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USHER’S BE-20
WORLD-CLASS SOUND,
REAL-WORLD PRICE
plus
Speakers from
EgglestonWorks
and NOLA
Class A
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from
Accuphase
The World’s
Number One
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Contents
APRIL/MAY 2008
p. 29 HIGH-END AUDIO
EXTRAVAGANZA!
hot new gear from the
2008 Consumer
Electronics Show
The Cutting Edge/Cover Story Equipment Reports
108 88
Accuphase E-550 Integrated
Usher Audio Be-20 Loudspeaker Amplifier
Chris Martens on Ten grand for 30 watts per channel? Yep, but
they might be the sweetest watts you’ve heard,
a flagship speaker says Sue Kraft.
from Usher that
92
re-defines the ModWright SWL 9.0SE Tube
price/performance Linestage
Sallie Reynolds on two editions of a mid-priced
equation. tube linestage with a hint of magic.
96
Nola Viper Reference
Loudspeaker
Tom Martin discovers something special in this
latest design from Carl Marchisotto.
100
EgglestonWorks Nine
Loudspeaker
Anthony H.Cordesman on a speaker that favors
musicality over hi-fi fireworks.
116
HP’s Workshop
Harry Pearson on the 2008 CES.
April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Letters
e-mail us: rharley@nextscreen.com
or write us a letter: The Absolute Sound, PO Box 1768, Tijeras, New Mexico 87059
Following up on the letter of John I believe that I have the right and responsibility RH replies: Your cynical view, Mr. Basinski,
D. Colombo in the November issue to disagree with reader letters, but always try to that TAS gives coverage and awards only to
about the use of Apple computers do so from a foundation of civility. Sometimes, a advertisers is flat wrong. You cite the fact that 24
as music servers, I was astonished to reader letter asserts a view that is so wrong (in of the 33 companies receiving a 2007 Product
read the so-called “comprehensive” my view) that it requires a strong response, such of the Year Award advertise in TAS as evidence
review of music servers in the December as the letter below. of a quid pro quo. That’s like suggesting Car
issue. I subscribed to TAS for many years & Driver is on the take because every one of the
and I forgot the reason I stopped, but cars on their annual 10 Best list is advertised in
your review reminded me. It carefully Awards and the magazine. The fact is that with an average
avoided describing the possible use of of about 90 pages of advertising every issue,
Apple computers as music servers and the Advertising it’s inevitable that we’ll cover, and give awards
number of advantages Macs have over I find myself in full agreement with to, companies that advertise. This is, after all,
Window-based systems (no Windows Mr. Sanford’s assessment of McIntosh a relatively small industry, and TAS publishes
kernel, direct optical output, etc.). It is equipment [Letters, Issue 178]. McIntosh more pages per issue of advertising than any
hard to believe that such a mistake was does not pay for advertising as evidenced other English-language audio magazine.
not purposely made, but it certainly makes by the dearth of Mac ads in TAS and But let’s apply an objective test to your
the review far from comprehensive. other audio magazines. TAS regularly hypothesis that TAS exchanges reviews
Andrea Tubaro features glowing reviews and “Product and awards for advertising dollars. By your
April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Letters
reasoning, companies that don’t advertise receive around serving advertiser interests, why would the face of the North American market’s
less coverage (if any) and fewer (if any) awards. I have gone on the record with my conclusions continuing indifference to same.) Please
Let’s examine two companies (Macintosh and about the sound quality of hard-disk drives vs. keep it up.
Audio Research), and see how they have fared in CD players? I could simply have not raised the I also think the refreshed graphics and
TAS over the past three years. issue. But I did raise the issue because it’s in our layout are also mostly successful. Having
McIntosh products have been reviewed (highly readers’ interest to know how the sound of music had to cope with design “upgrades” in
favorably) five times, have received four Golden servers compares to that of CD. And the reader the professional journals I work with,
Ear Awards, and two Product of the Year always comes first. and having seen the dismal results in
Awards. They have also had eleven products on other prestigious music publications
our Editors’ Choice Awards (cumulative total, (Gramophone seems to careen blindly from
including repeated inclusions). The number of Bravo one layout-and-fonts disaster to another,
ads they’ve run in TAS during that three-year I’ve been meaning to write this for a monthly), I can only offer congratulations
period? Zero. couple of months now—which just goes on the fresh but readable look you’ve
Audio Research has received six reviews, to show how easy it is to put off a letter achieved. Bravo.
four Golden Ear Awards, and four Product of when you’re feeling good, not angry, Well, sorry to gush so much. Hope
the Year Awards, including our 2007 Overall about something (and which undoubtedly it doesn’t reduce the credibility of this
Product of the Year Award. Audio Research explains the ratio of “good” vs. “angry” sincerely meant communication. I could
products have enjoyed 25 inclusions in our past letters you get every month)! go on and on. The February issue is a
three years of Editors’ Choice Awards. In fact, no To put it bluntly, I think you and the marvel: factory tour, interviews, Rocky
other company has had more reviews and awards crew at TAS are doing a terrific job. Over Mountain Audio Fest coverage, Magico
in The Absolute Sound over the past three the last year or so, you have really fine- V3 review, and so much more. Your
years than Audio Research. The number of ads tuned the components and presentation “From the Editor” column, which has
Audio Research has run in the past four years? of the magazine so that it mirrors all become another must-read feature for
One—in December, 2007. We give awards to the qualities we search for in high-end me, was both pertinent and concise.
Audio Research because they consistently produce audio equipment. The breadth of your All these things give one hope that this
first-rate products. equipment reviews—from budget to wonderful pursuit will endure.
Moreover, you obviously haven’t done your manageable to fantasy-zone, and from Thanks for all your efforts.
homework, Mr. Basinski, in stating “Not old-school analog to cutting-edge digital Lawrence Schenbeck
remarkably, the ‘Overall Component of The servers and such—is astonishing in itself.
Year’ [sic] comes from another regular advertiser.” But more importantly, that breadth, and
Our Overall Product of the Year Award went the reviews themselves, have grown Back in the
to the Audio Research Reference 610t amplifier, steadily more useful. Sometimes you
a company that, as I just stated, has purchased even include measurements in a sidebar or Saddle
exactly one ad in the past four years. In fact, you supplement! Who would have dreamed I have been prompted to write based upon
have to go back to the June/July 2003 issue to that would ever happen here? some of the letters which I have read over
find Audio Research’s last ad. And it is very gratifying to be able to the past months. I am an “old” newbie
Let’s examine your charge from another turn to the music reviews in the back to our hobby, having been out of it since
perspective. In Issue 178, I wrote that music read of the magazine. Pages and pages of the late 70s. I got back into high-end
from a hard-disk drive in a music server sounded them, done by topflight critics! Nice mix audio equipment four years ago. My old
better than the same music played from a CD of vinyl, CD, and SACD too. (I really equipment was Pioneer Elite electronics,
(Issue 177, pages 60-61). How many music- appreciate your decision to bring on with a Dual direct-drive turntable and a
server companies advertise in TAS? Zero. How Andrew Quint with a new classical SACD Stanton cartridge that I picked up at an
many companies making disc players advertise review column. It is a stunning example audiophile store in Harvard Square many,
in TAS? Lots. If our editorial agenda revolved of your commitment to true quality, in many years ago. My last purchase was a
CD player.
Upcoming in So, when I decided to re-enter the
ISSUE 182 hobby, I knew that I needed to be
educated as to where the hobby was
and where technology had brought us.
• 2008 Golden Ear Awards • JV on the John Curl-designed
So I picked up your magazine and also
• Special report on the Chinese Parasound preamplifier
Stereophile. I felt both magazines were
audio industry • Gershman’s new Sonogram
• BAT’s Rex preamp loudspeaker
very helpful to me, realizing that both
• Budget cartridges from • Spendor S3/5R classic had their respective personalities and
Dynavector mini-monitor perspectives—just what I needed to help
• High-res audio on Blu-ray Disc my quest for knowledge. I purchased
subscriptions to both magazines and
10 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Letters
maintain them to this day. I did not ideal will come down. This doesn’t mean
know anything about jitter, clock speed, Blind Listening that you should not review more modestly
sampling rates, outboard DACs, advances priced gear, just that you should always be
in moving-coil cartridges, and so forth. I Tests, Yet Again reviewing equipment that approaches the
cannot overemphasis the help that I got I have been a subscriber to TAS (and ideal, regardless of its cost.
from reading TAS, which provided me the other audiophile journals) for a very Finally I want to mention a related and
guidance in my purchases. I also found long time. I have rarely been compelled also seemingly contentious subject: blind
your book, The Complete Guide to High- to write, but the spate of letters about testing of audio gear.
End Audio, to be invaluable. This book the cost of equipment being reviewed, It is simply nonsense for TAS to
should be required reading for anyone and also recent discussions about blind reject the concept of blind testing. Blind
considering re-entering the hobby, or testing have motivated me to put my two- testing is the basis of all good science and
simply re-educating oneself. cents into the mix. rejecting rational process just makes non-
All this said, I find the articles and It seems to me that how we approach audiophiles think that we are all deluded
equipment reviews of both high- this hobby should be simple. Years ago nut cases.
priced and mid-priced items to give me Gordon Holt opined that there is a Yes, designing a good experiment is
perspective and I welcome it. I really do simple straightforward standard for how not simple; this is true for any type of
not understand the criticism that I read in to evaluate high-end audio equipment. science. Yes, it may be inconvenient and
the letters section. High-end gear should be judged by expensive to design a way to do good
There is not a “right” answer to any how well it can recreate the sound of blind comparisons, but just because it
equipment purchase in my mind. It is live un-amplified music in our homes. is inconvenient and perhaps expensive
all about reading and learning (from To me that seems pretty simple and doesn’t mean that it should be rejected—
your magazine) and then listening to the spot on. Holt specified un-amplified that’s just non-science. TAS spends
various components and then purchasing music because recreating the sound of hundreds of thousands of dollars on
what pleases you. another amplifier and speaker moves audio gear [actually, we borrow review
I’m not sure I buy into the $1000+ us one step further from the “music.” I samples—RH], and you would truly be
interconnects or speaker cables, but I do don’t think that it’s worth agonizing over breaking new ground if you got some
know that there are differences in these the un-amplified point, but I do think clever audiophile scientists together and
products and I’ve heard the differences. this simple standard is a very useful and came up with a way to conduct good
I’ve put together a new system that is good one for audio reviewing. blinded tests. You might have to build
not the high end of high fidelity by any That brings me to my second point a room someplace to do it, but it most
stretch, but it works wonderfully well for on the topic of the cost of equipment certainly is not impossible.
me. being reviewed. Personally, I hope I am absolutely convinced that well-
I felt it important to let you and TAS that The Absolute Sound will continue to conducted blind testing would prove
know that you folks do a great job. I review, publicize, and encourage audio that experienced listeners can routinely
find your magazine to provide insightful equipment that strives toward the goal select superior audio gear. Give it some
information, which I can expand upon if stated above: reproduction of the sound thought—TAS could really do some
I am interested, via the Web, or I can visit of live un-amplified music in the home. cutting-edge stuff with blind testing.
a store that sells high-fidelity equipment. Cost should not be a consideration for Don’t be afraid of the results; embrace
You and your staff at TAS should know your reviews. Of course, cost will be them, that’s what science is about. We’d all
that you “reached me” without even an issue for buyers, but so long as you benefit from blinded testing; audiophiles,
knowing it and helped me get back into maintain the standard of reproducing the manufacturers and reviewers. I bet we’d
such a great hobby. sound of live music in the home, systems get closer to Gordon Holt’s ideal if we
Jeffrey Mead that approach that will be built, and were willing to try it.
eventually the cost of approaching that Michael Glembourtt
THIS MONTH ON RH replies: I sent Mr. Glembourtt a copy
AVguide.com
of my Audio Engineering Society paper “The
Role of Critical Listening in Evaluating Audio
Equipment Quality” (updated and reprinted in
the third edition of The Complete Guide to
More from our High-End Audio High-End Audio) in which I present a detailed
Extravaganza issue: argument against blind listening tests, but did not
• New Usher Audio and Nola Viper loudspeaker reviews
hear back from him.
• The $10k Accuphase Integrated Amplifier
• CES 2008 coverage including Best of Show
• Plus dozens of new music reviews
“Y
ou have to see it with your own eyes to believe
it.” So I was told by more than one person
during the GuangZhou audio show about Top left: A small part of the “museum” section of Mr. Li’s house.
Top: Each floor housed a pair of AC power stabilizers.
the hi-fi system—no, make that systems—of a Mr. Ji Hui Li. Above: Some of the “museum” is behind glass.
Everyone who mentioned Mr. Li invariably referred to him
as “The World’s Number One Audiophile.” two massive AC power stabilizers—to power his hi-fi gear.
The show was winding down and we were leaving the (And these were just the stabilizers for the second floor;
next afternoon for Zhu Hai to visit the Original CD-player each floor had an identical pair.) Entering the house itself, I
factory. The town in which Mr. Li lived was a few hours was confronted by a veritable museum of classic hi-fi gear,
out of the way—would we like to visit? How could I pass much of it displayed behind glass, but some of it connected
up the opportunity to visit “The World’s Number One and working. Marantz Model 8s and Model 9s? Check. Altec
Audiophile?” Voice of the Theaters? Check. Classic JBL studio monitors?
We arrived at a nondescript building in the middle of the Check. Original Spendor LS3/5s? Check. The world’s first
city of Yang Jiang. The exterior looked like all the other CD player? Check. The collection of classics was seemingly
buildings on the busy street, with no hint of what lay inside. endless—there must have been a hundred pairs of vintage
Mr. Li, an extremely jovial and friendly man, greeted us speakers and scores of electronics on display.
himself with great enthusiasm when our cars pulled up. He We walked into an adjacent room, a large, acoustically
led us to the elevator of his seven-story “house,” and the treated space with four Wilson WATT/Puppy loudspeakers
tour started on the second floor. and a Wilson WATCH center channel in a 5.1-channel
The elevator doors opened and the first thing I saw were configuration. Two massive Sony CRT projectors hung from
A
udio critics seem to forget that the people buying the Exposure’s Web site proclaims, “Proudly Made in England by
stuff they write about are doing so for a pretty simple Music Lovers,” which from what I’ve been able to gather remains
reason: to get musical pleasure. And while it is their job true, even though Exposure’s parent company is now Malaysian.
to convey how successfully or not a component accomplishes I also understand that some metal and circuit-board work is
this, after reading about tube-like warmth, liquid midranges, done in Malaysia, with design and assembly taking place in Great
punchy bass, and silky highs, some readers may find themselves Britain, in order to help the company meet its goal of building
exasperatedly pleading, “Okay, fine—but tell me if I’m going to high-performance gear of moderate cost.
enjoy listening to this thing!” Founded in 1974 by John Farlowe, a designer who once
I’ll get to the whys and hows in a bit, but the first thing you need worked with Pink Floyd, The Who, and David Bowie, Exposure
to know about the Exposure 3010S CD player and integrated had a spotty history in North America until Canada’s Bluebird
amplifier is this—yes, you will very much enjoy listening to music Music took over distribution in 2005. Since then, Exposure has
with these items. They deliver the goods by beautifully balancing been getting a lot more of same—and so have Bluebird’s other
detail with warmth, rhythmic precision with lyricism, and delicacy brands, which include Chord Electronics, Van den Hul, and Neat
with power. Acoustics speakers.
The 3010S Series, which also includes a power amplifier, fits and as good as they are on their own they have a special synergy
between Exposure’s budget 2010S Series and its top-end Classic when paired.
Series. The CD player sells for $2695 and the integrated amp for For example, when I placed the CD player into my reference
$2295 (add $495 for the optional phono card). And though the system and popped HK Gruber’s Frankenstein!! [Chandos] into
3010S line is cosmetically as plain as can be, the casework and the tray, I immediately noticed how articulate the composer’s own
faceplates are fashioned of aluminum and built solidly, conveying highly expressive style of singspiel was, complete with comically
a nice sense of heft. exaggerated rolled “Rs” and hard, practically spit-out consonants.
As the “S” designation implies, these units were once known The orchestra itself was laid out with impressive breadth and
as the 3010 Series. According to chief designer Tony Brady, “The depth; there was also good air and detail, although initially a bit
sound has been refined to be tauter in the lower-end and more of hardness. (You will want to heed the manufacturer’s notice that
open in the treble, without compromising on richness in the it takes at least 48 hours for these items to “run-in.” They sound
midrange.” relatively hard and bright at first power-up, become noticeably
The latest 3010S CD player is said to benefit from a large warmer and easier over the first few hours, and really blossom by
toroidal transformer with separate windings for the transport the second or third day. Leave them continuously on during this
and audio stages, a new custom-made CD transport, Burr-Brown period, playing music as much as possible.)
DACs, a discrete output stage, and a high-stability crystal clock The real magic began to happen when I placed the integrated
reference and power-supply regulator for the transport and audio amplifier in the system. Lingering electronic artifacts on
stages that are said to result in very low jitter. Frankenstein!! started to vanish, leaving a highly natural-sounding
The 110Wpc 3010S integrated amplifier sports a larger power and easy—not the same as mellow—sonic presentation, from
supply than its predecessor and features a custom-made toroidal the bloom of a harp to the taps of a timpani to the rhythmic
transformer, as well as custom power-supply caps, shorter signal thrust of cellos and basses to the ear-splitting brightness of a toy
paths, improved component parts, and what are said to be faster whistle. Gruber’s expressive vocal remained intact, but he now
bipolar output transistors. A remote control is included that sounded that much more believably “real,” and the overall tonal
functions for both units. balance was rich and warm, but not overly so. Again the word
What this brief technical description cannot tell you, however, “natural” sums it up best.
is that Exposure’s “Proudly Made in England by Music Lovers” The opener from Radiohead’s In Rainbows [TBD Records],
tagline isn’t just marketing BS. It’s clear that the people behind “15 Step,” was presented with a large, bold soundscape of wide
these products know what music sounds like and are able to separation, dense atmospherics, deep punchy bass lines, and
design components that bring music’s emotional and intellectual complex harmonics. The amplifier’s 110Wpc rating seemed
power alive in a way that makes both standouts in their price conservative; even when the 3010S was played at a fairly healthy
class. level, the sound remained smooth, easy, and unforced.
Although I listened to them separately, it quickly became As should be the case with good high-end components, the
apparent that these 3010S components were designed together, presentation morphed dramatically from record to record. With
Affordable
Loudspeakers Chris Martens
Today, the economic barriers to entry to our hobby are falling hard and fast. These
days almost anyone can afford loudspeakers that deliver musical satisfaction, and in
ways even owners of premium-priced gear can respect. Over the course of the show, I
spotted three main trends in affordable speakers. I’ll describe each below, and illustrate
my points with specific product examples.
Left, Audioengine 5 self-powered speaker in bamboo finish; middle, NuForce’s Icon-1 mini-monitor sports a 3.5" full-range titanium driver;
right, NuForce’s Icon-1 10Wpc class D integrated amp is smaller than a paperback book.
Affordable Loudspeakers
in bookshelf speaker designs. First, drive-unit enhancements are speaker features a folded-ribbon tweeter, a 6.25" mid/bass driver,
yielding simultaneous improvements in transparency and power and premium-grade crossover parts. The LSA1 Statement is one
handling. The result is small speakers that sound clearer than of the two best sub-$3000 monitors I’ve ever heard (the other is
before and that can safely be driven harder with high(er) power the award-winning Usher Audio Be-718). These speakers sound
amplifiers. Second, many modern tweeters can safely be crossed highly detailed, yet are unfailingly smooth and offer very good
over at much lower frequencies than in the past, which helps bass extension for their size. They also produce enormous 3-D
designers achieve unexpectedly spacious imaging from two-way soundstages and easily reveal subtle differences between good/
designs. Let me illustrate these points with three models seen at better/best amplifiers.
CES.
First, let’s consider Focal’s new Dôme 2.1-channel system. Affordable Floorstanders to Rock Your World
The heart of the system is a pair of compact but ever-so-capable Some of the finest values in high-end audio today come in the
two-way Dôme mini-monitors, whose enclosures are shaped— form of cleverly designed, attractively priced, overperforming
you guessed it—like domes. The monitors sell for floorstanders. Some, as you you’ll see in a moment,
$750, are extremely articulate, and can handle gobs start out as monitors (or LCR speakers) to which
of power without complaint (in fact, the importer high-performance bass modules have been added—
described them as being “nearly indestructible”). often with astonishingly good sonic results. I’ll
Add the Dôme subwoofer ($745), and you’ve got an illustrate this by describing tower-type offerings
amazingly competent near-full-range system—for from DCM, Gini Systems, Mordaunt-Short, and
under $1500. I played some bass-torture-test discs Definitive Technology.
and came away wowed by the seamless integration Audiophiles of a certain age may recall a
between the Dôme monitors and sub. firm called DCM whose famous Time Window
Next, consider a wonderful piece of trickle-down loudspeaker enjoyed a cult-following for many years.
technology in the form of the new Signature S1 Well, DCM is still around and building speakers
mini-monitors from Paradigm ($1499). What that offer astonishing value for money. A case in
makes the S1s so special is that they offer basically point is the firm’s three-way, four-driver TFE 200
the same 1" beryllium tweeters and 6" cobalt- tower-type speakers, which sell for $1000. Though
infused aluminum mid/bass drivers featured in the not the last word in transparency or refinement, the
firm’s flagship Signature S8 v.2 floorstanders, but in TFE 200s are brilliant all-round performers whose
a compact mini-monitor format. The S1 enclosures GINI Systems’ LS3/5A
replica with bass stands.
well-balanced sonic virtues include near-full-range
are based on beefy, die-cast metal frames for bass.
extraordinary rigidity and structural integrity. If TAS readers may know Gini Systems as the
you want full-range bass (and you would, wouldn’t you?), you distributor of Audio Space electronics, but Gini also offers
can tack on Paradigm’s excellent Seismic 10 subwoofer ($1499) value-priced speakers. One of its sweetest deals is a replica of
and enjoy the equivalent of a poor-man’s Signature S8 for a tick the LS3/5A BBC mini-monitor, which was being demonstrated
under $3000. with a clever companion bass-extension module that also acts
Finally, one of my favorite discoveries of this year was the LSA as a stand for the LS3/5As, effectively turning the classic mini-
Group’s LSA1 Statement monitor ($2500). This attractive monitors into compact, near full-range floorstanders ($1190 for
Left, Audio Plus’ John Bevier holds the Focal Dôme monitor; middle, Paradigm’s Signature S1 mini-monitor (right) packs Signature Series
technology in a compact package; right, LSA Group designers John Tucker and Guo Feng show off the LSA1 Statement monitor.
