review - americanradiohistory.com · thin lizzy: "thunder and lightning" mark peel 82...

steOCTOBER 1983 $1.50

ReviewHOW TO BUY AN AMPLIFIER

How Much Power Do You Need?Understanding Amplifier ClassesGuide to Amplifier Specs

First Compact Discs from TelarcEquipment Test Reports Marantz CD -73 Compact Disc Player VSP Labs Trans MOS Power Amplifier Celestion Ditton 110 Speaker System Fosgate 101A Tate II Surround Stereo Pioneer F-90 AM /FM TunerPlus. Fujitsu Ten CM -6530 Car Stereo

Disc SpecialsVlitch RyderDenieceWilliams

Bob MarleyRichardThompson

Thin LizzyDelia BellFaure's SongsBeethoven's QuartetsBasic Gershwin

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From lasers that play digital recordsto computerized tape decks that make digital recordings,nobody delivers the startling realismof digital sound like Technics.

The challenge: to eiminate theaudible differences between live musicand its recorded counterpart.

The solution: Techn cs digital audiotechnology.

Technics digital technology is not aconventional (analog) process of musicreproduction as in ordinary turntablesand tape decks. Instead, music thatis recorded in the digi:al processis electronically translated into anumerical (digital) code. So sound isnot only immune to the scratching andphysical damage that can affectconventional records and tapes. Butalso to distortion that can ruin music.

When you play back a digital disc ortape, the numerical code is translatedback into music. And the sound isindistinguishable from the original.

With all of this digital technologyTechnics has emerges as the onlymanufacturer to bring you not one,but three digital components. Forboth tape and disc formats.

First there is the ex:raordinaryTechnics SL -P10 Compact Disc Player.

The SL -P10 uses a standard 4.7 -inchgrooveless;digitally encoded disc. ThisCompact disc (CD) is not played in theconventional sense with a trackingstylus that can damage a record.Instead it is scanned by a computerizedlaser system. There is no wear on thedisc, and the music is reproduced witha purity that could only be digital.

And the SL -P10 can be programmedto find a specific cut, play a series of cutsin any order or play a cut repeatedly.

Then there is the Technics SV-P100The world's first compact, fully self-contained digital cassette recorder. It isa computerized marvel that usesordinary video cassettes to record,store and play back tne astonishingrealism of digitally enzoded music.

If you already have a video cassetterecorder, the ingenious Technics SV-100Digital Audio Processor connects toyour VCR. This endows it with the samekind of computerized digital capabilityas our digital cassette recorder.

And whatever the future of audioholds, digital and beyond, Technics iscommitted to leadinc you to it.

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High -Speed Dubbing. Duplicate your tapes at twicethe normal recording speed. You get professionalsounding copies and you save time, too-no seconddeck or patch cords required.

Two Superb Decks in One. Deck -1 is designed forplayback only, and features a special narrow -gap tapehead. Deck -2 has full record/play capability and a wide -gap head for superior recording results. And both decksfeature soft -touch controls for smooth, easy operation.

Take it from Mike Loveof The Beach Boys andDean Torrence of Janand Dean:

"Dean uses theSCT-28 tomake copiesof my songs,so he canlearn tosing."

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Features for Great -Sounding Copies. You getDolby*B noise reduction for expanded dynamic rangeand dramatically lowered tape hiss. Selectors for noise -free metal, CrO, high bias and normal cassettes plus afine -bias control. Two-color, five -step LED peak metersto indicate the signal level. And a normal -speed buttonso you can listen as you dub. Plus, mike and line inputslet you use the SCT-28 like a regular deck.

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S (ISSN 0039-1220)

VOL. 48, NO. 10 OCTOBER

BULLETIN Christie Barter and Gordon Sell 5

SPEAKING MY PIECE William Livingstone 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 8

NEW PRODUCTS 15

AUDIO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Larry Klein 18

TAPE TALK Craig Stark 20

CAR STEREO Julian D. Hirsch and Christopher Greenleaf 22

TECHNICAL TALK Julian D. Hirsch 24

EQUIPMENT TEST REPORTS Hirsch -Houck Laboratories 27

INSTALLATION OF THE MONTH William Livingstone 44

HOW TO BUY AN AMPLIFIER Peter W. Mitchell 46

JARGON! Bruce Bartlett 57

BEST RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH

65MITCH RYDER: "NEVER KICK A SLEEPING DOG" Joel Vance

FAURE: SONGS George Jellinek 66

DENIECE WILLIAMS: "I'M SO PROUD" Phyl Garland 69

BEETHOVEN: THE LATE STRING QUARTETS Richard Freed 69

POPULAR MUSIC 72

DELIA BELL Alanna Nash 74

BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS: "CONFRONTATION" Mark Peel 78

THIN LIZZY: "THUNDER AND LIGHTNING" Mark Peel 82

RICHARD THOMPSON: "HAND OF KINDNESS" Steve Simels 84

JAMES NEWTON Chris Albertson 86

CLASSICAL MUSIC 88

TELARC COMPACT DISCS Christie Barter 90

BRITISH MUSIC FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA David Hall 98

THE BASIC REPERTOIRE Richard Freed 106

ADVERTISERS' INDEX 106

COVER Design by Borys Patchowsky; photo by Bruce Pendleton. Fortest reports on the Marantz CD -73 Compact Disc player and theVSP Labs Trans MOS power amplifier, see pages 27 and 36.

