A Terrific Tube Preamplifier From Korea, And A - Ultra High Fidelity ...

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ELECTRONICS: A terrific tube preamplifier
from Korea, and a British phono preamp
MORE REVIEWS: A German speaker with
a Heil tweeter, and a new high-definition
digital-to-analog converter from Simaudio
PLUS: We put an LED-lit LCD set against our
reference plasma HDTV, we investigate 3D
and discover a nest of phony 3D, we explain
the basics of a home music server, and we
bring back the good (and so-so) news from
the Vegas and Montreal shows

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The legendary Van den Hul amplifiers and preamps at less than half the original price
M-1 Monoblocks, US$7350 now C$2995
A-1 Preamplifier, US$3895 now C$1685
See them at:
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Billed in Canadian dollars, currently trading around US$0.98
ALSO AT THE AUDIOPHILE BOUTIQUE:
Moon phono preamplifiers and digital-to-analog converters,
Thorens turntables, Goldring phono cartridges with line contact
stylus, and more.
audiophileboutique.com
a division of UHF Magazine
contact@audiophileboutique.com
(450) 651-5720
What do we know about
indoor FM and TV antennas
that they don’t?
A lot, it turns out. With the stampede to satellite and cable
over the past 20 years, the design of dipole antennas has been
left to the makers of junk.
It was years ago that UHF designed a high-quality antenna for
its own use. It was so good we offered it for sale as the Super
Antenna, and saw thousands of them sold. Why? Because it’s better.
In this, the Super Antenna’s third incarnation, we buy one of
those trashy antennas, rip everything out until we are left with
the rods and the case, and we rebuild it. We add our own highquality
transformer (can you believe the junk antenna didn’t
even have one?), and a luxurious low-loss quadruple-shielded
cable with a 24K gold-plated F-connector.
The broadband design covers the range from analog channels 2 to 69, including the
entire FM band. And yes, it does a fine job with the full range of digital channels,
including over-the-air HDTV.
SEE THE SUPER ANTENNA MkIII at The Audiophile Store, page 57

Issue No. 89
Cover story: Two of the four drivers of the ELAC
FS 249 loudspeaker, reviewed in this issue. Behind
is the easily-recognizable planet Saturn, and a
starfield with something other than natural colors.
Feature
Vegas 2010 18
by Gerard Rejskind
Can CES survive the global meltdown? This would
be the show that told the tale, and our editor goes
exploring.
Montréal 2010 26
by Gerard Rejskind
The Montreal Festival gets a new name and venue.
Touring the Salon 27
by Albert Simon
Albert and friends picks out the best of Montréal
2010.
Nuts&Bolts
Inside Computer Music 30
by Paul Bergman
You know the names of the pieces of a music
system. At least until the music is on the cloud.
The Listening Room
When 3-D Falls Flat 34
You’ve heard lots about 3D movies. Have you heard
about phony 3D?
LED TV vs Plasma 36
It’s a given that LED backlighting beats a
fluorescent tube. But is it reference quality?
The Listening Room
Moon 300D 40
Simaudio releases the first of a pair of (relatively)
affordable digital-to-analog converters. The first
customer: us!
Allnic L-1500 Preamplifier 44
This hand-built tube unit from Korea takes on the
big brands, and leaves an impression.
Leema Elements Phono Preamp 48
A tiny box, a wall wart, and a possibly ridiculous
price…is it worth your attention? Er…perhaps.
ELAC FS 249 Loudspeaker 50
It includes the company’s version of the Heil Air
Motion Transformers, one of our all-time favorites.
The job of the rest of the speaker: keeping up.
Trends Audio Headphone Amp 54
This Honk Kong company takes small boxes and
stuffs them with goodies.
Software
Rachmaninoff, the Neo-Romantic 63
by Toby Earp
Is it all right to create 19th Century music in a
century that considered itself too modern? Sergei
Rachmaninoff did, and was adored for it.
Software Reviews 69
by Steve Bourke, Gerard Rejskind and Albert Simon
Departments
Editorial 4
Feedback 7
Free Advice 10
Gossip & News 76
State of the Art 82
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 3

UHF Magazine No. 89 was published in December, 2010.
All contents are copyright 2010 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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PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Gerard Rejskind
EDITORIAL: Paul Bergman, Steve Bourke, Toby Earp,
Albert Simon
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY: Albert Simon
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UHF invites contributions. Though all reasonable care will
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4 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Editorial
My health bulletin
This issue of UHF is wildly behind schedule. It’s my fault…or rather the
fault of an obscure bacterium with the beguiling name of Aerococcus Viridans.
Go ahead and Google it, but you won’t come up with much.
It was the end of winter when it became evident that my health was failing,
and my work was falling ever more behind. This issue was close to completion,
but my work just wasn’t getting done. By early July I was in hospital with a
mysterious disease. Liver? Digestive system? Kidneys? Diabetes? Cancer? A
team of doctors at the Charles-Lemoyne hospital ordered batch after batch
of high-tech tests that, initially, came up with similarly puzzling results: I was
in great shape.
Oh, except that I was sick and getting sicker.
It took several days, but the truth eventually came out. An exotic bacterium
referenced but a dozen times in medical literature had settled on one of my
heart valves and destroyed it. As my systems began to shut down, one by one
(think Jurassic Park), I was transferred to Montreal’s Royal Victoria hospital
for urgent open-heart surgery. The operation was surprisingly routine; I
remember when, if someone in town had that sort of surgery, there would
be daily front-page bulletins in the local newspapers. Within six days I was
home, and gradually (very gradually) I returned to work.
The fact that I was otherwise in good health made a thorough recovery
possible, and I’m feeling stronger than I had been in a long time.
It’s thanks to my colleagues that things more or less held together at the
magazine, but we’re a small team, and we don’t have a lot of redundancy either.
Particularly warm thanks are due to Lise Lalonde, the angel who led me into
a quick recovery.
Now where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?
Music Features
The lead article of our Software section had long been written by Reine
Lessard. She wrote, in fact, 51 of them, in considerably more than half the
issues. Reine had, however, been phasing out her work at the magazine, and
is no longer in a position to do the heavy-duty research necessary to create
the articles she is famous for.
It’s not impossible you’ll still see her byline here and there, but in the meantime
the music article for this issue is from Toby Earp. Toby is a long-time
reader and a sophisticated music connoisseur, and last year he also became
one of our equipment reviewers. We welcome him as a contributor on the
all-important subject of music as well.
In his first article he looks at Sergei Rachmaninoff. Born in Russia, dying
(in 1943) in Hollywood, Rachmaninoff was a prodigious pianist. As a composer
he carried the torch of 19 th Century Romantic music into the 20 th Century. I
think you’ll find the article interesting, and it may steer you in the direction
of seeking out his music.
You could do worse.

I HATE DOG EARS! (SORRY FIDO)
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that’s likely to be tattered, torn, and… yes, dog-eared. We mean
the newsstand copy.
The reason is obvious. Where do copies sit around unprotected?
At the newsstand. Where do other people leaf through them
before you arrive, with remains of lunch on their fingers? At the
newsstand. Where do they stick on little labels you can’t even peel
off? Beats us why, but they do.
Our subscribers, on the other hand, get pristine copies protected
in plastic, with the address label pasted on the plastic itself, not the cover.
We know what you really want is a perfect copy, and the fact you subscribed and
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As if that weren’t reason enough, there’s the fact that with a subscription you
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Much, much more to read…
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It’s a practical manual for the discovery and
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lexicon makes this book indispensable. And it
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How to compare equipment that’s not in the
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which ones are scams. How to tell a good
connector from a rotten one. How to set up
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I’m looking forward to the Simaudio
review. Simaudio products are mostly
top-tier, and the price point of the 300D
DAC is within reach of most — unlike
much of Simaudio’s product line, alas.
I’ve been searching for a no compromise
DAC, higher end than the DacMagic
reviewed last issue, but not one that’s
stratospherically priced. Impossible?
I’ll be relying heavily on UHF’s review
panel as usual.
If I’m doubtful of most other magazine’s
reviews of analog products, my
reservations are multiplied for digital
products. Most seem to think that an
iPod connected via its headphone jack to
a receiver equals perfection. Euuwww!
Jeff Tennant
Burlington, ON
P.S. Please don’t forget to test the
Simaudio’s USB port (ha, ha).
The review is in this issue, Jeff, and no
we didn’t forget the USB. We also bought a
300D for ourselves.
For many years I’ve respected (but
not necessarily agreed with) your views
on matters dealing with music, acoustics,
equipment, composers, etc.
I read on the BBC Website that Linn
is ending CD production. It said discerning
customers recognize the superior
quality of digital streaming. Linn has
pointed out that sales have come down,
yet it continues to manufacture the LP12
and Majik LP12 turntables.
How do you interpret this news? Is
this the beginning of the end of the CD
player? Do you think that the CD will
continue to survive amongst limited
manufacturers like the turntable?
Larry Byrd
SCARBOROUGH, ON
Linn has been reading the writing on the
wall, Larry, and it is written rather larger
Feedback
270 rue Victoria
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
in Europe than (for the moment) in North
America. Downloads are selling well, as is
the reinvigorated LP, and in between is a
black hole, with the CD — or at least the
CD player— falling into it.
In fact the trend reveals more than that.
Compact Discs are still a major support for
music, but more and more buyers are loading
them onto their hard drives, not their CD
players. We decided some time ago we would
no longer review CD players without digital
inputs, for use with a computer. Though we
expect the CD to be around for a long time,
it will be just one source among several.
Have you considered making UHF
available on Kindle? For those of us far,
far, far away ( I am now in the DRC), the
Kindle is a great way to access newspaper
or magazine. Every day I have in my bag
The New York Times, The Economist, or
Le Monde. I get them in the morning
and keep them with me, whether I have
access to a Web page or not.
As of now, I don’t even bother
downloading the versions you have in
your Reading Room. They take 30 to 60
minutes to download. This is too heavy.
Can we expect such a version any time
soon?
Samir Jahjah
Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Kindle is well suited to books and even
to newspaper articles, but it has neither the
resolution nor the tonal nuances to handle
a magazine with graphical content like
UHF. We do expect to be on the iPad (we
are now official developers), but that will
still require a considerable download time.
Most magazines seem to be going in the same
direction.
Let me first of all congratulate you
for your excellent work.
I’m writing because I’m left perplexed
by technological changes in the
hi-fi industry. I’ve been reading you for
some 20 years, and I understand the
importance of the source component in
order to extract the maximum amount of
information from the medium, whether
CD or vinyl. So I was astonished, last
week, to find in my record shop the
Beatles record collection on…a USB
key. Can such a key really contain all
the information present on a CD? I
know it may have greater capacity (as
much as 16 GB), but is the quality of the
information adequate to transmit all of
the musical nuances?
More and more music is being stored
on hard drives. Even Linn favors that
approach. But can a hard drive costing
under $200 really give the same sonic
quality as the old disc? Also, if music
is transferred to a computer or from a
computer, that implies the use of a cable,
and therefore a theoretical quality loss.
I could be wrong, but I’m worried
about the future of high fidelity.
Jean Dufresne
SHERBROOKE, QC
It’s a concern we have shared ourselves,
Jean, but we have since observed that with
advancing technology it is now possible to
get surprising quality from a computer, and
even to match the sound of all but the very
best audiophile-grade CD players. Read our
review of the Moon 300D DAC in this issue,
and you’ll have a hint of what’s possible even
today. But we’re with you on the question of
the USB key.
On a cold evening in January I was
flipping though some back issues of UHF
(and listening to Mahler — the two seem
to go together), and I saw an article I
never thought I would see in the audio
press, Is Hi-Fi Too Expensive? (in UHF
No. 84). I’m writing to comment on
the article and the responses that follow
by both you and Costa Koulisakis of
Simaudio.
Not only did Mr. Meyers dare to
address the elephant in the room of
high fidelity — the astronomical costs
of the equipment — he did so in an
extremely effective way, by emphasizing
the opportunity cost of other purchases
or savings that could be made with the
same amount of discretionary income.
I don’t believe Mr. Meyers was against
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 7

Feedback
owning expensive stereo equipment,
but rather was critiquing the spiral of
consumerism that audiophiles fall into
by reading stereo reviews after entering
into the pastime. The main message I
discerned from his article was to think
carefully and critically before spending
on the next potential stereo upgrade not
just frame the question as what is the best
to buy next.
To this point I would like to add my
own: there are many musicians struggling
very hard to continue to strive for
innovation and excellence in their craft.
While the author soberly makes the
comparison between the prices of new,
state-of-the-art, high end equipment
and paying down one’s mortgage, I’d
like to add the comparison of acquiring
new stereo equipment vs. attending live
music.
For every new pair of interconnects
one considers buying or for every new
component one considers purchasing- in
thousands or tens of thousand, is there
a missed benefit of spending some or all
of that money instead on experiencing
music live?
I’m writing only about what I know
of the music scene in and around central
Canada, I’m cognizant that your readership
is global, but I would like to list a
few alternatives only as an example to
encourage people to explore the respective
music scenes where they live. This
past summer I’ve had the pleasure to
see violinists Lara St. John and James
Ehnes performing in person. I mention
them specifically as the former has
been reviewed in your music reviews and
the latter’s recordings are used during
product reviews. As sublime as their
recording are, they will never match the
experience of seeing them live.
Here is the best part. While I have
seen both a few times playing with the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where
tickets have been at over $120 each (but
still well worth it), both played the following
year with the National Academy
Orchestra with ticket prices at $30
each! Moreover, James Ehnes played
at Melrose United Church in Hamilton
where the setting was intimate and the
acoustics phenomenal.
For those unfamiliar with the
National Academy Orchestra (www.
8 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
brottmusic.com) it is Canada’s only
transitional orchestra for younger
musicians who are apprenticing to turn
professional. They are often joined by
members of larger classical orchestras
and the quality of musicianship is very
good. As many are concerned about the
future of classical music, the best thing
to do is leave your music listening room
once in a while to listen to live music to
support and encourage younger musicians
such as these.
Our larger cities have exceptional
jazz scenes with great festivals such as
the Montreal Jazz Festival. However,
supporting local musicians so they can
advance to these levels is essential; I
highly recommend regular visits to The
Rex Hotel and Gate 403 in Toronto
as well as The Orbit Room, The Pilot
and The Reservoir Lounge. Musicians
thrive not just from financial support
but also from your attentive attendance
at their performances.
I recently heard the reproduction of
a Blues singer on a $100,000 system at a
local dealer’s store. I was struck by the
bitter irony that the musician himself
had likely never made anything near
that amount of money over the course of
his life. I don’t think we should let that
happen to the musicians we treasure.
Patrick Burek
HAMILTON, ON
UHF on line is interactive!
Unlike with a physical magazine, which forces you to turn pages, the
on-line version of UHF Magazine helps you along with technology. For
instance, click on any title in the table of contents (on the previous page),
and you’ll be whisked right to the article itself.
Turn to the table of advertisers on page 81 (and that, by the way, is a
link), and click on the name of a product or company, and an an instant
you’ll be looking at the ad itself.
And then try clicking on an ad…
If you are connected to the Internet, you’ll be taken right to the advertiser’s
Web site in your default Web browser.
Those interactive features were designed for the paid electronic version
of UHF, but they work every bit as well on the free PDF version you’re
looking at. We hope you enjoy it.
What an interesting letter, Patrick! You
probably know we feel the way you do about
live acoustic music, and its superiority over
the best electronic reproduction. Does anyone
want to pick up the conversation?
I have a decent stereo system which
is also a surround system. My preference
is to match the left, centre and right
channels with the same interconnects
and speaker cable. I was wondering
why everything must be purchased in
pairs. Why can they not be purchased
separately?
I realize that this is not something
that is going to happen right away for me
but it would be great if you also considered
this as an important criticism of the
audio industry. Perhaps some industry
minds could be changed.
Brian Holt
PUSLINCH, ON
Brian, perhaps not everyone has caught on
to the fact that home theatre systems have an
odd number of full-range channels. Several
companies do make a single wire which they
call a subwoofer cable, but that doesn’t really
solve the problem.
Is HDCD completely dead now or,
is there someone still putting out the
odd HDCD-encoded disk? I thought
they were great sounding and as close as
you could get to the warmness of vinyl
LPs.
Bob Salsbury
BATH, ON
We like it too, Bob. Reference Recordings
is the main source, and they continue to
release HDCD titles. There’s also a lot of
back catalog in HDCD, mostly from small
labels. Some major labels release HDCD
titles too, but they may not carry the logo,
because by the time the CD is mastered the
artwork is already done.
I am a long-time subscriber to UHF
magazine: I started with Issue No. 9
when it was Hi-Fi Sound and have
enjoyed each and every issue since.
I read with interest Paul Bergman’s
article on stereo recording in issue
No. 88, including his comments on the
work that Bell Labs did on stereo record-
ing in the early 1930’s. My uncle, Irad
Rafuse, was the co-author of the original
1938 US patent on stereo recording
(No. 2,114,471 “Sound Recording and
Reproducing System,” www.freepatentsonline.com/2114471.pdf)
with Arthur
C. Keller (not Kellerman, by the way).
Unfortunately they did not apply for
the patent until well after they had
concluded their experiments. My father,
Guy Rafuse, also worked at Bell Labs
in those days and clearly remembered
the recordings that his brother and
Keller did with Stokowski in 1932. He
also had clear memories of even earlier
experiments that Keller and his brother
performed in 1928. Dad wrote some
notes of his experience with some of
these experiments: you may be interested
in his comments:
I followed Irad into an empty soundproof
room, sat on a stool in the middle of it, and
put on a pair of headphones. Irad went out
and closed the door. In a few moments he

started talking to me and I was startled to
realize that I knew where he was as he walked
invisibly around the room I was in. He would
come up and whisper into my right ear, then
walk around in front of me, then behind
me, talking all the while. It was almost
supernatural, particularly when I turned
my head and the room he was in rotated
with me. He stopped talking, came back to
where I was, and took me into the other room.
There was “Oscar,” a life-sized and lifelike
rubber human head on a pedestal. It had
a microphone buried in each ear and they
were connected, through amplifiers, to my
headphones. It was a perfect demonstration
of binaural transmission.
It was only later that Bell Labs gave
up on Oscar and turned to multitrack
direct transmission for live concerts. In
the late 1930’s they experimented with
multitrack recording on film soundtracks
(which they called “Sound-on-Film”)
and used it for the famous 1940 Carnegie
Hall demonstration.
Though you might be interested
that at least some folks in the Bell Labs
believed in real stereo recording, even
back then.
Bob Rafuse
BEACONSFIELD, QC
Our Artist in Residence, Brent
Meyer, called to my attention UHF Issue
No. 88, which contains a discussion of
the “gun barrel” opening sequence seen
in the EON James Bond films. The
article states, “We’re not certain where
the ‘gun barrel’ appellation came from,
but it is clearly wrong, because no gun
barrel looks like that. The spiral pattern
is that of a human eye, seen from the
inside.”
Interestingly, the source of the “gun
barrel appellation” is Maurice Binder,
who created the title sequence for Dr. No.
The shot is of stunt man Bob Simmons
in silhouette, and was made through an
actual .38 caliber barrel by means of a pin
hole lens, which was required to achieve
sufficient depth of field to show the
groove patterns in the barrel (see James
Bond: The Legacy by Cork, John & Scivally,
Bruce, 2002, page 46.). Incidentally, these
grooves are known as a ‘rifling pattern’,
the purpose of which is to impart spin
to the projectile, thus helping stabilize
its flight.
In the opening, a series of white dots
move across the screen, and then open up
into the shot made through the barrel.
The barrel is trained on a seemingly
nonchalant James Bond as he walks, the
holder of which Bond suddenly turns to
and shoots. Thus, one might consider
that the scene shows not a “victim,” but
rather an assassin foiled by an act of self
defense.
The white dots are meant to evoke
the thought of gunshots, from which
it makes sense to ‘pull back’ to the perspective
of the barrel. In The Incredible
World of 007: An Authorized Celebration of
James Bond (Pfeiffer, Lee & Lisa, Philip,
1995, page 200) Binder recalls, “That
was something I did in a hurry, because
I had to get to a meeting with the producers
in 20 minutes. I just happened to
have little white price tag stickers and I
thought I’d use them as gun shots across
the screen. We’d have James Bond walk
through and fire, at which point blood
comes down onscreen. That was about
a twenty-minute storyboard I did, and
they said, “This looks great!””
I would like to add a footnote to Paul
Bergman’s thought-provoking article
Remembering Stereo in UHF Issue 88.
The first attempted use of multiple
channels to convey location noted by
Bergman are the famous 1932 experi-
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version of our magazine.
The reason is simple. We know you’re looking for information, and
that is almost certainly why you’ve come to visit our site. And that’s why
we give away what some competitors consider to be a startlingly large
amount of information…for free.
We would give it all away for free, if we could still stay in business.
Recent figures indicate that each issue is getting downloaded as many
as 100,000 times, and that figure keeps growing.
Yes, we know, if we had a nickel for each download…
Truth is, we’re in the business of helping you enjoy music at home
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to do in order to get the information to you.
Of course, we also want you to read our published editions too. We
hope that, having read this far, you’ll want to read on.
ments conducted by Bell Laboratories.
However, as often happens, history
contains a few surprises.
In 1881, Clément Ader used a series of
telephone pickups installed at the Paris
Opera to transmit live performances
to the Paris Electrical Exhibition, with
pickup and one receiver for each ear.
The December 31, 1881 issue of Scientific
American (pages 422–423) reported,
“One of the most popular attractions
at the Paris Electrical Exhibition is the
nightly demonstration of the marvelous
powers of the Ader telephone, by
its transmission of the singing on the
stage and the music in the orchestra of
the Grand Opera at Paris, to a suite of
four rooms reserved for the purpose
in one of the galleries of the Palais de
l’Industrie… Everyone who has been
fortunate enough to hear the telephones
at the Palais de l’Industrie has remarked
that, in listening with both ears at the
two telephones, the sound takes a special
character of relief and localization which
a single receiver cannot produce… As
soon as the experiment commences the
singers place themselves, in the mind of
the listener, at a fixed distance, some to
the right and others to the left. It is easy
to follow their movements, and to indicate
exactly, each time that they change
their position, the imaginary distance at
which they appear to be. This phenomenon
is very curious, it approximates to
the theory of binauriclar auduition [sp?],
and has never been applied, we believe,
before to produce this remarkable illusion
to which may almost be given the
name of auditive perspective.”
The entire article can be viewed
at http://earlyradiohistory.us/1881opr.
htm
Ader’s invention was commercialized
in France as the Théâtrophone, a
subscription service that transmitted live
performances in stereo over telephone
lines to homes and hospitality busi-
nesses. Those located in hotels and cafes
could be coin-operated. Théâtrophone
operated from 1890 until 1932. I believe
that a similar system may have been
operated by Bell Telephone in the US,
but I cannot locate the reference at the
moment.
In modern terms, Ader’s system
was a ‘spaced pair’ of microphones, and
thus differs from the technique most
commonly associated with Blumlein’s
name. However, these two approaches,
along with an intermediate setup called
a near-coincident pair (ORTF, etc.),
form the three basic techniques most
often considered by purists for stereo
recording. As the late Robert Fine, Bert
Whyte, and many others have found out,
you can make some extremely satisfying
stereo with two or three spaced mics.
Many thanks, by the way, for an
excellent magazine.
Kevin Hayes
VAC/Valve Amplification Co., Inc.
Sarasota, FL
Thanks for all this historical information,
Kevin. We know your knowledge of recordings
doesn’t stop at making equipment to
reproduce them. Concerning the Bond “gun
barrel” sequences, we’re willing to believe
what you say, but if it’s a rifle what’s up
with the blood?
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 9
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Free Advice
270 rue Victoria
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4H 2J6
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
I am about to buy a widescreen TV
for my sitting room. The 16:9 ratio never
made sense to me, and I noticed Philips
has just brought out a 21:9. I know at
the moment it’s only in the UK, but for
all those people like me who hate those
black bars top and bottom, this would be
a great idea.
Does this dimension make sense to
you? Is it worth the wait till they arrive
here?
Graham Kelly
EDMONTON, AB
You may be waiting a long time,
Graham, since Philips doesn’t focus its
marketing on North America. It can
certainly be argued that 16:9 isn’t wide
enough, with the result that you still get
black bars above and below the image on
some movies, but actually movies come
in many different aspect ratios, and one
size definitely does not fit all. Imagine
the huge black bars you would then get
on the sides of a 16:9 television image!
Our own view is that if you’ve aligned
your HDTV to give you proper blacks,
and if you view it in a darkened room,
which those who love movies are wont to
do, you won’t even know whether there
are black bars above, below, or alongside
the picture.
I have a Cambridge Audio 550A
amplifier and a pair of Monitor Audio
RS1 speakers. I have my system connected
such that the amplifier “Speaker
A” terminals are connected to the speaker
HF (tweeters) terminals, and the amplifier
“Speaker B” terminals connected to
the speaker LF (woofers) terminals. The
terminal plates, which normally connect
the HF and LF terminals of the speakers,
have been removed.
My amplifier is rated for 60 watts
into 8 ohms. The speakers have a 6 ohm
impedance. The user’s manual clearly
10 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
states that, “When using two pairs of
speakers, use speakers with a nominal
impedance of 8 ohms each.” I am concerned
that I may be damaging my speakers
with this type of configuration.
I have been in contact with both
Cambridge Audio and Monitor Audio,
and they have provided me with contradictory
information. Cambridge has
told me my setup is completely safe and
considers it a bi-wire configuration.
Monitor Audio has stated that it is a
bi-amp configuration and that each HF
and LF loads (i.e. tweeter and woofer)
each act as 6 ohms. I would really appreciate
it if someone who has experience in
this subject could shed some light on the
issue.
George Ilich
TORONTO, ON
Cambridge Audio is correct, George,
and the setup you propose is completely
safe. Monitor Audio replied to you, we
think, without really looking over your
Cambridge amplifier. The twin sets of
outputs are simply paralleled, and they
are provided for convenience. What you
are proposing is not biamplification (you
can’t biamplify with just two channels
of amplification, unless you’re restricting
yourself to mono). Since most amps
don’t have double output posts, biwiring
is usually done by joining the two cables
at the amplifier end. What you propose
to do is electrically equivalent.
I noticed that the home theatre
speakers in your Kappa system are from
different companies. I have been told
that they need to be from one company
in order to have the same tonal/volume
balance from speaker to speaker.
My system so far consists of McIntosh
SL-6 tower speakers, NAD A/V
receiver, and Denon DV D/SACD
player.
Can I buy the centre, subwoofer, and
rear speakers from different companies?
What should I watch out for?
Luther Rasmussen
LOVELAND, CO
This question was controversial when
we first put together our Kappa system,
Luther. We did the mixing and matching
for a particular reason, namely the fact
that we already owned (but were not
using) four speakers of extraordinary
quality.
The Energy Reference Connoisseurs
used for the left and right front channels
were once our main audio reference
speakers, and would be difficult to match
today at anything resembling what we
could then spare in our budget. For the
rear we needed potent but very compact
speakers, and on our shelf was a pair of
Elipson 1400’s that were exactly what
we wanted. Using two pairs of large
and expensive speakers might have
been ideal, but neither the space nor the
budget made that an option.
We did, however, require a new
centre speaker, and our review of several
potential models revealed what we
already knew. A centre speaker may have
the same model name as the main speakers,
yet sound as though they had come
from different designers. In our review
we found two speakers that were of what
we considered reference performance:
the JMLab (Focal) Electra CC 900 and
the Thiel MCS1. By using white noise
(our preamp/processor supplies it on
demand) we determined that the Thiel
had a personality that was astonishingly
close to that of our Energy speakers, and
it therefore became our choice.
Volume matching is not a problem,
since each speaker has its own amplifier.
Better receivers and preamp-processors
will even match the levels automatically
with the use of a microphone at the
listening position.
I recently bought a Bryston BDA1
DAC and have tried listening comparisons
between the CD player DAC and
running the player as a transport for the
DAC. I do not hear much of a difference.
I had been expecting CDs to sound
better, given that the CD player DAC is
seven years old.

I’m using a Cardas Lightning cable,
1 metre in length. I know you guys
have mentioned using a 1.5 m cable, but
really? Are my expectations too high,
maybe? So far I like vinyl for the most
part, unless I listen to a well-recorded
CD…it seems as though the vinyl always
sounds right.
I have a Mac mini and would like to
stream using the Airport Express. How
do I make sure I get the best possible
sound? I encode my CDs using the Apple
Lossless format in iTunes — you guys
recommended this some time ago. What
about 24-bit audio though? I’m thinking
of recording my vinyl to the Mac.
I have a hard time trusting anyone
else with these. I have never been led
astray. Thanks for producing a top notch
audio magazine that we Audionuts can
put faith in.
Jamie Irwin
BRANTFORD, ON
Jamie, there can be several reasons
why the highly-rated Bryston DAC
brought no improvement. You don’t
mention the brand and model of your
CD player, but we note that it is old
enough to have needed a laser replacement.
There may be limitations in the
older design that determine the ultimate
sound. The replacement laser may not be
of identical design, and indeed models
change so fast that you can pretty much
count on it. Finally, there really are
advantages to a well-designed single-box
player, particularly in limiting jitter.
Yes, we’ve determined (in a blind
test!) that a 1.5 metre digital cable will
give better results than the traditional
1 m cable. Whether changing that cable
will give you all you had been hoping for
is unknown. You are not alone in finding
good analog to “sound right.”
For our latest experience with streaming
audio using Airport Express, see our
review of the Moon 300D DAC in this
issue. You’ll see how we went about getting
the best possible performance from
music stored on our computer hard drive.
We warmly recommend the Airport
Express, and we use one ourselves, but
its current version won’t handle highresolution
music. However your Mac
mini will, if you can run an optical cable
from its digital output to your Bryston
DAC. The current version of Mac OS
X (Snow Leopard) can output signals
of 24 bits and 96 kHz, and some available
software packages can add further
options.
First I want to mention that the latest
Festival son et image held in March
in Montreal has been the very best I
have attended over the last 10 years
or so. A very interesting selection of
products in all price ranges focusing on
high fidelity rather than home theatre
or other flavor of the day. Good marks
to the organizers.
I have been slowly upgrading for
years and I have a system that mostly
pleases me and seems balanced except
for two things: my speakers cables, and
to a lesser extent my speakers. I own a
Linn Ikemi CD player, a YBA Intégré
and a pair of Castle Eden speakers. I have
a good power cable, interconnects and
power filter. The Edens are great, no
doubt about that, but I feel that with
the quality of the upstream gear I could
benefit from more high end speakers.
Am I in my right mind? I am looking
for speakers in the range of the Harbeth
HL5 that I really enjoyed through a
short listening. Any experience with the
Spendor A6, theDevor Fidelity speakers
(Gibbons 9) or Sonus Faber and Vienna
Acoustic that you haven’t reviewed?
That brings us to the speaker cables,
I still own the ones I have bought 10
years ago; a relatively basic Prisma cable
that cost about $120 for a 20 feet length.
I consider them very decent but limited.
Any suggestion in the $500-$1000
range? It is a zoo out there for cables.
One of the options I have are the Van
den Hul Wind Mk2 (hybrid). Have you
any idea about their quality? One interesting
thing about them is that they are
sold in bulk, so I could re-use the WBT
nextgen connectors I have and like very
much. My local dealer is proposing not
to put sleeves on the wire if I use the
WBT to avoid an additional contact or
layer. Does it make sense, or would I be
compromising the quality of the sound
and the structural integrity of the cable
itself, made of a copper center with a
silver outside layer I think?
A different dealer told me to wait
after I have bought my new speakers
before I change the speakers cables to
fine-tune the match. Financially, I would
not have to compromise the quality of
one for the other so that does not make
a big difference for me. However, I have
never believed in compensating the deficiencies
of one product with the different
deficiencies or strengths of another.
That simply does not work. As they say
in English, two wrongs don’t make a
right.
André Pelletier
MONTRÉAL, QC
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 11
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We agree with that completely,
André. Some cable manufacturers, and
therefore their dealers, believe in using
cables as crude (and very expensive) tone
controls. We don’t. More generally,
nor do we believe in using cables or
any other peripheral upgrade as some
sort of miracle pill which will somehow
make the pain go away. A good cable can
enhance the resolution of a good system
and make it even better. If it merely
masks the flaws (and, generally, musical
detail along with it), it isn’t worth the
high cost.
Your system is a nicely-balanced one,
with no obvious weak spots. You could
certainly improve it with speakers such
as the Harbeths or Spendors. The Sonus
Faber and Vienna Acoustics models are
especially attractive choices too, but then
you’re drifting beyond the comfort zone
of your YBA Intégré amplifier. That
amplifier is very good, and was arguably
the first true high end integrated amp on
the North American market, especially
on the strength of its refined preamp
section, but it has limited muscle, even
in its DT (double transformer) version.
You may in fact look to a replacement for
it first.
We have reviewed several Van den
Hul cables we have liked, though not
the Wind. We strongly disagree with
the idea of using the WBT nextgen
connectors without sleeves. True, the
gold sleeve will add a third metal to the
already diverse copper-silver mix, but
using the connector screws to clamp bare
strands in place will result in an incomplete
and inconsistent termination. It’s
easy to see that some strands will be
clamped, but most will not. Each of the
connections will have different characteristics.
We don’t know what the final
result will sound like, but it’s not what
we would look forward to hearing.
I recently purchased a Krell S-300i
integrated amplifier. I should have
listened to it first, but I wanted an affordable
Krell because of the name. Well, to
make a long story short, I would like to
know if buying a warmer-sounding CD
would improve the clinical quality the
Krell lends to the music. Even if this does
not improve the overall effect, I need to
upgrade my old Denon.
I am leaning towards two players: the
Arcam FMJ CD37, because it will play
SACD and I would like to hear if there
is really a substantial improvement over
CDs, and the Simaudio Nova. I have
not had an opportunity to hear either,
because I live in New Mexico and the
stores in this area are all mass-market.
I have read conflicting Internet forums
concerning the musical character of
these players.
I will eventually want to upgrade my
speakers also. I currently have B&W
DM600 series and saw some B&W
703’s at a neighbor’s house, and they
sound very good. I would not mind your
opinion concerning the kinds of speakers
as well. I primarily play rock and electronica,
but I have a varied taste in music.
I am interested in getting richness and
warmth and nothing overly fatiguing to
listen to.
I am afraid I made the wrong choice
with the Krell, but if there is a way to
compensate for its shortcomings I would
greatly appreciate the advice.
Leslie Ambrose
NEW MEXICO

