AMPLIFIERS: Beyond the W-5, Simaudio takes its power amplifiers a step further. Copland reinvents an old favorite and makes it better than ever. CEC brings musicality to a more affordable range. OTHER REVIEWS: The new Veena from Reference 3a, a reincarnation of the Energy Reference Connoisseur, and a hot DAC from BenchmarkPLUS: Paul Bergman on the true nature of hi-fi, and stereo too, the redicovery of a Bach contemporary, and Vegas 2006No. 75 $6.49

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RETURN LABELS ONLYOF UNDELIVERED COPIES TO:Box 65085, Place Longueuil,Longueuil, Qué., Canada J4K 5J4Printed in Canada

ASW Speakers

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WBT

Reimyo

Apollo

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FIM Accessories

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ASW Genius 400

“It has all the volume you could ever want, its bottom end goes

down to bedrock, and its top end is delightfully smooth.”

UHF No. 73IN ONTARIO

Audio Excellence, Toronto(905) 881-7109

Audio Two, Windsor(519) 979-7101

Fairview Hi-Fi, Burlington(905) 681-1872

WBT-0710CUalso available in silver

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NUTS&BOLTS

The True Nature of Hi-Fi and Stereo 18by Paul BergmanWhatthesewordsusedtomean…andwhytheyshouldmeanthatagain

FEATURE Vegas 2006 22

by Gerard RejskindCoverageofCESandT.H.E.ShowwiththeusualUHFtwist

The Listening RoomThe Simaudio Moon W-8 32

WhatmorecouldSimaudiodoacoupleofyearsafterthereleaseoftheamazingW-5LEpoweramplifier?

Copland CTA-405 Integrated Amplifier 37Coplandlaunchesanupdatedversionofitsbest-evertubeamplifier,andgets10outof10

CEC 5400 Integrated Amplifier 40Canareallymusicalaffordableamplifiercomefrom…Japan?

Reference 3a Veena 43Howtogetthesoundthecompanyhasofferedyouwithoutpayingforexpensivestands

Once More With Energy 46Areincarnationofaspeakerthatwasonceourreference

Benchmark Converter 49Everyonehastolduswejusthavetolistentothislittleconverter.Allright,hereweare!

OneForAll Learning Remote 51Thereareplentyofremotesthatcanlearncommandsfromotherremotes…butnotatthisprice!

CINEMAHDMI: the Magic Cable? 53

Whytheyare,onceagain,changingthecablethatconnectsyourhometheatresystem

RendezVousMaking a First Impression 55

UHFchatswiththefounderofFirstImpressionsMusic,WinstonMa,abouthownottoretire

IsitlikelookingfortheUnknownSoldier?SoftwareFinding Graupner 57

by Reine LessardHewasacontemporaryofBach,andalotofpeoplethenthoughthewasevenbetter

Software Reviews 64by Reine Lessard and Gerard Rejskind

DepartmentsEditorial 2Feedback 5FreeAdvice 6ClassifiedAds 42Gossip&News 70StateoftheArt 72

Cover story:TheexpensiveandastonishingMoonW-8poweramplifier,Simaudio’snewflagship,reviewedinthisissue.Inthebackground:acedarhedgeinwinter,photographedacrossthestreetfromUHF’sHQ.

Issue No. 75

ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine �

UHF Magazine No. 75 was published in March, 2006. All contents are copyright 2006 by Broadcast Canada. They may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

EDITORIAL & SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE:Broadcast CanadaBox 65085, Place LongueuilLONGUEUIL, Québec, Canada J4K 5J4Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383E-mail: uhfmail@uhfmag.comWorld Wide Web: www.uhfmag.com

PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Gerard Rejskind

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Reine Lessard

EDITORIAL: Paul Bergman, Reine Lessard, Albert Simon

PHOTOGRAPHY: Albert Simon

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Ultra High Fidelity Magazine is completely independent of all companies in the electronics industry, as are all of its contributors, unless explicitly specified otherwise.

Finally…in color! Ihadtolookbacktoconfirmit:UHFhasneverhadanall-colorissue.No,noteventhoseslick,oversized,Vogue-likeissuesoftheearlydays.Theaddedcostsinproducingapagewithfourprintingplatesinsteadofjustonewerejusttoogreat.Thoseweremoney-losingissues,bytheway,andbeyondthemcametheneedtoeconomize.Duringalongperiodonlythecoverswereincolor.Wegraduallyreturnedtosparsecolorinsidethemagazineonlyoncetheadvertisingdemandmadeitmandatory. Thedecisiontousecolorpotentiallyaffectsmorethanjustthebottomline.Italsohasaneffectonthemagazine’seditorialpolicy,andthereforeitsindependence.Ifcoloroneverypage(orextrathickpaper,ormetallicinks,whatever)istobepaidfor,itmustultimatelycomefromthepurseofadvertis-ers.Thatmeansraisingadvertisingratesand,implicitly,chasingawaysmalleradvertiserswithshallowerpockets,anditthenmeanskeepingthoselargeradvertisershappy.YoumayhavenoticedthatUHFnowhasalotofads,butalsonoticethattheyarenotthesameadvertisersyou’llseeinconventionalmagazines. Therealityis,however,thatasthenumberofouradvertisershasgrown,andasmoreandmoreofthemdemandedcolorads,wehavebeenscramblingtofindenoughcolorspaceforthem.Inourlasttwoissueswehadincreasedthenumberofinsidecolorpagesto32,andthatwasjustbarelyenough. In the meantime technology has changed. Until recently, our printerrequiredthatfilmsbemadeofourpagessotheycouldburnplates;acolorpageneedsfourfilmsinsteadofone,plusanexpensiveColorMatchproof.Nowtheplatesareburneddirectlyfromourelectronicfiles,andtheproofsareelectronictoo.Thesavingsarebeingusedtobringcolortoeverypage,exceptforTheAudiophileStoreinsertinthecentre. AlbertSimonhasreallybeenlookingforwardtothis.Amonghisotherimportantrolesatthemagazine,heistheonewhocreatesthesuperbproductphotographsinourpages.Ithappensalltoooftenthatheworkstomakeaterrificcolorpicture,andthenwereproduceitindrabblackandwhite. Nomore.

The next show Weknowyou’vebeenexpectingustomentionthenextshowforaudio-philes,andherewego.TheMontrealFestival du SontakesplaceonMarch24thto26thinanewvenue:theSheratonCentre,downtown.Withthenewvenuecomesaneworientation.OrganizerMarieChristinePrinhopestoattractdistributorsofdigitalcamerasandvideogamesaswellashighendaudioandvideopeople. Forthefirsttimeinmanyyearstherewon’tbeaUHFroom.Butthatdoesn’tmeanwewon’tbethere.We’llbecoveringtheshowwithdailyon-linereportsonourWebsite,andofcoursethefullwrapupinournextissue. Andthatisn’tall.AlsoonlinewillbeUHF’svirtualroomattheFestival.You’llseesomeofthethingsyouexpecttoseeinourroom.Anditwillbeopenextraearly,withlistsofrecordingsyoushouldhaveinyourpossessionwhenyoutourtheshow,ifyoudon’tmind…er,embarassingsomeexhibi-tors. Seeyoutherepossibly?

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The UHF Guide toUltra High Fidelity

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

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

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

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

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IamalongtimereaderbutIhavenotsubscribedinquitesometime.Iusuallywatchthelocalnewsstandsandreactlikeaschoolboywhenthenewissuecomesout.Ithentreatmyselftoasickdayandreadmostofthemagazineatoneofmyfavoritecoffeeshops.Themusicthereispleasantbutnotquitehi-fi. Your magazine keeps me thinking.I’vebeendesigningandbuildingaudiogearforawhilenowandhavenotmadea name in the marketplace yet. Soonthough.WhileinschoolIcameupwiththe“di-aural”crossover(andthreeotheraudioinventions)andneverpursuedthepatent.

BillWINNIPEG,MB

Let’ssee…fromFebruary3rd’sblogentry (www.uhfmag.com/Newsletter.html):thelastcomponentinalongdaygotyoureallyexcited.Ifeeltheurgetoguesswhatitwas. Thecomponentthatarrivedlastwas,accordingtotheentryforJanuary25th,thenewEnergyRefConRC-70.Sothatmustbethecomponentthatgotyouguysreallyexcited,hmm? Unless youmean the last itemyoulistenedtointheday’slineup. Now,youalsoannounceanothersiteupdate for Feb. 3… which appears tobe your own classified ad! You appeartobereplacingtheampinyourAlphasystem. Well,thetruthwilloutbythenextissue,butI’mguessingthatnotonlyistheRC-70allthespeakeritsforerunnerwasandthensome,buttheW-8toohasfulfilledallhopes.

TobyEarpMONTRÉAL,QC

Your second guess is correct, Toby. The W-8 was the final component listened to, and it has displaced the W-5LE, which has moved to the Alpha system. That spells retirement

for the YBA, which has served us well for some 16 years.

InreviewingyourreferencesystemsinyourlatestissueofUHF,InoticedthattheKappasystemusesEnergyReferenceConnoisseur speakers. They do lookverygood…onpaper,anyway.Canyoutellmewhich issueofUHF theywerereviewed in? I am a recent subscriberandImusthavemissedit. LoveUHFbytheway,andIthoughtThe Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Rollwassome really great writing! Thanks,Reine!

BrentTuthillHENDERSONVILLE,NC

The original Reference Connoisseurs were indeed very good, Brent, and not just on paper. The original review was in issue No. 9, which is still available.

In the Atlantis Argentera review(UHFNo.74),thereviewpanelstatedthat ref lex speakers have problemreproducing the wonderfully recordedtympaniintheOlympic FanfarecutfromWilsonAudio’sCenter Stage. Aren’t all Wilson Audio speakersreflex-loaded?Ifso,whywouldWilsonAudio record a cut that cannot beaccurately reproduced through theirspeakers?

NathanKoh

Wilson does indeed use bass reflex loading in its speakers, and they would probably not render the tympani impact correctly. But any good recording engineer gets on tape information his monitor speakers cannot accurately reproduce, or his amplifier either. This is as it should be, because it means the recording is better than the equipment avail-able to play it. That’s the reason improving a piece of gear is worthwhile. If the recordings were no better than the playback system, that would be the end of the line.

Ihavebeenreadingandsubscribingtoyourmagazineforacoupleofyearsnow and thoroughly enjoy, especiallythe equipment reviews. I am a hugeheavymetalfanandhavebeenformorethantwentyyearsnow.Heavymetalisabletoblendallformsofmusicintoit(fromclassical,opera,jazz,progressiverock, blues, to even rap, dance, andindustrial music). Do I like all types?Absolutelynot.Ilovethefactthatyouhavereviewedacoupleofheavymetal-orientedalbums. OntheotherhandIamverydisap-pointed by the latest “heavy metal”reviewoftheGreatKat(UHFNo.74).That has always been a joke/gimmickbandthatisroundlylaughedatinheavymetalcircles.Iamsodisappointedthatyouwouldreviewgarbagelikethatwhentherearesomanybandswhoarepush-ingtheboundaries,experimentingandprogressingtosurprisingheightswithintheheavymetalspectrum.Katisajoke,nodifferentthanKissorlatestAmericanIdolcash-grabbingmusicalproduct. Therearebandsthatworkwithphil-harmonicorchestras(MekongDeltaandTherion, to name but two trailblazersoverthelast15years).InfactTheriontoured North America and broughtalong a six person choir for vocals—somethingnobandhaseverdoneonthiscontinent.AndofcoursetheyplayedanumberofshowsinCanada.Therearesomanyhighlyintelligent,progressiveandinterestingheavymetalbands,itistoobadyouwastedspaceontheschlockoftheGreatKat.

JohnMacLeodCALGARY,AB

We appreciate the heads up, John. But the PR contact for The Great Kat was miffed at what she saw as an exceedingly negative review of the DVD. Her letter follows.

IwassurprisedatthenegativereviewforKatespeciallyaftertheravereviewswe’vegottenfrommusicexpertsinclud-ingGuitarOneandSpinMagazine.Shedoes have CDs, please see her websitetogetthefactsstraight:www.greatkat.com.

KarenThomas,PresidentThomas Public Relations, Inc.

HUNTINGTONSTATION,NY

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I have a small question to which an answer would return some of my thought resources to free flow. I play CDs on a Technics DVD A10 player, used as a transport, into a Bench-mark DAC1, then on to my system (not the Technics matching amp. I have heard, and read from dealers, that a dedicated CD player/transport would do a better job than the Technics DVD player. After some searching, I thought the Musi-cal Fidelity XRay v3 CD player, used as a transport with my DAC would be my choice, due to price as much as anything. However your magazine mentioned the CEC TL51 transport. I’ve been unable to find a standalone transport. Would one of these two CD sources give my system a better front end? If so, which would you recommend? If your choice is the CEC TL51X, where might I find one?

Drew BurnhamNORTH VANCOUVER, BC

YourBenchmarkDAC1isreviewedin this very issue, Drew, and as you’llsee we did in fact use it with a CECtransport,sinceweownone(ourmaindigitalreferenceisaone-boxplayer,theLinn Unidisk 1.1). We thought it wasan excellent combination, both fromthe standpoint of sound quality andprice,andthepriceoftheCECmakesitpreferabletosomeotherchoices. Benchmark Media Systems, whichmakestheDAC1,claimsthatitspatentedcircuitcanrejectjitterevenfrommedio-cresourcesofdigitaldata.Ourguessis,nonetheless, that your Technics DVDplayerisnotgettingthebestfromtheDAC1. CECproductsarecertainlydifficultto find, however. The Canadian andUSdistributorisMutine(www.mutine.com),whichwouldnodoubtbehappytopointyoutothenearestdealer.

I have followed your earlier advice, both of a personal nature and for others, and devised the beginnings of a good sound system. I have a Cambridge A500 integrated and a 540C CD player, my speakers are Boston Acoustics A150’s (I added spikes and changed the spring clips to posts), I have made my own speaker cables, interconnects and powercords using quality materials and connectors (Wattgate, Hubbell and Mtchell). I love listening to music again but now I want to know your thoughts on what would net the most noticable gains and the more subtle. I am connecting all of my sources power to an AudioPrism Point 5 power bar, made for the Red Rose Spirit system, and I have a Powervar ABC-400 power conditioner that I would like to use on only my amp. The con-ditioner puts out 4 amps and the Cambridge A500 max voltage is 400. Is this too close to be used together without problems? My other question is in regard to my next upgrade. Would I get more from adding a decent DAC and using my player as a transport or simply getting much better (Vandersteen, Totem) speakers?

Aaron McCullagh,VANCOUVER, BC

We have no illusions about theBostonAcousticsspeakers,Aaron,anditdoesn’tsoundasthoughyoudoeither.At somepointyoumaybe ready forachangeofbothCDplayerandamplifier,butintheshortertermyoumaywanttolookataspeakerchange. Wewouldn’tfeedanamplifierfromthePowervar.Youmaybeconfusingvolt-ageandcurrent,sothiscallsforalittleexplanation.The reason thePowervarisratedatonly4amperes,unlikemostconditioners,whichareratedat15ampsormore,isthatitcontainsatransformer.That transformer may do some good,particularlyagainstelectrostaticnoiseif

wecanassumeitcontainsaproperelec-trostaticshield,butunderheavycurrentdrawitwillsaturateandcauseamassiveperformancehit.TheothercomponentsofthePowervarareintendedtoprotectcomputer circuits from catastrophicfailure. This is difficult to do withoutmoreperformancehits.

First, congratulations on a wonderful magazine! I will no doubt stop hesitating and very soon subscribe to the paper or electronic edition of UHF. I’m just retired and I now have time to enjoy listening to good music. I resisted get-ting rid of my 1974 Quad 33 and 303 and had them sent to the clinic last year for check-up/repair. However, I do not share the same fondness for my same-year Dynaco A-35 speakers (slight upgrades to the memorable A-25’s). They have not aged well and sound compressed, worn out and long overdue for retirement or secondary duty! Notwithstanding the fact that I strongly agree with you that priority must be given to the musical source (my mechanically-updated Denon DCD-300 recently replaced by a do-it-all not so-hi-fi Panasonic DVD F87), I clearly require new loudspeakers. Like many, I love the sound of electrostatics (could not afford the EL Quads back in 74). However, I cannot provide the back space usually required for such. And although I have not heard them yet, I am seriously tempted to net-purchase Newform Research R630 ribbons, highly recommended by a friend. I do not wish to haul my Quads to audio shops and test-listen numerous speakers. I do prefer crisp highs to thundering lows and will willingly invest up to $2500 for any brand loudspeaker that brings out the best of my 45 watts/channel Quads. Does this make sense? If so, what other high efficiency models should I be considering? If not, should I simply agree to part with my antiques, and use the same amount to purchase a totally new two-channel system?

Jean Deschênes.GATINEAU, QC

Jean,wefeelcompelledtorepeatwhatwehavesaidcountlesstimes.ItmaybetruethatyourDynacoA-35speakersarenotthebestchoiceforamodernsystem(infacttheyworkquitedifferentlyfromtheA-25’sandarefarinferior),butthe

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reality is that until you have a bettersourceyoudon’treallyknowhowtheysound. The “compressed” sound youdescribeisnotnecessarilytheirfault. A change of source is especiallyimportant considering your liking for“crisp highs.” Of course “crispness”is always used to describe reproducedaudio,neverlivemusic,butifthesourceisnotdoingitsjobwell,“crispness”caneasily turn into a headache waiting tohappen. Weneedtoaddthatwedon’tinvari-ablyconsidersourceupgradestobeanabsolute must, because otherwise wewould keep buying better and bettersources,andstaywiththeamplifierandspeakerswehadasteenagers.Howeveryoursourceshouldalwaysbeatleastalittlebetterthantherestofyourgear,andatthemomentyoursisnot.

I have an Orfeo CD of Carlos Kleiber conducting Beethoven’s 6th, which inciden-tally was played through your Unidisk at the last Hi-Fi show in Montreal. The problem with the CD is that it will not play on a

computer because it is copy-coded. I have software to try to copy the tracks, but the fact that the CD will not play through the computer drive puts me at a disadvantage. Now I am not some pirate/hacker who wants to do this for fun or to place on LimeWire, but I simply want to enjoy this music CD on my iPod. Any ideas or suggestions?

Nick Lakoumentas,MONTRÉAL, QC

We’reataslightdisadvantagehere,Nick,becauseweuseMacintoshcom-puters,andmostanti-copymeasuresfailonMacsevenwhentheMacisspecifi-callytargetedbytheanti-copysystem.UsersofWindowscomputersreportthatmostcopycontrolsystemsarequiteeasytodefeat,bysuch“hightech”methodsasholdingtheshiftkeydownwhiletheCDisloading!Farmoreproblematicisthefactthatsomeofthesediscswillnotplayoncarsystemsorevensomeaudiophile-gradeplayers…noneofwhichhaveshiftkeys! Theexpensiveworkaroundistoget

a Mac, obviously, but there is a free-wareprogramavailableonlinetocopyaudiotrackstoanewCD:http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/. We hope you appreciate the irony:a system that is supposed to preventcopyingactuallyrequirescopyingifyouwanttousearecordingyou’vepaidforonyourequipment.

My aunt in Vancouver has a built-in Philips record player that requires repairs. She is well into her 80’s, would enjoy listen-ing to her LPs but can’t. Any suggestions as to whom she might contact?

Trevor Roadhouse,REGINA, SK

Itdependsonwhat’swrongwithit,Trevor. If it’s the cartridge (a brokenstylus, say), it can be repaired by anyhi-fi store that still stocks turntables,thoughitsownturntableswouldbewayupscale. If it’s the turntable itself, it isveryunlikelythatpartsforanoldPhilipsturntableswouldstillbeavailable. If that’s the case, a new turntablemight be what’s needed. The Source(the former Radio Shack stores) has aturntable (catalog 4202023) completewithbuilt-inphonopreamp,whichcouldsitatoptherecordplayer’scabinetandbeeasytohookuptoreplacethedeadturntable. One of the staff from thestore might even be willing to deliverand install it after hours, for a smallamount.

After seven years of university, and well employed, its time to upgrade my audio. The last Sony ES two-channel receiver and CD player from the mid 90’s have served me well. The upgrade will consist of integrated amp and tuner, or a receiver, as I listen to a lot of radio. My source is the new Sony top-of-the-line ES DVD player (the DVPNS 9100 ES). I am patriotic, and it would be nice if I could buy Canadian, so I am wondering if the Magnum Dynalab MD-208 receiver can hold up to British integrated and tuner combos from musical fidelity (A3.5 series) or from Arcam ( FMJ series). Keep in mind that power is not a priority, I rarely listen at loud levels.

Daniel R.,MONCTON, NB

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The MD-208 is, we are given tounderstand,theresultofacollaborationbetweenMagnumDynalabandSimau-dio.Inthecontextofyoursystem,andconsideringyourlimitedneedforpower,itmaybeanexcellentchoice.

I just had a question about the foam inside or outside of my speakers. (B&W CDM1 SE) My son, a few years ago when he was younger, terrible twos or threes, used to put his little toy cars, action figures, cereal, etc. inside the front port of my speakers. When he pulled the toys out sometimes he would take the foam out too. I was recently reminded of this when I moved one of the speakers and some Cheerios fell out… None of the foam pieces had any glue residual on them, so I was wondering should I glue the foam pieces to the inner wall of the speakers so they don’t slip out of place? If I am missing any foam where should I buy the replacement foam? The foam was thin and reminded me of the packing foam found in tool kits/cases. Do you recommend an upgrade for the foam that is already there? I have to add I was thinking about writ-ing before about upgrading my speakers, until I recently added a power amp to my home theatre setup. My RSX-972 is now used as a preamp, and then the speakers really came alive. I never realized how hungry these B&W’s really are.

Jamie HillierRICHMOND, BC

Arethefoampiecescompleteslabs,Jamie, or just little chunks torn fromlargerones?Didthefoamreallycomefromtheinnerwallsofthespeakers,orwasitinsidetheporttodampenit?Ifitcamefromthewalls,itwillbeimportanttoreconstructitproperly.Ifit’sjustportstuffing,it’slesscritical,thoughitdoesaffectthetuningofthewoofer. Speakerdesignersusuallyfavorlarge-cellfoam.TheidealsolutionistogetitfromB&W,thoughasyoucanimaginethisisunlikelytobethecheapestone.Youcanalsogetappropriatefoamfromcompaniesthatsellsuppliesforspeakerhomebuilders,suchasSolen.

My system consists of a Rogue Zeus amp (their top), Vandersteen 2ci speakers, Atlas Voyageur All-Cu 2m interconnect between preamp (Copland CTA-301) and amp, and

Wireworld Equinox between the preamp and Ikemi CD player. My speaker cables at this time are nothing special, but I biwire and use WBT connectors. Would it represent much of an upgrade to go to the ASW Genius 400 speaker reviewed in your last magazine? I live in northwestern Ontario, so it is impossible to get a listen to these speakers before I purchase. Please keep with your great magazine, easily the best audio magazine around.

Peter BoultonKENORA, ON

Yesitwould,Peter.Wewouldn’tsaythatifsomeofyourupstreamgearhadnotableweakspots,becausewe’vealwaysenjoyedtheVandersteen2speakers,andwewouldn’t swap themoutunless thetimehadreallycome. Ouronequestionmarkconcernsthespeaker cables. If “nothing special” iscodefor“HomeDepot,”youmightwanttochangethematthesametime.

I think the upgrade bug has got me, but I’d rather get that than the avian influenza!

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This weekend I had a chance to listen to a combo from Sugden from their Master Class series, the amp in pure class A (at 50 watts I believe) and the preamp. I thought the sound was stupendous, very rich and lifelike, a big step up from my YBA Intégré DT. I plan on going to have another listen with my Ikemi player, but unfortunutely I cannot bring my Winchester speakers…they really are a pain to carry around. I can get this pair for about the same price I would pay for the Audiomat Prelude, but for the same price as the amp I could get either an older version of the YBA 1 amp or a used W-5 from Simaudio. But I must admit I have always like the Sugden sound, and this amp is the best I have heard from Sugden.

André AvonSAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, QC

Actually, André, we’ve also likedthe Sugden sound. The company firstbecamefamousforentry-levelintegratedamplifiers,however,andwecanremem-berhavingtodefendourselveswhenwepurchasedtheirAu-51cpreamplifierforwhatisnowourAlphareferencesystem

(it was replaced by a Copland tubepreampsomeyearslater). WedidgetaquicklistentowhatwerethenthenewMasterClasscomponentsbefore distribution in North Americaended.WehaveneitherseennorheardtheSugdenssincetheirreturn.AllthistosaythattheSugdensmayormaynotbeyourbestchoice.Ouropin-ionoftheSimaudioW-5andtheYBAOneiswellknown,sinceweownoneofeach,andwehaveyettotryanAudiomatproductthatdidn’tdelightus.Howeverwenotethat,inthealternativestotheSugdenpair,youdon’tlistapreamp.TheAudiomatisanintegratedamp,buttheSimaudioandtheYBAarenot.

Is it worthwhile to use the Dakiom feedback stabilizers on a mid-Fi Yamaha 5.1 home theater with PSB speakers? I bought a Moon I-5 integrated amplifier with a SEAS Magnesium cone woofer and a ScanSpeak Tweeter. The CD player is a Moon Nova with an Apogee Mini DAC. The speaker cables are silver-plated copper. The sound is too bright, maybe glassy. I don’t like to listen to a symphony orchestra

with these. The low bass seems a bit thin. Do you think I should break in the system by playing it at a rather high level for a month? Should I replace the moon I-5 with a Moon W-3 amplifier? I liked the sound of a Redgum 60 amplifier with a ScanSpeak carbon cone woofer and a ScanSpeak tweeter using the same speaker cables. I could hear the details without the glassy sound.

Louis Handfield,SHAWINIGAN, QC

Louis,youmentionthedriversusedinyourspeakers(SEASandScanSpeak),butnotthemaker.Shouldweconcludethatthesearespeakersyou’vebuilt?Ifthat’s thecase,youmayneedtoshakedown the design before you makeexpensive changes in electronics. Youneedtolistentothespeakerswiththevery best electronics and source pos-sible,regardlessofwhetheryoucanorshouldpurchase them. Ifyoudon’tdothat,youcanneverbesurewhetherthespeakersaremerelypassingonbadnews,orwhethertheyarethesourceofthebadnews.

Of course Montreal audiophiles know Audioville is the place to hear the astonishing amplifiers and preamplifiers from conrad-johnson.

So where would you go to hear the spectacular new CT-5 composite triode preamplifier? Or conrad-johnson’s new LPS70 amplifier?

Audioville has them both. Of course!

The place to hear them!

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The Dakiom devices appear to besimilar,inconceptifnotinexecution,totheSpeakerEnacomwereviewedsomeyearsback.Wefoundthattheyworkedon some speakers but not on others.Albert bought a pair for the Apogeespeakershethenowned,butdoesnotusethemonhisOskarspeakers.WewouldbecautiousabouttheDakiom,however,becausethecompany’sWebsiteisheavyonwhatwethinkofasdisinformation.

I have an older Linn LP12/Ittok (circa 1988) which I equipped with a Linn Adikt MM cartridge to begin listening to vinyl again when I purchased a Creek 5350SE. I elected to purchase the MMSE phono board and the Adikt simply as a matter of economics at the time. I’m now interested in upgrading from the Adikt to the Sumiko Blackbird high output moving coil. What kind of performance can I expect using this cartridge through my standard MM phono board vs. having to purchase the Creek’s MCSE phono board? Any other options?

Garth LetcherKELOWNA, BC

TheSumiko willworkfine, Garth,anditdoesnotneed,norcanituse,theMC board. High output moving coilcartridges have more or less the sameimpedance as conventional movingmagnet cartridges, and don’t requiretheextraamplificationofanMCphonostageortheimpedanceconversionofastepuptransformer. ThereasonmostMCcartridgesdoneedextraamplificationisthat,becausethecoilmoves, itmusthavelowmass,and thus fewer turnsofwire.Thoughtheyarecommonlyreferredtoas“lowoutput,” a better term would be “lowvoltage.” A transformer can adapt theimpedancetoanormalphonoinput,buttheusualmeansisanextraamplificationstage,becauseelectroniccircuitsexpecttogetvoltage,notcurrent. “Highoutput”movingcoilcartridgessimplyhavelargercoils,whichthehigherimpedancephonopreamps like to see.Thereisofcourseatradeoff.Withmoreturnsofwire themoving coil ismoremassive,anditshigherinductancemaymean poorer reproduction of extremehighs.