1983

airy. I. Having a sense of "air" or space surround-ing the instruments. 2. Having slightly boostedhigh -frequency response.(See "Jargon,- on page 57.)

COPYRIGHT 42/ 1983 BY ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. Stereo Review, October 1983, Volume 48. Number 10. Published monthly by Ziff -DavisPublishing Company. Editorial and Executive Offices at One Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016: Telephone. 212 725-3500. Richard P. Friese, President; Selwyn Taubman,Treasurer: Bertram A. Abrams. Secretary. Also publishers of Backpacker, Boating, Car and Driver, Computers and Electronics, Creative Computing. Cycle, Flying. Microsystems, PC,Popular Photography. Runner, Skiing, Stereo Buyers Guide, Tape Recording & Buying Guide, and Yachting. One-year subscription rate for the United States and its possessions. S9.98;Canada, 510.98. All other countries. one-year subscription rate 514.98, cash orders only, payable in U.S. currency. Second-c.ass postage paid at New York, New York 10016 and atadditional mailing offices. Authorized as second-class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa. Canada, and for payment of postage in cash. POSTMASTER: Forms 3579 andaddresschanges should be sent to Stereo Review, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 2771. Boulder, Colorado 80302. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: All subscription correspondence should beaddressed to Stereo Review. Circulation Department. P.O. Box 2771. Boulder. Colorado 80302. Please allow at least eight weeks for change of address. Include old address as well asnew --enclosing if possible an address label from a recent issue. PERMISSIONS: Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Requests forpermission should be directed to Elizabeth Amado, Rights and Permissions, Ziff -Davis Publishing Company, One Park Avenue. New York. New York 10016.

HARMAN KARDONINTRODUCES STATE -OF -THE -MIND TECHNOLOGY

1

30 years ago Harman Kardon in-troduced the world's first high fidelityreceiver. It was built on the philosophythat quality audio must evolve from creative,quality thinking.

Over the years, Harman Kardon continued to intro-duce original audio theories that were truly "state -of -the -mind", each proving so successful that they wereimmediately absorbed into the marketplace as "state-of-the-art".

For example, in 1958, Harman Kardon developed thefirst stereo receiver. A state -of -the -mind theory that in-stantaneously became state-of-the-art.

Harman Kardon, in 1970, saw the need for a noisereduction system for recording tapes and became thefirst company to use Dolby' in a cassette deck.

Now, Harman Kardon's most important state -of -the -mind concept, High Current Capability, has turnedstate-of-the-art. A recently published paper2 states thatin order for an amplifier to properly drive loudspeakersit must have the High Current Capability to instanta-neously generate as much as 6 times its rated powerinto a 1.33 Ohm load. Harman Kardonhas consistently

used High Current Capabin our products and we are pres

ently using it in all of our receivers anamplifiers.

The hk870 100 Watt3 power amplifier, ounewest product, carries this philosophy eve

further. The hk870 has an exceptional 60 Amps oHigh Instantaneous Current Capability and maintaina negative feedback level of only 12dB.

The hk870 is matched by the hk825 preamplifierThe hk825 offers dual RIAA equalization circuitry in thphono section, a discrete Moving Coil head amplifieand Ultrawidebandwidth of 0.1Hz to 180kHz deliverextremely pure, transparent sound.

So, while other manufacturers continue to pile onneccessary features and performance reducing gimmicks, Harman Kardon continues to fine tune thbasics and develop fundamentally advanced audiequipment.

1. Doty is the registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories Inc.2. "Input Current Requirements of High Quality Loudspeakertems", published and presented to the AES by Dr. Matti Otala. Forcopy of this paper, write to Harman Kardon.

3. 100 Watts RMS per channel, into 8 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHzwith less than .06% THD

Our state -of -the -mind is tomorrow's state-of-the-art.

240 Crossways Park West. Woodbury. NY 11797. In Canada. Gould Marketing, Quebec For more information call toll -free 1-1800) 528-6050 ext. 870

HK 1983

BulletinEdited by Christie Barter and Gordon Sell

STEREO TELECASTS in the U.S. may be-gin in 1984. The Electronic IndustriesAssociation (EIA) is currently testinga number of stereo TV broadcasting andnoise -reduction systems. The test datawill be presented to industry groupsrepresenting broadcasters and equip-ment manufacturers who will vote tochoose the winners. Submitting theissue to a vote should avoid viola-tions of restraint -of -trade laws....One major manufacturer says that hehas contingency plans that, barringfurther holdups, will enable him toput stereo TV sets on the market by

May of 1984.