Leslie, it’s painful to realize that an
expensive purchase (and even in its basic
models Krell is not in the bargain business)
has turned out to be a mistake, but
of course the last thing you want to do is
compound the error by a second wrong
choice. Take a deep breath, and look at
the possibilities.
You have the disadvantage of being
far from real hi-fi stores, but you do have
a neighbor who has a pair of speakers that
pleased you. Would he let you bring your
Krell over and see how it sounds with
his system? You might want to offer to
wash his car or something! Bring along
some of the recordings that disappointed
you at home, and see whether they also
disappoint you at your neighbor’s place,
but especially whether they disappoint
you in the same way. That can tell you a
lot about the possible remedies, though
you need to remember that the source,
cables and acoustics are also different.
You will not be the first to complain
that Krell amplifiers have a clinical
sound, but before we leap to conclusions
remember that older digital players are
often described in the same way, and
the Krell may simply be making your
Denon’s already sterile character all
the more evident. Offer to wax your
neighbor’s kitchen floor, and perhaps
he’ll bring his player over to your place
for a comparison. Just a suggestion.
We really don’t recommend changing
your CD player until you can resolve
your misgivings over the Krell, either
by determining that it is not the primary
cause of your unhappiness, or by cutting
your losses and moving on. That’s for the
same reason that if your roof leaks you
don’t start by changing the windows,
however much they may need it.
In the longer term you may want
to look at a new CD player, of course.
SACD may be a feature to look for if
there is a significant choice in your
favored music (there are only a few
SACD titles in mainstream rock, and
hardly any in electronica). We should
add that we are now being cautious in
recommending one-box players with
no digital inputs. Many of our readers
have moved their digital music onto a
hard drive, and they then discover that
their players have expensive digital-toanalog
converters they can’t get at. Not
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everyone wants to do that, at least not
yet, but it’s a good idea to provide for
the future.
Congratulations on a wonderful
publication! I can now really appreciate
the importance of having a reference
system, as I’m currently searching for a
new CD player.
Of course I am able to listen to the
players I’m interested in, but the three
I’ve short-listed are sold at different
stores in different cities. Not only can
I not hear them in my own room with
my own system, but I can’t even listen
to them in the same room with the same
associated equipment.
I’m considering the Bryston BCD-1,
the Rega Saturn, and the Simaudio
CD3.3. I’ve read your favourable reviews
of the Bryston and the Simaudio CD-1,
but are you familiar with the CD3.3
or the Saturn? Care to compare the
three?
I know the Simaudio has an optional
digital input, but I already have one (four,
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 13
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actually) in my Bryston B100-DA SST.
The speakers are Martin Logan Aerius
electrostatics.
Ken Hicknell
KITCHENER, ON
We did like the Bryston, Ken, and
we think it would edge out the Saturn.
We’re not sure about the Simaudio,
which we haven’t heard under good
conditions.
As you no doubt know we no longer
review CD players that don’t have digital
inputs as well as outputs, because we
don’t think you should be paying for an
expensive digital-to-analog converter
(which may account for more than half
the cost of the player) if it can be used
only with the built-in disc drive. Of
course your Bryston has its own DAC,
and so you’re not really concerned about
that.
Which brings up the idea that perhaps
you don’t really need a full player.
A CD transport, plus a good digital
cable, may be a logical choice. The CEC
TL51X transport (which we own, and
sometimes use) would cost less than any
of the players you’re looking at. With the
explosion in the use of the computer as
a music source, standalone DAC’s are
becoming more popular, and you can
expect transports to make a comeback
14 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
as well.
I have been a subscriber for a number
of years and enjoy your magazine very
much. I purchased a Squeezebox on
your recommendation and I am very
happy with it. All of my CDs are stored
as FLAC files on a server, and I love the
convenience of choosing music without
having to change discs.
I am wondering if the Cambridge
DAC Magic reviewed in your latest
issue would provide a worthwhile
upgrade. The Squeezebox does support
an external DAC, however, I recall that
the Squeezebox’s DAC was pretty good
too. Would the Cambridge DAC Magic
provide even better sound?
Jeff Roberts
CASTLEGAR, BC
We would say yes, Jeff, because the
DAC in the Squeezebox is a freebie,
UHF on your desktop
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A Z
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ee
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thrown in as stopgap unless and until
you can afford better. A better DAC is
very much an upgrade to think about.
Other manufacturers are planning
similarly-priced DAC’s, and we expect
to review one or more shortly, but the
Cambridge is here now.
I am looking to upgrade my source.
I currently have the Linn Karik as my
transport and the Linn Numerik as the
DAC (yes I know, rather old, but still
good). This is coupled to a Van den
Hul preamp and two monoblock amps,
exiting through Totem Mani-2 speakers.
The preamp/amp/speakers and cables
(Actinolite) powered through an Audioprism
conditioner, were all purchased
new at the same time. I am exceptionally
pleased with the sound of this system
I am looking at spending approximately
$5k on an upgrade to my source,
and looking at the Linn Majik CD
player. I would then add a DAC at a later
date…or should I wait to buy both CD
player and DAC, as the Majik will not
be enough of an upgrade to the current
Karik/Numerik combination? Is it possible
to use the Numerik DAC with the
Majik? What DAC would you recommend
that would suit this system?
Steve Bedarf
BURLINGTON, ON
Steve, we should warn you that Linn
is discontinuing all of its CD players, so
if you’re going to get one you’ll need to
hurry. On the other hand, it has perhaps
done so for understandable reasons. We
ourselves are no longer reviewing CD
players that don’t have digital inputs as
well as outputs.
Beyond that, the Majik may actually
be a downgrade. Though the Linn
Karik and Numerik can be considered
thoroughly obsolete, they offered what
was at the time an innovation: a second
cable between transport and converter to
allow them to “talk” together for reduced
jitter. Whatever advantage the Majik
might offer, you’ll lose that advantage.
And in a future upgrade you’ll have to
buy a new converter, even though the
Majik has a perfectly good one already,
albeit one that is inaccessible.
The reason Linn is dropping CD
players is that it recommends streaming

music from a computer via Ethernet to
one of its DS (Digital Streaming) products,
such as the Klimax DS we reviewed
in UHF No. 84. For the moment you may
not choose to put your music on a hard
drive, but you also won’t want to invest
money in any dead ends. We would look
at transport and DAC combinations, or
at a CD player which can also be used
with other digital sources.
I was just reading your review of the
four-box Cyrus player (UHF No. 88).
I’m happy that you like it, because I use
the Cyrus Xt/PSX-R’s/ DAC XP (with
pre-amplifier function) combo myself.
But, like many, I would like to put
my music on hard disc and use iTunes
for selecting my albums, without losing
on quality, of course.
I’ve got a laptop, a wireless router and
a 1 TB hard disc with Ethernet connection.
The only thing missing is the link
between my computer network and the
DAC XP.
I think the best solution is to connect
an Airport Express by Ethernet cable to
the router (I suppose that a cable con-
nection is better than using the wireless
option?). And from the Airport Express
with an optical cable to the DAC XP.
Would this setup sound as good as my
Cyrus transport source?
In a perfect world the Airport
Express would have a coax digital output,
instead of an optical one. Then I could
re-use my current digital coax cable, and
be sure that the cable is not the weakest
link.
Emmanuel Du Four
GHENT, Belgium
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For details, visit our Electronic Edition page. To buy an issue or subscribe, visit
MagZee.
Emmanuel, our own comparisons
indicate that your Cyrus transport will
still outperform the Airport Express, but
by less than one might think. Indeed, at
this point CD players costing $2000 or
beyond are being matched or outperformed
by audio from computer, at least
under the best conditions.
If it’s practical for you to run Ethernet
cabling from your computer to a
remote Airport Express, that will give
you optimum results. If you’ll be running
wirelessly, we recommend using a
router that can broadcast on the 5 GHz
band rather than on the very crowded 2.4
GHz band. The audio quality is actually
superior.
However, note one limitation of the
Airport Express: it won’t pass high-resolution
music signals (24/96, 24/88.2, etc.)
without downsampling, even though
your converter could handle it. You can
transmit high-res via USB, but you can’t
run a long length of USB cable.
I came upon UHF when browsing the
Internet as I was conducting research
into soundproofing, and by chance came
upon an article by Paul Bergman relating
to the very subject.
I am a drummer and live in an
upstairs flat converted many years ago
from an old Victorian house. The internal
walls are just old wooden laths (slats)
and plaster simply applied over them. I
have carpet and underlay throughout my
flat (as stipulated in the lease).
I propose to create a drum practice
room in one of my bedrooms (to create
a room within a room where the floor,
walls and ceiling of the new room will
have an air gap so they will not touch the
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 15
Free Free Feedback Advice Advice

Free Free Feedback Advice Advice
original existing floor, walls or ceiling).
My main concern is to stop sound and
vibration transmitting though the floor
and ceiling to the flat below. There is
a window in one of the outside walls
also. I am lucky in that my downstairs
neighbour is very understanding and
reasonably tolerant, but all the same I
want to be able to play my drums when
it suits me!
I have an electronic kit which is actually
quite noisy even when played through
headphones, as there is hard thumping
of the pads and the kick drum. I much
prefer to play an acoustic kit, so to
this end I need to construct a practice
room.
The existing bedroom consists of
two external solid 9” thick external brick
walls and two internal stud walls, one
of which divides my bedroom from my
living room and the other from the landing
at the top of my stairs. I was wondering
about putting in a new suspended
floor by using wooden joists suspended
directly from joist hangers secured in
the walls with some form of thick dense
absorbent matting material. The new
floor would therefore be isolated from
the existing floor by around 12” (and also
will not touch the walls apart from where
the new joists will hang). From this new
floor I would then construct new stud
walls about 12” or so from the existing
walls. I am aware that the wooden studs
16 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
should be offset so the stud at the front
of the wall is not inline with the stud at
the rear of the wall, and that they should
have their own separate wooden plates. I
was hoping to apply the same technique
to the new ceiling too.
I would then seal all the corners, floor
and ceiling abutments using good quality
sound caulking material so there are no
gaps. I know I do not have the luxury
of a concrete floor in the basement, but
surely making a new suspended floor
with the necessary dense wadding, etc.
will be the next best thing. Oh yeah, I
have to include a suitable door to the new
room otherwise I would not be able to
get out!
Would it work? Any vibration passing
into the new suspended joists from
the use of the kick drum pedal would
be absorbed by the dense cushioning
around the joist hangers in the wall.
Using the bass drum itself, the resonance
being a very low frequency would be the
real mother to keep under control.
Once I have a sealed inner practice
room and nothing else touches the
original existing walls or ceiling (apart
Participate in Free Advice!
The Free Advice section was actually in our very first issue, and it is
one element that makes UHF different from other magazines. It’s not
that our ears are any better than yours, but we have, collectively, many
years of experience. Perhaps we’ve learned something that can help you.
You can submit your own question on line at uhfmail@uhfmag.com,
but note a couple of conditions.
Your question (and of course our answer) may be used in the on-line
version on our site, and it may also be used in the print version. For those
reasons, you need to supply your name and your home city.
(Can you submit a question and specify that it not be used? Yes…but
that’s a paid consultation service, currently costing $50/hour. Contact us
for details.)
from the new joist hangers), then can I
assume that this method of soundproofing
is the best way to go about things,
apart from trying to play the drums in
a vacuum!!?
Would the low frequencies of the bass
drum (and maybe a mate playing a bass
guitar through an amp now and then!)
still travel through the original walls of
my bedroom and continue down into the
flat below? What do you think?
Kweku Graves
LONDON, UK
Kweku, first off we should mention
that Paul did a newer article on
soundproofing, which can be found in
UHF No. 82. Of course the principles
discussed are the same, and so are the
two basic rules. (1) A vacuum aside, only
high mass can stop sound transmission.
(2) It takes only one simple soundtransmission
path to short-circuit the
most elaborate soundproofing measures
and render them useless.
But you know this already, because
it’s clear you have done considerable
research on the subject. Essentially
you’re on the right track, because you
know about using a suspended floor,
and using high-density caulking. This
approach will certainly work if it is
perfectly executed, but we’re not sure
it will be enough. Drumming produces
sharp transients with a lot of broadband
energy. If you’re using an acoustic drum
kit, you can attenuate the sound a lot and
still try the tolerance of your neighbors,
particularly your downstair neighbors.
We would throw in two more words
of caution.
We don’t know what is in your lease
besides the requirement for carpeting
the floors, but we would guess that doing
major structural renovations would
violate at least one clause, probably
more. Even if you wanted just to knock
down a wall to make a larger room, most
landlords would require a very long lease,
typically 10 years. In this case, it seems
evident that this level of alteration would
make it impossible to rent out the flat,
except of course to another drummer.
We would also be concerned about
the added mass to the building structure.
It seems evident that you would need to
have an architect draw up the plans and
make sure the addition will not overload
the building’s shell. Those plans will be
necessary to get a building permit, and
even so there may be municipal zoning
problems.
We would look seriously at alternatives,
such as using rehearsal space at a

school or community centre, perhaps
in conjunction with other musicians
facing the same problems as you. We
can understand the inconvenience of
travelling with musical gear, but that
may be the lesser of evils.
I have been following (and very much
enjoying!) your recent pieces on getting
music from computer. Much of my CD
collection now exists as uncompressed
files on a hard drive. I am using iTunes
to handle the files and a Logitech Squeezebox
to beam everything over to my
audio equipment. I love the convenience
of quick access to my collection from an
armchair, and I am now exploring ways
of achieving the same access to my vinyl
collection.
Some preliminary research reveals
myriad ways to digitize albums, ranging
from sound cards with analog inputs
(which I expect would give less than
optimal results) to professional-grade
studio equipment that costs several
thousand dollars. I am looking for a
“middle-of-the-road” solution that provides
good quality sound for a reasonable
price (under C$500?). I anticipate a
performance hit when converting from
analog to digital and back to analog again
and will employ my turntable for critical
listening sessions, but am hoping there is
a way to enjoy my vinyl collection when
it is not convenient (or when I am feeling
lazy) to get up and change records.
One of your readers, Lloyd, noted
in Free Advice in UHF No. 88 that he is
converting his LP collection to 24/96
audio. Do you know how he does this?
I also noted in UHF No. 87 that you
used an Edirol UA-25 audio interface
box and Audacity software to pull SACD
analog from your Linn Unidisk to your
computer. Would this setup be suitable
for recording analog from a turntable as
well?
Gord Speksnijder
PORT HOPE, ON
Gord, Lloyd didn’t mention how
he’s recording his LPs, but as for us we
are indeed using an Edirol UA-25 USB
interface box. An external box is less vulnerable
to a computer’s vicious internal
noise pollution than a sound card, and its
street price in Canada is about $230. We
A QUIET REVOLUTION
INTRODUCING THE QUIESSENCE SERIES FROM ETI
use the free Audacity software. We run
the Edirol from the “tape out” jacks on
our preamplifier. This setup can handle
both 16/44 and 24/96 recording.
For the moment your Squeezebox is
limited to 16/44, which is of course Red
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Book CD resolution. The same is true of
the present-day Airport Express. Technology
does not stand still, however,
and we have hopes for new chips, and
therefore new gear, possibly over the
next year.
FREE ADVICE ON LINE!
www.uhfmag.com/FreeAdvice.html
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 17
Free Free Feedback Advice Advice

The question was on everyone’s
lips: sure, there would be a
Consumer Electronics Show
in 2010, but would anyone
show up? The answer is a qualified yes.
Check the photo above, which is of the
hallway, not the Las Vegas Convention
Center itself. At times it was even difficult
to make one’s way through the
hordes of visitors.
But perhaps that’s not really a gauge
of the show’s success. A big part of the
reason for the crowds was that there were
far fewer exhibits, with the result that the
visitors were concentrated over a smaller
area. That was true at the Venetian,
where most of the high end exhibits
were located, and it was true at the “zoo”
(the Convention Centre) as well. As last
year, finding a good restaurant table even
during the show could be done for the
asking. It wasn’t always so.
The organizers figured on filling
space by adding special areas. There
was a section for exhibitors who used
to go to Macworld (long held at the
same time as CES), but who might no
18 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Feature
Vegas 2010
by Gerard Rejskind
longer want to go there because Apple
has abandoned the show. Sponsored by
iLounge, the section did include several
makers of Apple-related accessories,
especially those for the iPhone and iPod,
such as Griffin and the countless makers
of “skins” for the devices. Plenty more
special sections have been announced for
next year.
But if CES was hurting, at least a
little, Las Vegas was hurting a lot more.
The vast CityCenter casino/hotel/
condo/shopping/theatre complex (you
can see a small part of it on the next page)
was finally open, though the shopping
area remained a work in progress, and
the Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil show had
closed down for rejigging right after its
premiere (it has since been relaunched).
But then the complex is a joint project
of troubled MGM and (snicker!) Dubai.
Can you imagine a bank lending these
people money?
And not many others, apparently, had
found such favorable financing. The vast
vacant lot left by the demolition of the
Stardust and the New Frontier didn’t
have much going on.
In other respects Vegas was still
Vegas, a mixture of the sublime (the
Wynn, the Paris casino with its faux
Eiffel Tower) and the tacky. For the
latter, check the second image on the
next page. Barry Manilow (who?) was
returning, moving from the increasingly
shabby Hilton to Planet Hollywood.
Even more incredibly, Wayne Newton,
who was a headliner at Expo 67, was preparing
for a show at the Tropicana, the
once luxurious hotel that is all but crumbling
today. The all-too-appropriate
title of his show: “Once more before I
go.” Here I thought he’d gone long ago,
but Vegas is like that. The headliner at
my hotel last year was Tony Orlando
(sans Dawn). Touring Vegas shows is
like visiting wax museums…something
Vegas also has.
Prostitution is illegal in Clark
County, where Las Vegas is located,
but that doesn’t stop armies of low-paid
hucksters from offering cards with
phone numbers of “girls that (sic) want
to meet you” on anyone going by, including
children. Aiming a camera at them
brings scowls (see the bottom photo on
the next page), because I suspect this
trade is dominated by undocumented
workers.
I spent a lot of time in and around
the Venetian, because most (but not
all) of the real high end hi-fi stuff was
there. I heard plenty of the usual grumbling
from exhibitors. Example: check
the notice, above, on the closet where
the TV set and the bedding have been
stuffed. No, the hotel doesn’t want any
of this stuff damaged or disappearing,

ut the tone of the warning seems wrong
when aimed at companies that are spending
a lot of money to be there. Before
the show opened, some exhibitors told
me that the same seal would be applied
to the washrooms in the exhibit rooms.
Didn’t happen, happily.
There were protests from journalists
too, whose work was hampered by the
radical cutback in the size and facilities
of the press room at the Venetian. The
pretext was that the conferences had
been moved from the Venetian to the
plentiful empty space at the Convention
Centre, and therefore journalists would
be fewer in number. Perhaps, but the
many events on press day (the day before
the show opened officially) were still at
the Venetian, and the press room was
swamped. Add to that the fact that bloggers,
who used to have their own press
room, now had full journalist status,
and the competition for sulfuric coffee,
stone-like bagels and Ethernet connections
led to near riots.
As for me, I found an alternative:
a set of quiet tables with Italian coffee
and butter croissants, as well as high
speed Internet from which I could do
daily updates to the UHF site. No, I’m
not revealing where they are, because
it’s nice and quiet and I’m hoping it will
stay that way.
Still, the perception that CEA
doesn’t consider high end hi-fi to be an
important part of its mandate (which any
number of CEA spokespeople will deny)
opens the door for the “alternative” high
end interloper, known as T.H.E. Show,
to gain in popularity. Sure enough, a
number of high-profile exhibitors had
chosen the lower-cost show down the
way.
In 2009 no one was terribly optimistic
about the future of T.H.E. Show,
which was still way over at the Alexis
Park, where CES had once been but was
no more. It was lonely there, among the
tumbleweeds blowing down the corridors
(figuratively, anyway). This time
the show had gotten into the Flamingo,
an easy walk from the Venetian. No
shuttle buses were needed.
But the Flamingo presented its own
challenges. T.H.E. Show had been a
major event at Alexis Park, but it was lost
in the bustle of the much larger Flamingo.
I had difficulty finding it,
and hotel employees I
accosted hadn’t heard
of it. I finally found a
small sign, which led me
to it. However I toured
the entire show before
discovering that there was
another floor downstairs
where the registration
table was! I did register,
but by then I was ready to
move on anyway.
Incidentally, CES is
open only to people with
some connection to the
electronics trade, with
credentials to prove it,
but there seemed to be a
lot of “consultants” milling
about, not to mention
authors of blogs whose
existence had been heretofore
unknown. Perhaps
they were there for the
coffee and bagels. T.H.E.
Show, on the other hand,
is now also open to members
of audio societies.
Will it eventually open its
doors to the general public?
That question has been noised
around for a long time, and old CES
hands (like me) may recall that, in its
final year, the Summer CES in Chicago
did have a consumer day. It didn’t draw
big crowds, and it wasn’t popular with
exhibitors, who suspected that the visitors
who were asking about dealer prices
weren’t really dealers.
If you look at the photo on the previous
page, you’ll figure out that, for all
the talk about the tribulations of high
end audio, the big money at CES came
from the big multinationals, and especially
those who were presenting video
products. A high-end audio company
might have a hotel room, or even two
rooms, but at the LVCC some exhibitors
with recognizable logos had exhibits the
size of small towns. More on that in the
pages ahead.
I was there for both, of course. Highend
hi-fi is a niche, and always has been,
but in home theatre quality products
are a niche as well. Finding them in the
midst of the noise is my job.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 19
Feedback Feature

Feedback Feature
I keep seeing press articles that mention some company or other
making tube audio gear, and isn’t it some sort of novelty…who’d have
thunk it? Of course, those who follow the high end know better
than to think there’s anything unusual about vacuum tubes.
Of course, if it’s retro you’re looking for, the amplifier
at left is just what you need. Where do you find jewel lights
like the ones on this unit? Or round VU meters? Or toggle
switches like these? What you’re looking at is an MA-1
monoblock from Atma-Sphere. The original MA-1 (this
is the Mk.3.1 version) is from 1987, but the look would
have been just as retro then too. It’s an all-triode class A
amplifier with 140 watt output into an 8 ohm load.
The tube amplifier just below it looks rather
familiar. Yes, it’s a Quad II, the modern version of Peter
Walker’s famous tube amp of yesteryear. But hold on, is
that a volume control at right? Yes, and the smile-shaped slot
at left is an input selector. It’s an integrated version of the well-known amp.
Like the original, this is a class AB amplifier using push-pull 6L6
tubes (the ancestor of the extended “KT” family) to produce
25 watts per channel. The amplifier was driving a pair of
large Quad 2805 electrostatic speakers, descendents of
Quad’s legendary ESL-63’s. The source was analog,
a new $3595 turntable from Merrill-Williams the
R.E.A.L. 101 (the initials stand for “Rubber Elastomer
Acoustic Laminate, but you have to admire the
cleverness of the name). That price doesn’t include the
Ortofon tone arm and cartridge.
I should add that a lot of rooms had turntables
as sources, with their number seemingly increasing
with every year. Many
other rooms used computer
sources, often inexpensive
netbooks. Compact
Disc players weren’t
exactly absent, but
their presence was decidedly
discreet.
At right is an Audio Note single-ended tube monoblock
— and note the exceedingly tiny little tubes at the front. The amplifiers
were part of a large system, including a turntable and large corner speakers, all from Audio
Note. I should add that they’re from the British Audio Note company. The Japanese
firm of the same name was present as well with its own, quite different, gear, but was
not offering to play music.
At left is the latest version of the
Manley Stingray
integrated amp.
It’s now got
the model
n a m e
“ i Tu b e”
for a probably
obvious reason. It delivers
40 watts per channel in
pentode mode, half of that in Ultralinear.
It’s fairly affordable as such amps go, at just $3400. It sounded
very nice, though of course using an iPod as a source is very much
a compromise.
20 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine

I remember when Israel Blume of Coincident Audio Technology
made only speakers, and with limited high end pretensions. Not
anymore. Not only have the speakers soared in sophistication, but
he offers the possibility of an all-Coincident system.
Check the amplifier at right. But is it an amplifier? In fact it’s
the Statement line stage preamplifier, featuring a pair of unusual
101D direct-heated triodes, transformer-coupled volume controls
and balanced inputs and outputs. The price is $4999. The sound
in the Coincident room? First class.
Not shown here is the much less expensive Antique Sound Lab
AQ 1001 Mk II, with KT-88 output tubes. You possibly know
that ASL is a Chinese company, but its products are made
to the specs of its North American distributor, Divergent
Technology. It seemed absurdly affordable by the
standards of most of what I had heard, at $1950,
and it was producing exceptional sound. True,
it was accompanied by pretty good (and more
expensive) gear: a pair of Reference 3a Episode
speakers (they were on the cover of UHF No. 88),
and an emmLabs SACD player.
But I admit to a passion for dramatically-styled
gear, including tube gear, which is why I enjoyed
t h e Lars Type 1 amplifier (at left)
from Sweden’s Engström & Engström
(Lars Engström is one of the two founders). There’s
something special about its mix of fine wood and glass, which enhances
the warmth of the glowing 300B and 6V6 tubes. Even the rectifiers are tubes: a pair of
GZ34’s. There’s no attempt to overwhelm you with horsepower: the Type 1 puts out
20 watts per channel, and even so that’s at 1% harmonic distortion. You might, however,
be overwhelmed by the price: $36,000. I should add, however, that with a Holm CD
player and preamplifier from Denmark and a pair of Marten speakers, the sound was
in line with the looks: warm and lovely.
But I spent some time with an amplifier that makes the E&E sound like a bargain:
Yes, it’s interactive
Just click on the ad on the next page, and you know what will happen?
You’ll go right to the advertiser’s Web site…if there is one, and of course
if you are connected to the Internet at that moment.
Try it with any of the other ads in this issue.
Of course it works with the full (paid) electronic issue as well.
the VAC Statement 440, at bottom right. By the way, though it may look as though its
chassis is being reflected in a very shiny panel, in fact the chassis itself is double, with
a soft suspension between top and bottom.
Why? Well, anything can be microphonic, meaning that vibration can make it either
produce sound or modulate sound. The bottom chassis is the power supply. Kevin Hayes
says that with the Statement
440 (since bumped up to
450), he intended to make the
best possible amplifier regardless
of price. Numbers? Power is 450
watts per channel, with a price of
$72,000. Nice, but you’d expect that.
More affordable is another two-chassis unit, the Rogue Audio
Hera II (at left), which is a preamp, not an amp.
Its price tag of nearly $8000
is way beyond
what Rogue has
accustomed us
to, but it was at
the heart of the
best- sou nd i ng
Rogue system I
have yet heard. Lend
an ear.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 21
Feedback Feature

Feedback Feature
Loudspeakers, lots of loudspeakers. Perhaps
it’s because a speaker looks easier to make than
an amplifier, say. But even if you leave out the
junk, good speakers abound.
Above left is the Audio Physic
Cardeas, with designer Manfred Diestertich
next to it. That’s not a backlit panel on its
side, but a transparent panel with foil
behind it (you can decorate it the way
you want). Running from a Naim server
through a Nagra preamplifier and Tenor
amplifiers, this $36,000 speaker sounded
as good as I’d expect, which is to say
very good indeed. Just to its right is
Mike Creek with his new Epos Encore
50 loudspeaker (Creek bought Epos
some years ago). The price is nowhere
near the same, just below $2000. The
speakers were being driven by a Creek
Destiny amplifier, which costs even
less than the speaker. The sound had
plenty of punch, which is not always
an unalloyed virtue, but it scored
strongly on musicality as well. And
on value too, of course.
Has the speaker at left grabbed your
attention? We hope your wallet can
support your ambitions, because this
speaker, the Vivid Audio Giya G-1 will
add $58,000 to your debt load. I love offthe-wall
speakers, and this one qualifies,
22 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
but the sound (backed
by electronics with
similarly upscale
price tags) was no
laughing matter.
Nor was the speaker
at right, from KEF.
A couple of years
ago KEF was using
its hotel showroom
to demo the Muon,
a large aluminum
speaker that looked
l i k e t he T10 0 0
from Terminator 2.
This time it was
the Blade Concept,
a c a r b o n f i b r e
speaker not destined
f o r p r o d u c t ion,
because…KEF says it
would cost too much?
More than the nearly
$300,000 they want
for the Muon? And
which, apparently,
they’ve sold a number of? The Blade
Concept was one of the most pleasing
speakers at the show. The technology
is beginning to seep down into actual
production speakers (see Gossip&News in
this issue).
I was disappointed with the
new version of the Opera speaker from
Germany’s Acapella. It’s large and it
features an essentially massless ionic
tweeter, one of the smoothest transducers I have yet heard.
So how do you make it sound so shrill and unpleasant? I fled
the room, and that hasn’t happened before.
Here’s one more…unusual loudspeaker, the
ICE speaker, below right. It’s from
Harman/Kardon (you can see the
logo just below the woofer), and it
looks as though it could take on
the Titanic. But perhaps not,
because it’s smaller than you
would guess. It’s self-powered,
with touch sensitive volume
controls, and it’s intended for
“multimedia” devices, which
might include your computer
and your iPod. People I talked
to were split down the middle
on its appearance. Your call. The
system can be purchased directly
from the Harman/Kardon site
for $999.

I may have mentioned that there is
no sign of the death of the turntable,
not going by their presence at CES and
other shows. Indeed, it is the CD player
which seems like an endangered species,
squeezed between hard drives and
vinyl.
The most unusual table was probably
the EAR Disc Master, at right, from
celebrated maverick designer Tim de
Paravicini. You’ve probably noticed it
has two tone arms, which would seem to
make it a cartridge reviewer’s dream, but
there’s more, much more. Particularly
unusual is the drive system. The subplatter
is driven by a geared belt, which by its
very nature cannot slip. The platter and
subplatter are then coupled magnetically,
without contact.
It was playing through a pair of
Tim’s monoblock amplifiers (EAR is
not a company that does anything on
the cheap, before you ask), driving
Martens speakers. Yes,
the combination sounded
outstanding.
The turntable below
left is a VPI Classic,
which I’ve seen (and
heard) before. The
man in the checked
s h i r t i s K e i t h
Herron, designer
of the $6550 Herron
VTSP-3A preamplifier,
which is on the top shelf.
The violin tone on a Paganini
recording was rich but delightfully
smooth. Say, one could get used to this
newfangled vinyl thing!
One much anticipated table was the
Oracle MkVI, still built in the Eastern
Townships of Quebec, in the photo at
bottom left (with Stéphane Nadeau and
Why a free version?
Jacques Riendeau). It looks just like the
MkV, and that’s a good thing. Its major
For years now, we have been publishing, on our Web site, a free PDF
innovation is a set of three stabilizers,
version of our magazine.
one of which you can see in closeup at
The reason is simple. We know you’re looking for information, and
bottom right (it’s just to the left of the
that is almost certainly why you’ve come to visit our site. And that’s why
turntable pillar).
we give away what some competitors consider to be a startlingly large
What does it do? Sonically quite a lot.
amount of information…for free.
Turntable innovations don’t lend them-
We would give it all away for free, if we could still stay in business.
selves well to comparisons, because it’s
Recent figures indicate that each issue is getting downloaded as many
so difficult to make two turntables sound
as 100,000 times, and that figure keeps growing.
alike anyway, but the MkVI stabilizers
Yes, we know, if we had a nickel for each download…
have a “MkV” setting, so you can dial
Truth is, we’re in the business of helping you enjoy music at home
them out. The difference is pretty much
under the best possible conditions. And movies too. We’ll do what we need
evident. Dial them out and you can hear
to do in order to get the information to you.
a veil of brightness settle over the music.
Of course, we also want you to read our published editions too. We
Surface noise soars. Did the MkV really
hope that, having read this far, you’ll want to read on.
sound like that?
Oracles have never been in lowpriced
territory, of course. The table
costs $7700, or $9000 with the (highly
recommended) Turbo power supply. Add
the arm shown, and you’re at $16K.
But if you own a MkV you’ll want to
know whether you can upgrade. Indeed
you can, for $1700 plus a $100 installation
fee.
Say, you figure we can get our hands
on one for a review?
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 23
Feedback Feature

Feedback Feature
At every CES, companies try to
convince you that — shall we say — size
matters. They attempt to dazzle us with
ever-larger TV screens.
The one above is a 386 cm (152-inch)
Panasonic Viera. You say you want one?
Are you willing to install it in a vacant
lot and then build your house around it?
Do you have what it takes to smile when
the technician tells you he has “take it in
to the shop”?
There are other ways TV manufacturers
work to outdo each other beyond
just size. LG, still the South Korean
runner-up behind Samsung, had new
models with true LED backlighting, as
opposed to LED edge lighting (in which
LED’s around the screen edge illuminate
a rear reflector). Toshiba was showing
its “KIRA2 Super Local Dimming,”
which gets blacker blacks by…well, let’s
be blunt, by cheating. Toshiba was also
showing an odd idea: a TV set that can
tell whether you’re wearing your 3D
glasses, and shows you either a 2D or a
3D image accordingly. Just the thing for
the videophile with no friends.
Perhaps somewhat more promising is
Sharp’s Quad Pixel system, above right.
Instead of using three primary colors —
red, green and blue — it adds a fourth
color, yellow. Of course you can make a
perfectly good yellow from the regular
colors, but traditional (read: cathode
ray tube) sets had difficulty preventing
yellows from turning orange. The
Sharp demo would have made Van Gogh
24 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
happy, with its
fields of flowers,
especially
s u n f l o w e r s .
Performance on
other program
m ater ia l wa s
very good, but
the advantage of
the fourth color
was less than
evident.
I mentioned
LG, which is
making a major
effort to become
one of the major
TV makers. In
a purpose-built
booth off the
noisy main show floor, LG was showing
a surround-sound system
using its own loudspeakers…speakers
it means to
put into production. As
nearly as I could determine
in less than optimum circumstances,
these speakers
seem promising.
The pict u re below
shows one of the many 3D
displays, most from the
major TV makers (Sony,
Samsung, Panasonic) but
from some other companies
too. The big disappointment
was Sensio, a much-respected
Canadian pioneer in 3D-TV, exhibiting
on-site for the first time. Its demos were
third rate, with all of its screens showing
the coarse scan lines we recall from 1990.
A testy Sensio engineer told me that was
normal. I suggested he tour some of the
other booths.
Which had their own problems. A
lot of “3D” material isn’t really 3D. If
anything kills 3D television, that will
be it.

Thiel was back at CES, exhibiting
alongside Bryston. Their main room
(not the one with the wireless system,
whose purpose is different) was making
beautiful music, which was no surprise.
However the Thiel people were smiling
wanly, and for good reason. Their
cofounder and designer from the very
beginning, Jim Thiel, had died of cancer
a few months before.
In the photo above is Kathy Gornick,
who many years ago founded the company
along with Jim in a garage. A commemorative
evening was held in Jim’s
memory. It turned out Jim — one of the
genuinely
n i c e
people of the
industry, had a
lot of friends.
Including me.
S e e t h e
impressivelooking
open-reel
recorder on this page? It used to be
a Technics RS-1500, and its brilliant
design (we actually own four of them)
would have deserved a much
longer life. This one is from
J-Corder, which rebuilds the
innards and uses its experience
with fancy automobile
paints to make them look
like this. No two alike,
need we add?
I spent part of the
evening at the Dolby suite,
including a few pleasant
moments in the company’s egg chair
(at left). It is, as you would expect,
fitted for surround sound, with a lot
of 3D “acoustic foam to tame the
inevitable resonance from the walls.
I remember chairs like these being
popular in the late 1960’s, with two
differences: there were no loudspeakers,
and there was room for…ahem,
two people. “Surround” had a different
meaning then.
But that is not a commercial
product. What Dolby was showing
was a sound processing system
that lets you hear surround sound
through standard headphones on an
iPhone. It was surprisingly good, and
I wished I had it on mine for the plane
trip home.
Note, by the way, the big blue
holder with the yellow patch on my
CES badge. The yellow is the logo
of Best Buy, who paid for the badge
holders and actually had an exhibit at
CES Unveiled. Why? CES is not open
to the public. A Best Buy spokesman
told me the company wants to see what
consumers will be buying. Good reason
to attend, sure, but to exhibit?
A long walk through the endless aisles
of the “zoo” (the Las Vegas Convention
Centre) let me get a look at a number of
obscure Asian manufacturers, trolling
for distributors. Some had worthwhile
products that I’d be pleased to see
in stores, but many of them seemed
destined for failure. An example is the
company above, whose (presumably)
non-English-speaking management
should have Googled “scam” before
naming their company. The name makes
sense if you read it as “Gos Cam.” Yes,
it’s a camera, specifically a surveillance
camera.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 25
Feedback Feature

New name, new venue. The
Feedback Feature
Montréal 2010
“Festival” of lo these many
years became a Salon, and
it moved from the awkward
Centre Hilton to the much more pleasant
Hôtel Bonaventure. Nicer surroundings
(the ducks on the next page are taking
advantage of the greenery high atop the
massive structure). All good.
And there were other good things to
say about the Salon. My own impression
is that the really toxic nests of noise that
caused visitors to flee in recent years were
far fewer in number, and that there were
more attempts to tame the acoustics and
make real music. Of course, some exhibitors
succeeded better than others.
One who did particular well was Jeff
Joseph, who has been in this business
for a long time, though it was his first
visit to a Montreal show (he says he’ll be
back). He had set up his superb-sounding
Pulsar loudspeakers (top right on the
next page) at an angle to the room, a
clever way to tame the worst of the
room modes. The Pulsar is not exactly
an economy speaker, with a $7000 price
tag, but the music matches the money.
It was interesting to see what Jeff
26 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
was using as sources. He did have a CD
player (a Moon), but he was also using a
MacBook Pro computer and an Airport
Express. Did I mention the sound?
The Salon did include some very
large rooms, and inevitably there were
problems. Cabasse got one of the worst
ones, essentially part of a ballroom
walled off with partitions little better
than cardboard. Christophe Cabasse was
showing his cyclops-like round speaker,
La Sphère (you’ll see it on page 28).
This $205,000 system (Cabasse comes
to your house to set it up) is a four-way
quadramplified system which can really
work only in a large room, though perhaps
one made of more solid materials.
The included subwoofer had been placed
flush to a wall so that it wouldn’t “walk”
away because of vibrations. Not ideal,
but La Sphère is notable for coherence
and finesse as well as sheer decibels.
Another large room, but much more
solid, was that of Wilson Audio, which
was showing its replacement for the
iconic Watt/Puppy, dubbed the Sasha.
On page 28 you can see recording engi-
by Gerard Rejskind
neer (and also Wilson sales manager)
Peter McGrath, kneeling next to a
Sasha. As in previous years, Peter had
brought a digital recorder and some of
his master recordings. As you might
imagine, they sounded glorious. Among
the goodies: the young Chinese soprano
Xiang Xu singing Schubert, and excerpts
from Handel’s Messiah, and the operas
I Puritani and The Barber of Seville.
Nobody walked out while any of that
was playing.
Wilson Audio has streamlined its factory,
and despite improvements over the
Watt/Puppy, the Sasha is about $3000
cheaper, at $27,000. No, that’s not cheap,
but a number of people told me that was
their favorite room.
Another favorite was the Leema
room, with its tiny speaker making
big music, even making me suspect,
wrongly, that there was a subwoofer
hidden somewhere. It’s not often you see
a $1400 speaker getting raves from visitors,
but in this case it was unanimous.
By the way, you can see that the speaker,
shown on the next page, is damaged, and
we resisted the temptation to fix it up
with Photoshop. The “credit” goes to
UPS, and several other exhibitors told
me tales of woe (sometimes of whoa!)
concerning what the men in brown did
to their shipments.
Also small, but twice the price of
the Leema, is the Amphion Aragon 3
from Finland (at bottom on the next
page). Notice the deeply-flared tweeter,
designed to avoid refraction (with resulting
roughness and poor imaging). The
Amphions were driven by an inexpensive
($1095) Audio Analogue amplifier, and
were a crowd pleaser.
As at the Vegas show, the CD was
less plentiful than in previous years. A
number of exhibitors brought computers
and were playing their digital files
that way. Lots of others had turntables
(records are heavier to carry, but harder
to shoplift). The bright red table on page
29 is a model 309 from Thorens, and it
sounded very good playing the Beatles
remix from the Cirque du Soleil’s Love
album. We now have it in our hot little
hands, and we will begin listening sessions
shortly.
The 2011 Salon? Same venue, and it’s
an excellent choice.

