tial for atrue dual-mono design; the revised model retains them. This also holds true for the separate power cords, onfoffpower swit-
ches, and mute switches. On the other hand, LED indicators are provided for each channel, making accurate channel volume-matching relatively straightforward. ·Stepped Attenuators: Anything discrete will never be continuous. Even if the number of steps were increased from 23 to 100, someone would invariably want aposition between
two ofthe settings. The number ofsteps was not an issue for C-J; the choice of stepped attenuators was. C-J regards the resistive elements of potentiometers to be sonically inferior and, by using stepped attenuators,

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125

has minimized the number ofswitched contacts in the signal path. The 7A has only asingle pair ofresistors in the signal path at any time Their attenuators are neither ladders of
resistors nor simply detented potentiometers. While JA found the steps to be too large, I didn't find them to be aproblem using either
phono or line inputs--with the exception of the very high output Theta DS Pro Generation II. ·Phase Inverting: The 7A's line stage inverts polarity. Another amplification stage would be needed to provide aphase-switching ca-
pability, but would compromise the sound; C-J overruled it. If nothing in your system inverts polarity, the inclusion ofthe 7A will
change the system's overall phase. You can simply reverse the leads at your speakers. If your system includes crossovers, separate amps, and/or subwoofer(s), things get abit
more complex. An alternative solution is to simply use the 7A with the C-J Evolution 2000 amplifier, which also inverts polarity. ·Physical Size 8c Weight: The 7A wasn't de-
signed to be any specific size or weight, but to provide the best possible sound. This held true for the selection of numbers and quality of internal parts, layout, physical construc-
tion, etc. A glance inside the unit will make it dear that the available space is well utilized. Still, it's big; shipping weight of the three sep-
arate chassis is 60 lbs. ·Phono Impedance Selection on Rear of
Unit: First, there is aphono impedance selection option; this is not astandard feature on all preamps. Second, while it may be on the rear of the unit, it is on the outside. For the amount of times this feature should be used, placement on the rear ofthe unit should pose no great inconvenience.
·Lack ofan A+B Mono Switch: While Gordon complained about the lack ofthis switch, few others do. Lew Johnson told me that he's
had only one other such request, on adiffer-
ent product, in 15 years. Listen to your mono records in stereo. The inclusion of an A+ B switch would defeat the paramount objective
of the true dual-mono design. ·Tape Feedback: No changes have been made to correct this problem identified by JGH in his review. As he described, you can,
under certain conditions, experience feedback while taping and switching. Trusting
Gordon's explanation, Ididn't try to create
this feedback.

·Noise: No, the 7A is not dead silent, or even as silent as most solid-state preamplifiers. But relative to most other tubed preamps, it's very quiet. Imust point out that most tubed preamps today are significantly quieter than those ofanumber ofyears ago. Ididn't find the noise to be aproblem, but I've been using tubed preamps for along time. ·Replacing Tubes: While no other reviewer has mentioned this, Ifeel Imust. Replacing tubes in the 7A is abig pain in the butt. The biggest problem is replacing any of the tubes in the right channel. Of the 7A's three chassis, both power supplies are in one box, the leftand right-channel circuitry in the remaining two. However, the left-channel box is fastened to and above the right-channel box. While getting at the innards of the power supply or left-channel circuitry is no big deal, access to the right-channel sockets is difficult enough that Iadvise having your dealer replace the tubes.
SOUND: 7vs. 7A
The reviews ofthe 7mentioned above presented afascinating picture of the original Premier 7's sonic performance, areas ofgeneral agreement alternating with conflicting opinions. All of the earlier reviews praised the Premier 7for its superlative soundstaging, ability to recreate spaciousness, and outstanding dynamics. My first concern was whether the 7A had done anything to impair these stellar attributes of the original 7.
Soundstaging: Prior reviews consistently praised the 7's soundstaging, especially its recreation oflayers ofdepth. The 7A has lost none of this wonderful soundstaging ability. Listening to the superlative Athena reissue of Rachmaninoffs Symphonic Dances (ALSW 10001), the Dallas Symphony Orchestra occupied awide, deep soundstage located around and behind my speakers. Clear delineations ofdifferent physical spaces were made for each orchestral section. There was no wander or vague positioning.
Results through only the line stage were identical, the must-have Chesky Test CD ØD37) verifying the 7A's soundstaging excellence. There was Bob Enders in the center, then halfway between the center and right channels; then coming out of the right speaker, etc. Yes, there were Bob and David Chesky just behind the speakers at center

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stage; then slightly further back, then still further back, etc. Soundstaging width and depth were excellent through either the line or phono stages; nothing whatever was lost in the revision.
Spaciousness: The second area in which the original reviewers agreed concerned the preamp's ability to recreate air, space, and ambience--those ever-so-critical cues of real musicians performing in real spaces. The combination ofthe Athena recording and the 7A was once again amarvelous illustration ofthis particular strength. There was asense ofactually being transported to the McFarlin Auditorium of Southern Methodist University, with asense of space around the performers as well as asense ofthe hall itself. The mixture of direct and reflected sounds, coupled with the decaying reverberations from the hall, transported me from my own listening room to the SMU campus.
Retuning to the line stage with the Cheslcy CD, the sense ofair and spaciousness on the test tracks was equally realistic. It became crystal-clear when sound segments were turned on or off. When asound was naturally recorded in areal space, you could hear that space. On the "Viola Fora De Moda" track, all of the 7A's soundstaging, spaciousness, and dynamics capabilities came together to convey the performance's realism. The recreation of spatial information remained outstanding through the 7A's phono and line stages.
Dynamics: A third area of reviewer consistency related to the original 7's dynamic performance: in short, splendid. The 7A has lost none of this superb dynamic capability. Once again, the Rachmaninoff recording provided awonderful illustration due to the recording's remarkable dynamics. The 7A was equally adroit at recreating the softest through the loudest passages. The most subtle volume shifts became audible and captivating. David Chesky's tambourine quickly answered any questions concerning dynamics through the line stage. The sound was very fast, very clean, and wonderfully dynamic. Whatever else may have been done to the 7A, nothing has been done to harm the original 7's marvelous strengths. Soundstaging, air/spaciousness, and dynamics were absolutely stunning. In these areas, Conrad-

Johnson has indeed achieved their stated objective of assaulting the state of the art.
PRIOR REVIEW INCONSISTENCIES Bass: Where the original reviewers disagreed on the 7's performance was in the area of tonal character. Starting at the bottom: HP felt the 7's lows were fabulous, with excellent power and articulation; JGH, however, thought there was aslight thinning out below 50Hz; andJA found a"tad too much
bass energy!' JA's measurements of the 7, however, showed it to be remarkably flat. The 7A does use polystyrene coupling capacitors (4e). If the amplifier used has alow input impedance, there could be some softening ofthe deep bass as well as aslight phase shift. Given this interactive effect and the
measured accuracy, it's likely that the bass anomalies heard by the different reviewers
were attributable to the interaction between
the preamp and different power amplifiers. In my own listening tests, Ifound the bass
performance first-rate. Deep bass was extended and powerful, midbass rich and dynamic, and upper bass was consistently clean and detailed. Iformed these opinions listen-
ing to music, but tested them using aseries of test tones from The Ultimate Test CD (Woodford Music, WM CD 1112). With my beloved ProAc Response Threes and my problematic-in-the-bass listening room, I had very strong and flat response down to
60Hz. Iestimated the speaker's usable response to be down about 3dB at 40Hz. At 30Hz, the response was audible but significantly lower in level. More interesting, the 20Hz tone was audible, ifjust barely. Such results imply atube-like attenuated bass. Fortunately, Ialso had the Kinergetics SW-800 Subwoofer System on hand (reviewed in Vol.15 No3). With these monsters, the Premier 7A had absolutely no problem whatsoever in reproducing the 20Hz note as loudly as the 60Hz one. Ifyou don't hear the deepest bass with the 7A in your system, there's something wrong in your system or listening room.
While bass performance with the 7A was indeed deep and powerful, it still exhibited vestiges ofthe character first identified byJA. While I'm sure that Tom Norton's measurements will show aflat response, there is avery minor trace of tube-like bloom in the midand deep-bass regions. A good illustration

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ofthis effect can be heard on the gone but not forgotten Toto IV (Columbia PC 37728). The bass wasjust asmidgen richer, rounder, and
fatter than the rest ofthe frequency spectrum, where every other sound was pristinely clean and super-quick. This is not to say that the
7A has tube-like bass--it has aremarkably impressive bass that gives virtually no indication oftubes at all--it'sjust that the character of the bass is very slightly different from
the rest of the frequency spectrum.
Midrange: JGH felt the 7to be "essentially perfect" in the midrange; HP described the performance as having a"tan" coloration; SB felt the lower mids were warm, with alack of midrange detail and an overall smoothingout ofsounds; andJA described the midrange
as clean and detailed. Ihad no problems tackling this mini-con-
troversy, as my system is particularly adept at recreating midrange information. What Ifound was that what most ofthese reviewers described--with the exception ofStereophile's own JA--simply does not apply to the 7A. The 7A is, as John described, exceptionally clean and detailed through the midrange. In fact, it is in this region that the 7A deviates significantly from the traditionally warm "C-
Jsound." Many tubed preamps can be described as
being somewhere on the warm, musical, rich side of neutral. The 7A certainly isn't one of
them. If anything, it sounds slightly analytical, favoring accuracy over euphonic colorations. Once again, what Iheard through the 7A was very much what JA heard through the original 7. The midrange was phenomenally clean and detailed for atubed product. With relatively simple music without agreat deal going on, every little nuance is laid bare. A good example is Marianne Faithfull's Greatest Hits (London PS 547), which the 7A dissected surgically. Unfortunately, alot here is better off hidden. Any trace of the 7's supposed caramel coloration would be greatly appreciated with this recording, but there was none to be found using the 7A.
With more complex material, such as The Art of Noise's The Fon Mixes (China WOL 1023), the 7A's ability to unravel information is uncanny. This two-LP set proudly proclaims: "Cut extra-loud at 45rpm for
extra noise." The 7A can handle this with no difficulty. It can play it loudly or softly, in

either case continuing to keep every note, voice, and line crystal-clear. There is never any confusion, haze, or muddy loss ofinformation.
Since the 7A's avowed intent is to assault the state of the art, I've elected to judge it accordingly. Using this essentially impossible standard, the 7A's midrange offers unsurpassed articulation, detail resolution, and transient speed. But compared to someone performing in your listening room, the 7A is ever so slightly thin in timbrai reçreation. This is most obvious with the human voice, as in the Marianne Faithfull or Toto recordings. A better example, with more demanding vocals, is The Manhattan Transfer's stunning remake of "Gloria" from their 1975 debut album (Atlantic SD 18133 0698). While the harmonizing vocals are delineated with marvelous clarity, they fall just short of the timbral richness of alive performance. Honestly, I'vejust got to get one ofthe newer Benz Micro or Koetsu cartridges to be sure how much of this thinness is attributable to the preamp.
JGH was very favorably impressed with the 7's trebles; JA said they "soared"; and HP felt there was atrace ofhigh-treble distortion. C-J itself felt that there may have been some minor treble shortcomings in the phono stage. Since it's difficult to tell how much different reviewers used the phono inputs, it's impossible to attribute their disagreements solely to the performance of the phono stage. Nonetheless, C-J feels any possible treble shortcomings have been eliminated in the 7A's revised phono circuitry. My own hearing was the limiting factor here, as opposed to any shortcoming in my system or listening room. The latter measures flat well out beyond 20kHz, though Ican only affirm that via test instruments. Using the Woodford CD and aRadio Shack spi meter, the 7A was still putting out plenty of energy through my system at 20kHz.
The 7A left me abit confused about the quality of this extended treble performance. With some recordings Iheard avery slight hardness or distortion; with others, Iheard nothing wrong. Imay have more treble problems with some of my LPs and CDs than I thought, which the C-J let me hear for the first time; or there may be some very minor anomaly in the 7A's treble region. However,

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the 7A did nothing to further exacerbate already "hot" recordings such as Anita Baker's superb Rapture (Elektra El 60444). The hot trebles were pretty much as Iexpected, with no additional exaggeration or distortion. Everything else was wonderful: the big, powerful bass, very wide and stable stage, and first-rate resolution of detail. But Anita's voice could have been just atad richer and filler.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER The 7A was out of my system for awhile during the course ofits rather lengthy review
process. Iput it back, along with my reference ARC Classic 150s. Onto the Versa 1.0/ Benz combo went Michael Doucet and Beausoleil's Bayou Boogie (Rounder 6015). Unlike much ofBeausoleil's earlier work, Bayou Boogie is "electrified" While the music remains
predominantly acoustic, with accordions and fiddles, there are amplified instruments as well. This Cajun Zydeco music is wonderfully happy-go-lucky. The performance sounds like something you might hear in a local town hall or VFW building. It's natural, exciting, and carefree. You want to call up some friends to have aparty.
The 7A didn't draw attention to itself. The
performers were placed precisely on awide stage, back, between, and well behind the speakers. The timbres of the acoustic instruments were natural; the sonic performance was quick, fast, detailed, clean, distinct, and
tight. No matter how complex the music became through the performers' exuberance, it never sounded muddled or confused.
As Ishifted my attention away from the music and back toward the equipment, Idid feel there was something slightly amiss in the trebles. Triangles, in particular, were just a bit hard, their decay atad foreshortened; but you really had to listen for these effects to hear them. However, listening to gravelly-voiced guitarist extraordinaire Chris Rea (New Light Through Old Windows, Geffen GHS 24232), the treble was admirable. Various cymbals and bells were clear and quick, with nary a trace of hardness or distortion. No matter how Iattempted to resolve the treble issue, Ijust haven't gotten it done. There may be a mild coloration in the upper reaches; I'm still not certain.
After finishing up some new listening to the phono stage, Iwent back to the line stage

using digital. Since I'd been enthralled with arave Rolling Stone review by Michael Azerrad, Ispent an evening with the latest release from My Bloody Valentine Azerrad described the music on Loveless (Sire 26759-2) as that which "must signal some sort of impending revolution." He went on to quote Brian Eno as saying Loveless "sets anew standard for pop" My audiophilejuices ran even higher
--the SPARS code read AAD! Icouldn't wait.
Ecch! Forget the treble question. This stuff was dreadful. The music gave me aheadache; the sonics were much worse. Actually, the
credits told the story on this one: four artists, eighteen engineers and assistant engineers! That's 41/ 2 engineers per artist! Every second of this dreck is processed, manipulated, and screwed up in some way or another. The sounds are distorted, confused, discordant,
hard, bright, and unclear. The everywhere guitars are tremelo'd, whatrunied, vibrato'd,
and fuzzed into ahazy, muddy mess. The lightweight, wimpy little Kate-Bush-wan-
nabe vocals just don't fit. There is no attempt whatsoever at recreating any type of sound-
stage, and there are only bare traces ofnat-
ural timbres. It is as ifthe entire recording was made on acheap tape recorder that was on
its deathbed. Still, amid all ofthis engineering prowess, arelatively natural-sounding drum
kit survives. The 7A's ability to unravel and reproduce all ofthis detail let me hear everything that was going on. Ifthe source is lousy, that's just what you'll hear with the 7A.
There is absolutely nothing euphonic about the preamp's presentation. As far as Loveless is concerned, that's too bad.
Maybe I'm aglutton for punishment. The other CD I'd put aside for this particular listening session was from Univers Zero (Heatwave, Cuneiform Rune 9CD). Igot this one from Ken Golden at The Laser's Edge, who described UZ as "the chamber ensemble from Hell." Rather than starting at the
beginning, Iopted instead to begin with "The Funeral Plain," the 20:24-long final track. UZ relies on amusical foundation of traditional acoustic instruments--clarinets, saxophones, violins, violas, pianos, percussion, the human voice--augmented by gui-
tars and synthesizers. When Ihear amelody begin, Ioften try to hum the next note in
anticipation of where the music is going. Whew! What an experience with UZ. Many melodic lines seem to end on strange notes

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

129

--either flat or sour sounds following sweet melodies. It's like biting into alemon. UZ's moods are dark, foreboding, filled with tension; they made me uncomfortable. Often, Ifound myself literally sitting on the edge of my seat. This is an experience !normally only have with some form of visual or multimedia event. Listening to this music is similar to becoming absorbed in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Quite athrill. Once again, as with every other CD and LP thrown at it, the 7A simply let the music play.
THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE John Atkinson, Bob Harley, Tom Norton, and Corey Greenberg--three professional audio critics and one professional audio engineer--happened to be in New York for the Fall 1991 AES convention. They graciously made time in their hectic schedules to pay me avisit. As agroup, we spent hour after hour listening to LP after CD after LP. One selection led directly to another. We talked and listened to music! We never bothered discussing equipment. The system consisted of aBenz Micro MC-3, Versa Dynamics Model 1.0, Magnan Type Vi interconnects, Theta Data, Kimber KCAG (as a digital cable), Theta DS Pro Generation II, bi-wired ARC LitzLine 2speaker cables, ProAc Response Threes, dual Tice Power Blocks and Titans, and the Conrad-Johnson Premier 7A preamplifier and Evolution 2000 amplifier. The system just stayed out of the way. The Premier 7A (as well as all of the other equipment in the system) did an admirablejob ofplaying music. This is the ultimate compliment paid to any audio gear.
TJN ADDS SOME MEASUREMENTS Before Ibegan measuring, Inoted that the mute switch on the Premier 7A's left channel was defective. It would stick in one position. Pulling it out manually would release it, but it would then simply stick at the next engagement. Fortunately it stuck in the non-mute position.
The gain of the Premier 7A's line stage-- from input to main output--measured 29.6dB in the left channel. The right-channel gain was 0.2dB lower. The line input impedance depended to asmall degree on the channel and the setting of the volume control, but ranged from just over 18k ohms to just over 20.5k ohms. The main output impedance had

amaximum value of273 ohms (fill volume), dipping to 177 ohms at lower volume settings (for the right channel; the corresponding values for the left channel were 247 and 166 ohms, respectively). A setting of 29 on the level controls gave the nearest approach to unity gain (within about 0.2dB).
The gain of the phono stage, with a47k ohm load setting on the rear panel switches, measured at the tape outputs, was 393dB (L) and 38.5dB (R). With the input load reduced to 250 ohms-10 times the output impedance of the (Audio Precision) signal source --the gain was 35.7dB (L) and 35dB (R).' With the latter load, a0.5mV input to the phono stage resulted in 1.1V (L) and 1V (R) signals at the main outputs.
Fig.1 shows both the line-level frequency response and the RIAA phono response of the Premier 7A. The former are the virtually straight curves; the latter show only avery slight rolloff at low frequencies and abroad but very minor dip in the lkHz area--overall, asuperb result. In fig.2, the bottom two curves show the line-level crosstalk at full output (level control at maximum; crosstalk measurements made with an input of 100mV). The upper curves show the crosstalk with the level control set for unity gain. In both cases, the topmost curve is the crosstalk from channel A to channel B, the bottom from Bto A.
A further reduction in separation was measured at alevel setting of 47 (roughly corresponding to 9o'clock on arotary control), giving aminimum of 66dB to 5kHz and 62dB from 5kHz to 20kHz (not shown). This suggests that the leakage from one channel to the other is occurring before the volume control. Note that the rise at higher frequencies--usually indicating capacitive coupling between channels--is less pro-
1Areader recently asked whether it was arule ofthumb that, as you lower the load impedance at the cartridge input, the dynamics and treble response deteriorate. No, it is not. If a cartridge has an output impedance (more appropriately known as the source impedance) of 5ohms, then an appropriate load for this cartridge would be several times this amount; say, 30 ohms (these are actual source impedances and the manufacturer's recommended loading for aDynavector XX-IL). It's unlikely that asmall decrease or significant increase from this value (say, 20 to 100 ohms) will eat either the measured frequency response or the audible dynamic qualities of the cartridge--though it may have some impact on other factors (distortion, for one).
Afew years ago, with this question in mind, Ichecked out the effect of such achange in loading on the measured frequency response of acartridge. The result? Zip, nada. Iwould not call this result arule of thumb, only verification that the reality of the situation is abit more complicated. --TIN

130

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

nounced at higher frequencies than we often see. Ialso noted that the crosstalk varied some-
what with the degree of warmup, at its best when just turned on. The curves shown were
taken after an "on" time of about 2hours. The phono crosstalk, assessed at the tape
outputs (fig3), is superb. Note that in this case there is almost no capacitive-coupling rise at higher frequencies. For all practical
purposes, crosstalk from Ato Bis the same as from B to A. (The A-B curve is the one with aminimum at the 500Hz point.)
THD+noise is shown in fig.4. The second
curve from the bottom is the THD+noise from the phono stage at an input of5mV. The top curve is the line THD +noise at full volume; the second from the top curve is the
THD+ noise at the "47" setting, the bottom curve the unity gain result. The 1% THD+
noise level--measured from the line inputs
to the main outputs--was reached at 164mV
input, producing an output of4.93V. The 1% THD+noise level for the phono input--with
an unequalized input and measured at the

001.11 fk·CI.101. cps. 4111.1..····1 · MIPLIP110

«Mtn.

kt

.11. It:MIMI

Ap ! 2.010

tape outputs--was reached at 79mV at licHz

(7.1W output), 7mV at 20Hz (5.75V output),

and 240mV at 20kHz (2.33V output). Recall

that the change in overload voltage levels due

to frequency, anatural consequence of the

requirements of the RIAA playback curve,

is common to all preamps we have measured.

With the RIAA pre-emphasis taken into ac-

count, these voltage figures represent mar-

gins compared to the standard phono input

of 5mV at lIcHz of24dB, 23dB, and 13.6dB,

respectively, which are excellent, excellent,

and merely good.

Finally, the Premier 7A inverted polarity

from the line inputs to the main outputs, but

did not from the phono inputs to the tape

outputs. (It therefore inverted from phono

in to main out). The DC offset fluctuated

between OmV and 1.6mV in the left channel,

perhaps indicating the presence ofvery low-

frequency noise in this channel, but was zero

in the right channel.

--Thomas J. Norton

0·0111 MIMI= cp.-a-lb IPOILIPar. ·.· 11.1.111.1

19:21.1 AP

·

1

·.·

I

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Fig.I Conrad-Johnson Premier 7A, line stage frequency response (flat curves) and RIAA deviation (right channel dashed, 0.5d1I'vertical div.)

mesa Mer.11«...P.· ·.·

,krA.·

k. tirk

111012...

Fig.3 Conrad-Johnson Premier 7A, phono stage crosstalk (5dB/vertical div.). Measurement probably dominated by noise.

wk. -
b110.· 106.· IWO

I I1 1 I*

Fig.2 Conrad-Johnson Premier 7A, line stage crosstalk with volume control full (bottom curves), and at unity gain (top curves, 5dB, vertical div.). Measurement probably dominated by noise.
STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

Fig.4 Conrad-Johnson Premier 7A, THD+noise vs frequency for line stage at full volume (top curves); the line stage at the "47 - volume control setting (second from the top curves); line stage at unity gain (bottom curves); and phono stage (second from bottom curves).
13 1

JE CONCLUDES First, the design tradeoffs necessitated by the
Premier 7A's sole reason for being--sonic performance--make the 7A definitely not the most convenient preamplifier to use. If convenience is high on your agenda, look instead
at the remote-controlled preamps from Rowland, Krell, and Berning.
Second, the 7A is extremely expensive, costing $4000 more than the splendid Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Signature. The lofty price reflects the effort, parts, build quality, and limited production commen-
surate with such adesign. Third, the 7A is atubed unit. No matter
how carefully you treat any tubed unit, tubes
wear out, fail, and have to be replaced. To prolong tube life, the unit cannot be left on all the time like solid-state gear. Every time it's turned on, you'll have to wait awhile before the 7A will perform optimally. Changing the 7A's tubes is apain in the butt. And,
while the 7A is remarkably quiet for atube

product, it's noiser than acomparable solid-

state design.

The 7A has lost none of the superlative

sonic strengths found in the original 7. Like

the 7, the 7A offers outstanding soundstaging

capabilities; awonderful ability to recreate

air, space, and ambience; and first-rate dy-

namics that, as aresult ofthe improved power

supply, may be actually even better than the

7's. In comparison with musicians perform-

ing in my listening room, the 7A has: atrace

oftube-like bloom in the bass; aslight loss

of timbral richness in the midrange; and a

very, very minor occasional hardness in the

trebles. Improvements in the phono stage

have reduced difficulties in the uppermost

frequencies which plagued the original 7.

Detail resolution is unsurpassed, as is the

recreation of transients.

Following closely in the footsteps ofearlier

reviewers, Imust say that the Conrad-Johnson

Premier 7A is one ofahandful oftruly Class

A preamps.

--Jack English $

BRYSTON 4B NRB POWER AMPLIFIER
Larry Greenhill

Bryston 4B NRB power amplifier
Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Output power: 250W continuous into 8ohms (24dBW), 400Wpc rms continuous into STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

4ohms (23dBW); 800W continuous into 8ohms in bridged mode (29dBW). Current delivery: I6A continuous, 48A peak,
per channel. Frequency response: IHz-100kHz, ±3dB for IW output. S/N Ratio: hum and noise, 108dB below rated output, 90dB IHF. Input sensitivity: I.4V for 250Wpc into 8ohms. Voltage gain: 30dB. THD+noise: 20Hz-20kHz, 0.01%. IM distortion (60Hz+7kHz, 4:1, SMPTE method): less than 0.01% at rated power. Damping factor: greater than 500 at 20Hz, at 8ohms (equivalent to an output impedance of less than 0.016 ohms). Input impedance: 50k ohms unbalanced, 30k ohms balanced. Polarity: non-inverting. Dimensions: 16 3/16" (41Imm) W by 71/8" (18Imm) Hby 13 1/2" (343mm) D. Weight: 40.1 lbs (20.2kg) net. Price: $2095, $2295 with optional LED display; TXH-approved version costs $2245. Approximate number
of dealers: 70. Manufacturer Bryston Limited, 57 Westmore Drive, Rexdale, Ontario M9V 3Y6, Canada. Tel: (416) 746-1800. Fax: (416) 746-0308. US sales: Brystonvermont Ltd., RFD 4, Box 2255, Montpelier, VT 05602. Tel: (802) 223-6159. Fax: (802) 229-2210.

On January 1, 1990, Canadian electronics manufacturer Bryston instituted aremarkable warranty program that covered each of their products for afull 20 years. This warranty includes all audio products ever manufactured and sold under the Bryston name. Besides covering parts and labor costs, the
company will also pay shipping costs one way. This is all the more significant for their
4B NRB amplifier, which has been in pro-
duction since 1976. The amp's $2k price, while not cheap, is at the lower end ofwhat well-heeled audiophiles typically pay for amplifiers.
The Bryston 4B NRB available in stores today incorporates anumber offeatures not found in the original design. While 5lbs ligh-
ter, its power-supply energy storage has been increased by 28% as aconsequence ofraising the rail voltages from 75V to 85V.' Powersupply impedance and IM distortion ratings
have been reduced by afactor of four, and twin toroidal transformers have replaced the
earlier E-I core transformers. Having reviewed an earlier version of the

up for an hour. Never mind that it was found
to be `just awee bit hard and zippy compared to our current favorites" just two issues later (Vol.1 No.6, p.31); the audiophilé commu-
nity had been alerted. The other amps in that magazine's "search for the perfect audio
amplifier"--the Futterman H-33aa, the db systems db-6, the 25Wpc Electrocompaniet, the Quatre DG-250, the RAM 512, and the
Threshold 800A--have not been in production for over 15 years.
Bryston has since improved upon the 4B's design. A new output stage was added in 1985. My review that year praised the Bryston 4B's sonics for excellent channel separation and ability to establish astable sound-
stage with uncanny directional cues. It had speed, bass control, and lots of"slam." Studio engineers and concert pros liked the Bryston
4B NRB for its ruggedness, reliability, and
passing of the "steel toe" test? Although it was abetter-sounding product, itjoined the Crown DC-300 as astandard tool for re-
cording engineers and touring musicians.

4B for Audio magazine (November 1985, Vol.69 No.11, pp.80-89), Iwas very interested when designer Chris Russell showed me this version at the 1991 Summer Con-
sumer Electronics Show. Its extraordinary
warranty and redesign were reasons enough for me to re-review this classic.

NEW DESIGN FEATURES 8c CONSTRUCTION
The Bryston 4B NRB is aclass-AB2 solidstate stereo power amplifier. Smaller than some of the monoblock amplifiers reviewed in these pages, its slim profile and 44 pounds
belie its power capacity. Bryston rates this

HISTORY The Bryston 4B NRB amplifier became
popular in early 1978, when The Audio Critic declared the then-$1195 amplifier "the best power amplifier we've been able to find so far" (Vol.1 No.4, p.41), praising it as an "unflappable voltage source with an unshaka-

amplifier at 250Wpc continuous into 8ohms, 400Wpc into 4ohms, and 800W, bridged, into 8ohms. Its compactness comes from using the whole chassis as aheatsink.
The 1991 Bryston 4B NRB has atotally redesigned front panel. Gone is the flat, 1/8 , rolled-aluminum, dull, military black front

bly tight bass response"--but only ifwarmed
2The "steel toe" test is arigorous quality-control procedure.

1Because the energy storage of apower supply varies as the square of the voltage, the new 10V increase in rail voltage makes asignificant impact on the Bryston 4B's power-supply capacity.

If the audio pro happens to be wearing boots with steel-toe caps, afirm kick checks whether the audio gear can handle the rigors of concert touring: bouncing around in the back
oía van, being thrown up on astage, falling out ofasound tower, etc.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

133

panel; it's been replaced by a 1/4" -thick sculpted rack-sized panel etched with two

What's inside? The 4B's chassis houses two completely separate amplifiers, every part

thin lines. The two front handles have similar duplicated except for the single power cord

grooves. This new panel is made ofasingle and the back-panel bridging-circuit board.

extruded aluminum piece, buff-finished with Also new in this version is adetachable AC

afine abrasive likejeweler's rouge. The sur- cord, avast improvement over the former

face is now so smooth that one cannot leave heavy, coiled, nondetachable line cord. Two

amark by rubbing afinger across the sur- new toroidal transformers are located just

face. The front panel features tri-color LED behind the front panel, where they receive

pilot lights, one per channel. These remain support when the amp is rack-mounted.

green while the unit is on, but flash first Four small 4700µF electrolytic filter caps

amber when achannel clips momentarily, with higher voltage ratings are used in the

then red for hard clipping. The square power 1991 Bryston 4B, instead of the earlier dual

pushbutton is the only front-panel control. 10,000µF cans. Shorter lead lengths bring

Rounded heatsinks line the amp's sides, not these filter caps to within an inch ofthe out-

the back panel as in former Bryston 4Bs. This put circuitry.

means that the chassis can be an inch deeper

The new 4B amplifier's power supply is

than before, permitting space on the rear arelatively "stiff" design, and has been

panel for anumber of new features. These designed to be relatively unaffected by big

include balanced XLR input sockets, toggle current draws. The rails are said not to sag

switches for floating or using the ground lead from their ±85V, whether the amp is at 0or

(on the three-prong cable), and aswitch for 10 amps current draw.

choosing either single-ended or balanced

The Bryston 4B's output circuit uses hand-

inputs. These switches are greatly appreci- selected devices with matched transistor

ated, particularly if you've ever misplaced the betas. Chris Russell suggests that the 4B's

tiny U-shaped shorting pins that must be output stage eliminates any small asymmetry

inserted in the XLR input sockets of some in the zero-crossing region, particularly

other high-end amplifiers (the Mark Levin- notch distortion, as well as resulting in a

son No.27, for one) to be able to use the power decrease in upper-harmonic distortion. He

amp's single-ended RCA input jacks.

also claims that the design makes the output

Opening the Bryston 4B requires aspe- stage more tolerant ofloading than conven-

cial screwdriver called a"Robertson:' Bry- tional output-stage topologies.

ston continues to use excellent threaded steel

Inoted improvements in many small

inserts and Robertson machine screws to at- touches that confirmed the company's design

tach the top panel. Internal fasteners and philosophy of fine-tuning agood product

screws are used with locking thread-sealer rather than trying to produce a"new sonic

to lower vibration and increase structural sta- breakthrough" each year. For example, input

bility. As with the earlier models, the new jacks are now soldered to their respective

Bryston 4B uses gold-plated board-edge printed circuit boards, emerging through

connectors on driver and input boards. Sol- 14rnm chassis holes which allow the push-on

dered and otherwise gas-tight mechanical RCA connector sleeves to be inserted into the

connections are used for signal circuits. Cir- chassis, providing superior strain relief. Each

cuit boards are very high quality double- pcb has heavier copper traces than before. A

sided epoxy-glass, with component-desig- slow-start circuit has been added to avoid line

nator screening. After assembly, Bryston surges when the amp is turned on. Compen-

amplifiers are bench-tested, then must un- sation has been provided with the use of a

dergo arugged burn-in, being driven by a single loop ofwire in the output stage. The

squarewave input signal into acapacitive new toroidals are precision-wound with

load, slightly under clipping, for 100 hours. exactly the saine length ofdouble wire. Holes

After this reliability check, the 4B is again have been drilled into the chassis sides in the

bench-tested. The resulting printout is heatsink recesses to permit an unimpeded

shipped with the amplifier. These features, flow of air, even if the amplifier is placed on

as well as other elements ofthe amp's fit and acarpet. Shorter lead lengths, amuch lower-

finish, are consistent with the best instrument impedance power supply, and the new toroi-

standards.

dal transformers have lowered the amplifier's

134

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

IM distortion by aquoted factor of four?

SETUP Istrongly believe that an amplifier has to be auditioned over along period oftime. First impressions can be misleading, particularly if the amplifier is good:i For this report, the Bryston 4B NUB was involved in every one
ofmy listening sessions for asolid five months. The 4B drove awide variety of loud-
speakers, including dynamics (Snell A/IlIs, Bs, and Es), electrostatics (Quad ESL-63/ USA Monitors), minimonitors (Sonus Faber
Minima), and subwoofers (Quad/Gradient SW-63s). At different times, it was run singleended and balanced, and used both as the
upper-range and subwoofer amplifier in biamplified systems.
Reference amplifiers included aMark Levinson No.27 and aKrell KSA-250. The
Quad full-range loudspeaker system was used with its own Gradient crossover unit with balanced interconnects; the Type A/III Improved speakers used aSnell-manufactured
outboard electronic crossover with singleended connectors. Speaker cable included 15' runs of Monster Cable, paralleled runs of Sumiko's OCOS cable, and Levinson HF10C speaker wire. Vinyl discs were played on a
Lingo-modified Linn LP-12 turntable with an Ittok tonearm and aSpectral Reference
moving-coil cartridge, all fine-tuned by In-
novative Audio's Casey McKee. CDs were played on aKrell MD-1 CD turntable connected by astandard coaxial interconnect to
aKrell SBP-32X D/A converter. Other sources included aDay-Sequerra FM Reference, Meridian 204 FM stereo tuner/timer, Pioneer F-93 Reference FM tuner, and Quad FM4 FM stereo tuner. Line-level preamplifi-
cation was handled by aKrell KBL preamplifier, phono preamplification by aMark Levinson ML-7 preamplifier with aDuntech/Audio Standards MX-10 head amp. Analog interconnects included AudioQuest LiveWire Topaz interconnect cables and Krell
Cogelco balanced leads. Ilistened to my favorite classical and rock

3Logistic problems made it impossible for this review to be

accompanied by aset of measurements. These will follow in

due course.

--JA

4The most neutral amplifiers often sound flat, dull, and analytic at first. It is only aller months oflistening that Ifind such
an amplifier to be relatively freer of coloration. For example. it took over nine months for me to appreciate the Levinson No.27's lack of coloration.

CDs and LPs, including Glenn Gould's second recording ofBach's Goldberg Variations (Sony IM 37779), and Leopold Stokowski conducting the Chicago Symphony in Shostakovich's Symphony 6(RCA Red Seal Stereo LP LSC-3133). For kickdrum and guitar, Iused JeffBeck's and Tony Bozzio's "Behind the Veil" (jefBeck's Guitar Shop, Epic EK 44313), as well as Richard Thompson's "I Misunderstood" (Rumor and Sigh, CD, Capitol CDP 7957132).
BASS MASTER The Bryston 4B NRB's amazing bass response was solid, deep, fast, powerful, and welldefined. It seemed to havejust the right mix of"snap" and "slam," giving the bass aclean, etched leading edge, followed by amassiveness and weight not heard with other amplifiers. The Bryston 4B allowed the Gradient/ Quad SW-63s to create coherent, focused bass notes. It also found information and detail in the upper bass; kickdrum was so solid that Icould almost touch it. The Bryston 4B is the best amplifier I've heard to date for driving the subwoofers in the Quad/Gradient system. Anyone contemplating the purchase of aQuad ESL-63/SW-63 system must listen to the Bryston 4B driving the SW-63 subwoofers.
Ibelieve that the "snap" and "slam" must be aresult ofthe 4B's ability to deliver large amounts of current, its protection circuit allowing instantaneous current peaks of 4050A to be drawn. Sometimes this unflappable current reservoir can give one too much of agood thing--the Bryston 4B is capable of bottoming woofers. Idid this with both the Snell Band the Quad Gradient subwoofers. Keith Johnson's Fiesta! (Dallas Wind Symphony, Reference Recordings RR-38CD) is acase in point. The opening "Prelude and Aztec Dance" of H. Owen Reed's La Fiesta Mexicana has awide dynamic range, opening with asoft chime followed by bass-drum notes ofgreat intensity. The bass drum drove the Snell and Gradient woofers so hard they complained, emitting distinctly mechanical sounds, not music. (This was not repeated!) Chris Russell explained that loudspeakers may have impedance minima below their resonant point, where bass-drum transient components often fall. To produce the transient requires ahuge excursion on the woofer's part, and ahuge amount of instantaneous

STEREOPHILE. M AY 1992

135

current. If the amplifier's protection circuit and power supply allow it to deliver the requisite instantaneous current, the loudspeaker driver may make such alarge excursion that the woofer "bottoms" (as the voice-coil
strikes the back of the frame), producing a loud, non-musical noise. Amplifiers with "conservative" protection circuitry will not permit this to happen. The 100Wpc M-L No. 27, for example, never bottomed the Type Bs.
As an upper-range amp, the Bryston 4B proved clean, fast, and very dynamic. Somewhat less transparent than the Levinson No.27 amplifier, it failed to reveal the same silvery sheen on cymbals in Jeff Beck's "Behind the Veil." It played slightly louder on the Quads than the M-L No.27, but never sounded distortee On Richard Thompson's
"I Misunderstood," the Bryston 4B revealed such nuances as Thompson's plosive accent on the last consonant in every line. The Bryston 4B also allowed me to hear the layered textures in the mix on Thompson's CD. The No.27, on the other hand, strives for vividness and shimmer, its slight brightness waking up the somewhat reticent Quads.
Full-range, the Bryston 4B does best on dynamic loudspeaker systems. Both the Sonus Faber Minima minimonitors and the Snell Type Bs blossomed when combined with the Bryston 4B. Snap, focus, width of soundstage, and depth of image were all enhanced by this solid-state amplifier. This effect was maximized ifthe Bryston was run in bi-wired configuration, using paralleled OCOS cable.
My vinyl jazz records came alive. The soundstage widened, and the separation between instruments more apparent. Dave Grusin's rendition of"Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow" on the direct-to-disc Discovered Again LP (Sheffield Labs-5) played with stunning dynamics, speed, and rhythm. The
kickdrtun region was prominent on the Snell Type Bs, with Ron Carter's string bass and Harvey Mason's kickdrum taking center stage behind Dave Grusin's piano. The amplifier's "snap" sped up the bass response of
5The Bryston 4B seems to play louder because it offers more gain. The 4B provides 30dB of voltage gain, while the Levinson No.27 has 26dB. This requires resetting the bass gain control on the Quad SW-63 subwoofer crossover. Simply inserting another amplifier to drive the Gradient subwoofer without adjusting the level would give the Bryston an unfair advantage. All comparisons between amplifiers were done with this level control adjusted to compensate for the Bryston's higher gain.

both dynamic systems. The Bryston added new definition to the bass line in Misa Criolla, allowing me to discern the stomping of
feet that accompanies the drum in the opening Kyrie.
The Bryston 4B also affected the soundstage, giving dynamic loudspeaker systems great depth ofimage and airiness. This effect did wonders for the "Gnomus" passage on the Dorian Pictures at cm Eeddbition CD pOR90117). This passage can sound sodden and bloated, particularly if I've set my subwoofer gain abit high. The 4B fixed all that, tightening and focusing the deep bass, particularly with the Snell Type B. This produced amore realistic image size and sense ofspace around the Kleuker-Steinmeyer organ. The bass notes in this quiet passage shuddered the air, vibrating objects in the room with a solidity I'd not heard before. Ifyou love the king of instruments, the Bryston 4B is an amplifier to reckon with.
CONCLUSIONS The Bryston 4B NRB stereo amplifier is compact, rugged, reliable, high-powered, and comes with a20-year warranty. All of this, plus its moderate price, make it agreat value in the high-end audio marketplace. Its mere 44 lbs mean it can be shipped UPS, making it easy to return to the factory for repairs. Switchable floating-ground and switch-selected balanced or single-ended input options are agreat convenience. The 4B has aunique track record in the pro market, where it has been regarded as one of the standard workhorses in concert work and sound reinforcement. But one must recall JGH's point about "rock-solid" audio products--are these wasted on audiophiles, who prefer to change equipment every year?
The Bryston 4B's bass response should generate audiophile interest and loyalty. Take me, for example: Ifeel that my reference Quad system's subwoofers generate the best bass response with the Bryston 4B; I'd buy
the amplifier for that purpose alone. The Bryston 4B's bass response will match any of the amplifiers in the Class A "Recommended Components" list. The 4B's bass "snap" and "slam" make it my first choice as alow-frequency amplifier in abi-amplified system. More powerful amplifiers, such as the Krell KSA-250, may play more effortlessly, but the Bryston 4B's bass speed and

136

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

power wake up the Quad/Gradient subwoofers as no other amp can.
Does this unusual bass ability make the Bryston 4B NRB aniche amplifier, aClass A Recommended Component just for the
bass spectrum? No. While the amplifier is somewhat less impressive driving the Quad ESL-63s full-range, where its speed and snap are more apparent than its transparency, the
Bryston has the gutsiness and control that

benefit dynamic drivers. This results in increased dynamics, definition, and detail. Biwired, the Bryston 4B tightens and deepens the Sonus Faber Minima's bass response. It does asuperb job ofcontrolling the overly
rich midbass of the Snell Type Bs. This solid-
state dual-mono amplifier should be on everyone's must-hear list of amplifiers, therefore, particularly if one has dynamic loudspeakers.

INEXPENSIVE LOUDSPEAKERS &THE PANEL EXPERIENCE:
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES.
Thomas J. Norton, with measurements by John Atkinson, descriptions by Robert Harley

And still they come Bcoces and boxes, stretch-
ing for miles and miles. Or so it seems. There are far more loudspeakers out there, especially ofthe less expensive variety, than we can ever hope to review individually. We therefore
gathered several reviewers together in late January for two days ofintensive single-blind
group listening--much as we'd done last April for our first fully-fledged listeningpanel exercise, reported in theJuly 1991 issue (Vol.14 No.7).
John Atkinson, Corey Greenberg, Guy
Lemcoe, and yours truly participated in both days' sessions. On the first day we were joined by Music Editor Richard Lehnert' and
Steve McCormack ofThe Mod Squad? On the second day, the last two positions were filled by Robert Harley and Dick Olsher, neither of whom could make the first day's event. So we had atotal ofsix listeners at each session, up from the five and four (first and second days) of our first loudspeaker panel review.
The loudspeakers on hand this time were, again, all small two-ways, often referred to as "bookshelf' loudspeakers but seldom at

1Who realized anew why he is amusic lover first and an audiophile not at all?

