Integrated amplifiers from Audiomat, Connoisseur …uhfmag.com/Issue69/Issue69.pdfAMPLIFIERS: Integrated amplifiers from Audiomat, Connoisseur and Copland, plus monoblocks from Shanling

AMPLIFIERS: Integrated amplifiers from Audiomat, Connoisseur and Copland, plus monoblocks from Shanling. Mostly tubes.PLUS REVIEWS OF: A Creek CD player that’s half computer, an astonishing new phono stage, a great remote control, and a music-oriented computer game that had us rolling in the aislesPLUS: Our complete report from Las Vegas, and Paul Bergman on the return of the vacuum tube.No. 69

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Winner WHAT HI-FI SUPERTEST October 2003

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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 1

CinemaDown With HTiaB 19

It stands for Home Theatre in a Box. Here’s why if all six speakers are in the same box you should run the other way.

Nuts&BoltsReturn of the Vacuum Tube 21

by Paul BergmanThink only high end nuts love tubes? Here’s why the people who make your favorite recordings like them too.

Feature

Listening in Vegas 24by Gerard RejskindWhat’s new and what’s fun at the Consumer Electronics Show and at T. H. E. Show.

The Listening RoomThe Audiomat Phono-1.5 32

Okay, let’s get serious about getting everything off those vinyl discs.

The Creek CD 50 34The formula: underpromise, but overdeliver.

Shanling SP-80 Monoblocks 40Could they get by on looks alone?

Audiomat Opéra 40In this case, “class A” refers to more than the principle of operation.

Connoisseur SE-2 43Only 9 watts per channel, but what if they’re the right watts?

Copland CSA-29 Integrated 45The hybrid successor to a tube amp we loved.

GutWire Notepad 47The antivibration device that goes over or under.

The Kameleon Remote 48Most luxury remotes look great…until you use them. So guess what we’ve found…

Rock Manager 50A computer game to make you laugh. Or possibly cry.

Preview 53An advance look at gear we’ll be reviewing soon.

SoftwareThe Music Critics 55

by Reine LessardThey culdn’t kill the world’s greatest compositions. Not that some of them didn’t try…

Record Reviews 62by Reine Lessard and Gerard Rejskind

DepartmentsEditorial 2Feedback 5Free Advice 7Classifi ed Ads 66Gossip & News 69State of the Art 72

Issue No. 69

Cover story: The Audiomat Opéra pure class A tube amplifi er, reviewed in this issue. Behind is the garden of the St. Tropez, home of one of the two Las Vegas shows covered here.

2 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine

UHF Magazine No. 69 was published in March, 2004. All contents are copyright 2004 by Broadcast Canada. They may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

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EDITORIAL: Paul Bergman, Reine Lessard, Albert Simon

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“The sound of the stereo fades into history” That headline turned up in the November 18th issue of the Financial Times under the byline of Simon London. He writes that “2003 will go down as the year that hi-fi died.” London has consulted people who are perhaps not the last word in high end audio. One of them is the Best Buy box store chain (“Home audio as we know it is a declining business”). Another is Marantz (“If you are not in video today, you are not in business”). And Harvey Electronics (“Audio equipment now accounts for only 40% of sales”). London adds that Pioneer now makes neither a stereo amplifier nor a single-disc CD player. Bad news? Yeah, we’re gonna cry. Or perhaps no news at all. Consider something else Simon London says: “This partly reflects gen-erational change. Today’s potential first-time purchasers of audio equip-ment — typically in their late teens or 20’s — have grown up with digital media. The idea of sitting down and listening to 75 minutes of pre-packaged music is anathema to a generation used to media that is interactive, portable and customisable.” I’ve got news for Mr. London. There is nothing the least bit surprising in what he has discovered. There are people old enough to be worrying about their pension plans who have never listened to “75 minutes of pre-packaged music.” When Best Buy talks about the decline in audio equipment sales, they don’t mean tube amplifiers and high end speakers, they mean those little three-piece mini-stereos that have gradually plummeted from $700 to $89. You think people were actually listening intensely to those? Those harsh-sounding appliances have always been used “as background to other activities.” (This last, by the way, is a quote from the Consumer Electronics Association, which Mr. London also used as a source.) Music listening as a foreground activity has always been a niche interest, and the companies that make equipment intended for such listening have always been much smaller than the conglomerates whose products can be found at Best Buy. What has changed is that the gadget hounds, who used to drool over knobs and buttons, now drool over plasma TVs or — more likely — portable phones that take pictures. The good news is that, for those who cater to music lovers, the competition is fading away. The Future Shop “associates" will no longer be telling people that the speaker is the part of a system that really makes a difference. Creek and Copland won’t cry too hard when they discover that Pioneer is no longer going head to head with them. As for us at UHF, it isn’t catastrophic news if the CEO of Global Megamags Inc. reads the Financial Times article over his eggs Benedict, and decides that, well you know, it might be time to move the empire’s audio magazines over to covering karaoke. I’ll say it again: high fidelity is a niche product. It always has been. And the people who care enough about music to actually sit down and listen to it are a minority of the population. What Simon London has written may be true, but it is what editors call a “dog bites man” story. If a man bites a dog, let me know.

Editorial

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DOG-EARED COPIES? OUT, SPOT!Some long-time UHF readers explain to us why they’ve always hesitated to subscribe. They want to get their magazines in perfect condition, not dog-eared and torn. So wouldn’t it be funny if a dog-eared copy were awaiting them at the local newsstand? But it makes sense if you think about it. Where do copies sit around unprotected? On the newsstand. Where do other people leaf through them before you arrive? At the newsstand. Where do they stick on little labels you can’t even peel off? Surprise! At a lot of newsstands, they do exactly that! What you want is a perfect copy. And the perfect copy is the one in your mailbox. No tears or bends, because each issue is protected by a sealed plastic envelope. With the address label on the envelope, not on the magazine. Of course, you’ll have to make a certain sacrifice. Are you willing to pay, oh, maybe 23% less for the privilege of having a perfect copy? And are you willing to qualify for a discount on one or both of our original books on hi-fi (see the offer on the other side of this page)? You are? Then perhaps the time has come. JUST SUBSCRIBE

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The books that explain…

The UHF Guide toUltra High Fidelity

This is our original book, which has been read by thousands of audiophiles, both beginners and advanced. It’s still relevant to much of what you want to accomplish.It’s a practical manual for the discovery and exploration of high fidelity, which will make reading other books easier. Includes in-depth coverage of how the hardware works, including tubes, “alternative” loudspeakers, subwoofers, crossover networks, biamplification. It explains why, not just how. It has full instructions for aligning a tone arm, and a gauge is included. A complete audio lexicon makes this book indispensable. And it costs as little as $9.95 in the US and Canada (see the coupon).

Five dollars off each of these two books if you subscribe or renew at the same time

The World of High FidelityThis long-running best seller includes these topics: The basics of amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players, turntables and loudspeakers. How they work, how to choose, what to expect. The history of hi-fi. How to compare equipment that’s not in the same store. What accessories work, and which ones are scams. How to tell a good connector from a rotten one. How to set up a home theatre system that will also play music (hint: don’t do any of the things the other magazines advise). How to plan for your dream system even if your accountant says you can’t afford it. A precious volume with 224 pages of essential information for the beginning or advanced audiophile!

Finally, all of Gerard Rejskind’s State of the Art columns from the first 60 issues of UHF. With a new introduction to each column, 258 pages in all. Check below to get your copy!

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Feedback

Why do Naxos CDs sound so bad? A cry in the wilderness! (Are you going to do something about it?)

Hubert PilonOTTAWA, ON

We don’t have the same impression of Naxos CDs, Hubert. Of course, most of the recordings in the large Naxos catalog have been purchased from various sources, especially in Eastern Europe, and the sound quality naturally varies as well. But we've heard Naxos recordings so good that we could actually use in equipment tests. Incidentally, Naxos is the owner of the Proprius label.

I am writing with reference to State of the Art in UHF No. 68, in which you discuss the importance of accurate midrange reproduction, which is missing from many current loudspeaker reviews that focus on the frequency extremes. You use the original Quad ESL-57 to exemplify what accurate midrange is all about. As the owner of a pair of “Walker's Wonders," I can only echo your assertion that this half-century old design provides “something magical” that virtually no modern design can do in the area of low-distortion midrange performance. I hope that the German reproduc-tions you listened to were mounted on rigid stands at least 14 inches above the fl oor, and were driven by moderately powerful (20-40 watt) tube amplifi ers. If not, there is not enough “magic” to be heard. However I would like to correct your statement that Walker’s speaker “was and is a single large panel." It is a full-range electrostatic (with no dynamic drivers), but it consists of three separate panels: two outer bass panels and one centrally-located midrange/treble panel. These wonderful loudspeakers are defi nitely not for bass freaks or head-bangers. Also, they have a narrow “sweet

spot,” but when you occupy that spot in a properly set-up system, you hear the best midrange available anywhere.

Keith CrookallSURREY, BC

The recent sessions we have had with both the original ESL-57 and the Braun version were done with two stacked pairs on rigid stands.

The text of the Miserere might seem “contradictory and archaic”, not to say “outrageous” and “scary” (UHF No. 68, p. 63), but it’s still Psalm 51 in the usual numbering, and attributed (rightly or wrongly) to King David; a lot of people, myself included, have thought they could follow its logic, and although it’s been around for (maybe) three millennia, the emotions it expresses can still be felt. On another subject, further to your very enjoyable Anthem article, don’t you wish we could occasionally indulge in the rumbustious second verse of God Save the Queen: (“Confound their politics / Frustrate their knavish tricks”), as well as all those splendid throne-and-altar sentiments in the fourth verse of O Canada? Judge Weir should have put that one fi rst!

Nick Wickenden

Reader Basile Noel sent us on the following letter from his high end dealer: We have compared the (Copland) 301 vs. the new 305 many times and in many client applications. When the 305 came out we thought great news since the 301 had been around since 1998. It was anticipated that the 305 would be that much better. This was not the case. We installed it in our reference system and the results tended to be more of a synthetic presentation. More digital sounding. Even a stock 301 has a much more realistic character, much more organic with plenty of air and decay. The

305 has a colder sound similar to harsh sounding solid state. At fi rst I thought that we may have a bad set of valves but after replacing the stock tubes with our own matched set of EI’s, the results were the same. I also concluded that even using another 305 resulted in the same conclusions. It is very evident that, in our opinion, Copland has directed its resources at the multi-channel market. Perhaps this is where the majority of their revenues are to be had for them. This is unfortunate because the 301, in our opinion, was and is one of the best kept secrets in two channel high end audio today.

John CostanzoMy Kind of Music

TORONTO, ON

Basile, the 301 is hardly a secret. As for Copland directing its resources toward mul-tichannel, perhaps Mr. Costanzo hadn’t had a chance to read our review of the Copland multichannel amp in UHF No. 67.

I have recently purchased your “Internet Special” and I’m deeply involved in your two books: The UHF Guide To Ultra High Fidelity and The World of High Fidelity. You have opinions right or wrong (right to my ears) but you speak with conviction, and that is something most publications simply don’t offer. I was very curious though, how you select your material to review.

Paul BawcuttAJAX, ON

A lot of manufacturers would like to know the same thing, Paul. Sometimes products are proposed to us, and we either accept or refuse them (always with thanks). Sometimes we ask distributors or manufacturers to lend us products for review, and they either accept or refuse (not always with thanks). Some products are not available to us, because the distributor doesn’t like us, or fears what the result might be. We try to review products we fi nd interesting, and which have enough distribution that readers can possibly get to hear them. We also try to balance reviews between luxury products and more afford-able entry-level products. Because of the way we do our reviews, we can do only a limited number of them.

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Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4K [email protected]


Feed

back

After reading the last issue (No. 68), I decided to look back to get a sense of the direction that UHF is taking. In equipment tests from No. 60 to 68: 23 amplifi er tests, 22 speakers, 5 digital sources and 1 analog source (re)test. It appears that 1) you’ve all but aban-doned analog, and 2) with only a total of 6 source tests out of 51, your credo of putting the source at the top of equip-ment priority is losing credibility. Or is it a matter of “do as I say not as I do?”

Joe WdowiakBOWMANVILLE, ON

The analog component is of course the Rega P9 turntable, with RB1000 arm and cartridge, and it is not truly a retest, since the new P9 is totally different from the original one (UHF No. 50), and is far superior. We’ve also reviewed fi ve phono stages during that period, and we’ve done a major article (No. 65) on adding vinyl to an all-digital system. Several of our loudspeaker tests, what’s more, were done entirely with vinyl. By the way, issue No. 70 will include at least one turntable review. Not to fear, Joe, we’re still big on vinyl.

I was just reminiscing through some back issues and came upon an interesting thought. Think back to issue No. 29 — Dec. 1990 — an issue devoted primarily to analog stuff. It has been almost exactly 13 years and 39 issues and since then, I could only count 3 reviews of turntables (2 for the Rega P9 and 1 for the Linn LP12), and no cartridge reviews whatsoever. What’s up?

James P. ManleyAIRDRIE, AB

We reviewed the Rega Exact in issue No. 65.

I’m surprised you were so charitable with Dan Mick in response to his letter in issue No. 68. Why would he bother to write anyway? Yours is an audio magazine that seeks to address basic video needs, so some home theatre compromises are inevitable. His statement that 50% of the value of the home theatre system should be allocated to the display device is hard to fi gure. Sure, if you have a budget of at least $10,000, and perhaps even $20,000 or higher it may apply. Again, why is he writing? Not that your readers don’t have the money to spend, but the fi rst priority for most of them is two channel stereo, and integrated video. Let’s face it, his store addresses a niche custom instal-lation market (I’m guessing), and not a bad niche either, but for Dan to write and make statements that he would think apply to the majority of consumers, and your magazine is…dumb. Dan, my man, I am sorry to say you are the problem in this industry today, audio and video, concentrating only on the few people who can afford the ultra expensive, and in the meantime drying up the mid to lower end through neglect.

Steve RasmussenHAMILTON, ON

Well, Steve, we were polite because Dan was polite, and besides his comments gave us an excellent opportunity to add more details about the reasons for the choices we made in our Gamma system. By the way, we hear that the editor of a competing magazine is telling all who will listen that we are doomed because we set up

a “luxury” home theatre system rather than a home-theatre-in-a-box. Go fi gure.

In UHF No.67 I came across two issues. I want to share my own. First, is the surrounding noise you talk about in State of the Art. My wife and I went through bathroom and kitchen renovations two years ago (bad news for the audiophile budget). I paid attention to noise generation from the appliances and fans, especially the refrigerator. Our house is an open plan type, which means the kitchen, dining and living room are together, and the fridge is about 3 m from my listening position. I trusted the sales guy and picked a GE Profi le 22. I also asked my cabinetmaker to add 18 mm thick Sonopad on each side of the enclosure. The result is quite amazing. I did the same with the dishwasher, and it’s whispering. The second issue is the use of bitumi-nous material on the chassis covers in the Vector AV-6 amp. It’s funny, since I did a similar trick on all my 10-year+ audio equipment, using automobile asphalt/vinyl spray and rubber pads. What an inexpensive way to improve your system (remember, the budget cut). You know what inspired me to do this? The new stainless steel kitchen sink came with a rubberlike back to attenu-ate noise. It may look stupid at fi rst, but when you put your fi ngers on the preamp cover while music is playing loud, you feel the vibrations easily.

Jean-Pierre SéguinSAINT-LOUIS-DE-FRANCE, QC

I am subscriber from Norway. Well, for the time being I am. Please answer me why on earth you are reviewing Copland products in almost every issue? If your magazine does not improve and you don’t fi nd other products to write about, you can count me out.

Jan Petter EgidiusASKER, Norway

Copland had a number of new products recently, Jan, and we preferred to spread them out over more than one issue. There is of course a review of a Copland product in this issue, but no others pencilled in for the issues to come.


Free Advice

I want to say I much I love your maga-zine. You truly come through as passionate about music, not only technology. My turntable is an Oracle Alexandria, my disc player a Sugden SDT1 , the ampli-fi er is the Sugden A28-II, and my speakers are Elipson Melodines. Not a high end sys-tem , but I think it is well balanced. My little Sugden has let me down , and I was offered the Sugden Audition series amp/preamp from Sugden. I then stopped by another place to get some speaker stands, and an amp caught my attention, and I wanted to try it with my own disc player. It was a YBA Intégré. On the fi rst notes that came out of the speakers, I fell in love. So call me stupid, but I bought it. So this is my next question: what kind of interconnect could I look at to upgrade a bit more? I have Audioquest interconnects. My speaker cables are Van del Hul with WBT connectors. Is it worth buying better interconnect cables? My next upgrade would be my speakers, next year most likely.

André AvonSAINT-JEAN SUR RICHELIEU , QC

André, your original Sugden was a very nice, warm-sounding entry-level amplifi er, and we know a lot of people who discovered high fi delity with that amp. Since then Sugden produced some upscale products, including the pream-plifi er that was in our Alpha reference system for several years. That said, the YBA Intégré is in a different category, and it was a good choice. We under-stand why you fell in love. You may want to change cables eventually, but for the moment we would look for a successor to the Sugden Compact Disc player. We were happy with that player when it fi rst came out (we reviewed it in UHF No. 36), but that was a long time ago, and we don’t think it has its place in a quality system

today. Take it with you when you go shopping, and ask to hear it alongside some newer quality players. We think you’ll be surprised.

I am fi nally getting close to a complete musically satisfying system. After hunting for a power amp and a phono stage for the bedroom system, I came upon a used ex-cellent condition Sugden A48b integrated with a phono board for C$400. I tried it against some new multi-thousand dollar integrated amps from MF, ASL, Bryston, and Arcam. You know, even with price not being a factor I would have taken this little amp, and I want to credit your magazine because I would never have heard of Sugden if it weren’t for you. It sounds like a valve amp but with solid state bass slam, and it’s fantastic on vocals and strings. The weak link is now my speakers. My big Wharfedale Vanguards were designed more for the young party animal I was back when I bought them. Accurate? Naw. How-ever, my musical taste has shifted from AC-DC, to Sarah McLachlan, Vivaldi, etc., so a new more midrange-oriented, smoother speaker is in order. I was recently impressed by Audio Note AN-K level 3 speakers. The design is noth-ing like the current slim line designs with rounded edges, yet the AN-K stand-mount sounds bigger than any stand-mount I have ever heard (including my other favorite in my price range, the Reference 3a MM De Capo), with great bass weight, dynamics, smooth highs and most importantly a very clear articulate mid-band. It is apparently based on a 70’s Snell K speaker. What am I missing? 1970’s design? But they sound absolutely terrifi c despite being kinda ugly. Is this another Sugden A21a which is based on a 60’s design? Is Audio Note’s philosophy correct in that most current speakers are going for style over realistic musical presentation?

My sources are a Cambridge Audio CD6, NAD 533 turntable, Sony CDP 355 and Tara Labs Prism 11 cables./

Richard AustenNANAIMO, BC

Gee, the second letter in a row about a Sugden integrated amplifi er. The “tube-like” sound you noted is not happenstance, since that was Sugden’s intent in designing the A series. We’re not certain about the A48, but Sugden frequently used MOSFETs rather than bipolar transistors, favoring their tube-like transconductance curves. Your A48 is of course not recent, and at some point it may cry out for some renewal of its internal organs, but at the price you paid for it that shouldn’t come as much of a shock. We wouldn’t worry much about the Audio Note’s 1970’s inspiration. Not many fundamental discoveries have been made in loudspeakers in the past 30 years, though the execution of known principles has become quite a lot more refi ned. Though some modern speakers do sound far better than their 70’s counterparts, it is also true that some sound less good than speakers from the same manufacturer 30 years ago. On the basis of what we have heard over the past few years that may be par-ticularly true of Snell. We should add that we have not heard the Audio Note speaker, though we did review an Audio Note CD player with some enthusiasm in UHF No. 68. That said, we note that one of your sources is a Sony player, and we would look for a replacement for it before thinking about choosing new loud-speakers. We’re sure you’re right about the Wharfedale’s version of reality, but it may be just passing on what the Sony is giving it. Don’t shoot the messenger!

Please let me know your opinion about the hi-fi components I am planning to buy: JMLab Electra 926 speakers, Jadis Orchestra tube amplifi er, and Jadis Sym-phonia CD player. Is one of the components stronger than the others? I’ve read on the Internet that the tubes in a tube amplifer must be checked/re-placed every six months. What is the truth, and how would I have to handle my Jadis

Box 65085, Place LongueuilLongueuil, Québec, Canada J4K 5J4

[email protected]

Free Advice


Free

Adv

ice

Orchestra if I buy it? Ferenc Schell

SZEGED, Hungary

We think the components you are considering are mostly a good choice, Ferenc. We rather prefer the DA-30 amplifi er to the Orchestra, but it does cost more. Checking tubes now and then is a good idea, though of course few audio-philes own tube testers. When transis-tors fail they usually go quickly, per-haps within mere milliseconds. Tube performance, by contrast, tends to drop gradually, and you may not notice right away that there’s a technical reason your system doesn’t sound as good as it once did. However a properly-designed am-plifi er doesn’t require systematic retub-ing every few months. That can be the case of a poor amplifi er, whose designer didn’t realize that, if a tube is rated to accept a plate voltage “up to” 650 volts, you don’t actually run it at 650 volts. With more conservative ratings some tubes can last for anything from three to ten years.

Indeed, that used to be the rule. Modern tubes cost more than their ancestors, despite the fact that they’re more failure-prone than tubes once were. However we consider tube failure to be more of a minor nuisance than a large budget item. At least it’s that way with equipment designed by competent engineers.

I am considering the purchase of an FM tuner, and I am concerned about the future of the medium. I am using an old receiver as a tuner, but the reception is not great and it tends to overload on local stations due to my multi-element antenna in the attic, which I need to pick up NPR and other US stations. I am considering a used or new Mag-num Dynalab, which is somewhat costly considering the rumors about analog FM being phased out in the next few years. I don’t wish to end up with an expensive up-grade that will not be useful in the future. What are your thoughts on this?

Paul HirvinenTHUNDER BAY, ON

Paul, if we tell you that digital radio is doomed, that its wings were clipping the trees as soon as it cleared the run-way, and that you should go ahead and buy a tuner because FM will be around forever, our lawyers would be all over us. But let’s look at some facts. Canada already has a lot of stations in the digi-tal band, at least in major cities, though all but one are simulcasting. The origi-nal plan was to switch everyone over to digital, and then auction off the empty AM and FM bandwidth to the highest bidder. We note that the digitalradio.ca site no longer claims that (indeed, the site’s entire FAQ is 96 words long). The selloff can’t happen. The rea-son is that the US is not following the Canadian lead, if we can call it that. The American system (we are not talking about the pay satellite services) involves piggybacking digital information on a subcarrier that is attached to the exist-ing analog signal. This means that the AM and FM bands in the United States will never be closed down. Since Can-ada is an immediate neighbor, licens-ing any other service on the old bands

would cause an international incident. Indeed, digital broadcasting ap-pears to be a cure for a disease that has not yet been invented. It does reduce in-terference in car radios, but it does so at the cost of discarding more than 80% of the audio information. It is wide-spread in Europe at this point, but there is scant evidence that anyone even there is listening.

I confess I am not an audiophile, al-though I know the basis uses of an amplifi er, preamplifi er, speakers, etc. I recently bought unopened Infi nity Renaissance 80 speakers. They were last made in 1995 and the last piece was ordered by the Kuwait distributor in 1998. To be frank, I got them cheap, and I also will be adding an Infi nity subwoofer. 1) What amplifi er do I need for these speakers? Is it better to have an integrated amplifi er or do I need to have a preampli-fi er along with an amplifi er? 2) If I have to add a few speakers to convert the existing set into a home theatre system, what would match my present speakers? 3) What type of A/V receiver do I need to buy for the above conversion? Do I also need a sound processor? 4. Any other advice that would help me become an audiophile?

Merwyn MachadoSALMIYA, Kuwait

Let’s begin with your last question, Merwyn. The surest path we know of to becoming an audiophile — other than acquiring the desire to become one, and you’ve got that — is to start with a sys-tem at least good enough that the basic musical values can come through, and which makes you want to turn it on and listen. Those basic values are not bass, treble or “air,” but melody, rhythm and harmony. In short, music is more im-portant than sound. The two are tight-ly related, however, because musical in-formation is surprisingly fragile, and it doesn’t take much to obscure the very sense of a piece of music. We would add that this fi rst step doesn’t depend on budget. We know of quite affordable systems that can repro-duce music so that it is enjoyable, and we also know of very expensive systems that cannot.

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Checking tubes now and then is a good idea, though of course few audio-philes own tube testers. When transis-tors fail they usually go quickly, per-haps within mere milliseconds. Tube performance, by contrast, tends to drop gradually, and you may not notice right away that there’s a technical reason your system doesn’t sound as good as it once did. However a properly-designed am-plifi er doesn’t require systematic retub-ing every few months. That can be the case of a poor amplifi er, whose designer didn’t realize that, if a tube is rated to accept a plate voltage “up to” 650 volts,

actually run it at 650 volts. With more conservative ratings some

forever, our lawyers would be all over us. But let’s look at some facts. Canada already has a lot of stations in the digi-tal band, at least in major cities, though all but one are simulcasting. The origi-nal plan was to switch everyone over to digital, and then auction off the empty AM and FM bandwidth to the highest bidder. We note that the digitalradio.ca site no longer claims that (indeed, the site’s entire FAQ is 96 words long). The selloff can’t happen. The rea-son is that the US is not following the Canadian lead, if we can call it that. The American system (we are not talking about the pay satellite services) involves piggybacking digital information on a subcarrier that is attached to the exist-ing analog signal. This means that the AM and FM bands in the United States will never be closed down. Since Can-

SALMIYA, Kuwait

Let’s begin with your last question, Merwyn. The surest path we know of to becoming an audiophile — other than acquiring the desire to become one, and you’ve got that — is to start with a sys-got that — is to start with a sys-gottem at least good enough that the basic musical values can come through, and which makes you want to turn it on and listen. Those basic values are not bass, treble or “air,” but melody, rhythm and harmony. In short, music is more im-portant than sound. The two are tight-ly related, however, because musical in-formation is surprisingly fragile, and it doesn’t take much to obscure the very sense of a piece of music. We would add that this fi rst step doesn’t depend on budget. We know of quite affordable systems that can repro-duce music so that it is enjoyable, and

Most of this issue can be read online

We’ve never quite understood why some magazines show only their covers and their tables

of contents, evidently fi guring people will pay to subscribe to a magazine they’ve never seen.

We’re a little different. If we could give all of our information away and still stay in business,

we would. As it is, we walk perilously close to the line.

The reality is that, unlike a number of other audio magazines, we live mainly from our readers

(that’s why we can afford to write the things we write). So some pages are obscured by differ-

ent objects, and some articles start off in English, but tail off into Larin.

Note for Latin scholars: the Latin text doesn’t have much to do with hi-fi .


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Which brings us to your speakers. Your Infi nity speakers are of older de-sign, still using the EMIT tweeter and the similar EMIM midrange which have always made us uneasy. Today In-fi nity is a division of the Harman Inter-national giant, and its speaker models have changed quite radically. Still, you got them cheap, as you point out. And in fact this may not be a huge problem. Here’s why. The fi rst step in build-ing a musically competent system is not picking the right speakers, but picking the right source. This basic truth may not be pointed out by some salespeople, and indeed there’s a better than even chance that it will be contradicted. Claim: the speaker is most important because it produces the actual sound, or because other components are so perfect that only the speaker will make much different. Fact: The best speaker can’t remove distortion or restore miss-ing information. Having saved considerable money on the speakers, get the best source you possibly can (a CD player we assume). Get one made by an actual audiophile-oriented company, not one of the com-panies that advertise on neon billboards. Then get an integrated amplifi er also made by a non-neon company. You may ultimately add full sur-round sound for movies, but be aware that a great two-channel system is a lot more fun to listen to, even for movies, than a mediocre 5.1 system. Go for two channels fi rst, perhaps add a subwoofer for movies at least. And fi nally, as you upgrade, make sure that each step makes music sound better, not worse.

I have seen your Web page saying that we can dezone any DVD player, but with-out telling us if this can be done with any model. I have a JVC XV-N50BK player bought in Canada and want to play DVDs I bought in Europe. Can you provide me with guidance on fi nding the right solution and how much this would cost me?