Touring the Salon
there many turntables
here this year?” asked André,
a UHF reader who had just
“Are
walked in with his wife. I
was near the entrance, waiting for Marc
to arrive.
“Yes,” I said, “quite a few this year.”
“You know,” he explained, “I have
listened exclusively to LPs in the last two
years. I sold my CD player, and it was
a very good one,” he added, naming a
$4,000 model. “I couldn’t take it anymore,
I went back to LPs.”
Audiophiles, I noted this year, are
more divided than ever on their choice
of sources — more on that later. Marc
and I spent a long time listening to the
new Sasha W/P Wilson Audio speakers.
Driven by a pair of sculptured Pathos
amps, they offered us a musical guided
tour under the passionate guidance of
recording engineer Peter McGrath.
The rendition of Handel’s Messiah was
spectacular, but then again it always is.
But here it was open, airy and transparent.
Then, for something different, he
switched to his recording of a Bach
Sarabande for recorder and harpsichord.
Marc remarked how rare it is to hear a
decent reproduction of a recorder, in all
its woody complexity.
And, switching again to other musi-
cal textures, Peter selected his recent
recording of Beethoven’s Op. 18 String
Quartet played by the Artemis Quartet.
While we all enjoyed a clear view of their
performance, Peter explained that this
group had decided to play standing up,
reviving an old tradition. “You hear the
other players before hearing the sound
coming off the floor,” he added.
But the next piece floored us all,
another of his recordings of a live Christmas
concert for brass, bells and choir,
surrounded by an audience that filled
the room with laughter and applause.
Energy, joy and enthusiasm recreated as
if by magic! It was almost a shock to walk
out afterward, finding ourselves in a very
real and ordinary hallway.
When I toured the show with Marie-
Ève and Matthieu, I discovered how
different people hear sounds differently.
Marie-Ève complained once about too
much bass, saying that some sounds
touched her, physically “I can feel it in
my hands,” she explained. And when she
heard the eFicion F300 speakers playing
Patricia Barber on LP, she really loved the
natural sounding voice and percussion. I
smiled and pointed to the turntable and
then to the AMT tweeter (the Air Motion
by Albert Simon
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 27
Feedback Feature

Feedback Feature
brass and organ and their latest
work on DXD extreme resolution
24 bits/352 kHz from their new
album From the New World.
Quality you can feel.
We spent a long time listening
to a demonstration of the Micromega
Airstream concept using
their proprietary WHIFI system.
We were totally taken with the
sound of Nils Logren singing
Keith Don’t Go. The presence
and overall quality originating
from the computer files — this
unit can read files from 16/44 to
24/192 — was stunning. And the
possibilities offered (in Europe
only) are endless, 300,000 albums
added every month, available in
streaming audio. The music of
the world beckoning. A banquet of
overwhelming proportions.
On our way out, Matthieu, who
listens to his music mostly on iPod,
said only one word: impeccable.
Marie-Eve, who shares the same
listening mode, was hesitant, however,
concerned about the effect of
wifi on one’s health.
Marc had a different reaction to
the scope of this technology. He
first admitted that the sound was
How the electronic terrific, with version no loss of quality, works
and added that existing sources
We don’t mean this version, were because bound you to already disappear. know But how then it works. he It’s a PDF,
and you open it with Adobe reader, expressed etc. his concern about the trend
But we also have a paid electronic toward version, music which available is complete, in streaming without banners like
this one, or articles in fluent gibberish. technology. “How do we know on which
That one, because it is complete, servers has it is to stored be ordered on, in with which a country?” credit card. To open
it, you also have to download a he plugin asked. for “Music your copy is too of Adobe precious Reader to be or Acrobat.
You’ll receive a user name and password entrusted to to allow unknown you to entities. download There your full copy of
the magazine. You’ll need the same is too user much name risk and of a password loss of quality the first over time you open
the magazine on your computer, time,” but only he added. the first time. After that, it works like any
other PDF.
In the speakers-that-everyone-loved
For details, visit our Electronic category Edition were page. the To small buy an Leema issue or pair subscribe, Brother, visit Can You Spare a Dime. Denis was
MagZee.
we listened to, driven by the Tacuma also quite impressed, “What I really like
integrated amp and Antila CD player about them is that they tend to disappear,
of the same British manufacturer. Brian leaving the musicians standing right
Bromberg’s bass was stunning, coming here in the room.”
out of such small enclosures.
We were also very surprised at the
“It’s open, it’s airy,” said Marc. “Hide music coming out of the Finnish made
them behind a curtain,” he added, “and DSpeakers Servo series. This new kind
no one would guess their real size. I’ve of active design adapts itself to its sur-
never heard small speakers of such roundings, eliminating room resonances
quality.”
and allowing for a wider sweet spot.
Here we were, later on, listening to Denis thought the image was clearly
Odetta’s heart moving, bluesy version of defined on Bia’s version of Golden Slum-
Transformer invented by Oskar Heil
— biased, moi?). “I always had trouble
enjoying the sound of the double bass
on sound systems, but not here, why is
that?” she asked.
They were also very impressed with
the Fidelio recordings, especially their
recent one of Holst’s The Planets with
28 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
At left: Mari-Ève and Matthieu, the DSpeaker processor, Audio Research Reference 210, and the Lafleur MX-1
At right: Christophe Cabasse with La Sphère, and Peter McGrath with the Wilson Sasha

Below left: the Vivid B-1, designed in the UK, built in South Africa
Below right: The Thorens TD-309 and the Legacy Whisper HD speaker, with Heil tweeter and super-tweeter
bers, and I thought her 3D presence was Budwig, bass — the cym-
remarkable. Marie-Ève felt she was right bals sounded so refined,
there among us. In the same size cat- so fresh and right —
egory, Joseph Audio was featuring a pair followed by Doug
of uniquely-talented small speakers, and McLeod’s Come
we were treated to Louis Armstrong’s to Find CD.
unforgettable voice, alternating with We nodded
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition… s i l e n t l y ,
on organ, no less. Well spaced into the l o o k i n g
room, and placed at an angle to the walls, at each
these speakers displayed an authority we o t h e r
didn’t expect.
w i t h
ClearAudio, Luxman and Vivid were r a i s e d
a very comprehensive match. Diana eyebrows.
Krall Live in Paris is an amazing LP, Gershman Acoustics
vibrating with energy on the ClearAudio were introducing their newest
turntable, lively and yet with a rock solid products, speaker and interconnect
image. Then, with the same Luxman cables (yes, cables), linking their impres-
L-509u integrated amp and now the sive Black Swan speakers to a Roksan
D-06 SACD/CD player, driving the Caspian integrated amplifier and CD
uniquely shaped Vivid player; Mighty Sam McLain sounded
B-1 Speakers, we just right in the song Somebody Help
listened with Me. We also discovered the superbly
amazement to finished Ayon Triton tube integrated
the wonder- amp and Ayon CD-5 tube CD player
ful sound of making music through a no less beauti-
the Califorfully crafted pair of Legacy speakers,
nia Guitar the Focal HD model with Heil tweet-
Trio. No, ers. More appreciative nods with raised
it wasn’t eyebrows.
the same Later on, at the end of the day, over
Get the a s t hcomplete e a cup of coffee, Denis version
was looking into
LP but it space, “If I only had half an hour at this
No, this was free version just show,” is not complete, he said dreamily, though “I’d you spend could spend it in a couple
of hours reading as enjoy- it. Want the the Leema full version? speakers room.”
You can, able of course, and order “When the print something version, which sounds we wrong,” have published
for a quarter we of had a century. a said You Marc can as get we it were from leaving, our back “it issues is often page.
But we hard also have time a paid related electronic to the version, highs.” which I waited. is just “You like this one,
except that leaving it doesn’t the have can annoying always manage banners with like the this low one, range, and it doesn’t
have articles room. tailing off into somehow,” faux Latin. he Getting explained, the “but electronic badly version is of
course Lafleur faster, and Audio it is also reproduced cheaper. highs It costs have just an $4.30 aggressive (Canadian) and anywhere
in the were world. also Taxes, using a if they irritating are applicable, effect.” I are couldn’t included. agree more,
It’s ClearAudio available from turn- MagZee.com.
I thought.
table to feature And I wanted to verify something
their latest MX-1 else about problems related to repro-
speakers, coupled duced music. “I noticed how you reacted
with Sim Audio’s to loud sounds in some rooms,” I said,
Moon CD-3.3 and walking out with Matthieu and Mariepowered
by their i3.3 Ève but looking at her. “Yes, it really
integrated amp. We disturbed me,” she said, “physically.”
sat for a wonderful LP I then asked her a question to which I
recording of legend- knew the answer, “Do you have the same
ary drummer Shelly reaction when you hear loud sounds in
Manne and other circumstances, say with traffic or
Bill Evans, construction work?” She thought about
piano with it for a second.
M o n t y “Never,” she replied.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 29
Feedback Feature

Most audiophiles, whether
recent converts or longtime
hobbyists, are familiar
with the elements of
a stereo music system and how they fit
together. The source is connected to the
amplifier, the amplifier is connected to
the speakers, the footbone is connected
to the shinbone, the lipbone is connected
to the trombone.
However, now that digital music is
migrating to computer hard drives, the
flow is less obvious. Even audiophiles
who are geeky enough to know how
to solder may hesitate before tackling
a computer system, and even more
before figuring out a way to
connect one to a high-quality
music system.
But before we get to
the computer itself, let
us have a close look at
the component that has
been the dominant music
source since the mid-eighties,
the Compact Disc player.
Inside the player
A single-box player, the sort most
familiar today, actually contains an
entire chain of components, whose job
it is to reproduce music from a Compact
Disc.
1) The drive mechanism. This is the
device that spins the disc. It includes a
movable laser that swings across the CD
surface, while a matching photosensor
detects changes in brightness, which
correspond to the digital data recorded.
In fact it isn’t quite so simple, for several
reasons. First the data is not in linear
form, as it would be on an LP or a tape.
If it were, even a minor glitch on the disc
could wipe out an important section of
the music and cause catastrophic failure
(as happened regularly on the very first
digital tape recorders). Instead, the data
is scattered across the disc, using the
Reed-Solomon code. Second, the data
30 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Nuts&Bolts
Inside Computer Music
by Paul Bergman
is not actually recorded in binary form,
as a series of 1’s and 0’s. The pits on the
surface (actually the ridges, as seen from
the other side) are in much more compact
analog form. For instance, a ridge may
represent, by its length, the number of
0’s that must go by before the next 1.
That is an analog value,
but it is not an analog
of the music, and
c a n n o t b e
u s e d t o
reprod
u c e t h e
original signal
until it is interpreted,
and the digital
data stream reconstituted.
2) The servo system. This is an electronic
control circuit that tells the
drive to spin the disc and lets the laser
know where to look for the next piece of
information. It seems almost miraculous
not only that such a system can be built
reliably, but that it can be incorporated
into inexpensive mass-market devices.
3) The digital-to-analog converter.
The DAC is the bridge between the
digital and analog worlds. The recovered
(actually reconstituted) digital
signal is used to reconstruct a version
of the original analog signal. It is called
“analog” because there is a perfect analogy
between the swing in the voltage and
the air vibrations of the original sound.
In a Red Book CD player, data packets
come 44,100 times per second, and use
16 bits (binary digits) to describe the
music signal. It is, however, common
to “oversample,” to bump the sampling
rate up by four or more times, either by
repeating the data samples or by interpolating
them — creating an in-between
data packet. Oversampling avoids the use
of a sharp antialiasing filter to prevent
audio from colliding with the sampling
frequency.
4) Connections. All players in the
past two decades have included digital
outputs, which allow one to extract
the raw digital data and send it
to an external DAC. Only
recently have some players
appeared with digital
inputs, allowing the
use of the built-in
DAC with external
sources, such as computers.
Of course that is the
very subject I wish to discuss
in this article.
Storing music on a hard drive
At one time this was difficult to do,
because, as I have explained, the code is
stored on a CD in discontinuous form,
and one could not simply slide a track
from the CD to a hard drive window.
If one did, the result would be merely
a pointer to the original track, which
would work only if the CD were present.
Modern operating systems contain
algorithms that permit translation of the
data into the WAV format that is native
to Windows (or AIFF on the Mac),
simply by sliding the file onto the hard
drive window.
There may, however, be better ways
to do this. Such transfers do work quite
well with normal digital files, and for-

tunately so, because computer software
and files are quite intolerant of errors.
Recall, however, that the music on a
CD is neither in WAV or AIFF form. It
may, therefore, be advantageous to use a
method which can check the integrity of
the data as the transfer is being made.
Several programs can do this. Apple’s
iTunes, used by anyone who owns an
iPod, can be set to do it (in the preferences
general pane, choose Import Options, and
check using error correction.
On a Windows PC, MediaMonkey is
also used for the same purpose. There
are, however, limits to error correction
because of the translation process. If the
drive is consistent in its errors, there is
no way to get it right, because there is no
way to determine that an error actually
exists. The same would of course be true
if you were playing the CD directly in
your player.
Whatever method you select, you
now have a music file on your hard
drive. Potentially it can be very well
reproduced, because this time the actual
binary digital data is stored, not an
analog interpretation of that data. That
is possible because the magnetic disc is
a far more secure repository of data than
a plastic optical disc can ever be.
Backing It Up
I should hardly need to remind you
that data, if it has any value, needs to be
copied for safekeeping. Even if you keep
all of the original CDs you own, transferring
them to hard drive represents a
good deal of work, and you will not wish
to risk having to replicate the tasks. You
will want a second hard drive for a safety
copy, and you may want to ponder where
you will store it. An extra drive inside
or next to the computer may be a good
choice, but a fire or a burglary can lead
to the loss of both the original drive and
its safety copy.
Getting music where it needs to go
Once your music is on a hard drive,
you can play it back on the computer
itself. That’s convenient enough if your
computer is also your music system, but
if you are reading this magazine this is
in all likelihood not your case. You will
want to send the digital signal where it
needs to go. Of course you will need
some sort of DAC in order to turn the
signal back into analog, so that it can be
amplified and reproduced. A number of
transmission methods can be used.
1) Firewire. This Apple-invented
protocol, also known as IEEE 1394, is
now an international standard. In reallife
applications Firewire is much faster
than USB 2.0, and it will pass not only
Red Book data (16-bit/44.1 kHz), but up
to 24/192. It is not suited to long runs,
however. Though Firewire devices can
be daisy-chained, the length limit of any
single connecting cable is 4.5 metres.
Audiophile DAC’s seldom come with
Firewire, though some pro-audio devices
do.
Yes, it’s interactive
Just click on the ad on the next page, and you know what will happen?
You’ll go right to the advertiser’s Web site…if there is one, and of course
if you are connected to the Internet at that moment.
Try it with any of the other ads in this issue.
Of course it works with the full (paid) electronic issue as well.
2) USB. It is increasingly common for
audiophile DAC’s, amplifiers, preamplifiers
and even CD players to have USB
connections. Since modern computer
all have a USB bus, this is an appealing
way of getting from computer to external
device.
However USB can accept only short
runs of 5 metres, barely longer than
Firewire. Some commonly-used USB
chipsets offer poor performance, and on
many (but not all) systems the bandwidth
is limited to little more than Red Book
CD standard. This limitation is not
inherent in the standard, however, and
some USB devices will pass 24/96. This
is the case of numerous professional
input-output boxes I have worked with.
3) Ethernet. This cabling is commonly
used for home and business computer
networks. It is asynchronous, which
means it does not carry clock information,
and is theoretically immune to
system jitter. The cable itself is inexpensive,
and it can be used for very long
runs, making it suitable for setups in
which the computer is a long way from
the music system.
Not all devices are designed to use
Ethernet, however. The Linn “DS”
devices have Ethernet connection, and
so do the Logitech Squeezebox products.
Apple’s Airport Express is primarily a
wireless device, but it does have Ethernet
connectivity and can be used that way.
4) Wireless. This generally refers to
the use of some sort of Wi-Fi network,
which most people with computers
already have. There are a number of
devices that can connect to your Wi-Fi
network, and can receive streamed music
from your computer. That includes the
already-mentioned Squeezebox and the
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 31
Nuts&Bolts
Feedback

Nuts&Bolts
Feedback
very popular Airport Express. You can
actually use more than one of either
device, useful if you want music in several
places, but you don’t want to — or
cannot — install cabling.
Depending on the speed of your
network and the number of other user
on the air, you may experience dropouts,
small interruptions of the audio
stream. It’s best to use the much less
crowded 5.8 GHz band rather than the
more common 2.4 GHz band used by
most wireless users. Because some basic
networks are quite slow and crowded,
they are at present unsuited to highbandwidth
audio (24 bits with a sampling
rate of 88.2 kHz or higher).
Digital conversion
You will recall that one of the
important elements of a conventional
CD player is a DAC, a digital-to-analog
converter. However you choose to get
the digital signal from your computer to
your music system, you will need to turn
it back into an analog signal. Your ampli-
32 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
even if your computer is not close to your
music system.
To make the system practical, however,
you will want some sort of remote
control. Some specialized devices, like
the Squeezebox, come with their own
remotes, and some sort of readout screen.
There are also remote control applications
for such devices as the iPhone,
the iPod touch and the iPad. Apple has
a free Remote application for use with
iTunes. The $4 iAmpRemote application
can control the popular WinAmp
(on Windows). There are also a number
of applications that allow you to control
your computer remotely from an iPhone,
Android and other phones and devices.
With one of those, it doesn’t matter what
software is running on your desktop.
fier or preamplifier may have a built-in
Summing up
Although there can be many variations
in computer-based systems, the
basic elements will be the same.
DAC (of course, to be suitable for the The music will be placed on a hard
purpose it will need to have the type of drive attached to your computer, either
connector you wish to use). Some recent the main drive or (preferably) an ancil-
CD players have digital inputs, and may lary drive. If you anticipate that your
be used with an external digital source. music library will be large, begin on
Failing that, several companies are once the right foot by dedicating a new hard
again making standalone converters, drive to it, with a second hard drive for
some of them of extraordinary quality. maintaining a copy of the library.
Get the I complete should expect more to version
appear over the You will want some sort of “jukebox”
next year or two.
software for playing the music: iTunes,
No, this free version is not complete, though you could spend WinAmp, a couple etc.
of hours reading it. Manipulating Want the full the version? music
You will need some sort of link to
You can, of course, Playing order the back print a music version, file from which your we have get published the digital signal from the computer
for a quarter of a century. hard drive You is can not get difficult, it from and our indeed back issues to page. your music system: Ethernet, USB,
But we also have it can a paid be electronic done with version, a simple which command is just like Firewire, this one, or Wi-Fi (wireless). Your
except that it doesn’t from have the annoying file manager banners (Windows) like this or one, the and choice it doesn’t of gear may determine the link
have articles tailing Finder off into (Mac). faux That Latin. is hardly Getting convenient, the electronic you version can use. is of
course faster, and however, it is also cheaper. and you It will costs almost just $4.30 certainly (Canadian) If you’ve anywhere chosen the wireless option,
in the world. Taxes, want if they to use are some applicable, form of “jukebox” are included. soft- you’ll need a device to receive the signal
It’s available from ware MagZee.com.
for easy play. For those who own at your music system: Airport Express,
the ubiquitous Apple iPod, there is only Squeezebox, etc, and turn it into the sort
one sensible choice, and that is iTunes of digital signal a DAC can recognize.
(part of Mac OS X, and a free down- You will then need to convert the
load for Windows). The Squeezebox, digital signal back into analog, with the
it should be noted, comes with its own best DAC you can afford. The DAC
software but can be set to use the music may be a part of your existing amplifier,
database you specify, including that of preamplifier or even your CD player, but
iTunes.
several companies now make excellent
Whatever software you select, the standalone DAC’s.
functions are likely to be similar. You can Once you’ve recovered the analog
play music files in sequence, in random signal, you amplify it and reproduce it
order, or according to a playlist you have as you would the signal from any other
built. Any of these methods will work audio source.

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Home entertainment pundits
have not run short of reasons
why 3D video won’t
be more than a passing fad.
People have only just gotten their flat
screens and Blu-ray players. 3D doesn’t
lend itself to casual watching, which is
how most people (supposedly) watch
movies today. 3D gives people headaches.
3D is just a distracting gimmick. No
one wants to wear glasses just to watch
TV. There isn’t enough 3D content.
And so on.
You may think it’s the glasses, but
actually it’s the content. Hollywood says
all its films will be shot in 3D henceforth
(it made the same declaration in 1963),
but in the meantime studios are resorting
to fake 3D. No wonder so many
critics and spectators think it’s just a
distraction. What they’re watching is
not 3D.
The clue is the number of producers
hard at work “converting” 2D movies to
3D. This is a lot like perpetual motion,
which means you can dismiss it as impossible
simply because it violates the laws
of physics. Or does it?
Yes and no.
A 3D image is created by shooting a
scene from two different points of view,
34 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Cinema
When 3D falls Flat
separated by about the distance between
our two eyes. One image is meant for
your left eye, the other for your right eye.
There are different ways of delivering
each image to the eye that needs to see
it, but what do you do if there was only
one image to start with? Where do you
get the second image?
There are in fact two ways of doing it,
and only two ways. One results in real 3D,
amazingly enough. The other — more
common — results in fake 3D. Let’s look
at the fake one first.
Fake it till you make it
If you have experience with a modern
version of Photoshop, you’ll know there
are several ways of separating an object
from its background. Indeed, at UHF
we do that all the time, which is why
products we review are shown with only
the white of the paper behind it. Doing
the same thing with a moving image is
more difficult, but professional-grade
computer software helps make it easier.
In our case, of course, we simply discard
the background, but moviemakers
are left with a background that has a hole
in it. There are several ways of plugging
the hole, and they have in fact existed
well before computers. You may recall
that in Soviet times the politburo had a
practice of removing disgraced officials
from photographs. With a little retouching,
no hole was left.
Let’s try it, using an original 2D
image.
If the scene was actually produced
with computer software, as often happens,
the conversion is even easier,
since no separation is required. The
foreground and background objects were
actually created separately.
Therefore we now have two separate
images, one of the foreground character,
the other of the background with
the hole filled. We can put them back
together, making up two images, in
which the foreground actor is slightly
shifted to the side in one of the images.
If we make a stereo pair from those
two images, the actor will seem to be
closer to us than the background. For
an example, see the top picture pair on
the next page. Cross your eyes until the
two images fuse into one. Got it?
Trouble is, that’s not 3D.
Check out the rest of the article in
the print issue, or the electronic version,
available inexpensively.
Re facin henis nisl iustrud enim aute
duis dignisc iliscipissi.
Tum veliquat ulpute dolore volore
facipsum esequat. Ut lan veliquat praese
facilit lutpat nibh euguero ea feuguer
suscing enismod dolorero odiamco
rtiscil lamconsequat wismod modion vel
ulputat. Utpation utpat augait am, core

tisi.
An hendreet nonsenim dit, ver sustrud
dunt utet autem quam, sis augue
magniam consequat adipis adiam, consed
te ming esent loborper iure commodio
commodit lum zzriure vullumsan henim
iustin utatum vel ilis aut loborperilla
feum do odolore commodolore dolore
dolesto eu feu feu feuipsu scipit ad molorem
ex ero odolobore dolobortie digna
conullaor si bla consecte et exerit lum
alismolore ming esent vullamc onullan
henisl ute core vent volor si.
Sumsandre con hent ilit nim nis
accum nissequam ero eraestrud dolore
ese dolore dolutat, volobore diat praestismod
te facilla facil inci blan et aliquis
ciliquiscil dignis am quis niamet nisse
eniamet, sis nibh eraesen dionum zzrilla
feuipis modolut adip euis dolessi.
Iquametuerat nullamc ommolore con
utatuer ostinit nos eugiam nos adionsed
euisi ex eril ilismod te te mod et adionse
quissent aliquisi te doluptat ing enit
ea alis accumsan velessectem dolorpe
rostrud dipis nonsenisi.
Not just hardware…
What long-time readers tell us they most like about UHF is that it
does more than review amplifiers and speakers.
In every issue, we discuss ideas.
We try to tell you what you need to know, besides what CD player to
buy.
It’s one of the features that makes UHF Magazine unlike any other
audio magazine.
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tat.
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nit aliquisi eu facincidunt lobor
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feugait eros nisl utatum ip el ex eu feui eu
facipsusto ea faccums andignis dit illaore
do odit ilis dipit do euis eui te feugait nia-
mcom modolor perilluptat. To commy
nim iustio duipis num nostrud magna
facip euis exerosto dolor sequipit augait
lor se commodo lobore dolore conse
conumsandit aliquisci tet lore tio eugait
ad magnit utpat la feum nisl exercil
lutatio consed tatem zzrilit aliquam quat
utpat wisit praestie feuisim num do od
exer augait duisse et lumsan etuercilisit
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elenisi.
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ut iusto dit nos accum.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 35
Feedback Feature

Someday there really may
Feedback Cinema
be LED TV sets, with
images made up of tiny
light-emitting diodes.
We aren’t there yet. For the
moment, an “LED TV” is a conventional
liquid crystal display
that is backlit with diodes rather
than those dreadful fluorescent
tubes.
Don’t underestimate how
evil fluorescents really are. If
you’ve worked in an office tower
you know that they are a tool of
the devil. They’re supposedly
preferred because they waste less
electricity…then they’re left to
burn 24/7.
But we’re drifting off-topic.
Fluorescent bulbs are bad for TV
images just as they are for your eyesight
and your growing migraines, and for
many of the same reasons. Foremost is
that their light output spectrum resembles
nothing found in nature. Everyone
notices how bluish they are, but filtering
their light doesn’t help, because much
of the red end of the spectrum isn’t just
anemic, it’s missing. Rebalance that if you
can! Worse is that gasses in the tube glow
at their characteristic color. The result
is a color response curve that has a lot of
spikes in it.
LED’s, on the other hand, are solid
state devices (the “D” stands for “diode”),
without those quirky spikes. And you
know what? They’re even more efficient
than fluorescents.
We can probably assume an LEDbacklit
TV is going to be better than
one with a fluorescent, but will it be good
enough to take on plasma? Plasma may
not be the ultimate in television displays,
but it’s been the best commercially available
for a long time now. LCD has been
inferior for many years. Advances are
36 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
“LED TV”
vs Plasma
being made, though. What if the panel
were backlit with a better lamp, like one
made up of LED’s?
Several manufacturers have been
criticized for using “LED TV” for a
product that is actually an LCD panel.
Even so, there are two sorts of “LED
TV.”
The first, in some models from Sony
and LG, use an array of red, green and
blue diodes behind the panel to backlight
it (note that the image is still created by
conventional liquid crystals). The second
uses an array of white LED’s around the
frame edge, lighting a diffuser placed
behind the LCD panel. That’s the
technology used in this Samsung TV
(catchily named 46B6000VF), and most
“LED” TV’s.
The newest HDTV sets
are LCDs, backlit with
light-emitting diodes.
Has plasma finally
been outclassed? We
compared them.
Those elusive blacks
It’s important to realize that sets
like these are still LCDs, because
they share an important weakness
of the LCD. No matter
the light source, the liquid crystals
either let the backlighting
through, or they turn opaque
and they don’t. But they can
never be completely opaque, and
for that reason “black” is never
really black. The same is true
even of true LED panels, the ones
with arrays of red, green and blue
diodes right behind the screen.
Those sets, however, simulate
blackness by local dimming:
actually turning off the diodes if
the circuit detects blackness. Note the
use of the word simulate. The problem is
that there are fewer diodes than pixels,
and so local dimming is implemented
across individual cells. One result can
be that, for instance, a starry sky will be
rendered as black.
We should add that newer plasma
screens also use local dimming. It can
be turned off, fortunately.
The LCD advantage
When we selected our Samsung
plasma HDTV two years ago, plasma
was already declining in total sales
against LCD TV sets. Indeed, some
manufacturers, such as Toshiba, had
dropped plasma entirely, despite a narrowing
price spread. Why?
There are certainly advantages to
LCD, especially with superior LED
backlighting. An LCD set can be thin
enough to hang on the wall like a picture.
The Samsung we reviewed here is
just 2.5 cm thick — that’s an inch! The
connections are oriented edgewise, so
that cables need not stick out. The sets
are lighter too. They may even be more
durable.
That last point is uncertain. Current
major brand plasma sets have a half-life
rating of 30,000 hours (the time for
brightness to drop by half). That’s three
and a half years of continuous operation,
and it’s obvious that no such test can
possibly have been carried out.
Plasma screens, however, are vulnerable
to screen burning, which happens
if you leave it on a bright unchanging

scene, such as a video game page. This
doesn’t happen much, fortunately,
though plasmas do currently suffer from
image retention, a temporary storing of an
image. After you watch a 4:3 movie, for
instance, the sides of the screen will look
(temporarily) different from the centre.
How long can an LCD set last? The
fluorescent-backlit sets have a limited
life, because few people ever spend the
large amount to change the bulb. These
are essentially throwaway sets. LEDbacklit
sets can be expected to last much,
much longer.
The LCD has one final advantage:
brightness. This is more of a sales feature
than an actual advantage, because
shoppers in the typical overlit Big Box
store, it is believed, are drawn to bright
screens as moths to a flame. Most sets
are turned up to torch mode, so bright
you could get a tan watching it. It’s disconcerting
to think that some purchasers
will actually run them that way at home,
though it might make sense if they watch
with sunlight streaming in through the
panoramic window.
Samsung sets do have a torch mode
(actually called “dynamic”), though
to the company’s credit it doesn’t ship
them that way. Both plasma and LCD
sets arrive set to a global setting called
Warm2, which is the one most likely
to give you maximum detail. What is
confusing is that there is another setting
labelled “Natural,” which you might be
tempted by, but which actually punches
up the image in grotesque fashion. The
Samsung instruction manual does recommend
Warm2 for use in a darkened
room. Need we add that such a room is
the only setting for anything but casual
viewing?
Setting it up
We assumed, not unreasonably, that
using the same settings as we had used
for our Samsung plasma would get us
at least close to optimum performance.
Our review set had come from another
publication, unnamed, and had therefore
been preset for that test. Some settings
looked right, but we looked askance at
the contrast setting, which was way up
at 90%. We took it down to 45%, and we
adjusted the brightness accordingly, to
give a moderately brilliant image with as
wide a tonal range as possible. It looked
right…until we began watching actual
movies.
The problem was in the dark parts of
the image. What should have been inky
black was actually muddy and brownish.
We could darken them again with the
brightness control, but then the highlights
would look dead. This LED-LCD
panel has an extra control our plasma
doesn’t have: backlighting. We juggled
the three settings until we came up with
what we could consider acceptable over
a wide range of scenes. Final settings:
contrast at 95%, brightness at 45%,
backlight at 5 (out of 10). That wound
up quite close to the settings on our own
plasma panel.
With that done, we selected three
scenes on particularly good Blu-ray
films, and watched them on our reference
HDTV. We then set up a stand in
front of it so we could place the LED
panel in front of it. Since it would then
be blocking our Thiel centre speaker, we
ran the test with our preamp/processor
in “phantom” mode, with the centre
audio re-routed to the left and right front
speakers.
The comparison
The first selection is one we have used
before: the Parkour (chase) scene early in
Casino Royale, the first James Bond film
with Daniel Craig in the 007 role. It has
color and plenty of fast movement, with
a very wide tonal scale. It would give us,
among other things, a look at how well
the LED-LCD’s 120 Hz mode could
handle movement.
Both the print issue and the paid
electronic version at magzee.com have
the complete text of this review. But for
now we revert to filler text, which looks
like Latin but isn’t.
Re facin henis nisl iustrud enim aute
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 37
Feedback Cinema

Feedback Cinema
duis dignisc iliscipissi.
Tum veliquat ulpute dolore volore
facipsum esequat. Ut lan veliquat praese
facilit lutpat nibh euguero ea feuguer
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rtiscil lamconsequat wismod modion vel
ulputat. Utpation utpat augait am, core
tisi.
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dunt utet autem quam, sis augue
magniam consequat adipis adiam, consed
te ming esent loborper iure commodio
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iustin utatum vel ilis aut loborperilla
feum do odolore commodolore dolore
dolesto eu feu feu feuipsu scipit ad molorem
ex ero odolobore dolobortie digna
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alismolore ming esent vullamc onullan
henisl ute core vent volor si.
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accum nissequam ero eraestrud dolore
ese dolore dolutat, volobore diat praestismod
te facilla facil inci blan et aliquis
ciliquiscil dignis am quis niamet nisse
eniamet, sis nibh eraesen dionum zzrilla
feuipis modolut adip euis dolessi.
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utatuer ostinit nos eugiam nos adionsed
euisi ex eril ilismod te te mod et adionse
quissent aliquisi te doluptat ing enit
ea alis accumsan velessectem dolorpe
rostrud dipis nonsenisi.
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mincilit acing er accum vulput in
utat, quat ad eril doloreet lan euismol
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quamconulla commy niation sequatie el
ip ea augait, consequam adionsectet alis
ex exer sum zzriure eugiam iriurerit ad
eros dit alit num del ullutpat, sisisl et et
volorper si blam, quatem init, consequi
bla coreet, vent iriusci bla feu feuipis
38 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
modolore dolesse conulla feuis adit laor
ilit lutpatin el in velisci ncilla facinibh
eugait adipit nibh et nis nonsed magna
feummod do coreros eugait il ex eugait
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lore facilis sequat. Duis ad dolor adiam
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tat.
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lutpat nullam velesto commolortie
dolorpe riurem zzrit, senit nonsequis
nibh er sum nim aliquis at accumsa
ndrercipsum vent nullam, venis nim
ipisim irit num euisis nisl ing elit wis
adionullamet praestrud tie consequatue
faccum autet, quis aliquat irilismolore
exerat acidunt dolesto ex er incilis essim
numsandrem verosto eummy nim
velendre er ing euis nonulla faccumm
olortionulla feuipsum eu facipis cipit,
volobore erillaor in utpatie vel iustisl
dipisim zzrillutetue corpera esendit
ipisi blandrer susci te magna feugait
vel ut iniam, velis amcore facilisl erit
venit augait lute tem ing ercilit, velisci
liquatuer il utatue consequat.
Cil et veraessisl utat, sed tio dionsendipit
nit aliquisi eu facincidunt lobor
iure do ero dignit ullaortion ute feugiat.
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elenisi.
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aut velit veros!