1) Have you heard of a laser turntable that can play LP’s ? I saw a player on e-Bay, the ELP LT1RC Laser Turntable, with a “Buy It Now” price of $13.5k Can it rival the best of traditional turntables? 2) Have you heard of ultrasonic speakers? Does it have the potential to be an audiophile breakthrough? It’s at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-05-19-hss_x.htm 3) You’ve heard of dissimilar metals creating voltages? Are there any voltages created between the PCB tracks (copper), the output connector (nickel plating), and the cable connector (e.g. gold)? If so, is there enough voltage to be a problem for audio quality?

Bruce TouzelSANTA BARBARA, CA

Whatinterestingquestions,Bruce! 1)Someyearsagoweaskedfortheopportunity to review the ELP laserturntable. We were turned down, andinsteadwewereinvitedtobuyoneata“discount”…still well into fivefigures!We politely declined. Since then wehaveheardittwice.Weweresurprised

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by the smoothness of the high end,whichlackedtheusualartifactscausedbymechanicalcontactwiththegroove.Wewerealso surprised that, after theLPwentthroughmachinecleaning(notoptionalwiththeELP)itworkedreli-ably.Inbothcases,however,wefoundthebottomendunacceptablythin,andthelowermidrangelackinginwarmthand body. Both times we asked againaboutapossiblereview,andbothtimeswewereturneddown. 2)Well,thearticleinyourlinkmen-tionsthat“thetechnologyisstillyearsawayfrombecomingmainstream.”andin any case its purpose appears to be

focusingsoundatadistance.Fromthesoundofit,HSSismorelikelytoturnupataWal-Martdisplaythaninyourstereosystem. 3)Sinceenergycanneitherbecre-atednordestroyed,atleastnotwithouta license from a recognized atomicenergy agency, the metals themselvescan’tcreateavoltage.Howeverheatingajunctionofdissimilarmetalscanresultin a voltage. Can it cause a problemfor audio reproduction? Not directly,because the resulting voltage will beDC…zeroHertz.HoweverDCin thewrong place can cause misbehavior inamplification circuits, especially solid

state. For that reason the junction ofdissimilarmethodsisconsideredaBadThinginhighendcircles. That said, audio components areloadedwithdifferentmetalsinthesignalpath, including brass, copper, silver,gold,tin,andpossiblyrhodium,nickelandlead.Wecan’tthinkofawaytobuildasystemwithjustonemetal.

My system is mainly Linn, consisting of a Kolector preamp, two Aktiv front Linn speakers with two 140 amps, an LP12 turntable, a Linn subwoofer and a Linn Genki CD player. I also have two Linn rear speakers, a Marantz 8200 receiver and 7600

All equipment reviews are done on at least one of UHF’s reference systems, selected as working tools. They are changed infre-quently, and only after long consideration.

The Alpha system Our original reference is in a room with extraordinary acoustics, designed as a recording studio. It allows us to hear what we couldn’t hear elsewhere, but there’s a down side. Not only is the room too small for large speakers, but it is also at the top of a particularly unaccommodating stairwell.

Main digital player:LinnUnidisk1.1Additional CD player:CECTL-51Xbelt-driventransport,CounterpointDA-10AconverterwithHDCDcard.Digital cable:AtlasOpus1.5mDigital portable: AppleiPod60GbTurntable:AudiomecaJ-1Tone arm:AudiomecaSL-5Pickup:GoldringExcelPhono preamp:AudiomatPhono-1.5Preamplifier:CoplandCTA-305Power amplifier:YBAOneHC(nowreplacedwithSimaudioMoonW-5LE)Loudspeakers:LivingVoiceAvatarOBX-RInterconnects:PierreGabrielML-1,AtlasVoyagerAll-CuLoudspeaker cables:ActinoteLB/EclipseIIIPower cords:Gutwire,Wireworld

AC filters:FoundationResearchLC-2(poweramp),InouyeSPLC.

The Omega system It serves for reviews of gear that cannot easily fit into the Alpha system, with its small room. We didn’t set out to make an “A” (best system) and a “B” (economy) system, and we didn’t want to imply that one of the two systems is somehow better than the other. Hence the names, which don’t invite comparisons. Unless you’re Greek of course.

Digital players:sharedwiththeAlphasystemTurntable:LinnLP12/LingoIITone arm:AlphasonHR-100SMCSPickup:GoldringExcelPhono preamp:AudiomatPhono-1.5Preamplifier:CoplandCTA-305Power amplifier:SimaudioMoonW-5LE(nowreplacedwithMoonW-8)Loudspeakers:Reference3aSupremaIIInterconnects:PierreGabrielML-1,AtlasNavigatorAll-CuLoudspeaker cables:PierreGabrielML-1formostoftherange,Wire-worldPolarisforthetwinsubwoofers.Power cords:WireworldAuroraAC filters:GutWireMaxConSquared,FoundationResearchLC-1Acoustics:GershmanAcousticArt

The Kappa system This is our home theatre system. As with the original Alpha system, we had limited space, and that pretty much ruled out huge projectors and two-metre screens. We did, however, finally come up with a system whose performance gladdens both eye and ear, with the needed resolution for reviews.

HDTV monitor:Hitachi43UWX10BCRT-basedrearprojectorDVD player:SimaudioMoonStellarwithFaroudjaStingrayvideoprocessorPreamplifier/processor:SimaudioMoonAttraction,5.1channelversionPower amplifiers:SimaudioMoonW-3(mainspeakers),Celeste4070se(centrespeaker),Robertson4010(rear)Main speakers:EnergyReferenceConnoisseurCentre speaker:ThielMCS1,onUHF’sownTV-topplatformRear speakers:Elipson1400Subwoofer:3aDesignAcousticsCables:VandenHul,MIT,GutWire,WireworldLine filter:InouyeSPLC

All three systems have dedicated power lines, with Hubbell hospital grade outlets. Extensions and power bars are equipped with hospital-grade connectors.

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DVD player for surround sound. For a while the 7600 sounded better than the Genki. I took it to a dealer and asked about the Milty cleaning disc. He advised me not to purchase it. He took a look at the player and I suppose he cleaned it. It sounds better, but I imagine the Milty would have done the trick. Do I change the player or purchase the Benchmark DAC, or wait for the new Linn all-in-one player that is rumored to be coming out soon?

David ColemanVICTORIA, BC

WewouldbereluctanttochangeaGenki for an all-in-one, David, evenonewiththeLinnnameonit.Thelikelyreasonthatyourdealeradvisedagainstacleaningdiscisthatanumberofsuchdiscs are abrasive andcandamage theplayer.Hewasprobablyplayingitsafe,andwemightwellhavedonethesame. The question is how the Genkisoundsnowthatithas(presumably)beencleaned. It’s a verygoodplayer, and itshouldsoundthatway.Ifitstilldoesn’t,itmayneedmorethancleaning. Oh…but something occurs to us.AreyouusingthefixedoutputonyourGenki?TheGenki alsohas avariableoutput,whichistherebecauseitallowsan audiophile who had just dropped abundleonaGenkitoavoidalsobuyingapreamplifierthesameweek.Thecatch:through its variable output the Genkisounds as though it cost about $2000less.Whichdoesn’tleavemuch!

First and foremost let me say that your magazine is the best out there, and all that I know about audio is all thanks to you guys. At present my system consists of a Linn Kairn preamp, two LK140 amps, a Rega Planet 2000 player, and a pair of Canadian-made StudioLab Reference Two speakers. Overall I’m pleased with the sound, but I feel the audio bug and I want to make some changes.The speakers will stay because they are, in my humble opinion, very good for acoustic music and smooth jazz, which is what I listen to most of the time. Anything else is up for suggestions. Would purchasing an amp the likes of a Moon W-5 or a Blue Circle 26 give me better sound than the two Linns LK140? What about my Kairn preamp? The CD player, I’m not sure if it is good enough.

Ross QuartaroneWHITBY, ON

Yes, upgrading the LK140 ampswouldbethewaytogo,Ross,becausechances are they are the weak spotin your system. They are of quite olddesign, now, and Linn is graduallychanging over to products that reflectwhatithaslearnedovertheyearsbuild-ingupscaleproducts. The Moon W-5…well, you knowourfeelingsaboutit.WehaveheardtheBlueCircleelectronicsatshowsandthatcouldbeausefulchoiceaswell. The Kairn preamplifier is also ofolderdesign,butwethinkitisconsider-ablyoutperformingyouramplifiers.

I am working on designing a custom audio stand to hold my equipment and CDs. I am wondering about your thoughts on the impact to sound quality of placing a stand between speakers. My speakers are six feet apart. My room is only ten feet wide, so I am sitting close to the speakers. I am thinking of building something long and low, maybe 24 inches high and 18 inches deep, which would be placed between the speakers. The other option would be something taller but placed on the outside of the speakers, which would result in slightly longer speaker cable runs. If I were to place a stand between the speakers, do you have thoughts around the maximum size of the stand and what the impact to sound would be? I am told it is best to have nothing between the speakers and preferably nothing close to them. Is this true?

Craig S.TORONTO, ON

Craig,it’struethatit’sbesttohavenothingbetweenthespeakers,andpar-ticularlynotanythingthatwon’tabsorbsound.Forexample,onseveraloccasionswe’vebeenaskedforadviceaboutsys-temswhosespeakerswereneatlyplacedin the littlealcovesoneither sideofafireplace. They look good there, don’tthey? The spaces look as if they werejustmadeforspeakers.Theyweren’t. But practicality sometimes trumpsideals.We’dlovetohavesetupourhometheatresystemwithnothinginbetweentheleftandrightspeakers,but…ah,that

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wouldn’tworktoowell.Noscreen?Nocentrespeaker?Nojoy! And when we have taken a roomatashow,aswehavenumeroustimes,there was little alternative to placingtheequipmentrackbetweenthespeak-ers.Atthelastshow,weusedapairofASWGenius400speakers,whichhaveside-mounted woofers facing inward, rightat therack.Notgood.But itdidwork,and fortunately sobecause real-lifeconstraintsoften forceus tomakecompromises.Besides,theadvantageofshortspeakercablesisreal. Sinceyourroomisnarrow,wepre-sume thatplacing the rack to the sidewouldstillleaveitnotveryfarfromthespeakers.Whetheryouchooseacentralpositionor a sideposition,we suggestplacingtheracksomewhatfartherbackthanthespeakersthemselves.Therackandtheequipmentonitwillstillreflectsoundandperhapsevenrattle,butitisless likely to generate diffraction andmessupyourstereoimage.

I have been reading your magazine for

years and look forward to each new issue. My system consists of a Simaudio Celeste 4070 amp, a Sudgen Au-51c preamp, a Micromega CD player, KEF 104.2 speakers, a Revolver turntable with a Sumiko arm and a Shure V15 cartridge, and Grado R-2 headphones played through a Bryston remote speaker switching box. My CD player is about 10 years old and I can no longer skip ahead to tracks, therefore needing to play the whole CD through to get to certain tracks. I’ve been looking for about half a year at the used market for CD players and have decided on either a Linn Ikemi or a McCormack UDP-1. I listen mostly to current jazz (Frisell, Scofield, Douglas), and indie and alternative rock. I have not found any SACDs for these bands and probably never will. I have recently become aware of the great reviews for the Benchmark DAC1. So, here are my questions: 1) Do you think there ever will be SACDs issued for the styles of music I like? 2) With a budget of $3000, which used player would you recommend, an Ikemi or a McCormack, or another for that matter?

How would they compare to the Benchmark coupled with a CEC TL51, which would probably be within my budget purchased new? I know the Benchmark has a headphone jack, which is an added bonus. 3) After the CD player, what sequence would you recommend I take to upgrade the other components? 4) When buying used equipment, is there an age limit after which you wouldn’t recommend purchase? My Micromega is now giving me trouble, however my KEF’s are nearly 20 years old and still sound great. I have always loved Totem Mani 2’s, so would it be wise to buy a 10-year old pair of speakers at half their original cost? Would it be wise to buy a six-year old CD player such as an Ikemi? Getting parts for my Micromega is a problem. Would this be the case with a Linn?

Colin BrophyTORONTO, ON

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Lor illan et ex er autat, commodiperiuscileuislilitdoloreestrudtincitatlum iure faccummy nonseniat praesedmoloremveratalitwisisitaliquametlamin henim enis niat loborem verostrudesectetlutlaortisdoluptatnissitioduntalisi bla amcommolor ipit, consecte teminhenimadessisalisisit landremoddelulputnitinutatefaccumnullafeu-giamillandipsuscil iquissimadtisalitvullafeugiametulpututvelersimautalisalit,quiscilitauguerostoodeumsan

Audio ExcellenceMedicine Hat, AB(403) 529-2611

Audio TwoWindsor, ON(519) 979-7101

Absolute Audio VideoCalgary, AB(403) 529-2611

Codell AudioMontreal, QC(514) 737-4531

Coup de Foudre Audio VideoMontreal, QC(514) 788-5066

P. O. Box 218, Stn. CSL, Montreal, QC H4V 2Y4Tel. (514) 631-6448

www.artech-electronics.com • info@artech-electronics.com

Executive StereoToronto, ON(416) 927-1400

Listen InnLethbridge, AB(403) 380-2553

Monitor Research A/VRichmond, BC(604) 279-9995

Signature AudioVancouver, BC(604) 873-6682

Audio EdenRichmond Hill, ON(416) 346-3738

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vullaconullaoratetlutatumdolumingesseesseniat.Utamdolessi smolorperautpatetisacingenisnimventlametumsanditwiscipisaciliquatueeaalisnullacon velisim dolobor perat. Unt numzzritveliquiscincincilduntnonvelersefeumingeuisisnonsequieugueconullanventlaautiliquam,sitacilitnitvendrefacinulluptatinhendreconessectetum

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“On nearly all of the criteria that make for

good musical reproduction,

620 rue LatourSAINT-HUBERT, QC J3Y 6A7Tel.: (450) 676-6898Fax: (450) 676-6153info@sracoustique.cawww.sracoustique.ca

UHF Magazine on the SR Model M100*

Surprised?You hadn’t heard of SR Acoustique speakers until now?

*UHF Magazine has. Read its evaluation on our Web site.And call about listening for yourself.

“Good musical reproduction”… it’s our criterion too!

it scores high marks.”

The word “hi-fi” was once acommon noun: “the hi-fi,”oftenmeaningsomesortofphonograph/radio console

muchliketheoneshownbelow.Oncestereophonicsoundbecameacommer-cial realityat theendof the50’s,“thehi-fi”wasreplacedby“thestereo.”Someof us recall confused consumers whowouldaskarecordstoreclerk,“Isthisrecordhi-fiorstereo?”Evenpublishersof supposedly knowledgeable publica-tions showed signs of befuddlement.Hi-Fi ReviewwouldultimatelybecomeStereo Review,butspentsomeyearsinthelimboofthetitleHi-Fi/Stereo Review.

To be sure, the two terms are notcontradictory. At the same time, theyhavelosttheirstatusasnouns,andnotmany people are clear on what theymean.Ihavebeenaskedtobeginwithahistoricview,andthentomovetothepresent,todeterminewhateach of these words means, andwhat each has to offer to musicloversinthe21stCentury.

The emergence of high fidelity The term “high fidelity” is

generally taken to have been coinedaround1948,whichImustaddisbeforemy time.Thiswas theeraof thefirstpioneersofsoundreproductionsystemsbilled as “hi-fi,” as high fidelity wasquickly called, pioneers such as PaulKlipsch, Peter Walker (Quad), H.H.Scottandothers.Certainlythatwasthestartofthehighfidelityindustry,whichshipped commercial products whosebilling implied superior sound. In factthetermhighfidelityhadexistedsincetheearly30’s,appliedtorecordingsmadewithelectricalmicrophonesratherthanolderacousticalmicrophones. “High fidelity” clearly refers tofaithfulness,soundthatisfaithfultotheoriginal soundof livemusic.That thetermwassomethingofanexaggerationwillbeapparenttoanyonewhohaslis-tenedtoa1948recording,andespeciallytoonefrom1932.Still,inacomparativesenserecordings(andequipment)billedashighfidelityreallyweretheresultofanefforttomakereproducedsoundmore likelivemusic. Ishalladd,parenthetically,that,foratimetheepitomeofhighfidelityseemedtobethe“livevsrecorded”comparisonsorganized by such companies as theloudspeaker manufacturer Acoustic

Research.Attheseevents,aliveorches-trawouldplayupuntilapredeterminedpoint,atwhichtimearecordingwouldbe substituted. Reports from the timesaid audiences were fooled, and wereunabletotellthedifference,thuscon-firmingthattherecordingwastrulyhighfidelity.HoweverthefirstsucheventIhavebeenabletotrackdownwasheldin1926,anditissaidaudienceswerefooledthentoo.Itisthesortofnewsthatshakesone’sfaithin“scientific”A-Btests. Once high fidelity became a self-definedindustry,theprinciplesbehindit were clearly set down, and indeedtheywouldsometimesevenbelistedonrecordjackets.Asaresulttheybecamequite well-known, and in some circlestheyremainsotoday.

Defining high fidelity Inordertobeconsideredhighfidel-ity,arecordingorreproductionsystemrequiredcertaincharacteristics. 1)Complete frequency range.Therangeof frequencies consideredadequate formusic reproduction was once quitenarrow: from 80Hz (or “cycles persecond,” as it was then) to 5000Hz.Highfidelitywouldneedtoencompasstheentirerangeofaudiblefrequencies.

Thiswasinitiallyplacedat50Hzto15kHz,andwouldsubsequentlybebroadenedto20Hzto20kHz.There was reluctance to include20Hz,sinceitwasnearlyimpos-sibleforhomesystemsofthedaytoreproducesuchlowfrequencies,asitiseventoday,andtherewas

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furthermore some discussion whether20Hz could truly be characterized as“sound,” since it was felt as much asheard.

Inthe1960’saveryfewmanufactur-ersstakedoutanevenbroaderenvelope,encompassing 16Hz (the pitch of thelongest pipes in large pipe organs),and someveryhigh frequency suchas25kHz. 2)Complete dynamic range.Thisimpliesthereproductionoftheentirerangeofsoundsfromtheloudesttotheverysoft-est.Thiscouldnotthenbeachieved,tobesure.Verysoftsoundsmightbelostintheinevitablesystemnoise,whereasthe

loudestonesrequiredfar more acousticpowerthanevenavery large ampli-

fier could possiblymuster.Attheveryleast,however,highf idelity requiredthat no compres-sionbeused(thatistosay,nodevicetopushupsoftsoundsandlimitloudones),and that recordingengineers refrainfrom“gainriding,”turning volume upordownaccordingtothemusicalpassagebeingrecorded.Ofcourse,mostpeople, even thosewithquitegoodsys-

tems, do not listenloudenoughtoavoidlosing softpassagesi n t h e a m b ie ntroomnoise,andforthat reason recordcompanies becameless keen on wided y n a m ic r a n g e .

Nonetheless, early hi-fi featured somevery efficient speakers designed toreproduce something more like real-istic dynamics. The Klipschorn is thebest-known example, since it remainsin production, and some audiophilesactually purchased cinema speakers,suchasAltec’s famousA-7, the“VoiceoftheTheater.”

Eventhesecouldnotencompassalloftherangeoflivemusic.Inafamousad,PaulKlipschsaidthatnotevenhisKlip-schorn could reproduce the dynamicsofhiswife’sgrandpiano.Nordidmostconsumershavesuchlargeandcapablespeakers.Withthedemandforsmallerspeakerscamesealedacousticsuspensionspeakers,withverylowefficiency,suchasEdgarVillchur’scelebratedAR-3.

Thoughacousticsuspensionspeakerswerecapableofverygoodperformance(theAR-3itselfwasusedinoneofthoselivevs recordedcomparisons), itcouldhardly claim anything even faintlyresemblingfulldynamicrange.

3) High signal-to-noise ratio. This isofcourseimportantindynamicrange,andinfacttheconceptsarefrequentlyconfused. The dynamic range of musicis the difference, always expressed indecibels,betweenthesoftestsoundandtheloudestsound.Thedynamic envelope(mypreferredterm),whichisthatoftherecording and playback system, is thedifference,alsoindecibels,betweentheloudest sound that can be reproducedwithout excessive distortion and thenoisefloor.

Botharecertainlyimportantinwhatwecallhighfidelity,buttheyshouldnotbeconfused.Foronethingthedynamicrange can actually be wider than thedynamicenvelope,becauseitispossibleto hear information that is below thenoise.Aseveryoneknowsfromexperi-ence, a loud sound will mask a softeronesothatitwillnotbeheard,butthemaskingeffectdependsnotonlyonthedifference in loudness,butalsoonthefrequencyofeachofthesounds.Norismaskinginstantaneous.Thatistosay,atanygivenfrequency,soundAmustbeacertainnumberofdecibelslouderthansoundBbeforeitgraduallymaskssoundBcompletely.

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Duntdignimquisitwisadipitnul-laoreriureetiritiritdolorpersummynullumiuretedoodolendioodmolesentveldoloripsuminiat.Duisea

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niamincinciletdoeuisciduissequam,volorperciduisnisciduiscipetwisimincingelitvendiamcortionsequatuerostruddipeugaitdeliquatacilitadit,consendiatirillaconsedtatumzzriureetaugiametueveliscincilulputduntingeliquatuersiblaortisimnumeraestinibheumiurersustiocoraugiametuercilitwismoloreveliquam,sisimilercinciliquatuecommynitduntauguerooderilipismodionumdoluptatiriustinvulputpatumexestiodolutat.Ibheuisit,sumacilisamdodolutpatuedoloreraestrudmodolumdiamquatumnulputat.Utdiam,quipiserostoexercillaortinetwismolestoexeroexeliquisiscinciblametuevenisitutautpatvullam,quipetiriureetauteafaccumduisliuredoloboramcommolorpersequataccumvelendreconumquat,suminhendiam,corilitali-quatemquisamconsequatvelisdoconullafaciduntillametalismoloremolor-tionutet,consectemzzritutatummynimetuemagnafacipisniamconullamvenitinhentwisaugueteminutat.Tuemodiamvelessisissefeugaitveli-quataugueeletuemodestinciduisse-quiblanutetvelisdolorpersedolum.Stereophonic sound The oldest commercial stereo LPsdatebackto1958,butthatwasnotthebeginningofstereophonicsound.IntheUS,RCAVictorbeganmakingstereorecordings in 1954, releasing them asopen-reel tapes, and the concept ofmulti-channel sound dates back wellbeforethat. Forinstance,there’sthePolyphone:

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Ibelievethisdeviceisfromtheearly20th Century, and its purpose maynothavebeensoundwithaddeddepth(whichcanhavebeenonlyapaleshadowofmodernstereoinanycase),butmerelysoundthatwouldbetwiceasloud.Anadditionaladvantagewouldhavebeenareductioninintermodulationdistortionbetweensoundsinthetwochannels.Asomewhatmoremodernacousticphono-graph,thePathéDuplexofthe1920’s,useddiscsratherthanwaxcylindersandwasclearlyaforerunnerofstereo.

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Was it the biggest Con-sumerElectronicsShowin history? CEA, thetrade organization that

runsCES,saysso,withsome150,000visitorsacrossfourdays.TheLasVegasConventionCenteraloneissaidtospan28 football fields (forget metric— thefootballfieldistheofficialNorthAmeri-can surface measure), and that’s notcountingtheHiltonconventioncentre,the Sands convention centre, and theAlexisParkhighendvenue. (That does not, by the way, makeittheworld’sbiggesttradeshow.ThatwouldbeCEBITinHanover.) AsiswellknownImissedlastyear’sshow,forthefirsttimein…oh,atleast15years.Iwashappytoseethatinthe

meantimeCEAhadknockedsomeroughedgesofftheshow.Wedidgetourbadgesmailedtous(fromSweden…gofigure!)thoughittookoveranhourofwaitingtogetthebadgeholderswhilethestaffsobered up (I’mmaking thatpart up).TherewasparkingatAlexisPark,atleastforthosewhoshowedupearlyenough.Afewshuttlesactuallyoperatedthedaybefore the show. On the other hand,checkthesignatright,andyou’llseeitpointstoadeadend.Theyalldid. The rebel high end show (T.H.E.Show)wasbackrightnextdoortoAlexisPark, smaller this year, without theoverflow rooms at the San Remo. Butthe show maintained its “free lunch”

every noon hour, forcing CEA to dothesameatAlexisPark,albeitwithlessgrace(signssayingdo not take more than one hamburger or hot doggaveitaschoolcafeteriatone). CES also threw in a special eventfor thepress twodaysbeforeopeningday: a huge buffet at which exhibitorspaid for tables so they couldmeet thepress. Itwasclearly the show’sanswerto ShowStoppers, the off-site buffetthathasbeenrunningforseveralyears.A number of tables were interesting.Shure,knowntotheiPodcrowdforitsupscalein-earphones,wasdemoingit’slatest and greatest: the US$499E500.I likedthem,andtheyfitmyearstoo,something I can’t say about most earbuds.Also therewas the latest remotefromHarmony.ItresemblestheonewereviewedinUHFNo.73,exceptthatitisevenmorecustomizable.Ohyes,anditcostsUS$350. ThepresscentreatAlexisPark,onceanafterthought,wasthechampionofthethreecentres,withthebestsnacksandthebestInternetconnection.ThenewoneattheSandshadnoconnectionatall.ThebigoneattheLVCCdid,butitwassooverwhelmeditwasimpossibletogeton.OnthefirstdayIhoppedontoanopennetworkthatbelongedto…Lordknowswhom.OntheotherdaysIfoundanEthernetcablebehindadeskandgotonthatway.Idon’tknowwhattheotherreporters did. The press centres closewhen the show does (anyone see any-thingwrongwiththat?),andsomyfinalon-linereportwasdonefromtheApplestoreontheStrip.Thanks,Steve. Butyouwanttoknowwhethertherewereproductsworthhearing.Yesthere

by Gerard Rejskind

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were,andIwashappytositandlistenforawhile.Lookoversomeoftheamplifiersonthispage.At top left is the Antique Sound Lab

Explorer,amonoblockwithmoremusclethanyouexpectfromasingle-ended

amp:45watts.ItgoesforUS$3K…andthat’sforapair.Itsoundednice.Bytheway,thoseisolatingdevicesit’ssittingonarefromGraniteAudio.Among the most costly electronic brands

typically showing up at CES is Boulder: theirphonostagealoneisjustunderUS$30K.Iwas

surprised to see the company launching anewlineofeconomyamplifiers.Ofcourse

“economy”hasarelativesenseatBoul-der.Howdoes$10,000fitintoyour

budget? No? I didn’t hear thembytheway.HoweverIdidhearthenew VTL S-400 mono-blocks, one of which is

shown at left. I’m not surewhy it’s not called theS-450,sinceitisratedat 450 watts for onechannel,buteitherwayit’sa lotofpower foramusic amplifier, and

thatgoesdoubleforatubeamp.IlikedwhatIheard:oneoftherareLA4jazzLPsIdon’town,

through aVTLTL6.5preampandWilsonWatt/Puppies.Definitelyahighspot!Theprice:justadd35%to

thepriceofthenewBouldersandyou’rethere.

LargeamplifiersiswhatyouexpecttoseeatCES,buttiny

oneswereinevidenceaswell.ThepurpleonesattoprightarefromKharma,thecompanyknownforexpensivebutrathergoodspeakersmostlyusingceramicdrivers.TheseMP150monoblocks,equipped

withswitchingpowersupplies,costlessthanyou’dexpectfromthiscompany:US$3400.IactuallypreferredtheNuforceswitchingamp,theredoneabove.Iheard

itdrivingapairofUsherDancerspeakers,thosebigspeakersyou’dswearhavetobeItalianbutactuallycomefromTaiwan.TheywereghastlyinUsher’sroom,buttheyprettymuch

cametolifewiththeNuforce.That’sallIcanswearto.The large tube ampabove right is aprototypeof theArtAudioVivo,

which gets some 40 watts per channel out of push-pull320Btubes.Incasethenumberisnewtoyou, it’s Tesla’s version of the famous 300B.It will cost about $13K once a little moreengineering and decor work is done on it.