Affordable Loudspeakers
the monitors plus bass stands). Two things stood out for me
about this system. First, I was wowed by the sheer faithfulness
of Gini’s recreation of the original LS3/5A’s sound. Second, I
CM’s Best of Show
was floored by the gorgeous and absolutely seamless integration Best Sound: Though Most Important Trend:
between the LS3/5As and the new bass modules. This is a perhaps not the most “ac- The high-end community’s
music lover’s speaker system, pure and simple—one that offers curate” system at the show, wise decision to embrace
ridiculously high performance for the dollar. Nola’s Baby Grand Refer- and not resist the adop-
Mordaunt-Short is a venerable British speaker maker (and the ence speaker system ($55k), tion of iPod- and PC-based
sister company of Cambridge Audio), whose expensive, flagship as driven by Audio Research audio systems. In the end,
Performance 6 floorstanders have earned critical acclaim. At CES source and amplification technologies that stimulate
2008 the firm’s affordable new 2 ½-way Mezzo 6 floorstanders components, captured the interest in music always
($1900) took centerstage. The speakers look conventional on the “feel” of live musical events work for the greater good,
outside but bristle with trickle-down technologies on the inside, more effectively than any- and while high-fidelity sound
including the firm’s distinctive rubber-mounted, ATT (aspirated thing else I heard at CES. is important, passion for mu-
tweeter technology), high-frequency drivers, CPC mid/bass sic must always come first.
and woofer drivers, and enclosures that feature a variant on the Greatest Bargain: In
bracing system used in the top-tier Performance models. The terms of sheer performance/ Most Significant New
result is a floorstander that offers open airy highs and impressive dollar, Definitive’s Mythos Product: Wadia Digital’s
transparency for the money. STS has few if any peers. Model 170 iTransport ($349).
Not content to rest on the laurels earned by its Mythos ST More than a “good deal,” This is the device that will
speaker, Definitive Technology announced a size- and cost- the STS is by any standard turn the iPod into a serious
reduced version of the ST called the Mythos STS ($2998). a superb loudspeaker that high-performance digital
Following the pattern established by its bigger brother, the puts high-end sound within transport/server suitable for
slim Mythos STS sports a top-mounted D’Appolito array reach of Everyman. use in high-end systems.
below which resides a powered subwoofer module based on
a distinctive oblong woofer and two similarly-shaped passive Most Surprising Greatest Technologi-
radiators. Though about two-thirds the size of the ST, the less Discovery: Learning cal Breakthrough:
costly STS sounds remarkably similar to the larger model, with that the latest-generation The arrival of HD DVD and
slightly reduced dynamic capabilities and a slightly higher low- Apple video iPods provide Blu-ray Disc in conjunction
frequency cut-off point. Even so, the STS is surely one of the mechanisms for exporting with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-
most refined, well-rounded, and thoroughly capable $3000/pair digital audio bitstreams and HD Master Audio codecs.
speakers on today’s market—an instant classic if ever I heard component-video signals, Let’s hope content-creators
one. [I was also impressed by the sound and value of the STS.—RH] too. This development opens will take advantage of these
the door for using iPods in formats to create the most
conjunction with high-per- beautiful concert videos
formance DACs and displays we’ve ever seen—or heard.
without modifying the play-
ers in any way.
Left, Definitive President Sandy Gross proudly displays his new Mythos STS (left) alongside the original Mythos ST (right); right, DCM, which
brought us the classic “Time Windows,” now offers its TFE 200 floorstanders, delivering big bang for the bucks at just $1k/pair.
MID-PRICED
Loudspeakers Paul Seydor
T
he last time I covered speakers for a CES report a few most distinguished designers. Harbeth’s Alan Shaw, the keeper
years ago, the trend was clear: Multichannel was ascendant of the BBC flame, debuted a new version of his Monitor 40
and every other manufacturer seemed to be offering (the reference these last several years of our own Robert E.
“suites” of loudspeakers, i.e., matched sets of five channels plus Greene), forced on Shaw when his woofer manufacturer abruptly
subwoofer. These have by no means disappeared. However, in stopped producing it (without informing him!). The changes,
the high end, at least with loudspeakers from $3k–12k per pair, which involve more than just the woofer, aren’t retrofittable, but
the emphasis was once again on good old‑fashioned two‑channel I’m happy to say that the new version ($11.5k) remains arguably
stereo, an impression unmistakably reinforced by the associated the definitive large monitor, a speaker of matchless accuracy and
gear—a helluva lot of vinyl as source material and a surprising authority.
lot of tube and audiophile‑oriented solid‑state amplification. Jorma Salmi, the Finnish auteur of the Gradient Revolution
Some shows have really good sound, others less so. This year it and long one of audio’s most original thinkers, has at last come out
was the latter for me. My overriding impression is that I heard a with a new version of the Gradient 1.3. Called the Helsinki 1.5
lot of tweeters—I mean both many tweeters and too much tweeter. and priced at $4500, this is a three‑way open‑baffle floorstanding
Contributing to and inseparable from this is the dominance of configuration of strikingly modernistic styling. The sound was
compact two‑way speakers in various configurations, whether beautifully clean, clear, and open, with, always a hallmark of
boxes or small floorstanders. I appreciate the virtues of compact, Salmi’s designs, a solid soundstage of very precise imaging.
high‑performance two‑ways as far as they as go. But I encountered Speaking of original thinking, there were two outstandingly
so many of these at the show that I frankly got tired of listening innovative designs, both employing digital signal processing,
to them: Whatever their merits, as a group they lacked deep and from new American companies. Salagar Sonics out of Illinois
sometimes midbass (and often warmth), had projected presence introduced the Sonnet S207, a slightly larger‑than‑usual
and too many highs, and in general did not sound like music two‑way, superbly engineered and built, with a sealed enclosure
to me. When you consider the quite extraordinary advances in that contains both amplification and a choice of four DSP curves
driver technology and materials, to say nothing of digital signal to compensate for the effects of boundary or freestanding
processing, it’s puzzling that so many manufacturers in the placement. It can be used with or without Salagar’s Sonata
$3k–12k category continue to go for designs that by definition S112 subwoofer (also amplified). The ensemble with dedicated
cannot produce the full frequency spectrum necessary for natural stands comes just under $12k—bear in mind, this includes all
reproduction of music. necessary amplification and eliminates speaker cables. The curvy
For these reasons and others, I am choosing to concentrate on enclosures are nothing if not high‑style statements, but it was
the heavy hitters in this category, beginning with two of audio’s the sound that really caught my attention. With the Minnesota
Symphony playing Rimsky‑Korsakov’s Dance of the Tumblers (in
Reference Recordings’s superlative sonics), the Salagar ensemble
threw a huge soundstage of Cinerama width, depth, and quite
eye‑popping height. The dynamic range, weight, punch of the
presentation were breathtaking—one of the most convincing
renditions of a large symphony orchestra at the show. Equally
convincing was Diana Krall and company, rendered life-size with
great articulation, control, and nuance. For all their dynamism
and ability to project size and scale, the Salagars were always
musical and natural sounding, never “hi-fi.”
Emerald Physics, from Park City, Utah, had its new CS2
Controlled Directivity Speaker playing in several rooms.
At just $3000, this 54"‑high open‑baffle panel is a two‑way with a
big difference. The mid/treble driver is a 1" compression driver
mounted inside a 12" acoustic waveguide crossing over to a pair
of 15" midrange/woofers at 1kHz. An outboard DSP controller
adjusts amplitude response, crossover, and time alignment
(bi‑amping is required). Since a review is already in the works
from REG, I’ll just offer a preview: Across the board the CS2
Left, the Salagar Sonata S207 has an internal amp and DSP; right,
Emerald Physics’ CS2 is another DSP-controlled loudspeaker.
is a superb speaker that images like crazy and has wide dynamic
range, extended frequency response (well into the deep bass),
MID-PRICED Loudspeakers
and natural tonal balance.
Priced at $5500, the Reference 3A Episode is a less
expensive version of the speaker that so impressed HP a couple
of issues ago. Austerely but handsomely styled in a polished
birch cabinet with a sloping baffle, this two‑way boasts extreme
transparency, with extraordinary resolution and detail, and casts
a soundstage of impressive width and depth. As regards tonal
balance, I found it a bit “presence‑y” (“presence galore,” reads
one of my notes), a little overly brilliant, and somewhat lean in
the hips, though this may have been a function of the room.
Kunhap Audio Technology, a Chinese company, is a name
new to me, but with Reference Recordings’s Symphonic Dances
playing through its S‑860 floorstanding three‑way ($7000), I heard
lovely strings (perhaps a tad toppy), a robust, open midrange, and
Far left, Reference 3A Episode in birch cabinet; left, Kunhap O.A.T. floorstander; right, the Rethm Saadhana uses a single 6” driver in a horn-
loaded enclosure; far right, Westlake BBSSM-6 with foam surround.
MID-PRICED Loudspeakers
particularly precise). Very midrange‑y,
warm enough no doubt but lacking in
both mid‑ and deep bass. Highs were
also somewhat lacking, which I point
out almost with some relief. All the
same, the Saadhana has an enthusiastic
cult following, so anyone interested in
single‑driver speakers should check it
out.
Westlake Audio, with feet in both
the professional and consumer markets,
introduced its BBSSM‑6 ($8500), a
large box with a difference: four drivers
configured for horizontal placement.
It is here pictured with Westlake’s
SpeakerMuff, a foam frame intended
to absorb or otherwise help eliminate
diffraction effects. The sound invited
none of the usual clichés of detailing and
resolution; instead, completely free from
any hint of audiophile razzle‑dazzle, it
had an old‑fashioned honesty that I found
both admirable and satisfying (Sinatra
sounded like Sinatra, for example).
Final Sound 1000i and 600i electrostats.
There were some notable exceptions
to my earlier complaints about compact
two‑way performance. ProAc’s subwoofer. They come finished in
Response D2 ($3400) eschewed handsome wood veneer and priced at
detail‑is‑everything thinking for a $10k for all four units. Playing Symphonie
surprisingly warm and inviting sound. fantastique established this as the setup for
The same for Esoteric’s MG‑10 listeners who want really deep and powerful
($5400), which rendered symphonic bass on a somewhat restricted budget.
music with an appropriately filled‑out Indeed, the bass rather overpowered the
bottom end. But the MG‑10 was demoed presentation, compromising both clarity
in a room far too large, so its dynamic and transparency, but I am inclined to
limitations became apparent in a way that attribute that to the room.
the ProAc’s did not in its much smaller Given my longstanding devotion to
venue. Both speakers come in attractive Quad ESLs, I was particularly interested in
wood veneers, but their styling pales two manufacturers of electrostatic panels.
beside the glowing finish of the Italian Final Sound was showing its 600i
company Opera’s new Callas ($5000). ($7500) and 1000i ($10,000), and King
This compact two‑way combines a 5" Sound (from China) its King ($7000)
midrange/woofer with three tweeters, one and Prince II ($4000) full‑range panels.
of them rear‑firing. The result is an open, Though all the electrostatic virtues of
airy presentation that, surprisingly, didn’t transparency, clarity, and coherence were in
appear to balance overly much toward evidence, the demonstrations were fatally
the treble, though I wouldn’t describe it compromised, I felt, by limitations in room
as warm either. And Joseph Audio’s size and placement (entirely too close to
revised RM22 (a two‑way floorstander, the walls). Still, every one of them is worth
$3200), with new drivers, sounded very further investigation away from CES.
civilized whether playing a string quartet But isn’t that always the case? Regardless
or Ella by starlight. of context, despite its reputation as the
A sub/satellite system from Canada Gretna Green of the West, Las Vegas is
is Angstrom’s Obliggato IIf tower rarely the best place to make decisions
paired with the Profundo powered regarding lasting engagements.
Solid-State Amps,
Preamps, &
Integrated Amps Neil Gader
Left, turning any iPod into a high-end media server is Wadia’s trick iTransport; right, Pro-Ject’s “Box Series” components.
I
f there’s one constant that I take away from Las Vegas every component-video outputs as well as analog AV outputs.
January it’s that CES exhibitors and attendees are a hardy lot. While the Wadia only extracts the digital datastream in order to
It takes a lot more than the darkening clouds of a sub-prime hand it off to the outboard D/A converter of your choice, the
mortgage crisis, recession worries, or hundred-buck-a-barrel oil Krell takes more of a systems approach. The Krell Interface
to dampen their optimistic spirits. But that’s not to say there Dock or KID ($1500) is a fully operational DAC/preamp/
wasn’t a fair share of nail-biting, particularly for importers stung docking station for iPod devices. It features balanced-differential
by the weakening U.S. dollar. Class A circuitry, a 255-step volume control, composite and S-
Throughout the high end this show represented the broadest video outputs, and a 1/8" stereo connector on the front panel for
contrasts in gear that I can remember, particularly at the front- other portable players. The Papa Dock is the 150Wpc power
end of the chain. From unimaginably exotic analog rigs to The amplifier docking system designed to interface specifically with
Tape Project—a subscription only mastertape club—to iPod the KID. It features balanced and single-ended outputs. The
docks and hard-drive media servers, there was a level of diversity price should be announced soon.
I’ve not seen before.
Desktop High End and Combi-Receivers
Bridging Generations It’s not too much of a stretch to predict that portable media players
Among the many four-letter words uttered during the four days like the iPod are also inspiring a new generation of miniature high
of blissful chaos is the one that has been most deeply disturbing end. Still to be determined is whether this “desktop” trend might
to audiophiles, i-P-o-d. Rather than bemoaning the high end’s represent a devaluation of what “audiophile quality” means. One
future while holding its collective nose, a few savvy high-end thing is certain—TAS will continue to weigh in on this subject.
manufacturers are rolling out gear that just might bridge the To that end, Kharma International (as high end as they
divide. And who has better credentials than Wadia and Krell? come) is expanding its Matrix line of electronics by adding the
From Wadia, the iTransport ($349) is the first Apple-licensed Matrix preamp ($5000) a single-ended Class A unit that joins
dock to bypass the player’s internal D/A converter and offer the MP150 switching monoblocks ($7800). Remote-control-
full resolution in file formats like WAV and Apple Lossless. It equipped, the preamp includes four inputs, one balanced and
delivers bit-perfect digital audio from the current roster of iPod three single-ended. Yet to come are a CD player, phonostage,
players. It can also access video content. Who knew you were and stereo amp. No dock or USB? Hopefully, soon. Meanwhile,
walking around with a hip-pocket media server? Connectivity Arcam unwrapped two new entries in its successful Solo lineup,
is excellent—the back panel has SPDIF digital-audio and the Solo Mini ($999) a 25Wpc stereo CD-receiver with a front-
Left, Lenbrook’s Mark Stone with a new hive of NAD BEEs; right, sexy NADs—the VISO FIVE and VISO TWO.
panel interface for connecting personal music players via Arcam’s Prior to entering the NAD suite I thought I’d crashed the
rDock or rLead. For cinephiles there was the Solo Movie 2.1 wrong party when I saw the large posters for the new DVD/CD
($2499) a 50Wpc DVD-receiver—a two-channel version of the receivers, the VISO FIVE for surround and VISO TWO for
Solo 5.1 two-channel ($1799 and $1299, respectively). Their curvaceous
Setting the desktop miniature/modular standard is the new wrap-around front panels are a marked departure for NAD. On
Box Series from Austrian turntable maker Pro-Ject. The the video side both feature an HDMI video output, upscaling
Box Series includes a Pre Box, Amp Box (30Wpc stereo or 35W to 720p or 1080i, and a vivid on-screen display. There’s plenty
mono flavors), and a Phono Box. Later this year, look for the of video connectivity and a subwoofer output, as well. An XM-
Dock, Switch, DAC, and Tuner Boxes. Each will be priced in the ready input allows an XM satellite module to be easily connected
$300–$400 range. for XM Radio reception, and a rear-panel data port accepts
Everyone was abuzz about NAD’s budget BEE line. At its NAD’s optional new IPD-1 dock for connecting an iPod. NAD’s
Hard Rock hotel suite NAD debuted the C 315BEE integrated upscale Masters Series is joined by the M4 ($1299), an AM/FM
stereo amplifier ($349) and C 515BEE CD player ($299), which tuner with XM-ready connectivity and a full complement of IR
boasts 24-bit/192kHz DACs. With 40Wpc of “honest” NAD sensors and 12V triggers.
output and short signal paths, the new 315BEE calls to mind In a class all by itself is the Aura Note CD-receiver ($1850).
the legendary 3020 of yesteryear. NAD may well be the place to Designed by noted British industrial designer Kenneth Grange,
BEE for budget-conscious audiophiles in ’08. the Note is defiantly retro with chrome surfaces and a slide-away
glass cover for the top-loading CD mechanism. However, don’t
be fooled by the “Austin Powers meets Mission Impossible” styling.
The Aura Note is a thoroughly modern machine, sporting dual
USB inputs for streaming audio from a PC or for recording
sources directly to a memory stick. Power output is 50Wpc, and
it comes with a remote control.
YBA Design has largely been off the radar in the States in
recent years but that could be about to change with the YS201
Music Center ($4000 estimated). Like a Swiss Army knife,
it’s easier to ask what it doesn’t do than try to list the things it
does. Perhaps the most ambitious convergenceiver yet, it combines
a 50Wpc MOSFET output amplifier section with a DVD/CD
player, tuner, 500-gig music server, and 1080p scaler with GUI
via HDMI output. It can gather all music metadata via Ethernet
and USB. Due this summer.
DISC PLAYERS,
TRANSPORTS,
& DACS Robert Harley
I
usually cover all digital products at shows, but this year I split interface, and a bargain price ($1695). (One reason the price is so
the task with Alan Taffel. I took the disc players, transports, and low is that you supply your own hard drives.)
DACs, and Alan tackled “Next-Gen Audio” (hard-disk-drive Accuphase debuted its DP-700 CD/SACD player
storage, Web-based content acquisition, wireless access, and high- that uses a novel DAC architecture. When playing SACD, the
end products with Ethernet ports). This turned out to be a good 2.8224MHz Direct Stream Digital bitstream decoded from the
move, as this show saw the introduction of many conventional disc is upconverted by 2x and then input to a series of delay lines,
digital playback products, along with a wide range of next-genera- with each delay line feeding its own DAC. The result is digital-to-
tion gear that signals a new direction in high-end digital playback. analog conversion that has inherent in it a high-pass filter with
Some products, however, didn’t fall so neatly into defined perfectly linear phase characteristics. This so-called “moving
categories. A good example is Boulder’s new 1021 Disc
Player. I took one look at the machine and thought “Why
hasn’t someone done this before?” The “this” in that question
is a large LCD display that provides a listing of tracks on the
disc, with highlighting of the track that’s playing. The 1021 has
an internal database of metadata for tens of thousands of titles,
along with an Ethernet jack for connecting to the Internet to
retrieve metadata for new titles or those not in the database.
These features required Boulder to include a computer in the
1021 and write the control software from scratch.
On the audio side, the player is built around the transport
mechanism’s mechanical integrity. The on-board computer not
only runs the player, it also controls an audio buffer than can
store more than one minute of audio data. The front-panel
display shows where you are in a track, along with the current
listening point in the buffer. Digital filtering is provided by
custom Boulder-written software running on a DSP platform. As
Esoteric’s X-05 CD/SACD player employs a new version of the
you might expect from this sophisticated feature set and build- company’s acclaimed VRDS transport mechanism.
quality, the 1021 isn’t cheap: $24,000.
The Alpha DAC from they guys behind HDCD will decode high-
resolution sources.
Esoteric expanded its “X” series with the new X-05 CD/
SACD player. The player brings many of Esoteric’s technologies
to a lower price point, particularly the VRDS transport
mechanism. The new VRDS-Neo/VMK-5 mechanism offers
Two industry icons: Paul Barton the stability and precision of the previous-generation VRDS
of PSB Speakers (left), and mechanism in a more affordable implementation. A new patent-
Sunfire’s Bob Carver (right).
pending disc-handling system, called “differential gearing,”
provides exceptionally smooth operation with fewer parts and
Greatest Bargain: This ingenious device promises reportedly greater long-term reliability. The X-05 is a dual mono
is a bit premature, but the to deliver high-end sound design that features dual-differential DACs. Price: $5500.
prototype of a $1500-per- quality, music-server con- Edge Electronics has upgraded its highly regarded GCD
pair loudspeaker Paul Barton venience, massive storage CD player ($6038) with new parts, including an entirely fresh and
(of PSB Speakers) showed capacity, and an outstanding different transport mechanism that’s damped and suspended in
me could redefine what’s user interface—all for the the chassis. I heard the unit with Edge’s newly upgraded preamp
possible in sub-$2k loud- price of a good CD player. and 12.1 signature power amplifier, and thought it was also one
speakers. The still-unnamed of the show’s best sounds.
product employs a radically Greatest Technologi- A new CD/SACD player from Wadia expands on the company’s
different cabinet-construc- cal Breakthrough: proprietary technologies. The upscale 781 runs Wadia’s DigiMaster
tion method that could Meridian Audio’s new digital 2.5 upsampling and filtering software that creates 1.4112 million
revolutionize the industry. filter in its 808.2 CD player samples per second at 24 bits. A new jitter-reduction circuit
avoids some problems of all (ClockLink) reportedly provides “state-of-the-art” performance
Most Surprising previous filters. CDs played from both CD and SACD, and the 781 includes a discrete version
Discovery: The show’s through the 808.2 and the of Wadia’s SwiftCurrent current-to-voltage converter. The Class
biggest surprise was the new DSP7200 active DSP A output stage uses no global feedback. The $12,000 781 is also
huge, transparent, extremely loudspeaker sounded like available as the 781i, with the latter adding digital inputs and digital
dynamic, and tonally pure high-resolution recordings. outputs for a $1500 price premium.
sound that emerged from the The CD format just might NAD has always produced benchmarks of performance at
tiny Meridian F80 portable get a new lease on life. affordable price points, a trend the company hopes to continue
with the new C515BEE CD player. The $299 C515BEE is the
L
ast year I railed against CES 2007’s pervasive sense True High-Resolution Audio Has Arrived
of stagnation. Rather than emphasizing advanced All too often, industry references to “hi-res” audio actually mean
technologies—like DSP-based room correction, high- “CD-quality” audio. How low our MP3-influenced standards
resolution source material, or multichannel playback—that hold have fallen! For example, the so-called hi-res offerings of Apple’s
the promise of substantial gains in sonic realism, manufacturers iTunes Plus are actually CD-quality at best, hardly the last
exhibited ever more expensive fine-tunings of the status quo, word in fidelity. But this situation is metamorphosing. Joining
with barely incremental fidelity gains to show for them. Linn Records, which has been offering true hi-res (up to 96/24)
This year was different. CES 2008 was exactly what a CES downloads for a year, is AIX Records’ iTrax service (also
should be: a look into the future. Between what was and, 96/24). But what really caused a stir at CES was Reference
significantly, what wasn’t on display, the shape of next-generation Recordings’ new HRx format. Imagine music sourced from
audio has never been clearer. uncompressed, bit-perfect copies of 176.4/24 mastertapes. This
is no dream, it is reality. And the product was demonstrated
Next-Gen Audio Is Stereo to great effect in the TAD, FIM, Magico, and Luxman rooms.
In my thorough, if not exhaustive, exploration of the show, I A Reference Recordings rep told me the company has been
saw not a single multichannel audio demonstration. To be sure, inundated with interest in the format from artists and labels alike.