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.
THE ACOUSTIC COLLECTION:
This is the closest we can get to a book on
acoustics by Paul Bergman. Issues No.77-
84: eight issues available for the price of five
issues. Including Paul Bergman’s complete
series on acoustics for audiophiles (room size
and acoustics, taming reverberation, absorbing
sound, absorbing unwanted low frequencies, diffusing
sound, soundproofing, speaker placement
and room acoustics, and signals for acoustic
measurement).
No. 88: High resolution music: We open our
copies of Reference Recordings’ HRx 24/176.4
recordings, and check how good you can make
them sound right now. Reviews: Two upscale
speakers, the Reference 3A Episode and the
Audes Orpheus. An amazing four-box CD player
from Cyrus. Cambridge’s affordable DACMagic.
Blue Circle’s unusual Fon Lo phono preamps,
two new cables from BIS, and new headphones
from AblePlanet. We try to determine whether a
“better” USB cable actually sounds better. Plus:
Paul Bergman on why so many “stereo” recordings
are done with a single microphone.
No. 87: Digital: We review the April Music Eximus
CD player, and we plug things into its digital
inputs. We also try to get great sound from the
increasingly popular Apple Airport Express.
Analog: We listen to the Audiomat Phono-1.6,
successor to our reference phono preamp, and
a hand-wound step-up transformer from Allnic.
Plus: A lovely little tube amp from Audio Space,
the Pioneer BDP-11FD Blu-ray player, and a
feature article on good sound in bad times.
No.86: Analog: We review the Scheu Analogue
Premier II turntable and Cantus arm, and we try
two phono preamps: the Allnic H-1200 and the
Moon LP3. Also: We continue our investigation
of speaker connectors by putting WBT nextgens
on our reference cable, we listen to Beats headphones,
as well as the Shure SE530 and SE420
phones. We also put the Zoom H2 palm-sized
digital recorder through a tough test. Plus: color
space in home theatre, Paul Bergman on analog
in a digital world.
No.85: Integrated amplifiers: the luxurious
Sugden A21SE and the affordable Vecteur
Ai4. We evaluate Eichmann’s new Quiessence
cables, and chat with Keith Eichmann himself.
We listen to a very good mid-priced speaker
cable with four different connectors, and the
results leave us stunned. Plus: We choose
(and evaluate in depth) a new HDTV reference
monitor, Paul Bergman winds up his series on
acoustics, and we tell you how to transfer music
to hard drive without saying you’re sorry.
No.84: Digital streaming: the awesome Linn
Klimax DS and the Off-Ramp Turbo 2 interface.
Also: the classic Harbeth HL5 speaker, the
affordable Moon CD-1 and i-1 amplifier, and
a great phono stage from Aurum. Plus: UHF
chats with Linn’s Gilad Tiefenbrun and Harbeth’s
Alan Shaw, Paul Bergman discusses signals for
acoustic measurement, and we look at the prospects
for 3-D…at home and in the cinema.
No.83: Digital: The Raysonic CD128 and a lowcost
player from VisionQuest. Other reviews: The
Moon LP5.3 phono stage, the Castle Richmond
7i speaker, the upscale Mavros cables from
Atlas, and a retest of the Power Foundation III
line filter, with a better power cord this time. Plus:
The acoustics of speaker placement, the two
meanings of video image contrast, and a portrait
of super tenor Placido Domingo.
No.82: Amplifiers: A large sweet tube amplifier
from Audio Space, the Reference 3.1, and the
reincarnation of an old favorite, the Sugden A21.
Digital: Bryston's first CD player, and the Blue
Circle "Thingee," with USB at one end and lots of
outputs at the other end. Plus: the BC Acoustique
A3 speaker, a small subwoofer, two more London
phono cartridges, line filters from AudioPrism
and BIS, a blind test of three interconnects, Paul
Bergman on soundproofing, and a thorough test
of Sony's new-generation Blu-ray player
No.81: Digital: The newest two-box CD player
from Reimyo, and the magical Linn Majik
player. Headphones a new version of our long
time reference headphones, from the Koss pro
division, and the affordable SR-125 headphones
from Grado. Plus: The astonishing Sonogram
loudspeakers from Gershman, a small but lovely
tube integrated amplifier from CEC, and the
London Reference phono cartridge.
No.80: Equipment reviews: From Linn, the
Artikulat 350A active speakers, the updated
LP12 turntable, the Klimax Kontrol preamplifier,
and the Linto phono stage; ASW Genius 300
speakers, ModWright preamp and phono stage.
Also: Bergman on absorbing low frequencies,
emerging technologies for home theatre, and
coverage of the Montreal Festival.
No.79: Digital players: Simaudio’s flagship
DVD (and CD) player, the Calypso, and Creek’s
surprising economy EVO player. Phono stages:
A slick tube unit from Marchand, and the superb
Sonneteer Sedley, with USB input and output.
Plus: the talented JAS Oscar loudspeakers, the
Squeezebox plus our own monster power supply.
Also: Bergman on what absorbs sound and what
doesn’t, what’s next in home theatre, Vegas
2007, and the secrets of the harmonica.
No.78: Integrated amplifiers: the affordable
Creek EVO, and the (also affordable) Audio
Space AS-3i. Loudspeaker cables: six of them
from Atlas and Actinote, in a blind test. Plus:
the astonishing Aurum Acoustics Integris 300B
complete system, and its optional CD player/
preamplifier. Whew! Also: Bergman on taming
reverberation, how to put seven hours of uncompressed
music on just one disc, and the one
opera that even non-opera people know.
No.77: Electronics: The Simaudio Moon P-8
preamplifier, the successor to the legendary
Bryston 2B power amp, the Antique Sound Lab
Lux DT phono stage. Plus: the Reimyo DAP-777
converter, an affordable CD player/integrated
amp pair from CEC, and five power cords. Also:
Paul Bergman on room size and acoustics, how
to dezone foreign DVDs, and how to make your
own 24/96 high resolution discs at home.
No.76: Loudspeakers: a new look at the modern
version of the Totem Mani-2, an affordable ELAC
speaker with a Heil tweeter, and the even more
affordable Castle Richmond 3i. Plus headphone
amps from Lehmann, CEC and Benchmark, a
charger that can do all your portables, and the
Squeezebox 3, which gets true hi-fi music from
your computer to your stereo system. Bergman
on speaker impedance and how to measure it.
No.75: Amplifiers: The new Simaudio Moon W-8
flagship, and integrated amps from Copland (the
CTA-405) and CEC. Speakers: the Reference 3a
Veena and the Energy Reference Connoisseur
reborn. Plus the Benchmark DAC converter. And
also: Bergman on the changing concept of hi-fi
and stereo, a chat with FIM’s Winston Ma, and
the rediscovery of a great Baroque composer,
Christoph Graupner.
No.74: Amplifiers: Mimetism 15.2, Qinpu A-8000,
Raysonic SP-100, Cyrus 8vs and Rogue Stereo
90. More reviews: Atlantis Argentera speaker,
Back Issues
Cyrus CD8X player, GutWire MaxCon 2 line
filter, Harmony remote, Music Studio 10 recording
software. Cables: Atlas, Stager, BIS and
DNM, including a look at how length affects
digital cables. Plus: the (hi-fi) digital jukebox,
why HDTV doesn’t always mean what you think,
and Reine Lessard on The Man Who Invented
Rock’n’Roll.
No.73: Integrated amplifiers: Audiomat Récital
and Exposure 2010S. Analog: Turntables
from Roksan (Radius 5) and Goldring (the
Rega-designed GR2), plus two cartridges, and
four phono stages from CEC, Marchand and
Goldring. The Harmonix Reimyo CD player,
Audiomat Maestro DAC, ASW Genius 400
speakers, and the Sonneteer BardOne wireless
system. Plus: Paul Bergman on the making of an
LP and why they don’t all sound the same.
No.72: Music from data: We look at ways you
can make your own audiophile CDs with equipment
you already have, and we test a DAC that
yields hi-fi from your computer. We review the
new Audio Reference speakers, the updated
Connoisseur single-ended tube amp, upscale
Actinote cables, and Gershman’s Acoustic Art
panels. How to tune up your system for an inexpensive
performance boost. And much more.
No.71: Small speaker: Reference 3a Dulcet,
Totem Rainmaker, and a low cost speaker from
France. A blind cable test: five cables from Atlas,
and a Wireworld cable with different connectors
(Eichmann, WBT nextgen, and Wireworld). The
McCormack UDP-1 universal player, muRata
super tweeters, Simaudio I-3 amp and Equinox
CD player. Paul Bergman examines differences
behind two-channel stereo and multichannel.
No.70: How SACD won the war…or how DVD-A
blew it. Reviews: Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal
player and Shanling SCD-T200 player. Speakers:
Reference 3a Royal Virtuoso, Equation 25,
Wilson Benesch Curve. Other reviews: Simaudio
W-5LE amp, the iPod as an audiophile source.
Plus: future video screens, and the eternal music
of George Gershwin
No.69: Tube Electronics: Audiomat Opéra ,
Connoisseur SE-2 and Copland CSA29 integrated
amps, and Shanling SP-80 monoblocks.
Audiomat's Phono 1.5, Creek CD50, GutWire's
NotePad and a music-related computer game
that made us laugh out loud. Paul Bergman on
the return of the tube, and how music critics did
their best to kill the world’s greatest music.
No.68: Loudspeakers: Thiel CS2.4, Focus Audio
FS688, Iliad B1. Electronics:Vecteur I-6.2 and
Audiomat Arpège integrated amps, 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: An improved Reference
3a MM de Capo, and the Living Voice Avatar
OBX-R. Centre speakers 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: choosing our HDTV monitor, plus
a review of the Moon Stellar DVD player. Antivibration:
Atacama, Symposium, Golden Sound,
Solid-Tech, Audioprism, Tenderfeet. Plus an
interview with Rega’s turntable designer,.
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 cleaning machine, an
interview with Ray Kimber.
No.63: Tube amps: ASL Leyla & Passion
A11. Vecteur Espace speakers, 2 interconnects
(Harmonic Technology, Eichmann),
5 speaker cables (Pierre Gabriel, vdH ,
Harmonic Technology, Eichmann), 4 power
cords (Wireworld, Harmonic Technology,
Eichmann, ESP). Plus: Paul Bergman on
s oundproof ing, c ompar ing c omponent s
in the store, big-screen TV’s to stay away
from, a look back at the Beatles revolution.
No.62: Amplifiers: Vecteur I-4, Musical Fidelity
Nu-Vista M3, Antique Sound Lab MG-S11DT.
Passive preamps: Creek and Antique Sound
Lab. Vecteur L-4 CD player. Interconnects: VdH
Integration, Wireworld Soltice. Plus: the right to
copy music, for now. 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 transport. 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-5, 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.
SEE MORE AT:
http://www.uhfmag.com/IndividualIssue.html
EACH ISSUE costs $6.49 (in Canada) plus tax (14% in QC, ON, NB, NS and NF, 12% in BC, 5% in other Provinces), US$7.69 in the USA, CAN$10.75 elsewhere (air mail
included). For VISA or MasterCard, include number, expiry date and signature. UHF Magazine, 270 rue Victoria, Longueuil, QC., Canada J4H 2J6.
Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383, or www.uhfmag.com. Recent back issues are available electronically at www.magzee.com, for C$4.30 each, taxes included.

Are separates better than an
integrated? At one time that
question referred only to
amplifiers: could an integrated
amplifier be as good as a separate
preamplifier and power amplifier? For
many years the answer was no, but that
was true only because manufacturers
believed upscale integrateds wouldn’t
sell. Not so true anymore.
But the question is also pertinent
for digital players. The first players
were complete one-box units. Then
habits changed: those looking for the
best would buy a separate transport and
digital-to-analog converter, figuring
they would sound better (and sometimes
they did). Or else they added an outboard
DAC in order to improve a one-box
player.
Then the market changed again.
There were serious advantages to putting
the whole player into a single box, rather
than pushing a potentially fragile digital
signal through a long wire of uncertain
quality. Wonderfully-designed singlebox
players pushed the separates into a
corner of audio history.
And now, as Bob Dylan did not say,
the times they are a-changin’ back.
The reason is of course the computer
as a music source. Even our hard-core
audiophile readers are transferring their
digital music to their hard drives. They
40 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Listening Room
Moon 300D DAC
wish they could decode their computer
files with the expensive DAC inside their
players, but with most players that’s
impossible — there’s no digital input. To
add to the fun, a player whose transport
fails may become a paperweight.
Hence the galloping return of the
standalone DAC. This one is Simaudio’s
effort at making one that, potentially,
can make you forget your one-box player.
Since we had already experimented with
the use of three DACs with computer
music (Hi-Res Music on DVD-R in UHF
No. 88), we had some experience in the
matter. Though the 300D is not exactly
what you would buy on impulse, it certainly
doesn’t set records for price.
On the next page you can see the
300D’s rear panel, with its four digital
inputs: TOSLINK optical, USB, and
two S/PDIF coaxial inputs. The optical
jack has a self-closing shutter, much
preferable to those easy-to-lose dust
plugs usually included. There is no balanced
digital input, a surprising omission
in a high end piece. You choose the
input with a pushbutton on the right of
the front panel. We would have liked a
remote control for those inputs, but the
300D can be controlled only by adding
an aftermarket infrared receiver to a jack
at the rear (not shown in our photo).
The DAC chips in the 300D (Burr-
Brown PCM-1793’s) have fully modern
specs. The 300D uses a phase-locked
loop and its own master clock in order
to reduce jitter no matter the digital
source. The 300D is capable of 24-bit
depth with a sampling rate of as much
as 192 kHz. For the moment you won’t
find much that will run at 192 kHz, but
once you do the 300D will handle it.
Of course it does the intermediate
sampling rates too: 176.4, 96, 88.2
and 48 kHz, as well as the 44.1 kHz of
Red Book CD. The appropriate LED
lights up on the front panel to confirm
the resolution of the incoming signal.
There’s no indication of bit depth, but
that’s less crucial — if you’ve got more
than a 48 kHz sample rate, pretty much
any digital source will also push through
24 bits.
Note that those specs don’t apply to
the USB input, which is limited to 16 bits
and a maximum sampling rate of 48 kHz
(used in older pro gear). The Cambridge
DACMagic, reviewed in UHF No. 88,
had the same limitation, though that was
pointed out to us by a reader only after
we had gone to press. Indeed, Cambridge
claims on its Web site that this is a limit
of the USB standard, which is not true.
In both cases the USB circuit seems to
be an afterthought, included as a convenience
rather than a preferred link.
There are other barriers to the
performance of the 300D in a real-life
system, not because of the 300D itself,
but because of limitations in the source
hardware and software. We expect those
limitations to melt away.
Simaudio told us that the 300D would
need a whopping 300 hours of run-in
time before delivering its full performance!
We plugged it in, along with the
equally mint ELAC speakers, and sure
enough they sounded unpleasantly edgy.
Just six hours later they were producing
real music, and over the next while they
kept on getting better and better. By the
time we were ready for serious listening,
we had run the 300D for more than 320
hours.
This is a versatile product, which
meant this would be not just one review
session, but several.

Adding it to a CD player
There are a lot more standalone
DACs on the market than CD transports.
For that reason, if you buy one,
chances are your existing CD player will
become your transport. Does that make
any sense? How good an add-on is this,
anyway?
To find out, we tried adding it to our
Linn Unidisk 1.1 player, discontinued
now but still one of the finest CD players
ever built. We selected several CDs
and played them on the Linn. We then
connected the Linn’s digital output to
one of the Moon’s coaxial inputs, using
an Atlas Opus digital cable, and listened
again.
We began with our all-time choral
favorite, Now the Green Blade Riseth
(Proprius PRCD9093), selecting the Red
Book CD, not the SACD version. Even
this version is awesome with the Linn,
projecting a deep, natural sound that
envelops the listener.
We knew no outboard DAC in existence
could match that, and of course we
were right, but the result was nonetheless
very good. Gerard praised the timbres of
both the solo flute and the choral voices,
and noted the smoothness. He was also
impressed by the fact that the sound
didn’t harden up on the crescendo, as
too often happens.
All was not perfect, however. “Everything
is there,” said Albert, “but it’s not
as limpid and transparent, and there’s
more of an impression of compression
and effort.” Steve found the textures
less “organic,” and therefore less natural,
but added that he enjoyed the piece
nonetheless.
That recording is a challenging one,
however — which is of course why we use
it so often (and besides, we don’t get tired
of hearing it). So is the second one, but
this time the 300D got uncannily close
to the performance of the Linn alone.
The piece is Norman Dello Joio’s dramatic
wind band composition, Fantasies
on a Theme by Haydn (Klavier K11138),
which is noted for the overwhelming
impact of the percussion, and for subtle
and delightful interplay by woodwinds.
It’s a difficult recording to do justice to,
but it gave the 300D little trouble.
Indeed, the wild bass drum introduction
was pretty much identical,
with enormous impact, and effortless
revelation of the deep acoustical space.
The softer passages, those with the
woodwinds in the starring role, were
no less impressive, with an abundance
of subtle detail, and timbres that were
startlingly lifelike. The stereo image was
exemplary, with each instrument placed
where it should be, but still forming an
organic whole. “There might be some
compression of the higher notes,” said
Steve, “but it’s minor even so.”
The final recording was a challenge of
a different sort: Margie Gibson singing
You Keep Coming Back Like a Song from
Say It With Music (Sheffield CD-36).
Like the rest of the album, this song is
an emotional experience. Indeed, Gerard
commented that it was this very song
which, some years back, had persuaded
him that the Linn player was needed in
our reference systems. Of course, the
Linn rendered the song as flawlessly as
ever. Doing a review session with music
like this is no chore.
What was surprising was how close
the 300D came to it.
From the very first notes by the
piano, we could hear how really well the
Sheffield recording had been done. Steve
noted the smooth crystalline quality of
the piano’s higher notes. It was no less
excellent when Margie came in. She
had a superb presence, with details that
highlighted the masterful way in which
she uses her voice. After those initial
notes, both Albert and Gerard stopped
writing, the better to listen. “It may not
really be quite the same,” said Albert,
“but you forget to compare.”
Need we add that, as they say on the
Net, YMMV (your mileage may vary)?
A lot can depend on your transport, and
also on the quality of the cable linking
your transport to the converter. Still,
we remember the days when we would
review standalone DACs, and we would
struggle to determine whether there
really was a difference when we added it
to a (good for the time) CD player. Of
course you wouldn’t add it to a player like
our Linn, but how many people own a
player of that caliber?
A preliminary finding, then, was that
adding this DAC to a reasonably-built
player would yield much better results
than upgrading to all but the very best
super players. What’s more, you then
get a full range of digital inputs for your
other sources.
Which is what we wanted to evaluate
next.
Cutting the wires
With that first comparison out of the
way, we left the CD behind and moved
to the contents of our main computer.
The computer is not in the same room
as the Omega reference system, and so
we connected it to our system over the
air.
The key to this legerdemain is Apple’s
increasingly popular Airport Express
($100), a small but potent mini-router
that can connect to the wireless Wi-Fi
system you may already have.
We should add, however, that our own
Wi-Fi system is built around another
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 41
Listening Feedback Room

Listening Feedback Room
Apple product, the Airport Extreme
router. What it offers, which most routers
do not, is the ability to broadcast
simultaneously on both the conventional
2.4 GHz band and the much less crowded
5 GHz band. Thus, instead of competing
with all the neighborhood routers for
channels 6 or 11, our Airport Express
moved to the vacant channel 149. That
eliminated the occasional dropout we
got with the older band, but — this was
a surprise — we got far better sound at
the other end. Other companies also
make wireless routers capable of using
both bands at the same time, including
D-Link, Cisco and Netgear.
The same three recordings were on
the hard drive of a Macintosh Pro computer,
managed by iTunes software. The
Airport Express was plugged in close
to the Omega system, with an optical
cable running to the TOSLINK input
of the 300D. To avoid running to the
distant computer to play the selections
we wanted, we controlled the iTunes
playback with the free Remote application
on an iPod touch.
To our astonishment, what we heard
was at least as good. No wait…might it
actually be better? “It’s hard to accept
how fine it can sound transmitted without
wires,” said Steve.
42 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
The piece was of course Now the
Green Blade Riseth. “It’s a lot closer to
the reference than it was connected to
the Linn,” said Albert. “There’s a lot
of body, but also a lot of transparency.”
Gerard thought male voices were more
distant, which might be a good thing.
Once Steve had gotten over his astonishment
he commented that the piece
didn’t project the same 3D presence as
with the Linn player, though he thought
that could be a good thing too.
The Fantasies wind band piece was
impressive as well, with bass drum
impact as good as we had heard from
the original CD. The depth of image
was also impressive, and the playful
woodwind interplay was a delight. Albert
pronounced it magnificent.
But of course we’re here to criticize.
Still impressed, Steve nonetheless complained
about some lag in the rhythm.
He also thought the brass seemed more
distant, and that as a result some aspects
of its timbre was missing.
But there were no complaints from
any of us on Margie Gibson’s song,
only adjectives: amazing, magnificent
(Albert), fantastic, amazing, incredible
(Steve), marvelous, absolutely delicious
(Gerard). And remember, we were
making comparisons to some highpowered
gear!
Beyond those adjectives it was difficult
to know where to start. Margie’s
voice was gorgeously natural, but so too
were the accompanying bass, cello and
piano. Presence was as good as it gets.
The balance was… but why go on? This
is the performance level wireless audio
from your computer can now reach.
We’ve come a long way in a short time,
and we have a feeling the surprises aren’t
over.
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Simaudio Moon 300D
Price: $1600
Size (WDH): 19 x 28 x 8.5 cm
Resolution: 24 bits, 192 kHz
Most liked: In the right setup, this is
high end music from your computer
Least liked: Mediocre USB input
Verdict: One of those products you
don’t want to give back
Connecting with USB
The Airport Express is particularly
practical if your computer and your
music system are not near each other,
but what if they are? If your computer
has a digital TOSLINK output, as
most modern Macs and some Windows
PCs do, you can connect an optical
cable directly from the computer to the
DAC. If it doesn’t you can also link up
to the 300D with the ubiquitous USB
connection.
But would USB sound as good? To
compare, we played Margie Gibson’s
song from a Macbook Pro laptop connected
to the 300D via USB. For this
comparison we used the premium USB
cable from BIS Audio, rather than the
inexpensive standard ones commonly
packed with the gear.
Initially we thought it sounded much
the same, but then certain differences
became evident. Gerard thought Margie
sounded more forward, and his disenchantment
grew as the song went on.
Albert initially found the two versions
similar, but concluded that the wireless
version left him feeling better. Steve
began by actually preferring the USB
version, though once Margie got into
her deft vocal acrobatics he chose the
wireless version as superior.
Conclusion: the USB connection may
actually not be your best choice, at least
on this DAC, but if it’s all you have it can
deliver what is, by any standard, a high
level of performance.
Beyond Red Book digital
For UHF No. 88 we had listened
to some high-resolution music files,
including some of the HRx files from
Reference Recordings, using three different
DACs with prices from $5k down
to just over $500. We wanted to hear two
of the selections again, comparing them
to the Red Book CD versions.
Actually the CDs have HDCD
encoding. Though our now ancient
Counterpoint DA-10A has HDCD
decoding, the 300D does not. However
our Linn sounds better than the Counterpoint,
and using the DA-10A would
have given the HRx version too easy a
ride.
To play the HRx file, we connected
our optical cable from the TOSLINK

output of our Macbook Pro to the 300D.
We used Apple’s Audio & Midi Configuration
Utility to set the resolution to the
best currently available, namely 24 bits
and 96 kHz. Note that this resolution
is not available with the Moon’s USB
connection. Nor can it be used with
the present-day version of the Airport
Express, which is limited to Red Book
standard.
The first piece we heard was the Non
Allegro from Rachmaninoff’s gorgeous
Symphonic Dances (RR-96CD). We agreed
that both versions sounded superb, but
after that we diverged sharply. Gerard
liked the excellent depth and impact, but
preferred the HRx version for its lyrical
rendition of the soft passages. Albert
disagreed, charmed by more of a sense
of mystery in the soft passages with the
CD, and better contrast among sections.
“The story is told better,” he said.
Steve was enthused by the HRx
version, and the way it reproduced the
orchestral instruments at their natural
size. “There were harmonics there I had
This is it! There is nothing else to add if
someone asked me what their next upgrade
should be. Even that someone-who-haseverything
does not really know how good
everything is until he has tried introducing
the 300D to his system.
And if you have nothing yet and are
planning to join us on the road to Ultra
High Fidelity, well…this is it for you too.
Your first step should be a worthy one. Even
if you build a modest system at first, let it be
right at the source, and improve the rest later.
Chances are it might be…much later.
The 300D is a versatile component too,
in that it offers great sound for anyone,
regardless of where their (digital) music
originates from. Performers live and breathe
around the speakers. They play music too,
the timbres of their different instruments
naturally recreated, and those who have a
voice sing. Really well. Bet you had never
known how well they could sing.
—Albert Simon
If radio waves can travel through the air
and be translated into music, then sending
never heard from classical saxophone,”
he added.
The final piece was Some of These Days
by the Hot Club of San Francisco (from
Yerba Buena Bounce, RR-109). When
we listened to the CD, both Steve and
Albert disliked it enough that they questioned
whether we should be using such
a recording for a review. And then…
And then they totally changed their
minds on hearing the HRx version. “I
was coming down hard on this music
before,” said Steve, “but it didn’t deserve
it. The CD was excessively punchy,
but the HRx file is smoother and more
refined.” Albert was equally surprised,
listing a number of improvements:
better depth, a stable image, better balance,
and a more realistic trombone and
voice. “They did it!” he exclaimed. “On
the HRx everyone seems to be playing
better.”
We were aware, of course, that we
were not hearing HRx at its best. Its
native resolution is 24-bit/176.4 kHz.
The 300D can handle it, but our com-
CROSSTALK
songs from your computer via airwaves to
your stereo should be very possible, maybe
even overdue.
There is another issue though, and that
is the quality of the sound being sent. No
radio ever produced the stuff coming out of
this DAC.
Amazing, fantastic, astounding sound
that comes close to the reference in every
category. Was it the absence of wires that
impressed me so much that I exaggerated
the experience that day? Not at all, because
hearing the same song through two different
technologies made little change to the overall
sound quality. This DAC is versatile and
extremely capable. Wired or not, it produces
high fidelity in spades and diamonds, and
should win your heart.
—Steve Bourke
Is the Moon 300D a reference-quality
converter? I’d be tempted to say it is, though
the new wave of DACs is very new, and the
recent ones we have heard (from Cyrus,
Audiomat, Cambridge and now Simaudio)
are clearly of a new generation, using much
puter can’t, not yet. We’re confident
that will change.
And we conclude…
We came out of the review pumped,
frankly, and we had a question for
Simaudio. Our Audiophile Store already
offers the company’s two phono preamps;
could we add the 300D to the
listings too? The answer was yes.
And we had our first customer…
namely ourselves. Our old Counterpoint
has served us well, but we reviewed it
back in issue No. 44 (that was in 1995!),
and it’s ready for a pension.
The Moon 300D has joined our
reference systems.
upgraded technology. Is there more yet
coming? Probably, and if this is a sample
of what we can expect, I’m cheerfully
optimistic.
I’ve been putting digital music on a hard
drive for years now, partly to keep my iPod
happy, though initially I had no illusions
about what I would hear. For casual listening
and for background music it was terrific, but
I don’t enjoy background music, and I seldom
listen casually. What I have heard over those
years seemed barely promising.
That has changed.
This new DAC from Simaudio is a key to
using computer music not merely as a casual
source but as a genuine high fidelity source,
intended for serious listening. In the context
of a properly set-up digital playback system,
the 300D can outperform all but the very
best (and least affordable) CD players. The
weak spot now? Your computer, most likely,
and watch for action on that front.
Products like these are game changers,
and I’ve been waiting for this for a long
time.
—Gerard Rejskind
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 43
Listening Feedback Room

Listening Feedback Room
Allnic L-1500 Preamplifier
nese products went from cheap
postwar junk to cutting-edge
craftsmanship? Unless your
hair is pretty grey, you probably don’t.
Japanese products, especially from
smaller companies, gradually became
known for uncompromising excellence.
Then came the competition from industries
in Taiwan, then Hong Kong, which
had their own traditions.
And now South Korea. The Koreans
began with cheap cars that would (mercifully)
rust out before their engines could
leave you stranded, but then became serious
competitors for even the Japanese,
and now they have the Germans in their
sights. Could it be long before high-end
audio found a place in Korea? It now
appears that some of the uncompromising
traditions of discipline and excellence
that permeate Japan have spread beyond
the Land of the Rising Sun.
Though Allnic is not exactly giving
this preamplifier away, it is nonetheless
its “budget” model, a lower-cost version
of its L-3000 flagship. It’s a tube
preamp, using a pair of D3a pentodes
(commonly used in radio-frequency
circuits rather than audio gear), plus a
7233 and a 6485 used for voltage regulation.
That wouldn’t appear to be a very
high tube count, but no more gain is
needed because the outputs come not
from an active buffer but from a pair of
transformers.
Nowadays, audio transformers are
Listening Room Remember when postwar Japa-
44 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
mostly found in tube power amps,
and that’s because it’s difficult (but
not impossible) to match high impedance
output tubes to a low-impedance
loudspeaker. Even so, the transformer
is often the weak spot in a tube power
amp, even an expensive one, because the
high level of craftsmanship required to
make a good transformer is increasingly
rare.
And that’s where Allnic’s experience
comes in. Company founder Kang Su
Park knows how to build transformers,
as he has demonstrated before, and he
winds his own by hand. You may recall
that we reviewed his AUT-2000 phono
step-up transformer in UHF No. 87, and
found it to be the best we had heard in…
well, decades. A transformer buffer can
provide a much more constant impedance
curve, at (theoretically) low distortion.
There is an added advantage too.
As noted, using transformers means less
gain is needed from the active circuits.
Gain is never free; it is accompanied by
noise and distortion. Less gain means
less crud too.
The L-1500’s front panel has buttons
for selecting the five inputs (labelled
Line 1, Line 2, etc.), as does the remote
control. Look at the rear panel, however,
and you’ll see that only three of them
can be used with unbalanced sources, at
least unless you find an adapter…always
a compromise. Another way to put it is
that only two of the inputs can be used
with balanced sources. The front panel
has buttons for power (which can shut
it down completely) but also for putting
the circuit to sleep, with the tubes kept
warm but not in actual operation. Also
on the front panel is a small round meter
labelled “current.” It has no graduations,
and is merely intended to warn you
when the circuit is outside its operating
parameters, for instance if a tube has
gone out.
There are two sets of outputs, also
confusingly labelled Line 1 and Line 2,
one set balanced and the other unbalanced.
The “record out” jacks (there is
no tape loop) are strictly balanced. If
you’ll be using them for recording with
a computer, you’ll probably need an
adapter, because even semi-pro audio
interfaces have unbalanced line inputs.
There is a rear panel switch for absolute
phase, and we were both surprised
and pleased to see it. Why does this
matter? Because, on a good recording,
you want the leading edge of a wave to
come forward toward you, not back. But
not all recordings are phase-accurate,
and a phase switch can therefore correct
for errors. We think it should be on the
remote control, not the rear panel. As it
is, you’ll find it useful only if your power
amplifier inverts phase, as some do. It
could do more, though, and we think
Allnic has missed an opportunity.
You can probably guess that Kang Su
Park has not put a carbon potentiometer
into his beautiful unit to serve as a
volume control. The control is actually

a quality switch with an array of fixed
precision resistors. That is superior on
a number of levels. Not only does it
contribute less noise and distortion, but
it eliminates volume differences between
the channel as you adjust the volume up
or down.
Since the L-1500 is a tube preamplifier,
we put it up against our own tube
preamp, the Copland CTA-305 that is in
our Alpha room. The Copland costs half
the price of the Allnic, but we’ve always
considered it a terrific bargain, able
to keep up with much more expensive
preamplifiers. Could it keep up with this
one?
We did the comparison with five
selected recordings, all of them high-resolution,
played from our Linn Unidisk
1.1 player. We kept both preamplifiers
warmed up throughout, and we even
avoided switching off our Moon W-5LE
power amplifier, so there would be no
unwelcome variables in our listening
session. This is done by disconnecting
the speakers while interconnects are
being switched around. Of course we
used the same interconnects on both
preamplifiers.
As you will have noticed, a lot of
the articles in this free version of UHF
are complete. This isn’t one of them,
however. Pop over to www.uhfmag.com/
IndividualIssue.html, and get either the
print version or the electronic issue.
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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 45
Listening Feedback Room

Listening Listening Feedback Room Room
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dolessi.
46 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
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Summing it up…
Brand/model: Allnic L-1500
Price: C$5500
Size (WDH): 43 x 30 x 12 cm
High-level inputs: 5
Most liked: Admirable performance
in every way
Least liked: Absolute phase switch
poorly placed
Verdict: Audio design as an art, in the
service of art
CROSSTALK
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do euis eui te feugait niamcom modolor
perilluptat.