François DormoyBROSSARD, QC

There is considerable information on this topic on the Web, François, nearly all of it from Europe, especially the UK and France. That’s because re-

gion-free fi lms are big in Europe. Lo-cal stores, such as France’s Fnac, actu-ally sell Region 1 versions of American blockbuster movies while the movies are still in fi rst-run. The result is that in London or Paris you see electronics stores actually advertising region-free or dezoned players. As our article (UHF No. 61) men-tioned, some players are fairly easy to dezone, using secret codes you enter on the remote control, whereas others re-

quire modifying the onboard fi rmware. However dezoning is not as practical as it was when the article was published, because the movie studios have caught on to the game. A “dezoned” player is actually set to Region 0. But some Re-gion 1 fi lms now contain code that pre-vents them from running on any player that is not explicitly set to Region 1. That’s true of Disney fi lms, for in-stance, though others may present the same problem.

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There’s an alternative to dezoning, namely rezoning. If you have a mod-ern computer, this may be the way to go. Your computer’s DVD player can probably be rezoned to any region you want by a simple maneuver you’ll fi nd

in the instruction manual. It has an on-board chip that prevents it from being changed more than fi ve times. You can get software to defeat that function, but some of it is programmed by kids who aren’t going to lie awake nights worry-ing about your drive being forever stuck in Region 6. Our suggestion: if you do have a computer, pick up an outboard DVD drive for it, which will cost you little more than $100. Set it to Region 2 and leave it there. Problem solved. As you’ll see from the next letter, you’re not alone.

I own a Sony VAIO laptop with a Zone 1 DVD player. I live in Paris and would really like to be able to rent DVDs from local stores. Could you please recom-mend a download site or software website that I could get to change my computer to a dezoned state?

Jennifer LockePARIS, France

Jennifer, Paris appears to be the world capital of dezoning. We know of no other city with so many stores openly offering dezoned DVD play-ers. And nearly all of the sites dealing with dezoning are European, usu-ally French, German or British. DVD Dezone (http://www.dvddezone.net) is an example.

But as we explained in our answer to the previous letter, dezoning may actually keep you from playing certain fi lms altogether. Our current advice is to buy an easy-to-dezone (or rezone) player, and keep it exclusively for fi lms coded in the zone you need. With a computer the situation is a little different. There is a utility built right into Windows that lets you set the zone of the built-in DVD player, and it’s easy enough to set it to Zone 2 (Europe). The catch is that you can change the zone only a limited number of times, usually fi ve. And that’s it. The dezoning sites include links to software that can “reset” the DVD drive so that it thinks it has never had its zone changed. Another possibility is to buy an external DVD-ROM drive for your computer (they’re cheap now). If you buy it in Paris it may already be set to Zone 2, and if not you can set it yourself easily. Then just use the drive that matches the zone of the fi lm you want to see.

Just to be sure I had my speakers set up properly in my new room, I bought a Ra-dio Shack analog sound level meter. I was quite disappointed to fi nd that, for some test tones, readings were impossible to take. For example, the 31.5 Hz and 100 Hz tones had the needle swinging. Between 67 Hz and 74 Hz, the needle would stop momen-tarily at 71 Hz and then move again up or down. It was frustrating. I was thinking standing waves. Further up the frequencies, there were fl uctuations as well, but not nearly as drastic as those in the bass region. How would UHF take the readings, and what readings should be recorded?

John TiongSIBU, SARAWAK, Malaysia

You’re right to be concerned about standing waves, John. How long a standing wave continues to resonate depends on your acoustics, but what standing waves actually get set up is a pure function of the room geometry. A room with no standing waves is impos-sible, unless it is anechoic, with 100% absorption of all ambient sound. And trust us, this is not what you want for music.


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The Radio Shack SPL meter is not exactly a precision instrument, but it can be useful, and a number of profes-sionals keep one handy. However it is of little use with single-frequency sig-nals, because as you noted the levels go up and down wildly, especially below 800 Hz or so. You can use warble tones, which swing back and forth rapidly over a third of an octave. You then set the meter to slow response so that it shows you the average level. Or you can use our method: a noise signal that covers one third of an octave. Instruments to generate such signals are expensive, but test CDs with third-of-octave signals are much cheaper. But be aware that variations caused by clusters of room modes can’t be eliminated. On our own test curves, we mention when an anomaly is actually caused by room modes.

I am in a doubt; I need a new CD Play-er, but I’m not sure which way to choose; I recently auditioned an Electrocom-paniet ECD-1 upsampling D/A converter I liked very much (very revealing, sound-stage, tonality, it was signifi cantly better to my ears than the Meridian G07 and Ar-cam 33, for example). So, fi rst option would be to go for it and buy a separate transport. But which one ? I hav a chance to get a CEC 51 at very good price (also their best A/D 71 which I plan to audition too, since discount-ed by 60%), or to use an SCD-XA3000 by Sony as a transport, with SACD replay as bonus. Or to go with an even cheaper (Marantz or…) CDP used as a transport. Or is it more effi cient to buy an inte-grated CDP. The Vecteur L-4.2 S comes to mind, as well as the Primare D30.2.

Aleksandar KovacZAGREB, Croatia

We generally don’t recommend us-ing a DVD-based player as a transport (and SACD players are DVD players, even if they don’t play the DVD for-mat). The XA3000 is certainly a better than average SACD player (the aver-age has been sinking, however), but it won’t give you optimum performance with the Electrocompaniet DAC. We very much like CEC transports (our own Parasound transport was designed by CEC), and we expect it will give you

the best result with CDs. That said, the Vecteur is excellent, and is a much lower-cost choice.

Can a record in poor condition (deep or many scratches) damage a stylus? And when recording a music CD, does the sound card matter in the burning process? (On-board sound card vs Creative Sound Blaster Audigy). I realize there is a difference com-ing out of the computer speakers, but once the CD is burned will there be a difference on an audiophile system?

Gabriel FillionMONTRÉAL, QC

Gabriel, the good news is that it’s unlikely a gouged record will pose a threat to a stylus, unless the damage was infl icted with a pneumatic drill. Most scratches “look” to the stylus like very quick transient sounds, though of course your ear won’t perceive them that way. The sound card makes no differ-ence if you are copying material that is already digitized, from another CD,

say. However if you are putting analog material (an LP, a cassette or an open-reel tape) onto CD, then your sound card is your analog-to-digital converter. You no doubt know how much a quality digital-to-analog converter costs. It’s no cheaper going the other way. We have had acceptable results with built-in audio on both a Macintosh G4 computer and a Wall Street PowerBook. Readers have told us of less good results with Sound Blaster cards…unfortu-nately including the Audigy (which we have not tried ourselves). How good a card you need depends on the intended purpose of the CD you burn. If you’re making a copy of an LP for the car, say, your computer’s exist-ing sound card may be adequate. On the other hand if you’re copying LPs with the idea of ultimately retiring your turntable, or if you want to put the sound of your own band on CD, you’ll want to shop for an upscale converter. Better ones are made for industry users. You’ll fi nd a good choice in stores that cater to professional musicians.

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That said, the Vecteur is excellent, say. However if you are putting analog material (an LP, a cassette or an open-

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Three years ago I did a student job in the company of a very good friend. Part of the wages was paid with a little Cambridge system. My interest in hi-fi grew, and I dis-covered this fantastic magazine by looking for info on the Cambridge Isomagic DAC on the Internet. Since then, I’ve been ad-dicted. Now, my system consits of the follow-ing: Cyrus CD8, an old MusicLink SC-22 Marantz preamplifi er, Vincent SP991 mono A-class amplifi ers, Cyrus CLS 70 loudspeakers with matching tripods, Trans-parent MusicL ink Super, your Equinox III cable with WBT connectors, Transparent MusicWave Super. Since I bought my new CD player the music has changed a lot, but I still want to go further. I think that the preamplifi er is the weakest link now. I thought of buying a new preamplifi er, but I heard that Cyrus will bring out an external DAC which also works as a digital preamplifi er. With the DAC, I would improve my CD player and my preamp. What’s your opinion on digital preamplifi ers? I’ve one last question. I spend sev-eral hours each day in my car, listening to a stupid Sony radio/CD-player. Are there

any alternatives? Does something like “car-hi-fi ” exist?

Emmanuel Du FourGHENT, Belgium

Emmanuel, we have a bizarre little story about car hi-fi . Some years ago we produced a magazine-within-a-magazine on car audio for our then-sister publication, Son Hi-Fi. To get pictures, we spent the morning at an installation work-shop, and we hit the right day, because a system was being installed in a Brick-lin, the ill-fated Canadian-built gull-winged sports car (Bricklin went on to become the US importer of Yugo cars). That same day, the chief installer gave us a demo of his own car system. It was installed in an elderly Firebird worth much less than its audio system, which seemed to include two of everything. He couldn’t decide whether to put Bose or Infi nity speakers in his doors, so he got both. His trunk was fi lled with four 200-watt (theoretical) amplifi ers and of course two subwoofers. What came out of it was truly impressive. We weren’t sure whether what we heard was grand

opera or Grand Ole Opry, but we gath-er that such details were not the goal of the exercise. The installer told us that at night his headlights blinked in time with the music, and Lord knows we saw no reason to doubt his word. This is not to say that true car hi-fi is impossible, but in seeking it out you’ll be running into installers like the owner of the Firebird from hell. Resist getting huge amplifi ers whose power rating ex-ists only on paper Resist subwoofers too. Concentrate on the source, and put in a system that can reproduce its sound without caricaturing it too grossly. Whew! Now to your other ques-tion. There are digital preamplifi ers that are also DACs, and there are DACS that are also preamplifi ers. In both cases, it is supposed that you have no analog sources, or that if you do you’re willing to have their signals turned into digital, and then back into analog so you can hear them. The round trip is a long trek through the desert, and in many cases the music arrives at the other end with its tongue hanging out. The Cyrus may turn out to be very

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Now, my system consits of the follow-ing: Cyrus CD8, an old MusicLink SC-22 Marantz preamplifi er, Vincent SP991 mono A-class amplifi ers, Cyrus CLS 70 loudspeakers with matching tripods, Trans-parent MusicL ink Super, your Equinox III cable with WBT connectors, Transparent

Since I bought my new CD player the music has changed a lot, but I still want to go further. I think that the preamplifi er is the weakest link now. I thought of buying a new preamplifi er, but I heard that Cyrus will bring out an external DAC which also works as a digital preamplifi er. With the DAC, I would improve my CD player and

Some years ago we produced a magazine-within-a-magazine on car audio for our then-sister publication, Son Hi-Fi. To get pictures, we spent the morning at an installation work-shop, and we hit the right day, because a system was being installed in a Brick-lin, the ill-fated Canadian-built gull-winged sports car (Bricklin went on to become the US importer of Yugo cars). That same day, the chief installer gave us a demo of his own car system. It was installed in an elderly Firebird worth much less than its audio system, which seemed to include two of everything. He couldn’t decide whether to put Bose or Infi nity speakers in his doors, so he

is impossible, but in seeking it out you’ll be running into installers like the owner of the Firebird from hell. Resist getting huge amplifi ers whose power rating ex-ists only on paper Resist subwoofers too. Concentrate on the source, and put in a system that can reproduce its sound without caricaturing it too grossly. Whew! Now to your other ques-tion. There are digital preamplifi ers that are also DACs, and there are DACS that are also preamplifi ers. In both cases, it is supposed that you have no analog sources, or that if you do you’re willing to have their signals turned into digital, and then back into analog so you can

Want to read it all?

Did we remember to mention that you can subscribe to UHF on page 3 of this

issue (it's page 5 of the PDF, counting the covers). Or you can order this issue

on page 51.


good. Whether it will sound better than your CD8 is something that would have to be determined by comparing them. And if you have, or think you will get, one or more analog sources, we wouldn’t even consider it.

I’ve read the magazine for many years, but his is my fi rst time writing. I have a pretty good system at home and have pretty much followed your philosophy religiously: Linn front end and preamp, Classé power amp, B&W 804 speakers. These days most of my listening is, unfortunately, on a portable and through headphones, commuting to work and at work. My main headphones died recently and I’ve pretty much narrowed my search down to a couple of closed ear Sennheisers. One (the PXC-250) has active noise reduc-tion. The other I believe just has good muffs to keep the outside out. I would never put a circuit (i.e. an equalizer) into my home system. Is the noise reduction on headphones such as the Sennheisers, (Bose and Sony have similar offerings) that are on the mar-ket a big interference with the sound, since they are using white noise to cancel the noise

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from outside? The Bose are a bit pricey, since I fi nd that wear and tear on headphones gives them a life of around two years. I tried a pair a couple of years ago when traveling on business, and my own headphones sounded better. I know one of the Sennheisers (HD-280 pro) has replaceable parts, which makes me lean towards it rather than the noise re-duction one, and the fact that there is not the outside processing.

Brent JonesCALGARY, AB

Actually, Brent, noise-cancelling headphones don’t use white noise to mask ambient sound. Rather, they use a microphone to pick up the noise, and mix it out of phase (if one is optimistic) so that the two noises cancel out. This can work only at low frequencies, so it is particularly effective for listening in airplanes, where the very low-pitched roar of the motors is the dominant sound. On every noise-cancelling head-phone we have ever tried, the perfor-mance hit was huge. That doesn’t mean these phones are useless, because medi-ocre sound is far better than great sound you can’t hear. The closed Sennheisers will give you better quality, but you need to check whether their ability to muffl e outside noise is adequate. This is not merely of trivial importance, be-

cause the natural tendency is to raise the volume until the music is louder than the ambient noise. That can dam-age hearing. Some commuters swear by those tiny in-ear phones that block sound and funnel music right into your middle ear. Frankly, those make us nervous.

I just purchased a pair of Totem Mani-2 speakers. However, when I was told the price of their stands, I started thinking of alternatives, either purchasing a lower priced brand or making my own. Is this a wise path to take? Obviously, I don’t want to compromise the sound. I know that in your reviews you always stress that a proper stand allows a speaker to opti-mally perform, but what constitutes a good stand? Is it enough that it be rock solid, or does the shape, fi nish and material play into it as well? Most good stands seem to made of metal. Is this because of the way they in-tegrate sonically with the speakers? Given this, is metal the material of choice over wood or fi breboard? If I were to build the stands they would be “I” shaped and the center columns would have their 4 sides lock mitred together. Target spikes on the bottoms and Blu-Tack to isolate the speakers. The columns would be fi lled to increase the weight. Is this a good design or should I copy the Totem stand for these speakers? What would be the best ma-terial for the job? I would really like to use

solid maple or oak, but I don’t believe their characteristics are suitable. Some other considerations are veneer core plywood ( for cabinetry), veneer faced MDF or plain 3/4” MDF. I believe there is also a high density fi breboard available, but I’m not sure where to get it. As far back as I can read, this topic hasn’t been covered in any of your issues and it is an interesting one.

Glen SykesWELLAND, ON

The role of the stand is one of the keys to good sound, Glen. Designing a stand is not rocket science, but nor is it as trivial as it looks. A good stand must be acoustically neutral. This means it must not reso-nate at critical frequencies in the audi-ble range, and it must be well damped: when it does resonate, it mustn’t keep on ringing for very long. At the same time, it must be uncompromisingly rig-id, to avoid losing energy — especially low-frequency energy — that should go into making sound. Last but not least, it must stay out of the way, not present-ing edges that can cause diffraction of sound. Wood, MDF and compos-ite materials are economical, they are light (important, because when you buy a stand you are paying for what it cost to ship it from the factory), and they are easy to damp down. Metal is much more rigid, and therefore better suited to a high-performance speaker like the Mani-2. Metal does ring, of course, but when the pillars are fi lled with sand or other suitable material, it offers major advantages. However, unless welding is one of your hobby skills, you may fi nd making a steel stand a hot and heavy project.

I have a question which I think is a cable question. I have a modest system here: Rega Planar 3 with Denon 304 MC car-tridge, Rotel RCD-971 (all hail HDCD!), Aiwa AD-F810 tape deck, Sony STS211 tuner, Audiolab 8000A, Acoustic Research Classic 8 loudspeakers (6 ohms, made in early 90’s; nobody’s ever heard of them, and I’ve tried to replace them a few times but could never fi nd anything comparable near the price — I think they’re wonderful) and

Actually, Brent, noise-cancelling use white noise to

mask ambient sound. Rather, they use a microphone to pick up the noise, and mix it out of phase (if one is optimistic) so that the two noises cancel out. This can work only at low frequencies, so it is particularly effective for listening in airplanes, where the very low-pitched roar of the motors is the dominant

On every noise-cancelling head-phone we have ever tried, the perfor-mance hit was huge. That doesn’t mean these phones are useless, because medi-

a lower priced brand or making my own. Is this a wise path to take? Obviously, I don’t want to compromise the sound. I know that in your reviews you always stress that a proper stand allows a speaker to opti-mally perform, but what constitutes a good stand? Is it enough that it be rock solid, or does the shape, fi nish and material play into it as well? Most good stands seem to made of metal. Is this because of the way they in-tegrate sonically with the speakers? Given this, is metal the material of choice over wood or fi breboard? If I were to build the stands they would be “I” shaped and the center columns would have their 4 sides lock mitred together.

more rigid, and therefore better suited to a high-performance speaker like the Mani-2. Metal does ring, of course, but when the pillars are fi lled with sand or other suitable material, it offers major advantages. However, unless welding is one of your hobby skills, you may fi nd making a steel stand a hot and heavy project.

I have a question which I think is a cable question. I have a modest system here: Rega Planar 3 with Denon 304 MC car-tridge, Rotel RCD-971 (all hail HDCD!), Aiwa AD-F810 tape deck, Sony STS211

Two cables into one jack?

Don’t you wish manufacturers would supply enough jacks? You want to bi-

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everything in.

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Monster interconnects. I’ve always biwired the speakers, origi-nally with Monster XP, but I “splurged” on Kimber 8PR, cut two lengths of 8 feet, bi-wired (no plugs or spades this time), and trembled with anticipation. Well, the stereo imaging was considerably improved, but the tonal effect is very strange: there’s an arti-fi cial, distant feeling to everything, and the frequency spectrum seems dulled, hollow. Is this really possible? Have I made a costly blunder, or is it the biwiring — or the total system?

Tom AnnandOTTAWA, ON

Tom, you know what this sounds like? It sounds as though the wires are connected wrong, and are putting the woofer and tweeter out of phase. That would cause exactly what you describe. Interchange the two wires at the tweeters (only), and listen again. An-other way would be to try putting the jumpers back on your speakers. If we’re correct, that will result in a short cir-cuit. Fortunately, your Audiolab ampli-fi er has short-circuit protection. We would recommend installing good connectors on the cables as soon as possible, to avoid eventual damage to the wire ends. This little cable prob-lem apart, we would say the amplifi er would be the next component ripe for upgrade.

I have wanted to get back into analog for a while and Santa brought me a Rega P3 with Elys cartridge for Christmas, lucky me!! I had to mount the cartridge myself as we don’t have a high end shop in Nanaimo. It’s been many years since I have performed this feat and think I got it right. However, on headphones and at loud listening levels I hear a distinct pre-echo milliseconds before the music starts. Have I done something wrong? Is it the anti-skate, or bias adjustment as Rega calls it? Also, in the less than stellar instruc-tions, Rega says a shop should set the car-tridge up due to proper torque. I’m used to torque on my car, but a cartridge?

Dean MontereyNANAIMO, BC

Dean, torque means twisting force. Your car motor needs to twist the

crankshaft and transmission to make the wheels go. And you need to apply twisting force to the cartridge screws to tighten them. Different manufacturers have different ideas of what constitutes proper torque, but it doesn’t mean put-ting your shoulder into it. Loose screws compromise rigidity and destroy the turntable’s ability to resolve fi ne details. On the other hand overtightening can actually distort and perhaps crack the cartridge shell. Many cartridges come

with aluminum screws because they’re non-magnetic, and it’s actually possible to shear an aluminum screw right off. How do we know? Don’t ask! The pre-echo is not an artifact of your turntable setup, and there’s not much you can do about it. It’s common in vinyl discs whose grooves are slightly too close together. The lateral displace-ment of one groove distorts the adjacent groove, and you can hear what’s coming about two seconds from now.

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A similar phenomenon can originate right in the master tape. Sound is stored on tape as a magnetic pattern in a metal oxide coating. The pattern can “bleed” through from one tape layer to adjacent layers, resulting in pre and post-echoes. Because the “print-through” phenom-enon accentuates with the passage of years, it is often worse in reissues of older recordings whose master tapes have sat in a vault for a few years, not always under the conditions you would want for a Bourgogne grand crû.

I have a Rotel RCD-991 player. I would like to buy a DVD-Audio and SACD player in one housing. I am looking at the Denon 2900, Pioneer 757Ai, Pioneer 868Ai or Onkyo DV-SP800. I would like to have in the SACD much better quality than I can now hear with my Rotel. Which player you suggest that will be good enough for me? I hope you understand me. I do not want to buy a SACD player and then fi nd out that I don’t get much better quality with SACD than I have on my Rotel.

Bruno BicekSKOFJA LOKA, Slovenia


Free Advice

We understand you fi ne, Bruno, And your concern is perfectly reason-able, because many an audiophile has traded a CD player for SACD or DVD-Audio and discovered that it sounded worse, not better. Truth is, many CD players are not operating at the full resolution of the medium. A typical CD player, or worse, a major brand DVD player being used as a CD player, may actually have a res-olution well below that of the Red Book Compact Disc. Errors are not apparent, because the player is designed to con-ceal them, but the quality is not what the designers of the CD had hoped. Incidentally, the discs themselves often have less then optimum preci-sion. Ask any record producer whether what he hears from a fi nished CD is ex-actly what he heard on the master tape. Chances are he will laugh. Well, sort of laugh. Now imagine what a player from the same manufacturer will do with a disc whose information is even more tightly packed. We will be reviewing universal players from high end companies in the months ahead. However what we have heard from economy models has not been heartening. The Denon and Onkyo models you mention are better than many, but we would suggest keep-ing your Rotel for playing Red Book CDs. The two Pioneer models are available in Europe only, and we don’t know much about them.

I have another question for the good folks at UHF. Do you think there is a huge advantage to buying a preamp and power amp combo over an integrated amp? It seems that integrated amps are always con-sidered to be a good starting-off spot only to be later sold off for the better two-box amp. If cost is not an object, are you always going to get better sound quality with a pre-amp and amp? Are there integrated amps that can be considered comparable to the best preamps and amps and if so, which ones do you feel can compete with them?

Jon NishiKELOWNA, BC

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get a separate amplifi er and preampli-fi er if you aspired to anything beyond entry-level sound. It was a self-fulfi lling prophecy: companies didn’t make great integrateds because they thought you wouldn’t buy them, and you didn’t buy them because you fi gured they couldn’t be all that great. Then a French com-pany, YBA, bucked conventional wis-dom with the very capable Intégré amp. Its competitors watched its success with amazement, and said, “Hey, we can do that!” Check out the integrated ampli-fi er reviews we’ve done over the past few years, and you’ll fi nd some aston-ishingly good alternatives to separates: Vecteur I-6.2 and I-4, Audiomat Ar-pège, Jadis DA-30, Antique Sound Lab Leyla, Musical Nu-Vista M3, Simaudio Moon I-3…and that’s not even a com-plete list. Not having to buy an extra in-terconnect cable is an extra advantage.

We’re rebuilding our home, and one of our requests is built-in audio for several rooms. Our previous system was (inade-

quately) driven by a standard receiver with all speaker routed to a six-zone junction box. We soon fi gured out how to overheat the receiver and burn out the junction box! I have been recommended a system by Niles, which support high-end control from different rooms. I was surprised (but should not have been) at the costs as we started adding things up. I could use help in fi nding competitive systems at least for comparison since this stuff isn’t stocked at Future Shop and such.

Duncan LeeKELOWNA, BC

A number of high end audio com-panies make multiroom gear, Duncan, but doing this on the cheap may not be possible. A big part of the bill for a complex multiroom system is for labor, which can’t be discounted, and for a lot of other parts such as control panels, amplifi ers, and enough wire for a rural electrifi cation program. It is possible to save money if you don’t need all of the features of the full systems. For instance, if you don’t need

the fl exibility of listening to FM in one room while a CD is playing in another room, you can run interconnects every-where and set up inexpensive amplifi ers in various rooms. If the system in a particular room will be used for back-ground music, you can even shop for powered speakers in a computer store. That gives you no local control except for volume, of course. And some people are now setting up wireless multiroom systems using a computer as a centre rather than a conventional audio system. Add a few wi-fi links, and you can avoid running all that wire through your walls.

Does copying CDs (burning copies or copying them on the computer as MP3) reduce the sound quality even though the copying process is digital? I had a discussion about that with my friends the other night, but we could not quite fi gure out who was wrong and who was right.

Sandra WitzelSYDNEY, Australia

Sandra, if you mean copying an audio fi le that is already in MP3 format, it is unlikely further degradation will take place. We say “further” because there is of course massive degradation that takes place in the conversion to MP3: typi-cally, over 90% of the audio information is simply thrown away. What survives is suitable for the most casual listening. But what if you copy a CD in native format? That depends. We have used disc-at-once software, such as Roxio Toast, to make a bit-for-bit copy of a CD and heard no degradation. We were even agreeably surprised to fi nd that HDCD-encoded tracks get copied with the HDCD information (hidden in the dithering signal) intact. We should add that some blank CDs can be harder to read than others, and that the error concealment process, if it is necessary, does cause degradation. But some software will not deliver a pristine copy. Some programs allow pro-cessing of the signal, such as uniformiz-ing levels, equalizing and redithering. Use of any processing will cause a change in the signal, and the change is unlikely to be for the better.


Cinema

It stands for (you’ve already guessed) “home theatre in a box.” It is the lowest common denominator of home entertainment. If you’re

reading UHF you already know that HTiaB is something to be avoided. You could, however, wind up buying some-thing much like it without the name. Home theatre is complex, and there’s no getting around that. Even a minimal-ist system — a DVD player, a receiver, six speakers — requires a lot of careful wiring, followed by even more careful setup. We are not talking plug-and-play, to be sure, but what HTiaB seems to promise is at least buy-and-plug. The simplest HTiaB systems consist of fi ve small speakers and a subwoofer, with possibly enough terrible wire to hook it all up. A more complex one, though often still incredibly low-priced, will also include a receiver and a DVD player, sometimes on a single chassis. Open the box, read the instructions, and 10 frustrating days later you’ve got a sur-round system that gives you headaches. You’ve no doubt been aiming higher than that, but you could easily wind up with a HTiaB in disguise, a system that will give you everything you want, except satisfaction.

The subwoofer We’re starting with that rather than the main speakers (or “satellite” speakers as some companies call them), because its nature may well dominate the sound of the system. There are fi ve main speak-ers but just one subwoofer because, so it is believed, low-pitched sounds are nondirectional. That is to say, you can’t tell where they’re coming from. There’s a grain of truth in this, and a fairly plump grain at that. Very low frequencies don’t beam forward the way light does. Rather they radiate outward in all directions like ripples in a pond. It is possible to get by with just one sub for the whole system. But… But that is true only if it is a true subwoofer: if its role is to reproduce frequencies that fall outside the range

of frequencies that normal full-range loudspeakers can be expected to repro-duce. That may be the case in a high end system, but not in a HTiaB. Check out the main speakers themselves, and you’ll see what’s wrong. Even better, listen to one all by itself. You may fi nd that it won’t reproduce much beyond 200 Hz or so. Below that, the subwoofer is doing the job. Or trying to. In fact the situation is worse than it looks, because the handoff between the main speakers and the “subwoofer” cannot be instantaneous. A typical small subwoofer may be only 6 dB down at 400 Hz and 12 dB down at 800 Hz. At any of those frequencies, it is highly audible as a distinct source to anyone who isn’t well into a six-pack. Such “subwoofers” are in fact just woofers. Using a single woofer means pretty much giving up an ambition to have real stereo, never mind surround sound. What’s sad is that this misuse of the subwoofer is not limited to one-box systems like the one shown above. Some surprisingly sophisticated companies offer such systems because, they say, they want to give people what they want. That’s called leadership…but don’t get us started.