The littleunitbelowtheVTLis theAudioZone passive preamp, a gorgeous piece from

Torontousingmulti-taptransformersforvolumecontrol rather than potentiometers. I listened to

it with a small amplifier from the same companyandsingle-driverOmegaspeakers.Onrecordingsof

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WyntonMarsalisandsingerDianne Reeves the systemwasadelight.At bottom left on theprevious page, with theodd cage protectingthe tubes, is a newpreamplif ier f romRogue, the Perseus.Complete with anM M / M C p h o n o

stage,itwillsellfor$1795.Thegorgeously-finishedintegratedamplifieratrightisfromJapan’sAlmarro.SomeyearsbackwesawthemcometoCESwith

whathadtobetheworld’sleastexpen-sive(butbynomeansworst-sounding)tubesystemintheworld.TheA5070Aisa longway fromthatmodest setup,though its price (from $2250 depend-ing on finish) still looks economicalalongsidesomeotherampshere.Withits own M3A speakers ($2600), it wasnonethelessoneof thebright spots attheshows.IalsogottoseebutnothearanewOraclepreamplifier, theTemple,withJacques Riendeau’s usual eye-catchingstainlesssteelexterior.Since T.H.E. Show hadn’t bookedthe largeroomsat theSanRemothisyear, IwonderedwhereHalcrowouldbeshowingitslarge(andmagnificent)amplifiers. It turnedout thecompanysimply pretended it had a large room!With anemmLabsplayer andClassicReproduction speakers the demo wasallaboutshockandawe.Oh…you’re probably wonderingabouttheblinged-outpianoatleft.It’saBösendorfer,coveredwiththousandsof Swarowski crystals. Liszt wouldhave loved it! It wasn’t just for showeither. The company scheduled acoupleofconcertsinthis(unfortunatelysmall) room. You probably know thatBösendorfer now makes loudspeak-ers,whichisthereasonforthisroom.The verdict: for the moment I stilladmire the company for…its pianos.Some other speakers were moreimpressive.The new Thiel CS3.7 might have

beenoneofthem…ifJimThiel(shownonthenextpagewithhisbaby)hadhadtimetocompletethecrossovernetwork.AndforJimthisisnotrivialtask,becausehiscrossovershavemorepartsthansomeamplifiers.Thiswashisfirstnewhigh-endspeakerinseveralyears,andhepromisessomethingdifferent.Thewooferusesaribbedaluminumcone,asdoesthepassiveradiator(thisisatwo-wayspeaker).Themidrange,withitsconcentrictweeter(alsoshownonthenextpage),isalsoaluminum,asistheblackdomethatformsthetopofthecabinet.

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I finally got to hear theAudioNote LX Signaturespeakers, at right. This istheantithesisofspeakersliketheThiels,eschewingheavy

construction in favor of thethinner woods and varnishes

you might find in the workshopofaviolinmakerinCremona.Ispent

a little time listening to them (driven by other AudioNotecomponents).Ithasanoutboardcrossover,andiswiredwithsilver,whichcangiveyouahintaboutthepricerange.Imustsayitsoundedquitenice,butina“hi-fi”sortofway.Thisisn’tthewayrealmusicsounds—no,notevenviolinmusic—andIlostinterestnotlongafter.

IhadarathermoreenjoyabletimewiththeEscalanteFremontspeaker,shownatleft.Thoughitrequiresastand(whichisincluded),thisisnotabookshelfspeaker.Thatwooferis30cmacross…andthere’sanotherthesamesizebehindit.Thepairisdirect-coupledformaximumdynamics.Thetweeterisuniquetoo,asyoucanpossiblyjustmakeoutfromthepicture.DrivenfromapairofequallyunusualmonoblocksfromButler(theywerenewtomeaswell),theEscalantesconstitutedoneofthehighspotsofthefivedaysoftheshow(orwasitsix?).I’vegottenusedtoseeingCabasseshowupwithspeakersthatincludeacoaxialmidrangeandtweetermountedinwhatseemstobeagianteyeball.Thisyearthecompanywentonebetter:atweeter,midrange,lowermidrangeand woofer,allmountedinagiantspherecalled(waitforit)La Sphère.That’sitbelowright.Ifyou’returnedoffbythestrangestand,whichseemstobemadeupofdiscardedwooferframes,Cabasserepliessoothinglythatthemodelisalongwayfromproduction,andthatthefinalversionwillhaveadifferentstand.Anditwon’tbewhiteeither.Thisfour-wayspeakercomeswithitsowndigitalelectroniccrossoveranditsownamplifiers.Claimedresponseis-6dBat20Hz.Idon’tdoubtthatabit,thoughonthebasisofwhatIhearditisn’tjustthestandandcolorthatneedtweaking.Still,thisispotentiallyanimpressivespeakerfor…ahem,bigrooms!IgottohearthelatestversionofthelargeAcapellaViolon,ahornspeakerwhoseotherdistinctivecharacteristicisitsnearlymasslessionictweeter.Themainenclosureisnowclosed,not

ported,butinotherrespectsthisremainsoneoftheworld’sbestspeakers.

ElsewhereIgottochatwithElyandOfraGershman,who had brought the Black Swan speaker I had heard at the

Montreal show in April. They were driven by Manley electronics. I also verymuch liked the Jorma design speakers, in a room labelled “Swedish Statement”forthenationalityofallthecomponentspresent.OnarecordingofStravinsky’severgreenFirebird, itwasevident this large speakerhadbeenput together right.

Everonthelookoutforsomethingnew,IgotmyhopesupwhenI saw the familiar name Revolver on one of the Alexis Park

rooms.WasthisBritishcompanybackfromthedead?Andwasitonceagainmakingturntables?Alas,no.Thisisanew

company,andithasbroughtbackonlythename,nottheturntable,noranythingelsethatrevolves.It’s inthespeakerbusiness.That’snice,becausewedon’thaveenoughspeakercompanies,dowe? ButI’mapushoverforanewspeaker if it looksunusual,sohowaboutthe“Oh,”atleft?Yes,that’sits

name.It’sItalian(whatelse?),andyoucanthinkofitasatinyversionoftheeye-likeCabasse.Itcomesasatable-top

oronastand,forstylishhometheatre.

Complete report in the print edition

Andintheonlineelectronicversion.

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Readyforsomeotherunusualspeakers?Ialwaysam.Sowhat’sthisatright?Anelectrostatic?ActuallytheAnalystAudio’staperedshapehintsatitstruenature:it is a full-rangeribbonspeaker, tallenough togetabasketball scholarship. Visitors quickly compared ittotheribbonspeakersfromthedefunctApogee,butit seemed evident that they don’t have the pervasiveedginessoftheApogees.Theyseemedtogetalongwellwith the large Antique Sound Lab tube monoblocksdrivingthem.They’reexpensive,butlesssothantheir

sizewouldsuggest,atjustunder$15K.Theyare,bytheway,fromGreece,notthecountrythatfirstcomestomindwhenyouthinkofhighendaudio.Ialwaysthinkthatashowwithoutsomeoff-the-

wallspeakersisadisappointment,soIwashappytoseethePlanetDiamondspeakeratlowerleft.CreatedbyaHongKongcompanycalledMetalSoundDesign,ithasatweetermountedinablackroundpanelthatcanberotatedintodifferentpositionstomatchtheroomacoustics.It’samazingtolookat

andeverybitasamazingtohear,withgreatpresenceandanexceptionalimage.Willits$65Kpricetagbeahindrance?We’llseewhetherit’sbacknextyear.From mainland China is the XLH REF 1912 speaker at lowerright.Youneedonlyonelooktoknowthatit’sWAF(WifeAcceptance

Factor)can’tbeveryhigh.It’saslargeasitlooksinthepicture,withthatmidrangehorn,abasssection,acoupleofwhatseemtobeuppermidrangedrivers,andaribbontweeter. I’mnotsurethesound isquiteuptothe$50Kpricetag(whichisprobablytheoretical),buttheimagewassurprisinglyterrific,especiallyforaspeakerthatsize.JustasunusualwastheCDplayer,aLeonardoCD-A9.3(ah,thosepoeticChinese),withanamusingroundremotecontrol.Inthesamesuitewasthe(relatively)tinyTetraspeaker,atbottomleft,pricedatjust$3K.Ispentalittlemoretimewithit,listeningtoafamiliarHollyColeCDonyetanothereccentrically-styledsetofcomponents.Thewholesetsoundedamazinglygood,withtheTetrasdrawingthemostfromtheirreducedsizeandnon-rectangularshape.IgottolistenonceagaintotheAurumAcousticssystem,whichincludes a pair of large triamplified speakers (with four of the sixamplifiersbeingsingle-endedtubeunits),andtheoptionalCD-preamp.IthoughttheyhadgottenreallygoodattheMontrealshow,andthey

wereeverybitasgoodinVegas.TheAurumgearhadjustenteredfull-fledged production…which means it may be the right timeto think about a review. A warm review in all likelihood.

Toobadthespeakersshownherearenottoscale(iftheywere,eithertheXLHwouldhaverequiredabiggerpage, or you would have needed a

magnifying glass for the Tetra).The NEAT MFS at immediateright,isquitecompact,butyoucan’ttellthatbylistening.Thisisanotherofthosespeakerswithdual (Isobaric) woofers anda coupleof ribbon tweetersatop…a supplement to theinverted dome tweeteron the frontbaffle.Nicespeakerontheevidence.

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The speaker at lef t is…aWilsonWatt-Puppy?No,it’saHyperion HPS-968. Its shinytwin woofers have aluminumcones, the midrange (in thetop section) is carbon fibre,andthetweeterisasilkdome.Iheardagorgeousduopianopiece that showed off nicely the ease withwhich these Hyperions handle dynamics. And after applaudingspeakersthatturnedouttocostlikePorscheBoxsters,itsprice,US$6500,looksdownrightreasonable.Canyouguesstheidentityofthespeakeratfarright?YouwouldprobablyneverexpectittobeaJBL,fromtheubiquitousHarmanInternationalstable.JBLhasjustturned60,andtheTL260isintendedtocelebrate.IthinkIwouldhavelookedforamorecelebratoryname,myself.Ididn’thearit,butIdidhearthenewJBLflagship,theProjectArray.Prettygood,particularlyifyoudon’t expectJBLspeakerstosoundlikemusic. The saddest no-show at CES was Innersound, which makes largeelectrostaticspeakersthatcansoundexcellent.Thecompanyleftitsroom

unoccupied,postingonthedoorarathersadlettercomplainingthat(sniff!)no one was buying the company’s speakers.Butfearnot,itwouldbebackwithalesscostlyhybrid speaker, tobecalledWindsong.AnumberofjournalistsIchattedwith

commentedonthenumberofturntablesinuseattheshows.Indeed.Andthereweresomeunusualonestoo.Thebuzz ofVegaswasAustralia’sContinuum turntable,

shownatleft.Youcantellit’sexpensive,becausethisisn’tthesortofproductyoucanmass-produce,butisitanygood?IlookedwithskepticismatitsCobraarm,whichremindedusofthearmsontheRCAVictor45-rpmtables.Thenthere’s

thetonearmwiringthatriseshighintheair,thebettertocatchhumsandbuzzes(I’mjustguessing).Thedemowasnot

reallyconvincing,whichdoesn’tproveanything.Theprice?Thelittlecardsaiditwasyourstotakehomeforamere$85,000…andI

don’tthinkthosewereAustraliandollars. AlsosurprisingwasthepresenceofaGarrard501(lowerleft),oneofthe

lastofthemarquebeforetheBritishcompanyenteredtherealmofmerelegend.Oddly,thecompanypatentswoundupinthehandsofBentley,whereitwasultimatelyboughtbyLoricraft,whichmarketsitunderthatnameinGermany.The501isstillan

idler-driventurntable,asyoucanseebythephotoatbottomleft.IwastoldthataGermanmagazinehadrevieweditandfoundittobequieterthananyotherturntableevertested,withthe

LinnLP12cominginsecond!Ah,thatGermanSchnapps!

There was a new unipivot tonearmfromDenmark’sMørch,atright

onaEurolabturntable.ThoughMørcharms are usually quite inexpensive,

this one runs to nearly $5K. It featuresweightsthatarefartheroutfromthepivot,

toincreasethemomentofinertia.Itdideverythingwell on anorgan recording thatwentwaydown toinfrasonicfrequencies.Interesting.

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O ver to t he“zoo,”theconven-tion centre. NotetheLGbanner,inthepictureatleft,theheightofatallhotel.BigiswhatVegasisallabout.Brandnamescomeandgo,andonethathasreturnedisAudiolab.Thecompanywasknownforaffordableamps,preampsandotherproducts,someofthemquitegood.ItwasthensnappedupbyTagMcLaren,acompanyrelatedto,butnotidenticalto,thefamousF1racingstable.TagMcLaren held a patent on some of the world’s worstmarketingmethods,oneofwhich seems tohavebeendoubling prices without perceptibly increasing value.

Thecompanyfolded,andwasboughtby(whoelse?)theChinese(thecompanythatownsQuad,Wharfedale,etc.).Thebrandnameisnowback,withsomethingoftheoriginallook.Indeed,Iwastoldoneoftheoriginal

engineers is still partof theUKdesign team.Production isofcourseinChina.Ididn’tgettohearthe8000Sampshownhere,northenewAudiolab-brandedspeaker,justbelowit.TotemAcousticmayhavekeptitseyeonpuristtwo-channelstereo,butitisalsodevelopingnewproductsforhometheatre.Its new Tribe speakers are long and thin, and can be positioned alongsideandunderneathavideoscreen.AlsolaunchedattheshowwasthenewStormsubwoofer,shownatright.Whatyouseeinthepictureisnotawoofer,butapassiveradiator…essentiallyareflexportwithaconetoaddacousticalresis-tance. There’s one on the other side aswell. The real woofer is on the front.As for the subwoofer just below theStorm, note the little antennas stickingupfromit.It’sfromFirebirdSound,which

hasawholerangeofspeakerswhichrunwirelessly.TheysimplypiggybackonthesameWi-FinetworkyoumayalreadyhaveathometoconnectyourlaptoptotheInternet.Thesubwoofershowncanalsooperateconventionally:note the (terrible)connectorsnearthebottomofthepanel. OneoftheperennialexhibitorsintheCentralHallistheHomeRecordingRightsCoalition.Notsomanyyearsback theHRRCwas lobbying tokeepBigMusic frompreventingpeoplefromcopyingrecordingsontocassette(oh,theytried).Sincethenitscausehasbeenlosingground.TheUSlawoncopyrightisthemoststringentintheworld,makingitillegaltofindawayaroundcopycontroltechnologyeventomakelegalcopiesunder“fairuse”exemptions.Inthepicturebelow,HRRC’sRobertSchwartzgivesaTV

interview on the topic.Notethebuttonshownbehindhim,asking,“Isit still legal?” In manycasestheanswerisno.(Bytheway,asimilarlaw was introduced inCanada last year, butdiedontheorderpaperbecauseoftheelection.The new Conservativegovernment will prob-ably not bring it back,and may even cancelthe surchargeonblankmediasuchasCDs.)

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W here i s r ad iogoing?ThetruthisthatFM is potentially thehighestfidelitybroad-castmediumavailable

tous,butnoteveryoneknows that. There’sa widespread feelingthat…well, the futurei s d ig it a l . MagnumDynalab doesn’t agree,andwas showinganewupscale FM tuner, theMD-109, shown at topleft. Or perhaps it does

agree.The$10,000 tunerisbilledas“satellite-ready,”

which seems tomean it canbeupgraded to receive either

Sirius or XM, depending onwhichonewinsthewar. Lotsofothermanufacturers,ofcourse,havemadetheirchoice,likePorscheDesign,whoseEtónreceiver,aboveleft,canpullinXM,FM,AM,and(ifwecanbelievetheselectorknob)shortwave.Therewasanexplosionof satelliteradioreceiversthisyear,apparentlyfuelledbytheavailabilityoflow-cost chips. The two systems remain incompatible, ofcourse.TheXMgrouphadawell-attendedpressconference,atwhichitwasannouncedthatthesystemnowhassixmillionsubscribers(wildapplausefromwhatappearedtobeahouseclaque)andwillsoonhaveninemillion(moreapplauseoncue).Siriushadamuchlowerprofile,eventhoughitwaslaunchingwhatitconsidersitsaceinthehole,HowardStern. “High fidelity” applies not only to musical reproduction but also to musicalproduction,suchassinging.ThemanwiththemicrophoneatrightisshowingoffaninterestingpieceofsoftwarecalledSingingCoach.Singintothemicrophone,andthesoftwarewillshowyouwhatnoteyousangandhowfaryouwereoff.Imuchpreferthattosomecurrentsoftwareusedinstudiosthatcorrectsyoursinging,sothatyousoundmusicallycompetentevenifyoucouldn’tcarryatuneacrosstheroom.

Ohyes…the“UniversalPowerBank”shownatleft.It’sa$300devicethatnotonlycanrecharge

whatever slick portable gear you have, suchasaphone,PDA,computer,etc.,butcanalsoextendtheirpoweriftheyrunoutofjuice.Put

itintothebottomofyourcarry-on,andyoucanwatchacoupleofmoviesonyourlaptopbeforetheplanelands.That

naturallyappealedtome,asItouredtheshowswithabagloadedwithtechnology,keepingawaryeyeonthechargelevels.Wantustoreviewone?

Youdo,don’tyou?Right?Right? I’vealreadyrequestedareviewsampleoftheiGo,whichcanrechargeallthatstufftoo,butonlyifithasACpower.Whenit’sgone,it’sgone. Ifyou’vetouredanelectronicsshoplately,youmighthaveconcludedthatthemarketissosaturatedwithiPodaccessoriesthattherecan’tberoomformore.Yettherewerecountlesssuchaccessoriesbeinglaunched,includingthenicelittlecaseatright.Ievenmadearequesttotwocompanies,OWCandGriffin.IwantadevicethatwillgetthedigitalsignaloutofaniPodinS/PDIFformat.Thenwe’regettingsomewhere!

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Home theatre was hot thisyear, w it h interest ingnew technologies on thehorizon. The ones most

anticipatedwereBlu-RayandHDDVD,battlingitoutforheartsandminds,eachtryingtolookasthoughitismeredaysfromlaunch.SharpevenshowedaBlu-Rayrecorder,below,and

therewereafewBlu-Raydiscsaround,likeThe Matrixbelowright.Noyoucan’tbuythem,anddon’tstandononeleg.

Bothlookedgood.Toshiba,themajorcompanybehindHDDVD,hada1080pscreenshowinganHDimage.Itlookedwonderful,thoughtheseveralBlu-Raydemosdid too.Sowhichwasbetter? I spent a few minutes beforea pair of Pioneer screens showing thetwosystemssidebyside.Thewinner?

ClearlyBlu-Ray.But new disc systems

werenotwhatwascaus-ing the buzz. In

UHF No.74 wedescribedCanon’snew screen tech-

nology, SED, whichpromises to bring the advantages ofcathoderaytubestoflatscreens.Canonwas actually showing an SED display,aboveright,anditiseverybitassuperbas I had hoped. The range of colorsand luminosity is beyond anything Ihaveeverseenbefore.Toshibahadthesamedemo,andpromisesthefirstSEDdisplays for next year, at prices com-petitive with plasma, LCD and DLP.ToshibaandCanonhavejointlysetupacorporation,SEDInc.Islicensingintheworks?

Whatcanyoubuywhileyou’rewaiting?Itwouldbeeasy tobrushoffSharpasacompanydevotedtoeconomyproducts,butitsAquosdisplays,shownattopright,weresomeoftheverybestonesattheshow.Alsosuperbwerethedisplays from Toshiba, and that evenincludeditsLCDscreens.OfcoursetheywererunningHDDVD.

Much less impressive weredisplaysfromSony,oncemakeroftheworld’sbestTVsets.ItsLCDdisplayswereespeciallymediocre,witha“screendoor” effect clearly visible from whatshould have been a normal viewingdistance.

Oh well. Perhaps next year atthistimewecanputthatbehindusandpickupanSEDdisplay.AndaBlu-Rayplayer.Thatwouldkeepmecontentedforagoodwhile.Sanveldip.

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A final look…Duissit velute vulput-

pate cor at velisim dodoloredolortinvulput-pat iliquatummy nosnu m m y n i m d u ntilla faciliquis aliquamdignim illa aut adionum zzriliquamcommynulputwisisatueestrudmag-nibhetveripsusciliquisisnonullamdipsumzzritnulputa tummolore dipisci blamcommod dolorpe rcinciduntaccumsandioeumnumsanulluptat,veratnonsedet,sectemolentipitvercieumzzritat.

Ratprat.Nafacillumvoloratumsandionul-lanhenibheaacipenisnonutadipitautlaorecommy nullamcore dolesto dolore digniam,velendignisiblaaliquat.Utdioodestoenimquat.

Voloririt,sedmolorefacilisdoluptat.Ed el ero consecte tationu llamet augue

doloreet wis nos aliquat. Esto enis alisl dipeufaciliustinheniamcommoderilentaugaitadtinullumdoeraestoodtinuterillumsanvelduntlorperostrudtat.Utloreetummodtincitisimquipeugiamconumvullacoremexeniam,veldeliquisetuerat.Duiblaorsumsanhenisi.

Urersummynonsequipsummynonsequatlanhenteritwissiseaam,veleuisdolorediamconheniam,quisislilisautatinhenisleafacinutlaoreetlumveniseraessimquamconventeafacitatietatditaddolorecommodoconsecteminimeroodmagnitlortioodersedminvenibhexesequisduisitlandreveleafeumaddolorperiuremiuscinimquamveliquisiblandiamipsumamconutetveriuremagnaalitnostruddolorersumsandreetueriuscilutatismodipitauteduntloredelestioconsetatwisalisduisi.

Usciliquat.Ectetueratioestoessenimvulputpatuemingexexetexeroet,si.

Put delisl dolor illa facil utpat.Ut iusciduipit exerostrud tatvoloremolorefeugiat.Lametwiscitionsenibhetnostrudminiamcommolore molore minvendremiriliscipsustoele-nisciblamcommolorperosaditluptatumquisdolorevenisiblaconeufeugiam

cort isis aut ad tatloboredoloborecoremzzril iliquat ummol-oremnonulputat.

Hendiamet irius-ciduitieduntlaconsedmagnis dolor accumnoneroexeufaciexexet,senitvoloreroestioex ex eu feugiametacingetuminciliquat.Ut vullumvolorperciblam.

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ItseemsjustyesterdaythatSimau-dio launched what was billed astheultimatepower amplifier, theW-5LE(“limitededition”—there

wereonly250built).WerevieweditinUHFNo.70,andweweresoimpressedweboughtit,toreplacetheolderW-5in our Omega system. Albert Simonalsogotone.Anditwas justyesterday,some18monthsago.Sowhatisthisnewamplifier? Tobefair,SimaudiopresidentJeanPoulinhadtoldusatthetimethattheW-5LE represented the pinnacle ofwhat was possible with the originalRenaissance circuit, introduced byfounderVictorSimawith theoriginalCelesteamplifiers.Thatseemedtohintatatotallynewcircuittopology,perhapssomeday.Butthissoon? Sohere’sSimaudio’snewEvolutionseries,billedasanassaultonthestateoftheart.Theseries includesarangeofproductsthatevenincludeaCDplayer,allofthemdecidedlyupmarket:weightyinbothkilogramsanddollars.TheW-8isthefirstofthemavailableinsufficientquantitiestoreview. In aphotograph theW-8couldbeaslightlybeefierversionofthefamiliarW-5,albeitwithoutthehandlesandwiththeheatsinkfinsturnedtheotherway.Infactthisisalargeramplifier,unabletofitundertheequipmentstandwhereour W-5LE lives comfortably. What’s

more,ifyoutrytoliftit,itseemstobeboltedtothefloor.Likeearliermodelsthis one comes with screw-in spikes.Smallfloorprotectorsarealsoincluded,butslidingtheamponthemevenalittlewilldamagethem. We have longstanding misgivingsaboutlargepoweramplifiers,includingtheveryexpensiveonesthatSimaudioseemstobecompetingwithbylaunch-ingtheW-8.Powerisnice,andhavingtoomuchofitwouldbelikehavingtoomuchhappiness,buthighpowerusuallycomesatacost,especiallyinsolidstateamplifiers. These big amps, some ofthem actually apartment-sized, soundveiled at anything below full power(read:nearlyallthetime),withanopac-ity thatdeliversa lotof soundbutnotmuch music. There’s a reason for thecurrentfadofexpensiveampswithtinypoweroutputs.WehavealwayslikedtheW-5amplifiersbecausetheyweresuchanevidentexceptiontotherule. Still, Simaudio didn’t quite startwith a clean sheet of paper, becauseitsengineerslearnedalotinthemanyrefinementstotheRenaissancecircuit.Thenew“Lynx”topologysharessomecharacteristics with its predecessor.Foronethingitisadifferentialcircuit,whichmeansitamplifiesthedifferencebetweenthepositiveandnegativepartsofthesignal.Thusbalancedoperation,via the XLR inputs, comes naturally,

andnotthroughtheadditionofanextraamplificationstage.Thenewcircuitalsooperates without an overall feedback

loop,whichbringspartoftheoutputsignalbacktotheinputtocorrectdistortion. Only local feedback isused.Asintheearlierdesigns,theoutput transistors are decoupledfromeachother.Thebuildqualityof theW-8 isimpressive.Thesculptedfrontpanelhashardlyanystraightlines,andthefourcornerpillarsgivethestructuregreat strength. That is needed in

ordertosupporttheheftypowersupply,whichyoucanseeinthepictureonthenextpage.Itcontainstwolargetoroidalpowertransformers,whichaccountforagoodpartoftheweight,and240,000µFoffiltercapacitors (thebluecylinders).Therearpanelisfittedwithfirst-classconnectors,includingfourpairsofWBTbindingposts,tomakebiwiringeasier.You’ll find the usual 12volt connec-tions, to letapreampcontroltheampfor instance, and also an RS232 serialconnector. This is a dying feature onpersonalcomputers,butitiswidelyusedincomplexhomeinstallations. Ifyouuseunbalancedcables(aswedo, since our Copland preamp is notbalanced),youleaveinplacethejumpersinsertedintotheXLRjacks,linkingpins1and3,shortingouttheunneedednega-tiveinput.OnearlierMoonamplifiers,theshortingwasdonewithaspecialpluginsertedintoasecondRCAconnector.Youmightprefertoseethisdonewitha switch,but there isprobablynowaytoaddaswitchwithoutaperformancehit. ThoughourW-8hadbeenbrokenin,ithadalsoundergoneanupgradeofitsbuilt-infirmware,andwethoughtitmightbebesttorunsomemorehoursonit.Afterthat,weinstalled it inourOmegasystem,alongsideourW-5LE,and pulled out some LPs we thoughtwouldbeparticularlyrevealing. ThefirstwasWilsonAudio’slong-discontinued Center Stage, with JohnWilliams’ stirringOlympic Fanfare (wehadthesessiononlyafewdaysbeforetheTurinOlympics).We like this record-ingbecausethereisalothappeningatverylowfrequenciesinthiswindbandrecording,andreproducingitproperly

Simaudio Moon W-8

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requiresprecisionandnotmerelybruteforce. Ofcoursewewantedtoseefirstofallwhetherthe50wattpowerdifferencewouldbeaudible.Itmightbe,but something else entirelycaught our ears, the sheersize of everything. The hugespace.Andtheconvincingwaythe music expands to fill thatspace. Andthat’sincomparisonwithan amplifier that understandsspace, thathas ithard-wired intoitsbrain. Remember what we ment ionedaboutbigampssoundingveiled?Well,forgetit.Thisisaverybusywindbandrecording,andwhatstruckusfromtheveryfirstwashowmuchwecouldhearhappeninginthebackgroundevenwhentheforegroundwasdownrightcrowded.Thecymbals,whichReinehadfoundtooforward,nowsoundednormalbecausewe could hear through them. “This isquiteatrickforalargeamplifier,”com-mentedGerard. Wecontinuedwithoneofourfavor-iteLPs,ofWilliamWalton’stonepoemFaçade (Reference Recordings RR-16).This recording can be wonderful ornearly unbearable, depending on theusual factors.Wereweright toexpectthat “wonderful” would be the moreappropriateadjective? Yes indeed. The timbres of thevaried solo instruments came throughin impeccable form. Though this wasgenerallytrue,weeachnotedparticularinstruments:thebewitchingtextureofthe cello, the supple and ethereal pic-colo, the warm bassoon, the realisticandattractivetrumpet.Asforthesnaredrum,whichannounceseachchangeoftableaux,notonlywasitcleanandclear,butitseemedtohaveaddedweight,thewayarealsnaremightifitwerebroughtintoourlisteningroom. Allofthismagiccamewithnodownside.Depthwasactuallyimproved,andwe could hear through a foregroundinstrument tohearoneplaying in thebackground.Wehadajoyoustime. BynowwehadnoticedthattheW-8haslittleproblemwithextremelows,andwewerecertain itwouldeasilyhandleournextselection:Take the ‘A’ Trainfrom

theRayB r o w nTr io’s Sou l ar E n e r g y a l b u m .What could possibly gowrong? Nothing did. From its firstcoupleofnotesRayBrown’sthunderousbasspickeduptherhythmandneverletitgo.Certainpianochords,whichhadsounded unnaturally hard with otheramplifiers, now merely revealed theparticularnatureofthepiano.“Apianoexpert could tell you themake,” com-mentedGerard.Reinewas also struckbythedifferenceinthepiano.“It’sthesamepianist,withthesamepianoandthesamesoundengineer,”shesaid,“andyet…” Transparence? The softly brushedsnare,almostinaudiblebehindthebassand the piano, was always very muchpresent.Perhapsitwasjustthatwewerenoticingmoredifferences,buttheampli-fierdidseemtobegettingbetterfromonerecordingtothenext.At some point, indeed, you start

t h i n k i ngyou’ve sa id

it all, and youstoptakingnotes

altogether. It waslargely that way with

Good StufffromtheEricBibb45rpmalbumof thesametitle(Opus3LP19603).