2Amen.

--RL

3Steve had visited the day before, and agreed to stay on and participate to provide additional perspective on each loud-

speaker. Since his firm does not manufacture or distribute

loudspeakers, and the auditioning was blind in any case, his

participation resulted in no conflict of interest.

their best unless mounted on asuitable stand. Discounting the cost of the latter, the loudspeakers ranged in price from $399/pair to $800/pair, anarrower spread than last time. Once again, Snell Type K/IIs--a representative entry-level loudspeaker--were used as acontrol. On each day the Snells were auditioned twice, first with their identity revealed to the panel, then again in the blind, randomly sequenced among the new contenders, to act as acontrol.
SETUP & PROCEDURE The general test setup and procedure were the same as last time. The summary introduction presented here is not as complete as that presented in the writeup of that session (refer to Vol.14 No.7 if you desire more detailed information).
The sessions again took place in the Skreophile listening room. This room has changed in only one respect since last July: the wall behind the listeners is now covered with RPG Diffusors in place of the absorptive foam previously in place there. The acoustics are therefore slightly more alive than before.
The loudspeakers were all sited on stands, which placed their optimum vertical listening axes as close as possible to the listeners' seated ear heights:* Various combinations of Celestion 24" Si stands, Monitor Audio 21" stands, Hales Audio stands, Tiptoes, Tone Cones, and Merrill Audio Elephant Feet were used

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

137

to achieve this. With six listeners per session, some compromise was involved. The listeners were seated in three rows: one listener in row one, two in row two, and three in row three. Loudspeaker positions were chosen with the help ofthe Snell CARA-LEO room analysis program, which placed them well away from nearby walls. All loudspeakers were "toed-in" to focus their on-axis responses at the center ofthe middle row oflisteners.
Ascreen ofblack grillecloth hid the identities of the loudspeakers from all listeners except yours truly (TJN), who handled all of the setups. Each loudspeaker's own grille, if provided, was removed to eliminate any degradation from the use oía double thickness of grillecloth.
MUSIC We again restricted our selections to CDbased material. Some of the selections were carried over from last time, some were new. Both to ensure that there would be time to get through all of the loudspeakers on each day and to keep the auditioning of each to a short enough time that listener fatigue would not be too bothersome afactor, we scaled back the number of musical selections from ten to eight. Each loudspeaker presentation lasted about 25 minutes, therefore, with a20minute break before the next. The program material was excerpted from the following:
Non-musical selections: Pink Noise (played in mono, left loudspeaker only), and J. Gordon Holt, "Why Hi-Fi Experts Disagree," both selections from the Stereophile Test CD (STPH002-2), bands 4and 5(index 19), respectively.
Musical selections: 1) Henry Eccles: Allegro con spirito from Sonata for Double Bass and Harp; Gieselle Herbert, harp; Günter Kraus, double bass; from Staccato 2: The Second Audiophile CD-Sampler, Audio Magazine (Germany). The bowed double-bass does not make serious dynamic demands on aloudspeaker, but by its nature is agood test for low-frequency resonances.
4As before,JA determined this by measuring the loudspeakers before the sessions. Any possible influence this might have had on him during the sessions was minimized by his listening to the loudspeakers in the blind. TjN, the only listener who knew the identities of the loudspeakers behind the screen, was only told the appropriate height to use by JA, and did not see the measurements.

2) Kenny Rankin: "This Old Man," Because of You, CheskyJD63. Superbly recorded male vocal and piano, with aclose-up (but not too
close-up) perspective. 3) Mike Garson: "Without Self:" The
Oxnard Sessions, Vol.1, Reference Recordings
RR-37CD.Jaz2 group in anatural space with asolid low end and deep, three-dimensional soundstage.
4) Solo drum set. Recorded live to DAT by Robert Harley at the Manley studios in California. Dynamic, punchy, and lively sound with explosive dynamics. This selection is on the second Stereophile Test CD (described elsewhere in this issue), but here the source was the original DAT.
5) Amanda McBroom: "Amanda," Growing Up, in Hollywood Town, Sheffield Lab CD13. Aclassic, ifby now rather overdone, audiophile favorite. Very natural recording.
6) Arnold: Saraband and Polka from Solitaire; Malcolm Arnold, London Philharmonic; Lyrita SRCD 201. Wide dynamic range, clean sound, and solid bass-drum impacts.
7) Field: Nocturne No.1 in E-flat; Miceál O'Rourke, piano; Chandos CHAN 8719/20 (2 CDs) (excerpted from Chandos CHAN BM2 sampler CD).
8) Prokofiev: "Arise, People of Russia," Alexander Nevsky Cantata, Op.78; André Previn, Los Angeles Philharmonic; Telarc CD-80143. Wide dynamics and complex scoring. Praised byJGH in a1988 review, this is still one ofTelarc's better-sounding CDs. The excerpt used here was different from that used in the 1991 panel test.
Last time around, Ifound my chores as
disc-jockey wearing, as well as distracting to the group. Iwas popping up and down constantly to change CDs as we moved from one selection to the next. This time around,
the selections were all dubbed digitally onto DAT. It was only necessary for me to cue up the tape and change levels as required. Abrief silence was left on the tape between selections to enable each member ofthe panel to complete his comments and scoring.
SETTING LEVELS In apreliminary setup session, Iauditioned the completed DAT through the Snell Type Kills. Ichose what Ifelt to be an appropriate playback level for each piece of music, and noted that as areference level. The corre-

138

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

Manufacturer Model

Tenney 609

Nelson-Reed 5.02ICM

aldIsl SAT 6

Type

Stand-mounted

Stand-mounted minimonitor Stand-mounted

Tweeter.

1' Al dome (Dual Concentnc) 1' Al dome

1' soft-dome

Woofer

87 polyolefm co-polymer

525' carbon-loaded polymer 6' polymer-cone

Bass loading.

Reflex

Sealed-box

Sealed-box

Anita' LF extension

40Hz (-10d01

Crossover frequency

25kHz

32kHz

2kHz

Frequency range:

Frequency response:

46Hz-301(liz (+ /-3dB)

70Hz-20kHz (+1-34113)

50Hz-201(Hz (+1-3dB)

Sensitivity.

890B/Wim

90dB/WIM

87dB/W/m

Nominal impedance

8ohms

8ohms

4ohms

Minimum impedance

5ohms

6ohms

Amplifier requirements:

10- 120,1

20W min

20-150W

Height:

195'

12'

102'

Width.

12 6'

8

73'

Depth

89'

B'

83' (without ghee)

Enclosure volume:

16 liters

025 cuft

Weight:

22 lbs

12 lbs

22 lbs

Price per pair

$599 (stands 6149/pr)

$650

6800

Approximate number of dealers: 51

20

100

Warranty

Serial numbers tested: US Distributors:

217743/4 Tenney

1501L/R Nelson-Reed

2164/6 Analog and Digital Systems, Inc

141 Linden Street Suite 03 15810 Blossom Hill Road

One Progress Way

Wellesley MA 02181

Los Gatos CA 950,32

Wilmington, MA 01887

Tel

(617) 239 1692

(408) 26-4- 261T

(617)729-1140

Fax.

(617)239-0096

(408) 356-3633

(508)658-8498

Table I. (Loudspeakers)

Mirage 14490 Stand-mounted
Ti dome Er polypropylene-cone Reflex 38Hz ?kHz
40Hz- 22kHz (+ /-3dB) 86dB/W/m 6ohms 4ohms 50- 150W 1925' 97' 10 75'
28 lbs $600 (stands $129/pr) 135
00361/2 Audio Products International Corp 3641 McNicoll Ave Scarborough Ontario M1X 1G5, Canada (416) 321- 1800 (416)321-1500

sponding levels for each of the other loudspeakers was then determined by relating the measured sensitivities of each loudspeaker-- in an octave band centered at lkHz--to that of the Snell. It was then asimple matter to calculate the setting required on the Rowland Consummate preamplifier for each selection
over each loudspeaker. The Rowland, for those unfamiliar with it (and who missed my review in Vol.15 No.1), has alevel control with 200 repeatable steps--with approximately 0.2dB change from one to the next. It also has afront-panel readout for each of these steps. It is therefore possible to not only determine the required setting accurately, but to repeat it precisely and almost instantly via remote control, at alater late.
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE LOUDSPEAKER BEHIND THE CURTAIN On the first day the seating was as follows: JA, front and center; second row, CG left, facing the loudspeakers, and RL right; third row, TJN left, GL center, and SM right. On the second day DO sat in RL's former seat, RH in SM's; the rest of the seating remained the same.
As before, the Snell Type K/II was played first and identified on both days. Following this open audition, it was mixed in with the other loudspeakers and auditioned blind for all of the listeners except TJN, who performed the setup and adjusted the playback

levels as required. The Snells' tweeter-level controls were set at 9:00 (the Snell was the only loudspeaker with such an adjustment). The randomly selected order of loudspeakers was different on each day, as one's perception of aspeaker's overall quality will be
affected by that ofthe speakers preceding it. Listeners were cautioned to avoid any verbal or nonverbal communication while the audition was in progress to avoid influencing others' scores and written comments. Since Iwas listening non-blind, and was also responsible for collecting and tabulating the scoresheets, Irefrained from looking at the first day's results to avoid being influenced directly or indirectly by others' opinions prior to the second day's sessions. Except for the pink-noise and JGH tracks, all listening was done in stereo.
INDIVIDUAL AUDITIONS After the sessions were completed on Day Two, each panel member (except RL and SM) randomly drew lots to select one or two of the loudspeakers to take home and audition under more familiar conditions. As before, none of the panel members listening in the blind were given any results from the panel tests until their individual auditions were completed. And although Iwas to tabulate the data and write up the final results, Idid neither until my own individual auditioning was completed.
Under more familiar, open conditions,

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

139

Manufacturer: Model: Type: Tweeter Woofer: Bass loading Approx. LF extension >never frequency Frequency range Frequency response Sensitivity. Nominal impedance. Minimum impedance Amplifier requirements: Height: Width: Depth: Enclosure volume Weight: Price per pair Approximate number ot dealers Warranty Serial numbers tested US Distributors
Tel

Pinnacle PN8+ Stand -mounted If pol,,rner ·dome fr polypropylene Reflex
2.2kHz 30Hz-21kHz
92dB/W/m 6ohms
10 -250141 195' 11 5' 11 4'
35 lbs (shipping) $460 200 7year transferrable none provided Pinnacle 255 Executive Drive Mamie*, NY 11803 (516) 576-9352

KEF 060 Stand-mounted 1' polymer dome (Uni -01 8' polypropylene-cone Reflei 45Hz (-64BI 251(liz
60Hz- 201diz (+ /-3413) 90dB/Wlm 8ohms 4ohms 10-100 W 169' 972' 10 8' 198 liters 158 lbs $599 300
007853/4 KEF America 1701 touchstone Road Colonial Heights VA 23834 (804) 520-7200

Spica SC-30 Stand -mounted 15' polypropylene-cone 8' pulp-cone Sealed- be
3kHz
5414z-27kHz (+ -349) 88dB/W/m 8ohms
25-100W 23' 10' 11 75'
28 lbs $399 129
0792/3, 1619, 1629 Spica 3425 Bryn Mawr NE Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 883-6120

NIA Black Dahlia Mk.II Stand- mounted
Ti dome 65' Polypropylene Reflex
3kHz
65Hz-16 5)dit I+ /-348) 82dB/W/m 8ohms
1835' 12' 14.75'
35 lbs (est) S643 (see Note) see Note
Ni A see Note
see Note

Fax:

(5161 57613826

(804) 520-7260

(505) 883-6512

see Note

Note This is the assembled price from Just Speakers, 3170 23rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. Tel (415)641-9228 They sell lots also Complete kits including cabinets are $5951pair, without cabinet S381/pair the cabinets alone are $239/pair Note that the Just Speakers cabinets are double-wall (total thickness 15"), but do not have the laminated center foam core of the tested prototypes There are other suppliers of Dahlia kits. including Madisound, Box 4283. Madison, WI 53771, Tel (608)831-3433. at the time
of wnting, however, the latter did not have cabinets for the Mk II

opinions may vary from those in the blind sessions. As Iwrite these words, Ihave seen none of the individual reviews except my own, but Iwould be very surprised ifthere were not some interesting differences. Different rooms, different associated equipment, amore relaxed environment, and familiar program material can all make adifference.5
TE STING The eight pairs of loudspeakers were subjected to Stereophiles standard set ofmeasurements by JA. He used the Audio Precision System One to measure each speaker's impedance amplitude and phase, to get an idea of how difficult each speaker would be to drive,

5There is also the factor that, in ablind test, you can never

go back to check any particular aspect of performance. Under

normal sighted conditions, let's say you notice what might

be anarrow-band coloration on female voice. You can play

the same track again or reach for different recordings to

explore, confirm, or deny the observation. The overall conditions and ever-changing musical selection in the blind test

(necessary to make it practical) work against the process of

diagnosis, leaving the listener's perception to some extent lag-

ging events. While blind panel testing has its place, it is too

blunt atool to become the be-all and end-all of review proce-

dure, in my humble opinion.

Before all you blind-test buffs rush for your pens and papers

to write angry letters to the editor accusing me of striking a

political stance--see this month's "Letters" column--note

that Iknow that of which Ispeak. As well as carrying out

dozens of normal reviews in the last 10 years for Hi-Fi News

& Record Review and Sterrophile. Ihave both taken part in and

organized many tens of blind tests since the Spring of 1977,

when Iwas part of apanel for ablind test on loudspeakers

organized by the late Jimmy Moir.

-- JA

and the DRA Labs MLSSA system with a
calibrated B&IC 4006 microphone (see Vol.14 No.10, p.205) to assess the anechoic response on the listening axis at adistance of44", aver-
aged across a30° horizontal window above 200Hz and the nearfield bass response below
that frequency. JA also used the MLSSA system to look
both at the sensitivity and at the manner in which each speaker's response changed as the
listener moved off-axis in both vertical and horizontal planes. As explained in footnote 4, this was done before the listening tests so
that TJN could place each pair of speakers
on optimally high stands. Though JA therefore had arough idea of how each speaker
measured, these tests were performed almost two months before the panel auditioning, and his memory isn't what it was. In any case, he
didn't refer to the measurements again until
writing them up after all the listening--panel and individual--had been concluded.
Because the MLSSA system allows you to
transformjust the anechoic response ofthe
impulse response to the frequency domain, it is important to push room reflections of aspeaker's direct sound as far back in time as possible when taking ameasurement. JA
therefore covered the floor in front of each speaker with asandwich offiberglass, coarse
Distech foam, and finer-grain Sonex foam, in effect creating an acoustic "black hole" on

140

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

Spica SC-30

Mirage M490

aid/s/ SAT 6

Tannoy 609

Nelson-

Snell

Pinnacle

Reed

KEF

KII

PN8+

5-02/CM

060

Black Dahlia Mk II

Average for
each piece of music

Pink Noise JGH Double Bass Male Vocal Jazz Drumset Female Vocal Orchestra Piano Orch./Chorus

496 504 5.28 5 10 553 550 505 508 486 478

479 454 4.25 4.15 5.03 4.63 4.79 4.93 5.18 458

4.44 497 4.50 4.67 4.86 454 448 442 4 19 439

3.92 346 3.67 3.33 3.17 2.79 3.07 3 17 3CO 250

Overall

448

512

4.69

4.54

3.21

Average

àble2. AVERAGES

the floor so that the first interfering reflection is that from the ceiling, at least 4ms and
up to 6ms away in time depending on the height of the speaker on its stand. The fre-
quency response curves are therefore accurate down to around 250Hz, though frequency
resolution is limited below lkHz or so. This is why JA measures the response below
200Hz with the microphone almost touching the bass unit or port. Work done by Audio's Don Keele in the early '70s showed that this
was equivalent to measuring the speaker anechoically provided the measuring distance was very much smaller than either the size of the woofer or the wavelength of sound
being reproduced. Both anechoic and nearfield responses are shown on the same graph for each speaker, but the level match between them can only be approximate. (It is based,
however, on the speaker's overall response measured in-room.)

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT The CDs were dubbed via digital direct from
aWadia WT-3200 CD transport using aUnivocal digital cable onto aJVC XD-Z1010TN
DAT recorder. Playback consisted ofthe same JVC deck with acoaxial digital output feeding an Audio Research DAC1-20 D/A converter, Rowland Consummate preamplifier,
and Krell KSA-250 amplifier. The digital
interconnect was aUnivocal cable on Day One, changed to aKimber KCAG on Day
Two. The converter-to-preamp link was via AudioQuest Lapis, the pre-to-power-amp
connection used (balanced) Cardas Hexlink (an early version). The speaker cable was
AudioQuest Dragon, mono-wired.

4.46 4.38 4.63 4.92 5.40 5.78 5.85 5.33 5.40 5 13
5.13

500 496 467 478 469 496 4.80 523 4.98 4.94
490

388 392 3.67 346 3.13 296 296 296 3 17 2.67
3.28

496 483 507 523 5 13 457 478 4 72 498 528
495

425 3.50 4.58 4.75 4.62 5 12 5.00 492 408 425
4.51

452 440 448 449 4.61 454 453 453 .4.43 428
448

TABULATION OF PANEL RESULTS For each loudspeaker, each listener was given aseparate scoresheet with space for anumerical score and comments for each musical and
non-musical selection. The scores were to
be from 0to 10, with an average hypothetical score for atypical good-value loudspeaker in this price range being 5. Following the sessions, average scores were calculated for each
loudspeaker using aspreadsheet program. The average scores given to each loudspeaker
for each piece of music were also calculated, and are shown in Table 2.
I've diverged slightly from the last loudspeaker survey in the way I've organized the
written subjective comments made during the listening sessions. Rather than intermix
all of the listeners' comments for each loudspeaker, as Idid last time, I've isolated each listener's remarks and presented those which
seem to best summarize that individual's reaction to that particular loudspeaker. Since all of the loudspeakers would have the op-
portunity to make their cases to an individual reviewer during the more leisurely, individual
auditions, the listeners were instructed during the panel sessions to offer written comments
only after determining anumerical score. Therefore some panel members were more
sparing than others in their comments on specific loudspeakers. Even so, there was no short-
age ofwritten remarks. And while there was no shortage of negative reaction to any of the
loudspeakers, remember that we were hold-
ing them up to ahigh standard. A number of them will nevertheless find their way into
our next "Recommended Components" list. As an aside, we had mechanical problems

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

141

with three of the loudspeakers' rear (fiveway) inputjacks. On the Pinnacles, the plastic
nut used to cinch down spade terminals stripped on three of the terminals, making
it difficult to tighten them securely. It was still possible, ofcourse, to use the banana sockets
on the posts. On the Mirages and KEFs, not only did we experience asimilar problem, but aterminal actually broke offat its pillar,
necessitating replacement surgery. Fortunately this happened before the listening ses-
sions. This isn't the first time I've experienced input-terminal problems; that on the KEFs,
for example, seemed to be due to the hole for the cable being large enough to significantly reduce the mechanical integrity of the pil-
lar. Iurge all loudspeaker manufacturers to
take along, hard look at this seemingly routine part of their designs.
The overall numerical panel score for each
loudspeaker is shown immediately below the listening-test heading for that loudspeaker.
The overall score is given first, then in parenthesis the average scores for days one and two, respectively (the Dahlia was auditioned only on the second day). The overall average score for all loudspeakers and all listeners, on all days, was 4.48.

levels of each loudspeaker. This may well have made the Snells shift from "dynamic and punchy" to "aggressive"--an easy threshold to cross with inexpensive loudspeakers-- resulting in its precipitous drop in the second day's ratings. Nevertheless, it clearly remains asolid performer in its price range.
TANNOY 609: $599/PAIR Description: The Tannoy 609 is the middle product of this British company's new seven-speaker "Sixes" line. Adistinguishing characteristic of this series is the unusual sixsided cabinet, which reduces the parallel surface area inside the cabinet, thus minimizing standing waves. By using six smaller panels of varying dimensions (rather than four larger panels of nearly equal dimensions), their resonance modes are higher in frequency and more evenly distributed over the audio spectrum. The unequal-sided hexagon is capped with abase and top, avertical internal brace running between them to

SNELL TYPE K/II: $4.65/PAIR
5.13 (6.39 /3.86)
The Snell Type Kill, our control, scored higher than any of the other candidates this
time around. (The scores given above are for its blind listening sessions only). But it did so with some inconsistency. Prior to the test, as previously stated, I'd chosen what Ifelt to be an appropriate playback level for each
musical selection by listening to it over the Snells. The levels for the other loudspeakers
were adjusted up or down from that, as has already been described, to account for the specific loudspeaker's difference in sensitivity from the Snell in the lkHz octave band. Ifelt after the first day's sessions that this ultimately made many of the loudspeakers
sound rather pallid next to the Snell--ajudgment verified by the scores. The Type K/II
outscored its nearest competitor by more than afull point on Day One. Therefore, the
overall playback level was raised--for all of
the loudspeakers--by 2dB on the second day. This included the Snell; we were trying to liven-up the overall sound, not monkey around
with the measurement-determined relative

Tannoy 609 loudspeaker

142

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

increase rigidity and reduce cabinet reso- slightly below his own average score for all

nance. The bases are injection-molded from of the loudspeakers.

mineral-filled polyolefin, amaterial that

CG, on the other hand, rated the Tannoys

reportedly has good damping properties. near the bottom on both days. He found the

Two rear-firing ports identify the 609 as a mids very colored and distant. "Hollow

reflex design. The enclosure's exterior has vocal, wolf-tone in the upper range ofKenny

rounded edges to reduce diffraction. This is [Rankinrs voice. Really colored midband,"

alot ofattention to cabinet construction for he noted. He felt that they lacked air on top,

a$600/pair loudspeaker.

with an amorphous bass. "Dull, clumsy, no

The 8" driver is a"Dual Concentric" design that puts aI" aluminum-dome tweeter

air on cymbals," he commented on the Tannoys' performance on the drum set. He also

inside the bass unit, at the rear ofits voice- found them to harden up on peaks, partic-

coil. This technique reportedly results in a ularly on the orchestral recordings.

radiation pattern that more closely emulates

Both DO and RL had similar--and nega-

apoint source. The 8" cone is made ola sheet tive--reactions to the Tannoys. RI.% reactions

of polyolefin copolymer, injection-molded are perhaps best summarized in his reaction

to the cone shape. The cone's thickness (and to the Oxnani Sessions: "Music seems canned,

thus its stiffness) varies over the piston area, remote, under glass--I can't get at it. Makes

with maximum thickness near the neck where any kind of visceral response impossible.

the cone is driven by the voice-coil.

Music is felt viscerally or not at all."6Though

The crossover filters are first-order (6dB/ the levels were, again, set slightly higher on

octave) with afrequency of 2.5kHz. Poly- the second day when DO took RI.% place, his

propylene capacitors and iron-dust core in- reaction was not all that different. He found

ductors are used throughout, and the net- the Tannoys bland and lacking in clarity and

work is hardwired. Two pairs ofgold-plated impact.

binding posts are provided for bi-wiring-- the supplied links for conventional wiring

GL was also disappointed in the 609s. He was troubled by their midrange coloration,

arejoined at the top by aplate with the "Tan- commenting on their poor vocal reproduc-

noy" logo on it--though these are too wide tion. He also remarked negatively both days

for dual-bananas and there is very little room on the coloration ofthe horns on thejazz cut.

to get two pairs ofcables hooked up. Threaded He agreed with DO and RL that the speakers

inserts allow for carpet-piercing spikes or bolting to Tannoy's matching stands. The

lacked impact, top-end extension, and asense of involvement.

609s are finished in either black ash or walnut, with an unusual two-tone brown and blue, faux marble top-plate.

RH and SM, on their separate days, did not like the Tannoys much either. SM thought the response missing at the extremes and was

Listening Tests Panel Score: 3.21 (3.06 / 3.36). On the first day JA was rather lukewarm toward the Tannoys, finding them generally "inoffensive in the treble" and with a"low bass that doesn't boom." But he found
the midrange too colored and the overall

not overly taken with the mids. "Am Ibeing
too critical?" he asked in awritten comment, "I don't like this sound." RH also thought
the top rolled-off, the mids way too laidback, and dynamics lacking. He, to thought the Tannoys "uninvolving, bland."
Nor, I'm afraid, could Tonto and Ido much

sound lacking in clarity. Day Two improved matters considerably in hisjudgment, when he rated the Tannoys above average. He still found the top end reticent, the lower mids

to save the day here. Ifound the Tannoys lacking in impact, clarity, and openness. On the second day, particularly, Inoted midrange coloration on almost every selection, ranging

colored, and the dynamic range in the low treble restricted--he found on the Nevsky, for

from boxy drums to avery colored, hooty sound on chorus.

instance, that the 609s worked better on

It's possible that adifferent placement

massed voices at lower levels than at higher in adifferent room would at least mitigate

levels. But he liked the soundstage image and the rather consistently noted problems the

depth, the sense of space, and the overall panel found with the 609s. But under our

"palpability" in the midrange. For the two

days combined, however, he rated them 6RL apologizes to Virgil Thomson.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

143

listening conditions, they were adefinite disappointment.
CG comments on the Ihnnoy 609: "Pick aspeaker, any speaker," said TJN as he fanned the handful ofpaper slips in front ofmy face. On each slip of paper was the name of one of the ten (? how many were there?!) speakers we'dfinally PRAISE ALLAH finished blindlistening to just minutes before, and Tom was now farming the speakers out to each of us for the in-home phase of the final review. TJN appeared sincere, but Iknew better.
When Iwas wee, Iwas what we in The Sacred Brotherhood call aprestidigitator, Iperformed magic tricks at children's birthday parties and other legitimate social functions. Ihad an old collapsible top hat that had once belonged to my Grandpa Herb and ablack
velvet cape from Louis Tannen's shop in NY, and Iknew every trick in the book. Imastered the famous linking rings, the floating ball under the scarf, the horrifying finger guillotine. No set ofhandcuffs or leg-irons
could hold me; no ten-year-old girl could resist me as Iplucked farm-fresh egg after farm-fresh egg from my very mouth. Iwas ashaman's shaman, afriend of the devil, a necromancer. Iwas abad ten-year-old mofo.
One ofthe books Iread during my study ofles artes noires was Marshall Brodein's 1,001 Card Tricks So EZ Even A Ten-Year-Old Mofo Can Pull 'Em Of so when TJN thrust the
overturned slips ofpaper at me and bade me choose one, Iknew he was "forcing" me to
pick apredetermined slip. What seemed to the rest ofthe group an innocent gesture was obvious to my trained magician's eyes as a
con, atrick, ascam. "Ho-ho, Tommy ol' boy!" Ithought, "What
kind ola cheese-eating layman do you take me for? Ididn't forfeit anormal childhood for practicing The Mysterious Disappearing Cans OfRicejust so Icould be the town geek!" Iknew what every extraverted social outcast with arabbit and adream knows: that magic is simply adiscipline, aregimen designed to hip oneself to the ever-present deceit and treachery waiting at Life's Every Turn. And
I'd be good'n'DAMNED if Iwas gonna let StereophiWs Technical Editor make afirst-class monkey out of me.
However, after seven continuous hours of blind listening to some of the worst music and sound I'd ever heard in my entire life, I

walked tiredly and resignedly into the hellfire ofTJN's chicanery and plucked the slip sticking out farthest from the rest. What else could
Ido? The play was already written; all Ihad to do was read my lines.
Iturned the slip over. "Tammy" was all it
said. These are wretched loudspeakers. Bi-wired
via two 8' pairs of Straight Wire Maestro to aMuse Model 100 amplifier and driven with familiar source material, the Tannoys pro-
duced the most amusical sound Ihave ever had in my listening room. Bar none. The highs were bright and harsh. The midrange was nasal and confused, with obvious "cuppedhands" coloration. Vocals sounded like the singers were using megaphones instead of mikes. The bass, what there was of it, was flabby, tuneless, and slow. Dynamics were poor, as .the 609s not only got super-hard when pushed even moderately loud, but the ported woofer bottomed out with asickening crack at what Iconsider laughably wimpy levels.
Normally, I'd go into greater depth with each of these findings, illustrating each facet of the DUT's performance with apiece of music Iused in the evaluation process, but the Tannoys so offended me that Ifound myselfgetting up to turn the system down halfway into every song Iplayed. If you must know for your own private and assuredly suspect reasons, Ilistened to Lyle Lovett's track on the Deadicated CD, Jack McDuff's
and Gene Ammons's BrotherJack Meets The Boss (Prestige LP P-7228), Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, and Nirvana's Nevermind.
I'll be honest with you, Ididn't even try to evaluate the Tannoys' imaging and soundstaging abilities; if aspeaker sounds this wrong tonally, Idon't give arat's ass if it
makes Patsy Cline stand right there in the room in glorious, unmistakable 3-D, her tears of faded love falling silently into the deep beige shag of the listening-room carpet. BEGONE, FOUL TRANSDUCERS!! The 609s are, by quite awide margin, the worst speakers Ihave ever had in my home.
Think I've been too harsh? Find adealer who stocks 'em and go listen for yourself. I'll be waiting by the mailbox, but Iwon't be
holding my breath.
JA comments on the Tannoy 609: When Corey told me of the depth of his ire and I

144

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

experienced the wretched excess of his vocabulary, Itook alisten to the 609s with the same components I'd used to audition the ICEFs and Nelson-Reeds. (This was before I'd seen the panel results.) Well, my listening notes pretty much said the same things as he, and eventually they, did: noticeable cupped-hands coloration in the rather forward midrange, coupled with alack oftopoctave air that made the overall balance too warm. In my room and system, the bass actually seemed to have some dynamics, without too much boom, and the imaging was superbly precise, with awealth ofambient detail apparent. Nevertheless. Ikept returning to the overly colored midrange, which I found particularly annoying on orchestral strings and piano. Interestingly, arecent review in the English magazine Hi-Fi Choice (January '92, p.125) rated the 609s as a"Best
Buy" at their UK price of£250/pair. But note this passage from the Choice panel's descrip-
tion of the speaker's sound: "It goes loud with some decorum and punch, though the bass is alittle short on pace and authority. .. the relative lack of treble was noted, as was aconsistent `quacky' coloration on voice. ."
We've obviously all been listening to the same speaker. Has Stereophile been too critical? No, Idon't think so. My feeling is that the pace ofimprovement in the design ofinexpensive low-coloration loudspeakers in the last four years or so has been astonishing.
Any significant degree ofmidrange character, no matter how good the imaging or how effortless the dynamics, makes aloudspeaker with hi-fi pretensions uncompetitive in today's market. Adisappointment, therefore,
from one of the great names in British loudspeakers.
One final point: the panel and sighted auditionings were done with the speakers'
grilles off. The veneered front baffle with the Tannoy logo on it in gold and the smartly finished dual-concentric drive-unit seem to suggest that Tannoy feels the speakers should be used this way. Ifound, however, that the grille--the frame ofwhich touches the sides of the driver's mounting plate--somewhat reduces the speaker's midrange coloration. As Corey suggests, therefore, listen to the 609s for yourself.
Measurements: The 609's reflex bass alignment is revealed by the twin peaks in the

impedance plot (4.1), with the twin ports tuned to 33.5Hz (the saddle between the peaks). Only dropping below 8ohms between 100Hz and 550Hz, it will be avery easy load for even inexpensive amplifiers to drive. (The lowest amplitude is 5.2 ohms at 183Hz.) Though it's impossible to see on the scale this graph is reproduced in here, there are afew small wrinkles in the curves, indicating panel or enclosure resonances at those frequencies.
Fig.2 shows the 609's impulse response on
the tweeter axis. Note the slow rise of the
woofer before the tweeter comes in, indicating adegree oftime alignment to the system, while the high-frequency ringing is due to
the tweeter and should be above audibility. To the right of fig3 is shown the Tannoy's

AU010 P1OZISIC« INP-T609 11I·LIV1 I 111118814.1 2811

me 00

1411·06

120 11.

,

Ise

26 011 88 17:31:42 98.818
Cy,
4.7.518

48 I.

II 11

1011

11.

Fig.1 Tannoy 609, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.)

·.111 ·.11. ··· ·.· -0 0 -0.·
-0.· -0.·

3:0

0

· .0

Fig.2 Tannoy 609, impulse response on tweeter axis at 44" (Sms time window, 30kHz bandwidth)
I 11111111 1 11111111 1 11111111
OMB

-18dB

-28dB

-381d11

-48d11

1111 11 1 1 1

18Idtz
Fig.3 Tannoy 609, anechoic response on tweeter axis at 44" averaged across 30° horizontal window and corrected for microphone response, with nearfield woofer and port responses plotted below 200Hz.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

145

response on the tweeter axis averaged across a30° horizontal window. Note the excess of energy in the upper midrange and the early rolloff above 10kHz. Here are the forward midrange and dull top octave noted in the auditioning. The response curve shape--the
depressed highs emphasizing the forward upper mids--probably also correlates with
the midrange coloration noted, though other factors will be at work here as well. Despite
the low tuning of the ports, the left curves in fig3 indicate the 609's bass to be rather
shelved down. Note, however, the peak in the port output centered on 300Hz, which may well be indicative ofacabinet resonance at that frequency. The panel generally did note alack ofclarity in the speaker's presentation.
Looking at how the speaker's balance changes as the listener moves off-axis horizontally (fig.4) and vertically (fig.5) reveals excellent dispersion, with more energy apparent above 10kHz. This will contribute to the speakers' excellent soundstaging. Finally,

fig.6 shows how the Tannoy's balance changes as sounds decay. Resonances show up in this kind of cumulative spectral-decay or "waterfall" plot as ridges parallel to the time axis. Note both the generally hashy decay of the 609's sound, with astrong resonant mode noticeable just above 11kHz, and the "step" in the response at 3kHz (the 609's crossover frequency is 2.5kHz). The former will lend the treble agrainy quality; the latter will contribute to the coloration noted.
NELSON-REED 5-02/cm:
$1550/PAIR Description: The Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM, the smallest loudspeaker in the Nelson-Reed line, uses a5"-frame polymer-cone woofer and a1" ferrofluid-cooled metal-dome tweeter in asealed enclosure. The tweeter is assembled from Vifa parts by Nelson-Reed, using aproprietary technique that damps the

18a

OdB

lOdB

-21ildB
-MI

1 11111111

1 11111111

1 11111111

1-BUB

1311

111111

Fig.5 Tannoy 609. vertical response family at 44",

1111t

Mt

le

ail*

normalized to response on tweeter axis,

Fig.4 Tannoy 609, horizontal response family at

from back to front: response difference 7.5°

44", normalized to response on tweeter

above cabinet top; difference level with

axis, from back to front: reference response;

cabinet top; difference level with top of

difference 7.5° off-axis; difference 15° off-

woofer; reference response; difference level

axis; difference 30° off-axis.

with base of woofer.

Cumulatiue

1000.0 Spectral Decay

10000.0 log Frequency - Hz

13.74 dB, 11452 Hz (129), B.800 wsec (0)

Fig.6 Tannoy 609, cumulative spectral -decay plot

146

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

though he didn't find the depth that impres-

sive. But he found the sound undone by a

lack of body. "Uninvolving, overall," he

noted; "lightweight"; "quiet dynamics and

threadbare sound:' He did note that the

speaker might be used to better effect near

awall, where the reinforced LF would allow

its midrange clarity to "shine on through!'

CG thought the sound lacked air and dy-

namics. He was also almost totally put offby

the lack ola bottom end. On pink noise he

thought that the Nelson-Reeds sounded like

"steam escaping!" "Where's DA BASS?" he

wanted to know. "I'll bet Bob is cringing

right now:' he noted on RH's drum set re-

cording, "this track is the speakers' worst

nightmare!'

RH was cringing. On the drum set he

wrote, "Bass drum sounds like apencil on

an oatmeal carton, cymbals whitish." He

thought the Nelson-Reeds, overall, to be

Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM loudspeaker

cold, thin, and--at higher levels--hard. DO made very sparing comments, but he

apparently focused on the Nelson-Reed's tweeter's ultrasonic ringing, reportedly better attributes and was able to disregard the

by 30dB. This assembly technique is said to attenuate audio-band intermodulation products. Nelson-Reed uses the same tweeter throughout their line, including the 8-04/CM
favorably reviewed by JGH in March.

lean balance. "Very good pitch definition:' he wrote; "clean, focused midrange:' and "natural, detailed treble." He rated them quite
highly. RL, on the other hand, stayed with the majority. "So distant," he wrote, "mini-

The 5-02/CM is distinguished by its oiled, hand-rubbed wood veneer finish (over 3/4"

drums, speakers de-emphasize tom-tom pitches, losing the 'tune'r He couldn't get at

MDF) with solid hardwood corners. A 5element network with acrossover frequency

the music with the Nelson-Reeds. SM agreed. "OK, so it's not actively aggressive," he

of 3.2kHz forms the network. Although the crossover is first-order, the tweeter circuit offers adual slope to achieve greater attenuation in the stopband. Air-cored inductors and polypropylene caps are used throughout. A single pair of five-way binding posts is provided on the rear panel.

noted, "but so what. Talk about no guts!"
He added, "This is the speaker version oflite beer--less filling."
To itemize GL and yours truly's remarks would belabor the obvious here. Suffice it to say that we differed little from the majority. Both of us thought the top end reasonable,

but seriously criticized the lightweight bal-

Listening Tests Panel Score: 3.28 (2.88 I ance. Apotential buyer for the Nelson-Reeds

3.67): The Nelson-Reeds, with the smallest had best be prepared to use asubwoofer in

cabinet and woofer in the group, may have any reasonably sized room.

been undone by the lack ofLF reinforcement

from the relatively free-space positioning JA comments on the Nelson-Reed 5-

chosen. Certainly the Nelson-Reeds' lack of 02/CM: According to Nelson-Reed's excellow-end weight bothered most of the panel lent manual, the axis on which the 5-02's

and definitely brought their score down, drive-units are intended to blend correctly

despite some favorable characteristics.

is actually below the woofer, meaning that

JA had positive remarks about the Nelson- very high stands should be used. As the

Reed's midrange clarity; though he heard highest stands to which Ihad access were the

some mild colorations, he didn't dwell on 24" Celestions, Iplaced the Nelson-Reeds

them. He also liked the "good sense ofspace," upside-down on them, which placed the

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

147

tweeter nearest the floor and my ears level with what was now the top of the cabinet.
The speakers' heavy cloth-on-frame grilles
were removed for all my listening. Iused two amplifiers with the speakers: the promising $995 Acurus DA1 and the pair of Mark Le-
vinson No.20.6 monoblocks that Iwrote
about in the April issue Front end was both afully-loaded Linn LP player and aVTL Reference DAC driven by the Wadia WT3200 transport. Cables were MIT, preamp the Melos headphone amp coupled with the
McCormack Phono Drive. Although TJN used as high stands as pos-
sible in the blind listening to get the panel on or below the Nelson-Reeds' woofers, Isus-
pect from my own auditioning (which took place before Iread the panel's opinions) that the speakers would have fared better had they been used upside-down, the optimal axis
being nonintuitive, well below the woofer in fact. Ifthe listener gets anywhere near the
tweeter axis, the speaker sounds quite hollow, with an unpleasant, metallic peakiness in the
mid-treble that makes its balance very fatiguing. All my comments therefore refer to the
5-02s used upside-down on the 24" stands. Even with the speakers quite near the rear
wall, there was no low bass, and even the
midbass sounded lean. The bass warble tones on the Stereophile Test CD were reproduced cleanly only down to 80Hz, the ones below
that frequency sounding furry as well as rolled-off. To be honest, however, you can't expect room-shaking low frequencies from
apair ofwoofers with aradiating diameter ofjust 4" each. What bass there was was reasonably well-defined, with arefreshing lack of boom; but overall, the speaker's lowfrequency dynamics were severely limited. Wide-range orchestral music had to be
played well below 90dB if the sound was not
to mush up too much. Moving up in frequency, the midrange was
well-detailed and generally smooth, though
male voices acquired aslight "quacky" coloration, which might be connected with the generally live-sounding enclosure (Though they seem quite dead to the knuckle-rap test,
listening to the walls with astethoscope with music playing revealed anumber ofhighishQ resonant modes, right in the region where male voices have most of their energy.) Male speaking-voice pitch inflections also seemed
suppressed, though the tom-toms on Bob

Harley's drum recording on Stereophik's new Test CD were reasonably well differentiated
in their tone colors. (This was certainly not
true with the speakers right-way up, when
things tended to sound more alike.) Female
voice, such as Dick Olsher's wife Lesley singing "Summertime" on the original Stereophile Test CD, sounded clean over most of their range
Apart from the restricted dynamics, the speaker's main problem area seemed to be in
the low treble, where severe peakiness emphasized the snares on drum recordings and
added arather phlegmy coloration to closely miked voice. This was too low in frequency to be described as sibilance emphasis, adding more ofa"spitchy" quality. On "Walking
in Memphis" on Marc Cohn's debut album (Atlantic 782178-2), for example, it was more
as if the singer was pronouncing the Greek character "X" (du) much ofthe time. Nevertheless, the high treble was smooth and much less grainy, and didn't call attention to itself.
What these tiny Nelson-Reeds did do well was the soundstaging thing. Lateral images
were stable and precisely defined in space, moving well outside the speaker positions when appropriate, such as when Larry Archi-
bald moves to the edges of the church on the soundstage map track on our new Test CD. They also reproduced an excellent sense of
recorded ambient information, giving individual images agood sense of palpability. They certainly didn't sound too distant, unless you
listen to the speakers on or above (away from the woofer) the tweeter axis. In fact, the sense
ofdepth was not as well developed as Iwould have liked on my own recordings.
Overall, these tiny speakers offer about as much bass and dynamic range as you might expect from their diminutive proportions, which will rule them totally out ofcourt for
those who want awell-balanced speaker at this price point. With care taken about what axis to listen to them on, they do offer ataste of midrange transparency and soundstage
excellence that will be very appealing to those who can put up with the lean balance and peaky mid-treble The Nelson-Reed 5-02/
CMs might be found useful for specialized applications or for use in asecond system. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that they
are expensive in comparison with such outstanding, more fill-range budget performers
as the Spica It-50, NHT 13, and Magnepan
SMGa.

148

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

Measurements: There are no surprises in
Ze W., HI 17:311:42 1731

the 5-02's impedance curves (fig.7): an easy-
to-drive sealed box tuned to 87Hz with a minimum impedance of 5.9 ohms at l3kHz. Fig.8, the impulse response on the closest JA
got to the 5-02's design axis (the measurements were all done without reference to the

Illa

ea

e IS

-10

lk

Sa

1 A %,

Fig.7 Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM, electrical impedance

-28a

(solid) and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.

1.I..