The main speakers In pretty much all small systems, the fi ve speakers are essentially identi-cal. In slightly more expensive systems, the centre speaker will be wider, and

will contain two “woofers” (we use the quotation marks advisedly) rather than one. Even on upmarket brands, these small speakers are often no more than midrange speakers. Their very small-ness, what’s more, also limits how loud they can play. You might think that won’t matter unless you play explosions and train wrecks at realistic levels. In actual fact, most of these tiny speakers cannot even reproduce the voice of a newscaster so that it sounds like a human voice.

The receiver We use the word “receiver” (meaning a combined amp-preamp plus tuner) even though the tuner is often left out of these devices. This is despite the fact that an FM stereo tuner is today available on a chip costing well under a dollar. At the very least, the electronic unit will include a control section, a Dolby Surround processor, a 5.1 channel digital proces-sor (unless it’s very old or very cheap), and fi ve power amplifi ers. On economy units or very expensive units, the power amps will have equal power. On many medium-priced units, however, the amplifi ers for the rear channels will be smaller, refl ecting an opinion that the rear channels are not as important as the front. (Bears this in mind.) A receiver of this type is what you get in the real HTiaB, but the package put together for you in a Big Box store may well be simply a larger and more expensive version of the same thing. You probably know that a receiver is not what you should get to make up a good system for playing music. It may not be an ideal choice for a movie system either. The mediocre nature of nearly all receivers is partly the result of a self-fulfi lling prophecy. If critical consumers assume a receiver can’t be any good, they won’t buy them. And if only uncritical or uninformed consumers consider receiv-ers, there’s no point building a good one. Integrated amplifi ers used to suffer from the same syndrome, in North America at least.

Down With HTiaB

Are there six speakers in the same box? Keep your credit card in your pocket.


Cine

ma

However receivers suffer from an additional problem. There is no way to pack that much stuff onto a reasonable-sized chassis without making horrifi c compromises.Circuits will be noisy, because there’s no way to keep them away from the magnetic fi elds in the power supply. To shoehorn so much circuitry into the box, the design will be done with large scale integrated circuits (their common use is one reason so many receivers sound nearly alike). The con-nectors will be terrible because better connectors won’t fi t (and when there are so many of them they’re a natural place to cut costs). On the other hand, space will have been found for noxious features that people supposedly want, such as tone controls. Are there alternatives? Yes there are. Can they fi t into a tight budget? Perhaps.

The preamp-processor It’s a receiver without the tuner and the power amplifi ers. Putting it into a box is vastly easier. Despite the fact that the preamp-processor has less in it, it will probably cost more, because it may (we hope) have been built to appeal to more demanding consumers. Here’s what’s in it: 1) A basic analog preamplifi er, with inputs, an input selector, and a volume control. 2) An analog/digital converter, to turn analog signals (from broadcast TV, a VCR, or a tape deck) into digital data that can be handled by the next stage. 3) Processors for Dolby Surround (two inputs, fi ve outputs) and Dolby and DTS 5.1 channel surround (one digital signal in, six out). Newer models may include an option for 6.1 or 7.1 chan-nels. 4) Circuitry to handle the subwoofer. Digital surround includes a “point one” channel for the subwoofer, of course, but some producers don’t bother putting a signal onto that channel. However if some of your speakers are not quite full range, you can choose to roll off the very bottom frequencies (at 50 to 80 Hz, not at 200 Hz!) and send them to the subwoofer instead. That will be part of a good preamp processor. If you also have a turntable, you may

want to select a unit that also has “straight through” analog inputs, which won’t get digitized. And if you’ll be adding a multichannel music player (SACD or DVD-Audio) you’ll need a unit with six analog inputs. It’s dumb, but there it is.

The economy alternative Will you be surprised if we tell you that two good speakers will be more fun that six poor ones? Probably not, because it’s so obvious, but it’s important to remember that when the Big Box store “associate” is adding up the fi gures to the great package deal the store can offer you. The reality is that in many movie theatres, the side and rear speakers are dummies, not hooked up to anything. Nothing ever comes out of them. A surprising number of people don’t realize that a home theatre system can have only two channels. Add a good amplifi er and two speakers to a DVD player (with the sound coming directly from the player, not routed through the TV set), and you’ll be astonished at what you hear. Note that if you already own a pretty good music system, a DVD player and a large screen TV, your only other imperative investment is for an intercon-nect cable!

Should you consider starting that way? If funds are limited, it’s the only way to avoid painting yourself into a corner. You may want to stay in two-channel forever. Then again, you may consider it a stepping stone to better things. The key is to know where you’re going.

Planning the system Take a clean sheet of paper and map out the system you’d buy if someone else were paying for it (we bet it won’t include a receiver). You might wind up with a diagram like the one at the top of this page. It’s got all the basics. What you want to avoid is spending a lot of money for stuff you’ll later put into a yard sale. We’ve assumed you have a separate preamplifi er and power amplifi er. So you hook up your system as shown at the bottom of the page. (The TV set has been omitted to keep things simple.) What you’ve got is already pretty good, and it plays music besides. When you’re ready to expand, you add a preamp-processor and an extra three channels of amplification, plus three speakers and a subwoofer. You now have the system originally planned. Even here you may opt to take things a step at a time. You may do without the subwoofer for a while if your exist-ing speakers already have solid bass response. You may also do without the central speaker, temporarily or even permanently. Quality processors include a “phantom centre” setting, which routes central information to the left and right speakers. This is way, way better than using a mediocre speaker in the centre.

Sound advice… You say you already have a pretty good multichannel home theatre system, and these warnings don’t apply to you? They may apply to your friends. Bring in some friends to see a movie on your well-chosen system, and they’ll understand that having a cinema in their own home would be terrifi c. And next time they go by Krazy Karl’s, they’ll see the huge ad advertising an HTiaB, and they’ll think… Lend them this article. And perhaps they’ll decide to go with quality instead of quantity.

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Nu

ts&Bolts

I’m always amazed that people not involved in any aspect of electronics even remember tubes. Most do, though they

know they haven’t seen one in years, and they assume tube products must be found only in museums and curio shops. Not surprisingly they don’t understand exactly why the vacuum tube is still with us. Tubes are bulky, they are hot, and they need to be changed now and then. It seems unlikely there can possibly be reasons to continue using them in an age when 50 million transis-tors can be placed inside a tiny silicon chip. What is perhaps even more surprising is that the taste for this old technology is not limited to what is often considered to be the “crazy” high end of audio, the people who believe that sound can be changed by the percentage of oxygen in a copper wire. In professional sound, a domain with which I am well acquainted, there is a similar taste for vacuum tubes. It is common to fi nd tube microphone preamplifiers, equalizers, and com-pressors. Tubes can also be found in condenser microphones, not only in vintage microphones (which producers guard with their lives) but also in new microphones from designers seeking to recapture the glory of days gone by. My favorite tube ad, running in a pro sound magazine fi lled with articles on digital workstation recording and plugin processors, is from Manley Laboratories. A hand holds a tube, under the headline: “This is a plugin.” What is the attraction of tubes in the age of microelectronics? My colleagues in studios are mostly not quick to intellectualize it. They work hard each day to obtain a certain “sound,” and some of them prefer the sound of tubes. Warmth is frequently mentioned as a characteristic of tube gear, and that warmth is expressed as the opposite of the “clinical” or even “edgy” sound of solid state. They do not entirely reject solid state to be sure, for mixing consoles are virtually all solid state, and so of course is the digital equipment used to master recordings if not always to do the original recording.

Rock musicians have also embraced the tube, using classic or neo-classic tube amplifi ers both on stage and in the recording studio. Much like audiophiles, they’ll chat happily about the sound of this or that brand of tube, often obtained from a secret source. In the hi-fi world, of course, the tube has also made a dramatic comeback, despite their rather evident drawbacks. Audiophiles often cite “warmth” as an advantage, just as pros do. They also cite the fact that tube amplifi ers can be better than solid state at coping with diffi cult speaker loads, such as those of electrostatic speakers. I have also heard more technically-minded pros talk about the relative immunity of tubes to digital noise. Such noise is of course more and more prevalent everywhere. It goes largely without saying that modern tube products would not be possible were it not for the consid-

erable industrial infrastructure servicing their makers. Early in the tube renaissance, companies would scrounge for stocks of old vacuum tubes, and — even more precious — transformers suitable for power amplifiers. Though it was certainly feasible to build small quantities of products using scrounged parts, there simply weren’t enough of them to support an industry. Any manufacturer

will tell you that the one thing that will keep him awake nights is doubts about the stability of parts sources. For a while fi nding tubes was not a problem, because there were

less technologically-advanced countries in which tubes were still a mainstream item. Russia and China come to mind. Indeed, Russia was still using vacuum tubes in its military equipment. This was a start, and as the tube electronics industry achieved a critical mass, new factories sprang up to meet the growing demand. Transformers were less of a prob-lem. Since transformer manufacturers continued to exist and prosper, it was possible to order a few hundred pieces built to specifi cation. Not so easy were other key parts, such as tube sockets and capacitors. By the 90’s there was a greater understanding of the effect that such “secondary” parts had on sound, and that made it impossible to return to the parts that were used up until the 70’s. Only the existence of a large number of tube equipment manufacturers made the production of superior sockets and other parts possible. It was remarkably easy for competent designers to get into tube design, because over the years countless circuits had been published. Some circuits had always been in the public domain, and the patents had mostly run out on the rest. One could lift the basic confi guration from a 1965 amplifi er, tweak it for best performance, adapt support functions (the power supply and the biasing functions notably) to the age of the integrated circuit, build using today’s superior parts, and come up with something that sounded very good. This is despite the fact that there is consensus around the affi rmation that today’s tubes are neither as well-made

The Return of the Tube

by Paul Bergman

sound magazine fi lled with articles on digital workstation recording and plugin processors, is from Manley Laboratories. A hand holds a tube, under the headline:

the attraction of tubes in the

My colleagues in studios are mostly not quick to intellectualize it. They work hard each day to obtain a certain “sound,” and some of them prefer the

is frequently mentioned as a characteristic of tube gear, and that warmth is expressed as the opposite of the “clinical” or even “edgy” sound of solid state. They do not entirely reject solid state to be sure, for mixing

they’ll chat happily about the sound of this or that brand of tube, often obtained from a secret source. In the hi-fi world, of course, the tube has also made a dramatic comeback, despite their rather evident drawbacks. Audiophiles often cite “warmth” as an advantage, just as pros do. They also cite the fact that tube amplifi ers can be better than solid state at coping with diffi cult speaker loads, such as those of electrostatic speakers. I have also heard more technically-minded pros talk about the relative immunity of tubes to digital noise. Such noise is of course more and more prevalent everywhere. It goes largely without saying that

the parts that were used up until the 70’s. Only the existence of a large number of tube equipment manufacturers made the production of superior sockets and other parts possible. It was remarkably easy for competent designers to get into tube design, because over the years countless circuits had been published. Some circuits had always been in the public domain, and the patents had mostly run out on the rest. One could lift the basic confi guration from a 1965 amplifi er, tweak it for best performance, adapt support functions (the power supply and the biasing functions notably) to the age of the integrated circuit, build using today’s superior parts, and come

Read it all

Buy the issue (page 51) and read all of this fascinating article by Paul Bergman.


Nu

ts&

Bolt

s

nor as durable as those of years gone by. The question of the tube’s “warmth” remains controversial. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis

amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio com-molo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feu-giam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam, sum eugiamet, quisim zzrillam velisci llummodigna feu feui tat nim alis augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzriliqui blam dolore do commy nim quiscilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si. Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.Eriliquisit praestio dolobor iustisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel

ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feu-giam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam, sum eugiamet, quisim zzrillam velisci llummodigna feu feui tat nim alis augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzriliqui blam dolore do commy nim quiscilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si. Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.

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ure

It’s well known by now that January in Vegas means not one high end show, but two. The big one — and one of the world’s largest trade

exhibitions — is of course the Consumer Electronics Show. But the thorn in its side is T.H.E.Show (the acronym stands for “The Home Entertainment”), which pulls in exhibitors claiming CES doesn’t care about them. CES, for its part, calls the other show a parasite (“the epitome of sleaze,” said a jour-nalist from a magazine which shall remain nameless and which shall be referred to only as Stereophile). The Consumer Electronics Association, which runs CEA, has been working hard to woo the high end, and indeed it is chaired by the president of a high end company. Despite that, CEA this year did something so incredibly dumb that it may have handed the final victory over to the rebels. You can see the mistake in the picture above. Parking has always been tight around the Alexis Park complex, where the CES high end exhibits

mostly are. So what did the organizers do to solve the problem? Why, they abol-ished parking altogether for anyone not sleeping there. Empty trucks were s t a t i o n e d where the parking should have been, while dis-

gruntled visitors and even exhibi-tors were invited

to park at the mar-shalling yards, where

the trucks should have been. I h a d planned

to spend part of Day Three at Alexis Park, whose name had of course become a misnomer. Instead, I spent dispropor-tionate time at T.H.E. Show, one of whose two venues, as you can see from the picture, was not far away. The dog (below) probably requires explanation too. In the US, two compa-nies, Sirius and XM, are competing with satellite music services. Sirius, which is very much number two out of two, came to CES with the two-storey high air dog and a boast that only it offered commer-cial-free channels. XM let the air out of the boast, if not the dog, by announcing that more than 120 of its channels would henceforth be commercial-free (do you suppose their ads weren’t selling?). By the way, XM is waiting for regulatory approval to extend its service to Canada. Will they get it? I hear the wind-chill in Hades is fi erce this year. Let me go over some products I saw and heard, many of them pictured on these pages. When a paragraph is pre-ceded by a number, that indicates there is a corresponding picture. 1) I love unusual-looking loudspeak-ers, and you can add the Ayon Dragon to the list. Unlike a lot of ported speakers it can go against a wall, because the port is on the side. The unusual design goes beyond the curved cabinet. The white driver is a full-range speaker you fi nd in some horns. The larger black one is a subwoofer. Claimed effi ciency is high at 95 dB, and the speakers were being driven by a Sunrise single-ended ampli-fi er, which — like the Ayon — is from Austria. Rather nice, but not cheap, at US$20K. Across from the Ayon was the aston-ishing Italian VYGER turntable (you’ll understand the name if you’ve seen the original Star Trek movie). It uses pumps for everything: for the air bearing, to fl oat the straight-line tone arm, and to press the record to the mat. The sound? Not up to the $29K price tag, but then there’s every chance the setup hadn’t been quite optimized. 2) Have you seen those nice sculp-tural Baltic 2 speakers Cabasse has been making for some years? Want a little more bass for them? The Saturn 5 subwoofer may be just the ticket if you have the space. Cabasse makes its own

Listening in Vegasby Gerard Rejskind


Feature

drivers, and claims that the cone on this 55 cm giant is lighter than that of a typical 20 cm woofer. It sounded excellent, with a fullness you don’t often hear even from subwoofers, but without the artifi cial boom I associate with big subs, and indeed with all oversized speakers. And this is the biggest sub I’ve seen, other than the D-Box Mammouth. 3) One of my favorite rooms was that of Denmark’s Gryphon, known for its attractive (and expensive) elec-tronic gear. The Cantata loudspeaker completes the line, with the result that the system was all-Gryphon. The speaker was not actually designed by the company, but its engineers did contribute a “black box” that fi ts between the preamplifi er and power amplifi er to optimize speaker characteristics such as its Q. The “stand” is actually part of the speaker and contains the crossover. 4) Much larger is the Innersound Eros MkIII electrostatic, shown from the back because it actually looks more interesting that way. It is of course a hybrid electrostatic, much like some of the MartinLogan models, but it’s unusual in that it includes its own amplifi er (for the dynamic woofer

only) complete with electronic crossover (you supply your own amp for the electrostatic panel). This warm and open speaker costs $12K.

I hadn’t seen Swan loudspeakers for a while, and my impression is that the company has been drifting. The latest incarnation is a thin column speaker using 16 tiny (5 cm) drivers that looks like the ones in portable radios.

Claimed response is down to 87 Hz, and so a small subwoofer is included. Total price is just $2500, but the demonstration left me scratching my head. Much more promising is the Fab Audio Brat, a mid-sized fl oorstanding speaker (it appears to be mounted on a stand, but the “stand” is part of the speaker). Jim Fabian isn’t afraid of using unusual materials: his woofer cone is molded from banana fi bres! I thought it sounded pleasingly natural, and with a projected price of C$2300 (equivalent to US$1725), it’s worth a listen.

5) Why does the Quintessence Stealth SV look so familiar? I stared at it for a while before it hit me: it looks like one of those huge speakers that Dave Wilson custom-builds. Its designer used to own Wilsons, no surprise there. I thought it sounded rather better than I’ve heard the big Wilsons sound, despite the usual sonic fi n-gerprint of the Atma-Sphere turntable, a rejigged Empire of decades ago. 6) Even bigger is this three-way six-driver tower. Its maker? Remember the t iny (but superb) Focus Audio FS688 speaker that was on the cover of our last issue. Can you believe that the same company makes this one? It’s the Master 2, expected to sell around US$23K. I thought it sounded rather impressive, though frankly it’s dif f icult to make this large a speaker sound right in a hotel room.

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7) If you’ve ever been to an audio show, you know how noisy they can become. And you also know how careful visitors are not to talk too loud while you’re listening to music. Or not!

So I had to admire the sign at left. Not that everyone was paying attention to it, but I applaud the effort. I wish I had noted whose room it was in. Each year CES gives out awards for design innovation. Some of the winners, it should be said, are mere exercises in style, but even they’re fun. Four of the winners are shown on this page. 8) Can you guess what this is? Maybe an integrated amplifi er? From Italy, right? No. It’s a tube preampli-

fi er-processor for home theatre. Yes, with tubes. Even more surprising is the manufacturer, Fosgate Audionics! No, I don’t think of Fosgate as a high end tube freak either. This is worth an award if anything is. I was pleased to see the Thiel CS2.4 speaker with an award. There’s nothing wild about its styling, which recalls that of other Thiel models, but as we noted in our review in UHF No. 68, there’s some interesting technology under that nice cabinetry. 9) Surely deserving an award is the Flying Mole multi-channel amplifi er shown here. It actually has 16 channels, with each module putting out 160 watts per chan-nel! This is digital amplifi cation, needless to say, claiming 85% electrical effi ciency. It’s well suited to multi-room systems, with its low price ($800 for the chassis, $600 per stereo module). The modules are hot-swappable: it was playing when this picture was taken. Over at Alexis Park, a dozen of them, claiming to put out 30,720 watts, was driving a pair of B&W speakers. There seemed to be miles of wire. 10) You’ve probably noticed that Monster Cable isn’t selling just cables anymore. This subwoofer, also an award winner, is one of Monster’s latest products. It’s shaped to fi t a corner for maximum bass output. The model name: Godfather. How’s that for an offer you can’t refuse? 11) Speaking of subwoofers, I couldn’t resist this sub from Kicker, well known for its car speakers…in fact its name pretty much describes its mission. This car sub is an awesome 50 cm across (that’s 20 inches)! The spec sheet indicates peak power handling of 10,000 watts! My calculator indicates that this would require about fi ve times the battery current it takes to start a V-8 engine. Worth an award? For chutzpah certainly. There were lots of other winners, of course. I spotted what appeared to be a thinned down jukebox, complete with the legendary Wurlitzer name (the actual manufacturer is Gibson, maker of the famous guitars). Of course it “spins” MP3 fi les rather than 45 rpm vinyl, but it’s been given the right look. The control centre can be lifted right off the unit and used as a portable player. And JVC took home an award for another “fi rst”: the GR-HD1 camcorder. As the “HD” in the model name implies, it lets you make your own high defi nition movies. No price announced yet, but we anticipate that some consumers will be running down to their dealers credit card in hand. Take that, George Lucas! 12) We often get questions about the legendary laser turntable, which reads the vinyl groove with a beam of light rather than a physical stylus. Several years ago, we contacted the then distributor to request a review sample. We were turned down, being offered instead a “bargain” price of US$15,000 if we wanted to buy our

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sample, sight unseen. Yeah, thanks. So I was surprised to actually see one at the show, with a some-what lower price tag (as low as US$10K depending on features), and actually hooked up for demonstration. I heard an early RCA Victor LP, Hooked on Classics, and also the Thelma Houston direct-cut Sheffi eld disc. They were better than I feared. The laser had little trouble with surface dust (machine-cleaning before every play is mandatory), and the highs — notably the strings and the brass — were way better than I had dared hope. Not so good was the bottom end. The bass seemed to have been kneecapped just below 150 Hz. Puzzling. What is unchanged is that we still can’t get one for a review. 13) I ran across Marc Chablaix and his wonderful Orpheus components. I found his tie equally to my taste, and I couldn’t resist a picture. 14) I also ran several times across Jacques Riendeau, founder of Oracle. He was showing some of his most familiar compo-nents, including the CD player and the Delphi turntable. But he was also introducing a new line of gear, featuring, as usual, highly-styled metal sculpturing. The unit at right is the P1000 power amplifi er, and there is a preamplifi er with a similar look. I didn’t hear the power amp, but the preamp ain’t too shabby! By the way, at the last Montreal show Jacques had been showing a new economy line called Stello. He brought the line to Vegas as well, but this time clearly bearing the Oracle name. 15) Until now, the cheapest speaker in the Reference 3a line was the MM de Capo. I had seen a prototype of a cheaper and smaller model, the Dulcet, that had frankly left me cold. The fi nal version is both smaller and way better. Its little 14 cm woofer pumps out bass that must be heard to be believed (and I heard it with organ music!). At its US$1695 price, it may win over a lot of audiophiles. A new small speaker was playing over at the Totem room. Dubbed the Rainmaker, its sound is much sunnier than the name suggests. Its price (around US$900) pits it against the Rokk, long my unfavorite Totem. This one has the characteristic Totem sound, with a natural sweetness that is delightful, and an image the size of the room plus the parking lot. It’s more likely to make sunshine than rain, I’d guess. I’ve already requested a review sample. I was mesmerized by a new speaker in the Von Schweikert room, the VR-4jr (the last two letters, I am assured, do not stand for “junior”). It’s not shown here, though you can see it on our online CES report. The speaker consists of a two-way unit with a slanted front, sitting atop a subwoofer with dual drivers. Sound familiar? It looks like a smaller replica of the Reference 3a Suprema that is in our Omega reference system. I wasn’t wild about the demo, but it may not have been representative. I’d love to hear it under better conditions. Remember Almarro, the Japanese company that showed up last year with an incredibly cheap all-tube system? It was back this year with something different: its large and expensive M50A speakers. This isn’t exactly an economy product, at US$4900, but the amplifi cation is something else again. The A205A amplifi er uses the tiny 6BQ5 output tube often found in vintage TV sets, putting out all of 5 watts. You wouldn’t believe the dynamics!

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16 ) M o n i -tor Audio was showing though n o t p l a y i n g i t s a c c l a i m e d S i l v e r S e r i e s speakers. It was especially eager to show off its diminu-tive Radius speakers. Simon Spears, shown with a Radius in the picture, had just left Monitor Audio to join importer Kevro International. Designer Dean Hartley said he worked to give the Radius speakers the same sonic fi n-gerprint as the company’s big speakers. By the way, Kevro was also showing Myryad, a British component line it has taken away from Artech, the previous distributor.

17) The biggest speakers of the show by far were the Wisdom Adrenaline “Rush”…and what you see in our picture is one speaker not a pair. I didn’t get to hear them, though I sat through a pretty good demo of Pirates of the Caribbean, with sound provided by some of Wisdom’s (slightly) smaller speakers. 18) I had has several chances to hear Hovland’s impressive Model 100 preamplifi er, and this one seemed to be a Hovland with the knobs removed. The HP-200 is remote-controlled, unlike the earlier one (which is not discontinued). It will cost $7500, about $1000 more than the 100. The optional phono stage adds another $2K. 19) If you associate Jeff Rowland with SUV-sized amplifi ers, as I do, you may be surprised by the very tiny 501 monoblocks. They seemed to sound much powerful than they looked, and for what turned out to be a good reason: they’re rated at 500 watts each! At US$6700 they’re still punching well above their weight.

Among the new SACD players I saw is the Audio Aero Prestige, scheduled for launch in March. The unusual feature: it converts the DSD (digital stream audio) to CD-like pulse code modulation on the fl y. Company engineers claim that gives it a 9 dB noise advantage. Could be, thought I would never have identifi ed noise as a major problem of SACD. The price may seem stiff, at US$13,360, but it also

includes a tube preamplifi er with three pure analog inputs and another fi ve digital inputs. Last year, the Edge power amplifi ers were in what was arguably the best-sounding room at either of the shows. It wasn’t quite that this year, but it was still worth a little time. The amps this time were driving tall multi-driver Epiphany speakers. The sound was mellow, the image wide and stable. I hadn’t seen much from Adcom for a while, and the truth seems to be that the company had been fl ying frighteningly close to the trees. More than a year ago Adcom was bought by the Klein Technology Group. Klein also hired away the engineers of the defunct California Audio Labs. The Adcom room was showing some of that team’s new home theatre-oriented gear, as well as some more familiar Adcom audio products. Here’s hoping they stick around. 20) Canadian speaker manufacturer Gershman Acoustics has revamped the older speakers in its line, namely the Avant Garde and the Gap. I spent some time listening to both, and it’s clear that the top end in particular has been smoothed out with the use of Dynaudio silk dome tweeters. The company’s centre speaker can be seen in the picture. Perhaps some of the added smoothness came from the amplifi er you can also see in our picture. It’s a Linar amplifi er, designed by Victor Sima, founder of Simaudio (which he left a decade ago). The amp puts out only 50 watts per channel despite its hefty size, because it runs in pure class A. It certainly sounded fi ne.

21) Also sounding superb was the VTL S-400 tube amplifi er. As

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its name suggests, it puts out an untube-like 400 watts per channel. It does contain a lot of tubes, but it also contains…a com-puter. T h e S - 4 0 0 monitors its own performance and can keep you up to speed on what’s happening inside, either on the front panel (which you can hide if you don’t want to look at it), or on your computer screen. The amp will tell you how long it’s been on, what its temperature is, and what shape each tube is in. If a tube goes out, it will not only warn you but also disable a tube on the other channel to keep performance in balance. Oh yes…and in between music tracks, it will rebias its own tubes! All very Isaac Asimov. Is 400 watts not enough? The Siegfried monoblocks look the same but of course deliver 800 watts each. I spent perhaps a good (happy) hour listening to them, with both CD and glorious LP. 22) “Got bass?” is the slogan of speaker maker Gilmore Audio. To answer its own question, it brought in jazz bassist Abraham Laboriel to play live through a pair of its Model 2 speakers. This is a bigger challenge than it looks, because a live

electric bass can and will take out most audiophile speakers before the fi rst number is up. Not the Gilmores. The real surprise comes when you look at them from the rear. What looks like a cabinet is actually a thick fl at plate made of solid Dupont Corian. Four large woofers are mounted on the plate, but they are open at the rear, with no baffl ing at all. A long ribbon handles much of the midrange and of course the highs. You might expect that the open rear would cause massive cancellation of lower frequencies. Not so. The Gilmore’s bass performance is awesome, as is its dynamic capacity. Gilmore claims response (at -3 dB) down to 17 Hz. (Aside to Doug Gilmore: the Corian fi nish will probably get top marks on the Wife Acceptance Index, but the sexist ads will score below zero. Welcome to the 21st Century.) One of the best rooms at either show was, once again, that of Halcro, whose large and powerful dm38 monoblock ampli-fi ers sound simply divine. I’m not usually fond of large JMLab speakers, because their bass seems to be unrealistically heavy, but the Halcros made the huge Nova Utopias sound rich and gorgeous. I went to hear them twice. Next door, other Halcro amplifi ers were driving a surround set of Wilson speakers. I fi nally got to hear the new SACD of Dark Side of the Moon in full surround. Highly recommended. 23) You say there’s no such thing as a free lunch? There is, and T.H.E. Show was once again offering it at the St. Tropez. In a gorgeous semi-tropical setting, with live music playing, the barbecues were heating up and there was a nice mellow feel to the place. Check the photo: it was just as the picture looks. 24) Of course CES is full of parties and buffets, at which we can be bought (fairly inexpensively). Marketnews is an excel-lent Canadian magazine for those working in the consumer electronics business. At each CES it hosts Canada Night, with good food and drinks (well, one free drink, and for retailers only). Corporate sponsors pay the damages, and there are great opportunities to schmooze with potential clients and partners. You do need to talk loud, because the musical entertainment is not on the subtle side. I never miss it, though.

