february 1996 ecul' · cd changer, dual cassette deck, remote control - and our ensemble iv...

FEBRUARY 1996

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"Cambridge SoundWorksHome Theater For

For many speaker designers andmanufacturers, home theater is arelatively new idea. But the people whowork at Cambridge SoundWorks -

including our cofounder Henry Moss(who also founded AR, KLH andAdvent) - have been involved with theconcept of home theater from thebeginning. In 1969 (years before VCRsand cable TV), Henry Kloss foundedAdvent, the company that introducedthe first home theater audio/videosystems - complete with big -screen TVsand digital surround sound. We havehad an ongoing relationship with thepeople at Dolby Laboratories, creatorsof Dolby Surround Sound, since HenryMoss introduced the first consumerproducts withDolby noise

Our Center Channel Speakers

reduction over 20 years ago. And nowat Cambridge SoundWorks we believewe have set a new price -to -performance

*4 -

OurPopcorn

standard forhome theatercomponents.

Because wesell carefullymatched andtested hometheater speakersystems factory -direct,with no expensive middlemen,you can save hundreds of dollars. Webelieve the products on these pagesrepresent the country's best values inhigh performance home theatercomponents. Audio critics, and thou-sands of satisfied customers, agree.

Stereo Review said"CambridgeSoundWorksmanufacturesloudspeakers

that provide excep-tional sound quality at

affordable prices." Audio suggested thatwe "may have the best value in theworld."

Center Channel SpeakersCambridge SoundWorks

manufactures four speakersfor use as center channel

speakers in DolbyPro Logic hometheater systems.All four are

Our Surround Speakers

magnetically shielded so they can beplaced near a TV or computer monitor.Center/Surround IV is a compact, one-way speaker identical to our EnsemblesIV satellite speakers. $49.99. Center/Surround III is a small, affordable two-way speaker. $79.99. Center Channel isidentical to a Cambridge SoundWorksEnsemble satellite (but with magneticshielding). $159.99. Center ChannelPlus uses an ultra -low, ultra -widedesign that is ideal for placement above(or, with optional support stand, below)a TV monitor. $229.99.

Surround SpeakersCambridge SoundWorks makes two"dipole radiator" surround soundspeakers. Dolby Laboratories recom-mends dipole radiator speakers for useas surround speakers. The Surround hasa very high power handling capacityand is often selected for "high end"surround sound systems. Audio,describing a system that included TheSurround said "In many ways thesurround sensation was every bit asgood as far more expensive installa-tions." $399.99 pr. The smaller TheSurround 11 is arguably the country'sbest value in a dipole radiator speaker.$249.99 pr.

Opens The WayTo KillerAn Affordable Frice.",,,,,ew

Powered SubwoofersThe original Powered Subwoofer byCambridge SoundWorks consists of aheavy-duty 12" woofer housed in anacoustic -suspension cabinet with a 140 -watt amplifier and a built-in electroniccrossover. Stereo Review said it pro-vides "deep powerful bass...31.5 Hzbass output was obtainable at a room -shaking level... they open the way tohaving a 'killer' system for an afford-able price." $699.99.

Our Powered Subwoofers

Our Slave Subwoofer uses the samewoofer driver and cabinet, but does notinclude the amplifier or crossover. It canonly be used in conjunction with thePowered Subwoofer. $299.99. The newPowered Subwoofer II uses a120 -watt amplifier with an8" woofer. $399.99.

Home Theater Speaker Systems

We have assembled a number of hometheater speaker systems that consist of

center channel, surround andmain stereo speakers.The combination weshow here is our bestseller. It includes ourcritically acclaimedEnsemble dual sub -woofer satellite speakersystem, our CenterChannel Plus and a pairof our best surround

speakers, The Surround.You could spend hundreds

than its $1,229.97 price withoutimproving performance.

Complete Home TheaterSound Systems

We offer a range of complete hometheater surround soundsystems, ranging from$649.98 to $3,069.93.The system shown here

more

Our FeaturedHome TheaterSound System

Our Most Popular Home TheaterSpeaker System.

is incredibly easy to hook up and touse. It consists of an Aiwa center unitthat includes a Dolby Pro Logic receiver,CD changer, dual cassette deck, remotecontrol - and our Ensemble IV HomeTheater speaker system. It soundsgreat, fits into any room, and sells foran introductory price of only $899.99.

Factory -Direct SavingsThe speakers in this ad areavailable only directlyfrom CambridgeSoundWorks, and throughcost-efficient Best Buy stores - so youcan save hundreds of dollars. Orderthem, then listen in your own homes. Ifyou aren't completely satisfied, returnthem within 30 days for a full refund.

To Order Factory Direct, For aFree Catalog, Or For

The Nearest Store Location, Call

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SCAMBRIDGESOUNDWORKS

Critically Acclaimed. Factory -Direct.311 Needham Street, Suite 102, Newton, MA 02164

lel: 1-800-367-4434 Fax: 617-332-9229Canada: 1-800-525-4434

Outside U.S. or Canada: 617-332-5936aoS Carnbndo SoundWorks Rknsemble Is a registered trademark of

Camhncte SoundWorks. Inc. KW is a trademark of KLIi. Inc AR and Advent aretradem rks of International lensen Ins Cambridge Soundhorks In nor affiliated

with KLH. Advent or All

al

FEBRUARY 1996

Cl

VOL 80, NO. 2

=""

THE EQUIPMENT AUTHORITY

IFioneer Elite

CD Recorderand BrystonAmplifier

departmentsFAST FORE -WORD Michael Riggs 4LETTERS 6WHAT'S NEW 8AUDIOCLINIC Joseph Giovanelli 12MONDO AUDIO Ken Kessler

recordings

16

CLASSICAL 76ROCK/POP 80JAll & BLUES 86

Cover Photographer: Bill Kouirinis StudioCover Equipment: Pioneer Elite PDR-99 CD recorderand Bryston 4B ST power amplifier

Audio Publishing, Editorial, and Advertising Offices,1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019

Subscription Inquiries:Phone, 303/604-1464; fax, 303/604-7455

TheAuditBureau

featuresMULTICHANNEL MUSIC RECORDING:

A VIEW FROM THE CONSOLE Daniel Sweeney 20THE AUDIO INTERVIEW:

M & K'S KEN KREISEL I)aniel Levitin 28

equipment profilesPIONEER ELITE PDR-99 CD RECORDER Edward J. Foster 36BRYSTON 4B ST AMPLIFIER i (1\%aid J. Foster 46WILSON AUDIO WATT V/PUPPY V

SPEAKER SYSTEM I) B. Keele, Jr. 50DYNACO CDV-1 CD PLAYER Bascom H. King 56

Mir/ cit.,EGGLESTONWORKS ANDRA SPEAKER A. H. Cordesman 62ANGSTROM 200 A/V PREAMP

AND PROCESSOR knthony H. Cordesman 66PASS LABORATORIES

ALEPH 1 MONO AMP Anthony H. Cordesman 72

phili)//ekPANASONIC PV -4564 VHS HI-FI VCR,

SALAMANDER DESIGNS ARCHETYPE MODULAR SHELVING,

AND B & W 803 MATRIX SERIES 2 SPEAKERS 96

Ken Kreisel,p,ige 2S

Pass LaboratoriesAleph 1 Mono Amp,page 72

We couldn't havesaidit better o elves.

- excerpts from Audio Magazine, by Anthon\ H. Cordesman

"...this is a product thatdeserves attention. yy

"You may besurprised to findout how goodyour speakers arewhen you first tryan amplifier

tyof

this qual

"This is the kind ofproduct that showsthe vest of the highend can be madetruly affordable. yy

"In short, theAdcom GFA-5800stands out even in aworld where almost /all amplifiers nowsound good. py

"It is also a little difficult tobelieve that this amplifier is inthe $1500 price range. yy

"It does everythingexceptionally well forits price, and its uppermidrange and treble andoverall musicality arehard to find in any ampli-fier not costing at leasttwice its price range. yy

"The imaging, soundstage,dynami.:s, and transparency ofthe Adcom GFA-5800 had thekind of realism and integrationI only expect to find in far moreexpensive products. yy

"Just as Adcom oncechanged the standards of thepower amplifier market withthe 555, it has introduced anew product that may similarlychange the market again. yy .

The Adcom GFA-5800 amplifier is quite possibly the best amplifier you may ever hear.We know it sounds better than others selling for more than twice its price. Delivering 250watts continuous per channel into 8 ohms between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, its circuit design andcomponent specifications are in a class by itself.

But you don't have to take our word for it. Send us your name and address and we willsend you a reprint of Audio's review as well as detailed literature. Or better yet, simply ask tolisten to the GFA-5800. Your ears will tell youall you need to know.

ADCOM®details you can hear

11 Elkins Road, East Brunswick, NJ 08816 U.S.A. (908) 390-1130.Distributed in Canada by PRO ACOUSTICS INC. Montreal, Quebec (514) 344-1226

CIRCLE NO. 1 ON READER SERVICE CARD

1=Il Send me Audio's review and detailed literature on theAdcom GFA-5800.

Name

Address

8 City State Zip

X Mail to: Adcom. 11 Elkins Road, East Brunswick, NJ 08816 U.S.A.

T

FAST

he term "surround sound" is one

we most readily associate with

movies and video. We still think of

unaccompanied audio mainly in

terms of two (probably big)

speakers in the front of the room,

forming the classic triangle with the

listener at the third vertex. We've lived with

this system for 30 years now. Modern

music recording practice is geared almost

entirely to two -channel stereo, and we're

comfortable with it. If only it worked

better!

Over the last year or so, several people in

the audio business have mentioned to me

in passing that they often prefer listening to

stereo music recordings with Dolby Pro

Logic decoding. Most discovered this

accidentally by just forgetting to turn the

decoder off. Presented with an ordinary

stereo recording, Pro Logic will direct

anything centered in the mix to the centerspeaker and any out -of -phase information

to the surround speakers. When everything

goes well, the net result is a more open,

spacious sound combined with a better

focused and more stable front stereo image,

even for listeners seated off -center.

The trouble is that Pro Logic is very

much a hit-or-miss proposition with

unencoded material: Sometimes it works

okay, other times pretty badly. And it's

never ideal. Ambience -enhancement

systems designed specifically for the

purpose can be much better-and verysatisfying-but really good ones are rare.

The best thing would be to have true

multichannel music recordings, preferably

ones that could be reproduced effectively

over the speaker setups currently being

installed at such a furious pace for A/V

surround sound. The widespread

consumer acceptance of such installations

and the development of high -density discs

that can hold many times the amount ofdata on a conventional CD are creating a

golden opportunity for the establishment

FORE -WORD

of a new and better system for

multichannel music reproduction.

But with the 20 -year -old memory of the

quadraphonic debacle still alive, will the

record industry bite? And if it does, how

will artists and producers exploit the

expanded medium? Dan Sweeney has

talked extensively with many of the

recording professionals most interested in

multichannel for music, and he reports his

findings in this issue ("Multichannel Music

Recording: A View from the Console").

Like the people Sweeney interviewed, I

hope very much that the record industry

does wake up to the potential of moving

beyond two -channel stereo and its long -

recognized inadequacies. I've been

disturbed to hear so much of the industry

discussion of a "Super CD," based on the

new high -density discs, cast in terms of

things like higher sampling rates, which

would have little or no impact on perceived

sound quality. Today, the greatest

remaining impediment to sonic realism is

the spatial distortion of two -channel

stereo; as anyone who's heard a

well -reproduced, high -quality surround

soundtrack (especially a discrete -channel

digital one) can attest, we can do a lot

better. That's what's sold home theater, and

we shouldn't let ourselves be stopped there.

AUDIOEDITOR -IN -CHIEF

Michael Riggs

ART DIRECTORCathy Cacchione

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORLinda Zerella

TECHNICAL EDITORIvan Berger

MANAGING EDITORKay Blumenthal

ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITORSDouglas Hyde. Scott Van Camp

DIRECTORY EDITORTom Cannon, Jr.

ASSISTANT EDITOR/MUSICMichael Bieber

ASSISTANT EDITOR/DIRECTORYGerald F. McCarthy

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORSD. B. Keck, Jr., David Lander, Edward M. Long

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS/ARTISTSEdward Tatna11 Canby, David L Clark, Anthony H. Cordesman,

Ted Costa, John Diliberto, Frank Driggs. John Eargle,Edward I. Foster, John Gatski, Joseph Giovanelli, Dawn limier,

Ken Kessler, Bascom H. King. Robert Lone, Paul Moor,Jon W. Poses, Jon R. Sank, John Sunier, Michael Tearson,

Jon et. Sally Tiven, Michael Wright

V.P./GROUP PUBLISHERTony Catalano 212/767-6061

V.P./ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERScott Constantine 212/767-6346

GENERAL MANAGER Greg RopertiBUSINESS MANAGER Christine Z. Maillet

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Patti BurnsPRODUCTION MANAGER Dana L. Rubin

PROMOTION COORDINATOR Dominique A. LeupiRESEARCH MANAGER Dru Ann Love

OFFICE MANAGER Aline I. PulleyOPERATIONS MANAGER Sylvia Correa

AD COORDINATOR Linda Neuweiler

ADVERTISINGREGIONAL V.P./AD DIRECTOR, EAST COAST

Charles L P Watson 212/767-6038REGIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER

Christine B. Forhez 212/767-6025ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Penry Price 212/767-6077MIDWEST ADVERTISING MANAGER

Jerry Stoeckigt 312/923-4804REGIONAL V.P./AD DIRECTOR, WEST COAST

Bob Meth 213/954-4831WESTERN MANAGER Paula Mayeri 213/954-4830NATIONAL RECORD LABEL SALES

MAG Inc Mitch Herskowitz 212/490-1715Steve Gross 212/490-1895

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING 800/445-6066

twoCHAIRMAN Daniel Filipacchi

PRESIDENT, CEO, AND COO David L PeckerEXEC. V.P. AND EDIT. DIR. Jean-Louis Ginibre

PRES., HACHETTE FILIPACCHI NEW MEDIAPaul DeBenedictis

SR. V.P./GLOBAL ADV. Paul DuCharmeSR. V.P./DIR., CORP. SALES Nicholas MatarazzoSR. V.P./CFO & TREASURER John T. O'ConnorV.P., GENERAL COUNSEL Catherine Flickinger

V.P.. MFG. & DISTRIBUTION Anthony R. RomanoV.P.. CIRCULATION David W. Lecicey

V.P., RESEARCH & MKTG. SERVICES Susan SmollensV.P., COMMUNICATIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS

Keith EstabrookV.P., MAGAZINE DEVELOPMENT Marcia SacharV.P., DIR., CREATIVE SERVICES, CORP. SALES

Lynn ChaikenCREATIVE PRODUCTION DIR., GLOBAL MKTG.

Jean Pierre LabatutSR. V.P./CORP. SALES, DETROIT H. E. (Bud) AllenV.P., FINANCIAL OPERATIONS Margaret Carroll

AUDIO/FEBRUARY 19964

1 INPL MRS TER RECORDING

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" -IFieLE NO. 18 ON PlEADER SERV E C

Viva Van GelderDear Editor:

I thoroughly enjoyed James Rozzi's inter-view of Rudy Van Gelder (November 1995).Rudy Van Gelder has dedicated close to 50years of his life capturing the spontaneity ofan art form labeled "jazz." Unlike chambermusic, operas, and symphonic recitals thathave been performed time and time again,jazz demands an intuitive focus on the partof the recording engineer. Along with this,Van Gelder's exquisite choice of micro-phones, and their positioning, have madehis recordings classic works of art. And it iswhy his earliest tape recordings sound sogood on CD.

A smile crossed my face when Van Gelder

stated, "I'm glad to see the LP go." Thechance of buying a "perfect" reproductionon a 12 -inch disc was worse than the oddsof winning the Florida lottery. Cutting theperfect acetate was step one, followed by the

plating, the positioning of the two stampersin the jaws of the press, and the timing cycleof the heating and cooling of the presses.And this doesn't even take into account thefact that the pressing material may have suf-fered temperature and humidity changeswhile the plant was shut down during thenight. And if the LPs weren't wrapped andshipped properly, they would arrivewarped. Among the many wonderful fea-tures of CDs is that there is no physical con-tact, plus the linearity that exists betweenthe information at the outermost and in-nermost radii.

Whatever the next accepted reproduc-tion medium is, Rudy Van Gelder's record-ings will still sound good. Keep 'em rollin',Rudy.

Tom Dowd

Tom Dowd Productions

Coconut Grove, Fla.

So Long, Vinyl?Dear Editor:

Good riddance! Thank you, Rudy VanGelder for stating what should be seen asobvious. The Van Gelder interview shouldbe required reading for anyone still clingingto the antiquated vinyl format! (Unless

you're the odd sort who doesn't feel wholewithout wow and flutter.)

Martin A. PadillaHillsboro, Ore.

Dissing the DishDear Editor:

As a subscriber for many years, I compli-ment you and the entire staff for the con-tinued excellence of Audio.

The reason for this letter, my first to you,is that I was amazed at the candor andtruthfulness of your article on RCA's Digi-tal Satellite System by Anthony H. Cordes -

man with RCA's response by James Harper("A Gourmet Dish or Pot of Trouble," Au-gust 1995).

All other material written about this sys-tem has been glowing and without criti-cism; Cordesman really told it like it is. Af-ter a major hardware purchase, expensiveinstallation, and the not -so -easy adjust-ments on the dish, there is the hiddenexpense of paying for the DTV and USSBprogramming.

I fully concur with Cordesman as to themediocrity of the picture and sound-es-pecially in the variability of quality, since itdepends not on the system itself but onthose sending material to the satellite for re-transmission to our homes. My greatest dis-appointment is the lack of constant clarityin the picture, due to the digitizationprocess-which all too frequently runs outof digits. And then there are the momentswhen the picture is lost due to heavy rain oran airplane passing by.

The criticism of the "mystery" ports forsome future use is justified because they area waste of the consumer's money. In today'svolatile market, trying to predict what portor connection will allow HDTV, computers,or other future products or formats to workis ridiculous.

This brings me to the fact that mostviewers who have seen the system do notnotice these glitches until you point themout. Then they see the downside of the dig-ital system. It's interesting to see a visualsystem running out of digits; it makes mewonder about digital sound, where it is

harder to detect the running out of digits,and how much we might be missing in CDsound due to the marginal level of theSony/Philips standard. The whole idea oftossing away information not deemed nec-essary and cramming what's left into theavailable data stream can be seen as a failurein this present Digital Satellite System. Whyare we settling for less with these new sys-tems instead of more?

Congratulations on tackling the down-side of a system that is not as good as it'sbeen made out to be and for confrontingthe manufacturer. Keep up the fine work.

John L. Dorn

Baltimore, Md.

Do Not DisturbDear Editor:

In Bascom H. King's reply to Bob Smith'sletter in the November 1995 issue about theCary Audio Design CAD -805 tube ampsounding superior to the solid-state CarverResearch Lightstar Reference, King states,"Getting people disturbed is the precursorto possibly changing their thinking." And"To be honest, though, the measurementsthat most of us reviewers make don't relatevery well to the sonic results."

"Disturbing" people should not be con-fused with an honest dialectical exchange ofideas. Disturbing people only reinforces theconclusion that the disturber wants atten-tion and seeks to annoy. Indeed, King doesnot seem "annoyed" at all that the measure-ments do not correlate to what he hears andseems somewhat complacent in continuingto use them. Instead, maybe he should be"concerned."

Now if King wants to convince or chal-lenge us gentle readers with a point of somekind, he should state what he knows. Oth-erwise, "changing their thinking" willmerely give way to further entrenchment inthe tube versus transistor debate.

King has his "feelers" out looking fornew ways to measure sonic performance.That's great. However, as a subscriber I ampaying you guys to get in the lab and active-ly find out what goes into good sonic per-formance; otherwise, I can just read the ad-vertising claims. Sitting around andlistening to the hi-fi is fine, but it's only halfthe job.

Steve Doyle

Kamuela, Hawaii


Testing...One, Two, ThreeDear Editor:

I have some comments on Bascom H.King's response to Bob Smith's letter con-cerning amp measurements and listeningtests in the November 1995 issue.

On the subject of better tests on ampli-fiers, I recommend that amps not be loadedwith a resistor but with a loudspeaker. Al-ternatively, load the amp with a circuit thatis representative of a loudspeaker load. Thetechnical basis for this suggestion is that thecharacteristic of the load on an amp is anintegral part of its transfer function. Theperformance of an amp depends, in part,on the nature of its load. We would like itsperformance to be independent of the na-ture of its load and to be able to evaluate itsdeparture from this ideal. This can be doneby comparing its performance with a resis-tive load to that with a loudspeaker load, ora circuit that represents a loudspeaker.

Tube enthusiasts argue that traditionaltests do not reveal the true nature of ampli-fiers because they aren't evaluated with sig-nals that represent the dynamics of music.To answer this objection, I propose thatamps be tested with pink noise shaped tocorrespond to the latest IEC/DIN frequen-cy/amplitude spectrum, with gradually in-creasing levels. Better yet, modulate this sig-

nal at a random rate and at a randomintensity. Record and compare the appliedsignal to the reproduced signal.

I have one more suggestion, perhaps onlyhalf serious: Why not listen to a tube push-pull amp for reference and then pull one ofits output tubes? This should have theseemingly desired effects of reducing itspower rating, increasing its distortion, andsaturating the core of its output trans-former. Who knows, it might even exhibitadditional aberrations that used to be con-sidered undesirable!

David J. MeranerScotia, N.Y.

Author's Reply. Your suggestion of testingpower amplifiers with a loudspeaker loador a simulated loudspeaker load has cat-alyzed me to action! I will start experiment-ing with simulated loads, and I hope to beable to test with this new load in my nextamplifier review.

The idea of testing with a dynamicshaped -noise signal sounds like a good

idea. I will think about it and see if I cancome up with a way that it could be imple-mented with my Audio Precision SystemOne test instrument. One thing that mightbe promising along these lines is the newFastest DSP program, wherein lots of fre-quencies can be generated but with a gapsomewhere in the spectrum. Looking atwhat "fills in this hole" because of inter -modulation of all the frequencies presentmight prove revealing.

Finally, as to pulling out one output tubeof a push-pull pair: what a great idea! Itwould turn your old-fashioned push-pulltube amp into a modern single -ended mar-vel! One would have to crank up the platecurrent to get Class -A operation, however.This reminds me of when I first met JamesBongiorno (of GAS and Sumo fame). Hecame up with an SAE solid-state amp forme to review, and I was using a pair of fair-ly large tube power amps that had four out-put tubes per channel. When they were onand playing, I pulled one of the outputtubes. There was no ill effect, except for apop in the speaker, and I said, "Try thatwith one of your solid-state things, and seeif it still plays."-B.H.K.

Thagard Amp AvailableDear Editor:

Beginning with the January 1995 issue,Audio ran a three-part series by Dr. Nor-man E. Thagard on the design and con-struction of a 100 -watt Class -A mono am-plifier. The design philosophy was bothpragmatic and technically sound. Withouthearing the actual amp perform, I thoughtit appeared to offer a chance to indulge mylove of fine music with a piece of equip-ment otherwise beyond my financial re-sources. I have looked in vain in subsequentissues of Audio to find a supplier of either acomplete kit or a finished version of theamp.

Denis MacourtCalgary, Alberta, Canada

Editor's Reply: There is a kit (and probably a

finished product) using Dr. Thagard's de-sign in the works. Manufactured bySescom, it should be available in the nextfew months. For more information, contactSescom at 2100 Ward Dr., Henderson, Nev.89015; phone, 702/565-3400; fax, 702/565-4828.

Audio CatalogAt Cambridge SoundWorks we make unique,critically -acclaimed speakers and musicsystems designed by Henry Kloss (founder ofAR, KLH & Advent). We sell them-andcomponents from companies like Sony,Pioneer, Philips, Carver and others-factory -direct, with no expensive middlemen. Calltoday and find out why Audio magazine saidwe may have "the best value in the world." Call toll -free for factory -direct savings. Save hundreds on components and systems

from Cambridge SoundWorks, Sony, Pioneer,AIWA, Harman Kardon, Philips, Carverand more.

Audio experts will answer your questionsbefore and after you buy, 8AM-Midnight(ET), 365 days a year -even holidays.

30 -Day Total Satisfaction Guarantee on allproducts.

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Canada: 1-800-525-4434 Outside U.S. or Canada: 617-332-5936®1 995 Cambndge SdundWorks.



WHAT'S NEW

DANIELS AUDIO CD PLAYERDaniels Audio's Zero -One

CD player combines a

Philips transport andsingle -bit DAC,

together with suchaudiophile niceties

as separate powersupplies for the digital and

analog sections and ananalog filter whose

PS Audio has added anHDCD decoder to itsUitralink Two D/A converter,to improve performancewith both standard andHDCD-encoded discs. AnUitraAnalog low -jitter receiverchip and 20 -bit DAC are alsoincluded. Four inputs allow

stop -band rejection isgreater than 120 dB.

The result, claims/yip_ the manufacturer,

is the kind of soundusually heard from

separate CD transportsand D/A converters. Price:

$749.95.For literature, circle No. 100

Toslink, ST optical, AES/EBU,and coaxial digitalconnections. The analogsection of the Ultralink Two isa discrete, Class -A, buffereddesign with third -order,linear -phase Bes.sel filtering.Price: $2,295.For literature, circle No. 101

The modules on

most of Transparent

Audio's latest

Transparent Cables

hold networks that

are designed to

control resonance. RF noise.

and the impedance seen by

the components the cables are

connected to. Even the cable's

length is taken into account

in the networks' design. Price:

from $45.

For literature, circle No. 02

r711917MINrrrr"PgltltPtlror]esigned for homedigital satellite

installations, Newpoint'sSatellite Smart incorporatesvoltage -surge protection,interference reduction, andsystem power control. Ifa TV is plugged intothe device's "Mover" outlet,

byremote) will control powerto other A/V componentsexcept those plugged into

the "VCR" and "AUX l'outlets. The power, sate lite,cable, and telephone linesare clamped against surges,and all three legs ofthe power line are fusec.A similar unit withoutmaster power control,the Satellite Surge,is available.Satellite Smart, $179.9`;Satellite Surge, $89.95.For literature, circle No. 103

MOSE MULTIROOM SYSTEMBose's Litestyle systems are

Known for the sleek, compactshape of their control centers,achieved by putting theamplifiers into the speakers.The new Lifestyle 20 maintainsthat design while incorporatinga six -disc CD changer along witha 30 -preset AM/FM tuner andfour inputs. The system candeliver separate signals to each

of two zones, with multiroomcontrol from a wireless remotethat uses radio, rather thaninfrared, transmission. The system's

Jewel Cube satellite speakers

measure only 4 x 2 x 3 inches;a hideaway Acoustimass bassmodule holds 200 watts' worthof amps for the Lifestyle 20.Price: approximately $2,500.For literature, circle No. 104


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Bacardi. rum. Made in Puerto Rico. woo. FME BAT DEV.CE. AND TPIE rim DEvicE AFICAEGVEPED. .PORrS Mora FL 47% kC 1Y VOL

Mr( NEWPSB Mini Speaker

Smallest in PSB's Stratus line, the Stratus Mini

measures only 161/2 x 9 x 12'/2 inches. Its

61/2 -inch woofer is mounted above the

3/4 -inch tweeter to maintain spectral

balance for both seated and standing listeners.

Bass response is rated as -3 dB at 45 Hz and

-10 dB at 34 Hz. Prices: dark or black oak,

$950 per pair; gloss black, $1,050 per pair;

MS -2 stand, $179 per pair.


Quinh,ssence Acousiks SpeakerDespite its name, the Stealth speaker from

Quintessence Acoustics stands 68 inches tall andweighs 300 pounds. With four 12 -inchwoofers, four 7 -inch Kevlar midrange drivers,

four 1 -inch titanium -dioxide tweeters, two1 -inch ceramic supertweeters, and 10.one 18 -inch subwoofer, the Stealthis rated to reproduce frequencies from18 Hz to 32 kHz, ±3 dB. Two activecrossovers are included. Power handis 400 watts, continuous (1,000 watts,peak). Prices: $35,000 to $40,000 perpair, depending on finish.For literature, circle No. 106

Platinum Audio, Ltd. Speaker

The Duo, from Platinum

Audio, Ltd., has dual 5 -inch

woofers plus a dome tweeter

with a damped magnet

system. All three drivers

have alloy diaphragms with

butyl rubber surrounds.

The crossover has staggered

frequency ranges for the two

woofers, with asymmetrical

slopes. The diecast aluminum

backplate includes a heat

sink for the crossover. Price:

$3,795 per pair.


Canon Speaker

Among its wide -dispersionloudspeakers, Canon deems theS-25 especially suited for stereosystems and, because of itsmagnetic shielding, for center -channel use in a home theatersystem. The two-way speakercombines a 51/4 -inch woofer witha 1/4 -inch tweeter. The diffusingreflector into which the tweeterfires is said to deliver±45° dispersion horizontally and+25°, -0° vertically. Nominalimpedance is 6 ohms, thoughCanon rates "effective"impedance at 8 ohms.Bandwidth is listed as 55 Hz to22 kHz and power handling as100 watts. Matching floor standsand wall -mount brackets areavailable. Price: $299 per pair.For literature, circle No. 108

POLK BOOKSHELF SPEAKERPolk's RT series of bookshelf

speakers all use a dual -port

Acoustic Resonance Control

system with staggered tuningto suppress internal cabinetresonances. The Dynamic

Balance drivers, designed to

reduce cone resonances and

breakup, are all magneticallyshielded. In the Model RT7,those drivers include a 71/2 -inch

woofer and a 1 -inch trilaminate

dome tweeter. Rated responseis 49 Hz to 25 kHz, and

recommended amplifier poweris 20 to 150 watts. Price:

$224.95 each.For literature, circle No. 109


- .

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AUDIO CLINICJOSEPH GIOVANELLI

Aircraft InterferenceQLiving near an airport, I can often hear

pilots' comments loud and clearthrough my stereo system. This unwanted in-

terference occurs only when I am listening toLPs or transferring them to tape. Why do Ihear this interference, and what can I doabout it?-Name withheld

AMost likely, the cable from yourturntable to your phono input is

acting as an antenna, and some semicon-ductor in your system's phono section isrectifying these AM signals, demodulatingthem into plain audio. (Cable shielding isseldom completely effective and is likely tobe even less effective at high radio fre-quencies, such as the 118 to 136 MHz usedby aircraft.)

The simplest cure is to place some ferritebeads on the cables. Some of these beadseven let you wind a turn or two of cablethrough them, which provides some induc-tance beyond that offered by the beadsthemselves. The combined series induc-tance may be sufficient to "choke" the in-terference-hopefully eliminating it com-pletely. You should place the beads as closeto the preamplifier as practical. (RadioShack lists ferrite beads in its catalog, under"Filters-EMI/RFI Choke Cores.")

You may be able to find interconnectingcables that are better shielded than thoseyou now use. However, cables with bettershielding may have considerably more ca-pacitance than your present cables. You mayneed to compensate for this if you have amoving -magnet cartridge. Your cartridgeand preamp owner's manuals may describethe best way to do it.

Are My CDs Defective?QWith LPs, you knew on the first play if

you had a defective album, but I neverreally know when I've bought defective CDs.

Some of them cannot be played even once,and others play perfectly once or twice, afterwhich I hear dropouts, skips, and so on. Notknowing whether discs are good or not means

I'm unable to return the defective ones; toomuch time goes by between the time I take

them home and the time the trouble starts.What should I do?-David A. Taylor, Brain-tree, Mass.

AFirst, try these discs on another ma-chine. If they play properly, your

problem is probably with your own ma-chine; perhaps its optics are dirty or dusty,or maybe its tracking has become marginal.If your CDs are the problem, have you been

taking proper care of them? Are you puttingthem back in their jewel boxes betweenplays? If not, they may be picking up dust orbecoming scratched. Are there fingerprintsor dirt on the discs?

If it's the player's fault, have it fixed. If it'syour fault, buy a CD cleaning device (getone that rubs across the disc's surfacerather than around it) and reform yourhabits.

Subwoofer Crossover TypesQJohn Sehring's recent article on sub -woofer design (July 1995) talks about

crossover filters to be used in tape loops. Are

these the same as filters that I've seen used be-

tween preamps and power amps? Is such afilter better than a typical crossover networkmounted in the cabinet?-Name withheld

AThe article described a low-pass filter,used to roll off upper frequencies be-

fore they reach the subwoofer. Such filtersare usually connected between a preampand subwoofer amp, so that only the signalto that amp is filtered. Mr. Sehring put hisfilter into a tape loop only because he usedan integrated amp, not a power amp, to drivehis subwoofer. You should definitely notput the filter in your main preamp's tapeloop, or you'll roll off the highs to your en-tire system.

If you're using only one subwoofer, you'llalso need a network to add the two chan-nels together to get a mono sum signal. Ifyou put this after the low-pass filter, you'llneed one such filter for each channel. If youput it before the filter, you'll have to isolateit from the preamp, or your entire system'sstereo separation will suffer. If your preamphas a center -channel output, you can usethat to feed your subwoofer filter.

A low-pass filter is only half a completecrossover. The other half is a high-pass fil-ter, which keeps low frequencies out of thesatellite speakers and allows them to pro-duce more volume with less distortion. Thehigh-pass filter would go between your pre -amp and the amp that feed your satellitespeakers.

The crossover filters built into sub -woofers should have the right frequenciesfor those speakers, but they will vary inquality. These crossovers will also vary intype: Subwoofers having only input termi-nals but no output terminals have only low-pass filters inside; subwoofers having out-put terminals usually incorporate high-passfilters, too.

Multiple Driver ImpedancesQHow can multidriver loudspeaker sys-

tems present impedances of about 4 to8 ohms to an amplifier when each driver'simpedance is about 4 to 8 ohms?-AlanFassinger, Rochester Hills, Mich.

AIf you connected an 8 -ohm woofer,midrange, and tweeter directly to a

pair of amplifier terminals, the impedancewould not be 8 ohms. It would be muchhigher than 8 ohms if you connected themin series and much lower than that if youconnected them in parallel. But drivers arenot connected that way. There is usually apassive crossover network, which ensuresthat the amplifier is mainly feeding to thewoofer in the bass range, to the tweeter inthe treble, and to the midrange in between.(I say "mainly," because the amplifier feedstwo drivers at a time in the region aroundeach crossover frequency; this is true eventhough there's theoretically only one fre-quency per crossover at which both driversare fed equal signal levels.)

In speakers that have active crossovers,each driver is fed from a separate amplifier,with the crossover determining which fre-quencies go to each amp. Since no amplifiersees more than one driver, combined im-pedance is, again, not a factor.

If you have a problem or question about audio,write to Mr. Joseph Giovanelli at AUDIO Maga-zine, 1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019, orvia E -Mail to [email protected]. All lettersare answered. In the event that your letter is cho-sen by Mr. Giovanelli to appear in Audioclinic,please indicate if your name or address shouldbe withheld. Please enclose a stamped, self-ad-dressed envelope.


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What's "0 dB"?QTest reports and spec sheets keep refer-

ring to "0 dB," but they don't all seem

to mean the same thing. What is it?-BenShepherd, Fanwood, N.J.

ADecibels (dB, for short) are not ab-solute units like volts and ohms. In-

stead, they represent a ratio between mea-surements. We can turn decibels intoabsolute units by appending a fixed refer-ence to the "dB." Sometimes, we make thatreference explicit, as in dB SPL (sound pres-sure level in dB relative to the threshold ofhuman hearing), dBW (dB relative to1 watt), etc.; sometimes, however, the refer-ence is only implicit.

In digital audio, "0 dB" usually refers to afull-scale digital signal, the loudest signalthat can be recorded digitally. (This is notdefined in terms of volts or watts but interms of the bits involved-a "0 -dB" sig-nal's bits are all ones instead of zeros.)Audio has lately been calling this level"0 dBFS," the "FS" standing for "full-scale."

In discussing analog tape decks, the 0 -dBreference point may be the level for a signalrecorded when the deck's meter reads "0"(a level that varies between models), but itmight also be either the recording level atwhich third -harmonic distortion reaches3% or a fixed signal level of 250 nWb/m(nanowebers per meter) on the tape. It's upto the author of the article to explain which"0" he's using.

In graphs of frequency response, howev-er, 0 dB is merely a convenient temporaryreference, usually the system's output at1 kHz. A reading of +2 dB at a given fre-quency tells us that the system's output is 2dB higher at that frequency than it is at 1

kHz. The reading does not tell us what thesystem's output is, as this will depend onthe input.