Leema Elements
Phono Preamp
Yes, when we saw this phono
preamp for the first time we
thought the same thing you’re
thinking: where does this
company get off charging over a thousand
dollars for a circuit stuffed into an
experimenter’s box and powered by a
wall wart?
And then we listened to it. We
encourage you to read on.
“Leema” is a composite of the first
names of its two founders, Lee Taylor
and Mallory Nichols. Both were engineers
at the BBC before setting up
their own company in 1998. Actually
Mallory had his own company before
that, making surround sound gear for
recording studios. Lee, in the meantime,
was an award-winning recording and
mixing engineer.
Their initial goal in setting up
Leema was to design groundbreaking
loudspeakers which would be compact
but would perform like much bigger
ones. To do so, they wrote their own
mathematical computer models to aid
in the design process. Check our reports
of the Montréal Salon Son & Image in
this issue, and you’ll see that, in fact, a
very small and surprisingly inexpensive
Leema speaker was one of the Salon’s
major hits.
However the company makes a lot
more than loudspeakers now, having
branched out into electronics. Their
facility in Wales turns out amplifiers,
CD players, and two phono preamps.
One of the latter, the Agena, is decidedly
upmarket (read: expensive), but this one,
the Elements, is intended to deliver as
much as possible of the same quality on
a budget.
Make that a large budget, however,
because it is cheap only by comparison.
Still, the Elements can accommodate
either a moving magnet or a lowimpedance
moving coil cartridge. The
MM/MC switch is at the rear, accessible
through a small hole with a pen tip.
You’ll see a second switch, which rolls
off the extreme low frequencies below
20 Hz. That’s not to remove the noise
that used to be referred to as “rumble,”
but to prevent warped records from
generating huge infrasonic signals that
can cause Doppler distortion in all but
the largest speakers. Such filters are rare
today, but they’re useful. It would be
even more useful if it were on the front
panel.
You might even wonder why designers
don’t engineer the filter right into
the circuit, since there won’t be much
material down below 20 Hz. In fact
there is — the biggest organ pipes can
produce a 16 Hz note. What’s more, the
RIAA standard (yes, the same RIAA that
sues teenagers and grandmothers for
downloading music) doesn’t allow for
such a permanent filter in its published
specifications.
For this session, we moved our
Audiomat Phono-1.6 preamp into our
Alpha room and played four selected
recordings from our Audiomeca J-1
turntable. We chose the J-1, and therefore
the Alpha system, because we
wanted to hear the Element with its MC
input. The London Reference cartridge
on our Linn LP12 requires only an MM
input.
As we’ve noted before, our Alpha
room is, unfortunately, soundproofed
with lead, which induces noise into many
phono stages, especially ones with a
more sensitive MC input. Our Audiomat
is satisfactorily quiet even in that hostile
environment, and we were pleased to see
that the Leema was too.
The first recording was the longdiscontinued
William Walton suite
Façade from Reference Recordings (RR-
16). Our 45 rpm copy is not dead quiet,
and the Elements emphasized the noise
in some passages. It also didn’t make the
piccolo introduction sound particularly
smooth. Still, it also let through a multitude
of details, and the characteristic
timbres of the many instruments of the
suite were very good.
Did the music have less “body” than
with our reference? We thought it did,
although we had not used the infrasonic
filter, and we wondered whether we
could get some of it back by playing
just a little louder. We did, though of
course the piccolo didn’t improve any!
With an extra 5 dB of gain, the music
took on new life, and even the illusion
of depth (exemplary with this recording)
improved. “Everything is a little more
distant,” said Albert, “but that’s all right.
There’s a good balance, with nothing
excessive.”
We had an even greater challenge
waiting, our copy of Sheffield’s original
Track Record (LAB-20). This full-tilt rock
recording was direct-cut, with grooves
the width of a military airport runway.
The soft piano introduction may have
seemed less rich than with our reference,
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 47
Listening Feedback Room

Listening Listening Feedback Room Room
but when the percussion followed we
were physically pushed back into our
seats. Though the instruments had a
little less weight than with our reference
preamp and its large power supply, there
was no blurring of the transients, nor
did the impressive impact hide any of
the music. Toby liked the chimes less,
thinking they were more like bedsprings
this time around, but he enjoyed the
richness of detail, including the sound
of John Newton Howard’s fingers sliding
on his guitar strings. “As with the previous
recording,” said Albert,” everything
is in balance.”
We know that female voices, with
their relatively high registers, can present
problems for music systems, from
speakers to digital players, and certainly
including phono preamplifiers. Our next
two recordings both featured female
singers.
The first was Ireland’s Mary Black
and her most famous recording, No
Frontiers. At its best this recording gives
us goose bumps, and we wish it were still
available.
All three of us mentioned right off
that — no surprise — our reference
phono preamp let through more body,
and therefore more presence, but none
of us took many marks off the Leema’s
My first impression was one of balance.
Here was music that flowed smoothly without
undue excess. The natural warmth one
comes to expect from a real voice was there.
The slightest whispered lyrics were there
too, dropped softly between notes. When the
music became energetic and lively, musicians
seemed to have a ball, exploding out of the
silence, filling the room.
Was it that good? Yes. Was it perfect?
Nahh… Nothing really is, you probably
know that by now.
But it was a delight to listen to music I
knew well and to meet it again, unscathed.
That is saying a lot, considering the quality
of our reference unit.
Come to think of it, there aren’t that
many reasons to live without it.
—Albert Simon
This Leema was a treat. Façade was
48 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
scorecard. Both Toby and Albert noted
the purity of Black’s voice, and of course
its beauty. If the lower register was a little
leaner, it lost none of its beauty. Rhythm
was solid, and the recording still sounded
right.
Our second singer was Barbra
Streisand, on her famous Broadway
Album (Columbia OC40092). We’ve
used this recording in reviews for two
decades, and we wish the CD version
sounded a tenth as good. From that LP
we listened to Send in the Clowns. We
consider Streisand’s interpretation to be
the definitive version.
And it was nearly flawless, with only
a barely noticeable emphasis on the
sibilants. Both Toby and Albert left their
notebooks nearly blank, preoccupied as
Summing it up…
Brand/model: Leema Elements
Price: C$1050
Size (WDH): 10.5 x 8.3 x 4.8 cm
Most liked: Wonderful clarity, rich
detail
Least liked: Some leanness at the
bottom end
Verdict: An apparently simple design
pushed to its logical extreme
CROSSTALK
detailed, clean and transparent. I could
hear all the instruments, properly placed,
with realistic timbres. The snare drums in
foreground, middle ground and background
were all clearly snares and had a nice rattle
to them. Oh, compared to the reference, the
timbre of the snare was just a level of detail
less realistic, so go for the reference if you
have three times the money. On the Track
Record the chimes didn’t have quite the same
ring but the impact of the drum didn’t give
up much at all. Mary Black’s voice was just a
tad thinner but there was plenty of flow and
lyricism. Streisand’s sibilants had a slight
emphasis, but her intensity was still there.
This Leema knows music, and I can see
why they call it “Elements,” because it won’t
short-change you on any of the essentials.
—Toby Earp
I must say I’m still amazed at how much
they were by the song itself. Comparing
the sound of the two phono preamps
seemed superfluous, because the emotion
of the song came through overwhelmingly.
The woodwind introduction was
superb, Streisand’s voice magnificent.
The rest was mere detail, and we were
left in no mood to quibble.
Good as the Elements is, could it be
improved? We took a close look at the
wall wart, wondering whether, like some
wall warts, it provides alternating current,
with the rest of the power supply
in the box. No, it supplies 24 volts DC,
though it’s possible that there is more
filtering and voltage regulation inside
the box. The obvious question: could
you retrofit a more elaborate supply, or
perhaps even batteries? A pair of 12 volt
motorcycle batteries connected in series
could make a killer electrical source.
But chances are you won’t spend this
sort of money just so you can secondguess
the designers. Right out of the
box, this discreet phono preamplifier
gets the…elements right. Not only will
it make beautiful music, but it will give
you a pretty good idea of what Lee and
Mallory can do.
We can hardly wait to spend
some quality time with a pair of their
loudspeakers.
musicality has been packed into such an
unprepossessing box. It can’t quite keep up
with the best phono preamps, to be sure. It
doesn’t have the body, nor does it have the
ultimate smoothness of high frequencies.
Yet, despite all, on many — perhaps
most — recordings you won’t hear any
limitations. You will notice the great clarity,
and you may also note that it is not merely
the product of harsh highs. There is no veil
to hide the music.
You may think I’m searching for virtues
I can ascribe to this little box, but in fact I
didn’t have to search at all. The virtues are
the first thing you notice, and they come as
a relief if you have much experience with
mass-market phono preamps. Look further
and you may notice less happy news, but only
if you have a good point of comparison, as
we do.
—Gerard Rejskind

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Store

Listening Feedback Room
ELAC FS 249
The German firm that builds
these speakers is not exactly
new to the world of high
fidelity. If you have dabbled
in the hobby for some years you may
recall ELAC turntables — actually
record changers. Even once ELAC
turntables were relegated to secondhand
shelves, the company continued to
produce phono pickups. Today, however,
50 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
84 years after its birth, it has but one
specialty: loudspeakers.
Its name is always written in upper
case, as though it were an acronym,
though it’s not. It’s a contraction of
Electroacustic, which requires no translation
(the full name is ELAC Electroacustic
GmbH, which seems a little
redundant).
The ELAC catalog is gigantic, and
includes more models than all but the
bravest (and richest) dealers would consider
stocking. What nearly all of them
have in common is the distinctive-looking
tweeter you see atop each of these
slim towers. Originally the creation of
physicist Oskar Heil, this “air motion
transformer” became justly famous for
its natural smoothness.
It should be said that the nearly ubiquitous
dome tweeters are not known for
smoothness, and they are a not particularly
appealing compromise. Like woofers,
dome tweeters have high-inductance
voice coils, which act as low-pass filters,
passing lows but blocking highs. A typical
dynamic tweeter, therefore, actually
filters out the very high frequency signal
it is attempting to produce. To prevent
this undesirable effect from becoming
evident, the typical tweeter is designed
so that it resonates at high frequency
(metal-dome tweeters are especially
good at this), thus storing extra highfrequency
energy that can be released
slightly later to fill in for the missing
signal. Sort of.
In Dr. Heil’s highly innovative
design (the sketch above is from his 1972
patent application), the signal current
flows through metal strips, not coils,
sidestepping the inductance problem.
The diaphragm is not a dome or any
other piston-like device, but a membrane
folded like an accordion bellows, hung in
a powerful magnetic field. It moves not
forward and back, but laterally, with the
folds “squeezing” the air. It takes very
little membrane movement to move a
lot of air. The advantages are obvious.
The ELAC tweeter has its own name:
it’s the JET 3 driver (we suspect another
acronym), though the company, on its
Web site, does acknowledge the work of
Oskar Heil. As you can see, however, the
tweeter is not the only driver that offers
an unusual appearance.

The t wo woofers and
the midrange driver look,
at least from a distance, as
though their cones are made
of hammered steel, but that
is of course not the case.
ELAC calls cones “crystal
membranes,” but they’re not
crystalline either, except in
appearance. Touch them,
and you can guess they’re
made of some sort of fibre
material, possibly overlaid
with a metal foil, such as
aluminum. ELAC says they’re
made from a sandwich of two
(unnamed) materials, and
that they have paid attention
to “three-dimensional
sound radiation patterns…
to acoustically ‘energize’ the
room in a consistent and harmonised
(sic) way.” Perhaps it
reads better in German, but
careful reading indicates that
the voice coil is attached to
the membrane at two points,
including its very centre, and
that the goal is wide dispersion
of sound for superior
imaging.
The Another membranes are unique cer- feature!
tainly eye-catching, and it would seem do stay tight, though, in contrast to some
unfortunate
You know
to
how
hide
most
them
audio
with
magazines
the knockoffs.
do their
The
reviews:
nicely-fashioned
a number of
jump-
black
reviewers,
grilles that
some
are
with
included,
doubtful
though
“reference”
ers for
systems,
single
are
wiring
assigned
carry
reviews
the ELAC
of
audiophiles
individual
with
components.
small children may feel name.
differently.
UHF, on the other hand, maintains actual
We did
reference
our listening
systems,
session
on which
in our
There
all reviews
are
are
two
done.
bass
All
reflex
our reviewers
vents, Omega
participate
room,
in each
using
review.
our
The
long-time
one
main
for each
article
of the
is based
woofers,
on the
positioned
concensus,
reference
if there is
speakers,
one, but sometimes
the Reference
on
3a
respectively
divergence.
at the rear and underneath. Suprema II’s, for comparison. Some
A large
And
foam
then
plug
each
is included
reviewer
so
gets
that
to
the
write
large
a “Crosstalk,”
speakers
a
require
personal
considerable
com-
rear
ment,
port can
which
be
may
blocked
even
off,
disagree
as shown
with the
manipulation
others.
before finding the ideal
above.
There
ELAC
is
recommends
no pressure to
using
confirm.
the
What
positioning,
you read
but
is really
we were
what
pleased
we
to find
plug
think.
if the
And
speaker
that is
will
what
be
makes
positioned
UHF unique.
that the ELACs sounded very good
close to a rear wall. We did insert the placed exactly where our Supremas
plugs while we were running the speak- had been. Experiments with placement
ers in, but not in the listening test. variations gave us no improvement,
Nor did we use the supplied dispersion but nor did they result in disastrous
control ring, a doughnut that fits around imbalances.
the tweeter, supposedly helpful in dif- This was an all-vinyl test, in which
ficult acoustical circumstances. We we played a half dozen LPs on our Linn
understand the point, though it seems LP12 with Alphason arm and London
to contradict ELAC’s efforts to get as Reference cartridge.
wide dispersion as possible.
See the complete article in our print
The two pairs of binding posts at or paid electronic version at magzee.
the rear look like slightly undersized com. In the meantime, here we go again,
WBT’s, but have no brand name. They with faux Latin.
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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 51
Listening Feedback Room

Listening Feedback Room
Speaker Impedance
Is a speaker with a 4 ohm impedance rating better than one with an 8 ohm
rating? Or is it, perhaps, vice versa? What is impedance, anyway?
In electricity, impedance, measured in ohms, is what impedes the flow of electricity.
If impedance were zero, an infinite current could flow, which is perhaps how
the Big Bang occurred. Impedance is different from resistance, which also impedes
current flow. A resistor will impede the flow of both direct current, like that from
a battery, and that of alternating current, like that from the power line or an
amplifier. Impedance, which is made up of not only resistance but also inductance
and capacitance, is the correct term to use when we are discussing alternating current.
If you measured the resistance of a woofer voice coil, you would see that it is
very low, possibly less than one ohm. If instead of a direct current source you used
a 1 kHz alternating current, you might get a reading of 8 ohms, and you would
then say that what you have is an 8-ohm speaker.
That is misleading, however, because if you had used an AC signal of a different
frequency you might have gotten a reading of 4 ohms, or even 2 ohms, or perhaps
25 ohms. To make matters more confusing, the speaker may have one impedance
reading when it is mounted in an enclosure and a different one when it is sitting on
your workbench. That is why that “8 ohm” reading is what will be called a nominal
impedance rating. In reality, the impedance may wander about quite a lot.
Now let’s see what happens when we send a music signal into the speaker. The
amplifier applies a certain voltage, and — this seems obvious — the lower the
impedance, the more current will flow. In that case, the lower the better.
But in practice it’s not so. Indeed, a typical solid state amplifier may have an
internal impedance of 0.1 ohm or less. The speaker impedance is so much higher
that the amplifier will not distinguish between 4 ohms and 8 ohms.
And yet, more current can flow through a lower impedance. That’s why a solid
state amp rated at 50 watts into 8 ohms will have a higher power rating, as much
as double, into 4 ohms. On the other hand, our 4 ohm speaker may need the extra
power in order to put out the volume level we want.
A perfect speaker would have the same impedance at all frequencies, but that
isn’t possible. A perfect amplifier would deliver the same power into any impedance.
In fact, at an impedance of 2 ohms it may blow a transistor, or (we hope) a fuse. At
25 ohms, it may put out a tiny fraction of its rated power.
Perfection is not of this world, but you’ve heard that before.
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52 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
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I usually feel good when something we
are testing makes the music sound right. It’s
not just a vague sensation derived from the
music we are listening to, but I actually feel
better during the listening tests, regardless
of what type of music we are using and that
feeling lingers after I fold my notebook.
With these speakers I felt great. After
one or two pieces, I reached a comfort zone
where I expected any music to sound good
and there it was, just right. I must say that
the highs are often a source of unpleasant
surprises for me, just when I think that
things are going well. But not this time.
These speakers are reliably good and, as
you may have found out, reliable is good,
very good. That’s when you know, without
a doubt, that no matter what kind of music
you play, your speakers might even surprise
you by delivering a lot more than you expect.
And that feels good.
—Albert Simon
I remember the early days of the Heil
tweeter, in speaker systems that were also
called Heil. Beautiful highs, nothing less, but
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Summing it up…
Brand/model: ELAC 249
Price: C$6395
Size (HWD): 114 x 20 x 31 cm
Rated sensitivity: 90 dB
Nominal impedance: 4 ohms
Most liked: Smooth highs, clear bass
line, fine articulation
Least liked: Narrow image range
Verdict: The Heil tweeter, once a
promising product, has come of age
CROSSTALK
music is a lot more than high frequencies.
Time has moved on, however, and the
Heil tweeter and its derivatives can be found
in loudspeaker systems from a number of
companies. And that’s all to the good.
This is not an inexpensive speaker by
any standard, though its size and fine finish
might induce you to guess that its price could
tip over into five digits. It doesn’t, and that’s
all to the good as well.
During the listening sessions I complained
about some imprecision of the stereo
image, at least compared with that thrown
up by our reference speakers, which are
a model of the genre. In no other respect
can I find cause to complain. The highs
are smooth and natural, as I would expect
from the unique Heil transducer. The rest
of the speaker is designed to keep up with
it. There’s a lot of bottom end, but it too is
natural. There’s plenty of impact, but none
of the artificial “punch” much appreciated
by people unfamiliar with the real sound
of music. Rhythm sounds natural too, and
that’s one of the fundamental building blocks
of music.
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At the risk of sounding like an action
film trailer, “in a world where artificiality
is king, and everything you know is wrong,
one tweeter can face down the hypocrisy of
bad sound.”
And this is it.
—Gerard Rejskind
I began to understand the word “audiophile”
better while listening to violin music
one night, way back when. I heard a shrillness
that bothered me. A few moments later
it happened again, and then again. Those
unpleasant high notes prevented my full
enjoyment of the music. It didn’t matter how
good the rest of the music might have been,
I needed for those highs to be done right.
Dome, ribbon, and horn tweeters became
more familiar terms, as did the tweeter called
the Heil. Today I heard the Heil in a focused
setting, playing its part inside the ELAC. It
delivered the highs via air mail, first class,
and beautifully packaged in a speaker that
looks after all the other notes too, very, very
well.
—Steve Bourke
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 53
Listening Feedback Room

This Hong Kong company,
Listening Feedback Room
Trends Phone Amp
Itok Media, specializes in
neatly-made inexpensive
audio components. The
Trends PA-10 is a headphone amplifier,
with just the basics. It has input jacks at
the rear, a single phone jack at the front,
and of course a volume control. The
power supply is a 24 volt DC wall wart.
Of course you could hardly help
noticing the vacuum tube sticking out
of a hole in the top of the box. Yes, the
PA-10 is a single-ended tube amplifier.
It could almost be called an integrated
amplifier, because it has two inputs,
marked “CD” and “phono,” with a selector
switch at the rear. The latter label is
for indicative purposes — there is no
inboard phono preamp.
There are, however, a pair of output
jacks, so that you can actually connect
the PA-10 to a power amplifier, using it as
a two-input preamp. Trends bills it that
way, in fact, right on the front panel.
If you have experience with tubes,
you might look at the blue glow in the
6DJ8 tube and conclude that it’s “gassy,”
that its vacuum bottle has sprung a leak.
In fact the blue comes from a diode
54 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
strategically placed under the tube. It’s
common to use a light-emitting diode as
a part of a circuit, but it also functions
as a pilot light.
If you enjoy tweaking audio gear and
not only listening to it, you’ll be pleased
to discover that the PA-10 can accommodate
several different tube types. Set
the internal jumpers to suit, and with a
multimeter you can also adjust the bias.
We would warn only that, despite the
24 volt rating of the wall wart, there
are much higher voltages lurking about
inside the box.
We set up the PA-10 alongside our
own Audio Alchemy v1.0 headphone
amplifier, and connected each of them
in turn to the “record out” jacks of our
Moon P-8 preamplifier. We did our
listening with our long-time reference
headphones, the Koss Pro/4AAA — the
originals, not the more recent ones with
nearly the same model name. We then
listened to two SACDs played on our
Linn Unidisk player, one classical, the
other popular.
The classical selection is Benjamin
Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the
Orchestra, a wonderful set of variations
on a theme (RR-120SACD).
It would have been impossible not to
notice that the orchestra sounded different
when we changed amplifiers. Our
initial impression was that the PA-10 was
delivering less bottom end, with diminished
impact on the tympani, of which
Britten made liberal use. But we listened
again and got a different impression.
There wasn’t less bass, there was more
midrange.
Was that good? Possibly it was. The
woodwinds seemed to move forward,
and we could spot the individual instruments
better. The bass (which these
headphones can deliver!) was still very
much present, with solid percussion and
rich cellos and double basses. There was
a good feeling of space, too.
The pop song was a blast from the
past. Thérèse Juel’s Tiden Bara Går was
famous for its presence on the original
Opus 3 sampler (which was of course
an LP), and it’s back in SACD form on
Opus 3’s Test-records 1, 2&3 (CD19520).
Once again we noticed the more
prominent midrange, which lent Thérèse
Juel’s voice extra warmth and intimacy.
Having heard the recording so many
times on some of the world’s best loudspeaker
systems, we can guess that this
is the way her voice should sound.
The song is notable for its plentiful
fast transients, from the guitar, the
plucked bass and even the bongos. They
seemed a little smoothed over with
the PA-10, but they were by no means
blunted. The effect is pleasant, and one
could get used to this.
The PA-10 is small enough to be
unobtrusive next to your music system,
and you may even choose to run a long
interconnect so that it can be close to
your favorite chair. You will, however,
want to shut it off when it’s not in use,
because it runs very hot (so does our
Audio Alchemy amp). On the other hand
you’ll want to warm it up thoroughly
before sitting down to serious listening.
Trends suggests five minutes, but we’d
recommend more.
The list price of the PA-10 is $225.
It’s also available with a 12AU7 tube
for slightly more. There are other little
boxes from the company, including a
preamplifier, a phono stage, and even a
digital-to-analog converter.

INTERCONNECTS
ATLAS NAVIGATOR
Oxygen-free continuous
cast (OCC) cable: each
strand is a single copper
crystal. Two internal
conductors, plus double
shielding. The double shielding is copper mylar plus close-lapped
99.997% pure OCC copper multi-stranded screen providing 100%
RFI protection. This premium “All-Cu” version (shown here) uses
solid copper connectors that are also continuous cast. The copper
is then silver-plated and double-shielded. We use two in our
reference systems.
ORDER: ANA-1 All-Cu, 1m, $405, ANA-2 All-Cu, 2m, $495
ORDER: ANAB-1 All-Cu balanced, single crystal XLR, 1m, $675
ATLAS QUESTOR
This could be the world’s lowest-cost
interconnect with single-crystal copper. It has
the same connectors as the Equator (below),
and we thought it sounded like a much more
expensive cable. However it is discontinued,
and we have only the 2 m length left.
ORDER: AQ-2, 2 m pair Atlas Questor, $180
ATLAS EQUATOR
Perhaps the best $150
interconnect cable you could
buy. Only it costs just $90. And
yes, that’s in Canadian funds.
Other lengths on order.
ORDER: AE-1, 1 m pair Atlas Equator, $90
ORDER: AE-2, 2 m pair Atlas Equator, $125
ATLAS QUADSTAR
Terrific in our blind test.
With Eichmann Bullet plugs,
or balanced with Neutrik
XLR's. Silver solder included with kit.
ORDER: AQS-1 pair Quadstar kit, 1m $124.95
ORDER: AQS-1A pair Quadstar assembled, 1m $199.95
ORDER: AQS-X pair Quadstar balanced kit, 1m $95.95
ORDER: AQS-XA pair Quadstar balanced, assembled, 1m $169.95
PRISMAL DUAL INTERCONNECT
SORRY, SOLD OUT
This Swiss-made cable has especially solid connectors. Teflon
dielectric, oxygen-free copper. Toss your “free” interconnects!
ORDER: PD-1, 1 metre pair Prisma Dual Interconnect, $34.95
MAVROS INTERCONNECTS
Truly terrific, a pair of these connects our phono preamp to the
preamp of our Omega system
ORDER: AMI-1, 1 m Mavros interconnect pair, $1195
ORDER: AMI-2, 2 m Mavros interconnect pair, $1895
SEE EVEN MORE PRODUCTS
IN OUR ON-LINE CATALOG
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
THE AUDIOPHILE STORE 55
SPEAKER CABLES
ATLAS MAVROS CABLES
We’ve adopted them for our Alpha system, which sounds better
than ever before. This is a four-wire monocrystal cable with
porous Teflon dielectric. We are not recommending them with
standard bananas or spaces, but we offer them either with ETI
Bayonet Bananas, at no extra cost, or WBT nextgen..
ORDER: AMBCu-3, 3 m pair, Bayonet bananas, $2150
ORDER: AMBCu-5, 5 m pair, Bayonet bananas, $3850
ORDER: AMSCu-3, 3 m pair, WBT nextgen bananas, $2390
ORDER: AMSCu-5, 5 m pair, WBT nextgen bananas, $4090
ATLAS HYPER SPEAKER CABLES
A big winner in one of UHF’s blind tests of speaker cables is
Hyper 2, an oxygen free stranded wire in Teflon dielectric. Plus
connectors (we recommend Eichmann Bayonet Bananas, $99.95/
set, two sets needed for AH2, three for biwire).
ORDER: AH2, Hyper 2 cable, $29.95/metre
ORDER: AHB, Hyper Biwire cable, $49.95/metre
ATLAS ICHOR SPEAKER CABLE
Continuous-cast single-crystal cable, ready for biwiring. It costs
just $235 per meter of double cable (a 2 m pair has 4 meters of
wire). We suggest adding the Eichmann Bayonet bananas, $99.95
per set of 4, or Furutech connectors, $70 a set of 4..
SINGLE CRYSTAL JUMPERS
Not biwiring? Dump the free jumpers
that came with your speakers. Atlas
jumpers are made from single-crystal
copper, gold-plated spades.
ORDER: ACJ, four single crystal
jumpers, $99.95
DIGITAL CABLES
ATLAS COMPASS DIGITAL
Excellent performance at an affordable price. Single crystal pure
copper. The 1.5m version sounds way better than a 1m.
ORDER: ACD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $160
ATLAS OPUS DIGITAL
We dumped our reference cable for this one! And to be at its very
best, it has to be this length.
ORDER: AOD-1.5 digital cable, 1.5m, $399
TOSLINK OPTICAL DIGITAL
The best we’ve found yet,
though we’re still looking.
Add the mini-TOSLINK
adapter for Airport Express or computers with hybrid jacks.
ORDER: TD-1 TOSLINK cable, 1m length $22.95
ORDER: TMT mini-TOSLINK adapter, $3.95
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
CONNECTORS
EICHMANN BAYONET BANANAS
The Eichmann Bayonet Banana uses
a minimum of metal, and tellurium
copper at that, but clicks tightly into
any binding post with spring action.
For soldering or crimping, or both.
ORDER: EBB kit 4 bayonet bananas,
$99.95
EICHMANN BULLET PLUGS
The first phono plug to maintain the impedance of
the cable by using metal only as an extension
of the wire. Hollow tube centre
pin, tiny spring for ground. Two
contacts for soldering, two-screw
strain relief. Gold over copper. Got
silver cable? Get the unique Silver Bullets!
ORDER: EBP kit 4 Bullet Plugs, $77.95
ORDER: EBPA kit 4 Silver Bullets, $154.95
EICHMANN CABLE PODS
Minimum metal, gold over tellurium
copper. Unique clamp system: the back
button turns but the clamp doesn’t.
Solder to it, or plug an Eichmann
banana into it, even from inside!
ORDER: ECP, set of four posts, $119.95
CONNECTOR TREATMENT
DeOxit (formerly ProGold)
cleans connections and
promotes conductivity. Small
wipes for cleaning accessible
contacts, or a squirt bottle for connections you can’t reach.
ORDER: PGW box 25 DeOxit wipes, $35
ORDER: PGS, can DeOxit fluid, $35
ORDER: PGB, both when ordered at the same time, $56
WBT NEXTGEN CONNECTORS
WBT makes banana plugs and spades for speaker cables, all of
which lock tightly into any post. All use crimping technology.
These nextgen connectors are far superior to previous versions
ORDER: WBT-0610 Kit 4 angled nextgen bananas, $130
ORDER: WBT-0610Ag Kit 4 nextgen silver bananas, $290
ORDER: WBT-0681 Kit 4 nextgen spades, $130
ORDER: WBT-0681Ag Kit 4 nextgen silver spades, $220
The high-tech minimum metal “nextgen” phono plugs. Easy to
solder, with locking collar. Silver version available.
ORDER: WBT-0110, kit 4 nextgen copper plugs, $170
ORDER: WBT-0110Ag, kit 4 nextgen silver plugs, $280
FURUTECH CONNECTORS, next page

56 THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
FURUTECH CONNECTORS
Rhodium-plated banana tightens
under pressure. Installs like WBT banana. The spade installs the
same way too..
ORDER: FTB-R, set of four bananas, $70
ORDER: FTS-R, set of four spades, $70
SILVER SOLDER
This is a lovely solder, from the
company that makes Enacom
line filters (which we also like).
Wakø-Tech solder contains 4%
silver, no lead.
ORDER: SR-4N, 100 g solder
roll, $59.95
ANALOG PRODUCTS
LONDON REFERENCE
Yes we can supply the awesome London
Reference phono cartridge that we have
adopted for ourselves. Other models on
special order. This unique cartridge has
a line contact stylus, and an output of
5 mV, right for an MM preamp.
ORDER: LRC cartridge, $4695
GOLDRING ELITE
If you have limited funds and you
want an MC cartridge with a
line contact stylus, this is a great
choice. It's a detuned version of the
very expensive (but discontinued)
Excel we still own.
ORDER: GEC cartridge, $745
TURNTABLE BELT TREATMENT
What this is not
is a sticky goo for
belts on their last
legs. Rubber Renue
removes oxidation
from rubber belts,
giving them a new
lease on life. But what astonished us is what it does to even a brand
new belt. Wipe down your belt every 3 months, and make analog
sound better than ever.
ORDER: RRU-100 drive belt
treatment, $14.95
J. A. MICHELL RECORD CLAMP
Clamp your LP to the turntable
platter. We use the J. A.
Michell clamp, machined
from nearly weightless
aluminum. Drop it on,
press down, tighten
the knob.
ORDER: MRC Michell
record clamp, $75
ORDER: MRC-R clamp for
Rega and short spindles, $85
THORENS TURNTABLES AVAILABLE ON LINE
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore
MOON PHONO PREAMPS
Simaudio has done it: come up
with a world-class phono
preamp that does
magic. The 310LP
(formerly the LP5.3)
is one of the best
available. Adjustable
MM/MC.
ORDER: Moon 310LP, silver (black available on order), $1599.
Special price on interconnect, one per 310LP order.
ORDER: ANA-1 Navigator All-Cu, 1m, $405, for $260
ORDER: ANA-2 Navigator All-Cu, 2m, $495 for $350
ORDER: ANAB-1 Navigator balanced, 1m, $675, for $475
ORDER: AMI-1, 1 meter Mavros, $1195, for $895
ORDER: AMI-2, 2 meter Mavros, $1895, for $1495
Even more
astonishing: the LP3
includes much of the
310LP technology, still
offers MM/MC, but
costs only a fraction.
Lively and musical, it’s
difficult to match.
ORDER: Moon LP3,
$599
Special price on interconnect, one per LP3 order.
ORDER AQS-1, Kit ,1 m Quadstar, $124.95, for $59.95
ORDER AQS-1A, Fully assembled Quadstar, $199.95, for $99.95
NOTE: The Moon preamps are shipped set for moving magnet
setting. We’ll reset it to your specification so you won’t have to.
LP RECORD CLEANER
Concentrated cleaner for LP vacuum cleaning machines.
Much safer than some formulas we’ve seen! Half litre, mix with
demineralized or distilled water to make 4 litres.
ORDER: LPC, $19.95
EXSTATIC RECORD BRUSH
The Super
Exstatic. Includes
a hard velvet pad
to get into the
grooves, two sets
of carbon fibre
tufts. We use it every time!
ORDER: GSX record brush, $36
MoFi WET/DRY BRUSH
The Super Exstatic (shown
above) is the best dry
brush we know, but if
your LP needs a wash and
you don’t have a vacuum
machine handy, this
is the one to have in
hand. Dampen it with a
good record-cleaning fluid
like our own LPC.
ORDER: MFB record brush, $36
ORDER: MFB plus LPC (4-litres), $46
ORDER: Replacment kit for MFB, $36
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
MORE ANALOG…
TITAN STYLUS LUBRICANT
Amazing, but true: dabbing
a bit of this stuff on your
stylus every 2 or 3 LPs makes
it glide through the groove
instead of scraping. Fine artist’s brush not included, but readily
available in many stores.
ORDER: TSO-1 Titan stylus oil, $39.95
ZEROSTAT ANTISTATIC PISTOL
A classic adjunct
to a record
brush is the
Zerostat anti-static
gun, especially
in dry weather. Squeeze the trigger
and release: it ionizes the air, which
becomes conductive and drains off
the static charge. By the way, it works
for a lot more than LP’s. No batteries
needed. Good for LPs, jamming printers, and anywhere static is
a problem.
ORDER: Z-1 Zerostat antistatic pistol, $94.95
LP SLEEVES
Keep your records clean and
scratch free. Replace dirty, torn
or missing inner sleeves with
quality Mobile Fidelity sleeves,
at an attractive price.
ORDER: MFS, package of 50
sleeves, $30
VINYL ESSENTIALS TEST LP
This precision-made German test record lets you check out
channel identification, correct phase, crosstalk, the tracking
ability of your cartridge (it’s a tougher test than the old Shure disc
was) and the resonance of your tone arm and cartridge. When we
need to test a turntable, this is the one we reach for.
ORDER: LP 003, Image Hifi Test LP, $48.95
CLEANER POWER
ENACOM LINE FILTER
Economy price, but astonishingly effective, we wouldn’t run our
system with less. It actually shorts out the hash on the power line.
ORDER: EAC Enacom line filter, $105
ATLAS POWER BAR
We were surprised by the massiveness
and the fit and finish on this
power bar. Would
those universal
(European/North
American) plugs
offer a tight fit? Do
they ever! The standard
IEC plug takes any power cord. With breaker and ground lug.
Bundle it with one of our own 14-gauge shielded cords, and save.
ORDER: APB power bar, $299
ORDER: APBU power bar plus UHF14 cord, $349
ORDER: APBF power bar plus UHF14F cord, $399

UHF14 POWER
BAR
Most power bars knock
voltage down, and
generate more noise
than a kindergarten
class. The UHF14 doesn’t. It
features a 1.5m 14- gauge shielded
cable, Hubbell hospital grade fourplex, and
Furutech gold-on-copper wall plug. ORDER: UHF14-PB, $239
Need it longer? Add $20 per metre extra
MORE POWER TO YOU
Better access to
electrical power.
Change your 77-cent
duplex outlets for
these Hubbell hospital
grade outlets. Insert a
plug and it just snaps
in. A tighter internal
connection as well.
The cheapest improvement you can make to your system.
ORDER: AC-DA Hubbell duplex outlet, $23.95
ORDER: AC-D20 20A duplex, red color, $28.95
INSTANT CIRCUIT CHECKER
Plug it into an AC outlet, and the three lights can
indicate a missing ground, incorrect polarity, switched
wires — five problems in all. The first thing we did
after getting ours was phone the electrician.
ORDER: ACA-1, Instant Circuit Checker, $21
HOSPITAL GRADE CONNECTION
When we put a quality
AC plug on our kettle,
boiling time dropped by 90
seconds! One of the best AC
plug we have ever seen is
the Hubbell 8215 hospital
grade plug. It connects to wires under high pressure, and it
should last forever.
ORDER: AC-P2, Hubbell 8215 cord plug, $25.95
Amazingly good at a
much lower price are
these two cord plugs
from Eagle. Male and
female versions.
ORDER: AC-P1 Eagle male cord plug, $5.95
ORDER: AC-PF Eagle female cord plug, $5.95
Making your own power cords for your equipment? You’ll need
the hard-to-get IEC 320 connector to fit the gear.
ORDER: AC-P3 10 ampere IEC 320 plug, $9.95
ORDER: AC-P4 15 ampere Schurter IEC 320 plug, $18.95
IEC ON YOUR DVD PLAYER
Why do big name DVD players come with those
tiny two-prong plugs for their
cords? A good shielded power
cable will do wonders!
ORDER: DVD-A, GutWire
adapter, $39
THE AUDIOPHILE STORE 57
UHF 14 POWER CORD
No budget for a premium cable? Make your own! We use several
ourselves. Foil-shielded, to avoid picking up or transmitting noise.
Assembled or as a kit. With Hubbell 8215 hospital grade plug and
Schurter 15 A IEC 320 connector. For digital players, preamplifiers,
tuners, and even medium-powered amplifiers.
ORDER: UHF14-1.5K, 14 gauge power cable kit, $74.95
ORDER: UHF14-1.5 14 gauge cable, assembled, $99.95
Need it longer? Add $20 per metre extra
20-AMPERE POWER CORD
This is the one with the big IEC connectors whose contacts are
rotated the other way. It’s for certain large power amps. Marinco 20
amp hospital-grade wall plug, which fits only a 20 amp wall outlet.
Available with a 15 amp Hubbell wall plug instead.
ORDER: UHF14-20-1.5 cable, assembled, $99.95
UHF/
FURUTECH
POWER CORD
We were so pleased with
the performance of our
UHF14 cable that we
wanted to hear it with the upscale Furutech connectors. Wow! Pure
copper IEC connector and copper/gold wall plug.
ORDER: UHF14F-1.5K, 14 gauge power cable kit, $149.95
ORDER: UHF14F-1.5 14 cable, assembled, $174.95
GUTWIRE G CLEF POWER CABLE
Multiple shielding, including external electrostatic shield connected
to a clip. Used by UHF. Length 1.7 m, longer cords on order. G Clef 2
has 195 conductors, 3 shields providing 98% shielding. Available
optionally with 20A IEC plug (for amplifiers requiring special plug)
ORDER: GGC G Clef, Square 1.7m, $385
ORDER: GGC-20 G Clef, Square, 20 amp 1.7m, $385
BETTER DIGITAL
IMPROVED CD WITH FINYL
The maker of Finyl claims it reduces surface
reflections and provides a higher contrast image for
the laser cell of your player. Use it just once. We get a
lot of repeat orders on it. One kit can treat over 200
discs. Or order the refill.
ORDER: F-1 Finyl kit, $40.00
ORDER: F-1R Finyl refill, $35.00
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
MOON 300D DAC
It wowed us so much we got it for our reference system. It
has 24/192 resolution on coax and optical, 16/48 on USB. Its
performance astonished us, and we’re not easily astonished. The
full review is in UHF No. 89.
To sweeten the deal, we’re offering bundles on our two Atlas
digital cables, in the favored 1.5 m length. By getting the bundle,
save $150 on an Atlas Opus (our reference, by the way), or save
$60 on our very good Atlas Compass cable.
ORDER: 300D, $1598
ORDER: 300D + Opus digital cable, $1847
ORDER: 300D + Compass digital cable, $1698
Get another bargain: with the purchase of a 300D, get the
UHF14F shielded power cable with Furutech connectors
(assembled, one per purchase). Instead of $174.95, pay just
$124.95.
ORDER: UHF14F-1.5 (bundled only), $124.95
NEED AN OPTICAL CABLE? See our favorites on the first
page of this catalog insert
A MORE AFFORDABLE DAC
As we go to press we had
not yet evaluated
the new Moon
100D, expected to
sell for $699. As
ever, we’ll carry
only products we’d
recomment to our best
friends. We’re optimistic, because the basic conversion circuit is
identical to that of the superb 300D. If we choose to carry it, we
will of course offer in bundles, to help manage your budget. For
confirmation of availability, check our on-line digital page, or
e-mail us.
ORDER: 100D, exact prices to come
CLEAN YOUR PLAYER
After a few months,
your player may have
more trouble reading
your CD’s. Unlike
some commonlyavailable
discs, the
Milty CD lens cleaner
is non-abrasive, so we
use it and rest easy.
Can be used wet or
dry.
ORDER: 2021 Milty CD lens cleaner, $35
SUPER ANTENNA
MkIII
Ours has no stupid rotary switch to
muck things up, and with a 1.8m lowloss
quadruple-shielded 75 ohm cable
and gold-plated F connector, it has low
internal loss. Covers analog and digital TV
bands as well as FM.
ORDER: FM-S Super Antenna, MkIII,
$55

