The Cutting Edge

More documents

Recommendations

Info

founder; chairman, editorial advisory boardHarry Pearsoneditor-in-chief Robert Harleyeditor Wayne Garciaassociate editor Jonathan Valinmanaging and Bob Gendronmusic editorcopy editor Mark Lehmanacquisitions manager Neil Gaderand associate editornews editor Barry Willisequipment setup Danny Gonzalezeditorial advisory board Sallie Reynoldsadvisor, cutting edge Atul Kanagatsenior writersJohn W. Cooledge, Anthony H. Cordesman,Gary Giddins, Robert E. Greene, Fred Kaplan,Greg Kot, Andrew Quint, Paul Seydorreviewers and contributing writersSoren Baker, Greg Cahill, Dan Davis, Andy Downing,Jim Hannon, Stephan Harrell, Jacob Heilbrunn,John Higgins, Sue Kraft, Mark Lehman, Ted Libbey,David McGee, Derk Richardson, Don Saltzman, DanSchwartz, Aaron M. Shatzman, Alan Taffel,Arnie Williamsdesign/production Design Farm, Inc.publisher/editor, AVGuide Chris Martensweb producer Ari KoinumaAbsolute Multimedia, Inc.chairman and ceo Thomas B. Martin, Jr.vice president/publisher Mark Fisheradvertising reps Cheryl Smith(512) 891-7775Marvin Lewis,MTM Sales(718) 225-8803subscriptions, renewals, changes of addressPhone (888) 732-1625 (US) or (815) 734-5833(outside US), or write The Absolute Sound,Subscription Services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris,IL 61054.Ten issues: in the US, $42; Canada $57 (GSTincluded); outside North America, $67 (includesair mail). Payments must be by credit card(VISA, MasterCard, American Express) or US fundsdrawn on a US bank, with checks payable toAbsolute Multimedia, Inc.editorial mattersAddress letters to: The Editor, The Absolute Sound,P.O. Box 1768, Tijeras, New Mexico 87059, ore-mail rharley@absolutemultimedia.com.classified advertisingPlease use form in back of issue.newsstand distribution and local dealersContact: IPD, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Suite400, Bonita Springs, Florida 34134, (239) 949-4450publishing mattersContact Mark Fisher at the address below ore-mail mfisher@absolutemultimedia.com.Publications Mail Agreement 40600599Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses toStation A / P.O. Box 54 / Windsor, ON N9A 6J5E-mail: info@theabsolutesound.comL E T T E R SEditors’ Choice—Too Limited?I just finished reading the December 2005issue of The Absolute Sound, and I found theRecommended Products list lacking and abit askew. In the amplification section wehave seven (or eight, depending on howyou count the NL10.1 and NL12.1) Edgeproducts and none from Mark Levinson,Boulder, Jeff Rowland, Gamut, or Pathos.YBA and Naim have great amps and preamps(as well as CD players) beyond theintegrated you are stuck with. Same withspeakers—I would rather have some productson the list from well-known makerslike ProAc, Spendor, JMFocal, or Avalonthan have three models from Wilson orSonus Faber.The point I am trying to make is thatyou will have a much betterRecommended Product list in the samespace if you include more brands andfewer models from the same company. Ido not need seven reviews of Edge to getme interested. An excellent review of oneproduct might send me to the dealerwhere I can audition the different modelsand pick the one that fits my budget andtaste. On the other hand, the omission ofan important maker might make memiss a very good product. Haim RonenWayne Garcia replies: Thanks for yourfeedback, Mr. Ronen. While your basicpoint is a good one, I think that you’reoverstating the case. Although you correctlypoint out that a few companies(such as Edge and Wilson) may havemore products covered and recommendedthan some others, there are severalreasons for that. One is simply that themost-frequently-covered manufacturers(and your list might also have includedthe likes of B&W, Magnepan, BAT,Nordost, and Musical Fidelity) make awide range of outstanding products thatwe believe are worthy of our readers’attention. That’s not to say that othersdon’t, but some manufacturers (such asRowland) don’t readily make their productsavailable for review, while others(such as Spectral) never supply reviewsamples. There are other reasons why wemay not cover a company’s wares duringa particular span of time. For instance,some firms have experienced changes inmanagement and personnel (Levinson),while others have their hands full supplyingtheir dealers with current productand can’t free up samples for review(Audio Research and MartinLogan).Although we make no claims that ourEditors’ Choice covers everything, wehave tried to make our list as deep and aswide-ranging as possible. That said, oneof the goals of switching from six to tenissues per year is to ensure that we’reable to cover many of the products thatwe may have previously overlooked. Bythe way, along those lines I’m happy toreport that we have reviews in the workson Pathos, Focal, and Mark Levinsoncomponents.Confused by SACDI am very confused by current developmentsin SACD replay. Some hardwaremanufacturers use PCM output even forSACD, like the Esoteric X01, whereasAbsolute Multimedia, Inc.4544 S. Lamar, Bldg. G-300Austin, Texas 78745phone (512) 892-8682 · fax (512) 891-0375e-mail tas@absolutemultimedia.comwww.theabsolutesound.com© 2005 Absolute Multimedia, Inc., Issue 159, February 2006.The Absolute Sound (ISSN #0097-1138) is published ten times per year,$42 per year for US residents, Absolute Multimedia, Inc., 4544 S. Lamar,Bldg G300, Austin, Texas 78745. Periodical Postage paid at Austin, Texas,and additional mailing offices. Canadian publication mail account #1551566.