Diagnosing a Dead PhonoChannel

QI have almost no output from the left

channel of my moving -coil phono car-

tridge. My balance control is centered, and Ican find no problems with any of the connec-

tions. But I did notice that the tracking forcewas 1.8 grams instead of the factory -recom-mended 1.5 grams. Could this have causedpremature failure? If so, wouldn't both chan-nels have been affected?-Stephen Bruyere,

Ottawa, Ont., Canada

ANo, that slightly high tracking forcewould not have caused the premature

failure of your cartridge. When trackingforce is too great, stylus wear increases orthe stylus bends. Your 0.3 -gram error is in-significant.

Did you check the wiring within the tone -

arm? Breaks are likely at the terminalswhere the wire connects to the turntable'soutput leads. Check all connections be-tween the phono cables and the terminallugs that attach wires to the cartridge. Youcan test this wiring by reversing the twochannels' leads to the cartridge (be carefulnot to break those delicate wires). If thesame channel stays dead, your cartridge isokay; if it isn't, you'll have to send the car-tridge back to the manufacturer or im-porter for repair.

Audio AccountabilityQI spend a lot of money on equipment,and I believe much of it is thrown away

because manufacturers do not support theirproducts. For example, in the early '80s Ibought a cutting -edge surround processorthat cost $1,300; about a year after its intro-duction, another $250 bought a modificationfor use of a remote. (By the way, the company

never did offer the remote, just the modifica-

tion for one.) The processor proved difficult to

calibrate and also leaked spurious, tweeter -damaging signals. The maker never offeredany adjustment or refund; it just took themoney and ran. I find that other companiesalso lack accountability. It's not the principle;

it's the money!-Herb Leibson, New York,N.Y.

ADid the company "take the moneyand run," or did it really take the

money and fold? I note that the maker ofyour processor is no longer listed in Audio's

Annual Equipment Directory (October1995 issue).

Many audio companies start in some-one's kitchen or garage, led by people whohave a dream, good ears, and technicalknowledge but not much capital (and, toooften, not much business knowledge). Mostof these companies want to be accountable,but some never get the chance. They may beswept away by normal business storms orlose their shirts attempting to fix problemsthey were unaware of until defective prod-ucts were returned. It might be that in deal-ing with the adjustment problems you

mention, the company used up the moneyit intended to spend on producing a remotecontrol. (Obviously, it would have been bet-ter if they'd withheld the "remote -ready"modification until they really had remotesto sell.)

I also know of firms whose productswere selling very well but whose ownerssquandered their capital while trying toproduce the perfect "whatsit." During themore than 40 years that I have followed theaudio field, many companies have comeand gone, and very few of the early, pio-neering firms remain with us today.

Despite the fact that most audio manu-facturers are ethical, there are inevitablysome cons around. So if you feel you're duemoney back and can't get it, and you sus-pect dishonesty, you should take some ac-tion-whether the firm is large or small. Ifyou believe you have a valid case, take it toyour state's attorney general, department ofconsumer protection, or perhaps even to afederal agency. Your local Better BusinessBureau can often help, as can your post-master if the company sells by mail.

Audio LeakageQ1 have recently noticed faint audioleakage in the right channel of my pre-

amplifier. When listening to the output of mytape deck through the preamp's tape monitor,

I can hear the currently selected line source in

the right channel. I can also hear it with thetape monitor out and with the volume all theway down. This happens with any source I se-

lect and with any setting of the volume andbass controls. Boosting the treble makes theleakage louder. However, when the tone con-trols are bypassed, the leakage disappears.What might be causing this?-StephenSavulak, Marlton, N.J.

AAll signs point to a deteriorating de -coupling capacitor in your preamp's

power -supply system. Since the leakage in-creases with treble boost and disappearswhen the tone -control circuits are by-passed, the decoupling capacitor associatedwith the tone -control circuit is the one toreplace. (There are probably separate. de -coupling capacitors for the left and rightchannels.) The problem capacitor will beeasier to find if you have a service manualfor your preamp. Otherwise, you may haveto tediously trace circuit -board foils or re-place a lot of your capacitors. A


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KEN KESSLER

DUMB AND DUMBERTraveling around the world re-veals something dark anddirty about the audio busi-ness: You learn that certaincountries have becomedumping grounds for the

home -entertainment industry andthat the various markets really aretreated differently. (And not just be-cause one country's populace hasgreater disposable income than an -other's.) So while we'd all like tothink that the world is shrinking andthat a can of Coca-Cola in Aix-en-Provence will taste exactly like oneyou'd slurp in Peoria, such consis-tency isn't always a given. Yes, you'dprobably have to be a cola maven totell Cokes bottled in different coun-tries apart, but that's an exception.The hi-fi scene is quite differentfrom the soft-drink trade.

Before you gasp at the thoughtthat a particular amplifier soundsdifferent in the Alps than it does inthe Appalachians, stop worrying:I'm not talking about sonic vari-ations but actual model avail-ability. It manifests itself indozens of ways, not justthrough counterfeiting. (Yes,there are people in this worldstupid enough to think thatthey can get real B & W, Bose, or

JBL speakers for $29 per pair.)China, as I learned about two

years ago, is the place to go if youhave the hots for something obso-lete. I found stores full of the unsolddetritus of the Hong Kong hi-fi wars,ancient models that predated theneed for an input marked "CD."Sadly, these antiques weren't collec-tors items, so please don't think for amoment that mainland China is arepository for unused Marantz Mod-el 7s or McIntosh 275s. What I saw

were late '70s Infinity speakers (mostwith dead EMITs) and Meridianamps from the "chocolate bar" era,when all Meridian products lookedlike Hershey bars. In one locale, I saw

several Musical Fidelity tuners, apair of Tangent

loudspeakers,and an SAE

preampcirca1974.

This was nomuseum,

however, nor was it a shop declaringitself to be a purveyor of pre -ownedgoods. This stuff was new, but onlyin the sense that it had never beensold before. Selling it in China wassimply a way for distributors in otherAsian territories to clear their ware-houses by exploiting an unsuspect-ing public.

Japan, too, has weird little foibles,a result of that country's obsession

with saving face. Rather than riskembarrassment by exporting an ut-ter turkey to the United States or Eu-rope, Japanese manufacturers tendto try out their most bizarre ideas onthe locals, knowing that word ofsuch strange wares is unlikely toreach Western ears.

It is therefore with deep regret thatI tell you I didn't purchase (or evenphotograph) the Panasonic combi-nation cassette/radio/electric razor Isaw in an Akihabara departmentstore. However, I remain astonishedthat one of the largest companies in

the world failed to realize (1) that'' , an electric shaver produces

an unpleasant buzzingsound that will inter-fere with the enjoy-ment of music generat-

ed by the same deviceand (2) that the actualvibration from an elec-tric shaver will have some

effect on a tape playerhoused in the same chassis.

Like, uh, wow and flutter,maybe? Even though the de-vice was a marvel of minia-turization, no bigger than anormal shaver or personal

tape player, its Jim Carrey-likedumb-and-dumberness defies allrational marketing practice.

And yet it persists. In the firstmonths of 1996, we find thatthe majors still haven't learnedtheir lessons or learned to cut

their losses. For what do we seein the United Kingdom? Yes, dearreaders on the saner side of the

pond: Sony is still beating theMiniDisc drum, while Philips refusesto bury Digital Compact Cassette.The latter is all the more surprisingbecause it was reported more than ayear ago in a major British newspa-per that the head of Philips, Jan Tim-mer, had deemed DCC, well, dead.But the company just won't give up,no doubt because it must smart towrite off millions of wasted guilders.

So when the promises of techno-logical brilliance fail to sell a newconcept, what do you do? You cut the


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It may be small. But the Bose' Acoustic Wave" music system is definitely anoverachiever. The unit holds a compact disc player (or cassette), AM/FMradio, and Bose's patented acoustic waveguide speaker technology. And pro-duces a rich, natural sound quality comparable to audio systems costing thou-sands of dollars. We know that's hard to believe. So we're ready to prove it.Call or write now for our complimentary guide to this award -winning system.Because, like the system itself, it is only available _ErArm,,direct from Bose. Better sound through research k

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price, right? Given that the shops aren't ex-actly filled with prerecorded DCC tapes(despite a catalog of around 1,000 titles),the format's only appealing aspect is that ofa digital recorder on the cheap. And that hasbeen exploited about as far as it can go: Youcan now buy a brand -spanking -new DCCdeck-not just some piece of portable,pocket -sized junk-for £250 in the U.K.That's $375 for a real digital tape recorder.

But who wants it? Philips-the companythat co -invented CD, the first usable andcommercially viable optical playback sys-tem-continues to contradict itself by pro-moting a system launched in the 1990s thatsuffers from physical contact between ma-chine and software. The continued bleatingabout DCC's backward compatibility withexisting analog cassettes wasn't the sellingpoint the Dutch giant had hoped it wouldbe, so physical -contact heads are quite sim-ply a compromise, not a gift.

PHILIPS REFUSES

TO BURY DCC

EVEN AFTER ITS BOSS

HAS DEEMED

THE FORMAT DEAD.

On paper, though, that DCC deck lookslike it offers exceptional value for money,especially if you're one of those sad andsorry schmucks who thinks that anythingbearing the tag "digital" is automaticallywonderful. The analog cassette playback as-pects of a DCC deck (full-sized or portable)merely offer convenience. With decent -quality analog tape decks available in theU.K. for as little as the equivalent of $180(and acceptable portable players for evenless), the analog section of a DCC unit ishardly a point of great value. But for anyonewho craves a digital recording system, DCCalmost looks good, given the high prices forR-DAT machines.

Since the record industry all but killed offDAT, forcing it into the professional sector(where it serves perfectly in a number ofroles), DAT doesn't really succeed as a con-sumer rival to DCC. The tapes cost more,the hardware costs more, and there simplyare no prerecorded DAT cassettes to speakof in European shops. Maybe DCC can ex-


ploit this, but I rather doubt it. Some suck-ers, like yours truly, live in hope that CD -R

(recordable CD) might one day he afford-able. (And Pioneer is taking the lead there.)

Others realize that, for portable and car use

anyway, analog cassettes are good enough

and that CD and LP remain the primarysources for audiophiles.

So that leaves digital recording fetishists

with but one alternative, that other virtual-ly stillborn system (at least in Europe) cur-

rently undergoing another bout of feverishpromotion in the U.K. Hey, I wanted Mini -

Disc to survive because it had the makings

of being a dream all -in -one music carrier.

It's optical, so no wear and tear. The disccomes in a protective case. It's small with-out being impossible to handle (like the mi-

crocassettes in dictation machines). And itrecords. The success of MD would havemeant one size fits all: home hi-fi, carstereo, and portable. Playback and record.

Sturm and Drang. Love and marriage. Butthere was one problem: It sounded prettyaverage, certainly not as good as CD.

But, as with DCC, each generation ofMI) has brought improvement, and Sonyhas not let early disappointments in the ex-

port market halt the format's development.

(I keep hearing that MiniDisc has a greatfuture as a computer storage medium, but

the technology for bulk data storage is un-

dergoing a tumultuous revolution becauseof high -density read/write CDs, new tapeformats, etc. So I wouldn't bank on the per-

sonal computer being MD's savior.) Thelatest products are alleged to have improved

over the second -generation models asmuch as the second generation improvedover the first.

You have to hand it to Sony. It has pro-

moted MD not just through the hi-fi pressbut also in expensive, general -interest me-

dia. I've seen the ads in film magazines and

glossy lifestyle magazines. I even saw one in

Car, the U.K.'s leading automotive title.And it wasn't just any old ad but an eight -

page insert on the kind of paper stock that

you'd expect to see used for a Bentleybrochure. The ad is lavish, cool, and worthy

of the high technology it's trying to sell.The front page is black, with a half -dollar -sized opening through which you read theword "holes." Open to the first spread, and

there's a sepia -toned shot of an absolutely

wrecked music cassette. Agair, an opening

on the right-hand side reveals the word"holes," placed in the middle of the tape'sright-hand hub. Then comes the punchline: "There are no holes in our system."Which, of course, is bull, because an MD's

shell, just like a cassette's, does have a hole

in it (so the drive hub can connect to thedisc to make it spin). But that's not thepoint. Indeed, I'm ashamed that I let suchpedantry undermine the work of a brilliant

copywriter. Not.

Sony has belabored the "holes" thing so

thoroughly that you can easily find yourself

forgetting it's a premise based on a big, fat

misconception on the part of the ad writer.You get a full page about the product's ben-

efits, followed by a lavish spread showingthe various offerings: car, portable, homehi -f, plus midi -system. It's titled "The Fu-

ture of Tape," the theme recurringthroughout this campaign, that MD is thecassette of tomorrow.

And that sets up the other punch line,which the ad writer created without evenrealizing it. The very last item shown on the

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4A4AZ HailLINTERCONNECTS AND SPEAKER CABLES

Multichannel)uric 1 \ceerchng

By DANIEL SWEENEY

With fully discrete, dig-ital multichannel soundnow promising (eventu-ally) to supplant ma-trixed Dolby Surroundin home theater, specu-

lation has begun to grow that the time isripe for a serious reemergence of multi-channel music recording. For movie andTV sound, the standard format employs"5.1" independent channels: three full -

range front channels (left, center, andright), two full -range surround channels(left and right), and a low -frequency effects

(LFE) channel that cuts off above 125 Hz.In this country, implementation will be pri-marily, if perhaps not exclusively, by meansof Dolby AC -3 coding, which has beenadopted for laserdisc, the U.S. HDTV sys-tem, and DVD (digital videodisc) in NTSCTV markets and possibly in PAL markets aswell-we should know the answer to thatone shortly after this article goes to press.

Multichannel music recording could fol-low exactly the same path, simply exploit-ing equipment already in place for hometheater, or it could diverge in one or morerespects. The high -density discs developedfor DVD have so much capacity that datareduction (as in AC -3) would be unneces-sary for audio -only applications, yet therewould still be room for more channels andlonger word lengths (20 bits, for example,rather than the CD -standard 16), if desired,

without reducing playing time from that onconventional two -channel CDs.

Beyond the format question, though notentirely independent of it, is the more fun-damental question of whether the music in-dustry is prepared to embrace multichannelrecording again. The quadraphonic debacle

ft viewm the

console

of the '70s is still a haunting memory formany people in the music business, andthere are so many different ways of imple-menting multichannel recording and play-back that a format war like the one thathelped do in quad could easily occur again.Even if that doesn't happen, there's still thequestion of music -industry acceptance, giv-en the generally short shrift accorded theDolby Surround matrix by recording engi-neers and artists. There is a buzz in the air,however, and if nothing else the notion ofmultichannel music recording will get asecond hearing in the audio community.

In the midst of this discussion of multi-channel music software, two related ques-tions will be paramount: What use will bemade of all these channels by recording en-gineers (and to what end), and how mustthe listener configure his playback system torecover the new information most com-pletely? I'll be focusing mainly on the firstquestion here.

The Road Behind l'sThe why and how ofmultichannel sound willultimately be answeredby the recording engi-neers, not by academi-cians, and it was to the

engineers that I turned for answers aboutwhat sorts of listening experiences wemight expect from multichannel. In anyevent, no one's doing much theorizing inthe scientific publications anymore. Theseminal conceptual work was done in the'60s and '70s, and purely practical consider-ations dominate today's discussions.

But to understand current thinking, it'shelpful to know the foundations on whichit is based. Multichannel recording, as it was

first presented to the public, was an accom-paniment to wide-screen motion pictureprocesses of the 1950s. Millions of Ameri-cans thrilled to the high-fidelity multichan-nel soundtracks of such films as The Soundof Music, Oklahoma, Ben Hur, Lawrence of


u.,

0z<U

0z0i-z<

z0

ull

classic quadraphonicspeaker array, with tour identicalspeakers deployed syniniet rival habout the listening position ina rectangular preferably square.array. Ideally, die hiur speakerswould be equidistant from thelistener. As in modern surroundsound systems. the quad speakerlayout presemed compatibilit% withconventional stereo playback.

Arabia, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, but theinfluence of this kind of recording on themusic industry seems to have been mini-mal. Most of the pioneering quad mixers ofthe early '70s had no experience in filmrecording. Instead, they tended to think ofmultichannel as a fairly straightforward ex-tension of stereo music recording, thoughtheoreticians were even then propoundingmodels that were fundamentally subversiveto the familiar two -channel paradigm.

It's also interesting that at the time thequad formats were being launched, stereorecording techniques themselves were be-ginning to splinter. Relatively simple mik-ing arrangements had characterized alltypes of recording at the dawn of stereo, butduring the late '60s the advent of eight- andsixteen -track tape recorders and Dolbynoise reduction made possible the "assem-bled" stereo that has characterized popularmusic recording ever since. Minimalisttechniques became almost exclusively theprovince of purist classical and, to a lesserextent, jazz recording, where the illusion ofa real performance was sought. Thus thequad recordist, in seeking to build uponstereo, could choose either to extend thenaturalistic soundstage he was already cre-

ating with his basic stereo microphone set-up or to modify his pop studio mixdown

techniques to produce four finalchannels rather than two. In ei-ther case he was simply produc-ing, at least in his own mind,stereo squared.

In the early days, the minimal-ists seemed to have a clearer idea

where they were going in aug-menting stereo. Their goals werefairly straightforward, their toolswere relatively simple, and the

theoretical basis behind their work wasmore solid, if for no other reason than thatmost of the deep thinkers who chose towrite about quad espoused the ideal ofreplicating a performance event rather thanproducing interesting sound effects.

There were a few early theorists interest-ed in naturalistic recording, such asE. Roerback Madsen in Denmark, who ex-perimented with miking arrangements thatowed little to accepted stereo recordingpractice. However, the usual minimalisttechnique of the early '70s was to use somekind of basic stereo microphone techniqueup front, such as angled cardioids or spacedomnis, and then to employ another pair ofmikes-often omnis-well back and spacedwide apart. Some theoretically inclinedrecordists, such as John Eargle, speculatedthat a fairly dry up -front presentationshould be sought from the frontpair, with the hall sound con-signed mainly to the back chan-nels, but this notion was by nomeans universally held.

Most minimalists did choose,however, to assign nondirection-al diffuse sounds to the backchannels and to that end sought to capturean ambient sound field consisting of ran-dom -phase information, using a widelyseparated pair of microphones at the rear ofthe hall to sample the reverberant field.Both Eargle and David Haller suggestedthat cardioids rather than omnis be used inback and that the microphones be turnedtoward the orchestra if the hall seemed ex-cessively live. Eargle, seeming to anticipateTom Holman's notion of surround -channeldecorrelation, felt that the back pickupsshould be out of phase to prevent the for-mation of a rear phantom image.

An interesting variant, described in theliterature but apparently never used com-mercially, was "triphonic" recording, with a


pair of angled omnis up front and close to-gether and a pair of widely spaced figure -

eights in back (with nulls facing the orches-tra). Each rear pickup represented a puredifference signal, L -R or R - L, while thefront microphones represented a kind ofhomogenized stereo, which registeredarrival -time differences but not amplitudedifferences.

Still other minimalists sought to achievea podium perspective by using directionalpickups in all four positions and attemptingto place direct sounds beside and behindthe listener. Many of the discrete four -chan-nel reel-to-reel tape recordings featured thiskind of mid -orchestra perspective.

Finally, there was UMX, later known asAmbisonics. Basically a variant of MS(mid -side) intensity -stereo recording tech-nique, it used a three- or four -channel ma-trix with two or three bidirectional micro-phones feeding as many tracks and oneomnidirectional microphone assigned to itsown track. All microphones were disposed

Symmetrywas a jiven

in quad;in today'ssurroundsystems,

it isn't.about a single point. This technique stoodsomewhat apart from what was being soldas quad and achieved negligible success atthe time. Most of the interest in Ambisonicscame during the late '70s, when the domi-nant quadraphonic systems (SQ, QS, andCD -4) were expiring.

Interestingly, at the same time that theuncharacteristically systematic Ambisonicsapproach was attracting attention, manywriters on the subject of quadraphonic

recording began to question the ultimateresolving power of a four -channel mediumand to stress its limitations in terms of fullyre-creating the spatial cues present at a liveevent. As early as 1970, Peter Scheiber, thefather of matrix multichannel recording,had expressed the opinion that four chan-nels did not necessarily represent the opti-mum number, but only toward the end ofthe decade did the experimental evidencebegin to accumulate suggesting that agreater number of channels might be need-ed for adequate re-creation of an acousticalspace.

But four playback channels remained thenorm even for Ambisonics, though it per-mitted additional channels to be generatedfrom the matrix. Furthermore, the model offour -channel playback adopted by the con-sumer audio industry, with a square ofspeakers arranged about a central listeningposition (see Fig. 1), conditioned therecording practice of the period. It predis-posed recording engineers to favor arrange-ments in which essentially two sets of stereopickups were deployed-one fore and an-other aft-despite the lack of any firm the-oretical basis for the practice.

In fact, two of the earliest theorists ofmultichannel playback, Hafler and Madsen,both suggested different models. Madsenadvocated a system in which sum and dif-ference components defined a triangularspeaker configuration, with common infor-mation (L + R) being reproduced by a cen-ter channel and antiphase difference signals(L -R and R - L) each being assigned toside -mounted speakers along the left andright walls (Fig. 2A). Hafler also favored acenter -front L + R speaker, with side speak-

ers to the left and right of the listening posi-tion. But whereas Madsen would send dif-ference signals to the sides, Hafler wouldsend pure left and right, with an L -R dif-ference signal assigned to a fourth speakerplaced directly behind the listener (Fig. 2B).That diamond arrangement later found fa-vor with many in the Ambisonics camp, butthe demands for full compatibility withconventional two -channel stereo were toostrong, and center channels were seldomseen in dealer showrooms. Years later, whenthe center channel reappeared in A/V sys-tems, it was kept in line with the left andright speakers, reflecting the speaker layoutused in movie theaters.

Despite the chaos and controversy of thequad years and the ambivalence of therecord labels toward the whole notion ofmultichannel sound, a family of mikingtechniques for quad did begin to develop.But quad miking practice never becameanywhere nearly as systematic as its two -channel counterpart, and as with so manyother failings of the great quadraphonic ex-periment, the reasons behind the arresteddevelopment of basic recording procedureswere largely commercial. According to most

of the quad recordists I interviewed-in-cluding Dan Graveraux and John McClureof CBS Records, Larry Boden of RCA Vic-tor, and John Eargle-the great bulk of theclassical releases in quad were not specifi-cally recorded for quad playback at all, andquad miking never even entered into thepicture. Recording for good stereo playback

LR))

L -R

remained the overriding con-cern of the record labels, andstereo material was simplyremixed for quad-provided, ofcourse, that the original mastertapes were multitrack.

In popular recording quadwas, not surprisingly, viewedrather differently. Many saw it asharmonizing rather well withthe prevailing musical aesthetic,which favored layered, proc-essed, effects -laden productionsin which feedback, fuzz boxes,

flanging, and wah-wah pedals all playedtheir part in altering the contemporaryconsciousness. Nobody I know of in popu-lar music ever developed any specific mik-ing technique for quad; instead, recordingengineers attempted to implement quad atthe mixing level by means of amplitudepanning along each of the four sides (a du-bious practice, as we shall see). Those inpopular music who embraced quad, andthere were many, were often eager to exper-iment with very aggressive quad mixes withequal output levels at each speaker location,but both the nature of the formats and theexigencies of the marketplace tended to di-lute the effects of such experiments. Onlyone true discrete format, Victor's CD -4,ever won any degree of acceptance, andmost of the material released came out in-stead in SQ or QS matrix format.

Fig. 2 Madsen and I lallerprnposed alternatives tocon% entional stereo that placed

greater emphasis on reproductionof ambience. 110111 used a single

speaker centered in front Itirreproduction ofI. It signal. \ladsen required4

only t%%o additional speakers. placed

to the sides of the listeningposition. which reproduceddirliTence signals in opposite phaseL II and II L. I laller's diamondarray on the other hand, sent'owe left- and right -channel signalsto side speakers and a differencesignal 'I. II; to a speaker directlyto the rear of

1.R Ell(((

-It

11.1.11.1

The dominance of the matrix formatshad a profound impact on quad recordingand mixing practice, because these formatsdid not provide the kind of channel separa-tion all around that would enable pinpointlocalization in two dimensions. The SQmatrix maintained decent separation onlyacross the front, so pans in depth or acrossthe back were badly muddled (they tendedto be unstable even with fully discrete sys-tems), while the QS matrix had weak sepa-ration all around, denying one even a solidfrontal soundstage. Without steering -logicdecoders to enhance separation, which ap-peared only in the late '70s when quad wasdying, you just couldn't get much in theway of precise directional effects withmatrix encoding. You could spread thesound out, but you couldn't place sound

sources precisely away from the front of theroom.

And, in any event, the same imperativeobtained in pop as in classical recording:Optimize for stereo, and make damned surethe mix is completely mono compatible.Recording specifically for quad consider-ably complicated matters, so it was almostnever done.

The Road AheadWhat about today?How do recording engi-neers, drawing on 20years of additional expe-rience, propose to rein-vent multichannel?

From my interviews, I'd have to say thatmost working engineers don't yet have clear

notions as to how to record formultichannel, although it is

generally expected that what-ever is done will be based onthe 5.1 -channel layout estab-lished for soundtrack record-ing. Only a handful of engi-neers appear to have reallythought deeply on such mat-ters, and predictably they areamong those who are clamor-ing for a reintroduction ofmultichannel music software.Interestingly, most began their

IP

11

(41DU:1E10D (( (EIDDLIEDDCDEDDDDDCILICIDEDD ( (

s 1 Is)

Fig. I l'oday's surround soundlaymil devotes three speakers (left.center. and right to reproduction ofthe front stereo image. In theatersystems A . surround infiwniationis delivered by multiple speakersarrayed along the sides and hack ofthe auditorium to pros ide adequatecoverage. In phiyhack of matrixfour -channel Dolby Surround. allsurround speakers receive the samesignal: fiir the new 5.i -channeldigital s stems. the surround arra% issplit left and right:1'1w home theaterlayout II is essentialk the same.except that the smaller roomdimensions eliminate the needfor multiple surround speakers oneach side of the room.

careers during or before the quad era andworked extensively with four -channel mixes.

Those who expressed fully developedphilosophies of recording for multichannelplayback were John Eargle, renowned in-dustry consultant, engineer on hundreds ofmajor -label classical recordings, and cur-rently chief recording engineer for Delos;Tom Jung, chief recording engineer fordmp records; Brad Miller, president of Mo-bile Fidelity International (not the samecompany as the more familiar Mobile Fi-delity Sound Lab); and Tom Holman, guid-ing light of Lucasfilm's THX program andan engineer with vast experience in bothconsumer and professional audio. Thoughnot so well known as a recording engineerand with no history of involvement in mul-

tichannel music recording, Holman isknown for his championing of multichan-nel music programming and has an excep-tional grasp of the scientific literature onsound localization relating to multispeakerplayback. He and Eargle are, in fact,cochairing an Audio Engineering Societyworking group on optimum formats formultichannel music recording. His insightson 5.1 -channel recording were most valu-able. John McClure and Larry Boden proved

extraordinarily helpful, though both de-clined to discuss the theoretical aspects ofmultichannel recording at great length.

The question I asked everyone is perhapsthe most obvious: What use do we make ofthe three channels beyond the stereo pair,and how will such determinations be re-flected in recording practice?

"The most significant thing is having ahard center instead of a phantom centerchannel," asserted John Eargle.

Tom Holman concurred. "The presenceof a center stabilizes the image, though notcompletely. Five channels across the frontwould be even better-that's the key num-ber beyond which you don't get any im-provement."

Other interviewees familiar with experi-mental literature on the subject agreed. Inspite of the notion of envelopment implicitin multichannel surround sound, thefrontal presentation was deemed to beparamount and the presence of a centerchannel of crucial importance.

Nevertheless, one interviewee with con-siderable experience in recording for multi-channel playback strongly disputed the im-


portance of the center channel. Brad Millerof Mobile Fidelity International had this tosay on the matter: "I feel the quad arrange-ment of four matched loudspeakers in asquare is correct and is sufficient to re-cre-ate the original sound field if the rightrecording technique has been used. Thefifth [center] channel is valid for film andmaybe for some types of music, but I don'tthink it's generally required for music. I liketo maintain symmetry."

Miller's views touch upon a central issuein recording for multichannel playback, onethat was rarely discussed back in the '70sbecause of the overwhelming prevalence ofthe quad model of four identical loud-speakers equidistant from a central listen-ing position: What is the place of symmetryin a playback system limited to four or fiveprincipal channels? In quad, symmetry wasa given, but in today's four- and five -chan-nel A/V surround sound systems it is not.Though bilaterally symmetrical, they arenot at all symmetrical in the di-mension of depth. Just as quadwas the stepchild of two -chan-nel stereo, so A/V surround isthe stepchild of motion picturesurround, and it follows themovie theater model of threechannels of information reproduced in thefront of the room and one or two channelstoward the back. This front -to -back asym-metry is partly a reflection of the inherentfrontal bias of a film or video presentation,but it also has to do with what seems to bean asymmetry in our own mechanisms ofsound localization.

According to Eargle, who has writtenfairly extensively on the matter in his classic

text Sound Recording, and Holman, who ad-dressed the subject recently in this maga-zine ("Surround Speakers: Confusion, Dif-fusion, and Resolution," July 1995),phantom images produced by amplitude orphase panning are most stable whenformed in front of the listener, less stableand precise behind the listener, and leaststable when panned along the sides of thelistening position between front and backspeakers. If so, that would support not onlythe concept of a playback system with rela-tively nondirectional speakers aft, but also arecording technique that would not at-tempt precise localization in all directions(at least, not without more channels).

Eargle's views on the matter have under-gone some recent modification, however. "Inow believe," he said, "that it is possible toproduce stable side phantoms, but not witha normal quad panpot where you're simplygoing between a pair of speakers, front toback. You have to redefine the panningfunction by introducing signals in the otherspeakers as well, but in certain specificphase relationships. But even then thephantom would obtain only for a single

Many peoplesee 5.1

as the keyto a revival

of interestin music

playback.

listening position. What you really need aremore channels-six will do nicely. Alterna-tively, you could try a higher -order matrix,perhaps a four into six. You might not evenneed logic enhancement there; the basicseparation might be sufficient. When youget the angle between speakers down to 60°or less, you begin to get a stable sound im-age all around."

Eargle, feeling the topic was important,expanded on it without much promptingon my part. "In classical music the way isclear. For big works you want an offstage ef-fect, direct ambience. You don't want to putsound sources in the back anyway. This isfine for 5% of the music, but what are thepop/rock guys gonna do with the format?They don't have that much ambience torecord. I think they will put primary infor-mation into the rear channels, but of a veryspecial sort. I also think they'll use the rear

channels to try to widen the soundstage infront. One thing's for certain: We havemore to work with than quad did, and wecan overcome many of the problems ofquad, because every time you have a loud-speaker you have a real source, and we have

more speakers now."Against Eargle's cautious position re-

garding assignment of sources to the rearchannels, which is ultimately based on psy-choacoustical studies, are the views of BradMiller and of the Ambisonics camp. Bothinsist that with appropriate single -pointmiking techniques, one can achieve accu-rate sound -field reproduction with justfour channels. Again, Miller is unequivocal."If you sample the sound field with a point -source array and play back the recordingover four matched loudspeakers, you willbe able to reproduce the sound field. I'veclearly demonstrated this numerous times.Basically, I agree with the Ambisonics posi-

tion, except that I don't think you need toencode phase difference and I don't likethat Calrad microphone they used."

John McClure, who headed CBSRecords' classical division in the '70s,voiced an objection of a different sort to theidea of a focused sound field in front andjust ambience in back. "We did a number ofrecordings with orchestra in front, reverb inback, and they could sound very natural.When it is right, you're hardly aware of therear channels at all. The problem is thatthose kinds of recordings lack impact. Theydon't exploit the possibilities of the medi-um. Multichannel should provide a wholefresh medium for composers. In the past,everyone has been proscenium oriented.Even in the '70s some people appreciatedthat it [multichannel] could take seriousmusic in a new direction. One night I hadPinky Zukerman, Dan Barenboim, and [thelate I Jackie Du Pre over to my place, and Ihad them listen to some of my discretemasters. They were so excited that they gotup and did a ballet in my living room."

Tom Jung of dmp, who has made somesurround recordings, takes a pragmatic ap-proach to the appropriate number of chan-nels and the use that should be made of therear speakers. "I think five channels worksout pretty well. Personally, I put more am-bient information in the back. I find it dis-tracting to assign things to the rear chan-nels. At the same time, I will pan from front

a.

to back. I appreciate the academic argu-ments against panning along the sides, but Ithink they're based on the assumption ofthe head in a vise. I also think there are pos-sibilities for entirely new types of music ifyou use the rear channels to place soundsources-things like antiphonal choirs.Why limit yourself to just ambience? Wecan create ambience through processingand production. We don't have to rely onthe recording technique; we can make thedecision in software.

"I like to try different things. For in-stance, I've played around with one channelin back and two along the sides, and thatcan create a good compromise. I do thinkthat more than two channels in back isoverkill, though."

Jung is also pleased with the usual dispo-sition of the front channels in a 5.1 -channellayout. "I like the three channels across thefront. I like the standup bass in the centerchannel. In my big -band project, I put therhythm section up front, in the center, and Ihad the brass farther back, with a mike oneach side in a U shape. I do all kinds of dif-ferent stuff, though I consider myself aminimalist. On the Bob Mintzer project, Iput a Blumlein pair in the center and as-signed a separate mike to the rhythm sec-tion. I've also used the Calrad Soundfieldmike for multichannel, but at the same timeI'll use other mikes to highlight what needshighlighting."

Like Miller, Jung also expressed approvalof the Ambisonics philosophy. "Ambisonicsis very valid. I may make Ambisonics ver-sions of some of my future releases."

Holman, who has advocated the use of5.1 -channel recording for music but withthe rear channels confined to reproducingambience, did allow that more channelswould be desirable in back as well as infront. "There is a noticeable improvementgoing from two to four channels for thesurrounds. I also think that you would wantto reproduce the dimension of height.There's a high reflection off the prosceniumarch that is clearly audible." But regardingthe notion that primary sources might rou-tinely be assigned to rear channels, Holmanretains his reservations. "I think there'ssome legitimacy to having an experimentalphase to multichannel recording, but thepoint is we've been through it already in the'70s. We know what works and what does

not work, and we shouldn't be making thesame mistakes again."

Re M ultiebannelc.seorcI i lig Session

When it came to actualmicrophone techniques,my interviewees weretypically less forthcom-ing than in articulating avision of how multichan-

nel might be used, but Eargle and Holman,particularly, had interesting observationson some of the details of recording practicein the multichannel environment. Earglethinks that "a new line of second -ordermikes will have to be developed, somethingdedicated to multichannel and unlike any-thing available now. We need tighter pat-terns-a regular cardioid has too muchspill." Eargle added, "I don't think the Am-bisonics arrangement of four supercar-dioids is the answer. It's fraught with a lotof difficulties. There's too large a dimensionfrom front to back, and you can't take pat-tern control up all the way."

Holman proposes a different technique."I think that intensity stereo and single-

point Blumlein are hopeless for 5.1 -chan-nel. We should be looking at spaced omnis,something like the London tree using large -

diaphragm omnis that are deliberately di-rectional at higher frequencies. I don't real-ly disagree with John Eatgle's ideas aboutusing more directional microphones, andI'd say the corollary there is using more di-rectional loudspeakers, which is what I'vebeen advocating all along in the THX pro-gram."

But McClure, who certainly speaks fromexperience, argued against the whole no-tion of developing distinctive microphonetechniques for multichannel. "I never sawthe need for it. Most of the material weworked with was multitrack, and if you'vegot 24 tracks you can do it all in post."

I)theFutureOn.or

On the eve of the secondcoming of multichannelmusic recording, consid-erable uncertainties re-main-even among thestrongest and the most

thoughtful advocates of a multichannel re-vival. Among recording engineers and pro-

ducers with a more peripheral involvement,

and I interviewed a couple of dozen music-

industry professionals and hardware manu-facturers, the lack of clear notions as to how

recordings should be presented in 5.1 -chan-nel format is much more apparent. "Record-

ing engineers will fly guitars over the listen-er's head, and that'll be enough to sell theconcept," one pundit ventured. "It doesn'tmatter what they do, because 5.1 will sell it-self," declared another. Time will tell.