Gerardnotedonlythatattheverystarttherewasasmallbackgroundpercussioninstrumenthehadneverheardbefore.There’salotonthisrecording,andwecouldfinallyhearitall. We had included the Eric Bibbrecording because we didn’t want toevaluate the W-8 without hearing ahumanvoice.Buthowwoulditdowithafemalevoice?WepulledoutafavoriteCD, Margie Gibson’s wonderfullyemotionalSay It With Music (SheffieldCD36).Wechosealong-timefavorite,I Got Lost in His Arms. Onceagainournotesweresparse.“Igotlostinthesong,”saidGerard. The differences? “She bought abetter microphone,” suggested Albert,notingthathersometimesdifficult“S”soundsweremorenatural.Thetrailingsyllablesofverysoftly-enunciatedwordswereneverlessthanclear.Buttherewasmoreherethansound.Thissongpacksanemotionalcharge,andwecouldnotonlyhearitbutfeelit. WewerecuriousastohowtheW-8wouldmeasureonourtestbench,buthowcouldwemeasureanamplifierthissize?Wecouldn’tcheckthemaximumpoweroutputbecauseourlargeandexpensivedummyloadsstop50wattsshortofthe

Brand/model:SimaudioMoonW-8Price:C$12,500/US$10,500Size (WDH):47.5x41x18.5cmClaimed power:250watts/channelMost liked:PowerandtransparencyLeast liked:Hot’n’heavyVerdict:TheoutsidesaysHummer,thesoundsaysPorsche

Summing it up…

ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 33

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ratedpower(wehadneverneededmorethanthatbefore).Besides,ourearshadtolduswhatwewantedtoknow.Insteadwehadalookatitsbehavioratverylowlevels,justafewthousandthsofawattabovesilence.Impeccable…howcoulditbeotherwise?

Even measuringresidual noise wasa challenge, sincewe couldn’t actu-ally use 250 wattsasareferencelevel.Instead we madethe measurements10dB below the200wattfullpowerlevel.Theresultingcurve is shown onthis page. The realnoisecurveis10dBbetter than shown.

Humis111dBdown,andeventheworstnoisepeak(whosenatureisuncertain)is-98dB.Above5kHz,whereourgraphends,thenoiseactuallydipslower. Nowcameanimportantdiscussion. The day before this review, wehad been discussing the possibility of

upgrading theAlphasystembyfinallychanging its power amplifier. We hadtalked about different possibilities,includingpossiblyatubeamplifier.Heatwould be a problem, but perhaps thatcouldbemanageable. But by the end of this session thesolutionwasclear.WewouldmoveourW-5LE to the Alpha system, where itwould make a major splash. The W-8wouldreplaceitintheOmegasystem. The number of readers who willfollowourexamplewillbenecessarilysmall.ThedifferenceinpricebetweentheW-8andthestillsuperbW-5(theLimitedEditionortheplainvanilla)isnot be tossed off lightly. Besides, fewsystemsaregoodenoughtorevealthedifferences. However, if your system and yourbudgetcanhandlethisamplifier,besureyoulenditanear.

I have to admit I came to this sessionprepared to dislike this amplifier. True,Simaudiohadscoredalonglistofwinners,butallofthemwerebasedontheoriginalRenaissance design. When it did wanderelsewhere, as it did with the Moon Rock,for instance, it lost me. A bigger, morepowerful,muchmoreexpensiveamplifier?Simaudio was obviously going after YouKnowWho.Bummer! Well, no, I was wrong. It is clear thatthepeopleatSimaudiohavelearnedanim-portantlessonfromtheevolutionofprod-uctssuchastheW-5:howtolisten.WhenSimaudio’sCostaKoulisakistoldmeabouthow they did the voicing of the W-8, Iunderstood.Theyputinallthetechtricksthey had learned, and then they listenedandlistenedagain. The triumph that the W-8 representsshould not be underestimated. I have al-ways thought that the W-5, in its manyincarnations,wasaboutasgoodasa largesolidstateampcouldpossiblyget.Tohearitbestedsoconvincinglyissobering.Anditisexhilarating TheW-8doesloudstuffwell,butthenyou expect that froman amplifier it takestwopeopletolift.Listentothewayitdoessoftstuff.

—Gerard Rejskind

A certain weariness envelops me. It’s

beenalongday,anditwouldnormallybequitting time.Supper iswaiting.HowamIgoing todo justice to this amplifier, thefinalproductinthislongtestseries? Letmereassureyou,becauseIcameoutofthesessionrestedandofgoodcheer.Whataterrifictime!Hereletmesumitupinup-percaseandboldletters:PERFECTION! Not that we weren’t happy with ourW-5LE, but the W-8 goes even further,multiplyingthequalitiesthatwerealreadypresentinourownamplifier.Were?DidIjustputthatinthepasttense?OrwasIex-pressingahope? Letmegointoparticulars. Thespaceseemstoexpendgenerouslyinalldirections,thespectralbalanceisper-fect,theclarityisincomparable,thesoundis exquisite, details arrive in quantity,counterpointsaresoclearyoucanwalkintothe music and follow each melody. Whatcan I say about those warm and naturaltimbres?Aboutsmoothwoodwinds,aboutscintillating brass that is never strident,aboutapluckedbassthatexhibitseventhemostetherealofinflections,aboutmovinghumanvoices,aboutpercussionthatalter-nates between subtle and energetic, aboutbass drums that are overwhelming andsnares that are snazzy? There’s liveliness,energyandgoodhumor,andyoubecomeapartofthemusic. I’m stunned by this perfection, and it

leads me to the conclusion that there aredesigners and manufacturers who are notpreparedtositontheirlaurels.Somuchthebetterforus. ThisMoonisatitan!

—Reine Lessard

How do you transform a listening ex-periencewhenyouthoughtyouhadit justright?Howcanthespaceopenupbetweenandaroundthespeakers,lettingmusiciansandvocalistsstepthroughit—givingtheword“transparent”itstruemeaning? You'regoingtohavetoaskthefolksatSimaudio. Or better still, why don't youpretendallIsaidisjustanexaggeratedre-action to a new, heftier model and go ex-perience it for yourself? Just check it out.Locateafriendlyandpassionatedealer,andbringalongacoupleofCDs,onefeaturinga soft, intimate recording and theother apowerfulperformance. Ifatallpossible,haulinyourownpoweramptouseasyourreferenceandhaveafirstlisten(IcanjustseefriendlyandpassionatedealershurlingoldUHFcopiesatme.) Then,letthemreplaceitwiththeW-8andgooveryourCDselectionsagain.Saynothing, just listen. And here is the finaltest:seeifyoucanpryyourselffromyourlistening seat, in full view, while the per-formersarethere,watchingyou.

—Albert Simon

CROSSTALK

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EACH ISSUE costs $6.49 (in Canada) plus tax (15.03% in Québec, 15% in NB, NS and NF, 7% in other Provinces), US$6.49 in the USA, CAN$10.75 elsewhere (air mail included). THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (issues 7-19 except 11, 15, 17 and 18) includes 9 issues but costs like 5. For VISA or MasterCard, include your number, expiry date and signature. UHF Magazine, Box 65085, Place Longueuil, Longueuil, Qué., Canada J4K 5J4. Tel.: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383. Order on line at www.uhfmag.com. Recent back issues are available electronically at www.magzee.com, for C$4.30 each, all taxes included.

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

No.74: Lots of amplifiers: The Mimetism 15.2, Qinpu A-8000, Raysonic SP-100, Cyrus 8vs and Rogue Stereo 90. More reviews: Atlantis Argentera speaker, Cyrus CD8X player, GutWire MaxCon Squared line filter, Harmonic remote, Music Studio 10 recording software. Cables: Atlas, Stager, BIS and DNM, including a look at how length affects digital cables. Plus: the (high fidelity) digital jukebox, why HDTV doesn’t always mean what you think, and Reine Lessard on The Man Who Invented Rock’n’Roll.

No.73: Integrated amplifiers: The superlative Audiomat Récital and the affordable but highly musical Exposure 2010S. Analog: Turntables from Roksan (the Radius 5) and Goldring (the Rega-designed GR2), plus two phono cartridges, and four phono stages from CEC, Marchand and Goldring. More reviews: The legendary Harmonix Reimyo CD player, the Audiomat Maestro DAC, the ASW Genius 400 speakers, and the Sonneteer BardOne wireless system. Plus: Paul Bergman on the making of an LP and why they don’t all sound the same, the many ways of compressing video so it looks (almost) like film, news from Montreal 2005, and the story of the accordion.

No.72: Music from data: We look at ways you can make your own audiophile CDs with equip-ment you already have, and we test a DAC that yields hi-fi from your computer or iPod. We review the new Audio Reference speakers, the updated Connnoisseur single-ended tube amp, some upscale Actinote cables, and Gershman’s Acoustic Art panels. We tell you how to tune up your system for an inexpensive performance boost. And much more.

No.71: Three small speaker: Reference 3a Dulcet, Totem Rainmaker, and a very low cost but surprising speaker from France. We do a com-plex blind cable test: five cables from Atlas, and one Wireworld cable with different connectors (Eichmann, WBT nextgen, and Wireworld). The McCormack UDP-1 universal player, muRata super tweeters, the Simaudio I-3 amp and Equinox CD player. Paul Bergman reveals the philosophical differences behind two-channel stereo and multichannel.

No.70: How SACD won the war…or how DVD-A blew it. Reviews: Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal player and Shanling SCD-T200 player. Speakers: Reference 3a Royal Virtuoso, Equation 25, Wilson Benesch Curve, preview of muRata super tweeters. Other reviews: Simaudio W-5LE amp, the iPod as an audiophile source. Plus: future video screens, the eternal music of George Gershwin, and two reports from Montréal 2004.

No.69: Tube Electronics: Audiomat Opéra , Connoisseur SE-2 and Copland CSA29 inte-grated amps, and Shanling SP-80 monoblocks. Also: Audiomat's Phono-1.5, Creek CD50, as well as a great new remote control, GutWire's NotePad antivibration device, and a music-related computer game that had us laughing out loud. Paul Bergman on the return of the vacuum tube, and how music critics did their best to kill the world’s greatest music.

No.68: Loudspeakers: Thiel CS2.4, Focus Audio FS688, Iliad B1. Electronics:Vecteur I-6.2 and Audiomat Arpège integrated ampli-fiers, Copland 306 multichannel tube preamp, Rega Fono MC. Also: Audio Note and Copland CD players, GutWire MaxCon power filter. And

there’s more: all about power supplies, what’s coming beyond DVD, and a chat with YBA’s Yves-Bernard André.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No.58: Amplifiers: ASL AQ1003, Passion I10 & I11, Rogue 88, Jadis Orchestra Reference, Linar 250. Headphone amps: Creek, Antique Sound Lab, NVA, Audio Valve. Plus: Foundation Research LC-2 line filter, Gutwire power cord,

Pierre Gabriel ML-1 2000 cable. And: building your own machine to clean LP’s.

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

No.56: Integrated amps: Simaudio I-5, Roksan Caspian, Myryad MI120, Vecteur Club 10, NVA AP10 Also: Cambridge T500 tuner, Totem Forest. Phono stages: Creek, Lehmann, Audiomat. Interconnects: Actinote, Van den Hul, Pierre Gabriel. Plus: Paul Bergman on power and cur-rent…why you need both

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No.48: Loudspeakers: JMLabs Daline 3.1, Vandersteen 3a, Totem Tabù, Royd Minstrel. CD: Cambridge CD4, Copland CDA-277. Also: An interview with the founder of a Canadian audiophile record label.

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

No.46: Electronics: Simaudio 4070SE amp & P-4002 preamp, Copland CTA-301 & CTA-505, N.E.W. P-3 preamp. Digital cables: Wireworld, Audiostream, MIT, XLO, Audioprism, and Wireworld’s box for comparing interconnects.

Also: YBA CD-1 and Spécial CD players. Yves-Bernard André talks about about his blue diode CD improvement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No.36: CD players: YBA CD-2, Linn Karik/Numerik, Sugden SDT-1, Mission DAD5 /DAC5, Audiolab 8000DAC, QED Digit, Nitty Gritty LP cleaner, An interview with Linn’s Ivor Tiefenbrun, and part 7 of Bergman on acoustics: building your own acoustical panels.

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

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

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Back Issues

This Danish company iscapable of the best and theworst. The best is, in ourview,theCTA-305tubepre-

amplifier.It’ssogoodweactuallyowntwoofthem,whichareinourAlphaandOmegasystems.It’snotthatwewantedto have identical preamps. Indeed, wewouldhavebeenhappierspreadingthejoyaroundalittle.Howeverwewerenotprepared to spenddoubleor triple forless. Copland knows how to build thebestataprice. Theworst,however,canbeverybad.Inthelastwhilewe’vereviewedasolidstateintegratedampandafive-channelpowerampwiththeCoplandname,andwonderedhowOléMöllercanpossiblyhaveletthemoutofhisfactory. But let’s hearken back to a happiertime.Itwasexactlytenyearsago.OnthecoverofUHFNo.45wasalargeinte-gratedamplifier,coveroff,outputtubesblazing.ItwasaCoplandCT-401,andtheafternoonwespentwithitwasoneofthosetimesyoudon’teverforget.Verysimply,wegotlostinthemusic(that’saquotefromAlbert,actually).ReinehadsaidshewasreadytogiveitanA+from

thefirstnotesshehadheard. Norwasthatall.Onthatparticulardaywehadinvitedaguestwhojoinedourpanelistsforthesession,andhehadbeeneverybitastakenwiththeCopland.“Ayearfromnow,”hehadsaidattheend,“I’mgoingtoownoneofthose.” Alas, no. For reasons best knownto him, Möller discontinued the 401.Didhethinkaudiophileswouldn’tbuyan amplifier with so little power (30wattsperchannelclaimed, less in reallife)?Whatever thereason,we’ve longhopedforthereturnofthisastonishingamplifier. It’snowdone,andMöllerhasaddedatwist.HeknowshowgoodhisCTA-305preamplifieris,soheincorporateda305right in the integrated. Yesit’sthesame.Evenitsexcellentphono stage is included. The price ishigherthanthatofthe401adecadeago(duh!),butitdoesn’tcostthatmuchmorethana305preampalone.Theclaimedpowerisup,from30wattsperchannelto50,obtainedfromtwopairsof6550tubes. The405alsoincludeswhatwecon-sider the 305 preamp’s major flaw: its

autom at icshutdown fea-

t u re . The u n itshutsoffitsownpower

aftersomethinglikesevenhours. We don’t much like

this,sincewerunourgearallthetime,butwecouldputupwithit

ifthetimingcyclebeganwhenthelastsignalwassensed,oreventhelasttimetheunitreceivedacommandfromtheremotecontrol.Butno,itshutsoffsevenhoursafter the last time it was powered up!Thismadebreakinginthe405alotoffun. Thereisaworkaround,fortunately.Thedistributor,Divergent Technologies,gaveusanewcontrolchipthatdoesn’tincludeautoshutoff,andwilldothesamefreeonrequestforbuyersofeitherthepreamporthe405integrated.Wethinkitshouldbedoneonallunitsunlessthebuyerwantstheshutoff(yeah,right),butatleastthere’safix. The405usesthesameremotecon-trolas thepreamp,asdo theCoplandCDplayers.Sincethepreampsectionisthesamesoarethefunctions:anMMphonoinput,andfourhigh-levelinputsplusthetapeloop. Wehaveoftencomplainedabouttheso-sophonojacksonthepreamp.Onthe305 Copland used better jacks for themainoutput,butoddlynotforanyoftheinputs.Inthe405thesamejacksareusedeverywhere, and since they are chas-sis-mount types they are exceedinglydifficult to change. Paradoxically, theoutputbindingposts aremuchbetter:they’refromWBT.

Copland CTA-405

ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 37

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Thereare,asonmosttubeamps,bindingpostsforboth4ohmand8ohmconnections.The8ohmmaywellsoundbetterregard-lessoftheimpedanceofyourspeakers.Therearenobalancedinputs.Thoughthe405ismoreinterestingwithitscoveroff, as in our photographs, running itthatwayexposeslethalvoltages. The engraving on the rear panelindicatesthattheamplifierinvertsphase:thatis,whenthevoltageattheinputispositive,thevoltageattheoutputpostisnegative.Thisiseasytofixbyreversingspeaker cables of course, but Coplandsaysfutureunitswillbenon-inverting. After a break-in period (whichrequired lots of shutting down andrestarting for reasons already men-tioned),wetooktheCopland intoourAlpha room, along with a handful ofchallengingrecordings. Weknowyou’vebeen looking for-wardtothisreview,butwe'resadtotellyouthatitisavailableonlyonthepaidversionofUHF…eithertheprintededi-tion,ortheelectronicedition.BothareavailablethroughourWebsite,atwww.uhfmag.com

Utvelestoconsedtinexeroeafeuis-moloredoodolorperillacommynisalitatnullutat.Utnisciblamvolorerosamzzriurer susto consequi tet exer sediooddodolorsemagnafeuisnonsedmoddoluptatingeufacilluptatduntvoloremvelenibhetuedignibhexeufeugaitdiatad mod min utat ad ercidunt autpatioconsedmagnafaccumilisalisacillafeufeuguercillam,velislilitlaorperoercil-lutemveradmagnafeufacilitvullaalitaugait,quisi.

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nim dipit alit augue feugait irit uteum zzriuscincip ex er si etue dolutemagnafeumzzritpratiedolorsiblanditdolendip esecte tin ver sequam dolorsismodolutemetumsanutilit,versectetveletingeumilislirilitinhentatlorediatnullaacildolutat.Giamconsequisdolumiriuretiemagniamdolessieratemvolenisatumnullutat.

Em dolesequis nulla at dolummoditlaoretat,quatinveriustruderautpatumiurerosaugait,quat.Utvolorevelitaugueminisldipitnulputwisimvenimdoloremiusto dolorting eum nos exeriurer ilitnullaorperalitamdoloriritduietuer-aestionvullafaccummodduipelitvelitdelendio dolore vel ulputpat atem deldigna faccum zzriusci eugait veraestoeuiblaoreditloreelestrudteenisciperiniam,quat.Duisimdelessedmingeumalisliriureveritwisnosexeroconseddodolorsitemversisnitlamdoconestinetet,situllanditnimipisldipeuississieuisis nullan ex el utat wismolenibheugait irit nis nostie ming et luptatalisaugaitesequisesenitauteuiscinelullaoreetloboredoloripeleafeumaututemagnimalisnonsequamconsectemquisci tionum quissequam il estruddoluptat.Duisieralitauguediamdiat

Brand/model:CoplandCTA-405Price:C$4500Dimensions:43x38.8x18.5cmClaimed power:50watts/channelMost liked:kdjfheklumbetypoiluysamnoutLeast liked:WeakjkpolejioosjmjkjellVerdict:Tynumirtypolisatremonrekloque

Summing it up…

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autatauguetiemincilitalisitacipit nullaor irilla at adipit,quipsusci elit am alis nimvullafeuiseafeuguevelenimversit,sumexeugaitdolorpersisl ingeugiamatnonsendremincilissectemeliquataccumdoloremamveliquamvulpu-tatisnostodoloreconsecteminvolorperosnonsectedeldioetullaortisaliquamconsectemvolore eui ea consequis euiblanutet,seetueriuremagnaaccumzzritnonsendrecommynitadipitadtieduntvullafeufeumsandio dolorem ipit autlamadeafeuisitwisiblaorsitalismodolorsequatemdioexersimnibheniamet,venimvelesedionul-laoremiusciduntat.Nullutpat.

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sisit nulputpat. Gue delitiusciduisi.

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Er aci blandreet lum zzrit ad dunt alitveratediooditauteminetuevoloborefeu-giamnumeraessimiliscipitpratisimversumnostrudeummolutlutpateugaitutnonsenisetueritprationsequat.

CROSSTALK

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TheCECbrandisnotexactlynewtous.WereviewedthisJapanese company’s DA53digital-to-analog converter

inUHFNo.72(that,youmayrecall,wastheonewiththeUSBinputsoitcouldhandle the digital signal from a com-puter).Andweownoneofthecompany’sfamous belt-drive CD transports, theTL51X. You say the company buildsamplifierstoo? And this amplifier’s specs demandattention.Whatwehavehereisaninte-gratedampclaiming100watt/channelinpureclassA,withapricetagwaybelow$2KinCanada,evenlessintheUS.Wedoublecheckedtherearpanelincaseitreadmade in China,butitdoesn’t.Inhighendcircles,thisiseconomyterritory. This is a full-featured amplifier,withremotecontrol(thevolumeknobismotorized),andfourinputsplusatapeloop.Attherearisalargeheatsink—oratleastlargeincomparisontotheampli-fier itself—todissipate theheat fromthe classA output circuit. The othernews is not so good. The input jacksarenobetterthanmediocre,whichyouexpectinthispricerange,buttheoutputbindingpostsareworse.Thatyoudon’texpect. Indeedthey’renotbindingpostsatall,thoughtheylookasthoughtheyare.Theyare spring-loaded toholdabarewire,likethosedreadfulguillotinecon-nectorsinmid-figear.Theonlysavinggraceisthatthere’saholeattherearforabanana,thoughthey’reabitloosewithmostbananasevenso.Weconsiderthe5400conditionallyacceptable:youneed

tousebananaswithit.Orelsechangethepostsandhangthewarranty. You’llprobablynotice thepresenceof four XLR connectors at the rear.Oddly enough, CEC gives you littlechoiceaboutwhatyouuse.TheCDandAux2inputsareaccessibleonlythroughthebalancedXLRconnectors,whereastheTunerandAux1inputsarestrictlyunbalancedcoaxial.Youcan,ofcourse,fitacoaxialcablewithanXLRconnector(pins1and3grounded,pin2hot),buthigh quality interconnects don’t comethatway.Thetapeloopisstrictlycoaxial.Werealizetherewouldn’tberoomforanymoreconnectorsontherearpanel,butevensothemixisunexpected. Likemostmodernintegratedampli-fiers, the 5400 is remote-controlled.Howeverthevolumecontrolisnottheusual motorized potentiometer. CECuseswhatitcallsIntelligent Gain Man-agement,whichmeansthatthevolumecontrolactuallychangestheamountofamplification,insteadofsimplyturningunwantedenergyintoheat.CECclaimsthis results in lower noise when thevolumeisturneddown. Because the 5400 is not especiallylargeyoufigureitalsowon’tbeheavy,butyou’dbewrong.Carryingitmeanspositioning it close to your body, theway you do when you carry a muscleamp.Andyoudoitwiththetoppanelagainstyourchest,sothatthesupportconesdon’thitanartery.Itwouldbeadumbwaytodie. We set up the 5400 in our Alphasystem and listened to the same setof recordings used with the previous

amplifier reviewed. The first: Ghostsfromthealbumofthesametitle(KlavierK11150).Thisisarecordingwithalotofenergybehindit,andweknewitwouldrequireallofthepowerCECclaimstohavepackedintothissmallbutweightychassis. Anditgotofftoagoodstart.Fromthe dark theme that opens this windbandsuitewewerestruckbythecoher-enceandtheclarityofthesound.Theinstruments didn’t blend together, asthey might have. The sound of theghostly chains was interesting, and itreallydidseemtoemergefromwayout there.Theloudersection—anditdoesget loud!— hung together well, con-firmingfromthefirstthatthisamplifierisn’tlikelytorunoutofbreath. Not that it sounded really like ourreference. The tone was pleasant butdifferent.Thebottomendhada littlelessbody,but itwas impressiveall thesame.Sofarsogood. TheCEChadlittlemoredifficultywiththehugeorganchordsoftheBachToccata and Fugue in D Minor (fromOrgan Treasures, Opus3 CD22031). Ifthebodyoftheorganseemedthinner,itwasbarelynoticeable.Thedepthwaswellrendered.Theopeningsegmenthadimpressivemajesty. Actually, it was the higher-pitchedpipesthatseemedlessplausible.Theirtonewasfine,andtherewasnoconfu-sionorgranularity, but themusicwaslessmoving.Yes,wewereaskingalot!“AtthispriceIhavenocomplaints,”saidReine. The CEC also did surprisinglywellwith theorgan inAntiphone Blues(FIMCD003).Therewasalittlelessofeverything,butonlyalittle.Therewasa little lessspace,butitremainedwideand deep. The saxophone was a littlelesssmooth,butReinecalleditsuperb.The organ…well, it still had most ofitspower,somethingyoucan’ttakeforgrantedwithasmallamplifier,especiallyaninexpensiveone.Theimagewaswell-defined,anditwasstabletoo. Ourhighdefinitiondisc(Trio,ona24/96 DVD, Hi-Res HRM2008) wasa major challenge for this amplifier,becauseithasoutsizeddynamicsandararerichnessofdetail.TheCECtookit on with sure-footed assurance. The

CEC 5400 Amplifier

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imagewasslightlylessconvincing,butit was stable. Ray Brown’s bass didn’thaveitscustomaryhorsepower,thoughthe overall balance was plausible foranyonenotmakingcomparisons,aswewere. The guitar and piano soundedgorgeous,though,withoutconfusionorgraininess. Wekeepcomingbacktothismatterof graininess. It’s significant for notbeingthere,likethedogsthatdidn’tbarkinThe Hounds of the Baskervilles. WeendedwithMargieGibson’sSay It With Music album of Irving Berlinfavorites (Sheffield CD-36). The songsoundeddifferent, butwe couldn’t sayweweredisappointedbywhatweheard.Thepianowasalittlethinner,andthatwascertainlythecaseofthecelloandthepluckedbass,but theiroverallbalancewas pleasing. As for Gibson’s movingvoice, it survivedwell, still lyrical andemotional.Theessentialswereallpres-entandaccountedfor. We took the CEC into the lab, toseewhetheritssurprisingspecificationsmight be more than just smoke. Andspeakingofsmoke… Itwasourowndamnfault.Onthepowermeasurementwemadeitto100wattswithnoproblem,andbeganclos-

inginonwhatourforensicteamwouldlater determine to be 112watts. Thenthe protection circuit kicked in. Thisisn’tabreakerorafuse,asonmostamps.Rather,acircuitdetectstheoverloadandturnsdownthevolumeknobuntiltheoverloadhascleared.Atleastitdoesif the tester doesn’t have his hand on the knob! Youguessedit.Weblewthechannel,asthehelpfulred“error”lighthelpfullyletusknow.Nordiditchangeitsmind.A long rest did not lead to recovery.Good thingwedid themeasurementsafter we had completed the listeningsession!Thatprobablywouldn’thappeninanythingbutatestsituation.