SUPERTRAMP LOSES SINGER. As sucholder rock groups as the Animals andthe Hollies are coming back together,Supertramp appears to be coming apart.On the American leg oftinental odyssey sponsored by Sparko-matic, Supertramp's first tour in fiveyears, lead singer Roger Hodgeson an-nounced his plans to leave the groupat tour's end. Whether Supertramp cansurvive the loss of such an individualkey member remains to be seen. Forthe reunions of other rock groups seePopular News Briefs on page 72.

BRUSHED -UP SINATRA. Mobile FidelitySound Labs is releasing this month its"Sinatra Collection," a sixteen -recordhalf -speed -mastered set of Frank Sina-tra's complete Capitol -era recordings(1953-1961). In addition to improvedsound quality, the collection featuresa detailed discography. Each album ispackaged with its original cover art,and each set is authenticated by anumbered certificate. Mobile Fidelityplans to press no more than 25,000sets listing for $350 each.

TECH NOTES: Sales of Compact Disc(CD) players in Japan are expected toovertake those of conventional turn-tables during the fall....NAD ispreparing to launch a CD player thiswinter....Technics will begin sellinga $700 CD player in the U.S. any daynow....Watch for a number of $599 CDplayers from various sources by Jan-

uary and some $399 bare -bones machinesnext spring or summer....Look forPioneer to use its DDD tuner tech-nology to boost its share of thereceiver market....The FCC terminated.its quadraphonic sound proceedingsafter the agency's recent decisionto allow broadcasters to use FM sub -carriers (SCA) pretty much as theylike rendered the point moot. TheNational Association of Broadcasters(NAB) is encouraging radio stations toinvestigate using the subcarriers forquad broadcasting....Jensen is goinginto professional car racing with itssponsorship of the Jensen Car Audio/Bilstein Cup for Volkswagen Rabbits.(Bilstein makes shock absorbers forcars, not turntables.)

MET GALA: One hundred years ago, onOctober 22,Opera gave its very first performance,Gounod's Faust. On October 22 thisyear, a Saturday, the Met will commem-orate the occasion with a CentennialGala in which over seventy singerswill participate, along with the com-pany's chorus, orchestra, and balletcorps. The gala will be divided intotwo parts, a matinee at 2:00 and anevening performance at 8:00. Bothparts will be televised live nation-wide by PBS as part of the season'sLive from the Met series.

NEW CD LABEL: RCA is releasing itsfirst Compact Discs in the U.S. thismonth, with another group due out in

November. Most cf the releases will be

classics from RCA's Red Seal catalog,but the titles do include "Hooked onClassics, Volume I" and the recent"Return of the Jedi."

CLARION is entering the high -end carstereo market with its all -new Audiabrand components. Sold via an entirelydifferent network of high -quality carstereo dealers, the full product linewill include amplifiers "designed andmanufactured" in the United States andsaid to be more attuned to listeningtastes of U.S. car -audiophiles thanJapanese amplifiers.

Speaking My PieceBy William

Livingstone

Congratulating RemyThorens (right) on thehundredth anniversary

of his family's company.

PREFERENCES

WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY, JR. has writ-ten a book about himself called

Overdrive. The novelist Nora Ephron,who reviewed it for the New YorkTimes, thought it a vulgar display ofwealth and criticized Buckley for beingsufficiently self-absorbed to think that"even his preference in peanut butterwill be of interest to his fans."

Well, Buckley is the editor of Nation-al Review, and writing monthly col-umns of opinion somehow makes aneditor think everything about himself isinteresting. What our readers seemmost interested in knowing about me iswhat equipment I have at home andwhat records I am listening to.

The equipment changes frequently.At the moment I'm enjoying a TechnicsCompact Disc player, and when I haveto return that, I want to try out a Sonyand then a Magnavox CD unit. I'm lis-tening to any CD's I can get.

I can't hear all the records we reviewin the magazine, but I try to check atleast those in the "Best of the Month"section. To anyone interested in in-creasing his or her musical pleasure Ialways recommend that section for newdirections.

Recent "bests" that I have keptaround for more than one hearing in-clude Mark Knopfler's soundtrack forLocal Hero (Warner Bros.), SusannahMcCorkle's "The People That YouNever Get to Love" (Inner City), andthe Liebeslieder Waltzes disc fromDeutsche Grammophon's Brahms Edi-tion, all three reviewed in September.

I thought I had heard enough countrymusic while growing up in North Caro-lina to last me a lifetime. But AlannaNash writes about it with so much witand perception that she often makes mewant to hear whatever she is reviewing.Her comments on Delia Bell's debut al-bum on Warner Bros. (see page 74) hadthat effect on me. I've played it often,

and now it's high on my list of nomineesfor Best of the Year.

To get ready for the MetropolitanOpera's centennial season, which openswith Berlioz's Les Troyens, I've beenlistening to the Philips recording of thecomplete opera conducted by ColinDavis. And I've been listening to someRossini. Carlo Maria Giulini's record-ing of the Stabat Mater (DG 2532 046)has a spiritual dimension I have heardin no other performance of that music.Rossini's campy "Duets, Trios andQuartets" (Musical Heritage Society4711 H) includes the Comic Duet ofTwo Cats, one of the few pieces of mu-sic to engage my cats' attention.