By now you may be asking yourself whyso few celebrated recording engineers orrecord producers have been quoted here.Where are the Bruce Swediens, the RudyVan Gelders, the Tony Faulkners, the Marc

Auborts? Larry Boden supplied a ready an-swer to that question. "Recording engineers

are staying away from it, because record la-bels are not convinced that there is any ad-vantage to promoting 5.1. How do theystand to benefit from it-they're not sellingaudio equipment, they're selling software.Can they charge more for it, like they didfor CD? I don't know anyone in main-stream pop who is recording for 5.1. All theactivity is in little audiophile labels. What5.1 needs to succeed is a champion who is amajor star and who is willing to throw allhis prestige behind it. I don't see anyoneyet." Boden added, "In this business, re-member, all hardware developments pro-ceed from software developments."

Holman, on the other hand, stressed thehardware side. "Multichannel movie soundsucceeds because everything is standard-ized-the levels, the playback systems,everything. The music business doesn'thave that discipline. Instead, you're going tohave all kinds of recording techniques andall kinds of speakers in all kinds of arrange-ments. Multichannel music recordingscould remain a specialty format for thatreason."

Within the hardware sector itself, espe-cially the high end of it, such cautionarynotes are seldom sounded, however. Manymanufacturers see 5.1 as the key to vastlyincreased sales and a revival of interest inmusic playback as opposed to home theater.And perhaps it will be, but in the midst ofaccolades, it might be well to continue toask what manner of experience multichan-nel is supposed to deliver. Unless clear an-swers can be communicated from the salesfloor, history could repeat itself. A


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PHOTOGRAPH: STEPHEN HARVEY, 01995

THE AUDIO INTERVIEWr

BY DANIEL LEVITIN

M&X'SKEN R REISEL

KEN KREISEL S WORKSHOP

RESEMBLES A COFFEEIMPORTER S WAREHOUSE

WITH CRATES AND BOXES

SAMPLES FROM ALL

) STACKED TO THE CEILING

BUT IN KREISEL'S CASE, THE SAMPLE BOXES

ARE FILLED WITH SPEAKER DRIVERS OF

EVERY IMAGINABLE SIZE, SHAPE, AND COM-

POSITION AMONG THE MANY RESPONSIBILI-

TIES OF RUNNING A SPEAKER COMPANY,

KREISEL PAYS EXTREMELY CLOSE ATTENTION

TO DRIVERS, HE IS A FANATIC ABOUT NOT LET-

TING ANY NEW COMPONENTS SLIP BY HIM

KREISELS CAREER. AND M & K SOUND'S

HISTORY OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, IN MANY

WAYS PARALLELS THE MAJOR BREAK-

THROUGHS IN HIGH-PERFORMANCE AUDIO. IN

1977 KREISEL OPENED THE WORLDS FIRST

EXCLUSIVELY DIRECT -TO -DISC RECORDING

STUDIO AND ITS COMPANION COMPANY. REAL-

TIME RECORDS. THAT SAME YEAR SAW THE

INTRODUCTION OF THE VOLKSWOOFER, THE

FIRST INTERNALLY POWERED SUBWOOFER

THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST DIGITALLY

RECORDED DBX-ENCODED LP 11 979) THE

FIRST COMPACT DISCS RELEASED BY A U S

LABEL 11982). AND THE FIRST TRANSMIS-

SION -LINE DOME TWEETER 11992)

KREISEL S TWO PARTNERS M & K COM-

PLEMENTED HIS BACKGROUND AS ANAWARD -WINNING RECORDING ENGINEER

JONAS MILLER (THE -M OF M E. K. NOW DE-

CEASED) OWNED A RESPECTED HIGH -END

AUDIO STORE IN LOS ANGELES CHIEF SCIEN-

TIST LESTER FIELD WAS FORMERLY THE CHIEF

SCENTIST AND VICE PRESIDENT OF HUGHES

AIRCRAFT AND HAD BEEN A PROFESSOR OF

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT CALTECH AND

STANFORD KREISEL DESIGNED THE FIRST

M & K SUBWOOFER TO HELP MILLER SELL

MOPE ELECTROSTATC AND PLANAR SPEAK-

ERS HE DESIGNED THE NOW -FAMOUS M 6. K

SATELLITES TO GO WITH IT WHEN HE COULDN'T

FIND A SATISFACTORY REFERENCE MONITOR

TO LSE IN THE REALTIME RECORDING STUDIOS.

KREISEL RECENTLY SPOKE WITH ME ABOUT

HIS PHILOSOPHY OF SPEAKER DESIGN AND

AUDIO IN GENERAL D. L.

Daniel Levitin studied physics at M.I.T. be-fore earning degrees in Cognitive Sciencefrom Stanford University and the Universityof Oregon. A recording engineer and produc-

er throughout the 1980s, he has also pub-lished over 200 articles on audio and musictechnology.

ing engineer makes speakers,peopir lisLen


There's one thing that has always interest-ed me about the evolution of your compa-ny. You started out as a recording engineer

and had one of the premier high-fidelitylabels in the country. And yet, you decided

your initial customer base should be con-sumers. I would have thought you'd try toget your speakers into

studios, since you had

initially developedthem for your ownstudio.

It's interesting youbrought that up. Ofcourse, before westarted making speak-ers at all, we had ahigh -end hi-fi storeand a lot of peoplefrom the recordingbusiness were cus-tomers. For a long time the audio profes-sional and the high-fidelity audiophile nev-er spoke with each other. But these differentpeople would come to our store, and theywould communicate with each other. Inthose days the monitor speakers in thestudios were very poor-you had AltecLansing 604Es, for example...

.and /BL pro monitors.

Right. And Jonas Miller was a dealer forQuad and Magneplanar. In fact, we wereone of the world's largest Quad dealers.And I had built some subwoofers to supple-ment these electrostatics. Everybody, espe-

THE AUDIO INTERVIEW

cially other dealers, thought it was amazinghow many Quads we were selling and want-ed to know how we did it. Well, it was ourcompact, single and dual 12 -inch sub -woofer designs that gave us the sales. I firstbuilt 24 -inch Hartley woofers in huge

sound of the main speakers considerably ifit's based on true biamplification with anelectronic high-pass and low-passcrossover, because then your midrangespeakers aren't trying to reproduce thelows, causing excess excursion and IM dis-tortion. And it cleans up the sound of the

amplifier, because theamp doesn't have toreproduce the lows,preventing it fromgoing into clippingduring heavy basspassages and therebydistorting the mid-range and highs.Do you rememberthe crossover fre-quency in your firstsubwoofers?

The Goliath crossed

T.) EOPLE TALK ABOUT DEPTH IN AN LP,

AND THEY SAY,

"OH -LISTEN TO THAT GREAT ROOM AMBIENCE."

WELL, A LOT OF THE "AMBIENCE"

THEY THINK THEY'RE HEARING IS GROOVE ECHO!

transmission -line cabinets (they looked likecommercial refrigerators), but the smalldual 12-inchers produced better perform-ance and were far more practical. I had alsodesigned a passive crossover and a passiveelectronic crossover, or if they wanted, wewould sell them a commercial active elec-tronic crossover.

People have been making subwoofers fora long time, but in terms of the modernthree-piece system, we were the pioneers.One of the guys from Visonik came into ourstore in the '70s, and he told us that theirDavid speakers were good for installing in

your kitchen or yourboat. I thought theysounded fantastic inthe mid and highranges. So we hookedthem up to our 12 -inchsubwoofer. I immedi-ately designed an inter-nal crossover for it andcalled it the Goliath.Overnight we built areputable, inexpensivesubwoofer. Dealers allover the country start-ed selling Goliath withall their other smallspeakers.

A sub accomplishesthree things. It extendsthe system's bass re-sponse. It cleans up the

S- 1 ( Satellite Shea c

over at 100 Hz and went down to 20 Hz. Asyou know, a sealed box speaker rolls off at12 dB per octave below its resonant fre-quency. Our other subwoofers of that sameperiod crossed over anywhere from 50 to100 Hz.

A couple of our customers were SteelyDan's Walter Becker and their recordingengineer, Roger Nichols. Walter asked me to

design a reference monitor system for them.At the time, they were out at DevonshireStudios recording Pretzel Logic.

So this must have been back around 1973Or so.

Right-it was 1973. I built a double wooferthat was similar to our push-pull, with twoopposing 12 -inch drivers mounted side-ways in a cabinet. Devonshire's controlroom was small, but I used this subwooferalong with Magneplanars for the top end.And they loved it; they had never heard aflat speaker system like that before. The stu-dio engineers went home and brought theirmaster tapes into the studio to hear themon this system. So that's what got me intospeaker manufacturing, because these sub -woofers were such a hit.

Was your subwoofer powered at this point?

It was biamped, with a separate amplifier,but at that point it wasn't our amplifier. Ithink we set them up with a big Phase Lin-ear or Crown.Roger Nichols told me that the only reasonhe and Walter Becker didn't stay with thatspeaker setup for Steely Dan's next album


KEN KREISELwas that there was always the problem ofwhere to put the subwoofer in other stu-dios. Studio control rooms aren't usuallydesigned to have subwoofers, and space isat a premium.Yes, you're absolutely right. That is thebiggest problem in most studios.

Where do you get your speaker drivers?Our midranges and tweeters are made forus mainly by Peerless in Denmark, and Em-inence makes most of our subwoofer driv-ers. All of the drivers are made to our exactspecifications. Our MX-5000THX sub -woofer driver is made for us in Japan. Ex-pensive, specialized tooling was required tosatisfy its unique design. I have dozens ofnew, lower -cost driver samples that I'mplowing through, and I'm really excitedabout some of them. I didn't want to getinto the lower end of the market, becauseit's usually a major compromise. But we areat a technological point now where we canbuild quality into a lower -priced speakersystem.What's your favorite speaker?The original Quad electrostatics. I keep apair of them hooked up, just to keep mehonest.What are the best and the worst thingsabout them?They're very accurate for tonality andimaging: You record something from a footaway, and it sounds a foot away. But theydon't have anywhere near the dynamics you

need.One of the things that has changed sinceyou started is the emergence of the CD asthe standard. Your Real Time records kept alot of audiophiles in vinyl because of theirhigh, direct -to -disc quality. Have youthought about releasing any of those onCD?

Yes, we're eventually going to release all of

the albums on CD. And I'm releasing somenew recordings on CD, too, in the near fu-ture. I've built a mastering studio at myhouse, and I'll be mastering those new re-leases and the reissues myself, using Wadia

20 -bit converters.

I'm also excited abouta new piece of testequipment I just got, theAudio Precision SystemOne Dual Domain. Ithas digital ins and outs,so you can check D/Aand A/D converters.And you can test speak-ers. It has an MLS [max-

imum -length -sequence]test, which we don't re-ally use because I have

three new DRA Labs MLSSAs [pronouncedMelissas] in three separate units.What's your opinion about vinyl versusCD?

If you listen to a phono system and itsounds more real to you, I say that's great,because it's what you want. But don't be-lieve that because it sounds more real toyou that it is more nearly perfect technical-ly, because it probably isn't. One of thebiggest revelations for me was the experi-ence of disc cutting: I realized what a limit-ed medium the LP is. People have no ideahow much intermodulation distortion is onan LP, particularly music with very heavybass-for example, organ music. You canhave tens of percent of IM distortion. Andwhen people first heard digital, many said,"Gee, it sounds like a lot of the notes aremissing." Well, there were notes missing-the IM distortion was missing!Tom Stockham said something interestingto me about this. He said if you put a groupof audiophiles in a studio control roomand ask them to choose between an analogtape and a digital tape of a performinggroup, a great many will choose the analogtape. But if you ask them to choose be-tween the tapes and then let them comparethe sound to the group performing live inthe studio, most will choose the digital. Sowithout a reference, they prefer the soundof distortion.I believe that's true with some listeners.People talk about depth in an LP, and they

say, "Oh, listen to that great room ambi-ence." Well, a lot of the room ambience LPlisteners think they are hearing is grooveecho! When you listen to an LP, you caneasily hear pre -echo right before a trackstarts and post -echo when it ends. Andthat's going on all through the LP! There'san "echo" button on cutting lathes thatspreads the grooves apart before and after atransition from a quiet passage to a loudone, to reduce the intergroove echo. Butthat uses up a lot of space. If you used thatall the time, you'd only be able to get sevenminutes on a side.

What people don't realize is that on anLP, you're constantly listening to a lot of tpre- and post -echo, conveying an artificialdepth that was never heard by the micro-phones, while intermodulation distortion isgenerating "notes" that nobody actually 'Ss'

played. Then there's harmonic distortion, ti

which can reach the tens of percent, intro- it&icing harmonics that were never pro-duced by the original instruments. (I'm notsaying it doesn't sound great, because itcan.) Then, to add insult to injury, the high -frequency response of an LP rolls off as youget farther in toward the center, not to men-tion the increase in distortion.Getting back to speaker testing, would youexplain MLSSA?MLSSA [maximum -length -sequence sys-tem analyzer] is a device developed byDoug Rife for testing speakers anechoicallyin a reverberant environment. It doeseverything. You can test frequency re-sponse, distortion, coherence, reverberationtime-you can make any kind of analysis ofa speaker or room both in the time domainand in the frequency domain. A new betasoftware version enables, for the very firsttime, accurate Dolby Surround speaker -lev-el calibration in a room, consistent with thetime -domain characteristics of the humanear! Truly a revelation.What kind of microphones do you use forspeaker testing?The B & K 4133 omni, exclusively.

You've gotten into the home theater mar-ket in a big way with Home THX speakers.What are the unique problems associatedwith designing for THX?First, there's a lot of confusion about whatTHX is. THX is not a multichannel en-code/decode system like Dolby Pro Logic or

Dolby AC -3. THX has nothing to do with


THE AUDIO INTERVIEWencoding and decoding an audio signal. It'sa set of standards originally for theatersound and is now for home theater, too. Soit is not a competitor of Dolby Surround. Itall goes back to the late 1970s and Star

Wars, directed by George Lucas. That wasone of the first films encoded with DolbySurround, which is played back in the homethrough what is called Pro Logic decoding.Before that, you had to go to a six -channel,70mm-equipped theater to hear surroundsound, and there weren't a whole lot ofthose around. But Dolby Surround gavethe more common35mm theaters achance to have sur-round sound.

Originally, thereweren't any stan-dards at all for thea-ter sound systems.Around this time,George Lucas's com-p a ny, Lucasfilm,formed a divisionthat set standards fortheater sound. Thosestandards were eventually called THX;some people say it stands for the Tom Hol-man Experiment [Tom Holman originatedthe program]. The first thing they did wasto come out with a special crossover fortheater speakers. Then they took it anotherstep: They tested a bunch of equipment-woofers, tweeters, amplifiers, sound -ab-

sorption materials-measuring distortionand frequency response and, for speakers,horizontal and vertical dispersion charac-teristics. They then came up with a blue-

print book of how to build a greattheater speaker system and im-prove acoustics. So if a theaterwants to join, they pay a fee to Lu-casfilm. Then they pick a tweeterfrom column "A," an amplifierfrom column "B," and so on. Thetheater installs the equipment inaccordance with these standards,and the THX people measure theirequipment and calibrate the the-ater to make sure the sound systemmeets these specs.

So the THX people are like inde-pendent auditors.Right. And that's what it means tohave a commercial THX theater.What they did for Home THX issimilar. They set standards forelectronics (for Dolby Pro Logicand AC -3 surround decoders/con-

trollers, internal electronic crossovers, pow-

er amplifiers, equalizers, and cables) andacoustical standards for speakers (for front -channel speakers, surround -channel speak-ers, and passive and powered subwoofers).Home THX equipment must meet or passthese standards, which call for additionalsignal processing to make the listening ex -

A Dolby Stereo movie theater, whether it'sTHX or not, at least has to meet certain cal-ibration standards; for example, the soundpressure level (SPL] is set; there's a refer-ence level throughout the film industry.Holman once said that the difference be-tween home and theater systems is that thetheater has no volume control. In the the-ater, the entire chain, from the studio to thetheater, is controlled. The average dialoghas to be at 85 dB SPL, and when they setup the theater it has to measure out at 85 dBSPL at a certain distance from the screen.That's pretty loud.That is pretty loud, actually. And dependingon whether it's an optical, a Dolby SR, or adigital print, the maximum SPL can be 20dB above that, which is 105 dB SPL.

In the home, there are different THXstandards for different components-there's a spec for the front speakers, thesubwoofer, the processor, the amplifiers, theequalizer, etc. True, a calibration engineerdoes go into the theater and not always intoyour home. But George Lucas's philosophyis that because his company itself makesmovies and because it designs, calibrates,and controls THX dubbing stages and the-aters, then it knows what the movie is sup-posed to sound like in the theater. Lucasfilmwants to get that same calibrated soundinto the consumer's house without theengineer showing up. If you purchase allTHX components-processor, amp, and

speakers-Lucassays you'll comepretty close.It seems impossible!Lucasfilm and theequipment manu-facturers have nocontrol over wheresomebody's going toput the speakers-whether they're go-ing to be on a carpet,on a stand, or hang-ing off the ceiling-

and they don't know if the room's carpetedor if it's got parallel walls. . .It just seemsimpossible, unless you can design a speakerfor which the room acoustics are relativelyunimportant.Well, that's exactly what they did. Or whatthey attempt to do. And it's actually notmuch different from what we found out

UBWOOFERS HAVE BEEN AROUND

FOR A LONG TIME, BUT AS FOR

MODERN, THREE-PIECE SYSTEMS,

WE'RE THE PIONEERS.

perience consistent with sound heard in astudio dubbing stage or THX movie theater.But it sounds like there's a huge difference.THX engineers actually go into the theaterand make sure that the acoustics of theroom conform to an exact standard. Butthey're not going into your home andchecking out your living room.


15 years ago when we were designing ourstudio monitors, and this is related to ex-periments that Tom Holman did a numberof years ago.

The idea is that you want to make aspeaker directional vertically. In many cas-es, the first reflection is going to be off theceiling or the floor, and you don't knowanything about that surface-whether itwill be carpeting, a hardwood floor, a hardceiling, a beamed ceiling, or whatever. Sohow do you make the speaker vertically di-rectional? You stack the drivers. Do you re-member our S-1 speaker from 1978?Yes. It had a pair of tweeters stacked on topof a pair of mids.Right. If you look at most THX front speak-ers, you'll see they have two or three tweet-ers on top of each other, to make them ver-tically directional. This is to achieve thedirectivity spec. Our 5-100Bs have threestacked tweeters. Two versus three tweetersaffects how the speaker lobes. The technicalreason for how you get directionality is this:When you're between the two tweeters, onaxis, the distance between the tweeters andyour ears is the same. As you move off axis,you become farther away from one tweeterthan the other. If you're half a wavelengthaway, the waves completely cancel each oth-

er out, resulting in no output at that fre-quency at that angle.So you end up with sweet or sour spots, de-pending on where you're sitting.

Right. The whole point of THX speakers isthat they're designed to be listened to exact-ly on axis, vertically, about ±5°. It doesn'tmatter what their actual height is, as long asthe drivers are pointed right at your head.

One of the things we developed here, andthe new S- IC uses this, is our unique foamtechnique. We use a very high-tech piece of

KEN KREISELV

foam. For many years I was unable to findthe correct piece of foam or felt that woulddo what I wanted. I had wanted to do thiswith the original S-ls, but I couldn't findthe material.Because the wrong foam is going to absorbtoo much?No, just the opposite. Most people thinkthat foam and felt are absorptive. Butthey're actually both reflective and absorp-tive, depending on the frequency.For some frequencies the sound isabsorbed, and for others it's likehaving a piece of wood there. Youwind up with something that'sworse than not having anything atall.

For years, wherever I've gone,when I've seen a new piece of feltor foam, I tried to take some withme to experiment with. I had theintuition that felt wasn't the rightthing. In fact, it turns out that it'stoo reflective where you don'twant it to be; most foam stuck onstudio walls is reflective at somefrequencies.Which frequencies are we talkingabout?The midrange or, sometimes, thehigh frequencies. It depends on thedensity and thickness of the material. Thefoam we're using now is the most absorp-

tive and linear thatI've found, withoutbeing reflective.On your S -ICs, whydo you place thefoam between thetweeters?When you're on axis,it doesn't make anydifference. But re-member, as youmove above or below

the axis, you can getsome very deep,

complete dips in response. With the foamin there, as you rise above axis, the foamstarts to attenuate the bottom tweeters andyou don't get the cancellation. If you havetwo drivers putting out the same signal lev-el, you can get an almost infinite cancella-tion dip. But as soon as you attenuate onedriver-it could be by as little as 3 dB-all

of a sudden you don't get that severe can-cellation. So that's what the foam does: Itcontrols the off -axis lobing.

And the foam on the sides?That just breaks up the diffraction effectsoff the edges of the cabinet.It seems to me there are two designphilosophies that are at opposite extremes.On the one hand, you could design a speak-er that is so insensitive to the room that itwill sound remarkably similar no matter

MX -200 Powered Subwoofer

where you put it. But most speakers, on theother hand, aren't like that. They aretremendously sensitive to the room'sacoustics. What are the trade-offs in thetwo designs?This has been a driving philosophy since Igot into this business, in both the record-ings and the speakers. I started recordingmusic when I was nine years old; my sisterwas a singer. I've always had a concept ofwhat recorded music should sound like. Asa listener, I've always been interested inhearing the instrument or the voice. I wantto hear the room that it was recorded in,not the room I'm playing it back in. I loveheadphones for that reason. And if you lis-ten to a pair of original Quads, they soundlike really big headphones-very direction-al

tsvertically and very transparent.

You've always tried to get away from play-back room reflections.Right, and that's how the S-1 came about. If 31you're sitting in a control room, you don't t:want much vertical dispersion.


Tr

THE AUDIO INTERVIEWBut you're still battling with a cabinet thathas a resonant frequency and a back wave,as opposed to the Quads.Well, a planar speaker has both a resonantfrequency and a back wave, too. In somecases, the resonant frequencies are not verywell damped. We always put absorptive ma-terial in our cabinets to deal with the reso-nant frequency.

The original Quads are totally differentfrom other planar speakers: They are truedipoles. For the back -wave problem, theyput a felt pad behind the tweeter andmidrange. So it's di-pole in the bass, butmost of the rearwardmids and highs areabsorbed by this feltpad.

What first got youthinking about min-imizing the reflec-tions in speakers?I first met JonasMiller in 1969, mylast year in highschool. Back then,Lester Field, who is now a partner in M & K,was the chief scientist and a vice presidentat Hughes Aircraft. His hobby wasacoustics. On one of his family vacations, Itagged along and went to Bell Labs withhim, as well as to some other importantacoustic research labs, to see what they weredoing. When Field was at Bell Labs, he co -invented the traveling -wave tube with JohnPierce, who was head of the lab at that time.

We spent a couple of days in Bell'sacoustics lab. I'll never forget one of the ex-periments; it literally changed my life andmy outlook on this whole business of roomenvironments. They had set up an array ofspeakers in an anechoic chamber. You sat ina chair, and the speakers were all at differentdistances from you, lined up in a row lead-ing away from your head. Your task was totell them which speaker was playing. Thevolume was normalized, so the levels reach-ing your ear were the same. The amazingthing was that you couldn't tell whichspeaker was playing! The recorded voice ap-peared immediately in front of my face, re-gardless of the speaker distance. I wasshocked. You take away the room reflec-tions, and you don't know how far away thespeaker is! This is what I was looking for!

Since you can't go into everybody's houseand take away the room reflections, howdo you design that quality into a speaker?The first thing you do is make it directional.

One of the reasons this doesn't work withmost speakers is because the drivers or thecrossovers are no good. So you can't accu-rately hear the room environment on therecording; you rely on reflections bouncingaround the room to enhance the "sense" ofambience. The one criticism I have of manyaudiophiles who talk about ambience is

If you design a speaker that's reasonablydirectional, and it's not right next to a sidewall, most of the audible changes in thesound as a function of the room occur be-low 500 to 800 Hz.

Years ago, at the advent of third -octaveequalizers, I took a Dayton -Wright electro-static speaker and a JBL speaker and equal-ized them for identical anechoic frequencyresponses. Lo and behold, the speakerssounded very much the same! That is 80%of the speaker's sound. At our store, yearsago, we had every top -end speaker in the

world. I realized thatthe Rogers and theSpendors, the BBCmonitors, the B & Ws,and the KEFs all hadan acoustic family re-semblance: a "British"sound, based on theiranechoic and roomfrequency response.The same was true ofGerman speakers (likethose from ADS, Vi-sonik, and Braun) and

American speakers (such as JBLs and AI-tecs). The most interesting thing was look-ing at the Fletcher -Munson curves and real-izing that these companies had optimizedtheir speakers for the different listening lev-els typical in their regions.Do you think there's a psychological effect

below the

SA LISTENER, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED

IN HEARING THE INSTRUMENT OR VOICE.

I WANT TO HEAR THE ROOM

THAT THE MUSIC WAS RECORDED IN,

NOT THE ROOM THAT I'M PLAYING IT BACK IN.

that they're hearing ambience not in therecorded music but in listening -room re-flections or sound bouncing around insidethe speaker cabinet. For example, somepeople say they love dipole front speakersand comment about their "wonderfully ac-curate depth." In many cases what they areactually hearing is the sound bouncingaround the room from the back of thespeaker; they're not listening to ambiencethat the microphone ever heard.What else did you learn at Bell Labs?It got me thinking about baffle coloration.How does the box color the sound? So Ithought, "Let's put the drivers in the right -sized box." And I put a lot of research intofiguring out what that was.

Recently, I listened to three top profes-sional studio engineers who were talkingabout room equalization. One was fromEngland, one was from the East Coast, andone was from the West Coast. And do youknow what they argued about? The frequen-cy above which they would not touch the EQcontrols, even though their real-time analyz-ers said the speaker response was not flat. For

one it was 600 Hz, for another 1,000...abovethat frequency, they knew that they couldnot believe what the RTA showed them.

of infrasonics, frequenciesthreshold of hearing?It couldn't hurt. Normally, our subwoofersare anechoically flat down to 15 or 18 Hz,and they roll off 12 dB per octave fromthere. We do active processing to achieveflat response down to about 15 Hz. Accord-ing to Dolby's research, there is usuallyroom gain of 12 dB per octave below about30 Hz. So actually, at 20 Hz the room gainboosts our subs by about 8 to 10 dB. Butbecause the ear isn't so sensitive in thisrange, as you can tell from the Fletcher -Munson curves, it's not bad to have itthere.This is a ittle off the topic, but everyspeaker you have here has its grille off.What percentage of your customers do youthink leave them off?Well, I would guess that if the owner is aman and he's married, he's going to leavethe grille on if he wants to stay married! A


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EQUIPMENT PROFILEEDWARD J FOSTER

PIONEER ELITEPDR-99

CD RECORDER

Fver since the Compact Disc rocketedinto the audiophile firmament, en-thusiasts have wanted to know wherethey could get their hands on a CDrecorder. Rumors abounded, but formany years, the real McCoy existed

only in the research laboratory. Somewhatover a year ago, Pioneer introduced thePDR-09, a rather pricey $4,000 system thatreportedly was less than user-friendly. But itdid record! The company has just launchedthe PDR-99 in its Elite line, and by the time

IMEnsions: 221/2 in. W x 9% in. H x151/4 in. D (57 cm x 24.3 cm x 38.6cm).

Weight: 15.1 lbs. (6.8 kg).Price: $2,000.

Company Address: P.O. Box 1720,Long Beach, Cal. 90801; 800/746-6337.


you read this, the PDR-05 should be avail-able in its regular line. Since the two arepriced similarly, $2,000 for the PDR-99 and$1,950 for the PDR-05, why not be Elitist?

Audiophile CD recorders undoubtedlygot a shot in the arm from the computer in-dustry, where CD-ROMs are the goingthing and the need for recordable massstorage is widespread. Recordable CDs foraudio and for computer use look the sameand technically are the same except for onelittle thing: Recordable CDs (CD -Rs) forcomputers can handle 74 minutes ofrecording, while blank audio discs are cur-rently limited to 60 minutes. There's notechnical reason why an audio blank can'taccommodate a maximum -length (74 -minute) CD; it's just a concession to therecord industry.

Audio CD recorders check the coding ofeach new blank and burp if you try to slipthem a computer disc. (I did manage to getthe PDR-99 to take an old computer blank,

evidently manufactured before codingcame into use, but not any of the newerones I had.) Recordable CDs are WORMdiscs, an acronym for Write Once, ReadMany. Unlike magneto -optical discs, suchas MD, which are rewritable, you get oneshot at recording these babies. As you do,the PDR-99 creates a temporary Table ofContents (TOC), which tells the systemwhere each track starts and stops, its num-ber, and so forth. You can edit the disc onlyin the sense that you can instruct the PDR-99 to skip failed recordings. Thus, you'renot erasing the recording, just telling thesystem to ignore it (so any boo-boos youmake reduce the total recording time).

When you've finished recording, you "fi-nalize" the disc, a process that takes about 4minutes on the PDR-99. During this opera-tion (which cannot be interrupted), thetemporary TOC (including skip instruc-tions) is transferred to a permanent TOCthat can be recognized by standard CDplayers. Until the disc is finalized, it can't beread by ordinary players, only by CDrecorders; once the disc is finalized, it can'tbe edited or recorded on again. Such is thepenalty for producing a universally read-able recordable CD (magneto -optical discs,which can be re-recorded, are not readableby conventional CD players).

The PDR-99 features Pioneer's StablePlatter mechanism, which supports the fulldisc instead of just its center. This is to re-duce resonance, disc sag, and vibration, allof which are thought to induce jitter andthe sonic aberrations it might cause. Thismechanism requires that the disc be placed"upside down"-that is, label side downand shiny side up. The Stable Platter system

is complemented by a chassis and mecha-nism designed to minimize resonance andvibration. A new three -beam differentialpush-pull laser pickup reads the disc. TheA/D converter is a 1 -bit "Pulseflow" designthat theoretically eliminates distortion ataxis crossings.

The PDR-99's D/A converter is matedwith a second -generation Legato -Link Scircuit, which Pioneer says "extends theCD's 'musical response' for audibly im-proved high -frequency detail and trans-parency." By applying a newly developed al-

gorithm that "psychoacoustically, and moreaccurately, restores the frequency contentlost in digital recording," this circuit is said


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RECORDED LEVEL - d8FS

Fig. 1-Fade-to-noise test.

-70 -60

AP

120100 1 k

FREQUENCY -

Fig. 2-Record/playfrequency response, analoginput.

20

01a.

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001

000120

OOOOOOO Ey WEI

Ok 20k

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m-am;;;;;=.==:;;;=nmaanum-a

01111=1111

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FREQUENCY - /12

Fig. 3-Record/playTHD

analog input.

10k

to "mirror the characteristics found in anaturally occurring sonic event."

The recorder has one set of analog inputsand one set of fixed -level analog line out-puts on back, all with gold-plated RCAjacks. (There's a gold-plated headphonejack on the front, along with a headphonelevel control.) Optical and coaxial digitalinputs and outputs are on the back, the lat-ter using base -metal RCA jacks. (A slider on

the back switches the digital outputs off.)The active input is selected by a front -panelpad, so in theory, three sources can remainconnected. "Control In/Out" jacks enableconnection with Pioneer equipment carry-ing the "SR" mark. When this wired controlsystem is used, the PDR-99 ignores its re-mote and is operated by signals relayedthrough the cable from another Pioneercomponent.

The "REC Level" and "REC Balance"controls function only with analog sources;direct digital copying needs no level setting.For digital dubbing, the PDR-99 has a sam-pling -rate converter for transforming 32- or

20k

48 -kHz sampled data (from a DAT,

digital -radio broadcast, or whatev-er) to the 44.1 -kHz rate requiredfor CD. "REC" and "REC Mute"buttons stand to the right of the"REC Level" control and are sepa-rated by a bright "REC" LED thatilluminates when the deck is

recording. Beneath are buttons toset and clear "Skip ID" codes thatcontrol which tracks will not beplayed when the adjacent "SkipPlay" button is pressed.

Front -panel transport controlsare conventional except that thesame pads are used for both trackand manual search. Tap them light-ly to skip to the next track or backto the beginning of the currenttrack; hold either pad down tosearch the current track. (There areseparate pads for track search andmanual search on the remote con-trol, which I find more conve-nient.) On the left of the panel are"Power," "Input Selector," "DigitalSynchro," and "Finalize" buttons,along with one that chooses auto-matic or manual track numbering,one to "Write" track numbers (inthe manual mode), and another

(despite being labeled "Display Off') to cy-cle through full display, a display withoutlevel indicators, or a dark panel.

Recording is simple. When you've loadeda disc and it's recognized as an unfinalizedCD -R (this takes a few seconds, with thedisplay alternating between "CD?" and"CD -R?"), the PDR-99 reads the TOC andindicates that it's doing so. If the disc is to-tally blank, the display indicates "NewDisc." If it's been partially recorded but notfinalized, the display briefly shows the lastprogram number and time before cueing totrack 1. If the disc has been finalized, it'srecognized as a CD rather than a CD -R;further recording is not possible.

To make a digital dub of one track from aCD, DAT, MD, or DCC, you select one ofthe PDR-99's digital inputs, make sure thatthe source player is stopped or paused, andpress "Digital Synchro" once. When youstart the source player, the PDR-99 auto-matically begins recording. Don't start playuntil the PDR-99's "Sync" legend blinks, in-dicating that the PDR-99 recognizes the bit -

stream (that comes from the player evenwhen it's stopped) and is ready to go. Afteryou copy one track, recording stops. Torecord multiple tracks in succession, youfollow the same procedure except you press"Digital Synchro" twice. The display shows"AL -Sync," and recording continues untilthe last track has been recorded or until youpress "Stop."

To make an analog recording, you selectthat input, press "REC," set the recordinglevel and balance (guided by the meter'seight segments and "Over"), and press"Pause" or "Play" to start. Track numbersare written sequentially as each recordingbegins. You can also write the next tracknumber by pressing "Manual/Write." (ThePDR-99 defaults to manual numberingwhen recording from the analog input.)During digital dubbing, the track count ad-vances each time a new source track num-ber is detected. However, you can recordmanually from a digital source by pressing"REC" instead of "Digital Synchro" andfollowing the rest of the procedures forrecording from the analog input. This ishelpful when you're recording from asource that doesn't have track numbers.Note, however, that the PDR-99 will recordonly digital audio signals; you can't dub aCD-ROM.

To ward off mistakes, finalization of thedisc is a multistep procedure. When youpress "Finalize," the display asks you toconfirm ("Final?"), at which point you

THE PDR-99 COSTS

HALF AS MUCH

AS PIONEER'S FIRST

CD RECORDER AND

IS EASIER TO USE.

press it again. The recorder reads the tem-porary TOC and displays the time remain-ing on the disc. When the time appears, youcan then press "Pause" to commence actualfinalization.

Playback features are fairly standard. Youcan cue tracks by number, via the remote'skeypad, or advance through them manuallywith the program -skip buttons on the pan-el or the remote. You can elicit randomplayback via the remote or program your


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REC/PLAY, ANALOG IN

AEC/PLAT DIGITAL IN

1 t

PlAYBACy

-80 -60 -40

RECORDED LEVEL - dBFS

Fig. 4-THD + N vs. level.

60

-80

100

120

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30 00 10k

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Fig. 5-Spectrum analysesfor record/play (via analoginput) and for playback.

0

100k 200k

+0.8

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rr -role

RIC ZpLAY 1

-100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0

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Fig. 6-Deviation fromlinearity for record/play(via analog input) and forplayback.

own selections with the remote's "PGM"button and its numeric keypad; the "Clear"and "Check" buttons are used to correctmistakes and confirm your selections. Youcan repeat a single track by pressing the re-mote's "Repeat" key once or repeat the en-tire disc by pressing it twice. If you're inprogrammed or random mode, pressing"Repeat" twice repeats the programmed se-

quence or yields repeated random play.Via the remote's "Time" pad, you can

choose to display the elapsed or remainingtime during recording; in playback, youcan view the elapsed track time, remain-ing track time, remaining playing time onthe disc, or the CD's total playing time.When the Elite PDR-99 is in record orrecord/pause mode, you can check the timeremaining on the disc by tapping the front -panel "Display ofr button.

The remote permits fading inand out during recording andplayback. If you press "Fader"while in record mode, recordingstops in about 5 seconds. A 3 -sec-ond fade begins automaticallywhen the available recording timeruns out. Four -second silent pas-sages can be written to the disc bypressing the "REC Mute" buttonon the panel or the remote. Like allother consumer digital audiorecorders, the PDR-99 "features"SCMS copy protection.