I heard plenty of multichannel sound, but always and exclusively We appear to be on the brink of a rapidly expanding selection of
in conjunction with movies. I queried both DTS and Dolby, truly high-resolution digital recordings.
whose new audio formats for Blu-ray and HD DVD discs could
easily support discrete, multichannel, high-resolution music. High-End Audio to Blu-ray and HD DVD: No
Neither has plans for anything of the sort. Indeed, so concrete Thanks!
is the assumption that music will be stereo for the foreseeable It’s no secret that both SACD and DVD-Audio are officially
future that DTS displayed a sophisticated new process that dead [although SACD lives on in new playback hardware and significant
emulates surround sound from two speakers. Called Surround software support from independent labels—RH]. But whereas early
Sensation, the gimmicky-sounding product was actually highly industry speculation was that one of the new HD-video discs
convincing in a headphone-based demo. How well it will work would ultimately emerge as a replacement, that no longer appears
through speakers remains to be seen, but DTS has clearly done to be the case. Not only do purveyors of these formats have no
its psychoacoustic homework. plans for multichannel music, as noted above, they have no plans
The lack of multichannel audio was, for me, the biggest surprise for music at all. The high-end community, however, is taking
of the show. When done right—a major qualification, I know— matters into its own hands. Notice how every one of the hi-res
multichannel is irrefutably more like being in the presence of the services and formats described above is delivered via download?
real thing. However, the trend, at least for now, is clearly toward This is no accident. By making music available as files, record
higher-resolution stereo as opposed to more channels. Which companies can propagate new titles quickly and at far lower cost
leads to the next observation: than via physical discs. Essentially, “HD audio” has skipped a
generation compared to its video counterpart.
One reason this is possible is that even very high bit-rate audio
files are paltry in size compared to HD video. This is particularly
true when there are only two channels rather than six. Still, some
readers may be concerned about the time it will take to download
large audio files. Fear not—the cable and telecom industries are
coming to the rescue. Both see downloadable HD movies as the
Holy Grail. But the current infrastructure, which averages a few
Mbps per subscriber and tops out at around 16Mbps, doesn’t
yet support such a service. The industry giants are moving to
rectify this situation. Comcast, for example, wowed a packed
keynote crowd with its new 160Mpbs cable modem. In a live
demonstration, the company downloaded an entire HD film in
just four minutes! With capacity like that coming, we can look
forward to receiving our hi-res music files in no time flat.
NEXT-GEN AUDIO
Left, Thiel branches out with this powerful whole-house media server, the db1; right, the Naim music server.
user interface, sound quality, and ability to engage listeners in ds1-networked amp (for non-Thiel speakers), or Thiel’s own
musical discovery. Add to these benefits yet another: They are network-addressable SCS40 speaker with built-in DAC and
not limited to CD’s 44.1/16 standard. Indeed, their Internet amp.
connectivity and computer foundation allows them to download Similarly sophisticated, but here today, is Naim’s series of
and play music in a variety of hi-res formats. music servers, the NS01, NS02, and NS03, which range in
Naturally, music servers were a significant presence at this year’s price from $6200 to $9500, depending upon the number of zones
show. Suppliers generally fell into two camps: those that believe supported and whether the user desires a touch-panel interface.
PCs or Macs make perfectly good music servers, and those who All three models are self-discovering, plug-and-play units that can
chose instead to build stand-alone components. Among the interface with any Netstreams-compliant device. Naim eschews
former were Resolution Audio, which is upgrading the XS wireless connectivity, feeling it cannot deliver consistent quality
module of its Golden Ear Award-winning stack to the iXS. of service. The company prefers Ethernet with special clock
The iXS ($2500, 2Q availability) contains an iTunes client that synchronization. Inside the servers are mirrored 400GB drives,
communicates wirelessly with any Mac via the Apple Lossless for redundancy, but the NSes can access any network-attached
format. In a slick move, the server can be remote-controlled by storage for unlimited expansion.
an iPhone or iPod Touch.
In contrast, Vincent Sanders of VRS Audio distrusts (rightly DACs Are Back
so, in my opinion) all consumer audio PC software. So he turned Virtually all music servers contain built-in DACs, but they also
to the pro world, where he claims to have found software for sport a variety of digital outputs. To take best advantage of
Macs that is “the most transparent available.” We’ll have to wait those pristine, high-grade digital streams, the once moribund
three to six months, and pay between $800 and $1400 to test this field of separate DACs has gained new life. Most of the new
claim. VRS will also offer a Firewire DAC and an external clock, units offer not only SPDIF but also USB inputs, and support
each for $5–$10k. Obviously, this will be a serious music server. today’s high bit-rates. Among the promising new models were
The big boys were also jumping on the media/music server Bryston’s BDA-1 ($1995, 2Q) and the tubed Cayin DAC1
bandwagon. Microsoft was showing its new Home Server
software, a completely clueless offering. In contrast, Hewlett-
Packard displayed its impressive new MediaSmart Server
software, which can operate on any PC or within one of HP’s
dedicated servers ($599 for the 500GB model, $749 for the
1T version). Either way, the server works in conjunction with
the company’s new Digital Media Receiver (about $400 in
April), which fronts any of multiple hi-fi systems presumably
scattered about the house. Everything communicates via the
home Ethernet, and MediaSmart is able to see and to consolidate
music from any PC on the network.
As for stand-alone, dedicated music servers, two ambitious
new offerings stood out. Thiel is going the Meridian/Goldmund
route of offering a system that is digital end-to-end. In Thiel’s
case, a brand new offering called the db1 (price TBD, availability
late ’08) will anchor a whole-house media system. With resolution
up to 192/24 per channel, the unit will be capable of streaming
up to 7.1 channels into eight independent zones over Ethernet,
Cayin’s tubed USB-compatible iDAC.
power lines, or wirelessly. At the receiving end will be either a
NEXT-GEN AUDIO
($799). Goldmund is adding a USB input to its complete line of
digital preamplifiers, which range in price from $5700 for the 10-
channel Metis preamp to, well, a whole lot for more powerful
units. In each case, Goldmund has gone to great lengths—from
re-clocking and re-building the entire digital stream to fabricating
its own proprietary USB chipset—to avoid the timing problems
and digital noise it believes are inherent in standard PC interfaces.
(My own preliminary testing of USB interfaces confirms
Goldmund’s concerns.)
Left, the great new LAMM Industries ML-3 single-ended monoblock amplifiers; right, Trulife Audio SET amplifiers on display.
I
t was gratifying to discover that interest in tube audio has coupling for all actives stages. And these are extremely high
not only remained strong year-to-year, but judging from the quality interstage transformers—bandwidth is said to exceed
number of rooms with tube products, appears to be surging 2MHz! Output transformers are no slouches either, being flat
at every imaginable price point. A case in point is the release by to 80kHz. Trulife amplifiers appear to closely approach the full
TEAC Esoteric, a leader in digital technology, of a stereo tube sonic potential of directly heated triodes. As you can imagine,
amplifier. “Why a tube product, and why now?” are questions I price tags are steep—$50,000 and beyond.
raised during the Esoteric press function. The official answer was At the other end of the price spectrum, PrimaLuna
that these decisions were driven by market interest and demand. expanded its DiaLogue line with the addition of the KT88-based
The A-100 ($18,500) derives 45Wpc from a pair of KT88s DiaLogue 7 monoblocks ($4999). The DiaLogue products
operated in push-pull mode. During the demo, and driving the represent a step up from the ProLogue line and feature primarily
Esoteric MG-20 magnesium-alloy speakers I recently reviewed, better output transformers. Recall that the DiaLogue 2 integrated
it became crystal clear that this amp sounded far different than earned our Product of the Year award; I can’t wait to audition
the typically pleasant and sluggish push-pull tube amplifiers of the 7!
the 1950s. In no way did it blunt the speed, transparency, and EveAnna Manley, high priestess of tube audio, proudly
resolution of the MG-20s. displayed the latest incarnation of the Stingray—one of the most
LAMM Industries launched the ML3 Signature popular tube integrated amplifiers of the modern tube era. The
($139,290)—a no-compromise 32Wpc single-ended tube Manley Stingray-II features a beefed-up power supply, which
amplifier based on the GM-70 directly heated triode. It’s the
Ferrari of single-ended amps, considering the wattage to price
ratio of over $4000 per watt. No doubt about it, that first watt
is pretty pricey, but it’s the first watt that sets the stage, and is
responsible for much of the musical enjoyment. Rest assured
that in this case, the first few watts appear to be as good as it
gets in the domain of single-ended designs. The custom output
trannies are capable of wider bandwidth at full power than
competing designs. In other words, bass and treble response are
not compromised for the sake of an exquisite midrange.
Single-ended design passion is also burning bright in Greece. I
met up with Velissarios Georgiadis, managing director of Trulife
Audio (TLA), headquartered in Athens, Greece. Formed in 1995,
as a division of Elmet, a specialty transformer manufacturer,
the TLA principals combined technical knowledge and musical
experience to fashion a most impressive lineup of single-ended
amplifiers using the 300B and 845 power triodes. Common
design threads are the avoidance of feedback, elimination of
PrimaLuna Heaven.
coupling capacitors in the signal path, and usage of transformer-
TUBE GEAR
transformers ($25,000). In addition, a 274B rectifier tube option
is available instead of the standard 5AR4.
Speaking of the 274B, Western Electric tubes (300B and
274B) are now being distributed in the U.S. by AXISS Audio.
AXISS, of course, has been the long-time distributor for Air
Tight products. The designer, Mr. Muira, proudly showed off
the ATM-2001 Reference monoblocks. My attention was also
focused on the much more modest ATM-1S stereo amplifier, a
version of the amp that kindled my passion for Air Tight years ago.
Some of the best sound at the Show was to be had in the
AcousticPlan room. One of the reasons is undoubtedly the
systems approach used by founder and music devotee Claus
Jäckle. His design philosophy is strongly based on a minimalist
approach to amplification and selection of the best devices for a
particular application. He has also shown a penchant for naming
his products after Indian musical instruments. Take, for example,
the Sarod preamplifier ($11,000; $13,000 with relay-operated
The Triode Corporation’s TRV-M300SE 300B monoblocks.
remote volume control, and an additional $4100 for optional
moving-magnet phonostage). Its linestage uses a single triode for
EveAnna says is responsible for its bigger sound character, as amplification and interstage transformers as coupling devices.
well as an iPod dock. The latter is of no great consequence to a The Santor ($11,000) is a hybrid power amplifier (50Wpc into
baby boomer like me, but should be of great interest to a new 8 ohms; 100Wpc into 4 ohms) using triodes for the input and
generation on the go. driver stages and power MOSFET devices at the output. With
Audio Research has finally replaced the SP16 entry-level the new AcousticPlan Vadi CD player ($14,500) as the front end,
preamp. Its replacement, the SP17, is available as a line only and driving the open-baffle AcousticPlan Veena loudspeaker,
version ($3000) and also with an optional phonostage ($3500). which incorporates a Lowther full-range driver and four active
I spent quite a bit of time at the Herron Audio room listening bass woofers ($28,000), the sound was intensely musical with
to excerpts from recordings by the late John Blaine, courtesy of gorgeous midrange.
Keith Herron. The sound here was excellent, a byproduct of Atma-Sphere’s much-decorated OTL amplifier, the M-60
the new VTSP-3 preamplifier ($6550), M1 monaural power ($6350), has received a face-lift and is now designated as the M-
amplifiers ($6850), dCS Puccini CD/SACD player, and a pre- 60 Mark III. Designer Ralph Karsten, who is always a pleasure
production version of Keith’s new 2104A loudspeakers. to engage, was on hand for a lengthy technical discussion. With
Although there was nothing new on display, I never miss a the M-60 driving the Classic Audio Reproductions T-1
chance to listen to WAVAC Audio Lab gear. The MD-805 ($27,500) loudspeaker, the sound quality was far superior to that
Mk. II 60Wpc monoblocks were driving a pair of Venture Audio I had noted from this speaker in past years. It turned out that
La perfection speakers. The front end consisted of the Einstein this was no ordinary T-1: the horn-loaded compression driver
Last Record Player and the WAVAC PR-T1 preamp. WAVAC is was configured for field-coil operation and was energized with
now being distributed in the U.S. by Covenant Audio Consulting. an external DC power supply. I can personally attest that this is
The Cary Audio Design CAD 805 Anniversary a big deal. There was talk of also converting the woofer to field-
Edition SET monoblocks ($11,000) were on display in the
Cary room. This is the amp that started my love affair with SET
amps some 15 years ago. The CAD 120S ($5000), a 120Wpc
stereo amplifier (60Wpc in triode mode), was teamed up with
the Proclaim DMT-100 loudspeaker—a most musical coupling.
A quartet of KT88s is used per channel with 6SN7-based input
and driver stages.
The Triode Corporation of Japan recently celebrated its
10th anniversary. It offers several affordable SET amplifiers. My
favorite is the TRV-M300SE 300B monoblocks, featuring a
pair of 300Bs per channel operated in parallel. Power output is
20Wpc. U.S. distribution is via Twin Audio Video.
No discussion of single-ended amplification would be
complete without Wavelength Audio. Gordon Rankin has
The AcousticPlan system. Synergy in spades—one of DO’s
juiced up the Signature Series Cardinal 12Wpc, 300B- favorites.
based monoblocks ($7500), with optional silver-wired output
TUBE GEAR
developed a reputation for excellent value. A case in point is the
SA-T1 tube preamplifier, which is priced at $1499. It was part of
a Vincent Audio electronics package responsible for driving the
Ambience 1600 loudspeaker to excellent sound quality.
Seen and heard in the Stillpoint room were the new David
Berning Quadrature Z monoblock amplifiers ($29,995).
Last seen in the ZH-270, the Quadrature takes the RF mapping
“OTL” technology to a new level of power and current drive
(200Wpc into 8 ohms).
No visit to CES would be complete without a visit to the
Conrad-Johnson room. After all, over the years I don’t recall
auditioning any C-J product I did not like. New this year is the
LP66S stereo power amplifier ($4300), which features the same
circuit architecture as the more costly LP70S but substitutes less
costly parts. Also new is the ET2 Enhanced Triode preamplifier
($3500) whose circuit topology consists of a triode voltage gain
Lew Johnson of Conrad-Johnson showcasing the new LP66S
stereo power amplifier.
stage direct-coupled to a high-current output buffer.
Turntables, TONEARMS,
CARTRIDGES &
PHONOSTAGES Jim Hannon
If the number of new introductions of turntables, tonearms, cartridges, and
phonostages at CES and THE Show is any indication, analog playback is alive and
well. The plethora of significant releases in each category was amazing. Coupled
with a host of new vinyl releases and reissues, analog is looking healthier than it
has for a long time.
Left, Pro-ject PerspX with its 9cc Evolution tonearm; right, Clearaudio Performance Magnum.
Left, Continuum’s “Criterion” turntable and “Copperhead” tonearm, with Koetsu “Coralstone” cartridge; middle, Artemis Lab’s turntable
and Schroeder tonearm; right, Thorens TD 550 turntable with matching electronics.
The VPI HR-X with the new Rim Drive option was producing To sum up, more companies used analog front-ends to
a wonderfully spacious and natural soundstage, with excellent highlight their products this year. In addition to the new releases,
speed stability, in concert with Herron Audio electronics and the VPI HR-X and TNT-6, SME 20/12 and 20/2, Basis Audio
custom speakers. Although the Rim Drive is surprisingly massive, 2800 Signature and Debut Signature, Grand Prix Monaco, TW-
it can be easily added to several VPI models. A new custom Acustic Raven AC, among others, were spinning away. It was
turntable from PBN Audio uses a VPI drive system and platter, quite an analog fest!
SME 312S, and a plinth made of four layers of maple ($8000
with arm). Combined with a Clearaudio Accurate cartridge, Tonearms
PBN electronics, and the Montana KAS2, it produced music While many analog rigs sported Tri-planar Mk VII, Graham
with a great sense of hall acoustic, delicacy, and slam, without Phantom B-44, JMW-12.7, Basis Vector Model 4, SME V, or
stress or strain. SME 312S tonearms, several new high-performance arms
Last year, I was very impressed by Merrill-Scillia’s MS21 were introduced that may challenge them. Linear tracking fans
turntable ($24,000) with its aerospace machining, advanced should love Clearaudio’s new TQ-1 arm ($9500). Mimicking
suspended design, and sophisticated speed control. Its the Statement arm, the wheels are enclosed in a glass tube and
performance has been improved by new precision-machined the arm seems to glide effortlessly across the table. Thorens,
springs, providing even compression and eliminating side actively re-establishing itself on these shores, announced a new
deflections. Combined with a Tri-planar VII arm and Ortofon arm, the TP 125 Special Edition (~$10,000) designed by
Jubilee, it offered rock-solid speed stability, jet-black backgrounds, DaVinci Audio Labs that appears to be derived from DaVinci’s
and incredible inner detail. A less costly version, the MS2 ($8000) Grandezza arm that some regard as the best in the world.
has the same spring technology and “guts” as the MS21 and can Kuzma introduced its 4Point tonearm (~$7300), offering
be upgraded with the MS21’s digital 2-speed power supply. an ultra-high-performance pivoted alternative to its AirLine
Another great analog front-end featured Artemis Labs’ new tonearm. Both were mounted on the Stabi XL 4 turntable on
turntable (~$6000), designed by Frank Schroeder, incorporating VTA towers offering easy and repeatable VTA adjustments. The
a multilayered plinth made of bamboo, a 15-pound platter 4PT has a unique horizontal and vertical bearing configuration, is
fashioned from aircraft aluminum, and a huge bearing. It uses effectively an 11" arm but fits on a cutout for 9" arms, and offers
a self-tensioning tape drive, comes with a universal armboard, bi-wiring to enable the use of two different phonostages.
and will be manufactured in the U.S. The demo ’table sported a Musical Surroundings was showing two versions of the
Schroeder arm and a Soundsmith “Voice” cartridge, with Artemis Helius Omega tonearm ($3500 standard; $5000 deluxe). The
Labs electronics driving Verity Fidelio speakers. The sound was Omega’s counterweight is on the same plane as the stylus, to
as natural as I heard at both shows. improve stability and efficiency, and its large bearing housing
McIntosh and Thorens introduced high-performance ’tables improves motion control. An Omega, Clearaudio Anniversary
that match their respective electronics. The McIntosh MT10 table, and Stradiveri cartridge combination had amazing transient
($9000 with arm and MC cartridge) uses a magnetic bearing speed and clarity without blurring.
and is set up at the factory, and the beautiful Thorens TD
550 ($12,925) is a suspended design with an Ortofon arm and Phono Cartridges
balanced and unbalanced jacks. It can accommodate 9-, 10-, While several top-shelf analog rigs used Koetsu, Air Tight,
or 12-inch arms. Thorens also showed its impressive new TD Clearaudio, and Dynavector cartridges, a number of new carts
160 HD ($2899 with arm) with its progressively dampened, debuted at CES and T.H.E. Show. Benz Micro was particularly
suspended subchassis. active, introducing a new series of phono cartridges—the “S
High-End
Loudspeakers Jonathan Valin
My beat was loudspeakers above $12,000. hybrid line-source loudspeakers ($45k)—the littler brother of
Do you have any idea how many those barber-pole-like speaker that HP reviewed in Issue 180.
loudspeakers above $12,000 were shown Driven by BAT electronics, these Scaenas showed considerably
at CES 2008? better than they did at RMAF. A bit dry and hollow, because
I do. Practically every room on the 29th, 30th, 34th, and 35th of what sounded like (possibly room-induced) suckout in the
floor of the Venetian hotel—which is to say, every room in the upper bass/lower midrange, the 3.2s did an otherwise fine job
CES’ primary high-end-audio exhibition area—had a pair or two of reproducing Marc Cohn’s “Ghost Train,” though his fretwork
playing merrily away in the spots where minibars stocked with wasn’t as clear as it is when I listen to this cut at home and the
four-dollar cans of Coke and fifteen-dollar nips of Scotch once whole presentation had a curious midrangey emphasis. Still,
stood. Not to mention the half-dozen or so $12k+ speakers in this was a big step forward for Scaena in show sound-quality
the Venetian’s ground-floor Meeting Rooms or the scores off- compared to Denver.
site at the Mirage, the MGM Grand, the Alexis Park Hotel, the Next door was the handsome, floor-standing Merlin VSM
St Tropez Resort, etc. I did my best to cover the field, but I Mxe two-way loudspeaker ($45k) driven by Joule electronics.
failed miserably. My apologies to all those companies I missed. I Once again, the sound was a little hollow in the Merlin room
tried—believe me. and a touch forward, making Captain Luke’s rumbling basso on
As usual, I brought my own music to CES. This year, my “Rainy Night in Georgia” (from Came So Far) sound more spotlit
selections included folk (Joan Baez in Concert and Joan Baez Volume than it actually is. Both he and his guitar were quite articulate,
2, both on LP), acoustic blues (Came So Far, on CD), soft rock however, and freed up from the enclosures. The Merlins also
(live versions of Marc Cohn’s “Ghost Train” and “Perfect Love” reproduced the gravel in Guitar Gabriel’s voice on “Keys to
and Babyface’s cover of “Fire and Rain,” both on CD, and Chris the Highway” (also from Came So Far) distinctively, and had
Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” on LP), chamber music (Prokofiev’s First particularly beautiful tone color on his guitar.
Violin Sonata with Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg and Sandra Rivers, This year Alon Wolf ’s stand-mounted two-way Magico
Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata with Heifetz and Brooks Smith, Mr. Mini II ($29.6k) made its CES debut (the speaker was on static
John Cage’s Prepared Piano, and Reiner Bredemeyer’s “Schlagstück 5,” display last year), driven by Pathos electronics in the Musical
all on LP), vocal music (Mario Lanza Live in London, on CD), and Surroundings room. Despite being a bit underpowered by the
orchestral music (Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra, on LP). Pathos gear, which is notably warmer, darker, and more “tubey”
I begin on the 29th floor of the Venetian, where the first than the ARC gear I favor, the Mini II did nothing to harm its
room I visited happened to house Scaena 3.2 ribbon/cone- reputation as one of the world’s supremely great loudspeakers.
Left, Scaena 3.2 ribbon/cone loudspeaker; right, Quad Reference ESL-2905 electrostatic loudspeakers with Quad’s new II-eighty amps.
HIGH-END LOUDSPEAKERS
On the Marc Cohn, Captain Luke, and Guitar Gabriel cuts (and midrange/mid-to-upper bass thickness, which slightly obscured
every other CD or LP I threw at it,), it was superb, boasting the ostinato of the Fender bass.
the kind of astonishingly lifelike fine detail, density of timbre, The Abbington Music Research LS-77 Professional
bass, imaging, and staging I’m used to hearing at home, with any Monitor ($13.5k) is a two-way with an “iso-planar” tweeter (a
differences in dynamics and overall tonal balance attributable to direct descendant of the legendary Decca “Volt” tweeter) and
the difference in source and electronics. Clearly, this was one of a 10" Kapton mid/woof in an aluminum chassis. I heard a
the very Best Sounds at CES. stacked pair, driven by AMR’s own electronics, and the sound
I liked the Ambience Reference 1600 ribbon/cone was light and fast, with exceptional pace, rather like a Naim
hybrids ($12k) at this year’s RMAF, and I liked them again at speaker—but less irritating. A little leanish in balance, the LS-77
CES. They reproduced the difficult Mario Lanza track “Il was exceptionally open and clear on all the cuts I played, with a
Lamento di Federico” with a light, transparent balance and no very good blend of planar tweet and cone woof.
break-up on fortissimos. The speaker may have a bit of cone The American Acoustic Development 7001i ($12.5k)
coloration in the lower midband (where the woofer crosses over is a stand-mount ribbon/cone-hybrid two-way with a 6" passive
to the ribbon, around 400Hz), and it was hard to tell about its radiator on the back of its sealed box; it is intended primarily
imaging because of the very nearfield setup (you actually had to for studio-monitor use. Driven by Parasound electronics, it had
stand across from it to listen). Nonetheless, the Ambience 1600 a nice neutral midrange and very good detail. A little forward
is an excellent speaker—reminiscent of the superb Symposium and nasal, it sounded very present on “Ghost Train,” although it
Acoustics Panorama, which is also a ribbon/cone hybrid. lacked bass extension (as studio monitors tend to do).