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Absolute Sound, SubscriptionServices, PO Box 629, Mt Morris, IL 61054. Printed in the USA.Upcoming in TASMartinLogan’s Summit speakerPathos Classic One Mk 2 integrated amplifierESS AMT-450 Heil-driver speakerAudience 72SE speakerMagic Diamond cartridgeRogue Audio Metis preampHP’s Workshop8 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ FEBRUARY 2006
L E T T E R Sother companies, like EMM Labs, maintainthat DSD architecture is essential topreserving the information in the signal.There is a similar dichotomy ofviews on the software side. DeutscheGrammophon still uses PCM for itsSACDs, e.g. Kleiber/Mahler 5 and 7,whereas Channel Classics, MobileFidelity, Groove Note, Telarc, etc. useDSD throughout.I’d be grateful if you could throwsome light on this matter. An engineerat Esoteric actually said that panel testsrevealed that there was a preference forPCM over DSD, even with SACD. Ialways thought that decimation of ananalog waveform resulted in a loss oflow-level information—compare analogvinyl with digital vinyl.I look forward to your response andguidance.Dr. N. KumarRobert Harley replies: As you note,some SACD players convert the DirectStream Digital (DSD) bitstream from anSACD into linear pulse-code modulation(PCM) before the conversion to analog.One of DSD’s advantages over PCMis the lack of a need for a digital filter. Infact, it is possible to turn the DSD bitstreaminto music with a single capacitor(DSD D/A converters are more complexin practice, but not much). On theother hand, designers have a considerablywider range of choices in PCM digital-to-analogconverters. Some believethe degradation introduced by the digitalfilter is a worthwhile tradeoff foraccess to high-quality PCM DACs.More on Chesky and Apple’s iPodMay I get something off my chest? It concernsDavid Chesky’s surprising and trulyoutrageous letter in Issue 156. I agreecompletely with Robert Harley’s response,but as a classically trained composer I havea somewhat different perspective.Chesky asserts that “music is just theorganization of sound.” Well, no, it isn’t. Itis the organization of sound for a particularpurpose: that of expressivity. To achieve thatgoal—to make music that moves people—composers have an array of tools at their disposal.These include form (which differentiatesa song from a fugue from a symphony);melodic and rhythmic themes; theuse of repetition to imbue a sense offamiliarity, combined with equal partsvariety to create surprise and avoid predictability;and tension (generated byvarious means) that is satisfied, leadingto repose. “Tonality,” as Chesky pointsout, is certainly also one of the composer’stools, but it is far from the only oreven the most important one. Bach is stillBach even when, as we have seen over thecenturies, his work is transcribed to a verydifferent tone color. The music remainstimelessly powerful because, regardless ofthe nature or quality of the instrument(s)playing it, it embodies the above qualitiesin such abundance and with exquisite craft.If, as Chesky would have us believe,“it is about the sound,” then a steady-stategorgeous tone—say, a sustained noteplayed on a Stradivarius—would be compellingin some way. It isn’t. To the contrary,I can think of nothing more boringor ultimately irritating. A painter chooseshis colors carefully, but knows that coloralone cannot create a work of art. Thereare many other elements involved, andcolor, like sound, is in their service. I suspectthat Chesky, a composer whom Irespect, knows this well. But there is nosuch evidence in his letter.Sound plays two roles in our world. Itis, as discussed above, a compositionaltool used to shape the emotional makeupof a piece of music. It is also the means bywhich we perceive all music. Chesky isright that we, as reviewers, focus more onthe latter role. The reason is that even if asystem does not get the “tonality” completelyright, music can still be involvingand moving, so long as the other elementsof expressivity are accessible. (RHgave a splendid example of this in hiscomment.) To render these elementsaccessible, a system must possess