I've been on a Saint -Satins kick, lis-tening to Aldo Ciccolini's old set of allfive piano concertos (Seraphim S-6081). I've also been playing the OrganSymphony conducted by Charles Du-toit (London LDR 71090), the CelloConcerto with Yo -Yo Ma and LorinMaazel (CBS 35848), and the Carnivalof the Animals with pianists MichelBeroff and Jean -Philippe Collard (An-gel S-37874).

I'm especially fond of the guitar, andJohn Williams's "Echoes of Spain" byAlbeniz (CBS 36679) has given me agreat deal of pleasure. It is one of myfavorite albums for late -night listening.Another quiet album that restores mysoul at the end of a trying day is a col-lection of sonatas by Domenico Scarlat-ti (Seraphim S-60341) played by AldoCiccolini on the piano.

William Buckley is an amateur harp-sichordist, and he probably prefersScarlatti on the instrument he playshimself. But Ms. Ephron's review soturned me against Buckley's new bookthat I'll probably never even know forsure what kind of peanut butter helikes. In case anybody is interested,Skippy is my favorite brand, and I pre-fer the crunchy kind.

Stereo ReviewPUBLISHERJ. SCOTT BRIGGS

EDITOR IN CHIEFWILLIAM LIVINGSTONEMANAGING EDITORLOUISE GOOCH BOUNDASART DIRECTORBORYS PATCHOWSKY

TECHNICAL EDITORSDAVID RANADA, GORDON SELL

MUSIC EDITORCHRISTIE BARTERPOPULAR MUSIC EDITORPAULETTE WEISS

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR['AVID STEIN

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTSBARBARA AIKEN, ROCCO MATTERA

DIRECTORY EDITORWILLIAM A. BURTON

LONDON EDITORHENRY PLEASANTS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSCHRIS ALBERTSON ALANNA NASHRICHARD FREED MARK PEELPHYL GARLAND LINCOLN PERRYCHRIS GREENLEAF PETER REILLYDAVID HALL EBET ROBERTSJULIAN D. HIRSCH CHARLES RODRIGUESGEORGE JELLINEK ERIC SALZMANLARRY KLEIN STEVE SIMELSPAUL KRESH CRAIG STARKSTODDARD LINCOLN JOEL VANCE

ADVERTISING DIRECTORBRIAN E McCABEASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHERJEAN ANDERSON

Editorial and Executive Offices: 212 725.3500Ziff -Davis Publishing CompanyOne Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016National Advertising Manager: Richard J. HalpernEastern Advertising Manager: Charles L. P. Watson

Midwestern Office, The Pattie Group. 312 679-11004761 West Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood, Illinois 60646Arnold S. Hoffman, Dirk E. Barenbrugge

Western Office: 213 387-21003480 Wilshire BoulevardLos Angeles, California 90010Western Advertising Manager: Marge Doherty -Wilhite

Japan: lwai Trading Co., Ltd.J. S. Yagi603 Ginza Sky Heights Building18.13, Ginza 7-ChomeChuo-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 104Telephone: (03) 568-0185, 545-3908

Circulation OfficeP.O. Box 2771, Boulder, Colorado 80302

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS must be accompanied by re-turn postage and will be handled with reasonable care;however, publisher assumes no responsibility for the re-turn or safety of art work, photography. or manuscripts.

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q14) MPA

CONSUMER COMPUTERS 8 ELECTRONICSMAGAZINE DIVISIONPresident: Larry SpornVice President, Publishing Director: J. Scott BriggsVice President. General Manager: Eileen G. MarkowitzCreative Director: Peter J. Blank

ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY

President: Richard P. FriesePresident. Consumer Magazine Division: Albert S. Traina

Executive Vice President, Marketingand Circulation: Paul ChookSenior Vice Presidents: Philip T Heffernan.Sidney Holtz. Edward D. Muhlleld, Philip SineVice Presidents: Baird Davis. George MorrisseyTreasurer. Selwyn TaubmanSecretary. Bertram A Abrams

6 STEREO REVIEW

Presenting High Bias II and'-- theUltimate `_'ape Guarantee.Memorexprese n is High Bias II,tape 3oextraordinary, goingto guarantee it forever.

We'll guarantee life-likesound. tscrause Perm ap ass,'ourri lour? oxide bDrifjrig :process,locks each oxide particleeachmusical detail-onto thetape. Sc. music says live. Notjust the 1st play. Or the 1000t:iBut forever.44 We'll gLarantee the cassette.- Every iacet }:; engineered to protect the tape.011r waved-wafer. improves tape -wind. SU -one-treated

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LetteuPink Floyd

I am disturbed by Steve Simels's reviewof Pink Floyd's album "The Final Cut" inthe August issue. He found it "beyondbanal" and was critical of the seriousness of

Pink Floyd before "The Final Cut"

its message. As Mr. Simels points out, "TheFinal Cut" aims extremely high. It dealswith the ugliest of our social conventions,war. I find the album more than credible. Itcoherently weaves together lofty socialissues with a personal perspective on howwar shattered one man's life. Many eminentscientists agree that our next war mayeliminate the human race. Given that, itseems odd that Mr. Simels would ratherhave Pink Floyd concentrate on "leakyfaucets and birds chirping in the night."