On the 29th floor, I also heard, for the first time, the The three-way floorstanding Avalon Acoustics
big Quad Reference ESL-2905 ’stat ($13,800). Eidolon Diamond ($34k), with diamond tweet,
The largest and most full-range Quad ever, with ceramic midrange, and Nomex/Kevlar woofer,
eight electrostatic panels fitted into a rigid extruded- was being driven by Hovland electronics. On Marc
aluminum-and-stainless-steel support structure, Cohn’s “Ghost Train,” the Diamond sounded a bit
it was exceptional—pure, focused, with gorgeous smaller-than-life-sized but downright beautiful, with
timbre on voice and piano on the Lanza disc (and exquisite delicacy of timbre and dynamic. It was also
everything else), and particularly fine performance supremely lovely-sounding on Guitar Gabriel’s “Keys
at lower volumes. Driven by Quad’s new II-eighty to the Highway,” making the old man’s gravely voice
“valve” amps, the 2905 was another strong contender sound rich and robust, albeit a little “prettified.”
for Best of Show. The Tidal Contriva ($44.9k), an all-ceramic-driver
Powered by Nagra electronics, the three-way, multiway floorstander powered by ASR electronics,
floorstanding, WATT/Puppy-like Verity Audio reproduced Mario Lanza with superb focus, a nice
Sarastro 2 ($40k)—with 12" woofer (in its own sense of spatiality, and very good bloom. Although I
McIntosh XRT1k
ported enclosure), and a 5" midrange and Verity’s loudspeaker.
detected a bit of strain on the fortissimos of the Cilea
own ribbon tweeter (in an enclosure of their own)— aria, the speaker never broke up. It had excellent bass
also showed very well, making Baez’s voice and guitar extension and definition. Though the Contriva was
on “Gospel Ship” sound beautiful, if not particularly “you- quite neutral on voice and instruments, it was also a little bleached-
are-there” real. Though a bit smaller in size and more forward sounding, forward, and polite, as ceramic-driver-equipped speakers
than I’m used to, Heifetz’s violin and Brooks Smith’s piano also (and ASR electronics) can sometimes sound.
sounded lovely. Nitpicks aside, I’d have to say that this was the The multiway floorstanding Chario Serendipity with
best I’ve heard a Verity speaker sound at a trade show. isobaric bass modules ($32k), driven by Wavestream electronics
At first glance, I thought the four-way Vivid Audio G1 Giya and a Continuum ’table with Koetsu Coral cartridge, was also a
loudspeaker ($54k) was a B&W Nautilus clone, with its gorgeous bit disappointing. On the Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra,
hand-layered-fiberglass cabinet capped with a curl, like the girl in the pizzicatos in the Passacaglia were muffled (perhaps the
the nursery rhyme. Little did I know that the G1 was engineered volume was too low, although the rest of the orchestra was at
by Lawrence Dickie, the same guy who designed the Nautilus once bright, confused, and muffled, too).
for B&W! The little curl on top turned out to be an exponential Driven by Western Electric electronics, the three-way Isophon
tube to load the aluminum-domed tweeter, which Vivid makes Arabba ($60k), with Acuton ceramic and diamond drivers, was
in its own facilities. (Indeed, Vivid makes all the drivers used in bright, clear, and uncolored, with good bass. Like several other
the G1.) The Giya was very neutral on voice, with a nice sense diamond/ceramic-driver speaker, however, it was also a bit
of delicacy on Baez’s “House Carpenter.” I did think that the antiseptic, sounding positively clinical on the Lutoslawski.
center image was canted a bit to the right (undoubtedly a room or The Silverline La Folia ($12k), also a three-way with Acuton
set-up problem) and that the G1 was a bit better on voice than it ceramic tweeter and Eton midrange, fared much better than the
was on guitar, which it reproduced with more body than string. I Isophon, with a nice, smooth presentation.
heard the same slight image wander on Chris Isaak’s “Dangerous Comes now one of the show’s genuine surprises, the McIntosh
Game,” and the same (perhaps room-induced) touch of lower XRT1k multi-driver line-source loudspeaker ($35k), powered, of
HIGH-END LOUDSPEAKERS
too flat and controlled, too solid-state. As a result, Captain
Luke’s voice on “Rainy Night in Georgia” didn’t have all the
depth, bloom, and whisker-chinned detail I know it has. That
said, his rumbling basso still sounded superbly lifelike, as did
Guitar Gabriel’s cracked, gravelly, old man’s baritone. Even the
electronics couldn’t disguise the realism of timbre and dynamic,
the sheer coherence and cohesiveness of Alon Wolf ’s newest
marvel. Though, to my ear, the V3 is not quite as “there” as the
Mini II in the midband, it was certainly a very close call between
these two superb speakers on every cut I listened to (allowing for
Kharma’s new Exquisite Galileo 2.5-way loudspeaker with Tenor
electronics.
the differences in electronics and source), with the advantage in
dynamic range and power and extension in the bass clearly going
to the less-expensive V3.
course, by McIntosh tube electronics and McIntosh’s new record Hong Kong’s KingSound King System ($16k), a tall
player (sourced from Clearaudio). Smooth, sweet, robust, and floorstanding electrostat with a line array of cone woofers in
breathy, it shocked me with its realistic presentation of “Ghost a separate enclosure, was very dynamic on “Ghost Train” and
Train.” As lifelike and enjoyable as anything I heard at CES, the other cuts, with excellent density of color in the midband, It was,
Mac speaker was not just an ear-opener but also a clear candidate however, slightly thumpy in the low bass and a bit dry overall.
for Best of Show. Who’d have thunk it? Not my cup of Earl Grey.
The Escalante Freemont ($21k), three-way floorstanders Another import (this from Great Britain), the venerable B&W
with a Manger midrange (see below) and a concentrically-mounted 800 D ($20k), sounded (as it usually does) bright, lively, highly
tweeter and two 10" woofers inside a bandpass enclosure, was detailed, and just a bit aggressive. This is the kind of loudspeaker
being powered by KR Audio’s cool-looking DX amps, which that will give you a superb sense of the stickwork on drumkits and
use the giant T1610 dual-triode output tube. The sound here the fingerwork on bass guitar. Transient response is its forte.
immediately reminded me of contemporary The Art Deco 10 ($23k), a ported floor-
ARC equipment, which is a very good thing. standing two-way using a 10" SEAS woof and a
Marc Cohn’s voice and guitar had nice presence, SEAS soft-dome tweet with ultra-pricey Jensen
bloom, and air. The Freemont didn’t develop caps in its crossover, appeared to be another
much soundstage width (due to the room) and in the long parade of would-be Magico Mini
the bass was a bit subdued, but the midrange killers. In the same room were Audio Teckne
was marvelous. Some swell amps. electronics and the beautiful DaVinci AAS
We move now to the 30th floor, where the two- Gabriel turntable ($37k) with Nobile arm
and-a-half-way Kharma Exquisite Galileo ($6200), which gave me the chance to listen to
($87k), with diamond tweet and two ceramic vinyl on a first-rate source. On the Prokofiev
mid/woofs in Kharma’s superb “Exquisite- First Violin Sonata, the Art Deco got the violin
grade” cabinet, made its debut, driven by Tenor harmonics at the close of the third movement
electronics. On the Lutoslawski, the Galileo just right; the piano was also excellent. This
reproduced both harp and bass pizzicatos in speaker (or this ’table and arm) had very full
the Passacaglia with excellent transient speed bass for a two-way. On top, the fiddle was just
and astonishing detail, albeit without the full a bit wiry, though still lovely. On “Schlagstück
weight of the basses (or later, in the chorale, Nola Baby Grand Reference 5,” the high-pitched percussion was also a tad
of the bass drum). String tone was bright but ribbon/cone loudspeaker. bright. The speaker was very interesting, the
lovely, although flute and piccolo were a touch ’table and arm way cool.
too bright to my ear. However, the Galileo was nearly peerless Speaking of way cool, my second huge surprise at CES (after
on Bredemeyer’s highly percussive “Schlagstück 5,” making the McIntosh room) was the Nola Baby Grand Reference
every instrument from piano to scraper sound spine-tinglingly ($55k), an open-baffle, floorstanding, three-way ribbon/cone
realistic. The speaker was a bit of an enigma. Clearly, the fastest, hybrid driven by superb ARC electronics. In every way, this was
most dynamic, most detailed, most transparent Kharma I’ve ever the best Nola loudspeaker demo I’ve ever heard, and undoubtedly
auditioned, it was also just the slightest bit canted toward the one of the very Best Sounds at CES. “Rainy Night in Georgia,”
treble (perhaps because it was not yet fully broken in). “Keys to the Highway,” the Mario Lanza aria, all sounded superbly
Which brings us to another Best of Show contender, the lifelike. The Grand Reference was exceptional—open, airy, and
three-way, floorstanding Magico V3 ($25k), reviewed by realistic, with instrumental and vocal images simply bursting with
Robert Harley in Issue 179. Before I discuss this superb speaker, bloom, energy, and color. Nola ought to demo with ARC at every
I have to confess (or re-affirm) that I am not wild about the show from here on out—the combination was that winning.
Boulder electronics that were used to drive it. To me they sound The Revolver Cygnis ($14k) is a three-way floorstander with
HIGH-END LOUDSPEAKERS
Hansen Audio demonstrated a new version of The Prince
($39k), a three-way employing proprietary cabinet and driver
technologies. Driven by CAT electronics and a Red Point Model
D turntable fitted with the $15k Koetsu Coralstone cartridge, The
Prince V2 delivered excellent dynamics and a huge soundstage
The four-way, floorstanding Von Schweikert R-5 ($26k)
with quasi-transmission-line loading of the bass drivers
showed exceptionally well, thanks, I think, to Audio Space’s
wonderful (Product of the Year Award-winning) Reference
Two preamp and new Reference Three amps. These electronics
literally transformed the previously unimpressive R-5, adding
wonderfully realistic clarity and detail to Marc Cohn’s voice on
“Ghost Train”—so much detail that you could almost hear the
spit in his mouth. Same with Guitar Gabriel on “Keys to the
Highway” and Captain Luke on “Rainy Night in Georgia.” The
utterly unstrained, non-electronic transparency of these Audio
Left, Gershman Black Swan three-way dynamic loudspeaker;
right, Cessaro Alpha 1 horn-loaded three-way loudspeaker.
Space products from Peter Lau is phenomenal. Clearly, one of
the very Best Sounds at CES.
The Manger 109-AG ($25k) is a handsome stand-mounted
aluminum tweet, carbon-fiber mid, and paper woof in a ported two-way equipped with the Manger bending-wave transducer
enclosure. Very good on voices, like Joan Baez’s on “Banks of (which is rather like a spherical planar) operating from 140Hz–
the Ohio,” with nice neutral mids, it was otherwise a bit bright in 35kHz, and a Scan Speak 8" bass driver below 140Hz. Fed by
balance and, thanks to a poor room, relatively lacking in depth. Metronome’s Calista transport and C3A DAC, the 109-AG made
The Usher Audio Be-10 ($15k), a handsome floorstanding Marc Cohn’s touching “Perfect Love” sound nearly perfect, with
three-way with beryllium tweet, beryllium mid, and Eton Kevlar superb imaging size and height, very fine detail, and lovely timbre.
woofer, was another semi-surprise. Driven by Oracle electronics, The sound was liquid, without much power in the bass but with
it sounded terrific on “Ghost Train” and other acoustic cuts, decent balance, nonetheless.
with very good breadth and depth of stage, nice detail, and The Cessaro Alpha 1 ($60k) was an imposing three-way
excellent transients. The bass might have been a little plummy in horn loudspeaker with a TAD compression tweeter, a 2" TAD
this room, but otherwise the speaker was an ear-opener from a midrange loaded by a spherical horn, and a backloaded 16"
company that I haven’t previously paid serious attention to. TAD woofer. Electronics were from Zanden, which left their
Driven by Tenor electronics, the 2.5-way Kharma 3.2.2 lovely imprint on the Alpha 1, making it sound very low in horn
($33.5k), essentially a CRM3.2 with an additional ceramic mid/bass coloration, smooth, spacious, and not aggressively detailed but
driver, was being shown with an open-reel tape machine that gave not missing anything important, either. On “Schlagstück 5” the
it a, uh, slight leg up on source material. It sounded fantastic with Alpha 1 demonstrated absolutely incredible transient response in
the tapes—sweet, rich, and full-bodied. But I was actually even the treble (and everywhere else)—the best transient response
more impressed with the way it showed on select cuts of vinyl, like I’ve ever heard on cymbals and bells. It was superb again on the
Baez’s “Banks of the Ohio.” It’s funny to hear tapes and LPs side gamelan-like prepared piano in Mr. John Cage’s Prepared Piano. Had
by side. LPs don’t sound as detailed, transparent, or continuous it not been for a slightly shelved up response in the upper mids,
as tapes, but they’re somehow more solidly there and if not more this would have been my undisputed choice for Best Sound of
realistic, more beautiful. At least, they were in this Kharma room. CES 2008. If Cessaro can add a little more density of color to
The Siltech Pantheon 25 ($13k) was a three-way, four- the upper bass and lower mids, it will have a world-beater here.
driver loudspeaker, with two 16" woofers (isobaric loading), a As it stands, the Alpha 1 did something no other speaker did at
patented 6" midrange driver, and a Cadence electrostatic tweeter CES—it showed me a new level of resolution and realism.
from India that is energized by internal lithium batteries! The I was considerably less impressed with the three-way
Pantheon was very controlled—too controlled, I thought. Maybe floorstanding Venture Reference 3 Signature ($135k),
the speaker or electronics needed more break-in, but the sound with four woofers and an AMT tweeter, which sounded just okay
was a disappointment. Bass was too tight and not as extended as driven by Venture’s electronics and a Weiss DAC and transport.
you would expect from such large drivers; as a result, the overall The Acapella High Violin Mk IV ($59k), however, was a
presentation tended toward the dry and analytical. different story. This beautiful three-way with horn-loaded plasma
In contrast, the Gershman Black Swan ($36k) with Lamm tweeter, spherical-horn-loaded midrange, and two 11" woofers
amplification, while a bit darkish in balance, was one of the in an isobaric enclosure, made a beautiful sound—very smooth,
Best Sounds of the Show, with superb bass (superb everything, liquid mids and dark, sweet, liquid highs. The bass was also quite
actually, from top to bottom). It isn’t news anymore, but this is dense in color and nuance, though it overloaded the room a bit
one terrific loudspeaker. on one side. The High Violin might not have been the most
HIGH-END LOUDSPEAKERS
dead-neutral sound at CES but, driven by Einstein electronics, it Next-door was the IsoMike room, where eight huge Sound
was certainly among the most musical. Lab Pro-Stats ($34k/pair) were being fed IsoMike surround
We now leave the 30th floor and leap to the 34th, where the tapes through EMM Labs electronics. The recording I heard, of
Wilson Audio MAXX 2s ($45k) made their best showing piano, was superb. IsoMiked or not, the Pro-Stats (commercial
since I heard them driven by ARC electronics several years versions of the Sound Lab M-1a’s) are one of the truly great full-
ago, thanks to Vladmir Lamm’s fabulous new four-chassis ML- range electrostats, with simply gorgeous timbre.
3 monoblock amplifiers (priced at a cool $139,290) and TW Also on the 34th floor was Andrew Jones’ beautiful, three-way,
Acustic’s supremely musical AC-3 turntable (reviewed by me in floorstanding TAD Reference One loudspeaker ($60k)—with
Issue 180). This marvelous system reproduced the Prokofiev its famous concentric beryllium midrange/tweeter and two ported
First Violin Sonata with superb definition, timbre, bass, and 10" woven-Aramid-sandwich woofers—fed by Ayre electronics
soundstage depth, combining incredible “sustain” on pedaled and one of The Tape Project 15ips, two-track tape players. The
piano notes with incredible control and detail in the fiddle. That sound on the tapes was, needless to say, astonishing. On my own
said, there was a slight, persistent spot of added brightness in the discs, the results were mixed—very good on Captain Luke’s
upper mids and lower treble followed by a slight roll-off in the voice and guitar on “Rainy Night in Georgia,” less impressive
top treble—a profile I associate with Wilson’s tweeter. Still and on Mark Cohn’s “Ghost Train,” where the bass seemed weak.
Perhaps it was the arid Ayre electronics, of which I am no fan.
Nonetheless, I know these speakers are special, and they need a
review in TAS. In an adjoining room, I heard the gorgeous, three-
way, stand-mounted TAD Compact Reference One ($TBA)
with Jones’ concentric beryllium mid/tweet and slot-loaded
Aramid-sandwich woof. Though they’re not Magico Mini killers
yet (they’re still in development), the sound they made driven by
TAD’s own preamp and 300W Class A amp was big, robust, and
beautiful, with very deep bass, very good dynamics, and very nice
staging (in spite of the fact that the speakers were parked against
a wall). Overall, the Compact R-1s were a smidgeon darker than
life but still extremely attractive. I’ll be waiting for them with
open ears and arms, when Jones deems them ready for review.
On to the 35th floor, where Sumiko debuted the Vienna
Acoustics Klimt Series “The Music” ($25k), a statement-
level three-way with a coaxially mounted tweet on a flat polymer/
glass-fiber cone that together play from 150Hz to 20kHz, with the
Left, Avalon Indra three-way dynamic loudspeaker; right, Andrew
Jones with his newest creation, the TAD Compact Reference One.
low bass handled by three woofs. Though the bass was overblown
on Marc Cohn’s “Ghost Train” (perhaps a room resonance), the
sound was otherwise excellent. Detail here was extremely high,
all, this was a great stereo system (and a great debut for Vladimir’s with exceptional resolution of fingerwork on Guitar Gabriel’s
amp). Clearly, another top contender for Best of Show. guitar (the sound of fingers sliding on strings was astonishingly
And so was the three-way/four-driver Avalon Indra ($20k), present) and a warm, sweet tonal balance.
which reproduced Cohn’s “Ghost Train” (and other select cuts) From the 35th floor I headed down to the Venetian Meeting
with exceptional openness and astonishingly good, powerful, Rooms in the Sands Expo and Convention center, where I heard
and detailed deep bass (from two 7" Nomex/Kevlar woofers). the most enigmatic speaker of the show—the omnidirectional
Though a bit smaller than life in imaging, this speaker disappeared MBL 101 Extreme ($180k!). Those of you who remember my
more completely as a sound source than anything I’d heard up CES report from last year will recall how disappointed I was with
until that point (save for the Mini IIs and V3s). Another top this flagship from MBL’s Wolfgang Meletzky. This year, though
contender for Best of Show. ultimately also disappointing, was different. I can honestly say that
The big, D’Appolito-arrayed, multidriver Dynaudio no other speaker at CES reproduced Marc Cohn’s “Ghost Train”
Evidence Temptations ($30k) were being shown in the with more three-dimensionality, more body and sock, more sheer
Boulder room, along with Boulder’s 1021 CD player, 1010 density of tone color (Lord, you should have heard that guitar!),
preamp, and 1050 monoblocks. I have to admit that the sound more sheer exciting realism than the Extreme. And yet, on other
here was what I would have called, before RMAF, “typical music the speaker was bright and shrill and confused-sounding.
Boulder,” which is to say, typical solid-state. But having heard the Part of the problem was the horrible room, which had what
Boulder gear sound wonderful with Focal speakers in Denver, looked like forty-foot-high ceilings—a veritable echo chamber.
I don’t know if what I heard at CES was the result of a bad Part of the problem was poor setup (even the channels were
room or a poor combination of electronics and loudspeaker, or, reversed). And part of the problem was the volume level that
contrarily, if what I heard at RMAF was just a lucky accident. MBL insists on playing music at. I understand, from experience,
HIGH-END LOUDSPEAKERS
why MBL plays loud—the Radialstrahlers sound better loud. But
loud is one thing; deafening is another. And deafening is where
the volume pot was generally set. This won’t do, not for a $180k
JV’s Best of Show
speaker driven by half-a-million dollars worth of electronics. Best Sounds: No single Most Important Trend:
MBL really needs to get its act together with these babies, speaker stood way above The persistence of analog. In
because they just might be great. In fact, they were great on the the pack this year in my the spite of the iPod and the
Cohn disc. So…Best of Show? Worst of Show? Probably, a little price range, so I’m going to computer-based music serv-
of each, though more, alas, of the latter. name several Best Sounds of er, the turntable just keeps
I’ll end this report with another speaker that suffered from Show: the Magico Mini II, the spinning along, and now
terrible room conditions (it, too, was parked in a Venetian Meeting Magico V3, the Quad Refer- reel-to-reel tape is making a
Room echo chamber with forty-foot ceilings)—the German ence ESL-2905, the Cessaro mini-comeback in the form of
Physiks Carbon Mk IV ($39k), a “bending wave”-driver Alpha 1, the Nola Baby Grand The Tape Project decks and
(like a neo-Walsh driver) loudspeaker that uses a carbon-fiber Reference, the Von Schweik- 15ips half-track tapes.
cone and a carbon-fiber enclosure. To be honest, I didn’t really ert R-5, the McIntosh XRT1k,
come to hear the German Physiks speaker but the Continuum the Gershman Black Swans, Most Significant New
Criterion turntable with Copperhead arm that had been so the Wilson MAXX 2s, the Products: The Lamm ML3
disappointing at last year’s show (and was not overly impressive in Avalon Indras, the TAD Refer- monoblock power amplifier.
various rooms at this year’s). With an LP from Acoustic Sounds’
Chad Kassem—a Speaker’s Corner EMI reissue of Maurizio
Pollini playing Chopin’s First Piano Concerto—spinning on the
Criterion, I sat down to listen, not expecting much. Guess what?