- ,e·

î-3110 lelz

I pi,

liPs

nitz

Ills

Fig. 0Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM, vertical response

family at 44", normalized to response on

woofer axis, from back to front: response

difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level

with cabinet top; on tweeter axis; midway

3 ·

_

7.0

·

Fig.8 Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM, impulse response on

between tweeter and woofer; reference response.

woofer axis at 44" (5ms time window,

30kHz bandwidth)

1 11111111 I 11111111 I I1111111 I II

-nu

-2918

-110

-48111 1 11111111 1 1I111111 1 11111111

111:

Iliklz

Fig.9 Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM, anechoic response on woofer axis at 44" corrected for microphone response, with near-field woofer response plotted below 200Hz.

Fig. INelson-Reed 5-02/CM, anechoic response on tweeter axis at 44" averaged across 30° horizontal window and corrected for microphone response, with nearfield woofer and port responses plotted below 200Hz.

Fig.I2 Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM, cumulative spectral-decay plot

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

149

owner's manuals), with the microphone level with the woofer's dustcap, is typical ofade-
sign with alow-order crossover, overlaid with some ultrasonic ringing from the tweeter.
In the frequency domain (fig.9), measured
on the woofer axis, the bass can be seen to roll out early, reaching -6dB at 67Hz. This is exaggerated by the higher level ofthe midrange, which will make the bass sound
shelved-down unless the speaker is used right against arear wall. Higher in frequency, the transition between the two drive-units is not that well managed on this axis.
Examining the changes in the speaker's
sound as the listener moves above the woofer axis (fig.10) shows ahuge notch in the crossover region. (Fig.11 shows the actual response averaged across a30° window on the tweeter axis.) Audition this speaker on what seems to be the intuitive axis and you end up with aseverdy colored, recessed balance. Although not shown, the 5-02 offers even horizontal dispersion, as is to be expected from such a narrow baffle.
The cumulative spectral-decay plot on the woofer axis (fig.12) reveals aseries ofresonant ridges in the mid-treble that undoubtedly contribute to the feeling ofametallic coloration and general spitchiness to the 5-02's sound. Note also the "knee" in this plot at 1400Hz, which could possibly be perceived as anasality. Above SkHz, however, the decay is clean.
BLACK DAHLIA MK.II (KIT OR DIY PROJECT; PRICE VARIES) Description: The Black Dahlia reviewed
here is an improved version of Dick Olsher's do-it-yourself loudspeaker project, first reviewed by JA in Vol.13 No.11. In addition to JA's full review, that issue also includes DO's detailed discussions ofthe Black Dahlia design philosophy and evolution.
The Dahlia's driver complement and loading have remained the same: a6.5" plasticcone Dynaudio woofer mated to an MB titanium-dome tweeter in aported enclosure The MB driver is the same tweeter used in
the Avalon Eclipse, Hales System Two and System Two Signature, among other loudspeakers.
Where the Mk.11 version differs from its predecessor is in its cabinet construction. The
new enclosure has been redesigned to incor-

Black Dahlia Mk.II loudspeaker
porate a2" front baffle and an unusual sidewall sandwich construction. Most of the enclosure is made oftwo layers of 3/4"particleboard separated by foam, the entire structure glued and screwed together. According to Dick, this method increases rigidity, improves damping, and provides resistive dissipation of shear modes. To lower the levels of reflections from the wide baffle's edges, the baffle is covered in 1"-thick foam, with holes cut out for the drive-units.
The system crosses over at 3kHz, with fourth-order slopes (24dB/octave). The new version uses adifferent resistor in the network, resulting in an increase of ldB in the tweeter output. The crossover is also now enclosed in aseparate compartment on the rear panel.
Listening Tests Panel Score: 431. Given that many audiophiles have built this DIY design, JA thought it would be interesting to include it in the group. Auditioned on the second day only, the Black Dahlias came in almost dead average in the standings. JA rated them in his top group, though his comments were only mildly favorable. On the negative side, he thought the "imaging fair regarding precision, but depth less than average" He also felt the high end to be "down in the top octave." He noted that they sounded "a little raucous," and that they didn't "go loud gracefully" in the Arnold and were "rather confused-sounding" in the Nevsky. On the positive side, though he noted some lack of LF definition, he remarked on the "good bass

150

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

weight" on three occasions. He also praised the "good saxophone/trumpet tone colors" on the Oxnard and called them "musically communicative," if "rather untidy" on the drum set.
CG also placed the Dahlias in his top four.
His negative comments centered on alack ofair at the top and abit ofbass heaviness. DO, though he provided no written remarks, rated the Dahlias below average. When he designed these loudspeakers, he did voice
them with tube amplification and, knowing Dick, probably with aheavy emphasis on analog sources. That may go some way toward explaining his not very positive reaction to them here--using solid-state amplification and adigital source.
GL commented that the Dahlias were "chameleon-like." Interestingly, JA had used the same term. But GL was lukewarm to-
ward them. Though he liked the "wide soundstage" on the orchestral selections, and the "dynamic and fast" quality on the drum set, his other remarks seemed to be largely "okay" and "so-so." Still, he rated them slightly above average.
RH also noted alack of life in the top octave. He found the dynamics "decent" on his drum set recording, but otherwise "boxy" with "very colored snares and lower toms" on the same cut. He found that the sound glared on the Nevsky and was hard on the Arnold. He graded them slightly below average.
Inoted some MR nasality, but found the highs open and clean, without spit or sizzle.
While Iliked the depth on Oxnard, elsewhere Ifound the soundstage abit two-dimensional; there was areduction of clarity at the back of the stage in the Nevsky, with slight congestion at the conclusion. The sound was punchy ifsomewhat forward. Icommented on the Arnold that the Dahlias had asolid low-frequency response but "could use abit more focus and inner clarity." But my overall reaction was quite positive: the Dahlias were my top-rated loudspeaker in the group.
TJN comments on the Black Dahlia Mk.II: Iset the Black Dahlias up on the same Celestion stands used in the panel listening tests. Though my listening room is the same space used for those sessions, Iused asomewhat different setup, bringing the loudspeakers abit farther out into the room. As-

sociated equipment included the Wadia WT-3200 CD transport, Audio Research DAC1-20, and an LP playback system consisting of the SOTA Jewel turntable, AudioQuest AQ PT-8 tonearm, and Signet AT0C9 cartridge. Interconnects were AudioQuest Lapis, speaker cable AudioQuest Clear (the Dahlias were not configured for biwiring).
Although DO had informed me prior to
my individual listening that the Black Dahlias were voiced for tube amplification--not sur-
prising given Dick's love of tubes--I elected
to start the listening with apairing ofsolidstate products. The Rotel RC980BX preamp and RB980BX power amp had just arrived
for auditioning. Since they sounded initially quite promising, it seemed appropriate to begin the auditioning with these modestly priced separates.
My initial reactions were very positive. While the Dahlias weren't about to challenge the Apogees which have most recently occupied the loudspeaker spot in my listening room, they performed surprisingly well.
Well, not perhaps so surprisingly; bothJGH and JA have had favorable comments about
previous Dahlia generations. Immediately obvious was afine overall tonal balance. They
lacked abit of extension at the frequency extremes--I would have preferred more air at the very top and amore solid deep bass. But Idon't expect to get the latter in aloudspeaker of this size.
Although Ididn't get the feeling ofatruly deep low end--again, Ididn't expect it in a loudspeaker ofthis size--the Dahlias did not
sound lean. Bass drum, while it by no means rousted me out of my listening chair, was
convincingly robust. Double bass was full and resonant, and organ had enough weight to make its weighty and sometimes awesome musical point. The bass range in general was abit soft rather than crisp and tight, but still had good definition. There was atrace of warmth through the rnidbass which was not unwelcome. Instruments were neither unnaturally lean nor fill,but had believable timbrai weight.
Their top end was perhaps the Black Dahlias' greatest strength. They had asubtle, open, and silky quality which encouraged extended listening and kept listener fatigue out ofthe picture. There was plenty ofdetail,
but without any analytical, etched, tizzy, or

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

151

bright qualities. Sibilants were natural and unexaggerated. Percussion had the needed
bite without spilling over into ringing or zing. And strings were smooth. If anything was
shortchanged, it was afully developed sense
of air at the very top. The sense of alarge, ambient church acoustic evident on Britten's Noye's Fludde (Virgin Classics 91129-2) was
significantly reduced over the Dahlias--as
was, to alesser degree, the feeling ofair and space around individual voices. But it's also easy--and far too common--for aloud-
speaker to attempt to secure these qualities
by means of ahyped-up top octave. The
Dahlia didn't do this. The Black Dahlia's midrange was low in
coloration and above average in openness and clarity. Iinitially thought Iheard some subtle
midrange nasality, but it was infrequent and difficult to pin down. What Idid sense was aslightly closed-in, rather forward quality.
There was also atendency for the loudspeakers to "shout" at the listener over anarrow band offrequencies in the midrange. The latter was not amajor concern. But the overall sound--especially the upper midrange/
lower treble region--was alittle "slow:' with reduced snap and life. The dynamic range
didn't grab my attention as often as Ithought it should. And the soundstage perspective
was abit more forward than seemed entirely natural. Not in-your-lap, but enough to foreshorten overall depth and reduce the sense ofpalpable layering ofthe soundstage Lateral imaging, on the other hand, was good. Not holographic or pinpoint, but well-defined from left to right, with atightly defined cen-
ter image. Finally it was on to the second part ofthe
listening test: driving the Dahlias with atube amplifier, per DO's recommendation. Ichose the Audio Research Classic 60 driven by a
top-quality solid-state preamplifier--the Rowland Consummate. While this combination may seem abit ofoverkill to drive a
modestly priced loudspeaker, keep in mind
that the Black Dahlia Mk.II is akit with high-quality parts--comparable with those in far more expensive manufactured loudspeakers. The Dahlias were not at all embarrassed by being paired with the Rowland and
Audio Research. The most obvious gain was an increase in
overall liveness, with more apparent air
around voices and instruments, and the mid-

range more open and dimensional. While the Black Dahlias could still not be described as mind-boggling in the depth department, there was aclear enhancement ofthis quality, with some real sense of layering in what had before been rather foreshortened. Voices and instruments seemed more three-dimensional. Images were more clearly defined in space. Clarity was improved without in any way
seeming forced or unnatural. The sound was definitely more palpably "there" The Dahlias were still abit forward and pushy in the midrange--which restricted their ultimate transparency--but this was somewhat less evident. The Dahlia's dynamic qualities were still shaded abit too much toward the polite. With analog LP as asource, there was aftirther opening up ofthe Dahlia's top end. And while the midrange remained forward, with analog it was abit less insistent and more relaxed. Although the lower-powered Audio Research (60Wpc vs 120Wpc) did produce a slightly less punchy low end, the overall improvement from the upscale electronics was clearly and definitely audible and worthwhile. Ifyou ignore the price. But Iwon't say that the difference in performance was close to the nearly 10x increment in cost of the driving electronics The Law ofDiminishing Returns remains in force.
Iliked the Black Dahlias, though they definitely can profit from being used with atop-quality front-end. But even ifyou can't afford to feed them aRowland/Audio Research diet, anumber ofless expensive tube amplifiers are available. Ultimately, Ifeel that DO's
recommendation ofatube amplifier is asensible one. Unlike most designers, he does not need to be concerned about such arecommendation limiting his potential market.
Measurements: Though the two DIY loudspeaker designs Ireviewed in March, which used Focal and Eton woofers, showed
very good pair-matching, this is not true for the Dynaudio woofers used in the Black
Dahlia. This is shown in the impedance plots for the two speakers: whereas one speaker
offers the twin peaks ola reflex enclosure, with aport tuned to 30Hz (fig.13), the other (fig.14) almost behaves as aasealed box, the lower peak being reduced almost to invisibility. The matching of the inductors in the crossover network is also not good, as shown
by the difference in the height ofthe imped-

152

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

ance peak at 3kHz (which Iassume is due to different inductor-series resistances). Note also the difference in tweeter impedances above 10kHz. A strong wrinkle can be seen
in both sets ofamplitude and phase plotsjust below 300Hz, indicating acabinet that is very lively at this frequency. Robert Harley did find his drum recording to sound "boxy," with reduced differentiation between the pitches of the various tom-toms: exactly the
subjective effect of strong, narrow-Q resonances in the lower midrange.
The Dahlia's impulse response (fig.15) is
typical of the genre: plenty of ultrasonic ringing from the metal-dome tweeter, with alazy lower-frequency decay due to the high-order
crossover filters. Fig.16 is alittle complicated, as it shows the MLSSA-calculated quasi-

anechoic responses and nearfield responses
of woofers and ports for both speakers. Both speakers offer acommendably flat balance between midrange and treble--TJN noted
the speaker's "fine overall tonal balance"-- though the top speaker is more peaky than the bottom in the lower treble. The Dahlia's
slightly subdued top octave beneath the tweeter resonance was also noted by both

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difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level with cabinet top; reference response;
difference midway between tweeter and woofer; on woofer axis.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

153

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TJN and the panel. The mismatch between the two speakers
in the bass is immediately noticeable in this graph, the top speaker offering typical if
rather overdamped reflex behavior, the lower one behaving more like asealed box, with amore gentle rollofE Overall, however, the Dahlia offers good bass extension, and the subjective difference between an overdamped reflex and aquasi-sealed box didn't appear large enough to bother any of the listeners
overmuch. Fig.17 shows the changes in the Dahlia's
sound as the listener moves to the side. Prob-
ably due to the foam covering the baffle, the Dahlia changes its balance by very little horizontally, even the 30° off-axis difference
(front-most plot in fig.17) only showing
some extra top-octave rolloff. In the verti-
cal plane, too, the Dahlia offers excellent dispersion (fig.18).
Finally, fig.19 shows the Dahlia's cumulative spectral decay. Here are the "silky" highs that so impressed TJN and the reason this MB tweeter is so popular in high-perfor-
mance loudspeakers: though the tweeter's ultrasonic peak raises the graph's noise floor, there is still almost acomplete lack ofresonant hash above 4kHz or so. (The dark ridge just below 16kHz is due to the computer
monitor and should be ignored.) But look
at the ridge at 3.3kHz. This is the same speaker whose impedance was shown in
fig.13; whether this strong resonance is due to acrossover problem or to asurround
problem in the woofer is hard to say without more measurements being done on the

individual drive-units. Nevertheless, this behavior strongly says "nasality" to me; TJN did note some nasality in the panel tests, though the fact that this speaker was much worse than the other in this respect will explain this coloration's overall now-youhear-it,-now-you-don't character.
AiD/S SAT 6: $800/PAIR
Description: The SAT 6is the middle ofthe three-product SAT line from aid/s. Audiophiles haven't heard much from a/d/s since the late 1970s, when they produced such
ads SAT 6loudspeaker

154

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

excellent loudspeakers as the L810 (I owned apair for years). The company now seems to be concentrating on the mass market rather than the High End.
Both the 6" woofer and 1" tweeter are designed and manufactured by a/d/s. The woofer is a"copolymer" unit with acomputer-designed profile for maximum rigidity and resistance to breakup. The tweeter is an unusual soft-dome, also made ofcopolymer. The two drivers are crossed over at 2kHz, with aLinkwitz-Riley fourth-order crossover. An automatically resetting tweeterprotection circuit disconnects the tweeter if the loudspeaker is overdriven.
a/d/s makes much of the SAT 6's distinctive appearance in their brochure. The loudspeaker's look was designed by the celebrated design firm frogdesign. The flat front baffle is sharply beveled and virtually separate from the rest of the enclosure. This not only provides an unusual appearance, but also decouples the rubber-mounted baffle from the sealed enclosure. To reduce diffraction, the baffle edges are rounded. A perforated metal grille snaps into place. The SAT 6is available in real walnut veneer or black matte finishes. The beautifully finished walnut enclosure is made of3/ 4 "high-density particleboard, the black finish applied over 3/4"MDF. Two pairs of gold-plated five-way binding posts are provided for bi-wiring, thesejoined with a printed circuit board dual jumper for normal operation.
Listening Tests Panel Score: 4.55 (4.61 / 4.48). On the first day JA scored the a/d/s solidly average. He showered it neither with raves nor serious criticism, but noted some midrange coloration--a degree of "quack" coloration on male voice. Soundstage was rated as rather flat, bass a"bit gruff-sounding?' He felt the drum set to be rather indistinct, the female vocal "slow-sounding?' He liked the smooth treble and good midrange clarity on the orchestral selections, however. (Remember that his position at the front of the panel meant that he was significantly offaxis.) But while he felt the Nevsky to be musically involving on the first day, Day Two's slightly higher level found him uninvolved. His scores were definitely lower on the second day. The midrange coloration persisted, the bass was "lightweight." He continued to find the image short ofdepth and too wide,

lacking in centerfill. He also felt that the lack of dynamics restricted musical involvement.
CG rated the SAT 6s well above average on the first day. He thought them abit bass-
heavy, speculating that they must be the Snells. On Day Two, however, his relative enthusiasm cooled. He also commented on the bass-shy balance on that day, and thought
them rather forward and bright. Still, his first day's scores were high enough to put the a/d/s in his top-rated group, overall.
DO also thought the a/d/s lacked impact and transparency, and was rather closed-in
and boxy. He thought the piano lacked "dynamic bloom:' and the sound on the orches-
tral selections congested and shouty, with a gritty upper mid. He also noted adegree of
boxiness on piano and female vocal.
RL, on the other hand, thought the female vocal was handled well, but felt that the accompanying ensemble got "lost?' While he
thought the Arnold was "very smooth" and "easy," he heard high-frequency congestion
on piano. Overall, however, he liked the a/d/s better than most of the contenders.
GL rated the a/d/s somewhat below his overall average on the first day. His remarks
were generally unenthusiastic in this session. He heard midrange colorations, ranging from
"shouty vocal" in Amanda to asuckout in the Arnold. He thought Kenny Rankin's voice
too chesty, and the piano to sound almost hard. But he was more upbeat on the final
orchestral selection, finding it "articulate, lively, dynamic." He also liked this selection
on Day Two, and scored the a/d/s higher on this second session. But though he generally liked the soundstage, his comments else-
where were mildly critical, scoring the bass
weakness on the Oxnard and "thin treble" on the piano.
RH, while he rated the a/d/s fairly high overall, thought them to be "uninvolving and
undynamic." On Amanda he called them "kind of bland:' with "no top-octave air"; on the jazz cut he noted "horns very laidback, lacks immediacy." The male vocal was
a"bit lacking in life?' While he seemed to find
nothing offensive in their sound, neither was he particularly upbeat.
SM found the a/d/s overdamped and lacking in warmth and foundation. He found
complex material confused, the piano right and left hands unintegrated, with "little harmonic richness."

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

155

Ialso found alack of low-end extension on Day One, but also felt that the low end that was there was reasonably well-defined. "A shade shy on weight," Isaid, referring to the Nevsky, "but the male chorus has some texture and detail." ifound the soundstaging --at least from my rather off-axis location-- relatively three-dimensional. Iwasn't troubled by the midrange, but commented in several places on an excess of top end. It didn't irritate (again, perhaps that off-axis perspective helped), but it did call attention to itself on anumber ofselections On Day Two Iwas disappointed in the aidis's restrained sense
of power on the orchestral selections, double bass, and piano, and continued to find the high end prominent. But on anumber of selections Iwas favorably impressed by the openness of the sound. The aklis did not find its way into my top group. Irated them somewhat above average, however.
DO comments on the aidis SAT 6: The
SAT 6s are small enough to be carried under one's arm, and thus they made their entrance into my Reference room. There they were stand-mounted and driven by the Air Tight ATM-3 tube amps and afirst-class front end. Ididn't expect any deep bass, and there wasn't any. Idid, however, expect decent imaging, and Iwasn't disappointed. The resultant soundstage was wide and deep, and image outlines were reasonably well-focused in space But after what happened next, Iquickly lost interest in this speaker's imaging acumen.
As soon as the chorus erupted in full voice (Beethoven's Ninth, Chesky CD66), the SAT 6's lower treble sounded rough and screechy. Soprano upper registers sounded shrill and uneven, and there was a"tearing" distortion through the upper mids that sounded like a midget was hidden inside the box busily tearing up atelephone book.
The distortion was coupled with abad case of congestion and aloss of dynamic range
from loud to very loud. It sounded as though the speaker had hit abrick wall at peak spls in the mid-90s. Even at low volume levels, however, the SAT 6proved sonically irritating. The treble had aring to it, and highfrequency transients were consistently etched, which caused, for example, applause to sizzle
Track 10 of the Stereophile Test CD is an excellent test ofdriver integration. Through the SAT 6, the Hamburg Steinway's timbre

was obviously flawed. The lower registers
were uneven, and there was aclangy quality to the upper registers. Gary Karr's double
bass (Adagio d'Albinoni, King K33Y 236), a wonderful Amati vintage 1611, also lost body
and heft. Ironically, this particular disc was much more listenable through the SAT 6
because the upper octaves weren't much involved.
The SAT 6's main problem appears to revolve around the transition between woofer and tweeter. Its gruff, edgy harmonic tex-
tures are symptomatic of improper driver blending: either the crossover frequency is
wrong for the woofer or tweeter, or the slopes are not optimal. Joni Mitchell (Blue, Reprise MS-2038) brought this point home when her vocal range hovered over this region and managed to excite several resonances.
This cute little speaker proves the adage that beauty is only skin deep. Next to the affordable Spica TC-50, the significantly more expensive SAT 6doesn't have achance

Measurements: The SAT 6's impedance amplitude and phase are shown in fig.20, the sealed-box tuning apparent as the peak centered on 67Hz, meaning that the aki/s will dig deeper in the bass than the similarly sized
Nelson-Reed. With avalue dropping to 3.4 ohms at 200Hz, right in the region where
music has quite alot ofenergy, the SAT 6will need agood amplifier to drive it without
strain. Iknow Dick Olsher loves classic tube amplifiers, but fig.20 implies that they're not
really recommended for use with this speaker. The impulse response on the tweeter axis
(fig.21) is clean, with very little ringing ap-
parent, though the use of fourth-order filters
ties in with the lazy lower-frequency decay. Turning to the frequency domain (fig.22), the SAT 6offers adistinctly untlat response on

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156

SIIRU01'11111, M AY 1992

the tweeter axis, there being an excess of energy in the top two octaves and alarge suckout in the crossover region. Here are the explanations for the listeners' comments of
"thin treble," "an excess of top end," "etched HF transients," "lack of integration," and "suckout." The nearfield bass is classic small sealed-box, though the in-room measurement did indicate adegree of underdamping, which might correlate with the SAT 6's
apparent bass weight as noted by some listeners.
Looking at the manner in which the SAT

6's sound changes as the listener moves to the side (fig.23) reveals that the on-axis crossover notch does fill in for off-axis listeners, which to some extent explains the disparity in the panel's comments on the speaker's midrange and low treble. RH in the third row
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normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: response difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level with cabinet top; reference response; difference midway between tweeter and woofer; on woofer axis.

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STEREOPHILE, M ay 1992

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157

was well off the speaker axis, however, hence his comment on the SAT 6's lack of "topoctave air." In the vertical plane (fig.24), the notch stubbornly refuses to fill in. In fact,
with the speaker on low stands so that the listener can see the cabinet top, it gets even deeper. Afourth-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover as used here needs the woofer and tweeter to be connected with the same polarity. Isuspect that, in the SAT 6, they've been connected with opposite polarities, which would explain the measured on- and off-axis
response curves. The SAT 6's cumulative spectral-decay or
"waterfall" plot is shown in fig.25. The treble is alittle hashy, with aresonant mode apparent at 7kHz--is this DO's treble ring?-- though the overall decay trend in the treble is even with frequency. There's ahint ofresonant behavior around lkHz, though the
graph's frequency resolution is not good enough in this region to clearly show what is happening. Listening to the beautifully veneered cabinet walls with astethoscope revealed high levels of side-wall vibrations, with avery "honky" character. Snatching a quick listen to the SAT 6s after the measurements had been done confirmed DO's feeling ofcongestion to their sound, with alimited dynamic range. The entire midrange seemed affected, cellos and male voice sounding boxy and wooden; oboes and piano sounded hooty and strident. In addition, the stereo image pulled to the speaker positions in the midrange, always asign ofcabinet problems, in my experience. Overall, both measured performance and sound quality are disappointing for what is quite an expensive
minimonitor.
MIRAGE M490: $600/PAIR Description: The Canadian loudspeaker manufacturer Mirage is best known among audiophiles for their highly regarded M-1 and M-3 models. The company, however, also makes aline ofmore affordable prod-
ucts, called the 90-Series. The M490 included in this survey is the middle of the 90-Series line, with two products below it and two above.
The M490 is an 8" two-way system in a
vented enclosure. Its most distinguishing feature is the forward-mounted tweeter protruding from the enclosure so that it fits flush into acut-out in the grille frame. This report-

Mirage M490 loudspeaker
edly reduces diffraction from the frame and improves off-axis dispersion. The port, located at the front bottom of the cabinet, has an unusual asymmetric sculpted look to reduce port noise. The 3/4"fiberboard enclosure boasts computer-designed internal bracing and damping materials.
Both the 8" polypropylene woofer and 1" PTH' (Pure Titanium Hybrid) tweeter are designed and manufactured by Mirage. The tweeter's titanium dome is mounted in alowmass cloth suspension system. This technique reportedly reduces distortion and improves transient response; the cloth absorbs ultrasonic ringing.
Crossover frequency is 2kHz, with firstorder low-pass and third-order high-pass slopes. Polyester and polypropylene capacitors are used throughout. The M490 provides two pairs of gold-plated five-way binding posts for bi-wired connection. Finishes available include ablack-ash vinyl with grey grilles and dark oak with black grilles.
Listening Tests Panel Score: 4.69 (4.61 / 4.76). JA liked the Mirages quite abit on Day One, declaring them "a winner!" His reser-

158

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

vations were concentrated in the bass region, which he found extended but lacking in darity, with thickened upper bass. Above the
bass, however, he had generally favorable reactions. He commented on two occasions on the M490s' "palpable presence and liked the "wide and deep soundstage" and" 'big' sound." He noted the xylophone's well-
defined pitch centers in Nevsky, and the clarity and "easy-to-listen-to" quality of the orchestral selections. He wrote that, as Amanda
McBroom sang "Oooh Amanda," he became aware for the first time that her voice was doubled by aharmonica. On Day Two, however, his scoring of the Mirages dropped
more than anotch. Perhaps the slightly higher playback level enhanced his sensitivity to its
overall low-frequency response; he was more critical ofthe clarity in the bass, referring to
it on two occasions as abit "boomy." He still praised the bass extension, but found orchestral climaxes to sound rather coarse and grainy at the top. Overall, however, his high rating on Day One managed to pull the
Mirages into his top-ranked group. CG, on the other hand, definitely disliked
the Mirages on Day One, thinking them too
bright and lacking in depth. Kenny Rankin's sibilants were "spitty," the Arnold's horns
"too blatty," the Nevsky's highs "quick to harden." CG also noted the lack ofadistinct bass line. On Day Two, however, perhaps the higher level opened up the Mirages for him.
He thought the double bass and harp had "decent clarity." He still thought the highs
were "a little piercing" on the Nevsky, but otherwise did not criticize them as he had on Day One. He continued to note some bass
overhang, but it didn't pull down his scores to any extent. Overall, however, he was not
favorably disposed toward the Mirages.
DO's scores were rather low for the Mirages, which did not keep them from sneaking into his top group. RL did not rate
them highly. He thought them very listen-
able on the piano selection, but on the orchestral selections was underwhelmed-- commenting that he heard a "generic" orchestral sound which didn't make him care overly much about the music. On the Kenny Rankin, he thought "KR sounds like he's
singing through acereal box, piano and voice not 'happening together'."
On Day One GL liked the Mirages bet-
ter than RL, though he was not effusive He

thought the male vocal "hooty." He noted the "excellent detail" to the drum set recording, but commented on arather brittle sound on the same selection. He found Amanda's voice "quite nice." Though his overall reaction was positive, he found the sound lacking in sparkle. Day Two, with its somewhat higher level, was adifferent story. GL found the "best bass so far," the sound "involving."
Bass drum had "good weight," the orchestra also involving and "articulate!' He noted a
"good sense of space and separation," with "excellent detail. It was not surprising that
the Mirage proved to be GL's favorite loudspeaker of the bunch.
RI-I, on the other hand, found the bass of the Mirages to be too fat and bass-heavy.
This may have been why he felt that the male vocal was congested. He commented favora-
bly, however, on the dynamics and extension
on the drum set and the decent soundstage on the Nevsky, but continued to be bothered by the low end.
SM agreed with the others that the Mirages were heavy in the bottom end, a "good foundation but lacking in definition!' He found the attack to be "thick" on the
drum set, with "mediocre dynamics." He commented on aproblem in the high end on
the piano recording, referring to it as a "modulation halo:' And he felt the soundstage to be "muddled:' with "no front-to-
back stage" on the orchestral selections. Still,
his rating numbers allowed the Mirage to creep into his top-rated group.
On the first day Ifelt that the Mirages were abit too laid-back, somewhat reticent in the upper-bass/lower midrange power region, and rather prominent in the highs. The male
chorus on Nevsky was too laid-back, the piano shy ofweight. Icommented in anum-
ber ofplaces on the prominent treble. On the orchestral selections Iwas too conscious of
the overtone structure of voices and instruments, the top end "a trace crisp and dry:' Still, Inoted good clarity and focus on the drum set. My scores were higher on Day Two. Now there was definitely more warmth
and body to the sound--perhaps abit too much, but overall Ifelt it to be aplus. Icom-
mented on several selections on the good weight--on the orchestral selections it gave
awelcome sense of "majesty" to the sound. My summation on the Nevsky reads "Yeah! Okay, highs are atrace dry, but the chorus

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

159

is open, the body is right, good threedimensionality and depth, not congested to the same degree as some, good presence." I liked the M490s well enough, but they didn't make it into my top-rated group.
GL comments on the Mirage M490: The panel listening was finished and the participants were relaxing with soft drinks and two-day-old donuts when Tom Norton asked us to choose from slips of paper containing the names ofthe speakers we would take home for one-on-one listening. The thought was daunting, since throughout the two-day listening sessions, none of the speakers, to me, stood out as much more than mediocre, with several sounding distinctly below average. Hopefully, intimate exposure to the speakers by the participants, in different rooms and with avariety of electronics, would reveal afew "sleepers:'
Iwas optimistic about this possibility, since Icame away from this experience with a noticeable lack ofenthusiasm--for audio and music. Besides being almost unbearably mentally and physically fatiguing, the testing process left me with serious doubt concerning the validity and, more important, the efficacy of the entire event. Based on what Iheard in my listening room, Ifound it hard to believe the speakers marked on the little scrap ofpaper Idrew out of the hat to take home for review (Mirage M490s) were the same pair Iheard in Stereophile's listening room .7
At the time ofthe panel listening, Iwas in the middle ofan equipment review so Ididn't want to move my M-3s out ofthe roomjust yet. Not wanting to let the M490s sit idle, I
set them on the supplied 21" API SST stands on either side of my Sony 25" XBR Pro monitor, disconnected the leads to the Sony speakers, and hooked up the Mirages. With only 15W of questionable power available, Iwasn't expecting to hear great sound. I didn't. However, while watching john Sayles's superb 1984 film, Brother From Another Mantle Ibecame aware of an entire layer of bass I
7Regular readers will know of my adulation for the Mirage M-3s--they've occupied pride of place in my reference system ever since Isnatched them away from Tom Norton almost a year ago. It was purely coincidental that Iwas to take the M490s home. 8This soundtrack is amust-have. It's available on vinyl (no CD yet, ha-ha!) from Daring Records, &or 793, Marblehead, MA 01945. The catalogue number is DR 1007. Grab it while you still can!

hadn't heard before, especially on Lee "Scratch" Perry's "Pussy-I-Cocky-I-Water." Hminm, thought I. Wonder what these will sound like in agood system?
They sounded GREAT! Gobs of articulate, extended bass, lush midrange, and nonfatiguing highs. In addition to preserving the timbrai qualities of the instruments (and voices) which make music, the Mirages did an excellent job at retrieving the generation ofharmonics and their interplay, regardless of whether the notes were struck, bowed, or blown. There was no ambiguity in this area.
The loudspeakers were performing their tasks as transducers with equanimity. In fact, once I'd established optimum room placement for the M490s, Icould sit back and enjoy âmusical event delivered in away which reminded me alot of what Iwas accustomed to hearing on my M-3s. There
was astriking family resemblance to the sound. The smoothness of the overall portrayal which characterizes the sound of the M-3s was present on the more humble sibling, though not to the same degree. The M490s also suffered abit in the area of "finesse" when compared to their pricey big brothers. Although all the performance details were captured on the M490s, it's as if they occasionally needed deburring.
The sound of the M-3s in my system is comparable to the colors rendered on Fuji's Reala print film--soft, yet revealing and romantic. The sound of the M490s in my system is more like the rendering ola scene on Kodak's Ektar--sharp and dramatic, with romanticism an afterthought rather than a
goal. Just as both films capture ascene, both speakers re-create amusical event. The difference between them is in the way I, as alistener (or viewer), respond. In the case of the M490s, my response was one of involvement. Each record or CD Iplayed became asurprisingly compelling event. My mind was locked onto the music in away which Irarely experience listening to so-called "cheap" speakers. My only extramusical thought was how Ijudged the sound ofthese speakers to far exceed their price, and what
agreat deal Ithought they were. The "good system," incidentally, consists
of aRoksan Shiraz MC cartridge mounted in a(fully tweaked) Eminent Technology 2 tonearm atop aWI HW-19 Mk.IV turntable CD playback consists of aMeridian 602

160

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

transport feeding either aMeridian 606 or Theta DS Pro Prime processor. The coax-
ial connection is Ensemble's Digiflux cable. All other interconnect is AudioQuest Diamond Hyperlitz. Speaker cable is bi-wired AudioQuest Sterling. The preamp is aVTL Ultimate, and apair of Manley Reference 200/100W Triode Switchable Monoblock
power amps complete the chain. Sounds like overkill? Maybe, but Iwanted
to give the M490s the best shot Icould. It has
been my experience that modest loudspeakers can sound magnificent when fed with good electronics and adecent front-end, whereas expensive speakers fed by indifferent
electronics with equally ordinary front-ends will always sound.. .mediocre. One ofmy
fears is that prospective customers will only
get the opportunity to audition these speakers with the ubiquitous receivers seen overflow-
ing dealer shelves. Insist on an audition using separates. To show you how misguided pop-
ular myth is in regard to sound reproduction
in the home, Irecently read in apromotional
brochure that the speaker end of the chain is where one should invest the heaviest. Bunk!
Don't believe it for asecond. As Idiscovered during the course of my listening, speakers
like these benefit from as fine afront-end as
you can afford. Don't pinch pennies there, and you'll be rewarded with outstanding
sound. Ifyou're at ahi-fi store and the salesman insists on selling you expensive speakers
by trimming the budget at the front-end, mn, don't walk, to the nearest exit.
As with any speaker, careful placement of the M490s within the room was essential to
achieving good sound. Ispent alot oftime moving them around, listening, then moving them around again, etc., before Isettled on
the arrangement used for final listening and evaluation. These are not bookshelfspeakers;
another of my fears is that they'll end up
being placed there in many homes, thus diminishing their exceptional sound quality and shortchanging the purchasers' investments. These speakers deserve better. Ifound
them to sound their best placed approxi-
mately 48" from the rear wall, toed-in slightly, and at least 2' from the side walls. Though not bipolar radiators, these babies need room
to breathe! With the speakers so positioned, my ears were approximately 5' from the front plane of the grilles. My listening seat puts my ears about 39" offthe floor. For best results,

the midline of the tweeter should be the same height from the floor. The 21" stands were not tall enough to achieve this, so Iremoved the rather short spikes which came with the stands and put Arc-ici Super Spikes in their
place. These much taller spike "assemblies" brought the speakers to within 1/ 4 "of the desired height.
Idid the majority ofmy listening with the grillecloths on, as this is the way Ilisten to speakers. Ifelt this is the way they'll be used in the most homes.9
The speakers are bi-wireable, and Ifound
this configuration to give the best sound. For instance, there was more "bloom" to the bass, especially noticeable on Rickie Lee Jones's outstanding new recording, Pop Pop (Geffen
GEFD-24426), where Charlie Haden's string bass assumes an almost palpable pres-
ence in the room, each note seemingly "rolling" off the strings toward the listener. In addition, the highs opened up abit, improving resolution and speed. The cymbals toward the end of"Caledonia' from Dolores Keane's self-titled album (DKLP 1), had less smearing, with more shimmer and less
"splash," making them sound like struck brass. Soundstaging was enhanced as well, and there was anoticeable increase in "air" around both instruments and vocals. Keane's "Mouth Music" was stunning. The presentation of the vocalists, flanked by the drums, was exciting and believable.
To say Iwas impressed with these speakers is an understatement. Their sound rivaled that ofspeakers costing much more Iconsider them strong Class "C" loudspeakers. These
are speakers for the music lover who wants to enjoy his/her library of recordings. The perfectionist might be less inclined to embrace them as Ihave: there was an occasional,
barely perceived "hardness" in the lower treble range (mainly noticeable on certain female vocalists); they also exhibited aslightly trun-
cated soundstage depth relative to other speakers I've encountered (especially the M3s, which are champions at depth retrieval).
9The debate over whether or not to leave grillecloths on loudspeakers is, to me, silly. With the exception of, for example, the Celestions, most loudspeakers I've seen come with some sort of acoustically transparent fabric covering their front (and/or rear) face In fact, some speakers--the Mirage M-3s, for instance--nuke the grilledoth difficult to remove Besides lessening aloudspeaker's cosmetic appeal, removing the grillecloth makes the drivers more susceptible to damage I say LEAVE 'EM ON and accept the often negligible sonic degradation.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

161

Soundstage width, however, is fine: on several occasions, Iwas aware of instruments placed well to the side ofthe speakers. Images at all points within the soundstage were wellfocused, stable, nearly holographic. Ambience recovery was excellent as well, with changes in recording venue easily discerned. At 15600/pair, Ifeel the Mirage M490s are a steal. Other speaker manufacturers who hope
to compete should listen long and hard to these babies. With their excellent dynamics and superb sense of "rhythm," they're capable ofbringing excitement into the listening
room. And that is aquality worth seeking in these days ofinsidious nonchalance. I'm buy-
ing the review pair!

responses. Again suggesting arather underdamped alignment, this ties in with the panel's auditioning comments, which were unanimous on the nature of the '490's bass but divided as to whether it was good or bad. Ifyou want abig, rather bass-heavy sound, you should give alisten to this Mirage, though it will become "boomy" or "fat" with some amplifiers. But look at the right
1 11111111 1 11111111 1 11111111 8.6d8
-211E

Measurements: Fig.26 shows the Mirage to be astraightforward, easy-to-drive reflex box with aport tuned to 38Hz. The fact that
the lower peak is higher than the upper one hints at asomewhat underdamped alignment, however, while the glitch in the curves at 275Hz is evidence ofacabinet resonance at that frequency. (Listening to the walls with
astethoscope revealed the side wall to be very lively in two regions, though the back wall was quite inert.) The speaker's impulse
response (fig.27) also holds no surprises. Transforming from the time to the fre-
quency domains, to the left offig.28 is shown the M490's nearfield woofer and port

ele PRZCISION 116161498 AMMO I 11881112·91

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Fig.28 Mirage M490, anechoic response on

tweeter axis at 44" averaged across 30°

horizontal window and corrected for

microphone response, with nearfield

woofer and port responses plotted below

200Hz.

lis

INs

wiz

181,11:

Fig.29 Mirage M490, horizontal response family at 44", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: reference response; difference 7.5° off-axis;

difference 15° off-axis; difference 30° off-axis.

I..

18

IN

to

WY

Sag

Fig.26 Mirage M490, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.)

.-- Fig.27 Mirage M490, impulse response on tweeter
axis at 44" (5ms time window, 30kHz bandwidth)
162

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141

lIdS

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Fig.30 Mirage M490, vertical response family at 44", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: response difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level
with cabinet top; reference response; difference midway between tweeter and woofer; on woofer axis.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

dB

0.00

12.0

0.60

6.0

1.26

0.0

1.87

-6.0

2 53

-12.0 -

Cueulattue

1000.0 Spectral Decay

10000.0 log Freauency - H.