That meant the rest of our usualtestshadtobedoneontheremainingchannel.Thenoisecurve is shownonthis page. Hum (below 100watts, not112!)ishigherthanwehadexpectedbutstillinaudible,at79dBbelowfulllevel,buthiss andothernoisehover around-110dB.Low-levelbehaviorwasexcel-lent.Crosstalkbetweenadjacentchan-nels was an insignificant -78dB (rightaroundthehumlevelinfact)at1kHz,andastillexcellent-68dBatworst(witha10kHzsignal). Aniceproduct,thisamplifier.Listentoitalongsidethebestoftheaffordableintegratedamplifiers thatmightbeonyourlist,andyou’llfinditkeepsupwiththem.Itmightevenchaseoneormoreofthemrightoffthelist.

Evenincomparisonwithourreference,this integratedamplifier seemsvery inter-esting.Inotednoimportantfaults,andonthecontraryitsassetsareseveral. For example, it projects good depth,with a comfortable space all around, anda highly satisfactory image that providesroom for all the tiny information trueaudiophiles want to have. The dynamicrangeisverygood,thebottomendisampleand solid, reproduction is powerful, andtimbresareaspleasantastheyarenatural. Onsomefastpiecestherhythmissome-what attenuated, and on complex organpassages the varied stops and textures arelessclearthantheyshouldbe,butsingingvoices are warm, lyrics clear, and tiny in-flexionsthatareeitherdistortedorleftoutbylesseramplifiers,areunscathed.Certainpieces are hugely enjoyable. The sax, thetrombone and the clarinet emerge intact,withproperbalance,andit’sallmusical. Thisamplifierissotalentedyou’dhaveto figure it costs a small fortune, and it’s

a surprise when you find out what it doescost. It’s a good investment for an audio-phileeitherstartingoutorupgrading.Andthinkofthespacesavingoverseparates!

—Reine Lessard

Do all amplifiers in this price rangesoundthisgood?Iwish!I’veheardenoughofthemthatsounded…well,sufficeittosayitfeltgoodwhenIturnedthemoff.HaveIbeenguiltyofgoingtooeasyonthem?Yes.Ishouldhavecomedownonthemwiththefullweightofmywrath! Thisampisvalueformoney.Yougiveupminorsonicaspects,andnotasmanyasyouwouldthink,butyoudon’tgiveupthemusic.Andyouneverworryaboutwhetherthechassiswillburstopenifyouedgethevolumeupanymore. But…betterconnectors,please!

—Gerard Rejskind

This test began with a feeling of sur-prise (a very happy surprise), and it lasted

throughoutthelisteningtest.Ikepttryingtofindsomethingobviouslyunusualaboutthe sound, something that would explainwhere the designer had compromised,wherethemanufacturerhadtosay“stoporwe'regoingtohavetoraisetheprice,”butIcouldn’t. I knew the sound was not as full-bod-iedaswithourreference,norasnaturallywarm, but it was always steady, solid andmusical. It thrilled me with the sense ofdepth it createdandwith its ability to re-main transparent under the most tryingpassages. Ittookanythingwewantedtohearandgave us a great rendition. I should haveguessed when I first lifted it, feeling itssurprisinglyheavyweight andnoticing itssuperbfinish.Whetheryou’retakingyourfirststepsontheaudiophiletrailsorwheth-er you've already gone through your firstpairofboots, thisamplifier isanamazingvalue.

—Albert Simon

CROSSTALK

Brand/model:CECAMP5400Price:C$1690/US$1490Size (WDH):43.5x34x10.5cmClaimed power:100watts/channelInputs:4highlevelplustapeloopMost liked:Greatdynamics,fineclarityLeast liked:Hideousoutputconnec-torsVerdict:Thequantity’sgood,butsoisthequality

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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 4�

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DENON 3910Denon mid-fi? Not when www.partsconnexion.com has done its magic (full Level II upgrade) to this universal player’s audio section, easily making it comparable to $10,000 players (and of course the video output is Denon-famous...iincomparable). Enjoythemusic.com thought very highly of the upgraded Denon 5900 but parsconnexion says the 3910 lends itself to an even bettr upgrade/player. Circumstances force me to sacrifice this barely broken-in beauty for the cost of the upgrade alone, in essence making the player free! (514)942-3789, davidmtl2003@yahoo.ca.

YBA ONE AMPLIFIERYes, this is UHF's own amplifier from the Alpha reference system. It's nearly 16 years old, but in December 2002 it was completely rebuilt, to become an Alpha HC (high current) model. It is in excellent condition, with tiny marks from handling. The rear has banana-only outputs connectors, and there are small holes where the old circuit breakers once were. Originally $9000, available for $3450 plus shipping. Call UHF (450-651-5720) during EST business hours or uhfmail@uhfmag.com.

AESTHETIX PREAMPAesthetix Saturn Calypso all-tube preamplifier. Rave review in The Absolute Sound (issue 151), Product of the Year, also in TAS. Class A in Stereophile, rave review in July 2005. Absolutely

mint in appearance and exquisite in sound. $4375. (514)942-3789 or davidmtl2003@yahoo.ca.

UNISON AMPLIFIERUnison Unico integrated hybrid amplifier. 80 watts per channel, tube (12AU7 x 2) preamp section, and MOSFET class "A" amplifier section with remote. Beautifly made in Italy. Great reviews in Sterophile. 16 months old, have original boxes and manual. Paid $2,200, will sell for $1,200. (450)465-4237 thebyrons@videotron.ca.

YBA, MUSICAL FIDELITY, REF. 3ATip-top condition. Owner moving. YBA-CD 1 Alpha CAD$3,950, Musical Fidelity NuVista M3 integrated $4,350, PS audio P600 $2,000, Ref 3A MM DaCapo $1,480, Lovan solid glass racks plus speaker stands $1,000. Email Jason at kjliow@hotmail.com.

SPECTRAL CD PLAYERSpectral SDR-1000SL. Legendary Spectral design, quality and sound. Widely considered one of the best CD players ever built. Called "the world's best player" by UHF (issues No. 26 & 33, reviews available upon request). Very good condition. US$3,500 obo. Email buckybrown@rcn.com.

BLUE CIRCLE, OSKARBlue Circle BC103 preamp. My upgrade from a Copland CTA305! Current model, fully-balanced with dual stepped attenuators. Unparallelled

resolution and dimensionality. New USD$3500, selling: $2300 Canadian. Oskar Syrinx speakers: new $4300 Canadian, selling $2300. burekp@mcmaster or (905)297-0364.

MUSEATEX REPAIRSMuseatex/MeitnerAudio factory service and updates. Please check our web-site at www.museatex.com. E-mail me at john@museatex.com or phone (403)284-0723.

VECTEUR IN VANCOUVERCambridge Audio, TEAC, Parasound Halo, Angstrom, James Loudspeakers, Audio Art custom-built actively tri-amplified loudspeakers, Richard Gray AC, cables, stands, accessories. Custom installation and home theater. David Elderton Audio Video Consultant, (604)808-7394, evenings (604)988-6666.

AUDIOMAT, VECTEURCreekside Audio for all your stereo/theatre needs. Audiomat, Vecteur, Atlantis Acoustique, Gershman and lots more! Discover the magic in music with our fine products. (250)-878-6252, Kelowna, BC. www.creeksideaudio.net.

CUSTOM BUILT TUBE POWER AMPSHigh quality "Custom Built" vacuum tube power amplifiers by Ideal Innovations. Please visit our website at http://www.idealinnovations.ca for more information, e-mail idealinnovations@rogers.com, or phone (519)485-6137.

THE UHF CLASSIFIEDSRun your own ad in the print issue, and on our World Wide Web site for two months

NON-COMMERCIAL: $12 per slice of 40 words or less. COMMERCIAL: $24 per slice of 40 words or less.TAXES: In most of Canada, add 7% GST. NS, NB, NF, add 15% HST. In Québec, add another 7.5% TVQ. No taxes for advertisers outside Canada. Payment may be made by cheque, money order, or VISA or MasterCard (include number, expiry date and signature). NOTE: Because classified ad prices are kept so low, we cannot engage in correspondence concerning ads. Fee must be paid a second time if a correction is required, unless the fault is ours. Prices shown in Canadian dollars. THE UHF CLASSIFIEDS, Box 65085, Place Longueuil, LONGUEUIL, Qué., Canada J4K 5J4PHONE: (450) 651-5720 FAX: (450) 651-3383. E-MAIL: uhfmail@uhfmag.com

Issue No. 76 of

Coming in May 2006

Even without the prominentbadges on both pods andgrilles, you would probablyspot these speakers as being

fromReference3a.Lookatthecantedfronts and the woven carbon f ibrewoofer,andthat’senoughofahint. Reference3afounderDanielDehayretiredalongtimeago,ofcourse,buthelefttheCanadiansuccessorteamdozensof notebooks with his design ideas.That’swheretheinspirationforthisnewspeakercamefrom.Thewooferdesignis

basicallyhis,asistheideaofthesimplestpossiblecrossover:aseriescapacitortoprotectthetweeter.Thewooferrollsoffnaturally. The Veena (the name is that of afamily of Indian musical instruments)is a natural competitor to the samecompany’s MM De Capo-i, which isslightlycheaperbutrequiresastand.Thewoofersaresimilarly-made,thoughtheVeena’sissmaller.ObviouslytheVeenais physically larger than the MM, butthey are nearly the same height. The

soft-dometweeteroftheVeenaisnew. Suchaslimspeakercanbeunstable,asmanyamanufacturer’slawyershavediscovered, which is why those threepodlikefeetarethere.Becausethereareonlythreeofthemthespeakercannotwobble.Eachcomeswithaspike.Theterminalplateattherearisheavymetal,onwhichareinstalledfourgoodqualitybindingposts.ThecopperjumpersarefromCardas. The cloth grilles are included,thoughaudiophileswithoutsmallchil-drenmaywanttoleavethemoff.LikeotherReference3aspeakers,theVeenasshouldbepositionedsothatthetweetersareoffsettotheoutside.Yes,weknowthat’stheoppositeofwhateveryothermanufacturerrecommends. A word about Reference 3a beforewe begin. We know the brand well,sincewehavelongusedtheReference3aSupremasinourOmegasystem(andanotherspeakerfromthesamedesignerused to be in our Alpha system). Weconsidered Daniel Dehay to be oneof the authentic geniuses of speakerdesign.Wehavebeendelightedtoseemore great speakers emerge from the(now)Canadiancompany,andwehavebeenfearingthatitwouldveeroffintoadifferentdirection.Ithasn’thappenedyet. The speakers came to us alreadybroken in, though we did add a fewmore hours to them before installingthem in our Alpha system. We pulledoutastackoffiveLPs,plusoneCDincaseweneededit toconfirmwhateverour verdict would turn out to be. WenotedrightawaythattheVeenasarealotlesssensitivethanourownspeakers,andwewonderedwhethertheclaimed89dB figure might not be optimistic.Thatsaid,wejustturnedupthevolumeandallwaswell.LikeotherReference3awoofers,thisoneishardtooverdrive. Thefirstoftherecordingswas… We hope you’ll order either theprintededitionorthepaidonlinePDFversion, either of whch contains everywordofthisreview. A nd the other rev iews too, ofcourse.

Lore ercillutem ilit, quate vullametnum niam, conulputat la faci eriusciduisim doloboreet numsandit ipis non

Reference 3a Veena

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erciliscilit,quisciduisalitaliquatvenia-tuer ipsumsa ndreetum nis exerciduntipsummynosnullandremiureet,si.

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We were no longer unanimous. Reine and Gerard praised the counterpoints. Albert admitted to being disappointed

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Il eugiat incinibh enibh eniam,veniam,ventwisdolendrevelenimetutlaconsequam,commynummoddoloretat, venibh estin henis atie elendrefeugueroodeu facinutemdeleugiamzzriusci exeraesectem ip exeriuscilitaugait nullam nonsenisim zzriustrudtion henit augue facin veliquat ditiliquiblanexersimdodioditlamcortisaliquisacilullaorsustiserooddiamconeugaitnonummoderocortingeafacitefaccumsan veliquam zzriusto ex ex et,consequamdeliliquissequisi.

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Loreraessieumdoexessequiseumzzrilisacienibheugaitluptatisaugaitwissimestruddiam inisi tionsequi et vulpute mod doodolent augait accummy nulland ionsectecore magna autpationum quat. Ut iustruddoloremvolenitaugait,consequamveliureminvercilullaoremdionsemagnafacitemilisadenitnibhercillanversuscincillamdolorsitlamaugaitautaugiatipitacilitaccumatatineldolortiseumvoloreteminhenisadiodol-oremvolorsumexeufacieugaitinutvelutat.Noneleniamconsedmagnacommodolorecoreelullamconumsandipitloborefaciduntullan et lummy num euguercipis doloremam, quat, vel ent volestrud eugiatu eratisnonsed exeraesectet lore vel dit numsanhenitineugiatatueraessitinibheumdoluptatvulputat.Sentauteelitvelerostisitnostoet

luptat,quiscieteramcortinheniat.Uredoluptat,summynibhexelisdolob-

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modipsustingeacommolorsustingetnul-laore core facil elendio et, conse mincillafaccumventautat.

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CROSSTALK

Brand/model:Reference3aVeenaPrice:C$3500/US$3000Size (HWD):89.5x21.2x23cmSensitivity:89dBImpedance:8ohmsMost liked:Loreetutametlorersumvolutluptat.Utwis.Least liked:Lisimiriuscilismoloreet,conutatuemagnafacilluptateVerdict:Aliquisi.Deletautefaccumvelisci?

Summing it up…

ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 4�

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Here’sabitofirony.Thefirsttime any of us visited theToronto factory of AudioProductsInternational,we

sawon the assembly linenotonly theoriginalEnergyReferenceConnoisseur,butalsoanumberofspeakerswithAsiannames,whichAPIwasbuildingforthem.How times change!Thesenew speak-ersweredesignedatthatsamefactory,but theyarebuilt inAsia…specificallyChina! There’sareasonweaskedtoreview

thesenewReferenceConnoisseurs. In1984,whenthemagazinewasyoung,weadoptedapairofthemasourreference.Initially that cost us some credibility.Because Energy’s marketing was thenclearly aimed at the mass market, andthespeakersweremostlyseeninbigboxstores,itwasassumedthatthespeakerscouldn’tpossiblybeanygood.Anumberofpeoplepaidusthesupremecompli-ment,decidingthatifwelikedthemthentheymustbefineafterall. The Reference Connoisseurs were

replacedinouraudioreferencesystemin1990,buttheyliveontodayinourKappahome theatre system. One of them isshownonthenextpage.Youmightthinkthatserviceinacinemasystemmightbelessstringentthanservingasanaudioreference,butinfactbotharetoughjobs.Andaswehaveoccasionalopportunityto confirm, they remain superb musicspeakerstoo. So the name is back, now appliedto a line of several speakers, of whichtheRC-70isthelargest.Itisnotreallythe Energy flagship, since that honorbelongs to the Veritas series. Indeed,as large speakers go these are notinordinately expensive. Our originalspeaker, in1984,costC$2000, includ-inga$200surchargefortherosewoodfinish.AndthatincludedtheCanadianmanufacturer’ssalestax,thenhiddeninthe price, since replaced by the GST,whichyoupayontopoflistprice.Theoriginal Reference Connoisseur, if itwerestillmade,mightnowsellforcloserto$6000. The new Reference Connoisseurlooksimpressive,withitsthreeKevlardrivers(a12cmmidrangeandtwo15cmwoofers).Allhavecastmetalbaskets,astheoriginaldid.Thealuminumdometweeter is also in a cast housing. Theveneered MDF cabinets sit on plumpspikes with built-in locking nuts. Thefour binding posts are quite nice, andstaytightwithoutcoaxing. The original speaker’s qual it ydependedonitsuniquedrivers,andonceagainEnergyhasapatentontheconespeakersusedhere. Itsnotable featureistheRibbedEllipticalSurround.The“surround” is the flexible ring aroundtheconethatallowsittomove.Energysaysthatthetypical“halfroll”surroundcangenerateasmuchas23%distortionathighlevel,andthatitsownspecially-shaped surround greatly reduces thedistortionlevel. A word about the finish: becauserosewood is an endangered species,therewillneveragainbespeakers likeouroriginals.ThefinishonourRC-70iscalled“rosenut,”whichlooksvaguelylike it. Not the same, but handsomeanyway. Ourtestspeakerscamewithsome50hoursonthem,andweaddedonlyalittle

The return of the Reference Connoisseur

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tothattimebeforesettingthemupinourOmegasystemandhavingalisten. Our usual practice is to place testspeakers in the same position as ourReference3aSupremas,toseewhatwillhappen.Wetriedourfirstrecording,theOlympic FanfarefromtheoldCenter StageLP.Weweren’ttotallyhappywithwhatweheard.Theimagewasquitegoodandthedepthadequate,butthereseemedtobeacertainlightnessinthemidrange,whichrobbedthewindbandofitsusualamplesound.Perhapssomeadjustmentmightbeappropriate. Energyprovidestwofoammuffsthatcanbestuffedintothetwoportsatthereartoincreaseacousticresistance.Weinsertedthemandnotedsomeimprove-ment.Backingthespeakersupclosertothewallwashelpfultoo,andwelistenedtotherecordingagain. “There’smoresubstancenow,”saidAlbert,“andmore…energy.”Thelowermidrange had fattened up, restoring acertainsubstancethathadbeenmissing.Thehighfrequencieswerequitegood,withoutconfusion,thoughGerardfoundthecymbalsrathertoo“hi-fi,”andAlbertcomplainedthatthebrasswastoocoolin tone. So did Reine. Another smallchangeinplacementconfirmedthatweweregettingthebestwecouldexpect. Ofcourseeverywordofthisreviewcanbefoundinourprintedition,orinourelectronicedition.Ordereitheronethrough our Web site: www.uhfmag.com.

Rostisexerciduntveldoloborefeuipi-simvolumzzrilexetdelitauguercilisatefaciblanhentametloredolummynul-putedodoodolorerilitnumzzritiriurefaccumadionsequiperoeliquiperosdelutatet,commodolorpersitvulluptat.Todunteafeuguemolorperoessit,coremalit ut adio odio endip erilis esequat,conumsanhenit,sustincilitaugiat.Volo-bortioetdolorsisleugaitvelinhentadminissismodolorpersumvelessi.

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luptatu ercipit lore volesequate ventvolorsumzzritlametloredolutpat.Tet,vent iure mincidunt auguerc iduisimnonsequam acidunt nullaore mod minvelenitdelessedminerilutatueririlutemolestrudminciliquatemdodocoreritdolestrud eu feugiam, se magnim velutpat.

Uptat, vel ing euis augue delis nosnonsenisnullafeufeufacipitat,susciduisdolorpercipeugiamcorersustingeliquamnisciliquislirilitwisatemexersit,conse-nisiblaorperosnullaconsedmagnafeumaciblanututloboreetipiteroodipitlumilitnibheroconullamvoloborefacillanexexet,quismodiam,velipitlorillandiodolorero conullaorero dunt iliquis ersenimvulput lutpati scilitaute faccumdip esecte conullute magna feu facinhenimdolorperiliquamzzriurevelutpatvelesecommynullafeufeumamcommynimiritversumveraestisitvenimnimipeummodolortiedipiset,quisisnullutulluptat. Ero et, commy nostrud mineufaccumsandreratetumvoloretinimquateuguefacinimvelullumvullaalitnimeroconutipsumvelenitvulluptatetnisnonullafacillumsandredooditnonhenimiliquipercitat,cortionverosamiuscilisisisaminutatipismoloremineufeugait praese tat lore magna feummynumiurer incilitnumnumduipitexersequat, quat, quismolor iriusciduntulputpatvoloretetat,verateconsevenimveliquiscieugueraciliquatet,sumzzrilisldolorperinutnonsecteminvolorperosacilla aliquat inisisdo convolumquipet, consecte doloreet ut iliquat. Utpraesenimdionsequis aci blaorero conveliquip et praessim vendion henit admagna feum iureet ipis aciduip eugaitinimzzriureesequatieconsectemdolorsummodo lessequam vel ulpute coremet,consevoloredocortisamdolesenimvelenis sequisl il iure dipis nullaoremolenibhet,sefaciliquipisimiriliquat.Utlafeufeugiam,coreetueroseaatataliquatnullametalismolorsi.

Onulputalitutprat.Utipetutpatueroerci ercipit volenit wisi eum veliquat.Equatetumsan ullutem ip enim quip-summynullaorer alisnonseeu feugaitprate ver aut nibh eum dolore faccumaliquis el iure et praestie tat aciduipitnumdolorperostrudmincitetiustruddel ullut nullam in ut utat aliquatumexerit,veliriuretatveletdoloborsuscilla

feugaitluteugait,venisnulputpatissi.Pisisci llaoreros ex et adipit at lore

tisldelitditnummynonsequam,vullumquam, vent in eugiat am in ut ad tievoluptat,velexeroodolesequataccumsanvullutpat,veralisitamdelingetumquitevolorat.

Oreeaconsedexerseddolumvelentlandreetuerautacillaneugaitvulluptatadiamet lummy nonsequi bla feugaitlummy nummod tie mincipis num-molumquisnostrudestruddolorinutat,velenit autpat num aliquip susciliquatnisitatluptat,consenismolumzzriureetumsan eriustie coreet, quis ea fac-cummynimauguemoloreminvendrersecteminget,quat.Patineafeuipitutlorperat.Utloredoeuguersequisiblaorincineafeuisnosnulluptatileufacipisieum quam vullan henis nullamet alitadignacoram,quat.Anditalissi.

Utdoconulputlanventadmodoodendremeugiametaderostinciblandiatiediamzzrildiamacilutpatat,coremdo

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commynumzzrillametveritvelitloborsustrudeaatetnullaoraliquipitamzzri-uretingelditluteconsefacilluptatadiamingetlumvelinheniserautadersectedipisit iustrud minim nim zzrilluptatutpraestisaciliquiperodoconsecteetlore dunt atet, consequ atiscipit lumnulputem ad mod tat. Amconsequatipit,conseddolortionsequatumsanutulla facilit wissi blam nibh eum zzritadeacommodolestinisaccummynimauguecorerciduisdignafeuisieafacinibhet iusci tio conse min ut at am quipitilismodiam,consedeafaciblaoretieveringeumnonsequamdoloreditnisiminitnulluptatueritinitpraessisat,sectedolutlut volore feugue minim nim dolortisdionsedeufeufaciniat.

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esenissim ing el enisim incin vullumeniscipeleniscipsuscipsusciduisi.

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nitdolortiemolestisnummolessit,corecommod tet prat dolut utat vulputat.Quipitalitingeugiatluptatuevoloreetluptatulputatnonulpute estrudmodioconutpatiecommynostislutatut lumvolortiodoloriritvulputullandremzzrildionsequamconsectetueradtemagnimquam veniamet et at lan ea am, volutacipeummynisiscinhendioodionummynonsedetenibheugiamconullanetwisdelit eu facin exero et, conse do com-modolumsanullutat.

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molesectet,consectemolumzzriurersedoconsectemvercillaoreminiateminibherilipissis at autat wissit veliquat. Illa faci tatwisnumautnuminutet,consentullaoremzzrilisnulputvendipsummynimetlutetinhendiodoodipsuscilutnibhetprat.Utloreduientalisatemvullaorperaestoodminget lor iritnostruderaesequatwissitadignacommodolendreriureeteliuscieugiamnitwismodolutat vero core venim eu feugaitvullaor percillan vel inismodolore faccumdoloreconsectemeroerilduisaccumsandit,senibh er sis nulla consequisi tissed mod-olobortiedocorevelismodolore temauteconsedduntnumdolorefaciniminveldoloreetueconsequatemveroet,quatemquatalisietloboremnosnimzzritnitwislexeriliquat,quamconsequitemvenimvullamzzriliquisnonsecte modolorem exero et aliquisis

doloboripsummynullamconullaortineugaitinullametdoloreestoexeliquatioodoloretinibheriritnit,velutetat.

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Agnismolore magniam inim venibh eufeugiamdolutatetpraestingexerodel incildo dolor suscidunt lorper init, quisl inimveraesenisi.

Iquamcommynostruddoloradiamcommynimquitinvelitdipit,consequipsuscilitvul-landrefeuguercidunteumzzrilitduiscipsumeliquatalitnonsequisalitveliquisleraugueeugiamconsectemvelitadtetamet,sumsanhenimdoeufaccummodignibheafacilisitloreros at lorperos autpatummod te tat,sequisalitinullaorsimdionutat.

Rudmolesequiseuguemincitem

CROSSTALK

Brand/model:EneryReferenceConnoisseurRC-70Price:C$2500/US$2000Size (HWD):100.2x19.7x35.5cmSensitivity:92dBImpedance:8ohms,dippingto4Most liked:QuipitalitingeugiatluptatuevoloreetluptatulputatLeast liked:Untniat.UtnostrudditlanvullutdolorVerdict: Ugaitnisdoloredionullafeufacieufeum?Feh!

Summing it up…

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We are used to gettingcallsande-mailsaboutyet another productthathasreceivedarave

review from someone at one of theworld’smanyaudiomagazines.Ofcourseifweagreedwithwhatgetswritteninothermagazines, therewouldbe littlepoint inproducingthismagazine.Andweareespeciallywaryof rave reviewsinvolvingdigitalproducts,becausesomeoftheworld’sworsthavebeenpraisedtotheskiesbysomeone. WereceivedseverallettersabouttheBenchmark DAC1, which Stereophilenamed“ProductoftheYear.”Weweremildlyintrigued,andwhenBenchmarkitself contacted us about a review, weaccepted. With most major manufacturersmovingtosingle-boxplayers,outboarddigital-to-analogconvertersaregettingrare,andthelawsofthemarketdictatethat rarity results in higher prices.What’sreallyunusualabouttheDAC1isitsprice:belowUS$1000. AlsounusualisthefactthatBench-markMediaSystemsisn’treallyacon-sumeraudiocompany.Itsproductsaremainlyaimedattheproaudiomarket:microphonepreamps,headphoneamps,andtheACD1…which,asyouprobablywillhaveguessed,isananalog-to-digitalconverter. The DAC1 was also a proproduct, complete with a wide rack-mountfrontpanel.Andthenthecom-panydecided tooffer it toconsumers,sanstherack-mountears. ThuspackagedtheDAC1issurpris-inglysmall,thoughbothfrontandrear

panels are quite busy. All the connec-tors you might want are there: XLR,TOSLINKandBNCcoaxialforinput(anRCAadapterfortheBNCissupplied,butit’snickel-plated),andbothbalancedandcoaxialforoutput.Therearpanelstillhasroomforauser-accessiblefuse!Theymusthaveusedashoehorn. Thefrontpanelhasaninputswitch,acoupleoferrorlights(indicatingeitherthatthereisnosignalorelsethatitisn’tthesortofPulseCodeModulationsignalit can decode), and a volume control.OfcoursethatmeanstheDAC1canbeusedwithoutapreamplifier.Youcanalsoswitch to one of several preset levels,adjustable from the rear with a smallscrewdriver.That’showweranitinourtest. Oh yes, there are also a couple offrontpaneljacks,because—asifalltheothergoodieswerenotenough—thisbaby isalsoaheadphoneamp, foryouandafriend.Weskippedthat,butwe’llreturntoitinalaterissue. Beingaproproduct,theDAC1canhandlehighdefinitionsignals,upto24bitswithasamplingrateof96kHz. WeranthelisteningtestinourAlphareferencesystem,comparingtoourownDAC,aCounterpointDA-10A,fedfroma CEC TL51X transport through anAtlasOpusdigitalcable. We began with a recording whichsounds so good on our own systemsthatitisdifficulttobelievesomeplay-ers and other components can mess itupsobadly:Now the Green Blade Riseth(PropriusPRCD9093).TheDAC1suredidn’tmessitup!Thechoralvoicesof

both men and women were attractive,withlayersofsoundrevealedinvibrantand limpid fashion. The flute, whichhas a solo at the start and then playsbehind the singers and the guitar, waseasytofollow.“Suchbeauty!”exclaimedAlbert. Gerard expressed the smallest ofreservations,notingahintofgraininessonthefemalevoicesandreducedbodyonthoseofthemen. Popovertowww.uhfmag.com,andcheck out the printed edition. Or theelectronicedition.