In spite of the terrible room the German Physiks sounded quite
respectably good, with very nice detail on string choirs, good
depth and separation, excellent piano tone and imaging, and a
marked liveliness without aggression. This was much better than
the German Physiks and the Continuum had sounded in the past
(or than the ’table/arm sounded elsewhere at the show). I think,
next year, these guys ought to do themselves a favor and find a
smaller, less daunting room to show in. If the speakers and ’table
could sound this good in awful conditions, imagine how both
might sound in better ones. TAS
F
ollowing in the footsteps of Accuphase’s celebrated E- I know that I’ve bragged in the past about how I seldom use
530 flagship integrated, the newly revamped successor remotes as I enjoy the exercise of getting up and down, but that’s
model E-550 is an inspiring combination of elegance and only when the component in question is raised off the floor and
feature-rich convenience teamed with the uncommon clarity, doesn’t involve both walking and bending to adjust volume. (This
brilliance, and musicality of pure Class A operation. bird ain’t no spring chicken.) In this case, the E-550 was placed
Perhaps the most significant addition to this conservatively on the floor between the speakers, atop one of my Symposium
rated 30Wpc single-box unit is the incorporation of a scaled- Svelte shelves. Were I ever fortunate enough to own one of
down version of the Accuphase Analog Vari-gain Amplifier, or high end’s ultimate integrateds, I’d invest in a dedicated stand
AAVA volume control. Formerly only found in the company’s for the obvious sonic merits as well as easier access to the many
top-of-the-line preamplifiers, the E-550 is the first integrated features and functions. For those without the luxury of wide-
from Accuphase to boast this marvel of modern technology. open spaces, the E-550 doesn’t run as hot as you’d think for a
Replacing a more conventional resistance-based potentiometer— Class A amplifier. My handy-dandy every-girl-ought-to-have-one
that inherently raises impedance, thus introducing noise as volume temperature meter locked in readings ranging from 115–127
levels are increased—AAVA adjusts listening volume via 16 degrees (F) across the top of the chassis after 2–3 hours of
current switches, which are then fed into 16 converter amplifiers. operation. With proper ventilation, the Accuphase ought to be
Through the selective use of these converter amplifiers, the quite happy in more confined quarters.
actual gain is changed, thus eliminating changes in impedance Another benefit of the highly precise AAVA electronic circuit
and the resulting deterioration of signal-to-noise ratio. is the virtual elimination of left/right tracking errors. And
The volume-control knob’s position is detected by the CPU, because channels can be kept separate, crosstalk is not a problem
which in turn selects the appropriate current switches. Although either. The functions of the attenuator and balance control are
the AAVA’s control system is digital, the signal path is pure analog. also covered by AAVA, eliminating the need for additional circuit
The number of possible volume steps as set by the combination stages.
of converter amplifiers is 2 to the 16th power or 65,536, which While the power amplifier section features Accuphase’s tried-
means you’d be beyond help if you couldn’t find just the “right” and-true current-feedback principle, further improvements
volume setting for those delicate audiophile ears. The “feel” of the were implemented via “MCS+” circuit topology for even better
volume control knob was as smooth as any, although I did cheat electrical characteristics. Power MOSFETs arranged in a triple-
by using the supplied RC-200 remote for most of my listening. parallel push-pull configuration populate the output stage and,
88 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Accuphase E-550 Class A Integrated Amplifier
as mentioned earlier, are driven
in Class A. A large 430VA high-
efficiency toroidal transformer
along with eight 10,000µF
filtering capacitors shore up linear
progression of output power:
The E-550 is rated at 30Wpc into
8 ohms, 60Wpc into 4 ohms, and
120Wpc into 2 ohms. Accuphase
guarantees all its measurements,
which suggests that these numbers
have to be on the conservative
side. (It wouldn’t make sense to
guarantee power ratings at the
high end of the spectrum.) These
conservative measurements were
confirmed in listening tests, as
I had no problems at all driving
the B&W 800D at my normal,
moderately loud listening levels.
If you’re looking for the kind of
impact that will knock holes in your listening room walls, then I’d as well. The champagne-
say maybe the E-550 isn’t for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be too gold chassis has the
quick to dismiss this integrated based on what is obviously a very easily identifiable look of
conservative 30Wpc power rating. understated elegance that
Not only will the persnickety purist audiophile appreciate the has been the hallmark of
E-550, but the feature-philes among us will likely be gratified, Accuphase for years. An
input-selector knob on
T
he ModWright SWL 9.0SE Special Edition linestage has loudspeakers (my references). So, I used the Red Dragon and
been with me for some months, performing well and NuForce Class D monoblocks to give the ModWright an acid
musically. Its two 5687 output tubes are easy to install, test.
and it offers inputs for CD, tuner, DVD, and home-theater Class D amps are famous for extraordinary bass, great “speed,”
bypass. All according to Hoyle. More than Hoyle, actually. The extra-worldly clarity, and a sense of sheer force. But they also
ModWright adds a patina of high-end performance to reasonably come with a warning tag: “Can be overly aggressive.” With a
priced tube-based systems. solid-state preamp, which I used on both Class D amps as a point
On all music, the ModWright revealed deep, tight bass and of comparison, “aggressive” was actually a kind description.
extended, sweet highs. The Jacques Loussier Trio’s Best of Play Now, in went the ModWright, bringing to the mix its own
Bach [Telarc] was rich in musical nuances and vibrant instrumental clarity, low-distortion, and purported tiger-taming skill. Sure
timbres, particularly the piano, which is dominant in the mix. enough, the pain went away—even on the NuForce, which is
On Glenn Kotche’s percussive cornucopia Mobile [Nonesuch], a little wilder in dynamics and edgier, a little more of a “new”
high-hat cymbals had nice sparkle thanks to the ModWright. The sound than the Red Dragon. With this two-fisted combination,
midrange was full and resonant on both albums. The linestage I heard transients crisp and tingling. Speed? Yes, indeedy—and
seemed unusually low in distortion, throughout. drive. With the ModWright in command, this system took off.
Soundstaging was especially deep and wide, and images Small ensembles came into tight focus. When string players’
were solid and distinct (an enveloping, almost holographic, fingers moved like lightning, you heard that precisely. Without
soundspace is one of the things I love about tubes). All of this blur. The bass player’s artistry in the Loussier disc was no longer
was in wonderful evidence in full orchestral works, such as Fauré’s veiled by the piano but audible even in the densest passages. The
Requiem [Collegium], which includes singers and an organ. gamelan on Harrison’s Gamelan Music [Musicmaster Classics], my
Transients were a little soft—no surprise in a tube setup—but standby for judging subtleties, had spine-tingling resonances and
still had good “edge,” so the Kotche was more than listenable. a shining clarity. Subtle? In the details, yes, but emphatically not
Overall, soundstaging and bass were what won my admiration in impact.
with this preamp driving tube amps. Good solid performance, The soundstage deepened, as if some bass-barrier had melted,
with clarity and excitement. leaving a palpable sense of depth. For me, the genius of this
But I suspected the ModWright had more to offer, so to preamp is that, with Class D amps, it brings the passion, drive,
turn the ModWright loose, I tried it with contemporary Class and depth of musicians to life.
D amps. At shows this linestage is often paired with the Class On well-recorded large stuff, heaven smiled. McPhee’s
D Red Dragon Leviathan amps and the Acoustic Zen Adagio Tabuh-Tabuhan [Mercury], a shimmering symphonic wave, was
92 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
ModWright SWL 9.0SE Special Edition and
EQUIPMENT REPORT - 9.0SE Signature Edition Vacuum Tube Preamplifiers
particularly lush and wonderful when the ModWright was driving from top to bottom, no ceiling. I cranked up the volume. More
the Red Dragons. The NuForces on this recording traded some music. More enveloping sound. That lift of the ceiling is vinyl-
lushness for an extra punch of power. The sound was as good, like, but without vinyl-like distortions.
just different. To be thorough, I slipped the solid-state preamp in The Signature distills the virtues of the Special. The Best of
for this recording for comparison. And rushed to get back that Play Bach had even deeper, clearer bass; Jacques Loussier’s piano,
ModWright! Ah, sweet relief. particularly on solos, was so dramatic that it brought tears to my
Problems? On badly multimiked orchestral works and really eyes. Transients were swifter than swift. The really fast sections,
hashy recordings (e.g., The Long Black Veil), the sound was—ugly. the plucked bass and piano runs, had no blurring. Did I say “no
Every problem stood out like a boil—with both amps. (It was blur” earlier? Now I heard “no blur.” The drum tremors on Mickey
worse with a solid-state preamp.) But this is a sonic malady I’m Hart’s Planet Drum [Ryko] were no longer a distant rumble, but
afraid even Dr. ModWright cannot cure. good, crackling thunder. Every microtone of Kotche’s was clear
At about this moment, I received the confusingly named (too and sparkling. Gongs rang with life; taps on metal sang and
many meanings for “SE”) SWL 9.0SE Signature Edition, a new bloomed. And yet, in the midst of this almost scary clarity, the
preamp from ModWright with a number of design changes, center held. Soundstage? The Mercury Tabuh spread out like a
among them a rectifying tube in the power supply. I hooked the feast in my room, surrounding me. The wash of sound unraveled
Signature up to the Red Dragons, and on advice, let it warm up. until I could understand the warp and woof of this quirky piece,
Two hours later I was surrounded by music—a wave of sound, while the cloth remained intact. Music to dream about.
The new ModWright did much the same with the NuForces. A
Specs & Pricing bit more oomph in the bass than with the Red Dragons, whose
“balance” feels softer, but only by a cashmere thread. Did either
combo make bad recordings listenable? Not with large music. But
ModWright SWL 9.0SE ModWright Instruments when I learned of his death, I played Rostropovich’s recording
linestage preamp with remote 21919 NE 399 St. of Bach’s Cello Suites, and the single instrument, not optimally
Inputs: CD, tuner, DVD, and Amboy, WA 98601 recorded by EMI, was glorious.
home-theater bypass (360) 247-6688 I haven’t heard either ModWright preamp with a non-Class D
Outputs: Two modwright.com solid-state amplifier, so I can’t promise they’ll perform as nobly
Dimensions: 17" x 12" x 4" there. I suspect they will, and I know the Special Edition was
Weight: 24 lbs. Frank L. Kraus (U.S. superior with tube amplifiers. But if you hope to set off for the
Price: $2495 Distributor) stars, try either ModWright preamp with Class D amplification.
(856) 374-4757 Both extract the harshness, without adding any tube vices that I
ModWright SWL 9.0SE FLKraus@netzero.net could hear. The high-octane Signature version, which costs about
Signature Edition linestage $500 more than the regular, takes a giant step forward in depth,
preamp with remote Associated Equipment soundstage, and transparency.
Inputs: as above Acoustic Zen Adagio This ModWright Signature preamp/Class D amp combo
Outputs: as above loudspeakers; Musical Fidelity makes, to my ears, a new vibrant sound. Ninety percent of its
Dimensions: 17" x 12" x 4" A5 CD player; Red Dragon and presentation is addictive, seductive, beautiful, exciting—a musical
Weight: 24 lbs. NuForce Class D amplifiers; experience far from anything I’ve known. The only question is:
Price: $2995 NuForce preamplifier; Acoustic How many bad recordings do you love?
Zen and Nordost cabling Revelation isn’t perfection, nor is magic always a soft ride. But
this was an A-ticket trip for me. And it might just send you, too,
right out of this world. TAS
94 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Equipment Report
Just Right
Nola Viper Reference Loudspeaker
Tom Martin
L
et’s get right down to it: This
speaker sounds significantly differ-
ent than most other speakers any-
where near its lofty $12,000-per-pair asking
price. A natural follow-up question would
be, “Is that a good thing?” And I’d give a
solid “Yes” as an answer. I really, really liked
listening to this speaker, and I can’t say that
about more than a few speakers in the $7000
to $20,000 price range. Because the differ-
ences between the Viper Reference and
other speakers are so big and so musically
beneficial, I think every audiophile should
consider the issues this speaker raises.
The Vipers’ sound isn’t obviously
a function of their design. They ap-
pear to be fairly conventional three-way,
floorstanding, acoustic-suspension speak-
ers. They use two smallish (8.6") woof-
ers instead of one larger woofer, which
is hardly exceptional. The midrange and
tweeter are mounted on an open baffle
board, which allows some of the midrange
and treble sound to be directed rearward,
which is a bit less common. And the Vi-
pers incorporate a few certifiably unusual
technologies, including Alnico magnets in
their drivers, crossovers that are separate
from the speaker enclosures, and ball bear-
ing-coupled isolation platforms. But, if we
really need a technological reason for their
different sound, it seems most likely to lie
in the years of experience and attention to
detail that Carl Marchisotto—head of the
Nola design team—brings to this speaker.
A better way of understanding the
Vipers is to consider a few characteristics
of their sound. First, let’s take the analyti-
cal view. Here are my listening notes from
that perspective:
• Good central image and depth; image and deep soundstaging, etc., then it is
height a bit constrained good. One speaker is better than another
• Dynamics slightly soft, but large-scale when it does more of these things well.
material seems uncompressed That seems pretty reasonable, at least on
the surface.
Most products end up with listen- The problem with this view for the
ing notes that resemble this list in the Nola Viper is that I don’t think it looks
sense that there are pros and cons. Most so hot when judged this way. Frankly,
products we review in the pages of this there are other speakers at lower prices
magazine have more pros than cons that will do “more.” So, if you take my
because the staff spends a large amount comment seriously that I really, really
of time vetting the interesting products like the Viper, we have a problem.
from the mass of average products in an Either I mean that the Viper would be
endeavor to focus their reviewing time a very likeable $5000 speaker that, at
and your reading time on the real con- its price, ends up being another (kinda,
tenders. sorta, but not really) good speaker, or I
Judged simply from this analytical mean something that falls outside of the
perspective, you could conclude that the analytical perspective.
Nola Viper is “another good speaker.” Of course if you’ve stayed with me
By “another good speaker” I mean that this far, you can guess I mean the latter.
the designer, facing the laws of physics We tend to call the perspective where
with a specific budget, wisely chose the Nola shines the musical perspective.
certain trade-offs from what was pos- Let’s take a look at my listening notes
sible. But the designer could have made from this perspective:
other wise choices from among those
tradeoffs, which would have yielded • Natural sounding
other pros and cons, and “another good • Unstrained, not edgy
speaker,” albeit a different one. • Sense of grip and control
As a reviewer (and perhaps as a • Each instrument sounds like it exists
reader) you tend to hate this situation in a real space
because it doesn’t serve up very inter- • Nice sense of air
esting narrative material. “New Techno-
logical Breakthrough” or “David Beats I value these things rather highly, and
Goliath” or “Much Closer to the Sound so I’d have to say that in my world this
of Live Music Than Anything I’ve Ever musicality trumps the analytical score-
Heard” are more compelling story lines. board, although ideally I’d like to have
But in the case of a lot of analog equip- my cake and eat it too. From listening
ment, the technology is relatively mature to the Nola Viper, I would suggest that
and many of the designers are quite there are ways to make the analytical trad-
good, so the reality is that there are mul- eoffs that I’ve described either in more
tiple “good products” making different musically coherent or in less musically
tradeoffs in sensible ways. coherent ways. The Viper design seems
Leaving our view of the Nola Viper at focused resolutely on musical coherence
the level of “another good speaker” has and lets some of the typical audiophile-
several problems, however. While we’re checklist things fall by the wayside. My
still thinking analytically, I believe that experience is that the Viper’s musical
the reader who cottons to this perspec- design philosophy is decidedly in the
tive intuitively salutes a certain philoso- minority.
phy. This philosophy could probably be Now I want to add a third view,
expressed in multiple ways, but basically which I think helps explain my positive
it comes down to the idea that the best response to the Vipers even more than
audio products, especially speakers, are the musical perspective. Let’s call this
those that do the most things well. If the Kodachrome perspective.
a speaker has deep bass and extended Long, long ago, photographs were
highs and flat frequency response and taken using cameras that recorded their
wide dynamic range and even polar re- images on chemically-coated film, not
sponse, and low resonances, and wide on silicon sensors. There were many
The Absolute Sound April/May 2008 97
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Nola Viper Reference Loudspeaker
types of film, and photographers chose a type of film based The “involving” part of this note is interesting. Whenever I
in part on how well that film’s recording of light and shadow hear the phrase “musically natural,” I think, “Yeah, and boring.”
seduced the viewer into the feeling of the image being recorded. But that isn’t the Viper. Music on the Vipers is exciting and enter-
Re-read that sentence, please. Yes, I said, “seduced the viewer taining with the richness and texture of good live music.
into the feeling of the image.” Now, photographers and pho- The other interesting part of this observation for me is the
tographic journalists are professionals, so they didn’t talk about realization that rather frequently the pursuit of stunning realism
it this way. They discussed seemingly neutral terms like “color on the occasional disc yields products that are close to unlisten-
accuracy” and “contrast” and “resolution.” But somewhere at able on most other music. I don’t know if that is because some
the core of this discussion everyone knew that this was a seduc- ultra-high-transparency products actually strive for transparency
tion process because everyone knew that they were representing through some kind of distortion. Or because most recordings
a three-dimensional world in a two-dimensional form. are “off ” and musical-sounding products are distorted to com-
Because they understood that they weren’t literally reproduc- pensate. It doesn’t really matter to me. I simply note that a few
ing reality but were creating a feeling, photographers felt a certain recent products, like the Viper, seem designed to sound good
freedom to distort their images. Everyone knew that Kodachome on a lot of material without the side effects of obvious color-
film distorted colors, but some loved it because that distortion ations. At the same time these products rarely sound completely
did a better job of seducing the viewer into the feeling of the amazing on some parameter on certain (very few) discs. That’s a
scene than a more technically accurate film would have. Another “tradeoff ” that I could live with every day of the year.
way of saying this is that accuracy is accuracy-to-feeling and is The Vipers seem to accomplish this consistent listenability in
measured not at the surface of the print but in the mind of the part by being so well balanced across the musical spectrum. The
viewer. This is philosophically very different from the way we Vipers reproduce the frequency range of each major instrument
tend to discuss audio. solidly and clearly. This seems rather mundane, except that when
Returning to the Nola Vipers, from the Kodachrome perspec- we say most other speakers are balanced we are making a much
tive I give you this one, final listening note: broader statement, something on the order of “bass, midrange,
and treble are in proportion” to one another. That’s true of the
• Lots of discs sound very involving versus a few discs sound- Viper, but it also regularly spotlights instruments whose output
ing stunningly realistic occurs in narrower frequency ranges than “bass” or “midrange.”
If I had to hazard a guess, part of the Viper’s secret is that it
reproduces the upper bass and lower midrange quite richly, and
Specs & Pricing that is where the fundamentals of many instruments lie. Getting
this part of the spectrum right lends the Viper’s presentation a
sense of weight similar to what you hear at concerts. The Viper’s
Driver complement: Two 9" Associated Equipment smooth and open midrange and treble ensure that the sense of
woofers, one 4.5" midrange, Meitner CDSA SACD player, weight seems musically right and never
one 1" tweeter Esoteric DV-60, Musical slow or ponderous.
Frequency response: 25Hz– Fidelity A5 and Lector CDP A noteworthy parallel to the Viper’s
30kHz 7TL CD players; VPI Super ability to make many discs sound good
Sensitivity: 89dB Scoutmaster turntable; is that the Viper is quite easy to set up.
Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 4 Dynavector DV-1S cartridge; Roy Gregory, reviewing the Vipers as
ohms minimum Aesthetix Rhea phono part of a system in Hi-Fi+, had a similar
Dimensions: 9.5" x 46" x 15" preamp; conrad-johnson experience. The Viper doesn’t seem to
Weight: 80 lbs. each ART 2 preamp, mbl 6010D be as sensitive to room placement as
Price: $12,000 preamp, conrad-johnson MET some speakers, which suggests that
1 multichannel linestage; more than a few consumers will be able
Accent Speaker conrad-johnson Premier 350 to take advantage of its many merits.
Technology, Ltd. amplifier, Classe CA-M400 So, the Viper is a different beast to be
1511 Lincoln Avenue amplifiers, Audio Research sure. If stunning transparency on the oc-
Holbrook, NY 11741 300.2 amplifier, mbl 101e casional recording is essential to you, the
(631) 738-2540 loudspeakers; Velodyne Viper is not your speaker. If you listen to
nolaspeakers.com DD-15 subwoofers, Nola a certain kind of music and must have
speaker cable, Tara Labs The some particular parameter just so, the
Zero speaker cable and 0.8 Viper won’t be your speaker either. If,
interconnects; Nordost Thor on the other hand, you are frustrated by
power distribution; RPG B.A.D. products that occasionally impress but
abfusors and Flutterfree don’t really allow you to focus on the
diffusors. music, I think you’d find the Nola Viper
to be a breakthrough. I did. TAS
98 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Equipment Report
Seeking the Sound of Real Music
EgglestonWorks Nine Loudspeaker
Anthony H. Cordesman
I
t may seem strange to begin a speaker review by talking about a trip
to China, but one thing I find striking about my visits to China is the
number of hotels that actually have live acoustic music in their lobbies.
The jazz is usually forgettable, and often amplified. The classical music,
however, is acoustic, ranges from a solo grand piano to string quartets,
and lasts a good part of the late afternoon and early evening. There is a
natural focus on Mozart, perhaps the best known Western composer, but
composers like Pachebel, Scarlatti, Telemann, and Schubert also enter the
scene. The musicians are usually students or recent graduates, and many are
quite good. Their performances are also casual, and it is easy to sit down
near the group and hear what live music really sounds like. The end result is
a true high-end experience, and listening to a true reference standard.
This kind of casual experience with live music is all too rare in the U.S.
You can find similar reference experiences, however, in hotels in some
parts of the Middle East. They used to be common in parts of Europe,
particularly the grander resort hotels, but have faded away with the years.
You are, however, still more likely to hear members of family or friends
perform live music during a social occasion in Europe, like a dinner, than
in the U.S. Many parts of Europe have better live street music (without the
boom-box common in the U.S.), and many small towns and schools give
their own concerts. Liturgical music is easily accessible in most European
cities and often quite good. Many churches also hold live classical concerts
at lunchtime or in the early afternoon. If you care, you can also time your
touring to hear live music in a natural setting from true professionals in places
like Salzburg or at the Marais festival in Paris. Open-air band concerts are
still common. Once again, a true high-end experience, and a true reference
standard.
Live classical music in the U.S. tends to be more formal, subject to rigid
seating assignments, and accompanied by synchronized coughing. This is
one reason I often prefer listening to rehearsals to the performance, or
listening to local and university groups rather than major orchestras and
headline performers in the company of a mass of the over-moneyed, and
increasingly aged or living dead. There is plenty of good, live, unamplified
acoustic music in the U.S., but it takes a lot more work to go and listen. It
does not casually surround you and tell you what you really should listen for
in a high-end system, if what you want is realism rather than an interesting
electronic experience. It is harder to be constantly reminded that “best of
show” is no substitute for “best of live.”
This brings me to the EgglestonWorks Nine loudspeakers. They are not
EgglestonWorks’ top of the line, and they are not enshrouded in granite.
They don’t attempt to revise the laws of physics and use some dramatic
new form of drivers. The speaker enclosures look like speakers and not the
set for Metropolis. They also are priced in the $13,000 bracket, which is now
an all too common price bracket for high-end audiophiles, so they have to
compete against some extremely demanding peers.
That said, the EgglestonWorks Nines still stand out if they are compared
to the only reference standard that matters: They sound a lot like live music.
Specs & Pricing is natural and stable, rather than etched or exaggerated in size.
Very good centerfill. Natural perspective in terms of depth and
width, rather than exaggerated width.