MeasurementsIt was difficult to stifle my cu-

riosity about the PDR-99's record-ing ability and stick to a logical se-quence by testing it first as a CDplayer. (As with any recording de-vice, playback characteristics mustbe determined before trying to in-terpret any record/play measure-ments.) Except for some effectfrom the Legato -Link S conversionsystem, I expected the PDR-99 toperform pretty much like any goodplayer. Imagine my surprise, there-fore, when I ran a frequency sweepand found an almost 1 -dB dipthroughout the octave from 7.5 to15 kHz. Hmmm! Surprising, but Iguess not all that bad.

Next, I ran a distortion test andfound that total harmonic distor-

tion plus noise (THD + N) was admirablylow in the deep bass (less than 0.004% atand below 250 Hz) but increased to 0.009%at 500 Hz, kept rising, and reached a peak of12.3% at 8 kHz. Furthermore, this was realdistortion, predominantly odd -harmonic,not the result of intermodulation with thesampling component. Above 8 kHz, oddharmonics beyond the third were reducedby my analyzer's 22 -kHz low-pass filter,which explained why the curve droppedabove that point. At 4 kHz, fifth -orderproducts also were present; in the lower -frequency region, the distortion appearedas "ringing" where the signal waveformcrossed the zero axis.

At first, I suspected my test setup, butwhen I fed the Pioneer's digital output to aD/A converter in my lab, the results werefine. A call to Pioneer revealed that Legato

Link does exhibit somewhat higher distor-tion than traditional converters (presum-ably intentional, to simulate the ultrasonicharmonics assumed lost in the recording).Still, it seemed surprisingly high, so I re-quested another machine from Pioneer. Itsdistortion results were the same as the firstunit's, so I proceeded with the first sample.

In almost every other respect, the ElitePDR-99 proved to be an exemplary ma-chine. In my playback measurements (see"Measured Data"), all made with the CBS

IT'S CLEAR THAT

THE PDR-99 CAN MAKE

AN ESSENTIALLY

PERFECT COPY

FROM A DIGITAL SOURCE.

CD -1 test disc, output level was 2 dB higherthan normal. However, this should be aconcern only if you're using a preamp (orsome other device) that has a precariouslylow input overload threshold (some DolbyPro Logic and other signal processors do).The channels were almost perfectly bal-anced; output impedance was less than 1kilohm, which suggests that interconnectcable capacitance should be of little signifi-cance. And if you're listening to the PDR-99with headphones, you'll find it has morethan adequate drive into both high- andlow -impedance sets.

Despite the higher -than -typical playback

distortion at 0 dBFS (the maximum levelrecorded on CD), THD + N at 1 kHzdropped sharply with level, so that below-30 dBFS maximum contamination wasless than -96.6 dB. That's very good perfor-mance. The -71.5 dB I measured at 0 dBFScorresponded perfectly with the 0.027%measured with the discrete -tone sequenceon the CBS test disc.

The PDR-99's Legato Link DAC had su-perb low-level linearity at 1 kHz; deviationwas no worse than 0.91 dB down to -90dBFS on the undithered tracks of the CD -1disc and no worse than 0.12 dB down to-100 dBFS on dithered recordings! The ex-ceptional linearity is apparent in Fig. 1, aplot of fade to noise. Results for the leftchannel are shown, the poorer of the two bya tiny margin.


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The left channel also proved the poorerchannel vis-a-vis signal-to-noise ratio,quantization noise, and dynamic range, butthis is really splitting hairs: The A -weightedS/N of 111.4 dB on the left channel was su-perb, even if the right was 3 dB better. Inany case, conventional S/N tests on DACstell more about the analog electronics fol-lowing the DAC than about the DAC itself,which is not exercised during this test. Thedata for quantization noise is more mean-ingful, as the DAC gets a full workout. Here,too, the right channel was 1.6 dB better, buteven the left's figure represents superb per-formance. The same goes for the PDR-99'sdynamic range.

I copied several tracks from the CBS testdisc to a 60 -minute recordable CD, using

the PDR-99's optical input. One wouldhope that the copy would be identical to theoriginal; by and large, this was true. The re-sults listed in "Measured Data" for frequen-cy response, THD + N at 0 dBFS, quantiza-tion noise, and linearity error are the same,give or take a few tenths of a decibel, forCD playback and record/play. The datafor A -weighted S/N, low-level THD + N at

1 kHz, and dynamic range are slightly infe-rior on record/play (more so on the rightchannel, which heretofore had been superi-or to the left), but none is less than excel-lent. It's clear that the PDR-99 can make anessentially perfect copy of a CD or, presum-

ably, of other digital sources. I expect thatthe slight differences between playbackand record/play were due to interface jit-

-EASURED P ATA

PLAYBACK

Line Output Level, 0 dBFS: 2.52 volts.

Channel Balance: ±0.02 dB.Line Output Impedance: 915 ohms.Maximum Headphone Output Level:

4.65 volts.

Maximum Headphone Power: With600 -ohm loads, 31.0 mW; with 50 -ohm loads, 25.8 mW.

Headphone Output Impedance: 115ohms.

Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz,+0, -0.90 dB.

THD + N at 0 dBFS: Less than 12.3%, 20Hz to 20 kHz.

THD + N at 1 kHz: From 0 to -90 dBFS,less than -71.5 dB; from -30 to -90dBFS, less than -96.6 dB.

Maximum Linearity Error to -90 dBFS:Undithered recording, 0.91 dB;dithered recording, 0.12 dB.

A -Weighted S/N (Infinity Zero re 0dBFS): 111.4 dB.

Quantization Noise: -94.9 dBFS.Dynamic Range: Unweighted, 95.9 dB;

A -weighted, 98.0 dB.

RECORD/PLAY

Analog Line Input Sensitivity: 0.29 voltfor 0 dBFS.

Analog Line Input Impedance: 33kilohms.

Analog Line Input Overload Level:More than 10 volts.

Frequency Response: Analog input at 0dBFS, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0, -0.92 dB;analog input at -10 dBFS, 20 Hz to20 kHz, +0, -0.52 dB; digital input at0 dBFS, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0, -0.90dB.

THD + N, 20 Hz to 20 kHz: Analog in-put, less than 12.7% at 0 dBFS, lessthan 5.16% at -10 dBFS, and less than1.64% at -20 dBFS; digital input, lessthan 12.3% at 0 dBFS.

THD + N at 1 kHz: Analog input, lessthan -71.5 dB from 0 to -90 dBFS andless than -89.3 dB from -30 to -90dBFS; digital input, less than -71.4 dBfrom 0 to -90 dBFS and less than -95.5dB from -30 to -90 dBFS.

Maximum Linearity Error: Analog in-put, 0.24 dB at -90 dBFS or above and0.40 dB from -90 to -100 dBFS; digitalinput, 0.84 dB at -90 dBFS or above(undithered recording).

A -Weighted S/N (Infinity Zero re 0dBFS): Analog input, 92.0 dB; digitalinput, 110.7 dB.

Quantization Noise: Analog input,-89.4 dBFS; digital input, -94.7 dBFS.

Dynamic Range: Analog input, 90.1 dBunweighted and 92.8 dB A -weighted;digital input, 96.0 dB unweighted and97.8 dB A -weighted.

Channel Separation, Analog Input:Greater than 63.9 dB, 100 Hz to 17kHz.

ter, but the effects are below the thresholdof audibility.

I next shifted my attention to recordingfrom the analog inputs. From the shape ofthe curve for distortion versus level in play-back, I suspected that the odd -order har-monics introduced by Legato Link werelevel -dependent. But there was no way toprove this by digitally copying the CBS testdisc, since it lacks low-level high -frequency

tracks. Using the analog inputs, however, Icould record at any level I wished. First, Ichecked record/play response at 0 dBFS(using a 2 -volt input signal) and then re-peated the test at -10 and -20 dBFS (Fig. 2).

At 0 dBFS, I saw about the same dip be-tween 7.5 and 15 kHz that I'd seen in play-back. But lo and behold, the dip disappearsat -10 dBFS and is replaced by a gentlerolloff beginning at about 10 kHz. (The -10dBFS record/play curve has been shifted tooverlie the 0-dBFS curve at 1 kHz. The -20dBFS record/play curve has been omitted,because it was the same as the -10 dBFScurve except for level. Only the left -channelresults are presented here and in all subse-quent graphs, since the right -channelcurves were essentially identical.)

For Fig. 3, THD + N versus frequency,the PDR-99 was playing a disc recordedfrom the analog inputs at levels of 0, -10,and -20 dBFS. From 1 to 10 kHz, the0-dBFS curves for playback of the CD -1(not shown) and for record/play matchedperfectly at every frequency on the test disc.(These occur at approximately octave inter-vals from 1 to 8 kHz, with extra spots atnominal frequencies of 10, 12.5, 16, 18, and

20 kHz.) Since there was no point in show-ing all these closely matched curves, onlythe results for record/play via the analog in-put are included. The record/play curves Iselected are probably a better indicator ofperformance, as they contain many moretest frequencies than the play -only curves.(And they differed only at intermediatepoints.)

Note how the high -frequency distortiondecreases at the lower recording levels inFig. 3. It's never really low (it still hits5.16% at -10 dBFS and 1.64% at -20dBFS), but at least it's heading in the rightdirection! In the bass and lower midrange,the curves are flat and their THD + N in-creases as the recording level drops. Thissimply represents the noise floor of the ana-


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log input electronics and is not distortionper se.

Figure 4, the THD + N versus level for a1 -kHz test tone, tells a similar story. Sincethere was a slight difference between thedata for playback of the test disc and for thedigital copy thereof, I've also included acurve obtained after I dubbed the CD -1through the optical digital interface. Therecord/play curve taken through the analoginput bottoms out at about -90 dBFS, thenoise floor of the analog input electronics.

You can also see the effect of the analoginput's noise floor in "Measured Data":Compare the record/play results via theanalog and via the digital inputs forA -weighted S/N ratio, dynamic range, andquantization noise. This effect is to be ex-pected, and the PDR-99's analog input cir-cuitry is certainly not shoddy! It's sensitive(0.29 volt will get you pretty much to 0dBFS), is immune to overload, and has adecently high input impedance. The "Over"indicator lights just at the verge of clippingthe A/D converter, although the digitalrecording level at that point is about 0.25dB below the level attainable with a digitaldub. To avoid clipping the A/D circuit, I"defined" 0 dBFS for analog recording as-0.5 dB referred to digital full scale and ad-justed the data accordingly. For normalrecording, you'll be fine as long as you don'tlet the "Over" indicator flash.

Figure 5 shows third -octave spectrumanalyses of the output for playback of thetest disc's "no -signal" (infinity -zero) trackand its 1 -kHz, -60 dBFS track; I've also in-cluded the results for record/play of equiva-lent signals via the analog input. The -60dBFS curves line up pretty well. The curvefor the "no -signal" recording made via theanalog input lies well above the curve forplayback of the test disc's "no -signal" track,as you would expect.

A trace of analog -input electronic noiseis actually beneficial, in that it "dithers"(and therefore helps linearize) the A/D con-version process. Figure 6 compares the lin-earity error for playback of undithered anddithered tracks on the test disc and forrecord/play of a comparable signal via theanalog input. (I omitted the linearity -errorcurve for record/play of the test disc's un-dithered track via digital input, as it wasnearly identical to the curve for playback ofthe test CD.) Note the improvement in low-

level linearity with the digitally ditheredtrack and the almost equally good perfor-mance for record/play via the analog input.

The crosstalk figures in "Measured Data"speak for themselves. Channel separation isbetter when a CD is played than whenyou're recording and playing your own discthrough the analog inputs. It's more thanadequate either way however.

Use and Listening Tests

The PDR-99 was a sheer delight to use,about as friendly as I expect a digitalrecorder can get. (The manual could usesome editing to clear up the Japanese con-cept of English, although its graphics weregood.) The deck's control ergonomics wereso pleasing that I had no trouble learning to

THE PDR-99 WAS A SHEER

DELIGHT TO USE,

AS USER-FRIENDLY

AS I EXPECT A DIGITAL

RECORDER CAN GET.

use it. The major oddity was having to press"Display Off" to check remaining time dur-ing a recording session.

Digital dubbing was a snap, since thePDR-99 senses the start of each new trackand starts and updates its track counter au-tomatically. You needn't worry about whereyou are on the disc; the "housekeeping" oc-curs seamlessly in the background. You justhave to be sure you don't run out of room,but even if you do, the PDR-99 gracefullyfades out the recording. Recording analogsignals is a bit dicier: You do have to set lev-

els, and an indicator that has only eight seg-ments (one of which, .0, is useless) makesthe gradations way too far apart. When the"Over" indicator comes on, you're alreadyin trouble. (Of course, the same can be saidfor some other consumer digital recorders.)

The PDR-99 did strike me as a bit slug-gish. Track access during playback wasrather slow. When a new disc was loaded,the system took its own sweet time decidingwhat type of disc it was. Disc finalizationwas so lengthy, I could have taken a coffeebreak. But, hey, this is a CD recorder, justwhat we've wanted for years. So what's afew minutes?

In my listening sessions, I dubbed CDsand DATs, using the digital hookup. ThePDR-99 recognized each unfailingly andconfirmed what they were. As far as I couldtell, the sound was equally good on the copy

as on the original, provided that the CD -Rwas "finalized" and then played on the CDplayer in my own system. That's the rub: Pi-oneer's Legato Link D/A converter has asound of its own, and it's not one I particu-larly cotton to. On the other hand, it doeshave its strong point: The bass was full andrich and tight. I particularly noticed this onpianist Andrew Rangell's recording ofBeethoven's Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 (Dori-an DOR-90158) and on Christopher Rous-set's harpsichord performance of Rameau'sPremier Livre de Pieces de Clavecin(L'Oiseau-Lyre 425886). But on both discs,the treble got edgy and hard (uncomfort-ably so on the harpsichord recording) dur-ing high-level passages. There was toomuch snap on the harpsichord attack andtoo little "puff" on the piano.

Violins fared poorly through the LegatoLink, especially "original" instrumentsplayed without vibrato. Mozart's "EineKleine Nachtmusik" by the Academy of An-cient Music under Christopher Hogwood(L'Oiseau-Lyre 411720) is a rather brightrecording to begin with; the violins sound-ed like nothing I had ever heard by the timethe PDR-99 got through with them.

The higher the level, the harder thesound got. On Wagner's "Siegfried's RhineJourney" from The "Ring" Without Words,recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic underLorin Maazel (Telarc CD -80154), the open-ing horn call and bassoon passage werenice, but the sound lost clarity in the high-level high -frequency passages. On Rodri-go's "Concierto de Aranjuez" (EMI ClassicsCDC 54665), Christopher Parkening's gui-tar fared better, yet still wasn't as smoothand natural as on my reference player. Andthe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's violinswere steelier than they should be.

On The English Lute Song (Dorian DOR-90109), Julianne Baird sounded fine whenshe wasn't reaching, but the poor womansounded like an over -the -hill coloraturawhen she was. And Ronn McFarlane's lutecame with a bit of extra "attack" on thePDR-99 compared with the sound of myCD player.

Continued on page 58


We Get Letters...634 -34th Avenue

San Franciscc, CA 94121MLy 17, 1995

XLO Electric Company9480 Utica Avenue, Ste. 612Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730

To Whom It May Concern;

I recently purchased a 4 -meter run of your Reference Series Type 2 inteNonnectcable. Without even breaking them in, they have to be ;he finest catles thLt, I havenever heard. (Sounds like a new slogan- "The finest cable you have never heard".)It seems as though every other cable that I have tried invariably st.ines in one ortwo areas as one runs down the usual audiophile checklist (i.e. sound staging, tonalbalance, focus, etc....), but somehow always leaves on 3 thinking that something ismissing or that there is too much 3f something. I always thought that I hadassembled a reasonably good system, but it wasn't until I inserted the Type 2 thatI realized I have never heard it the way it should sound. At times, = can actually sitback and listen to real musicians playing in real space.

I think my next move is to slowly replace all of the cable and wire in any systemwith XLO. The wire tangle presently includes Monster Cable, Straightwire, MIT, and

COS. Anyway, kudos, hosannas. yippee, and thanks for making "The Best In The World."

.8.: Present system, F.Y.I.Versa Dynamics 1.2

Immedia RPM 1Graham 1.5t

Clavis

Genesis 2000Vendetta Phono Section

Audio Research LS -2Mark Levinson 23

Apogee Duetta Signatures

44(0004666.414.44111641

XLO Electric Company. Inc. 9480 Utica Avenue, Suite 612. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730Phone (909) 466-0382 Fax (909) 466-3662Distributed in Canada by May Audio Marketing (514) 651-5707

Sincer3ly,

Mike Kanai

111(1 T R I(

EQUIPMENT PROFILEEDWARD J FOSTER

BRYSTON 4B STAMPLIFIER

It's been almost two years since a Bry-ston product crossed my bench. Thatone (the BP 20 preamp, Audio, July1994) was such a pleasure that I lookedforward to getting my hands on the 4BST power amplifier. Bryston's "ST" line

of power amps strikes me as quite sensible.The 4B ST is a bridgeable stereo amp deliv-ering 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms instereo or 800 watts, bridged. The 3B ST is asimilar amp, with an 8 -ohm stereo rating of120 watts per channel. The 7B ST has twoamp modules but is designed for mono-phonic use; the two modules can be"bridged" to double the output voltage intorelatively high -impedance loads (3 to 8ohms) or operated in parallel to double thecurrent into relatively low -impedance loads(1 to 3 ohms). Interesting concept. The 8BST is a four -channel amp that is otherwisesimilar to the 3B ST; it can be configured todrive four, three, or two speakers. All of

these amps are available in THX versions,which differ only in having 12 -volt triggerinputs for remote turn -on; the 4B ST that Itested was the standard version.

Technically, Bryston seems to have doneits homework. The 4B ST's topology is clas-sic, with each amplifier module builtaround eight custom output devices pow-ered by separate positive and negative 85 -volt supplies. There are two large toroidalpower transformers, one for each channel.

Both unbalanced and balanced inputsare provided, the former via gold-platedRCA phono jacks and the latter throughgold-plated connectors that can accept bothXLR and 1/4 -inch stereo phone plugs. All in-puts sport fully discrete active buffers. Aslide switch centered between the jack pairsselects balanced or unbalanced input. Theoutput terminals are gold-plated multiwaybinding posts set on standard 3/4 -inch cen-ters and outfitted with wire holes large

enough for heavy -gauge wire. Another slide

switch, between the RCA jacks and the out-put terminals, selects bridged or stereo op-eration. In bridged mode, either channel 1input is used, and the load is connected be-tween the red output terminals. (Thewiring details are clearly indicated on theback panel.) Between the output terminalsand the combination IEC line -cord jackand fuse holder is a toggle switch for lifting

the signal -ground connections to the chas-sis. Lifting the grounds breaks the hum -pickup loop that might occur through acommon power ground when you're usingmultiple amplifiers, yet it still permits thechassis to be grounded for safety. Goodthinking!

The front panel is straightforward: solidhandles near each end, a centrally locatedpower button, and two multicolor LEDsabove the power switch. The LEDs indicate

normal operation (green), the approach ofclipping in each channel (yellow), and clip-ping (red). They also flash red momentarilyon power -up and may glow red if signal ispresent as the supply voltages collapse whenpowering down; neither condition is causefor concern.

The 1/4 -inch black -anodized aluminumpanel is drilled for rack mounting. Whennot rack -mounted, the 4B ST sits on feetthat provide a bit more than 1/2 inch ofclearance above the supporting shelf. Black -

anodized heat sinks along each side provideadequate cooling without a noisy fan. Thechassis is designed so that you can tem-porarily rest this hefty amp on its backsidewithout having to disconnect the wiring.Nice thought!

MeasurementsWith continuous signals, the Bryston 4B

ST ran warm (but not dangerously hot)during my bench tests but remained a good

Rated Output: Stereo, 250 watts perchannel into 8 ohms or 400 watts perchannel into 4 ohms; bridged, 800watts into 8 ohms.

Dimensions: 19 in. W x 5% in. H x 15%in. D (48.3 cm x 13.3 cm x 39.4 cm).

Weight: 42 lbs. (19 kg).Price: $2,095; THX version, $2,295.Company Address: 29 Northfield St.,

Montpelier, Vt. 05602; 802/223-6159.For literature, circle No. 91


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Fig. 1-THD + N vs. outputin stereo with 8 -ohm loads (A),in stereo with 4 -ohmloads (B), and in bridgedmode with 8 -ohm load (C).

100

bit cooler in normal operation. Perhaps theheat was due to the high supply voltages.Theoretically, an amplifier whose powersupply delivers +85 and -85 volts could de-liver 450 watts into 8 -ohm loads, almost 2.6dB above Bryston's 250 -watt rating. Whatthe 4B ST actually delivered on the benchwas 300 watts (24.8 dBW) of continuouspower into 8 ohms at clipping and 0.1 dBmore (310 watts) with the IH F dynamic -headroom tone burst-more than it's ratedfor but still less than theory would suggest.That's not a complaint; the data simply sug-gests that Bryston uses a rather stiff powersupply, which many people consider to bean advantage.

I measured total harmonic distortionplus noise (THD + N) as a function of out-put for stereo operation with 8 -ohm loads,stereo operation with 4 -ohm loads, andbridged mono operation with an 8 -ohm

C

load (Fig. 1). The data was taken at

20 Hz, 1 kHz, and 20 kHz. I usedthe unbalanced inputs for thesemeasurements, since that is howmost people will use the 4B ST.With 8 -ohm loads, both channelsdriven, I could keep my AC line atthe standard 120 volts. With4 -ohm loads, I was unable to holdthe line at 120 volts when bothchannels were driven to rated out-put. I therefore made the 4 -ohmstereo test with only one channeldriven, justified by the fact that the4B ST has separate supplies foreach channel. Bridged operationinto 8 ohms, while technically sim-ilar to 4 -ohm stereo operation,makes it impossible to drive onlyone channel at a time. Thus, as theamplifier approached clipping inthis mode, the line dropped to ap-proximately 110 volts.

The results for dynamic outputpower and headroom listed in"Measured Data" were obtainedwith both channels driven andwith my meter reading an averageof 120 volts across the AC line (themeter fluctuates a bit while an am-plifier is being pulsed). Since the4B ST was being driven to fullpower only part of the time in thistest, I could maintain 120 volts atlower output settings of my vari-

able -voltage transformer than I had beenable to use in the sine -wave tests. Therefore,

I also took data using the same transformersettings that had been needed to maintain120 volts at the sine -wave clipping point (or

the maximum I could manage when 120volts couldn't be maintained). At these

THE SOUND

WAS EFFORTLESS

AT ALL LISTENING LEVELS,

WITH TIGHT BASS AND

BRIGHT, CLEAN TREBLE.

settings, my line meter naturally read morethan 120 volts, and the numbers came out0.5 to 1 dB better than those listed in "Mea-sured Data."

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Fig. 2-THD + N vs.frequency in stereo with8 -ohm loads (A), in stereowith 4 -ohm loads (B), andin bridged mode with8 -ohm load (C).

104 20k

C

Measurements of THD + N versus fre-quency (Fig. 2) were made at output levelsof 1 watt, 10 watts, 100 watts, and ratedpower. The last, of course, varied with con-ditions: 250 watts per channel in stereowith 8 -ohm loads, 400 watts per channel instereo with 4 -ohm loads, and 800 watts forbridged operation into 8 ohms. Driving theamplifier in bridged mode to 800 wattswith an 8 -ohm load dropped the AC linewell below the 120 -volt standard. I there-fore repeated the measurement, this time at700 watts; calculations showed that the am-plifier's distortion at this power level withthe available line voltage would be the sameas its distortion at 800 watts with a true120 -volt line. The worst -case THD + N islisted in "Measured Data" for each operat-ing configuration at 10 watts and at ratedoutput. I have also reported the bridged700 -watt data, since it is probably more


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(PLEASE PRINT)

typical of what the distortion at rated pow-er would have been had I been able tomaintain a 120 -volt line.

If you compare these distortion figureswith those of many similarly rated ampli-fiers, you'll see that Bryston has placedprime emphasis on performance. Even theworst -case THD + N is vanishingly low un-der all conditions, and the 1 -watt curves inFig. 2 (which stand above the others overmost of the frequency range) reflect resid-ual noise rather than distortion.

The noise is unusually low for an ampli-fier that combines such high power withreasonably high gain. On an A -weighted ba-sis, worst -case output noise was a minus-cule -93.6 dBW when the unbalanced in-puts were used and negligibly worse withthe balanced input. When referenced to rat-ed output power, A -weighted signal-to-noise ratios ran from 116.3 dB (balancedinput, stereo) to a whopping 123.5 dB (un-balanced input, bridged).

Figure 3 shows third -octave noise power(in dBW) versus frequency for the worst -case operating mode, 8 -ohm stereo opera-tion with balanced input. Obviously, the 4BST is outfitted with excellent power -supplyfilters: Note the relative absence of compo-nents at 120 Hz and its harmonics. The

components that do appear are basedon 60 Hz and its odd harmonics, sug-gesting that the components arecaused by minute amounts of mag-netic flux leakage from the powertransformers (even toroids aren'tperfect) or from the power -linewiring. In any event, since the veryworst noise level (channel 1 at 60 Hz)is a mere -94.3 dBW, hum shouldcertainly be inaudible. Because mysetup in the lab is designed to avoidground loops, it made little differ-ence whether I made this measure-ment with the signal ground con-nected to the chassis or lifted from it.In normal use, you may well find theability to separate the signal andchassis grounds quite beneficial.

Figure 4 shows frequency responsewith 8 -ohm loads. In stereo mode, only thechannel 1 data is shown, since the resultsfor channel 2 were identical; channel bal-ance was as near perfect as it is possible todocument. It's clear that the Bryston 4B STis a wideband design: Its high -frequency -3dB points approach 200 kHz in stereo and130 kHz in bridged operation, where therolloffs of both channels combine. At thelow end, the -3 dB point is far below 10 Hz,

MEASURED DATA 111111111=Output Power at Clipping (1% THD at 1

kHz): Into 8 ohms, 300 watts (24.8dBW) per channel, both channels driv-en; into 4 ohms, 440 watts (26.4 dBW)per channel, one channel driven (seetext); bridged, into 8 ohms, 820 watts(29.1 dBW).

Dynamic Output Power, All ChannelsDriven: Into 8 ohms, 310 watts perchannel (24.9 dBW); into 4 ohms, 525watts per channel (27.2 dBW); into 2ohms, 710 watts per channel (28.0dBW); bridged, into 8 ohms, 1,000watts (30.0 dBW).

Frequency Response: Stereo, unbalancedinput, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0, -0.05 dB,with -3 dB points below 10 Hz and at195 kHz; stereo, balanced input, 20 Hzto 20 kHz, +0, -0.01 dB, with -3 dBpoints below 10 Hz and at 174 kHz;bridged, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, +0, -0.1 dB,with -3 dB points below 10 Hz and at129 kHz.

Dynamic Headroom: Stereo, 0.9 dB re 8 -ohm rated power and 1.2 dB re 4 -ohmrated power; bridged mode, 1.0 dB re8 -ohm rated power.

THD + N, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, at RatedOutput: Stereo, less than 0.0053% into8 ohms aid less than 0.0158% into 4ohms; bridged, into 8 ohms, less than0.130% al rated output (see ex° andless than C.0085% at 700 watts.

THD + N, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, at 10 WattsOut: Stereo, less than 0.0035% into 8ohms and less than 0.0063% into 4ohms; bridged, less than 0.0032% into8 ohms.

Sensitivity: Stereo, unbalanced input,96.6 mV far 0-dBW output ani 1.53 Vfor rated Dutput into 8 ohms; stereo,balanced input, 193.0 mV for 0-dBWoutput and 3.05 V for rated 8 -ohm out-put; bridled, unbalanced input, 97.0mV for 0-dBW output and 2.74 V forrated 8 -ohm output.

- 40

20

1 / 3-0c la. ftot r OOOOOO 1,1

EHANNEL 2

CHANNEL t

100 1k

FREQUENCY - H,

Fig. 3-Noise spectrum,worst case (stereo mode,balanced input(.

10k

Oro.. MIST - .eiteu.nr .11.10.00 et I Nal% - w Irop.mr, 04810

ri

g V-2

3

10

1004

I dill 111 II- - - STEREO. BALANCED N- STEREO. UNBALANCED IN- - BRIDGED, UNBALANCED IN

100

Fig. 4-Frequencyresponse.

IY 10k

FREQUENCY -Hz

100k 200k

the limit of the measurement; in the mostimportant range, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, responseis dead flat.

Channel separation was a perfectly ade-quate 70 dB, in both directions, from 20 Hzto 1 kHz; it was 65 dB or better at 4 kHz andbetter than 60 dB at 8 kHz. Input/outputphase error was less than 5° at 10 kHz andless than 10° at 20 kHz. Input impedancewas relatively high for a power amp, almost50 kilohms at the unbalanced input; thisshould present no problems for any pre -amp. Damping factor was a solid 600 at 50Hz, and output impedance remained rela-tively low across the frequency band (180milliohms at 20 kHz).

Use and Listening TestsWith only one 4B ST at my disposal, I

confined my auditioning to the stereomode, using the unbalanced inputs. Myprogram sources were a variety of CDs anda few DATs that I had recorded live. Againand again, I heard an effortless quality at alllistening levels and a clean, tight bass (espe-cially noticeable in piano recordings) cou-pled with a bright high end that had nary atrace of frizziness. This is definitely a gold-en -ear amplifier at a silver -ear price. It's so

solidly built, it carries a 20 -year warranty!It's technically impressive, sonically superb,and a top value. I find it easy to recommendthe Bryston 4B ST with enthusiasm andwould love to keep it hard at work in myreference system. Pair it with a BP 20 preamp,

and you'll have a system to drool over. A


EQUIPMENT PROFILED. B. KEELE, JR.

WILSON AUDIOWATT V/PUPPY VSPEAKER SYSTEM

0ne of the very few speaker systemswith an excellent reputation inboth high -end home audio andprofessional recording is this Wil-son Audio Specialties setup-which is actually two systems. The

two-way WATT (Wilson Audio Tiny Tot)was originally designed by David Wilson asa high -accuracy portable monitor for loca-tion recording; the Puppy woofer wasadded later, to extend the WATT's bass from55 Hz down to 28 Hz. The resultingWATT/Puppy combination, now up to Se-ries V, has been widely praised and is, ac-cording to Wilson Audio, used as a record-ing monitor at Chesky Records, HarmoniaMundi U.S.A., and Lucasfilm.

Until recently, the WATT/Puppy combi-nation was Wilson Audio's least expensivefull -range system-at about $15,000 perpair! However, the WITT (essentially an all -

in -one version of the WATT/Puppy) is now

available at $8,888 per pair. Wilson also of-

fers the X-1 Grand SLAMM at $67,500 perpair and the legendary WAMM (WilsonAudio Modular Monitor) system, at$147,000 per four -piece stereo setup.

What does the WATT V/Puppy V giveyou for $15,000? Lots. Besides the attentionWilson Audio haspaid to its perform-ance, the companyoverlooks no detail ofappearance or con-struction. And yourWilson Audio dealerwill personally set upeach of these systemsin your home.

The WATT V is a modest -sized two-way

speaker with a 7 -inch woofer and a 1 -inchdome tweeter. The surprise comes whenyou first try to pick it up: It's heavy! TheWATT's cabinet is a very massive pyramid,with a very inert feel-not your conven-tional vinyl -wrapped particleboard box. A

nice touch is the tubular alloy "handle bar,"running across the bottom rear of the sys-tem, to help you lift and carry the speaker.

The WATT's sloping front panel holdsthe drivers, which are attached with ma-chine screws. The front of the cabinet iscovered with quarter -inch foam, to mini-mize diffraction. Hook -and -loop fastenerstrips at the center and periphery of thefront panel hold the grille, an unframedpiece of low -density open -cell foam, also aquarter -inch thick.

The WATT's tweeter is a much -modifiedFocal driver with an inverted titaniumdome; the long -throw woofer is ascanspeak unit with a doped -pulp cone.Both drivers have very large and heavymagnets. The WATT's cabinet is made of amineral and ceramic -filled methacrylatepolymer, a very dense and rigid material.The cabinet is cross -braced and is dampedinternally with lead -alloy blocks; a bitumi-nous surface treatment is applied to strate-gic points inside the enclosure for furtherdamping. The cabinet's vent is 1 inch in di-ameter and 1.9 inches long, with a flaredmetal end. The cabinet is said to be alignedto a QB3 (quasi -Butterworth third -order)tuning.

The WATT's crossover is encapsulatedwithin an aluminum can, bolted to the bot-tom of the enclosure. (The bottom is at-tached to the cabinet with 16 socket -headmachine screws.) As I could not examinethe encapsulated crossover and Wilson pro-vided no circuit details for it (not even thecrossover frequency), I inferred its topologythrough measurements (not shown) thatrevealed second -order high- and low-pass

filters with a crossoverfrequency of about 2.5kHz. According to aWilson Audio bro-chure, "Minimum en-ergy storage behaviorin the crossover is

achieved by using onlythe finest audio -gradepolypropylene capaci-

tors, OFC [oxygen -free copper] air -core in-ductors, and time -coherent wire. All com-ponents are matched to less than 0.1%tolerance."

All connections to the WATT's crossover,drivers, and terminals are soldered and uselarge -diameter, audiophile -grade cable. The "cf-

NO OTHER SYSTEM

I'VE TESTED HAS HAD

SUCH INERT, UNMOVING

CABINET WALLS.


Rear view of the Watt V.Note the "handle bar."

gold-plated WBT terminals can handle barewires, large spade lugs, or even the shafts ofsingle banana plugs (the spacing is incom-patible with double -banana plugs). Thesingle pair of terminals cannot be bi-wired.

The Puppy V woofer consists of two 8 -inch, long -excursion Dynaudio drivers in avented box that was designed to act as astand for the WATT as well as providinglow -frequency extension for it. The enclo-sure is tuned with a foam -lined port tube,about 21/2 inches in diameter and 61/2 inches

long, on the rear panel. (An alternative,slightly longer, vent tube is supplied. It low-ers box resonance, which effectively in -

Rated Frequency Response: 28 Hz to21 kHz, +0, -3 dB.

Recommended Minimum AmplifierPower: 10 watts per channel.

Dimensions: Overall, 39 in. H x 111/2in. W x 161/2 in. D (96.5 cm x 29.2 cm

x 41.9 cm); WATT V, 14 in. H (35.6cm); Puppy V, 24 in. H (61 cm).

Weight: Overall, 162 lbs. (73.6 kg)each; WATT V, 70 lbs. (31.8 kg) each;

Puppy V, 92 lbs. (41.8 kg) each.

Price: $14,990 for four -piece system(WATT V, $8,200 per pair; Puppy V,$6,790 per pair) in high -gloss black;other gloss colors, no charge onWATT V and $1,112 per pair addi-tional on Puppy V; wood -veneer sidepanels, $500 per pair additional onWATT V and $1,600 per pair addi-tional on Puppy V.

Company Address: 2233 MountainVista Lane, Provo, Utah 84606;801/377-2233; E-mail, [email protected]


creases damping by slightly reduc-ing bass level and extending low -frequency response.) An internalcrossover provides low-pass filtra-tion for the Puppy woofers and ahigh-pass for the WATT, crossingover with a broad overlap in the re-gion from about 125 to 250 Hz. Aconcealed channel runs upwardfrom the input -terminal cup onthe bottom rear of the Puppy'scabinet to accommodate the con-nection cable between the Puppyand the WATT. The Puppy's enclo-sure, made from MDF and ma-chined high -density phenolic, isheavily cross -braced. Very large,adjustable spikes are supplied.

The Puppy's drivers have highsensitivity and high power -han-dling capacity. Each has a rigid,polymer -based cone, a long -excur-

sion voice coil (2 inches in diame-ter and 1 inch long), and a verylarge magnet coupled to a die-castmagnesium basket. Terminals areprovided on the rear of the Puppyfor connection to the input cableand the WATT. Wilson Audio rec-ommends against bi-wiring or us-ing an electronic crossover andseparate amplifiers to drive theWATT/Puppy. Like the WATT, thePuppy has an encapsulated cross-over in a metal can, premium -grade cabling and soldered connec-tions, and a frameless foam grillewith hook -and -loop fasteners.

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 1-On-axis frequencyresponses.

A

0

360

-54020 100

WAVEFORM TEFPHASE

PHASE

16

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 2-On-axis phaseresponse, group delay,and waveform phase.