Odolenissequi ercilis nim ilit vul-landit, quamcommy nonulla faci blaconummynisdiametutpat,quat.

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magnafacillumdeliquitat.Duislincilluptat,sumsandreet aut at. Ut aut delenibh etvullumverosnimipitvelentlutat.Am,sit,sedmagnisametiureraestrudtisitnonsenitiustoconsequatiocoremagnafaccumzzritnonsequat. Ut lamet volessendrem ing eaconumsandrem nonsequatin veraestrud eaconsequat luptat. Magnis aut lobortinimerosent alitwisisnosnullamconsequiscilute min hendiate euguer sequipit, con velincipitveniamconsenisnit,quamveldolutetetirileniselentwiselingesequiseuisnostisetue te commy num venis endio dipsumsandreetnullut lorer ingea faci temvullanulput augiam, consenit ut wiscilla commynumverat,coreetueriurecoremipsusciluteconulluptatuersimdignisaliquametaciduiblaalitaugiationsectetumvenim

CROSSTALK

Brand/model:BenchmarkDAC1Price:US$975Size (WDH):20.5x21x4.5cmMost liked:MinisnostoodolorsedtionullutetemeugaitacilitLeast liked:IrildoconvolorsisnosnosnisVerdict:Etamzzriureetautemagnimesequisitloremolorem

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Remember when you couldbuy a replacement remotecontrol,andyoucouldteachitthecommandsofyourother

remotecontrols?Thatsurebeathavingfiveremotesspreadoutacrossthecoffeetable.Youknowwhoyouare. Butthenthemarketingmavenspipedup.Itseemsalotofpeopleouttherehadto put electrical tape across the frontoftheirVCRssotheywouldn’tseethedisplay f lashing 12 midnight all thetime. Teach commands to a universalremote?Yeah,right.Themanufacturers’toll-freehelp lineswereoverwhelmed.And besides, what did you do if youwere buying the replacement becausetheoriginalremotewasbroken? Enterthemodernuniversalremote,whichmaycostanywherefrom$12to$40,andwhichrequiresnomoreeffortthan looking up the number code foryour product and punching it in (thepeopleattheotherendofthetoll-freenumbercanevenhelpconsumerswiththat). With time, learning functionsbecame the province of expensiveremotes, some of them with absurdfour-digitpricetags.Whichistoobad,becauseaudiophilesandownersofhighend home theatre systems discoveredthattheyownedcomponentsthemakersof common remotes had never heardof. But the tide is turning, judgingfrom some recently-released units.The OneForAll Kameleon, reviewedinUHFNo.69,canlearnanythingyouwant to teach it, and its streetprice isoftenwellbelow$100.Now, fromthesame company, comes the URC10820(catchyname,that),whichhastheusualdevice codes you can punch in, butwhich can also learn. When we readthe press release listing the price asC$35,weinitiallythoughtithadtobeamisprint.Thenwediscoveredthatwhatthe press release calls “full learning”doesnotmeanlearningon every key.Itturnsoutonlythreekeys(L1throughL3) can learn (though they can learndifferentcommandsforeachofthetendevices controlled). We were bitterly

disappointed,untilwerealizedthatthefeature set was so rich we might notactuallyneedmorethanthreelearningkeys. Functions aside, the URC-thingit(thefocusgroupmusthavebeenlowoncaffeinethatday)doeslookandfeellikea $35 device, with generic styling andslightly spongy keys (the channel andvolume buttons are especially dodgy).Butthebuttonlayoutisdecent,andforoncethemutebuttonisn’thiddenawaysoyoucan’tfinditinthedark.Thebodyisquitelarge,withoutataperthatwould

allowittofitthehandcomfortably. Actuallythesetupcodesdoincludeseveralhighendbrands,suchasSonicFrontiers,BelCantoandMarkLevinson,not to mention long-vanished brandssuch as Audio Alchemy, though it istop-heavywiththelikesofLloyds,Sym-phonicandSoundesign.Ifyoucan’tfindyourowncode,youcanasktheremotetofinditforyou:forinstance,youcangetittocyclethroughallthepoweron/offcodesuntilyourproductresponds.Usingthisfeature,theOneForAlltookonlymomentstofindthecodesforevenour more obscure products, such astheMoonStellarDVDplayerandtheAttractionpreamp-processor.WeevenusedthemethodtofindthecodeforourHitachiHDTVmonitor,becauseitwasfasterthantryingtheeightcodenumbersprovidedforHitachi. There’smoretothiscleverremote,whichborrowsfromthecompany’smoreexpensiveremotes. Itmayoccur toyou that, althoughthisunitcancontrol10differentprod-ucts, in most cases you won’t want tocontroljustoneproductatatime.Whenyou’rewatchingbroadcastTV,say,you’llwant the channel buttons to changechannelsonyourTVset,cableboxorsatellitereceiver,butthevolumebuttonsshould control your amp or preamp.Nowwhat? OneForAllhasacoupleofsolutions.One is “Volume Lock.” As you mightguess, invoking this mode locks thevolume control in the mode you want(preamporamp)evenwhenyouswitchtheremotetosomeotherfunction(TVor DVD). The other, which we alsosawontheKameleonremote,iscalledKeymover.Onceyourproductcodesareenteredintotheremote,youcanmovethecodeforoneormorebuttonsintothefunctionofanother.Thisfeatureoffersmoreflexibilitythanyoumightguess. Let’s say you’ve successfully pro-grammedthecommandsforallofyourcomponents into the remote. Mostpeople don’t have ten components,so you’ll have buttons left over, suchas Aux1 and 2. Let’s make Aux1 the

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command set you want at hand whenyou’rewatchingaDVD.UseKeymovertomove thepreampvolumeandmutecommandsintoAux1,thenmoveintheplayer controls, and perhaps the com-mandtolowertheprojectionscreenintoplace.Thisisvirtuallyendless,anditcangiveyoualltheflexibilityyouneedevenwithoutusingthelearningcommands. Indeed, Keymover is not compat-ible with learning, because a functionyou taught the remote is not visibleto Keymover. That’s an unfortunatelimitation. Wedidfindthat,eveniftheremotehastherightcommandset,itmayomitcertaincommands.Theremoteassignednokeys forsuchcommonDVDfunc-tions as language and subtitles, nordiditassignkeystoswitchourpreampbetweensurroundsoundandstereo.Thelearningfunctioncameinhandy. The OneForAll can also acceptmacros,whicharegroupedsetsofcom-mands.Hereitislessflexible,thoughitwillbeadequateevenformosthighendusers.

AtthetopoftheremoteistheMasterPower Key, which can turn all yourcomponentsonoroffatthesametime.True,ifoneofthecomponentsdoesn’t“see” the remote, it will stay off, andwhenyouhitthebuttonagaintheotherswillturnbackoff.Howeverabriefpushwillactivatepowerforjustthecurrentcomponent.Clever. Moreusefulformacrosarethetendevicebuttons.Forinstance,whenyouchooseDVDontheremote,youcansetupamacrothatwillturnonyourplay-ersandswitchthepreamptotheDVD

inputandsurroundsoundmode.SettingupmacrosisalittlefinickybecausetheremotehasonlyanLEDforfeedback,butyou’llneedtodoitonlyonce. Finallytherearethreekeysspecifi-callydesignedforothermacros,labelledM1throughM3. Remotecontroldesignersaregettingsmarter,orperhapstheyfinallygottotrytheirownproducts.Werecallexpensiveremotes that wouldn’t do streams ofcommands. To raise the volume, youhadtopushthevolumebuttonforeachtinyincrement,youcouldn’tsimplyholdthe button down. Needless to say youcouldn’tgointofastforwardwithyourVCR,CDorDVDplayereither.Thesegoofsseemtobeathingofthepast. However this remote still will notwork with components that require asequence of commands. We are acutelyawareofthislimitation,sinceoneofourhometheatrecomponentshaspreciselythisrequirement. It’sourSimaudioMoonAttractionpreamp/processor.Pushthebuttonforaudioinputone,anditwillgotodigitalone. Want analog one, for TV? PushtheAnalogbutton,thenquicklyhitthe“1.”Thisisactuallytricky,andwedon’talwaysgetitrightthefirsttime. TheOneForAllremotecan’tdothisexcept manually. You can’t programa macro to do the sequence, becauseit leaves too long a gap between thecommands making up the macro.The Kameleon suffers from the samelimitation. Fortunately relatively few com-ponents require this sort of one-twosequence.Oneoftherareremotesthatwill take this requirement in stride istheHarmonic,reviewedinUHFNo.74.Since the Harmonic is programmedthroughthecompanyWebsite,wewereablesimplytoselecttheanalogoneinputwithout specifying a sequence. Onceprogrammed, that function could beincorporatedintoamacro. Foranumberofreasons,thisOne-ForAll remote is an impressiveone. Itwon’tenhanceyourcoffeetable,andyoumaynotwanttospendtheeveninghold-ingit,butonceyouhaveitprogrammedchancesareitwilldoeverythingyou’llwant. At the price, it can even be animpulsebuy.

Brand/model:OneForAllURC10820Price:C$34.95Most liked:SurprisingflexibilitydespitethelowpriceLeast liked:Awkwardshape,limitedlearning,nosequentialcommandsVerdict: Foronce,aremotethat’snotdumbeddown

Summing it up…

hi fi fo fumThe Goods

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935 Mount Pleasant RoadToronto 416-421-7552

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Oscar Wilde

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Have you noticed that, nosoonerhaveyoupurchasedexpensive cables for yourhome theatre system than

theychangethestandard?Assomeoneonce said, “Standards are wonderfulthings, that’swhywehavesomanyofthem.”

In the beginning… WhenyouboughtyourfirstVCR,thehomemanifestationoftheprofessionalvideotapemiracle,perhapsyouusedjustonewire:aflat300ohmantennacablethatconnectedtotheantennaterminalsofyourTV.Televisionsetsthenhadnoother input. If you got cable TV, youusedalittletransformertoconnectthecable company’s coaxial to the sameterminals. Thequalitywas terrible, and ifwedidn’tnoticeitwasbecausewewereso

thrilledtobeabletorecordvideoatall.Togetasignal intotheTV,theVCRneeded a tiny television transmitter,whichyousettoeitherchannel3or4,dependingonwhichonewasfree.Thenumberoflinesofresolution?Oh,let’snotgothere.

Getting in directly AsgameconsoleswereaddedtothoseexpensiveVCR’s,makersofupscaleTVsetsaddedanA/V(audiovisual) input.Onearlysetsyougottoitbyselectingchannel99(thatwas,ofcourse,beforecableandsatellitesystemsofferedmorechannelsthanthat).Therewerenowtwocables,bothof themresemblingaudiointerconnects,oneforvideo,theotherfor sound. Soon after the cables grewtothree,allowingstereosound.Afewadventurous souls connected only the(yellow) composite video cable to the

TV,preferringtoruntheaudiocablesdirectlytoanamplifier.Ah…hi-fi! Sortof.

Connecting up Super VHS Television sets had pictures madeupof480lines (100more inPALandSECAM countries), but the VCR wastopping off around 250 lines, oftenless.HowtogetmoreresolutionfromaVCR?EnterSuperVHS(Sony’sBetaalso had a hi-res system, but by thenVHS was nearly alone in the arena).A costly Super VHS cassette couldget some 400 lines of resolution ontotape.Thatwouldhavebeenwonderfulforthosewithdigitalsources,butwhowanted to buy a $15 tape? They werepurchasedmainlybyprofessionals,whoshotindustrialandweddingvideos,andwantedtobeabletoeditwithoutlosingtoomuchresolution. HoweverSuperVHScouldn’tdeliveritssuperiorresolutionthroughtheoldtwo-conductor composite video cable,andsoanewstandardarrived:S-Video(often confused with Super VHS,though the two are only tangentiallyrelated).Thismultiwirecablealsomadepossible anotherhigh-resolution videosource, the LaserVision videodisc. Agreatmanyfilmswere released in thisnow dead format, which may be thereasonhardlyanyonereleasedfilms inSuperVHS.

Separating the functions New technology should be simplerthan old technology, but that didn’thappen with video cables…not rightawayatleast.ThesingleS-Videocablebecamethreecables. Thatwasdonetoseparatethecolorsusedtomakeuptheimage,butactuallythat’stoosimpleanexplanation.True,the three wires (which typically usedphonoplugs,justliketheoldcompositecable,thoughsomeusedBNCtwist-lockconnectors)aretypicallycoloredinred,green and blue, but in fact the triplecable,called“componentvideo,”breaksupthesignalinquiteadifferentway. Componentvideotransmitsthecolor

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difference rather than actual colors.The“Y”channel(thegreenwire)car-ries luminance,which is thebrightnessvariation.Amonochromeimageneedsonly luminance of course. The “Pr”channel (the red wire) carries the dif-ferencebetweentheredsignalandtheluminance signal. The “Pb” channel(the blue wire) carries the differencebetweentheblueandluminancesignals.Tokeepeverythinginstep,syncpulsesaretransmittedoverthe“Y”luminancechannel.

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Pit vercilit alisiscip eraesto ea atisdolum aliquat. Duipiss equat. Eraestodoloriustiemodolortisadmagnitloreetautpatem dolorperci tatissit vendremveliquamcore ver sum volore consenitaugiat laore vero duisim iriure mingessendredoloradtisaditnonumquamdolore verit lum adiam zzrit, sectemquibla faccum illuptat.Utullanvoloripsuscipitnosessenisitverildolorsequip-susci eraesequi tinisim dipis nonsecteeuguerosto commodolore tem quamdolenisi.

Iquat.Utnisnullaoreminciduntullaconsequiblanessectetat.

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nullamdoloraugiamdolenibhexet ineafacipisdoloratatlortincipsusciblacommoloralitnosnullandrefeufeugaitiperoexexetumquislexerillamestrudtetionsentiuscilisi.

Loreetwisnostruddolortisi.Minitwissitetatacilisi.Ing ex eugait am, conulpute digna

faccum quat ut ing ex el dio essimdionsecteminheniamiritventlandiam,ventlorperaesecteditvolorevullafacilissequamconsed minciliquisl iustinimquat,quat.Utvelitnullafacinciteminet,sequatnuminveraestruderoconsedoloborperatutipisesequam,velitadipitillaautpatemzzriliquisiblaatetat.

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Ureetum zzrit ad tet praesequatauguerc iduissectem vullan veriliquisadiat.Essitnibhercillafeufacineugaitveniam,corperatvullaconsectetirillaoremolorerinvelendioconutet,coremineugait amet aut alisit ulluptatum duislulputatpraessitveldood tedolortinisalitutpatingeumsandreetwismoddolorsustio dolorper sustrud tin er ing eufaccumvelullaoreetueconerit, sequisnimveniametnummynostisi.

Gait nosto od magnibh et venimaliquip ismolenit er addolor adetwisaugiamatematpratineugait,convoloripisim nonsequam, volessit ut alit nul-laoredipsumsaneseddolentiniatwisadeufacitemesequametveleugaitprateeufeumsan ut iuscinim velessequis nostoodoloreet, vel ullaoreetue dolore feu-guerciblaorpersimzzritveroconsectemagnafaccumvelitipexersisi.

Luptat,venibhetuemagnaconsectemet,sitatvullaconullutpatvelit,velitetlaatemoditlumirilullafeumsanulputetlaacincipsusciduisi.

Minvolutpat.Lorperosaliquat.Gait praestrud el dolutpatum ius-

cilisexetalisnimduntdolorperostoetaliquisisit,quisi.

Nulla amcon euipsuscing ea augaitprat. Idunt la at. Iduipit irilit num exendignafaciblaconvenimirilitaugaitloboreetnonsendionsentluptat.Piterosniat.Nafeugiateconsectetalitwisliritacinhentalit, voluptatemadexeugaitlore consequ iscidui smoleni sismodolortinutataliquisniatis.

Making a First Impression

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UHF: Let’s begin with some background. You started out with a record company.Winston Ma: No, I started some 30years ago as a reviewer, writing aboutmusicandequipment.IwenttotheUKandmetthedesignersofLinn,RogersandSpendor.ManyyearslaterIbecamethe director of product developmentatRogers.When I retired Imoved toSeattle. That’s where I started FirstImpressionsMusic,thoughbeforethatIhadacompanycalledGoldenString.UHF: Why the change from Golden String to FIM?

Ma:Well, Iwasworking sohard thatmywifewascomplaining,sayingshehadbeenwaitingallherlifeformetogivesometimetoher.AndIneededabreak.SoIsoldGoldenString,whichwas inHongKong,beforetherégimechanged.ThatwaswhenImovedtotheUS.ButafterafewmonthsItoldmywifeIwas

dying,becauseIhadnothingtodo.UHF: And she agreed?Ma: She said itwouldbe all right if Istarted a small company without anyemployees,doingmaybeonerecordingayear.SoIstartedFIMin1997,with—unfortunately—tenrecordings.UHF: That’s enough for ten years!Ma: (Laughs) Business gets crazy, andmywifeiscomplainingagain,butthat’sthe problem with someone who is sofanaticalaboutsoundandmusic.UHF: What was your very first product, beyond the recordings?Ma: I don’t remember, because it allcamemoreor less at the same time. Ibegan with some refinement gadgets,whichIhadbuiltafter thinkingaboutthem two years. I worked with sevenengineers to work out how we couldbuild the most perfect music room intheworld.It’snoteasy. SoIbeganatthebeginning,whichisthepowersource.Noneoftheavailablewalloutletssatisfiedmyspecifications.SoIbuiltmyownoutlet,theA80,whichbecamesopopularImadesome30or40thousandpieces.MyJapanesedistributorwassellingathousandamonth.Thatwasmyfirstproduct!UHF: And then you moved on with more products.Ma:Thencablesandotherthingsgrewout of a natural demand, because Icouldn’tfindthesoundIliked.UHF: What’s the difference between a duplex wall outlet for audio, and the ones many audiophiles use, which are hospital grade?Ma:Thedifferenceis inhowbestthemanufacturer can insure a stable andpermanentgrip.Thenthere’sthemate-rialsused,whichshouldbegoodcopper.Andfinallythere’sthehousing,whetheritisstrongandsolidenoughtohavetheleastvibrationandresonance. Hospitalgradeoutletsareverygood,buttheymaynothavethebestsound.Theyaremadesotheywillnever fail,andsotheywillhavethebestpossibleconnection. But audiophiles have dif-ferentrequirements: thequalityofthecopper,andthenatureoftheoxidation

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Making a First Impression

We chat with Winston Ma of First Impressions Music

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process. Of course everything willoxidize over time, but you want it totakealongtime.Wearealsoconcernedover whether damping against vibra-tionandisolationagainstRFandEMIareeffective.That’snotofconcernforhospitals. Someaudiophileshavedeeppockets,but they don’t realize that perfectionstartsatthewall.Orevenfarther,inthestreet.Power is like theblood inyourbody.UHF: You have a number of anti-vibration products as well.Ma:Yes,becausethetuningofasystemrequiresmanythings,includingacousticpanels,andeachpartofthechainmusthave the least amount of colorationpossible. Many people consider vibra-tionandresonancetobethesame,butthey are different things. One simpleexample: you try tokeepa cable fromvibrating, but you don’t consider whatresonancewilldotoit.Orconsiderthepoweroutletandtheplug.Theirhous-ingswillhavealotofnoise,andyoumustovercomeit.LikewiseinaCDplayerorpreamplifier,thechassisitselfresonatesandbecomesageneratorofnoise. All the products I’ve introducedarenot forgimmicksor for show,butbecauseIneedthemsoIcanhavebettersound.UHF: For your own system?Ma: For my own system. As a resultpeoplelikeit,andsoImakemore.UHF: Take this equipment platform you make. It’s sitting on rollers.Ma:Yes.Iadmitusingballs isnotmyinvention,butIalwaysconsiderwhetherwecandosomethingbetter.Ifsomeoneisusingaballandapuck,Ithinkaboutusing twopucks. Ifonepucktakesout50%ofthevibrationandresonance,whynot100%?SohereIhavetwopucks.UHF: Which are identical.Ma:Whichareidentical.Thematerialusedcanresultindifferentsound.Thesearebrassplatedwithhardenedsteel.Theballsarehardenedsteel,butyoucanpaymore and get tungsten carbide balls,instead of paying thousands of dollarstochangeyouramplifier.Andtheverybestwouldbesiliconnitrite.Thiscanperformamiracleonyoursound.UHF: This is something you’ve determined by trial and error?

Ma:Yes,andbyphysicalcheckingandmanufacturers’ specifications. I willsoonbeproducingbetterpucks,madeofstainlesssteelthatisplatinum-plated.Butitmustbenonmagnetic.Theywillsoundevenbetter. Woodisverygoodforaudiophiles,but the best-sounding wood is ebony,which is prohibitively expensive. ThenextbestishardrockmaplefromMichi-gan. Itsnamecomes fromthe fact it’sveryheavy.We’ve compared, and thatisthebestthatispractical.Iemphasizethatwehavenogimmicks.Wecouldaddafancypianoblackfinish,butitactuallywouldn’tsoundasgood.UHF: What about the tuning blocks?Ma: This is an old idea. When I wasyoung, and when you were young, weusedtheVIPwoodenblocksontopofequipment.Istillrememberhowgoodthey were, but they don’t make themany longer, so I do, but with a lot ofchanges.It’sapieceofsolidmapleblock,and inside is a quantity of solid lead.UnderneathissomeERS.UHF: ERS?Ma:ERSisafinecloth,usedbythemili-taryforshieldingagainstradiofrequencyandelectromagneticinterference.IntheGulfWar,therewerecollisionsbetweenplanesbecause theirnavigationequip-

mentwas jammedbyRFandEMI,sosomeonecameupwiththisclothmadefromverythinwirescoatedwithTeflon,knittedtightlytogethertoformcloth.Itisveryeffective,butyouhavetoknowhow touse it, andparticularlyhow togroundit.ManypeopleuseERSbutgetso-soresults.UHF: That’s why you have grounding wires at the back of each tuning block.Ma:Yes.YoucanplaceatuningblockonaCDplayerorevenapoweramplifier,tofindthefocalpointofthevibrationandresonanceandstopthem.Itvariesfrommachinetomachine,soyouhavetousetrialanderror.Onceyouhavefoundtherightposition,youconnectthewiretogroundsothattheERSisactivated.UHF: That makes the system sound better?Ma: It makes it sound different. I saydifferent, not better. It depends on theparticularcharacteristicsoftheinstru-ment. If you place the tuning blockdirectlyoverthedigitalchip,youmayfindthatimmediatelyitsoundssomuchquieter,orsmoother. Youcanalsotrytheblockupright.Some people have found that ERS ismosteffectivevertically.Soyouhavetoplayandlisten,andthenyouuseanotherblockforthepreamp,andpoweramp.AttheendofthedayyoumayreadjusttheoneontheCDplayer.That’showyoutuneyoursystem.UHF: We presume your wife has despaired of seeing you retired.Ma:Shehasservedmeanultimatum.If I don’t finally retire this year, shewill leave for Australia and live withourdaughter.Thisisadilemmaforme,becausethepassiongoesonandIcan’tstop. Whenever I see anything that Idon’tfeelgoodabout,Itrytoimproveit.Andsometimesitworks.UHF: You have AC line filters too.Ma: Yes, the Energy Center line dis-tributor. There are a lot of them outthere, lots of filters. These filters aregood for some things, but not goodforsound,soIdesignedone.Atshows,exhibitorscomeandborrowthem,andtheycomebackandsaymineworkssomuchbetter.UHF: You enjoy this.Ma: It’s thekindof joy thatkeepsmyenergyalive.

“We have no gimmicks. I could add a fancy piano black finish, but it actually wouldn’t sound as good.”

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Must I present him as an unknown? As a creator unjustly treated by the musi-cal society of his time? As a

victim of the considerable celebrity of his contemporaries, notably Vivaldi, Bach and Telemann? How to explain his absence from the literature of Baroque music? Was he so banal, or even downright incompetent?

In an era of countless and diversemeansofcommunication,itisdifficult

toimaginethehardshipsoncefacedbyscientists,artistsandmusicians,whoseaccesstoinformationwaslimitedtooralcommunicationandafewjournalsandnewspapers.Whenwecomeacrossthegreatsofthepast,itisoftenthankstoa rediscovery, often in an astonishingcontext.Takethethreejustmentioned:Vivaldi,BachandTelemann. After knowing glory and good

fortune, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)diedpoorand forgotten.Anumberofthe works he had penned slept, over-looked,somewhereinacastle,until,byamysteriousstrokeofluckaconnoisseurwithanextraordinaryflaircameacrossthiscolossal treasure (seeRediscovering VivaldiinUHFNo.52forthatamazingstory). AsforJohannSebastianBach(1685-1750), much as he was admired in histimeforhisexceptionalgiftsfororganplaying,forimprovisationandevenfororganrepair,his talentof composerwasnearly unrecognized. It seems morethan likely that he published none ofhisworks.Eventoday,agoodthousandof his compositions may remain to becatalogued. Afteralongeclipse,then,Bachwasrediscoveredbyanenthusiastic20yearold admirer, Felix Mendelssohn. Thisyoungman,in1819,conductedaperfor-manceofBach’sSaint Matthew Passion,for thefirst time since thecomposer’sdeath.Sogreatwasitssuccessthatthiseventchangedthehistoryofmusicbyawakeningpubliccuriosityandinterestintheworkofthissublimecomposer.Itis,infact,thankstoanothermemberoftheMendelssohndynasty,hisgrandsonMoses,thatBach’smusicwassavedfromobscurity and the entire world under-stoodwhatamusicalgeniushewas. As for Georg Philip Telemann(1681-1767),despiteafamethatputintotheshademanyofhiscontemporaries,hetoowasforgottenafterhisdeath.In1919 French writer Romain Rolland(Nobelprizeforliterature,1915),wrote,“PosteritymadeTelemannpaydearlyfortheinsolenceofhisvictoryoverBach.Thisman,whosemusicwassoadmiredinallthecountriesofEurope,istodayanobjectofscorn.” Thathoweverbegsthequestion:howisitthatBach,nearlyignoredasacom-poser inhisday,hasknownunequalledfameformorethanacentury,whereasJohannChristophGraupner(1683-1760),whowasinhislifetimeasrespectedasHandel and even Telemann, has beenerasedfromthehistorybooks? ToattempttoclearuptheStrangeCase of the Forgotten Composer, wemust begin at the beginning. We willexamine his time, we will meet his

Finding Graupner

by Reine Lessard

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principalemployer,andwewillattempttogettoknowGraupnertheman.