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Among other good parties are ShowStoppers, for press only, with kiosks by digital product makers, and the reception for the CES Innovations Awards. 25) Speaking of Innovations, the unique Thiel SW1 subwoofer actually won that award twice, once when it was announced, once more when it entered production, but the part that makes it unique, the Smart Controller, is still in prototype (we’ve been waiting for that before asking to review one). While we’re waiting, the company was showing its immensely larger SW2, with two massive 38 cm drivers. For big rooms, need I add. Which is where Thiel was demonstrating it. 26) The most unusual speakers are surely those of Madison Fielding, which masquerade as potted plants (and that’s real greenery, not plastic). One possible use is adding music to the patio, and I admit that if my neighbor bought them I would phone my lawyer. They sounded better than I would have supposed, and the company took the

demo seriously: its source component was a Linn Unidisk player! 27) Tenor usually shows up with one of its low-powered but expensive tube amplifi ers. This year it has something new. The Tenor 300HP is a hybrid amplifi er, whose transistor output section pumps out 300 watts per channel. Paired with Ed Meitner’s EmmLabs player and Kharma Midi Grand Céramique speakers, it was a delight to listen to, and the room was one of the best of the show. 28) I also heard a smaller pa i r of K harmas , t he CRM 3.2E, in another room, and that was a good experience too. The experi-ence comes at a price I need hardly add: US$21K for the blue one in the picture, $36.5K for

the big ones in the Tenor room.

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29) I didn’t need my arm twisted to sit through the latest demo of Sensio’s 3-D DVD system. It’s clear that a lot of work has gone into refi ning it over the past year. The display case was showing some of the 3-D fi lms offered, plus something even more interesting. The object at upper left mounts on your digital camcorder and lets you make your own 3-D movies. I want one! 30) Granite Audio was back with a number of new products, including its new Aspen series of amplifi ers (the 834 is shown in the picture). Prices are sharply lower than in most earlier models, though it still has the granite front panel that gives the company its name. Granite’s demo was done entirely with its own components, including the cables and the unique Ground Zero device to solve electrical ground-ing problems. 31) There should be a special award for this Elements Power Harmony line fi lter and voltage regulator, with its retro dials. Demian Martin (the original Spectral designer) says it’s superior because it works on current rather than voltage. Don’t

expect it to look like this one however: it’s an expensive one-off using power station gauges. 32) Von Schweikert was doing daily live vs recorded comparisons all week at the San Remo, using the voices of the Misty River musical group, and the huge VR-11 speakers. The recording was done by Christopher Huston (at centre in the picture), who has made albums for everyone from James Brown to Led Zeppelin to The Who. Using a number of microphones, he held full recording sessions before a large, mesmerized audience. It was unable to get the balance perfect under those trying conditions, but the result was a tribute to all who participated. The music was good too. An unexpected bonus was the presence of another legend of the recording arts, Stan Ricker. Stan knows more than how to do half-speed LP masters. He also plays a mean bass. He sat in to improvise with Misty River, proving he hasn’t lost his touch. 33) Among CES exhibitors was Mark Levinson’s company, Red Rose Music. But Red Rose didn’t show. Coming instead was Victor Tiscareno, whose company, Audioprism, was swallowed by Red Rose a few years back. With Red Rose now apparently in limbo, Victor and his marketing maven, Byron Collett, were launch-ing a new unnamed company. Indeed you could win a pair of speakers if you came up with a name. I’m hoping my suggestion gets picked, because the new speaker being demon-strated is very much a winner. It is a two-way design, using a

transmission line rather than the usual refl ex port. Want more? Try: www.uhfmag.com/CES2004.

Feature

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It was back in UHF No. 56 that we reviewed Audiomat’s original phono preamp, the Phono-1. We gave it a glowing report. It was the

fi rst time we had heard the tube phono preamp from Copland seriously chal-lenged. Alas, the Phono-1 wasn’t around for long. It was quickly discontinued in favor of the Phono-1.5…which however took years to become a working product. Prototypes and early production models worked well in some rooms, but inexpli-cably hummed furiously in others. It looked like vaporware, but the fi nal version is fi nally here, and it was worth the wait, because what it does is sheer… But hold on, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. Building a phono stage is not trivial, and indeed it is perhaps the most diffi cult of all audio components. A phono circuit must be able to handle extremely small voltages. The output of a low imped-ance moving coil cartridge is around 0.4 millivolts at full level, and a mere 4 microvolts 40 dB down. The circuit must bring this tiny voltage lost in the noise up to a couple of volts. It must leave the noise behind too. But that’s not all. LPs are made with a pre emphasis that boosts highs by more than 30 dB and de-emphasizes the lows. The phono preamp must re-equalize the signal, to make the response come out all right again. In too many preamps, the equalization network is so slow that the leading edges of transients can get through unequalized, and therefore much too loud. Passive networks are better, but they are often noisy. Such is

the challenge of building one of these diffi cult pieces of retro technology. The Phono-1.5 is much larger than the earlier one, component-sized and not just a little black box. The power source is a “brick” with a captive power cord, attaching to the main unit via a four-pin XLR plug. Inside is a transformer rather than a full power supply. The rectifi ers and fi lters are on the main chassis, which is surprisingly empty. Why did they make it this size, anyway? More and more high end low-level circuits are now made with operational amp chips, a cheap means of getting lots of amplifi cation. That’s not the case of the Audiomat, whose circuitry depends entirely on discrete transistors. All but two are glued together in pairs, to keep them at the same temperature and therefore stable. At the rear, there are very good jacks for both MM and MC cartridges, and a switch to choose the appropriate one. Surprisingly enough, the MC function has no adjustments for input impedance or capacitance. This is a minor failing frankly, but surprising in a product of this class. Check our picture, and you’ll see light coming through the front panel on the right edge. That’s right…the panel is acrylic, not some sort of metal. Audiomat

has done this before. Plugging it into a high-level input on our Copland preamp, we were surprised by how quiet it is. We could hear a very slight hum (60 Hz, without harmonics), but it was noticeable only because there is a complete absence of perceptible hiss. Not many phono sections are this quiet, and the ones that are, ironically enough, sound horrible in other ways. Not this one. We began the session with our all-in-one test, the remarkable Façade LP. What struck us first was how refi ned the Audiomat is. The highly varied instrumental timbres were repro-duced cleanly, and so were the shifting moods of this remarkable tone poem. The higher frequencies certainly weren’t rolled off, yet the Audiomat made our usual phono section seem a little too bright. The natural sound fi eld was vast. Castanets seemed to emerge from a large space. All of the instruments sounded delightful, with the bassoon especially seductive. Albert, who occasionally plays cello, thought that the cello sounded more like itself than it did with our own phono section “There’s no dust hang-ing around,” said Reine, “and no clouds either.” We were certain that the Phono-1.5 would do well on our favorite harp recording (Tournier’s Vers une source dans le bois, included on Professor Johnson’s Amazing Sound Show, RR-7). How can one go wrong with a recording like this? Yet we weren’t prepared for what we heard. On this remarkable recording, Susann McDonald alternates between startling power and evanescent subtlety. The Phono-1.5 got them both right, but we realized we could hear details that had escaped us with every other phono section we had ever heard. “Just like the cello on the other recording,” said Albert, “the harp is more of a harp. You don’t just hear the strings, you can distinguish the different ways the strings are played — plucked, strummed, or sometimes just touched.” The rhythm was strong, more so than with our refer-ence. And the low frequencies, chopped right off with some systems, had depth and resonance. Because some passages of this record-ing are so low in volume, we appreciated

Audiomat Phono-1.5

Okay, let’s get serious about getting everything off those vinyl discs.


the Audiomat’s very low noise level. “But it’s not just the noise,” said Gerard, “it’s the low-level detail. There’s black velvet down on the noise f loor, and those tiny notes just pop out with amazing clarity.” Like other components, phono stages often have diffi culty reproducing human voices, and especially female voices if they can’t handle high frequencies well. We fi gured the Audiomat would do well, and of course we were right. We listened to Mary Black’s (alas, long discontinued) No Frontiers LP. Black has a clear and powerful voice that cuts through the air effortlessly, and it can sound hard on some passages. Not here. “The hardness has been transformed into expressiveness,” said Reine, “and the text really comes out and gets to me.” Gerard agreed. “I knew this was a good recording,” he said, “but it turns out to be way better than I had suspected.” It wasn’t just Black’s voice that emerged better than ever. The double bass was rich and resonant, and the bongos were palpable. We also noticed how much clearer the harmony was. When some of the musicians sing along with Black, we could make out their

individual voices. “You know what it’s like when water is so clear you can see all the way down to the bottom?” said Albert. “This is what it’s like.” We put the Phono-1.5 through the usual tests, though we know there is no common test that can predict the performance of a phono stage (that is, there are tests that can predict bad

performance, but they can’t discriminate between good and great). We did note the very low noise, but our ears had already told us about that. The curve is shown above. Most of the noise is situated around 90 dB below reference level, an astonishing performance. Even the noise at lower frequencies, including the very slight hum, is way better than one expects. With the session over, we then discussed just what we needed to do. We don’t change reference components unless it means adding enough resolution to our system that we can better evaluate other components. What’s important is not whether we would have a better stan-dard for evaluating other phono stages, but whether we could more easily use vinyl to test loudspeakers or amplifi ers, say. Our conclusion is that we could. There’s not much left in our 2004 budget for acquisitions, but this one is a must. The Audiomat Phono-1.5 is a reference quality component, and from now on it will be our reference. We do a lot of speaker and amplifi er tests with vinyl, as you may know. We can hardly wait till next time!

I don’t even know what to say about this device. I’ve had the chance to hear a lot of phono stages, including ones far more expensive than this one. Been there, seen it, done it. Not impressed. Well, I’m impressed this time. The job a phono preamp must do is a huge challenge, and on the evidence most of them don’t do it right. The price of the Phono-1.5 may well be beyond any budget you’ll ever put together, but if it’s not you’ll know where to shop.

—Gerard Rejskind

You know, they’re going to say that there’s a love affair between Audiomat and me. Guilty, Your Honor ! This phono section which has just joined the Audiomat family offers an impeccable spectral balance, with rare richness at the bottom, a perfectly placed midrange, and the screech-free highs every audiophile craves. I

was stunned by the impact and energy it radi-ates. Its exemplary transparency lets through gorgeous timbres and the subtlest modula-tions, the nearly imperceptible effects that hide none of the artist’s sensitivity. The Phono-1.5 will give you years of listening pleasure, communicating the appropriate emotions, whether the program is light or complex, subtle or vigorous, airy or majestic. Now I’ve experienced it, I dream of it…

—Reine Lessard

Welcome to the rarefied air of ultra high fidelity! As someone said, it’s not crowded at the top, and if I may add my own two bits, when you’re as high as the North Pole, every direc-tion, no matter where you turn, is south. What am I implying, that there is nothing better, that you shouldn’t consider anything else? No, of course not, since I’ve

obviously not heard everything else that exists. Let’s say that I have yet to hear such a profound and unique improvement in our reference system with a substitution at such an early level in the music signal. Sounds become more focused, more real and smoothly-controlled. Transient attacks don’t pierce the air with force, they just happen swiftly, and are gone in a fraction of a blink. Details appear which reveal, for example, not only a beautiful percussive sound, but also how things were actually touched to produce the percussive sound. In other words, I could see what I was hear-ing. And when I heard it, I had no doubt that this was exactly how it sounded when it was recorded. Actually, this is quite rare. Most of the time, after listening tests, I end up wondering how close we were to the record-ing venue. This time, I knew.

—Albert Simon

CROSSTALK

Listening Room

Brand/model: Audiomat Phono 1.5Price: C$2795 (equiv. US$2070)Dimensions: 43 x 31 x 8 cmMost liked: Groundbreaking detail and sophisticationLeast liked: Lack of MC adjustmentsVerdict: The phono preamp reinvented

Summing it up…


All right, everybody knows it’s suicide to make an expensive audio product whose exterior doesn’t scream out that it’s

expensive. Which is why many a com-pany has shifted production to an OEM plant in a country you can’t visit without a dozen vaccination shots. Not Creek. Like many other contemporary players, the CD50 is built around the Philips CD12 transport. High end manufacturers whine a lot about this transport, citing both high cost (but then they would, wouldn’t they?) and sub-optimum technology. Still, a lot can be done with it if you’re clever. And Mike Creek is clever. How clever? This will be his last CD player using conventional technology. In future versions, he will use a low-cost ATA drive like the one that is probably in your computer. What you will then listen to will not be the signal read off the disc, but the information loaded into computer memory and then read off. That means the mechanical side of the player will be taken right out of the chain. Whether he can make this new scheme sound as good as this CD50 remains to be seen. And this one does sound good…did we forget to mention it? Not that you’d guess that right off, because it’s diffi cult to guess why a player like this should cost more than, say, $300. It looks like poor value. It isn’t. The box is small and light, though the thick brushed front panel has received some care. Though there is a remote control, every function is also available on the front panel, through 11 buttons

that unfortunately look exactly alike. The rear has the usual (mediocre) analog jacks plus a digital output. Ho hum. Or maybe not so ho hum when you hit the play button. We opened our session with Dvorak’s Romantic Pieces, op. 75, the new record-ing by superb violinist James Ehnes (Analekta FL 2 3191). It was immediately evident we had been wrong in judging the player by the box it comes in. The sound of Ehnes’ Stradivarius, which sounds about as good as you’re likely to hear a violin on CD, was superb, both smooth and silky. We could hear the bow sliding across the strings, but without harshness of exaggeration. We had no diffi culty following the nuances of his playing, and there was never any confusion in the sound of the piano accompaniment. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at

lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio com-molo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feu-giam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam, sum eugiamet, quisim zzrillam velisci llummodigna feu feui tat nim alis augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzriliqui blam dolore do commy nim quiscilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si.

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Creek CD50 mkII

The formula: underpromise, but overdeliver

WWW.HIFIEXPO.COM

LE FESTIVAL

&IMAGESON

| APRIL 2 - 3 - 4, 2004 || APRIL 2 - 3 - 4, 2004 |

Tel. (514) [email protected]. (514) [email protected]

WWW.HIFIEXPO.COM

DELTA MONTREAL HOTEL475 President Kennedy, Montreal, Qc

FOUR POINTS HOTEL475 Sherbrooke W, Montreal, Qc

TRADE ONLYFriday, April 2nd : 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

GENERAL PUBLICFriday, April 2nd : 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Saturday, april 3rd : 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.Sunday, April 4th : 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

A WORLD-CLASSHOME-ENTERTAINMENT EXHIBITION,

THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN CANADA,DEDICATED TO AUDIO AND HOME THEATRE

DELTA MONTREAL HOTEL475 President Kennedy, Montreal, Qc

FOUR POINTS HOTEL475 Sherbrooke W, Montreal, Qc

TRADE ONLYFriday, April 2nd : 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

GENERAL PUBLICFriday, April 2nd : 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Saturday, april 3rd : 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.Sunday, April 4th : 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

A WORLD-CLASSHOME-ENTERTAINMENT EXHIBITION,

THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN CANADA,DEDICATED TO AUDIO AND HOME THEATRE


Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.Eriliquisit praestio dolobor iustisi. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat

nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat

lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio com-molo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero.

I’m always ready to like Creek compo-nents, because Mike Creek’s philosophy ap-peals to me. He doesn’t spend money trying to impress you with the way a component looks. That said, I admit my spirits took a tumble when I got this player out of the box. A couple of thousand bucks for this? My spirits bounced right back up when I got a listen to the CD50. I’m painfully aware of the flaws that afflict even good economy players, and this player hasn’t got any of them. It isn’t shrill. It isn’t veiled. It isn’t thin. It isn’t confused. It isn’t… But I’m sorry if I seem to be putting all this in negative terms, because the Creek deserves a positive appraisal. The CD50 can get nearly everything off the disc and present it in a way that makes sense musi-cally and sonically. If you want a sculpture that will wow your friends, look elsewhere. If you want to buy what may be your final CD player before some other format takes over, Mike Creek understands exactly

where you’re coming from.—Gerard Rejskind

I realized I had hardly taken any notes during this listening session. No time to write when you’re absorbed in the music. This is not just another CD player, you know, it’s first and foremost a music player, a superb component with a classic, unassum-ing appearance. It doesn’t grab your sleeve, to say look at me, it just sits and seems to dis-appear in the transparency of the music. It’s hard to describe what I liked most, but I felt as though the musicians and sing-ers were enjoying themselves more often, as though they smiled frequently and showed more expression. If you’ve had the oppor-tunity to watch closely a choir performance you probably noticed how some singers go through their score, perfectly undisturbed, while others seem to take every syllable to heart, radically changing expression from

word to word and tone to tone, telling a story as they go along. That’s how it sounded with the Creek CD50. Now you know.

—Albert Simon

A sublime violin, a vocal performance that leaves you panting with unequalled trills and modulations, a mixed choir and accompaniment that is detailed and superb, a male voice with a touch of vibrato and a lot of emotion, a harp that makes you long for paradise, an orchestra with great presence whose musicians are placed in space, each with his or her individual sound… In short, you’ll be involved in every situ-ation music can evoke. I can bet you won’t be able to resist this player, whose visual auster-ity hides remarkable auditory treasures. And at that price, isn’t it tempting ?

—Reine Lessard

CROSSTALK

Brand/model: Creek CD50Price: C$1899 (equiv. US$1405)Dimensions: 43 x 24 x 6.5 cmMost liked: Excellent performance on every aspectLeast liked: Mediocre jacks, confus-ing front panelVerdict: Call it a stealth CD player, but a great one

Summing it up…

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luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat

tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero.

I’m always ready to like Creek compo-nents, because Mike Creek’s philosophy ap-peals to me. He doesn’t spend money trying to impress you with the way a component looks. That said, I admit my spirits took a tumble when I got this player out of the box. A couple of thousand bucks for this? My spirits bounced right back up when I got a listen to the CD50. I’m painfully aware of the flaws that afflict even good economy players, and this player hasn’t got any of them. It isn’t shrill. It isn’t veiled. It isn’t thin. It isn’t confused. It isn’t… But I’m sorry if I seem to be putting all this in negative terms, because the Creek deserves a positive appraisal. The CD50

where you’re coming from.—Gerard Rejskind

I realized I had hardly taken any notes during this listening session. No time to write when you’re absorbed in the music. This is not just another CD player, you know, it’s first and foremost a music player, a music player, a musicsuperb component with a classic, unassum-ing appearance. It doesn’t grab your sleeve, to say look at me, it just sits and seems to dis-appear in the transparency of the music. It’s hard to describe what I liked most, but I felt as though the musicians and sing-ers were enjoying themselves more often, as though they smiled frequently and showed

word to word and tone to tone, telling a story as they go along. That’s how it sounded with the Creek CD50. Now you know.

A sublime violin, a vocal performance that leaves you panting with unequalled trills and modulations, a mixed choir and accompaniment that is detailed and superb, a male voice with a touch of vibrato and a lot of emotion, a harp that makes you long for paradise, an orchestra with great presence whose musicians are placed in space, each with his or her individual sound…

CROSSTALK

Most liked: Excellent performance on every aspectLeast liked: Mediocre jacks, confus-ing front panelVerdict: Call it a stealth CD player, but a great one

Our unique review system

Three of us do reviews, so it’s easy to fi gure out we could

three times more of them if we all did them separately.

But we haven’t done it that way for two decades. The feature

of UHF that gets us the best comments — and has for many

years — is the way we do tests. We have no plans to change.


Perhaps it’s logical that some of the prettiest tube gear should come from China. China, like Russia, was still making vacuum

tubes when the industrialized countries had given up on this “obsolete” technol-ogy, and sent the last of the drugstore tube testers to the scrap heap. When the market for tubes opened up once again, the Chinese saw an opportunity. So that’s not really the surprise. What’s really surprising is that China selected the high end as a target as well as the (possibly) more lucrative mass market. Of course, the country’s indus-tries are not exactly absent from the mass market… Like other Shanling products, including the CD-T100 player that graced the cover of UHF No. 66, these monoblocks do not ignore the appeal of good looks. The materials — stainless steel, copper and brass — are elegant. The fi t and fi nish are not quite fl awless (as we discovered during the photo ses-sions), but in normal lighting they look as they came from a Bulgari showroom. The jacks are of a quality that more upscale brands could stand to imitate. The circuit is classic: a 6SN7 buffer, a 6SL7 phase inverter, and a pair of EL34 output tubes in push-pull. That circuit has been around for decades. Still, there

are modern touches. The monoblocks come with a remote. Why? Because there is an internal volume control. Push one of the volume buttons, and the two amplifi ers go up or down together, with the volume reading (expressed in decibels below full level) in green digits in a round dial. You can shift the volume balance one way or the other by turning one of the amps up or down separately (hiding the remote from the other). Or you can connect the two amplifi ers together with the supplied control cord, and they’ll move up or down in lockstep from then on. The instructions suggest setting the volume to -20 dB, but the amplifi ers have a lot of gain, and the residual noise from our Copland preamplifi er was all too noticeable. A setting of -30 dB gave the Shanlings the same gain as our reference amplifi er, and that was what we settled on. We’re often asked why makers of high end products persist in offering them

with a $3 molded power cord. Shanling doesn’t. The included upscale power cords include a 15 ampere Schurter IEC connector and a Hubbel hospital-grade AC plug. It’s a surprising bonus considering what seems like a bargain price compared to a lot of other tube amplifi ers. We were disappointed that the SP-80’s are not self-biasing, and that Shanling recommends getting new tubes rebiased by a service centre. Though the twin amplifiers look great alongside each other, as in our photo, in practice they are impossible to set up that way. The input jack are placed not on the rear panel but on the right side near the front. Enough clearance must be left for the interconnect cable, and if your cable is not fl exible, as ours are not, they don’t help the looks any. All amplifi ers are sensitive to vibra-tion, and tube amplifi ers particularly so. The Shanlings come with shallow cones to be placed under the brass posts (not visible in our photos). We ran up some 60 hours on the amplifi ers, then shifted them into our Alpha system. We did leave our Copland CTA-305 preamplifi er in the circuit, though of course that’s optional. That enabled us to do the evaluation using a stack of our favorite LPs. The fi rst one is the long discontinued Wilson Audio disc, Center Stage. This is a dazzling recording for wind band, and the lead selection, John Williams’ fan-fare for the 1984 Olympics, is a veritable fi reworks. It seemed somewhat toned down with the SP-80’s, with diminished impact and separation of instruments. That wasn’t because the amplifiers were rolling off the highs (as critics of the tube revival are wont to charge). On the contrary, the brass was plenty bright. The very effective tympani was rather constricted, and we all noticed it. That might not be apparent with most loudspeakers, which can’t reproduce tympani impact correctly anyway, but our reference speakers can and do. We also had praise for a lot of what we heard, particularly the excellent balance, and the warm sound of the woodwinds. By curiosity, we tried the selection again with 6 dB more volume. It sounded much as before, though of course louder.

Listening Room

Shanling SP-80

Could these gorgeous monoblocks actually get by on looks alone?


We tried the wonderful harp piece on the Professor Johnson’s Astounding Sound Show (RR-7), and we were almost but not quite happy. We admired the detail, which made even the cascades of tiny notes clean and unambiguous. The playing seemed less subtle than with our reference, however. Once again there seemed to be a problem at the very bottom end. Late in the piece, a legato passage pauses at the very bottom end of the harp’s range, and the solid resonance is a reminder of how large the classical harp is, and how low it can go. The resonance was all but absent. We should add that the Shanlings do not sound thin. On the contrary, we praised their excellent tonal balance, as well as their strong reproduction of rhythm. We couldn’t account for the performance on that one brief passage. The Shanlings also exhibited good balance on one of our favorite record-ings, William Walton’s Façade. There are so many varied instruments in this superb tone poem, and so many com-plex counterpoints, that many systems

can’t fi nd their way through without symptoms of distress. The Shanlings got pretty well all of the instrumental timbres right (still with a bit of bright-ness on brass, thought Gerard). The recordings’s legendary sense of space was well reproduced. Indeed, the dif-ference between the Shanlings’ version and that of our YBA reference amplifi er was subtle. Still, there was a difference. This piece is supposed to be vastly entertain-

ing, at once touching and funny. We enjoyed it more with our reference. That said, the SP-80’s performance was so good that we had diffi culty putting our collective fi nger on the difference. How would these amplifiers cope with a female voice? Very well, it turned out. We put on Mary Black’s No Frontiers album. By now we weren’t surprised to notice that the double bass had less impact than with our reference, but everything else was decidedly right. Black’s effort-lessly powerful voice rang true, the (non-trivial) text even more in evidence than with our reference amplifi er. But her voice was not merely clear, it was attractive, and seemed to fl ow. We liked this a lot. Albert wondered whether the amplifiers might be de-emphasizing the instruments and favoring the voice, but he expressed satisfaction at what he heard. We spent some time with the cel-ebrated Jazz at the Pawnshop LP, specifi -cally How High the Moon. The depth and spaciousness which made this recording famous were well in evidence. There was good separation of instruments and (unfortunately) the sometimes obtrusive crowd noise. Rhythm was strong, and the music came through with satisfying energy. Pretty good. Still, the double bass had less power, as on earlier recordings. Arne Dom-nérus’ tenor sax was warm and sensuous in its lower register, but hardened up noticeably when it moved up the scale. “It’s supposed to be solid state amplifi ers that do this,” commented Gerard. We ended the session with Take the A Train from the vinyl re-release of the Ray Brown Trio’s Soular Energy. We have copies of this fi ne recording both on vinyl and on a Hi-Res 24/96 DVD, and we’re still trying to decide which we prefer. Ray Brown was of course a bassist, and we wondered whether his instru-ment would get shortchanged. Nope. Or at least not much. Albert actually preferred the Shanling version, fi nding the YBA amplifi er’s rendition somewhat overpowering. This is a great bass recording, and the engineers at Concord Jazz have done it justice, as they have for the piano and

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Brand/model: Shanling SP-80Price: C$3249/US$2495 pairDimensions: 21 x 47 x 18.5 cmClaimed output: 50 wattsMost liked: Great value, killer looksLeast liked: Some anomalies in bottom and upper midrange, awkward jack placementVerdict: It won’t knock off the tube amp makers, but it will make them think

Summing it up…

Griffin AudioBox 733, Montreal, QC H4A 3S2Tel. (514) 945-8245 FAX: (514) [email protected] proac-loudspeakers.com

Oakville Audio, Oakville (905) 338-1188Sensation Musicale, Granby (800) 313-HIFI

ResponseD25

New vitality andpotency from an internationally

acclaimed design


drum kit. Wow! The Shanling brought out plenty of detail, and kept the rhythm solid too. The only real complaint was from Reine, who found the piano a little too forward, especially on the higher notes. We hooked up one of the monoblocks to our usual set of instruments and went looking for trouble. We didn’t find it. The Shanling’s noise fl oor isn’t as low as that of prop-erly-designed solid state amplifi ers, but it still allowed us to check its performance at extremely low levels. No problems turned up. The SP-80 mostly met its pub-lished power specifications, putting out 51.82 watts at 1 kHz, and only one less watt at 20 Hz, a frequency at which many tube output transformers saturate and produce horrendous distortion. Curiously, it was at 20 kHz that it ran very slightly short of power, producing 47.4 watts without distortion. We should add that, in every case, the limits were indicated by a rapid increase in distortion, but not by clipping of the signal, as happens in all solid state

amplifi ers, and indeed even in some tube amplifi ers. These gorgeous Shanling amplifi ers are not quite the ultimate tube ampli-fi ers, but we have a long list of things they do exactly as we had hoped. Detail? Plentiful. Rhythm? Strong. Tonal bal-

ance? Amazingly good. Musicality? Musicality, the ability to transmit musical values so they make sense to the human ear, is the most important of the criteria in our list. The Shanling twins win high marks there. Oh…that and value.

These amplifiers, two to a set, have the power to reproduce music in exemplary fash-ion. Though overall sound was somewhat thinner than with our reference, I appreci-ated its great impact, its energy, its broad emotional range, its detail, and the excellent modulations in human voices. Timbres are very pleasingly reproduced, and I heard some fine counterpoints. Following the syllables of a singer is one thing, but catching every word if the language is not your mother tongue is another, and the Shanlings afforded me that pleasure. You can hear the sound of the room just fine. There were flaws too, including a bit of timidity at the bottom, and some hardness at the top. Beyond that — and this is a highly personal observation — there’s a lack of a certain je ne sais quoi, which our reference has. Call it a touch of magic.