90

80

70

60

TEF

.1.0

-0.5106 206

5002 4 6 8 10

TIME - msec

Fig. 3-Energy/timeresponse

MeasurementsThe on -axis anechoic frequency response

of the WATT/Puppy, with the WATT's grille

on and off, is shown in Fig. I. Also shownare individual response curves of the WATTand Puppy driven directly. Measurementswere taken from the front of the speakers,on the tweeter's axis, and averaged with atenth -octave filter.

The WATT/Puppy's on -axis response isexceptionally flat and smooth and fits atight, 4 -dB, window (+1, -3 dB referencedto 1 kHz) from 50 Hz to 20 kHz. Referencedto 1 kHz, the response is 6 dB down at 45Hz and 10 dB down at 37 Hz, quite re-spectable low -frequency extension. There isa slight rise in bass response between

80 and 200 Hz and a high -frequency peakat 12.6 kHz followed by a dip at 15.5 kHz (areplacement tweeter I received later exhibit-ed even smoother high -frequency re-sponse). As can be seen in Fig. 1, theWATT's grille is quite transparent acousti-cally, causing essentially no change in theon -axis response.

The response of the Puppy alone has apeaked bandpass characteristic. Its maxi-mum output is at 90 Hz; the output falls at12 dB/octave in the lower frequencies and6 dB/octave at higher frequencies. Whenthe Puppy is used alone, its internal low-pass crossover filter is still operating, thus roll-

ing off its high -frequency response. Whenthe WATT is driven directly (not through


==

10dB

200 2k

FREQUENCY-Hz

Fig. 4-Horizontal off -axisfrequency responses.

10dB

2k

FREQUENCY- Hz

Fig. 5-Vertical off -axisfrequency responses.

100

0

5 10

6 01046

100

FREQUENCY -112

Fig. 6-Impedance.

Fig. 7-Compleximpedance.

90

80

co

70B.

60

so20

20k

-0 FRONT45 OFF

90 SIDE AXIS--135 DEGREES

180 REAR

-90 BELOW45

OFF0 FRONT zoas_

45 DEGREES

90 ABOVE20k

1k

3 6 9

RESISTANCE - OHMS

100 1k

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 8-Three-meter roomresponse.

10k 20k

12

10k 20k

the Puppy's crossover), its responsefalls at about 1.5 dB/octave below800 Hz and at 12 dB/octave below80 Hz.

The WATT/Puppy's sensitivityaveraged 89.8 dB from 250 Hz to 4kHz. This is about 1 dB below Wil-son's 91 -dB published rating. Be-low 10 kHz, the right and left sys-tems matched within a close ±1 dB;above 10 kHz, they matched within±2 dB, with the maximum differ-ence occurring at 20 kHz.

Figure 2 shows the phase andgroup -delay responses of theWATT/Puppy, referenced to thetweeter's arrival time, as well as thewaveform phase (which indicateswhether waveshapes will be pre-served in specific frequencyranges). The phase curve is quitewell behaved and decreases only102° between 1 and 10 kHz. Whenaveraged over the range from 800Hz to 4 kHz, the group delay's off-set is only 0.09 millisecond, withthe WATT's woofer delayed slightly

behind its tweeter. The curve ofwaveform phase indicates thatmost waveshapes will not be pre-served, because the phase does notstay at or near 0° or 180° over anysignificant bandwidth. However,the waveform phase does not rotateas rapidly as it does on most othersystems. Between 800 Hz and 6.5kHz, the waveform phase does staywithin ±60° of 0°.

Figure 3 shows the WATT/Pup-py's energy/time response. The testparameters accentuate the system'sresponse from 1 to 10 kHz, whichincludes the upper crossover re-gion. The main arrival, at 3 msec, isextremely compact but is followedby several delayed responses, down23 dB or more. Generally, thiscurve indicates very good behavior.

Figure 4 shows the combo's hor-izontal off -axis responses. (Thebold curve at the rear of the graphis the on -axis response.) The excel-

lent curve -to -curve uniformitydemonstrates very even horizontalcoverage. Some narrowing is evi-dent above 10 kHz.

Figure 5 shows the vertical off -axis re-sponses of the WATT/Puppy. (The boldcurve in the middle of the graph is on thetweeter's axis.) Although the on -axis and±5° curves are quite uniform, at greater off -

axis angles the response is depressed be-tween 2 and 6 kHz. The response is fairlysymmetrical up and down, which indicatesthat the midrange and tweeter are roughlyin phase through the crossover region. Far-ther off axis, the polar response does exhib-it some asymmetry; fortunately, the re-sponse is significantly flatter above the axisthan below it.

The WATT/Puppy's impedance magni-tude is shown in Fig. 6. Because there aretwo speakers in this system, we see twopeaks and two dips instead of the two peaks

THE WATT/PUPPY

COMBINATION'SFREQUENCY RESPONSE

WAS EXCEPTIONALLY FLAT

AND SMOOTH.

and one dip that are typical of a vented box.The 2.7 -ohm dip at 28 Hz indicates the ap-proximate location of the Puppy's vented -box tuning frequency; the dip at 90 Hz(where the impedance falls to its minimum,2.3 ohms) is due to the crossover that linksthe Puppy with the WATT. Above 200 Hz,the impedance stays within a fairly narrow,4 -ohm, range between 5.5 ohms and thesystem's 9.6 -ohm maximum impedance,which occurs at 20 kHz. The WATT/Pup-py's overall impedance variation is a mod-erate 4.2 to 1 (9.6 divided by 2.3). Cable se-ries resistance should be limited to a lowmaximum of about 0.035 ohm, to keep ca-ble -drop effects from causing responsepeaks and dips that are greater than 0.1 dB.For a typical run of about 10 feet, I recom-mend that you use 12 -gauge (or larger),low -inductance cable.

The WATT/Puppy's complex impedance,over the frequency range from 5 Hz to 30kHz, is shown in Fig. 7. The two largestloops correspond to the two low -frequencypeaks of Fig. 6. A smaller loop correspondsto the slight impedance rise between 800Hz and 2 kHz of Fig. 6; a much smallerloop occurs in the vicinity of 435 Hz.


Above 8 kHz, the impedance continues torise and heads off toward the upper right ofthe graph. The somewhat unusual curve isdue to the WATT being driven in cascadewith the Puppy's high-pass section.

Effectively no side -wall resonances were

detectable when either the WATT or thePuppy was driven by a high-level sine -wave

sweep. The sides of both systems were es-sentially inert and unmoving. No otherspeaker I have tested has passed this test sowell. Both the WATT and the Puppy always

sounded quite clean and effortless in thesine -wave test. The woofers in both systems

overloaded quite gracefully and did notgenerate any harsh sounds.

The maximum excursion of the Puppywoofers was a fairly generous 0.5 inch, peakto peak, while the maximum excursion ofthe WATT woofer was a quite respectable0.35 inch or so, peak to peak. Based on myestimate of the frequency where each cone'sexcursion reached its minimum, the vent-ed -box resonance of the Puppy was about35 Hz and that of the WATT was about 50Hz. Closing the port showed that it reducedthe Puppy's cone motion at box resonanceby a significant 70%; the WATT's motionreduction was about 50%, which is still verygood. The WATT's port reduced cone mo-tion over a wide frequency range, about 27to 78 Hz. I noted some dynamic offset onthe Puppy woofers when levels exceed-ed 14 volts rms at certain frequencies.

MAXIMUM BASS OUTPUT

WAS IN THE TOP 20%

OF ALL SYSTEMS

I'VE TESTED.

The WATT/Puppy's 3 -meter room re-sponse is shown in Fig. 8, with both rawand sixth -octave -smoothed data. Thespeakers were in the right-hand stereo posi-tion and aimed laterally at the test micro-phone, which I placed at ear height (36inches), at the listener's position on thesofa. The system was driven with a sweptsine -wave signal of 2.83 volts rms (corre-sponding to 2 watts into the rated 4 -ohmimpedance). The direct sound and 13 msecof the room's reverberation are included.

Between 800 Hz and 16 kHz, thesmoothed curve is quite flat andfits within a tight, 5 -dB, window. If

you include all peaks and dips, itstill fits a respectable 10 -dB win-dow from 100 Hz to 20 kHz. Notethe depressed region between 300and 500 Hz and the peaks at 180and 710 Hz. High -frequency undu-

lations above 10 kHz mimic theanechoic axial response.

Figure 9 shows the E1 (41.2 -Hz)

bass harmonic distortion of theWATT/Puppy. I used higher ampli-fier power than usual because ofthe speakers' very clean and effort-less sound. At 200 watts, the second

harmonic reaches only 4.9%, whilethe third rises only to 8.3%. Higher

harmonics are at 2.3% or less. (Thepeaks at low power levels, in thefront of the graph, were caused byrandom acoustic background noisein my test setup.) At a 200 -watt in-put at 41.2 Hz, the system generat-ed a healthy 105 dB SPL at 1 meter.

The similarly low A2 (110 -Hz)bass harmonic distortion is shownin Fig. 10. At 200 watts, the second

harmonic reaches 6.1%, the thirdrises only to 1.6%, and higher har-monics are negligible. The higherproportion of second harmonic inthis test was due to moderate dy-namic offset of the Puppy'swoofers, which caused an outwarddisplacement of the cone and re-sultant asymmetrical rounding ofthe output waveshape. With a 200 -watt input at 110 Hz, the systemgenerated a very strong 114 dB SPLat 1 meter.

Figure 11 shows the IM versuspower, created by tones of 440 Hz(A4) and 41.2 Hz (E1) of equal lev-el. As in the previous two distortion

tests, the WATT/Puppy soundedquite clean. Even at 200 watts, itsIM rises only to 5.6%. The wideoverlap of the lower crossover wasone reason why the Wilson combinationhad somewhat higher distortion in this testthan other three-way speakers whosecrossover frequencies are below 400 Hz.This is because the overlap lets the WATT'swoofer undergo significant displacement at

100 -

20) -

20

POWER -WATTS

2nd. 49% 3rd, 8.3%

ti

a.:

MAXIMUM POWER 200 WATTS

4th, 2.3%5th. 6% 6th, 1.0/.

so 100 150

FREQUENCY- Hz

Fig. 9-Harmonic distortionfor E, (41.2 Hz)

, 2nd 6.1%cc0

200

20

POWER -WATTS 2

3rd, 1.6%

MAXIMUM POWER 200 WATTS

= _

4 t4

' ' ,7.ri

150 250 350 450 550

FREQUENCY -44z

Fig. 10-Harmonic distortionfor A2 ( 1 10 Hz).

E -

4

2

02

12 dB

-f-

280

12 dB

1

2 20

POWER - WATTS

Fig. 11-1M distortion forA4 (440 Hz) and E1(41.2 Hz).

140.

WITH130 ROON

GAIN

120

1'0

100

90

TEF

PEAK ACOUSTIC OUTPUT

PEAK INPUT POWER

WITHOUTROOMGAIN

8020 100 1k

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 12-Maximumpea input power andsound output.

10k LE

1k 2

100a.

1010k 20k

200

high power levels from a signal as low as41 Hz.

Figure 12 shows the combination'sshort-term peak -power input and outputcapabilities. The peak input power was cal-culated by assuming that the measured


peak voltage was applied across the rated 4-

ohm impedance.The peak input powerstarts at a very strong 360 watts at 20 Hz,rises to 700 watts at 40 Hz, falls somewhat(to 450 watts at 80 Hz), and then risesrapidly into the region of 5 to 6 kilowattsabove 200 Hz. In the tweeter's range, above5 kHz, the power drops somewhat (to 2,500watts).

As you can see in Fig. 12, the maximumpeak SPL with room gain starts at an im-pressive 107 dB at 20 Hz, rises rapidly to aslight plateau of 120 dB at 65 Hz, and thencontinues to rise to about 125 dB or soabove 150 Hz. The system reaches 110 dBSPL at a low 30 Hz and then rises past 120dB at an impressively low 65 Hz. These SPLthresholds place the WATT/Puppy's maxi-mum bass output in the top 20% of allloudspeakers I have tested, including sever-al that are much larger.

Two mishaps occurred to the WATT dur-ing the peak -power tests. The wooferstopped operating when the 500 -Hz burstreached a power level of nearly 7,000 watts.A call to Wilson Audio's factory revealedthat a resistive protection device in thecrossover had engaged and shut off thewoofer; after the protector was replacedwith a new device, operation was normal.The second mishap was a buzz that devel-oped in a tweeter after it was tested. A retestat lower power was accomplished withoutfurther problems. A new tweeter broughtthe WATT back to factory specifications,and the right/left match was then evenslightly better than it had been when I orig-inally measured it.

Use and Listening TestsThe Wilson speakers arrived in four

heavy wooden crates, two housing theWATTs and two housing the Puppies. Ineeded help both in unpacking them and incarrying them. (Normally, the Wilson Au-dio dealer would take care of setup.) TheWATTs are very heavy for their size; it felt as

if they were weighted with lead inside. As Ilearned later, they really do contain leadblocks, not to add weight but to mass -loadthe cabinet walls to reduce vibration!

I was immediately impressed with boththe packaging and the appearance of thesespeakers. My review systems had an attrac-tive "platinum" glossy finish that lookedlike real metal. The fact that most of the fas-

teners were socket -head machine screwscontributed to this impression. All the cabi-nets had the look of very expensive pieces ofprecision equipment.

The WATTs are normally placed on topof the Puppies, which act as optimum -

height stands. Three small bituminousdamping pads are supplied; they go be-tween the WATT andPuppy to "decouplesubtle midrange inter-face resonances." Twohalf -inch spacers areprovided, which Wil-son Audio says enablesthe speakers' height tobe adjusted for finecontrol of upper -bassand lower -midrange reflections. A set offour Puppy Paw spikes (and a socketwrench) are provided for each Puppy. Thecompany suggests finding the optimum po-sition before the spikes are attached. I con-ducted my listening tests both with andwithout the spikes.

The WATT connects to the Puppythrough a heavy-duty spade -lugged cable(called a Puppy Tail). It passes through thechannel in the rear of the Puppy's cabinetto that speaker's high-pass output termi-nals. An arrow on the cable should point to-

ward the WATT, according to Wilson, to al-low a network in the cable to terminatehigh -frequency reflections. Signals fromyour amplifier are fed to both speakersthrough input terminals on the rear of thePuppy. I could make the terminals only fin-ger -tight because of their shape; even when

the terminals seemed tight, a gentle tugwould sometimes pull the spade loose.

Separate owner's manuals are suppliedfor the WATT and the Puppy. The WATT'smanual is 26 pages long, while the Puppymanual is seven pages. Among the topics inthe WATT's manual are selection of inter-changeable tuning ports (which I did notevaluate), room acoustics, mountingheight, room placement, adding a sub-

woofer (other than the Puppy), and themagnetic field around the WATT (accom-panied by a very useful chart of the fieldshape). Confusingly, some of the state-ments seemed applicable only to bygoneversions of the WATT. Much of the manualillustrated how frequency response, "reso-lution of low-level detail," and soundstag-ing vary with location and mountingheight; the graphs of frequency responsewere quite instructive.

Wilson suggests placing the WATT/Pup-pies at least 3 feet from the wall behindthem, at least 2 feet from the side walls, andtoed in so that a seated listener can barelysee the inner side panel of the WATTs. After

some experimenting,I wound up placingthese speakers closeto my usual locations;

the toe -in matchedthe recommendationfrom Wilson Audio.

I listened with gear

that included Onkyoand Rotel CD players

and Krell's KRC preamp and KSA250 poweramp, with B & W 801 Matrix Series 3 speak-

ers used for comparison. The TransparentAudio cables and interconnects were recom-mended by Wilson Audio.

On Maceo Parker's Life on Planet Groove(Verve 314 517197-2), the WATT/Puppiessounded very dynamic and open, withsmooth and well-balanced response cou-pled with excellent bass control and exten-sion. The crowd sounds at the start of trackI were reproduced with extreme realism;the drum solo from 6:42 to 7:24 on that

THE WATT/PUPPIES

SOUNDED VERY DYNAMIC

AND OPEN, WITH SMOOTH

AND WELL-BALANCED

RESPONSE.


track was extremely effective. The Wilsonspeakers delivered a rarely matched combi-nation of clean sound and high volume.Loud rock and jazz percussion were repro-duced particularly well.

On demanding female vocals, such as myfavorite Holly Cole track on Musical Truth

(Alert Music DPRO-240, a promo CDavailable from Energy Loudspeakers), theWATT/Puppies sounded very smooth andclean, emphasizing sibilants only a bit morethan the B & W 801s. And since the 801s'high frequencies are slightly depressed, theysounded slightly dull in comparison to theWATT/Puppies. On male voice, the WilsonAudio speakers also did very well, with notubbiness or other tonal aberrations.

The WATT/Puppies are quite sensitive; Ihad to reduce my amplifier's output by 5 or6 dB to match their sound level to the levelof the 801s during my comparisons. Onclean hard -rock music (there actually issuch a thing!), the WATT/Puppies couldplay significantly louder and cleaner thanthe 801s. However, this seems mainly due to

the Wilsons' higher sensitivity and the limi-tations of the 200 -watt amp I used. Al-though the Wilson speakers were clean atlevels where the B & Ws sounded harsh andcompressed, the 801s have reproducedthese levels cleanly with other amps.

On pink noise, the WATT/Puppiessounded somewhat smoother to me thanthe 801s when I was seated but noticeablyless smooth when I stood up, because ofupper -midrange roughness and tonality.Horizontal coverage was excellent. Onthird -octave band -limited pink noise, theWilsons had some usable output at 20 Hz,more usable output at 25 Hz, and lots ofclean output at all higher frequencies. At 32Hz and above, the WATT/Puppies delivered

more clean output than the B & Ws, whoseoutput capability has been exceeded by veryfew speakers I've tested. The only problem Ifound in the Wilsons was some outward dy-namic offset at 25, 80, and 100 Hz at veryhigh levels. Port noise was significantly low-er than that of the B & Ws when played atequal levels.

On large-scale cathedral pipe organ, as inJean Guillou's very demanding recording ofMussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"(Dorian DOR-90117), the WATT/Puppiesactually delivered more clean bass outputthan the 801s at all but the very lowest fre-

quencies. The Wilson combination couldhandle the full output of the Krell amplifierwithout any problems. Only rarely was theWATT/Puppy's limit reached, and eventhen its overload behavior was very good.

On more sedate classical music, such asTelemann for Trumpet by Stephen Burns(Dorian Discovery DIS-80132), theWATT/Puppies produced a full-bodied,neutral tonality with good depth andsoundstage. Trumpet peaks were repro-duced cleanly, with no roughness. On clas-sical guitar recordings, plucked string

sound was crisp and clear. On massed or-chestral music, the WATT/Puppy's outputwas always quite clean and allowed me todelineate individual instrument sections.

The WATT/Puppy combo performedsuperbly in most of my bench and listeningtests. Its level of performance surpassedthat of most of the other speakers I haveevaluated, making it a definite contenderfor-dare I say it?-best of breed. For thosewho can afford it, this system delivers asmuch performance and pride of ownershipas a Jaguar, or perhaps even a Ferrari. A

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EQUIPMENT PROFILEBASCOM H. KING

DYNACO CDV-1CD PLAYER

Tubes are not often found in theanalog stages of D/A convertercircuits, though the DynacoCDV-1 is not the first CD playerto use them that way. The own-er's manual says the player's two

6DJ8 tubes help it deliver "rich,soft, warm harmonics with adeep and natural bass response"

and that music will sound appre-

ciably more pleasing on the CDV-1 than on

conventional, solid-state, CD players.

Because it has a volume control, theCDV-1 would be a logical candidate for aCD -only system when used with an appro-priate power amplifier. Aside from that vol-

ume control and the window throughwhich the tubes can be seen, the CDV-1's

front panel is fairly standard. Its round but-

tons are divided into two logical groups,one for the main transport functions and

the other for up/down search and such less

essential functions as programming. Sever-

al buttons have red indicator lights, ofwhich the ones for "Play," "Program," and

"Repeat" blink or glow, depending on theoperating mode. The power on/off indica-tor is green during initial standby and turnsred once the tubes are warmed up.

The transport mechanism is one ofPhilips's latest. It has a three -beam laserpickup and a straight -line -tracking sled for

the optics. The digital audio decoder anddigital filter is a Philips SAA7345GP chip,operating in its four-times-oversamplingmode. This is an infinite -impulse -response

(IIR) design rather than the more usual fi-nite -impulse -response (FIR) type. An IIRfilter needs fewer filter sections or filtercomputations than an FIR design to achieve

a given amount of out -of -band attenuation.

However, the phase response of IIR filters is

not as linear as that of FIR filters, so IIR fil-

ters have asymmetrical transient character-

istics. Also, when normally configured (asin the CDV-1), this chip set digitally attenu-

ates the signal to both the converter and the

digital output by 0.5 dB, which will preventproper operation of an external HDCD de-

coder. (The CDV- I does not itself provideHDCD decoding.)

The Dynaco's 1 -bit DAC is a PhilipsSAA7350GP. (This chip is also used in anumber of separate D/A converters.) Itsdifferential output is converted to a single -ended signal by a Burr -Brown OPA2604op -amp. Capacitors across the appropriate

resistors in this op -amp circuit, togetherwith a two -stage passive RC filter between

the output of the op -amp and the volumecontrol, form a low-pass filter whose cutoff

frequency is about 75 kHz. The player'stube output circuit, which uses one 6DJ8twin triode per channel, is implemented as

a common -cathode amplifier and is direct -

coupled to a cathode follower. The negative

feedback loop for this stage runs from the

output coupling capacitor back to the firststage's grid.

Measurements

With the volume control fully up and asignal at digital full scale (0 dBFS), theCDV-1's output measured 3.2 and 2.98volts, respectively, for the left and right line

outputs with instrument loading. Theheadphone output delivered 2.85 volts forthe left channel and 2.66 volts for the right.

Output resistance was about 252 ohms forthe line outputs and 100 ohms for the head-

phone outputs.

Frequency response 's plotted in Fig. 1for instrument loading. (With the IHF load,the high -frequency response was the same

but the level at 10 Hz was down about 0.5

dB more.) However, the CDV-l's high -fre-quency de -emphasis overcompensates, as

shown, for the pre -emphasis used on cer-

Dimensions: 22 in. W x 7 in. H x 16 in.D (55.9 cm x 17.8 cm x 40.6 cm).

eight: 19 lbs. (8.6 kg).

cc $699.

mpany Address: 125 Cabot Court,Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788; 516/434-1200.



INK LABS -C11111114hr/ 1 LIVE.(dIr) FRIWItc)

t -LEFT---RIGHT WITHOUT DE -EMPHASIS

0 -- -.- -..... ...it.....". ....-- -.....--' \ \

WITH DE -EMPHASIS N\ \

5 10 100 lk 10k 20k

/

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 1-Frequencyresponse.

IIIM IJISS - Cm/

0.4 0.8 1.2

TIME - MILLISECONDS

Fig. 2-Response to a1 -kHz square wave.

1101 INS MAIO .. FAEQIItz,

- LEFT- - RIGHT

of

+ 0.1 -

0.01

80 -kHz BANDWIDTH

J

16 2.0

22-,: BANDWIDTH

10 100 Ik

FREQUENCY -Hz

Fig. 3-THD + N vs.frequency.

1M3 11111.11C4b1 Ltuatdir,-60

Z -800F -

LEFT

RIGHT-100

-100 -80 -60 -40 -20RECORDED LEVEL-dBFS

Fig. 4-THD + N vs.level.

10k 20k

tain CDs; the unit's de -emphasiserror will slightly dull the highs if adisc recorded with pre -emphasis isplayed, but such CDs are rare. Al -kHz square wave (Fig. 2) indi-cates asymmetrical ringing, causedby the IIR filter's nonlinear phaseresponse. Playback polarity wasnot inverted.

Figure 3 shows total harmonicdistortion plus noise (THD + N)versus frequency, at 0 dBFS withthe CDV-1's volume control fullyclockwise. In the curves made withmy normal measurement band-width of 22 kHz, the rise in distor-tion at the higher frequencies isdue to intermodulation and otherartifacts rather than to harmonicsof the signal frequencies, althoughthis limited bandwidth makes thatpoint unclear. With the measurement bandwidth opened up to 80kHz, which lets in more out -of -band energy, you can see an evengreater increase in non -signal ener-gy as frequency increases. This ismore representative of the signalthis player would feed to your pre -amp and amp in actual use.

At the 0-dBFS signal level, dis-tortion below about 1 kHz is gen-erated in the CDV-1's tube outputsection, and it drops with decreas-ing signal amplitude. This can beseen in Fig. 4, THD + N versusrecorded level for a 1 -kHz signal

and a measurement bandwidth of400 Hz to 22 kHz. Distortionwould also be lower if the outputvoltage were decreased by turningthe volume control down insteadof by reducing signal amplitude.

The fade -to -noise test (notshown), a measure of linearity(and, hence, distortion), yieldedquite good results that were essen-tially identical for both channels.Deviation was about -1 dB at -90dBFS, crossed through 0 dB at -100dBFS, passed through +2 dB at-105 dBFS, and climbed to +5 dBat -115 dBFS.

Interchannel crosstalk rose atthe typical rate of 6 dB per octave.Crosstalk from the left to the right

channel was -56 dB at 1 kHz and -32 dB at16 kHz but was 20 dB better in the oppositedirection.

With the transport on pause or playing asilent track, output noise level of the twochannels averaged about -85.6 dB withwideband measurement. It was -87.6 dBover the band from 22 Hz to 22 kHz andwas -97 dB from 400 Hz to 22 kHz orA -weighted. Quantization noise was -89.2dB, and dynamic range came out to about97 dB.

Volume -control tracking between chan-nels was quite good down to about -15 dB.From that point on, though, the left chan-nel's attenuation increased faster than theright channel's, creating an imbalance ofabout 3 dB at -25 dB and 8 dB at -50 dB.

As I suspected, the digital output wouldnot piss an HDCI) signal on to an external

RESULTS OF

T-IE FADE -TO -NOISE TEST

WERE QUITE GOOD AND

ESSENTIALLY IDENTICAL

FOR BOTH CHANNELS.

D/A converter with HDCD decoding. Jitterin the digital output, measured with a Meit-ner LIM jitter detector in conjunction witha Crystal 8412 input receiver, was ratherhigh. I measured nearly 10 nanoseconds,peak to peak, of signal -correlated jittercomponents for a -90 dB, 1 -kHz signal.Fortunately, the amount of jitter getting tothe CDV- l's internal DAC is not this bad, asmost of the jitter at the digital output jack isdue to a poorly designed output -isolationtransformer.

Use and Listening TestsAs my comparison CD players, I used a

Counterpoint DA -11A CD transport to drivea Museatex Bidat or a Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 MU! D/A converter. Additionally, at vari-ous times a Genesis Digital Lens anti -jitterdevice was placed between the CD trans-port and the D/A converter. A Forssell tubeline driver was used with the Sonic Fron-tiers D/A converter; other sources wentthrough a Quicksilver Audio preamp. Pow-er amplifiers on hand for the review periodwere a Crown Macro Reference, a pair of


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Quicksilver M135 tube units, an Arnow(7B digital switching design, and a Hafler9505. I also used a Jolida SJ 302A tube inte-

grated amp. The loudspeakers were B & W801 Matrix Series 3s, augmented from 20 to50 Hz by a subwoofer in each channel.

I first listened with the Dynaco CDV-1feeding directly into the Jolida amplifier. Iset the CDV-1's volume control up fullyand used the volume control on the amp.The sound was pretty good overall, al-though I did notice some high -frequencyirritation on loud, complex passages. Basswas robust, full, and extended. I next pairedthe Dynaco player with the Hafler amp andused the volume control on the CDV-1.Again the sound was quite good, with excel-

lent bass. However, the sense of space anddimension, and the musical believability,were not as good as with my usual listeningsetup, and I was bothered by a touch ofhigh -frequency edginess heard on someCDs. Still, I was able to get into the musiceasily enough, which is the most importantthing.

THE DYNACO CDV- 1

PRODUCED BASS

THAT WAS ROBUST,

FULL, AND EXTENDED.

111

I have couple of nits to pick. The poorvolume -control tracking below about the 9o'clock knob position was a bit bother-some, causing me to sometimes turn up thevolume more than I would have liked to geta reasonable left/right balance. Anotherthing that I consider a definite flaw in myreview sample, and a potential flaw in thedesign, was a transient noise when startingor stopping a CD. At volume settings ofabout 9 to 10 o'clock, a definite pop couldbe heard and woofer displacement was evi-dent. With the volume turned up real high,starting, stopping, or pausing a CD pro-duced a substantial transient.

Does the CDV- I live up to its promises of

delivering the fabled attributes of tubesound? Regrettably, I feel it doesn't quite.Nevertheless, I think the Dynaco gave apretty good account of itself overall, espe-cially considering its modest price. A


PIONEER, continued from page 44Pop and New Age sounded "different"

but acceptable. Some of the discs I used-Madonna's True Blue (Sire 9 25442) and Ki-

taro's Silk Road (Gramavision R2 79409)-were originally recorded on analog tape,which might have made a difference.

I SEE NO POINT

IN DESIGNING A GOODD/A CONVERTER AND

THEN PURPOSELY

ADDING DISTORTION.

Legato Link reminds me of a moving -coil phono cartridge, many of which alsostrike me as being peaky in the treble andhaving considerable tracking distortion.Perhaps "MC sound" was what Pioneersought from Legato Link. Many audiophilesdo love that kind of sound, but I'm not oneof them. To my way of thinking, LegatoLink is the PDR-99's major weakness.

I see no point in designing an essentiallydistortion -free converter and then purpose-fully introducing artifacts (ringing onmidrange axis crossings and scads of odd -order distortion on treble signals) on theassumption that they were originally in themusic but removed by the bandwidth re-strictions of 44.1 -kHz sampling. Assumingthat harmonics were lost, there's no way toknow what they were. Each instrument hasits own overtone structure that makes itssound unique. There's no such thing as a"universal fix." (Nor is it clear that there'sreally anything that needs fixing: Evidenceof human perception of sound above CD'sstandard upper -frequency limit of 20 kHzis extremely scant.)

I have no problem with a manufacturermanipulating the signal if it believes theend product sounds better. Just allow me toturn the processing off if I disagree! Unfor-tunately, with the PDR-99, you can't. If youhave a good external D/A converter, you'rein luck. Run it from the PDR-99's digitaloutput, and you'll have a CD recording sys-tem you can be proud of. Or you mightconsider spending $50 less for the PDR-05,which differs only in having a shorter war-ranty, a less fancy finish, and (Pioneer tellsme) no Legato Link. A

KlipschLUCASFILM

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THX° EXPERIENCE.THX criteria are demanding. Exact specifications

for efficiency, distortion, power handling, dispersion

control and frequency response must be met for a

product to earn the THX logo.

Award winning Klipsch Horn Technology is based

on the principles of physics. So Klipsch THX speak-

ers are highly efficient, deliver broad dynamics with

low levels of distortion, offer controlled directivity

and have flat frequency response. It's the sametechnology found in our full line of audio and home

theater speaker systems. And it's the same tech-nology that's made Klipsch world famous for over

50 years!

The goal of a Home THX System is for the viewer

to experience a movie soundtrack that's exciting

enough for the most demanding director and sound

engineer. Klipsch THX will deliver outstandingaudio whether you're watching "The Empire Strikes

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When you've got questions about Audio and Video,

see a specialist-., Is it possible to have excellent

home theater sound and musicalreproduction in one stereo

system?

Yes and No. Most surroundreceivers and pre -amps sacrificemusical information and nuance

wi:h inadequate processing circuits andpoor preamplifier sections. However,some companies have produced surroundsound pre -amplifiers with excellentmusical characteristics and surroundsound processing that derives it's ambientcues from the actual recorded material.Some speaker systems that are designedexpressly for movie soundtrackreproduction have limited verticaldispersion to facilitate greater intelligibility.High end music speakers not only limitsound stage "height", they also exhibitexcellent front to back depth and rhythmiccoherency. We believe that there areexcellent music loudspeakers that enhancethe sound of a home theater system. Inshort, carefully chosen components cancreate superlative sound for music andvideo.

-David ReidHigh Fidelity, Inc.

Austin, Texas

High Fidelity Inc.

"ly television recently got hit bylighting. How can I protect myequipment from power surgeslike that?

BLying an A/V system is nodifferent than making any othermajor purchase. You want to

protect your equipment because it is aninvestmervt. Electrical surges can destroythe electronics in your components in aninstant. The cumulative effect of small,practically undetectable surges that comein periodically through the external wiresand into your home can actually be moredamaging :0 your components than largerisolated surges called "electrical spikes"which are caused by lightning. This dispelsthe myth that you can unplug yourcomponer ts before a storm and keepthem safe, because damage occurs atrandom intervals. It is definitely worthwhile to irvest a little extra money insurge protecting products to insure thatyour equipment will be protected. Workwith your audio/video retailer to get theproducts r ecessary to protect yourcomponents from environmentaldisturbances.

-Norman RozakColumbia Audio/Video

Highland Park, Illinois

COLUMBIAAUDIO/VIDEO

Each month, Audio Magazine's newest feature "See a Specialist", will showcase some of the Finestaudio/video dealers from across the country. The dealers, chosen as a result of recommendations fromequipment manufacturers, Audio Magazine staff and industry organizations, will exemplify the bestaudio/video dealers from New York to California. The chosen dealers will offer solutions to problemsthat can best be handled by a specialty audio/video retailer.

If you would like to submit questions to dealers in your area please write to :

See a Specialist, c/o Audio Magazine, 1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019

If I pLrchase a home theatersystem, will it sound as good inmy home as in your shcwroom?

We do two things to make thepurcha;e of a home theater systema rewarding and successful

experience. Fi-st, we presentdemonstration venues that recreate thecustomer's own living environment. We dothis from very basic surround systems allthe way to incredibly sophisticated THXhome theaters. Second, we deliver and setup the system so that the customer'sexperience at home is at least as good as inour showroon. We accomplish -..his bycarrying "cutting edge" home theaterproducts as well as training our salespeople in system integration. Beuig anindependent specialty dealer enables us toperform the magic that provides a uniqueexperience for our customer. Thisrelationship with our customer is thedriving force i i our business now and willbe the force teat drives our business intothe next century.

-Peter CosenzaHifi House

Broomall, Pennsylvania

4

Hifi HouseHOME THEATER CENTER

How can I connect my stereosystem to my computer?

To hook up your computer to thestereo ycu will need a pazchcordwhich has a stereo mini headphone

jack (3.5mm) on one end and a Fair ofRCA jacks on th2. other end. You shouldbe able to purchase these cords at anystereo store. The mini jack plugs into thesound card on the back of the computerand the RCA jac< plugs into to an unusedinput on your re:eiver or preamp. Nowyou will be able to enjoy thesuperior sound from your stereo systemwhile playing games and using multimediaCD-ROMs.

-Todd HolcombCyclone Sterec

Ames, Iowa

CYCLONESTEREO

Presented by AUDI()

AURICLEANTHONY H. CORDESMAN

EGGLESTONWORKSANDRA SPEAKER

A

t its best, the high end is glo-rious excess. At its worst, it is

pretentious and grandiose.Happily, the Andra loud-speaker, from a new compa-ny, EgglestonWorks, is far

more glorious than grandiose. Withthe Andra, EgglestonWorks haspushed efforts to eliminate cabinetcoloration to new heights but hasnot lost sight of the need for ad-vanced design technology in otherareas. The Andra offers excellent per-

formance in virtually every aspect,and its soundstaging is among thebest of any speaker available.

Like most assaults onthe state of the art, the An-dra is expensive; it sells for$12,960 a pair. One reasontor this lies in its construc-tion. For example, howmany speakers incorpo-rate large pieces of Italianblack granite to dampcabinet resonances? Andthe Andra's laminatedwalls consist of two panelsof 5/8 -inch medium -densi-

ty fiberboard. A final layerof outer lamination is bonded by aviscoelastic damping adhesive,which EgglestonWorks claims de-creases wall -transmitted vibrationsby a factor of 10. The cabinet wallsare a minimum of 11/4 inches thick,and in the upper section of the cabi-net, the laminate is sandwiched be-tween two pieces of granite to create

Company Address: 378 SouthMain St., Memphis, Tenn.38103; phone, 901/525-1100;fax, 901/525-1050; web site,

http://www.eggworks.00m/-eggworks


walls that are 21/2 inches thick. Thecabinet uses dado and biscuit join-ery, and the internal braces are rarelymore than a fewinches apart.