Drivers: One 1" cloth dome Associated Equipment The Nines do a surprisingly good job of reproducing organ
tweeter, two 6" polypropylene Dynavector 20X , Sumiko fundamentals—much better than I expected. Try the opening
mid/bass, one 8" woofer Celebration, and Koetsu of the Andre Previn/Vienna Philharmonic recording of Also
Frequency response: -3dB @ Onyx Cartridges; VPI TNT Sprach Zarathustra [Telarc CD 801167]. You can also crank up
27 Hz to well beyond 24kHz HRX turntable and JMW 12.7 the volume on Kodo drum recordings. If you are into deep bass
Sensitivity: 88dB tone arm; Tact 2.2X digital percussion, the EgglestonWorks do very well for any speaker of
Impedance: 8 ohms, nominal preamp-room correction- this size and driver-mix in reproducing the demanding drum and
Dimensions: 11" x 16" x 44" equalizer-D/A converter; EMM full orchestra music in the “Lacyrmosa” movement of Britten’s
Weight: 125 lbs.each Labs SACD/CD player; Pass Requiem on the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra recording Britannia
Price: $12,900 per pair Xono phono preamp;Pass X0.2 [Telarc SADC 60677].
stereo preamp; Pass X600A Oh yes, and my sons tell me it does very well even with
EGGLESTONWORKS power amplifiers; TAD Model 1 the deep bass on electronic synthesizer at high levels of rock,
540 Cumberland Street and Thiel 7.2 speakers; Kimber although it “will not drive the room.” I wouldn’t know; I leave
Memphis, TN 38112 Select, Transparent Audio the house when the windows start bulging outwards.
(901) 525-1100 Reference XL, and Wireworld The EgglestonWorks Nine is a great high-end value if you
Super Eclipse and Eclipse really care about reproducing the sound of live music versus the
interconnects and digital cables sound of the high end, even in a very competitive and demanding
price bracket. TAS
104 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
M
MUSICAL
COMPREHENSION
MACHINE
Usher Audio Be-20 Loudspeaker
Chris Martens
photography by Adam Voorhes
M
usic appeals to me on multiple levels, beckoning first on the
plane of pure emotion—evoking feelings I find too power-
ful, subtle, or complex to be framed as ideas or expressed
in words. But it also stimulates me on an intellectual level, triggering
profound curiosity. Something in me simply needs to know and un-
derstand how beautiful and complex things, such as the orchestration
of a Mahler symphony or the intricacies of a Jaco Pastorius jazz bass
solo, have been put together in the first place. For me, and I suspect
for many of you, musical experiences involve both heart and mind—
the pursuit of emotional enrichment and, at the same time, deeper
comprehension of the structure of music and sound itself. Let me
begin this product review, then, by saying that Usher Audio’s flagship
Be-20 loudspeakers ($16,400/pair) are cutting-edge components that
do an uncommonly fine job of addressing both halves of the musical
equation—appealing to listeners’ hearts and minds in equal measure,
and with exceptionally high levels of refinement. What makes the Be-
20s so special and how did Usher get so good at this game so fast? Let
me answer both questions by giving a brief guided tour that charts the
speaker’s evolution.
As some of you already know, Usher Audio is a Taiwanese firm
that has been making loudspeakers for over 30 years. In recent years
Usher’s top-tier speakers, collectively known as the Dancer series,
have been designed primarily by company founder Mr. Tsai Lien-Shui,
who handles core driver design and overall speaker configuration,
working in collaboration with Dr. Joseph D’Appolito, who handles
crossover tuning and helps guide voicing of the speakers. What some
TAS readers may not realize, however, is that Usher has spent years
developing capabilities as a world-class driver manufacturer whose
products can (and do) go toe-to-toe with the finest designs that
European and Scandinavian driver specialists produce.
Toward a
And with a look below the surface, you’ll
find a well-developed dichotomy between
the folks who design products to sound
“good” and those in pursuit of the more
New Realism
abstract goal of reproducing a facsimile
of the real thing, the absolute sound. It
is upon the latter I shall concentrate this
report, for, surprisingly enough, a pattern
began to emerge, that of a new realism
at the cutting edge of audio; bits of that
Harry Pearson “realism” can be found in most of the
components herein.
I had decided, beforehand, to
M
ake no mistakes about it. There at least a dozen more companies were concentrate on the folks chasing that
just isn’t any way that, in not at the Mirage, the Hilton, or in private ultimate audio rainbow, reality, and so
quite four days, anyone can homes. That makes at least 500 places concentrated my efforts largely on the
cover all the high-end industry puts up for a compulsive reviewer might feel guilty “off-campus” exhibitors, but since there
sonic exhibition at the annual Consumer about mostly missing. Consider these were also rainbow-chasers at the Venetian,
Electronics Show in Las Vegas. estimates: Officially, you’d have 33 hours I elected to spend a day there.
There were, by my rough count, at least or so to cover the exhibitions; that is, you’d A very rough journal of the places I
373 exhibitors at the Venetian. At what have to visit at least 15 manufacturers per found interesting, with a few side notes.
I call the “off-campus” sites, principally hour, or spend about four minutes per, That first day, the first thing, I was
T.H.E. Show, there were 102 companies, leaving no time for the endless walking scooped up by Ray Lombardi (an importer
either at the St. Tropez or next door at involved. of esoteric tubed gear, Audionics and
the Alexis Park, former home of the high What does all this prove? That the high Audiovalve) and his friends, and whisked
end in years past. Topping things off, end has grown up and become a serious 10 miles out of town to a miniature
MANUFACTURER COMMENTS
Nola Viper signal so that they are easier to ignore. breakthrough. I did.”
Reference We feel too many loudspeakers produce
sound but not music.
I agree.
Carl Marchisotto
As an example of our differing design Nola Loudspeakers
Many thanks to Tom Martin and The approach with a musical focus I would
Absolute Sound for this wonderful and like to share this process.
insightful review of the Nola Viper In designing a new speaker a decision ModWright SWL
Reference. As Tom points out, our vision
for the Viper Reference was to produce
had to be made as to how many drivers
would be employed. We wanted the
9.0SE
a loudspeaker that would elicit the same speaker to reproduce realistic floor tom- I want to thank TAS and Sallie Reynolds
emotional reaction in a listener that a tom drum sounds as say from the “live” for the review of our products and for
live performance would. This is our Dave Brubeck Carnegie Hall disc. The the thorough and earnest assessment of
basic philosophy of design, regardless computer said that one midrange and our SWL 9.0SE and SWL 9.0SE
of model. Naturally the more ambitious one ribbon tweeter would be sufficient Signature Edition. While Ms. Reynolds
models, with their less restrictive budgets, to make the speaker flat. However, did largely use our product with Class
can come closer to this goal. Nevertheless listening tests revealed that the drum D amplifiers, I can assure you that our
we are very proud of the Nola Viper sound was not completely convincing. design allows excellent synergy and
Reference and what it achieves. We tried two, then three and finally four compatibility with solid-state, Class A,
One of the differences with this sets of midranges and tweeters before A/B, SET and push-pull tube amplifiers.
model that is commented on again and we were convinced that we had verbatim This is due to the low output impedance,
again is its ability to play recordings drum sounds. So the new design ended high-current, and low distortion inherent
that are less than perfect in a way that up with four sets of midranges and in the design of our product, utilizing
still allows enjoyment of the musical tweeters. That critical decision then the “mu” stage circuit topology, credited
content. While reproducing recording determined the rest of the design. to Alan Kimmel.
artifacts, the Viper Reference seems to Tom’s closing comment was: “I Dan Wright
keep these separate from the musical think you’d find the Nola Viper to be a ModWright Instruments Inc.
T
he Drive-By Truckers have he had his record ready to
never shied away from chal- come out. It seemed like
lenge. But by late 2006, the the perfect time for us to
band was at a crossroads. Guitarist part ways and for him to
Jason Isbell left for a solo career. Vocal- continue forward in the
ist/guitarist Patterson Hood suffered way he wanted to go.
from writer’s block. The group took its
first break in years. Then a call came in- Brighter Than Cre-
viting the Truckers to back soul singer ation’s Dark is the
Bettye LaVette on what became one band’s most diverse
of 2007’s best records. The experience album. What led to the
reignited the Truckers’ longtime sur- increased emphasis on the soul shows we’d been playing, just with dif-
vivalist instincts. Even after turning out and acoustic country strains? ferent personnel, seemed grotesque.
a series of critically acclaimed records So we thought: Why don’t we just strip
that continues with the excellent new Those are areas where we’ve always everything down to the bare essentials
Brighter Than Creation’s Dark [reviewed had lots of interest. Our first couple of the song and rebuild it from scratch
in Issue 179], they remain on the main- of records had the country influence, right there onstage, night after night,
stream fringe—underdogs that realize but I write pretty differently now than and see where that leads us? And let’s
nothing of value comes easily. I did ten years ago when I made those. take this opportunity to work in and
Hood spoke with Music Editor Some of the influences are probably work up all of these new songs we’ve
Bob Gendron from his Georgia home the same; just maybe what I do with been writing. Then, when we go in to
in early January about Brighter Than them is different. [Bassist] Shonna record, we’ll know where we stand. We
Creation’s Dark, the band’s LP reissues, Tucker is a huge, huge soul fanatic. All went almost straight from that tour
working with LaVette, and why even of us love soul music, and of course, into making the record. We cut 17 of
today he sweats the band’s raucous it’s part of my family history. Shonna the 19 songs in the first ten days we
shows. definitely pushed some of that more to were in the studio. We reconvened in
the front on this record. And a lot of August and cut one more song, fixed
Bob Gendron: The Truckers’ latest it is that the songs decided the direc- a few things, and spent a lot more time
artistic turn begins with the tion. We’d been touring hard behind A than we’d ever gotten to spend before
departure of Jason Isbell. What Blessing and a Curse for a year and a half. working on details like harmonies and
prompted the split? And when we went in to this record, getting good vocal takes.
everybody was hearing something dif-
Patterson Hood: When Jason joined ferent in their heads. Truckers records sound better
our band it was the absolute perfect with every release. Producer
time for everyone involved. We had To what extent did last year’s David Barbe seems to be a
five great years and made three records. acoustic tour [“The Dirt Under- member of the band in the studio.
When he joined the band, he was 22 neath”] influence the album?
and eager to do something like that. There is no way to overstate the effect
But by the time he’s 27 or 28, he’s That really affected it a lot, because we or amount he has to do with the records
maybe ready to stretch out and have worked up this record on that tour. The we make. He’s an incredible producer
his own band—to be the leader and whole point of the tour was to reinvent and an amazing musician. So when he
not part of a five-way democracy that’s ourselves to ourselves. Jason had just walks up to the guitar player, bassist,
pretty unwieldy and messy. We were left, and we wanted to go out and play. or drummer and says, “If you try this
going to have some down time, and But going out and playing the kind of instead,” we’re going to listen to him
?
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS 180-GRAM LP REISSUES
W
ith the Truckers’ catalog newly down tempos and high-and-lonesome from a post-suicidal diary entry—are the
issued on vinyl, there’s never tones, channeling loss, anxiety, and self- core themes surrounding 2006’s A Blessing
been a better reason to delve into discovery as effectively acoustically as and a Curse, a work whose central tenet
the band’s music or Wes Freed’s artwork. they do via Marshall stacks. Recorded live holds that without tenacious struggle and
While Lost Highway recently pressed in just a few takes, Decoration Day crackles both good and bad times, life isn’t really
2001’s magnificent Southern Rock Opera on with intensity, originality, and honesty. lived at all. Sonics are simple, present,
LP, these must-have 180-gram New West [Full review in TAS 143] and alert. When sticks hit drum skins,
titles—as well as 1998’s Gangstabilly and the beats respond with realistic kickback.
1999’s Pizza Deliverance—are making their The Dirty South. Above all, the music is as it should be—
wax debuts. All boast slight-to-considerable Barbe, producer. New West 5007. unadorned, honest, and declarative. [Full
improvements in overall dynamics, review in TAS 161]
midrange punch, and soundstage width. Music Sonics
In comparison to the good-sounding Brighter Than Creation’s Dark.
CDs, they possess a greater sense of air, Dark, mean, and replete with ear-bleeding Barbe, producer. New West 61352.
extension, energy, and presence. What’s riffs, 2004’s The Dirty South is a gritty set of
best is that the music sounds even livelier hard-stomping boogies, poignant acoustic Music Sonics
(no surprise given the group records on waltzes, and declarative rock n’ roll played
two-inch analog tape when possible), the with bracing conviction. Here, Jason Isbell Moodily somber and musically diverse,
band’s live-in-the-studio results conveyed joins vocalist/guitarists Mike Cooley and Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is a testament
warmly and palpably via the thick, Hood as a principal songwriter, sharpening to the Truckers’ dogged sense of quality
extended vinyl grooves. Save for A Blessing the band’s historical fiction and personal control and self-discipline. Greased R&B,
and a Curse, every beautifully packaged LP reflections. Recorded on two-inch analog Bakersfield twang, drifting atmospherics,
is a two-vinyl gatefold affair complete with tape, the bold, brawny sound presents the back-porch folk, acoustic country, and
lyrics and illustrations. Truckers in all their ragged glory. Turn it subtle bluegrass course throughout the
up and feel the unmistakable hum of warm album, which rallies around an underlying
Decoration Day. amps, guitars that toll like funeral-mass theme: the fading of the American middle
David Barbe, producer. New West bells, and clang of auto-parts percussion. class. Dimensional spaciousness and live-
5006. [Full review in TAS 150] in-the-studio rawness are expertly captured.
Nimble slide accents knife in and out of
Music Sonics A Blessing and a Curse. the mix; vocals hover; bass lines dive. The
Barbe, producer. New West 5008. soundstage possesses limitless height, and
Where Southern Rock Opera chronicles every drumbeat and cymbal slap resounds.
the duality of Southern culture, 2003’s Music Sonics (While Brighter Than Creation’s Dark was
Decoration Day is more personal, delving always intended to be pressed on a two-
into busted relationships, private tragedies, “To love is to feel pain,” solemnly states LP set, unspecified issues have delayed its
and the repercussions of life-changing Hood during “A World of Hurt,” the release. At press time, the band’s publicist
decisions. Songs resonate because they bare-bones ballad that closes his band’s swears that it will happen, though no
are near to truth—most of the lyrics sixth studio album. The spoke-sung timetable is available.) [Full review in TAS
are based on first-hand observations conclusion—as well as several other 179] Bob Gendron
and experiences. On several occasions, adages about emotion, persistence, and
the Truckers open wounds with slowed- perception Hood utters as if reading
136 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Rock ETC
or Dulli, the ex-Afghan Whigs leader cavernous vocals, sinister lyrics, and
intimately familiar with guilt, revenge, and lurching grooves. The latter, along with
Recording
personal demons. Yet recurring streaks of a limitless supply of gripping pop hooks
spirituality present in the lyrics and music and absorbing riffs, link the stripped-
of the Issue
also push the Gutter Twins in a cathartic down and electric fare. The Gutter Twins
direction whereby pleas for redemption are equally deadly and intuitive on slower
and forewarnings of inescapable fate material. “Seven Stories Underground”
alternately swirl with fear and desperation, clangs away to junkyard-heap percussion.
celebration and resilience. The equally stunning “I Was In Love
Both vocalists trade off between lead With You” slowly turns from light to
and background duties, each showcasing dark, dazzling with psychedelic chamber
trademark strengths—Dulli letting loose strings and heartbreaking beauty.
with his soulful falsetto and sensual croon, Aptly, the record unfolds as a series
Lanegan adding emotional weight with a of mise-en-scène soundscapes. Dulli has
Music Sonics deep baritone croak and sturdy, nicotine- long stamped his projects with cinematic
pollinated rasp—to complementary grandness, and the ambitious results here
The Gutter Twins: Saturnalia. and contrasting effect. Moreover, their speak to his auteur visions. He makes no
Greg Dulli, Mark Lanegan, and propensity to change up vocal patterns small plans. Vocals are clear and direct;
Matthew Schneeberger, producers. on every one of the record’s dozen tunes songs prize enveloping ambience, distinct
Sub Pop 761 (also available on LP). reflects both the pair’s potent chemistry tones, defined spaces, and reverberant
and the music’s striking diversity. acoustics. While heavily layered, the
Rumored for more than five years Supported by a host of accompanists— record exhales with human timbres and
and hinted at via a succession of vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, indie singer- analog warmth.
collaborations, the prospect of the songwriter Joseph Arthur, and multiple Nowhere is such intimacy more evident
Gutter Twins—a partnership between Queens of the Stone Age members/ than on the shivering ballad “Front
inimitable vocalists Mark Lanegan and contributors are among the guests—the Street,” Dulli stepping into a subversive
Greg Dulli—has until now existed as Gutter Twins play a melodic assortment role as the devil’s plaything in acerbic
more of a tantalizing fantasy. Not that the of modal folk, gritty blues, swampy detail, singing “I am old as the star who
pair hasn’t given reasons to believe. trance, tribal electronica, and R&B- bears you/Black as the bitch who wears
Both artists have histories of helping a fused rock. Middle Eastern textures, you, tears you/Rips you apart and then
brother out. Dulli assisted on Lanegan’s reverse loops, and exotic instrumentation turns it around” with the malicious
Bubblegum album and sat behind the piano contribute to the album’s otherworldly intent and soul-stealing determination of
for a subsequent tour; Lanegan cut several feel. Each narrative conjures its own set someone who has no time—or desire—
tracks with Dulli’s Twilight Singers and of mysteries and revelations. for salvation. Bob Gendron
has often joined the band onstage. Aside The opening “The Stations” tells Further Listening: Tom Waits: Orphans;
from a one-off Gutter Twins gig, these of the arrival of an imminent rapture. Twilight Singers: Powder Burns
moments were the closest anyone came to Slithering guitar
experiencing what the two-headed beast lines, somber cellos,
might resemble if it ever became reality. and marching beats
In retrospect, it seems the frontmen preceding a climactic
understood the value of an old showbiz “oh, children” call—
rule: Stoke desires and tease curiosities by the cry simultaneously
giving audiences a taste, but make them referencing the Rolling
wait. What a concept. Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”
A triumph of great art over anticipation and underscoring one
and expectation, Saturnalia, named after an of Saturnalia’s running
ancient Roman festival at which the social themes. “Idle Hands”
order of slaves and masters was reversed, sounds like a throw
finds Dulli and Lanegan in peak form, down between Biblical
the singers reaching for transcendental adversaries inside an
deliverance while contemplating heaven, ancient temple, all
hell, temptation, and salvation amidst swagger and sway
ominous sonic surroundings. Religious until a hail-spitting
references and menacing atmospherics guitar solo makes clear
are nothing new to either Lanegan, the that reckoning day is
former Screaming Trees singer whose solo nigh. Similarly, “Bete
efforts brood about mood and mortality, Noire” intimidates with
138 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Rock ETC
sings, “And nothing I do will make you
love me.”
The same can’t be said of the Keys.
Since first coming together in a basement
in Northeast Ohio in 2002, the duo
has opened for the likes of Beck and
Radiohead and made fans of everyone
from late U.K. deejay John Peel to Robert
Plant. But perhaps most fortuitously, the
band attracted the attention of Brian
Burton, better known as Danger Mouse.
Thanks to the producer, Attack &
Release is easily the Keys’ best-sounding
record (in the past, the group trumpeted
Music Sonics its medium-fidelity recording technique) Music Sonics
with a wide soundstage and above-average
The Black Keys: Attack & imaging. Danger Mouse’s deft touch Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Dig!!!
Release. is evident on the album’s many sonic Lazarus Dig!!!
Danger Mouse, producer. Nonesuch flourishes: the church organ that drives Cave & the Bad Seeds, Nick Launay,
292476. the close of “All You Ever Wanted”; the producers. Anti 86943 (also
whale calls of feedback that drift through available on LP).
The title of the Black Keys’ fifth album is “I Got Mine”; the dark, backwoods
a bit deceptive. Not content to bash out psychedelia pervading “Psychotic Girl.” For last year’s Grinderman project, Nick
another batch of sludgy blues stompers, None of these details would make Cave pared the Bad Seeds down to a trio
the Akron, Ohio, duo reveals a more much difference if the Keys hadn’t and rolled around in the sweat-caked
reserved side this time around—less delivered its best batch of tunes to date. ooze that is raw, electrified rock n’ roll.
attack and more release. Carney, who did little more than pound On Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, the mustachioed
Working with producer Danger Mouse out roughhewn breakbeats on the band’s frontman carries over similar elements of
(Gnarls Barkley, Sparklehorse), singer/ early cuts, has evolved into a drummer youthful looseness, mocking humor, and
guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer capable of muscling his kit on the hard- soulful clatter to a larger band setting.
Patrick Carney wisely expand on their charging “Remember When (Side B)” From the stripped arrangements to alley-
sound, incorporating everything from and pulling back for its haunting flipside prowling vibes, Grinderman’s influence
banjo to organ to clarinet (played here (“Remember When (Side A)”). Auerbach, weighs heavily on a record that marks a
by Ralph Carney, longtime Tom Waits in turn, has become a more nuanced sonic departure for the veteran ensemble.
cohort and Patrick’s uncle). Sessions for songwriter and guitarist. Witness the Traces of the Bad Seeds’ trademark gloom
Attack & Release were initiated by Danger jazzy “So He Won’t Break,” where he and and frustration occasionally surface, but
Mouse, who approached the group to yet another Waits running mate, guitarist rather than brood, the group boogies. The
pen songs for a planned collaboration Marc Ribot, weave spidery six-string groove’s the thing. Or, as Cave asks: “Do
with the late Ike Turner. But after hearing threads. you wanna dance/Do you wanna move?”
the initial demos, the producer opted to Then there’s reflective closer “Things The octet doesn’t wait for an answer.
have the Keys develop the material for an Ain’t Like They Used to Be,” where Singing like a persuasive huckster narrating
album of their own, booking two weeks at Auerbach surveys his past and sees a tour of the urban subterranean, Cave
Suma Recording Studio in August 2007. nothing but overgrown lawns and busted plays up arch deliveries. He raps on “More
It’s impossible to gauge how much of relationships, surmising “it doesn’t mean News From Nowhere,” howls “We Call
an effect writing for Turner had on the a thing to me.” That’s most assuredly a lie; Upon the Author,” and sermonizes on the
duo, but Auerbach has rarely sounded this it’s this album’s many visible bruises that swinging title track. Aptly, the music is of
reflective. Indeed, it doesn’t take much help it cut deep. Andy Downing the streets—organ-grinder churns, gospel-
imagination to picture Turner belting Further Listening: Ike Turner & the choir handclaps, tooting pianos, percussive
out lines like “I was a movin’ man in my Kings of Rhythm: A Black Man’s Soul; radiator-pipe clangs, and dirty guitars rattle
younger days” or “I want to die without The Black Keys: Chulahoma with promises of sex and resurrection.
pain.” That influence also informs the The production capitalizes on the
band’s musical approach, never more band’s organic bluster—performances
so than on the smoldering “Lies.” Here, sound live, tones warm, and instruments
over a guitar line as deliberate as an full-bodied. BG
intravenous drip, Auerbach unburdens Further Listening: Grinderman:
his tortured soul. Listeners can practically Grinderman; Iggy Pop: Lust for Life
hear the frontman gritting his teeth as he
The Absolute Sound April/May 2008 141
Rock ETC
Sons & Daughters: This Gift. Black Mountain: In the Future. Bullet for My Valentine: Scream,
Bernard Butler, producer. Domino Black Mountain, et al., producers. Aim, Fire.
197. Jagjaguwar 90 (also available on Colin Richardson and Alec Cartio,
LP). producers. Jive 1393.