—Reine Lessard

The way the bottom end comes out of these amplifiers is a mystery to me. The very

low frequencies are de-emphasized in some highly identifiable cases, yet the sound is never thin, never imbalanced. I’m not certain what’s going on. On most recordings that won’t even call attention to itself, of course, because it turns up only on certain instru-ments, such as the double bass…the deep stuff. The stuff that should have plenty of weight More evident, and even more surprising, is the rather un-tubey sound of the upper midrange. Yet it’s not always there. You can hear this somewhat on a saxophone, and you figure it’s going to do terribly on a female voice, and it handles it fine. It wouldn’t take much to tweak these beauties into something that glows. Indeed, other Shanling products have turned out to be hot rodders’ dreams, cheap and gorgeous, good enough to become great with a little change of tube, or some other little altera-tions. The SP-80 monoblocks are close to where they should be, and I bet it wouldn’t be that difficult to make them into clear

winners. New shock and tires?—Gerard Rejskind

They sound as good as they look, with that satin look and that warm glow, but they also have some limitations. At first I didn’t know what exactly was missing. Details in the sound of the instru-ments abounded, they filled the air and pushed the space around the speakers. True, I did notice a lightness in the bass register but somehow I expected that. And when the music roared and everybody on stage seemed to stand up for a loud finish, well…it did its best. So what was missing for me? Why was I not as involved in the music itself? I’m sorry to say I have no clear answers, but I have questions I think you ought to know about. But nothing is definitive, and you may react in a totally different manner. Give them a listen and find out how you respond.

—Albert Simon

CROSSTALK

Listening Room


Have you noticed that the only amplifi ers Audiomat makes are integrated? We noticed it only after the listening

session, when Albert thought he’d like to try one of Audiomat’s preamplifi ers. Impossible! And it’s not for reasons of economy. This tube amplifi er may not be quite as expensive as some separates we could name (and lust after), but if Audiomat has cut any corners we couldn’t prove it. The Opéra costs more than double the price of the Arpège, which we reviewed in our last issue. It uses the same EL34 output tubes, and it claims the same 30 watts per channel. The dif-ference: the 30 watts are in pure class A. Does that need an explanation? Just in case it does, here goes. Most push-pull amplifiers (using two tubes or transistors for output) run in what is known as class AB: the two amplifying devices split up the task of handling the positive and negative half of the signal, but they overlap their opera-tion somewhat, in order to minimize errors at the zero volt level, when one device hands off to the other. In class A operation, both devices run fl at out all the time, to obliterate the potential anomaly. Extra energy is of course wasted, and must be dumped as heat. This is a drain on your air condition-ing system (or an aid to your furnace, depending on how you choose to look at it), and when you consider that vacuum

tubes throw off quantities of waste heat anyway, you realize that by choosing an amplifi er like this, you’re putting music over ecology. To which you may choose to reply: (1) I want to be a good citizen, so it’s back to class D, or (2) shut up and leave me alone while the music’s playing! As we shall see, there are reasons you might swap your SUV for a Toyota Prius, to compensate for what is an excit-ing addition to your music system. The Opéra is large, a huge hunk of what seems to be aluminum. The two knobs are respectively for volume and selection of one of the fi ve inputs (labelled Line 1, Line 2, etc.). The two toggle switches are for power and the tape loop. At the rear are a set of very good jacks, and six input binding posts that look like WBT’s but aren’t, to allow selecting either the 4 or ohm output. There are two complete sets, to make biwiring easy. Inside, the circuit includes a 12AX7 dual triode as an input amplifi er and buffer, a pair of 12AU7 dual triodes as phase inverters and drivers, and fi nally

the EL34 push-pull output tubes. The amplifier comes with a remote control, with but tons for volume and muting. Being an Audiomat product, even this is not a generic remote. There are buttons for fast volume adjust-ment, so you can get where you’re going in a hurry, and others for fine adjustments. Instead of the ubiquitous mute

button, the remote has a “mute on” button, with a separate “mute off” button that is red and slightly recessed, like the record button on a VCR, so that it won’t be pressed accidentally. And since the volume knob is motorized, the Opéra turns its own volume all the way down while it’s warming up. This is a bit of a nuisance for reviewers like us: to be sure to keep the same volume, any time we turned the amplifi er off we had to hold the volume knob in place during warmup. The volume knob is unlabelled, and instead of covering an arc from 7 o’clock to 5 o’clock, it goes from 5 to 3. In a number of ways, the Audiomat is a different world. Our sample was supplied not with the usual junk power cord, but an Actinote CS150 cord (C$490/US$370) with two conspicuous fi lter pods on its length. When we tried substituting our usual Foundation Research LC-2 fi lter, which of course replaces the power cord, the Opéra buzzed. Even odder is this: when we tried the Actinote cord on a Shanling amplifi er, the Shanling buzzed! We didn’t investigate further. Our Opéra arrived well broken in, but we made sure it was good and warm — make that good and hot — before we connected it to our Alpha system. We ran our CD player directly into one of the inputs, bypassing both our own amp and preamp. We opened with the newest disc from the fabulous young violinist James Ehnes, playing Dvorak’s Romantic Pieces, op. 75 (Analekta FL 2 3191). We fi gured it would sound good…but perhaps not quite this good. The violin sound on this recording is among the best we have heard on CD, with a natural silkiness that caught our attention right off. Even Albert, who

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like the record button on a VCR, so that it won’t be pressed accidentally. And since the volume knob is motorized, the Opéra turns its own volume all the way down while it’s warming up. This

Audiomat Opéra

In this case, “class A” refers to more than the principle of operation.


fi nds most violin recordings unnaturally bright, was impressed by this rendition. The piano was soft, and yet always clear. The dynamic palette was broad, the rhythm light. “Did it run shorter this time?” asked Gerard. “It just seemed to be over in a fl ash.” Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio com-molo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feu-giam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy

num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam, sum eugiamet, quisim zzrillam velisci llummodigna feu feui tat nim alis augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzriliqui blam dolore do commy nim quiscilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si.

Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.Eriliquisit praestio dolobor iustisi. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper

Listening Room

Brand/model: Audiomat OpéraPrice: C$7490/US$5690Dimensions: 44.5 x 44 x 19 cmClaimed power: 30 watts per channelMost liked: Virtuoso musical performanceLeast liked: Incompatible with the Kyoto accordVerdict: Ever wonder why these people don’t bother making separates?

Summing it up…

Allied DistributionCAYIN www.sparkaudio.comThe most beautiful tube productsavailable.World-class tube productsAll have point-to-point wiringSilver wiredOver 30 models available

RADII www.radaudio.comVINTAGE TUBE AMPLIFIERS & PREAMPSbuilt with the fi nest parts available today

E-SOUND www.east-sound.com.cnCD-E5 fully-balanced 24/96 CD playerHigh end amps, preamps, CD players

ALLIED DISTRIBUTION1558 King St. E.

Hamilton, ON L8K 1T2Tel. (905) 548-6026

FAX: (905) [email protected]

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FULL MODIFICATIONS AVAILABLE

FULL TIME ELECTRICALENGINEERON STAFF

DEALER INQUIRIESINVITED

AUDCOMwww.audcom.com.cnSolid stateand tube gearLoudspeakers


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Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu fac-cummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpa-tin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullan-dre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si.

Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel iustiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper

iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto con-sequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modolut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio commolo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat.

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augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzriliqui blam dolore do commy nim quis-cilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si. Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.Eriliquisit praestio dolobor iustisi. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit .

CROSSTALK


The first question: where is this new tube amplifi er really made? The ads say “Hand-crafted in Canada,” but the

SE-2 appears to be a dead ringer for the Opera 3500, which is made in China. Connoisseur Audio acknowledges that the chassis and some other exterior aspects do come from Opera, but that the innards are quite different. Specifically, the amplifier is put together with superior quality parts: Allen-Bradley resistors, Mallory and Rubicon capacitors with military specs, and OFC unshielded internal wiring. Even the wood sides are different: they’re solid cherrywood rather than chipboard. The “SE” part of the model name refers to the “single-ended” operation. Instead of using a pair of tubes in push-pull configuration to reproduce the output signal, the SE-2 uses a single 300B tube to do all the work. There are down sides to this: harmonic distortion, (especially even harmonics) is higher than with push-pull, and the power is low as well: a mere 9 watts per channel. The up side is that the output wave can be made perfectly symmetrical, since only one tube is doing the job. This advantage is likely to be most noticeable at low level. The amplifi er is visually attractive.

It is simple in the extreme, with only a source selector and a volume knob on the front. The rear jacks and binding posts are of satisfactory quality. The SE-2 comes with a remote, for volume only. The jacks can accommodate three inputs and the binding posts allow a choice of the 4 or 8 ohm output. All tube amplifi ers radiate heat, of course, and that can be awkward in midsummer. The SE-2 runs cooler than most, since it has two output tubes rather than four or more. Though it comes with a metal cage to protect your fi ngers, it’s unlikely you’ll be courting severe burns if you leave it off, as we did. The available power being what it is, we hesitated before choosing which of our two main reference systems we would try it in. Nine watts is not a lot, and so the logical speakers to use would be the Reference 3a Supremas we use in our Omega system. With the subwoofers disconnected they are easy to drive, with an excellent effi ciency of 91 dB. Then again, the Omega system is in a large room, requiring good volume. The Alpha system’s speakers are rated at just

88 dB, but the room is quite a lot smaller. We fi nally chose that system. For a guide to speaker effi ciency, see our sidebar, Effi ciency and Power on the next page. We did of course expect that we would be able to reach the SE-2’s power limits with comparative ease. This amplifi er is intended for use with very effi cient speakers. Fortunately, it is not uncommon to find speakers rated at 94 dB, or even 104 dB! Since this is an integrated amplifi er, we connected our reference CD player directly to it, and pulled out a few discs. We began with a new violin recording whose sound is unusually natural, fea-turing violinist James Ehnes (Analekta FL 2 3191). The SE-2 seemed to have little difficulty driving our speakers. Indeed, Reine commented on how clean the violin was, not at all what you’d expect from an amplifi er that is about to go over the top. We could hear the sound of the bow slipping across the strings, and Ehnes’ considerable virtuosity was in good evidence. The piano sounded natural as well. “I liked it,” said Gerard, “though I think the sound is a little glossier than with our own electronics. Still, it never gets fuzzy.” Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel iustiniscing et ipisi. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp

Listening Room

Connoisseur SE-2

Only 9 watts, but what if they’re the right watts?


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ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio com-molo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat.

Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut

nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feu-giam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam, sum eugiamet, quisim zzrillam velisci llummodigna feu feui tat nim alis augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzriliqui blam dolore do commy nim quiscilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si. Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.Eriliquisit praestio dolobor iustisi. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi.

Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu fac-cummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpa-tin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi.

Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullan-dre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.

Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel iustiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto con-sequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modolut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput

ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio commolo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat.

Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feugiam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam, sum eugiamet.

CROSSTALK

Efficiency and Power How much amplifi er power you need depends on how effi cient your speakers are. Nearly all speakers have an effi ciency rating, expressed in decibels. However not everyone is clear on what this means. Suppose a speaker is rated at a 92 dB effi ciency (or sensitivity, as it also called). This means that if you feed one watt of power into it at a frequency of 1 kHz, the sound pressure level one meter in front of the speaker will be 92 dB. We should add that some rooms will “help” the speaker along, which means the rating system is not quite standard. Now here’s how to compare effi ciencies. A change in power of 2-to-1 corresponds to 3 dB. And so a 92 dB speaker will make four times as much sound for a given signal as an 86 dB speaker. Another way of expressing it is to say that 15 watts into the 92 dB speaker is like 60 watts into the 86 dB speaker.

Brand/model: Connoisseur SE-2Price: C$3899 (equiv. US$2905)Dimensions: 45 x 40 x 21 cmRated power: 9 watts per channelIlissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm.

Summing it up…


We’ve done a lot of reviews at UHF over the past twenty-some years, but there are some reviews

you just don’t forget. It was 1996. Copland was then a new brand, but we already knew it was a good one. Its CTA-301 preamplifi er had been so exceptional we had bought one (we own two Copland preamps to this day). We were spending the day with the company’s tube integrated amplifi er, the CTA-401. It didn’t really look like a tube amplifi er, with its tubes (including four EL34 output tubes) well hidden under its metal cover. Indeed, it looked like a taller version of the preamplifi er. But oh, the sound! Our conclusion was that the 401 “delivered the promise of tubes on a (relative) budget.” In that particular ses-sion, we had invited one of our readers to sit in, something we then did occasion-ally. His last words as he walked out: “A year from now, I’m going to own one of those.” Fast forward to the present day. The CTA-401 is no more. It is replaced by this one, whose solid state output section not only runs cooler but also delivers nearly triple the power of its predecessor. Tubes are still used in the preamplifi er section, however. Like the earlier amplifi er, the CSA29 looks like a stretched version of the preamplifi er, with identical controls, and with the same remote. And if you compensate for eight years of infl ation, it is actually slightly cheaper. Like other Copland products, it is

austere in appearance, but well fi nished. The LED screen is useful if you can see it, but it is dim in full light (our photog-rapher used a double exposure to make the screen visible in our picture). The jacks are, as usual, not the best, and the binding posts are just adequate. Would a hybrid design beat tubes? Let’s see. On the violin recording, James Ehnes playing Dvorak’s Romantic Pieces, op.75, the violin sounded quite clear, and reasonably smooth too. Gerard noted that the “resinous” nature of the strings could be heard, and yet… As we listened longer we could hear that the recording’s astonishing magic was considerably reduced, as was all sense of 3-D space. “It’s clear,” said Albert, “but it’s veiled too.” Albert was quite pleased with our vocal recording (soprano Karina Gauvin singing an aria from Handel’s Alcina), but he admitted he had been expecting the worst. Not that what we heard was very good. The percussive syllables on

the aria Barbara seemed to be f lung in our faces. Reine disliked the piece intensely. Gerard was perplexed. “It’s not bright or shrill,” he said, “but there’s something wrong with the highs. Only I’m not sure what.” Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio com-molo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feu-giam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit,

Copland CSA29

Brand/model: Copland CSA29Price: C$3995/US$2800Dimensions: 43 x 42 x 11 cmClaimed power: 85 watts per channelInputs: 4 high level plus MM phonoIlissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi.

Summing it up…


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wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit lobortie modiam iusciliquat voloborperit lore consequ issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros

autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si. Ilissi. Putpat.

Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu fac-cummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpa-tin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullan-dre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat

at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si.

Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel iustiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto con-sequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modolut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput

ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio commolo rtinismodio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat.

Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet il ut dignisi etum vulla augait ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre velenis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feugiam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conum zzriliquisl irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feugiam.

CROSSTALK

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The Alpha system Our original reference is installed in a room with extraordinary acoustics (originally designed as a recording studio). The acoustics allow us to hear what we can’t hear elsewhere.

CD Transport: Parasound C/BD2000 (belt-driven transport designed by CEC).Digital-to-analog converter: Counter-point DA-10A, with HDCD card.Turntable: Audiomeca J-1Tone arm: Audiomeca SL-5Step-up transformer: Bryston TF-1Pickup: Goldring ExcelPreamplifi er: Copland CTA-305 tube preamp Power amplifi er: YBA One HC Loudspeakers: 3a MS-5 Interconnects: Pierre Gabriel ML-1, Wireworld Equinox/WBT Loudspeaker cables: Wireworld Eclipse II with WBT bananasPower cords: Gutwire, Wireworld StratusAC fi lters: Foundation Research LC-2 (power amp), Inouye SPLC.

The Omega system It serves for reviews of gear that cannot easily fi t into the Alpha system, with its small room.

CD player: shared with the Alpha systemTurntable: Alphason SonataTone arm: Alphason HR-100S MCSStep-up transformer: Bryston TF-1Pickup: Goldring ExcelPreamplifi er: Copland CTA-305 tube preamp Power amplifi er: Simaudio Moon W-5 Loudspeakers: Reference 3a Suprema II Interconnects: Pierre Gabriel ML-1. Wireworld EquinoxLoudspeaker cables: Pierre Gabriel ML-1 (formerly L3), for most of the range, Wireworld Polaris for the twin subwoofers.Power cords: Wireworld AuroraAC fi lters: Foundation Research LC-1

The Kappa system This is our home theatre system. As with the Alpha system, we had limited space for the

Kappa system, and that ruled out huge projec-tors and two-meter screens. We did, however, fi nally come up with a system whose perfor-mance gladdens both eye and ear, and which has the needed resolution to serve for reviews.

HDTV monitor: Hitachi 43UWX10B CRT-based rear projector DVD player: Simaudio Moon Stellar with Faroudja Stingray video processorPreamplifi er/processor: Simaudio Moon Attraction, 5.1 channel versionPower amplifi ers: Simaudio Moon W-3 (main speakers), Celeste 4070se (centre speaker), Robertson 4010 (rear) Main speakers: Energy Reference Con-noisseur Centre speaker: Thiel MCS1, on UHF’s own TV-top platform Rear speakers: Elipson 1400 Subwoofer: 3a Design Acoustics sub Cables: Wireworld Equinox and Atlantis, Wireworld Starlight video cablesPower cables and line fi lters: Wireworld Aurora cables, Foundation Research LC1 line fi lters

The UHF Reference Systems


Does vibration have an impact on audio equipment? It can have, and there are two potential sources of vibra-

tion. One is the outside world, and especially the sound coming from the speakers. The other is the equipment itself. Motors and transformers vibrate, and the vibrations can shake up the whole unit. Of course turntables are the most vulnerable to vibration, because a turn-table is actually a vibration-detection device: it turns vibrations into electrical signals that can be amplifi ed and repro-duced as sound. CD players would seem to be immune from this problem, since they recover digital information, not analog. In fact even they are vulnerable. On nearly all players, we can measure the jitter (the time-based error) while we tap the player or even the table next to it. The jitter shoots up. As for electronic gear…well, potentially even a solder joint can act like a microphone. In UHF No. 65 we reviewed a number of items claiming to isolate equipment from vibration. Now here’s another: the GutWire NotePad. The NotePad is a nice little bag fi lled with a

gel-like material. You can place two or more of them under a piece of equipment (each can support up to 10 kg), or you can place them atop a piece of equip-ment…useful if the cover rings like a bell, as it sometimes does. In the past we have tested such devices with CD players, and that’s what we did this time too. We began with our Parasound CD transport, placing three of the NotePads under it, shifting them so that the transport remained level. The effect was not detectable. We then tried placing them atop the transport, positioning one right atop the plexiglas cover of the disc well (GutWire’s sug-gestion). Once again we couldn’t hear a difference. We weren’t too perturbed, because we know our transport is already well-damped against vibration: it has a suspended transport and belt-drive besides. What’s more, it was sitting on a Target equipment table. Perhaps we would do better with the Creek CD 50, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, since its structure seems both less rugged and less elaborate. Rather than place it on the Target table, we positioned it on an ordinary table, made of composite board

over a hollow steel frame. We began with the Dvorak violin piece used in other tests in this issue. Even on this rather plain table the Creek sounded very good, as it had in our earlier listening session. We placed two NotePads under the machine (the Creek is too small for more than two) and listened again. Was there a differ-ence? We couldn’t fi nd one. Perhaps we could try a different recording. We pulled out one of our longtime favorites, Now the Green Blade Riseth. Once again it sounded surprisingly good even on the thin table. Adding the NotePads, we thought we could hear a difference. We thought we could…but we weren’t sure. Reine thought the bottom end had been tightened up, that the double bass marking the rhythm on this choral recording was leaner. Gerard, for his part, thought he detected an improve-ment in the naturalness of the sibilance in the women’s voices. Neither was certain that these differences were significant. We went back and forth numerous times. Was the effect real? We’ve found in the past that an improvement is not always evident right off, but that removing it makes it more obvious. In this case the improvement remained maddeningly elusive. It wasn’t the sort of thing you would have spotted in a blind test. So did the NotePads do anything at all? Yes. We tried another test we’ve used in the past: slapping the table hard with an open palm next to the player with a disc playing. The effect is surprisingly repeatable, since there’s a limit to how hard you can slap a table. Without the NotePads, the slap sent the laser to other pastures, mostly to the beginning of Track 1, sometimes to other parts of the track. With the NotePads in place, we couldn’t make the player do more than hiccup: it would click, and then continue where it had left off. One time in three, the slap had no effect at all. We tried the same test with the Note-Pads atop the player. No improvement. The NotePads have the advantage of versatility. They may well be helpful with equipment worse than anything we had on hand.

Listening Room

GutWire NotePad

The UHF Reference Systems


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Perhaps you st il l recall the magic of your very fi rst remote control. Cradle it in your hand, push a button, and the TV

would turn on. Or off. Or you’d skip to the weather channel. Or the commercial would be replaced by blessed silence. The second remote — probably for your VCR — didn’t feel quite so magical, because now you had to remember which remote control did what. And do you remember your seventh remote control? We are talking nightmare, and an entire coffee table dedicated to holding them. To make things worse, they all look the same, and they all look just like your wireless phone. Of course years ago manufacturers caught on to this dilemma and began making “universal” remote controls. The fi rst ones could learn the commands of your multiplying remotes. Most modern ones can be set for your components…if your system is made up of brand names like Sony, Sanyo, Kenmore and Emer-son. And then there are high end remotes with touch screens, some of them with price tags in four digits. Some of them, unfortunately, are barely usable. Remote specialist One For All is mostly known for rather ordinary remotes, but with this affordable unit it may have hit the jackpot. It comes closer than any other remote we’ve seen to being usable with complex audio/home theatre systems. And it’s incredibly cheap, with a Canadian street price of $120. The Kameleon doesn’t look the way our picture shows, because you would never see all of its buttons lit at once (except when the batteries are dying — it lets you know by lighting everything it’s got). Unlike the usual touch-screen remotes, the Kameleon has permanently lithographed buttons, which are backlit with what looks like Indiglo. Depending on the device selected, the remote hides inappropriate buttons. Just below the

power button is a “scroll” button, which shows and hides sets of buttons to make the surface seem less cluttered. The Kameleon does not actually use a touch screen, despite appearances. Beneath each of the glowing “buttons” is a real short-throw mechanical button. That means you have to exert actual pressure on a button and not merely touch it, but in practice it’s an advantage: you can keep your fi nger on a button ready to fi re, something you can’t do with a touch screen. Remember when all universal remote controls were learning remotes? But remotes that learn are useful only to consumers who can learn, and marketing surveys seemed to indicate that setting the time on a VCR was about the limit of many people’s abilities to interface with technology. That’s why most modern remotes — including One For All’s other models — have lists of preprogrammed codes. We hate this. Our favorite com-ponents are almost never on the lists, and if they are, there are inevitably some missing commands. The Kameleon is a revelation. It includes a search function, allowing it to look for the codes even for an unlisted component. We were convinced it wouldn’t find our Simaudio Moon Attraction preamp-processor in its data base. In fact it did…in well under fi ve minutes. It didn’t include all of the functions, of course, for the Attraction is extremely complex, and there were key functions missing, such as choosing an audio input. Which brings us to the next bit of good news. The Kameleon is also a learning

remote. Unlike some other recent models, which provide only two or three buttons capable of learning, virtually all of its buttons can be taught a function. This adds considerable fl exibility. You can search the codes to get most of the functions of your device, and you can then add functions to other buttons. What you can’t do, of course, is relabel anything. The fl exibility is fortunate, because it may happen that some basic functions get left off your particular device. For instance, the Kameleon easily found most of the functions for our Hitachi HDTV monitor, but it didn’t include buttons for changing inputs. This is of course basic, because changing from broadcast TV to DVD, VCR or other source does mean changing video inputs. The simplest solution is to assign a button you fi gure you won’t use. The “fav” (favorite channel) button comes to mind. There is, however, another solution, as we shall see later. It’s become a cliché to say that home theatre systems are so complex that you need a course just to learn to turn one on. Well, the Kameleon can help with that function at least. The “power” button, one of the few that has no learning func-tion, can be set to turn all of your compo-nents on and off at the same time. This is a neat feature, though it has a couple of hidden down sides. First, it won’t work with older components whose remotes have separate “on” and “off” buttons. More importantly, it will work only if all of the components you want to turn on can “see” the remote. If one of them doesn’t respond, what do you do? You push the power button again, right? Only now the components that did turn on will turn off again. It’s easy to see how to recover from this situation, but your granny probably won’t see it, and she’ll put in a panicked call to you. Come to think of it, is this remote well enough organized that could hand it to your granny? Perhaps, thanks to its well thought-out home theatre function. Let us explain. Check the top part of the display, and you’ll see icons for the various devices the Kameleon can control: TV, DVD, amplifier/receiver, VCR, hard

The Kameleon Remote

Most luxury remotes look great…until you use them. So guess what we’ve found…

may have hit the jackpot. It comes closer than any other remote we’ve seen to being usable with complex audio/home theatre systems. And it’s incredibly

street price of

The Kameleon doesn’t look the way our picture shows, because you would never see all of its buttons lit at once (except when the batteries are dying — it lets you know by lighting everything it’s got). Unlike the usual touch-screen remotes, the Kameleon has permanently lithographed buttons, which are backlit

Attraction preamp-processor in its data base. In fact it did…in well under fi ve minutes. It didn’t include all of the functions, of course, for the Attraction is extremely complex, and there were key functions missing, such as choosing an audio input. Which brings us to the next bit of good news. The Kameleon is also a learning

on can “see” the remote. If one of them doesn’t respond, what do you do? You push the power button again, right? Only now the components that did turn did turn didon will turn off again. It’s easy to see how off again. It’s easy to see how offto recover from this situation, but your granny probably won’t see it, and she’ll put in a panicked call to you. Come to think of it, is this remote well enough organized that could hand it to your granny? Perhaps, thanks to its well thought-out home theatre function. Let us explain. Check the top part of the display,

Most luxury remotes look great…until you

Read the whole thing

If you’re looking for a remote for a complex system, you really can’t afford not

to check out the entire article. Order issue No. 69 on page 51, or subscribe on

page 3.


Listening Room

disc recorder, cable or satellite box, and CD player, plus one device ma rked au x i l i a r y. Click an icon, and it animates. At the same time, the appropriate buttons for that device lights up. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy nu m at volor peros amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulpu-tat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan eros-tion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. U l l a nd r e r ip i s i . Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnis-senibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpa-tet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel iustiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu

feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi te verostio commolo rtinismo-dio dunt enim vel dolore tetuer augait deliquisl utat. Unt la conulla facipit ipit alis aut autet i l ut dignisi et um v u l la auga it ipsuscipit, quat, volum acipisit ut landre vele-nis augait luptat lut ing ent alis nis nonsectem iuscidui tis nim zzrilit nullut nosto diametum dolorero conum ing eraestis aliquam, corem dui blaore feugiam, vendit ipsuscillaor ing endrer sim zzriustisl eliquat illumsandit aut lummy num nim ea augue magna ad dipit, conu m zzr i l iqu is l irilit acil dolor sum dolore digna feu feu-giam, sum eugiamet, quisim zzrillam velisci llummodigna feu feui tat nim alis augiate core dunt velismod ea am, sequipis nosto consenit lor sim diam, quametum zzril iqui blam dolore do commy nim quiscilisit autet wisi etummy nim iuscil dipit

lobortie modiam iuscili-quat voloborperit lore consequ

issequat, corpera estrud te tie tinisim

vullut nullan vendrem zzrit vullaore exerius cilluptat prat volum zzrit lum quissit adipit augait vulla facipsummy nostrud tem alit ullut veros autem nos nullaor ip eummod delesectem et ad dunt luptat. Agnibh ero ero dipisl ip etumsan henim venim dunt wis nulla feugue magnisisse conum do ea feugiam, quatie tis duismol orperosto essi. Ignisisl ing ex ent volor si. Ilissi. Putpat, velessim zzriure riureet ad miniam, vel dolortie te dunt doloreet, quam quat aliquisse feum zzrilis num nosto cor si ex erat wisisi blamcon sectem zzrit adio dunt dolenim digniat ing ea commodiat pratumm odolobo rpercin ent la feummy nosto et ercilisi.Eriliquisit praestio dolobor iustisi. Lutat, venis numsan velenit ex eu faccummy num at volorperos amcore vel utpatin ver iure modip erate dolor sit adiam, quis acilit nulputat irit ut luptat luptat laorercincil iustiss equat. Ilissectem et nis alisl in ulput lutpate minisit adit augiam, quat, vullutpat luptatum zzriurem augiam dolendipit lorer acilismod tat dolorem numsan erostion ver sis dolor acillam, ver se tat wismolo reetum iuscincin ea facin utat nos dio dolent eu facip eu facincilit lut augue ea atem quat. Ut vel ut nullametue dolore tetue conummodo consed tatet at lorerillan utpat. Accum dit wisi. Ullandrer ipisi. Ommodolore vel ullandre diam, quip ea faccum iure tat lummod tie consed tat lorpero od essi.Irillam consent nulla aut esent niamet utpat at estrud delestrud magnissenibh eugue elit, si. Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi. Bor sit accum am, quatio odolorper iliquat ate consendipit, venim nosto consequam nulla cortie te diam dolore molum zzril exeros nullutpatue cortis augueriurem eraessectet, susto od modo-lut velismod molobore enibh ex euguerit lore tem niscili smodiatum eum vullut nonsequisl eu feu faccum nim nibh er sustrud min ut lor sum nim ipit nostie feu feum nulput ulla at ulput ulla conulput nibh eniat. Del iriliquip eniatis el ut landipit, sisis amcon ut irit luptatisi.