Prelude to a detective story Itis1805andweareinDarmstadt,Germany. Johann Christian HeinrichRinckisavirtuosoorganist,composerand teacher, a student of J. ChristianKittel,whowashimselfthelaststudentof Johann Sebastian Bach. Rinck isnamedorganistinachurchclosetotheDarmstadtcastle,aposthewilloccupyuntilhisdeath40yearslater. During his long career Rinck, acollectorwhowilldoallhecantosaveworks he considers precious, bringstogether a collection of 473 musicalworksforkeyboard,manybymusicianswhogravitatedaroundJohannSebastianBach.Afterhisdeathin1846,hiscollec-tionisauctionedoff. It is purchased by an American,LowellMason,whoshipsitofftoBostonbysea.OnMason’sdeath,hisentirecol-lectionofsome10,000scoresisdonatedtoYaleUniversity.InthecollectionarethescoresMasonboughtfromRinck’ssuccession,including57worksbyacer-

tainChristophGraupner.Oneofthemis an anonymous copy of the originalPartien auf das Clavier, published inDarmstadtin1718.WenowknowthattheRinckcollectionisthelargestsourceofGraupner’smusicoutsideDarmstadt.

Enter Sherlock Holmes Knock and it shall be opened, seek and ye shall find, ask and ye shall receive. Inthat order, the three phrases describetheworkofonewhosetouttoperformthe colossal search which brought herwell beyond her original goal. I amreferring to the prestigious CanadianharpsichordistandorganistGenevièveSoly,showninthepictureabove. Soly,whoholdsadoctorateinperfor-mance,obtainsagrantfromtheQuebecCouncil of Arts and Letters enablinghertotakeasabbaticalyearandpursueherfieldofinterest.ForalongtimeshehasbeenfascinatedbyGermanmusicofthe18thCentury.Herproject:totrackdownoriginalsources.Hermajorgoal:to find a repertoire of German musicfromthe18thCenturynot published in the 20th Century. Itisnotmerechancethat,inNovem-ber 2000, brings her to the library ofYaleinNewHaven,forsheknowsaboutthe Rinck collection of 473 volumes.Soly,whohasalwaysenjoyedtrekkingthrough libraries in her travels, now

walksintoitwithaprecisegoal.Movingquickly through the index drawer fortheperiodthatinterestsher,shenotessome40cards, and fromthose40 sheselectseightthatmightyieldfirst-handinformationforhersearch.Forareasonthatmystifiesher,sheisunabletotearhereyesawayfromoneofthecards. ItisthatofacertainJohannChris-tophGraupner. She does not recognize the name.Onthecard iswritten:Partien auf das Clavier. Christoph Graupner, Darmstadt, 1718.Solyisastonishedandenthralled. Sheborrowstheeightbooksindexedonthecards.ThesecondonesheopensisofeightpartitassignedbyChristophGraupner in1726. “Igazed for a longtime,”shesays,“atthesepartitasIwasseeingforthefirsttime.”Eightpartitasisalot,severalhundredindividualpieces,a veritable collection. “I was at onceintriguedandembarrassed.HereIamwithadoctorateinperformance,some-onewhohasstudiedseriouslythehistoryofmusic.CouldIpossiblyhaveforgottensomethingofsuchimportance? “Totellthetruth,”pursuesSoly,“Ihadnopointofcomparison.Notmuchkeyboardmusicwaspublishedinthe18thCentury.TherewasCouperin,1713-14,andRameauin1714.Iwasgalvanized.Icouldn’tunderstand.AllIknewwasthatIhadbeforemesomethingofthefirstimportance.Thiswasgoodmusic,wellwritten,withbody,musicfromthemindofsomeoneIhadneverheardof.NearlyayearwentbybeforeIrealizedwhatIhadfound.Makingadiscoverydoesn’tmeanjustcomingacrosssomething,butrealizingyou’vemadeadiscovery.” Still astonished, Soly’s depth ofknowledge of music, and particularlyofkeyboardmusic,allowshertorealizethatshehasbeforeherincredulouseyesmusicofuncontestedqualitybyanearly18thCenturycomposer.Thisisamajor,masterlybodyofwork.Shemustknowmore. WhowasthisChristophGraupner?Whattothinkofhisprolificoutput,hiscreative power, his indubitable talent?Howisitthatthisthenfamousvirtuosoharpsichordisthad topublishmuchofhisworkathisownexpense,andevenengravetheprintingplateshimself? So impressed isSoly, and so awak-

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ened is her curiosity, that she scoursall research sources systematically forpiecesoftheGraupnerpuzzle.Initiallysheisdisappointed,findingonlyaveryfewpublications,allinGerman,butsheremains determined. When she feelsoverwhelmedbydoubtshetellsherselfthatifGraupneristrulythegeniusshehasbeen searching for,he cannothavepassedunnoticed,andshemustfatallyfind some trace of him. The thoughtcomfortsher. In May 2001 our musical SherlockHolmesmakesabreakthrough.ThankstotheWeb,shecomesintocontactwithDr. Oswald Bill, former director of alibrary, the Hessiche Landes-und Hoch-schulbibliothek of Darmstad. ThroughDr.Bill’s generosity, and thanks tohis own passion for Graupner, Solyfinallygainsaccesstotheneartotalityof Graupner’s music. And here endsthe suspense: the collection has beenwell kept, and is in perfect condition.Becauseofanunfortunatehappenstance,however, its existencehasbeen simplyforgotten. The story of this discovery is anexcitingone,asyou’llnodoubtadmit,likeaclassicdetectivenovel.Herearecharactersofabygoneageinafarawayland,andtwocontemporariesseparatedbyanocean,unitedbytheirpassionfortheharpsichordand for this forgottengenius.Andyetthereisacloudinthecentreofthissilverlining,fortheworksofGraupnermayyetbeforgottenevenatthatlibraryinDarmstadt.Dr.Billandthelibrarianofthetimehavingretired,thereisnowanewlibrarianwhoseemstohavelittleinterestforthepersonwhoisthesubjectofthisarticle.OurhoperestsonGenevièveSoly,whoseperseveranceisequaledonlybyhermusicalintuition,buttressed by her solid musical andmusicologicalknowledge.

Dr. Oswald Bill Hisownstoryisaninterestingonetoo.WhenhearrivedatthelibraryinDarmstadt,hedidn’tknowthatitheldtheworksofGraupner,nor seeminglydidanyoneelse.Buthowcan99.9%ofacomposer’sworksreposewithinahouseofculturewithoutanyonebeingawareofit? SaysGenevièveSoly,“WhenDr.Bill

first became aware of the existence ofGraupner,hehadashock,justasIwouldlateron.Hiscuriositywasawakenedandheundertookhisresearch,butwithoutbringingittotheattentionoftheinter-nationalcommunity.HespentlongyearscataloguingGraupner’sworks.Hemadeupspeciallinenfoldersplacedincartons,in alphabetical order, and he made upthe library index cards himself. ThecardsarecommonlyreferredtobythenameofIRMS,forInternational Reper-tory of Music Sources. He wrote downthecomposer’sname,thelibraryindexnumber, the title, the instrumentation

and so forth. He dedicated his life tomakingupthesecards,andestablishingthefirstcatalogoftheworksofChris-tophGraupner.” Analogous to Bach’s BWV catalognumbers (Bach Werke Verzeichnis),publishedin1950byWolfgangSchmie-der,Graupner’sworksarecataloguedbyGWVnumbers.CreatedbyDr.Bill,thecatalogwaspublishedin2005.

Graupner’s time JohannChristophGraupnerisbornin Kirchberg, in what is then Saxony,on January13,1683, in theageof the

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Baroque.HestudiesliteratureandlawattheThomasschuleinLeipzig.Helearnsthe harpsichord with cantor JohannSchelle and composition with JohannKuhnau. Kuhnauisalawyer,aswellasacom-poser,organistandharpsichordist,andas music director of four churches, inchargeofmaintenanceoftheorgansoftwoofthem.Heistheimmediateprede-cessorofBach.Heisquiteatutorfortheyoungboy,butintheearly1700’sSaxonyisinvadedbySweden,andGraupnerfleestoHamburg,leavingbehindhisbooksand manuscripts, as well as his lease.Heissoonbroke,butbyluckthereisavacancy for a harpsichordist accompa-nistattheHamburgOpera.Graupnerremains in thepost threeyears,whilecompletinghismusicaleducation. Healsoadoptsasamentorthemusi-

cal director of the opera, ReinhardtKeiser,himselfacomposer—hewroteeightoperasinasingleyear,some70inall,aswellasarias,cantatas,serenades,churchmusicandmore.Graupneractu-ally collaborates on two operas withKeiser,beforewritingseveralsuccessfuloperasofhisown,includingDido, Köni-gin von Carthagoin1707,andBellerophonthefollowingyear.Keiserwilllaterusesome of Graupner’s melodies in hisCarnival of Venice.

The germ of a career It so happens that prince ErnstLudwig, who reigns over the land-graviat of Darmstadt, in Hesse, is anaccomplished music lover and some-times composer of some talent. Onhis travels through Hamburg he seesone of Graupner’s operas, and burns

to introduce the youngman tohis court. In1709he names Graupner vice-Kapellmeister, and threeyearslaterpromoteshimtotherankofconductorandcourtcomposer.Graupnerspends most of his timecomposing and transcrib-ing, drawing on French,ItalianandGermanstyles. It’simportanttorecallthat the photocopier doesnot thenexist even in themost fevered imagination.Printingisexpensive,outofreachofmostpurses.Theresultisthatmostmusicis

publishedinveryfewcopies,typically12to20.Thusmostpeople,iftheywishtohavethescoreofawork,mustcopyitoutlaboriously.Somecopyistsgosofarastoimitateeventhelayoutandtitlepageof the original short-run publication.Graupner is no exception. Over andabovetheoriginalmusichewritesasaconditionofhisemployment,hecopiesortranscribesthescoresofthecompos-ers he most admires. One of these isVivaldi,whoalsoadmiresGraupneranddedicatesoneofhisconcertostohim. When Kuhnau leaves his post ofCantor at the Leipzig Thomaskirchein 1723, seven musicians apply for theprestigiouspost.Telemann,whoisthenmusicdirectorinHamburg,isselected,butsurprisinglyherefuses(hemayhaveapplied to persuade his employer togivehimaraise).ThecitycouncilorsofLeipzigthenturntoayoungmanwhosecompetenceandtalentareremarkable,ChristophGraupner. Buttheprinceisnotpreparedtolethis court composer leave his employ,and mollifies him with a substantialraise, permanent tenure at the court,employment for Graupner’s sons, andevenapensionforhiswifeshouldshebewidowed(Graupnerwillinfactoutliveherby18years).GraupnerrecommendstotheLeipzigcouncilorsthattheyhireJohannSebastianBach,whoacceptsandwillspendthelast25yearsofhislifeinthatpost.

Why so forgotten? According to official documents,

A Portrait of Graupner In1754,sixyearsbeforehisdeath,Graupnerbecomesblindandisthereforeunabletocompose.Onedayanartistcreepsintohisapartment,bentonpaint-inghisportrait.Sensingapresence,thecomposerfliesintoarage.Despitehisprotestations,thepainterdoesmanagetocompletehisportrait,whichremainsinGraupner’sfamily,inthehomeofhisdaughter. Timepasses… In theearly20thCentury, in theatticof theirhome, twochildrenfind thepaintingofsomeonetheydonotrecognize.Ignorantofthepainting’svalue,thechildrenareexcitedovertheprospectoffinallyhavingatargettheycanuseintheirdartgame.Theportraitissoonintatters. AcenturyandahalfafterGraupner’stime,thememoryofhimhasdisappeared.Noonesuspectsthatthefaceonthepaintingisthatofagenius.Thedamagedpaintingisputoutinthetrash.

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GraupnerworkedinDarmstadt53yearsandseldomtraveled.Duringallthattimehe has no students who might help topopularizehismusic.Whatismore,heisofextrememodesty.Heworksasifitisthemostnaturalthingintheworldforhimtodotheworkhewashiredtodo,muchasstreetcleanersweepstheroadbecausethatishisjob.Truthtotell,heisnotmuchconcernedwithleavinghismarkonthehistoryofmusic,oronhis-toryatall.Unlikesuchcontemporariesas Telemann, he is little preoccupiedwith the popularization of his music.Hismodestyexplains,inpart,whythisarticlefeaturesnoportraitofthegreatman.SeeA Portrait of Graupneronthispage. ButcanGraupner’slegendarymod-estyaloneexplainhisorder that,afterhisdeath,allofhisworksbecastinthefire?Thatseemsdoubtful.Hemustbeconscious of the talent that is his, forhowelse couldhekeep companywithremarkablecomposerswhoexpresstheiradmirationandrespectforhim? Thereisanotherhypothesis:thathefearsbeingjudgedbyhispeers.Itisofcoursenotuncommonforthetalentedto suffer from an inferiority complex,or what psychologists call a charlatan complex,afearthat,againstallevidence,praiseisundeserved.Itistruethatheissurrounded by gifted composers, whomight be tempted to disparage him ifonlybyjealousy. W hatever t he reason, t hat i sGraupner’sinstructiontohissuccession.HediesinDarmstadtonMay10,1760.Heis77.

Sad consequences WithGraupner’sdeath,hisexecutorsarefacedwiththehighlyunusualrequesttodestroyhislife’swork.Howevertheycomeupagainstfierceoppositionfromthe court of the landgraviat. Has thecomposernotreceivedajustandequi-tablecompensationforhisworkatthecourt,includinghiscompositions?Andthat being the case, do his works notbelongtotheprince’scourt? A n epic bat t le is fought, withGraupner’s heirs on one side and thelandgraviatofDarmstadtontheother.Itwillbesettledonly59yearslater,in1819,withrecognitionoftheDarmstadt

court’s ownership of all Graupner’smusic. This is but a half victory forGraupner’s legacy,however, for in themeantime the earth has continued toturn.Other composersof geniushavearrivedonthestageofthemusicalworld.Othermusicalgenreshavebeenborn,the Classical and then the Romantic.Musical society has lost all interest inthe music of the past, and ChristophGraupnerisforgotten. His manuscripts and autographsremained in the libraryofDarmstadt.Thankstotheprescienceofthelibrar-ians its collections survived theAlliedbombingsof1944,whichdestroyedtheentire city. They belong today to theuniversitylibraryinDarmstadt.

Graupner the man In1711ChristophGraupnermarriesSophie Elizabeth Eckard, who giveshimadaughter,MariaElisabeth.Theirbeloveddaughterwillmarryandproducesevengrandchildren.GenevièveSolyhasaportraitofher,though,asmentioned,notofGraupnerhimself. On March 19, 1715, the day aftera fire at the Darmstadt castle, is bornGraupner’s first son, who is namedChristoph. He is followed by anotherson,JohannChristoph,whointurnwillhavetwosons.OthersonswillincludeGeorg Christoph, who will becomecourt gamekeeper, Ludwig Christoph,andHeinrichChristoph,whowillbetheprince’svalet.Nonewillbemusicians. LikeBach,andlikemostothergreatcomposersofthetimeincludingKuhnauandTelemann,Graupnermustperformdiversetasks.Heisatirelessworkerwhoputsinlonghours.Composingisoneofhisduties,andsohewrites“alimentarymusic,”literallymusicforfood.Ontopofhisheavyworkload,heconductsthecourtoperauntil1720.EachSundayhemustproduceanewcantata.“Ibelieve,”saysanadmiringGenevièveSoly,“thathemusthaveworked agood70 to80hoursaweek.Hetooknovacations,anddid not even spare time to answer hismail.Notonlydidhewriteagooddealofmusic—morethanBachinfact—butoncetheseworkswerewrittenhehadtoconductthem!” A meticulous worker, Graupnerleavesnothingtochance,addingcopious

indicationsofdynamicsandtempi,notonlyontheoverallscorebutevenonthepartsforindividualinstruments. Hishandwrittenscoresaresobeau-tiful theyappear tobeengraved,withcalligraphyofexemplaryperfection.Thescoreatthestartofthisarticle,engravedbyGraupnerhimself,indicateshissearchforperfection. Hisoutputseemslimitless.Hewritesanumberofoperas,ofwhichseveralfindfavorinmusicalsociety.Bythetimehiseyesight fails he has composed nearly2000 remarkable works: 1418 churchcantatasand24secularcantatas,morethan 40 concertos with wind instru-mentsolosintheVivaldistyle,aswellasoverture-suitesfororchestra,sonatas,chamber music, keyboard works…inshortanextraordinarybodyofwork. Hisorchestraofover40musiciansis reputed throughout Germany, andheisappreciatedbythemusiciansbothforhisowntalentsasaperformerandfor his matchless skill in orchestralmanagement. Some of the most important writ-ings on music between 1739 and 1812

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mentionChristophGraupnernotonlyas a composer, but also as a virtuosoharpsichordistandanexcellentconduc-tor.Hisreligiousmusicisreferredtoasinspired, as are his harpsichord worksandhisfugues,andheisnotedforhisremarkableprofessionalrigor. That makes his total eclipse evenmoredifficulttounderstand.

The impossible comparison Can Christoph Graupner be com-paredtoJohannSebastianBach? GenevièveSolyfindsthedifferencesevidentandenormous.True,Graupner

was a genius andhedid much for theprogressofmusic.Hewas,forinstance,thefirsttousetheoboed’amore,whosetender and caressing sound is that ofallinstrumentsofsimilarname.“ThatwasfouryearsbeforeBachusedit,”saysSoly, “andhedid agreatmany thingsbeforeBachdid.”Itisclearthathewasontheforefrontofthedevelopmentofharpsichord technique. Soly explainsthatshebelievesthatBachhadaphysicallove for the organ, whereas Graupnerhadaphysicallovefortheharpsichord.“Graupner wrote harpsichord musicforhisownpleasure,andnotjustasan

obligation,aswassooftenthecasewithcourtcomposers.”Itisnosurprise,then,thathewasabletodrawsoundsfromhisinstrumentneverheardbefore. As for Bach, says Soly, “He is ina totally separate category. He was amusicalgeniusalongthelinesofMozart.Or of Monteverdi, who invented theBaroquestylefamiliartouseventoday.Or,inadifferentsphere,likeLeonardoda Vinci. Bach is incomparable. Hisintimateunderstandingofmusicplaceshimoutsideofanycategory.Itisasifhehadnophysicalbody.” Mere physical constraints did notexistforhim.WhichdoesnotpreventChristophGraupnerfrombeingoneofthe most important harpsichord com-posersoftheBaroqueera. Letusdefinesometerms.Amanu-script is the original version of thecomposition.Anautographisacopyofthescoremadebythecomposerhimself.Thescoremaythenhavebeenengravedonacopperplate,whichcouldthenbecoatedwithinktomakeprintedscores.Graupnerwasengravinghisownplates,andSolyhasseveralscoresmadefromGraupner’s own plates, most preciousdocuments whose very existence wasunknownnotlongago.“Nowadays,”shesays,“Graupner’scantatascometomeinautographform.Theycan’tbereferredto as publications, since Graupner wasnotapublisher.”Sheshowsoneoftheautographs. Graupner was personallywritingnotonlythefullscoresbutalsothepartsforindividualplayers.Profes-sionalcopyistswouldthendotherest.Therearethereforetwosources,fromGraupner’s own hand and from thecopyists. Geneviève Soly would make morediscoveries,aidedbyherrenewedstudiesof theGerman language.She is todaythe reigning authority on Graupner,anditappearscertainthathisbodyofreligiousworksisthelargesttobefoundinGermany.Musicalsocietyandhistorywilloweheraneternaldebt.Sheandherensemble, Les idées heureuses, programcantatas and sonatas by Graupner intheirconcerts,andhaveproducedseveralrecordings.Theywilldothesamewithconcertos and many other fascinatingworks,includingmassesandoratorios. Operastoo?Timewilltell.

Geneviève Soly At her keyboard is GenevièveSoly,globalauthorityonGraupner,andfounder in1987ofaBaroqueensemblecalledLes idées heureuses,literally“happyideas.” The ensemble is based in Montrealandisincreasinglypopular.Theseexcel-lent,livelyandadventuresomemusicianshaveespousedtheGraupnerprojectwiththegenerosityandpassionthathasalwaysbeentheirs.“Beforethestartofourgreatadventure we were playing chambermusicandIwasn’tconducting,”saysSoly.“Graupnerbroughtabouttherestructur-ingofthegroup,andsincehearrivedIhavebeenconducting.” Thegroup’scurrentcalendarincludesan astonishing number of concerts,applauded by music lovers who areenthusiasticforBaroquemusic,andwhoadmire the ensemble’s excellence. TheconcertseriesinFrancefornextsummerwasalreadyconfirmedbyJanuary.ThefallseasonwillopenwithaprestigiousconcertprecededbyacolloquiumonthereligiousmusicofGraupner,onthesubjectofhiscycleofThe Seven Words of Christ on the Cross.ThisworkwasplayedinMontreallastyearforthefirsttimesinceDarmstadtin1743. TherearecountlessconcertseitherconfirmedorinnegotiationacrossEurope,inCanadaandintheUnitedStates.ImightalsomentioninvitationstoGenevièveSolytoparticipateinothermajorculturalevents,includingconferencesandmasterclasses. TothewritingofarticlesonSoly’sfavoritesubjectandthepreparationofscoresforpublicationcanbeaddedherimpressivediscographyofmusicbyGraupnerandothercomposers.Currentlyinpreparationisaninstrumentalseriesandoneofpartitasfortheharpsichord,for,needIrepeat,GenevièveSolyisfirstandforemostamusician. SeeSoftware Reviewsinthisissueforalookattwoofherrecordings.

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The Artistry of Linda RosenthalLindaRosenthalFIMFIM022VDLessard: An eclectic music lover isFIM’s Winston Ma, and he proposesrecordingsbyparticularlytalentedart-istsindiversegenres. Thisviolinrecordingisinitsthirdrelease by FIM. The first two were,respectivelyinSACDandXRCD.Thisone is encoded in HDCD, with theadditionalinnovationofwhatFIMcalls“BlackVinyl.”ThisisnotthefirstCDwithalabelfashionedtoresembleanLP,butwhat isunusual is that thereversesideisnotsilvery,asisusual,butblack.The æsthetic aspect will please thosewhoare,likeus,nostalgicforthegoodolddaysofvinyl. Rosenthal, who enjoys a world-wide reputation, accompanied on thisrecordingbythedazzlingpianoofLisaBergman,studiedwiththegreats:JosefGingold,OscarShumsky,andespeciallythe 20th Century violin icon JaschaHeifetz.Itisclaimedshewashismostbrilliantpupil,andthereislittlereasontodoubtit. She plays pieces that are familiar,thoughonedoesn’ttireofthem,start-ingwiththeHora staccato.ThehoraisapopularJewishdancethathasinspirednumerouscomposers,includingRoma-nia’sGrigorasDinicu.Therehavebeennumerousarrangementsof theDinicuhora,includingthisonebyHeifetz,whoused it in his own concerts. Like thepiecesthatfollowitpresentsgreattech-

nical difficulties, which Ms Rosenthalovercomeswithease.ItisfollowedbyabreathtakingCsardas,atraditionalHun-garianGypsydance.Theword,bytheway,referstoacountryinn,whereeachSundayyounggirlsperformtraditionalfolkdances.Thepieceismorefamousthanitscomposer,VittorioMonti,andIknowfewpeoplewhohavenothearditatleastonce. Thosefirsttwopiecessetthestage.TherearethenexcerptsfromBanjo and Fiddle (William Kroll), Fiddler on the Roof,From the Homeland(Smetana),theRumanian Folk Dance(Bartok),ClaudeDebussy’spoetic reverieBeau soir, andOrorofAlanHovhaness).Therhythmsaremostlyvibrantandvigorous,markedbyiridescentflickersthataregenerouslydynamic,withacontagioussensitivity,onan instrumentthatseemsmadeforthismusic.Aviolincanbethebest intheworld,butitisthemusicianwhohasthelastword. Ilistenedseveraltimes,andeachtimeI was surprised by the bowed effects,thebowseemingtodomorethanjusttouching or stroking the strings, butwhichseemsto impregnate themwiththeartist’sspirit. I’dlovetohavemetLindaRosenthalinperson,toletherknowthepleasureshehasgivenme.

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante

IgorOistrakh/DavidOistrakh/MoscowPhilharmonicFIMXR24069Lessard: With the Moscow Philhar-monicunderthebatonofthecelebratedRussian conductor Kyril Kondrashin,twoRussianmusicians,fatherandson,serveupapairoffamousMozartpieces.The skillof the twoOistrakhson theviolinlongagomadethemfamousontheworldstage,andtherichorchestrationofthefirstofthesetwoworksmakeofthisrecordingararesuccess.ThelightandcaptivatingviolinofIgorandthewarmviolaofpapaDavidunitedtoenchantuswithfinelyricalflights,orwithasortofdialoguebetweentheirtwoinstruments,which share perfect understanding,grace,lightnessandexpressiveness. The pièce de résistance on theprogram is the Sinfonia Concertante K364, which dates from 1779 and isconsideredoneofMozart’sbestpieces.Itissaidthat,onavisittoParis,MozartheardanexampleofthisconcertostyledatingfromtheBaroqueeraandwhichremained popular. With this piece hereinvented the genre. It is often per-formed,andneitherperformersnorthepublicseemtotireofit. It ispertinent tocall thisamaturework,asifonecanspeakofmaturityofacomposerwhowilldieat35,halfwaythroughanormallifespan.Hewas23,anditwasadarkperiodinhislife,whenhisfameamongthepowerfulwasbehindhim, and he was facing his mother’sdeath an a thousand little domestictroubles.Ah,astonishingMozart,seem-inglyusinghismusictotranscendlife’stroubles! TheAllegro maestosoisfullofdazzlingverve,afterwhichweareplungedintoa poignant Andante of incomparabledepth. It ishere thatyoucan take themeasure of the musicality and refine-ment of our two musicians. Here andthere— no surprise considering theirnationality— their playing seems toevoketheSlavicsoul.Deliberate? Nomatter,theymakeMozartsingwiththeirbows. Throughout the Presto, the musi-

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ciansdeploybrilliantthemes,filledwithelegance. TheCDendswiththethreemove-mentsoftheDuo for Violin in G, K423,inwhichtheviolindominatesthemelodicline, but without overwhelming theviola,whichdevelopsitsownthemesofgreatrichness. This XRCD production by FirstImpressions Music was done by goingback to theoriginal1963master tape.FIM’s Winston Ma calls the originalrecordingoneoftheverybestproduc-tionsinthehistoryofrecording.You’lllistentoitwithdelight.

Mozart SonatesLudwigSémerjianAtmaACD22246Rejskind: For many years there hasbeen a debate about the pertinence ofthepianoforte—theearlypiano—asopposedtothemodernpiano.IsitnotbesttolistentoBeethovenandMozartonthepianostheythemselvesknewandcomposed for? Perhaps. On the otherhand,ifBeethovencouldreturnandputhishandsonthekeyboardofamodernBösendorferorFazioli,wouldhenotbethrilled? Idon’tproposetoofferthesolutiontothisdebate,butIcansaygoodthingsabout a pianist who espouses the firstproposition,at leastup toapoint.Onthis CD this young Canadian pianistplaysthreeofMozart’smaturesonatas(the K333, 282 and 330) on a periodpiano. It isn’t a piano Mozart himselfwouldeverhaveseen.Hediedin1791,and the pianoforte Sémerjian playsis from 1817. It is, however, a twin toanother piano (unplayable today) that

belongedtoBeethoven! ItshouldbesaidthattherearealotofBeethoven’spianosoutthere.That’sbecausetheEnglishpianomakerJohnBroadwood, each time he brought outanewmodel(whichhedidnearlyeveryyear)wouldsendonetoBeethoven. Sémerjiannotes thatMozart is theoldest piano composer whose worksremain in major repertoires today.Because he knew the piano from itsinfancy,hesawitdevelopoverhisshort

lifetime, and his style of compositionevolvedwiththefortepiano’stechnicalcapabilities. The K282 is from 1775,whenMozartwas19(butofcoursehewasanadultlongbeforethatage),andthetwoothersfrom1782and1784.Evenduringthatinterval,thepianofortediddevelop,inparticularpickingupgreaterdynamicpower.ItisevidentthatMozarthad grown more sophisticated by thetime he wrote the later sonatas, andhis greater use of dynamic contrast is

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undoubtedlyrelatedtowhatthepiano-forteitselfwascapableof. I’veheardbothMozartandBeethovenplayedonoldpianofortes,particularlyBroadwoods, and most of them arein doubtful shape, letting you hearthe creaking and groans of the agedmechanicalpartsalongwiththenotes.That’sthecaseofseveralofthepianosofPaulBadura-Skoda,whofavorspiano-fortesandplaysthemasthoughhewerechanneling the composer. Despite theclarity of this recording (about whichmoreinamoment),nosuchnoisescanbeheard. ThepianoforteplayedhereisintheBeethovenhausMuseuminBonn.Natu-rally, you don’t entrust an instrumentlikethistoUPS,andsoSémerjiantrav-eledtothemuseum,whichhasaconcerthall,forthisrecording.SothereforedidJohanneGoyette,whoownsthisCana-dianlabelanddoesitsengineering. Theresultisanhourofsheermagic.Ludwig Sémerjian is young but (likeMozart I’m tempted to say) he playswith astonishing maturity. His tempiare quite quick, but the playing is

clear,with amasterlyuseof rhythmicvariations—whatwouldlaterbecalledrubato —andallthedynamicsofwhichhisinstrumentiscapable. AlsocontributingtothepleasureisGoyette’sengineering.Sémerjian’spianoisnaturalsized,neitherjustaspotinthecentre nor an outsized monster goingfromonewalltotheother.Reverbera-tionisaudible,butitdoesnotdominate.This is, from every point of view, awonderfulrecording.