12.08 dB, 9411 Hz (106), 0.800 msec (0)

3 13 ,sec MLSSA

Fig.3I Mirage M490, cumulative spectral-decay plot

of fig.28. That is one flat, neutral-sounding response throughout the midrange and midtreble, with only aslight excess ofenergy in the top octave and ahalfleading to comments ofatop end that was "a trace crisp and dry"
In the horizontal plane (fig.29), the M490 becomes abit peaky in the low treble, meaning that it definitely should be listened to onaxis. Note, though, that these measurements were performed with the speaker's grille, which is designed to minimize diffraction problems in the treble, removed. However, side-walls that are too close, as GL found using the speakers with the grilles on, will detract from the speaker's neutral balance. In the vertical plane (fig30), the speaker also shows generally good dispersion, though the rearmost plot, taken 75° above the cabinet top, reveals that acrossover notch develops for listeners standing at the back ofthe room.
Finally, the Mirage's cumulative spectraldecay plot is shown in fig.31. A generally smooth and even decay is broken by two regions ofhashiness: one centered on 9.4kHz, the other around 3kHz. Both might contribute to the "spininess" noticed by some listeners on sibilance.
All in all, the M490 is another finesounding, fine-measuring, inexpensive loudspeaker from the Great White North.
PINNACLE PN8 :$460/PAIR
Description: The 8460/pair PN8+ features Pinnacle's patented Diaduct" (diagonal duct) port. Rather than use anarrow tube mounted perpendicularly to the baffle, the Diaduct technique uses amuch larger duct angled

inside the cabinet. This gives the PN8+ its unusual oval-shaped ports. By increasing the duct's length, the diameter can be increased commensurately. The Diaduct venting system reportedly increases bass output from asmall enclosure and reduces wind noise from the port. The PN8+ incorporates two Diaduct ports, both firing forward.
An 8" mineral-filled polypropylene woofer is mated to a1" dome tweeter. The polyamide diaphragm tweeter dual rear chamber reduces diaphragm resonance and features magnetic liquid cooling. The crossover uses afirst-order slope, with acutofffrequency of 2.2kHz. Polypropylene and metallized polyester film caps are used throughout. The enclosure is made of 3/4"industrial-grade
particleboard finished with solid oak accents.
Listening Tests Panel Score: 4.90 (4.68 / 5.12). Scoring well above average overall, five
of the panel members placed the Pinnacle among their top four choices. JA rated it abit higher on the second day, but overall his reactions were consistent from Day One to Day Two. He thought the highs abit emphasized in the sibilance region, though otherwise smooth. A degree of thinness noted on Day One fleshed out at the 2dB-higher level used on Day Two. JA then found the bass perhaps a"little boomy" on one selection (Eccles), but was otherwise favorably impressed by the good bottom-end weight on bass drum and double bass. The midband also came in for favorable comment, with convincing voice and piano reproduction. Though the chorus tended to harden at higher levels on

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

163

the Nevsky, depth and midrange clarity held up. "A big, easy sound, with good detail and sense of soundstage space he wrote. "A bit sibilant, but awell-managed tonal balance."
CG didn't like the Pinnacles much on Day One, though they weren't far off from his average on that day. He downgraded them for lack of bass, lack of air and space, and a tizzy top end. On Day Two, however, his opinion was higher. He still felt them to be "a little bright:' but liked their depth and midrange clarity. "Very nice to listen to," he
wrote in commenting on the piano recording; "really lets the piano breathe?' Though he thought the overall bass abit subdued, he did like the way he was "finally" able to "hear
the bass line A minority report was filed by RL, DO,
and SM. RL thought them "boxy, small, and limited in dynamics" on the drum set, and generally unimpressive based on his comments--though he did score them about average. DO commented favorably on their bass impact on the Arnold, but otherwise thought them lacking in clarity and congested. SM found them lacking in foundation and overdamped--though he liked their low
end on the drum set. He also was not impressed with their sense of stage and room.
GL came in on the positive side. On Day
One he had some negative comment--he thought the sound generally alittle lightweight overall. But the Pinnacles came to life for him late in the session on the Nevsky. On Day Two he was abit more bothered by midrange colorations on the Oxnard cut and was unmoved by the Kenny Rankin, but on the
final four selections the loudspeakers picked up steam. "Amanda's voice has some body,
good soundstage, airy presentation," he wrote on the female vocal. He also liked the bass-drum impact and depth on the Arnold,
the airy, delicate, detailed sound on piano, and the good vocal articulation and believable orchestral scale and "heft" on the Nevsky.
RI-I was also favorably impressed. Though he mildly criticized some "one-note bass" on the Oxnard, he was favorably disposed toward the LF extension, good overall balance, and detailed, articulate, dynamic, punchy sound. "Greater feeling ofimages hanging in space," he wrote, commenting on the Nevsky; "good depth and resolution of
individual lines." Ialso liked the Pinnacles, more perhaps

-- Pinnacle PN8+ loudspeaker
than Idid later in my individual audition. I definitely liked the sense ofspace and soundstaging the Pinnacles presented. While I heard some boxiness on anumber ofselections, Idid not criticize it heavily or downgrade my scores because of it. I, too, mildly criticized the sibilance region, but was particularly impressed by the clarity and lack of congestion on the Nevsky. Overall, Ifelt the LF impact was good, the LF clarity better, the highs abit dry, the mids slightly colored, but the overall presentation definitely well above average for the group.
TIN comments on the Pinnacle PN8+: Iauditioned the Pinnacles using the same associated equipment and listening position I'd used to audition the Black Dahlias. Like the Dahlias, the Pinnacles were only configured with one set of terminals, so biwiring was not used. The grilles were removed.
Beginning with the Rotel amplification, the listening began on afairly positive note. Through the midrange Inoted some boxiness, but it was not aserious distraction. The

164

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

bass range was quite clean, though definitely low end remained tight and clean, ifalittle

on the lean side. While an occasional ten- lean as before. Yes, there was still some box-

dency to blurring on certain notes in its range iness, but the improved depth and three-

was noted, double bass was generally clean dimensionality made it rather innocuous on

and tight. There was alack ofbody to instru- 90% ofthe program material Isampled. Per-

ments with extension into the lower registers spective, which before had beenjust ashade

--bass drum was missing real weight, its skin forward, was improved. Piano was less for-

tone emphasized more than its fundamen- ward and jangly than before. It wasn't so

tal. Still, the low end was generally free of much that the improved amplification elimi-

boom and muddle. There was also good nated the Pinnacles' problem areas as that it

clarity up through the mid- to upper-bass made them less relevant by strengthening the

region.

loudspeakers' strengths.

Imaging was precise, with believable lateral

But it could not eliminate that high-fre-

focus and depth. But continued listening re- quency problem. That occasional edge to the

vealed problems, foremost in the top end. upper end of vocals remained, while hard

There was acoolness, almost acoldness, to transients generated the desire to turn the

the sound on many familiar recordings. whole thing off. Strangely, the problem

High-frequency transients were particularly didn't seem to affect sibilants. Cyndee Peters

prone to take on a"hot" quality, with more singing, acapella, "I Ain't Got Long" on the

than ahint ofzing. The Pinnacle did not fall Cyndee Peters/Eric Bibb collection (Opus

into the ear-burner category--its brightness 3CD 7706/03), was very convincing and

was not an immediate turn-off--but its top involving; the entry of percussion on other

end made long-term listening difficult. cuts, however, caused the sound to become

Ambience was hardened and brightened, aggressive.

piano sometimes clangy.

Still, Ican't deny that, with the up-scale

That trace of midrange boxiness noted amplification driving them, the Pinnacles

above became somewhat more obvious on could hold my attention. When Isampled

anumber ofrecordings, male vocal the most Britten's Noyes Fludde (Virgin Classics 91129-

frequent offender. Yet it never really disturbed 2) over the PN8+s, Ifound myselflistening

me. What did bother me was atrend to hardness in the upper end ofclose-miked vocals.

longer than I'd planned. There was certainly some muddle and glare as the going got

Some of the blame here may well be in the intense, but the soundstage layering, preci-

recordings, yet the same recordings on other sion, and overall perspective kept the CD

(admittedly more high-end) loudspeakers did turning.

not demonstrate it to the same degree.

In order to sort this out abit more, I

Still, the PN8+ was promising in anum- listened briefly to the Mirage M490s which

ber ofways. What would it sound like with GL hadjust brought back from his individual

better driving electronics? To find out, I auditioning. The Mirages were clearly more

hooked up the Rowland Consummate pre- extended in the low end, giving voices and

amp and Audio Research Classic 60 power instruments afuller, more natural timbre The

amp. Despite GL's and JA's recommenda- tradeoffhere was areduction in tautness. But

tions, it's unlikely that anything like this the tradeoff favored the Mirages. In the mid-

grade of amplification will ever be used to range, the Mirages had less coloration,

drive the Pinnacles, but it seemed only fair although the difference here was not pro-

to try the combination; I'd also used it in my nounced. And the M490s were better con-

review of the Black Dahlia.

trolled in the brightness region, though they

Matters improved noticeably with the seemed ashade dryer, grainier, and more sib-

high-end electronics. Now the Pinnacles' ilant at the very top. In the Pinnacles' favor

positive qualities asserted themselves. The was asuperior soundstage and better sense

soundstage on Mokave, Vold (AudioQuest of depth and dimensionality. Also ahigher

AQ-CD1006) was precise. Iwon't say that sensitivity--significant if your amplifier

either imaging or depth would challenge any power is limited. Still, the Mirages came out

state-of-the-art design, but both were far on top in sound. And finish. But they do cost

more than acceptable in this price range. about 33% more--$600/pair vs 8460/pair.

There was agood overall sense ofair, and the The lower in price you go, the greater differ-

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

165

ence such aprice gap should make. Ultimately, Ihad continuing reservations
about the Pinnacles' top octaves. The problem was not distracting on all program material, but correcting their rather overjuiced brightness region would be areal plus. The problematic treble may also make matching to associated equipment tricky--especially with the modestly priced systems in which such loudspeakers are most likely to be used. Ican at least recommend an audition, though you may find that they need amore expensive diet than you plan on feeding them in order to make the best use of their strengths.

Epilogue: Ivery briefly tried the Pinnacles closer to the rear wall--not an easy feat in my

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67.58

listening room because of the wall configuration and general room layout. There was amarginal gain in the mid and upper bass, which unfortunately sacrificed the tight low end, which is one ofthe Pinnacle's strengths. The rest of the range seemed more colored than before, and the soundstage suffered noticeably.
Pinnacle discusses the effect of different room positions on aloudspeaker's sound in their instruction manual. The latter, incidentally, is perhaps the best manual I've ever seen for aloudspeaker of anywhere near this price--with the notable exceptions of Wilson and Avalon. Ishould also point out Pinnacle's seven-year, transferrable warrantee.
Measurements: Like the more expensive Mirages, there are no surprises in the Pinnacle's impedance plots (fig_32). Here is anormal reflex box with aport tuned to 36Hz. The drop to 5 ohms or below between 100Hz and 500Hz shouldn't ask for too much current from all but the very cheapest

e 18

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Set

Fig.32 Pinnacle PN8+, electrical impedance (solid

and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.)
1 I. 114.4mo·

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let

Fig.35 Pinnacle PN8+, horizontal response family

4.0

5.0

Fig.33 Pinnacle PN8+, impulse response on
tweeter axis at 44" (5ms time window,
30kHz bandwidth)

at 44", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: reference response; difference 7.5° off-axis;
difference 15° off-axis; difference 30° off-axis.

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Fig.34 Pinnacle PN8+, anechoic response on tweeter axis at 44" averaged across 30°

horizontal window and corrected for microphone response, with neat-field
woofer and port responses plotted below

200Hz.

166

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1Ih

11Ih

Ms

llth

Fig.36 Pinnacle PN8+, vertical response family at 44", normalized to response on tweeter

axis, from back to front: response difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level

with cabinet top; reference response;

difference midway between tweeter and

woofer; on woofer axis.

STERE.OPHILE, M AY 1992

Fig.37 Pinnacle PN8+, cumulative spectral-decay plot of port output, measured in the nearfield

-0.00 0.60 1 26 1 87

1000.0

10000.0

Cumulative Spectral Decay

log Frequency - Ha

13.33 dB, 6925 Hz MD, 0.008 msec (0)

Fig.38 Pinnacle PN8+, cumulative spectral-decay plot

2.53 3.13 ...sec MLSSA

amplifiers or receivers at high sound pressure levels. The impulse response on the
tweeter axis (fig33) is normal for the type of loudspeaker, while the anechoic response
averaged across a30° horizontal window (the right curve in fig34) shows agenerally flat balance broken by peaks and dips throughout
the upper midrange and treble. This uneven character will explain the mixed reaction the panel had to the PN8+; note, though, that TJN did find HF transients to take on a"hot"
quality, with highs that "made long-term listening difficult." The bass performance is
adequate, with auseful response to about 40Hz.
Horizontally, the Pinnacle offers quite even dispersion, as can be seen from fig35, which
plots the dfference in response as the listener moves to the side, while in the vertical plane

(fig36), the smoothest response appears to be on the woofer axis. Certainly this speaker should not be placed on low stands.
Some listeners commented on a"boxy"
nature to this speaker's sound. Its enclosure walls did seem to be generally lively in the lower midrange, which might contribute to this feeling. The port, too, has alarge, narrow peak in its output at 613Hz, which can be seen in the cumulative spectral-decay plot of the port's response (fig37), this ringing for more than 70ms. The full-range cumulative spectral-decay plot for the PN8+ is shown in fig38. The decay is not very clean across the entire band, apart from the top
octave oftreble. (The ridgejust below 161cHz is due to the computer monitor and should be ignored.) Here again lie some of the reasons for TJN's reservations about the Pin-

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

167

nacle's HF performance.

KEF Q60: $599/PAIR Description: Although KEF is aBritish company, their K- and Q-series loudspeakers are manufactured in Richmond, VA. The US facility reportedly uses the same test instrumentation as does the English factory.
The Q60, the least expensive Q loudspeaker, incorporates one 8" Uni-Q MF/HF drive-unit with an 8" bass driver. In KEF's Uni-Q technique, the high-frequency driver is placed in the bass unit's neck. This aligns the acoustic centers of both drivers, resulting in correct phase relationships between drivers, identical path lengths from the drivers to the listener, and puts the two drivers on the same plane The Uni-Q driver is not to be confused with acoaxial design in which the tweeter is mounted in front of the woofer. Instead, the Uni-Q's driver puts a1" fluid-cooled polymer-dome tweeter inside the woofer, on the end ofits pole-piece This technique was made possible by the development ola new magnetic alloy, Neodymium Iron Boron, which produces very high field strength from asmall structure. The woofer also uses aKEF-patented technique that decouples the magnet from the basket, reportedly resulting in lower coloration.
A fourth-order network divides the frequency spectrum at 25kHz. The Q60's reflex bass alignment was optimized for bookshelf placement, an unusual styling feature being the large, profiled port the same size as the Uni-Q driver and below it on the front baffle. Because of the Uni-Q driver's symmetrical dispersion, the Q60 may be placed horizontally or vertically on ashelf. The 0.7ft3vented enclosure is made of 3/4"highdensity particleboard wrapped in black- or light-oak simulated vinyl veneer. Two pairs of gold-plated five-way binding posts are provided for bi-wiring, these nonnallyjoined by gold-plated jumpers.
Listening Tests Panel Score: 4.95 (5.33 / 437). Scoring solidly above average, the Q60 rose above the disadvantage in which we placed it. Because ofsetup limitations, it was, like the rest of the contenders, placed well away from nearby walls. KEF does advise that the Q60 is designed to give its best balance quite close to awall.

KEF Q60 loudspeaker
JA was rather bothered on Day One by a
forward mid-treble and restricted dynamics. But none ofthis kept him from awarding the KEFs agood score. He liked them abit less on Day Two, finding the image pulled somewhat to the sides and the depth restricted. But he continued to find them unaggressive, with good bass articulation. He summarized: "Nicely tuned bass, extension and definition, offset by overwide imaging and bright mid-
treble and restricted image depth." CG was fairly positive about the KEFs on
Day One He also objected to the highs, finding them pushed too forward, and thought the sound rather recessed. He did feel that the
sound was abit lightweight, though did not criticize this heavily. But he liked the sound on solo piano, the air on cymbals, and the good dynamics on the drum set. Still, on Day Two his enthusiasm waned as his scores for the KEF slipped. His comments did, how-
ever, reflect ageneral weariness--late on the second day--as he summed up: "John, Ino longer have the will to liver
DO, however, really seemed to like the
KEFs. He praised their "good pitch definition, good dynamic bloom, natural top, smooth rnids," and "fast transients." He thought them "too lean" on the Oxnard and noted "not enough punch" on the drum set, but his scores indicated that the KEFs were, overall, his favorite loudspeaker of the day. RL had some criticism for the KEFs, finding them lacking in aliveness and presence on the drum set, rather recessed and polite on the Arnold, and lacking clarity and space

168

STEREOPHILE, M ay 1992

on Amanda. But he also found things to praise. On the Kenny Rankin, he noted that the "voice and piano sound more like they're in the same space, "but he added that they were "not there yet!' He thought that on the Nevsky he heard "limitations everywhere," but that they were so "evenly applied that the presentation remains musically balanced."
SM scored the KEFs fairly high in his overall rankings--certainly above average-- though he did have some criticism. He found them "laid-back" and lacking in dynamic contrasts, with blurring of individual lines in the orchestral selections. He thought they had a"decent sense offoundation," though with lack of impact. In general, he appeared to find them relaxed and inoffensive, but lacking in transparency. RH thought they glared when loud (on the Nevsky), and were alittle bright, but he rated the soundstage "good." Overall, he placed them alittle below his own average score.
GL liked the sense ofdepth from the KEFs and the articulation in the Nevsky chorus, but felt the low bass to be abit weak. He liked the KEFs better on the first day, but overall rated them above average.
Ifelt that the KEFs' midband was rather recessed and the overall sound lacking in dynamics. Iliked the high end, overall, and felt the balance to be open and clean, if a shade shy ofreal precision and focus. On the Nevsky Iwrote what best sums up my reaction to the KEFs: "Decent space ifatrifle con-
gested. Reasonable depth. But not gripping in any way. Inoffensive, but not truly convincing!" Ofcourse, when Ido find an inexpensive loudspeaker which is truly convincing --especially on large-scale orchestra and chorus--you'll be the first to know.
JA comments on the KEF Q60: Iauditioned the KEFs with the same components mentioned in my report on the small NelsonReeds. The speakers sat on 24" lead shot'n'sand-filled Celestion Si stands, spiked through the carpet to the tile-on-concrete floor beneath, which placed my ears almost exactly on the tweeter axis. Though the Q60's grille frame is ingeniously designed to surround the protuberant front baffle, it still adds araised edge around the top and sides of the drive-unit. Ileft it off for the auditioning, therefore.
While the KEFs were initially well out in

the room, where the WATTs and Puppies usually sit, Iquickly moved the speakers back
nearer the rear wall due to arather leansounding balance. This boundary reinforcement usefully fleshed out the sound, leav-
ing me free to enjoy the Q60's excellent bass definition and what is apretty good sense of bass extension for such an inexpensive speaker. The 1/ 2 -octave warble tones on the Stereophile Test CD had useful weight down to below 40Hz, with still some response
apparent in the 32Hz band. The low frequencies were also well-defined: "fast," to make
use of the common oxymoron. Orchestral music was endowed with a reasonably weighty foundation--a "big" sound, say my listening notes--while rock music with a high level of tight rnidbass information-- "Psycho Killer" from Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense (Sire 925186-2), for instance-- was reproduced with an articulate, punchy character. Dynamics also seemed good, the
speaker going loud without too much strain. Bob Harley's drum recording on the new
Stereophile Test CD sounded very "live," for example.
Moving to the other end of the audio band, the highs were generally clean and
smooth, though Igot afeeling ofa rather dull mid-treble. The low treble and upper mid-
range, however, were more problematical.
Though the lower midrange was smooth, there was alumpiness to the speaker's balance between 500Hz and 2kHz. On my piano recordings, for example, some notes
sounded alittle depressed, while others jumped forward, with an added "hooty" col-
oration. This effect was very narrow in range: Fat the top ofthe treble staffand the Cafifth higher (representing frequencies of 698.5Hz and 1046.5Hz, respectively), for example,
were affected, but the Eand F#, and Band C# to either side, were not. The low treble
also sounded rather peaky, which, while adding asense ofbrilliance to the speaker's balance (which will initially sound impressive as aresult), could become fatiguing. Unlike
the Tannoy 609, with its broadly similar drive-unit configuration, the Q60 didn't
offer any "cupped-hands" coloration, though changing to the inexpensive amplifier made sibilants more noticeable.
Only on the related subjects of imaging and soundstaging did Ifeel the Q60s to underperform. Lateral imaging was broad

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

169

rather than precise, and image depth seemed restricted. Ialso seemed to notice apulling of images to the speaker positions--remember, Ihadn't seen the panel results when I auditioned the KEFs in my system. Central images were too diffuse, and images which should be placed to the outside of the speaker positions resolutely stuck to the speaker locations. This was especially noticeable on Larry Archibald's soundstage map on the new Test CD. The Blumlein miking results in good offstage image localization when Larry's image moves to the edges of the Santa Barbara church with speakers that are up to the task. The KEFs weren't. There also seemed alack of soundstage "air," the essential feeling of spaciousness that helps the end of your room to disappear.
ac 'IN 17 ,0 ,42
18.18
67.111
.....

Overall, this is fine performance for a speaker at this price point. While the Q60 doesn't do everything right and offers arather unsubtle, forward-balanced sound overall, it features awell-managed balance ofvirtues and vices that doesn't fail to be musically communicative.
Measurements: Fig.39 shows the KEF's impedance amplitude and phase, suggesting aspeaker that is reasonably easy to drive--the impedance doesn't drop below 5ohms-- and alittle overdamped for use near aroom boundary (the lower peak is lower in level than the upper one). The port tuning is revealed by the amplitude saddle at 45Hz. Note how the impedance amplitude starts to rise below 15Hz. This reveals the presence of a DC-blocking series capacitor in the woofer signal path, which will result in an ultimate 5th-order subsonic rolloff.
The Q60's impulse response is shown in fig.40. Though the coaxial arrangement of the drive-units might suggest adegree of

la

5.1a

Fig.39 KEF Q60, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.)

17alee gnaw/a - welt.

ILL

·'71

7.

TI_ - aeo

Fig.40 KEF Q60, impulse response on tweeter

axis at 44" (5ms time window, 30kHz

bandwidth)

-2Iü

,;11111 1 11111111 1 11111111

liz

liPs

11*

Fig.42 KEF Q60, horizontal response family at

44", normalized to response on tweeter
axis, from back to front: reference response; difference 7.5° off-axis;

difference 15° off-axis; difference 30°

off-axis.

1011

ii

il

Fig.4I KEF 060, anechoic response on tweeter

axis at 44" averaged across 30° horizontal window and corrected for microphone

response, with nearfield woofer and port

responses plotted below 200Hz.

170

1 11111i 1 11L1111 1 11111111 let
Fig.43 KEF 060, vertical response family at 44", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: response difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level with cabinet top; at top of Uni-Q drive-unit; reference response; difference level with base of Uni-Q unit.
STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

dB 18.0 12.0
6.0 0.0 -6.0

Cumulative

1000.0 Spectral »soap

10000.0 log Frequency - H.

12.24 dB, 8612 Hz (97), 0.000 usec (0)

0.00 0.60 1.Z6 1.87 2 53 3 13 »sec tILSSA

Fig.44 KEF Q60, cumulative spectral-decay plot
time alignment, this curve reveals the tweeter to precede the woofer in time. In the frequency domain, the KEF's anechoic response averaged across a30° lateral angle (fig.41) is
very flat, broken only by what must be diffraction-related notches in the tweeter's output at 10kHz and 21kHz, and asimilarly caused peak between them. Subjectively quite innocuous, these are afunction ofthe Uni-Q's geometry. In the bass, the port output is centered on 55Hz rather than the 45Hz
suggested by the impedance measurement, while the expected minimum in the woofer's
output lies at 35Hz, both of these disparities aresult of the near-wall alignment chosen
by KEF, Iassume. The measurements suggest good LF extension, as found in the audition-
ing, without the heaviness of the Mirage. The Q60 offers good lateral dispersion, as
revealed in fig.42, which shows the changes in measured response as the listener moves first 7.5°, then 15°, then 30° off-axis. Apart from the diffraction effects at 10kHz and above changing, and the extreme highs starting to roll off, there is very little change apparent. Vertically, too, the Uni-Q driver offers excellent dispersion (fig.43), meaning that finding the exact listening height will not be too critical atask. The "waterfall" plot of fig.44 indicates areasonably clean decay, though there is afaint suggestion ofliveliness in the low treble that might tie in with the subjective brilliance noted in the auditioning. Might. The Uni-Q geometry results in the complicated behavior seen above 8.6kHz (the cursor position). This, again,
might contribute to the occasionally bright

treble note. Again, it might. As usual, KEF has produced an inexpen-
sive loudspeaker that measures superbly. It also sounds very good for its price, though it is more untidy in the treble than the measurements suggest.
SPICA SC-30: $399/PAIR Description: Somewhat larger than many loudspeakers in this group at 1cubic foot, the SC-30 features an 8" woofer and 11/ 2 " polypropylene cone tweeter. The woofer, specially made for the SC-30 by RockfordCarbonneau, features a"humbucking" magnet geometry for low magnetic leakage. The Peerless-sourced tweeter has excellent HF extension (-3dB at 27kHz). Unusually, the tweeter is mounted directly above the woofer and slightly offset to the right of the center line.
Crossover slopes are third-order, with a 3kHz crossover point. The inductors are wound by Spica, and all capacitors are bypassed with Mylar types. The sealed enclosure is made of 3/4"MDF wrapped in black oak-finished vinyl on all sides. No internal bracing is used. A single pair of knurled plastic posts in aterminal cup is recessed in the rear panel. The black grille snaps into four front-panel inserts.
Listening Tests Panel Score: 5.12 (4.94 / 5.30). After the listening sessions had been completed, we learned that the Spica SC-30 was updated in late 1991, the only change being anew woofer. The panel sessions were conducted with the original design. Since it

STEREOPHILE, Mny 1992

171

coarse (especially at higher levels) treble But

he liked the" 'big' sound that is enjoyable

with quite good soundstaging." On Day Two

he remarked on the "excellent, well-damped

bass offset by aforward treble balance which

reduces image depth and is unkind to sound-

sources which are in themselves aggressive"

While JA clearly did not dislike the Spicas,

he rated them behind anumber ofother con-

tenders.

CG, on the other hand, did take adislike

to the Spicas, describing the "bright balance"

as "kind ofhashy" "Shoot the tweeter-man,"

he blurted in response to the first orchestral

selection on Day One. He was, in fact, dis-

inclined to favorable comment that day, being

put off by the top end and disappointed in

the bass extension, impact, and atendency

to harden at higher levels. He did like them

alittle more on the second day, when they

were the last speaker auditioned, but not

really enough to say that he'd had achange

of heart. No Spica-phobe he; CG clearly

prefers his Angeluses. DO was very sparing in his comments on

the Spicas--though they were in his top-

rated group. Remarking on the Nevsky, he

praised the "convincing bass lines" and "full

tonal balance:' RL had more to say, but his

reaction was mixed. He liked them early on

in Day One (the only day he sat in), initially

finding them "very easy to listen tor He

commented that it "feels like I'm hearing the core ofKenny Rankin's voice rather than its

attributes; in that sense, it's more natural!'

Spica SC-30 loudspeaker
scored so well, we've elected to include the panel results here RH comments on the new

On the drum set he liked the "air, presence, liquidity without overstatement:' and found that the "drums sound exciting here:' But later, he found that the piano produced a"toy

loudspeaker later in the review, discussing any differences he heard between the old and
new designs. Spica does claim that the old woofer had a"forward, honky quality," a refreshing bit ofcandor from amanufacturer.
Our panel did note some midrange colorations. Did RH find the new model to be improved? Read on.
JA had mixed feelings about the Spicas. He
rated them colored in the midrange on several selections, with arather "hooty" sound. While on Day One he found the balance abit

piano/music-box" sound, with "right-hand congestion:' On the final selection (Nevsky), he felt that the music was "robbed of life," committing "sins of omission, not commis-
sion, not so much anything wrong as nothing right:' Although his scores on the early music selections brought up his overall score
on the Spica to place it among his favorites, clearly RL's feelings about the Spicas were
mixed. Not so GL and RH. GL was less enamored
of the Spicas on Day One, where he com-

overwarm, the higher playback level on Day Two found him liking the rather well-
damped, articulate low end. He also commented in several places on arather forward,

mented on the midrangey balance--though he remarked favorably on the sense of space in the orchestral selections, and the good bass
drum impact on the Arnold. The Spicas

172

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

seemed to come to life for him on Day Two,
however. "Articulate and lively," he commented. While he felt that piano reproduction was "nothing abrasive" but "nothing to rave about, either:' his remark on the final selection was, "Yeah! Gets the blood going."
RH was the most effusive ofall about the Spicas. "Tight and punchy bass:' he commented on its reproduction ofhis own drum recording, "best sense ofspace around drums. Dynamic." He consistently praised the
"Good [bass] extension without bloat!' On the piano selection he felt that the "hall surrounding the instrument blooms. Very natural and smooth. Not blurred." His summary
comments pretty strongly convey his generally positive feelings: "Bass very articulate and tuneful. This is music! Clearly the best ofthe group. Best soundstage. Best tonal balance. Musical. Least colored bass." Bear in
mind that the Spicas were the last loudspeaker auditioned on Day Two--the only day RH was able to participate.
SM also was positively inclined toward the
SC-30s. Though he felt the bass definition
and impact were not as good as the Snells'," he preferred the Spicas' subjectively better bass foundation. His unfavorable comments centered around what he felt to be alack of

at the time (remember, Iwas the only member ofthe panel who knew the identity ofthe loudspeaker behind the curtain) that Iwould not know that this was acone tweeter unless someone told me. But on the second day, at aslightly higher level, Ifound the Spicas' high-frequency response abit rougher. "HF
lacks some refinement and is abit uneven," and "highs atrifle prominent and slightly dry and crisp," Isaid in commenting on the two
orchestral selections. But Ifound the Spicas' bass to be generally "tight and punchy," with
only some midbass heaviness (primarily on JGH's voice) to upset the positive verdict. I
liked the Spicas' sense ofdepth and spaciousness, generally finding the overall sound tight, dynamic, and punchy. That slightly "unrefined" quality of the SC-30's top octaves--especially at the higher playback level ofthe second day--didn't keep me from scoring it highly overall.
While not all panel members were equally taken (or taken at all, in one or two cases) with the Spicas' sound, the speakers generally garnered favorable scores in both sessions-- scores which put them solidly at the top of the rankings of the new loudspeakers auditioned here for the first time.

transparency, slight midband roughness, and "slightly 'thick' sound" with "lower mid obfuscation. He also commented at one point (RH's drum-set recording) on limited dynamics, though this was counterbalanced to some extent by his observation ofan "okay dynamic reach" on the Arnold. But he was positively impressed by the "definable stage" on several selections. Only on the piano selection did he object to the high-frequency response, feeling the notes to have "a slight fuzz halo."
Finally, yours truly had adefinitely positive reaction to the Spicas. There were some
comment-worthy midrange colorations, largely in the form ofsome degree ofnasality. Icommented several times, however, that boxy colorations seemed innocuous. Mid-
range congestion didn't trouble me. On Day One Ifound myselfgenerally impressed by
the Spica's high-frequency response, commenting only mildly on atrace ofbrightness
at the top end. Iremember thinking to myself

RH comments on the Spica SC-30: I auditioned the SC-30s mounted on apair of 24" lead shot-filled Celestion stands. They wound up 59" from the rear wall and 39"
from the side walls, measured to the center of the baffle. Toeing them in so that Iwas directly on-axis produced the best imaging and tonal balance. The 36" listening axis put my ears right at the woofer's top edge. According to designer Joint Bau, the system is phase-aligned when the listener's ears are on the bottom of the cabinet. This position can be approximated by turning the SC-30 upside down or by the listener sitting on the floor (I did both).
Associated components included VTL 225W Deluxe monoblocks and Boulder 500AE power amplifiers, and an Audio Research LS2 line-stage preamplifier. The digital front end was aMark Levinson No30 or Kinergetics KCD-55 Ultra, both driven by aTheta Data through the ST-type optical link. Analog source was amodified Well-

Tempered Turntable and Arm, fitted with an

10 The Spicas were auditioned third on Day One, after the Snells (open audition) and the KEFs.

AudioQuest AQ 7000 cartridge, driving a Vendetta Research SCP2B phono preamp.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

173

Loudspeaker cables were 8' runs of AudioQuest Sterling, and interconnects were Expressive Technologies IC-1, AudioQuest Diamond and Lapis, and Straight Wire
Maestro. Icouldn't believe that the excellent sound
produced by the SC-30 in my listening room was that of one of the loudspeakers auditioned during the blind testing; Ididn't
remember hearing anything this good. But as JA commented during the blind listening sessions, "This type of test is much better at telling you what's wrong with aloudspeaker
rather than what's right with it." His aphorism certainly proved true for the SC-30.
The SC-30 was well-balanced and smooth
through the upper mids and treble. In fact, the treble was nicely detailed, open, and extended--surprising for a$399 loudspeaker and for the SC-30's inexpensive cone tweeter. There was abit ofroughness in the lower treble, manifested as agraininess in the upper registers of some instruments--saxophone and violin in particular. The lower treble was
also alittle forward, accompanied by the impression of the lower mids being some-
what lightweight. This made some instruments sound forward and lacking in warmth and body. Overall, however, the SC-30's mid and treble reproductions were surprisingly good for a$399 loudspeaker--my criticisms
must be taken in this price context. The SC-30's weakness was the bass repro-
duction: it tended to be somewhat forward,
peaky, and boxy, though well extended. Lefthand piano lines were reproduced with some
notes moving forward in the presentation and
taking on adifferent tonal character. Lowpitched toms had more than atrace ofbloat, tubbiness, and slowness. These characteristics
detracted from the SC-30's otherwise excellent performance and got in the way of the
music. However, after I'd finished auditioning the
SC-30s (but before Spica read apreprint of this review), Ireceived word that the woofer
had been replaced in current production. This could be just what the SC-30s needed to elevate their performance above what I'd already
considered asuperb loudspeaker for the
money. The new woofer certainly improved the
bass performance. The honk and forward-
ness at certain frequencies was reduced, resulting in aless colored rendering. The bass

was also tighter, more articulate, and had greater extension. The excess midbass energy seemed to be moved down in frequency, where it added to the feeling of depth and extension instead ofmaking the loudspeaker sound boxy. Although there seemed to be less bass with the new woofer, it was probably because the new version's sins were those of omission, rather than the first version's sins of commission. The new version also sounded brighter, probably because they were fresh out of the box and not as fully broken in as the first pair.
Imaging and soundstaging were surpris-
ingly good for a$399 pair ofloudspeakers. Although the SC-30s didn't "disappear" as do some minimonitors, they nevertheless threw acredible soundstage In particular, the SC-30s had agood sense of depth, with a clear impression ofsome instruments existing behind others. Many inexpensive loudspeakers tend to fuse instrumental outlines at the front of the soundstage. Not the SC30s--they presented areal sense ofsize, space, and three-dimensionality.
Image specificity varied greatly with listening axis. When Islid down from the listening chair to the floor, the soundstage became more focused, with amore palpa-
ble center channel. In the normal listening axis, the soundstage was fairly well-defined but lacked pinpoint precision.
Dynamics were excellent. There was a punch and solidity to the bass that served the music well, especially music in which rhythm and pace are vital--Stevie Ray Vaughan's excellent The Sky is Crying (Epic EK 47390), for example.
Incidentally, the SC-30's performance was greatly improved by capping each speaker with an Acoustic Ballast from Wise Enterprises." These are bags of black Cordura nylon filled with 25 pounds of damping material. The Acoustic Ballasts reportedly dissipate cabinet resonances. With them in place, the bass was tighter and faster, soundstage focus improved, and the presentation was more coherent.
In summary, the SC-30's best attributes were its overall musical balance, sweet yet detailed treble, and open soundstage. On the down side, the bass still had some bloat, and
11 Wise Enterprises can be reached at 2025 Peters Colony,
Carrollton, TX. Tel: (214) 492-8702.

174

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

the roughness in one region ofthe lower treble bothered me with some music. Having said that, Imust reiterate my high regard for the SC-30; it sounds far better than any $399 loudspeaker has aright to. Igreatly enjoyed
my time with it, something that can be said about very few loudspeakers in this price range.
The bottom line? The Spica SC-30 is asteal at $399. Ofall the inexpensive loudspeakers
I've auditioned, the SC-30 gets my vote for best sound for the money.

Measurements: The measurements shown here are for the earlier model used in the panel auditions. Measurements for the latest version will appear in alater issue. The Spica's impedance, shown in fig.45, reveals aclas-

NINO PRIOSION 1199-9228 APIPLN) I 99111(999, 299 99

199.19. 9.11 15.

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149 15.

129 99

199 15.

11011119,

11 Mt 92 II:59:119 99.99
120 67.58
22.59

sic sealed box tuned to 55Hz. Easy for inex-
pensive amplifiers to drive, the SC-30's impedance doesn't drop below 7ohms. Note the wrinlde in the amplitude trace at 300Hz. This will be due to acabinet resonant mode
of some kind that would probably add a somewhat boxy coloration.
Fig.46 shows the SC-30's impulse response on the woofer axis. (This was the closest Igot to what Inow understand to be the speaker's design axis, level with the base
ofthe cabinet. Now therès anonintuitive axis for you!) The ripple at the far right of the graph is the reflection ofthe speaker's sound
from the ceiling. Note, however, some much earlier reflections around the 4ms mark. These are probably from the edges of the large baffle.
In the frequency domain, averaged across
a30° window on the tweeter axis (fig.47), the SC-30 offers asurprisingly even response trend throughout the midrange and treble
considering that it uses acone tweeter. Some

º.%

18 Al M.

45 9 f,

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Fig.45 Spica SC-30, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.)
1999199 999.····· -

3

1.0

·.0

7199 - 999c

Fig.46 Spica SC-30, impulse response on woofer

axis at 44" (5ms time window, 30kHz

bandwidth)

I1II1111 1 11111111 1 111111111

lilt

11111:

11/1:

11111:

Fig.48 Spica SC-30, horizontal response family at

44", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: difference 15° off-

axis on woofer side of baffle; reference response; difference 7.5° off-axis on

tweeter side of baffle; difference 15° offaxis; difference 30° off-axis.

11113

B.Be
lete

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115

11111:1 Iz

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Fig.47 Spica SC-30, anechoic response on tweeter

axis at 44" averaged across 30° horizontal

window and corrected for microphone

response, with nearfield woofer response

plotted below 200Hz.

----""\,,dv·AelPe-0-^d

-2111

-3111 1 1I111111 1 I1111111 I 11111111

lilt

11//a

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Fig.49 Spica SC-30, vertical response family at

44", normalized to response on tweeter

axis, from back to front: response

difference 7.5° above cabinet top; level with cabinet top; midway between cabinet

top and tweeter; reference response; difference on woofer axis.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

175

Fig.50 Spica SC-30, cumulative spectral-decay plot
measured raggedness in the lower treble will correlate with RI-I's slight dissatisfaction with
the sound in this region. Note also the slightly early rolloffin the top octave. In the bass, the in-room measurement suggested adegree of underdamping to the alignment which bothered some listeners. The LF extension is excellent for such an inexpensive speaker, however, with a-6dB point at 43Hz, just above the lowest note of the 4-string orchestral double bass and Fender bass guitar.
Again surprisingly for aspeaker with a
cone tweeter, the SC-30's horizontal dispersion is excellent. The sound gets alittle peaky in the mid-treble off-axis on the side away from the tweeter (fig.48, rearmost trace), but on the tweeter side ofthe baffle, all that really happens as the listener moves to the side (up Ix) 30°) is that the extreme treble drops alittle
in level. In the vertical plane (fig.49, which shows the difference in response from that on the tweeter axis) the response gets more ragged as the listener moves up the baffle,
confirming that the optimum listening axis is level with or below the woofer.
The cumulative spectral-decay plot (fig50)
shows some general liveliness in the low and mid treble, as commented on in the auditioning. What is probably awoofer breakup or cone termination mode can be seen at the cursor position (3.4kHz), which might add alittle nasality to the sound, but the plot is actually quite clean for an inexpensive loudspeaker with--here Igo again--a cone tweeter.
It's been said that any fool can produce a high-end loudspeaker given an unlimited

REVIEWER

Reviewer individual statistics

TOTAL OVERALL SCORES"

TOP 4' (In Order)

BOTTOM'

CG

331

Snell

Nelson-

Pinnacle

Reed

a/d/s

Dahlia

DO

386

KEF

Tannoy

Nelson-Reed Snell

Spica

(tie)

Mirage

GL

504

Mirage

Tannoy

Snell

Spica

Pinnacle

JA

505

Pinnacle

Nelson-

Mirage

Reed

Dahlia

Snell

RH

4 71

Spica

Nelson-

Pinnacle

Reed

a/d/s

KEF

RL

4.65

Snell

Tannoy

Spica

a/d/s

KEF

SM

4.41

Snell

Nelson-

Spica

Reed

KEF

Mirage

TJN

470

Dahlia

Nelson-

Spica

Reed

Pinnacle

Snell

'Total overall score for all loudspeakers, both days: 448 "Average of both days for CG. GL, JA, TJN (except day 42 only
for Dahlia) Day 41 only for RL, SM Day 42 only for DO. RH
(Note The open session scores for the Snell KII were not included in any averages)

Table 3.

budget. Once again, however, John Bau (who Ibelieve is currently taking asabbatical from audio nerdism to get adegree in psychology) has shown that he can get excellent measured results from what others might
consider unpromising parts. This is the mark

176

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

of the high-end designer with true talent.
INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES
& CONCLUSIONS
Table 3shows the top four choices ofall the panel members, their least favored loudspeakers, and the overall average scores each gave. While there was certainly no consensus, some definite trends emerged. The Tannoys and Nelson-Reeds were the least favored (although DO also did not much like the Snell). The Spica, KEF, Pinnacle, and Mirage --the top four finishers in the overall ratings (discounting the Snells, which were not specifically under review here)--all rated highly on the "most favored" lists. The Spicas found their way onto six of the eight top four lists, the Snells tied this figure. But the Spica, recall, was more consistent in the scoring from Day

One to Day Two. The Pinnacle, also aconsistent performer, made it onto five lists.
Though the KEF outscored it overall, the Q60 only made it onto four lists, though it was fairly consistent in its positive marks. The
Mirage also showed up on four lists. By its nature, alistening panel looks for
things aproduct does wrong. Here we again stacked some modestly priced loudspeakers
up against our memories of both the real thing and the Class A, B, and C loudspeakers
most ofus use in our regular listening. lithe
panel's criticisms seem at times severe, they should be viewed in that light. None ofthese loudspeakers will transport you to the concert hall without alot ofimagination on your
part. The best of them will make that leap considerably easier.