58 THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
TENDERFEET
Machined cones are wonderful
things to put under speakers or
other audio equipment. They anchor
it mechanically and decouple it
acoustically at the same time.
Tenderfeet come in various versions:
tall (as shown) or flattened, in either
anodized silver or black. Tall Tenderfeet have threaded holes for
a machine screw, or for the optional hanger bolt, which lets you
screw it into wood. If you have a fragile hardwood floor, add the
optional Tendercup (shown above) to protect it.
ORDER: TFG, tall silver Tenderfoot, $15
ORDER: TFGN, tall black Tenderfoot, $16.50
ORDER: TFP, flat silver Tenderfoot, $10
ORDER: TCP, silver Tendercup, $10
ORDER: THB, hanger bolt for Tenderfeet, each $0.80
Do you prefer spikes for your speakers? Target spikes and sockets
mount in wood. Available with or without tools.
ORDER: S4W kit, 8 spikes, sockets and tools, $39
ORDER: S4WS kit, 8 spikes and sockets, $30
ISOBEARINGS ARE BACK!!!
Long discontinued, this product from Audioprism
is back. Of the many anti-vibration products
we have tried, this is the one that is by far most
effective for both vertical
and lateral vibration
(unfortunately some of
the most famous ones
don’t work at all). Each
Isobearing consists of a
small ball and a cup to receive it.
There are two models, each with a weight rating. The rating
indicates the maximum weight each Isobearing should bear, but
for optimum performance it should bear at least half of its rated
weight. Use three or more Isobearings, placed according to the
weight of the different sections of the amplifier, digital player,
etc. We now use Isobearings on our DVD player, and we’re glad
they’re back.
ORDER: ISO-M, single Isobearing, 2 kg/4.4 lbs $25 each
ORDER: ISO-G, single Isobearing, 7.5 kg/17 lbs $40 each
THE SUPERSPIKE
This is unique: a sealed unit containing a spike and a cup to
receive it. It won’t scratch even hardwood floors. For speakers
or equipment stands, on bare floors only. Four sizes of threaded
shanks are available to fit speakers or stands.
ORDER: SSKQ, 4 Superspikes, 1/4” shank, $75
ORDER: SSKT, 4 Superspikes, 5/16” shank, $75
ORDER: SSKS, 4 Superspikes, 6 mm shank, $75
ORDER: SSKH, 4 Superspikes, 8 mm shank, $75
WHAT SIZE SUPERSPIKE?
A good ruler will let you figure it out. The stated size is the outer
diameter of the threaded shank. Then count the threads:
1/4” shank: 20 threads/inch
5/16” shank: 18 threads/inch
M6 (6mm) shank: 10 threads/cm
M8 (8mm) shank: 8 threads/cm
OTHER
SUPERSPIKES
We have also have a Superspike foot
(at right) that replaces those useless
feet on CD players, amps, etc., using
the same screws to fasten them. And
there’s a stick-on version (not shown) for other components.
ORDER: SSKF, 4 Superspike replacement feet, $80
ORDER: SSKA, 3 stick-on Superspike feet, $50
SPEAKER STANDS
Your “bookshelf” speaker shouldn’t be on a bookshelf. We have the
four-pillar Target stands, in 24” or 28” height, ready to be filled
with sand.
ORDER: MR-24, one pair 24” Target stands, $325
ORDER: MR-28, one pair 24” Target stands, $349
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
AUDIO-TAK
It’s blue, and it’s a sort of modelling clay
that never dries. Anchor speakers to
stands, cones to speakers, and damp out
vibration. Leaflet with many suggested
uses.
ORDER: AT-2, Audio-Tak pack, $10
AN ON-THE-WALL IDEA
Need to fasten a speaker
securely to the wall? Nothing
beats the Smarter Speaker
Support for ease of installation
or for sheer strength. And
it holds the speaker off the
wall, so it can be used even
with rear-ported speakers.
Easily adjustable with two
hands, not three, tested to an
incredible 23 kg! Glass-filled
polycarbonate is unbreakable.
Screws and anchors included,
available in two colors.
ORDER: SSPS, pair of black speaker supports, $29.95
ORDER: SSPS-W, pair of white speaker supports, $29.95
TARGET WALL STANDS
We keep our turntables on these, secure from floor vibrations,
wonderful for CD players, amplifiers, and all components.
ORDER: VW-1 Target single-shelf wall stand, $225
ORDER: VW-2 Target dual-shelf wall stand, $280
AUDIOPHILE RECORDINGS, RECOMMENDED BY UHF STAFF
REFERENCE RECORDINGS
Tutti (HDCD, SACD)
A terrific symphonic sampler from Reference, with dazzling music
by Bruckner, Stravinsky, etc. Also available as RR’s very first SACD
release. Wow!
30th Anniversary Sampler (HDCD)
A collection of excerpts from recent Reference albums.
Yerba Buena Bounce (HDCD)
The (terrific) Hot Club of San Francisco is back, with great music,
well-played, wonderfully recorded by “Profesor” Johnson!
Crown Imperial (HDCD)
The second chapter of the famous Pomp&Pipes saga, with the Dallas
Wind Symphony, in a set of perfectly recorded pieces in glorious
HDCD.
Organ Odyssey (HDCD)
Mary Preston, the organist of Crown Imperial, in a dazzling program
of Widor, Mendelssohn, Vierne, and others.
Serenade (HDCD)
A collection of choral pieces, wonderfully sung by the Turtle Creek
Chorale, with perhaps the best sound Keith has given them yet.
Nojima Plays Liszt (HDCD)
The famous 1986 recording of Minoru Nojima playing the B Minor
Sonata and other works is back…in HDCD this time!
Nojima Plays Ravel (HDCD)
Nojima’s other hit disc, now also in glorious HDCD.
Garden of Dreams (HDCD)
David Maslanka’s evocative music for wind band.
Beachcomber (HDCD)
Fennell and the Dallas Wind Ensemble. Includes Tico Tico, A Chorus
line, and a version of 76 Trombones you’ll remember for a long time.
Trittico (HDCD)
Large helping of wind band leader Frederick Fennell doing powerhouse
music by Grieg, Albeniz, Nelhybel, etc. Complex and energetic.
Fennell Favorites (LP)
The Dallas Wind Symphony: Bach, Brahms, Prokofiev and more.
Fireworks on this rare Reference LP.
Jazz Hat (HDCD)
Pianist Michael Garson, in re-releases of some of his famous recordings
Blazing Redheads (LP)
Not all redheads, this all-female salsa-flavored big band adds a lot of

ed pepper to its music.
Felix Hell (HDCD)
The young organ prodigy turns in mature versions of organ music of
Liszt, Vierne, Rheinberger and Guilmant. Huge bottom end!
American Requiem (HDCD)
Richard Danielpour's awesome Requiem mass is all about war, and
about the hope for peace too, with a dedication tied to 9/11.
World Keys (HDCD)
Astonishing young pianist Joel Fan amazes with music from all the
world, including that of Prokofiev and Liszt
Ikon of Eros (HDCD)
Huge suite for orchestra and chorus, by John Tavener. Inspired by
Greek Orthodox tradition. Overwhelming HDCD sound.
PLUS THESE HDCD RECORDINGS:
Pomp&Pipes (HDCD)
From the Age of Swing (HDCD)
Swing is Here (HDCD)
Copland Symphony No. 3 (HDCD)
Medinah Sessions, two CDs for one (HDCD)
Ports of Call (HDCD)
Bruckner Symphony No. 9 (HDCD)
Ein Heldenleben (HDCD)
SHEFFIELD
Say It With Music (CD)
Margie Gibson sings Irving Berlin in what may be one the greatest
jazz vocal recordings of all time. And she’s right in your living room!
Growing Up in Hollywood Town (XRCD)
The Amanda Albums (CD)
How did they do it? The two complete McBroom recordings, Growing
Up in Hollywood Town and West of Oz, on one terrific CD
I’ve Got the Music in Me (CD)
This was originally Sheffield’s LAB-2 release. If you haven’t heard
Thelma Houston belt out a song, you’re in for a treat.
Kodo (CD)
A Japanese neo-folk group plays astonishing music, including a 400pound
drum that can take out a woofer. Or a wall!
Harry James & His Big Band (Gold CD)
Harry said he would have done this recording for free, because he
sounded better than ever.
Tower of Power (CD)
This high-energy big band was originally recorded directly to disc.
The new CD has been mastered from the original LP, not the digital
tape copy.
The King James Version (CD)
Harry James and his big band, live from the chapel!
Drum/Track Record (XRCD2)
OPUS 3
Test Records 1, 2 & 3 (SACD)
A blast from the past! Here are 14 cuts from the samplers that
launched Opus 3. They sound better than ever, too.
Swingcerely Yours (SACD)
An SACD re-re-release of tracks from superb vibraphonist Lars
Erstrand, from 1983 to 1995. Long overdue!
THE AUDIOPHILE STORE 59
Unique Classical Guitar Collection (SACD)
An SACD, mastered from analog, of some of Opus 3’s long-discontinued
classical guitar LPs. Terrific!
Beyond (SACD)
The second recording by the versatile guitarist Peder af Ugglas (who
also did Autumn Shuffle, below), who plays every instrument there is:
jazz, rock, blues, country. From Sweden???
Autumn Shuffle (SACD/LP)
Ugglas plays a number of different guitars, and borrows from jazz,
Blues, and (yes!) country. Piano, organ, trombone, bowed saw, etc.
Showcase 2005 (SACD)
The latest Opus 3 sampler, with Eric Bibb, Mattias Wager, the Erik
Westberg Vocal Ensemble and lots more, in glorious SACD.
Organ Treasures (SACD)
All those showpieces for big organ you remember hearing through
huge systems…only with all of the power and the clarity of Super
Audio. 4.1 channels, plus 2-channel CD.
Just Like Love (SACD/LP)
The newest from Eric Bibb, less oriented to Gospel and more to Blues.
Bibb’s group, Needed Time, is not here, but he’s surrounded by half a
dozen fine musicians. A nice recording.
Comes Love (HDCD)
Another disc by the terrific Swedish Jazz Kings, led by saxophonist
Tomas Ornberg, proving again Sweden understands jazz. The sound
is luminous, sometimes dazzling.
It’s Right Here For You (HDCD)
Is there, anywhere, a better swing band than The Swedish Jazz Kings
(formerly Tömas Ormberg’s Blue Five)? Closer to Kansas City than to
Stockholm, they are captivating.
Test CD 4 (SACD)
A sampler of Opus 3 performers, clearer than you’ve ever heard them
before. Hybrid disc.
Test CD 5 (HDCD)
Another of Opus 3’s wonderful samplers, including blues, jazz, and
classical music. A number of fine artists, captured with the usual pure
Blumlein stereo setup. A treat.
Showcase (SACD/LP)
Available as a hybrid SACD/CD disc, or a gorgeously-cut LP, with
selections from Opus 3 releases.
Good Stuff (DOUBLE 45 LP/HDCD/SACD)
As soothing as a summer breeze, this disc features singer Eric Bibb
(son of Leon), singing and playing guitar along with his group. Subtle
weaving of instrumentation, vivid sound.
Spirit and the Blues (DOUBLE 45 LP/CD/SACD)
Like his father, Leon Bibb, Eric Bibb understands the blues. He and
the other musicians, all playing strictly acoustic instruments, have
done a fine recording, and Opus 3 has made it sound exceptional.
Tiny Island (SACD)
If you like Eric Bibb and his group Good Stuff as much as we do, pick
this one up.
20th Anniversary Celebration Disc (HDCD)
A great sampler from Opus 3. Includes some exceptional fine pieces,
jazz, folk and classical. The sound pickup is as good as it gets, and the
HDCD transfer is luminous.
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
Levande (CD)
The full recording from which “Tiden Bara Går” on Test Record No.1
is taken. Believe it or not, this great song isn’t even the best on the
album! A fine singer, doing folklike material…and who cares about
understanding the words?
Concertos for Double Bass (CD/SACD)
This album of modern and 19th Century music is a favorite for its
deep, sensuous sound. And the music is worth discovering. It is lyrical,
a delight in every way.
Across the Bridge of Hope (SACD)
An astonishing choral recording by the Erik Westberg Ensemble,
famous for its Musica Sacra choral recording.
Musica Sacra (HDCD/SACD)
Test Record No.4 (LP)
PROPRIUS
Now the Green Blade Riseth (CD/SACD/LP)
Religious music done a new way: organ, chorus and modern instruments.
Stunning music, arranged and performed by masters, and the
effect is joyous. The sound is clear, and the sheer depth is unequalled
on CD. The new SACD version is the very best SACD we have yet heard!
Cantate Domino (CD/SACD/LP)
This choral record is a classic of audiophile records. The title selection
is stunningly beautiful. The second half is Christmas music, and
includes the most stunning version of O Holy Night we’ve ever heard.
Antiphone Blues (CD)
This famous disc offers an unusual mix: sax and organ! The disc
includes Ellington, Negro spirituals, and some folk music. Electrifying
performance, and the recording quality is unequalled.
Antiphone Blues (SACD/HDCD)
This is the Super Audio version, with a Red Book layer that is HDCDencoded.
The best of both worlds!
Jazz at the Pawnshop (LP/CD/SACD)
Jazz with legendary, nearly perfect sound, famous in audiophile
circles for years. The LP is double, and includes extra tracks.
Jazz at the Pawnshop 2 (CD/SACD)
From the original master, another disc of jazz from this Swedish pub,
with its lifelike 3-D sound. Now a classic in its own right.
Good Vibes (CD)
The third volume of Jazz at the Pawnshop. And just as good!
Sketches of Standard (CD)
ANALEKTA
Violonchello Español (CD)
I Musici de Montréal comes to Analekta, with a stunning album of
Spanish and Spanish-like pieces for cello and orchestra.
Vivace (CD)
Classical or rock? Claude Lamothe plays two cellos at the same time
in an amazing recording of modern compositions.
Pauline Viardot-Garcia (CD)
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian steps into the role of 19th Century
singer and composer Pauline Viardot so convincingly that listening
to her is like going back in time. One of the best classical recordings
of all time!
Romantic Pieces (CD)
How does James Ehnes manage to get such a sweet sound from his

60 THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
Stradivarius? Czech pieces from Smetana, Dvorak and Janacek. The
playing is as glorious as the tone, and the sound is sumptuous.
Cantabile (CD)
The Duo Similia is made up of striking blonde twins, who play flute
and guitar. Familiar airs from Mozart, Fauré, Elgar, Ravel, lots more.
Fine listening.
Nota del Sol (CD)
The Labrie twins are back, with a delightful recording of flute and
guitar music by Piazzola, Pujol and Machado. Joyous works, wonderfully
played and recorded.
Fantasia (CD)
A third, gorgeous, recording by the twins, on flute and guitar.
Fritz Kreisler (CD)
Possibly the best recording of Kreisler’s delightful violin music: James
Ehnes and his Strad bring a new magic to this fine disc.
French Showpieces (CD)
Awesome violinist James Ehnes, with the Quebec City Symph. takes on
Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Chausson, Massenet, and more.
Handel (CD)
Superb soprano Karina Gauvin is joined by the Toronto chamber
ensemble Tafelmusik in a series of glowing excerpts from Handel’s
“Alcina” and “Agrippina.” The sound is smooth and lifelike, with an
acute sense of place.
Little Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach (CD)
Over 30 delightful pieces, most by Bach himself. Soprano Karina
Gauvin’s voice is mated to Luc Beauséjour’s harpsichord work. The
sound is deep, detailed and warm, truly of audiophile quality.
Vivaldi: Motets for Soprano (CD)
The wonderful soprano Karina Gauvin tackles the gorgeous but very
difficult vocal music of Vivaldi: two motets and a psalm.
AUDIOQUEST
Mississipi Magic (CD/SACD)
The legendary Blues, Gospel, rock and world beat singer and musician
Terry Evans, in an energetic recording we loved.
Come to Find (CD)
The first by Bluesman Doug McLeod, as impressive as the second, and
no Blues fan should resist it.
You Can’t Take My Blues (CD)
Singer/songwriter Doug MacLeod and colleagues present one of the
most satisfying Blues records ever made.
Unmarked Road (SACD)
The third disc from the great Blues singer and guitarist Doug McLeod
is every bit as good as the first two.
Bluesquest sampler (CD)
SILENCE
Tres Americas (CD)
A gold audiophile disc of lively Latin fusion music. Irka Mateo and
Tadeo de Marco sing and play, drawing their influence from Africa as
well as their native Brazil. Clear, close-in sound.
Djembé Tigui (CD)
This gold disc features the voice and percussion of African artist
Sekou Camara, captured by the famous Soundfield microphone.
Camara died just before the disc was released. A long-time best-seller
worldwide.
Styles (CD)
Is this ever a surprising disc! Violinist Marc Bélanger worked up these
string études for his music students, but they actually deserve to be
put out on a gold audiophile disc! The more strings he adds, the better
it gets.
Fable (CD)
Easygoing modern jazz by Rémi Bolduc and his quartet, on this gold
disc. Some exceptional guitar and bass solos.
Musique Guy St-Onge (CD)
One-man band St-Onge plays dozens of instruments — scores for
fourteen films which never existed outside of his imagination. Fun
pretext, clever, attractive music that makes you wish you could see
the films!
HI-RES MUSIC (FOR DVD PLAYERS)
Brazilian Soul (24/96 DVD)
Guitarists Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, plus percussion and
bass, in an intimate yet explosive recording of samba and bossa nova
music. Great!
Jazz/Concord (24/96 DVD)
It's 1972, and you have tickets to hear Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Ray Brown
and Jake Hanna at the Concord Jazz Festival. You won’t ever forget it.
You can be there, with this high resolution disc that goes in your DVD.
Rhythm Willie (24/96 DVD)
Guitarists Herb Ellis and Freddie Green, with bassist Ray Brown and
others. This is an uncompressed 24 bit 96 kHz disc that can be played
on any DVD player. Awesome!
Trio (24/96 DVD)
Pianist Monty Alexander with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown. “Makes CD
sound seem as if it’s coming through a drinking straw.” Playable on
any DVD player, uncompressed.
Seven Come Eleven (24/96 DVD)
Herb Ellis and Ray Brown again, but this time with guitarist Joe
Pass (he and Ellis alternate playing lead and rhythm), and a third
guitarist, Jake Hanna. This is a live recording from the 1974 Concord
Jazz Festival.
Soular Energy (24-96 DVD/ 24-192 DVD-Audio)
Perhaps the world’s greatest bassist, the late Ray Brown, playing with
pianist Gene Harris, whom Brown called one of the greats. The proof
is right on this 24/96 recording, made from the analog master. Side 2
has a 24/192 DVD-A version.
KLAVIER
Evolution (CD)
Lowell Graham and the USAF wind band, with two superb suites by
Holst, plus music by Nelhybel, Hanson, etc. Lively, tactile sound with
impact by Bruce Leek.
Poetics (CD)
A superb wind band recording which includes a breathtaking
concerto for percussion.
Sonatas for Flute and Harp
These same great artists with sonatas by Krumpholz and Damase, as
well as Spohr and Glinka. Oh yes, and a spectacular solo harp version
of Ibert’s hilarious Entr’acte .
Norman Dello Joio (CD)
This contemporary composer delights in the tactile sound of the wind
band, and the Keystone Wind Ensemble does his music justice. So
does the sound, of astonishing quality!
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
Obseción (CD)
The Trio Amadé plays Piazzola, Berstein, Copland, and Emilion
Cólon…who is the trio cellist. The Colón and Piazzola is definitely
worth the price of admission. Lifelike sound.
Hemispheres (CD)
The North Texas Wind Symphony with new music by contemporary
composers who know how to thrill. Some of the best wind band sound
available.
Illuminations (CD)
Absolutely great chamber musicians take on music by Villa-Lobos,
Malcolm Arnold, and some composers you may not know but you’ll
wish you did. Sublime sound, nothing less.
PURE PLEASURE LPs
Duke Ellington 70th Birthday Concert (LP)
A double 180-gram LP set, recorded live in England Includes Take the
‘A’ Train, Satin Doll, Perdido, many others.
After Midnight (LP)
A mono double-album of Nat King Cole’s greatest performances, with
his own trio. Includes Sometimes I’m Happy, Caravan, It’s Only a
Paper Moon, Route 66, You Can Depend on Me. A great classic, available
on premium vinyl once more.
MOBILE FIDELITY LPs
Santana
This is the one with the lion on the cover, remastered from the
original sereo master, pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
My Aim Is True
Yes, the original Elvis Costello album, back on quality vinyl.
Whites Off Earth Now
The 1986 album by the Cowboy Junkies, recorded on two-track with
the legendary Calrec microphone and its 3D sound.
Don’t Cry Now
Linda Ronstadt’s 2008 LP, with I Can Almost See It, Desperado, etc..
Simple Dreams
Linda Ronstadt from much longer ago, 1977: It’s So Easy, Carmelita, I
Never Will Marry, etc.
Prisoner in Disguise
Linda Ronstadt from 1975: Love is a Rose, Tracks of My Tears, I Will
Always Love You, and more..
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
No one ever did the late-night blues better than Old Blue Eyes. Check
out the songs: Willow Weep For Me, Blues in the Night, Ebb Tide…
Sinatra and Strings
With Don Costa’s lush orchestra, Sinatra sings Night and Day, Misty,
Stardust, All Or Nothing At All, and Yesterdays. Oh, and lots more.
Nice and Easy
Sinatra sings love ballads on this famous recording: How Deep is the
Ocean, Fools Rush In, Try a Little Tenderness, and Dream..
FIRST/LAST IMPRESSIONS
La Fille Mal Gardée (XRCD)
A fine ballet with the Royal Ballet Company orchestra, from the
original 1962 Decca recording. Exceptional
Film Spectacular II (XRCD)
The orchestra of Stanley Black plays some of the greatest film music
of bygone years. From the original Decca Phase 4 tape.

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante (XRCD)
Igor and David Oistrakh with the Moscow Philharmonic, in a glorious
1963 recording, from the original master tape.
Artistry of Linda Rosenthal (HDCD)
The great violinist Rosenthal plays favorites: Hora Staccato, Perpetuum
Mobile, Debussy’s Beau Soir, etc.
Suite Española (XRCD)
The Albéniz suite, gorgeously orchestrated by Rafael Frühbeck de
Burgos, who conducts the New Philharmonia. Beautifully remastered
from the original 1963 tape.
Audiophile Reference IV (SACD)
A stunning sampler, with recognizable audiophile selections you have
never heard sound this good!
Songs My Dad Taught Me (HDCD)
Jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro and three other musicians, with a retro
collection of unforgettable tunes.
Café Blue (HDCD)
Gold HDCD version of jazz singer Patricia Barber’s 1994 classic, an
audiophile underground favorite.
MISCELLANEOUS
Pipes Rhode Island
THE AUDIOPHILE STORE 61
John Marks recorded this tour of the organs of the tiny state, with
amazing tones, captured in astonishing sound.
All We Need to Know
Jazz singer Margie Gibson’s first album since Say It With Music, on
Sheffield. No one sings the way she does!
Classica d’Oro (CD)
Some of the classical world’s most important heritage, on 50
audiophile-quality gold CDs, at just over $2 per CD. Fine artists from
Germany, Austria, the UK, Eastern Europe. Listen to excerpts on line.
Blues for the Saxophone Club (HDCD)
Swing jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro, with guest artists, including
saxophonist Ernie Watts. The HDCD sound is explosive!
My Foolish Heart (CD)
A collection of live and studio pieces by Monteiro and other musicians,
notably saxophonist Ernie Watts.
Neil Diamond: Serenade (CD)
Just eight songs on this European CBS disc, but what songs! I’ve Been
This Way Before, Lady Magdalene, Reggae Strut, The Gift of Song,
and more. Glowing sound too.
Harry Belafonte (CD)
We haven’t heard Belafonte sound like this except on analog. The 16
www.uhfmag.com/AudiophileStore.html
songs include Island in the Sun, Jamaica Farewell, Midnight Special,
Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Brown Skin Girl, etc.
Sources (CD)
A wonderful recording by Bïa (pronounced Bee-yah). She’s Brazilian,
lives in France, recorded this terrific album (in 5 languages!) in
Montreal. Just her warm voice and guitar, plus stunning percussion.
La mémoire du vent (CD)
The original recording by Bïa, in French, Portuguese and English. If
you love her second one, don’t hesitate.
Carmin (CD)
The third by Bïa. Different this time, with more money for production,
but it has been spent wisely. Superb songs, gloriously sung in Portuguese,
French and the ancient Aymara language.
Coeur vagabond (CD)
Bïa sings French songs in Portuguese, Brazilian songs in French. A
delight, as usual from this astonishing singer.
Nocturno (CD)
Some are saying that this is Bïa’s best and most touching album since
Sources. See if you agree. You won’t be disappointed.
Payment by VISA or MasterCard, cheque or money order (in Canada). All merchandise is guaranteed unless explicitly sold “as
is.” Certain items (the Super Antenna, the EAC line filter, and most standard-length cables) may be returned within 21 days less
shipping cost. Other items may be subject to a restocking charge. Defective recordings will be exchanged for new copies.
HERE’S HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR SHIPPING COST:
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62 THE AUDIOPHILE STORE
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Gentlemen, I, Rachmaninoff,
have just heard myself play! He
might have been a snob, to
judge from that quote.
“I, Rachmaninoff!” Perhaps we don’t
understand the Russian syntax behind
the second language. Ya, Rachmaninoff...
Software
Rachmaninoff
the Neo-Romantic
Although he spent the second part of his
life in the West, an American resident
and in his last days a citizen, he surrounded
himself with Russian.
Was he a snob? Almost universally
by Toby Earp
recognized as one of the greatest pianists
of his age, he became accustomed,
throughout his career, to critical attacks
on his compositions. They never left him
unfazed, the way they seemed to slide off
Igor Stravinsky. When one piece was
well received, in 1943 not long before
his death, he commented that this was
remarkable. “It must be my last flicker.”
Russian humor, perhaps. Many works
were revised several times during his
lifetime. It is almost as though he was
not sure they were actually any good.
Yet Sergei Rachmaninoff was a
perfectionist in recording, refusing
the release of many because he was not
satisfied with his performance. Yes, he
left recordings, and some of them are
excellent. This is where I want to begin
with Rachmaninoff.
The recordings represent perhaps
the most modern part of his legacy,
along with some compositions like the
Fourth Piano Concerto. For with the
great classical composers the question
remains: how would he (or in rare cases,
she) have played that work? We cannot
hear a performance by Bach, Mozart,
Beethoven or Chopin today, and the
earlier the composer, the further we get
from the practice of the time. Perhaps we
can never know if a modern version represents
a great understanding, or merely
a great egotism. Rachmaninoff, however,
has left us recordings of his own works
(and others’ as well), with which he was
satisfied. Today, a first hearing of one of
his original performances can have an
uncanny quality, as though the past had
moved in next door.
His first discs — 10”, 78 rpm — were
for the Edison company in 1919. He did
not stay with Edison long, however. It
was common practice at the time to
release alternative takes of a piece, and
Edison did exactly that, much against
Rachmaninoff’s wishes. Thomas Edison
himself, deaf by then, had recorded little
classical repertoire as yet, and perhaps
he did not understand the artist. At any
rate Rachmaninoff left for Victor, which
was happy both to give him the terms he
wanted and to respect them.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 63

Rachmaninoff at Ivanovka, mid-1890’s, at rear second from left
Software
Feedback
Those first recordings for Edison performance was encoded by cutting
Rachmaninoff was born in 1873,
the same year as his friend the great
basso Fyodor Chaliapin. That made
him 44 years old when he emigrated to
the West just before Christmas 1917,
two months almost to the day after the
Bolshevik Revolution. He had a family
and a household by then but had to leave
Moscow with only a small suitcase, since
he was ostensibly going to perform by
invitation in Stockholm. Nobody asked
the awkward question as to why his
wife and daughters were accompanying
him.
The Rachmaninoffs went by train to
St. Petersburg, thence to Finland and by
open sledge to the Swedish border. With
him were the manuscripts of his works in
progress, including a fresh rewrite of his
First Piano Concerto, composed when he
was a teenager, as well as the manuscript
for an opera, Monna Vanna, which he was
never to finish. He could take nothing
else with him, and little money. It was a
complete and utter break with his home
and his busy and successful life up to that
time. Worst of all, perhaps, was leaving
his beloved estate, Ivanovka and indeed
all Russia, in the hands of the people who
would repress and destroy it over the
next sixty years. In any case, from then
on most of his creative energy would
were acoustic, made by capturing sound slots in rolls of paper. Rachmaninoff have to go into performing.
with a large horn whose vibrations at made his first rolls for Ampico in 1923, He had been born into a minor
the small end controlled About the movement the and the Audiophile quotation at the beginning Store
of this aristocratic family. Following Russian
of a stylus. Edison’s recordings were article is his reaction to his first audition tradition, his father Vasily joined the
engraved vertically, creating The a hill-and- eight pages of that the result. follow Since are a catalog then companies for The Audiophile such army, Store. though he had musical ability.
dale groove. Of course The that store made belongs the as to Klavier UHF, and have it issued is stocked high-quality with accessories CDs Vasily and record- married into wealth, and the
records highly vulnerable ings to that surface we recommend? of these piano rolls being played back by woman who was to be Sergei Rachmani-
noise. Rachmaninoff, whose Do ear we we have pre- a conflict a perfectly-adjusted of interest? Actually reproducing we don’t, piano, because noff’s anything mother brought five estates to her
sume was a good one, said we that don’t Edison’s like doesn’t thus make bringing it to the the store. “high We’re end” not of tempted 1923 husband. to cheat, Both be- parents played piano, and
early records made his piano cause sound the credibility just within we’ve the built reach up of over almost the years anyone. is worth a Sergei lot more showed than signs of musical aptitude
like…a Russian balalaika! a few sales. If a competitor Unlike makes Josef something Hofmann, better, another so be it, early and we’ll on. A even teacher was brought from
What we have of remarkable say so in quality a review. great pianist of the time and a friend, Moscow. Three boys and three girls were
today by Rachmaninoff is in And a quite the dif- store actually Rachmaninoff protects did us not from feel potential that his conflicts. rolls born, but Vasily was unstable and feckferent
medium. Even in the In early the past, days advertisers and electrically-recorded have attempted to discs shake were us down, in less, threatening and also well known for misplaced
of sound recording technology to cancel their there ads competition if we published with something his live performances.
negative. It hasn’t generosity. happened One by one the estates were
were degrees of fidelity. for The a while, high end but then This everyone seems progressive knows it won’t of him; work. we The can Audiophile sold. The Store last had to be auctioned off in
in the early 1920’s was the puts reproducing eight pages of imagine advertising that in he every might issue, have and been those in are pages 1882, no when one Sergei was nine. The family
piano, a descendant of the can player cancel. piano favour of downloaded music in our day. moved from the country and a life as
(and a technology which has Check continued out the In store, fact ot by its 1925 on-line he counterpart. felt that the We art think of privileged there’s great landowners to a small flat in
to mature to this day). The stuff reproducing there. If we didn’t music think could so, be it well-served wouldn’t be by there.
record- St. Petersburg.
piano’s pneumatic system made it posing. We will come to his definition of They were now poor. A diphtheria
sible to record dynamics and inflections musical art, but first we should look at its epidemic broke out and three of the
with a fidelity the phonograph could not origins in his training and in his career children caught the disease, including
approach, and its piano tone quality was in Russia, which had come to a drastic Sergei. His elder sister Sofia did not
of course quite natural-sounding. The end only a few years earlier.
recover. At the same time there were
64 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine

painful scenes at home, and after a stressful
period the family broke up. Vasily left
to live with his mother.
It was a drastic break from the life
Sergei had known, its challenge a precursor
of exile later on. The boy drifted,
comforted by a bond with his maternal
grandmother, who apparently spoiled
him. Schooling in preparation for entry
into the St. Petersburg Conservatory
had been arranged, but once there he
began to skip classes, only continuing
to attend musical courses. He doctored
his own report cards. Another beloved
older sister, Yelena, who had a beautiful
contralto voice and was engaged by the
Bolshoi Opera, died of anemia. When
the young Rachmaninoff failed all his
non-musical subjects and risked losing
a scholarship, his mother appealed to
Alexander Siloti, a cousin and former
student of Nikolai Zveref in Moscow.
Sergei’s musical talent was evaluated and
he was sent to Zveref.
Sergei was lucky. Zveref’s home was
an ideal environment for a talented
twelve-year-old in need of structure.
The regime was strict but not draconian:
three hours’ practice daily. Zveref’s
unmarried sister was a female presence.
Zveref had two other resident pupils
who shared the piano room, and nonresident
students as well, including the
young Alexander Scriabin. The boys
practised in shifts, taking turns to get
up and start at 6:30 a.m. Sundays were
open house for Moscow’s musical and
intellectual elite, and Rachmaninoff
played for Tchaikovsky, Arensky and
others, including the great pianist and
composer Anton Rubinstein. Though
Rubinstein’s own playing had no effect
on Sergei at the age of 12, the following
year was a different story. Zveref’s
students attended multiple recitals and
Rachmaninoff was deeply touched. As
late as the 1930’s he wrote with passion
of Rubinstein’s beauty of tone, his “profound,
spiritually refined musicianship,”
and his dictum that the pedal was “the
soul of the piano.”
Rachmaninoff started formal composing
at this time, as part of his education
at the Moscow Conservatory. His
very earliest pieces have mostly not
survived, but there is a Lento in D minor
written as an exercise for Arensky’s
harmony class at the Conservatory,
presumably in 1887. Arensky was pleased
with his harmonization; by 1888 Rachmaninoff
had moved into the “special
theory” stream at his school, the one
for pupils destined to be composers. At
the end of that year he passed his theory
examinations with the highest possible
mark. One of the examiners was Tchaikovsky,
who predicted a great future for
the young man.
Rachmaninoff graduated in May
1892 with the highest possible mark and
in addition, the Moscow Conservatory’s
Great Gold Medal, awarded for only the
third time. His final examination had
been his performance of his own short
opera Aleko, based — like the other
graduates’ works — on a rushed libretto
derived from a Pushkin story. His success
brought him a deal with the music
publisher Gutheil.
It also reconciled him with Zveref,
with whom he had broken at age 16,
perhaps because the teacher had refused
to provide him with a piano room for
composing. On this occasion Zveref gave
him a gold watch. At that time Rachmaninoff
had found a welcome with his
father’s sister Varvara Satin, whose busy
home and four daughters represented a
sharp contrast to the monastic life with
Zveref. This relationship would provide
him with an invitation to the family
estate, Ivanovka, where he spent most
summers for years to come.
During his time at the Moscow
Conservatory, Rachmaninoff composed
intensely. At least one of the early
works, the Russian Rhapsody, formed the
basis of a revised, possibly improved,
version published much later. He also
started work on the First Piano Concerto,
of which the just-completed rewrite
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 65
Software