Brand/model: One for All KameleonPrice (street): C$120/US$80 Et wisi blandipit utpatet, vel ullaorp ercidunt nos amet amconsendiam velisit lutat, corperos aci bla augait veliquis nostio eratismod tem venit at vel ius-tiniscing et ipisi.

Summing it up…


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Did you ever think you could do a rock record wayyyy better than the people doing it for the big record compa-

nies? People like the gentleman in the picture above? Of course you have. And Rock Man-ager, a computer game from Dream-catcher Interactive of Toronto (and developed in Sweden by Monsterland),

is aimed right at you. What can we say about a game that made us laugh uproari-ously loud not once but twice before we could even tear off the shrink wrap? Here’s the pitch. In this game, you start out with $100,000, which may or

may not be enough to do what you want. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to put together a rock band, buy them some repertoire, get them into a studio to make what you hope will be a hit record, book them into local shows, take them on tour, get them on the radio, get everyone talking about them, get their album into the charts, and… And have it happen before your last dollar trickles away.. Let’s start at the beginning, by going on a hiring spree. First you choose musicians for your band (and we are using the word “musicians” in the loos-est possible way). You’ve got a number of possible choices, including potential stars, such as pretty good bass guitarist Charlotte Johnson. And then you've got guaranteed losers, like punk vocalist Glen Jeffries, whose fi rst words when you click on his icon, earns the game its “mature” rating. Naturally, Charlotte will cost you more money than Glen will. She may be worth it, but then again is she? Hire both of them, and they may get into creative differences that will bring the band’s ascension to a screeching halt. Once you have a band, you need songs they can sing, and they’ll cost you as well. You’ll want to suit the song to the band members, needless to say. Charlotte may be just right to do the bass line on Sunshine on Lonely Street, which incidentally will cost you $12,000 plus royalties, but she may walk if you elect to save money by snapping up a punk anthem such as Kill Your Parents (Glen, on the other hand, will eat it up). You'd be wise to put a bit of dough aside, because you’ll be needing it. This unruly crew needs to get some music on tape and eventually disc, so you will of course need to rent a studio, and also a venue for a rock concert. The better the studio and the hall are, the better your chances of getting onto the charts…but also the more they’ll cost. Packing the concert hall is essential, because that’s the only move that will make money fl ow in rather than out. At least until — and if — the record sells. As you’ve probably always suspected money is the key to rock’n’roll success, and there's a dark side to Rock Manager. Can’t talk the local newspaper into

Rock Manager

A game to make you laugh. Or possibly cry.

EACH ISSUE costs $4.99 (in Canada) plus tax (15.03% in Québec, 15% in NB, NS and NF, 7% in other Provinces), US$4.99 in the USA, CAN$7.50 elsewhere (surface) or $8.60 (air mail). THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (issues 7-19 except 11, 15, 17 and 18) includes 9 issues but costs like 5. For VISA or MasterCard, include your number, expiry date and signature. UHF Magazine, Box 65085, Place Longueuil, Longueuil, Qué., Canada J4K 5J4. Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383. Order on line at www.uhfmag.com

THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION:Issues No.7-19 (except 11, 15, 17 and 18, out of print): nine issues available for the price of five (see below). A piece of audio history. Available separately at the regular price.

No.68: Loudspeakers: Thiel CS2.4, Focus Audio FS688, Iliad B1. Electronics:Vecteur I-6.2 and Audiomat Arpège integrated ampli-fiers, Copland 306 multichannel tube preamp, Rega Fono MC. Also: Audio Note and Copland CD players, GutWire MaxCon power filter. And there’s more: all about power supplies, what’s coming beyond DVD, and a chat with YBA’s Yves-Bernard André.

No.67: Loudspeakers: A new, improved Reference 3a MM de Capo, and the awesome Living Voice Avatar OBX-R. Centre speakers for surround from Castle, JMLab, ProAc, Thiel, Totem and Vandersteen. One of them joins our Kappa system. Two multichannel amps from Copland and Vecteur. Plus: plans for a DIY platform for placing a centre speaker atop any TV set, Paul Bergman on the elements of acoustics, and women in country music.

No.66: Reviews: the Jadis DA-30 amplifier, the Copland 305 tube preamp and 520 solid state amp. Plus: the amazing Shanling CD player, Castle Stirling speakers, and a remote control that tells you what to watch. Also: Bergman on biwiring and biamplification, singer Janis Ian’s alternative take on music downloading, and a chat with Opus 3’s Jan-Eric Persson.

No.65: Back to Vinyl: setting up an analog system, reviews of Rega P9 turntable, and phono preamps from Rega, Musical Fidelity and Lehmann. The Kappa reference system for home theatre: how we selected our HDTV monitor, plus a review of the Moon Stellar DVD player. Anti-vibration: Atacama, Symposium, Golden Sound, Solid-Tech, Audioprism, Tenderfeet. Plus an interview with Rega’s turntable designer, and a look back at what UHF was like 20 years ago.

No.64: Speakers: Totem M1 Signature and Hawk, Visonik E352. YBA Passion Intégré amp, Cambridge IsoMagic (followup), better batteries for audio-to-go. Plus: the truth about upsampling, an improvement to our LP clean-ing machine, an interview with Ray Kimber..No.63: Tube amps: ASL Leyla & Passion A11. Vecteur Espace speakers, 2 intercon-nects (Harmonic Technology Eichmann), 5 speaker cables (Pierre Gabriel, vdH , Harmonic Technology, Eichmann), 4 power cords (Wireworld, Harmonic Technology, Eichmann, ESP). Plus: Paul Bergman on soundproofing, how to compare components in the store, big-screen TV’s to stay away from, a look back at the Beatles revolution.

No.62: Amplif iers: Vecteur I -4, Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista M3, Antique Sound Lab MG-S11DT. Passive preamps from Creek and Antique Sound Lab. Vecteur L-4 CD player. Interconnects: VdH Integration and Wireworld Soltice. Plus: the right to copy music, and how it may be vanishing. Choosing a DVD player by features. And all about music for the movies.

No.61: Digital: Audiomat Tempo and Cambridge Isomagic DACs, Vecteur D-2 transpor t. Speakers: Osborn Mini Tower and Mirage OM-9. Soundcare Superspikes. And: new surround formats, dezoning DVD players.

No.60: Speakers: Monitor Audio Silver 9, Reference 3a MM De Capo, Klipsch RB-5, Coincident Triumph Signature. Plus: a Mirage subwoofer and the Audiomat Solfège amp. Paul

Bergman on reproducing extreme lows.

No.59: CD players: Moon Eclipse, Linn Ikemi and Genki, Rega Jupiter/Io, Cambridge D500. Plus: Oskar Kithara speaker, with Heil tweeter. And: transferring LP to CD, the truth on digital radio, digital cinema vs MaxiVision 48.

No.58: Amplifiers: ASL AQ1003, Passion I10 & I11, Rogue 88, Jadis Orchestra Reference, Linar 250. Headphone amps: Creek, Antique Sound Lab, NVA, Audio Valve. Plus: Foundation Research LC-2 line filter, Gutwire power cord, Pierre Gabriel ML-1 2000 cable. And: building your own machine to clean LP’s.

No.57: Speakers: Dynaudio Contour 1.3, Gershman X-1/SW-1, Coincident Super Triumph Signature, Castle Inversion 15, Oskar Aulos. PLUS: KR 18 tube amp. Music Revolution: the next 5 years. Give your Hi-Fi a Fall Tune-Up.

No.56: Integrated amps: Simaudio I-3, Roksan Caspian, Myryad MI120, Vecteur Club 10, NVA AP10 Also: Cambridge T500 tuner, Totem Forest. Phono stages: Creek, Lehmann, Audiomat. Interconnects: Actinote, Van den Hul, Pierre Gabriel. Plus: Paul Bergman on power and current…why you need both

No.55: CD players: Linn CD12, Copland CDA-289, Roksan Caspian, AMC CD8a. Other reviews: Enigma Oremus speaker, Magenta ADE-24 black box. Plus: the DSD challenge for the next audio disc, pirate music on the Net, the explosion of off-air video choices.

No.54: Electronics: Creek A52se, Simaudio W-3 and W-5 amps. Copland CSA-303, Sima P-400 and F.T. Audio preamps (the latter two passive). Musical Fidelity X-DAC revisited, Ergo AMT phones, 4 line filters, 2 intercon-nects. Plus: Making your own CD’s.

No.53: Loudspeakers:Reference 3a Intégrale, Energy Veritas v2.8, Epos ES30, Totem Shaman, Mirage 390is, Castle Eden. Plus: Paul Bergman on understanding biamping, biwiring, balanced lines, and more.

No.52: CD players: A lchemist Nexus, Cambridge CD6, YBA Intégré, Musical Fidelity X-DAC, Assemblage DAC-2. Subwoofers: Energy ES-8 and NHT PS-8. Plus: Paul Bergman on reproducing deep bass, Vegas report, and the story behind digital television.

No.51: Integrated amps: YBA Intégré DT, Alchemist Forseti, Primare A-20, NVA AP50 Cambridge A1. CD players: Adcom GCD-750, Rega Planet. An economy system to recom-mend to friends, ATI 1505 5-channel amp, Bergman on impedance, why connectors matter, making your own power bars.

No.50: CD: Cambridge DiscMagic/DACMagic, Primare D-20, Dynaco CDV Pro. Analog: Rega Planar 9 , the Linn LP12 after 25 years. Also: Moon preamp, Linn Linto phono stage, Ergo and Grado headphones. Speaker cables: Linn K-400, Sheffield, MIT 750 Also: a look back at 15 years of UHF.

No.49: Power amps: Simaudio Moon, Bryston 3B ST, N.E.W. DCA-33, plus the Alchemist Forseti amp and preamp, and the McCormack Micro components. Also: our new Reference 3a Suprema II reference speakers, and a followup on the Copland 277 CD player. Plus: how HDCD really works.

No.48: Loudspeakers: JMLabs Daline 3.1, Vandersteen 3a, Totem Tabù, Royd Minstrel. CD: Cambridge CD4, Copland CDA-277. Also:

An interview with the founder of a Canadian audiophile record label.

No.47: FM tuners: Magnum Dynalab MD-108, Audiolab 8000T, Fanfare FT-1. Speaker cables: QED Qudos, Wireworld Equinox and Eclipse, MIT MH-750. Parasound C/BD-2000 transport and D/AC-2000 converter. And: Upgrading your system for next to nothing.

No.46: Electronics: Simaudio 4070SE amp & P-4002 preamp, Copland CTA-301 & CTA-505, N.E.W. P-3 preamp. Digital cables: Wireworld, Audiostream, MIT, XLO, Audioprism, and Wireworld’s box for comparing interconnects. Also: YBA CD-1 and Spécial CD players. Yves-Bernard André talks about about his blue diode CD improvement.

No.45: Integrated amps: Copland CTA-401, Simaudio 4070i, Sugden Optima 140. CD: Adcom GDA-700 HDCD DAC, Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 MkII. Interconnects: Straight Wire Maestro, 3 versions of Wireworld Equinox. Plus: Yamamura Q15 CD oil, and “Hi-Fi for the Financially Challenged”.

No.44: CD players: Rotel RCD970BX, Counterpoint DA-10A DAC. Speakers: Apogee Ribbon Monitor, Totem Mite, more on the Gershman Avant Garde. Also: Laser-Link cable, “The Solution” CD treatment, AudioQuest sorbothane feet, Tenderfeet, Isobearings. Plus: Inside Subwoofers, and the castrati, the singers who gave their all for music.

No.43: The first HDCD converter: the EAD DSP-1000 MkII. Speakers: Gershman Avant Garde, Totem Mani-2 and Rokk, Quad ESL-63 with Gradient subwoofer. Plus: Keith O. Johnson explains the road to HDCD, and our editor joins those of other magazines to discuss what’s hot in audio.

No.42: Electronics: Spectral DMC-12 and Celeste P-4001 preamplif iers, amps and preamps from Duson. Also: Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 converter, power line f ilters from Audioprism, Chang, and YBA. Plus: Inside the preamplifier, and how the tango became the first “dirty” dance.

No.41: Digital: Roksan DA-2, EAD DSP-7000, McCormack DAC-1, QED Ref. Digit. Cables: Straight Wire LSI Encore & Virtuoso, Wireworld Equinox, van den Hul The 2nd & Revelation, Cardas Cross & Hexlink Golden, Transparent Music-Link Super & Music-Wave Super. Plus: Bergman on recording stereo.

No.40: Integrated amps: YBA Intégré, Rotel 960, Sugden A-25B, Sima PW-3000, Linn Majik, Naim NAIT 3, AMC CVT3030, Duson PA-75. Stereo: what it is, how it works, why it’s disappearing from records.

No. 39: Speakers: KEF Q50, Martin-Logan Aerius, Castle Howard, NEAR 40M, Klipsch Kg4.2. Plus: QED passive preamps, followup on the Linn Mimik CD player.

No. 38: CD players: Roksan Attessa, Naim CDS, Linn Mimik, Quad 67, Rotel 945, Micromega Model “T”. Plus: How the record industry will wipe out hi-fi, and why women have been erased from music history.

No.37: Electronics: Celeste 4070 and McIntosh 7150 amps, Linn Kairn and Klout. Plus: RoomTunes acoustic treatment, why all amps don’t sound alike, and how Pro Logic really works.

No.36: CD players: YBA CD-2, Linn Karik/

Numerik, Sugden SDT-1, Mission DAD5 and DAC5, Audiolab 8000DAC, QED Digit, Nitty Gritty LP cleaner, Plus: an interview with Linn’s Ivor Tiefenbrun, and part 7 of Bergman on acoustics: building your own acoustical panels.

No.35: Speakers: Castle Chester, Mirage M-7si, Totem Model 1, Tannoy 6.1, NHT 2.3, 3a Micro Monitor, Rogers LS2a/2. Plus: Tests of high end video recorders, hi-fi stereo record-ings of piano performances of 75 years ago. Acoustics part 6: Conceiving the room.

No.34: Cables: MIT ZapChord & PC2, Monster PowerLine 2+, M1, M2 Sigma, Reference 2, Interlink 400 & MSK2, Straight Wire Maestro, Isoda HA-08-PSR, Audioquest Ruby & Emerald, AudioStream Twinax, FMS Gold & Black, NBS Mini Serpent. Acoustics 5: Diffusing sound. “The Plot to Kill Hi-Fi,” the much-reprinted article on audio retailing.

No.33: CD players: Spectral SDR-1000SL, Esoteric P-2/D-2, Micromega Duo.BS, Proceed PDT2/PDP2 and PCD2, MSB Silver, Esoteric CD-Z5000, Carver SD/A-490t. The future of audio, according to Linn’s Ivor Tiefenbrun. Acoustics part 4: Absorbing low frequencies.

No.32: The Audio Dream Book: Our 152-page guide to what’s out there. Acoustics part 3: Taming reverberation.

No.31: Amplifiers: Counterpoint SA-100 and SA-1000, Audio Research Classic 30, QED C300 and P300, Sugden Au-41, Audiolab 8000P, Carver C-19, Arcam Delta 110 and 120. Why balanced lines? Buying audio by mail. Acoustics part 2: Predicting standing waves.

No.30: Speakers: Castle Winchester, Energy 22.2, P-E Léon Trilogue,NHT 1.3, Celef CF1, Polk RM3000, Response II by Clements. Acoustics part 1: Room size and acoustics.

No.29: Turntables: Linn Basik & LP12 with Lingo. Oracle Delphi MkIV, Oracle Paris. Pickups: Goldr ing Excel, 1022 & 1042, Revolver Bullet, Talisman Virtuoso DTi, Sumiko Blue Point, Roksan Shiraz. Test CD’s. Dorian’s Craig Dory.

No.28: Integrated amps: Linn Intek, Naim NAIT 2, Arcam Alpha II, Audio Innovations 500 II, Mission Cyrus Two, Creek 4141, Sugden A-21. Plus: an Aiwa cassette deck, and a guide to distortion.

No.27: Cables: Prisma SC-9 and Cable 10, MIT MH-750, MH-750 CVT MI-330SG, and MI-330SG CVT, Supershield. Cassettes: We compare Maxell, Fuji, Sony, etc.. The Esoteric V9000 cassette deck. Choosing a VCR.

No.26: CD players: Spectral SDR-1000, Kinergetics KCD-40, Micromega CDF 1, Arcam Delta 70 and Black Box, Mission PCM II, Quad 66. A panel compares CD and LP, and Keith Johnson talks about rethinking audio.

No.25: Preamps: YBA One, Sima 3001, Dolan PM1, Sugden C28. Amps: YBA One and Sugden P28 (guess which we bought!). Paul Bergman on amplifier design.

No.24: Speakers: 3a MM and MS5, Snell Type Q, Elipson Colonne Design, Linn Kaber, Vandersteen 2ci, Camber 3.0 and 5.0, Opus 3 Chaconne and Credo, ProAc Response 2.

To see a list of older issues:http://www.uhfmag.com/Individualissue.html

Back Issues


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giving your band some ink? Money will ease your way. You can either buy advertising (which is most of the paper’s revenue) or you can try a direct bribe, not that bribery will always work. If all else fails, you can go see the local don at Sergey Shipping, who “tries to make every customer happy,” but also retains “security personnel.” We can tell you only that security is not their game. Caution! Sergey has a daughter who is a wannabe singer. Rock Manager’s rather slick (and often hilarious) user interface lets you make a surprising number of choices. Once you’re in the studio, for instance, you can twiddle the knobs and add such effects as reverberation, delay and fl anging…at least if you’ve laid out cash for one of the better studios. If you’re not happy with the band’s sound (and we can see some pretty good reasons you might not be), there are ways to make it sound better. You can sweeten the mix with sessions musicians (but get out your wallet), and you can leave a particularly toxic band member out of the fi nal mix, à la Milli Vanilli. However you may have problems

if he/she fi nds out. You even get to design the record booklet, though there again you’ll need cash out front. Just choosing a better font for the title will cost you. You may wind up signing your band to a record contract, but be sure to read the fi ne print! You won’t be surprised to hear that reaching the charts takes time, but you don’t have time, because your purse didn’t come with an unlimited wad of cash. Perhaps your band will reach number one with a bullet. And perhaps you’ll go broke. Guess which is the more likely event. Like the other Dreamcatcher games Rock Manager runs strictly on Windows, so we enlisted the aid of Michael, who is 17 and goes through games with an eye to designing them someday. He installed the game on his computer, and we watched him fi re it up. The fi rst thing we learned was that Rock Manager isn’t all that stable. On his recent Pentium computer it crashed several times while he was choosing band members. Each time it took Windows down with it. There’s no way to save a game in progress, either, which pre-

cludes trying out “what if” scenarios. Fortunately Rock Manager does allow you to pick up where you left off last time you played, so you don’t have to start from scratch after yet another Blue Screen of Death. When we got into the studio, stability fl ed altogether. Turning any of the volume knobs on the studio console would crash the game predict-ably. Suspecting a bad copy we asked Dreamcatcher for another copy. It never did arrive, but Michael subsequently reported that he managed to get past the studio — he wasn’t sure how. He got far enough into the game to go “broke.” Several times in fact. He reported to us that there didn’t seem to be any way to succeed without resorting to methods that were at best unethical, at worst criminal. Rock Man-ager seems amazingly lifelike. Michael did eventually get to see his band on the Top 40, but not by methods he’ll want to list on his CV.

Rock Manager costs $19.95, only a little more than the typical CDs from the people being lampooned. If you want to get a glimpse of the way records get made, and if you’re looking for some laughs and a few guffaws, it’s money well spent. Perhaps some of the executives at the RIAA should take a few hours off from suing children and have a go at Rock Manager. They might well conclude that fi le sharing isn’t the record industry’s only problem.

else fails, you can go see the local don at Sergey Shipping, who “tries to make every customer happy,” but also retains “security personnel.” We can tell you only that security is not their game.

Sergey has a daughter who is a

Rock Manager’s rather slick (and often hilarious) user interface lets you make a surprising number of choices. Once you’re in the studio, for instance, you can twiddle the knobs and add such effects as reverberation, delay and fl anging…at least if you’ve laid out cash for one of the better studios. If you’re not happy with the band’s sound (and we can see some pretty good reasons you might not be), there are ways to make it sound better.

Like the other Dreamcatcher games Rock Manager runs strictly on Windows, Rock Manager runs strictly on Windows, Rock Managerso we enlisted the aid of Michael, who is 17 and goes through games with an eye to designing them someday. He installed the game on his computer, and we watched him fi re it up. The fi rst thing we learned was that Rock Manager isn’t all that stable. On Rock Manager isn’t all that stable. On Rock Managerhis recent Pentium computer it crashed several times while he was choosing band members. Each time it took Windows down with it. There’s no way to save a game in progress, either, which pre-

Rock Manager costs $19.95, only a Rock Manager costs $19.95, only a Rock Managerlittle more than the typical CDs from the people being lampooned. If you want to get a glimpse of the way records get made, and if you’re looking for some laughs and a few guffaws, it’s money well spent. Perhaps some of the executives at the

Keep up with happenings at UHF

Perhaps you want to know what we’re listening to now. Perhaps you’d like an

advance impression on what we’re reviewing. Or you want to know how the next

print issue of UHF is coming along.

There’s an easy way to get all that: the UHF Newsletter. It gets updated every

three days or so, sometimes more often. Drop by any time, to:

www.uhfmag.com/Newsletter.html


Listening Room

A number of products are already here and will be reviewed in UHF No.70 and in sub-sequent issues. Here’s a fi rst

look at what you’ll be seeing in the issues ahead.

Equation 25 speakers We’ve had these large speakers around for a while, and indeed we had intended to include the review in this issue. It hasn’t happened for a special reason. Equation is a Belgian speaker com-pany. The sample speakers we have on hand is from Belgium, though produc-tion of the marque is expected to start up in Canada. Though the speakers are tall, they are of two-way design. Their notable feature is a ceramic tweeter. This is surely the heaviest two-way speakers we’ve run across. There’s a reason we’ve taken our time with them. We’ve been searching for a new reference speaker for our original Alpha system. Our 3a MS5 speakers (made by Reference 3a’s predecessor more than a decade ago) are remark-able in many ways, but their tweeters are a weak point. There’s a problem in the midrange too. We can hear some other high end speakers dig out layers of detail ours can barely hint at. But we aren’t entirely happy with potential replacements. As you may know if you’re a regular reader, a leading candidate is the Living Voice OBX-R. The Equation is the other. We have yet to determine whether it is the right working tool for us, since our needs are not identical to those of other audiophiles, but there is no doubt that this is, by any standard, an outstanding speaker. We spent two long (but delightful) sessions with the Equations, enough that — were it not for the reference hunt — would have suffi ced to allow us to publish a review. And we liked what we heard. For instance, on our fre-quently-used recording Façade, we were unanimous in fi nding them far superior to our present speakers. The depth of

this fi ne recording was about as good as we’ve heard it. The infamous piccolo in the introduction had more detail than with other speakers, and indeed all of the instruments, from the bassoon to the snare drum to the cello, were a delight. Ah yes, the piccolo… When we held the listening sessions the speakers had some 200 hours of use, enough to break in the most diffi cult speaker, we thought. The distributor told us that the Equations need more than that because of the ceramic tweeter, and that we needed to run up a whopping 450 hours on them! A quick listen after we put in those hours confi rmed that the piccolo was still brighter than we would have liked. A different placement then? Perhaps. As we write this, the race for a new reference remains a two-way competi-tion: Living Voice versus Equation. We promise that by the next issue we will have a winner. Win or lose, the Equation 25 is an astonishing speaker.

The Reference 3a Royal Virtuoso We h a ve a good reason to be interested in this speaker: it looks like half of the Suprema speaker we use in our other music reference installation, the

Omega system. The Suprema is no longer made, we should add. That makes the new Royal Virtuoso the top of the Reference 3a line. The slanted front of course makes it look familiar, for a number of other models have looked like that. The woofer still uses a carbon fi bre cone. Look at it from a distance, and it resembles the MM de Capo-i we last reviewed in UHF No. 67. True, the cabinet is made of solid Corian (Dupont’s brand of marblelike

reconstituted stone) rather than MDF. The tweeter is superior to the MM’s. The internal wiring and connectors are from Cardas. Vibra-Pucks are used inside to keep everything silent. But the price is a lot heftier too, well over C$5K. We will be reviewing them next time, and on the evidence we’re going to have a good time. We listened to some recordings once they were broken in, and we can already tell you that the resemblance to the MM’s is just that… a resemblance.

The Simaudio Moon W-5SE T h e “SE” stands predictably for “special e d i t io n .” Only 250

of these special luxury amps will be built, and they will be individually numbered, like lithographs. We know the W-5 well, of course, because it has long powered our Omega system. We like it a lot. We are also aware that Simaudio has not been standing still. When we set up the Gamma home theatre system, we adopted the smaller W-3 for the main channels. We had reviewed the W-3 some years back, but a fi rst listen to the new one not even broken in quickly told us that this was better than we had heard from the company before. On that basis, we are assuming that the W-5 has also progressed. Simaudio says it has used exotic parts in both the low-level and output sections, and that output power is now rated at 200 watts per channel. Even the power cord is no longer the ratty off-the-shelf model everyone uses: the LE will come with a Cardas cord. We can hardly wait.

The Shanling SCD-T200

It looks much like the CD player that

An advance look at products we will be considering in the next issue of UHF.


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looked so great on the cover of UHF No. 66, but there’s a difference: it is an SACD player. It does of course play CDs, as all SACD players do, but there are a couple of quirks in this gorgeous-looking player. First of all, it is not a multichan-nel player. Neither of course was Sony’s original player, despite its $8K price tag. Is there still a reason for a Super Audio player to play only two channels? Certainly a number of music lovers are playing SACDs in two channels, and have no plans to do things in any other way. The other oddity in this player is that it does not automatically choose the SACD layer on a hybrid disc. The choice has to be done manually, either from the top panel or from the remote. That looks like a serious disadvantage, until it dawns on you that, unlike most players, this one lets you compare the Red Book (CD) layer on a disc with the SACD layer on the same disc. Yes, we’ve been doing that, and we’ll be telling you more about it. We can already say that this is a pretty good player.

The Linn Unidisk No, we don’t have it yet, though we hope to get one soon. It’s been promised us for many months now. But we haven't got one because… Because there aren’t many of them in the world, for one thing. And because it

has been going through various incarna-tions for another. All of these players have. Fortunately, a lot of what makes the Unidisk run is not in hardware but in software…or more precisely in fi rm-ware, a program burned onto a chip, but upgradable. The Linn plays ’em all: SACD, DVD-Audio and DVD-Video. On the basis of two very good demonstrations we have heard, it is a superb player. By the way, Sony, inventor of SACD, gave Linn unprecedented access to its technology in the development of the Unidisk. Sony’s hope: the resulting tech-nology can be used by other companies under license, thus putting an end to the SACD vs DVD-A war.