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STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

177

ROBERT HARLEY, STEREOPHILE*

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more highly. It is not only the most neutral and transparent preamplifier I've auditioned, it

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*Stereophile, Oct. 91, Vol. 14 No.10

J. PETER MONCRIEFF, IAR HOTLINE ABou Aolo RESEARCH LS-2

"They say the perfect line section would sound like astraight wire with gain. The (Audio

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W ewill probably never know the number of issues this Mozart
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fill? The answer has been provided by Philips's Complete Mozart Edition, which comprises 182 discs. And "complete" is in no way
hyperbolic. As an accompanying promo-
tional booklet puts it, this Edition contains "all known authentic original and complete works" as well as "as many authentic frag-
ments or movements that can be brought to the possibility of performance!' Included, too, is "a selection of Mozart's arrangements
of works by other composers." Absent from this category, however, are his four adaptations of Handel oratorios, the most notable of which is, of course, Messiah.
Even in aphonographic age that has come to take complete editions for granted, this Philips project dwarfs all past integral releases. In the main, it is atriumph oftaste

and technology. Much ofthis prevailing taste, Isuspect, reflects the influence ofErik Smith, who presided over some of the recordings in this Edition and has made major decisions
about its contents. The son of conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Smith is himself
afirst-class musician who, when producing recordings for Pierre Monteux, had been
urged by the Frenchman to pursue aconducting career. Smith has also demonstrated his grasp ofthe Mozartean idiom in his completion ofsome ofthe fragments in this Edi-
tion. He thus has brought to this project a depth ofbackground that still remains all too rare among recording executives.
This is not to say that this Edition is scholarly in anarrow or pedantic sense. Although
some period-instrument performances are included, most are on modern instruments.
Indeed, it probably could not have been any other way, simply because to make the project viable, Philips has had to draw upon recordings that have graced its catalog for

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

179

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some time, the earliest among them being a quarter-century old. But no monaural mate-
rial has been included. Purely on musical grounds, this is not always avirtue. Neville Marriner's more-than-respectable stereo account of the magnificent "Posthom" Serenade, for instance, is no match for the van Beinurn/Concertgebouw mono version of 1955. The same applies to the monaural collaboration of Arthur Grumiaux and Clara
Haskil in the Violin Sonatas, which boast slightly more animation than Grumiaux and

Walter Klein could muster in alater traversal. But these are minor quibbles. What aston-
ishes is the generally high technical and musical level that is sustained. The remastering
of older recordings has, in general, been accomplished with great skill, and it may be assumed, where no comment about sound is made in the ensuing discussion, that it is more than adequate. Obviously, with so
many different artists involved, the musical level of the performances is bound to vary. Certainly there are offerings ofbetter-known

THE COMPLETE MOZART ON PHILIPS--PART I

Von: Early Symphonies Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the
Fields
Philips 422 501-2 (6 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 6:38:35
Vol.2: Symphonies 21-41 Sir Neville Mariner, Academy of St. Martin in the
Fields Philips 422 502-2 (6 CDs only). ADD. TT:
6:41:45
Vol3: Serenadesfor Orchestra Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in
the Fields Philips 422 503-2 (7 CDs only). DDD. TT
6:43:45 Vol.4: Divertimentifir Strings & Winds Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in
the Fields' Chamber Ensemble Philips 422 504-2 (5 CDs only). DDD. TT
4:30:55 Vol.5: Serenades &Divertimentifor Winds
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble; Edo De Waart,
Netherlands Wind Ensemble; Holliger Winds Ensemble
Philips 422 505-2 (6 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 6:04:09
Vol.6: Dances &Marches Willi Boskovsky, Vienna Mozart Ensemble Philips 422 506-2 (6 CDs only). AAD. TT
6:43:46 Vol.7: Piano Concertos Alfred Brendel, Ingrid Haebler, piano; Sir Neville
Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra Philips 422 507-2 (12 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 12:35:13 Vol.8: Violin Concertos
Henryk Szerying, lona Brown, violin; Sir Alexander Gibson, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Philips 422 508-2 (4 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 4:24:48
Vol.9: Wind Concertos
Various soloists, Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Philips 422 509-2 (5 CDs only). DDD, ADD. TE 4:23:12
Vol.10: Quintets, Quartets, Movements & Fragments
Grumiaux Trio; Academy of St. Martin in the
Fields' Chamber Ensemble

Philips 422 510-2 (3 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 3:00:49
Vol.11: String Quintets Arthur Grumiaux, Arpad Gérecz, Georges Jan-
zer, Max Lesueur, Eva Czako Philips 422 511-2 (3 CDs only). ADD. TE
2:49:47 Vol.12: String Quartets Quartetto Italiano Philips 422 512-2 (8 CDs only). ADD. TT:
7:54:26 Vol.13: String Thor & Duos Grumiaux Trio; Academy of St. Martin in the
Fields' Chamber Ensemble Philips 422 513-2 (2 CDs only). ADD, DDD.
TT 2:13:40 Vol.14: Piano Quintets, Quartets, & 'Dios
Beaux Arts Trio, Alfred Brendel, Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich, et al
Philips 422 514-2 (5 CDs only). DDD, ADD. TT 4:33:36
Vol.15: Violin Sonatas Arthur Grumiaux, Walter Klein, et al
Philips 422 515-2 (7 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 7:46:16
Vol.16: Muskfot Tivo Pianos, Piano Duets Ingrid Haebler, Ludwig Hoffman, Jórg Demus,
Paul Badura-Skoda, piano
Philips 422 516-2 (2 CDs only). ADD. TT 2:26:57
Vol.17: Piano Sonatas Mitsuko Uchida, piano
Philips 422 517-2 (5 CDs only). DDD. TT 5:25:10
Vol.18: Piano Variations, Rondos, Miscellaneous Keyboard Pieces
Ingrid Haebler, Mitsuko Uchida, Ton Koopman, piano
Philips 422 518-2 (5 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TE 4:34:15
Vol.21: Organ Sonatas & Solos Daniel Chorzempa, organ; Helmut Winscher-
mann, Deutsche Bachsolisten Philips 422 521-2 (2 CDs only). ADD. TT:
115:01
Vol.25: Theater & Ballet Musk Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in
the Fields; Bernhard Klee, Staatskapelle Berlin; David Zinman, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra Philips 422 525-2 (2 CDs only). ADD, DDD. TT: 2:19:15

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

181

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fare here that are not competitive with other available accounts. Remember, though, that each ofthe 45 volumes in this Edition--all of which are sold at mid-price--is available individually. It is consequently possible for the collector, should he so desire, to assemble acomplete Mozart of his own using this Philips package as aresource for filling gaps as well as for, where fitting, acquiring apreferred interpretation.
The question then remains whether or not any collector would be wise to buy this entire Edition. Unless very well-heeled or fixated on having auniform set of 45 boxes, an individual would be wiser to pick selectively among the offerings, especially in the light ofPhilips--foolishly, Ibelieve--having opted for not making the entire package available at areduced price (at least in the US). After all, nearly everything included in this Edition comprises recycled material.
These recyclings, to be sure, have been updated, even when they have had previous CD release Notes by distinguished specialists grace booklets that are more elaborate and informative than what typifies most CD
Philips Classics producer Erik Smith, whose taste prevailed

productions, sometimes yielding significant
improvement over what was included in previous releases. (Occasionally, as noted below, some first-class notes from the past have been scrapped.) Then, too, an Edition
of this kind has incalculable value to institutions, bringing all of Mozart's work together in aneat package Surely major public and university libraries as well as music schools would do well to have this compendium available as aprime reference source and teaching tool.
Beyond question, this Edition teaches many things; for example, the remarkable precocity of the child Mozart and the ways
in which it developed. Listen, to cite but one
instance, to the opening of Symphony 16 and hear how it anticipates Symphony 18. Or be reminded of Mozart's growing daring, his
melodic inventiveness, harmonic innovations,
and the unflagging artistry with which some of his boldest strokes are woven into the
musical fabric. Indeed, had Mozart been a painter--and he is said to have had talent as
avisual artist--he probably would have succeeded in combining the most garish colors in away that would make them seem utterly apt for Brooks Brothers' window.
Taken as awhole, then, this Edition stands
as acogent homage to acomposer who may
well have written the most perfect music in the history of Western civilization. The dis-
cussion of individual volumes that follows is confined (with one brief exception) to the composer's instrumental music, his vocal
output to be the subject of aforthcoming "Building aLibrary" article.
VoLl: The Early Symphonies. With the exception of three short works recorded digitally in 1989, everything in this set comprises
analog productions from the early '70s.
Given the conventional numbering of the Mozart symphonies, it appears that he composed atotal of41. But some ofthejuvenilia
featured here brings that total to 53. Marriner is superb in this repertory: unaffected, spir-
ited, and employing an ensemble that is at once precise, crisp in its attacks, and aptly transparent and lean. Doubtless nearly every-
thing here is more important for its suggestion of the master to come and for revealing
how the young Mozart absorbed the rich musical culture ofhis time than for its own intrinsic merit. All the same, these sympho-
nies are often charming, and have unques-

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

183

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tionable historical significance. Vol.2: Symphonies 21-41. In many respects,
these performances from the '70s score over those Marriner has duplicated in his currently ongoing traversal of this repertory for EMI. Philips's sound is closer, cleaner, and more
intimate, with aresulting clarification oftexture that such intimacy promotes, and Marriner was less inclined to Interpret in these
earlier efforts, aprime case in point occur-
ring in the opening movement ofthe "Haff-
ner." There is not abad performance in this set, though some succeed better than others.
The two major disappointments are 40 and 38. In the former Marriner opts for Mozart's earlier version without clarinets, thereby
depriving the work ofcolor and expressivity; in the latter he fails to suggest all ofthe nervous intensity implicit in the work, which--
more, perhaps, than any of Mozart's other orchestral pieces--suggests the direction his
music might have taken had he lived longer.
On balance, though, this is one of the better boxes in the Edition. Neal Zaslow's anno-
tations in this and the preceding volume are welcome bonuses.
Vol3: Orchestral Serenades. Mozart, doubt-
less affected by the forces available to him, responded to commissions for a"serenade"
quite differently, sometimes producing music of no great consequence, other times--as in
the "Haffner" and "Posthorn"--composing major masterpieces boasting tightly knit symphonic cores. Marriner sustains ahigh level throughout this repertory, but in the
two elaborate works just cited does not match the best phonographic efforts, my preference among available recordings of each remaining with Szell (Sony) for the "Posthorn" and Beihm (DG) for the "Haff-
ner" But taken as awhole, this is another distinguished set. The sound suffers occasionally from boomy bass.
Vol.4: Divertitnetttifor Strings & Horns. Another distinguished set. Marriner's read-
ings may at times seem abit too cool and straightforward, but they are stylish and,
more often than not, aptly animated. The
MusicalJoke emerges with all its hilarity as a model of how not to compose, and other highlights include asuave, graceful K.287 and alight, transparent K334, both works bene-
fiting from some exceptionally fine horn playing.
Vol.5: Serenades &Divertimentifor Winds.

Marriner is superb in the great K361 Serenade, and the Netherland Wind Ensemble proves wonderfully light and fluent in some of the earlier works. The Holliger Wind Ensemble, however, disappoints in the two other masterpieces in this set, the Serenades
K.375 and 388, both ofwhich require greater thrust and tension. The latter, by the way, is the work Mozart revised as the C-Minor String Quintet, K.406. All ofthe other pieces in this volume, though of lesser interest, yet contain passages that, typical of Mozart at
his best, shock and surprise. Vol.6: Dances & Marches. Drawn from
recordings produced between 1964 and '66 for English Decca, this potpourri ofminuets,
contredances, marches, and the like amazes for the variety Mozart could wring from such amarkedly restricted format. Taken in relatively short hearings, this repertory will yield considerable pleasure, and having all of it under one cover underscores the imagination and wit central to the Mozartean style. Boskovsky, one-time concertmaster of the
Vienna Philharmonic, leads graceful, relaxed performances. The digital updating of what must have been, at least in some instances, pre-Dolby sound is amodel ofwhat can be achieved in good CD transfers.
Vol.7: Piano Concertos. With the exception of the first four concertos (juvenilia played by Ingrid Haebler), everything here features Brendel and Marriner. The pianist has, of course, gained distinction as akind ofmodern Artur Schnabel as aresult of having
turned frequently to Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. But his Mozart is often greatly
removed from Sclmabel's, being less tonally alluring and more restricted in its range of rhythmic inflection and tempo. Nevertheless, BrendePs prevailing verve and musicality
make this traversal as attractive as any currently available. The major disappointment here is an (all-digital) cool, understated
account of 25, perhaps the most towering masterpiece in aset filled with towering masterpieces, and the work Sir Donald Tovey cited as the paradigm of the Classical concerto. One has only to hear the versions of Rudolf Serkin (Sony), Schiff (London), and Fleisher (CBS) to discover how much more dramatic and expressive the music can be than it is with Brendel. But elsewhere Brendel is magnificent, capturing the festive pomp of22, the sparkle, humor, and grandeur of

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

185

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21, the demonic agitation o120, and the lyric grace of 23, to cite but some examples. In short, this is apackage well worth considering for individual purchase This set, incidentally, retains an essay by Brendel included in
aprevious Philips box ofthe concertos, but replaces apointed survey of the music by Michael Steinberg with alonger, more factually detailed essay by William Kinderrnan.
Vol.8: Violin Concertos. Ifnot afailure, this set does not match the standards set by many
of the others in this Edition. Szerying's execution is doubtless polished and often quite
beautiful, but its beauty is somehow abstract and seems to miss some ofthe music's intrinsic youthfulness and brio. And Gibson is not
quite so incisive aconductor as Marriner. Similarly, the great Sinfonia Concertante,
K364, with Brown and Imai as soloists, lacks the tension and intensity ofthe glorious Szellled version recently issued by Sony. What is of greatest interest in this set are reconstruc-
tions oftwo fragments--a concerto for violin and piano, and aone-movement Sinfonia
Concertante for violin and viola, the former hinting at the later Piano Concertos 19 and 26.
Vol.9: Wind Concertos. Here is asplendid set, highlighted by agorgeous account ofthe undervalued Flute and Harp Concerto
(marred only by Reinecke's jarringly unstylish cadenza), lively accounts ofthe two flute
concertos featuring Irena Grafenauer, virtuosic readings by Peter Darnm of the four horn concertos, and Karl Leister's performance of the great Clarinet Concerto, as
good as any in the current catalog that Ihave
heard. An additional attraction of this set is its inclusion oftwo versions ofthe Sinfonia
Concertante, K.297b, one familiar, the other areconstruction by Robert Levin catalyzed
by the long-standing doubtful authenticity of the better-known version. Throughout, Marriner offers fine support.
Vol.10: Quartets & Quintetsfor Strings & Winds. The prize here is apoised, at times even haunting, performance by Anthony Pay
of one of Mozart's sublime works, the Clar-
inet Quintet. Everything else in this set--the flute quartets, the Horn Quintet, and the Oboe Quartet--is of aconsiderably lesser order. Valuable, however, are the movements and fragments for chamber ensemble, a rejected finale for the String Quintet K.174
revealing that even the younger Mozart exercised considerable self-criticism.

Vol.11: String Quartets. Aside from the early K.174, the music in this set comprises some ofMozart's most glorious works, and the playing of the group led, in effect, by Grumiaux is at once stylish, elegant, ani-
mated, tonally suave, and technically adroit. Thus this is another set well worth acquiring individually. Deryck Cooke's briefnotes for the original CD reissue ofthese performances are here replaced by four individual essays, one for each ofthe four languages fea-
tured throughout the annotations for this Edition, the one in English being apointed essay by Alec Hyatt King.
Vol.12: String Quartets. Recorded between 1966 and '73, this is one set among those devoted to instrumental music that suffers on
technical grounds. The remastering throughout is at too high alevel, and the sound is
generally hard and coarse, ashortcoming that neutralizes whatever tonal polish the Quartetto Italiano may have mustered. In the main,
these are lively, beautifully phrased readings, with the 13 early works tossed offwith considerable panache. The more familiar and
considerably more interesting later scores also fare well in the main, but at times, as in the first movement ofK.458, one misses some
of the music's incipient wit and joy. Unless one is absolutely bound to completeness, better versions ofthe mature works can be had by picking from among those recorded by the Smetana, juilliard, Talich, and Emerson Quartets.
Vol.13: Strings &Duos. The highlight of this set is the gorgeous account from the
Grumiaux Trio of the Divertimento K.563, which contains music on the level ofMozart's finest quartets and quintets. And the transfer of this 1967 recording is far more musical in sound than what has been accorded the Quartetto Italiano in Vol.12.
Vol.14: Piano Quintets, Quartets, & 'Dios. Nearly everything in this volume comprises major fare, but the prize among all the works
may well be the still relatively unfamiliar Quintet K.452 for winds and piano, one of Mozart's most imaginative creations, per-
formed here with amixture ofgrace, vibrance, and poise by Brendel et al. In the trios and quartets, the Beaux Arts Trio offers suave, polished, buoyant readings. An interesting indusion is the reconstruction ofaTrio K.442
derived from three surviving fragments. Throughout, the sound is uncommonly fine:

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

187

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close, clear, and musical.
Vol.15: Violin Sonatas. The main attrac-
tions ofthis set, which contains considerable juvenilia, are the 15 mature sonatas per-
formed by Grumiaux and Klein. Perhaps their readings (as already suggested) lack
some of the intensity that Grumiaux and Haskil brought to this repertory in monaural Philips recordings, but this does not detract
from the virtues of these later accounts, which, among other things, offer prime testimony to Grumiaux's seeming inability to
produce anything save abeautiful sound. A revealing inclusion here is the Sonata, K.54 ("For Beginners"), awork that uses some of the material present in the familiar K.545
Piano Sonata, also for beginners. All of the recordings, produced between 1974 and '91, benefit from exceptionally clear engineering.
Vol.16: Piano Duets. One of the lesser achievements in this project, this set offers
readings that, in the main, are adequate but abit too polite and correct, lacking the subtlety and verve that the music demands. Par-
ticularly deficient in this regard is the rather neutral account of the great Sonata K.448.
Vol.17: Piano Sonatas. Here is atraversal
(recorded between 1983 and '87) that has sparked both high praise and marked skepticism. Uchida's approach to this repertory is to de-prettify it, to draw many inferences
from the printed page, and, at times, to pull
out all emotional stops. In short, her read-
ings are greatly removed from the cool, detached classicism, say, of Gieseking, often to the point oftaking risks that some may feel
spill over into mannerism. But others might feel (as Ioften do) that the pianist brings out the music's rich expressivity. Listen, for instance, to the Sturm und Drang intensity in
her projection ofthe A-Minor Sonata, K310; or to the humor she suggests in K570. In fact,
the only major disappointment in this set may be her stolid, rather heavy-handed way with K533/494. Aworthy alternative to this cycle, incidentally, is arecently reissued Sony box of four CDs featuring Lili Krauss in equally expressive, slightly faster, more
rhythmically inflected readings. Note, however, that it is not quite as complete as
Uchida's, omitting, for example, K.533/494. Vol.18: Piano Variations, Rondos, &Mis-
cellaneous Pieces. This set mixes juvenilia, lesser works from later periods, and afew masterpieces such as the Rondo K.511. Even

the lesser works, though, fascinate for what
they reveal of the composer, especially the
way in which he used stock figurations in the variation form, one ofthose formulas anticipating aportion ofthe great set ofvariations
that opens the familiar Piano Sonata K.331. If the performances are not always the most imaginative, they remain more than merely adequate.
Vol.21: Organ Sonatas & Solos. Here are 17 pieces for organ and orchestra--each
comprising asingle sonata-form movement having an especially terse development section--that Mozart composed for Church use. None is amasterpiece, and one senses
that the composer was simply responding to ademand created by the custom of using instrumental music in the liturgy. Far more arresting are the few works for solo organ,
originally written for clockwork organ,
where the harmonic daring is especially striking. The 20-year-old recordings sound as if they were produced yesterday.
Vol.25: Theater & Ballet Musk The two gems of this small set are the ballet, Les petits riens, and the incidental music for the Gebler play, Thamos King of Egypt. The former is made up ola delightful overture and eleven brief, often sharply contrasted numbers that bespeak Mozart's melodic fluency and aware-
ness of the pragmatic needs of dance, all of
this superbly conveyed by Marriner and his able musicians. The incidental music features
some fine choral writing and anticipations of The Magic Flute and La Clemenza di Tito.
Under Klee's direction, it is dramatic and aptly ceremonial. Note, too, in the ballet music for Idomeneo (also in this set) lies the seed for the finale of the great Piano Concerto 25.
Coming away from this astonishing out-
put ofinstrumental music, one is shaken by the many fleets ofMozart's genius: his ability to make the most seemingly outlandish move seem absolutely right and in keeping with Classical balance and good taste; his com-
mand ofsensuous melody and ofsharp contrasts in tonality that make him the aesthetic father of Schubert; and, perhaps most of all, his power to shake the universe with what seems but aflick ofthe wrist. Mozart viewed himself, "without impiety," as he put it, as
"a fellow ofsuperior talent." Even in such apt self-analysis, he remained the consummate master of understatement.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

189

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R ECORD R EVIEWS

Q: What do these three conductors (1-r: Zubin Mehta, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Kent Nagano) have in common? (A: Turn to p.199.)

CLASSICAL

P.D.Q. BACH :IFTWP Classical Talltityalk Radio Prof. Peter Schickele and the Usual Cast ofClowns; many
instruments, some of which you'll recognize Telarc CD-80295 (CD only, as ifwe had to tell you that).
Robert Woods, Elaine Martone, prods.; Jack Renner, Michael Bishop, engs. DDD (as if we had to tell you that, too). TT:61:39
When confronted with the transcendent mane ofthe late P.D.Q. Bach, this reviewer frequently finds himselfat aloss for words, but here faced with what is not only the crowning glory of P.D.Q.'s opus, but an effective satire ofcontemporary "classical" FM radio as well, Ihad no choice but to cry for help. Fortunately, aid was forthcoming from anumber ofluminaries of the critical arena whom you will no doubt recognize, but who were unaccountably unwilling to have their names associated with the last and perhaps least son ofthe greatJohann Sebastian. Notwithstanding, Ioffer my heartfelt thanks to these unnamed contributors.
"This recording and performance achieved arespectable score of 13 on my open-ended scale, failing, however, to best the current refer-

ence, Bony Mandate's Greatest Hits, which attained the hitherto unprecedented rating of 26.5..
"While listening to this disc with some of my colleagues in the Rahway Symphony, we noted the clever use ofthe low reeds for comic effect. Since Imyselfplay the contra-tromboon,
Iwas reminded ofthe time we were playing a concert up in Hoople, and it was really cold up there, being Northern South Dakota, and-- wait aminute, you mean record reviewers don't
get paid by the word? Forget it ..."
"So the other day I'm over at Harry Hyperbole's along with Peter Planetoid and the Brass Monkey. We were listening to the Adcom B&K Jadis or whatever, driving Quad Spica Vandersteen WATTs or whatever, when my favorite running gag Jars shows up. Now the system
isn't exactly working, mind you, but we're getting close, and Jars pulls out this P.D.Q. Bach thing. So while Pete and Harry get hernias substitpting another five-grand amp for the one
with only one working channel, Itreat the disc with agreen pen and some Rinso Blue on a
powder puff. When we're all connected, Iput

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

191

DEAR MARK:
D A Cello System is beyond my reach. Iaccept that most CDs do
not sound natural, my system needs upgrades and changes every few months, and the resale value of my components is very low. Ihave alot of free time and extra cash and like to spend them looking for the "Latest".
D O.K., maybe 1should find out about Cello. Iwant asystem which is natural sounding, abeautiful complement to my home, trouble-free, and one that retains its value or appreciates over time. Iwant to work with the most qualified people who will help me find the products most suited to my needs. Please send me your literature.
Iwant to know everything about Cello. Please rush me your new 95-page book. Enclosed is $10 in cash or check to cover cost of book, shipping & handling.
Name
Address

Phone

Fax

Check one box and return to:
Cello Music Systems/LA, Joseph Cali, Director, 9080 Shoreham Drive,
W. Hollywood, CA 90069, Tel. 213 273-2203, Fax 213 275-2279
Cello Music Systems/NY, Mark Levinson, Director, 112 E. 71st Street, New York, NY 10021, Tel. 212 472-5016, Fax 212 879-1434

Cello Music Systems LA and NY are by appointment showrooms dedicated to complete customer satisfaction. Cello components are designed exclusively by Mark Levinson=
President, Tom Colangelo, VP Engineering, and their associates.

Cello, in concert with Theta digital, Day Sequerra FM, AR, Simon Yorke, Philips and more.

the CD in thejitterbug transport (with the platinum power-cord mod) running through the Numbers Game AID, and hit Play. You know what happens then? The whole obscenely priced mess blows up! Isn't that neat? Well, if we ever get the system back together, I'll let you know how it sounds. But while Iwas reading the really clever liner notes, Igot this great idea. I'm organizing atrip to Northern South Dakota--it's as cold as Russia, the economy's as bad, and.. ."
"While there are those who profess to hear differences between musical selections, we have scientifically determined that these alleged differences are due entirely to trivial variations in pitch, timbre, and rhythm ..."
"Oh-kay! P.D.Q. Bach. Real down-home roots classical; the stuffthey play in those TexMex bars where they pour El Cuervo Platinum all night and the beat never stops. ¡Ay, maraca! Listen to the 'Folk Song Upsettings! Great sheet, mon, no? Could be by that biker composer, éwhatto el nombre? Warlock, that was it. Si, peri como. And the soprano! Va-voom, wot aBABE! My zipper's in peril! But wait uno minuto. What's this? 'Hound Dog'? 'Love Me'? Performed by Elvis (The Pelvis)'s brother Enos (The ...)? This mutha whitebread sumBach be puttin' down The King. .."
"I said turn it up! Ican't hear adamn thing. Listen, if it wasn't for me, you young punks wouldn't have amagazine, so give me somegain already. That's better. Well, Ithought this was supposed to befunny. All this 'P.D.Q: seems to have done is steal the playlist from areal classical FM station. 'Nothing written after 1912: 'No minor keys.' Every ninth piece has to be by Grieg 'We play the music you don't mind hearing--wall to wall Pachelbel: So where's thejoke? Sounds good, though, the part Ican hear..."
"The desert. The stars like athousand points ofcold, immaculate light. Suddenly, incandescent hyperbolae of sound, arcing into the ebon depths of Space, like messengers speaking with the voice ofthe Blessed Bob: 'Fire this guy, as soon as his fax is open'. .." --Les Berkley, et al
BARTÓK: String Quartets 1& 3; 44 Duos, Vol.3 Endellion String Quartet
Virgin VC 790774-2 (CD only). Mike Hatch, eng.; Andrew Keener, prod. DDD. TT: 54:57
The Endellion give amore anguished reading of Bartók's Quartet 1than I'm used to, and while their constant striving throughout the work makes it hang together rather better than is often the case, Ican't say Iwarmed to their approach.
The through-composed Quartet 3, however, needs just this kind of treatment, the Endellion's technical prowess assuring aconfident

rhythmic thrust and vitality. But again, Ididn't

feel the players could relax, thus failing to in-

troduce an appropriate measure of light and

shade where necessary, particularly in those

evocative passages of "night-music."

The inclusion ofalmost 11 minutes ofduo

playing after the intensity of Quartet 3came

as agreat shock to the system and, to my mind,

represents very poor program planning. This

music is inevitably thinner and less emotionally

demanding--it would have served better as an

introduction to the disc. To make things worse,

the over-reverberant acoustic provides far too

loose afocus for such an intimate ensemble.

Also, given Virgin's record for frequently filling

discs with over 70 minutes ofmusic, just under

55 seems rather meager.

--Barbara Jahn

BERNSTEIN: Symphony 2("The Age ofAnxiety"), Fancy Free, Candide Overture
Andrew Litton, Bournemouth Symphony; Jeffrey ¡(ahane, piano ("Anxiety")
Virgin VC 791433-2 (CD only). Mike Hatch, Nicholas Parker, engs.; Andrew Keener, prod. DDD. TE 66:32
For those of you who saw this recording trashed by Arvid Ashby in theJanuary/February 1992 issue of The American Record Guide, here's asecond opinion. This is afully digital CD superdisc. It deserves, at the very least. nominations in performance and production categories by such prestigious concerns as Grammy and Gramophone. It hasn't happened. Virgin Classics is an industry underdog,' and whereas Litton
and Kahane have their followings, neither operates on the sort of high-profile, heavy-duty industrial level that appeals to the makers and shakers of public fame.
In anote included with the liner material, Litton unabashedly describes his youthful adulation for Leonard Bernstein, dating from attendance at NYP Young People's Concerts starting at age nine. Fortunately for all ofus, not least ofall Litton himself, he seems to have outgrown this adulation, channeling it into productive admiration for the pieces themselves. Otherwise, he may have fallen into the trap of attempting to clone any number ofemotionally extravagant aspects ofthe numerous recordings Bernstein himself made of these works from 1944 through 1990.
Admire Bernstein though he should and might, Litton is dearly adifferent type ofmusician, typical of his generation, who performs less from some divine inspiration than from practical, intelligent motivation. He does so honestly, usually without fussiness, and with acertain intensity that keeps pedestrianism at bay. Having asnappy and responsive orchestra like the Bournemouth Symphony is no liability.
1Maybe things will change now that Richard Branson has sold Virgin to Thorn-EMI for almost SI billion. --JA

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

193

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For his recording of this crypto-piano con-

certo in the guise ofaliterary symphony based

on W. H. Auden's verse novel of post-WWII

ennui, Litton finds an ideal collaborator in pi-

anist Jeffrey Kahane. He easily outplays both

ofLukas Foss's recordings with Bernstein, most

especially their reunion recording with the

Israel Philharmonic for DG in 1977, which, in

its uptight caution, is one of LB's least success-

ful recordings. Bernstein's 1965 NYP recording

with Philippe Entrement, recently reissued by

Sony, is enough to give one pause in recom-

mending this new recording as aone-and-only.

While Bernstein delves into the piece as ifsome-

one else had written it, Entrement waxes bril-

liant and mysterious as the mood requires, and

the remastered sound is nothing short ofmirac-

ulous, quite super in its own right. Litton/

Kahane, on the other hand, show how well this

music thrives with amore cerebral approach.

And cerebral here doesn't mean nerdy; it means

cerebral energy.

For the Jerome Robbins ballet, Fancy Free,

Litton takes on no less than four composer-led

recordings, including the 1944 abridged 10"

78 set for American Decca, recently reissued

by MCA. We may dismiss the Slatkin/St. Louis

Fancy Free on Angel as anice try. Bernstein's

most recent Fancy Free, a1978 DG with the

Israel Philharmonic, the diametric opposite of

the unfortunate "Anxiety" with these forces,

bristles with jazzy show-band dazzle. Even so,

Litton and his people take them on handily.

Whereas Bernstein compromised his IPO Fancy

with some incredibly self-indulgent and poorly

judged vocalization, Litton begins his perfor-

mance with the original recording of "Big

StufF' sung by Billie Holiday with afive-piece

combo, from the very Decca 78 as heard in the

MCA reissue, and as heard on the barjukebox

before the three sailors -explode on stage" in

theatrical performances of the ballet.

As afiller, the Candide overture features

cleaner ensemble than Bernstein's own NYP

recording, and it's breezy, exuberant, and irrele-

vant. For Candide, all you need is Bernstein's

own complete recording, the live one on DG

video (VHS and Laser).

Sonically, we may add this to other Keener/

Hatch recordings we've admired, and place it

on the shelves ofequipment designers, critics,

manufacturers, and retailers, who need to hear

and demonstrate with brilliantly played orches-

tral material which sounds like real music in a

real space.

--Richard Schneider

COPLAND: Tender Land Suite, Three Latin-Anrrican Sketches, The Red Pony
James Sedares, Phoenix Symphony Koch International Classics 3-7092-2 HI (CD only).
Michael Fine, prod., mg.; Andy R. Seagle, Chari Christi, Jeffrey Behr, cogs. DDD. TT: 58:00

For their recording debut, James Sedares and the Phoenix Symphony have wisely chosen three relatively under-recorded works of Copland. Although theirs is the fourth recording ofRed Pony, the composer's own recording with the LSO, on Sony's Copland Collection--Orchestral Works (1948-1971), is likely to be the only competitor for some time to come.
The Red Pony, a1949 Lewis Milestone film which starred Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum, was based on ashort novel for younger readers by John Steinbeck. It was the ideal family film: kids could relate to it, and grownups could erjoy it without embarrassment. Look for it at your video store. But this recording does nothing to change my view that, despite some very beautiful and touching moments, the near half-hour suite is too long, and covers too much ground already covered by Copland in other pieces.
The 20-minute Suite from Tender Land is symphonic in scope and style, and as admirable and enjoyable on its own terms as Strauss's Suite from Rosenkavalier. Drawn from an opera which made its recording debut on Virgin just over ayear ago, the suite has been recorded only once before, in 1961 by Copland and the Boston Symphony on RCA, available on an RCA Gold Seal CD.
Against this very formidable competition, Sedares/PS demonstrate, to all who can hear, the wealth ofavailable talent in this country to staff regional orchestras at every professional level many times over, and then some. On one had we're told that classical music is adying art, and that some of our orchestras are in danger offolding. Yet here we have aSouthwestern
orchestra which has assumed full-time professional operation and appears to have aconductor and the players to fulfill its aims. The orchestra personnel list in the liner notes also includes administrative staff, box office, development, etc.--practically everyone but the ushers. One cannot dismiss this display as provincial puffery in view of the musical results obtained.
The best thing one could say about the audio production is that it calls no attention to itself, merely revealing the performance as taking place in asomewhat generic but perfectly adequate acoustic site.
Ifl were to raise amusical criticism, it would be in the area of showmanship, an especially important factor in putting Red Pony across. There is an abundance of shading, nuance, and "chamber music" in Sedares's approach, perhaps areaction to the pummeling and overemphasis we've received at the hands ofthe Soltis and Rostropoviches of this world, not to mention the obsequious sincerities of the Giulinis, or the sanctifications and leaden tenutos-fordays ofthe Karajans. Sedares/PS's most convincing gestures are the quiet ones. The most

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

195

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successful performance overall is of the work most lightly scored, the Three Latin American Sketches.
Although the ability and good taste are there, Isense acautious reluctance to release the full power ofthe orchestra at those key moments in any symphonic work at which everyonejust lets go. That's the primary difference between

GOUNOD: Faust
Richard Leech, Faust; Cheryl Studer, Marguerite; José van Dam, Mefistofeles; Thomas Hampson, Valentin; Martine Mahé, Sibel; Nadine Denim, Marthe; French Army Chorus, Orchestra & Chorus of the Capitol of Toulouse, Michel Plasson
EMI CDS 754228 2(3 CDs only). Main Lanceron, prod. DDD. TT: 3:33:40

these performances and Copland's own. Even

so, this recording has many qualities to shake

the "majors" offtheir laurels. Add abit more

showmanship, and we may have to redefinejust

what amajor orchestra is and where it may be

found.

--Richard Schneider

This is the first new, complete Faust we've had in quite awhile, and it'sjust about the best of what's available today. Indeed, in acouple of areas, it's golden-age.
Richard Leech is afabulous young tenor with afree top, aringing tone, and brains. He gets

ELGAR: Enigma Variations, Falstaff Charles Dutoit, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal London 430 241-2 (CD only). DDD. TT 63:24 ELGAR: Marches Pomp & Circumstance Marches, Coronation March,
Empire March, Imperial March, Triumphal March from

inside the character totally--this Faust is weary in Act I, anticipatory in Act II, passionate and credible in the Garden Scene, and remorseful in Act V--all the while singing like achamp. Not since Gedda undertook the role on disc decades ago has it made such sense, and the fact

Caractacus, Concert Overture--Cockaigne

that Leech occasionally sounds like Fritz Wun-

Yehudi Menuhin, Royal Philharmonic

derlich doesn't hurt either.

Virgin VC7 91175-2 (CD only). Mark Vigars, eng.; John H. West, prod. DDD. TT: 68:06

Cheryl Studer's Marguerite is no less good. I'm still amazed, like everyone else, by her ver-

This is not aversion ofthe Enigma Variations that satility--she has recorded Salome, Gutrune,

Icould warm to. Dutoit seems to be scratch- the Empress (in Die Frau ohne Schatten), the

ing the surface here, with the music's more pro- Queen ofthe Night, and now this, all success-

found emotions only hinted at. Ican't say the fully. (She's not as convincing on-stage for some

orchestra sounds especially committed either reason, but that need not concern us here.) Here

--semiquaver runs in the second variation are she's vulnerable and touching, and she sings

very slack at the edges, and there is no wit at all in the depiction ofG. R Sinclair's dog falling

gorgeously. We actually root for her and Faust as acouple--pity it doesn't work out that way.

into the river Wye in Variation 11. Unfortunately, the symphonic study Falstaffreceives a

Van Dam's Mefistofeles is topnotch as well, despite abit ofdrying-out ofhis voice. He never

similarly lightweight reading that failed to hold plays to the gallery; his devil is all the more

my attention, even though that work too is driven menacing for being understated. Thomas Hamp-

by astrong program element that shouldn't be son--he ofthe sensuous pose and matinee-idol

too difficult to tap. Turning to Menuhin's performances, it be-

countenance--is abit light for some ofValentin's more passionate utterances. His French

comes obvious that Dutoitjust hasn't managed to find that elusive ingredient that makes Elgar Elgar. Menuhin's association with the composer and his music began in his early teens,

is the least idiomatic ofthe majors, but he sings worthily and is ultimately credible. The others in the cast draw sharp characters in excellent French.

when he premiered the Violin Concerto after

The orchestra is quite good, if not world-

(admittedly minimal) tutelage from Elgar him- class, but the chorus is, and the addition ofthe

self, and this shows in his handling ofjust about every other work by the composer. The Pomp

French Army Chorus (it's nice that they have nothing else to do) in the big Act IV number

& Circumstance Marches are heroic but never adds panache and vitality. So what's the prob-

stuffy, Menuhin keeping the pressure on with lem? Well, it's Michel Plasson's leadership.

boisterous speeds and vigorous, lifting rhy- Gounod's music tends to sound like spun sugar,

thms. Even the lengthy Coronation March is unless aconductor decides to bring out the

buoyant and purposeful and, though Iwould drama beneath the treacle, the whole affair can

criticize the slightly ill-judged tempo at the become soft-edged and lose its gusto. That

opening of the Imperial March and some lessthan-neat playing in Cockaigne, these are all per-

happens here too often. Granted, there's still bite in the Kermesse scene, and when Mefisto-

formances to which Iwould return. Essentially, Menuhin understands and balances to perfec-

feles is around we get some real flash, but the tender moments are slowed down too much

tion the mercurial changes of mood in Elgar, and come perilously close to sounding sickly.

and that goes some way toward explaining Dutoit's (and many others') lack of success.

You'll be able to imagine what the recording would be like with real conductorial spark.

--Barbara Jahn

The sound is up to EMI's best, which is to

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

197

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

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say superb: realistic, ideally balanced, and full

without any doo-dads, falce distancing, or echo

effects. What to do? Buy this--despite my res-

ervations about Plasson, the singers are so good

that Iwholeheartedly recommend this Faust

anyway; it's the best around. Incidentally, the

reason for the long playing time is the inclu-

sion of the ballet music and four numbers the

composer later deleted. These, appearing as

appendices at the end ofthe third disc, are inter-

esting to hear.

--Robert Levine

MONTEVERDI: Salve Regina, Motets for 1, 2, & 3 voices
Gerard Lesne, Josep Benet, Josep Cabre, Brigitte Lesne, Il Seminario Musicale & Tragicomedia
Virgin VC 791145-2 (CD only). Michel Bernard, prod.; Françoise Eckert, eng. DDD. TE 64:43
Recorded in the Église du Liban, Paris, these performances radiate aquasi-ecclesiastical aura ofsound which proves entirely apt for amixed bag of motets ranging from liturgical works such as the Salve Regina to alovely "moral canzonetta," based on an Italian poem ofunknown authorship (but probably Angelo Grillo), Spunlava il di.
The voices, appearing in various combinations ofone, two, or three, are accompanied by groups ofinstruments chosen from atotal of eight, including violin, cello, violone, viola da gamba, and as harmony instruments achamber organ, theorbo, archlute, lirone (a large lyre), and abaroque harp. The range ofsounds is subtle and appealing, and those using gold-plated cables will derive the maximum ofenjoyment from this CD. Due to the small vocal ensemble, the texts are always audible, and for those who like to follow the texts abooklet is provided with originals and translations.
Six motets from an early publication were written when Monteverdi was only 15 years old, but they already project astrong personality. There are two motets from the 1610 Vespers, but texts have been omitted and the vocal lines transcribed for instruments alone. Ifthis procedure seems alittle odd, it isjustified by the nature of the program, which definitely needs abreak from vocal sounds. The remaining pieces, from anthologies published during the composer's Venetian years (1613-1643), represent awide range ofsubjects and styles.
Balance between voices and instruments is satisfactory, and the performances are mostly oía high standard. Now and then the singers mistake three-voice homophonic passages as invitations to hurry, but this should not be so. Awell-nigh perfect performance ofSpuntava il di suffers in this way. Note that the sixth title should read Veni sponsa Christi, and that it is in honor ofSt. Helen. (No.2--Fuge anima mea--is in honor of St. John the Baptist.) Listeners with

the necessary technical facilities may wish to dub this motet into the recently issued Vespers ofSt.John the Baptist (Philips CD 422 074-2), deleting Bazzino's rather clumsy dialogue.
--Denis Stevens
STRAUSS: Salome Eva Martón, soprano (Salome); Heinz Zednik, tenor
(Herod); Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo (Herodias); Bernd Weikl, baritone (lochanaan); Keith Lewis, tenor (Narraboth); Gabriele Schreckenbach, contralto (Page): others; Berlin Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta Sony Classical S2K 46717 (2 CDs only). Steven Epstein, Grace K. Row, prods.; Kevin Boutote, eng. DDD. TE 99:01 STRAUSS: Sala« Cheryl Studer, soprano (Salome); Horst Heistermann, tenor (Herod); Leonie Rysanek, mezzo (Herodias); Bryn Terfel, baritone (lochanaan); Clemens Bieber, tenor (Narraboth); Marianne Rorholm, contralto (Page); others; Berlin German Opera Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli DG 431 810-2 (2 CDs only). Wolfgang Stengel, Pal Christian Moe, prods.; Klaus Hiemann, eng. DDD. TT: 101:41 STRAUSS: Salome Karen Huffstodt, soprano (Salome); Jean Dupouy, tenor (Herod); Helene Jossoud, mezzo (Herodias); José Van Dam, baritone (Jochanaan); Jean-Luc Viala, tenor (Narraboth); Helene Perraguin, contralto (Page); others; Lyon Opera Orchestra, Kent Nagano Virgin Classics VCD 791477-2 (2 CDs only). Arend Prohmann, prod.; Katharine Copisarow, eng. DDD. TT: 104:50
The premiere of Strauss's Salome in Dresden on December 9, 1905 startled the musical world with its story of depravity, intensified by Strauss's sensuous music. The story of the youthful princess's lust for John the Baptist, her performing the "Dance ofthe Seven Veils" and then demanding the Baptist's head as a reward, was too much for audiences--and censors--of the time, although soon afterward Salome was accepted as the true masterpiece it is.
Salome is scored for alarge orchestra, including 50 strings, 6horns, 4each oftrumpets and trombones, and 2harps. Aharmonium is used briefly, particularly in the opening scene to set an eerie mood, and there is abrieforgan part, used primarily in the final scene. According to Strauss, the title role should be sung by "a 16year-old princess with the voice oían Isolde," an unlikely combination indeed. The role is extremely demanding: there are no high Cs, but aplethora of Bs and B-flats, with aconsistently high tessitura, as well as two G-flats below middle C.
Three new complete recordings of Salome have been issued. Sony's offers Eva Martón in the tide role, DG's features Cheryl Studer, and Virgin presents the initial recording ofStrauss's original French adaptation, with Karen Huffstock. For various reasons, none ofthese is ideal, though each has its strong points.
Eva Martón's Salome is remarkable for its sheer volume, but little else. Her wobble covers

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

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perhaps five notes, two above and two below the one written. Her sound is unpleasant, and subtlety is not her forte; her bulldozer approach hardly begins to suggest avoluptuous teenage princess. Birgit Nilsson has proven that atrue dramatic soprano can, indeed, be sensational as Salome; Martón is not in her class. Weikl's Jochanaan and Brigitte Fassbaender's Herodias are superb, but Heinz Zednik's Herod is unsteady and bleating. The real glory of this recording is the magnificent Berlin Philharmonic under Mehta's incandescent direction; the spectacular engineering lets us hear much orchestral detail with vivid impact; climaxes
are stunning. Cheryl Studer characterizes Salome effectively, with ayouthful sound, an in-
terpretation of great insight, and careful, controlled phrasing--she has plenty of power for the final scene. As in the Sony version, the Jochanaan (Bryn Terfel) and Herodias (Leonie Rysanek, herself in earlier years asuperb Sa-
lome) are fine, but Horst Heistermann's uncontrolled Herod is disappointing. Sinopoli's direction is always assured, but he underplays the score's drama; the big orchestral interludes as Jochanaan re-enters the cistern, and preceding the final scene, are modest when compared with Mehta's explosions ofsound. DG's engineering is satisfactory, although lacking the impact of the Sony recording.
Strauss prepared the French version ofSalome shortly after the German premiere. This requited some changes in the music to adapt Oscar Wilde's original play, and it was premiered in
1907, but then disappeared. Subsequent French performances were atranslation ofthe German
text without the subtle changes Strauss incorporated. It wasn't until 1989 that Strauss's original French version was rediscovered, reconstructed, and performed, and this is the basis for Virgin Classic's set. It's fascinating to hear this, and would be more so if the performance were better. Karen Huffstodt's voice is severely taxed; she sounds raw and edgy, and frequently is off-pitch. The supporting cast is adequate, but Nagano and his Lyon forces are not nearly as effective as they were in their award-winning
recording ofProkofiev's Lovefor Three Oranges. The orchestra sounds undersized, brass is unimpressive, and Nagano's leisurely approach misses the score's excitement and drama. Virgin Classics' engineering favors the voices, with an overall diaphanous orchestral sound. Those
interested in hearing Salome, or at least part of it, in French, might wish to investigate Marjorie Lawrence's magnificent 1934 recording of the final scene (Preiser 89011).
When Strauss heard the voice ofBulgarian soprano Ljuba Welitsch, he suggested to her that she sing Salome. She studied the role with him and sang it for the first time on the corn-

poser's 80th birthday (June 11, 1944), with Strauss conducting (does arecording exist any-
where?). Since that time Welitsch has been considered by many to be the definitive Salome,
with the youthful sound, interpretive insight, characterization, and power necessary to cut through Strauss's heavy orchestra. It is one of the many tragedies of the recording industry that Columbia did not record acomplete Salome in 1949 when she made her unforgettable American debut at the Met (as did conductor Fritz Reiner); at least they did record the final scene, arecording that has yet to appear on CD. How-
ever, aMelodram 2-CD set offers the Welitsch/ Reiner 1949 broadcast in reasonably good sound (voices close, orchestra distant). For a contribution of $150 the Met will supply the Welitsch/Reiner 1952 broadcast (a three-LP set
coupled with the Varnay/Reiner Elektra), but
this is not nearly as vocally assured aperformance. Also available is astunning performance
of the final scene from a1944 Austrian broadcast which, in spite of its dated sound, is perhaps the finest performance ever recorded of this music. Those who know the final scene may be surprised to hear achange in the vocal line during the climax. On the last syllable of
"Jochanaan," Welitsch sings D# instead of descending to G#; this is not an error; it is the only alternate note in the entire score. In all later
recorded performances Welitsch sings the G#. There are other recordings ofthe final scene.
Martón's earlier effort with Andrew Davis and
the Toronto Symphony is no better than her
new complete recording. Leontyne Price's Boston Symphony/Leinsdorf version on RCA is
impressive, but she is miscast. Inge Borkh's 1955 recording with Reiner and the Chicago Symphony is excellent; her voice is not quite right for the part, but she is an intelligent musician and can sing the notes. This recording is worth owningjust for Reiner's accompaniment and the spectacular playing of the Chicago Symphony.
Which of the three new complete recordings to own? It's unfortunate that Studer didn't sing the title role in the Mehta recording. Of the three, surely the one to have is the DG; Ifind Martóres Salome impossible to enjoy. The French version is an intriguing novelty, with acommendable booklet of profuse notes, fascinating
illustrations, and many musical samples. Only two complete earlier recordings remain
in the catalog (the Behrends/Karajan EMI/Angel
set was recently deleted); both are commend-
able. Birgit Nilsson's brilliant performance, with Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic in top form, is magnificent in its way. Montserrat Caballé's recording, with Leinsdorf and the
London Symphony, is convincing and sensitively sung, and has the advantage of being in

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

201

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RCA's mid-price opera series. Yet another complete Salome is in the works, on Philips, to be released in 1993, with an unlikely Salome-- Jessye Norman--and Seiji Ozawa conducting.
--Robert E. Benson

Chauvin, Europe, Blake, Morton. Carriker. Laufer, Schuller, Kozinski, Albright, Confrey, Luke-Morton, Lamb
Gunther Schuller, New England Ragtime Ensemble GM 3018 (CD only). John Newton, eng.; Gunther
Schuller, prod. DDD.1T: 59:33

WEBER: Der Freischütz Karita Mattila, Agathe; Francisco Anna, Max; Eva Lind,
itruichen; Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Kaspar; others; Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis Philips 426 319-2 (2 CDs only). Mike Bremner, prod. DDD. TT: 2:16:24

Recordings ofDer Freischütz don't grow on trees the way, say, recordings ofAida do, so this new

one is most welcome. Despite some reserva-

tions about individual performances, it's agreat success.