THOMAS J. SMURTHWAITELa Mesa, Calif.

Although I must thoroughly disagreewith Steve Simels's review of Pink Floyd's"The Final Cut," I have to say I'm amazedat his literary style and his use of theEnglish language. I only wish he had de-voted half as much energy to listening to thealbum. Obviously he is not a believer in"modern" music as art, because Pink Floydis one of the few bands around that stilllends credibility to popular recordings. I

was also disheartened by his disapproval ofthe use of special effects. I find it breath-taking how Pink Floyd can bring more tomusic than just notes and chords.

JOHN AIHAYIowa City, Iowa

Stewart and the StonesI feel I should correct Mark Peel's idea

that "Every Rod Stewart album has at leastone song that borders on outright plagiar-ism of the Rolling Stones . . ." (in his Aug-ust review of Stewart's new "Body Wish-es"). First, Ron Wood, Nicky Hopkins, andIan McLagen all played in a band withStewart before playing with the Stones.

Second, a "swaggering beat, raunchy harp,and high-pitched backing vocals" werebasic rock-and-roll qualities long beforeRod Stewart or the Rolling Stones startedrecording.

JOHN W. LOEFFELAshtabula, Ohio

Speaker Cables You have no idea how much I appre-ciated STEREO REVIEW'S test of speaker ca-bles in the August issue. After an escapedpet gerbil chewed up my trusty 24 -gaugewire, I decided that it was time 1 invested insome Monster Cable. Mortified by theprice, 1 walked across the street to a hard-ware store where, by guesswork, 1 picked upsome 16 -gauge zip cord for a quarter a foot.Even though it sounded just fine to me, Ireceived dire warnings from the salesman atthe stereo store about the quality I wouldget. Now 1 have STEREO REVIEW on myside. Thanks for proving that my instinctswere correct.

JOE FAUSTGillette, Wyo.

Regarding August's "Speaker Cable:Can You Hear the Difference?": As stereosalesmen, may we recommend that authorLaurence Greenhill and his eleven audio ex-perts try testing Monster Cable against 16 -gauge zip cord again? This time, please use

Johnson & Johnson Safety Swabs beforeyou test. Enclosed are twelve swabs-marked for left and right ears!

TERRY NIRVA, DAVE GANDRUDE,DAN VANHOOK, WES WELDER

Rochester, Minn.

I have been a part of the audio industryfor over ten years now, both in retail and inmanufacturing. It has been my experiencethat whenever instantaneous A/B switchingis employed-as in STEREO REVIEW'Slistening tests of speaker cables-subtledifferences are masked, not accentuated. Ithas also been my experience that the humanmind has very good acoustic memory aslong as there is an associated vocabulary todescribe the differences heard. Someonewho cannot understand what he is hearinghas no context with which to remember thedetails of a listening experience. A/Bswitchers are best used to show grossdifferences between components-specific-ally, between loudspeakers, where gross

differences are the norm. Trying to employthis type of comparison to show thedifferences between cables is absurd.

I am sure I speak for the entire high -endaudio industry when I say that STEREOREVIEW has been a constant wall in the wayof progress, since almost all meaningfulimprovements in music reproduction have come from the "freak" companies yourpublication tries so hard to discredit.Instead of trying so hard to prove us allwrong, why not direct your efforts towarddiscovering why there is such divergentopinion, why STEREO REVIEW'S listeningpanels don't hear what is heard so clearly byaverage listeners-regular folks who ap-preciate music, know what it is supposed tosound like, and are willing to invest timeand money to obtain true high-fidelity?

JACK SHAFTONCustom Woodwork & Design

Bedford Park, Ill.

I was amazed and disappointed at theresults of your speaker -cable evaluation,since the conclusions drawn run counter toall of the careful market research conduct-ed by our firm, Monster Cable, in the lastseveral years. Your writer's conclusionthat ". . . there is little advantage be-sides pride of ownership in using thesethick, expensive wires" was not the conclus-ion of the nearly three thousand MonsterCable purchasers who participated in a war-ranty/response-card survey in 1981-1982.Among those responding, 56 per cent indi-cated "an overall significant improvement,"42 per cent attested to a "noticeable im-provement," and only 2 per cent wrote backthat they heard no difference in systemperformance.

Many major component manufacturersrecommend the sonic benefits of ourspeaker and component interconnectproducts to their customers. Such notablehi-fi and auto -sound companies as Carver,Alpine/ Luxman, Infinity, Tandberg, RGR,NAD, Goldmund, Electrocompaniet, SAE,Proton, Audiomobile, Linear Power, andKenwood Car Audio actually packageMonster Cable endorsement cards withtheir various products. What's more, we'revery proud that Infinity uses Monster Cablefor the internal wiring of its flagship IRSsystem as well as the RS -1 system and thatKlipsch and Assoc. also uses our cable forthe internal wiring of the prestigiousKlipschorn.