The Andra hasa number of oth-er features to re-duce cabinet col-oration. A nylonpolyamide loose -bulk fiber, whichdoes not requiresupport and does not settle, is usedas damping material. Simply Physicsdecouplers act as feet. The Andra's

grilles are unusually transparent anddo little to color the sound, althoughI would recommend that you useonly the tweeter guards for seriouslistening.

The Andra is a very stylish speaker

that has the finish and look you ex-pect at its price level. The speaker isvery attractive and remarkably com-pact for its 210 -pound weight. The

Andra is only 371/2 inches high andjust 151/4 inches wide versus 181/4deep, which makes it appear much

smaller than itis. Its sculpturedlook should fitcomfortably intoa great manyliving rooms,without takingon the characterof a room -domi-nating icon.

The Andra's cabinet is designed tocreate resistance behind the driversthat's as close to that of a free -air

EGGLESTONWORKS

HAS PUSHED EFFORTS

TO ELIMINATE

CABINET COLORATION

TO NEW HEIGHTS.


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suspension as possible. This ensures thateach diaphragm has roughly the same pres-sure in back of it as it does it front.

The Andra's tweeter has a large, aperiod-ic rear damping chamber to imitate infi-nite -baffle loading, and its crossover-which uses MIT capacitors and Vishayresistors-is in its own chamber. Eggleston -Works says it chose Dynaudio's EsotarT330D tweeter on the basis of its exception-al neutrality and because it is manufacturedand tested with outstanding quality control.

The Andra's two Morel MW166 6 -inchpolypropylene, double -magnet mid -bassdrivers are in independently tuned trans-mission lines. The MW166 has a large voicecoil (3 inches in diameter) and an unusual-ly rigid structure. It also has a natural rolloffcharacteristic and can be run full -range.EgglestonWorks claims that the transmis-sion lines used to load the MW166s are thefirst to incorporate the design work by Lar-ry D. Sharp, enabling the use of shortertransmission lines than previously possible.

The bass drivers are two Dynaudio30W100 12 -inch woofers. These are loadedin a pressure -driven configuration of twoparallel chambers; the rear chamber is vent-ed. The 30W100 has a very large voice coil(4 inches in diameter), a mass of only 35.2grams, a large (28 -mm) cone excursion, anunusually supple suspension, and highstructural rigidity. The pressure -drivenloading is said to minimize back pressureon the front woofer while still allowing itto produce good "slam," good definition,and low bass extension in a relatively smallcabinet.

The Andra is easy on amplifiers andspeaker cables. It has a moderate rated sen-sitivity of 87 dB, but its nominal impedanceof 6.9 ohms makes it a good match with anytop-quality amplifier capable of more than100 watts per channel. I encountered nosignificant interaction problems in usingmy reference AudioQuest, Goertz, Discov-ery, and Wireworld speaker cables with arange of different power amps.

During the last few years, the best high -end dynamic speakers have advanced to thepoint where their apparent speed andtransparency are similar to those of electro-static speakers while providing superiorbass, dynamics, upper treble, and disper-sion. The Andra's sound has all of thesecharacteristics. Like most of today's best de-

signs, it is remarkably free of the minor re-sponse irregularities and crossover col-orations audiophiles had to put up witheven a few years ago. It has a seamless trans-

parency from the upper mid -bass to at leastthe limit of my hearing.

The Andra's most striking characteristicis its exceptionally wide soundstage. At themanufacturer's suggestion, I placed the An-dras about 50% farther apart than I wouldmost speakers, with a moderate toe -in to-ward the listening position. I expected thisplacement would be so wide that it wouldproduce a "hole in the middle" effect. In-stead, center fill, left -to -right imaging, andsoundstage definition were all excellent.The Andra's only limitation was a slightloss of depth, relative to the best competingspeakers, and a bit more vertical directivityin the treble than some line -source dipoles.

The Andras provided an exceptionallywide, stable listening area-nothing antiso-cial about the dispersion characteristics ofthis speaker. You do, however, need to payattention to side -wall reflections. Much ofthe advice given audiophiles about speakerplacement now emphasizes achieving flat

THE MOST STRIKING

ASPECT OF THE ANDRA

IS ITS EXCEPTIONALLY

WIDE SOUNDSTAGE.

bass response so much that it ignores therisk of smear from reflected treble andmidrange energy. A speaker with the excel-lent dispersion characteristics of the Andrashould not be placed too near the side wallssimply to get the widest soundstage. Glori-ous as excess may be, musically natural isstill better.

The Andra's treble was excellent. Only afew ribbon drivers give more apparent de-tail and life, and this speaker's timbre waswell chosen to provide lifelike musical ener-gy and information without excess treble.The Andra did not have a euphonic high -frequency rolloff or "forgiving" upper oc-taves, but it was in no way etched, overpre-cise, or analytic.

The midrange was very neutral andsmooth. I occasionally heard a slight

amount of excess upper -midrange energy,but this seemed to be as much a matter ofthe recording as the speaker. The Andra'supper midrange was very revealing, anddid not hear any characteristic coloration ofsoprano and tenor voices, violin, or pianoin this region.

The critical lower-midrange/upper-bassregion had excellent definition and timbre.The Andra provided exceptional naturalwarmth here, an area where many speakerserr on the side of either leanness or excess.The lower midrange also had outstandingtransparency coupled with very good low-level detail and resolution. Cellos soundedexceptionally natural, as did organ andpercussion.

The mid -bass was excellent and the lowbass very good. The Andra is capable of re-producing very deep bass, but an apparentrolloff in energy began at around 35 Hz; itcannot provide the power and "slam" of alarge separate subwoofer. I'd have liked justa bit more definition in the very low bass.

Overall transparency was very good overa wide range of levels. The Andra did an ex-ceptional job of revealing low-level detailand could handle anything but insane rock -concert levels. There was no change insound character from low- to high-level dy-namics, and I experienced no problems inletting classical music "rip." I could letWagner do his worst (best?) without push-ing the Andra's dynamic limits.

The Andra is an exceptional speaker andshould provide years of listening pleasure.New manufacturers often produce interest-ing loudspeakers, but ones that tend to em-phasize some aspects of sound quality overothers. They may have important innova-tions, but once the initial favorable reviewsare over, the product is often found to lackbalance and integration. I don't believe thiswill be true of the EgglestonWorks Andra, aspeaker that is anything but a "one -trickpony." EgglestonWorks may have put spe-cial emphasis on reducing cabinet col-oration, but it has also paid proper atten-tion to driver selection, driver loading,dispersion characteristics, amplifier load-ing, and every other important design para-meter. If you are looking for a reference -quality speaker that offers a superbsoundstage and an outstanding ability tofaithfully reproduce recordings, the Andramay be your speaker of choice. A

AUDIOFEBRUARY 199664

l'11LE illOntreisAUDIO wants you to be as informed as possible when you

make your next Audio/Home Theater purchase. The Reader Inquiry

Card (opposite) will allow you to receive free information on

participating advertisers' products. Manufacturer Reader Service

numbers can be found at the bottom of their advertisement and a

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To help us continue providing :he information ycu need,

we encourage you to fill out and return the attacl-ed card.


ANC STROM 200A/V PREAMP

AND PROCESSOR

nnovation is the essence of thehigh end, but only a few prod-ucts break new ground in qualityand function. The Angstrom 200not only addresses both, but itdoes so in an area where innova-

tion is badly needed. In one way oranother, preamps and processorshave been the weak links in bringinghigh -end sound to A/V systems. TheAngstrom 200 is the first componentI have encountered that successfullycombines advanced digital signal

Company Address: do MikeMoffat Labs, 5273 CommerceAve., #1, Moorpark, Cal. 93021;805/523-7864.


processing with all of the features ofa good A/V preamp. It not only hasinputs for a wide range of videoequipment butcan accommo-date game con-soles and othercomponentsthat have oftencaused hum orpops with otherA/V preamps.Its ergonomicsmake it remarkably easy to live with.Most important, Dolby Surroundsoundtracks and music recordingsseem far more lifelike on the Ang-strom than on any other surroundprocessor I have heard.

The Angstrom 200 costs $3,495, butit is a bargain by high -end stand-ards. You get six channels of digitalsignal processing, a full -featured A/V

preamp with all -digital implementa-tion of Dolby Pro Logic, plus matrixsurround. Besides its built-in Dolbydecoding, the Angstrom can be up-graded to include decoders for twoof the digital discrete six -channel("5.1 -channel") systems now com-ing on the market. A Dolby AC -3 de-

modulator and decoder will soon beavailable for under $1,500, and you'llbe able to add another such decodingsystem (DTS, for example), if oneshould become available. In fact, theAngstrom is designed so that all ofits digital processing is upgradable.This offers an unusual degree of pro-tection against the high cost of keep-ing up with rapid changes in audiotechnology.

The Angstrom 200 has a well-bal-anced mix of A/V and control fea-tures. It provides switching for sixaudio and audio/video sources, in-cluding three digital inputs (two op-tical and one coaxial). This makes iteasy to connect the unit into a com-plicated audio/video system.

You may miss the usual welter ofnumerous (and often useless) front -panel controls and a display filledwith indicators. On the other hand, Ifound the Angstrom's combinationof front -panel controls and on-screen features to be just right. Theonly choice I would question isputting the surround delay adjust-

ment on therear panel.While I agreethat it's nor-mally best toset this controlonce and forgetit, and thatfront -panelm isadj ust men t

is a constant risk, I'd still prefer easi-er access.

The rest of the Angstrom 200's er-gonomics are very good. An on-screen display makes setup easy, theowner's manual is relatively well

THE ANGSTROM 200

SUCCESSFULLY

INTEGRATES DSP

WITH ALL THE FEATURES

OF A GOOD A/V PREAMP.


1927: Moviegoers are mesmerizedby a new technology

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scundfe lccircJits-pli.s tie latestsurround sound r n:va-ionsdeveloped ii cpn}in:ticnviti our global tectriology3ar ners Mctorpt. (-heTX-SV828 uses the ne.v24 3it DSP ificro-:cmputer),11M_ucasfilm aid Jib?. Tiiscream team cc ribinationTia<es the TX-SA,8213 today'spreeminent how thealer-ecaiver win the ri:st3d.anced TH), rrccessingani cinema aco.st csaccomplished :c iEle.

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written, and much of the hookup is intu-itively obvious. The key settings are shownby LEDs on the front panel, and the controlfeatures are relatively simple and hard tomisadjust. For once, setup procedures areclearly differentiated from ordinary opera-tion, which minimizes the chance of some-one in your family accidentally fouling upyour setup adjustments. The remote con-trol is also mercifully simple.

The rear -panel layout is well arranged,with connectors placed in a logical orderand spaced so you can easily use either bun -

died or separate audio and video cables. Iwould have liked a test signal for subwooferlevel, however. (The test signal for settingfront and surround levels has no bass, perDolby standards.) Using a subwoofer-levelsignal and a sound -level meter is much eas-ier than adjusting subwoofer level by ear,particularly if you're not very familiar withsetting up A/V systems.

The decoding modes include Dolby ProLogic, "Matrix," "Plus 1," and "Plus 2." Forthe moment, the last two duplicate the ProLogic and "matrix" modes but with full-

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range surround signals (and, in "Plus 1,"enhanced steering). The real purpose ofthese settings is to leave a place for the dis-crete 5.1 -channel upgrades.

Central to the design is an astonishingamount of computing power. There are twoAnalog Devices ADSP-2115 main proces-sors, for a total of over 30 MIPS (million in-

structions per second) of capability-plus asocket for a third processor for future up-grades. This enables the Angstrom to usecomplex finite -impulse -response (FIR) fil-ters in decoding Dolby Pro Logic and ma-trix sound. Angstrom claims that FIR yieldsfar more linear phase characteristics thanthe much simpler infinite -impulse -re-sponse (IIR) filters used in other digitalDolby Surround decoders. The benefits aresaid to include better directionality andimaging, wider bandwidth and better up-per -octave information, and cleaner andmore natural musical harmonics.

THE ANGSTROM CAN BE

UPGRADED TO INCLUDE

TOMORROW'S DIGITAL

SURROUND SYSTEMS.

For better sound quality, the Angstrom'sthree digital inputs are not decoded to ana-log before processing, and its video signalsare very carefully isolated. The 200 uses sep-

arate power transformers for its video, digi-tal, and analog power supplies; shieldingimproves signal isolation. The active andpassive components are of excellent quality,and the unit is solidly built, with a 3/s -inchaluminum faceplate and a 16 -gauge steelchassis. It carries a 10 -year warranty, 93/4years longer than some video componentsand about 8 years longer than most audiocomponents.

The Angstrom's specifications includeaudio frequency response within ±0.1 dBfrom 20 Hz to 20 kHz, THD of less than0.02% over the same range, more than 55dB of separation between channels, andS/N greater than 95 dB. Delay time is vari-able from 15 to 30 msec, and the subwoofercrossover frequency is 80 Hz. The outputvoltage is a nominal 2 volts, and the outputimpedance is 100 ohms.

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Audio's primary concern is sound, notimages, but I should note two things aboutpicture quality via the Angstrom 200.First, it is one of the most neutral videoswitching devices I have encountered. Sec-ond, it does not have S -video connectors.Some video buffs use such connections foreverything in sight, but I have found themto be useful only with leads less than 6 feetlong and with Super -VHS tape machines

MULTICHANNEL MUSIC

TOOK ON NEW FOCUS

AND DEFINITION, WITHVERY CLEAN SURROUND.

and a few satellite systems. I'd suggest, too,that if you want to get the best pictureavailable, you should use the video switch-ing in your monitor in preference to thatin the Angstrom. If you connect the videooutput of your satellite terminal, laserdiscplayer, or S -VHS recorder directly to themonitor, it will make A/V switching a bitmore complicated, but it also will take a lotof circuitry and cabling out of the videopath.

I used the Angstrom 200 in four differentways: To play Dolby Surround soundtracks,to play music recorded with Dolby Sur-round encoding, to play stereo CDs andDAT cassettes, and to play stereo from suchanalog sources as an FM tuner and aturntable and phono preamp. The advan-tages of the Angstrom 200 were most strik-ing when I was listening to Dolby Surroundsoundtracks and music. The sound wasmuch closer to what I have heard from dis-crete multichannel digital and analog sys-tems than from any other Dolby Surroundprocessor. It was notably cleaner and less fa-tiguing, and there were fewer random sur-round -channel artifacts.

Virtually any A/V processor can be de-scribed as dramatic if the only sonic criteri-on is how loud you can make the special ef-fects or how far you can boost the bass. Theprocessing quality of an A/V decoder andpreamp also has little meaning if you areplaying one of the many Dolby Surroundmovies whose soundtracks appear to havebeen thrown together inexpertly or even


randomly. Fortunately, you can find moreand more great surround -encoded sound-tracks, and they deserve the best decodingpossible. The Angstrom provides this. It did

an exceptional job of reproducing the forestsounds in the quiet passages of the Last ofthe Mohicans, the "arrival" scenes in Termi-nator 2, the water and ambient sounds inthe director's cut of The Abyss, and thecomplex interplay of dialog, music, andsound effects in Queen Margot. It openedup the soundtracks of spectaculars (such asthe Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars

series) by providing cleaner low-level detailand sweeter and more realistic reproduc-tion of the music. These improvementswere particularly striking when the 200 wasset in its "Plus 1" mode.

The only drawback I found in theAngstrom's ability to reproduce sound-tracks is that the 200 doesn't have equaliza-tion adjustments. There's no easy way toroll off the highs to compensate for sound-tracks that have excessive treble. There'salso no way to add the bass boost often ap-plied in movie theaters.

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The Angstrom 200's sound was very im-pressive with Dolby Surround CDs. Stillvery much a mixed blessing, many of theseCDs are intrinsically awful recordings thathave all the mindless surround abuses thatcharacterized most quadraphonic record-ings produced back in the '70s. Delos, how-ever, combines surround technology withtaste, and the Angstrom 200 reproducedthat company's surround recordings withmore natural musical detail and trans-parency than any other unit I have tried.The music took on a new focus and defini-

tion, and the surround effects were muchcleaner. (Try listening to Dennis Keene'sBeyond Chant, Delos DE 3165, and GerardSchwarz conducting Mendelssohn's Sym-phony No. 2, Delos DE 3112.)

The Angstrom did a very good job in re-producing stereo CDs and DATs. The 200 isnot a rival to the finest D/A converters, butit is very good indeed. It has a very smoothoverall timbre, with no eccentricities, and asmooth transition from the deep bass to thetop octaves. It is very detailed and transpar-ent and adds no touch of digital edge to the

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upper midrange or the treble. Its bass is ex-tended, powerful, and well defined. Thesoundstage has very good imaging and left -

to -right width. The Angstrom is a bit lack-ing in depth, but it is free of the digital glazethat is present in some D/A converters cost-ing nearly as much as this entire unit.

The Angstrom 200 is also not state of theart as an analog line -stage preamp. I heard aslight loss of detail, transparency, and musi-

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and depth, and a bit more upper midrangetransparency. But, its sound quality never fellbelow very good. It did not harden pure ana-

log sound. Its shortcomings lie in what itsubtracts from the sound; it adds no irritat-ing colorations. Given the 200's mix of fea-tures, it is a very good preamp for the price.

The Angstrom 200 is scarcely the firstdigital A/V preamp, and many other unitsnow provide digital Dolby Pro Logic decod-ing. Yet it is the first one I have heard that is

fully successful in getting high -end soundfrom surround soundtracks and musicrecordings. In short, I believe that theAngstrom 200 is a best buy for anyone seri-ously interested in a high -end A/V sys-tem-especially for anyone who wants tocombine home theater with a music system.Although a number of rivals are scheduledto appear in months to come, the Angstromis real, not a promise, and its upgradabilitymeans it can continue to challenge the stateof the art. In my opinion, the 200 is a trulyoutstanding audio/video component. A


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PASS LABORATORIESALEPH 1

MONO AMP

reviewed the Aleph 0 mono am-plifier, Nelson Pass's first prod-uct since forming Pass Labora-tories, for the September 1994issue. Its sound showed whyPass is widely regarded as one of

the world's top designers of solid-state amps. The Aleph 0 demonstrat-ed that a single -ended Class -A tran-sistor design could have virtually allthe sonic merits of a top triode tube

Company Address: 21555 Lime-stone Way, Foresthill, Cal.95631; 916/367-3690.


amp and have excel-lent bass and top -oc-

tave response. PassLaboratories has nowadded the Aleph 1

amp and a matchingAleph P preamp toits line. The Aleph 1

provides more thantwice the power ofthe Aleph 0 andincorporates otheradvances in soundquality.

The Aleph 1, a sin-gle -ended Class -Amono amplifier, sellsfor $6,000 each. Likethe Aleph 0, itsstyling is strictlyfunctional: a blackblock of machinedand anodized alu-minum, with onlybasic features-apower switch andLED, balanced andunbalanced inputs

(and a switch to choose betweenthem), and a set of binding -post out-put connectors. The Aleph 1, howev-er, is nearlytwice the size ofthe Aleph 0,

and its powertransformer ismuch larger.It weighs ap-proximately120 poundsand measures161/2 inches wide, 161/2 inches deep,

and 101/2 inches high.

The Aleph l's rated impedance is10 kilohms for the unbalanced input

and 22 kilohms for the balanced in-put; gain is specified as 26 and 20 dB,

respectively. Bandwidth extends to100 kHz (the -3 dB point). Total har-

monic distortion is rated at 1%, out-put noise at 30 nanowatts (500 mi-crovolts), and common -mode re-jection at 70 dB. The DC offset is nomore than 50 millivolts. The Aleph 1

is rated to deliver 150 watts into8 ohms, 300 watts into 4 ohms, or600 watts into 2 ohms. This kind ofpower allows the amp to deal withthe most demanding speaker loads.

Perhaps the only aspects of opera-tion you need pay attention to areheat and warm-up. The Aleph 1 idlesat 500 watts to ensure full Class -Aoperation with maximum head-room. As a result, its operating tem-perature is a comparatively high122° F, so this Pass Labs amplifier re-

quires good ventilation and cabinetclearance. And it takes at least anhour to warm up to its optimumoperating condition.

The Aleph 1 shares much of its de-sign philosophy with the Aleph 0.This includes an emphasis on sim-plicity and a minimum number ofcomponents to achieve the purestpossible signal path. The Aleph 1also retains the Aleph 0's Asymmet-ric Class -A topology, which uses asingle -ended circuit rather than thenormal push-pull arrangement. PassLabs says that this sharply reducescrossover distortion, low-level non -linearity, phase problems, and odd -order harmonics.

Another holdover from the Aleph0 is an element in the output stage to

avoid clippingat negative cur-rent levels thatare greater than

the bias point.According toPass Labs, theAleph 1 canhandle 50 am-peres on both

negative and positive peaks and canoperate into impedances of less thanI ohm at any phase of reactance.Its specified slew rate of about

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60 volts/pec under load is some 10 timesfaster than the fastest signal likely to be en-countered and is 100 times faster than mostmusic signals.

Asymmetric Class -A circuits need cur-rent gain that increases smoothly, so theAleph l's gain stages use MOS-FETs (whosegain tends to increase with current) ratherthan bipolar devices (whose gain drops offat higher currents). The Aleph designs alsouse the wide bandwidth and capacitance ofthe MOS-FET to roll off the amp naturally,with a simple, single -pole characteristic.

The technology in the Aleph 1 does differfrom that of the Aleph 0 in a number of im-portant ways, however. It uses larger MOS-FETs in the front end than the Aleph 0 andbiases them higher. The Aleph O's 1 -watt

devices in the initial gain stage have beenreplaced with 20 -watt devices. The 20 -wattdevices in the Aleph 0's second gain stagehave become 150 -watt devices in the Aleph1. These higher capacity transistors permitincreased idle current and a further reduc-tion in feedback, making it possible for thedesigner to use simplified input circuitrywithout low-pass input filters. The only ca-

pacitor in the input circuit is a 10-pF com-pensation device in the feedback loop.

There are major changes in the Aleph l'soutput stage. The individual power transis-tors are twice as powerful as those in theAleph 0 and have an aggregate current -dis-sipation capacity of 800 amperes. There isno protective current -limiting circuitry,and the entire output stage consists entirelyof N -channel MOS-FETs, comprising abank of followers biased by a bank formingthe constant -current source. This circuit issaid to provide up to 150 watts of Class -Apower into 8 ohms, with 300 -watt peaks.

An advantage of the output circuit in theAleph 1 is that it makes full use of all theoutput devices to dissipate the enormouspower constantly running through the am-plifier. One-third of the output stage of theAleph 0 was used only when the output wasat high negative current; it did not conductat idle. In the Aleph 1, the output devicesshare equally in the idle dissipation. (PassLaboratories says this change in the outputstage has been so successful that it has beenincorporated into all Aleph Os producedsince December 1994.)

The changes in the Aleph 1 pay off soni-cally, both in sheer power and in nuance.Like the Aleph 0, the Aleph 1 shows thatClass -A single -ended circuits do not have to

be the province of triode tube amplifiers,which often are little more than midrangeamplifiers-amps that get much of theirsweetness and distinctive sound by limitingdynamic power and rolling off the bass andtreble.

The Aleph 1 can reproduce the subtlestlow-level soundstage detail and still kick assat rock listening levels. This amplifier did asuperb job of driving Apogee StudioGrand, B & W Matrix Series 3, and ThielCS7 loudspeakers to their limits, and it didso without any change in sound characterfrom the softest to the loudest passages ofeven the most demanding recordings. Thisamp also has the nuance and delicacy to getthe best out of small mini -monitors, ribbondrivers, and electrostatics. The Aleph l'ssound has the same superb openness, air,and transparency that I vividly rememberfrom the triode power amplifiers of yore. Itis quieter than any tube amplifier I haveheard to date, however. The music emerges

"IN ACCURACY. SMOOTHNESS AND STELLAR GOOD LOOKS.THE CROWN JOULES DON'T HAVE MUCH COMPETITION."

DON KEELL. AUDIO MADALINE

I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EARS. I WAS EXPERIENCING ONE OF THOSE AUDIO MOMENTS THAT I WILLSOMEDAY TELL MY GRANDCHILDREN ABOUT. MY EARS COULD SEE THINGS NEVER BEFORE SEEN WITHA NATURAL PRECISION I WASN'T SURE REPRODUCED MUSIC WAS CAPABLE OF. WITH LIVE RECORDINGSTHE JOULES WENT FAR BEYOND THE USUAL CROWD NOISES AND TINKLING GLASSES IT WAS AS IFI COULD HEAR THE SMOKE IN THE ROOM AND THE HUMIDITY OUTSIDE. NOT MANY SPEAKERS CANDO THIS. IN THIS REGARD, THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CROWN JOULE IS AN ALMOST SINGULAREXPERIENCE.

UNDERSTAND THIS, THE CROWN JOULE IS A 2 -WAY OF THE HIGHEST RANK, A DESIGN DESERVING THEUTMOST RESPECT. LIKE ITS MAKER, THIS SPEAKER HAS CHARACTER COMBINED WITH THE ABILITY TOGET YOUR ATTENTION AND KEEP IT. FOR THE MONEY ITS FLAT OUT EXCEPTIONAL, IT IS ONE OF THEFINEST BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS MONEY CAN BUY MAYBE THE BESTIR. AND FOR THAT REASON THECROWN JOULE IS TRULY A COMPONENT OF EXCEPTIONAL MERIT. WHERE ELSE CAN ONE FIND A BIT OFAUDIO STATE -OF -ART FOR UNDER $2,000.00.

MARTIN DE WULF, BOUND FOR SOUND

MAGIC COMES IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES. THE CROWN JOULE WITH SUBSTRATE IS A RELATIVELYINEXPENSIVE MAGIC CARPET THAT REALLY FLIES. IF YOU LOVE MUSIC, THESE SPEAKERS WILL GIVE YOUWHAT YOU PAY FOR, MUSIC. THE CROWN JOULES WITH SUBSTRATES REMINDED ME MOST OF MY OLDAVALON ASCENTS, AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THE AVALONS WERE OVER THREE TIMES THE PRICE,THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING INDEED. MOST NOTABLY THEY OFFER AN IMAGE DENSITY ANDPALPABILITY IN THE MIDRANGE WHILE PRESENTING A DEEP AND WALL TO WALL, WIDE SOUNDSTAGE. THISIMAGE DENSITY, THIS UNETCHED BUT DETAILED SOLIDITY, IS WHAT GIVES THE JOULES WITHSUBSTRATES THEIR ABILITY TO TAKE YOU FOR A WONDERFUL MUSICAL RIDE AT A REASONABLEPRICE. BUT THE JOULE ALONE, AT IT'S PRICE, MAY BE PEERLESS. HOW MUCH DO I LIKE THESESPEAKERS? I BOUGHT A PAIR.

MICHEAL GINDI

STUNNING, GORGEOUS AND SENSUAL LOOKING. THE CROWN JOULES REALLY DID SOUND LIKE MUCHLARGER SYSTEMS, WITH BIG SPEAKER EXTENDED BASS. AT MODERATE LEVELS, THE CROWN JOULESSOUNDED SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR TO THE I38W 801 MK.III, IN BOTH VOICING AND QUANTITY OF BASSAND IN BASS EXTENSION. IT WAS HARD TO TELL THEM APART. IN ACCURACY, SMOOTHNESS ANDSTELLAR GOOD LOOKS, THE CROWN JOULES DON'T HAVE MUCH COMPETITION. I GIVE THEM A HIGHRECOMMENDATION.

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from Stygian silence rather than from aslight electronic haze.

I loved the Aleph l's reproduction ofchoral music and harpsichord. One of thekey tests of an amplifier's resolution is howmuch detail you can hear in complex choralpassages without artificial etching of any el-ement. The Aleph 1 did a terrific job of re-producing the voices and musical detail inhigh -quality recordings, such as the West-minster Choir's 0 Magnum Mysterium(Chesky CD 83), the SBHS (Santa BarbaraHigh School) Madrigals' recording of EarthChants (Sheffield 10049-2-F), and the Tur-tle Creek Chorale's Postcards (ReferenceRecordings RR-61CD).

The Aleph 1 also did an excellent job ofreproducing Pomp 6. Pipes, by the DallasWind Symphony under Frederick Fennell(Reference Recordings RR-58CD). Com-pared to the Aleph 0, it had notably betterdynamics and very deep bass, as well asmore power. I had thought the Aleph 0 wasgood, but the Aleph 1 has notably superiorbass definition, "slam," and extension. Itdoesn't have the slight warmth in the deepbass that characterized the Aleph 0 but re-

tains the Aleph 0's exceptionally realistictransitions from the bass to the lower mid-range and its ability to reproduce accuratelysuch instruments as bass guitar, grand pi-ano, and cello.

The Aleph l's midrange combines sweet-ness with detail and life. Again, these are

THE CHANGES IN

THE ALEPH 1'S CIRCUITRY

PAY OFF SONICALLY,

BOTH IN SHEER POWER

AND IN NUANCE.

sound characteristics I associate with thebest triode tube amps, although there aredifferences. The Aleph 1 has slightly lesstransient and dynamic energy than mosttriode tube amps, but it is slightly cleaner inreproducing low-level midrange detail.

The upper midrange and treble of theAleph 1 also are improved. They retain theAleph 0's freedom from hardness or edgebut add a bit of energy and dynamic life. As

a result, the Aleph 1 can do an excellent jobof reproducing the top octaves of the violinand the complex "shimmer" of the cymbal.It does a superb job of revealing the differ-ent levels of upper -octave detail in record-ings, phono cartridges, and D/A converterswithout coloring them or favoring one kindof sound over another.

As you might suspect from the precedingdescription, the Aleph 1 has excellent over-all transparency and dynamics. Its resolvingpower also gives it outstanding imaging andsoundstage depth and width. This is an am-plifier that does not impose its character onthe soundstage but preserves all of the in-formation in the recording and inducesyour speakers to do their best.The Aleph 1is one of the most musically convincingamplifiers around (particularly, I feel com-pelled to add, when partnered by the AlephP preamp). With really good recordings, itsperformance is exceptionally lifelike, andno aspect of musical ambience and pres-ence is emphasized over another. Its mix ofsonic virtues comes as close to combiningthe best of both tubes and transistors as anyamplifier I have yet heard. A

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CLASSICALR E CO R

Haydn: Symphony No. 12,No. 44, and No. 64

Apollo Ensemble, John HsuDORIAN DOR-90226, CD; DDD; 63:34

Sound: A, Performance: A

Haydn: Symphony No. 26,No. 30, and No. 31

Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne,Jesus Lopez-Corbos

DENON CO -78967, C:1); DDD; 53:04

Sound: A, Performance: A+

he Denon recording is part of an on-going series of early Haydn sym-phonies; the Dorian is the second inwhat I hope will be a competing se-ries. Both are utterly wonderful-but utterly different.

Denon's issue suggests modernforces scaled down to the needs ofthe music but still surrounded byplenty of air in a fine, modern con-cert hall. In keeping with the music,vibrato was minimized in the stringplaying, but the fair-sized chamberorchestra appears to be playingmodern instruments. The Lausannemusicians observe the niceties of"authentic style" without making afetish of it. The delight they seem to

D I N G

take precludes the kind of preoccu-pation with mere technique andscholarship that infests so many per-formances of this music.

The Apollo Ensemble plays periodinstruments ( John Hsu, its founder,also is known as a period -instrument

cellist) and is carefully scaled to theforces known to have been available

to Haydn when these symphonieswere first performed. On sonic evi-dence alone, I'd guess the ensembleto he no more than two-thirds thesize of the Lausanne orchestra andpossibly a good deal smaller thanthat. Despite the emphasis on schol-arship, the Apollo Ensemble does notoverlook Haydn's Dionysian side butdoes keep it in its place. Vibrato isabsent (rather than minimized), andthough the recording was made in afairly large, modern hall (Dorian'sgem in Troy, N.Y.), the pickup ismuch more intimate than Denon's.The hall's sonic bloom is there, butit's discreetly in the background.

Beyond that, the approaches actu-ally are quite similar: loving andzestful, with superb ensemble workand none of the cavalry -chargeprestos or lugubrious largos that of-ten disfigure virtuoso symphonicconcert performances. Because ofthe relatively querulous tone of vi-bratoless violins, some listeners willfavor the somewhat flashier, richerDenon sound; purists will certainlyprefer the Dorian. I must admit thatI give the edge to the Denon (al-though I was less impressed with an-other disc I sampled from Denon'sseries). Yet both approaches arevalid, and each makes a special kindof sense. I wouldn't be without a sam-pling, at least, of both. Robert Long

NI it i; : .k N 1 )

Ten pianists; Wendy Mae Chambersand Artur Geisel, conductors

NEWPORT CLASSIC NPD 85553CD ; DDD; 51:39

Sound: A, Performance: A-

Composer Wendy Mae Chambersis fascinated with sound produced bylarge numbers of the same instru-ment. She has created works for 30harps, 77 trombones, and 100 tim-pani, but her first effort in this genrewas for 10 grand pianos: "TenGrand." It grew out of her interest increating a big sound, especially withpercussion instruments, and she re-membered that the piano actually is apercussion instrument.

The suite of 22 short secticns hassimilarities to Mussorgsky's "Pictures

at an Exhibition" (which has beenrecorded in a 45 -piano version, bythe way!). Instead of paintings, thelistener visits different countries-China, Russia, Japan-and observes

descriptive subjectssuch as "PrimordialBirds," "Gamelan,"and "Chords." All 10instruments do notalways play simulta-neously, and in "Spa-

tial" they gleefully bounce a musicalfigure around the soundstage.

Chambers attracted the participa-tion of a distinguished collection ofpianists, including new -music key-board notable Ursula Oppens. Ten

Grand is a keyboard blockbuster andgreat new musical fun! John Sunier


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Cantatas (Works of Bellinati,Madureira, Rougier, Bartok, Brouwer,

D'Angelo, Agobert, and Azuma)Cristina AZI1111(1, guitar

GSP RECORDINGS GSP 1009CD, CD; 55:42Sound: A, Performance: A

This is a singular and exquisite classical gui-tar recital, built around the performer'sawareness of rhythmic and modal similaritiesbetween music from northeastern Brazil andEurope. (The European portion of this musi-cal jaunt is primarily to eastern Europe, but italso covers Spain andItaly.) Thierry Rougier's"Three Byzantines" en-compass Bulgaria, Ru-mania, and Greece, andother works quote or areinspired by Falla andSatie. The Bela Bartok tracks are two tran-scriptions from his "Mikrokosmos." The CD'stitle is Portuguese for "contact" and suggestsexchange and reciprocity. Such elements dooccur throughout this fascinating program, asdoes Cristina Azuma's felicitous connectionwith the attentive listener. John Sunier

44,

Korngold: Violin Concerto; SinfoniettaLinke-Amnia lathe, t tolni;

Dallas Symphony, Andrew LittonDORIAN DOR-90216, CD; DDD; 70:06


As far as the concerto goes, this recordinghas formidable competition from theDeutsche Grammophon issue (DG 439 886)with Gil Shaham and the London SymphonyOrchestra under Andre Previn. And since theconcerto is the centerpiece of both discs, I fear

the DG, which went onsale earlier, will obscurethe worth of the Dorian.

Both reflect theircompanies' respectivecutting -edge technolo-gies: The DG is a 4D

recording, the Dorian a 20 -bit recording madewith fiber-optic links. There the similaritiesend. The DG reminds me of NormaDesmond's line in Sunset Boulevard: "I stillam big; it's the movies that got small." The av-erage level is perhaps 10 dB higher than that ofthe Dorian, and Shaham is presented as Su-perViolin-much larger than life. The level isachieved at the expense of dynamic range, andthe lush self-confidence of the performance isachieved at the expense of the more vulnera-ble detail that comes through touchingly inDorian's far more natural and human -scaledrecording.

To some extent, DG's movie -music ap-proach is appropriate to the concerto-whichwas written after Erich Wolfgang Korngold

HILD S REAWorks of Koppel, Holmboe, Kulesha,

Christiansen, and ArnoldMichala Petri, recorder;

English Chamber Orchestra, Okko KamuRCA VICTOR RED SEAL 09026-62543

CD; DDD; 77:49Sound: A, Performance: A+

All five recorder concertos here areworld -premiere recordings, and all are theresult of the efforts by Michala Petri, a Dan-ish recorder virtuoso. She adapts her an-cient instrument to contemporary musicrather than limiting it to adaptations ofmusic written for other instruments or onlyto early music for recorder.