This Gift kicks off with a hollow metal
clatter before the guitars—as crisp as “Witchy child put a spell on me/And Bullet for My Valentine, a quartet of Welsh
freshly pressed trousers—glide in and there ain’t no way I can be freed,” admits metalheads, has a knack for laying down
kick start the hip-shaking tempo. Sons & Black Mountain leader Stephen McBean guitar solos designed with a generation of
Daughters don’t relent until the album’s on “Evil Ways,” his phlanged vocals Guitar Hero-addicted gamers in mind.
close, nearly 40 minutes later. drifting in an echo chamber. But, despite the catchy fretwork, the
The Glasgow quartet’s third album Black magic and dangerous kismet loom band’s sophomore effort doesn’t exhibit
finds the group continuing to blend large on the Vancouver collective’s intrepid any growth from its 2006 debut, The Poison,
dance punk with Celtic influences. And sophomore record, where the future an album that came from nowhere to sell
though the band sounds as energized as alluded to by the album’s title involves 300,000+ copies stateside. In other words,
ever, the results are growing tired. True, demons, lords, lightning, and a mess of its sound is still incredibly derivative. The
singer Adele Bethel still has the ability to destruction. While the dark scenarios title track could be watered-down Iron
twist even the darkest lyrics into pop gold. evoke low-budget horror and sci-fi Maiden; the melodic “End of Days”
Witness “Split Lips,” where she makes films, the group members’ backgrounds sounds cribbed from Sweden’s In Flames;
watching the aftermath of a horrible as mental-health care assistants provide “Hearts Burst Into Fire” sounds like a
accident sound somewhat endearing. context for their obsession with shadowy tune My Chemical Romance could crib
The group also delivers a handful of dreams and underground worlds. Steeped together at soundcheck. And while the
memorable hooks. “Darling” could lure in consciousness-altering psychedelia, the band might have the chops to stand up to
an army of downtown scenesters to the quintet’s retro-based rawk prevents the some of its idols, songwriter Matt Tuck’s
dance floor; “House In My Head” is a cosmic imagery from doubling as campy juvenile lyrics negate any comparisons.
dingy surf-rock ditty; the title track, with fodder. Songs are often as hallucinatory “Scream, Aim, Fire,” ostensibly about
Bethel and singer/guitarist Scott Paterson as the narratives. The crescendo-rich the horrors of war, sparks this revelation:
howling like vaguely disinterested wolves, “Stormy High” marches to thick stoned- “[Expletive] this battlefield.” “Waking
is a minimalist gem. out guitar riffs and stomping beats. Loose, the Demon” would be far better if it
But nearly five years removed from sticky blues grooves and soulful vocals were actually about waking a demon, but,
its debut, the band has yet to downshift cling to “Angels” and emerge throughout unfortunately, Tuck’s beasts lie within.
from fourth gear. This wasn’t an issue the set, helping strike a balance among epic If there’s a saving grace, it’s that sonics
on the previous albums, which averaged freak-outs (“Bright Lights”), Krautrock are above average, with clear separation
less than 30 minutes, but This Gift feels (“Tyrants”), and folk (“Wild Wind”). between instruments and a sharp focus
flabby by comparison. The production, Recorded at three different studios, on the six-string fireworks—perfect for
by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, In the Future has some track-to-track the controller-wielding army that will
is impressive, with extra care paid to inconsistencies wherein levels and be thrashing along when Guitar Hero IV
capturing the Ginsu-sharp guitars. AD imaging shift. While dynamics are average surfaces. AD
Further LIstening: Franz Ferdinand: Franz at best, soundstage depth and tonal Further Listening: Lostprophets: Start
Ferdinand; Clinic: Winchester Cathedral warmth are excellent. BG Something; In Flames: Come Clarity
Further Listening: Rolling Stones: Sticky
Fingers; Hawkwind: Space Ritual
142 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Rock ETC
The Sword: Gods of the Earth. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Jim White: Transnormal Skiperoo.
The Sword, producers. Kemado. Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band: 13 Joe Pernice and Michael Deming,
Blues for Thirteen Moons. producers. Luaka Bop 1048482.
Two years ago, the Sword prominently Howard Bilerman and Radwan
figured in a metal renaissance that found Moumneh, producers. Constellation The Roger Miller-like levity of “Turquoise
an audience with indie-rock fans. Not 051. House” and gentle hopefulness of “Pieces
surprisingly, the love affair didn’t last. Metal of Heaven” reinforce the understated
has never courted cool. Similarly, most Everything about Silver Mt. Zion is epic, optimism that belies the otherwise
hipsters view the music as exaggerated from its wordy handle to its song titles overriding sadness of Jim White’s fourth,
parody. For these reasons, and because (“1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound”) and best, album. Surely, the former
the band members looked the part of to its latest album’s track lengths.13 Blues’ Pentecostal/fashion model/surfer/photo-
coffeehouse nerds rather than dragon- four cuts average nearly 15 minutes grapher’s trip through the backwoods of
slaying headbangers, the Sword was apiece. his imagination could leave a vulnerable
labeled a hipster group whose medieval There’s also a righteous fervor that listener gutted. But musical and emotional
tales were seen as winking homages to pervades the music, even if the songs aren’t complexity comes to the rescue.
loud-and-proud satire. Balderdash. overtly religious. The septet frequently Cannily wrought but painful stories—
Playing up the strengths of its debut— shouts the lyrics in unison like aspiring about the human condition (“Crash Into the
dungeons-and-dragons fantasies, low-tuned cult members, and an accompanying Sun”) and vexed misfits (the mad drifter in
guitars, Southern-flavored grooves, oversize booklet is billed “Himnos de Sion.” Like “Take Me Away” and the “Jailbird” trying to
ride-cymbal crashes—while sharpening many biblical texts, an enduring sense escape “from the prison of my own damn
the songwriting and upping the heaviness, of doom courses throughout (“There’s mind”) unfold in spellbinding cosmic-swamp
the Austin quartet’s second album is a ravens in the gun trees,” the band cries on sonics cast across a panoramic soundstage.
stylistically predictable albeit solid, irony- the title track), though the album’s final Diverse collaborators (Tucker Martine, Ol-
free slab of mythical doom. Intermittent words, “Some hearts are true,” offers a labelle, Don Chambers and Goat, Jeff &
speed bursts and acoustic interludes figure sense of redemption. Vida) meld subtle keyboards, space-age ef-
into the mix—as do gong whacks. But Since first emerging from within fects, deep-soul bass, electric and slide gui-
mainly, the Sword sticks to basics. The band’s Canadian instrumental rock group tars, banjo, and old-time voices into delicate
slow-midtempo pacing splits that of stoner- Godspeed You! Black Emperor (three of moods. Whether singing in a soft Rick Nel-
rock and thrash. Chromatic riffs and choppy the founding members still work with the son-esque voice, veering up towards a Thom
rhythms evoke craggy terrains, galloping band) in 1999, the collective has grown in Yorke bleat, or spinning yarns with a slight
horse hooves, and battling warriors. And size and scope. And this is the crew at its Pensacola twang, White holds hopelessness
well they should, given songs such as “How expansive best. The soundstage is suitably at bay as he punctures religious certainty and
Heavy This Axe” and “Lords”—which, as outsized, and there’s clear separation advocates gracious acceptance.
an added benefit, manage to swing. between the countless instruments— A plastic coating on some of the
Sonics echo early 70s rock. Warm tube- guitar, cello, violin—that make up the otherwise finely detailed sounds doesn’t
amp tones, lasting decay, and dampened group’s orchestral, oft-chaotic warnings. obscure the brilliance of White’s beguiling
percussion compensate for a slight lack AD transnormality. Derk Richardson
of depth. BG Further Listening: Godspeed You! Further Listening: Ray’s Vast
Further Listening: Sleep: Holy Black Emperor: Lift Your Skinny Fists Basement: Starvation Under Orange
Mountain; Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Like Antenna to Heaven; Set Fire to Trees; Etienne de Rocher: Etienne de
Helping Flames: Sings Reign Rebuilder Roche
144 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Rock ETC
Tift Merritt: Another Country. Kathleen Edwards: Asking for Willie Nelson: Moment of Forever.
George Drakoulias, producer. Fantasy Flowers. Buddy Cannon and Kenny
30455. Jim Scott and Edwards, producers. Chesney, producers. Lost Highway
Zoe/Rounder 1115. 602517236226 (also available on LP).
Following on the heels of her Grammy-
nominated Tambourine, Another Country For someone whose breakthrough record From the start, the producer combination
stands as North Carolina-born singer- arrived in early 2005, Kathleen Edwards of Nashville veteran Buddy Cannon and
songwriter Tift Merritt’s third album certainly ignored protocol. Rather than im- mainstream superstar Kenny Chesney
and first away from roots imprint Lost mediately issue a follow-up, she took a year works wonders for Willie Nelson, infus-
Highway. The record’s title celebrates the off, devoting time to learn the piano, prac- ing the red-headed stranger’s own heart-
hiatus she enjoyed while living in Paris’ tice violin, work at a winery, and collaborate breaker “Over You Again” with an ethere-
10th arrondisment. Like a rite of passage, with other artists, most notably John Doe, al ambiance that emphasizes the distance
Merritt’s journey mirrors a long line of with whom she teamed on the irresistible the singer has yet to travel in order to heal
pop-music luminaries—Paul Simon, “Golden State.” his broken heart. It sounds like a great
James Taylor, Joni Mitchell included— While nothing on Asking for Flowers ap- lost track from Phases and Stages had that
who crossed the Atlantic to recharge the proaches the spark of the Doe tune, Ed- classic been produced by Nelson’s Teatro
creative engine. Yet it’s the inner journey, wards taps similar midtempo folk-rock mastermind, Daniel Lanois. What follows
the shifting terrain of career and relations, veins on her third effort. The bluesy “The is a spare, acoustic guitar and piano medi-
that Merritt richly explores here. Cheapest Key” and escapist “Oil Man’s tation on a fondly remembered “holy”
From the opening “Something to Me,” War” find the Canadian singer-songwriter love affair, Kris Kristofferson’s “Moment
with its ringing guitars and optimism, stopping just shy of a defiant warble so that of Forever,” Nelson articulating a chilling
and then into “Broken” and “Morning jangling guitar chords coincide with her ex- understanding of love’s enduring pull.
Is My Destination,” Merritt sings of the hales. Edwards also frequently pushes her But then it all falls apart, the record
artist as a work-in-progress: the search falsetto to the point where words dissolve dominated by inferior, inconsequential
for resiliency, the wins, the losses. Her into syllables. The technique turns pretty and downright dumb songs by the likes
country/soul style continues to mature. on “Buffalo,” haunting on “Oh Canada,” of Big & Rich’s Big Kenny and Dave
On these eleven tracks, she attains a new and exasperating during “Good Night Cali- Matthews set to boisterous, blaring, horn-
level of intimacy and richer sense of fornia.” Yet for all of her troubled narra- driven arrangements and funky, slinky
melody. That said, the rocking, soulful tives, Edwards is a comforter. She uses her rhythms that don’t work until the album’s
spirit so evident on Tambourine goes soft warm timbre and sensual calmness to coax end, when Nelson dives into Dylan’s
until “Tell Me Something True,” which subtleties out of simple, politely appointed “Gotta Serve Somebody.”
sees Merritt finally let loose with a little arrangements. Cannon and Chesney keep Willie’s vo-
blue-eyed soul. Sonically, acoustic guitars, pedal-steel cals way out in front, and the general mix
Sonics are fairly natural and relaxed, slides, and chamber strings float within an of instruments is rich and punchy. Nel-
and the vocals pleasantly smooth. Another organic soundscape that emphasizes Ed- son should have been served here, but
Country could have used a bit more joie de wards’ molasses deliveries—an approach somewhere along the way, his essence is
vivre but it’s still a charmer. Neil Gader that magnifies her obvious debt (and junior supplanted by pointless musical commo-
Further Listening: Kasey Chambers: status) to mid-period Lucinda Williams. BG tion. David McGee
The Captain; Sarah Harmer: I’m A Further Listening: John Doe: A Year Further Listening: Willie Nelson:
Mountain in the Wilderness; Kathleen Edwards: Teatro; Dolly Parton: Here You Come
Failer Again
146 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Rock ETC
Otis Taylor: Recapturing the Rhonda Vincent: Good Thing Nick Lowe: Jesus of Cool.
Banjo. Going. Lowe, producer. Yep Roc 2620.
Taylor, producer. Telarc 83667. Vincent and Darrin Vincent, produc-
ers. Rounder 11661-0592. The cover of the 30th Anniversary
On Recapturing the Banjo, Otis Taylor Edition of Jesus of Cool depicts Nick
follows a muddy and well-potholed Like reigning country chanteuse Trisha Lowe in a variety of guises: mod rocker,
pathway to country blues. But unlike Yearwood, the queen of bluegrass, stoner hippie, new-wave guitarist. These
some of his fellow roots-based travelers, Rhonda Vincent, is aging most gracefully personalities and more inhabit the British
Taylor never sounds like a guy who is and alluringly, physically and artistically. singer-songwriter’s 1978 breakout.
trying hard to sound authentic but not For this project she’s penned five Originally released in separate
quite getting there. With his respectful original songs of real depth (especially versions for the U.S. and U.K. (Stateside
yet never reverential nod to a tradition the instant classic “I Give All My Love it was titled Pure Pop For Now People),
that stretches back to the 1920s, fluid To You,” a warm, soothing pledge sung this definitive edition combines both
yet simple finger picking, and emphatic with IIIrd Tyme Out’s Russell Moore); pressings and fleshes the disc out with
singing style that at times brings John Lee found other songs (both new and tested, seven bonus cuts. Stylistically, the album
Hooker to mind, the Boulder musician is by other writers who delve with piercing is like nothing else in the pop spectrum.
no pretender. insight into matters of the heart); and Seemingly nothing is off-limits for
Joined by a band comprising Guy created a most memorable, moving Lowe, who toys with multiple genres. “I
Davis, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Keb’ moment in the velvety heart-tugger “The Love the Sound of Breaking Glass” is
Mo’, Don Vappie, Corey Harris, and Water Is Wide,” featuring a captivating a buoyant ditty; “Heart of the City” is a
Taylor’s daughter Cassie on bass and duet vocal supplied by Keith Urban while hard-driving guitar stomper; the blissful
backup vocals, Taylor wallows with Stuart Duncan fashions an aching, low- pop of “Marie Provost” finds the singer
Robert Johnson in swamp blues, gets key fiddle solo behind him. dabbling in Beatles-esque melody.
funky with his banjo while channeling Sly It all plays out on a dynamic sonic land- These disparate elements are held to-
and the Family Stone, turns playful on scape that has the imaginative vitality and gether by Lowe’s sharp writing skills. His
covers of “Walk Right In,” “Little Liza artful spacing of a Ronnie McCoury pro- attacks on the music industry are spot on,
Jane,” and “Les Oignons,” and points to duction. On the barnburners, the Vincent whether he’s slamming its rampant com-
another great bluesman, Jimi Hendrix, on production team moves the instruments mercialism (“Music For Money”), mock-
a banjo-inflected “Hey Joe,” all the while across the channels, giving the right side ing the blurred line between commerce
sounding only like himself. a workout on the fiery banjo and fiddle and art (“I Love My Label”), or dissing
Telarc’s sound is outstanding. Natural sorties as the voices unite dead-center in hollow contemporaries (“Rollers Show”).
as opposed to spectacular, the soundstage keening harmony. By contrast, the ballads The production adds to the charm. Al-
is big and upfront. Instruments have great tend towards a more unified soundscape, though it sports a modest soundstage and
clarity, as well as warmth and body, and with a soloing instrument adding subtle underwhelming low end, Lowe manages
the electric bass a perfect balance of snap background ballast to the earnest vocals. to recreate both the sound and feel of
and fat. Wayne Garcia Get lost in it: the journey never fails to flipping through the late 70s AM radio
Further Listening: American Primitive mesmerize. DM dial. AD
Vol. 1—Raw Pre-War Gospel (1926 Further Listening: The Del McCoury Further Listening: Elvis Costello:
– 1936); William Elliot Whitmore: Song Band: The Company We Keep; Armed Forces; John Hiatt: Overcoats
of the Blackbird Emmylou Harris: Roses In the Snow
The first (it shares the name of the instance), incorporating them along
complete work) of the six movements with electronic effects into a pre-
that make up the 45-minute recorded backing track for use in live
composition is based on a complex performance. Lullabies in Chinese and
mathematical rhythmic formulation, a English are dimly audible. Positioned
pattern of 108 beats, which is a sacred between these two selections is
number in India. The pulse is kept by a “Royal Wedding,” a joyous allegro
shaker and bass drum. There’s no string with virtuoso pipa turns. The finale,
quartet initially in sight, but be patient. “Prayer Circle,” subtly incorporates
Riley produces a quasi-symphonic chord progressions suggestive of
sonority as Chinese pipa—a lute- Latin/Cuban popular music. Irregular
like instrument gorgeously played by rhythms provide a sense of restless
Wu Man, a recognized master who forward progression in this movement
has performed with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk “dedicated to world peace.”
Music Sonics Road Ensemble—joins the Kronos, Given the close relationship
percussion, and synthesized sounds to between composer and quartet, it’s
Riley: The Cusp of Magic. create a rich aural texture. Next comes hard to imagine a better performance.
Kronos Quartet; Wu Man, pipa. “Buddha’s Bedroom,” a jazz-inflected The collaboration of Kronos and Wu
Judith Sherman, producer. scherzo in which the pipa happily Wan is as natural as a Western clas-
Nonesuch 075597995985. joins in. For the slow middle section, sical guitarist joining the group for a
Wu Man provides graceful, entrancing Boccherini quintet. Judith Sherman,
Terry Riley and the Kronos Quartet vocalizations. as usual, assures that the technical
have worked together for 30 years, and Movements III and V (“The means serve a musical end with warm,
the composer has thus far produced Nursery” and “Emily and Alice”) appealingly blended string sound and
18 pieces for the esteemed modern- employ “found sounds.” During plenty of detail without exaggerated
music chamber group. Riley has the collaboration, Riley visited with clarity. Percussion transients are nicely
observed flatly that “my compositions Kronos violinist David Harrington in rendered and the electronica, com-
for Kronos are the most important of his granddaughter’s bedroom, the two piled by David Dvorin, is effectively
my notated works.” This latest instance passing an afternoon while playing incorporated into the mix. Andrew
is a wide-ranging creation that reflects with the infant’s toys and exploring Quint
a deep spirit of artistic partnership. sounds they could produce. The Further Listening: Riley: Cadenza
The Cusp of Magic—the title comes composer recorded many of these on the Night Plain (Kronos);
from Gary Goldscheider’s The Secret experimental sounds on a laptop (a Górecki: String Quartet No. 3
Language of Relationships and references doll crooning a Russian folksong, for (Kronos)
a specific Zodiac position—was written
in 2004. The music is extraordinarily
inventive and effortlessly eclectic, yet
there’s never anything the least bit
forced or self-conscious about the
manner in which Riley incorporates the
varied materials. Though Riley can be
viewed as a founding father of modern
minimalism (In C was his seminal
work), in this piece, as in much of his
output, minimalist technique is just one
of many methods utilized, along with
improvisation, chance, electronics, jazz,
and popular influences. Striking, too, is
the facility with which the composer
moves back and forth between Eastern
Kronos Quartet with Wu Man
and Western musical styles.
Bach: Six Brandenburg J.S. Bach: Dialogue Cantatas. Respighi: Church Windows;
Concertos. Thomas Quasthoff, bass-baritone; Brazilian Impressions;
European Brandenburg Ensemble; Dorothea Röschmann, soprano. Rossiniana.
Trevor Pinnock, director and Berlin Baroque Soloists, Rainer Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra,
harpischord. Michele Gaggia, Kussmaul, violin and director. JoAnn Falletta, conductor. Tom
producer and engineer. Avie 2119 Christopher Alder, producer; Hans- Shepard, producer; John Newton,
(two CDs). Ulrich Bastin, engineer. DG 4776591. engineer. Naxos 8.557711.
Trevor Pinnock recorded the Brandenburg Bach’s Dialogue Cantatas were written Tired of Pines and Fountains? Here’s a disc
Concertos 25 years ago, with The English for church services with the male singer that steers clear of Rome yet does justice
Concert, the original instrument ensemble portraying Jesus, and the female, the Soul. to the two dominant sides of Respighi’s
he founded. It’s an excellent set. So why In Nos. 57 and 152, the Soul longs for musical personality, which found
record them again? “Whereas in 1982 I death and release from earthly cares, and is expression in his work as a creator of
stood in awe of Bach’s discipline and order,” comforted by Jesus’ assurances that faith will dazzling sonic picture-postcards and lively
writes Pinnock, “today I relish his sense of bring eternal peace. In No. 49, the spiritual antiquarian suites.
daring and musical subversion. Eager to union is described in decidedly earthly terms, The two impulses are joined in Church
cut through any narrow conceptions of a dialogue between bride and bridegroom. Windows, a symphonic suite based on the
period style, I invited players from different No. 152’s opening is distinguished by a Gregorian modes that conjures up scenes
countries and of different generations to tonally ravishing oboe, which also plays ranging from the Flight into Egypt to St.
join my new voyage of exploration.” a prominent obbligato role behind the Claire attending Matins. Brazilian Impressions
Upon hearing them now, the older vocalists. The Sinfonia that begins No. 49 shows that Respighi could do the Brazilian
versions do sound squeaky clean and very is really a sprightly mini-Organ Concerto, thing as capably as Villa-Lobos or Milhaud;
respectful. These Avie performances are and the organ obbligato adds depth to the the music is of the same vintage as Roman
more relaxed and just plain fun. The outer textures of the recitatives and arias. Festivals, and infinitely more likable.
movements of No. 3 have an irresistible The Berlin band is excellent, playing on Conductor JoAnn Falletta’s work shows
pulse; No. 6’s finale possesses a syncopated, modern instruments with due regard for exceptional musicality. Every phrase has
swinging swagger. The soloists—violin, the current vogue of period performance direction, shape, and a natural way of
oboe, recorders, flute, trumpet, horns—are practice. Dorothea Röschmann is especially breathing. This is how Italian music should
superb, including Pinnock, who hasn’t lost fine; her attractive voice and expressive go. Sonically, the Buffalo strings sound a bit
his edge as a keyboard player, demonstrated singing capture the Soul’s world-weariness undernourished in places, and are swamped
here by his execution of the harpsichord and joy in salvation. Thomas Quasthoff by the brass in the second movement of
pyrotechnics in No. 5’s opening Allegro. sounds less comfortable at times, but he’s Church Windows. The somewhat boomy
The sonics are as honest and unfussy as generally in good form, portraying a human ambience of Buffalo’s Kleinhans Music
the performances, capturing the plangent Jesus. Hall is faithfully captured, allowing us to
sound of the baroque oboes, hearty sonority Sonics are admirable, with good balances hear the orchestra as it sounds from a seat
of the natural horns, and slightly coarse between singers and the orchestra, which 20 rows back. Imaging is a bit diffuse. TL
tonality of the string instruments. AQ is well detailed and placed within a wide Further Listening: Griffes: Tone
Further Listening: Bach: Keyboard soundstage. DD Poems (Buffalo); Respighi: Church
concertos (Pinnock); Bach: Goldberg Further Listening: Handel: German Windows and Brazilian Impressions
Variations (Gould, Zenph Re- Arias (Röschmann); Bach: Solo (Philharmonia)
performance) Cantatas (Quasthoff)
156 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Classical CAPS
LYRITA REISSUES
Famous LPs Finally On CD
Arnold: English, Scottish, Cor-
nish, and Irish Dances. Solitaire.