Since mid -November of 1982, when weannounced an unconditional thirty -dayrefund to any Monster Cable purchaserwho "doesn't hear the difference," only twocustomers have taken us up on our offerdespite the thousands of pairs of ourproducts sold domestically. So let the factsspeak for themselves.

We founded Monster Cable four yearsago as the first hi-fi firm solely dedicated todeveloping state-of-the-art speaker cables,interconnect wires, and connector acces-sories. We have a loyal, committed baseof dealers worldwide and tens of thous-ands of satisfied customers who have pur-chased our products over the years. Wehave pioneered new technology in cabledesign, as is best represented by ourrecently introduced InterLink Reference,which is now being embraced by many pro-fessional recording engineers and techni-

8 STEREO REVIEW

MIAMIintroducesthe next

generation insound...

...and gives youa choice of stylesand features.

A technological breakthrough in audio that deliversfiner sound reproduction than ever before possible.

The dream is now reality. In:ro-ducing the most perfect sound sys-tem in audio history. The HitachiDA -1000 .and DA -800 Compact DiscPlayers. This revolutionary break-through in aLdiotronics shatters Thelimitations cf even the finest analogstereo system. There is g -eaterdynamic Jange. Virtually no distortion. No wowand flutte-. No acoustic feedbac<. No recordwear. The result is the purest, cleanest sound,absolutely faithful to the original -ecorcing.

As a leader in this new frontier of digital

pa

sound, Hitachi gives you a choice- vertical or 'ront load olaversWith 10 key or two key program-mability anc visible or hidden discdesign. Both offer advanced fea-tures like forward anc reverse, cue,repeat and auto search for a uniquesound experience. Now you can

"be there" for the live performance withoutever leaving your living room.

Until you own Hitachi's Compact DiscPlayer you've yet to hear the true sound ofquality.

HITACHIA World Leader in Technology

Hitachi Sales Corpora( on of America 401 W. Artesia Blvd Compton, Calif. 9C220

CIRCLE NO 8 ON READER SERVICE CARD

Now you can take perfectflash shots withyour ears.

The Vivitar 3500 flash is so re-markably easy to use, your onlyrequirement is a good pair of ears.

Our 3500 literally talksyou into great photography.First by telling you with ashort " beep" that the flashis charged and ready toshoot And then, by lettingout a longer "beeep" afterthe shot to tell you the lightwas correct (We've even in-cluded a light that lets youcheck everything visually.)

The automatic 3500 flash is sosimple, about all you do is attachit to your Canon, Minolta, Nikon,Pentax, Olympus, Contax, Yashicaor other popular 35mm SLR cam-era. focus and shoot

Vivitar

Beep,

The result? The 3500 delivers alevel of performance that'sunheard of. You can take superbautomatic shots out to 47 feet.

And bounce light to soften thelighting and eliminate "redeye:'And because our compact unit

Beep, Flash Beeeeeeep!

also has zoom capabilities, it willwork perfectly with an assortmentof lenses.

If it seems incomprehensiblethat our flash does so much andyet costs so little, we suggest youvisit a photo store and try one out.

Hearing is believing.

The 3500 FlashbyVivitar

For a brochure (U.S. only) on our complete family of photographic product& send a self-addressed envelope with 40Cpostage to: Vivitar 210AD. Box 2100. Santa Monica. CA 90406 Vivitar Corporation 1983 In Canada. Vivitar Canada Ltd.,Ltee.

CIRCLE NO. 16 ON READER SERVICE CARO

cians. That's why we are very disturbedat STEREO REVIEW'S implication that ourproducts' success has been the result of acarefully engineered marketing coup andlittle more.

It's our conclusion that, on several counts,the methodology of your test was not ap-propriate to the task at hand. The reasonsare fairly complex and cannot be dealt within the space of a letter to the editor. But weinvite any of your readers to visit one of ourdealers to conduct his or her own inde-pendent evaluation. Under the proper con-ditions, I'd be willing to bet 10 pounds ofMonster Cable that they'll hear definiteimprovements in sound quality.

NOEL LEEPresident, Monster Cable

Do those 'proper conditions" you mentioninclude blindfolds?

As a serious audiophile for over twentyyears and a professional engineer, I foundthe conclusion that "exotic" speaker cablesoffer little or no advantage over 16 -gaugezip cord to be unsupported by the evidencein Laurence Greenhill's article. The cablesused in the controlled listening tests were allof zip -cord configuration. Had the testsincluded cables with different geometries,significantly different results would havebeen obtained. As it stands now, the onlypossible conclusion that can be drawn fromyour tests is that Monster Cable (and onlyMonster Cable) is not significantly betterthan 16 -gauge zip cord. Extrapolation ofyour results to untested cables is scien-tifically invalid.