Software
Feedback
would accompany him on his flight in multiple hearings. Rachmaninoff was Prelude was performed in a group of five
1917. Notable among many other pieces unlucky in the critics of the first per- pieces around New Year’s of 1893 as
were songs, occasional pieces for the formance, especially César Cui of St. Opus 3, Morceaux de Fantaisie, dedicated
daughters of the Skalon family with Petersburg who decried the “evil impres- to Arensky. Tchaikovsky received a copy
whom he spent summers at Ivanovka, sion” of the work, its “sickly, perverse of the Morceaux in February and greatly
the Trio Élégiaque No. 1, a symphonic harmonization” and “complete absence liked it, especially the C sharp minor. On
poem or suite, Manfred, which is now of simplicity and naturalness, complete the publication of Op. 3 later that year,
lost, another symphonic poem, Prince absence of themes.”
Rachmaninoff was called “a man of great
Rostislav, which was not performed until Cui’s opinion bore weight, since he promise.”
1945 and a transcription for four hands was one of the “Mighty Handful” of He eventually got 500 rubles for
of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, which composers, including Rimsky-Korsakov Aleko, the Opus 2 cello pieces and the
the older composer disliked and which and Borodin, dedicated since the 1860’s songs of Opus 4, plus 200 more for the
had to be reworked by Rachmaninoff’s to creating a Russian nationalist school of five Morceaux Op. 3, which meant the
piano teacher, Siloti.
music. Such opinions may be attributed Prelude went for 50 rubles. Russia had
Also during this time he gave his first to tunnel vision and a vituperative pen, not signed the 1886 Berne Convention,
public concert and fell ill, after swim- yet perhaps Rachmaninoff should have thus Russian publishers did not have to
ming in the Matîr river in August 1891, seen it coming. The conductor, Alexan- pay royalties, and Rachmaninoff never
with a malaria-like fever which would der Glazunov, had been indifferent to got another cent for what was to become
periodically recur. His growing friend- the music, saying it had “a lot of feeling one of the most popular piano solo pieces
ship with a Skalon daughter, Natalia, but no sense.” Rehearsals went badly. of the 20
inspired a correspondence which lasted A former teacher, Tanaieff, described
the next twelve years.
the melodies as “flabby, colorless,” and
Because Siloti quit the Conservatory Rimsky-Korsakov did not find it at all
in 1891 after a change of director, Rach- agreeable. But Rachmaninoff had had
maninoff, now without his teacher, asked few musical failures in the years leading
to take the final piano examination a year up to this, and perhaps he did not wish
early. Though he had but three weeks to to believe the signs. If so, he had reason
prepare, he graduated with honors and to regret it. Cui added to his obtuse
then asked Arensky if he could take his comments by comparing the work to
composition exams early as well, in the “a symphony on the Seven Plagues of
spring of 1892.
Egypt,” meant for an audience in Hell.
This was agreed to but on condition Rachmaninoff took it very hard. He
that he do the work, which was, among put the manuscripts of the symphony
other things, to compose a symphony. aside, including a transcription for two
This he did, in two movements of pianos, and left them behind when he
which one has been lost. The other was fled Moscow in 1917. They were redis-
published in 1947 as the Youthful Symcovered in incomplete form and used
phony, modelled on the first movement to reconstruct the work for its second
of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. His performance, in Moscow on October 17,
final piece, the opera Aleko, was received 1945, nearly fifty years later.
with great warmth by Tchaikovsky, was However t he post-graduat ion
accepted and performed to acclaim by summer of 1892 held no sign of later
the Bolshoi Orchestra, and is still per- failure. Rachmaninoff found himself on
formed occasionally to this day. All told an estate northeast of Moscow, fighting
it was a period of remarkable accomplish- boredom, giving daily piano lessons to
ment, crowned with his diploma and the the son of the estate owner, and correct-
right, first instituted by Catherine the ing his first proofs for publication by
Great, to call himself “Free Artist.” Gutheil. He had a short relapse of fever.
At 19, Rachmaninoff could well con- In September he had still not received
sider that a composing career lay before payment from Gutheil, so he agreed to
him.
appear in concert at the Moscow Electri-
Looking back, we know that the next cal Exhibition. He played shorter pieces,
milestone of his career, in 1897, was to among them the first movement of
be a personal disaster whose repercus- Anton Rubinstein’s Concerto No. 1. There
sions lasted years. Yet Rachmaninoff’s was also a Prelude in C sharp minor which
First Symphony is a distinguished work, he had just written and which “aroused
well-made and exuberant, which repays enthusiasm,” according to a review. This
th Get the complete version
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century (although he was paid
for his later recordings of it for Edison,
Victor and Ampico).
We shall have to go rather quickly
over the accomplishments of the next
four years, but 1893 was exceptional. He
was housed that summer in a speciallybuilt
three-storey wooden tower in the
garden of the Lysikof estate, the result
of having told his music-loving hosts
that he liked to work outdoors. There
he composed the “sacred concerto” O
Mother of God Perpetually Praying and
the two-piano Op. 5 Fantaisie Tableaux,
later known as the Suite No. 1. He
described the latter to Natalia Skalon
as “a series of musical pictures.” He
also produced two Morceaux de Salon
Op. 6 and the orchestral poem The Rock,
which Tchaikovsky greatly approved
of and wished to conduct. However
Tchaikovsky died suddenly in October
1893, and The Rock’s first performance,
in 1896, ended up being conducted by
Alexander Glazunov.
With the death of Tchaikovsky,
Russian music had lost its greatest
living composer, and Rachmaninoff a
precious mentor and supporter. In the
great Romantic’s memory, he composed
the Trio Élégiaque No. 2, Op. 9. He was
not perfectly satisfied with this work,
more ambitious than the earlier one,
and revised it in 1906, 1917 and again
in 1932 (for a performance by Milstein,
Piatigorsky and Horowitz). His final
production of 1893 was the seven pieces
of the Op. 10 Morceaux de salon.
66 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine

It is worth noting that although
the first phonographs already existed,
a musical evening during the later 19 th
century would more than likely be
spent around a piano. Rachmaninoff’s
collections of shorter pieces of varying
difficulty were most often bought for
such moments; in all, he published seven
groups of them.
In the summer of 1894 he orchestrated
a piano duet written two years
earlier, based on Gypsy themes, which
became the Capriccio Bohémien. In 1895
he began work on the First Symphony.
By October Rachmaninoff had not
only completed the composition and
orchestration of the work, but had
also transcribed it for two pianos — a
fortunate accomplishment which turned
out to be essential to our knowledge of
this symphony today.
He was short of money during this
period. He took off on a demanding
Baltic tour with a violin-playing Italian
countess, but cut it short owing to nonpayment
of fees and returned to Moscow,
where he had to pawn the watch Zveref
had given him. The year 1896 saw revisions
of the First Symphony manuscript
with the advice of Tanaieff, and a date
was fixed for its first performance. He
attempted to compose but did not finish
a string quartet. He also composed the
twelve songs of Opus 14. He was a prolific
and indeed masterful composer of
songs; this was his third song collection
of a lifetime total of seven. His much
better-known piano groups number just
seven, as do his orchestral pieces.
We have seen the unfortunate birth of
the First Symphony and its consequences.
In 1898 Rachmaninoff’s former teacher,
Siloti, toured Western Europe and the
US, and one of his program items was the
C sharp minor Prelude, Op. 3 No. 2, written
in the summer of 1892. It was so popular
that London publishers, unbound by
copyright, smelled a profit and brought
out multiple editions with names like
The Burning of Moscow. Thanks to Siloti,
Rachmaninoff at least got an invitation
to perform for the London Philharmonic
Society, which he did in 1899 on his first
trip outside Russia. On this occasion
he conducted The Rock and played the
first two Morceaux de Fantaisie. Reviews,
not generally sympathetic to foreign
music, already described the Prelude as
hackneyed. Rachmaninoff was nonetheless
praised for his conducting and
orchestration and invited to come back
the following year.
Ultimately the Prelude in C sharp
minor became so popular that a highbrow
prejudice developed against it. Rachmaninoff
apparently came to dread being
expected to play it; when one manager
said that he hoped it would be on the
concert program, Rachmaninoff replied
that he “didn’t need to be reminded to do
his duty.” On another occasion, in 1922,
the Prelude’s fans caused a humiliating
commotion by calling for it repeatedly,
applauding it during its execution, and
in the end refusing to leave, at least until
the hall lights were finally turned out.
Published under many names, including
Moscow Waltz, the C sharp minor was
turned into more than one piano rag,
including the Russian Rag, which made
more money for its composer than the
original piece had for Rachmaninoff
himself. Op. 3 No. 2 was adapted for all
sorts of instruments, from trombone
quartet to solo banjo. Countless amateurs
murdered it.
And how galling for Rachmaninoff
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 67
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Painting from a Decca collection of Rachmaninoff concertos (with Ashkenazy and Previn)
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to be trying to practise in a bungalow
at the stylishly named Gardens of Allah
in Hollywood when Harpo Marx, next
door and also there to practise, took
exception to his dogged repetition.
Marx’s revenge was to open his doors and
windows and play the first four bars of
the C sharp minor Prelude fortissimo for
two hours straight. Rachmaninoff had to
ask the manager to move him away from
“that dreadful harpist.”
Today, if you want to hear a comparison
of the sonics of the early Edison
and Victor acoustic recordings and the
later Victor electrical recording, you
can find a ten-minute YouTube video
which demonstrates the differences very
clearly. The piece used for the demo is
(naturally)…the C sharp minor Prelude!
(It can be found at: www.youtube.
com/watch?v=6jKg0uGQxrM).
Back in Russia in 1899 after his British
visit, Rachmaninoff composed only a
couple of occasional pieces, including one
68 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
in praise of champagne entitled Were you “Mr. Rachmaninoff, nobody knows you
hiccuping? dedicated to a young woman yet, but you will be a great man one day.”
friend, Natalia Satin. She was one of It appeared things were looking up. Back
the daughters of the aunt who had taken in Moscow Rachmaninoff completed
him in after he left Zveref in 1889, and the second and third movements of
she was to become his wife in 1902. The the Second Piano Concerto; indeed so
dedication facetiously declared, “No, my many ideas had he that a second, exu-
Muse has not died,” which makes one berant Suite for two pianos, Op. 17, was
wonder if at this point Rachmaninoff composed.
did not fear the opposite.
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2
Hoping to bring him inspiration, is now so often played that familiarity
a well-connected friend arranged for can get in the way of a real listen. Its
Rachmaninoff to meet the writer Leo themes are well-known in part because
Tolstoy. What actually happened at many have been lifted for pop songs,
that meeting was recounted in at least including Full Moon and Empty Arms,
two different versions by Rachmaninoff This Is My Kind of Love and All By Myself.
himself, but it is certain that Tolstoy At the movies, it formed the soundtrack
was of little comfort. He exhorted the of the 1945 Brief Encounter and parts of
younger man to hard work, after which it turned up in The Seven-Year Itch. First
Rachmaninoff was asked to perform. performed on October 27, 1901 with
Accompanying Chaliapin, he played Rachmaninoff as soloist (his first such
Fate, later included in Op. 21, but perhaps appearance in eight years), it is now one
not his best song. Tolstoy’s reaction was of the great concertos of the Romantic
to consign Rachmaninoff’s music to repertoire.
the dustbin along with Beethoven’s(!), Rachmaninoff’s critics have argued
and the writings of Pushkin for good that his Romanticism places him nota-
measure. “Tell me, is such music needed bly behind the times, even though
by anyone?” he asked, looking at the the Romantics are said to begin with
composer directly. Though being put Beethoven, reach an apogee with Schu-
into the same basket as Beethoven and bert and Brahms in the mid-19
Pushkin might have been flattering,
Rachmaninoff was much discouraged.
The Satins decided that measures
must be taken. Rachmaninoff’s aunt
Varvara had recently been treated successfully
by a hypnotist, Dr. Nikolai
Dahl. During the first months of 1900,
Rachmaninoff saw him every day, hearing
over and over, by his own account,
such posthypnotic suggestions as You
will begin to write your concerto... you will
work with great facility... the concerto will
be excellent. Results were not immediate,
but a few months later Rachmaninoff
started work on his Second Piano Concerto,
destined to become his best-known
work. He dedicated it to Dahl.
Following his hypnosis treatment,
Rachmaninoff went on vacation to the
Crimea. In Yalta his friend Chaliapin
sang a recital which included songs by
Rachmaninoff, and after the performance
a small man with a beard came
backstage to congratulate the singer.
This was the playwright Anton Chekhov,
and once done with Chaliapin he
turned to the composer and told him,
th century
and decline with John Philip Sousa and
Engelbert Humperdinck in the 20th .
In any case such a classification may
create expectations in the listener but it
does not make a lot of difference to the
composer. Rachmaninoff said of himself
that he did not really understand modern
Why a free version? music and was not able to write it. That
did not mean he condemned it, for in fact
For years now, we have been publishing,
he
on
was
our
eloquent
Web site,
in his
a free
praise
PDF
of Stravin-
version of our magazine.
sky. His own take on the nature of music
The reason is simple. We know you’re
was
looking
given
for
around
information,
1933 to
and
a Mr. Walter
that is almost certainly why you’ve come to
Koons,
visit our
who
site.
wrote
And
to
that’s
request
why
it. As he did
we give away what some competitors consider
in music,
to be
Rachmaninoff
a startlingly large
paints a picture.
amount of information…for free.
“Music is a calm moonlit night, a rustle
We would give it all away for free, if we
of
could
summer
still
foliage.
stay in business.
Music is the distant
Recent figures indicate that each issue
peal
is getting
of bells
downloaded
at eventide!
as many
Music is born
as 100,000 times, and that figure keeps growing.
only in the heart and it appeals only to
Yes, we know, if we had a nickel for each
the
download…
heart; it is Love! The sister of Music
Truth is, we’re in the business of helping
is Poesy,
you enjoy
and
music
its mother
at home
is Sorrow!’
under the best possible conditions. And movies
By
too.
1901
We’ll
Rachmaninoff
do what we need
had been
to do in order to get the information to you.
spending all or part of the summer at
Of course, we also want you to read our
Ivanovka
published
where
editions
the Satin
too. We
daughters also
hope that, having read this far, you’ll want
stayed.
to read
During
on.
the winters he lodged in
a good-sized suite in their house. He
and the eldest daughter, Natalia Satin,
also a pianist, had grown close, but their

announcement of impending marriage
came as a surprise to all, perhaps most
to his old friend Natalia Skalon. Rachmaninoff’s
pencilled note at the end of
a letter to her in April 1902, announcing
the marriage and begging for a large
wedding present, appears to have put an
end to their long correspondence.
The marriage was celebrated, on a
rainy day with few guests, by a military
chaplain at a barracks. This was because
the couple were first cousins and, not
being churchgoers, could not hope for
an easy exemption to the prohibition
against such marriages. As a wedding
present they received the smaller of the
two houses at Ivanovka, but they left
immediately for three months in Vienna,
Venice, Lucerne and Bayreuth, where
they had tickets offered by Siloti. Rachmaninoff
wrote steadily. His cantata
Spring, Op. 20, written for Chaliapin, has
a plot which may resonate with Canadians:
at the end of a long, hard winter
a peasant broods on his wife’s admitted
unfaithfulness. He plans to kill her, but
the knife falls from his hand with the
coming of Spring.
There is no room here to continue
a detailed account of Rachmaninoff’s
further composing career while in
Russia, though his output was prodigious.
Musical landmarks following
the Second Piano Concerto include the G
minor sonata for cello and piano Op. 19, the
Chopin Variations Op. 22, two operas, The
Miserly Knight and Francesca da Rimini,
and the masterful Second Symphony of
1907, Op. 27. There were the ten Preludes
Op. 23 and the thirteen Preludes Op. 32.
The 1910 Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
for unaccompanied mixed chorus was
followed by the All-Night Vigil (also
known as Vespers) in 1915. This was one
of Rachmaninoff’s two personal favorite
compositions, the other being The Bells,
Op. 35 for soloists, chorus and orchestra.
The gorgeous Third Piano Concerto was
written in 1909 for the composer’s first
visit to America, and its long, sweeping
melodies seem appropriate for “spacious
skies and amber waves of grain.” There
were the six Études-Tableaux Op. 33 and
the nine Études-Tableaux Op. 39. Like
the Preludes, they were demanding of
the pianist and by no means backwardlooking
musically.
Though we must skip
over some compositions, we
must not forget to mention
Rachmaninoff’s conducting
career, begun at the
Bolshoi Opera in 1904,
acclaimed as giving new
life to that orchestra and its
productions, and continuing
in Russia until 1914 with
the Moscow Philharmonic
Society. He also conducted
in the US, starting with his
first tour in 1910.
It was his conducting
that opened the first doors
in America when the Rachmaninoffs,
practically penniless,
escaped Russia. The
Boston Symphony Orchestra
approached him with a
proposal for 110 concerts
in 36 weeks. He turned
down this and other good
offers. It was for the best
of reasons: he did not feel
he was prepared with repertoire for so
many concerts, and he knew neither
the country nor its audiences. Also, he
had not conducted much in the past few
years, and so in the end he came back to
the piano.
Two reasons are often invoked for the
huge decline in Rachmaninoff’s compositional
output after his emigration to
the United States. The first is that his
inspiration left him, as it had after the
disaster of the First Symphony. A related
suggestion is that he was tied to Russia
and the old life.
However the simplest explanation is
that he was just too busy. In 1919-20, his
first good season in the West, he played
69 concerts. In subsequent years this
hardly declined even for health reasons;
one year he gave 80 performances, and
of course this was while touring. He
continued this gruelling regime right up
to the month before his death in 1943,
becoming a very prosperous classical
musician, sufficiently well off to help
out other émigrés and send money and
medicine back to Russia.
What he did succeed in composing
included the Third Symphony, the Symphonic
Dances and the Piano Concerto No.
4, which, with the Corelli Variations, is
perhaps his most modern work. Although
Earl Wild has a fine performance of this
concerto on Chesky, it and most others
are of a drastically-cut later version, so
typical of Rachmaninoff. The first version
has been recorded by Ashkenazy on
Ondine and is well worth a comparison.
You may be able to form your own idea
about whether Rachmaninoff was right
to revise it.
According to Rachmaninoff’s biographer
Max Harrison (2005), what
especially distinguished Rachmaninoff
was a sense of the form of a composition,
which allowed him to find a new
and valid approach to any piece. He
quotes Arthur Rubinstein as saying of
Rachmaninoff’s playing that “there was
always the irresistible sensuous charm,
not unlike (violinist Fritz) Kreisler’s.”
Rachmaninoff was well-known for
the size of his hands, which allowed him
to stretch over a twelfth interval on the
keyboard. Along with these “spider fingers”
and his height, other clues suggest
he was affected by Marfan’s Syndrome,
a hereditary disorder of the connective
tissue.
Rachmaninoff was a born survivor,
and if this was a handicap, it never
showed.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 69
Square Rachmaninoff in Paris
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Works for solo guitar from Spain to
Poland
Grzegorz Krawiec, guitar
M•A Recordings M068A
Albert Simon: There is so much
originality, such talent, such an array of
guitar textures on this album that it is
unlike any other solo guitar recording
I have heard. Discovering Grzegorz
Krawiec (pronounced Kraviets) is finding
a musical treasure where one hoped
for merely a good concert. And having
it recorded with M•A Recordings’ now
famous sound quality is a joy.
You can hear the size of the space
where the 24-bit/96 kHz recording
took place, St. Mark Church in Krakow,
Poland. It is ideally suited for the warm
resonance of Krawiec’s instrument, and
you can almost see the hand floating
above the instrument as the sound of the
last string fades into the wide silence.
The choice of compositions takes
us on a journey from the 19 th to the 21 st
Century. We travel through Europe from
Spain to France, Germany, Hungary and
Poland. Krawiec chose Tarrega for the
first pieces, a set of variations known
as Variations on the Carnival of Venice by
Paganini, based on the Venetian song O
mamma, mamma cara; eight variations
rivaling in originality and freshness and
introducing the extraordinary talent of
this young musician.
France’s Francis Kleynjans is the
next composer featured here with his
À l’aube du dernier jour (At Dawn of the
Last Day), a 1980 composition referring
70 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Software Reviews
by Steve Bourke,
Gerard Rejskind and
Albert Simon
to the final morning of a prisoner before
he is led to the guillotine. I was amazed
at this intensely descriptive writing
for the guitar. I listened, mesmerized,
to the clock’s ever present tic-toc, the
ominous chime, the guard’s footsteps
approaching, yes approaching, from
piano to forte, the sudden silence,
the key turning twice in the lock, the
heavy cell door actually creaking as it
slowly opens — I’m not making this up,
Krawiec plays it all on his guitar. And
all combined with fabulous musical lines
for this solo instrument, as the prisoner’s
mind wanders desperately from hope and
nostalgia to melancholy to the sudden
hardness of now. It ends abruptly with a
shock.
In contrast, the next pieces are a
lovely set of two 1984 compositions
by Italian guitarist Nuccio D’Angelo,
Due canzoni lidie, for which he won first
prize at the Festival of Contemporary
Music in Tokyo. It yields a fresh insight
into modern European writing for the
guitar (so different, it seems, from contemporary
South American composers).
We are then given a fascinating glimpse
of the potential of beauty and variety
of atonality as handled by Germany’s
Werner Henze in his Drei Tentos, three
short pieces written in 1958.
Then it’s east to Hungary, and back in
time to Kaspar Mertz’s romantic Elegie, a
delightful 19 th century musical story told
on the guitar with just the right amount
of restrained emotion.
Arrival in Poland. The 2002 composition
Reminiscencje was dedicated to
Krawiec by Sylwester Laskowski. It is a
set of six miniatures, “…full of gratitude
for six very important young women in
his (the composer’s) life … the last one
reflects on the most important one, his
wife (whew, I better add that, just in case
she reads UHF). Did I mention how fresh
and lovely they all are? The miniatures,
of course.
The CD ends with the sweet Mozart
aria La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni,
followed by a set of six variations
composed by 19 th Century Polish guitarist
Bobrowicz, a true delight.
And so is the sound, another recording
masterpiece of a solo instrument by
MA Recordings.
Vivaldi: Sonate E Concerti
Loiselle and Boucher
Atma ACD22568
Steve Bourke: Because Vivaldi wrote
often for the cello, rarely for the organ,
but never for the two of them combined,
these sonatas and concertos are
transcriptions, music adapted from that
written for other instruments. As such
the novelty of a full scale organ playing
beside a cello is refreshing. It’s a stimulating
change from the usual piano or
harpsichord that is so often paired with
the cello. They each play the melody and
accompaniment, weaving them back and
forth, always with the logical drive and
vigor that is Vivaldi’s trademark. Sometimes
the organ is subdued and gentle,
blending beautifully, never overwhelming
its musical partner. Then it becomes
powerful and proud. Waiting patiently
as the cello recedes, it then steps forward
and dominates for a time. Occasionally
the two seem as one, becoming a third
hybrid instrument with a unique timbre,
especially in the upper octaves.
I found myself anticipating these
highlights in particular, but they came
and went too quickly. I wanted the next

lending moment to arrive sooner than
it did.
Another highlight is the extensive
variety of mood and tempo. Extended
listening is easy and never dull, putting
into some doubt the scathing remark
made by Stravinsky, that Vivaldi did not
write hundreds of concertos, but that he
wrote one concerto hundreds of times.
I only wish that the extremely talented
Mr. Stravinsky had written a concerto
like Vivaldi’s D minor, RV 541, which
happily is included here. Its melody has
a rhythmic drive that brings some of
Beethoven’s creations to mind. Certainly
J. S. Bach would have disagreed with
Mr. Stravinsky, for he transcribed more
than half of the solo harpsichord pieces
found in BWV 972-987 directly from
Vivaldi’s concertos. In fact it has been
claimed that the profound Italian influence
provided by Vivaldi, Marcello, and
Telemann helped elevate Bach’s style to
the supreme status it enjoys today.
As for the sound quality, the interior
space of the church is clear and present,
coupled with a very fine balance of the
two instruments in the sound stage.
What also stands out, as if there
weren’t enough to recommend it already,
is the musicianship of the two artists.
Loiselle sweeps over his cello with confidence
and real delicacy. Mr. Boucher
plays the organ with riveting skill and
verve. Each blends so well with the other
that you might well wonder if they had
rehearsed for weeks and weeks.
We can only hope that they record
again in the same setting, the sooner
the better.
Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en
concerts
Ensemble Baroque Nouveau
Reference Recordings RR-118
Albert Simon: Not intending them for
concert performance, Rameau published
these pieces in 1741 for solo harpsichord
and other instruments, “playing along
concertedly,” hence the mention en
concerts. They were written “…for the
entertainment of a flexible group of
players and perhaps a few privileged
listeners…” Hmm.
Entertainment is the key word here.
I have always had a complex relationship
with Baroque music which, for me,
ranges from the mundane to the sublime.
I am moved by the latter, bored by the
former.
Let me try to put it another way. The
year 1741 was significant. Vivaldi died
that year at age 63. Bach, 56, published
his fascinating Goldberg Variations while
Handel, also 56, driven by an inspired
and unstoppable urge, wrote his Messiah
in that same year. And Rameau… Well,
Rameau, 58, best known for his operas,
published some decorative music for the
entertainment of fellow musicians.
And fellow musicians, to this day, are
ga-ga over it. Witness the delight oozing
out of the liner notes and the admiring
comments regarding the impossibly
virtuosic writing for the viola da gamba,
often considered the instrument of fame
in France at that time. “Play or omit,”
instructs Rameau to the gambist faced
with impossible notes in some chords.
Who am I, then, to say anything
about this CD? A listener, that’s who.
A lover of music and, need I add, an
audiophile. For an audiophile, this album
is a piece of heaven, another masterpiece
of richly recorded sound by legendary
engineer Keith O. Johnson. See the
harpsichord back there, mostly towards
the right of the stage? And it sounds just
right, don’t you think? A bouquet of glittering
notes played by candlelight, soon
surrounded by the mellow and warm
Baroque flute, the silky human-like voice
of the viola da gamba covering such a
wide range, and the unmistakable sound
of the period violin, at times swift as a
sword or soft as a breeze.
As a lover of music, however, my preferences
lie in other realms. To a dancing
city square fountain, accurately lit for a
summer evening, I prefer the sparkling
stream in the forest, cascading in the
soft, mottled light of a misty morning.
La Traviata (Verdi)
Renée Fleming, Rolando Villazon
Decca 074 3327 (Blu-ray)
Gerard Rejskind: W hen a work
becomes popular enough, it risks being
viewed as a cliché. Telling people that
your favorite opera is La Bohème or La
Traviata won’t earn you a reputation as
highbrow. Better to praise Monteverdi,
or, better yet, Francesco Cavalli, his
obscure successor in Venice. La Traviata
is often included in an opera company’s
repertoire to please less experienced
patrons who know only three operas.
But that is hardly fair, because La
Traviata is, for a number of reasons, a
masterpiece, bringing together a story
that is itself considered a masterpiece
(Alexandre Dumas fils’ La dame aux
camélias) with breathtaking arias and a
score that compares with the best Verdi
left us. The three main characters are
dream roles for soprano, tenor and
baritone respectively. The artists on this
new Blu-ray release are wonderfully up
to the challenge.
The story seems quaint, because it is
socially dated, yet curiously modern at
the same time, because it is emotionally
so powerful. Violetta (the “traviata,”
which means the lost one) is a kept
woman in Paris, what Parisians then
called a cocotte). In the lower classes that
would have made her a subject of scorn,
but in the privileged 18 th Century leisure
class, being in the keep of a baron (as is
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 71
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Violetta’s case) brings with it prestige Fleming in the title role. Fleming has not see Susan Boyle’s dramatic triumph
and admiration. The young Dumas everything going for her. She sings on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent? Not
met the woman who was his model for divinely, as she always does, but with an likely. How many people have now seen
Violetta, and fell instantly in love with effortless lightness that never gets in the the clip on YouTube? Thirty million?
her. So does Alfredo, a young man who way of the character’s plausibility. She is Fifty million? Everyone was laughing
stalks her for a whole year before finally a wonderful actress as well as a singer. as this dumpy, ordinary 47-year old
wangling an introduction.
Finally, she is breathtakingly beautiful, woman announced that her model was
Violetta is reluctant to accept Alfre- which lends plausibility to the idea that Elaine Page (who created Memories for
do’s feelings as love, used as she is to the men could fall in love with Violetta the stage), and that she would sing the
superficial world of the Paris salon. Yet without knowing her. In that respect I exceedingly difficult I Dreamed a Dream
she finally gives in, and the second act would rank her with such sopranos of from Les Misérables. She got only one line
curtain rises on a country house, where another era as Anna Moffo (who was into the song before the laughter turned
Violetta and Alfredo are enjoying a pas- herself one of the great Traviatas) and to cheers.
UHF on line is interactive!
sionate love affair.
Renata Scotto.
Of course we live in the Age of
Of course there is a third act to She is well accompanied too. Tenor Cynicism, and right away there was the
Unlike with a physical magazine, which forces you to turn pages, the
come, and so we know their happiness Rolando Villazon has a slight build suspicion that she was a ringer, that the
on-line version of UHF Magazine helps you along with technology. For
cannot last. In the first few minutes of that makes him different from other judges were not surprised at all. That
instance, click on any title in the table of contents (on the previous page),
the opera we observed that Violetta Alfredos, but his voice is pure gold, and pretty much has to be true. The then
and you’ll be whisked right to the article itself.
suffers from weak spells, which, we in the duets with Fleming (for instance principal judge, Simon Cowell, is one of
Turn to the table of advertisers on page 81 (and that, by the way, is a
guess, point to consumption, or what Un di felice, eterea in the first act) he is the world’s biggest record producers, and
link), and click on the name of a product or company, and an an instant
is today called tuberculosis. There is, exceptional. Baritone Renato Bruson he didn’t know this woman could sing?
you’ll be looking at the ad itself.
however, another fly in the ointment, brings to the role of Giorgio a truly Give me a break!
And then try clicking on an ad…
in the form of Alfredo’s father, Giorgio. hateful quality, which is of course the But that obvious setup takes noth-
If you are connected to the Internet, you’ll be taken right to the adver-
He comes to see her in Alfredo’s absence, point, with a vocal clarity that is quite ing away from Susan Boyle’s popular
tiser’s Web site in your default Web browser.
and requests an overwhelming sacrifice, extraordinary.
triumph. The judges may have known
Those interactive features were designed for the paid electronic version
one which reveals the division in social The direction, by Marta Domingo, is what they were in for, but the audience
of UHF, but they work every bit as well on the free PDF version you’re
mores between the privileged class and very good, the decors suitably sumptu- didn’t, and the wider YouTube audience
looking at. We hope you enjoy it.
the merely comfortable. In living out of ous. Of course a production on an opera didn’t. Boyle ultimately didn’t win the
wedlock with a former cocotte, Alfredo, it stage is at a disadvantage compared to prize, losing out to a boys’ choir, possibly
seems, is disgracing his family, and his Franco Zeffirelli’s 1993 film version, because her rendition of Memories on a
sister’s fiancé will refuse to marry her. shot in an actual castle. Zeffirelli had later show was downright shaky. How-
Violetta is thus asked to destroy her (and the always-reliable Placido Domingo as ever she was quickly offered a recording
Alfredo’s) hard-won happiness in favor Alfredo, but Teresa Stratas is no match contract, and millions of people, who
of the happiness of a woman she doesn’t for Renée Fleming, and the Zeffirelli found her success story irresistible,
even know. Incredibly, at least for our DVD is dreadful, like a VHS cassette already had their credit cards out.
modern sensibilities, she accepts. that has been left in the sun. This is the Her first recording finally came out,
The next scene bring us back where one to get.
and it is a mixed bag. Even a cursory
we started, with Violetta back in her
listen reveals that what we had heard on
cocotte life with her ill-tempered baron,
Britain’s Got Talent had not been a fluke.
and a bitter Alfredo drowning his sorrow
This obscure Scottish church singer has
in alcohol and gambling. The lavish
the pipes, and she knows how to control
party is a pretext for spectacular dancing
them.
and more than one gorgeous aria of a
The problem is a different one. It
type that held no secrets for Verdi.
seems clear that Sony Music saw Susan
In the final act Violetta lies on a bed
Boyle as a flash in the pan, to be taken
in her room, suffering from the tuber-
advantage of quickly before the bubble
culosis whose existence we had already
burst. It didn’t even send its B team
guessed. We learn that Giorgio, filled
into the studio with her, more like its
with remorse, has explained everything
V or W team. I was convinced that the
to Alfredo, and both of them arrive
“strings” were actually a button on a
together, to Violetta’s delight. She
Casio synthetizer. In fact they are real
will, of course, die, leaving heartbreak
strings, but the producer has put their
behind, after an ensemble scene that
sound through so much processing that
could be maudlin in the wrong hands. I Dreamed a Dream
their natural origin is completely hidden.
This production by the Los Angeles Susan Boyle
Amidst this noise are guitar solos which
Opera was filmed in 2006 and is espe- Sony Music 88697 59829 2
would be out of place on a demo tape.
cially notable for the presence of Renée Gerard Rejskind: Did you, somehow, The guitarist makes occasional mistakes
72 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine

that would have called for a retake. That aged in the way we expect.
some. Will Shakespeare is young and not
never happens. Even the cover art work Congratulations, Susan. You go, especially known or appreciated in an
should stand as an embarrassment to girl!
era whose stages are dominated by the
Sony.
plays of Christopher Marlowe. Despite
However I suspect that most purchas- THE GREAT MOVIES
his youth he is already burned out, and
ers cared neither about the accompanists
he tells his confessor, a hilarious 16
nor the recording engineer. They wanted
to confirm that they hadn’t been fooled,
that this unlikely singer really could hit
the big time. Hit it she certainly did. In
Italy, for instance, I Dreamed a Dream
outsold all sales ever by a singer who was
not Italian. When she toured Japan, her
arrival was preceded by several offers of
marriage, and the riot squad had to be
called to Narita airport to keep order.
But let’s get a listen to the CD
itself.
Of course, I Dreamed a Dream is
included, and it’s a pleasure to hear it
without all that cheering drowning out
passages. It’s very good, as I expected
it to be. She also sings Cry Me a River,
the Julie London song that was also
one of Barbra Streisand’s very first hits.
Significantly, Boyle had already recorded Shakespeare in Love
the song a decade before for a charity Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow
project. I heard it on the Internet, and I Alliance 114753 (Blu-ray)
must say it gave me goose bumps. Here it Gerard Rejskind: Whoever decides
is in much better fidelity…well, somewhat what films will be re-released on Blu-ray
better fidelity. She also borrows songs and which will not certainly took their
from the Rolling Stones (Wild Horses) own sweet time getting around to this
and Madonna (You’ll See). She was a delightful masterpiece. It is a natural,
church singer, and so she includes How however, because not only is it a much-
Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace and Silent praised film, with Oscars for best film
Night. She does all of them well. and best actress, but it is a movie that
There was some fear that the PR can be seen again and again. It is so rich
people would get their hands on her and that each time you will discover new
make her over into something she is not. delights. It is worth investing in the best
Her hair would be redone by a world- possible version.
class coiffeur, she would wear Prada, and There may be nothing more difficult
she would be put on a crash diet. I’ll bet than getting into the mind of a great
they thought of it, but it hasn’t happened, creator, as witness the endless string of
and I hope it won’t.
uncreative movies about classical music
What Susan Boyle can offer us is her composers (the single exception is of
remarkable voice, a refreshing change in course Amadeus). Shakespeare would
an era when so many “singers” actually seem doubly difficult to tackle, since —
take pride in never having studied their in contrast to Mozart — we know next
craft, and — just as important — a sense to nothing about his life. Director John
of the meaning of the songs she sings. As Madden and his screenwriters turned
for the myth surrounding her surprise this seeming handicap into an opportu-
success, we don’t really believe that just nity. If we know so little about the life of
anyone can succeed if he/she works hard this great dramatist, are we not free to
enough, but we do want to believe that invent it? And “inventive” is an adjective
justice is not totally absent in the world, that appropriately describes this remark-
and that real talent has a chance of being able film.
recognized even if it doesn’t come pack- The tone is tongue in cheek, and then
th
Century version of a psychotherapist,
that “I have lost my gift. It is as if my
quill is broken.” He has allegedly been
working on a play with the absurd title
of Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter,
but has not gone beyond practicing the
autograph no one is yet asking for. The
owner of The Rose, one of London’s two
theatres, is Philip Henslow (Geoffrey
Rush). He is eagerly awaiting the play
because he is in hock to a usurious lender
who is holding his feet to the fire…in the
most literal sense. However, not only is
the play unfinished, and indeed unbegun,
but Henslow owes Shakespeare
money for his last piece, and it turns out
that a verbal agreement isn’t worth the
paper it’s written on.
Enter Viola de Lesseps, daughter of
a rich family. She is star-struck, having
learned some of Shakespeare’s sonnets
by heart, and dreams of being on the
stage herself. That was impossible at a
time when female roles were played by
pre-puberty boys, and the Master of the
Revels (the wonderful Simon Callow)
is all too ready to close a theatre for
How the electronic version “obscenity.” works Disguised as a man, she
lands the role of Romeo, and that of
We don’t mean this version, because you already know Juliet how it (who works. has It’s replaced a PDF, Ethel in what is
and you open it with Adobe reader, etc.
no longer developing as a comedy) goes
But we also have a paid electronic version, which is complete, to a young without boy who banners is closer like to puberty
this one, or articles in fluent gibberish.
than expected.
That one, because it is complete, has to be ordered with a Now credit this card. creates To open problems that
it, you also have to download a plugin for your copy of Adobe the film Reader does or not Acrobat. quite solve. Is Viola
You’ll receive a user name and password to allow you to download plausible your in her full masculine copy of disguise?
the magazine. You’ll need the same user name and password (“It the wouldn’t first time fool you a child,” open comments a
the magazine on your computer, but only the first time. After boatman, that, and it works quite like right any too.) Worse yet,
other PDF.
when later in the film she purports to be
For details, visit our Electronic Edition page. To buy an a man issue disguised or subscribe, as a woman, visit we need to
MagZee.
suspend our disbelief by the neck until it
is dead. Yet in every way the film is such
a delight that before long we become
willing accomplices of the actors and the
director.
Of course we would have guessed
right away that Will and Viola would
fall in love, even if the film title hadn’t
given it away. And common sense tells us
that, in the age of arranged marriages,
the little rich girl will not marry the poor
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 73
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playwright-for-hire. Thus, the phrase “a
river divides our two lovers,” which is
from the prologue of Romeo and Juliet,
has a second meaning. We also guess
that, through a series of events, the
premiere of the play will be performed
by Will and Viola in the respective title
roles, and that their masquerade will be
exposed sooner rather than later.
There are a number or minor players
— minor in terms of their screen
time, not their talent — who add
immeasurably to the delight. There’s
Hugh Fennyman (Tom Wilkinson), the
moneylender and avaricious investor,
who is offered a minor role in the play
and becomes as star-struck as Viola, succumbing
to the magic of the stage. There
is the formidable Judi Dench, who plays
Queen Elizabeth, who knows and enjoys
her privileges and powers, and carries
the wisdom of being a woman in a man’s
profession (both she and Paltrow got
Oscars.) There is an uncredited Rupert
Everett in a brief but memorable turn as
Christopher Marlowe. There is Martin
Clunes as Richard Burbage, the famous
actor who owns the competing Curtain
theatre, who delivers a key speech that
might have come from Shakespeare’s
own pen.
Much of the dialogue does come from
Shakespeare’s pen, and the powerful
poetry of Romeo and Juliet poses a challenge
for the screenwriters, who must
match the play’s memorable language
seamlessly, yet not make the phrasings
too obscure for a modern audience.
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard keep
the balance perfect, and they too earned
an Oscar. Stoppard is familiar with the
language of Shakespeare, of course. His
hit play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Are Dead told the story of two minor
characters in Hamlet, and in such plays
as The Real Inspector Hound he showed an
affinity for inherently absurd dialogue
somehow made plausible.
The original DVD of the film was
exceptional, but this new Blu-ray release
is worth the investment. Not only is the
added sharpness welcome, but the greatly
extended tonal range serves the film well.
We see into the shadows of such dark
spaces as a tavern and backstage, and
when we emerge into daylight we blink,
dazzled as we are by the luminosity and
74 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
the rich colors. This is, in every way, a
film to buy and treasure.
The Music Man
Robert Preston, Shirley Jones
Warner 3000024778 (Blu-ray)
Rejskind: This 1966 Meredith Wilson
musical comedy remains a delight, and
like most classics it didn’t need a remake.
Fortunately the 2002 TV remake was
quickly forgotten, and it didn’t prevent
the re-release of the original on Blu-ray.
The film was shot in the old non-fading
Technicolor process, and the colors jump
off the screen.
The story is built around fast-talking
con man Robert Preston, who was also in
the hit Broadway production. He used to
raise money for a steam-powered automobile,
but — bad luck — “somebody
actually invented one.” Now he arrives in
River City, a small Iowa town, under the
name Harold Hill, hawking his current
product: a boys’ band, complete with
instruments, uniforms, and non-existent
music lessons. As luck would have it,
he runs across Marcellus Washburne
(Buddy Hackett), a one-time accomplice
who has fallen in love with small-town
life and a rotund local woman, and gone
straight.
Hill’s sales method includes stoking
anxiety over some “modern” development,
in this case the arrival of a pool
table in a town that knows only billiards.
He launches into an astonishing spiel,
delivered in the rich, sonorous voice that
made him famous, Trouble in River City.
His prescription: a boys’ band of course
(apparently the girls will do fine without
it). The mayor (played by Paul Ford)
is suspicious enough to be constantly
demanding, unsuccessfully, to see Hill’s
credentials. And besides, he owns that
new pool table.
In every town that “Professor Hill”
descends on, he must beware of one
person: the inevitable woman who gives
piano lessons, since she will presumably
see through him. His modus operandi is
to fog up her glasses. In River City the
piano teacher, Marian, is also the librarian.
She is young, single and (of course)
gorgeous, played by Shirley Jones, who
also starred in such blockbuster musicals
as Oklahoma! and Carousel. She does
pretty much see through him, being the
smartest woman in town, which isn’t difficult
considering that author Meredith
Wilson had pretty much adopted the
sexist conventions that were largely
unquestioned in 1962.
Will Marian reveal the truth about
Harold? You can’t have seen many
romantic comedies if you’re not already
expecting the two to fall in love. Marian
will be willing to forgive a lot, and
Harold will finally conclude that telling
the truth is good policy.
The film includes a number of local
characters, including Marian’s widowed
mother, her damaged nine-year old
brother Winthrop (played by Ronnie
Howard, much later known as director
Ron Howard), the blustering mayor
who is always trying to recite Lincoln’s
Gettysburg Address but gets interrupted
after the first couple of words,
and the mayor’s wife, who accuses the
librarian of distributing such “smut” as
The Rubáiyát. Then there are the four
members of the local school board who,
when Harold persuades them to start
singing, turn out to be the barbershop
quartet, The Buffalo Bills.
It also includes a lot of great songs
that would become more famous than
the show itself, including 76 Trombones,
Gary, Indiana, My White Knight and Till
There Was You. Who remembers that
this last song became so famous that the
Beatles sang it on their first LP?
Yes, the film is dated. The women
are mostly ignorant and superficial,
and there is a clear assumption that