onlyreasonable fidelity and sufficiently lowdistortion. An iPod in full compressionmode fails these basic requirements—distortionis high and dynamic range is solimited that any tension and repose (touse just one example) created throughchanging dynamics is obliterated. But, asRH points out, when used properly aniPod is perfectly capable of delivering thebasic elements built into the music by thecomposer. And that is why, despite tonalrestrictions, it and other sub-perfect systemscan enjoin the listener to the music.Where does this leave the high end?Where it has always been. Superior systemsare able to deliver more of the composer’sintent, more of the performer’sinterpretation, and, yes, more of the soundwe’d hear if we were listening to the sameperformance live. But this last benefitwould mean little if it weren’t coupledwith the first two. Remarkably, DavidChesky seems to have forgotten that.Thanks for letting me vent. I’ll goback to work now!Alan Taffel, TAS contributing writerMediaeval Philosopher?At the risk of sounding like a mediaevalphilosopher, I would like to clarify thediscussion occasioned by Robert Harley’sarticle “The Audiophile iPod” [Issue155]. Or maybe I should, Socrates-like,ask, which music, stupid? Of course Irealize that discussing essences, which iswhat this letter is doing, starts one downa slippery slope. Still, I believe that eventhough both bicycles and airplanes arevehicles, most people can tell the differencebetween them. It is to them that Ioffer this letter.Let us for the moment skip the questionof Platonic essences and not ponderwhat, say, Brahms’ First Symphonysounded like in Brahms’ head. For ourpurposes let us assume that the music isthe way the Berlin Philharmonic plays itunder the baton of one of our best conductors.When we reproduce it via theworld’s best sound system using SACD(you put it together), we obtain a reasonablefacsimile of the music, but not quitethe music. But for our discussion, let’s callthat the music. Let us now imagine thatwe omit every second byte from the CD(or compress it in another way—themethod doesn’t matter). It will, of course,still sound like Brahms’ First, but someonewith acute hearing would notice thatit lacks some overtones, some spatialclues, some tonal clarity, some ambience,some “continuousness.” The general publicmay barely notice that anything isamiss. Let us now compress the CD evenmore and listen to it via a portable radio.10 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ FEBRUARY 2006
Page 3: VIEWPOINTS8 Letters113 Manufacturer
Page 7 and 8: g u e s t e d i t o r i a lTwo mont
Page 9 and 10: new products on the horizonfutureTA
Page 11 and 12: a b s o l u t e a n a l o gKuzma St
Page 13 and 14: The Stogi S is a highly cost-effect
Page 15 and 16: T A S J O U R N A LThe Quest for Gr
Page 17 and 18: I printed up some score sheets, so
Page 19 and 20: instantly shot down. The speakersso
Page 23 and 24: with the R going in the wrong direc
Page 25 and 26: cally well. You go to Yo-Yo Ma’s
Page 27 and 28: JONATHAN VALINMBL 101 E “Radialst
Page 29 and 30: SUE KRAFTB&W 800D loudspeaker$20,00
Page 31 and 32: ROBERT E. GREENEGradient Revolution
Page 33 and 34: WAYNE GARCIARedpoint Audio Model B
Page 35 and 36: equipmentreportApril Music Stello D
Page 37 and 38: equipmentreportEcho Busters Decorat
Page 39 and 40: equipmentreporthad witnessed, it wa
Page 41 and 42: equipmentreportAbbey Simon on piano
Page 43 and 44: equipmentreportRight out of the box
Page 45 and 46: equipmentreportMagnepan MG 20.1Loud
Page 47 and 48: equipmentreportTrying the 20.1s wit
Page 49 and 50: equipmentreportSPECIFICATIONSType:
Page 51 and 52: The Cutting Edgethe music signal. L
Page 53 and 54: The Cutting Edgewindow on the elect
Page 55 and 56:
one hour, preferably two. These amp
Page 57 and 58:
The Cutting Edgedecays I am thinkin
Page 59 and 60:
The Cutting Edgeeffect is awe-inspi
Page 61 and 62:
HP’S WORKSHOPalies you just learn
Page 63 and 64:
HP’S WORKSHOPmanufacturer/designe
Page 65 and 66:
HP’S WORKSHOPDigital Domination:T
Page 67 and 68:
HP’S WORKSHOPlearn, the units wer
Page 69 and 70:
Manufacturer CommentsBalanced Audio
Page 71 and 72:
DERK RICHARDSONScott Amendola Band:
Page 73 and 74:
ANDREW QUINTProkofiev: Alexander Ne
Page 75 and 76:
DAN DAVISMendelssohn: Complete Stri
Page 77 and 78:
FRED KAPLANMaria Schneider Jazz Orc
Page 79 and 80:
m u s i c classicallevel—vigorous
Page 81 and 82:
m u s i c JAZZJazz CapsJim McAuley:
Page 83 and 84:
m u s i c jazzfinds the 45-year-old
Page 85 and 86:
m u s i c popularion belies his sou
Page 87 and 88:
m u s i c popularbass lines loping
Page 89 and 90:
m u s i c popularthen executing in
Page 91 and 92:
C L A S S I F I E D SF O R S A L Eu
Page 93 and 94:
Index to AdvertisersAcoustic Scienc
show all

The Cutting Edge

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?