Brahms Piano Concertos and Solo WorksKuerti/Orch.MétropolitainAnalektaAN29205-7Lessard:QuiteacollectionacrossthreeCD’s.ThefirsttwocontainthefirsttwoofBrahms’fourpianoconcertos,andthethird different Brahms works for solopiano.AllofthemareplayedbyCana-dianpianistAntonKuerti,accompaniedontheconcertosbytheOrchestreMét-ropolitainduGrandMontréal,underitsthenconductorJosephRescigno. Much has been written about theConcerto No. 1,whichwaslittleappreci-ated at first, but which was eventuallyadoptedbytheintelligentsiaoftheworldmusicalcommunity.Itisapiecethatissumptuous, sometimes shattering, atother times warm and moving, writ-tenwhenBrahmswas24.The secondconcertoisfrommuchlater. Thisversiongreatlydisappointedme,andmydisappointmentisdueneithertothevalueofthemusicnortotheconduct-ingofmaestroRescigno,whoI’vealwaysrespected and whose passage throughMontrealwasall toobrief.RatherI’mdisappointedwith the recording,done

seven years ago by engineers who arenotthoseofAnalekta.AnevengreaterdisappointmentisKuerti’splaying.Thepassagesthatshouldbelyricalareplayedponderously,asare indeedallof theseworks. Forcomparison,I’vejustlistenedtotheGilelsversionoftheconcertos,withJochum and the Royal Philharmonic.Incredible how different two readingscanbe!Ialwayshatetobenegative,butIoweittoyoutoletyouknow.

GhostsBoyd&PhilharmoniaàVentKlavierK11150Rejskind:Windbandmusicseemstobeacategoryofitsown,andrecordstoreshaveyettofigureoutwhattodowithit.Isitclassical?Sometimesitis.Popularmusic?Sometimes,but itwilldo littlegood to file it next to Madonna andNickelback.WorldBeat?No,no! Solet’sputasidethelittleboxesandconsiderthisrecording,bythePhilhar-monia à Vent Wind Orchestra, on itsmerits.Whicharemany. GhostsisasuiteofninepiecesbySte-phenMcNeff,onwhathavetobecalledhauntingthemes.Thefirstofthepieces,titled The Haunting, begins with therattlingofdistantchainswhichappeartobewaybeyondthewallsoftheroom.Butdon’tturnupthevolumetoomuch,becausethepassagethatfollowswilltaxyoursystem’s(andyourears’)dynamiccapabilities. The horrific crescendoseemstogoonforever. But I amnotusing theword“hor-rific”asacriticism,forthatisentirelytheappropriatetone.Severalofthepieces,includingthesecondone,The Gray Lady,couldbemusic forhorrorfilms, if the

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moviemakers actually had the budgetformusiclikethis. Someelementsinthesuitehavegaymoments,suchasThe Polish Sailor,butallhaveatleastanundertoneofforeboding,somethingthatkeepsyoufromrelaxing,whichkeepsyoulookingbehindyou. McNeffisIrish,andIwasnotentirelysurprisedtohearthat,whenhewasastu-dentinLondon,hewascomposingmusicfor student film productions. Theatremusicishisgreatlove.Itfigures. ThoughGhostsisthebestthingonthisrecording,thereismuchmore.ThereisaninterestingCapricciobyGustavHolst,bestknownforhistonepoemThe Plan-ets.ThereisasuitebyRichardRodneyBennett, Morning Music, which bearslistening.Christhoper (notamisprint)Marshall’s L’homme Armé Variations islessinteresting,andIcouldn’tgetallthewaythroughit. I did mention the sound, didn’t I?I’veheardalotofwindbandrecordingsovertheyears.Thesoundonthisoneisa summit. I recommend it warmly…ifthat’sthewordforadisctitledGhosts.

JourneyGrzegorzKrawiecM•AMo68ALessard: It was at the dawn of theRomanticerathataplumpnewinstru-mentwithapowerfulsoundarrivedonthemusicalstage.Itwasthepianoforte,whichquicklyoutclassedallotherkey-boardinstrumentsbutthepipeorgan,tosuittheneedsoftheeverlargeconcerthalls.Theharpsichordsurvivedonlyasaninstrumentforperiodmusic. Theguitarwasalsoeclipsed,servingtoaccompanyvoiceor sometimesas acontinuo,ornowandtheninchambermusic. No matter. Some exceptional

guitarmakers,musiciansandcomposerscametogethertocreateanewrepertoirethatcouldgivetheinstrumentitssecondwind.InSpaininparticular,FranciscoTárrega(1852-1909)encouragedguitar-iststoestablishanewstyleofSpanishmusic. Its seeds were carried to otherlands by troubadours and travellingmusicians, and it took route acrossEurope. ThisCDfromM•A,whichismeticu-lous in its choice of music and in thecare it takes in recording, is entirelydedicatedtosologuitar,andinvitesustoamusicalvoyageacrossEuropethroughthe Baroque, Classical and romanticperiods. Our guides are the talentedyoungguitaristGrzegorzKrawiec,andthe composers who emulated Tárregaand created magnificent variations ondeathless melodies, as well as musicwrittenspecificallyfortheguitar. ItopenswiththeCarnaval de Venecia, as imagined by Paganini, who drewdeliriouslyfromhissixstringsuniqueeffects.Theillustrioussorcererwrotefortheguitaraswellastheviolin,thoughthesixvariationsonPaganini’smusicarefromthepenofTárrega.LikePaganini,hetooworkedtirelesslytoprovokesur-prisebyimaginingcountlesseffects. WhatisevidentfromthefirstnotesisKrawiec’sadorationofhisinstrument.He produces notes of rare beauty, thestrings caressed rather than pinched,

thoughinastylethatisnotallflowery,adorableglissandos,pregnantpauses,anexquisitedynamicrange,anexacerbatedsensitivity,allforourgreaterpleasure. As the recording proceeds, thecharmcontinuestooperate.Thereare

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superbworksforsologuitarbyFrance’sFrancisKleynjans(1951),Italy’sNuccioD’Angelo (1955), Germany’s HanzWernerHenze(1926),Hungary'sJohannKaspárMertz(early19thCentury),andPoland’s Sylwester Laskowski (1973).The finale is a set of grand variationsfrom Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz onLa ci darem la manofromMozart’sDon Giovanni. The recording was done in thechurchofSt.MarkinCracow,Poland.Iftherecordingqualityisremarkableandthecompositionssplendid,theguitaristherefeaturedisabsolutelyexceptional.

Marin Marais: Three suitesAlvares/Alarcon/CostoyasM•AMo69A

Lessard:Thisrecordingbringsusbackto the film Tous les Matins du Monde,directedbyAlainCorneauintheearly90’s,onthelifeofMarinMarais(1656-1728). Is itnot thanks to thefilmthatso many music lovers discovered thisimmortal violist and composer, not tomentionhis instrument, thebassviol?TheCDbox(whichiscardboardratherthan plastic, which I appreciate, and Iwouldhaveappreciateditevenmoreifthetextincludedwerereadable)includesLe Tombeau de Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe(atitleenigmaticenoughtoraisehealthycuriosity,despitethegrossmisspellingon the booklet) and three suites fromMarais’Pièces de viol.The threebeginwithapreludeandareofdifferentmood,seriousorgaybutalwayspleasant. TheTombeau(thegrave)ofthetitlerefers to Marin Marais’ teacher, thecelebrated Sainte-Colombe, who was,youmayrecall fromthefilm, insanelyjealousofhispupil.ThejealousyseemssurprisingwhenweknowtheadmirationMaraisboreforhim,goingsofarastohideunderthefoundationstohearhimplayandsoundouthissecrets. MarinMaraiswroteseveraloperas,greatly influencedbyLully,but itwaschieflyasamusicianandcomposerforthebassviolthathewassofamousinhistime.Theinterestinhimisperpetuatedthankstoexceptionalmusiciansliketheoneonthisrecording,AndreadeCarlo.

Burstingforthfromhisinstrumentsareornamentalnotes,trills,andallsortsofeffects that recall thehumanvoice, asonlyatruevirtuosocando.FortheSuite in D Minorfortwoviols,SergioAlavarezjoinsDeCarlo.LeonardoFarciaAlarconplaysharpsichordandDoloresCostoyasthe theorb, with direction by RogerioGonçalves. Lovers of this music from the endof the Renaissance and the beginningoftheBaroquewillbedelightedbythisrecording, whose sound qualities areirreproachable.Formypart,themoreIlistenthemoreIgetintoit,andmoreIfindelementsthataretouching,suchasthegaietyofcertainpassages,orinothercasesanausteritythatcanbeconsideredpeaceful. At once for musical and technicalreasons,thisalbumdeservesaplaceinyourCDcollection.Don’thesitate,forlifeisshort,andweneedtosprinkleonitallofthehappinesswecan,tobringoutthesuninthemidstofclouds.

For more about this composer, see Finding Graupner in this issue.

Graupner: Instrumental & Vocal Music vol.1Soly&LesidéesheureusesAnalektaFL23162Rejskind: The first time I listened toa recordingof themusicofChristoph

Two by Graupner

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Graupner— and it was in fact thisone—thequestionIwantedabovealltoanswerwasthis:is Graupner really a long lost treasure, or is he a mere curiosity, another of those generic composers who is forgotten for good reason? I didn’t have to listen very far toconcludethatthefirstsuppositionisthecorrectone.Thisrecording,oneofeightfromGenevièveSolysofar,openswithachurchcantata,Ach Gott und Herr.Ifyouexpectchurchmusictobeheavyandevenlugubrious,Graupnercansurpriseyou.Thereisa joyouslightnesstothetwo Arias and the Recitativo. ShouldImakeacomparison toBach?This isclosertoBach’ssecularcantatas,whichwere crowd pleasers. There was nogloom in Darmstadt even on Sundaymorningontheevidence. TheConcerto for Bassoon, Two Violins, Viola and Bassisadelight.Thebassoonisplayful,whichsuitsitscharacterwell.Themusicisfullofattractivemelodies.ImpossibleheretocomparewithBach.He is closer to Handel if anything,and the final Allegro of the concertocould have come from him. Handel’sbest-knownmusicwasintendedforthecommercialtheatre,andhehadgonetoItalytostudytheItalianstyleLondon-erscouldn’tgetenoughof.Graupner’sbackgroundwasutterlydifferent,butIsuspecthehadanearforthestylesthatweregoingaround. TheSonata per Cembalo e Violino en sol mineurdoesn’thavethesamerollickinglightness,butitsthemesarecompelling,andtheyaredevelopedwithrareskill.IntheSonata a Quattro,Iwassimilarlystruckbytheoriginalityandbeautyofthe themes and the deft way they aredeveloped. Of course one can expectSolydidn’tselecthisworstmusicfromhisvastoutput,butevensoonehastobeimpressed.Nowondertheprincewaswillingtopaywhatittooktokeephimfromleaving. Soly’sensembleisexcellent,ledbyherownsure-footedharpsichord.SopranoIngrid Schmithüsen, who sings in thecantata,has ahaunting, ethereal voicethat seems tofloatover theorchestra.The sound is gorgeous and serves themusicwell. Ifyou’reuptodiscoveringacomposeryou’veneverheardbefore,thisistherecordingtostartwith.

Graupner: Partitas for Harpsichord, vol.1GenevièveSolyAnalektaFL23109Rejskind:Solyisamuch-praisedharp-sichordist whose reputation did notbeginwithherrediscoveryofthemusicofChristophGraupner.Sheisfirstandforemostaperformer,anditwasalmostaccidentally that she veered off intomusicology, as you’ll see from ReineLessard’s article Finding Graupner inthisissue. MostofhereightGraupnerrecord-ings(sofar)areofsoloharpsichord,andGraupnerwassoprolificshecanprob-ablykeeptheseriesgoingforalongtime.Notethe“Volume1”inthetitle.SheisuptoVolume5now.

As with the previous collection oforchestral and vocal music, you can’thelpnoticingthatGraupnerimaginationwasanearlybottomlessfountofmelo-dies.Andhetookthebestcareofthem,placing them in setting after setting.ThePartita X in A Minorthatopensthedischaseightpieces,eachnamedafteradance:theallemande,thesarabande,thebourrée,etc.Unlikewhatyoufindinthepartitasofsomecomposers,thesearenotunrelatedpiecesboundtogetherforconvenience.Theyarethematicallyrelated, and I foundmyself realizing Ihadheardthethemebefore.Yes,butinadifferentsetting. ThereisanotherobservationIthinkneeds to be made. Many composerswritetoaformula,andonceyouknowtheformulayoucanoftenpredictwhatis coming next. That was even trueof Mozart, imagine! I found myselfmentallypredictingwhatGraupnerwasabouttodowithsomeofthevariationsinthesepartitas…andthenhesurprisedmeanddidsomethingelse.Delightful! Soly plays these partitas wonder-fullywell,andIcanaffirmthatwithouthavingheardanyoneelseplayGraupner.Herplayingespousestheoftensurpris-ing formsGraupnergavehis thematicdevelopments, and you don’t have tostraintounderstandwhathewastryingtodo.Thisisexceptionalmusicplayedbyanexceptionalmusician.

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Perhaps some enterprising collegewillsetupaSonyBMGchairofcrisismanagement.Sonyis…well,youknow.BMG is the German company thatyearsagoswallowedRCAVictor.Nowthat they and the labels they own aretogether,theyhaveshownofftheirman-agementskillinafashionthatwill,wecanonlyhope,givetheentireindustrypause. Likeothermajorrecordcompanies,SonyBMGhasbeenhurting,watchingits sales of Compact Discs shrinkingyear after year. The industry likes toblame this sad state of events on filesharing over the Internet. And that iscertainlyanimportantfactor,thoughifyouproduce6%fewertitles,andifyoursalesthendrop6%,therecouldbeotherfactorsatplay. For many years the industry hassearched for amagicbullet topreventcopying of its recordings. Some yearsbackColumbia(nowpartofSonyBMG)hatchedaplottofilteroutaverysmallbandof frequencies in theuppermid-range,around3kHz.Amandatorychipinsertedinallnewcassettedeckswouldstoprecordingiftherewasnosignalinthatband.Needweevenbegin to listwhatiswrongwiththisidea? NowthatdigitalcopyingofCDsisthe issue, therehavebeen severalnewanti-copyingplans.Nearlyallareeasytodefeat.Mostwillpreventdiscsfromplayingoncertainplayers,andespeciallyoncomputerdiscdrives. SonyBMG’ssystem,knownasXCP,attemptstogetaroundthatbyinstallingaprogramrightonthecomputer,whoseroleistoallowplayingthediscbutlimitmultiplecopying.XCPisa“rootkit,”aprogram that installs itself at the rootlevel of a computer hard drive, invis-ibletoboththeuserandanyanti-virussoftware,sothatitcannotberemoved. Why would the company want tomakeitsprograminvisibletoanti-virusutilities?Because—manyangryusers

quickly jumped to this conclusion—XCPisavirus! Or perhaps a Trojan Horse. Therootkit’s very invisibility opens anopportunityforothermalwaretosneakonto a computer undetected: it’s likeentering a restricted building rightbehindsomeonewhohasthekey.AndXCPwasworrisomeenoughinitsownright.TherumorgotaroundthatXCPcould“phonehome,”andletSonyBMGfind out what you were up to. WouldthatmeantheycouldknowifyouusedBitTorrent? Or if you burned a copyof one of the company’s discs? SonyBMG denied this was possible, thenbacktrackedanddeniedthatitwasbeingdone. Sowhatdoyoudowhenyou’refacedwithwhatshapesuptobeamajorPRdisaster?Youfigurethingswillgetworsebeforetheygetbetter,andthusyoudowhat you can to make them worse asquicklyaspossible. 1) You refuse to acknowledge anyproblem, having an executive declarethat,“Mostpeopledon'tevenknowwhata rootkit is, so why should they careaboutit?” 2)YoupostaprogramonyourWebsitewithwhatyouclaimisanuninstallerforXCP. 3) When it is discovered that the“uninstaller”isactuallyanupdaterthatmerelyinstallsthelatestversionofXCP,youthenpostanotherpatch. 4)Itturnsoutthepatchdoesn’tgetridofyourmalware,butmerelyrendersitvisible,sothatuserscanfindtheirownwaytogetridofit. 5)Youoffertomailavirus-freecopyofaCDtoanyconsumerwhomailsbackthe infected one, but that leaves hun-dredsofthousands(millions?)ofinfecteddiscsinstores.Thereare52XCPtitles,byartistssuchasBetteMiddler,CélineDion,CyndiLauperandRosanneCash.And this just before Christmas. Nowyourartistsaremadatyoutoo.

6) You then post an actual unin-staller, except that it doesn’t uninstalleverything. Says the company: “Thisuninstallerwillnotremovethedetectiontool itself. The detection tool can bedeletedmanuallyinthenormalmanner.”Ohright,the“normalmanner.”Bytheway,ifyoudousetheuninstaller,pro-tectedCDswon’tplayanymore. 7) In the meantime, continue toworry your customers (the ones whohaveactuallypaidforyourproducts)bynon-denialdenialsonline,suchas:“TheplayeronthediscfeaturesaWebbannerthat uses standard Web techniques tocommunicate with a Sony BMG WebservertodisplayadditionalWebcontentrelatedtothespecificCDtitle—nottomonitoryouronlineactivityorcollectpersonal information.” Right, like bynowwetrustyoutotellusthetruth! 8)Onceusersdiscoverthatthemusiccan’tbetransferredtoaniPod,merelytheworld’smostpopularportableplayer,youblameAppleandputalinktoApple’sWebsiteonyourownsite. 9) For customers who won’t takethat forananswer, reveal that there isaworkaround,buttogetityouhavetofilloutaquestionnairewithyournameandthestoreyouboughtthediscfrom.Afterall, ifcustomerscan’ttrustSonyBMG,whomcantheytrust? 10)Whenitisrevealedthatyouhaveanother20milliondiscs“protected”byanotheranti-copyprogram,MediaMax,start again at point one: deny there’sa problem, then post an updater thatsupposedly removes the vulnerabilityintroduced by MediaMax, and whenthatupdaterturnsouttobeflawed(seepoint3),postanotherone. 11)Don’tmentionanyofthisonyourindividual label Web sites. Make yourcustomersdoresearch. 12)IfSteveJobsgetsmadabouttheiPod issue, he might drop Sony BMGrecordingsfromtheiTunesstore,soletMacintoshusersplayyourdiscsalltheywantwithoutthatbothersomemalware.They wouldn’t do anything like makecopies,wouldthey? There’llbeaquizafterclass.

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“KOJ”isofcourseKeith O. Johnson,longthesoulofRef-erence Recordings.W hen the DorianGrouppickedupRRthree years ago, thatwas to mean lots ofbudget for Keith tocontinuecreatinghiswonderfulrecordings.Itdidn’t.Insteadtherewasbankruptcycourt,seizurebythetrusteesandtheapparentendof one of the audio-phile world’s best-lovedlabels. Butnotforlong.TheformerownersofthelabelhadnotbeenpaidbyDorian,andsotheyareonceagaintheowners.At CES in January, the ReferenceRecordingswasprominentlydisplayed,andweranacrosssuchRRpeopleasJanMancusoandKeithJohnson(sorryabouttheoldpicture,wedidn’tsnaparecentone). For the moment the newest RRreleases were taped before the Doriannightmare,butKeithexpectstounpackhismicrophonesbetweennowandnextsummer. Is he looking forward to it?“I’mnervous,”hesays.“Ihaven’tdonearecordingforsometime.” The reborn RR Web site says thecompany will not be doing SACDreleases,becausecolleagueshavewarnedKeith off that. He looks hopefully tothenewmedia (Blu-Ray?), but for themoment he will release his recordingsinRedBookCDformat. AndwhataboutHDCD,thetechnol-ogy that Microsoft bought and prettymuchabandoned? Yes,allthenewCDswillbeHDCD,including any re-releases, but Keithwillbedoinghisrecordingworkatthemaximumresolutionpossible.Thatusedtomean24bitsandasamplingrateof88.2kHz (because it scales down soneatly to CD’s 44.1). He will now berecording at 192kHz, so that he willbe ready for whatever wonderful newformat is released. Keith is enthusias-

ticaboutdigitalnow,becauseheisawareofacruelfactofanalog:tapesdeterioratewithtime.“Itdependsonthebrand of tape,” hesays. “Certain pro-fessional tapes werecertifiedforlonglife,butdeterioratedafteronlyafewyears.”Example? Keithasked whether wewere familiar withhis Professor Johnson’s Astounding Sound Show

(RR-7). Yes, in fact our store carriedtheLPuntil lastyear.“Haveyoueverheardthe45rpmversion?”Wehadn’t.“Betweenthatoneandthelater33ver-sion,it’sdayandnight.It’snotbecauseofthedifferenceinmasteringspeed,butbecause of deterioration of the mastertapebetweenthetwoversions.” Nor is tape quality the only vari-able. It’swell known that stored tapesultimatelysufferfrom“print-through”:the magnetic pattern bleeds throughfromonetapelayertotheadjacentlayers,andwhenyouplayityoucanhearafaintpreandpost-echo.Notsowellknownisthatthemagneticpatternalsobleedslongitudinally, along the length of thetape,bluntingthetransients.“Iusedtorecordtestsignalsonanunusedpartofeachtape,”saysKeith.“WhenIlookatthemonascopetoday,Icanseethat,atlow frequencies, the signal has spreadout.It’stoobad.” Couldthatexplainthefactthatsomefamous RR recordings re-released inHDCDcannotmatchthesoundoftheoriginalLP.“Yes.Itdependsonthestateofthemastertape.ThatwasthebeautyoftheLPmedium.Ifyoudidn’tabuseityoucouldplaytheLPdecadeslater,anditwouldsoundjustthewayitdidwhenitwasmade.” We’reeagerforKeithtofireuphisgearonceagainandbeginworkinghismagic.Hehasmadesomeofthegreatestrecordingswehaveeverheard.Wethinkhe’sjustgettingstarted.

ADVERTISERSThe Return of KOJ

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It’s hardly a secret that properloudspeaker placement can makeahugedifferencetotheillusionofdepthofrecordings.Youmayhave

triedatinychange,perhapsjustmovinga speaker a couple of centimeters, ortoeingthespeakersinslightlymore…orless.Andyouheardadifference. Indeed,sogreatarethedifferencesand so easy is it to find this out foryourselfthatIamsurprisedmorepeopledon’ttakethetimetoexperiment.Ifyouhaven’ttakenadaytotryvariationsonyour speaker placement, do yourself afavor. UHF has written about how toplacespeakers,ofcourse.Theacousticschapter inmybookThe World of High Fidelity includes aprimeron that verytopic.Somespeakermanufacturersofferguidestoplacingspeakers,someofthemhelpful,othersleadingyouinwhatIcon-sidertobethewrongdirection.Atbesttheseguidescanbenomorethanstart-ingpoints,because,asjustmentioned,evenasmallvariationcanmakealargedifferenceinthesoundyouhear. I should add that many guides tospeakerplacement are…howcan Iputitpolitely?Analretentive?Theirmostevidentvirtueissymmetry.Thatcanbegood,butthenagainperhapsnot.LetmetellyouaboutanexperienceIhadalongtimeago,whenIwasastudent. Myuniversityhadjustacquiredanewstudent-runFMstation,withacontrolroomcompletelyoutfittedbyRCA.ThestandardRCAmonitoratthetimewasintended to be mounted high on thewall,withthedriverspointeddownatabout45degrees.Inatypicalinstalla-tion,theywouldbeplacedjustabovethesoundproofstudiotothetalkbooth. Butthatwasn’tpossibleinthiscase,becausethearchitect,whohadreadupon audio acoustics, had designed thestudiowithoutanyparallelsurfaces(hehadagreattimegettingthatpastthecitybuildinginspector).Becausethewindowwasinwhatwouldhavebeenacornerifthecontrolroomhadreallybeensquare,therewasnospaceforthemonitors.Sothe engineers placed them behind the

operator,each on a different wall,whichwereatabout90degreestoeachother.Inotherwords,onewasmidwayupthenorthwall,andtheothermidwayuptheeastwall. Well,ItookalookatthatandIknewitjustcouldn’twork.That’sjustnothowyouplacestereospeakers,right?Sowhathappenedwasasurprise. What happened is that those two“misplaced” monitors projected thestrongest,moststablestereoimageIhaveeverheardwithoutwearingheadphones.You could sit absolutely anywhere inthe room and you heard stereo. Thesenseofspace,whethernaturalorbogusreverb,waspalpable.“Listeningtothatisanexperience,”saidanotherstudentbroadcaster. Ofcourseyou’rethinkingthatthesewere professional broadcast monitors,and they must be pretty good. Notso.NotlongafterIworkedatanotherFMstationwhich,bycoincidence,hadexactly the same all-RCA package,includingthemonitors,whichwereposi-tionedthewaythecompany intended:above the window. The word “crap”

comestomind.AndsinceshortlyafterIbecamethestation’schiefengineer,Igotagoodlookatwhatwasinside.Eachunithadasingledriver,acabinetmadeofwhatevercheapsuitcasesaremadefrom,withanopenback…atleastopenunlessthespeakerwasflushagainstthewall. Sowhyhadtheysoundedsoterrificatthestudentstation?Ithadtobetheplacement.Butwhydidthatplacementevenwork? Ifyouwant to try this foryourselfit’seasytodo, thoughyoumighthaveto substitute a longer length of cheapcable for whatever speaker cable youordinarilyuse.Justforfun,tryit.Placeonespeaker in themiddleof thewall,pointing straightout, theother in themiddleofthewalltotherightorleft,alsopointingstraightout.Youdon’thavetositrightattheirfocalpoint.Youcan,infact,sitwhereveryouplease. Don’tbetoosurprisedifyouraudio-phile-gradespeakersarenotattheirbest.Right against the wall may be wrongforthem,asitisformostspeakers,andlisteningtothemwayoffaxisisprobablynotrighteither.Butrememberwhatyouhear,becauseitwillhelpyouinsearchingfor theperfectplacement.At the veryleast,youmaywellcastofftheideathateverythingmustbesymmetrical. InmycaseIhaveoftenusedavariantonthisscheme,withthespeakersplacedasymmetricallyrelativetotherearwall.That has enabled me, at times, to getgood sound, and especially a plausiblestereoimage,fromwhatshapinguptobeevilacoustics. Ifyourspeakersareproperlydesigned(and as my experience shows, even ifthey’renot),properpositioningshouldgiveyouaverystrongstereoimagethatdoesn’t require you to be sitting rightatsome“sweetspot.”Itshouldletyouhear the space that has been capturedby the recording engineers. A monosignal should seem, unambiguously,to be coming from a phantom centrespeaker. Listenforyourself.Myownrevela-tionemergedfromahappyaccident,andperhapsyourswilltoo.

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