any woman who is not married to some realistic), and anything from Alfred didate William Jennings Bryan, played
man — any man — before the age of 30 Hitchcock.
by Frederic March). The Philadelphia
can’t have much going for her. Indeed And this masterpiece. Inherit the Inquirer pays for a high-profile defence
the remake had been an ill-fated attempt Wind was released in 1960, but it was attorney, Henry Drummond (based on
to make the story more politically conceived in the pretentious cauldron of the legendary Clarence Darrow, and
correct.
the 50’s, and it was based on a Broadway played by Spencer Tracy). It also sends in
The pristine image is very wide, play of the era. It is, however, one of the its reporter, E. K. Hornbeck (modelled
2.35:1, and the four-track stereo sound greatest movies of all time.
on the curmudgeonly H. L. Mencken,
remains fresh and clear. Recommended It is based on, or at least inspired by, played by a non-dancing Gene Kelly in
for all who love the golden era of the an actual event, the famous — or infa- the film’s only serious miscasting). Cates
movie musical.
mous — 1925 “monkey trial” of teacher is given a fiancée, Rachel, conveniently
John T. Scopes in Dayton, Tennessee made the daughter of the town’s fanatical
for having taught evolution, and thus preacher.
implicitly rejected the Biblical tale of I admit to being a pushover for
the Creation. It is, however, a roman à courtroom dramas, but I can’t think
clef, with names changed so that the facts of one that is as extended and captivat-
can be changed too for dramatic effect ing as this one. The proceedings are a
or other reason. Indeed, the historical three-way duel, with Tracy, March, and
story was heavily tampered with, but the judge (wonderfully played by Harry
the version of the film and the play is Morgan). Tracy would get an Oscar for
better known than the real tale, and both his performance, and it is puzzling that
play and film contributed to this altered March did not rate even a nomination.
perception.
I also want to put in a word for Flor-
The filmed story notwithstanding, ence Eldridge, who plays the wife of
Scopes was not a martyr to an unjust the March character (and was March’s
law, but an active participant in what was real-life wife), who delivers some of the
clearly a publicity stunt. The idea came film’s most memorable lines.
from a local mining entrepreneur, who I suppose diehard Creationists, then
suggested a way to put Dayton on the or now, wouldn’t be the target audience
map. There was a state law against teach- for this film, which treats Genesis as
ing evolution, but paradoxically enough, nothing more than a nostalgic fable. For
the department of education required anyone else the arguments presented by
use of a textbook which included a sec- defence attorney Drummond are hardly
Inherit the Wind
tion on evolution. Arresting someone controversial. However Brady is neither
Spencer Tracy, Frederic March for breaking a contradictory law would a straw man nor a two-dimensional
MGM 1002740
draw the eyes of the world on Dayton character. Despite the heavy-handed
Rejskind: There aren’t many great films and would surely be good for business. fundamentalist ideology he adheres to
from the 1950’s, perhaps because that Scopes couldn’t remember whether he in the dramatic courtroom scenes, in
boom decade was marked by an unde- had actually taught his class that sec- which he very much plays to a crowd of
served feeling of superiority. We were tion, but he volunteered to say he had rubes, he is shown as an intelligent and
the greatest generation, and everything and therefore become the designated
about us was resolutely modern. Not Our just scapegoat. hardware…
It is an amusing sidebar that
(with one important exception) sensitive
man who has reasons for maintaining
architecture, our whole æsthetic sensi- the textbook in question also included a his manifestly anti-intellectual agenda.
bility, were superior to all that had gone What long-time section on readers eugenics, tell which us they today most could like about He UHF and Drummond is that it are not as far apart
before. That included our movies. does more get than a teacher review arrested amplifiers in far and more speakers. worldly as they portray themselves publicly, and
Not so much, with hindsight. The In every cities issue, than we Dayton. discuss ideas.
indeed they were once both friends and
modern architecture of the 50’s looks We try to There tell you are what other you need important to know, diver- besides allies. what CD player to
ludicrous today, right down to the buy. absurd gences from the historical record too, but Having praised the script, direction,
furniture then much in favor. The It’s one let of me the get features to the that elements makes that UHF earn Magazine the and unlike most any of the other cast, I want to mention
industrial designs of the day are, audio today, magazine.
film the title of masterpiece: the remark- the black and white photography by the
mocked on the Internet. And most of able script, the nearly flawless casting, great Ernest Laszlo. It doesn’t get any
the movies of that “modern” decade are and Stanley Kramer’s direction. better than this, and the capturing of
nearly unwatchable now, and that goes John T. Scopes becomes Bert T. Cates. light and shadows gives the characters
double for those that won statuettes. Oh, The eager local prosecutor is backed by a modelling that is just short of 3D. For
there are exceptions. I would include the a firebrand advocate of Creationism, this and so many other reasons, Inherit
great musical comedies of the decade Matthew Harrison Brady (inspired by the Wind is a movie to be cherished and
(but then musicals are inherently anti- three-time Democratic presidential can- seen again and again.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 75
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For more than 30 years it hasn’t been
possible to go to an audio show anywhere
in North America without running
into Nizar Akhrass, best known by his
distinctive first name. The Syrian-born
accountant began his audio odyssey
with Smythe Sound before setting up
his own firm, May Audio Marketing, in
Longueuil, Quebec, the city where UHF
is located. He became the distributor of
Quad, and then a host of other products,
from WBT to Castle, including
hundreds of esoteric record labels from
around the world.
At every show, from Montreal to
Toronto to L.A., he would book one or
more large rooms for his products. He
and his wife Alice, who was very much
a part of May Audio, were familiar to
generations of audiophile show visitors.
Life was not a tranquil stream for
Nizar and Alice, however. In attempting
to expand by designing and putting
up a building, May Audio went to
court against an entrepreneur who had
skimped on materials and not followed
the plans. The legal imbroglio brought
May Audio to its knees. The bank, which
two years before had named Nizar entrepreneur
of the year, came in and changed
the locks.
The Akhrass family launched a new
company, Justice Audio (“If we can’t
get justice in the courts we’ll get it this
way,” said Nizar), based in Toronto, far
away from marauding bailiffs, with son
Nabil as president. In the meantime
Nizar himself expanded his American
corporation, also called May Audio
Marketing. The two elder Akhrasses
ran into serious health problems. It was
leukemia in Nizar’s case, but he was
treated successfully with a new method
of marrow transplant. Alice was not so
lucky. Two years ago she became serious
ill with cancer, and chemotherapy
greatly aggravated her diabetes. Nabil
sold Justice Audio so he could devote
himself to her, but the ink was barely
dry on the sale document when she died.
76 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
Gossip&News
Goodbye Nizar
Nabil (that’s him in the background of
the photo) started a new venture, Liberty
Trading, and is carrying on.
They were there jointly at the Montreal
Salon in late March, where Nizar
and Alice received a lifetime achievement
award (that’s Nizar holding it in
the photo). He seemed in glowing health,
enthusiastic as ever. During the show he
dined with UHF’s Gerard Rejskind and
Stereophile’s Art Dudley. He recalled old
times, and spoke about his philosophy:
he would never ask for a product line, and
word of mouth would bring manufacturers
to him.
Two weeks after the Salon, he suffered
a massive heart attack, and he died
a few hours later in hospital.
We grieve for this long-time client…
supplier…and friend. He leaves a huge
gap.
But Nabil began to work at May
Audio before the age of 16. He too is
best known by his first name, and he
has the same approach to customers as
his father. Word of mouth brings him
product lines. He has been well taught.
Rest in peace, Nizar. We shall always
miss you.
Another
Moon DAC
In this issue of UHF is a review
of Simaudio’s Moon 300D digital-toanalog
converter. You’ll see that we loved
it, enough that we bought one to replace
our aged Counterpoint DA-10A, and we
also added it to our Audiophile Store.
But the 300D costs $1600, and there are
lower-priced competitors.
Simaudio has been paying attention,
and by the time you read this it will have
its own “economy” DAC available, the
100D.
We put “economy” in quotes, because
many people will still find the price
higher than their budget will bear, at
$698. Still, we think the 300D is a bargain
considering its performance, which
is stellar. As we write this we have not
yet heard the 100D, but we have hopes.
The 100D uses the same chipset as its
big brother/sister, with the same resolutions:
24 bits (of course), and sampling
rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and
192 kHz. It can even upsample to those
resolutions, and the front-panel LED’s
tell you what it’s doing.
Shortcuts? Well, sure. It has one
coaxial input instead of two, the analog
output is strictly unbalanced, and the
300D’s elaborate power supply has been
replaced by…yes, a wall wart.
As the computer occupies an increasingly
important role as a high fidelity
music source, the DAC will be seen
more and more as a mainstream audio
component. How good is the 100D?
We’re eager to find out.

All You Can Watch for $8
It was Netflix that, in the US,
made the drive to the video club
seem so 20th Century. You paid
a monthly rental fee, and you
could order one or more DVDs
(depending on your subscription
level), watch them, then mail them
back and order more. The offer
wasn’t good in Canada, which
got its own Netflix-like service, zip.ca.
In the meantime, a quicker access
arrived: Internet streaming. Netflix
let subscribers get instant gratification
with films on demand. Apple’s iTunes
store did the same. Now Netflix itself
is in Canada, with a streaming service.
You subscribe, for $7.99 a month,
and that gives you access to any film
Netflix offers, right from the Internet.
For most people that means watching on
a computer, of course. Some computers
can be hooked up to TV sets, mostly
with middling results. Some other
devices can stream Netflix, including
the newest Apple TV, and the iPad.
Some new TV sets and (ironically)
Blu-ray players can stream Netflix
directly. So can Wii and PS3 boxes.
Before you rush out and grab this
tempting offer, here are some factors to
consider.
First, your high-speed Internet
service may not be unlimited, and
streaming video chews up bandwidth.
Netflix says films go through 1 MB per
hour, twice that for HD. Watch eight
HD films per month, and that’s 16 MB
right there. Check your ISP contract
to see how much that will cost you.
Second, look at those figures,
and you can see that there’s a lot
of compression needed to stream
a film. A two-hour standard definition
Netflix stream sends just
2 GB of data your way, whereas a
DVD has a capacity of 4.7 GB, or
8.54 GB for a double-sided disc.
That may include extras, it’s true,
but most of it is for the film. A Blu-ray disc
has a capacity of at least 25 GB. That’s
why HD may not always be truly HD.
Streamed films from iTunes or
anyone else have similar limits. Available
bandwidth is currently shrinking,
not growing, as service providers phase
out unlimited data plans, on both
wired and mobile Internet services.
Finally, what Netflix calls “HD” is
720p, not the 1080p you paid to have on
your HDTV. Blu-ray offers it, streaming
services don’t.
Good enough for casual watching. If
you’re serious, look elsewhere.
Denon Turns 100 (say, what?)
It’s surprising but it’s true,
and Denon’s first product
back in 1910 was not a
music box (unlike ELAC,
which is even older), but
an actual phonograph — it
was called a gramophone
then. The Japanese company
got heavily into turntables
too, including big pro
tables for NHK, Japan’s national
broadcaster, and (from 1939) even a disc
recorder — just in time for Tokyo Rose!
But hey, that’s the past, and all is
forgiven. Time passes, and Denon is
now celebrating its centennial. Parent
company D&M Holdings (the “M” is
for its sister brand, Marantz) is launching
an entire series of two-channel audio
components bearing the A100 model
name, including the impressive-looking
direct-drive turntable shown here.
And of course there’s more. There are
also the PMA-A100 integrated amplifier,
the DCD-A100
CD/SACD player, the
DL-A100 phono cartridge, an
AVR-A100 9.2-channel A/V receiver,
the DBP-A100 universal Blu-ray player,
and, finally, the AH-A100 over-the-ear
headphones.
We wish all these anniversary products
cost just $100, thus extending the
birthday theme, but we’re dreaming
here. The turntable shown, with arm but
not cartridge, is $2,749 (Canadian). The
amplifier and the two players
are also $2,749, whereas
the phono cartridge
and headphones are
$549 each.
What we don’t know
is where any of this
gear is made. Denon, as
noted, was Japanese, and
Marantz was the creation of
an American, Saul Marantz,
but D&M is…Chinese.
Both Denon and Marantz have
had varying reputations over the
years. Marantz was once a super high
end brand before the super high end was
really known. Denon was considered
a little more luxurious than the other
well-known Japanese brands, such as
Sony and Pioneer, and its record label
was one of the first to use digital recording
extensively. Both brands have kept
something of a cachet. Anyway…happy
birthday, Denon!
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 77
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iPods and Other Players
Apple’s iPods have long been our
favorite portable music players, and we
have reviewed its incarnations several
times, starting with one that still had a
physical click wheel.
Our current model is the 4th Generation
iPod touch, which, more than ever,
can be described as “the iPhone without
the phone.”
But how does it sound? It is, after all, a
music player as well as a PDA. Our firstgeneration
iPod touch certainly sounded
better than our iPod Photo, which had
an actual hard disc inside. Our finding
is that the new model sounds about the
same with lossless music (our motto: jst
sy no to lssy comprssn). That is to say,
it’s slightly soft compared to the original
CD in a good player and with the same
high-quality headphones, but by any
standard it sounds amazingly good.
We’ve been looking over iPod accessories
too, and Griffin (griffintechnologies.com)
kindly sent over a couple of
them we want to tell you about.
The first is the PowerBlock Reserve,
a beautifully-designed little battery you
78 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
can use to more than double the run
time of an iPhone or any iPod with a
dock connector. It consists of a compact
charger and the battery module, which
is magnetic, and glides onto the charger
as by magic.
On most trips, you can bring just the
fully-charged battery, and you’re good
for dozens of extra hours. It costs $50,
with street price somewhat lower. The
down sides? It doesn’t have the oomph
to run an iPad (which is also an iPod,
though Apple doesn’t stress that), and
on an iPod touch it blocks access to the
headphone jack.
The other killer device from Griffin
is the Navigate, a small control device
you plug between the dock connector
and your headphones.
What is it? It’s a headphone amplifier,
which substitutes for the one in the iPod.
It’s a control device, with buttons that
let you skip tracks and change volume.
And it’s even an FM radio. It has a small
luminous screen so you can see what
you’re doing. Unfortunately, the button
legends are black on black, and unless
you’ve memorized their placement you’ll
be — all too literally — in the dark.
It’s expensive for an iPod accessory
too, with a $60 price tag, but it’s so practical
that we give it two thumbs up.
Finally, we have sad news about
one other, older, portable player, the
Sony Walkman. Sony will stop making
them.
No, we didn’t realize they were still
making them either, but Sony doesn’t
quit easily. It was relatively recently
that Sony stores stopped stocking Beta
video players, giving new meaning to the
phrase, “Forgotten but not gone.”
In truth we loved the Walkman,
which — until it was commoditized for
the price-driven market — was terrific.
We still have a Walkman Professional,
the WMD6, once the bootleg record
producer’s tool. Who remembers when
the acronym “WMD” meant audio on
the go, and not a pretext for military
invasion?
Incidentally, the name will live
on, because Chinese companies will
continue production, at least for the
domestic market, under license from
Sony. And that’s not counting the
“Sonny Workmans” you can buy in
dollar stores. The name also lives on as
the trademark on Sony’s current digital
players, which own a vanishingly small
part of the market. “Walkman” was
once a great brand name, but then so
was “Polaroid.” Both are now symbols of
long-obsolete technologies. Using them
on modern products can only drag them
down.

The Magic
Without 3D
What’s dominating movie screens
this year? It’s 3D, that’s what. Or perhaps
not.
What caught our attention was a news
item informing us that the next-to-last
Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hallows,
Part 1, would not, after all, be presented
in 3D. Expecting us to cry? You’ll be
waiting a long time. The reason for this
supposedly disappointing announcement,
says Warner, is that it would take
too long to do the conversion.
Wait a minute. Conversion?
Do we need to say it again? A 3D
movie needs to be shot with two lenses
capturing two images. “Converting” to 3D
is like “converting” a mono recording to
stereo. They used to do that too some
years ago, until public protests forced
them to stop. Check the article in this
issue, When 3D Falls Flat, and you’ll see
what we’re on about.
We’re disappointed to note that
all news outlet other than ourselves
seem to have accepted “conversion” as
legitimate.
Of course, releasing such a guaranteed
blockbuster in 2D means leaving
money on the table. Because cinemas
charge extra for 3D, their operators
love films that come with a 3D label,
even when that label is fraudulent. Also
losing money is RealD, the company
whose projection process those cinemas
use (the RealD system is legitimate, but
it can’t add a dimension that doesn’t
exist). Even IMAX may lose something.
Though the new film will be shown in
IMAX cinemas, more people might pay
the extra dough if they thought they
might see 3D.
Of course Warner isn’t going to lose
a dime. Is anyone, anyone, not going to
see the new Harry Potter film because
it’s not in 3D? We didn’t think so. Not
us, anyway. We’ll be there.
Now the bad news. It’s noised about
that the film will eventually be released
in 3D Blu-ray (still bogus, of course),
and that it might first, eventually, be
projected in “3D” at a theatre near
you. Just as bad, Warner does expect to
release the final film, coming next July,
in the glory of full fake 3D.
You’ve been warned!
The UHF Reference Systems
Equipment reviews are done on at least one of
UHF’s reference systems, selected as working
tools. They are changed as infrequently as
possible, because a reference that keeps changing
is no reference.
The Alpha system
Our original reference is in a room with special
acoustics, originally a recording studio, letting
us hear what we can’t hear elsewhere.
Main digital player: Linn Unidisk 1.1
Additional CD player: CEC TL-51X
belt-driven transport, Moon 300D
converter
Digital cable: Atlas Opus 1.5m
Digital portable: Apple iPod Touch
Turntable: Audiomeca J-1
Tone arm: Audiomeca SL-5
Pickup: Goldring Excel
Phono preamp: Audiomat Phono 1.6
Preamplifier: Copland CTA-305
Power amplifier: Simaudio Moon W-5LE
Loudspeakers: Living Voice Avatar
OBX-R
Interconnects: Atlas Navigator All-Cu,
Pierre Gabriel ML-1
Loudspeaker cables: Atlas Mavros with
WBT nextgen banana connectors
Power cords: Gutwire, Wireworld Aurora
AC filters: Foundation Research LC-2
(power amp), Inouye SPLC
The Omega system
It serves for reviews of gear that cannot easily
fit into the Alpha system, with its small room.
Digital players: shared with the Alpha
system
Turntable: Linn LP12/Lingo II
Tone arm: Alphason HR-100S MCS
Pickup: London Reference
Phono preamp: Audiomat Phono 1.6
Preamplifier: Simaudio Moon P-8
Power amplifier: Simaudio Moon W-8
Loudspeakers: Reference 3a Suprema II
Interconnects: Atlas Navigator All-Cu,
Atlas Mavros, Pierre Gabriel ML-1
Loudspeaker cables: Pierre Gabriel ML-1
for most of the range, Wireworld Polaris
for the twin subwoofers
Power cords: BIS Audio Maestro,
GutWire B-12, Wireworld
AC filters: GutWire MaxCon Squared,
Foundation Research LC-1
Acoustics: Gershman Acoustic Art panels
The Kappa system
This is our home theatre system. As with the
original Alpha system, we had limited space,
and that pretty much ruled out huge projectors
and two-metre screens. We did, however,
finally come up with a system whose performance
gladdens both eye and ear, with the
needed resolution for reviews.
HDTV monitor: Samsung PN50A550
plasma screen
DVD player (provisional): Pioneer BDP-
51FD Blu-Ray player
Preamplifier/processor: Simaudio Moon
Attraction, 5.1 channel version
Power amplifiers: Simaudio Moon W-3
(main speakers), bridged Celeste 4070se
(centre speaker), Robertson 4010 (rear)
Main speakers: Energy Reference Connoisseur
(1984)
Centre speaker: Thiel MCS1
Rear speakers: Elipson 1400
Subwoofer: 3a Design Acoustics
Cables: Atlas, Van den Hul, MIT,
GutWire, Wireworld
Line filter: GutWire MaxCon Squared
All three systems have dedicated power lines,
with Hubbell hospital grade outlets. Extensions
and power bars are equipped with hospitalgrade
connectors.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 79
Gossip&News
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The iPad and Us
Looking for buzz?
The iPad had it, and
still does. Newspapers
and tech Web sites, all
summer, ran articles
about t he g row i ng
market for pads…note
the plural. This may have
changed since we went
to press, but the word
“pad” should not have
been pluralized, because
all of them but Apple’s
were vaporware.
Our attention was
grabbed from the first
for a reason that should
be obvious: Apple’s slick
new device promised to
be the savior of embattled
print publications.
Reading a newspaper
or magazine on a computer,
it turns out, is
awkward. But on a thin
slate you can hold in
your hand…
Not only did we
order one, but we signed
up with Apple as registered
iOS developers.
The goal…well, you can
probably figure it out.
We need hard ly
explain why there’s been
a delay in our plans:
Gerard’s health problems
(now a thing of the past) threw a
spanner into the works. However we did
have time to get a good look at what a
publication looks like on an iPad.
In a word, stunning.
There are several ways to view a
magazine on the iPad, and we’ve tried
them all.
a) In PDF form. We are long-time
subscribers to the excellent Scientific
American, which distributes its electronic
edition in that form. Several iPad apps
allow you to view them, including Apple’s
own iBooks, and (our choice) the free
GoodReader. Being able to manipulate
the pages with your fingers is a lot like
80 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
handling the printed issue, except that
you can also use two fingers to zoom in
and out. Do it in public, and prepare to
get lots of attention. The down side, if
it is one, is that these programs will not
allow digital right management, also
known as copy protection.
Yes, we know, we’ve been plenty
critical of the music and film industry
for trying to prevent copying of their
works, even for purposes that fall under
the category of fair dealing/fair use. How
dangerous is it for a publication to take
a chance that 100% (not 99.9%) of its
subscribers will play fair?
b) Through the Zinio magazine service.
Zinio has been around
for some years, and
indeed we considered
signing up with them
before finally choosing
MagZee. The delivery
system is slick, though
the software is not bugfree,
and is not as polished
as GoodReader.
It ’s c lo s e e nough,
though.
We looked around
to see who else was on
Zinio, and we noted a
surprising fact: some
publishers are all but
giving away their publications.
We signed
up for a dozen copies
of Car&Driver for only
$8, with no surcharge
for international “delivery,”
beyond currency
exchange (Zinio is in
the US).
c) Through proprietary
software. A number
of publications, from
The New York Times to
Sports Illustrated, offer
free apps for the iPad,
through which you can
buy the actual magazine.
Since there’s no
obvious way to export it
and therefore share it, it
has de facto copy protection.
As we write this we’ve made no final
decision, but we’re aware that these
methods of distribution are by no means
mutually exclusive. We could develop
our own app, and be on Zinio, and even
remain on MagZee (for readers without
an iPad). Our free (but incomplete) PDF
edition can already be transferred to an
iPad app such as GoodReader, but we
can make the distribution even more
frictionless with a free app.
Is the iPad the future for the print
media? It well may be. We really enjoy
reading other people’s publications on it.
We would like ours on it too.

Industry
News
Dan d’Agostino is back
Perhaps you recognize the name:
Dan D’Agostino and his then wife
Rondi launched Krell back in 1980.
The philosophy: there’s no such thing
as too much amplifier power. Of course
Krell gear never did come cheap, and
the D’Agostinos sold Krell last year.
Or at least that’s Dan’s spin. In fact
he took on an equity firm, KP Partners,
as a minority investor, and the buzz we
get is that he made a mistake that has
been made by countless other high end
companies before Krell. The new partner
had a minority of the company stock,
but a majority of voting stock. A little
before last Christmas the locks were
changed, and the D’Agostinos (including
son Bret) were escorted to the door.
They’re suing, but what part of “voting
control” don’t they understand?
Why a free version?
KEF uses its demo tech
Go through our report on CES 2010
in Vegas (in this issue), and you’ll see
what can only be called a rave for an
enigmatic loudspeaker called the Blade
Concept. The venerable British speaker
maker has used its suite at the Hilton
for expensive speaker demos before.
The previous year it had shown off the
Muon, an aluminum sculpture that made
people think of the evil T1000 cop from
Terminator 2. And it subsequently sold a
number of them, despite a price deep into
six digits.
Would it do the same with the Blade
Concept, a magnificent carbon fibre
speaker that wowed us (and other reviewers
too)? No, the word “concept” indicated
that this speaker was not destined
for production, but was a “mule” for new
technology, just like those impractical
concept cars you see at auto shows.
And now the technology has migrated
south…south in price we mean.
For years now, we have been publishing, on our Web site, a free PDF
version of our magazine.
The reason is simple. We know you’re looking for information, and
that is almost certainly why you’ve come to visit our site. And that’s why
But Dan isn’t planning to retire any The Q300 bookshelf speaker, shown
we give away what some competitors consider to be a startlingly large
time soon. He’s set up a new company, here, uses a single coaxial Q driver, much
amount of information…for free.
with the self-effacing name of Dan like those that have been used by KEF
We would give it all away for free, if we could still stay in business.
D’Agostino Inc., and his first product for what seems like centuries, but this
Recent figures indicate that each issue is getting downloaded as many
is the Momentum amplifier you see time using technology developed for the
as 100,000 times, and that figure keeps growing.
here. It’s got high power (300 watts per Blade, which also used Uni-Q drivers.
Yes, we know, if we had a nickel for each download…
channel), but you would expect no less There’s a smaller Q100 too. We have
Truth is, we’re in the business of helping you enjoy music at home
from the founder of Krell. It has 28 no prices on either of them, but the “Q”
under the best possible conditions. And movies too. We’ll do what we need
output transistors, and that’s not paint series was never KEF’s top of the line.
to do in order to get the information to you.
on the side heat sinks. They’re made Which left us to speculate on what
Of course, we also want you to read our published editions too. We
of copper, for superior heat dispersion. the Blade Concept would cost if it were
hope that, having read this far, you’ll want to read on.
The price is listed as $42,000 a to go into a short production run, say 500
pair. Yes, a pair — the Momentum is a pairs. Would it cost $300,000? Perhaps
monoblock.
as much as a half million?
Just one thing, Dan. People like There could still be a market for
Mark Levinson, Nelson Pass and Steve them. True, we all tend to have dark
McCormack could tell you how danger- suspicions about people who can afford
ous it is to give a company your own such products. Are they the ones who
name. Now that you’ve done it, don’t go threw families into the street and then
talking to any more equity firms. got government bailouts? Eek!
ADVERTISERS
Allnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
ASW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Audiophileboutique.com . . . . Cover 2
Audiophile Store . . . . . . . . . . 55-62
Audio Zendo . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3
BIS Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Blue Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Charisma Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Cyrus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
ETI (Eichmann) . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Europroducts International . . . 13, 17
Hammertone Audio . . . . . . . . . . 14
Liberty Trading . . . . . . . . . Cover 4
MagZee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mutine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3
Radio St-Hubert . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Roksan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4
Simaudio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Tri-Cell Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . 33
UHF Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . 39
UHF Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Van den Hul . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2
Well Tempered . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 81
Gossip&News
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The most frequently-quoted
“law” in the domain of high
end audio (and home theatre
as well) is the Law of Diminishing
Returns. As you spend more and
more, each dollar buys you smaller and
smaller improvements, and so beyond a
certain point you should just let it go.
Corollary to the law: only people with
ultra-sensitive trained ears can hear the
tiny improvements that really expensive
gear can bring.
Let me leave aside, for the purpose
of this column, the question of whether
certain expensive products bring any
improvement at all. Lots of them don’t,
and we know that, but let’s consider
products that do, however slight the
improvements may be.
We know that physical laws are
commonly proved mathematically, and
so the proponents of the Law of Diminishing
Returns use numbers to illustrate
their thesis. Example: beyond a certain
amount of money (on which everyone
does not agree, by the by), spending 30%
more will bring you only a 10% or even
a 5% improvement. You’ve heard that,
right?
Where do those figures come from?
Do you figure they get political polling
organizations to determine those
numbers? Are their results accurate to
within plus or minus 2.3%, 19 times out
of 20…
The problem is this. It’s easy to do
math on product prices, and therefore
to calculate that one product costs 15%
more than another product, at least if
we ignore street price. So far so good,
but how do you attach figures to the
sound? What does it mean to say that
one product sounds “15% better” than
another? How do you put number on
what is — or should be — an emotional
experience? Can you determine that
your spouse loves you 12.7% more than
your previous paramour?
Better not go there.
You can’t use math on sound quality,
or music, or love, because such things
are qualitative, not quantitative. And
once you understand that difference, you
82 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
State of the Art
by Gerard Rejskind
will understand what is wrong with not
only the “Law of Diminishing Returns,”
but also the mindset of those who call
themselves objective reviewers.
We actually have different grammar
to differentiate between the qualitative
and the quantitative. If you haven’t
repressed everything your teachers told
you, you’ll recall that you got rapped
on the knuckles, if only figuratively, for
such phrases as, “There’s less people
downtown this weekend.” You don’t use
“less” for anything that can be counted,
such as people or chocolates.
The next time you’re listening to
music and feeling mellow, think about
the many qualitative values that don’t
lend themselves to mathematical evaluation.
There’s the music you’re actually
listening to, obviously, but what else?
I’ve already mentioned love, or even
affection. Do you like friend A more
than friend B? Perhaps, but would you
feel comfortable saying that you like
him/her 32% more? Of course not.
Would you say your daughter is 18.3%
more courteous than your son? Would
you say your best friend is 42.8% more
STATE OF THE ART:
THE BOOK
Get the 258-page book
containing the State of the Art
columns from the first 60 issues
of UHF, with all-new introductions.
See page 6.
understanding than… But that way lies
madness.
Let’s return to music reproduction.
You may judge that an amplifier you’re
thinking of buying sounds better than
your current amplifier, and perhaps
you’re right. What does it mean to say
that it’s better? You might judge that you
enjoy your music more when you listen
with that amplifier, but how much more?
Can you put a figure on it?
In fact that’s not what you need to do
at all. Listen to your amp, and then the
one you’re thinking of buying, and sure
enough the second one sounds better.
After a while come back to your own
amplifier (that’s the sort of thing we
do all the time), and see how much of a
comedown it is. Is it 19% less good? Is
that the same percentage you would have
given when switching the other way?
When you want to improve the quality
(I repeat, the quality) of your music,
you evaluate whether the music touches
you more than it did before, or gets you
more involved in its magic. These are
the reasons you might spend money on
a good system, and they are not things
you can put figures on.
Yes, I know, we do try to put figures
on everything today. The earthquake
in Chile, or in Haiti, is the strongest
since… Check Wikipedia, and you’ve
got the answer. Or check Craigslist and
you’ll see that a potential lover’s appeal is
often reduced to measurements of height
and maybe chest size. Is it a coincidence
that digital audio, the major innovation
of our era, is one that transforms music
into a series of numbers? Charles Seife,
in his book Proofiness: The Dark Arts
of Mathematical Deception, writes that
“If you want to get people to believe
something really, really stupid, just stick
a number on it.”
That’s what’s wrong with the Law
of Diminishing Returns, and with the
attempt by some reviewers to give a
product a numerical score. We know
that, at the threshold of the bedroom, it
is time to leave the numbers behind. It’s
the same when you open the door of the
listening room.

Why do
UHF readers
start reading
their magazines
at the back?
Countless readers have confirmed it over the
years: when they get their hands on the
latest issue of UHF, they open it to the last
page.
The reason all of them mention: Gerard
Rejskind’s last-page column, State of the Art. Since
the magazine’s founding, the column has grappled
with the major questions of high end audio. It has been
acclaimed by readers around the world.
Now, the columns from the first 60 issues of UHF are
brought together into one book. Each is exactly as it was originally
published, and each is accompanied by a new introduction.
Order your copy today: $18.95 in Canada or the US, C$32
elsewhere in the world, air mail included.

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off here with rare success”
Art Dudley,
May 2010
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