The Apple iPod To tell you the truth, walking about with headphones on is not the way we mostly listen to music, despite the fact we all own Walkmans and Discmans. The lossy compression of MP3 and AAC (the version favored by Apple) is of little difference to us. But we’ve had our eye on the iPod from the beginning, because unlike other portable music players it can store music in uncompressed form! We pointed this out when the original one appeared, despite the fact that its 5 Gb (gigabyte) internal hard disc could hold little more than seven full uncompressed CDs. Now, however, the top-of-the-line model sports a 40 Gb disc, enough for a good 57 CDs. Interesting? We will be trying the iPod as a portable device of course, but we will also check out how well it can fi ll the role of portable high quality source. If you take it on the road, will it make your car stereo sound better? Can you hook it up to your stereo system as a high-tech jukebox? You can load CDs from a PC or a Mac entirely in the digital domain, which may mean without loss. You will, of course fi nd yourself listening through the iPod’s own digital-to-analog converter, and its fi nal analog stage. Will that trump the advantage of what may turn out to be lower jitter? We’ll try things that have never been tried before on the iPod.

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Some will say criticizing is a natural occupation, that criti-cism was born when the first humans learned to speak. Per-

haps, but my subject is a different one: the professional critic of our own day, specifi cally in the domain of music. I shall name names and quote quotes, and I expect to show that certain of the most eminent critics got it entirely wrong. I shall speak of great composers who also worked as critics, both knowledgeably and conscientiously. Who is the music critic, and how do you recognize one? Does it show, in facial features, dress or bearing, that one is a member of the group? Might we be disappointed if we found one? A cliché says that a music critic is a frustrated musician who takes his revenge on his betters. This critic deserves his own category.

Vengeance Example: Hugo Wolf (1860-1903), Born in the north of what is now Slo-venia, he is taught the rudiments of the

piano and violin by his father, before going to the Conservatory of Vienna at the age of 15. There he composes several songs admirable for their matchless poetic content. He now seeks a master composer who can help him in his pur-suit of excellence, but he is refused by all. From that moment, his admiration for those composers is transformed into hostility. I believe I am correct in saying that Brahms’s refusal to take him in is the cruelest disappointment. Disenchanted, even wounded, living in poverty, he becomes a music critic. For

a decade he will write on music for the Wiener Salonblatt, and he will use his post to settle some scores. Especially with Brahms. Every chance he gets he will pour scorn on both the composer and his works. For-tunately, a composer of genius can’t be stopped by a critic, for as the saying goes, The dogs bark, the caravan passes.

Incompetence A backyard neighbor when I lived in a certain Montreal suburb was a journalist who had no notion of music, yet had been named music critic by his newspaper. Finding the responsibility weighty, he did his best to meet his editor’s expecta-tions. His Sunday mornings were given over to a very special activity. Baton in hand, he would prepare for the review of an assigned concert by listening to a recording of the music, while he marked the rhythm like a conductor. You can guess the credibility of the articles he would sign.

Vanity Still in Montreal, at any musical pre-miere you can see an odd-looking man, who holds ostentatiously under his arm the full score of the evening’s concert. Now it may be that he has studied music and managed to amass a certain erudi-tion after so many years. Indeed, there can be little doubt. But despite a certain coterie of faithful readers, he is often the butt of jokes for the way that he exercises his profession. All through the concert, he will run his tiny fl ashlight over the score, seeking a wrong note here, a discordant chord there. For him, the smallest of technical errors will outshine the entire work and its interpretation. And he doesn’t seek to hide his contempt for entire categories of composers and artists.

The golden age of composition In our day, we may know both the lyricist and the singer of a popular song without having much idea who wrote its music. The hit parade makes the tune more famous than its creator, and many a brilliant new composer struggles to force the public to recall his name. It was not always thus. Once upon a time, music had its

The Music Critics

They couldn’t kill the world’s greatest compositions. Not that some of them didn’t try.

by Reine Lessard


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place in even the most modest house-hold. In the Europe of the 18th and 19th Centuries, the supply of music was more than plentiful. In both composition and interpretation, there were ever new faces and new styles, as well as innova-tions in the creation of modern musical instruments. Never had there been such originality, such boldness. In the streets, in the clubs, in the salons, in the pages of musical publications, there was a veritable fever. The public as much as the musical journalists, showed passion and even exaltation. Naturally, they took sides. During this golden age, many a composer attained lasting celebrity. Of course many others knew fl eeting fame, falling into well-deserved obscurity. At the same time, many a work that would delight the world and achieve permanent fame was savaged by the critics at its premiere. Perhaps we can examine a few of their victims, and then take the occasion to consider the lasting value of the musical works in question.

A tough profession To be fair to those who work as professional critics, let us fi rst admit that (1) criticizing music is difficult work, (2) in general, most critics know what they’re doing, (3) a good number of them approach music without unfavor-able prejudices, and (4) most will not try to make themselves look good by being excessively severe. Despite that, we have all read reviews that were hostile or downright caustic, based not on the value of the music being reviewed but on the antipathy of the critic toward its composer. Hector Berlioz, who was anything but shy or retiring, never hesitated to lash back at a critic whose writing he found unfair. Ironically, he himself would become a critic, who was very knowledgeable certainly, but could also be pitiless. Closer to our own day, the celebrated maestro Sir Thomas Beecham said of his London critics that they were “quite hopeless — drooling, doleful, depress-ing, dropsical droops.” In my view, there can be no such thing as “objective” criticism. With rare

exceptions, a reaction to music depends on personal emotions, and rightly so. Were it otherwise, a machine could do the job. For my part I don’t believe that mere knowledge, even backed by prestigious diplomas, can make the music critic, especially a critic of musical composi-tion. You do of course need a solid under-standing of the architecture of a musical piece. You must be open to what is new, and not condemn a work that deserves better simply because it is different. A single hearing cannot tell you whether a work is destined for immortality. I disagree with a contemporary boutade which says that you don’t have to be able to lay eggs to tell whether an egg is fresh. If that means that anyone can sniff a stale egg and recognize it for what it is, I have no quarrel with it. But not just anyone can judge the value of a piece of music.

Contempt and insolence At the head of my list of professional music critics who greatly erred in demol-ishing compositions deserving better are Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904), an Austrian musician and writer of Czech origin, and George Bernard Shaw, born in Ireland in 1856 and died in England in 1950. They were, I believe, the most corrosive and unjust critics of their time, and perhaps of all time. Let’s begin with Hanslick. Under several pseudonyms, he uses his rec-ognized writing talents to fi ght for the

causes of racial and religious tolerance, freedom of the press, and the autonomy of musicians. This makes him a coura-geous and even an admirable being. But let us return to the reason he is in the dock today: he often writes admiringly of music by composers he adores, but dips his pen in poison to describe the works of composers he does not hold so dear. For anyone studying musicology or the history of music, he is of course unavoidable. Doctor of laws and phi-losophy, himself a musician and even a sometimes composer, he writes reviews for the Wiener Zeltung, and then Die Presse and the Neue Freie Presse. He also holds a chair in music at the University of Vienna. Vienna! The capital of music! It is at once a bastion of musical conser-vatism and the birthplace of Western music’s most revolutionary ideas. It will be Hanslick’s hunting ground, where he will make the acquaintance of the world’s composers, of the world’s musi-cians. Nothing escapes him, for he is everywhere. You can fi nd him at every premiere…scalpel in hand! In 1846, Hector Berlioz has just given a series of six concerts of his works in Prague, then one of Europe’s most conservative cities. Immediately the polemic is launched. From the pages of the newspapers to the tea salons, the question asked by one and all is whether Berlioz can even be considered a serious composer, and his compositions real music. And who raises his voice louder than all others? It is a young man who is scarcely 20. Today we would say he is barely out of diapers, certainly not mature enough to appreciate audacious works that break with the formalist traditions of the past. The young man is of course Eduard Hanslick. Revolutionary in his soul, he is paradoxically a musical conformist. For him, music that is emotional or subjec-tive cannot equal “absolute” or “pure” music. To be sure, he is not alone, for there is a powerful current of passion for musical formalism. Then it is Richard Wagner’s turn. Hanslick adores Wagner at fi rst, and gives his opera Tannhäuser a warm review, but he quickly realizes that between Wagner and himself, on the question of musical æsthetics, there is

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a chasm. They quickly become virtual enemies. Of Wagner’s musica l dramas, Hanslick writes, “They are a formless-ness elevated to a principle, a system-atized non-music, a melodic nerve fever written out on the fi ve lines of the staff.” Worse, all those who themselves favor Wagner will be regarded by Hanslick through this prism. An excellent example is Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor, dedicated to Schumann and considered a musical landmark. Wagner wrote to Liszt to praise it: Klindworth has just played me your great sonata! Dearest Franz, you were in the room with me. The sonata is beautiful beyond belief: grand, deserving of love, profound and noble — sublime, as you are. I am very deeply moved by it. That was enough to send Hanslick to his pen: The B minor sonata is an ingenious steam engine that scarcely ever drives anything. I have never come across a more refi ned, more impudent concatenation of the most disparate element — or such empty raving, such a bloody struggle against everything musical. As if that were not enough, some time later he would write that Anyone who listens to this work and likes it is completely mad. He also condemns Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, on no other pretext than that the composer used a percussion instrument, a triangle, in the second movement. Hanslick’s sarcastic review prevents the concerto from being performed in Vienna until 1869, when however it will receive an ovation. Still known today by the sobriquet Hanslick gave it, the triangle concerto, it is con-sidered a masterpiece, one of Liszt’s most brilliant compositions. As for the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), Hanslick throws him to the wolves. Their relations had begun cordially enough, but as we know Bruckner venerated Wagner, and marked his death by dedicating to him his Sym-phony No. 3, still known today as “the Wagner.” Poor Bruckner cannot know that he has unwittingly chosen sides in an insane war between the admirers of Wagner and those of Brahms. Hanslick takes this “betrayal” badly, and becomes pitiless. He ridicules Bruckner, treating him ignominiously and dismissing his

talent. He thus demonstrates that his intellectual honesty has its limits. As for the symphony itself, Hanslick calls it “a vision of Beethoven’s Ninth becom-ing friendly with Wagner’s Valkyries and fi nishing up trampled under their hooves.” The review is disastrous for poor Bruckner. No doubt wishing to be as fi rm as Hanslick, one of the directors of the Conservatory of Vienna adds that the symphony “deserves a place in a trash basket.” The musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic refuse it, judging it to be unplayable. Yet once the venom of the anti-Wagnerites had ceased to fl ow, the sym-phony was fi nally played to high praise, and is today classed as a major work. Hanslick was later taken aback by the enthusiastic response to Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8, and could not do other-wise than report its success. Even so, he dipped his pen in acid, calling the sym-phony “interesting in detail but strange as a whole and even repugnant. Everything fl ows without clarity and without order, willy-nilly into dismal longwindness. In each of the four movements, and most frequently in the fi rst and third, there are interesting passages and fl ashes of genius — if only all the rest were not there! It is out of the question that the future belongs to this muddled hangover style — which is no reason to regard the future with anticipation.” There is more. Here is what Hanslick wrote of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto: The Russian composer Tchaikovsky is surely not an ordinary talent, but rather an infl ated one, with a genius-obsession without dis-crimination or taste. Such is also his latest, long and pretentious Violin Concerto. For

a while it moves soberly, musically, and not without spirit. But soon vulgarity gains the upper hand, and asserts itself to the end of the fi rst movement. The violin is no longer played; it is yanked about, it is torn asunder, beaten black and blue. The Adagio is again on its best behavior, to pacify and to win us. But it soon breaks off to make way for a fi nale that transfers us to the brutal and wretched jollity of a Russian holiday. We see plainly the savage vulgar faces, we hear curses, we smell vodka. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto brings us for the fi rst time the horrid idea that there may be music that stinks to the ear. Tchaikovsky is cut to the quick read-ing these words, which Hanslick will regret later…too late. When he fi nally recognizes the beauty of the Pathétique Symphony, the composer has already left this world. But I must be honest myself. It is not because a critic does not have my approval that I can’t praise him when he deserves it. Among the Hanslick quotes I ran across is this one: The Czechs can truly be proud to count, in the triumvirate of Smeta, Dvorák and Fibich, three composers who, trained in the classical models, have been able to express their national character and preserve their originality, all the while making their art accessible to a wide public. Three composers praised by Hanslick in the same sentence! Of course, he could be quite pleasant with those who were in his own clan, one of whose major fi gureheads was Brahms. Hanslick wrote prolifi cally on music. Published in Leipzig in 1854, his book Beauty in Music (Essays on the reform of musical æsthetics) defends the existence of formal æsthetics. Now on to Shaw. If George Bernard Shaw is univer-sally famed as a poet, playwright and essayist, he is less well known as a music critic. It was not because of his work in the latter fi eld that he earned a Nobel prize. “The greatest of them all,” says the blurb of a book of his music criticisms. I would have written, “The most famous of them all,” for his popularity depended more on his impertinence than on his competence. An accomplished writer of cynical pamphlets, he knows how to raise passions.


Software

We fi nd him in London, where he has gone to live after the separation of his parents. The British Museum is the perfect place for him to develop his culture. He is a freethinker, an idealist and a humanist who is quickly attracted to the causes of socialism, feminism and redistribution of income. Fascinated by theatre, music and the arts, he writes numerous articles that will later be published in anthologies. He is without a doubt the greatest British playwright since Shakespeare, and it is his dramatic work that earns him the Nobel prize for literature in 1925. His last name will even become an adjective: a work can be said to be Shawian, or more commonly Shavian. But his success is not instantaneous, which is why he takes to writing on music in order to stave off hunger. He does so under a pseudonym. Starting at the Star in 1888, he moves to The World two years later. Do his reviews, signed under the nom de plume Corni di Bassetto, carry much weight with the London public? I doubt it. The World is a low-circulation weekly, covering mainly social events, and The Star’s main bailiwick is sports. It seems likely that the great composers whose work Shaw denigrates don’t even read these papers. Still, gossip traveling as it does, the composers will eventually get to know what the great man thinks of them. Does Shaw truly have a respectable musical baggage? He seems to believe he does, if one goes by his preface to the book The Perfect Wagnerite: the ideas which are most likely to be lacking in the conventional Englishman’s equipment…I came by them myself much as Wagner did, having learnt more about music than about anything else in my youth, and sown my political wild oats subsequently in the revolutionary school. Shaw adores Mozart, and he will draw much inspiration from his operas in his own plays, particularly Don Giovanni. He will later say that a certain familiarity with Mozart is a prerequisite for understanding his own plays. He writes to the American actress Molly Tompkins: I don’t know whether you are a musician, but if not, then you don’t know Mozart, and if you don’t know Mozart, you will never understand my technique.

Much as he loves Mozart, he loathes Wagner, whom he considers a proto-fascist. He likes the music no more than the man, denigrating it each chance he gets the occasion…and he is not above creating occasions. His reviews are bitter. Insolent and even crude, he doesn’t hesitate to make his victims the subject of derision. “A man who has seen Die Walküre on the stage,” he writes in 1890, “is a much greater curiosity than one who has explored the Congo.” As for Brahms, Shaw detests him with a passion that seems inexplicable. He has only the worst to say of every note Brahms wrote. He cannot hear Brahms’s name mentioned without fl ying into a rage he controls with the greatest dif-fi culty. I leave you with a few “Shavian” quotes on Brahms: The real Brahms is nothing more than a sentimental voluptuary, rather tiresomely addicted to dressing himself up as Handel or Beethoven and making a prolonged and intolerable noise. There are some experiences in life which should not be demanded twice from any man and one of them is listening to the Brahms Requiem. Concerning Brahms’ Clarinet Quin-tet, he writes: The presto of the third movement is a ridiculously dismal version of the lately

popular hornpipe. I fi rst heard it at the pantomime which was produced at Her Majesty’s Theatre a few years ago; and I have always supposed it to be a composition of Mr. Solomon’s. Anyhow, the street-pianos went through an epidemic of it; and it cer-tainly deserved a merrier fate than burying alive in a Brahms quintet. I’m tempted to consider Shaw to be a more addled version of Hanslick, for, like Hanslick, Shaw had a tendency to speak ill of the music of composers he disliked personally. His work is an illustration of my point: whatever their actual musical knowledge, certain of the most eminent music critics have not demonstrated that they cared for integrity above all other considerations. I would of course strongly disagree with Shaw’s judgments of certain composers and their works. What’s more, his style is so confused and tortuous that it becomes nearly unread-able. I suspect he was paid by the word. We move now to Hans von Bulöw (1830-1894), German pianist, conduc-tor and composer. How could he have misunderstood Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (the Resurrection) to the point where he could write: If that is still music, then I do not understand a single thing about music. Though the symphony was surprising for ears of that time because of the dis-sonance which Mahler employed abun-dantly, this is one of the major works of the symphonic repertoire. Writing about the symphonies of the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), Von Bulöw showed what I can only call contempt: the anti-musical ravings of a half-wit. Then there is Cezar Cui (1835-1918). This Russian composer and critic wrote of Tchaikovsky: Mr. Tchaikovsky is utterly weak, and if he had any talent, then some-where at least it would have broken the chains of the conservatory. Of Richard Strauss he said: this is not music, it is a mockery of music. It’s true that Strauss was often pretentious, full of himself, with a style that can be emphatic and pompous, but “a mockery of music”?

In another category Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (1776-1882) was as talented in music and business as he was in literature and the arts. He painted and wrote admirably,


and he was a composer to be reckoned with. He so loved Mozart that he dropped one of his names, Wilhelm, in favor of Amadeus. He created for himself an alter ego he named Johannès Kreisler, which he used as a pen name. Oddly enough, the pen name was sometimes borrowed by others. Brahms sometimes signed articles “Kreisler Junior”! One can’t speak of Hoffmann with-out mentioning Schumann. You can’t read biographies of these two men without being struck by the parallels in their lives. Both studied law. Both had multifaceted personalities of equal force. Both wrote under pen names. Both were torn between the twin passions of music and literature. It has been said of Hoff-mann that his struggle between two roles, as a bureaucrat and as an artist, underlined many of his works, which attacked the bour-geois world. Hoffmann’s infl uence on Schumann was enormous, both on his music and on his music reviews. Indeed, both con-tributed to the most prestigious musical publications of the day. Hoffmann the man of laws: toward the end of his life he was a lawyer at the Prussian supreme court. Hoffmann the composer: one symphony, nine operas and two masses, as well as other vocal, orchestral and piano music. Hoffmann the musicologist and critic: prolifi c and often satirical, he must be forgiven, for his articles were often enlightened and generally impartial. Hoffmann the famous author: the “Tales of Hoffmann,” strange stories in which his pen gave form to supernatural creatures, bold writings that throw light on the darkest corners of human nature, facets hidden by man-ners and conventions that we would today identify as “politically correct.” So many personalities in one and the same person… Hoffmann was among the fi rst to recognize the genius of Beethoven: Beethoven’s music sets in motion the lever of fear, of awe, of horror, of suffering, and awakens just that infi nite longing which is the essence of Romanticism. Let us return to Robert Schumann. He was neither a child prodigy at the piano nor a transcendental conductor, but as a composer he is counted among the greatest of the new Romantic wave

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launched by that giant, Beethoven. He wrote more than 300 lieder, as well as chamber music and abundant literature for piano. Schumann signed his fi rst works at the age of eight: a set of dances. His passion for music is equaled only by his passion for literature and poetry. The latter interests were inherited from his father, a bookseller, publisher and newspaperman. No surprise that at the age of 24 Schumann launches a magazine dedicated exclusively to music: Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik. The magazine pro-motes progressive ideas in music, and it becomes one of the most respected such publications of the century. He remains at its helm ten years. His musical judgments are diffi cult to argue with. He praises the music of Mendelssohn, Berlioz and Schubert, and presents Chopin in the most effusive terms. When Brahms arrives on the scene, Schumann sees in him a fi rst-rate com-poser, and the admiration is mutual. One can hear in Brahms the infl uence of Schumann, an infl uence that can also be detected in Debussy and Tchaikovsky. He can take sides, certainly, but he is considered by experts to be one of the most brilliant critics of his century. When he feels compelled to write a negative review, it is then that he adopts a pen name: Eusébius the dreamer, Florestan the impulsive, or Raro the wise. These fi ctional characters symbolize the varied aspects of his enigmatic personal-ity, originally created for his Carnaval piano suite. Let us now return to Louis-Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), the critic. It is no secret that this illustrious French com-poser of the Romantic period also loved to write. Indeed, his passion puts bread on his table while he waits for success to crown his musical activities. His work as a music critic in the most read publications of his time is not entirely disinterested. He seeks to enlighten his readers and convert them to the new music, to make their composers popular, in the hope that he will eventually swell their ranks. Indeed, his success is not instantaneous, for he is ahead of his time, and shocks the very conservative establishment.

(For the record, however misunder-stood Berlioz may have been in his day, he was an authentic genius. He com-posed the fi rst French symphony, the Symphonie Fantastique, which today exists in several versions, and which unfortu-nately we don’t hear often enough. He was also the inventor of what Wagner would later call the leitmotiv, which he would use abundantly in his works.) He is a mere 20 years old when his fi rst article is published in the form of a letter in Le Corsaire. On his return from Italy in 1832, he becomes a critic at the Journal des Débats, for which he will continue to write for the next 30 years. During that time we can also read him in La Revue et Gazette musicale de Paris. His career as a critic will be almost as long as his career as a composer. His articles will eventually fi ll 10 volumes. In his Mémoires, he writes that he was often forced to write “nothing about nothing.” Elsewhere he writes that “the columnist often has no real opinion on the things he is obliged to write about; these things inspire neither his anger nor his admiration, they are nothing. I once shut myself in my room three whole days to write a column on the Opéra-Comique, and I couldn’t even begin.” A strange man, Berlioz. He employs the same language to tear a strip off his own works as he uses for those of others. In Le Rénovateur in 1834, he writes that he prefers to warn the public that his own music is “a tissue of absurdities and extravagance such as they’ve never seen.” He writes of his symphonic poem Harold in Italy with disarming humor: “I ask you in good faith what can possibly be the meaning of a symphony named Harold.” The idols of Berlioz are Beethoven, Haydn and Gluck, whom he calls so alike, and so different at the same time. He also has the greatest admiration for Weber. The only critic of such stature in France at the time, Berlioz rarely resorts to insults and insolence, preferring subtler adjectives, or even an ambigu-ity that avoids offending the composer targeted. Still, when he is really disap-pointed he loses it. It is often said that relations between him and the renown Italian composer Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) were rather cool, which didn’t

stop Berlioz from calling Cherubini “a model in every way.” However he is so disenchanted with his last lyric piece Ali Baba, that he writes: It was the fi rst performance of Ali Baba, one of the emptiest, feeblest thing he ever wrote. Near the end of the fi rst act, tired of hearing nothing of the slightest interest, I could not help exclaiming loudly “20 francs for an idea!” On Wagner’s Tannhauser, he writes: Wagner is turning singers into goats…he is decidedly mad; he will die of apoplexy after all. But this level of language is the exception with him rather than the rule. Though Berlioz’s vocabulary is recherché and his style remarkable, his writings are passionate and often leav-ened with humor, making them easy to read. It is sad to say that Berlioz the composer remains, but for a few works, underesti-mated.

In conclusion It is possible that excessively fulsome praise from the critics can slow a com-poser or musician’s pursuit of excellence. And it is not merely possible but certain that a negative critique expressed with arrogance or irony can infl ict lasting wounds. What to do, then? Let us contemplate one brief moment the reaction of the great Ludwig van to critics “in general.” When he was told that a critic had found in one of his works a weakness or a mistake, he would repeat it, actually increasing the “fault” if he could. He would thus leave embarrassed and even frustrated those who had had the audacity to attack him. What importance must the music lover give the professional critic? I would agree with someone whose name I can’t just now place, who said that the writings of music critics are, in general, of absolutely cosmic unimportance. Or, as my mother would often say, Don’t ever pass up a musical event because you’ve read a negative criticism here or there, for only you can know what you will like, and you are perfectly capable of making up your own mind. In following that maxim, I have often been pleasantly surprised, and even delighted. Criticism is easy. Art is diffi cult.


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Rossini: Famous OverturesMarriner & St. Martin in the FieldsPentatone PTC 5186 106Rejskind: I don’t have an LP copy of this 1974 recording by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, but I sure enough recognize the style, and also the recorded sound of Philips classi-cal recordings of that day. Sir Neville Marriner was already turning in solid, reliable, coherent versions of everything he touched. And the Philips sound was easy on the ears: all the sections of the orchestra were in balance, but nothing was too close. They were mostly made with the two-microphone mid-side system, rather than that favored by some competitors: stick a microphone up every instrument. This recording brings that sound closer than ever, because it is an SACD. What’s more, it was made directly from the original master tape on a carefully-aligned machine like the one used for the original recording. Whenever possible, the advice of the original recording engineer was sought. I listened to it on a two-channel system, though in fact it can be played on a four-channel system (1974 was the age of quadraphonic, and recordings were often made in four-channel versions, just in case). Some of Rossini’s best-known over-tures can be found here, including The Barber of Seville, L’Italiana in Algeri, La Scala di Seta and Il Signor Bruschino. And then there are overtures from more obscure operas: Tancredi, Rossini’s fi rst

opera seria, based on a story by Voltaire, and written when Rossini was just 21; and L’inganno Felice, which was entirely new to me. Not here are certain other Rossini favorites, such as William Tell or La Gazza Ladra. No matter. It’s an opportunity to make some discoveries. Rossini is always enjoyable, even when he had simply tossed off a piece as quickly as he could…which was much of the time. Perhaps you’re wondering what SACD adds to these older recordings. A lot, if I go by the sound on the CD layer of this hybrid disc. Not that the Red Book CD sound is bad. But the SACD later adds spaciousness and spreads the orchestra out so that you can hear the instruments at the back. Subtle? Listen to the SACD and then the CD, and you won’t think so.

Concertos : Mathieu Addinsell, GershwinLefèvre/Talmi & OSQAnalekta AN 2 9814Lessard: There is a theme running through the three concertos on this disc: they are naïve works. The fi rst was composed by a child without the training needed to avoid certain stumbles. The second was composed by a specialist in movie music. And the third was written by someone who knew little about con-certos, and had to be a quick study.

The fi rst is the Concerto de Québec by André Mathieu (1929-1968). Aside from his undeniable technical abilities, pianist Alain Lefèvre is a fountain of musical knowledge, and the many years he has spent searching out and dissecting the music of Mathieu indicates that he suffers from a contagious fascination. The booklet included with the CD gave me the urge to read more about the young adolescent who created this remarkable concerto. I usually comment a performance rather than criticize the music itself, a distinction on which I like to insist, but this composer is special. Mathieu was a child piano prodigy and a precocious composer. He signed his fi rst composition when he was 4. By the following year he was winning over audiences and critics in Paris with his faultless technique, and his compositions earned him the sobriquet of the little Mozart of Canada. In Europe, in the age of Mozart and the other prodigious musicians, and even well beyond, all of life revolved about the arts, literature and music. Europe was an immense hothouse where a genius could develop fully. But in Canada, and indeed in all North America, things were differ-ent. There were countries to be built and societies to be organized. Large fortunes were then rare, and patrons were even rarer. Musical society was in its infancy. In short, the great European capitals were Canada’s only reference in music. What is more, music, literature and painting had to share the public stage with costly and popular sporting events. Happily, in Europe the presence of so many musical and literary celebrities led to an emulation that survived economic and political revolutions. That is how Mathieu, on his fi rst voyage to Paris, had the privilege of living in this stimulating atmosphere and meeting masters of both composi-tion and interpretation. But then came the war and the return home, where Mathieu did not fi nd the same fervor among his peers. At the tender age of 15 he suffers a romantic disappointment, the result of the narrow-mindedness of

Record Reviews

by Reine Lessard,and Gerard Rejskind


the time. He also suffers from the undue pressure of parents wanting to continue in a lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. Overwork and a growing alcohol problem lead to a burnout. At the age of 20 he is prematurely old, reduced to teaching, an activity he detests, and playing at pianothons. He is dead at 39, leaving an immense work: 200 compositions, most of them unknown. Let us hope Lefèvre will have the energy to continue his gigantic work of excavation, to bring into the light other

worthy pieces from the poorly-known musician. Now to the concerto itself. The Allegro moderato is full of traps, of which Lefèvre makes light. In full possession of his technique, he makes passages of great beauty veritably sing. The long Andante was used in the 1947 fi lm La forteresse. The Orchestre Symphonique de Québec plays it with consummate lyricism, and the pianist adopts all of its sensitivity, with a zest of rubato in certain passages. There is such joie de vivre in the lively

and rhythmic fi rst notes of the Allegro con brio, which is quickly transformed into a sad and nostalgic air, followed by impressively energetic chords. The nostalgia then returns. The concerto ends in masterly fashion. Despite some minor irregularities in the concerto’s construction, it is a remarkable work by a very young composer. André Mathieu was just 13. On the same recording, Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto, commis-sioned for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight, will give you goosebumps. It opens in peremptory fashion with dramatic chords by the piano and the orchestra, and develops into a fresco notable for its nostalgia and emotion. This Neo-Romantic work also contains architectural fl aws, but its emotional impact is seductive. A third concerto closes the album, and it’s not just any concerto. Gershwin’s Concerto in F is 34 minutes of jubilation. This is an impressive version by both pianist and orchestra, but without the magic of the version by André Previn (on Angel), who plays piano and conducts the London Symphony Orchestra, in a version that is more joyous and certainly more jazzy. But both versions are pleas-ing. Lefèvre is without a doubt a master of his keyboard, but he has a sometimes exaggerated vigor that results in fortis-simo passages that are hard on the ear. As for the OSQ, it is Canada’s oldest sym-phony orchestra. In recent years budget constrains forced it back to Mozartian size, with other musicians hired on contract as needed. It is conducted in excellent fashion by Yoav Talmi, and the

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orchestra has a distinctive sound I fi nd enchanting. This is an audiophile-quality disc worth hurrying for. Copies are selling fast.