L. J. HEPINSTALLBatavia, Ill.

Yes, that's exactly what we said.

I was amused by your comparison ofthree trashy "speaker cables." People spendall kinds of money on stereo components,hooking them up with shielded cable, thenuse naked wire to connect their speakers,thus losing sound quality. The only way tohook up a speaker is with coaxial cable.

CARL E. STARKEWestland, Mich.

The August cover is misleading in thatthe photo does not show the regularMonster Cable tested for the cover articlebut Monster PowerLine. The differencebetween them is like night and day! RegularMonster Cable gave me a 25 per centimprovement over heavy -gauge speakerwire, but the more expensive andtwice -as -thick PowerLine cable gave evenmore of an improvement-at least another15 per cent! For shame, STEREO REVIEW!

TED MEYERChapel Hill, N.C.

Low -Down Brahms In August's "Going on Record,"Christie Barter mentions a leak to the pressthat the young Brahms tickled the ivories ina Hamburg "sporting house." The report istrue, but the scurrilous leaker is exactlyfifty years late with his musicological gut-tersniping. In 1933 Dodd, Mead pub-lished The Unknown Brahms by Robert

STEREO REVIEW

Haven Schauffier. On page 258, the authorspills the beans:

"From his birth the environment ofJohannes seems to have inclined himtowards public women. For he actuallygrew up in the red-light district of Ham-burg. . . . He lived next door to prosti-tutes, rubbed elbows with them at all hourson narrow tenement stairways and in darkhalls, and often until dawn made musicfor their orgies in the lowest dives . . . ."

Such early strolls down the primrose pathseem not to have harmed Brahms's geniusfor music. Maybe some of our contempor-ary composers would benefit from suchconditioning.

NORMAN P. GENTIEUPhiladelphia, Pa.

Anti -New Music Bias? My musical tastes run toward themodern, synthesizer -oriented music thatpeople variously call "New Music," "NewWave," or "garbage." While STEREO RE-VIEW runs a liberal number of reviews ofrecords of this type, whenever I look to seethe name of the reviewer it is almost in-variably Mark Peel. And, with a few ex-ceptions (Thomas Dolby, Philip Lynott,Peter Gabriel), his reviews of these releasesare either unenthusiastic (Missing Persons,Polyrock, Berlin) or downright negative(Thompson Twins, Neil Young, Devo). I

am curious why the other six popular -musiccritics on your staff don't review new music.Is Mr. Peel the only one who likes newmusic at all, or is he merely the least acidicof an entire group of new -music foes?

ERIC R. STEPANSCanoga Park, Calif.

Each of our reviewers has an area ofspecial interest and familiarity, and MarkPeel is especially knowledgeable aboutNew Wave music. If you check back overrecent issues, you'll see quite a few"Recording of Special Merit" tags on hisreviews of New Wave records. And, by theway, Mark never reviewed Neil Young.

Muzak Fan The much -maligned Muzak and the"beautiful music" programming of manyradio stations bring some of the finestAmerican popular music of this century tothe ears of listeners. Yes, the arrangementsare hokey and predictable, yet without themthe public-young people, particularly-would rarely, if ever, hear the great melo-dies of Porter, Gershwin, Ellington, Kern,Arlen, Rodgers, Berlin, and others.

Muzak constantly brings to my mindwonderful pieces of music that would other-wise be lost to the din of "contemporaryadult music." It's a pity that, for example,such a splendid song as Hoagy Carmi-chael's Skylark can be heard publicly onlyin grocery stores, dentists' offices, elevators,and so on. What can be said of popular mu-sical taste when Muzak is left to be the re-pository of America's best musical tradi-tion? And just so you won't think this iswritten by an old fogy, I'm thirty-two.

THOMAS R. SCHOENToledo, Ohio

How to get 336 lensesinyour camerabag.

You have two choices. Either youfind a bag thats extraordinarilylarge. Or you find one lens thatdelivers 336 different focal lengths.Like the 75-410mm zoom lenssystem from Vivitar.

VivitarOur lens system is made up of

two components. We start with a75-205mm 1/3.5-4.5 lens, which isthe fastest smallest and lightestlens in its class. And to it, we adda specially designed 2X MatchedMultiplier' for doubling thefocal range.

The result: a lens system that notonly allows you to take portraits.telephotos and very long tele-photo shots, it also letsyou use macro for ex-treme close-ups.Andall of the pictureswill be incrediblysharp because

410mm

of the lens' high degree of contrastand resolution.

But performance is not the onlypart of our system that's unsur-passed. So is its value. There'ssimply no better 75-410mm lenssystem at any price. And eachsystem is backed by a 5 -year lim-ited warranty.

So the choice is quite simple.You can buy 336 lenses for yourCanon, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus,Pentax or other popular 35mmSLR camera. Or you can buy oneVivitar 75-410mm zoom lens sys-tem. Ours is certainly a nicer fit inyour camera bag.