The leadership ofSir Colin Davis is the major

selling point. Freischütz is aconductor's opera,

and Davis makes it his own. He doesn't buy

into the "early-German-opera-oompah" ap-

proach at all, and that's fine with me. He sees it as adark tale, filled with doom and forebod-

ing, in which superstition and evil almost win over the rational. Just listen to the waltz (No3

in the score; CD 1, band 7). His tempi are lead-

footed and heavy--this is not ajolly moment.

In fact, there are nojolly moments in this read-

ing. Even the hermit's pronouncements and the closing chorus are moral lessons rather than

aday at the beach. Try it; it makes sense.

Soprano Karita Manila, alovely singer, brings great feeling to Agathe's music. There are mo-

ments, however, when the voice simply doesn't

respond. Similarly, Francisco Araiza's Max is vocally abit too light, but he infuses whatever

he does with passion and concern, and makes

it work. Casting him rather than the usual heavy

tenor is another of Davis's coups--this Max

is not aferocious hero; he's in trouble too. Eva Lind is nowhere as Annchen; her voice gets lost

in the music, and it takes more personality than she has to bring this character to life. Elckehard

Wlaschiha is asuitably slimy Kaspar, singing

with real depth and darkness, and the rest of

the cast is excellent. The Dresden and Leipzig

forces are superb, givingjust the right weight

to each phrase and helping Davis with his vision.

The recording is wonderfully atmospheric,

especially in the Wolf's Glen Scene, where the echo effects are stunning. Furtwângler's reading (on Hunt) is, to my ears, the most successful on

disc, but this one comes close, and if you de-

mand superb sound, then obviously, this is

your choice.

--Robert Levine

CLASSICAL COLLECTIONS

THE ART OF THE RAG ENSEMBLE Rags by Joplinjoplin-Haydenjoplin-Marshall, Joplin-

One of Angel Records' great hits some 19 years ago was The Red Back Book ofScottJoplin, adisc performed by The New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble conducted by Gunther Schuller and now transferred to CD. Joplin is included as well in Schuller's most recent collection, featuring asimilar ensemble but consisting of different personnel. A glance at the above listing reveals an unusually wide range ofpieces, ahistory ofthe rag ifyou will, which begins at the beginning ofthe 20th century and even includes six recent examples, such as the witty "12-Note Rag" of 1977 by Kenneth Laufer, and Schuller's own 1986 "Sandpoint Rag" with its featured horn solo. Schuller has also been responsible for anumber ofthe arrangements, several of them--James Reese Europe's pieces and those ofJelly Roll Morton--having been transcribed from early recordings. The whole program is extremely entertaining, controlled in performance yet perky, and above all highly virtuosic, with splendid solos. Imaging is superb, the soundstage most effectively conveyed, and clarity is exceptional.
--Igor Kipnis
BERLIOZ: Symphonicfantastique With: Roman Carnival Owrturr, Three Pieces from Le Dam-
nation de Faust Sir John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra EMI CDM 763762 2(CD only). Robert Auger. John
Mosely, Christopher Parker, engs.; Michaell Dutton, remastering eng.; John Snashall, Douglas Terry, Christopher Bishop, prods. ADD. TT 74:54 DEBUSSY: La trier RAVEL: Daphnis es Chloé, Suite 2; La Valse; Ma Mére l'oye Suite Sir John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra (& Chorus in Daphnis) EMI CDM 763763 2(CD only). Robert Auger, John Mosely, engs.; Michael J. Dutton, remastering eng.; John Snashall, Douglas Terry, prods. ADD. TE 67:35 DVORAK: Symphonies 7ic 9("New World") Sir John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra EMI CDM 763774 2(CD only). Robert Auger, Robert Fine, engs.; Michael J. Dutton, remastering eng.; Harold Lawrence, Douglas Terry, prods. ADD. TT 75:53 ELGAR: Symphony I, Sea Pictures Sir John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra; Kirstin Meyer, mezzo-soprano (Pictures) Intaglio INCD 701-1 (CD only). ADD. IT 77:42
As Alan Sanders points out in his annotations to the three EMI Barbirolli reissues, the British conductor's reputation has undergone considerable reassessment since his death in 1970. The general consensus now is that he belongs among the great romantic interpreters of the century, one whose passionate involvement in

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

203

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his music making is never in doubt. Listening alyrical pianist. His best improvisations gather

to the gorgeous Dvorák Seventh of 1957, the force, unfurling, after atypically warm theme

vividness ofthe Debussy/Ravel program, and statement, into billowing phrases with broad-

the exciting and characterful Berlioz (the Roman ening rhythms.

Carnival of 1966 is afirst-time issue), one must

This new disc, from aconcert in Hull, Can-

be thankful to EMI for resurrecting on CD ada recorded for a1974 Canadian Broadcasting

what has been largely unavailable since the Corporation transmission, is valuable because

deletions of the previous incarnations on Vanguard and Mercury. In two cases, the original

it found Evans performing pieces he'd recorded elsewhere, but which he plays here ebulliently.

Pye recordings of 1958 had never been issued Evidently playing at all that night was achal-

in the US: the lovely mono-only Mother Goose lenge, as the Canadian night was cold--Evans

Suite and the extraordinarily fine three Dam- had to warm his hands between numbers with

nation ofFaust excerpts. (In my enthusiasm, I aspace heater. He declared himselfunsatisfied

wound up playing Barbirolli's swaggering with his performance, saying, "My brain knew

Rakoay Match no less than four times in arow.) what it wanted to do but my fingers didn't want

EMI's processing, often impressive, reveals a to cooperate." Perhaps the vigor of these per-

fairly open-sounding orchestra, one that could formances was partially the result ofhis desire

at times almost be described as tonally luscious, except for the loudest, climactic moments, when

to offset the cold's effect on his hands. At any rate, it's impossible to fault his technique on the

constriction and stridency ofupper strings and evidence ofthe nine tunes presented here.

brasses are decidedly uncomfortable to the ear.

Accompanied by bassist Eddie Gomez and

While the EMI issues represent the Barbirolli drummer Marty Morell, Evans opens with

ofthe late '50s, the time °Ellis great accomplish- "One for Helen," written for his manager

ments, when he had single-handedly brought Helen Keane and which Evans had recorded

the Hallé Orchestra, badly declined in the war six years earlier at Montreux. His authority as

years, to alevel ofexcellence nearly matching apianist is evident from the first notes. Evans's

that ofthe best British orchestras, the remaining trio is more nearly democratic than most--

disc by the new Italian firm, Intaglio, contains drummer and bassist generate ideas as well as

the conductor's very last recorded concert. By accompany. Listening to an Evans trio is like

July 24, 1970, Barbirolli had already suffered happening on avigorous three-way conver-

anumber of collapses brought on by aheart sation. Evans plays the expected ballads here,

condition, including one in rehearsal the day before this performance. He was determined,

including aparticularly gorgeous "If You Could See Me Now." He reprises two pieces

however, to die in harness, and ifthere was evi- he made with Miles Davis: "Blue in Green"

dence ofphysical frailties, it is not present in and "So What." He also plays five ofhis own

this intensely moving concert, his second to last and one which preceded his death by only five days. Though the Sea Pictures are appropri-

compositions, including his "TIT--Twelve Tone Tuner which, despite its formidable title and twelve-tone technique, turns into apartic-

ately passionate and surging, theJanet Baker ularlyjoyous workout for the rhythm section.

commercial EMI recording with Barbirolli is

The music was taped by the CBC, then re-

vocally preferable. The large-scale Elgar Sym- mixed and digitally mastered in Fantasy Stu-

phony 1, however, is asuperb performance by dios. There is little stereo separation, but that

any standard, and the reproduction is remark- seems aminor drawback given the immediacy

ably vivid and detailed.

--Igor Kipnis ofthe recording and the fine sound ofEvans's

JAZZ

piano. The trio was recorded closely--one doesn't get the ambience of the concert hall. Neither do we get the sounds ofthe crowd in-

BILL EVANS: Blue in Green Bill Evans, piano; Eddie Gomez, bass; Marty Mord,
drums
Milestone MCD-9185-2 (CD only). Helen Keane, prod.; Paul LaCroix, eng. ADD. TE: 53:10

truding on the music, except in occasional bursts of applause. This disc allows us to immerse ourselves anew in Bill Evans's astonishing creativity. What more could ajazz fan ask?
--Michael Ullman

Bill Evans is frequently thought of as adelicate romantic. No wonder. He specialized in brooding ballads; he had an exquisite touch; his rounded tones and distinct voicings were instantly recognizable; he looked introverted; he hung over the keyboard, his forehead almost touching the keys, curled up like awet fern at daybreak. Yet Evans was apowerful as well as

ABBEY LINCOLN: You Gotta Pay the Band Abbey Lincoln, vocals; Stan Getz, tenor sax; Hank Jones,
piano; Charlie Haden, piano; Mark Johnson, drums Verve 314 511 110-2 (CD only). Richard Applegate, mg.;
Jean-Philippe Allard, prod. DDD. IT 58:32
Abbey Lincoln's not the usual nightclub crooner. She has abrassy, seemingly unromantic voice, yet few singers are as dramatic or, at times, as

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

205

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STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

tender. An actress as well as asongwriter and

singer, she decided years ago not to concentrate

--in her writing at least--on lovers and night-

time romance Her own songs start out as poetry:

she thought of "Bird Alone" when in Japan

feeling lonely, and "When I'm Called Home"

came from an intimation of her own death.

Hardly cheerful subjects, yet her sincerity, vigor,

and musicality make these songs work.

She couldn't have abetter band behind her.

You Gotta Pay the Band features Stan Getz in

what must be among his last recordings. (This

disc was recorded in February 1991.) The bas-

sist is Charlie Haden, Mark Johnson is the

drummer, and the pianist is the marvelous Hank

Jones. A songwriter couldn't ask for more than

Hank Jones's exquisitely shaped and suggestive

introduction to "You Gotta Pay the Band," or hope for more than his and Getz's solos on

numbers such as "When I'm Called Home?'

Lincoln's melodies are simple, often innocentsounding: Getz lights them up.

Besides her own songs, Lincoln revives, in

what may be the masterpiece of the set, the depression-era plaint, "Brother, Can You Spare

aDime?" There's irony as well as iron in her

voice--she sounds tough, vulnerable, adult. On several other numbers, such as the title

track, her voice sounds abit worn. But her band

carries the songs--I hope she paid them well.

Ihave several minor complaints about the sound: the bass is not as tight as one would

want, and Mark Johnson's drum set is spread across most of the soundstage. One hears his

hi-hat at the extreme left, seemingly close up,

and his snares somewhere in the middle and

rather distantly. There's no point in this kind

of separation.

--Michael Ullman

LIONEL HAMPTON et THE GOLDEN MEN OF
JAZZ: Live at the Blue Note Lionel Hampton, vibes; Clark Terry, trumpet, flugelhom;
Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpen James Moody, Buddy Tate, tenor saxes; Al Grey, trombone; Hank Jones, piano; Milt Hinton, bass; Grady Tate, drums Telarc CD-83308 (CD only). Jack Renner, eng.; Bill Thon, prod. DDD. TE 58:07 OSCAR PETERSON: Saturday Night at the Blue Note Oscar Peterson, piano; Herb Ellis, guitar, Ray Brown, bass; Bobby Durham, drums
Telarc CD-83306 (CD only). Jack Renner, mg.; Robert Woods, prod. DDD. TE 57:00
OSCAR PETERSON: Time After Time
Oscar Peterson, piano; Joe Pass, guitar, Dave Young. bass; Martin Drew, drums
Pablo PACD-2310-947-2 (CD only). Steve Williams, eng.; Oscar Peterson, prod. DDD. TE 48:00

Peterson's "dense, demanding, unceasing" style He adds, "When one gives an audience so much, one risks that they will leave with nothing?' Peterson replied--and Ithink it's the perfect answer--that "What happens on the stage is my concern; what happens in the audience is theirs."
Without wanting to, McDonough has put his finger on the uneasiness with which many ofus listen to Oscar Peterson. Peterson swings mightily, he's adazzling instrumentalist, afine accompanist, and in his more modest performances, such as the ones we hear on Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter, he's afirst-rate melodist. He specializes in the blues: not the funky, downhome kind, but mid- and uptempo pieces, such as "Kelly's Blues" on Saturday Night at the Blue Note, that are bright and extraverted. "Kelly's Blues" features an attractive theme played
firmly and precisely. It builds and builds. But there's the rub: somewhere along the line, Hose interest. Peterson's rhythmic devices, his bigband-like rifling and two-handed chording, are powerful, but make me feel like I'm on a train in afunhouse. Iknow where I'm going, and, despite all the spectacular sights along the way, I'm biding my time until Iget there?
Peterson can be wonderful, as he is on one
ofhis older routines, "On the Trail," heard on Time After Time. He also can be lyrical. Both Peterson discs reviewed here feature his pretty "Love Ballade," and Ifind his playing on "Old Folks" from the Blue Note session lovely. He
still loses me on the big production numbers, and another ofhis ballads, "Nighttime" from the Blue Note session, seems sentimental.
One main feature ofLive at the Blue Note is that it reunites Peterson with two members of his old trio, Ray Brown and Herb Ellis. It's always ajoy to hear Brown and Ellis, especially as recorded by Telarc. Iwish Ellis's guitar had
been brought forward alittle more, but Brown sounds just as I've heard him live: marvelous. Peterson's piano sounds more resonant on the Telarc than on the Pablo recording, which features the virtuoso guitaristJoe Pass instead of Ellis. Perhaps as aresult, Peterson is alittle perkier on the Pablo version of "Love Ballade." For the rest, these are two good examples of Peterson's recent playing. The fans continue to love what he does.
They continue to love Lionel Hampton as well; Hampton, one of the greatest showmen injazz, loves them back. At the end ofthe stir-

In his notes to Time After Time, critic John McDonough recounts arevealing conversation he had with pianist Oscar Peterson. McDonough calls Peterson "prolific," not merely because of the enormous number of Peterson recordings, but as adescription of

2Peterson seems always to play things too safe to be considered ajazz great, in my humble opinion. Having played with

Martin Drew acouple oftimes in the early '70s. Iwas initially

surprised when the English drummer joined the permanent

Peterson Trio. But on reflection, Drew, as amusician with a

superb technique but totally conservative feel, was the ideal

choice.

--JA

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

207

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ringjam session that Telarc recorded live at the Blue Note, the band is clearly walking offstage. Hampton calls out arhythm, and the next thing you know, pianist Hank Jones is playing boogie-woogie for one ofthe rare times in his professional life, and Hampton is beating out his "Hamp's Boogie-Woogie:' Irrepressible, he's surrounded himselfwith some ofthe best surviving mainstream players, and everyone seems to be having aball. The trot out their specialties: Clark Terry takes asolo alternately on flugelhorn and trumpet, eventually trading phrases with himself. James Moody sings his famous solo on "I'm in the Mood for Love." Harry Edison plays the first lyrical solo on "I Wish IKnew"; Al Grey growls acouple of plunger solos, and Buddy Ilte swings throughout. With an impeccable rhythm section, this disc is straightout fun. It's beautifully recorded, especially for alive date. Even the sounds ofthe audience are clear and precise. Here's an unpretentious set ofjazz by masters, golden men, doing what they do best, con brio.
--Michael Ullman
ROCK
LUKA BLOOM: The Acoustic Motorbike
TE Reprise 26670-2 (CD only). Paul Barrett, prod.; Paul Barrett, Sean Devitt, Louise McCormick, engs. AAD. 46:41
Luka Bloom's first album, Riverside (Vol.13 No.8), was aplunge into icy water so fresh and bracing it stole breath. LB says Motorbike is far "less produced," but it seems awhole lot more so to me. The rhythms and melodies are far simpler/less interesting and far more overwrought, more ado about less, and not nearly as much fun as Riverside's. Besides, Bloom hears something in Rap--the Disco ofthe late '80s/early '90s-- that Idon't. Three ofthe dozen tracks here are Rap, including acover ofLL CoolJ's "I Need Love." Bloom finds Rap's "rhythms and phrasing, from apurely technical point of view, phenomenally sophisticated." Huh? Itested this myself, singing along, lyric sheet in hand, with Bloom's two original Rap tracks, and got the phrasing with 95% accuracy the veryfirst time Iheard these songs--and believe me, asinger Iain't.
Anyway. Bloom was so much more convincing on Riverside's true Irish Rap songs like "Delirious:' "Over the Moon," "An Irishman in Chinatown," and "You Couldn't Have Come at aBetter Time": passionate, urgentlyjoyous words tumbling over each other in rhythmic grace to virtually unaccompanied acoustic guitar. Motorbike's few good winsome ballads-- "You," "I Believe in Yoe "Exploring the Blue and aheart-on-sleeve cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love" that has the same intensity of

the other Elvis's 1:29 cover of "Funny Valentine," LB stepping aside to let tune and words do the work--do not arecommendable album make. The songs go by, and not only do they not change my life, they don't even change my morning. And the sound is far inferior, lacking Riverside's depth, presence, and in-the-round palpability--Motorbike sounds like acassette dub ofitself Too bad; altogether, adisappointing victim of Second Album Syndrome.
--Richard Lehnert
ERIC CLAPTON: Slowhand MFSL Gold Ultradisc UDCD 553 (CD only). Glyn
Johns, prod. AAD. 39:21 RSO/PolyGram regular or CD 823 276-2 (CD only).
AAD. TE 39:18
Ifyou read my review ofMFS1.7s gold Ultradisc version ofthe Who's Quadrophenia inJanuary, you know what Ithought ofthat reissue: inexplicable motives, unworthy material, and sonics that weren't improved abit over the original release. In all, asmashing unsuccess.
But now I've got to eat my words on abed of brown rice, because MFSL's really done a kick-assjob with Slowhand! My years-old RSO/ PolyGram CD is easily one ofthe worst-sounding digital transfers in my collectiorV alaughably weak version of agreat LP. This gold Ultradisc, though, is MILES ahead ofmy RSO CD, and while it doesn't quite edge the LP, it fits better in the Madrigal CD Library.
I've always really liked Slowhand, the last of Clapton's real rock records before he sank into that late-' 70s/early-'80s lite-rock malaise he's onlyjust crawled out ofin the past five years. '70s FM radiojust wouldn't have been the same without such Slowhand staples as "Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," "Lay Down Sally," and my favorite song on the album, "The Core." There's really not aclunker on here, except maybe "Peaches and Diesel:' and then only if Clapton's love-puppy side makes you hurl as it kind ofmakes me do, although Patti was reportedly well worth the sappiness.
Shortcomings: MFSL's still using their demented "2001: A Convenience Fallacy" deluxejewelbox that saves you the HASSLE? of lifting the disc off the center hub, but trades that luxury for increased stress when trying to put the CD back unless you have thejewelbox fully open in your palm and that's just one more thing to think about in aworld of ever-in-
3Every other West German-manufactured PolyGram disc in my collection sucks sonically, too; my copy ofJimi Hendrix's Band Of Gypsys is HORRENDOUS, as was the German CD of Smash Has compared to the US disc. The PolyGram discs even look cruddy, with that silvery top coat that flecks off with time and the sharp, too-thin edges. Ithought West Germany was abastion ofHigh Quality; don't they have ICeebler Elves or something, making sure stufflike this passes muster?

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

209

creasing duties to perform and combinations formance of Tex Owens's yodelin' "Cattle

to remember and alliances to ponder and Call," gorgeous four- and five-part harmonies

agendas to mull over and details to reconsider on Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" and the a and relationships to explore and·options to cappella "Calling My Children Home," and

peruse and MUSIC TO HEAR!!! Man, Ihate Emmylou finally, ten years on, drops the other

Mobile Fidelity's jewelboxes so much I shoe to record John Fogerty's "Lodi" (the B-

swapped Slowhand's out with Merry Xmas From side ofCreedence's "Bad Moon Rising," which

Wayne Newtonjust so 1wouldn't even have to she recorded in '81 on Evangeline).

THINK about it again, at least until Iget my

At the Ryman constitutes agreat album con-

bi-yearly hankering for alittle bit o'the Newt- cept that only works half as well as it might

skateer, and that shouldn't be aproblem again have Still worth hearing and buying, however;

until at least mid-November.

even mediocre Emmylou Harris is better than

Conclusion: In addition to giving up much almost any other country singer's best.

better sound than my RSO CD, MFSI:s Slow-

--Richard Lehnert

hand also re-includes the original LP's photos

and musician roster missing from my CD. If

you like Slowhand, the MFSL is definitely worth

the extra bucks. Now, how about Disraeli Gears?

GO MFSL GO!

--Corey Greenberg

VARIOUS: Until the End of the World Warner Bros. 926707-2 (CD only). Various engs. & prods.
AAD. TT 69:36
Ben E. King did it. Meatloaf did it. But when Nick Cave sings "I'll love you 'til the end of

EMMYLOU HARRIS ac The Nash Ramblers: At the the world" on the soundtrack to the new Wim

RPnin Reprise 26664-2 (CD only). Allen Reynolds, Richard Ben-
nett, prods.; Mark Miller, Kooster McAllister, engs. ADD. TT. 60:56

Wenders movie, it's more thanjust alast-ditch pickup line. Get this: it's 1999, and there's this Indian nuclear satellite that's about to crash to earth. Boom! Splat! No more Chuck E Cheeses.

After 15 years of fronting her Hot Band, Emmylou's gone acoustic with this live set ofnew

No more Burger Kings. Then there'sJohn Hurt wandering around with this machine that can

(to her) material recorded at Nashville's Ryman play back your dreams on aSony Watchman.

Auditorium, for 30 years the home of The Grand 01' Opry. She claims that, after aserious attack ofbronchitis, it wasjust too much strain on her weakened voice to any longer dominate

And that's when things really start to get complicated.
In case you hadn't guessed, Until the End of the World is not aGeorge Lucas production. But,

an electric band. Well, Iapplaud the move to acoustic; the new
Nash Ramblers are tight, talented, and lus-

hey, Wenders can tell you that being cool is almost as good as being rich. You can get abig star like Peter Falk to take off his trench coat

ciously recorded (ifwith apatently unbelievable mix and the patented Kooster McAllister HF beef-up; cut the boost, Koost!), and Enunylou once again shows offher perfect taste in choice

and play in your artsy-fartsy Fore-i-peeean movie Spike Lee threatens to punch your fights out! And when you're soundtrack-shopping you get your pick of anybody on the charts

of songs. But the gradual drying-out and whitening ofher voice, evident as far back as her third album, Luxury Liner, has by now progressed

south of Garth Brooks and Michael Jackson. So in the best schoolyard kickball tradition, Wenders chooses up sides real good: Talking

to virtual rawness. On At the Ryman she has a great deal oftrouble controlling her voice at all.
Ihope the trend is reversible, but it's not the only problem on this album. Though the instrumental arrangements are always interesting,

Heads, R.E.M., Elvis Costello, U2, Lou Reed. The Wimsterjust mosies up to these guys, talking up the whole Indian satellite thing, and says, "How 'bout some music to get nuked by?" No problem. It's not like he was asking Bon Jovi

the multi-part vocal harmonies often sound centerless. Still, the players (Larry Atamanuik, Roy Huskey Jr., Sam Bush, Al Perkins, Jon Randall Stewart) are state-of-the-heart country, and there's anew, hard-edged bluegrass influence to take the place of the Hot Band's country-rock drive.
But Emmylou skates lightly over most of these songs, which deserve better: on Steve Earle's "Guitar Town" she's sloppy and emotionally absent; she doesn't even scratch the sur-

and Amy Grant. The Armageddon Hit Parade Countdown
starts off with the Talking Heads' "Sax and Violins" (get it?), the first peep we've heard from them in five years. And, surprise, it's about as bouncy asong as you can write about the end ofcivilization as we know it. David Byrne even throws in the Fword twice Maybe he missed Tina Weymouth as much as Idid. Down the road, the ever-grouchy El Costello pitches with an absolutely lilting cover of Ray Davies's

face of Springsteen's "Mansion on the Hill", and on "IfICould Be There," shejust sounds

4Mars Bladunan's alter ego was pissed that Do the Right Thing didn't win the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival acou-

exhausted. Then again, there's aperfect per- ple years back when you-know-who headed the jury.

210

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

"Days." And even those serious lads from Dublin borrow apage from "Paradise by the Dashboard Light": "I kissed your lips and broke your heart /You, you were acting like it was the end of the world." Achtung, baby. Sure,
RE.M.'s Michael Stipe still sounds like he's not getting enough fiber, but all in all, this is easily the most downright pleasant, up-with-people nuclear holocaust album ever made.
The other surprise is that the best music here comes from the people your brother-in-law never heard of. Julee Cruise proves that there's life after Twin Peaks with the me-so-flirty "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears." How 'bout one more slice of cherry pie and another cuppajo?
The other highlights: aPampers-free comeback from Patti Smith, alovely north-of-theborder duet betweenJane Siberry and k.d. lang, and adose of0000zing Cajun/Canadian folk from Daniel Lanois. My personal fave here comes from another ofthe producers, T Bone
Burnett, who turns the whole space alien idea inside out with "Humans from Earth." It's the kind ofthing you'd have watched on Creature Feature ifJean Luc Godard was working for Roger Corman.
If this is the sound of the future, maybe it's

time to rip open the mattress and buy some

stock in Audio Research. Although more than

adozen engineers stuck their fingers in the

broth, there's aremarkable sonic coherence

here. If these tracks are from the sonic collage

school ofrecording, then these guys graduated

with honors. There's good instrumental spread,

aconvincing illusion ofdepth, and the low bass

ranges from solid to "We want you out ofhere

by the end of the month."

And if this is the music we'll be listening to

as we head to the millennium, Ican live with

that, too. As if Ihad achoice. Still, Igot one problem with Wim's plot line. IfSkylab Masala

was about to squish me like aPalmetto bug, I

sure hope Icould find something better to do

than stare at aTalking Heads video, even ifit's

on HMV. In the words ofa great 20th-century

philosopher much beloved by our Editor: "Two

thousand zero zero /Party over /Oops /Out

oftime /Ithink I'm gonna party like it's 1999:'

So ifyou want to watch television and furrow

your brow come checkout time, that party's

over at Barry McGuire's house. Me, I'm just

gonna turn down the lights and turn up the

music.

--Allen St. John

OUTTAKES RICHARD LEHNERT

ISHALL BE UNRELEASED: The Songs eBob Dylan
Joan Baez, Blue Ash, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Dion with the Wanderers, Dream Syndicate, The Holhes, Jais Malla, Manfred Mann, Roger McGuinn, Rick Nelson, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Raiders, Doug Sahm, Pete Seeger, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Ron Wood
Rhino R2 70518 (CD only). Many, many producers; Bill Inglot, Ken Perry, digital remastering. AAD. TE 63:53
Hey, this is fun: 18 very obscure Dylan songs sung and recorded over the last 25 years by an outrageous variety of admirers. Even with the release last year of Dylan's own Bootleg box, you'll only have found eight of these tunes on previously released official Dylan albums. The rest include the best-known tracks--Joan Baez singing "Love isJust aFour-Letter Word" from back when she still cared about music, Manfred Mann's "If You Gotta Go, Go Now," Rod Stewart's classic version of "Only aHobo" from his own best album, Gasoline Alley--plus the Staples' cover of the unjustly neglected, absolutely chilling, early anti-war song, "John Brown:' which Dylan has resurrected on recent tours. There are duds too: Blue Ash thrashing and trashing "Dusty Old Fairgrounds," and aterrible recording ofPete Seeger's vacant runthrough of"Paths ofVictory" But Dream Syndicate's "Blind Willie McTell" is killer. For any serious Dylan fan, amust.

JACKSON DELTA: Acoustic Blues Jackson Delta JD 0012384 (CD only). Jackson Delta,

prods.; Jamie Sulek, eng. DDD.

43:38

Availablefrom Rick Fines, PO Box 2384, Peterborough, Ontario

K9J 7Y8, Canada. Tel: (705) 748-9784.

Contemporary white acoustic blues--you know, the kind all critics & blues aficionados are supposed to hate for its parasitism, inauthenticity, and wannabe-itude? Well, da blooze is just as hard--or as easy--to do well as anything else, nobody's got an ethnic corner on it any-
more (sorry), and these three Canadians sound at least as real as the much-touted (in these pages) Robert Lucas. Jackson Delta does seven blues standards ("Statesboro Blues," "Baby Please Don't Go," "C.C. Rider," etc.), but the five originals are by far the most interesting tracks, particularly the been-there-and-soundsit "Back Up from Zero," the driving "Bad
News Blues," and the J.L. Hooker-influenced "Sink or Swim!' This is homemade, late-night, bare-bulbed, linoleum-floored, unapologetic white-man kitchen blues with gritty vocals, solid arrangements, tight guitar/harp interplay, and always biting rhythms. And it's all live in the studio, direct to two-track--sound is very natural, totally unhyped. So what are you waiting for? Buy it.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

211

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MR. BIG: Lean Into It Atlantic 82209-2 (CD). Kevin Elson, prod.; Kevin Elson,
Tom Size, engs. AAD? TT 46:30
These four seasoned graduates--Pat Torpey, Eric Martin, Billy Sheehan, and Paul Gilbert-- of various hard pop and speed-metal bands have turned in avery sharp, slick second album, all power hooks and flash. Not really my kind of music, but--that acoustic (!) single everyone's heard by now, "To Be With You," is one of the most infectiously feel-good pop songs to hit the US's ever-shortening AM/FM playlists since the Beatles. Idon't care ifall you ever play on this CD is track 11: it's still worth your $15.98 for "To Be With You."
P1JLNOC: city ofhysteria Arista 07822 18668-2 (CD only). Robert Musso, prod.,
eng. AAD? TT: 61:14
This once-banned Prague band, formerly known as The Plastic People of the Universe (after Zappa's "Plastic People"), is now called Pulnoc ("Midnight"). Unfortunately the most attractive thing about their first US release is Vaclav Havel's introductory essay. Otherwise the music is monochromatic, heavy, humorless, and not very interesting--and since they sing mostly in Czech, the music is all you've got. Too bad; Iexpected more from aband of such political and historical importance.
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STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

M ANUFACTURERS' C OMMENTS

MICROMEGA TRIO CD PLAYER Editor: Please extend my best regards to Bob Harley. He got to the very essence ofthe Trio's musical impact to an extent that Inever imagined happening in areview. The musical connection with emotion, rather than the intellect, is what Ihave perceived to be the goal all along.
As fine as the impact of the music was on Bob, some of his other comments lead me to believe that he did not get the maximum out ofthe product. Bob's observations ofsoft bass, lack ofvery low bass, and soft dynamics arejust the results Iwould expect with this product plugged into apower conditioner, or even possibly using an unsuitable power cord. My own experience with the Trio in multiple systems has never resulted in these effects.
As regards what fun it is to read about the different techniques that various designers choose to use, Ithink that, in the end, this can be quite harmful in away that may not be obvious. As is often stated by the press, acustomer must listen to aparticular product, and make their own emotional musical audition before purchasing it; otherwise, they may never be happy with it. As everyone seems to know, the bulk ofexpensive high-end purchases are not made this way. This is aresult ofthe impracticality ofproperly auditioning equipment (almost never available to be listened to at home, with no "expert" or purchase pressure), and the general press of time in modern life. It is almost arequirement that the customer must make improper use of the information available in the magazines.
While the customer may enjoy reading about all the technical goop, none ofwhich has areal bearing on the sound ola product, he will inevitably use that very information, this technical aura, to make what is often avery incorrect decision for him. The customer needs to know that, particularly with the complexity ofCompact Disc, he can never use this information to help make auseful musical decision.
Ibelieve that Iunderstand the odd 60Hz, 120Hz, and 240Hz noises seen in the measurements. Ihave had similar problems at virious

times myself. It is my understanding that the

noise always showed up in the measurements

but could not be heard through an audio system

turned up high enough (with no signal) to hear

such aphenomenon. My strong suspicion is

that the test conditions are the cause. The test

conditions were, as Iunderstand them, that the

Trio sat on afairly flexible bench with the other

test equipment. This bench was free to--and

in fact did--vibrate with the fans of the test

equipment. The Trio has avery rigid connec-

tion to what it is sitting on--a necessity for its

excellent performance Iexpect that any test sig-

nal passed through the Trio would be modula-

ted by the vibration (essentially low-frequency

jitter), while with no signal being passed, the

noise ceased to exist.

Lastly, while the Trio is athree-box unit and

can very rightly be thought oías aCD player,

it is not so closed asystem as might seem. The

converter and power supply are available as a

package; aself-powered version ofthe trans-

port, the Duo.CD, is also available. While this

clearly opens up some options, Istrongly sug-

gest that these components are well matched;

as Bob's review seems to indicate, there is little

reason to look elsewhere for one or the other

component.

Well done, Bob.

JOHN BICHT

Versa Dynamics, Inc.

BRYSTON 4B NRB POWER AMPLIFIER Editor:
Bryston is both flattered by and appreciative of the thoroughness of the review of our 4B NRB amplifier, and for the many complimentary comments by Dr. Greenhill.
With reference to one (whimsical?) aside about the possibility of "rock-solid" audio products like the 4B NRB perhaps being wasted on audiophiles who are likely to change equipment too often to benefit from the rugged construction, Iwould make three gentle points:
1) We have found over the years that Bryston owners, for some unfathomable reason, seem to keep our products for avery long time, to the extent that it is quite difficult to find aused

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

215

WORLD CLASS SPEAKER
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"Many loudspeakers favor one Ope of music over others. The M-3 appears equally at home with small-scale material--where it relates instruments and
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gets flustered or comes apart at the (sonic) seams." Thomas J. Norton, Stereopbile, Vol 13, No. 11, Nov. 1990

"Fine transient details are rendered naturally, without undue prominence. Strings are silky-sweet, yet gusty when calledfor. Guitar had detail and
warmth. Sibilants were clear yet controlled."
Thomas J. Norton, Stereophile, Vol 13, No. 11, Nov. 1990

"...M-3 is capable of absolutely top performance." High Fidelity, (Sweden) No.6, 1990

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Bryston for sale. 2) For those Bryston owners who would like
to change in future, we have found that Bryston products retain aremarkably high resale value, which we at least partially attribute to the recognition of solid construction to long life and extended usefulness.
3) Most important, the type of high-quality manufacturing techniques which are necessary to along warranty period and to reliability under difficult conditions pay more immediate dividends in better sound quality. An example is such asimple element as the powersupply filter capacitors. To produce along-life component of this type, one must design for the lowest possible internal resistance, thus reducing heat generation. This type ofdesign, by happy coincidence, turns out to be necessary for the kind of "amazing bass response" and "focus, width ofsoundstage, and depth of image" referred to by Dr. Greenhill.
CHRISTOPHER W.RUSSELL VP/Engineering, Bryston, Ltd.
TANNOY 609 LOUDSPEAKER Editor: This has been quite alengthy undertaking for you. Looking back through my records, the 609s were originally requested in early September 1991--before 1even had any in the US to send! Anyway, congratulations on athorough and detailedjob. Obviously, we are disappointed with our results; Iwould ask your readers to kindly step back somewhat from the specifics therein, so Ican plant some seeds.
The current and mainstream path of reproducing sound is through multi-driver, cabinetbased systems. Why is this? In reality it is because we, in our early days as an industry, did not have the ability (through lack of available technologies) to produce amoving-coil speaker that could reproduce the full audio bandwidth using asingle element. (This is desirable, since all sounds are produced from a"point" in space and because it is cheaper to manufacture one unit than two!) The compromise, therefore, was to split different frequency regions (bass, midrange, and treble) between different drive-units which could work effectively over their chosen, relatively narrow bandwidths. There are inherent flaws in this thinking that must ultimately limit the ability ofany "regular" two- or threeway system to accurately reproduce music, or any other sounds. Iwould like to highlight one that is avery simple concept to grasp.
We all automatically sit in front of speaker systems at the apex ofatriangle, and without thinking about it position our head in "the sweet spot." Well, what is "the sweet spot"? It is the position in which our ears receive the flattest frequency response and the maximum

acoustical power output from the speakers we are auditioning. When we move our head out of "the sweet spot" we are subject to the acoustical effects of the changes in distance to our ears from the individual drive-units involved. Hence, no flat frequency response, and adramatic reduction in acoustical power output at the crossover frequencies of the individual drive-units.
Yes, all designers are aware ofthese problems. Indeed, it spurred the rush of ' Linear Phase" speakers during the '70s and into the present day. Crossover design is always compromised in two- and three-way systems because the designer is trying to think ofcunning ways to reduce the "sweet spot" effect and maintain acoustical power through the crossover region.
Tannoy has uniquely come along apath of different priorities. The above compromises have never been acceptable to our designers; since 1947 we have prioritized our designs around acoustical point-source principles with our "Dual Concentric," atwo-element design sharing common acoustical centers. What benefits does this supposedly bring? Well, surprise! No "sweet spot" in the conventional sense-- just agentle lowering oflevel and HF energy as one moves off axis--and aflat power response right through the crossover region.
We believe it is this flat power response that your panel found so disturbing and different.
Extra energy in the room through the highly sensitive midrange area is anew experience for many people. Yes, $599 loudspeakers have coloration, but Ibelieve that the panel overlooked the honesty and ability ofthe new Dual Concentric in this respect.
There are other real-world benefits from this type ofdesign approach which we can leave for another discussion, along with cabinet design. Anyway, there's my lengthy contribution to this month's issue. Thank you again for your efforts and the opportunity to respond.
BARRY Fox Director of Sales & Marketing, Tannoy
NELSON-REED 5-02/CM LOUDSPEAKER Editor: Wow! Well done! What aHerculean effort Stereophile devoted to this group of entry-level loudspeakers. On reflection, though, one should spend more time and energy on such products in order to better advise the budding audiophile. The novice needs more guidance, even if only (yes, only) spending $500 on his loudspeakers. Amisguided purchase on that first system may sour one's taste forever.
Nelson-Reed fully supports comparative reviews on similar-class products. We feel that this is the only way areader can sort out the

STEREOPH1LE, MAY 1992

217

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many trade-offs and decide what features or qualities best suit his needs. We also support the blind listening test procedure that Stereophile used in this review. As noted by TJN, blind testing is not the ultimate. It is, however, one of the best ways to sort the wheat from the chaff; enabling one to dedicate further effort to products that offer value.
Although we have seen only the portion of the review that pertains to our model 5-02/CM, and the relative ratings, we can just hear the screaming that is sure to come from both readers and manufacturers. Let it be known that Nelson-Reed fully agrees with Stereophile, based on our own listening tests, both in the method and the relative ranking results of this review.
Yes, you read right, we feel that this review was as well done as one could hope for. The strengths and weaknesses, the subtleties and the nuances of the model 5-02/CM were so accurately described that we almost wonder ifStereophile has ahidden microphone in our test lab. This is astrong statement from acompany whose product came out second to last.
No, we're not insane or self-destructive But we were abit chagrined when we realized that we submitted the wrong loudspeaker model for this comparative review. This review compares bookshelf loudspeakers; and the 5-02/CM is not by any stretch of the imagination abookshelfloudspeaker. We know, we make abookshelf loudspeaker of our own, the model 602/CM. Chalk up this screw-up to amutual miscommunication between Nelson-Reed and Stereophile. We both should have taken alittle more care in selecting the right product. We liken this review to acomparison ofmini-vans,
with aPorsche 914 accidentally slipped into the mix. The Porsche would not fare well; it can't haul the kids, the gas mileage is bad, and the cargo space is, ahhh, alittle lean.
In asense, the reader may be left with an improper perspective as to the true performance of the 5-02/CM.
Then again, maybe not.
Now this is where the blind listening test flexes some muscle. The Nelson-Reed 5-02/ CM is not abookshelfloudspeaker, but amuch smaller minimonitor. When the blind listening test was performed, the review group had no way of knowing this. Under blind listening, each of the loudspeakers is judged without knowledge ofits physical type. It is up to the person setting up the test to use similar-type loudspeakers in order to compare apples to apples. The 5-02/CMs would naturally be regarded as absurdly thin, ifone did not realize that one was comparing apples to oranges.
This is the advantage ofthe blind test. Had the review panel been able to see the loud-
speakers, each would expect less bass out ofthe

visibly much smaller 5-02/CM--and automatically adjust to alesser bass-performance standard. In essence, the reviewers' expectations would color the results.
For example, JA, under non-blind conditions, concluded that the 5-02s "offer about as much bass and dynamic range as you might expect from their diminutive proportions." This comment is afar cry fromJA's criticism under blind conditions.
Which evaluation is correct? Both of them. Under non-blind testing, one would expect statements like "this loudspeaker has all the bass that one can expect from its size:' The reader would be left all the more confused. However, under blind testing the low scores for bass performance earned by the 5-02/CM clearly show that the size/performance bias was removed. The reader is left with an unambiguous ranking within the classification of "bookshelf loudspeaker." If one is looking for afull-range, stand-alone bookshelf loudspeaker, the 502/CM may not be the best choice, as the blind test clearly shows. Now we advance to the non-blind halfofthe Stereophile test. After ranking the sonic qualities, the reader also should know how aloudspeaker performs in terms ofwhat the reviewer expects. Aloudspeaker with adequate bass, but enclosed in a cabinet far too large or cumbersome, may now be viewed as apoorer choice Loudspeakers that have frustrating quirks like bad connectors or cheaply assembled cabinets may be duly criticized. Likewise, asonically modest product that offers cost and size advantages may now be more highly recommended.
By readingJA's in-depth report, one may see that the Nelson-Reed 5-02/CM performs as expected--for aminimonitor. JA's comments on the 5-02/CM need little elaboration; his description of their sonic signature mirrors NelsonReed's own observations. AsJA noted, one may perceive alack ofdepth in the 5-02/CM. Addition of the optional subwoofer (Nelson-Reed model 1201) corrects this situation. Low-frequency extension is required for optimal soundstage presentation, according to JGH.
About the only thing thatJA could not figure out was the source ofthe [low treble] "phlegm" that he heard. John, it isn't the cabinet, it's the foam termination on the woofer; it rings at 1.1kHz for 2ms (longer and abit higher in frequency at your mile-high altitude). Reed's Rule: Resonances in chalk-doped Tupperware (Beat-
trene) cannot be created or destroyed, only moved to new and unexpected frequencies.
With 20-20 hindsight, Nelson-Reed should have submitted the model 6-02/CM rather than the model 5-02/CM for review in this category.