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Malcolm Arnold, conductor. Lyrita
SRCD.201.
Music Sonics
Music Sonics
tered for CD—along with later digital re- to admire. There’s edginess to Macon-
cordings from the 1980s and 90s as well chy’s music, with movements like the
Maconchy: Symphony for Double as some previously unreleased material. Lento (from her Symphony for Double
String Orchestra. Serenata Con- Here are four examples. String Orchestra) approaching Mahlerian
certante for Violin and Orchestra. For years, Malcolm Arnold’s English, intensity.
Music for Strings. Proud Thames. Scottish, and Cornish Dances rode atop (if Alan Rawsthorne earned a reputation
Manong Parikian, violin; London only for alphabetical reasons) Harry as a “composer’s composer,” producing
Philharmonic and London Sym- Pearson’s “Golden Baker’s Dozen,” his expertly crafted music with an advanced
phony Orchestras, Vernon Handley choices for the 13 best-sounding records tonal language not dissimilar from that of
and Barry Wordsworth, conductors. of all. The brilliant orchestration of these Hindemith. This is music that appeals in-
Lyrita SRCD.288. short character pieces reflects Arnold’s stantly, yet gives up deeper secrets on re-
early years as the London Philharmonic’s peated hearings. The writing for the solo
Music Sonics
principal trumpet, a job he landed at the keyboard instrument is highly idiomatic,
age of 21. A soulful side to this unapolo- and Rawsthorne understands very well
Rawsthorne: Piano Concertos getically tonal music is evident, as in the the dialectic of the concerto form. Both
Nos. 1 & 2. Symphonic Studies. Sarabande from Solitaire. The spooky, the Street Corner Overture and the six-
Street Corner. moody, atmospheric Andantino from the movement Symphonic Studies demonstrate
Malcolm Binns, piano; London Phil- Cornish Dance set reminds us that Arnold the composer’s technical facility.
harmonic and London Symphony also enjoyed considerable success writing The original LPs consistently omitted
Orchestras, John Pritchard and film music. production credits, and they’re omitted
Nicholas Braithwaite, conductors. Symphony No. 5 is among the vastly on CD as well. But it’s widely known
Lyrita SRCD.255. underappreciated George Lloyd’s finest that highly regarded Decca producers
compositions. The hour-long piece, joined and engineers—men like Kenneth
Music Sonics
in this three-disc box by the not-incon- Wilkinson and James Mallinson—were
sequential Fourth and Eighth sympho- involved. I have mint copies of these
Long-time readers of this magazine can nies, opens with an affable, melodically four LPs and can report that the new
pull out an issue from 15 or 20 years ago expansive Pastorale. Lloyd is completely CDs nicely capture the character of the
and note a slew of recommended LPs on at ease with the time scale required for a originals, differentiating, for example,
the Lyrita label, an English imprint born symphonic argument. A lighter-than-air the slightly silvery violin sound on the
in the late 1950s and focused exclusively Rondo, a ruminative Lamento, and an Arnold recording from the more robustly
on British music. Sure, there’s some Holst, exuberant finale follow the bold, brassy textured strings on the Maconchy. The
Elgar, and Vaughan Williams to be heard declamations of movement two. Edward LPs render the space between players
but Lyrita made its mark introducing lis- Downes, who helped rescue Lloyd from more convincingly; the CDs offer a
teners to a host of second-echelon com- obscurity, leads these performances. better-defined low end and a touch more
posers including Arnold Bax, Edmund Elizabeth Maconchy’s music possess- immediacy. AQ
Rubbra, Gerald Finzi, Frank Bridge, John es real grit despite a fairly conservative Further Listening: Bridge: Dance
Foulds, William Alwyn, and others. Now, harmonic palette. It echoes Bartók and Rhapsody (Lyrita); Lambert: Pamona
the early Lyrita catalog has been remas- Janácek, two composers she was known (Lyrita)
158 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Jazz CAPS
Music Sonics Extraordinary Excellent Good Fair Poor
extravaganza, Lloyd lets his talented Things.” The remarkably agile Harland
sidemen shine in solo sections that simultaneously plays hand percussion
reveal their individual strengths. Rogers and drums, creating a polyrhythmic
demonstrates accomplished arco whirlwind.
technique on his unaccompanied bass “La Coline de Monk” is a jaunty stride
solo while Moran alternates between piano showcase for Moran. After two
quiet introspection and prodigious minutes of an unaccompanied solo,
two-fisted abandon on the keys. On Moran is joined by Lloyd, who drops
a dynamic drum solo, Harland goes in a savvy quote from Thelonious
beyond bebop cliches to a place in his Monk’s “Epistrophy” in the course
own unique musical orbit. of his freewheeling sax improvisation.
For the stirring minor-key ode Their intuitive duet seamlessly segues
“Migration of Spirit,” Lloyd taps to a furious band blowout on Lloyd’s
directly into the dramatic power of uptempo “Sweet Georgia Bright,” a
Music Sonics Coltrane’s “Alabama” on tenor sax. clever reference to Monk’s “Bright
And on the calming rubato ballad Mississippi” which itself is a fractured
Charles Lloyd Quartet: Rabo “Booker’s Garden,” he switches to alto take on “Sweet Georgia Brown.”
De Nube. flute and is supported by Harland’s Lloyd turns in his most aggressive
Charles Lloyd and Dorothy Darr, delicate brushwork and Moran’s gentle tenor solo here as Moran shifts from
producers. ECM 10663. piano. In the lively reggae-inspired boppish flurries to frantic Cecil Taylor
groove section of this 15-minute suite, runs during his extended solo. The
Charles Lloyd was one of the first Moran elevates the proceedings with title track, a tender ballad written
jazz musicians to cross over to provocative harmonies behind Lloyd’s by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio
rock audiences in the 60s, and the soaring alto flute solo before building Rodriguez and inspired by French
charismatic tenor saxophonist has to a dynamic solo full of blistering chanson, is an enchanting melody that
continued to attract youthful listeners runs, odd intervallic leaps, and hip has Lloyd caressing each note with his
with his profoundly deep sound rhythmic subdivisions. lush, Getzian tenor.
and passionate intensity along with Exotic turns abound. On the Middle The live recording has a sparkling
mystical forays into transcendent Eastern-flavored “Ramanujan,” Lloyd clarity that captures all the nuances
world music. On Rabo De Nube showcases the tarogato, a Hungarian of Lloyd’s new working quartet in
(released on his 70th birthday), double-reed instrument with Persian performance. Bill Milkowski
the shamanistic elder statesman is origins that sounds similar in tone and Further Listening: Charles Lloyd:
surrounded by a formidable lineup register to Coltrane’s India-inspired Sangam; Jason Moran: Same
of gifted youngbloods: pianist Jason soprano sax flights on “My Favorite Mother
Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers, and
drummer Eric Harland. Together,
they stretch out before a wildly
appreciative audience at Theater
Basel in Switzerland. The results are
scintillating.
On the opening “Prometheus,”
Lloyd leads off with some floaty,
meditative a cappella tenor before the
band unleashes on the aggressive
theme, underscored by Harland’s
runaway-train momentum. With
Moran feeding him provocative
harmonies on the piano, Lloyd takes
his time exploring the full range of
his horn in all-out uptempo swinging
mode. Midway through this 15-minute
Nik Bartsch’s Ronin: Holon. David Buchbinder: Odessa/ Enrico Rava/Stefano Bollani: The
Manfred Eicher, producer. ECM Havana. Third Man.
1052602. Roberto Occhipinti, producer. Tzadik Manfred Eicher, producer. ECM 10512.
8121.
Pianist Nik Bartsh returns here with his From the first luminous piano notes
minimalist Zen-funk, improvisational Although credited to trumpeter David that hang in the air on Bruno Martino’s
music built upon a framework of tightly Buchbinder, leader of the Flying Bulgar melancholy ballad “Estate,” it is clear that
interlocking grooves. This mostly acoustic Klezmer Band, the bi-cultural/bi-metro- these intimate duets between sensational
material is propulsive, sequential, and politan Odessa/Havana owes equal amounts young pianist Stefano Bollani and veteran
unrelenting. The effect can be downright of its compelling “explosive Jewish/ trumpeter Enrico Rava have a sonic
trance-inducing, prompting one music critic Cuban musical mash-up” quality to pianist character all their own. Recorded in the
to brand one of Bartsch’s earlier efforts Hilario Duran. The Cuban expatriate, who natural reverberation chamber that is
“the first post-Ecstacy jazz record.” Bartsch joins Buchbinder in Toronto’s surprisingly the Auditorio Radio Svizzera in Lugano,
simply calls it “ritual groove music.” mixed musical scene, composed four of Switzerland, The Third Man brings the 35-
His disciplined band of musical this exciting album’s eight pieces. year-old Bollani together with his mentor
mavericks, which takes its name from a Despite their prosaic titles, all of the Rava, who at nearly twice that age is at the
samurai term for lonely warrior, includes instrumentals swing, pulsate, and brood height of his expressive powers.
Sha (bass, contrabass clarinets, and alto with musical poetry and sensuality born of The plaintive cry of Rava’s trumpet, an
sax), Bjorn Meter (bass), Kaspar Rast common roots in Iberian, North African, emotive sound inspired by 1950s Miles
(drums), and Andi Pupato (percussion). Arabic, Sephardic, and Roma traditions. Davis recordings, blends beautifully
The album’s title, Holon, refers to a Both Odessa (Ukraine) and Havana with Bollani’s glistening arpeggios and
philosophical principle that describes an (Cuba) have been home to significant sustaining notes on a sublime reading of
entity that can be a system within itself Jewish populations. And stylistic blends Jobim’s “Retrato Em Branco Y Preto”
(like a subatomic particle), but also part have been going on for decades, including as well as on several affecting originals.
of a larger system. Lasting upwards of the “Jewish mambo” of the 1950s. Fans Rava reaches for high note bravado on
15 minutes, hypnotic tunes bear such of both klezmer and Afro-Cuban jazz will his melodic gem “Sun Bay,” then delivers
perplexing titles as “Modul 41_17” and recognize the bristling polyrhythms and bursts of dissonance on his knotty, avant-
“Modul 42.” But despite the post-modern minor-key melodies, intoned by classi- gardish “Cumpari.” On the title track, a
trappings, Ronin is infused with traditional cal violinist Aleksander Gajic, reed player freewheeling improv that morphs into a
jazz and classical influences. Quinsin Nachoff, and oud plucker John variety of textures and moods, Bollani
Sonically, instruments shift within Gzowski, as well as the silver-toned Buch- occasionally plucks and slaps the strings
a tight soundstage, their movements binder and the brightly rippling Duran. inside the piano to haunting effect against
depending on their role within the Bassist Roberto Occhipinti’s pristine Rava’s bold, probing lines.
whole. Producer Manfred Eicher dials but unfussy production arrays the in- Every nuance is felt in the pin-drop
these groove masters in and out of the struments in realistic relief with ample silence of this remarkably resonant
field—a sonic samurai in his own right. warmth and roundness but also with the setting, a dream environment for
Greg Cahill edge such adventurous fusion implies. producer Manfred Eicher. BM
Further Listening: Nik Bartsch: Piano Derk Richardson Further Listening: Enrico Rava: Easy
Solo; Thomas Brinkmann: Tour de Further Listening: Roberto Rodriguez: Living; Rava/Bollani/Motian: Tati
Traum El Danzon de Moises; Irving Fields Trio:
Bagels and Bongos
162 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Jazz CAPS
Leslie Pintchik: Quartets. Victor Wooten: Palmystery. Bill Dixon with Exploding Star
Scott Hardy and Pintchik, producers. Wooten, producer. Heads Up 3135. Orchestra.
Ambient 006 (hybrid multichannel Recorded by Greg Norman. Thrill
SACD). A charter member of Bela Fleck’s genre- Jockey 192.
bending Flecktones, Victor Wooten is
Maybe jazz pianist and arranger Leslie one of a handful of post-Jaco Pastorius A deliberately hollow mix—especially
Pintchik’s formal studies for a Master electric bassists who have raised the bar muddled where the basses throb, but
of Philosophy degree helps explain her on virtuosity on the low-end instrument. sparkling in the upper registers where
egalitarian approach as a bandleader. Surely, On Palmystery, his sixth album as a cymbals, vibes, tubular bells, and flutes
her commitment to the art of ensemble leader, Wooten showcases his awesome circulate—keeps legendary trumpeter Bill
playing is evident throughout this release. chops on an eclectic string of tunes Dixon at the center of a volatile musical
Reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi, she has an that stylistically range from funk-fusion galaxy that Sun Ra would appreciate.
impressionistic style that foregoes virtuosic (“Left, Right & Center” with guitarist And that’s undoubtedly just how
flash in favor of modal improvisation that Mike Stern and a three-drummer arsenal Chicago Underground cornetist and
not only complements but is sometimes of JD Blair, Will Kennedy, and Dennis Exploding Star Orchestra founder Rob
driven by the excellent rhythm section Chambers) to world music (the Middle Mazurek intended it, for Dixon, best
comprising bassist Scott Hardy and Eastern-flavored “Cambo” and African- known to avant-garde aficionados as the
drummer Mark Dodge. The results find flavored “I Saw God”) to gospel (“Miss organizer of the 1964 free-jazz “October
the pianist maneuvering her way through U” with the Lee Boys, and “The Gospel,” Revolution,” deserves the limelight. Now
melodies in order to build richly textured featuring Wooten’s mother Dorothy on 82, Dixon, who has spent most of the
harmonic layers. vocals). On “The Lesson,” a stirring duet past 44 years in relative obscurity as an
Pintchik employs two quartets, both with his brother and fellow Flecktone educator, still plays with startling physical
with Dodge and Hardy, while trading off Roy (Future Man) Wooten on cajon and and emotional power, attending more to
between percussionist Satoshi Takeishi and hand claps, the accomplished bassist texture and feel than harmony or line. His
saxophonist Steve Wilson. The material conducts a virtual clinic, alternately splatters, flutters, bleats, and blasts indeed
features five Pintchik originals and one chording, arpeggiating, blowing single explode from the sonic supernova created
Hardy contribution. Flashes of samba that rapid note lines, and strumming in a by this rambunctious big band.
crept into her acclaimed 2003 debut So flamenco manner. Other guests include The group both plays fragmentary
Glad to be Here are here, too. Three covers Karl Denson on an updated version of unison “heads,” filling the deep
include an ironically dark take on “Happy Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father,” soundstage with anarchic group
Days are Here Again” and a wistful former Flecktone harmonica ace Howard improvising, and wanes into stardust-
rendering of the Bernstein/Sondheim Levy on the rhythmically tricky “2 specked atmospherics. Flutist Nicole
staple “Somewhere” coupled with the Timers,” and blues singer/dobro player Mitchell, guitarist Jeff Parker, and
Latin-flavored ballad “Berimbau”. Keb’ Mo. percussionists Jason Adasiewicz, Mike
Sonically, the hybrid SACD packs Recorded at Wooten’s VixMix Reed, and John Herndon all play critical
plenty of warmth and small-room home studio, Palmystery involves some roles. But primarily, this recording is about
intimacy as befits the reflective, after- dense arrangements. Yet instrumental surrendering to the whole while Dixon
hours feel of the material and Pintchik’s separation is pristine and Wooten’s bass dances through the spaceways. DR
remarkably delicate playing. GC cuts through the mix with crystal clarity. BM Further Listening: Exploding Star
Further Listening: Leslie Pintchik: So Glad Further Listening: Victor Wooten: Soul Orchestra: We Are All From Somewhere
to Be Here; Eliane Elias: Solos & Duets Circus; Marcus Miller: Marcus Else; Bill Dixon: Intents and Purposes
164 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Jazz CAPS
A Capitol Dozen: Collectors’
Choice Nat “King” Cole Reissues
W
hen a then-fledgling Capitol
Records signed a 24-year-old
jazz piano trio leader (and
sometime vocalist) named Nat “King”
Cole to a contract in 1943, few could have
guessed the future. The group scored an
immediate hit with Cole’s “Straighten Up
and Fly Right,” and before long, the pianist
would transition to fulltime vocalist, first
in his trio setting, and increasingly with
studio orchestras. In the process, Cole
became an international star. He’s largely
credited with Capitol’s early success and
recorded nearly 50 albums for the label
before his death from lung cancer in
1965. Indeed, well before Frank Sinatra
and the Beatles came along, Capitol was
referred to as “the house that Nat built.”
With blessings from the singer’s family,
Collectors’ Choice Records has reissued
a dozen of Cole’s out-of-print Capitol
albums. Several are making their first-
ever appearance on CD, many contain which Cole soon became famous. Kind of Girl,” and “Three Little Words.”
rare bonus tracks, and each disc includes Top Pops is another hits collection. Everyone but completists should avoid
an excellent history and track-by-track Here, the terrific “Walkin’ My Baby Back five of the reissues, including the pop-
commentary by A&R man James Ritz. Home,” sassy “Teach Me Tonight,” and lite Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer and
Given Cole’s productivity, not all of these fun “Papa Loves Mambo,” are offset by Every Time I Feel The Spirit. While it may
are great records—and a few would be embarrassingly corny numbers like “Faith be churlish to criticize the latter given that
downright bad if not for Cole’s unearthly Can Move Mountains.” Wild Is Love is Cole’s father was a preacher, the record’s
vocal talent. But many of them are good said to be a personal favorite of Cole’s, tarted-up organ and choir are more
to very good, and several are classics. and this collection finds him “wandering” Hollywood gospel than church gospel.
Released as a 10-inch in 1952 and down Broadway, singing a string of Sings My Fair Lady marks a rare instance
on LP two years later, the seminal romantically themed show tunes linked where Cole seemed to have little feel for
Unforgettable contains a string of Cole’s by spoken intros. The concept is dated, the material. This is Nat “King” Cole and To
most beloved songs: “What’ll I Do?,” but the songs are winners. Whom It May Concern—each with Nelson
“Answer Me, My Love,” “Too Young,” Another concept album, A Mis Riddle—aren’t bad, but they’re simply not
“Mona Lisa,” the title track, and the Amigos was recorded in Brazil with memorable.
earliest recorded number, 1946’s “(I local musicians. And though Cole was Collectors’ Choice is to be commended
Love You) For Sentimental Reasons.” Of relatively unfamiliar with the Spanish and for its overall first-rate job with packaging
the four bonus tracks, the jaunty “Paint Portuguese languages, his mellifluous and sonics. The mono albums sound true
Yourself A Rainbow” stands out. Tenth voice is a perfect fit for the music. The and focused, with Cole’s voice beautifully
Anniversary is historically fascinating. This Very Thought of You (1958) is one of Cole’s open and well balanced within each
marks its first reissue on any format since greatest. The gorgeous stereo recording instrumental setting. The crystalline stereo
1953, and it’s one of the first discs to opens with the dreamy title track and silky mixes are often spectacular sounding—
include the artist’s previously unreleased strings of the Gordon Jenkins orchestra, wide open and lush as a cashmere
recordings. Trio sessions, such as 1947’s and contains one beautiful ballad after sweater, with plenty of cushiony reverb
“Dream a Little Dream,” will surprise another—from “But Beautiful” to for Cole’s creamy voice to play within.
those unfamiliar with the singer’s young, “Impossible” to “The More I See You.” Wayne Garcia
more highly pitched voice, while songs L-O-V-E was Cole’s last LP, and it, too, Further Listening: Nat “King” Cole Trio:
featuring orchestral accompaniment features one terrific song after another, Instrumental Classics; Frank Sinatra:
morph into the honeyed warmth for including “The Girl From Ipanema,” “My Nice ’n’ Easy
166 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound
Back Page
Neil Gader
what’s happening with the movies—
DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD—gives us
hope that concerts will be produced with
that kind of audio resolution. I think
there might be a chance for a comeback
in six or seven years from now for high-
resolution sound.
12 Questions for Jean Poulin, CEO Simaudio Ltd. What do we do in the meantime?
In the meantime I think we have to
think a bit more about computers. At
working for General Motors [Canada]. our Christmas party we used a laptop as
He booked me an entrance to Flint a source for the first time. I think at the
University. Everything was booked; my upcoming Montreal show we’d like to
career was planned. I didn’t want to do this, using our own high-resolution
move to the States and leave my family DACs via our player’s digital inputs.
and friends, so I stayed. I still did my We’re able to produce better music in
degree in engineering and after that I our room using a laptop than using CDs
went into computers and got another in our own drives.
degree. I started to work as a consultant
in the computer business. Custom So hard drives and flash memory are
applications. I got fed up with that the answer?
after a couple of years. I was in my late For sure they will become part of our
twenties and then I had an opportunity lives. Maybe people of our age are a little
to work as a plant manager for a less savvy about using these things, but
company that was building transformers. the younger generation will be into it. I
We had huge contracts with Northern like the iPod because it means that kids
Telecom. But Northern Telecom was are back into music and not just their
building a factory in Malaysia, and their computers. These people will create
plan was to move everything they were some kind of comeback for audio in the
giving us to Malaysia. future. And that is a very good thing.
And you were the last to know? Did you imagine going into this
Yes. Suddenly we lost seven million show that you’d be producing new
dollars of our business, and I had to phonostages?
go and find new clients to maintain the I’m sure it’s going to stay forever. It’s
firm. Since one of my fields of interest a format of passion. It’s not only for
was music and audio, I started to call on the music itself; it’s also for the ritual
the audio companies. that goes with it. There is something
in analog not yet reproduced digitally.
To supply transformers? Adding more resolution might give as
Yes , and I approached Simaudio. much detail and air, but I don’t know if
When did you first become interested we’re able to reproduce the naturalism
in audio? So “outsourcing” actually led you to of a high-quality LP. That I’m not sure
I was just a kid, like seven or eight years your present career?. of.
old. My dad had a degree in electronics Yes. I got on good terms with the guy
and was building tube amps and so on. who owned Simaudio. A couple of years Any advice you’d give a hobbyist just
later he called and said he needed help starting out?
A garage builder? with his transformers and would I join I suggest people start off buying used
Yes, for himself. Not for anybody else. him. I did, but after a very short time it gear—a good used something instead of
At that time he had a lot of reel-to-reel didn’t work with us as partners. It was a bad new something. And if you make a
gear. He was into big band music. At either him or me, and it happened to be mistake, it’s not as costly.
some point he gave me some tape to put me.
my own stuff on. I built speakers. But it You produce a wide variety of
was never my intention to work in this Do you see any trends at this year’s electronics. Is there one you prefer
field at all. CES? to design?
I had a lot of hopes a couple years back High-end two-channel. Wherever we
Where were you heading? with 24-bit and 192kHz and so on, and have the possibility of pushing the
My family was pushing me toward the now it’s just gotten back to basic CD. envelope, that’s where it’s fun for me and
automobile industry. My father was I’m a little sad about that, but I think our engineers. TAS
168 April/May 2008 The Absolute Sound