While each concerto has its own style, allshare an upbeat and magical feeling, as sug-gested by the album title. Among the high-

lights is Malcolm Arnold's Concerto forRecorder and Orchestra, in which high spir-its characterize both the music and Petri's

stunning playing. Anotherstandout, Gary Kulesha'sConcerto for Recorder andSmall Orchestra, shows theinfluence of the Japaneseshakuhachi and requiresthe additional task of sing-

ing through the recorder while maintainingtuneful accessibility.

With the world's current leading per-former on the instrument, you can relax,certain that there will be no excruciating"clams." And few concert -goers ever hearsuch a perfect balance of recorder to orches-tra, made possible by the modern studiorecording session. John Sunier

had achieved star status for his film scores. Ituses material from some of them, but it was anovert and at times diffident attempt to rekin-dle the "pure music" of his youth in Vienna.Dorian's orchestral textures remind you thatMozart was among his models there, as well asMahler and Richard Strauss.

The Sinfonietta dates from the Vienna peri-od and is a very nice piece indeed. All of Korn -gold's music seems ultraconservative for a boybrought up in the Vienna of Berg and Webern,but it is beautifully made. It was precisely be-cause his music was so well made that he washailed as a prodigy from the beginning.

The Dallas sound is rather anonymous, butit does leave more air around the orchestrathan DG afforded its forces. The admittedlyslicker, more maxed-out DG obviously willappeal to some tastes, but I suspect Korngoldwould have preferred Dorian's more musi-cianly approach. Robert Long

Einhorn: Voices of LightAnonymous 4 and other soloists;

Netherlands Radio Choir and NetherlandsRadio Philharmonic, Steven Mercurio

SONY CLASSICAL SK 62006, CD; DDD; 70:40


American composer Richard Einhorn wasinspired by Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent film clas-

sic The Passion of Joan ofArc, but Voices of Lightstands without visualimages. This oratorio is acelebration of Joan ofArc, using a mosaic ofancient sources, Joan's

own letters dictated to a scribe, and the writ-ings of such medieval female mystics as Hilde-gard von Bingen.

Musically, the oratorio has surpassinglylovely sections of ecstatic melodic invention.Philip Glass -type progressions are occasional-ly heard. Even without the libretto, the workcan be experienced as a dramatic melding ofmedieval and contemporary music. Intelligi-bility of the soloists and the chorus is excellenton this recording, probably aided by the spa-cious, though not cavernous, acoustic ambi-ence (the session took place in a studio ratherthan a cathedral). John Sunier

Rachmaninoff: Complete Songs, Vol. 1Kalevi 011i, baritone; Ulrich Koneffke, piano

FINLANDIA 4509-98615, two CDs;DDD; 1:34:04

Sound: C, Performance: A-

This set is more remarkable than my ratingsimply. Kalevi 011i appears to have an extreme-ly powerful voice (I would call him a bass -baritone rather than a baritone), and he singsthese often marvelousand seldom performedsongs in a style that isfar more operatic thanliederesque. Doubtlesswith that in mind, Fin-landia (a Finnish labelof Time Warner) abandoned the fairly inti-mate acoustics usually mandated for songrecitals in favor of a cavernous sound that Ifind distinctly off-putting, though you maynot agree. Admittedly, a conventional sonicperspective would have been disastrous: 011i'sbig voice and even bigger passion would haveseemed overbearing at the climaxes instead ofgalvanizing, as they are here. Surely a satisfy-ing middle ground could have been found.

011i manages the quieter, more lyrical songswith considerable aplomb, at times displaying


an unusual mastery of head tone. Not everydetail is perfectly managed or every song per-fectly suited to the singer, but it is a very im-pressive performance, minor flaws and all.And pianist Ulrich Koneffke matches 011ipoint for point; occasionally, however, theirloudest sounds become muddy.

For casual listening, an hour and a half of asingle singer and composer can be tiresome,but this is intended instead as a library collec-tion. I can imagine more refined readings ofsome of the quieter songs, but I know of nosinger who could bring more power to thedramatic ones and few who could projecttheir profoundly Russian character so vividly.On balance, 011i is an excellent proponent.(Full transliterated Russian texts and Englishtranslations are provided.) Robert Long

Janacek: Sinfonietta, Op. 60;Lachlan Dances; Tams Bulba

Czech State Philharmonic, Jose SerebrierREFERENCE RECORDINGS

RR-65CD, CD; 65:08Sound: A+, Performance: A

Fame came slowly to the genius LeosJanacek in his homeland, Morovia. This waspartly because of hisheterodox insoucianceabout such institutionsas marriage. But famecame to him even moreslowly abroad, as only inthe fairly recent pasthave the world's opera houses awakened tothe unique riches of his Jenufa and his otherpassionate masterpieces.

Fans of top-quality audio will revel in theextravagant brass section required by the Sin-fonietta-four horns, 14 trumpets in threekeys and ranges, four trombones, two tenortubas, and a bass tuba-all gloriously provid-ed here by a splendid brass section andrecorded with this small but trailblazing firm'sHDCD technique. Paul Moor

Swedish Orchestral Favourites (Worksof Soderman, Stenhammar, Larsson,Peterson -Berger, Alfven, and Wiren)

Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Okko KamuNAXOS 8.553115, CD; DDD; 68:28

Sound: A+, Performance: A+

While Hugo Alfven's familiar "Vigil" andthe single track from Dag Wiren's bouncy Ser-enade caught my eye, the rest of the sparkling

program joined thesetwo as personal favoritesafter just one listening.Never mind its cultural,historical, and biograph-ical significance; this al-bum is sure to captivate

SAW. nommus 11011.0111.


because of its plain and infectious music,loads of marvelous melody, and life -affirmingmoods. You'll want to shout "Skoal," and yourpocketbook will also be pleased with this re-lease from budget -label Naxos. John Sunier

Borodin: Prince IgorSoloists; Kirov Opera Chorus and Orchestra,

Valery Gergiev

PHILIPS 442 537, three CDs; DDD; 3:28:15Sound: B+, Performance: A

This is as close to a definitive Prince Igor asit gets: an excellent edition, admirably docu-

mented, in a typically committed, idiomatic,rich, colorful, dramatically convincing, and al-

together beautifulperformance by theKirov forces recordedin St. Petersburg'sMariinsky Theater.Philips has preservedall of the Kirov's dy-

namics, from floated off-stage pianissimo tothunderous. The thunder may get slightlycongested, and the sense of stage placementand movement might be clearer, but it's an

Robert Longadmirable job.

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Your Heart's in Good HandsAl Green

MCA MCAD-11350,46:13Sound: A+, Performance: A

t's been more than 20 yearssince Al Green sent shivers upmy back. Of course, I still getgoose bumps every time I hear"Let's Stay Together" or "I'mStill in Love with You," his soul-

ful R&B crossover hits from1972 on the Memphis -based Hi

Records label. In subsequentyears, Green lost his hit -making

magic touch but found religion.Through the mid -'80s, Reverend Al

turned out pretty mediocre albums,some of which leaned heavily ondrum machines and cheesy arrange-

ments. But in spite of the inferiorproduction work, the voice was al-ways golden.

For Your Heart's in Good Hands,his first secular album in 18 years,Green put himself in the good hands

of producers Narada MichaelWalden, Arthur Baker, Jodeci'sDeVante, and the tag team of David

Steele and Andy Cox (both of Fine

Young Cannibals). The result is anuplifting, gospel -drenched gem thatis dripping with passion and irre-sistible grooves. Needless to say, I'm

shivering with delight.

Love is the theme of this come-back offering from the righteous rev-

erend of soul. The upbeat "OneLove," the smoldering R&B ballad"Could This Be the Love," the galva-

nizing title track, and the '70s -flavored "Keep on Pushing Love" (a

kind of '90s sequel to "Let's Stay To-

gether") address matters of the heart

while recalling the infectious grooves

of Green's glory days with Memphis

producer Willie Mitchell. The leg-endary Memphis Horns, AndrewLove and Wayne Jackson (whoplayed on Green's string of hits forHi Records), add their signaturepunch to "One Love" and "BestLove," while former Living Colourbassist Doug Wimbush groovesmightily on the anthemic "Love Is aBeautiful Thing."

Arthur Baker's remake of Smokey

Robinson's 1965 hit written for TheTemptations, "Don't Look Back,"rocks with an uncharacteristic edgefor fans of vintage Al Green. But the

reverend seems right at home withthe romantic ballad "Your Love (IsMore Than I Ever Hoped For)," abrilliant showcase for his passionate

abandon and spine -chilling falsetto.

Two pieces arranged and produced

by Steele and Cox, "What Does ItTake" and "People in the World(Keep on Loving You)," wrapGreen's sensuous singing voice in amore contemporary setting, blend-ing today's hip -hop beats with a clas-

sic '70s feel.

Regardless of the setting, it's themagic of Al Green's voice that cutsthrough on this triumphant come-back. This is pop music of the high-est order, healing music in a realsense. Bill Makowski

RoachfordEPIC EK 67343,51:07

Sound: A-, Performance: A-

Mhe British have always excelled=at taking American R&B music,putting their own spin on it, and sell-ing it back to the colonies.Although most British ex-ports of late have been de-void of soul, Roachford,along with Seal and TerenceTrent D'Arby (born inAmerica but considered aBritish artist), are U.K. soul exportswho have absorbed American R&Band made it their own. On his thirdalbum, Permanent Shade of Blue,

Roachford finally has a band worthyof his songwriting. And he comes upwith a musical approach that-though heavily influenced by Prince,Jimi Hendrix, Sly, et al.-is his own.

The Prince references are some-times too strong; "Cry for Me" and

"Lay Your Love on Me" couldpass for outtakes from the"Little Red Corvette"/"Rasp-berry Beret" periods. YetRoachford presents a widevariety of music and sings hisbutt off. "Emergency," with

its Kool and The Gang groove, seems

a natural for radio. And if there is alonging for mid -'80s funk, Roachfordis right on time. Jon er Sally Tiven


61

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CIRCLE NO. 27 ON READER SERVICE CAA

A Testimonial Dinner:A Tribute to XTC

Various ArtistsTHIRSTY EAR THI 57019-2, 48:52

Sound: B+, Performance: B+

The tribute album trend is pretty tired, butthis homage to XTC stands out as one of thegenre's better efforts. XTC inspires no smallamount of devotion from its fans, partly be-cause it hasn't toured for about 15 years, butmostly for the nonpareil songwriting of AndyPartridge and Colin Moulding.

Most of A Testimonial Dinner's interpreta-tions hew pretty close to the original, with the

notable exception ofRuben Blades' searingLatin take on "The ManWho Sailed Around HisSoul." Still, most of theparticipating artists man-age to stamp personality

into their performances. Sarah McLachlan's"Dear God," Freedy Johnston's "Earn Enoughfor Us," Spacehog's "Senses Working Over-time," Joe Jackson's "Statue of Liberty," andP. Hux's "Another Satellite" all qualify ashighlights. Unlike on most tribute albums,there isn't a really awful or boring cover to befound. Even XTC gets into the act pseu-donomously as Terry & The Lovemen, cover-ing an obscure B side from the "Mayor of Sim-pleton" single titled "The Good Things."

A Testimonial Dinner is a genuinely enter-taining album, one of the best in the crowdedfield of tribute albums. If it encourages anyfresh interest in the quirky but often brilliantXTC, so much the better. Michael Tearson

Almost SpeechlessBen Arnold

RUFFHOUSE/COLUMBIA CK 67215, 39:15Sound: B+, Performance: A-

Ben Arnold wants you to know how hefeels, and his straight -from -the -heart songs

hit their targets with un-erring precision. WhileArnold isn't a prisoner of20 -something angst, hisdeeply -felt emotions arethe glue that makes Al-most Speechless whole,

and deceptively simple arrangements leaveplenty of room for his soulful vocals.

There is so much strong material here, butthe real standout is "Be There." The song re-flects on the troubled life of a friend whosetragic death might have been averted if onlyArnold had "been there" for him. Don't besurprised if Rickie Lee Jones or Rod Stewartjumps on it, for this repentant confessionalcertainly belongs in the "most likely to be coy -

Julian pe

Julian Cope Presents 20 Mothers:Fetter To Light a Conclle

Than Tc Curse the DarknessJulian Cope

AMERICAN 9 43044-2, 71:49Sound: B+, Performance: B-

y now, there's no questioningJulian Cope's status as a gen-uine British eccentric. More than

a decade into a pro-lific solo career thatkicked in on the heelsof the short-livedbut influential The

Teardrop Explodes,"Saint" Julian forgesonward with all hisquirks intact (if "in-tact" is indeed a

word one would useto describe a chemi-cal zealot of Cope'srank). Of course, af-ter a while, musicalrenegades becomeas tiresome as conformists if they don'tcome up with the requisite good tunes.20 Mothers has a few, but it's also 70minutes long. So the question is, does ithave enough?

For passionate devotees, absolutely.For them, tossed -off asides like "TheLonely Guy" and "By the Light of the Sil-bury Moon" (at minimum) offer preciousinsight into the swarming mind of the"Arch-Drude" ("drude" is a Cope -coinedword, a combination of "druid" and

"dude") of neopsychedelia.Unconvertedskeptics, on the other hand, may findtheir minds wandering as Cope's in-sights and melodies stray far and wide."Try Try Try," "Highway to the Sun," and"Adam & Eve Hit the Road" are all rela-tively conventional rockers with wonder-fully intoxicating hooks, subject matterbe damned (they're about mom, meat -

eaters, and virtual reality, respectively,

according to Cope's loopy liner notes).Elsewhere, Cope wanders into every-thing from British folk to art -noise tosynth -pop, all designed to carry theweight of his pre -millennium fixationswith these "desperate times."

Cope seems satisfied to put out onetripped -out treatise after another, andfor those who constantly hunger for an-other dose of Cope, that's just delightful.For the rest of us, maybe we'll catch upwith you later. Steven Stolder

ered" category. On "You," Arnold uses hisGraham Parker -like voice for maximum im-pact in recalling a tale of unrequited love. Foratmosphere, a Dylanesque Hammond B-3provides the perfect accompaniment. "Soar,"Arnold's homage to Orville and WilburWright, looks back to the brothers' early un-successful attempts to defy Newton's law. Theopening line, "Wilbur, we'll try again tomor-row" serves as a reminder that we should nev-er surrender our dreams. Ben Arnold mayhave his head in the clouds, but all of thesesongs embrace some very down-to-earth hu-man feelings and concerns.

Although Almost Speechless is a consistentlymelodic and deftly conceived recording, it'seven more than that; it's an all-out aerobic ex-ercise for your emotional heart. Just press"Play." Steve Guttenberg

The Sacred Squall of NowReeves Gabrels

UPSTART 020, 50:48Sound: A, Performance: A

Guitarist Reeves Gabrels, David Bowie's ac-complice in Tin Machine and a hired gun onhis last two solo outings, is a sound alchemistwith a deconstructionist bent. In fact, theguy's just plain bent-as in sick, twisted, and

madly inspired beyondall reason. He's even gota band on the side calledThe Bentmen. I rest mycase.

On his solo debut (hecollaborated earlier in

1995 with slide -guitar god David Tronzo onNight in Amnesia, also on Upstart), Gabrels in -

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dulges in sonic mayhem with fangs bared. Theresults are positively horrific by pop musicstandards but wholly transcendent by "weirdmusic" standards.

As a songwriter, Gabrels has a knack formoody, abrasive rock with harmonic meatand savvy pop hooks ("Say That Now," "Prob-lem," and "Comeback"). His interest in Mid-dle Eastern music comes into play in the midstof the densely textured "Husnu," and he deliv-ers a touch of drama on the melancholy blueslament "B.N.Y.," with lyrics by his wife, SaraTerry. Bowie makes a guest vocal appearancealongside movie star Gary Oldman on "You'veBeen Around" ( which Bowie previouslyrecorded for his Black Tie/White Noise album)and on a thrashing -good industrial rant, "TheKing of Stamford Hill." Former Pixies front -man Frank Black sings lead on "119 YearsAgo," and Charlie Sexton joins Gabrels for anappropriately macabre rendition of CreedenceClearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising."

As an instrumentalist, Reeves is a revela-tion. His soaring solo on the Bowie-esque

lead-off track, "119 Years Ago," has all the epicuplift of Hendrix's levitating masterpiece"Bold As Love." His out -to -lunch solo on"Husnu" is state-of-the-art skronk, and hisbrief feedback-laden solo on "Problem" is asubversive gem. Gabrels' ethereal guitar or-chestra piece, "Thirteen," is like Glenn Brancawith a sense of humor. And the other urgentinstrumental, "Firedome," contains some ofthe most radical guitar work this side of DavidTorn and No Pussyfooting -era Robert Fripp.

Vocals and amazing, otherworldly guitarplaying haven't been so organically integratedinto the fabric of pop tunes since the heydayof Jimi Hendrix. Think of this one as ReevesGabrels' Are You Experienced. Bill Milkowski

TrustPatrick O'Hearn

DEEP CAVE RECORDS 1001-2, 45:35

Sound: A+, Performance: B+

Patrick O'Hearn used to play bass for Frank7.appa, and he spent the early '80s with a fun -

THE RENTALSReturn of the RentalsMAVERICK/REPRISE 9-46093-2, 37:02

Sound: B, Performance: B

You can't accuse The Rentals of over-

reaching; everything about this debut

murmurs a modest intent.

Essentially an outlet for Weezer bassist

Matt Sharp to develop his

frontman skills, The Rentals

mix and match '90s lo-fi and

early '80s retro aesthetics

into something that's notexactly ground -breaking but

is nevertheless satisfying. In

fact, the majority of these 10

tracks make for tasty earcandy that has all the appeal

of a New Wave compilation.

Beginning with the one-two

three combination of "The Love I'mSearching For," "Waiting," and "Friends

of R," The Rentals frugally adorn spright-

ly melodies with multiple Moog synthe-

sizers and bandied male/female vocals.

Sharp compares The Rentals to Electric

Light Orchestra on a budget, but The

Cars -meet -Pavement may be a more ac-

curate comparison. Visually, The Rentals

have opted for the East German bureau-

crat look, which MTV immediately em-

braced (maybe someone there is nostal-

gic for that bygone "all videos, all day"

age when Gary Numan and Devo ruled

the air). But the more novel aspects of

The Rentals have limited appeal; what's

attractive about this project is the fresh-

ness of its best songs.

Sharp promises that The Rentals are

not just "my little side project," whichmay prove to be unfortunate-if everthere was an instrinsic "little side pro-

ject," it's The Rentals. Just leave it at that.

Steven Stolder

ny haircut in MissingPersons. But for the lastdecade, he's been or-chestrating landscapes ofthe soul. His modusoperandi hasn't alteredmuch since his 1986 de-but album, the influential Ancient Dreams(Private Music 2002-2-P ),,with an organicmix of synthesizers, samplers, acoustic andelectric bass, and percussion. But Trust showsthat there are still landscapes to explore.

O'Hearn is a master of texture and sounddesign. There's nothing different in the equip-ment he uses, but he gets more expression outof it, yielding complex layers of synthesizersoften outlined by the rubbery melodies of hiselectric and acoustic basses. O'Hearn is helpedout by some old friends on a few tracks, in-cluding Zappa/Missing Persons mate TerryBozzio and guitarists Peter Maunu and DavidTorn. But they are only there as part of O'Hearn's

textures.After struggling through six years of neglect

at Private Music, O'Hearn is clearly emergingfrom a time of despair. On "Two Continents"and "Equinox," his mood is dark-full offoreboding and even menace. Percussiverhythms tug on the subconscious like a primalshadow, yet beneath it all is a sense of resigned

heroism that marks the difference between de-spair and affirmation. (Available from DeepCave Records, P.O. Box 290, Bat Cave, N.C.28710.) John Diliberto

Techniques of Speed HypnosisEdsel

RELATIVITY 88561-1525-2, 48:46Sound: B-, Performance: C

Unfortunately for Edsel, Techniques ofSpeed Hypnosis fails to get beyond soundinglike everything else on college radio. Theband's sense of melody comes through onmost of the cuts, reaching a plateau of ethere-al ecstasy, only to be dis-carded for something un-listenable in a perpetualsearch for the lost chord.Edsel should focus moreon the sweeping warmthof its breaks and forgetabout so-called "alternative credibility,"which is simply a trap for many up and com-ing bands. Every time 1 tapped my feet oryearned to catch the chorus and sing along, anoverzealous guitar disrupted the moment.

On stand -out tracks "Chester's Wig" and"Skin of the Bear," Edsel shows an ability tocraft pop compositions, where the vocals workwith the arrangements in self-assured ease.More songs like these, and Techniques of Speed

Hypnosis would have spent more time in myCD player. Lauren Sornerstein

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JAZZ -BLUES

Makin' a MoveHenry Threadgill

COLUMBIA CK 67214,64:25


enry Threadgill usuallyleads his group with analto saxophone hangingfrom his neck. But call-ing his music "jazz" islike dressing him in anill-fitting suit. Threadg-ill is a composer with asingular vision that de-fies familiar record -bincategories. The land-scape he covers on

Makin' a Move is, as always, full ofunpredictable twists and gloriousplays of shadow and light.

Like the best classical composers,Threadgill develops themes that ap-pear and disappear, only to reemergelater with a different voice and feel-ing. Some of Makin' a Move's cur-

rents flow directly from Threadgill's1994 album Carry the Day, whileothers date back further in his cata-

log; all of them sound fresh and un-dated. Unlike most concert -hallscores, Threadgill allows his musicalthemes to embrace influences with-out concern for their origin or con-ventional place. "Noisy Flowers" ar-rives via Myra Melford's delicate solo

piano; the next track is introducedby Pheeroan Aklaff's funk drum-ming. On "Like It Feels," Frenchhorn and tuba carry the melodywhile electric guitars provide coun-terpoint. On "Refined Poverty,"Threadgill's alto soars elegantlyabove a cello trio.

At the core of it all is Threadgill'sensemble, Very Very Circus-astrange brew of instrumental voicesanchored by twin tubas, played byEdwin Rodriguez and Marcus Rojas,and Mark Taylor's French horn. Onecould go on about the Indian influ-ence in Threadgill's use of guitars orthe superimposition of ragtime andcircus conventions over his ownthemes, but that would be missingthe forest for the trees. Though theword "soundscape" is overused thesedays, Threadgill's musical vision ispanoramic and rendered in suchgreat detail that you can live in it,which is a whole lot more fun thandefining it. Larry Blumenfeld

vin TMelvin Taylor & The Slac< Band

EVIDENCE ECD 26073-2 51:18Sound: B-, Performance B+

udged by its cover, ChicagoanMelvin Taylor's latest albumappears to be traditional elec-tric blues, on the order ofOtis Rush. But that's onlypart of the story; Taylor, like

many of his peers, is a contemporaryblues artist whose influences rangefrom T -Bone Walker and B B. Kingto blues rockers Jimi Hencrix andStevie Ray Vaughan. On his seconddomestic release, Taylor shows offformidable guitar chops ard vocalauthority.

Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band isa live -in -the -studio album, warts and

all. It has flaws (the bass guitar lacksdefinition, and Taylor leans on hiswah-wah pedal too much for thosewith "purist" tastes), but blues en-thusiasts will appreciate how genuineit is. Taylor and his Slack Band-bassist Willie Smith and drummerSteve Potts-lock together in an un-

polished, stripped -down fashion todeliver a set oforiginals and cov-ers that is hardlyoverproduced. Thebottom line on

Taylor, a better interpreter thansongwriter, is that even with hisflaws, few current or emerging bluesmusicians play with his emotion andauthenticity. fon 6. Sally Tiven


Tone Poems IIDavid Grisman and Martin TaylorACOUSTIC DISC ACD-18, 64:24


David Grisman's second Tone Poems album

pairs the mandolin master (who additionallyplays mandola, mandocello, and guitars here)

with British jazz guitar whiz Martin Taylor.They play a diverse set of 19 period jazz tunes,

including "Swanee," "Besame Mucho,""Mairzy Doats," "My Romance," DjangoReinhardt's "Tears," and Ellington's "MoodIndigo" (a piece that has one of the sexiestmelodies ever).

The chemistry between Grisman and Tay-lor is wonderful. It's obvious from the relaxed

performances how much fun they had making

this album. Each plays as fast as the windwhen needed, but they also know how to play

slow and hot, leaving necessary spaces be-tween the notes.

Adding to the fun is how this live -in -the -

studio album showcases the nuances of thedifferent woods and de-

signs of the 41 vintageinstruments used on thealbum. The booklet in-cludes color photos ofeach instrument, an es-

say relating to its history, and who played itand made it. Whenever possible the instru-ment is used on a song that was originallyrecorded with the same (or a similar) model.

The first Tone Poems album (Acoustic Disc

ACD-10) was a similarly packaged collection

of folk songs played by Grisman and guitarist

Tony Rice, who used an equally dazzling array

of instruments. Both albums are spectacularaudio showcases for great playing and for the

finest subtleties of fine instruments. My high-

est recommendations both technically andartistically.

(Available from Acoustic Disc, Box 4143,

San Rafael, Cal. 94913.) Michael Tearson

Gunslinging BirdsMingus Big Band

DREYFUS FDM 36575-2, 71:11

Sound: B+, Performance: A

Charles Mingus is alive and well. Most of-

ten you can find him in New York's East Vil-lage, every Thursday night, in a basement club

called Fez. There, the Mingus Big Band, a 14 -

piece rotating outfit drawn from a roster of

more than 100 of New York's finest and mostfreethinking players, holds court. The brain-

child of writer and producer Sue Mingus, hiswidow, the group has parlayed a three-weekgig into one of the longest -running jazz

shows, with Europeantours and two CD releas-

es to boot.

Repertory jazz oftengets a bad rap, but theMingus Big Band suc-

ceeds in raising the weighty spirit of its name-

sake. Elegant yet vulgar, and full of defiantbeauty, Gunslinging Birds proves the band is

up to the challenge Mingus laid down: to per-

form his frustratingly difficult works, makethem swing, and, above all, keep them sound-

ing new.

There are some powerful reorchestrationsof "Started Melody" (by Gunther Schuller)and "Noon Night" (by Ronnie Cuber), bothdrawn from the masterwork Epitaph. Andwhile all in the unit deserve applause, trum-peters Randy Brecker, Philip Harper, and Ryan

Kisor command special note. Tenor saxo-phonists Chris Potter and Craig Handy engage

in a ferocious duel on "O.P.," and John Stub-blefield turns "Hog Calk' Blues" into a soul -

satisfying, tenor sax showcase.

The fire and fury of the Mingus Big Band is

admirably in the mix here; still, why notrecord it live? Larry Blumenfeld

blue sunMark Isham

COLUMBIA CK 67227, 60:59


Mark Isham's Columbia debut feels like a

descendant of two Miles Davis landmarks,Sketches of Spain and In a Silent Way. One se-

lection, "And Miles To Go...Before He Sleeps,"

even pays tribute to the legendary band leader

and horn player with its title.

On blue sun, Isham presents eight originals

and a lovely, wistful version of Duke Elling-ton's "In a SentimentalMood." Isham plays

trumpet, cornet, flugel-horn, and unidentified"electronics"; two keysoloists are Steve

Tavaglione on tenor sax and David Goldblatt

on acoustic and electric pianos. Bassist DougLunn and drummer Kurt Wortman completethe quintet.

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1Though most of blue sun is still and lan-

guorous, opportunities remain for Isham and

Tavaglione to let it out and wail, particularly

on "Barcelona" and "Tour de Chance.""Barcelona" is a study in dynamics, as it opens

softly and builds to a peak before falling back

and repeating the ebb -and -flow cycle several

times. The title track throbs with a sad heat of

the tenor sax and Isham's muted cornet. The

sound, engineered and mixed by StephenKrause, drapes the music in elegance.

Isham's blue sun is an excellent album. It

has soothed more than its share of my trou-

bled late nights. Michael Tearson

InfinityMcCoy Tyner Trio

featuring Michael BreckerIMPULSE IMPD-171, 72:16


Infinity marks McCoy Tyner's return to the

reactivated Impulse label (he was one of itsfirst signings in the early '60s, as was John

Coltrane), and more significantly, it chronicles

Tyner's return to a piano, sax, bass, and drum

setup after years of using mostly trio and big -

band settings. In tow, he's got his trio mates of

nearly a decade, bass player Avery Sharpe and

drummer Aaron Scott, and a very specialguest, saxophonist Michael Brecker. Tyner,who enjoyed important formative associa-tions with Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, among

others, knows a thing or two about tenor play-

ers. Brecker proves an inspired choice; he has

been successful with a more progressivesound, and Infinity offers him the perfect op-

portunity to embrace his straight -ahead roots.

The nine -song session is nothing if nothonest and pure. Tyner's "Flying High" gets

things off to a powerful start. On "HappyDays," he begins with a relaxed descending

pattern, but within a minute, he and Brecker

are plumbing a deep blues well. Brecker tack-

les the tenor role admirably on Coltrane's

"Impressions," which Tyner and Coltranerecorded decades ago. And Brecker is at his

most urgent and affecting on Tyner's "Mellow

Minor," reeling off responses to the pianist's

lightning -quick figures. An unexpected treat,

the album concludes with Tyner, alone at the

piano, performing the ballad "Good Morning

Heartache." To quote Tyner from his linernotes, "life without a doubt goes in cycles."Without a doubt Infinity couldn't express this

better. Larry Blumenfeld

UDIimaximmunainmrn

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AUDIO, February, 1996, Volume 80, Number 2.AUDIO (ISSN 0004-752X, Dewey DecimalNumber 621.381 or 778.5) is publishedmonthly by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines,Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of HachetteFilipacchi USA, Inc., at 1633 Broadway, NewYork, N.Y. 10019. Printed in U.S.A. at Dyers-burg, Tenn. Distributed by Warner PublisherServices Inc. Second class postage paid atNew York, N.Y. 10019 and additional mail-ing offices. Subscriptions in the UnitedStates, $24.00 for one year, $42.00 for twoyears, $58.00 for three years; other countriesexcept Canada, add $8.00 per year; in Cana-da, $32.00 for one year (includes 7% GST;Canadian GST registration number126018209).AUDIO0 is a registered trademark of Ha-chette Filipacchi Magazines, Inc. 01996, Ha-chette Filipacchi Magazines, Inc. All rightsreserved. The Editor assumes no responsibil-ity for manuscripts, photos, or artwork. ThePublisher, at his sole discretion, reserves theright to reject any ad copy he deems inap-propriate.Subscription Service: Postmaster, pleasesend change of address to AUDIO, P.O. Box52548, Boulder, Colo. 80321-2548. Alloweight weeks for change of address. Includeboth old and new address and a recent ad-dress label. If you have a subscription prob-lem, please write to the above address or call303/604-1464; fax, 303/604-7455.Back Issues: For information, write to P.O.Box 7085, Brick, N.J. 08723.


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STORADISC - See why CD Review picked our LibrarySeries as their top choice-. Fine -furniture quality in a varietyof finishes and sizes. Call or write DAVIDSON-WHITEHALL.555 Whitehall Street. Atlanta. GA 30303. 1-800-848-9811.

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DEALERMASSACHUSETTS

SHOWCASEMASSACHUSETTS NEW JERSEY

The Best Values In Hi End Hi-Fi.

audio studioAuthorized sales and service for:

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414 Harvard St., Brookline, MA 02146(617) 277-0111

FAX (617) 277-2415INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ACCEPTED

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PSB, Sennheiser, Sony, and ManyMore Products!

Northern NY's oldest & most renowned dealer

57 Smithfield Blvd., Plattsburgh, NY 12901

518-561-2822Fax: 518-561-2961

Monday -Friday IOam-Hpm. Saturday Inam-6pmMastercard, Visa, Discover, Amex

PENNSYLVANIA

Authorized Dealers For.

JVC.mtmn-sueismi

InfinityRCA

_17A7SE7 SONY

BEACH (Sorry No Catalogs)

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1.800-562-9020NEW YORK

FACTORYAUTHORIZED

DEALERSspecs ut:

HOME THEATERSYSTEMS

ADS BOSE CARVER DENONINFINITY KENWOOD CAR

NAK NHT ONKYO SONANCESONY ES VELODYNE YAMAHA

The Sound Approach6067 Jen :Ho 'Nut., Commack, NY 11725

800-368-2344All returns subiect to a restocking charge.

VERMONT

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David Lewis Audio LTD8010 Bustleton Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19152(215) 725-4080 Bank Cards Accepted

,HERE IP( YERACtrit, fiat' Dr_AtArD)

YAWE.

WE De8T WASTE WSIVIERS MoqY

Arrp inq Do THESE Fats.

krif..,n ATLANTIS 4no04.e.ST 3. Vir

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TOLL- FREE

800 456 4434

BIWA as.e.to 41- or lei

1 "We Design YourSystem And

Sare You Money!"FEATURING:

HIGH END AUDIO THEATER SYSTEMS MULTI -ROOM SYSTEMS IN HOME SERVICE EXPERT ADVICE

TRADE-INS ACCEPTEDPROFESSIONAL REPAIRS

.y) It of Sales C Serf it','

201-744-0600

ADIO193 BEU.EVUE AVE., UPPER MONTCLAIR, NJ 07043

NEW YORK

I I (-,1 1...\1)

I 1%14

Serving the senous music love since 1985, wehave realized that High -End Audio hasbecome a confusing term. Random matchingof quality components. will not assure you of asystem that can reproduce music. A call or visitto Audio Outlet will. VVe specialize in productsthat offer exceptional performance and valueGive us a call, lets talkmusic. If you lust wantto know what we sell, callus and ask, or order a copyof our 96 page catalog.It's only $4.00.

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VIRGINIA

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VISIT THESE SPECIALTY RETAILERS FOR PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION

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giend SellerAuthorized Dealer For:

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PLEASE NOTE: It is impossible for us toverify all of the claims of advertisers,including product availability and exis-tence of warranties. To confirm that anadvertiser is authorized to sell a product,we suggest you contact the manufacturerdirectly. Please review our Tips for MailOrder Purchasers in this sec:ion.

AUTHORIZED

AUDIOPHILE & SCHOLARUNIVERSITY AUDIO SHOP, MADISON. WI

AUDIO RESEARCH, KRELL. Linn. YBA. Aragon. Acurus.B&K. MARTIN LOGAN. VANDERSTEEN. NHT. PARA-DIGM. Spica. NEAR, Totem. JM Labs. EAD. MicromegaCAL. Golden Tube. Fourier, Tara Labs. Lexicon (6081284-0001 SPECIALS: AMC. Spica & Audio Alchemy.

AUDIO VIDEO SPECIALTIES. Authorized dealer for AMC Arcam Elac Dynaudio Hitachi Jamo Panamax -Pioneer Platinum Proton Audio Sanus Sonographe Tributaries PH: 1414)963-9928. 3801 N. Oakland Ave..Shorewood, WI 53211.

AUDIO UNLIMITED in Colorado offers Accuphase. Acous-tic Energy. Acrotec. AirTight. Airtangent, Audio Meca byPierre Lurne. Audio Note. Basis. Benz -Micro. BitwiseChang. Chario. CODA, Zoelhecus. Day-Sequerra. Dynavec.tor. Ensemble. Graham. Harbeth. Ikeda, JM Labs. Kuzma.Magnum Dynalab. Magro. Micromega. Wilson Benesch.Morch. Musical Design. Music Metre. Muse. SymphonicLine, Onix. RoomTunes. Solid Steel. Sonoran, Sound An-chor, SOTA. Decca, Totem. Unity Audio, Vimak. WheatorTriplaner. YBA and more. .PHONE/FAX John Barnes at(303)691-3407. Audio Unlimited. 2341 West Vale AveEnglewood. CO 80110 VISA and MC accepted.

STEREO WORLD IS YOUR DIS-COUNT SOUND SOURCE DEALS ON. SONY. PYLE. DENON. PROFILE. CLARION. KENWOOD. JVC, HIFONICS.POLK. BLAUPUNKT, PIONEER. SCOSCHE EFX. CARV-ER. KITS. BASSBOXES. AND MUCH MORE, CALL ORWRITE FOR FREE SALES FLYER. FREE UPS! OUR 8THYEAR. VISA/MC: COD. P.O.BOX 596. MONROE. NY10950 19141782-6044.

FOR SALELOW PRICES!!!CALL!!! Velodyne. NHT. Snell, MK,Polk, NAD. Carver. M&K. Parasound. KEF, Nakamichi, ON-KYO, Denon, PSB. Sound Shop CALL, 360-692-8201.