STEREOPH1LE, MAY 1992

219

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All was not lost, however; the 5-02/CM pro-

vided some valuable insights about relative

strengths, weaknesses, and pitfalls ofboth blind and sighted reviewing.

In summary, we feel that Stereophile did one heck of ajob with this review; and we at

Nelson-Reed hope to see more work ofthis cal-

iber.

W. B. REED, R. L. N ELSON

Nelson-Reed

A/D/Si SAT 6LOUDSPEAKER
Editor:
Thank you for including the a/d/s/ model SAT 6in your panel audition ofnine inexpensive loudspeakers. It was nice to have one of our latest designs explored by expert ears, and have it find its way onto several of your panelists' "favorite few" lists. The article's wordsmithing was extraordinary, and though, as you mentioned, "there was no shortage ofnegative reaction to any of the loudspeakers:' the critique goes down alittle easier when subjective annoyances translate to "a midget... hidden inside the box busily tearing up atelephone
book." We certainly appreciated the positive comments as well, such as "he liked the aid/s/ better than most ofthe contenders," "articulate, lively, dynamic," "he rated the a/d/s/ fairly high overall," "the low end ...was reasonably welldefined," "I found the soundstaging. ..relatively three-dimensional," "I was favorably impressed by the openness ofthe sound," and finally, "the resultant soundstage was wide and deep, and image outlines were reasonably wellfocused in spacer Ofcourse, then we ran into that midget, and whammo--we got hooty and strident. Just when we thought it was safe to go outside. ..
At any rate, we're always proud to have aid/s/ product evaluated by experts. We also tend to look for the negatives in our own analysis, because it's in finding those faults and exploring their causes that we find paths to better sound.
Several of the comments regarding your objective and subjective data guessed at possible causes for the observed phenomena.
First, anote on our market and direction since your last experience with the model L810 of the 1970s. We indeed have not gone massmarket, but rather have focused exclusively on customers who appreciate abalance ofperformance, technology, and style This combination does come at acost, and hence the SAT 6was at the high end ofyour group's price scale Our products are sold exclusively through specialty audio shops typified by the PARA (Professional Audio Retailers Association) members who make up alarge part ofour distribution. Many of our dealers were around to have sold the L710s and L810s, and later the equally heralded L570, L780, and L1290. As lifestyles have

changed, so have our products. We now offer more upscale satellites and subwoofers (powered and passive), and feature fourth-order L.R., bi-wired, and multiple-board crossover networks, and the industry's only stainless-steel ultra-rigid voice-coils. Having always considered appearance another important element of the product's design, we incorporate both BraunDesign and frogdesign styling in our current line of products. We have flagship products, such as our M20 and M30 towers, designed for the music room, and have also paid careful attention to bringing this same sound quality to our home theater and whole-house musicsystem products, where we offer abroad range of upscale models.
The SAT 6's response dip at around 38001(Hz is caused not by acrossover-region artifact, but by the dimensional geometry ofthe front baffle and the tweeter location. It relates to achange in radiation resistance at that wavelength, which is nearly an octave above crossover. In fact, one of the benefits of the 4th-order filtering is to bury the inevitable crossover-region anomalies that occur in avery narrow and less audible bandwidth. The baffle-related dip is a0° issue and perceptually disappears when the speakers are aimed directly forward rather than toedin. We, ofcourse, recommend the former. The treble lift is alittle exaggerated in your measurement, but it is there by virtue ofthe fact that this speaker's crossover was tuned for its grille to be left on.
Both ofthese relate to the practical trade-offs adesign must incorporate for its target customers. The baffle dimensions are somewhat dictated by customer preference for style and utility. Larger dimensions, trapezoidal shapes, and vertical axis tilts can improve this phenomenon. We chose amore conservative shape while incorporating afloating isolated baffle and stainless-steel voice-coil, which helps remove some colorations, which may not appear in simple measurements, but most certainly can be heard, and appreciated when removed. The grille-on optimization is not the audiophile approach, but many ofour customers must deal with the three "K" words: Kids, Kats, and Kneighbors!
Finally, there is one very significant factual error repeated throughout the article The logo ofour company contains three virgules (a/ci/s/), not just two (a/d/s). These virgules are much more valuable than mere slashes. Isuspect the midget stole them!
JOHN R. BISHOP Executive Vice President, a/d/s/
PINNACLE PN8 -I- LOUDSPEAKER Editor: We wish to thank Stereophile and its contributors

STEREOPH1LE, M AY 1992

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for including the Pinnacle PN8+ speaker system in this issue's Battle ofthe Boxes. We are pleased that the panel found favor with anumber of the PN8+'s attributes. Especially, we are gratified to be further recognized for the cost/ performance ratio that has enabled the PN8+ to consistently command respect and customer loyalty in the marketplace when compared to its more costly competitors. Thank you also for your high praise ofour owner's manual. We find that anumber of customers call us for answers to questions or problems that they eventually admit could have been resolved themselves had they only read the manual! Stereophik's encouragement here is appreciated.
Careful reading ofTJN's and the rest ofthe Stereophik panel's comments brings us to the following observations:
We are generally impressed with the care taken toward the various approaches used in determining both objective and subjective findings about the speakers under test. We do feel, however, that in addition to the otherwise wellchosen musical selections used, arepresentative piece of well-done heavier rock would have more completely rounded out the listening tests. Although subject to debate as aviable test source, and certainly not everyone's cup of tea, we nonetheless recognize the importance ofthe rock experience to anumber ofmusic lovers; especially, perhaps, those considering apurchase in the lower realms of the price range covered by the article, which includes the PN8+. We certainly did take great pains in the design ofthe PN8+ to ensure that its performance also does truejustice to this aggressive musical genre, as well as accurately conveying the perhaps more natural characteristics of musical selections less dependent upon electronic signal manipulations.
Regarding the removal of the grillecloth entirely during TJN's individual session, and the generic grille used for all panel sessions in place ofeach speaker's original grille, we note the following: The grillecloth used for the PN8+ is an integral part ofthe system's design. Cloths used in the industry vary greatly in their acoustical and tactile properties. Some are more or less transparent, resilient, durable, deanable, etc. The PN8+ grilledoth acoustically provides akind of "atmosphere" through which the tweeter's output, in particular, must pass. The grille's acoustic resistance in the range of "sibilance-sensitive" frequencies helps diffuse and tailor the driver's output for optimal tonal balance. This filtering effect is accommodated by the crossover design. Ifnot for the grille's notable contribution to the overall balance ofhigh frequencies, the heart ofthe treble-range output would be 1-2dB too high. This is consistent with the fatigue over time registered by TJN

when listening for extended periods without the grille. It also helps explain TJN's stated slight preference for the PN8+'s performance during the panel sessions compared to his personal one, during which the grille was removed. We, of course, respect and understand the rationale behind using acommon screen for all speakers in place of the individual grilles for the panel sessions. We know that the PN8+'s response was probably changed slightly by this procedure, but so were all contestants subject to asimilar margin oferror, so the panel's work, in our view, was quite fair. Perhaps in future sessions, an exceptionally acoustically transparent (available at the expense of durability, which is not aconcern for the test conditions) cloth can be used over all subjects while their original grilles are left intact.
Again, we wish to thank the Stereophik staff for including our model PN8+ in its adventurous pursuit of those mystical qualities that somehow transform assorted cones and domes into audible vehicles capable of astonishing emotional transport.
RICHARD L. ROTHENBERG Designer, President, Pinnacle Loudspeakers KEF QI50 LOUDSPEAKER Editor: Thank you for the galley on the marathon speaker panel review involving the KEF Q60. We have never had one of our less expensive models reviewed by Stereophile, so we were pleased to have the opportunity and curious to see what the reception would be. To do so in ablind test is even more interesting.
KEF is pleased indeed with the positive comments and overall test scores from the panelists. The only criticism that was consistently raised was slight aggressiveness in the mid- to upper frequencies. As Tom Norton appropriately pointed out, these are boundary-balanced designs, intended to be placed near awall. Our view is that bookshelf speakers are most often used this way, so we balance it for optimum response near aboundary. The speakers in the test were "placed well away from nearby walls," so we believe this would vindicate the Q60s in those instances.
PETER HOAGLAND President, KEF Electronics SPICA SC-30 LOUDSPEAKER Editor: Aren't double-blind panel tests fun? Just kidding! Actually, it seems like it was quite amarathon undertaking, and Iam impressed with the thoroughness of your procedures throughout. And, ofcourse, Iam pleased with how well our SC-30 fared; Ionly wish that the version with the revised woofer had been used in the panel

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

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tests--oh well. When RH asked me on the phone what my
design goals were for the SC-30, Ireplied that it was to try to get aquart ofliquid out ofa pint jar; that is essentially the challenge ofdesigning an inexpensive speaker system.
JA noted a"wrinkle" in the impedance curve at 300Hz. Iagree that it is related to the midbass coloration noted, but it is afault of that old woofer more than abox resonance kshows up in free-air testing, too, and is anonlinearity in the spider. When he measures the latest version, he should find that the new woofer is free of it.
Oh, and about that sabbatical that Iam on: Apparently, "audio nerdism" (great phrase!) is acondition not easily shaken; Ihave decided to keep one foot firmly planted in the audio
world while investigating future hJoOriHzNonBs.AU
President, Spica
BLACK DAHLIA LOUDSPEAKER Editor: RL kindly asked me to provide a"Manufacturer's Comment" regarding the Black Dahlia. Let me, however, first dispel the notion that I'm amanufacturer. I'm not. Ihave no commercial ties to any of the Black Dahlia vendors and receive no royalties from its sale Yes, the Black Dahlia is my brainchild, but it was offered as apublic-domain DIY project for the benefit of audiophiles without fat bank accounts.
As RH described, the current version differs in two respects from the original design. The double-walled enclosure considerably enhances bass response via improved structural rigidity and damping ofpanel resonances. The original design had almost unbounded depth. Unfortunately, the prototype that participated in the Listening Panel tests looks like aBlack Dahlia on steroids, its front baffle being too wide for fleshing out soundstage depth. The new enclosure available from Just Speakers maintains anarrow perspective, essential for developing aconvincing illusion ofdepth. The foam cover for the front baffle was alast-minute experiment. And while the speaker measures better with it, early reflections from the foam reduce midrange transparency.
Second, the crossover network for the tweeter underwent aminor change To update the network, replace the 6ohm series resistor with a 5ohm/lOW value.
Being on this side of the fence is surely a weird experience The world ofaudio reviewing makes less sense from over here Ifeel like Alice must have felt when she slipped through that rabbit hole into Wonderland. Ifthe truth be known (with the results in front ofme), on that particular Sunday Isimply despised my
STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

own creation. Irated the Black Dahlia so low
that Iconsiderably slanted its final average score; it would have been much better offwithout me on the panel. With the digital program material and solid-state amplification Iwas
"forced" to listen to, my strategy was to reward
those speakers that made the sound most palatable.
DICK OLSHER Los Alamos, NM

UNITY AUDIO FOUNTAINHEAD

SIGNATURE LOUDSPEAKER

Editor:

About athird ofthe way into Sam Tellig's [April

1992] column, he says, 'What Ilove most about

Russians is how they give one another ahard

time. No one is more guilty of this than 1:' In

response to Sam's column, "What Ilove most

about Sam is that he brings great fun to audio."

When I"got into" audio about 15 years

ago--let's see, that was around 1977--audio

was really FUN! Maybe I'mjust missing it some-

how, but for the past several years things have

gotten awful serious. But getting back to Sam. ..

Sam has fin with audio. He has areputation

of, at times, evaluating equipment hastily--

both positively and negatively. He also admits

his guilt in giving Russians--and Iwill add to

that, "audio people"--a hard time. But he is

adedicated hobbyist (who, by the way, has one

razor-sharp sense of humor); impatience is a

common vice among people who are passion-

ate about their hobbies.

He was very impressed with the bass and the

tonal balance of the Fountainhead Signatures,

but goes on to say that "the soundstaging and

imaging, while good, could be better." He also

comments that others among his friends dis-

agree. It is the prevailing attitude among Unity

Audio lovers, and it is our feeling at Unity

Audio, that the Fountainhead Signature's great-

est strength is in this area. We believe that the

speakers are simply unmatched in the areas of

imaging and three-dimensionality. For some

reason, Sam apparently didn't have that reaction.

Ihave met Sam only once in person. He said

something to me that greatly impressed me

about his role as an audio reviewer: "I don't take

the attitude oftelling people what to buy. They

need to go out and listen and make decisions

based on their own ears. Ilike exposing them

to products that Imerely think are worthy of

their consideration!' He does so in away that

is very enjoyable to read. It brings back the

good old days of audio.

KATHY GROST

Marketing Manager, Unity Audio

DIY LOUDSPEAKER Editor: As designers of one of the DIY loudspeakers

reviewed in Vol.15 No.3, Alex Thornhill and Iwould like to add our thanks to those ofArthur Rosenblum at A&S for the generous amount oftime and effort put into the review. The comments were invaluable, the data was afeast, and to see our baby on the cover ofStereophile was agreat moment for us. It made abig difference to have Stereophile at the Sound-Off, and we
hope you will be there again next year. The DIY segment of the speaker market
seems to be avital and growing one. We think this is agood sign for the entire audio industry. Speaker Builder magazine offers many valuable articles for the speaker hobbyist, and those twisted individuals who'd like to learn more about rolling their own should try asubscription.
We'd like to add acomment or two in response
to the review. Amateur builders generally don't have the luxury of matching driver and crossover components; we pretty much have to work with what comes out of the box. That companies like Eton, Focal, and Morel can supply components ofconsistent quality is agreat
convenience for us, and no trivial accomplishment. Look at the griefit caused Nelson-Reed when their 8-04/CM system, reviewed in the same issue as the Sound-Off winners, used woofers just 0.5% out of spec.
Alex and Igot into experimenting with transmission lines about two years ago, much to thejoy ofthe American particleboard industry. The design ofthe Sound-Offwinner was
highly experimental, which makes Stereophile's measurements of the system doubly rewarding. The speakers you tested weren't totally finished; doing so would have made them too heavy to ship via UPS. The cost of shipping both ways by truck would have exceeded an uncertain prize!
Finishing includes filling the triangular voids with sand, covering the sides and top with 1/2"
oak-veneer plywood fastened with flexible adhesive, and applying acoustically absorbent materials to the front and rear baffles. These steps knock down the resonances mentioned in the review more than 12dB. Mounting the speakers with gaskets, which in our rush we forgot to do, also diminishes resonances.
To close, we'd like to thank Art Rosenblum and the staff at A&S, in particular Brian and Bruce, for all their help; thejudges--Ken Kantor, Keith Johnson, and Stereophile's own Corey Greenberg (yes, duuude, being least worst is very satisfying)--and lastly JA for what must have been many hours ofeffort. It meant alot to us. The Sound-Offexperience was nothing but fim from start to finish.
ROBERT J. SPEAR ALEX F. TitoRmtitt
Accokeek, MD

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

225

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ALABAMA Auburn Accurate Audio Route 5Box 57
ALASKA Anchorage Shimeks Audio 530 E Benson Blvd
ARIZONA Mesa Hi -Fi Sales 810 W. Main St Phoenix Sound Alternatives 4126 E. Lewis Sounds Like Music Real HiFi Systems 2734 W. Bell Rd #1306 Scottsdale Esoteric Audio 4120 N. Marshall Way #1 Shakespeare Beethoven Scottsdale Gallena 4343 N. Scottsdale Rd Tucson Wilson Audio 2900 E Broadway
ARKANSAS Little Rock Creative Sight 8Sounds 400 N. Bowman #8-3 River City Compact Disc 10700 Rod Parham
CALIFORNIA Alameda Record Gallery 1510 Webster St Anaheim Laser Plus 3050 W Lincoln Ave #D Bakersfield World Records 3741 Columbus Ave Berkeley Audio Chamber 1717B University Ave CD World 1573 Solano Ave DB Audio 2573 Shattuck Ave Canoga Park Shelly's Stereo 6836 De Soto Ave Upscale Audio 8381 Canoga Ave Carmichael Deetes Sound Room 5825 Manzanita Ave #4 Stereo One 6650 Fair Oaks Blvd Carson Josie Devera 22016 Hansom Ave Costa Mesa Upscale Audio 1835 Newport Blvd Covina Hot Rocks 205 N. Citrus Ave Culver City Armadillo 8Company 5795 W. Washington Blvd

Daly City Audio Vision 55 First Ave

Sacramento Audio Fo 3019 DSt

West Sacramento Mts Inc /Tower Magazines 2500 Del Monte Bldg C

Jacksonville House of Stereo 3505 Southside Blvd #10

Encinitas

Paradyme Audio/Video

Westminster

Madeira Beach

North County Stereo Vision 1720 Fulton Ave

Audio Today

Book Nook of Madeira

131 N. El Camino Real Encino All American Newsstand 18001 Ventura Blvd Sound Factor West 17265 Ventura Blvd Fairfield C8M Stereo Unlimited 2020 N. Texas Fremont Stop. Look 8Listen Century Plaza 710 Mowry Ave MD Gardena Reference Audio Systems 18214 Dalton Ave Hollywood World Book and News 1652 Cahuenga Blvd Inglewood Korea Electronics Industries Alrod International 345 N Oak St Irvine Soundquest 4255 Campus Dr #116 Leucadia MUSIC by the Sea 542 N. Hwy 101
Los Angeles Avone Electronics 8414 W. Third
L.A. Audio Video 101 S. Western Ave Paris Audio 12401 Wilshire Blvd #103 Upscale Audio 330 N. La Cienega Blvd Monrovia Brooks Berdan 110 W. Olive Ave Mountain View Sound Goods 391 San Antonio Rd

San Diego Stereo Design 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd

14306 Beach Blvd Woodland Hills Laser's Edge

15029 Madeira Way Miami Audio by Caruso

Stereo Unlimited 3191 Sports Arena Blvd San Francisco America's Legal Bookstores

20929 Ventura Blvd #24 Wilson Audio Video
Entertainment 20044 Ventura Blvd

13831 S. Dixie Hwy Audio Plus 6214 S Dixie Hwy Disctronics Corp.

360 Golden Gate Ave

2315 NW 107th Ave

Sounds Alive

COLORADO

Joe's News

731 Florida St

Boulder

1549 Sunset Dr

Stereo Plus 2201 Market St

ADSystems

Sound Components

2525 Arapahoe Ave 5E4-284 11927 G Dixie Hwy

Ultimate Sound

Eads News 8Smoke Shop Tampa

141 Kearny St

1715 28th St

Audi() Visions South

San Jose Books, Inc. 420 Town 8Country Village Paradise Sound 860 S. Winchester
San Luis Obispo Audio Ecstasy 786 Higuera St Big Music 723 Higuera St Santa Barbara Audio Vision #1 612 N. Milpas St Mission Audio 215 W. Mission St

Listen Up 2034 E Arapahoe Stereo-Image 1939 Pearl St Colorado Springs Listen Up #3 230 N Tejon Sound Shop 528 S Telon Denver Listen Up #2 999 S Logan St Second Sound 1875 S Broadway
Sound Hounds 1575 S Pearl

3953 W Kennedy Blvd
GEORGIA Marietta Audio Atlanta 19 Atlanta St Music Audio 2100 Roswell Rd NE #400-L Stereo 8Video Systems 1253 Powers Ferry Rd Martinez Stereo Shoppe 104 Chamilla Ave Tucker Audio Solutions 4880 Lawrenceville Hwy

Santa Cruz

US Tech

Cymbaline Records 1336 Brommer St #A9
Lenz Arts 142 River St

111 S Madison Englewood Gold Sound 4285 S Broadway

HAWAII Honolulu Audio Direction 3184A Waialae Ave

Santa Monica

Fort Collins

Optimal Enchantment

Ovation

522 Santa Monica (by appt.) 236 S College

Shelley's Stereo 1520 Wilshire Blvd

Westminster Westminster Newsstand

Santa Rosa

5088 W 92nd Ave

Sawyer's News

733 Fourth St

CONNECTICUT

ILLINOIS Barrington Stereo Images 718 W. Northwest Hwy
Champaign Glenn Poor's Audio Video 114 W. Church

North Hollywood Levity Distributors 6850 Vineland Ave re Palm Springs David Rutledge Audio 675 N. Palm Canyon Dr Palo Alto Audible Difference 805 El Camino Real
Western Audio Imports 4191 El Camino Real Pasadena Canterbury Records 805 E. Colorado Blvd GNP Audio Video

Sausalito Music by Design 107 Caledonia St
Simi Valley House of Audio/Video 1970-4 Sequoia Torrance Stereo Hi Fi Center 22926 Hawthorne Blvd
Tustin The Digital Ear 13011 Newport Ave #100 Twain Harte Village Tunes 18711 Tiffeni

Bristol Sound Unlimited 169 Church St
Danbury Carston Stereo 146 Old Brookfield Rd Middleton Madrigal Audio Lab 2081 S. Main St New Haven Take Five 105 Whitney Ave New London Roberts 90 Bank St

Record Service 621 E. Green St Chicago Sound Choice 928 W Diversey Pkwy Superior Audio Systems 833 N. Milwaukee Evanston Chicago Main Newsstand 860 Chicago Ave Mt. Morris Walden Books 4279 W RI 64 Murphysboro Sabin Audio

1254 E Colorado Blvd Reseda Variety Newsstand 18456 Sherman Way Riverside Speaker Craft 1650 Seventh St

Upland Audio Haven 1937 W 11th St MG Van Nuys Audio Den 15600 Roscoe Blvd

FLORIDA Clearwater Rising Sounds 28901 US 19 N. Fort Pierce Sound Insights 2302 S US #1

1313 South St Peoria Sound of Peoria 105 E Arcadia Rockford Absolute Audio 4227 Maray Dr

Roseville Dimple Records 1701 Santa Clara Dr

Vernon Kinergetics 4260 Charter St

Fort Lauderdale Audio Center 4134 N. Federal Hwy

Saint Charles Audiophile of St Charles 411 S. Second St

Rowland Heights Audio Best 2411 S. Joel Dr

Westminster Upscale Audio 15251 Beach Blvd

Hollywood Hollywood Sound 523 S. 21st Ave

Schaumburg Hi Fi Hutch 879 S. Roselle Rd

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

'27

Springfield King's Stereo 225 Highland Ave
INDIANA Indianapolis Tone Studio 820 E 64th SI World Record Shoppe 5218 Keystone Cl Ye Olde Hi Fi Shoppe 824 E 64th St
IOWA Bettendorl Sound Environments 2304 Spruce Hills Dr Davenport Audio Odyssey 1718 E Kimberly Rd Des Moines Audio Logic 5733 Urbandale Ave Iowa City Hawkeye Audio 401 S Gilbert St
KANSAS Wichita Compact DISC Center 7825 E Harry Custom Sound 830 S Hillside
KENTUCKY Louisville Four Seasons Records 36368 Brownsboro Rd Chenoweth Plaza
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge Art Colleys
Audio Specialties 711 Jefferson Hwy New Orleans Octave's Super Newsstand 112 University PI Wilson Audio 8001 Maple St West Monroe The Orbit Exchange 2324-A Cypress St
MAINE Kennebunkport Record Rendezvous 6York SI
MARYLAND Baltimore Playing by Ear 5615 Belair Rd Record Masters 711 W. 40th St Soundscape 406 W Cold Spring Ln Burtonsville JS Audio 15454 Old Columbia Pike Ellicott City Gramophone 9005 Chevrolet Kensington Sound works 10534 Connecticut Ave Laurel High Tech Service
8 Exchange 14209 Baltimore Ave Lutherville Gramophone 10801 Tony Or Rockville Absolutely Sound! 833 E Rockville Pike Silverspring Capitol Classics Nemstand 14446 Layhill Rd

Towson An Die Musik One Investment Pl.
Annex Bldg
MASSACHUSETTS Boston Looney Tunes Records 1106 Boylston St Cambridge Briggs 8Briggs 1270 Massachusetts Ave Looney Tunes II 1001 Massachusetts Ave 0Audio 95 Vassar St Everett Everett Music Shop 30 Norwood St Framingham Natural Sound 401 Worcester Rd North Dartmouth Sound II 576 State Rd Northampton Sound and Music 351 Pleasant St Peabody Clearly Audible 255 Andover St Pittsfield HBS Stereo Systems 237 First St Salisbury Tape World E Main St Worcester O'CoiAs 239 Mill St
MICHIGAN Ann Arbor SK R Classical 539 E Liberty Dearborn Almas Hi -Fi Stereo 15031 Michigan Ave East Detroit Audio Illusions 17920 Ten Mile Rd East Lansing Jemstone Audio 2800 E Grand River Ave Ferndale Imagery 2907 Horton Lansing Contemporary Audio 3800 W Saginaw
Rochester Audio Video Systems 3250 Rochester Rd Royal Oak Audio Dimensions 4128 N Woodward Ave Saginaw Listening Room a2 1305 Court St Traverse City The Sound Room 1319 S Airport
MINNESOTA Hopkins Audio Video Dimensions 1011 E Excelsior Blvd Hi End Audio 740 11th Ave S Minneapolis HiFi Sound Electronics 1226 Harmon PI Roseville Digital Only 1637 W County Rd ·'C"

MISSOURI Blue Springs Seventh Heaven 600 S Seven Hwy Columbia Keith Audio Group 10 W Nifong Blvd Kansas City Primus Audio 1104 Baltimore
Superstore 7621 Troost St. Louis Best Sound Company 227 N Lindbergh Blvd Flip's Stereo Place 9556 Watson Rd Great St Louis Sound Co 1341 S. Lindbergh 7/1
NEBRASKA Omaha Stereo West 7425 Dodge SI
NEVADA Las Vegas O&M Custom Home Audio 3421 E Tropicana Ave aJ Stereo Plus 4449 W Flamingo Rd Tiger Tech 1550 E Tropicana Ave Union Premiums 1325 E Flamingo Rd Reno High End Stereo 959 W. Moana Ln
NEW HAMPSHIRE Hanover Camera Shop of Hanover 47-51 S Main St Dartmouth Bookstore 33 S. Main St Nashua Audio Ensemble 419 Amherst St
NEW JERSEY Marlton Hi Fi Connection RD 1. At 73 Millburn Professional Audio
Consultants 182 Essex St Morristown Sight 8Sound 60 Speedwell Ave South Street Stereo 20 South St Northfield Sound Inc 900 Tilton Rd Nutley Deboer 113 E Centre St Princeton, US Rt 1 Woodbridge Stereo Center Princeton Forrestal Village 127 Village Blvd Ridgewood Sounding Board 75 Franklin Ave Trenton Halo Stereo 8Video US At 1at Texas Ave Verona Audio Connection 615 Bloomfield Ave Westfield Stuart's Audio 544 North Ave E. Woodbridge Woodbridge Stereo Center 751 Amboy Ave

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque Absolute Audio Store 1540A Tramway Blvd NE

Patchogue Square Deal Radio
8Television 456 Waverly Ave

Hudson's Audio Center 7611 Menaul Blvd NE Page One Newsstand 11200 Montgomery Blvd NE
Santa Fe The Candyman 851 St Michaels Dr Downtown Subscription 376 Garcia St Galiotes News 201 Galisteo St Garcia Street Books 376 Garcia St Rare Bear 1303 Corrillos Rd

Pleasantville Audio Excellence 343 Manville Rd
Rochester Fairport Soundworks 3400 Monroe Ave Paul Heath Audio 217 Alexander Rowe Audio 1737 Mt Hope
Sound Concepts 2314 Monroe Ave
Rockaway Park Hi Fi Classics 115-09 Rockaway Beach Blvd Scarsdale Listening Room

590 Central Park Ave

NEW YORK Albany Altair Audio 1980 Central Ave Records NSuch Stuyvesant Plaza Binghamton JSG Audio 1437 Front St Buffalo Speaker Shop 3604 Main St Great Neck Discriminating Ear 937 Northern Blvd
Jamaica Rat HiFi/Stereo JFK Airport, Bldg 80 Lake Grove Audio Den Smith Haven Plaza 2021 Nesconset Hwy Lake Ronkonkoma Record Connection 484 Hawkins Ave Latham Clark Music In Albany 1075 Troy Schenectady Rd Liverpool Audio Excellence NY

Stonybrook Esoteric Sound Systems Coventry Commons
RI 347 Syracuse Clark Music 2922 Erie Blvd E High Tech 615 S. Main St Superior Sight 8Sound 2780 Erie Blvd E West Babylon Audio Visions 1067 Montauk Hwy
NORTH CAROLINA Boone Mr Audio 809 Blowing Rock Rd Cary Advanced Audio 1263 Kildaire Farm Rd Durham Audio Visions 4600 Chapel Hill Blvd Pineville Higher Fidelity 10201 Rodney St Raleigh Audio Advice 3532 Wade Ave

4974 Alexis Dr

OHIO

Signature Sound 8409-8 Shallow Creek Rd Lynbrook

Centerville Stereo Showcase 495 MSBG Cent Rd

American Audiophile Trading Corp.
373 Sunrise Hwy Merrick Performance Audio 2064 Sunrise Hwy Mount Kisco Accent on Music 175 Main St
Fox 8Sutherland 15 S. Moger Ave Manuel Eardrum Audio 8Video 148 E Rt 59 New York Dina Magazines 270 Park Ave S. Electronic Workshop 10 E 8th St JAR Music World 23 Park Row Lync Hi -Fi 1221 Lexington Ave The Magazine Store 30 Lincoln Plaza

Cincinnati Stereo Lab 4582 Montgomery Stereo Lab Cl 11419 Princeton Rd Cleveland The Sound Resource 12621 Larchmere Rd Columbus For The Record 1386 Grandview Ave Needle in aHaystack 2384 Wellesley Ln Progressive Audio 1764 N. High St Stereo Lab 2244 Neil Ave Fairborn Audio Etcetera 2616 Col Glenn Hwy Findlay House of Hindenach 830 N Main St Lakewood Play It Again Sam

Park Avenue Audio 425 Park Ave S Sound By Singer 18 E. 16th St

12611 Madison Ave Lyndhurst Hi-Tech Hi Fi F. Video 5280 Mayfield Rd

228

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

Toledo Boogie Records 3301 W. Central Jamiesons' 5431 Monroe University Heights Atlantis Home
Entertainment Systems 2220 Warrensville Rd
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City Audio Dimensions 10407 N. May Ave Tulsa its AClassic 4423 E. 31st St K-Labs Audio 4715 E. 41st The Phonograph Ltd. 5150 S. Memorial all
OREGON Corvallis Northwest Audio Labs 1557 NW Monroe Portland High Fidelity Unlimited 1428 SE 36th Ave Sixth &Washington News 617 SW Washington St
PENNSYLVANIA Ardmore Dandy Radio 15 W. Lancaster Ave Berwyn Soundex 747 Berwyn Ave Erie Custom Audio 1550 W. 26th St Harrisburg IPD. Distribution Services 2323 Woodlawn St Jenkintown The Stereo Trading Outlet 320 Old York Rd Kingston Summit Audio 569 Pierce St Philadelphia Chestnut Hill Audio 149 N. Third Sound Service Company 8010 Bustleton Ave Pittsburgh Audio Options 5824 Forbes Ave Mook's Audio 3047 W. Liberty Ave Selinsgrove Stereo ShoPPe 19 N. Market St Willow Grove Soundex 1100 Easton Rd
PUERTO RICO Hato Rey Nova Electronics Calle Guayama de Leon
yMuñoz Rivera San Juan Novo Audio Covadonga 104 #300
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia Sound Advice 2821 Ashland Rd Greenville American Audio 597 Haywood Rd Rock Hill Record Cellar Rock Hill Galeria 2301 Dale Lyle Blvd #192

TENNESSEE Knoxville Hi Fi House 8373 Kingston Pike $900 Memphis Underground Sound 2125 Central Ave Nashville Cumberland Audio 4119 Hillsboro Rd Nicholson's Stereo 115 19th Ave S.
TEXAS Abilene Off The Wall Records 1509 S. 14th St Amarillo Don's Hi-Fidelity 7402 W. 34th St Sound Systems 2502 Paramount Arlington Texas Audio 4211 S. Cooper #111 Austin Audio Systems 3800 N. Lamar Cochran Corp 2830 Real St Dallas Audio Insight 13929 N. Central Expary
#G441 Krystal Clear Audio 4433 McKinney Ave Omni Sound 19120 Preston Rd Preston Trail Audio 17194 Preston Rd #159 Shakespeare Beethoven Gallena #3200 El Paso Soundquest 6800 Gateway E. HID Houston Audio Concepts 2200 Southwest Fwy Esoteric Ear 13158 Veteran's Memorial
Pkwy The Groove Audio Video 2624 Westheimer Lubbock The Sound Wave Salem Village 4601 S Loop 289 #13 Mesquite MJM Audio 1515 Towne E. Blvd #197
UTAH Salt Lake City Audition Audio 2144 Highland Dr
VERMONT Burlington Sound Effects 92 Church St South Burlington Audio Den 100 Dorset St
VIRGINIA Arlington Needle In AHaystack Ballston Metro Center 901 N. Stuart St Centreville Gifted Listener Audio 5720 Pickwick Rd Falls Church Audio Buys 5177 Lisberg Pike The Sound Exchange 228 W. Broad St

Richmond Audio Art 2215 Broad St Virginia Beach Digital Sound 6477 College Park Sq
WASHINGTON Bellevue Eastside Daily Planet News 156600 NE Eighth #33 Hawthorne Stereo 2 13107 Northup Way Port Townsend Quimper Sound 901 Water St Seattle Bulldog News 4208 University Way NE Definitive Audio 6017 Roosevelt Way NE University Bookstore 4326 University Way NE
WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown Sound Investments 467 High St South Charleston Absolute Sound 4008 MacCorkle Ave
WISCONSIN Cudahy Cudahy News &Hobby 4758 S Packard Ave Glendale Sound Investments 2500 W Silver Spring Dr Madison University Audio 402 S. Park St Wisconsin Rapids Salon I 2551 Eighth St S
CANADA National Distributor DeWinton, Alberta Ruehle Marketing Box 24. Site One, RR1
ALBERTA Calgary The Boutique of Sound 1333 Eighth St SW KW Audio 344 17th Ave SW Loyalty Sound 1107 Eighth St SW Sounds of Music 220 Seventh Ave SW Edmonton Audio Ark 10746A 124th St Audio Plus 9934 82nd Ave Medicine Hat Sounds Fantastic 222 S Railway St SE
BRITISH COLUMBIA Coquitlam Austin Books 1105 Austin Ave Kelowna M.A. Audio 453 Bernard Ave Richmond Book Warehouse 6340-9 No 3Rd Vancouver Book Warehouse 632 W Broadway 1150 Robson St Sikora's Classical Records 432 W. Hastings St

The Soundroom 2803 W Broadway Victoria Sweet Thunder Records 575 Johnson SI
MANITOBA Winnipeg Creative Audio 214 Osborne St S
NOVA SCOTIA Halifax Atlantic News 6650 Morris St
ONTARIO Chatham Absolute Sound 725 St. Clair St Concord Audio One 3200 Steeles Ave W Essex Audio Two 5Frances Cl Hamilton McMaster University
Bookstore 1280 Main St W. Thompson's Select Audio 610 Upper James St Village Audio--Westdale 1059 King St W. #2 Kingston House of Sounds 277 Princess St Vern Napier's Cameras 333 Princess St London Multimag 150 Dundas St #3 Mississauga Laserland 2200 Dundas St E North Bay Popular Audio 144 Main St W. Oakville Oakville Audio 2347 Lakeshore Rd W #3 Ottawa Distinctive Audio 903 Carting Ave Euphonies Audio &Video 685 Bank St Stereo Trading Post 242 1/2 Bank St Peterborough The Audio Room 300 George St N. Rexdale Audio Empire 1003 Albion Rd Richmond Hill American Sound 9108 Yonge St Sudbury Total Sight &Sound 818 Barrydown Rd Thornhill Stereo Factory 7616 Yonge St Timmins Professional Sound 175 Third Ave Toronto Brack Electronics 69 Front St E. Disticor 155 Gordon Baker Rd a213 Great National Sound 615 Queen St W. L'Atelier Grigorian 70 Yorkville Ave

Toronto Home of Audiophile
71 McCaul St #E8/E9 Waterloo Soundstage 59 Regina St N Whitby Whitby Audio Video 233 Brock St S QUEBEC Anjou Son-Or 7339 St-Zotique Montréal Opus Audio 5181 boul Décane Québec CO RA 131-18 Rue E Ste-Foy ROTAC électronique 2873 Chemin Ste-Foy
AUSTRALIA National Distributor Hawthorne, 3122 Victoria Audio 0Imports 544 Burwood Rd. lot Floor Pinmai Hi -Fi &Video Westfield Shopping Town #54 Burwood Rd. Burwood Melbourne, Victoria McGill's Authorised News 187 Elizabeth St
AUSTRIA National Distributor Vienna 1150 Sound Unlimited Diefenbachg 54/10
BELGIUM 8-3500 Hasselt Ghiisens Hi Fi Collection Sint Truidersteenweg 12-14
BERMUDA Hamilton INN International 61 Church St
CROATIA Split 58000 Media Audio Trogirskih Zrtava 1
DENMARK National Distributor Graestad Matrix Bylyngen 4. Blistrup Copenhagen Hi -Fi Entusiasten Tagensvei 162 KT Radio Vesterbrogade 179-181 Aalborg KT Radio Noerregade 19-21 Aarhus Cilia Hi -Fi Ny Munkegade 65 KT Radio M PBruunsgade 36
GERMANY National Distributor Frankfurt Audio International Gonzenheimer Str 2b

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

229

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GREECE National Distributor Athens Videorythmos 6Sivitanidou St 176 76 Kallithea Musicompact 293 Kifissias Ave Crete Audio &Visual Co 3Zografou St Thessaloniki Audio Hall 2DeIliou St
HONG KONG The Sound Chamber Dina House #1001 11 Duddell St YK Audio Ltd Room 203, Man Yee Bldg 60 Des Voeux Rd YK Audio Ltd 248 Ocean Terminal Kowloon
IRELAND National Distributor County of Dublin Cloney Audio 55 Main St Blackrock

ICELAND National Distributor 125 Reykjavik Stein' HF S Danielsson Skulagata 61
ITALY Lucca 55100 Sound 8Music Via Mazzarosa 125
JAPAN National Distributor Tokyo AXISS Corporation 210 New Kokusai Bldg 3-4-1 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-Ku
MALAYSIA National Distributor 60000 Kuala Lumpur The Sound Stage Sdn Bhd 10 Jln Tun Mohd Food 2Taman Tun Dr Ismael
MEXICO National Distributor Mixcoac 1384 Mexico 19, DF Diseño Activo, SA Blvd Adolfo Lopez Mateos

NETHERLANDS National Distributor 2611 RV Delft Tannoy Netherlands Ezelsveldlaan 52 Amsterdam RAF HiFi Stereo Rgnstraat 142-150
NEW ZEALAND National Distributor Petone, Wellington DR Brinon 3Sydney St
SINGAPORE National Distributor Stereophile Audio 1Coleman St #04-40/45 The Adelphi Singapore 0617
SOUTH KOREA Seoul Korea Electronics CPO 1369
SPAIN National Distributor Valencia Sarte Audio Elite Padre Jot re. 22

SWEDEN
National Distributor Stockholm 11438 HiFi Art Grey Turegatan 24

UNITED KINGDOM
National Distributor Wilstead, Bedford Moth Market'nq 10 Dane Ln

SWITZERLAND Geneva Hi-Fi Portier 11 Rue Verdaine

Glasgow G2 Music Room 98 Bath St London Audio T 190 West End Ln

TAIWAN National Distributor

Douglas Brady Hi Fi 18 Monmouth St Covent Garden

Taipei Audio Vertex 4F No 2141 Ln Chung Shan N Road Sec

KJ Letsuresound 26 New Cavendish St

7

Manchester Music Room

50 Bridge St

THAILAND

Reading Barks

Bangkok

Reading Hi Fi

Focal

Harris Arcade. Friar St

207 Bangkok Bazaar

Rapdamn Rd Future Land Amann Plaza, 3rd Fl Pleonchit Rd Pathumwan, Rumpinee SM8M Marketing Co Peninsula Plaza, 3rd Fl

WEST INDIES JAMAICA Kingston Dataline Equipment
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153 Raiadamn Rd

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Technica AT6020 Cartridge Analyzer with Test Record (new in box). The last word in turntable setup for an individual or astore. With this and an oscilloscope you
can correctly set up any cartridge-arm combination. Limited supply-5350 postpaid. Send money order to: P.O. Box 8571, La Crescenta, CA 91224-0571.
"KNOW THY MUSIC." Decades ago these words were carved in vinyl. Know thy music. These words are the beginning of High End. In them lies the single hope of victory over audiophiles' newest enemy, digitized music. This knowledge is now within our grasp. Will we use it to purchase the new Audio Alchemy Analog Decoding Engine (ADE)* and rid the world of digititis? Let us hope. Only $229!!! (*Under exclusive license from Allegro Sound.) Allegro Sound /AudioWorks, 15015 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403, (818) 377-5264 anytime.
SAN DIEGO AREA: Hales, SOTA, and Epik speakers, CAT tube preamps (new Signature), Coda and Symphonic Line, Enlightened Audio processor (Wow!). Passive preamps, Cardas, XLO, Siltech, other cables. Benz, Sound Anchor, Combak damping devices. Auditions by appointment. Audio Archives, (619) 455-6326.
MINNESOTA--ARCICI, AUDIOPRISM, BEDINI, Bright Star, CD Stabilizer in stock, German Acoustics, Kalglo, LAST, MIT, P.A.C., Proton, Regs, RoomTune, Royd Audio, Shahinian, Sims, Sumiko, Sumo, VPI, van den Hul, Well-Tempered, LPs and CDs, and more audio
components of uncompromising quality. Audition Audio, by appointment, (612) 331-3861.
PARADIGM COMPACT MONITORS, black, $450; NAD 1600 preamp/tuner, with remote, $275; Adcom
GFA-535 amplifier, $175; Denon DCD-620 CD player, $130. All original packing, mint condition. (908) 389-2846 after 5:30pm EST, (908) 544-6438 day£

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

233

A_uAcº_1-1ªven Fine Audio Components
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AUDIO UNLIMITED in Colorado offers the finest values

in the Rocky Mountain area. Authorized dealer for: Acous-

tic Energy, Acrotec, Air Tight, Aural Symphonies, Benz-

Micro, Bitwise Music System One Mk.II and Zero,

Chario, Coda, Dynavector, The Ensemble System prod-

ucts, Ikeda, JM Labs, Lazarus, Magnum Dynalab, Musical

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amps and Model stellar Cosmos!),

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Triplanar arm, and more.. .CallJohn Barnes, 2343 W. Yak

Ave., Englewood, CO 80110 (303) 698-0138, or Fax (303)

922-0522.