HemispheresCorporon & North Texas Wind Symph.Klavier K11137Rejskind: This recording is an unex-pected fi nd. I can’t say it looked promis-ing. The North Texas Wind Symphony is the band at a Texas music college. David Dzubay is a faculty member at the college, and his composition, Ra! which opens the disc is named for the ancient Egyptian god of the sun. It’s noisy, and I’m sure it was a lot of fun for the musi-cians, but… But it rather grew on me after a couple of hearings. Jarring at fi rst, it has a sort of exotic feel to it as it goes. I also couldn’t help noticing that the musicians of this large wind band are pretty good. I explored further, and I was glad I had. Daniel McCarthy’s Chamber Sym-phony No. 2 is in six movements, built heavily around the woodwind section of the band. In structure it is close to a concerto, with an ever shifting interplay between a smaller group of woodwinds on one side, particularly Kathleen Reynolds’ bassoon, and a larger group. It is diffi cult to decide which is the “solo” and which is the “orchestra,” because as you concentrate on the music it seems to shift under you. Fascinating! I also liked Scott Lindroth’s all too brief Spin Cycle, which lasts…oh, about as long as the spin cycle on the washer. This is also built around two parts, made up mainly of woodwinds, one seeming to chase the other. Lindroth was inspired by the dance, and the rhythmic patterns are actually Morse code…spelling out the names of people dear to him. Keiko Abe’s Prism Rhapsody II is rather concerto-like also, with the marimba as the solo instruments, play-ing against the quickly-moving but often dark and brooding woodwinds, with the brass providing the foundation and the atmosphere. It is in long movement that never seems to drag. Philip Sparke’s Sunrise at Angel’s Gate has a strong lyrical structure that grows

out of a gorgeous theme at the start, and made me think it had to be a piece of fi lm music. A Western, perhaps? Tombstone, Arizona? The images danced in my head. Well, I was in the right part of the conti-nent, all right. Angel’s Gate is a natural stone structure in the Grand Canyon, and Sparke wrote it after a visit at (you guessed it) sunrise. It was premiered by the US Army Field Band. The CD winds up with Joseph Turrin’s title piece, composed of three movements: Genesis, Earth Canto, and Rajas. The first movement is moody and unsettling, with interplay between woodwinds and brass, with large percus-sion instruments and a piano brought into the mix. The piano and percus-sion play a more prominent role in the slower, darker second movement. The fi nal movement is faster, more frantic. Rajas means “energy,” one of the ages of the Earth according to Turrin’s notes. The piece was commissioned by Kurt Masur for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, which premiered it in 2002. I can’t end this without mentioning the sound. Like a number of recent Klavier recordings, this one has a lifelike transparency that appears at odds with what one can normally do with the Com-pact Disc medium. A large wind band like this, heard live, is thrilling to listen to if it is any good. This one is good, and

Bruce Leek’s engineering has brought it back alive. It’s one more reason to keep this CD next to your player.

Baroque TranscriptionsPaul Merkelo/Luc BeauséjourAnalekta AN 2 9812Lessard: Here are two highly expe-rienced musicians with remarkable transcriptions for trumpet and organ of fi ve glorious Baroque pieces. Merkelo’s use of three different trumpets — in C, the piccolo trumpet in A, and another piccolo trumpet in B Flat — adds a fi ne variety of effects and sounds. A good space is given over to Bach, represented here by a Choral Prelude, sev-eral other Preludes, and a Trio Sonata. Elsewhere, the trumpetist plays a


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sonata by Henry Purcell, in which a seri-ous and intense movement is sandwiched between movements that are joyous and full of light. On the organ, Beauséjour plays the imperishable Largo by Handel and the Ombra mai fù from Handel’s 1738 opera Serse. There is an aria by Heinrich Stölzel, long attributed to Bach, whose matchless beauty is devel-oped wonderfully by the trumpet, with a discreet accompaniment by Beauséjour on the harpsichord. Handel’s Sonata in G Major for Trum-pet and Continuo, op.1 No.5 opens with the trumpet playing against a continuo by the excellent cellist Amanda Kees-maat. The passages that follow reveal what a talented melodist Handel was. They express, successively, amorous melancholy and exuberant joy. The second movement shows off Beauséjour’s virtuosity at the harpsichord, as well as Merkelo’s incredible ease with which he uses his piccolo trumpet in soaring passages of remarkable lightness. Track 19 lasts little more than a minute, but it is enough to demonstrate that, if Luc Beauséjour is a known quantity at the harpsichord, he is no less formidable at the organ console. Superb! There are other treasures to be found on this CD, but I want to talk about the sublime Adagio of Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1750), renown for his melodic invention. It is six minutes of pure beauty. The soloist shows off his virtuosity and eloquence on his B-fl at trumpet, and his mastery and sensitivity make this piece (originally composed for strings, one can suppose, since Albinoni was a violinist). You’ll want to hear it

again. As for me, my eyes damp and my throat constricted, as each time I am really captured by music, I put down whatever else I was doing and listened. The Adagio is actually a modern work, written around a fragment by Albinoni, but what does it matter? Surprisingly, the trumpet travels often through the upper reaches of its range, but without ever sounding shrill. This is an audiophile disc that deserves you, and you deserve it too.

Misbehavin’The Denver BrassKlavier K77034Lessard: How about a tango by Carlos Gardel? Here’s one, and it’s magnifi cent! Forget that Gardel was virtually illiter-ate. What is evident from his tangos is the undeniable fact that he had talent and genius enough that experienced musicians took the trouble to decipher his scribbled texts and notes. And it’s a good thing for us, since we take such pleasure in hearing them. Gardel’s Por una cabezza is on track 2. But the disc opens with Gershwin, and his Cuban Overture, written for Cuban percussion inspired by Cuban rhythms. It’s a rumba. Gershwin himself called it “a symphonic overture that embodies the essence of Cuban dance.” It’s more music from the great George Gershwin, who continues to fascinate us two tracks later with excerpts from his opera Porgy and Bess, including the bewitching Summertime. I shall say no more, except to mention The Jogo Blues which closes the CD. Its irresistible rhythm is enough to plunge you into…well, the Blues, really and truly. Oh, and don’t overlook Thelonius Monk’s ’Round Midnight, which never fails to delight. But what makes this album special, considering that many of the pieces on it are so familiar? It features the fabulous Denver Brass, whose members play with power and joy. Hurry and make their acquaintance. The quality of the sound will please you too.

The Movie AlbumBarbra StreisandColumbia CK 90742Rejskind: There is scarcely a musical

genre that Streisand has not tackled in more than 40 years since she turned the popular singing world on its ear, includ-ing disco and classical. The experiments have not always been successful, as they were not in the latter two categories. At other times, she has performed miracles. That is especially true of music from the stage and the movies. That’s no surprise, really. Over the same four decades she has shown herself thoroughly at home both on the stage and before the camera, to say nothing of behind the camera. But there is more. Listen to her original recordings from the 60’s, and you’ll get a feel for the way she turns each song into a drama in its own right, a full-length screenplay compressed into maybe four minutes. In show music, she has always found the raw materials she needs. Hence the suc-cess of The Broadway Album (a triumph, despite a dull transfer from the original analog to digital) and Back to Broadway (a triumph…end of story). This time she has turned her atten-tion to movie music. The very fi rst selection stopped me in my tracks, because I was brought back several decades to the very fi rst time I bought a Streisand album. She sang in a way I had never heard anyone sing before, turning familiar songs into theatrical set pieces. It was immediately obvious that the stage, and beyond that the movies, beckoned. But that seems like such a long time ago. Doesn’t she ever age? I actually pulled out my copy of that LP (The Second Barbra Streisand Album) to compare. Astonishing! She is now in her sixties, but she is — like the title of one of her movies — evergreen. There is no thickening of the vocal cords, no foreshortening of her range, and no sign that her lungs are going to give out any time soon. But back to that fi rst song, Smile, from Chaplin’s Modern Times. It’s been sung by a lot of people, but this may be the defi nitive version. It balances tanta-lizingly between smiles and tears, which is exactly the spirit of the song. Streisand has taken a different tack from that of Back to Broadway, in which she seemed to want to prove that her famous voice had lost none of its power. This time she demonstrates that she can sing softly,


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with lots of expression, and that she can hold a note as long as she wants. She hasn’t selected only famous blockbuster movies, clearly preferring to choose the songs because they appeal to her. A number of the songs on the disc are old enough that not everyone will recall that they come from movies: I’m in the Mood For Love (from Every Night at Eight), But Beautiful (from The Road to Rio), and The Second Time Around (from High Time). She sings them gorgeously, reinvent-ing them just a bit. I must also mention her haunting version of Calling You, the song from the wonderful fi lm Bagdad Café. True to character, she does it very much her way. Not all Streisand’s albums have been recorded by competent engineers. This one is neither fl at and lifeless, like Higher Ground, nor too close up and breathy like Back to Broadway. It’s a winner. One warning, though: some copies of this CD come with a bonus DVD on which there are videos of Wild is the Wind and I’m in the Mood For Love, as well as an audio commentary by Streisand herself. Since that version is the same price as the CD alone, you should look for it.

Ju s t B e c au s e I ’m a WomanVarious artistsSugar Hill SUG-CD-3980Lessard: Here are 13 songs, with music and lyrics by country star Dolly Parton, sung by a number of female artists as a homage to her. From the fi rst measures of track 1, you are trans-ported into the fascinating world of country. Sung by Alison Krause, 9 to 5, from the fi lm of the same name, speaks bitterly of the experi-ence of women treated with cavalier injustice by their

office bosses, because they’re women. It’s a characteristic aspect of “feminine” country music to sing of a woman’s daily life, holding nothing back, not the broken dreams, the disillusions, the regrets, the battles, the powerlessness, using a frankness that remains surpris-ing. They denounce!

Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’

They just use your mind and they never give you credit,It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it. On the next t rack, Melissa Etheridge’s sensual and irresistible voice inter-prets with great sensitivity I Will Always Love You, a song that was a long-time top hit, and was sung around the world. The song expresses the undying tenderness that survives a separation from someone one has loved tenderly.If I should stay, I will only be in your waySo I’ll go but I knowThat I’ll think of you every step of the way.

I will always love you. And so on. The Grass is Blue, Do I Ever Cross Your Mind, The Seeker, To Daddy… That last song, sung with evident but restrained emotion by Emmylou Harris, is special. Addressing itself to “daddy,” it is really about “mama.” Not to be missed. There is also the unavoidable Coat of Many Colors, sung by Shania Twain and Alison Kraus. Delicious! The title song, sung by Dolly herself, closes the album. We fi nd her unique

voice, with infl ections and modulations like no other. The song expresses rage against the cruel contempt of certain phallocrats for women who have fallen for their honeyed words. There can be no uni-formity in the produc-tion, since the songs were recorded by d i f ferent engineers. The stars are among the world’s best. Aside from those already ment ioned, you’l l f ind Norah Jones, Joan Osborne, Shelby Li n ne , M i ndy Smich, Kasey Chambers, Sinéad O’Connor, Alli-son Moorer and Me’shell N’Degéocello. W a r m l y r e c o m-mended.

Not all Streisand’s albums have been recorded by competent engineers. This one is neither fl at and lifeless, like Higher

nor too close up and breathy like Back to Broadway. It’s a winner. One warning, though: some copies of this CD come with a bonus DVD on which there are videos of Wild is the Wind

I’m in the Mood For Love, as well as an audio commentary by Streisand herself. Since that version is the same price as the CD alone, you should

Ju s t B e c au s e I ’m a

Various artists SUG-CD-3980

Here are 13 songs, with music and lyrics by

daily life, holding nothing back, not the broken dreams, the disillusions, the regrets, the battles, the powerlessness, using a frankness that remains surpris-ing. They denounce!

Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’

That last song, sung with evident but restrained emotion by Emmylou Harris, is special. Addressing itself to “daddy,” it is really about “mama.” Not to be missed. There is also the unavoidable Many Colors, sung by Shania Twain and Alison Kraus. Delicious! The title song, sung by Dolly herself, closes the album. We fi nd her unique

voice, with infl ections and modulations like no other. The song expresses rage against the cruel contempt of certain phallocrats for women who have fallen for their honeyed words. There can be no uni-formity in the produc-tion, since the songs were recorded by d i f ferent engineers. The stars are

Obtaining recordings

Now and then, a reader confuses what we write in the Record Reviews section of

the magazine, and the little blurbs in our Audiophile Store.

The difference: we review recordings from various sources, whether they’re

available from us or not. At the store, we offer only recordings we recommend,

whether we have reviewed them in these pages or not.

In the present case, Klavier, Analekta and PentaTone recordings can be bought

at The Audiophile Store. The Streisand and Parton recordings cannot, but will

be readily available from major record stores.


Gossip&N

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It’s rush hour in Vanier, a suburb of Quebec City, on November 13th. A winking neon treble clef beckons. The parking lot is nearly full. The guests have come to celebrate two businesses mark-ing their silver anniversary: La Clef de Sol and l’Atelier Électronique 2000 and their respective presidents, Bertrand Bergeron and Nicole Bernard greet the visitors with characteristic warmth. The large store is full, and there’s a party atmo-sphere. It is a fi esta of love, friendship, shared ideals, solidarity, courage, a dream become reality. Not much recognized in this group, I wander from group to group, watching, observing. Everything has been well thought out, rip-ened, to offer to whom I call affectionately les fous du son a wide array of specialized gear. All about and on the

mezzanine, there are closed rooms with studied acoustics, furnished with attrac-tive audio and video equipment and comfy chairs, which invite us to listen and watch. The whole store is a homage to the rapid evolution of technology. I go from surprise to surprise, admir-ing the unique décor that says much about our hosts’ æsthetic preoccupations

and their search for excellence. I’m intrigued by a long curtain conceal-ing…what does it in fact conceal? While I await the answer I shake some hands and ask questions. Fascinating! There are Claude Gérard’s Momentum speak-ers: Italian styling, French drivers (from Audax), Belgian design (like Gérard himself), with acrylic and epoxy fi nish and assembly in Hong Kong. You could lust after them for their looks, but their audiophile qualities are not be dismissed. Other products draw my eyes. In a moment the ribbon will be cut on the new store. First, Bertrand sum-marizes the past quarter century, spent navigating a hard path alongside his remarkable wife Nicole, with stumbles and challenges along the way, but numer-ous victories too. He tells of their world travels, their passion for history and art, the inspiration they’ve drawn from vestiges of other periods, to continue on their path. He expresses his gratitude to colleagues at every level. He praises the talent and zeal of the artists and acousti-cians who have created the store. I am conquered by the depth of this couple, and their human qualities. The Quebec Justice Minister cuts the ribbon, and fi nally the long curtain is drawn back on a fresco that nearly

encircles the store. It is a window on evolution, actu-ally titled Man at the heart of the universe. There are cries of admiration. The origin of life, evolution, the birth of art, the fashioning of the fi rst stone implements, mythology, spirituality…it’s all here. Bertrand mentions that he and Nicole are driven by more than money, but that scarcely needs to be under-lined. Sincere congratula-tions, and best wishes for lasting success.

Gossip&NewsHow to Launch a New Store

by Reine Lessard


Goss

ip&

New

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A claimed advantage of the DVD medium is that it allows placement of both a widescreen and a “full screen” version of a fi lm on the same disc. So we were told when the DVD was fi rst launched, and for a long time it was true. Today it’s less and less true. Check the latest major releases, such as the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings fi lms, and what do you fi nd? The widescreen and “full screen” versions are sold separately. Why? We can guess. And we will, in a moment. The “full screen” name (which we refuse to write without quotation marks) seemed to make sense at fi rst, and still may to people with old analog TV sets. Here are the versions, side by side:

Now which one would you choose if you didn’t know any better (which you do)? The answer is obvious. A lot of people will pick the “full screen” version because they’ll say the black bars above and below the picture drives them crazy. They’ll make extra sure they don’t pick up those awful widescreen versions. Sure, the “full screen” version has stuff missing, but a lot of people won’t notice, and can’t possibly know unless they make a direct comparison. But time will pass, and those analog TV sets will pass too. Though 4:3 sets are still sold, they won’t be for long. Very soon, anyone buying a large-screen

TV set will have a 16:9 screen. They’ll happily fi re it up, pop in a “full screen” movie, and guess what they’ll see.

Yep. This is it. Their new (widescreen) fi lms will fi ll the screen, and their old “full screen” fi lms will have the sides conspicuously cut off, as in the second picture.

Now here’s where the lawyers get involved Does “full screen” mean full screen? No jury will say so. “Full screen” means that, for the same price as widescreen, you’ve got 25% less picture. The word “fraud” comes to mind. So here’s a con-sumer who has purchased what turns out to be maybe $2000 of DVDs (100 times $20…do the math) and discovers he/she has been taken for a ride. What is to be done? Right. Class action suit. Treble damages. Protection from creditors. The reason we think they’re doing this is the hope that anyone switching to a widescreen TV will have to buy their DVD collection all over again. Check with your lawyers, people! If we were running a major studio, we’d call a meeting with the division that puts together the DVDs and ask them what the hell they think they’re doing.

It wasn’t long ago that dialing into the World Wide Web from your home seemed like a miracle. But dialup is the buggy whip of the 21st Century. Most of what you want to do with the Inter-net requires broadband…high speed access. But broadband isn’t available to everyone. You can get DSL from your phone company if you live really close to a distribution centre. Or you can get high speed connection from cable if cable is installed where you live, and if it’s digital cable. For a signifi cant percentage of surfers, those conditions aren’t met. In some European countries broad-band is also available through the power lines. It makes sense. The power grid reaches more homes than even the tele-phone system. Electrical wires handle only low frequencies (50 to 60 Hz), leav-ing all that upper bandwidth unused. North American power companies are catching on to this, and several are planning to offer you the Net through the power grid. This requires spending on infrastructure, because Net traffi c

can’t pass through the big transformers mounted on power poles. The signals have to be injected after the transformer. But this means extra revenue for the power company, and perhaps broadband in areas where it wouldn’t otherwise be available. This, we now wish to add, has con-sequences for audiophiles. As it is, the power lines are fi lled with noise, either injected into the line by motors and machines, or induced into the system from mobile phones, Wi-Fi networks, police and taxi radios, and all of the other radio-frequency noise sources of modern times. Adding broadband means injecting high frequency noise directly into the lines that feed your system. We anticipate it will become ever more important to fi lter this stuff out. There are parallel fi lters, to short the noise out, series fi lters to keep it from getting through, and systems that actu-ally make new electricity altogether, with minimum noise. Our airwaves are more and more cluttered. Our power lines are too.

“Full Screen” DVD: a Lawyer's Opportunity

The Net on Power Lines


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Alternative Audio . . . . . . . . . .13Almarro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Applause Audio . . . . . . . . . . .65Audiomat . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 3Audiophileboutique.com . . .Cover 4Audio Plus Services . . . . . . . . .61Audio Room . . . . . . . . . . . .17Bluebird Music . . . . . . . . . . .60Blue Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Charisma Audio . . . . . . . . . .10Copland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Daruma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Diamond Groove . . . . . . . . . .23Divergent Technologies . . . . . .16Eichmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Entre’Acte Audio . . . . . . . . . .14Europroducts Internat. . . . 9, 15, 17Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Fab Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Globe Audio . . . . . . . . .Cover 3Griffi n Audio . . . . . . . . . . . .38Gryphon . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 4Hi Fi Fo Fum . . . . . . . . . . . .23Jadis . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 4Justice Audio . . . . . . . . .Cover 2Just May Audio . . . . . . . .Cover 2Marchand Electronics . . . . . . . 8Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57Mt. Pleasant Audio . . . . . . . . .54Murata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Mutine . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 3Natural Frequency Audio . . . . . 6Pierre Gabriel . . . . . . . . .Cover 4Plurison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61ProAc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Roksan . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 2Shanling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Simaudio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57Signature Audio . . . . . . . . . .18The Sound Room . . . . . . . . . .23Soundstage . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Totem Acoustic . . . . . . . . . . .57UHF Back Issues . . . . . . . . . .51UHF Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Venus Hi-Fi . . . . . . . . . . . . .10YBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

It began in the US, where the record-ing industry lobby group, the RIAA, has been tracking down people who have been allegedly downloading music from the Internet, and suing them. Most have settled out of court, typically for amounts of $2000 or so. This week, a woman who was targeted by RIAA fi led a complaint under anti-racketeering laws, claiming that by demanding money under threat, the association was using Mafi a-like extortion. It keeps on getting more interest-ing. In the meantime, in Canada, CRIA (the counterpart to RIAA) wants to use the same tactic. It is going to court to force several Internet service providers to give them the names of 29 alleged downloaders it would like to sue. The ISP’s are resisting. Canadians have a long history of copying Americans. (Old joke: how do you do social research in Canada? You take the American fi gures and divide by ten.) But imitating RIAA tactics may not yield the results one would expect. That’s because Canadian law is different from US law. In Canada, you have the right to borrow a CD and make a copy for yourself, though not for others. The same right has been confi rmed by a court in Europe. This established right would seem to extend to downloading music from the Web.

Of course, CRIA would like to have a law like the US DMCA law, and has offered to rewrite the current copyright law for the government (“No, that’s all right, we’ll be glad to do it at no charge, really.”) There is, however, another aspect to the Canadian situation, which a clever lawyer can turn to immense advantage. If we buy a blank CD in Canada, there is a 21¢ levy (it’s not called a tax) which is supposed to go to music creators to compensate them for the copying of their music. Some of these CD’s are actually used for original works or for data backup, and some of them end up as useless coasters, but no matter. Now here’s the legal angle. Since the music creators are being paid, does payment of the levy constitute a license to copy music? If a court should rule that it does, then you have a right to run off 20,000 copies of the newest Céline Dion CD, providing you can show that you made the copies on discs on which the levy had been paid. By the way, in 1983 Brian Robertson, the head of CRIA, was quoted in this magazine as saying that home taping (remember home taping?) was such a problem that within two years there might no longer be a recording industry. More than two decades later, Robertson is still at the head of CRIA, and there’s no indication that he’s learned a thing.

This Italian manufacturer has long been known for class A tube gear, often using triodes for purer sound. The new Inpol2, launched in Janu-ary, offers 50 watts per channel, st i l l in class A. Unlike in previous models, which used gigantic power t ransform-ers (one per channel in

these dual mono designs), the Inpol2 uses a switching power supply, to keep bulk down. The profi le of this amplifi er

is slimmer than that of earlier models. C o n s t a n t , h o w e v e r , i s the fact that it sounds gorgeous, and it looks great

as well.

ADVERTISERS“Full Screen” DVD: a Lawyer's Opportunity Downloaders? Sue ’em!

The Net on Power Lines

Pathos Inpol2


Why do electronic audio components sound so different? Amplifying a signal with hardly any

distortion or loss shouldn’t be rocket science, after all. And CD players have nearly perfect frequency response and vanishingly low distortion. Heck, you can measure it. Some audio critics have long claimed that these products don’t sound different. But some are now taking a somewhat different tack. The world of audio criticism is very much split into two camps, one of them subjective (the human ear is the fi nal judge), and the other objective (if it doesn't turn up on instruments, you just think you’re hearing it). You can pretty much fi gure out which camp UHF leans toward, though in fact we aren't extrem-ists about anything, and we do perform instrument tests. I’ve been noticing a new tendency among the objective gang…the people I call “fl at-earthers” because they put theory (including in some cases obsolete theory) above readily observable facts. They’ve found a new way to explain our insistence on hearing differences among CD players and amplifi ers. These differences are due, they believe, to the presence of small, readily-reproducible, technical fl aws. What’s more, they can demonstrate it. Here's a case in point. Several “objec-tive” critics explain the preference of some audiophiles for tube amplifi ers by claiming that, not only are tube ampli-fi ers actually worse than their solid state counterparts, but it costs only pennies to modify a solid state amplifi er to give it a tube sound. Sound interesting? The big difference, they claim, is that a tube amplifi er does not have as low an impedance, or as high a damping factor, as a well-designed solid state amplifi er. That much is true. And so, they con-clude, you can give a solid state amplifi er a tube sound by simply wiring a one ohm power resistor in series with the speaker leads. Bingo! Fuzzy, warm, but imprecise bass, just like a tube amplifi er.

Is this true? No it’s not, for several reasons. The link between the amplif ier output and the woofer is not zero ohms in any case. One cause is the presence of the crossover network. Though a very few speakers have direct coupling of the woofer to the amplifi er (the Reference 3a speakers are well-known examples) many speakers have at least one element, such as a coil, in series with the woofer. So much for zero ohms. The other reason is the impedance of the speaker cable and its connectors. I wrote a State of the Art column in UHF No. 51 detailing how it is possible for a loudspeaker connector to have a resistance of several ohms (to jog your memory, this is the famous “coffee mill” column). And I mean a single connector. This is devastating to sound quality even if we suppose that the cable itself is perfect. You might well suppose that connector quality could account for dif-ferences in sound quality among speaker cables. You'd think that the fl at-earthers would have picked that one up, but most

of them don’t believe connectors matter. Don’t ask me why. These people have other theories of the same ilk. (Did you ever go hunting for ilk? They're an endangered species now.) The qualities we “think” we hear in amps, preamps and CD players can be simulated with an equalizer. Add some lower midbass for “warmth.” Peak up the 2 kHz band for presence. Ramp up the 10 kHz region for sparkle. It’s easy to simulate the expensive sound you want: just dial it in. It would be neat if this really worked, because it would then be easy to set up a fi rst rate music system. What does an equalizer cost, anyway? Or a one ohm resistor? So what actually happens when we do this? Not much that’s desirable, alas. The one ohm resistor in a good system will certainly make the bass fl accid, but no one who has been to a concert of unam-plifi ed music will mistake the result for a step closer to the real thing. As for the equalizer, the fi rst thing you’re likely to notice is that in any-thing but the worst system it will cause a marked performance drop even when all its controls are in the fl at posi-tion. When you consider what’s in the things — cheap operational amp chips, quick and dirty power supplies, bottom quality wire and jacks — it could hardly be otherwise. The second thing you’ll notice is that, sure enough, you can add warmth, solidity, sparkle and the rest by adjusting the equalizer controls…but strangely that doesn’t make the music sound better, it makes it sound worse. Notice the word music in that last sentence. The world of audio criticism would be healthier if it were used more often. The truth is that you can indeed simulate the sonic aspects of certain components by doing simple manipula-tion of system characteristics, including frequency response. But you cannot make the system sound more like music that way. If you listen to actual music rather than to mere sonic characteristics, this becomes clear.

STATE OF THE ART:THE BOOK

Get the 258-page bookcontaining the State of the Art

columns from the fi rst 60 issuesof UHF, with all-new introductions.

See page 4.

State of the Artby Gerard Rejskind

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Documents

Integrated amplifiers from Audiomat, Connoisseur …uhfmag.com/Issue69/Issue69.pdfAMPLIFIERS: Integrated amplifiers from Audiomat, Connoisseur and Copland, plus monoblocks from Shanling