HI Fl EXCHANGE. Large selection of quality USED highendcomponents at huge discounts. We buy. sell & trade. Call forinventory list. (718) 423-0400 or visit our showrooms at251-11 Northern Blvd. Little Neck, NY 11363.

CLEAN POWER, ACPEAM 951A series power line condi.honer improves Sound Image. 30 day money -back guarantyManufacturer direct. Fax or Mail for information. ACPEAMEnt. Inc 416-498-7915. Box 92215, 2900 Warden Avenue.Scarborough. Ontario M1 W3Y9 Canada.

ABARGAIN: STAX SIGN/LAMBDA $1.350: OMEGA'SRMT1 $2.900. SIGN/LAMBDA SRD/7 $499. ED -1: AUDIO-TECHNICA AT -0C9 $259: ALL UNUSED (212)966-1355.

DEMO/TRADE-IN SALE: Onkyo. Pioneer Elite. Rotel.B&K. B&W, ARC, CAL. Martin -Logan, McIntosh, SonicFrontiers. and much, much more. Call for our list of high -quality demo and trade-in components Champagne Au-dio: (2171 355-8828.

SAVE 40% ON HIGH -END home speak-ers. subwoofers. amplifiers. FREE CAT-ALOG. 3021 Sangamon Avenue. Spring-field, IL 62702. 1-800-283-4644.

AUDIO BY VAN ALSTINE FET-VALVE hybrid tube DAC,amplifiers. and preamplifiers achieve ultimate faithfulness tothe spirit of the music. f !mega III active feedback amplifiers.lull function buffered preamplifiers, and technically optimizedparallel processing DACs provide stunning clarity with eco-nomical prices, striated heatsinks, rugged engineering, andno output failures in years, New DAC-preamplifiers. basicline -headphone preamplifiers, and phase inverters or you -PAS, PAT -4, PAT -5, AND ST -70 recycled with AVA circuits(kit or wired) from $199 including new cards and precisioncontrols. Active feedback circuits for DYNACO and HAFLERAMPLIFIER chassis set new standards for transparency. dynamic range. and liquidity. Free illustrated catalog. Audio byVan Alstine. 2202 River Hills Drive. Burnsville, MN 55337(6121 890-3517. Fax (612) 894-3675 Email:avahifi,,, aol.com.

TIPS FOR MAIL ORDERPURCHASERS

It is impossible for us to verify all ofthe claims of advertisers, includingproduct availability and existence ofwarranties. Therefore, the followinginformation is provided for yourprotection.

1. Confirm price and merchandiseinformation with the seller, includingbrand, model, color or finish, acces-sories and rebates included in theprice.2. Understand the seller's returnand refund -policy, including theallowable return period, who pays thepostage for returned merchandise, andwhether there is any "restocking"charge.3. Understand the product's warran-ty. Is there a manufacturer's warranty,and if so, is it from a U.S. or foreignmanufacturer? Note that many manu-facturers assert that, even if theproduct comes with a U.S. manufac-turers warranty card, if you pur-chase from an unauthorized dealer,you are not covered by the manu-facturer's warranty. If in doubt, con-tact the manufacturer directly. Inaddition to, or instead of, the manufac-turer's warranty, the seller may offer itsown warranty. In either case, what iscovered by warranty, how long is thewarranty period, where will the productbe serviced, what do you have to do,and will the product be repaired orreplaced? You may want to receive acopy of the written warranty beforeplacing your order.4. Keep a copy of all transactions,including cancelled checks, receiptsand correspondance. For phoneorders, make a note of the orderincluding merchandise ordered, price,order date, expected delivery date andsalesperson's name.5. If the merchandise is not shippedwithin the promised time or if no timewas promised, 30 days of receipt ofthe order, you generally have the rightto cancel the order and get a refund.6. Merchandise substitution withoutyour express prior consent is notallowed.7. If you have a problem with yourorder or the merchandise, write aletter to the seller with all the pertinentinformation and keep a copy.8. If you are unable to obtain satis-faction from the seller, contact theconsumer protection agency in theseller's state or your local Post Office.

If, after following the above guide-lines, you experience a problem witha mail order advertiser that you areunable to resolve, please let us know.WRITE to Susan Ross, SpecialMarketing, 45th floor, HachetteFilipacchi Magazines, 1633 Broadway,NY, NY 10019. Be sure to includecopies of all correspondence.


FOR SALE

A NEW TONEARM IN 1995?

THE RESURGENCE IN ANALOG DESERVES THEULTIMATE IN TONEARM DESIGNS.

JMW MEMORIAL TONEARM

DESIGNED TO BE LONGER, SIMPLER, AND BETTER SOUNDINGTHAN ANY OTHER TONEARM IN THE WORLD.

VF1IND.,INC.,77CUFFWOOD AVE *3B.CLIFFW001). N.J.07721 PHONE 908-946-8606 FAX: 9C6-946-8578

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Hardbound AUDIO, annual bound volume editions, )uslike the ones in the Editor -in -Chiefs office. Various yearsavailable in limited quantities. $40.00 each. Also availableHardbound October Annual Equipment Directories. Years1992, 1991, 1990, 8 1987 $15.95 each. and hardbound MayCar Stereo Directories for years 1991, 1990. 1989 and 1985.$8.00 each. All prices include postage and handling. All or-ders postpaid. Check or money order only (no credit cardorders) payable to AUDIO MAGAZINE. Send orders to AU-DIO. 1633 Broadway. New York. N.Y 10019. Attn: MichaelBieber, Or call 212/767-6301 for further information.

MUSICAL CONCEPTS CD SOUNDENIGMA. -Smooth. Transparent" $695: EPOCH. Se-ductive. Natural!" $995; Highly -Reviewed CDT -4 trans-port $695 --Musical Concepts has put the fun back intoCD playback." says The Audio Adventure. Audio Al-chemy mods. including DLC $99 -up. Marantz and Pi-oneer CD mods. Musical Concepts. 5749 Westwood DrSt. Charles, MO 63304. (314) 447-0040.

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DON'T PAY EXORBITANT PRICES! FOR TOP QUALITY !

We have equaled the high-priced brands. Sonicequivalents at a fraction of their cost. We demysti-fy wire technology. Ask for literature.

AND MORE! DACS. Anti -Jitter Units, CDPlayers/Transports, Speaker Stands. Speakers.Home Theater, Prologic, Accessories-& MORE.Call 800.321-2108 24hrs./day for free catalog.

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HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!We've delivered something different for 16 years -natural, musical results! Adcom, 138K and Haller mod-ifications, rivaling expensive components. AdcomGFA-555 Ihru 5800 mods-Adcom preamps. tuner/preampsi Powerful. transparent BSA mods. NEW! PA -2cascoded circuitry for Haller amps -budget bliss! Su-perConnect interconnect -naturalness, not hype! Mu-sical Concepts. 5749 Westwood Dr.. St. Charles. MO63304 (314) 447-0040.

ENJOY JITTER -FREE MUSIC! AT $549 FOR THE BASICPLAYER AND $649 FOR THE REFERENCE ONE TRANS-PORT. WE HAVE BROKEN THE PRICE BARRIER. ISO-LATED STABLE CLOCK MODULES AND OTHER UP-DATES STILL AVAILABLE. DEALER INQUIRIESWELCOME. G8D TRANSFORMS. (602) 650.1155

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B&O B&W CARVER DENON FOSGATE H/K KEF LEXICON NAD NAKAMICHI ONKYO POLK VELODYNE 24 HOUR AU-TOMATED PRICING MANUFACTURERSWARRANTIES COURTEOUS ASSISTANCE AMERICAN THEATER SYSTEMS (904)321-0100

AVDIO CLASSICS, LTD.Buys -Sells -Trades -Repairs

I'ondcn 1128 9i Partial ListinB

. _34 Gardiner Place. PO176AAA, Walton, NY 13856

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M. Mint, EX.Excellent G.Good. F= air, P.Poor AI=As Is.BO=Best Otter : AMPLIFIERS: Accuphase P26VX1$999.Acoustat TNT120(EX) 5349 Air Tight TM2( ) $6129Aragon 2004-II(EX $699 Audio Research Corp D76A(G)5995, D100A(EX S550 $598,ST2020/BAL(N) 598 B6W MPA1 pr 98,CarverAV405(EX) $599, AV634(13 $469, SILVER -9T( X) $1499,TFM6CB(D) $361 TFMS5CB(D) $429 TFM35X(D) $699,TFM75 $1589-1759, carry CAD40M-MKII(D) $1499,CAD300B(N) S1995 CADWNEX) $4995 SLA70-MKII(N)$995 Classe DR25(EX) $2199, CM Labs 80MRM(F) $499,Conrad -Johnson MF80(D) $999 MVIEXAA718(169MV5yX $1299 Counter 2C )

( 1 96 SOLID -2(D1 $1,399, Crown$3199, PL E.X) 5595. PS200(G) 5649,PS400(EX)$799, Denon 0A5000(N) $799 Golden Tube

Audio SE N) $980, Kinergetos KBA75 51197-1495 KrellKAV500/51M $2995 KMA160CE_X $3499 KMA21:5)8rX)$4395 KSA M) 52339, KSA100 M) 53750, KSA1 EX)53039 KSA200 EX)S4595. KSA S(EX)_$5795 LazurusMARK-III-LAZ(EX 51995, McIntosh 50W2(1 5599,MACKIT(EX1 51 , MC40(EX) 5999 MC60 750-999MC225 5999-1495 MC240(EX) $1995 MC250 52-399.MC275 $2000-4995, MC502 5549-599, ki1C752(EA) .5669,MC2100 $299-449, MC2105 5399-899, MC2120 5699-799,MC2150(G) $899, MC2255(EX) $2499, MC73001EX) $9Motrf MS100(EX) $1399 Nobis CANTABILE(D) 51499, 0CMBI(EX) $349, OCM500(0) $2099. Rotel RB970BX(D) $299,Sunfire SUNFIRE(N) $2175, Threshold S500(EX) $1995.VAC PA45C(EX) 51899, V70-MKII(D) $2385 CASSETTEDECKS: Carver TD1770(N) $489, Denon DN770R(N) $699.DRS810(N) $449 DRW840(N) 5399 CD PLAYERS: CALTEMPEST-115E(Ek) $995. Carver SD/A360(0) 5396-415SDA370(D) $519, Denon DN650F(N) $869, DN961FA(D)$1499, Kinergetics KCD40(EX) $1495 Krell KPS20I(EX)$5839 McIntosh MCD7000 53-500, MCD7005(EX) $999,MCDI007 $1499, Nakamichi OMS7(EX) $299. RotelRCD96513X(D) $449 CD PROCESSORS: Ara D2A-II$999 Audio Alchemy CALL Audio M34LU ) $2700,Audio Research Corp DAC1- EX) $1 99, KrellREFERENCE-64iEX))) $7499, S Pr2X(EX) $1499STEALTH.(E_ X) 1339. STUDIO $1995-2169, MERIDIAN)203(EX) $299, roceed PDP2(EX) $899, Theta DS-PRO-PRIME(EX) $5. Wadia DIGIMASTER-64X(EX) $1799 CDTRANSPOR SBAudo Alchemy DDS-III(D) $719, CECTL1(EX) $2970, Krell MD2AC(EX) $2169. MD10(M) $3995,Proceed PDT(EX) $749 EQUALIZERS: Audio ControlCALL, McIntosh MQ101 5149-250 M0104 $99-249 M01075349-699 MXR 124(0 ) $357 Shure SR107(EX) $299.GUITAR AMPS: Ampeg GS12R(EX) 5499, ART 490(EX)$499 SWR BABY-BLUE(EX) $399 GUITARS: FenderTELECASTER(M) 51199, Rokenbacker 325JL(M) $1199HEADPHONES: Stax Grado CALL INTEGRATED AMPS:Carver CMV1185(N) $850, Marantz THIRTY(EX) $449.McIntosh MA5100 5199-499, MA6100(EX) $649 TandbergTIA3012(EX) $399 PARTS: McIntosh Thousands in stockPRE-PREAMPS: CALL PREAMPLIFIERS: Air TightATC2(D)_ $4666. Aragon 24KSP(EX) 5599, Audio ResearchCorp LS1(EX) 5995, SP3A1(EX) $999, SP EX) $550,SP14(EX) $1995, AVP2000(N) 5775 BediniBC800(EX) 5749, Cary $1350, SLP94P $1599-1799, Carver CIIN) $329 C D) 5399, C15V(0) $699

C2OV 5509-84 C4000(EX) $399, CaryCAD5 EX1 5799, Coda 01P(13.1 5_2289, Conrad -JohnsonPV5(EX) 79 Counterpoint SA1000(EX) $799, SA5000(M)$2649. SA-1(EX) $499 Golden Tube Audio SEP1(N) $889,Harman Kardon CITATION -I 5199-499, Krell KBL $1995-2669 KRC2(M) 51669, KSL2(M)..$1995 KSIAEXA $1399,KSP7B(EX) 1299. Marantz 7(EX) $3999, TT $399-499,McIntosh C8 599-250. C11 EX) $1995, C20 $750-1399 C2251495-2495, C24 5199-349, C26(EX) 5399, C27(G) S699.C28 5299-549 C29(EX) $999 C32 5799-1099 C33 1399-1499 C34V(EX.) $1499, C36(M) $999, C37 X) $1995,cup $1849, CR7LEX)1299- 99, Music and und DCC1(EX $499 Nobis PROTEUS(D) $1499_ Precision Fidet4C8( I) $349 Presence Audio LINE-STAGE-1(EX) 51920,Rotel RC980BX(DA $399, Soundstream C 10EX) $399SUMO HL1(EX) 350 Superphon REVELATION-Il$399, VAC V1NTA E-L1NE(D) 51249, VTL ULTIMATE EX$995 PROCESSORS: Audio Control CALL dbx CALL,Marantz AX1000 $1500-5995 RECEIVERS: CarverHR742(D) $519, HR895(D) $999, Denon AVR900(N) $430,McIntosh MAC4100 51099-1199 RECORD CLEANERS: VPIHW 16 5(D) $375 SPEAKER CABLES: Audioguest, CardasCALL Transparent Cable MWU8(EX) $999 SPEAKERS:AR CLASSIC -12(D) $399, Apogee CALIPER-SIG(N) $1995CENTAUR 5999-1250, CO $1169, DUETTA-StGIN)54995 IN -WALL -3(N) 51399, MINOR( $799, RIBBON-LCR(D) $669 RIBBON-MONITOR(D) $429, SLANT-6(EX)v$1589 SLANT -8 52729, STAGE 52496-3295 B8.DM640(it S899 B80 RL45 2(NOS) $299, Bose5999 zak E4000(EX) $749, Carver PLATINUM(EX$1699, Clements 107D1CD) 5339. 5474, 20801.1(N5598, RICHTER(N) $579, Energy 5 1E D) 5499, GenesisGENRE-II(D) $499_ JBL 4412A(D) $11 $1995,JM Lab $595, Joseph Audio RAPS! N $1499,KEF LS3/5A-SIG ) $1299, °RECO] $1800, ) $599,TWO(N) 52 , CORNWALL(EX1 $995,KUPSCHORN White McIntosh ML1C 5499-899ML2C 512-1800, ML4 ) $1995, XR5(EX) 5995, XR16(G$499 XR19 52995-4 XR230(M) $849 XR240($1199. MIRAGE M5(EX) $999, Ohm 4XVX $999.Platinum SOLO(D) $2495 Sound Lab PRISTINE(D)ID $2995Syntheso LM260A(D) $839, With!, Audio SIGNATURE -3(D)S599, Vandersteen 2CE(EJ, 5999. Wilson AuchoPUPPY(EX) $3475, WATT-III(E SUB -WOOFERS:BIC V12(N) 5399, Velodyne 1 N_)_ $899, F1200(EX)5799, F1200R(N) $995 F1500R(N) $1 95 ULD-15-1I $1699-1859 59, ULD-18-11(N) $2519, VA1012(D) $519, VA1215(D)$749 TAPE DECKS: Revox A77 $399-599, A700(F) 5499TEST EQUIPMENT: CALL TONER MS: CALL TUBES:CALL TUNER PREAMPS: Carver CT3(D) $379 CT6(D)McIntosh

CT7(D) 5469 CT27V(D) 5679 CT29V(0) $959,McIntosh MX110 S199-1699, MX112 5399-449_, MX113 5499-599, MX114 $399-499, MXI17(EX) 51099, RotelRTC940AX(N) $379 RTC950AX(10). _5479 TUNERS:Accuphase 7107 G) $419 T109(D) $2799, Ei&K TSI N)$398 Carver 7X110 A99-775 Day SequerraFREFERENCE((DD $4790, Jensen AVS2100(EX)$299,Ma_g_num- nalab ETUDE 5839-1299 F2051317(D)$259. FT101B1 (EX) $499 FT-R(D) $398 McIntoshMR55&A 5299-1000 MR65A&131399-999 MR66 299-799MR67 $399-799, MR71 5199-1299, MR7EX) $499, PAR7E15999-1995 MR80 V099-1599 M 500 _5549-649MR510(EX) MR7083(M) $1299 Onkyo T9090-11(0 )

$725. Perreaux TU3(EX) $499 Rotel RT950BX(N) 5299.Soundstream T 1(EX) 5299 TURNTABLES: DenonDP7F(N) $280. Sofa MOONBEAM(N) $379 VPI TNT -3(D)$4166 VIDEO EQUIPMENT: Denon LA3000(D) $360

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LOUDSPEAKERSLOUDSPEAKER COMPONENT - KITS. Audio Concepts.Dynaudio. Eclipse, Eton, LPG, Vifa. more! Crossover pans,design books & repairs. Catalog $2.00. MENISCUS. 257528th St.. S. W., Dept. A. Wyoming. MI 49509. (616)534-9121.

STATE OF THE ART CROSSOVER NETWORKS.UPGRADE ANY SPEAKER. SOFTWARE AVAILABLEFREE DESIGN GUIDE. ALLPASS TECHNOLOGIES. INC .2844 CHARMONT DR.. APOPKA. FL 32703-5972. (407)786-0623.

CUSTOM ACTIVE ELECTRONIC CROSSOVERS. 6 to 36dB/Oct. Also Snell, Magnepan versions DB SYSTEMS.POB 460, RINDGE, NH 03461. (603) 899-5121.

LOUDSPEAKER CABINETS Large selection of excellentquality loudspeaker cabinets for custom builders and deal-ers. Grenier Cabinets. 189 Jennings Road, Horseheads, N.Y.14845(607)594-3838.

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ROTTEN FOAM EDGES?SIMPLY SPEAKERSdoes professional foam replace-ments any size/brand. 7 Year Warranty. We sell DIYFoam Surround Kits for less! Speaker reconing. MC/VISAJDISCOVER/AME X- 1-800-767-4041.

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"...reach -out -and -touch -it realism."NY Times 800-783-1553 Ohm Acoustics Cor-poration. 241 Taafe Place. Brooklyn. NewYork 11205. FAX (718) 857-2472.0I-IMSPEAKER(a AOL.COM

TRUE SUBWOOFERWith phenomenaltrue deep bassextending below20Hz with lowdistortion at a veryaffordable price.The HRSWI2Vwill extend thebass of yourstereo or videosystem for that"air shaking allaround you"effect. HSU Research NRSW12V

Here's what experts are saying about the HRSW12V:the Hsu has to be considered an outstanding bargain

Robert Deutsch. Stereophle Guide to Home TheaterVol t No 2.1995

'Prodigious sass that shakes the walls' 'one heck of athunder buster

John E Johnson, Jr Secrets of Home These° andHigh hdelay, May 1ee5

' this woofer achieves a combination of extremely quickspeed and gut massaging bass impact that I have seldomexpenenced from any subwoofer'

Peter Michell. Stereophde Vd 18 No 1. January 1995

'has developed an enviable reputation in its few short yearsof existence'

Thomas J Wow. Sarnaiones Gad* to Hone trace Vo 1 No 1. 1495

'Hsu's HRSW12V is a wonderful subwoofer It's goodlooking and simple to use, and its performance invitesnothing less than superlatives. especially given its poop'

Torn Nousaine, Sound a Image. February Marcn +995

'The HRSW 2V is one of the most potent subwoolen we haveused Scoicall, it is all one could wish lac and the pace Is right

Aiken Hirsch. Stereo Review, December 1994

' all of the nonboomy. stomach-rnasseging Dais energy wascoming horn a single 12 -inch powered subwoolet

Peter lAtchell. Sfereophole Vol 17 No 4, April 1994

' delivered enough punch to shake the sturdiest shellBrent Butterworth, Video Magrairie, April 1994

Send for lull details on the 12V and the new 10V.Mlle [a catHSU RESEARCH14946 Shoemaker Ave Unit LSanta Fe Sonngs. CA 906701-800-554-0150 (Voice)1-310-404-3848 (Votce/Fax)

Sold factory direct with a 30 dew trial - money backguarantee 5 year manufacturer's detect warranty

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MDY-4New and improved!Audio enthusiasts have long known

that a Dynaudio two way system is aneffective way to create quality soundwithout creating significant debt. Incomparison with any system at anyprice, the combination of the Dynaudio17cm woofer with the incomparable28mm tweeter is exceptional in all ofthese areas:

Dynamic range Transient attackSmooth Reproductionresponse of the humanPhase and voicefrequency Lack offidelity compression.

To be fair, these modest drive unitscannot produce infrabass (those fre-quencies below 50 Hz), but in the other99.75% of recorded material, they equalproducts that cost 10 to 30 times asmuch.

Madisound is proud to introduce afurther refinement of this combination,the MDY-4. This quality kit uses high orderfilters to eliminate sweet spots in the off -axis response. The imaging is excep-tional, a result of precise phase and timedelay, refined in a sophisticated 14 ele-

I /WM 06 E. D-28/2

ment filter. Every part is of the highestquality; every detail is the culmination ofthree years of careful analysis.

Best of all, the MDY-4 is modestlypriced. The complete system with oakveneer cabinets in either a clear finish orblack stained finish, is $595. Cabinets arefinished, and the system can be assem-bled in one evening. Hundreds of satis-fied music lovers have built and cherishthe earlier Image Systems, and now Dy-naudio and Madisound have taken an-other step toward Audio Perfection. Isn'tit time for you to build a standard toevaluate your success as a SpeakerBuilder?

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LOUDSPEAKERSVMPS factory assembled speakers. Lowest Prices,shipped direct to you. Free Price sheet. Arthur Morgan. 886East Charing Cross Cir . Lake Mary. FL 32746

ELECTROSTATICSPEAKER KITS. PARTS. TRADE SECRETS. SAVE MON-EY BUILDING. REPAIRING. MODIFYING. CATALOG/START-UP MANUAL -$5.00. DAVID LUCAS. DEPT. A. 924HULTON ROAD. OAKMONT, PA 15139.

$400 OFF PAIR OF JBL 4312 STUDIO MONITOR SPEAK-ERS! USED BY 70°90F ALL RECORDING STUDIOS FORMIXING AND EVALUATION. 3 -WAY WITH 12" WOOFER. 5"MIDRANGE 8 DOME TWEETER. 100 WATT CAPACITY.$499/PAIR! ORIGINAL REPRODUCTION HARTSFIELD085s 55999/PAIR. SHIPPED WORLDWIDE. VISA/MC. HALCOX, 1947. (415) 388-5711, FAX (415) 388-3359. 164 TA-MALPAIS AVENUE. MILL VALLEY. CA 94941. SAN FRAN-CISCO AREA.

CD PLAYERSDIGITAL OR ANALOG? You've invested a lot in your sys-tem-- don't let awful digital sound ruin it. Now available: thenew Daniels Audio Zero -One CD Player, "the closest thing toanalog". Stands sonically shoulder -to -shoulder with Spec-tral, Levinson and Theta, but costs only $750. Recent ravereviews in Chicago Tribune, other publications. No -obligationin -home audition. Also available: 5 -disc CD Changer, $798:phase coherent cables. Phone. FAX or write Daniels AudioCorporation. 178 North Ridgeland, Oak Park. IL 60302. FAX312/263-2335, phone 708/383-3319.

COMPACT DISCS

CD SAVER $24.95Save your scratched cd's w/CD SAVER - simple &

easy to use - save time & money - repair up to 10 cd'sTo order call 1-800-864-7357 (VISA, MC, & Discover)

or send check or money order toJ&S Company P.O. Box 2161 Opelika AL 36801-2161

'Allow 4.6 weeks for delivery/add $3 50 for 5.5H

RECORDSLV/CD/RECORD COLLECTOR'S SUPPLIES. Jewel boxes.record lockets. sleeves. storage boxes. 78 sleeves, dividers,much more! Free brochure. CABCO PRODUCTS. ROOM663, POB 8212, COLUMBUS, OH 43201. (614) 267-8468.

PRESERVE ENHANCE RESTOREWe Sell Audio Dynamite'

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AUDIOPHILE RECORDS

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WANTED TO BUY

CASH for USED AUDIO & VIDEO EQUIP.BUYING and SELLING by PHONE. CALL forHIGHEST QUOTE. (215) 886-1650 Since1984. The Stereo Trading Outlet, 320 OldYork Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046.WANTED: WESTERN ELECTRIC. JBL. MARANTZ OLDEQUIPMENT. SUNLIGHT ENGINEERING COMPANY:310-320-7020. 22130 SOUTH VERMONT AVENUE. #A.TORRANCE. CA 90502.

MARANTZ & ALL VINTAGE EQUIPMENT, HIGH -END. Noone pays MORE. working or not! N.YS I. (718) 377-7282.2-6pm. WEEKDAYS:

Integrated buyer, David Yo, since 1977 always buying: vin-tage tube Marantz. McIntosh. ARC, Quad. Leak. Vintagespeakers. units from Western Electric. JBL. EV. Jensen. AI-tec. Tannoy. Thorens TD -124. Garrard 301. PO. Box 80371San Marino. Ca 91118-8371 Tel 818/441-3942.

WANTED, WANTED: AVID 101 SPEAKERS, DRIVERS.V.G. CONDITION? -EXCELLENT PRICE. TONY: (215)425-3260. PENNSYLVANIA. WILL DRIVE!

AUDIO CLASSICS BUYS -SELLS -TRADES -REPAIRSHigh End Audio Components. CALL for a quote. See our ad atthe beginning of the classifieds. AUDIO CLASSICS, LTD..POB 176WI3. Walton, NY 13856. Phone. 607-865-72008AM-5PM EST Mon. -Fri.. FAX: 607-865-7222.

WANT - JBL Hartsfield, EV Patrician, Brociner, Tran-scendent Singles OK. McIntosh. Marantz & other tubeequipment. Larry Dupon. 2638 W. Albion, Chicago, IL 60645.(312) 338-1042. evenings.

COLLECTOR, PAYING TOP PRICE WILL TRAVEL, to pickup, working or not. MONO/Stereo tube MARANTZ. McIn-tosh. TANNOY Spkrs, B&W, Sequerra Tuner. KRELL.Levinson, etc. (718)387-7316 or (718)383-3205. NEWYORK.

CABLE TV

LINK YOURSELF TO THE FUTURE WITH OUREXPERIENCE! CABLE TV CONVERTERS &DESCRAMBLERS. QUALITY, SERVICE &SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! VISA/MC/AMEX/C.O.D. ACCEPTED. QUANTITY DIS-COUNTS. CABLE LINX, INC., MIN-NEAPOLIS, MN: 1-800-501-0095.

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CABLE T.V. CONVERTERS & ACCESSORIES. FairPrices, Quality Service, & 14 years Experience Gives UsThe ADVANTAGE. CALL 1-800-952-3916 Visa/MC/Amex/Disc/COD. ADVANTAGE ELECTRONICS. INC., 1125 Riv-erwood Dr., Burnsville, MN 55337. MEMBER OF NCCA.

CABLE T.V. CONVERTERS & DE -SCRAMBLERS: Replacements for mostmodels. 30 Day Trial -1 Year Warranty!Dealer Inquiries Invited. Visa/MC/Disc/Amex/COD FOR QUALITY, PRICE & SER-VICE CALL: 1-800-259-1187. Eagle Elec-tronics Inc., #1, 1301 Railhead Blvd.,Naples, FL 33963. No Florida Sales.


CABLE TV PARTS AND ACCESSORIES PUBLICATIONS

REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY. Does all Boxes - ForFree Catalog Please Call Mega Electronics 1-8001676-6342.

WE'LL BEAT ANY PRICE ON CABLE CONVERTERS &DESCRAMBLERS. SAVE ON EQUIPMENT, CABLE RENT-AL FEES, & CONNECTION CHARGES. STEALTHS, M-80,PIONEER, ETC. DEALER INQUIRES WELCOME. VISA/MASTERCARD/DISCOVER/C.O.D. QUALITY ENTER-TAINMENT 1(800) -72 -BOXES.

CABLE TV CONVERTERS & DE -SCRAMBLERS. SAVE MONEY! CALL USLAST FOR THE BEST PRICES!! ALLBRANDS. 24 HOUR SHIPPING. VISA/MC/AMEX/C.O.D. QUANTITY DISCOUNTS. VID-EO CONNECTIONS INC. 1-800-677-0321.

CABLE TV MEDESCRAMBLERS Best Buys

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ACCUPHASEAUTHORIZED SERVICE AND PARTS for all Accuphaseproducts. Contact: ACCUTECH, 206 E. Star of India Lane,Carson, CA 90746. TEL. (310) 324-7406, FAX (310)324-7422. Hours: 9am-4pm Pacific Time.

Amplifier Maintenance Specialists. All manufacturersFlat rate repairs and preventive maintenance on Dynaco.Haller and Phase Linear. Midwest Power, FAX/Phone614-351-0895. CompuServe 102461 3601

Audio Equipment Built, Repaired, Modified and Restoredby Richard Modafferi. independent consultant to Audio Clas-sics. Ltd., inventor, and former Senior Engineer at McIntosh.AUDIO CLASSICS, LTD. POB 176RTM. Walton. NY 13856Phone: 607-865-7200 8AM-5PM EST Mon -Fri . FAX:607-865-7222

TUBE COMPONENTS

SOUND VALVESAFFORDABLE TUBE COMPONENTS! (Seeour display ad October AUDIO.) Quality 100%Made -in -USA designs by Harry Klaus. Pre -amps $699 -up; Amplifiers $899 -up. MO-SFET: Amplifiers $499 -up. Factory -directsales welcomed! UPS COD. 30 -day satisfac-tion guarantee. Sound Valves, 185 North YaleAvenue, Columbus, Ohio 43222-1146. Pho-ne:61 4-2 79-23 83, 10-4 EST; Fax:614-279-0368.

Premium Grade PartsDon't Pay More!

Absolutely the best selection of audiophile grade pat fair prices Extensive deep in Stock inventfeaturing these vendors and many more. Free cat.,MIT MULTICAP, WONDER CAP, SoLEN, SCR, REL.,NICHICON MUSE, BLACK GATE, CADDOCK, VISHAY, M.HOLCO, Resis-rs, TDK, ALPS, NOBLE, EAR, DEFIER PvC.ARDAS, KB-1BU, ACROTECH, & pure silver chassis v.!'HIDCFRED diodes, Sow foil inductors, all types ofconnectors, silver contact toggle & rotary swit.stepped attenuator kits, hospital grade plugs, to!tools, IC's, super selection of damping materials 8:IntemationaVoverseas orders are especially weld !'Phone (415) 6(9-7181 or fax ( ' - '.69-7558 for a caul, ,f.tMichael Percy, Box 528. I i s erness, CA 94937

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SOUND C ONNECTIONS INTERNATIONAL INC203 Flagship Dr -Lutz, FL USA ::-3549

PH 813-948-2707 Fax: 813-944-2907

WhenPigs fly.

TheParts Connection Catalog 8 ResourceGuide. Volume 2

No n.iityr r just a parts cataiog. out an usst.,'t a.resource guile for those DIY projects We rave adder:whole slew of new products. an expanded selection atpremium tubes from Golden Dragon, Audio Glassic andSovtek plus directly heated triodes like the newly manu-factured Western Electric 300B and the Vaic ValveW308 More transformers l'or^ Magnequest. Plitron andHammon. Js cable and moofrom all t.. ..ss

T The Parts Connection Catalog 8Resource Guide. Volume 2 , scow

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Panasonic PU-4564 UHS Hi-Fi UCHPanasonic's PV -4564 gives you plenty of space, whether or

not you have a home theater. Its Spatializer Audio Processorchip, developed by Desper Products, accents spatial cues in thesignal. This results in a more lifelike sound field, wider anddeeper than conventional stereo. Spatializer (the latest in along chain of stereo sound -field enhancers, ranging fromCarver's Sonic Holography to Hughes' SRS) provides awide "sweet spot" and subtly effective processing.Panasonic provides a switch for two degrees of processing,as well as defeat.

I used the PV -4564 with a 27 -inch TV and front -firingstereo speakers. Voices stayed centered on the screen,while sound effects and music spread out to the sides ofthe picture and in frontof it. Spatializer addedlittle in the way ofnoticeable twang orcoloration. Sitting closerto the TV enhanced theeffect. The Spatializer

GRADE: A

circuit might be considered just a desirablegimmick if not for the overall outstandingrecording performance of the $430 PV -4564itself. Besides enhancing acoustic space, thecompact size of this VCR saves considerablephysical space. Rich Warren


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SALAMANDER DESIGNSARCHETYPE

1\1 OD ULAR SHELVINGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAular shelving units from Salamander Designs can beo accommodate varying component ensembles. Thanks

that employs hexagonal nuts on solid -steel rods, shelfatter of choice. Units can be placed side by side or atop

er anded by

idgingprenesand-

betw n metalones to damp vibra-

tion, while mountingoptions include wheels,rubber feet, or heavymetal spikes (the lastnearly a half pound each).

My 36 -inch -high, five -shelf, natural cherry Arche-type 5.0 came with adequateillustrated instructions and

both a level and a wrenchthe only other tool re-quired was a tape meas-ure. The 90 -minute as-sembly was simple buttedious, since I quickly tired of spinning nutsdown threaded rods to their appropriate height.Others may finish more quickly, depending onhow critical they are about spacing.

I very much like the Archetype's appearance;its black -oxide gunbarrel-finish hardware

contrasts strikingly with the warm grain of the solid hardwood shelves. Prices forfive -shelf units range from $249.95 to $379.95. Two- and three -shelf units (20 and28 inches, respectively) are available, and other finishes include classic oak, hazelnut,black lacquer, and a black lacquer/cherry combination. David Lander


GRA A

B & W 803 MATRIX SERIES 2 SPEAKERS+ + + + + + :0 + + + + + + + 0:0

I could tell from their looks and sound that the 803s were B & W products. Their highswere clean and natural, even on sharp -edged soprano voices. Overall balance was good,distortion was generally low, and there were no colorations. I've heard more spaciousness,but the soundstaging was broad and natural; small groups (such as William Bolcom andJoan Morris) sounded as if they were right there in the room. Bass extended down to 18 Hz,was more audible at 28 Hz, and then came in solidly at about 33 Hz-but the deep bassseet to lack some power and authority. On dense material like the Berlioz Requiem(Tell), there was either a bit of high -end rolloff or some mushiness at high volume levels.

speakers' size (40 x 11 x 14 inches) let them fit unobtrusively into my average -sizedIiSom, and their $1,500 -apiece price makes them affordable. Overall, the sound wasclear and neutral, and I found myself appreciating previously unheard subtleties in long-

familiar recordings. There was nothing to dislike in the sound, yetI could not quite bring myself to love it-I found it just a littleuninvolving. Ivan BergerGRADE: A-



5740 Green C

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in."" .nka. Minnesota 55343-4424 / Phone:

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39-0500 FAX

: 612-939-0634

Acurus Rated Number One

ACURUS vs THEM

In a twelve amplifier comparison test Video Magazine ranked she Acurus A150 amplifier number one. The Acurus

received an A g-cde in both Sound Quality and Construction! 'More importantly, th's amp delivered tons of

punch-significantly more than I expected from c '150 -watt amp. The sound nad outstanding dynamic outlines

and impact, trap drums and big bass events were impressively rendered. There was also an open, highly

aetailed, but neve- harsh character to the sound, with notable depth and 'space'.' Dan Kumin, Video Magazine

To prove to yourself that the U.S. made Acurus is superior to the foreign made Sony, Rotel, NAD, Pioneer,

Parasound, Carver, Adcom, etc. go to your nearest Acurus dealer fo- a demonstration.

VIDEOBESTOF 1996

MONDIAL DESIGNS LIMITED20 Livingstone Ave., Cobbs Ferry. NY 10522 914-693-8008 Fax 914-693-7199


february 1996 ecul' · cd changer, dual cassette deck, remote control - and our ensemble iv...

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