AUDIO BEST LA., Orange, San Bernardino, California. Hot components: Celestion 100, TARA Labs, Counterpoint SA-100/220, PS, Audible Illusions Modulus, Music Concepts, Mod Squad, Acoustat, Spica Angelus, VMPS, Magnum, Fosgate, B&K, Superphon, Music Reference,
Rauna, Sound-Lab, Grado, Monster, Straight Wire, AudioQuest. (714) 861-5413. Appt.

PROAC RESPONSE II, $1900, other components available. (213) 254-6140, 12pm-9pm PST

MISSOURI: Ftotel, Conrad-Johnson, Gradient, Surniko, Arcici, Alphason, Snell, IDOS, B&W, Superphon, DCM, Cary Audio Design, Mod Squad, Sound Anchors, CV/D, Carver, Magnum Dynalab, Spica, RoomTune, White Swan
Recordings, SME, Esoteric, Sheffield Labs, AKG, Sanos,
Quad, B&O, and more AND MORE. Keith Audio Group, 10 W Nifong Blvd., Columbia, MO 65203, (314)875-8099, appointments suggested.

"SOUND YOU CAN TOUCH," featuring: Acurus, Apogee, Audio Alchemy, AudioQuest, Cary Audio,
Classé Audio, Enlightened Audio, Grado, Koetsu, McCormack, Magnum Dynalab, Music Metre, Power Wedge, ProAc, Straight Wire, Target, Well-Tempered,
XLO cables. Custom cable terminations. Audio Excellence, Liverpool, NY, (315) 451-2707. Visa/MC/Amex.

B&K M-200s, $1350; Lazarus Basic preamp, $295; Nakamichi Dragon, $1350; Pioneer Laserdisc CLD-1070,
$315. (703) 264-1862; call between 6pm-10pm EST

FERRITE FILTERS ON SALE! Stop RF interference for better sound. Blockers clamp on all cables up to lOrrun (3/s") thick, $10/pair. Big Blockers accept cables up to
13.5mm (V?) thick, $19.95/pair. Shipping $3. Blocken, 409 N. Pacific Coast Highway #106, Suite 300, Redondo Beach, CA 90277, (310) 543-1851.

SEQUERRA MET7 Mk.II, Arcici stands, $450. Indiana, (812) 663-5237 afternoons.

BRUCE MOORE AUDIO DESIGN: The former designer of MFA, Audible illusions, and Precision Fidelity,
with 29 years of vacuum-tube experience, producing a number ofnew products. For information, write 11MAD,
4046 Ashbrook Circle, Sanfose, CA 95124, or call (408) 3773580 or Fax (408) 377-4911. Dealers' and importers'
inquiries are also welcome.

AUDIO DESIGNS: Offers best sound in the Bay Area. AudioQuest, Amblé, Bruce Moore Audio Designs, Chesky, Enlightened Audio Design (EAD), Eminent
Technology, 'timber Kable, Kinergetics Research, Quad, Reference Recordings, XL0, plus other new and used. We will take trades and cash. (408) 377-3580

VORTEX KRS SPEAKERS, white, $1800; Muse 150
monoblock amps, latest, SN 927869/70, $1650, negotiable, all mint. (803) 327-4849 anytime.

APT/HOLMAN PREAMP, mint condition with all packaging and manuals, $300; Robertson Forty-Ten amp, excellent condition, $400. (317) 356-0685.

VPI HW-19 JR with platter from Model 19, AudioQuest tonearm and AQ 404iMH cartridge, $900. Ask for Larry, (503) 640-4446.

TEFLON' CAPACITORS! Capacitor Specialty presents
The Competition: Component Research Teflon* capa-
citors--the finest dielectric material, film/foil construction, OFC leads, 400/600V potentials, patented lead termina-
tions for lowest ESR. Outstanding signal resolution? The best, bar none. Capacitor Speriahy, 226 Westcourt Place, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2R7, Canada. (519) 746-8520

KRELL SBP32X DIA, AT&T glass input, $2500; Krell MD-1 custom transport. AT&T output, $4000; Cardas
Hodink Gold balanced interconnect, $275. (215)662-1993.

YANKEE FFtP-72 Mk.II, full-range planar speakers,
Satine hardwood, perfect with shipping crates, $4175 + shipping. (803) 524-1902, phone or Fax.

THRESHOLD 350E, used 2months, $3200. Allen, (718) 476-1834 NY, 6-9pm, or leave message.

IRS VSYSTEM: 1of3custom-made by Infinity in handrubbed gloss lacquer, custom Manley (VTL) Ref 500 amps/preamp, Cosmos TT/SME V/Sumiko cartridge, cable, more. $90k value, sell $75k. Includes shipping. Flawless condition. Call (714) 654-1471.

sCaOrNARPAaDno-rJamOaHspNeaSkeOrNs,

MOTIF amp, tube preamp; custom finish, Anchor stands,

VTL tube CD player, black SOTA vacuum Ti7The

Ann/AQ cartridge, Straight Wire/Monster cable. $10k

new, sell $6k. Includes shipping. Call (7/4) 654447/.

STOP BUYING OVERPRICED JUNK! We have avail-
able most of the finest audio tubes ever made. Amperex,
Gold Lion, Mullard, Telefunken, military and industrial types, etc. Only the real thing. Call for current stock. Enlightened Audio, 63 92 Park Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92645, (714) 897-2631.

ECLECTIC AUDIO is pleased to present 'Clyne Audio
Arts to the Puget Sound music lover. This includes the new Dragonfly Wings interconnects. For alistening audition in arelaxed atmosphere, call (206) 776-1158.

B&K M-200s, $1000/pair; NYAL Minuet in A, $250. (616) 453-566&

GENE RUBIN AUDIO--LOS ANGELES: Come see us at the Stereophile show in L.A.! Roksan, Nairn, Spendor,
Ftega, Creek, Epos, Rotel, ProAc, JPW, Castle, Target,
Sumiko, 0C-9, Sound Organisation. Always lots of used gear! (8/8) 307-6467.

QUICKSILVER PREAMP, $1100; Classé DR-5, $1450; Wadia X-32, $1000. Call (503) 698-4044 PST

SONY 608ESD CD PLAYER with Audio Advisor mods Smooth highs, deep soundstage, coax digital output, mint,
$600. Call.)ay, (203) 228-2036 evenings.

MERIDIAN 602, $1949; 606 DIA, S1795. Jerry, (216) 449-8495.

PS AUDIO 15 preamp with M-500 power supply, mint condition, $750 including shipping. (408) 946-7075, CA.

VTL "INTEGRATOR" LINE PREAMPLIFIER, mint, $195. (5/0) 655-9538.

SS--I WANT IT ALL AND IWANT IT NOW--SS--at
aprice Ican afford! So Audio Research and Krell are pretty good, right? But also pretty expensive. Try the best ofboth
worlds in aprice-busting way! Convert your Hafler, B&K, Adcom, or other amp to TUBE hybrid design. We convert into mono pairs, too. Three-year warranty. Design by Greg Miller, (818) 982-6477 Lazarus Tube-Hybrid Conversions: $799.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

235

CELESTION SL600Si, $995; Celegion SLSi 24" stands, $225; in original boxes. Call (212) 489-6545.
YAMAHA DSP-3000, $600; Sony 200W power amplifier, TA-N77ES, $800. Both are in excellent condition. (908) 889-9342.
Hl-FI CLASSICS--SELECT USED HIGH-END components bought/sold/traded. Inventory list available Helpful, competent sales department. The best prices in any town!! Tel: (718) 318-9618, Fax: (718) 318-9623.
APOGEE CENTAUR, list $1695, sell $1150; VTL 80W monoblocks with 2extra tube sets, list $2400, sell $1300; Nakamichi CD2, list $800, sell $475. All new in boxes with warranties. Alton, (309) 454-2881, after 5pm CST
B&W MATRIX 800, 801, 802, 803, 804, 805 OWNERS: Would you like to improve on the great sound you already have? Try apair of "Golden Flutes" byJPS Labs, anecessity for your B&Ws. Please query your B&W dealer or call (716) 822-0159 anytime.
CONRAD-JOHNSON PV-10 PREAMP, like new, $650. Call Ron, (709) 272-1250.
MIRAGE M-1 SPEAKER, incredible three-dimensional sound quality, like new, $3150. Call Ron, (609) 646-2200
AUDIO ALCHEMY (3 pieces) Decoding Engine, high current (Power Station One power supply), and Clearstream Digital cable, $375. PA, (215) 567-4626.
CONFtAD-JOHNSON MV-100 200W tube amplifier, like new, with warranties, $2100. Call Ron, (609) 272-1250
DAYTON-WRIGHT XG8 Mk.II speaker system with ST-300A bias supply, needs work, $600; IQS 401-LX Fast Fourier Transform Analyzer software and manuals, $750. Larry Simons, (904) 724-2824.
KRELL SBP-32X, mint, $2000. Sue, (414)494-2744, leave message.

SOUND-LAB ELECTROSTATIC LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEMS now available in Central Ohio. Factoryauthorized dealer exclusively offering Sound-Lab's complete product line. Auditions in arelaxed environment by appointment. Trade-ins welcome...John Durrett Audio, Columbus, OH, (614) 436-3123.
B&W 801 III, $4850; Threshold DAC-1/e (1-bit/768x), $2250; M-L No.20.5s, Point-Source Audio No.201, $829; Avalon Eclipse (high-gloss stained wood), retail 19300/S4850; Hales Audio System Signature/II, $3899; Accuphase C-280L preamp, retail S11,750/54200. All OBO, cash/trade. Wanted: Avalon Ascent II, B&W 808/801, Esoteric P-10/P-2. Brian Kelly, (818) 332-3013, 7-8am/7-11pm PST, Box 1116, Glendora, CA 91740-1116.
KRELL KST-100, 1year old, $1870; Adcom GFP-565, $399. (309) 454-2881 after 8pm CST, askfor Kurt.
VELODYNE ULD-18 SUBWOOFER, $1900; Mod Squad Deluxe line drive, $595. (203) 378-7559, Vincent.
ACCENT ON MUSIC--WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY. New arrivals! Linn CD player, }Cairn preamp, Roksan Radius turntable, Nairn CD player, Deltec processors, Epos ES-11, McCormack CD drive and electronics. All on demonstration. Our affordable products--Rotel, Creek, Arcam, Ftega, Castle, and Royd--are musical and should be auditioned. We care about your needs, regardless of budget. 175 Main Street, Mount Kisco, NY 10549, (914) 242-0747.
ACCUPHASE DP-80/DC-81 CD PLAYER/PROCESSOR, Stereophile rated Class A. Original cost over $8k. Unmatched sound at $3000. Also Levinson No.23 amp, Levinson No.26 balanced-input preamp, 1.0m and 1.5m Levinson balanced interconnect, 7" LiveWire Clear speaker cable Available separately. Make reasonable offer. (813) 738-0000.

rn

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236

STEREOPFIILE, M AY 1992

NAICAMICHI DRAGON, $1300; McIntosh MR500, $700; Mordaunt-Short MS15, $200; Carver C-9, $100; Y-connect, 1m, $100. Phil, (305) 426-1371, FL.
THETA DS PRO BASIC II coax inputs, RCA and XLR outputs, $1475; Denon DCD-1700 CD player, $320. (309) 523-3168
DAT RECORDERS: JVC, $695; Technics, $795; Denon, call. Mini-systems: JVC UX-1, 8495; MX-50, $595; MX70, $795; MX-90, Dolby Surround, 4speakers, $995. Panasonic SC-CHIO, Dolby Pro-Logic, $995. Denon, Aiwa, 4systems each, call. Onkyo PCS-05, call. DAT120s, $9.99: TDK, Maze11, Sony, Fuji, Denon. Portables, call. Audio, video tape, call. S/H, $4.95. Visa/MC. Tape World, (800) 245-6000.
PREMIUM-GRADE PARTS for audio projects! Silver contact toggle and rotary switches; MIT MultiCaps, Rd Cap, Solen, Wonder Caps/solder/wire; Vishay, Caddock, and Holco resistors, all types audio connectors, chassis wires, attenuators, high-pass modules, tubes, isolation feet, custom cables and terminations, accessories, ask for catalog! Michael Perry, Box 526, Inverness, CA 9493Z (415) 669-7181.
COUNTERPOINT SA-12 amp, $700; Sony 222ES CD player, $300. (616) 684-4803.
PARASOUND HCA-1200 amplifier, $645; Parasound P-FET 900 II preamplifier, $335. New, never used. (314) 963-0042.
THE BEST-SPENT $IN AUDIO!! Have your room ana-
lyzed by the experts! Send or Fax (216/852-2363) your room diagram with dimensions and equipment/furniture details to: RoomTune, Inc, P.O. Box 57, Sugarcreek, OH 44681. $39.95 Visa/MC. Phone (216) 852-2222for more info.
MARTIN-LOGAN CLS2 SPEAKERS, latest upgrade, $2500; Aragon 4004 amplifier, $900; Apt Holman preamp, $200. All mint condition. Vincent, (718) 638-939(1
1PAIR CLASSÉ DR-10 amplifiers, $2700; 1Classé DR-5 Mk.II preamp, $1500; 1Krell KSA-150 amplifier, $3500; 1-Krell KSL line stage, $1500. Call (904) 438-4583 or (904) 434-1041.
KINDEL PLS-A SPEAKERS, $750/pair; Acoustat 2+2, $800/pair; Lazarus Classic preamp, $500; Lazarus H-1 amp, $500. (812) 988-1352.
ARAGON D2A MK.II with large power supply--like new. Sell for half current list price. (901) 767-2125 evenings
UNIQUE AUDIO IN ARIZONA: Grand Opening Specials offering products by: Arcici, Target, RoomTune, Anodyne, Enlightened Audio Designs, Vimak, Purist Audio Design (water cable), NBS, Roksan, Snell, German Acoustics, Pearl, PAC, WBT, Music & Sound. Call about the new Speaker Enclosure Resonance Absorbers, dramatic improvements guaranteed!! Much more, call 7days aweek,
auditions by appointment, Visa/MC, Tel/Fax: (602) 956-4666 evenings, or leave message.
ACOUSTIC ENERGY AE3; 2pairs 8' Sterling; 2pairs Clear, Power Wedge II, $425; 0.5m AudioQuest Pro digital cable; Counterpoint SA-20 amp; lm Lapis; lm Diamond; Acoustic Energy AEI; Sony CDP-X77ES CD player, $1250; Audio Alchemy DDE (Clear Stream cable); Panasonic 8-way massage recliner, new, $1650. (813) 5860966 after 8pm EST
TREMENDOUS DEAL--Forté's new Model 40 linestage preamp, 8months old, $750 OBO ($1000 list). Tim, (806) 756-4425.

MARK LEVINSON ML-9, $1600; Conrad-Johnson PV5, new tubes, $650; Arcici stands for B&W 801 Matrix 2, $200. (307) 382-2042.
VTL SUPER DELUXE and Stereo 90/90 (with KT90s). Both mint, $1700 each or $3200/pair OBO. (61 277-9458
MICHIGAN RESIDENTS TAKE NOTE! We carry: Denon, Carver, Well-Tempered, Forté, Nalcamidi R-DAT, Threshold, SOTA, TDL Speakers, KEF, Polk, Energy, Monster, Straight Wire, Stax, Nakamichi, NAD, Niles, Ortofon, Sumiko, VP!, CWD, Kinergetics Research, JVC, and more. Professional consultation and installation. The Listening Room, 1305 Court Street, Saginaw, MI 48602. (51 792-3816
BROKEN OR TIRED PHONO CARTRIDGE? Quality phono cartridges precisely retipped for ultimate performance. Reasonable prices, fast turnaround, worldwide service. (713) 723-5281 evenings, 10919 Oasis, Houston, TX 77096
BLUE POINT CARTRIDGE OWNERS, UPGRADE to near Class A performance. Replace original plastic adapter with ours for ultra-rigid coupling to headshell. Precision-machined from aluminum alloy. Results--better resolution, imaging, and bass definition. You could spend $100's in other upgrades without gaining the improvements of our $25 adapter ($35 for detachable version). Meadow Song Labs, 48 Yonge St., Toronto M5E1G6, Canada. Tel: (416) 941-1595. Visa accepted, 9-5 EST.
WADIA X-32, $1500 OBO; Euphonic Technology CD
player with Isodrive, best offer; Distech Power Bridge II, $90; pair XL0 lm interconnect, new, unused, $200. (718) 261-8098 after 6pm EST
AUDIOPHILE-QUALTIY KITS AND SUPPLIES: ST70 upgrades, passive/buffered linestages, phono preamps, and power supplies. Volume controls, resistors, capacitors, transformers, tubes, wire, connectors, and more. WonderCaps, WIMA, RAM Tubeworks, WBT, Monster, Vampire, etc. Plus QWIK-CAD software. $2 for 1992 catalog. Welborne Labs, 6836 S University Blvd. #70, Littleton, CO 80122.
CAT SL1R Mk.2, recent, low hours, mint, spare set Gold Dragon tubes, RAM and NAT 6DJ8 and 12AU7, 2pairs each, $2900, shipping included. (914) 986-7272, leave message.
30-60% SAVINGS TO PURCHASE DIRECT from Hong Kong! DAT, CD player, amplifiers, and accessories. Ask for pricelists with $2 postage. Winston Camera G. Radio Co., Ltd, Mail Onkr Division, 55 Hankow Road, Hong Kong. We accept Visa/MC. Fax: (852) 369-9313.
CLASS-A MONOBLOCK AMP KITS. White Audio Labs is proud to present our M1.5 plans and kits. These 150W class-A monoblock amps are the finest and simplest of any kit ever. We build and test all amplifier circuitry, you complete the power supplies and cases. No test equipment or special tools needed. Features such as 24k gold-plated PC boards, ultra-high-current power supplies, and hand-matched components insure that they will out-perform amplifiers costing thousands more. For video and plans, send $29.95 (certified finds only) to: White Audio Labs, 4804 84th Sorer, Lubbock, IX 79424. Tech support line: (806) 794-2987.
ATMA-SPHERE MA-ls, updated, $3250; Well-Tempered Classic, $775; Tice Power Block, $675. (205) 823-9418 before lOpm CST
SNELL TYPE Bspeakers, as new with boxes, $29951im, (704) 684-3396, NC.

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

237

AUDIOPHILE-GRADE PARTS: MIT MultiCap, WonderCap, Rd-Cap, Solen, Wima, Siemens; Vishay (stock VTA and custom SIO2K series), Holco, Matsushita; Alps, Boums, Grayhill, ShallCo custom mono ladder attenuators; Cardas, Tiffany, WBT, Edison Price Music Posts, Neutrik; Cardas hook-up wirdshielded cable, Teflon wire; Gold Fiero tubes; RAM TubeWorks; Curcio Daniel Mk.1 and Mk.11 preamp kits/Dynaco rebuild kits; upgrade kits; Pearl Tube Coolers and Isosockets; Analog Devices (AD827JN, AD847JN); tube sockets, etc. Discounts up to 30%. Call, write, or Fax for free 1992 catalogue. Sonic Frontiers Inc., 760 Pacific Road, Unit #19, Oakville, Ontario L6L 6M5, Canada. TeL (416) 847-3245. Fax: (416) 847-5471.
AUDIOPHILES: LEVINSON NO.28, $2400; No.27, $2700; Apogee Duettas, $3000; Proceed PDT, PDP (pair); Lexicon Surround; Classé DR-5 preamp, $800; and more. (214) 406-1563.
WE ALWAYS PAY BETTER! Don't let go your ARC, Aragon, Cello, C-J, Krell, Levinson, Proceed, MIT, and Threshold without calling us. Ship in UPS/COD. Call Superex Products Inc., CA, (209) 298-7931, Fax (209) 2970359, Sennie.
FREE INFORMATIVE NEWSLETTER--from Tice Audio. Call or write to get on our mailing list. The Series II Power Block is here--updates available. Tice Audio, 2140 Pond Rd. #3, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779, (516) 467-5254.
SELL FOR CASH, or trade your audio and video equipment. Authorized sales and service for Harrnan/Kardon, JBL, Rotel, AudioQuest. Stereo Classics, 75 Church Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, (908) 220-1144, Fax (908) 2201284. Buy, sell, trade, service. Amex, MC, Visa.
CONFtAD-JOHNSON DF-1 CD player, like new, with warranties, finest-sounding CD player made, $1200. Call Ron, (609) 272-1250.

ULTIMATE AUDIO SYSTEM in perfect condition. Avalon Ascent Mk.II, maple, $11,700; Rowland Model 7Mk.III, $6200; Rowland Coherence One Mk.II, $2900; Meridian 602 transport, $2200; CAL System One D/A with Mash 5chip, $2100; AudioQuest Lapis balanced, 8m, $1300; AudioQuest Clear, 3pairs, 6', $1200. Everything approximately 1year old in mint condition with boxes and info. Purchase entire system and I'll include a Tice Audio Power Block and Titan for $26.000 complete. Moving, need cash, all offers entertained.Jonathan, (908) 964-6758, pm only.
DUNTECH SOVEREIGN 2001 speakers, white ash; Esoteric P-1 CD transport with remote; Wadia Digirnaster X64 converter; Tice Power Block and Titan Energy Storage system; Tandberg 3001 tuner. Call Ray, (305) 389-0591 evenings.
GIANT CLEARANCE SALE--BLOWOUT PRICES! Belles 150, $450; Focus .7s, $500; B&K Pro 5, $280; Superphon SP100, $290; and more. We represent best-buy products from Belles, B&K, ESS, EAD, Parasound, Musical Concepts, Music Reference, Fried, Linaeum, NEAR, Audio Alchemy, Melos, Period, many more! Stereo Consultants, Lafayette, IN, (317) 474-9004, 1-9pm EST
PAIR THIEL 03a speakers, Carver C-4000 Control Center/preamp, Sansui SE-9 equalizer with Spectrum Analyzer. All mint condition and with manuals. Call (512) 686-7191 days, (512) 682-2249 evenings.
AMERICAN HYBRID TECHNOLOGY introduces Ultra Resolution' B2 Twin-Balanced' interconnects, $350/1m. The best at any price. Write or phone for other Ultra Resolution products, including custom-made amplifiers and preamplifiers. American Hybrid Technology, 549 Centennial Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08629, Fax/phone (609) 599-3828.

CD STORAGE-F

il7PÁVC0,
SOUND &HOME THEATER

·11.
No. A150
This unit stores 150 CD's behind glass doors. Three adjustable shelties with brass bookends hold single &multiple CD's, Videos and Cassettes --in any combination. Conies in Solid Oak, Walnut, Teak or Cherry. Can stack or wall mount. For FREE Literature &Prices on our Full Line: Call 1-800-432 ,8005 FAX 1-201-748-2592
SORICC NP.uOt.leByo,xNJ74077-1210.i

Serving the discerning Audiophile
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STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

MOD SQUAD PRISM II, $799; Acoustat Spectra 1100, $1095; PS 6.0 preamp, $399; DigiLink II, $575; Sony DTC700 DAT, $599; Polk RM3000, $599; Spica Angelus. $899; Rauna Freja, $499; Yamaha C2 preamp, $479; Counterpoint Solidi preamp, $639. (714) 598-753a
HIGH-END AUDIO IN CENTRAL NY--Reliable source for Arcici, Cardas, Merlin EX Series, Parasound, Philips, Promethean Audio Products, PS Audio, RoomTune, and TARA Labs products. Call Mark or Rkh for sound advice--sound price. Signature SOltrid, PO Box 2814, Liverpool, NY 13089. (315) 622-9066, (315) 622-4137.
MUSIC METRE CABLES, INTERCONNECTS: Music Metre II, $105; Calibre, $165; 121 Reference, $250; Silver, S400/meter. Speaker cable: S15/foot. New Solid Silver digital cable, S200/meter. Send for info, reviews, and dealer list. Second Opinion Audio, 249 N. Brand #701, Glendale, CA 91203. Tel: (818) 242-4535, Fax: (818) 2424415. Dealer inquiries invited.
PERFECT WITH GRADO HP-1 HEADPHONES. HPX Professional Headphone Amplifier with Soundstage Focus Network to restore perspective to headphone monitoring. Regulated power supply, balanced inputs, professional Swiss headphone jack, mil-spec components Limited production--realistically priced. White Paper and information package, (800) 334-3925.
AUDIO FOR THE GREAT SOUTHWEST! Anodyne, CODA, Symphonic Line, Ryan, Museatex, Spectrum, ProAc, Celestion, Parasound, Cary, Quicksilver, VAC, MIT, Well-Tempered, Velodyne, Muse, Linaeum, Music Metre, Target, Jadis, and More! Sound Consultant, 9517 Avenida del Oso NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111, (505) 821-9626
B&K EX-442 AMPLIFIER, Musical Concepts mod, 220Wpc, mint, $1200 value, $695. (606) 623-8558 before midnight EST

ARAGON 4004 MK.II amp with 05m AudioQuest Emerald interconnects, $1300; Rowland Consonance preamp, $1250. (716) 298-1327.
UNITY AUDIO SIGNATURE FOUNTAINHEADS, 4months old, $4000. Call Ed, (203) 327-9227 days, (203) 359-4351 evenings/weekends.
VANDERSTEEN 2C with Super Vanderstands, walnut finish, upgrades, original packaging, manuals, excellent condition, $675. (813) 372-8149.
I,Ps/CDs/TAPEs
LPs SOUND GREAT when treated with Gruv-Glide. Enhance fidelity, reduce wear and static, improve tracking. excellent cleaning. See Sterrophik review, December 1986, p.41. $21.95 per kit. CheckJMO to Rozoil Lubricant Co., Box 19003, Las Vegas, NV 89132.
AUDIO. ..BY GEORGE has acomplete stock ofReference Recordings, Sheffield Recordings, and Chesky Records. And we are expanding our stock of Opus One records. To receive acurrent list, without charge, call (716) 377-0432.
AUDIOPHILE RECORD WAREHOUSE! Out-ofprint direct-to-disc, halfspeed, Quit= II, and import pressings. Great selection of in-print records and CDs. ATR, Chesky, East-Wind, Mobile Fidelity, Opus 3, Wilson, and many more. Call for free catalog. Elusive Disc, 5346 N. Guilford Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46220, (31 255-3446
WANTED: A1121 Reiner/Chicago RCA 2-track open-reel tapes. Randall Goldman, Box 1, Kenilworth, IL 60043.
AUDIOPHILE LPs: MFSL, CBS, Nautilus, Direcs-Disk, collectibles, others. Send $3 for list and update to: William Evertt,fe, 52 Pumpkin Delight Road, Milled, CT 0646°4238, (203) 877-3911, 24 hours, fifih ring--machine.

Aragon, ARCICI, ATC, Audio Alchemy,
Aural Symphonies, Coda Technologies, IDOS, Philips Audio/Video, Roomtune, Sound Anchor, Space & Time, Tara Labs
Free Shipping mithin United Slates
We also hm /sell used ARC, Cello,
Levinson. Krell, Th resold, etc.
510-549-2178
The Audio Chamber
Berkeley, California Fax: (510) 521-3080
STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

EXCLUSIVE SPRING DEBUTS * The Aerial Loudspeaker * Jeff Rowland Designs * LA Audio Tube Classics
jt,vitotie AUDI()
ENSEMBLE
419 Amherst Street Nashua, NH 03063 603 -886 -4742 No sales tax in NH
239

$50 PAID FOR MINT STEREO LPs: RCA LSC 1817 (Offenbach), 2225 (Witrhes'Brrw), 2287 (Mozart), 2313 (Venice), 2400 (Fistoulari), 2449 (Gibson), LDS 6065 (Ansermet). Others wanted. Randall Goldman, Box 1, Kenilworth, IL 60043.
WE BUY AND SELL LP VINYL RECORDS. Over 100,000 titles in stock. Mail orders and most major credit cards accepted. G&A Rare Recoub, Ltd, 139 West 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023, (212) 877-5020, Fax (212) 595-2941.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AUDIOPHILES--LPs gathering dust since you switched to CDs? For fair value for your quality records, write Randall Goldman, Box 1, Kenilworth, IL 60043.
LP COLLECTION. America's largest private, most valuable music treasures. 49,000 sealed. 1950 through 1990. Classical, opera, soundtracks, original casts, rock, soul, jazz, greatest hits, standard-pop vocal, country, folk, comedy. Christmas, ethnic, documentary, Elvis Presley. Available individually or in lots. (203) 227-8326
VINYL LIVES AT ROUNDUP RECORDS Our catalog has over 5000 LPs on dozens of independent and import labels. Oh yeah, and 10,000 CDs as well. Send $2 for catalog and we'll throw in acopy ofour review-packed catalog update, Record Roundup. Roundup, Dept. STP, P.O. Box 154, Cambridge, MA 02140.
TRADE 25 IMPECCABLE LIEDER/ORGAN records (Fischer-Dieskau. Fox) for tuner. Bruce, (716)751-6396
WANTED
COLLECTOR BUYING (working or not) old tube Marantz, McIntosh, Tannoy speakers, Sequem tuners, Krell, Levinson. Also used wristwatches: Rolex, Audemars-Piguet, Omega, Rado, etc. For trade: C-J Premier 5amps. Will travel to pick up. (718) 387-7316 or (718) 384-4667, NY
WANTED: OLD AND NEW McIntosh, Manner, Dynaco, Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson, Levinson, Krdl, Counterpoint, Berning, Electrovoicejensen, JBL, Citation, Fisher, Rowland, Threshold, Boulder, Classé, Klyne, Dahlquist, Eagle, Quicksilver, Fulton, Sequerra, Cello, Robertson, Tammy, tube and solid-state. (713)728-4343, Fax (713) 723-1301, Maury Corb, 12325 Ashcroft, Houston, TX 77035.
WANTED: USED AND DEMO HIGH-END audio equipment. Call anytime. Tel: (714) 861-1002. Fax: (714) 860-8470, Victor.
WANTED: APOGEE DAX for Duettas. (504) 522-1400
LOOKING FOR VELODYNE SUBWOOFER (ULD15/18), Adcom preamp (GTP-400/500 I», Crown Amplifier (MA-24X6), Goldsound Spectrum Analyzer (30M8), and Mini-Advent speakers. (505) 828-9646
WANTED: KRELL KSA-150, MD-1, SBP-32X. Call Steve, (214) 363-4698.
AWARD-WINNING product designer (with designs featured in the Museum of Modern Art, NY) seeks to design beautiful, contemporary stereo equipment for new or established US/overseas manufacturers. You provide the guts. I'll provide the looks. Let's design/build awinner together. Call Mark Weisbeck, (716) 855-1503, Fax (716) 853-6486
WANTED: LINN LPI2/Lingo, Ekos arm, Troika car-
tridge, sap, Deluxe Star III with SME Vor Cosmos,
Mark Levinson No 25, Vendetta SCP-2B, WAMM Vls, Mitsubishi DS505 speakers. (719) 632-7079, 8am-9pm MST

Stackable, portable oak units hold all recording formats

WANTED: IPAIR OF MIRAGE M-3s or Vandersteen 3s or 4s, demo or used in good condition. Call Rick at (803) 831-1226, or leave message. WANTED: NAICAMICHI 1000 DAT and Day-Sequerra tuner, late model. (813) 738-0000. MISSING PERSON--Anyone with information as to the whereabouts ofJohn Iverson of Electron Kinetics, call Sgt. Knudtson, Lake Havasu Police, (602) 855-5775. WANTED: RADIO SHACK 8-TRACK recorder with Dolby, working. Mendelowitz, P.O. Box 3326, RC, CA 94064. WANTED: DYNACO STEREO 400 amplifier, any condition. Robert, (714) 676-8020 or (714) 676-7202. CASH PAID for all types used audio equipment. We buy and sell by phone, top dollar paid. Authorized dealers for B8cK, Ariston, AR, Celestion, Parasound, Counterpoint, etc. The Stereo 'Boding Outlet, 320 Old York Road,Jenkintown, PA 19046 (215) 886-1650. WANTED: RIDE ON LP by Christy Moore on Green Linnet. (9/4) 986-7272, leave message. "AAAALWAYS PAYING TOP SS" for dean, collectible McIntosh tube and solid-state, Marantz tube, Western Electric, JBL-Paragon, Hartfields, etc. and Alnico parts. EV Patricians, Georgians, and miscellaneous parts. M. Levinson, Krell, ARC, Spectral, etc. Call me last only when you're ready to sell!!John, (800) 628-0266. TECHNICIAN SEARCHING FOR "BROKEN" highend stereo components. Lees talk. Also, Idesire older Krell, Levinson, etc. amp and preamp for personal system. Dennis, 5850 SPead St., Las Vegas, NV 8912a (04456-4844. CARVER STEREO EQUIPMENT WANTED! AV64/M-1.5T amplifiers, CT-17/CT-7 preamplifiers, Amazing loudspeakers, etc. (505) 828-9646
The best disc and tape storage system in America
Free mailorder brochure (please mention Stereophile) Per Madsen Design (415) 928-4509 P.O. Box 330101, San Francisco, CA 94133

240

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

A DVERTISER INDEX

THE STEREOPHILE ADVERTISING STANDARDS
Advertising published in Stereophile is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services as offered are accurately described, and are available to customers at the advertised price. Advertising that does not conform to these standards, or that is deceptive or misleading, is never knowingly accepted. If any Stereophile reader encounters noncompliance with these standards, please write Nelson &Associates, Inc., 62 Wendover Rd., Yonkers, NY 10705.

Absolute Audio

184

Acoustic Sounds

98, 107

Adcom ARS Electronics Audio Advisor

14 218 I12, 114-116, 180

Audio Alchemy

54

Audio Chamber

239

Audio Connection

208

Audio Den Ltd.

226

Audio Ensemble

239

Audio Express

214

Audio Gallery Audio Haven Audio Images Audio Insight Audio Nexus Audio Outlet Audiophile Systems Audio Power Industries

224 234 234 113 182 186 17, 82
76

AudioQuest

10, 102, 244

Audio Research

28

AudioStream

58

Audio Trading Times

214

Aural Symphonics

88

Avalon Acoustics B&K Components B&W Loudspeakers BJ Audio

90 62
9 230

Bose Express Music

53

Bravo! Sound & Home Theatre

238

Cable Company California Audio Labs Cary Audio Design

212-213 66 2

Cello

192

Chesky Records

232

Coda

231

Counterpoint

31

CSA Audio

177

Cumberland Audio

213

Dana Audio

190

Digital Ear

222

Electrocompaniet

90

Energy Ensemble Exposure Electronics Gifted Listener

36 96, 98 86-87
206

Hailer

50

HCM Audio

236

Infinity Systems

43

JS Audio

234

KEF

34

Kief's Audio/Video

234

Kimber Kable

67

Krell Linaeum
Lyle Cartridges Lyric Hi-Fi Madrigal Audio
Magnum Dynalab May Audio Marketing Mobile Fidelity Mondial
Muse Electronics Music Hall Music Room NAD Nimtec Nobis Technology OCM Paradigm Parasound Park Avenue Per Madsen Design Precision Audio ' Progressive Audio PSB Reference Room
Rotel America Rush Sound Savant Audio & Video Sennheiser
Sensible Sound Shure Brothers
Sonic Frontiers Sorice Sound & Music
Sound by Singer Sound Concept, The
Sound Connections Soundex Sound Goods Sound II Square Deal
Stax Kogyo Stereo Exchange
Stereo Shoppe--FL Straight Wire TARA Labs Theta
Tubes By Design Univocal Upscale Audio Vandersteen
Wadia Digital WireWorld

STEREOPHILE, M AY 1992

24 92 198 204 6 12, 20 74 74 44 64 88 82 232 18 38 92, 98 74 58 56 286 240 200 226 48 194 23, 68-70 208 220 40 230 222 46-47 238 206 78-79 236 96 188 216 196 216 72 110, 178, 202
218 76 32 26 96 88
220 16
243 94
241

T HE F INAL W ORD

One of The New Yorker's elements of genius is its ability to persuade you to read about subjects in which you have no interest; to wit, Bill McKibben's "Television" (March 9, 1992; excerpted from The Age ofMissing Information, Random House). On May 3, 1990, McKibben recorded 2000 hours of television off the cable service in his Fairfax home. He spent the next year and ahalfwatching those 2000 hours and writing about the meditations they inspired, particularly as they contrasted with 24 hours he spent at his house in the Adirondacks.
McKibben's memorable conclusion is that our current "Information Age" is not necessarily anything ofthe sort. We have huge quantities of information which are of limited use and almost impossible to act on, while at the same time we're deprived of, or ignore, much information commonly available to ordinary individuals in earlier times (like the first half of this century).
McKibben's article inspired much reflection on my part about the nature ofthe audiophile's search for excellent reproduced sound. If Stereophile's writers are at all typical, an audiophile is constantly searching for the next step up. Yes, the Theta Series II D/A processor is great (along with the ARC 20-bit, the VTL, the Stax, and several others), but the Mark Levinson No30 is better. Sure, the Thiel 2.2s are good speakers, but let's listen to the CS5s. The IRS Betas are impressive, but what about the IRS Vs themselves? AKrell KSA-150 may be agreat amplifier, but Ireally prefer the ease afforded by the KSA-250 or, even better, the MDA-500s (which I'm using at home now to drive the B&W 800s). I'm not saying this is typical of what every Stereophile reader actually buys and listens to, but it's typical ofwhat alot ofpeople desire. Audio writers function as surrogates, allowing you to experience through reading what most ofyou can't experience in real life.
Just after the Winter CES, JA and Iadded up
the retail cost of the gear in his current review system. Iwas shocked to hear that it totaled about $52,000. John countered that the system Ihad at home--the Krell amps, aLevinson 25S and 26S, Thiel CS5s, Proceed transport, Stax

processor, VPI TNT turntable with SME Vand AudioQuest 7000 cartridge--probably cost even more, but he was wrong; my system would cost "only" $42,000. The difference came primarily from the $10,000 worth of MIT cable JA was using compared to my more modest
$2000 worth of AudioQuest. Both systems sounded pretty darned good,
as well they should. And they weren't overkill, considering the equipment we had on hand for review. (JA was working on areview of the ARC Classic 120; Iwas embarking on a "Follow-Up" on the Thiel CS5s, and reviews of the Krells and the Levinson preamp.) But where are we going? Yes, it's great to hear how truly excellent reproduced sound can be (while still falling far short of the real thing); and it's not that readers are uninterested in the virtues of these products. But, following on McKibben's argument, what information do we miss while preoccupied with such esoterica?
Wines, like music and great-sounding highend systems, are ephemeral. They live, and sometimes they die. Atight, astringent Sauvignon Blanc tastes wonderful with certain foods, terrible with others. The most magnificent '82 Bordeaux complements heavier, simple meals, but is completely out ofplace with subtle flavors or sharply spicy fare. Awine that you love tonight may bejust what you don't want two weeks from now. Novice wine enthusiasts (a group from which Ihave yet to distance myself) frequently want to serve their biggestand-best wine without realizing that simpleand-well-chosen often is much more enjoyable, and demonstrates far greater artistry.
Somehow we have yet to learn this lesson in audio, although Robert Harley hints at its truth
in his response to reader Bob Gash's question about RH's Linn review in this month's "Letters" column. Bigger is frequently not better; more bass is not necessarily better bass; Mahler's symphonies are not inherently greater artistic achievements than Debussy's piano preludes; and a$52,000 system may not satisfy more than a$5200 system. This last is ahard truth for audio writers to grasp, and an even harder one to embrace. --Larry Archibald

242

STEREOPHILE, MAY 1992

WADIA

111111.111Fr.-.1.C)11.111.1CG-
When we chose to
consolidate technologies, we couldn' tdo so without major
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Introducing the Wadia 6 CD Player. The challenge of producing aCD player bearing the standards inherent at Wadia drove us to advance the potential of the product category in ways that have never been considered previously. The Wadia 6utilizes atruly all digital volume control. Accessed by remote, it negates the need for atraditional preamplifier. Chassis design and construction
techniques were chosen to maximize performance. The unique transport, manufactured exclusively for Wadia,

was designed with characteristics which compliment the 32 times resampling of the digital information in the decoding computer. The bottom line is Music... and we think you'll love what we have done. See and hear it at your Wadia Dealer.
Weeles DIGITAL. The Leader in Signal Conversion 624 TROY STREET RIVER FALLS, WI 54022 PHONE 715-426-5900 FAX 715-426-5665

WORKS OF ART FROM AUDIOQUEST

"...a wicked slide guitar and harmonica approach honed to suit his passion."
-Living Blues

4 "Blistering fretboard pyrotechnics. Misterio is amust hear."
-Sounds Like...

Robert Lucas AQ 1001

Strunz and Farah AQ 1002

4 "Country and western for anew age- it works! Gorgeous. A71" (highest rating)."
-HiFi News & Record Review (UK)

1101·111 WCAS

"Raw and direct- puts the charge back in the battery." -Southland Blues
"If you love the blues then you'll love this band." -Willie Dixon

Tuxedo Cowboy AQ 1003

Robert Lucas: Luke and the Locomotives AQ 100z

"Good understanding of Baroque... sensitive handling of ornamentation"
-High Performance Review

MOKAVE -- rm.

-.4 Aseductive tapestry of dynamics and textures from three acknowl-
edged masters of world music and jazz

Trio Galanterie AQ 1005

MOKA VE (Moore, Karush, Velez) AQ 1006

WORKS OF ART

"Works of Art" contains choice selections from

each of the initial six

AudioQuest releases.

eril

To order the "Works of

e

IArt" sampler or any AudioQuest recording

call toll free:

it..-cougàoquest

1-800-525-1630

audioquest
State of the Art Music/State of the Art Sound
P.O. Box 3060 Son Clemente, CA 92674 USA
(714) 498-2770