75mm

The 75-410mm Zoom SystembyVivitar

For a brochurelli.S. only) on our complete family of photographic products send a sell -addressed envelope with 40(postage to. Vivitar 206AD. Box 2100.Santa Monica CA 9f )406 Vivitar Corporation 1983 In Canada: Vivitar Canada Ltd.iLtee.

OCTOBER 1983 CIRCLE NO. 17 ON READER SERVICE CARD

State of The ArtTelevision just Moved

To Another State.The Mitsubishi CM -1901 component

video system shares a great deal more thana striking resemblance to the electronicexotica of the professional.

For it marks the first time ever thatprofessional quality video and audio has beenmade available for the home.

Far more than components separated

for cosmetic reasons that some call "pro"television, it delivers performance that is pro-fessional in every aspect.

Except price.The CM -1901 brings this lofty level of

performance and technology into the homein the form of a High -Definition DiamondVision" picture tube.

The CM -1901's abilityto discern such finedetail is made possibleby a 0.40mm fine -pitchblack -matrix stripedphosphor screen. In Conventional (.63mm) CRT

conjunction with the reduced beam spotsize of its multi -step focus electron gun andthe extended high frequency output of thevideo amplifiers, this results in 36% greaterresolution than a conventional screen.

Further separating CM -1901's screenfrom the conventional is a feature that can belegitimately called one of the most significantinnovations in the color picture tube ever.

Diamond Vision.The Diamond Vision

screen selectively trans-mits only the most desir-able light wavelengthsof the phosphors, pro-ducing truer, cleaner pri-mary colors. The specialchemicals mixed intothe screen also absorbambient light striking thefaceplate. With color im-

Diamond Vision absorbs mostambient light. purities filtered out andless light reflected back at you, the rangeof colors that can be reproduced is improved

From a standard broadcast signal, theCM -1901 monitor \ ill produce well in excessof 330 horizontal lines of resolution. Thatadds up to a stunning 400 lines from videodiscs. For computers, that translates into thefaithful reproductionof 2000 bright, legiblecharacters and high-

density graphics.

36% MORERESOLUTION,

40% MORE COLOR.

Mitsubishi's fine -pitch designdelivers 36% more resolution.

High -definition (.4mm) CRT.

Conventional screen reflectsmost ambient light.

dramatically -as much as 40%. Subtleshades and hues are revealed. The picturetakes on a more three-dimensional quality.

When used with a computer, an addi-tional high -contrast tint helps reduce theeye -strain associated with long hours spentin front of the monitor.

The "nerve center" of the system isthe TX -102R Control Center. Besides func-tioning as a sophisticated routing networkintegrating your entire system, it offers 139channel cable -ready tuning, phase -locked -loop, frequency -synthesized, with theconvenience of random access and remotecontrol, plus twin video outputs, twinantenna inputs, and an RGB input for directaccess to your computer.

The audio side of the CM -1901 systemfeatures a pair of three-way bass -reflex,acoustically -tuned speakers that deliverastonishing realism from tapes or videodiscs.

Monitor

Speaker

Video Camera

Speaker

Tuner, C_tntrol Center Video Games Home Computer

hII O

Video Tine Res order

0000 0CCC101.1 o0 3000

Audio System

Video Dm Player

The CM -1901 's Component System is flexible, capable of expandingwith your needs.

Spend the money for the CM -1901Component System and you can be sureof one thing. State -of -the -art's new homeis yours.

MITSUBISHIEven If You Carit HaveThe Best Of Everything,

You Can Have The Best Of Something.Mitsubishi Electric Sales America, Inc., 3030 E. Victoria St., Rancho Dominguez, CA 90221.

What AKAI knows aboutaudio could fill a book.

And now, it does.Because AKAI's new 68 -

page audio products cata-log is hot off the presses.And filled to overflowingwith the very latest in audio.

Turntables. Cassettedecks. Receivers. Open -reeldecks. Amps and tuners.Matched systems. Speakers.Accessories. Personalstereos.

And even a digital com-pact disc player.

There are plenty of sur-prises, too.

Like the first open -reeldeck designed for homeuse with a studio -standarddbx Type 1 circuit.

And the new AM/FMreceiver that recently wonthe "Top -Rated" honorsin a national consumerpublication.

Plus six brand-new cas-sette decks. Five terrificnew turntables. And someof the most sophisticatedmatched systems you'veever seen.

Best of all, it's all freefor the asking. So send yourname and address to:AKAI Catalog, P.O. Box 6010,Compton, CA 90224.

Then enjoysome great non-fiction that'salready a best-

seller.

flew ProductsLatest Audio Equipment and Accessories

Sansui CD PlayerHas Digital Filters Sansui's PC -V 1000 digital CompactDisc player utilizes a newly designed com-bination digital -analog filter in its audio -output stages. The new filter is said to keep

analog signal processing to a minimum bydoing most of the necessary processing ofthe audio signal while it is still in digitalform. The low -profile black -finished playerhas horizontal front loading, and its three -beam laser system is said to ensure accuratesignal pickup even when a disc is damagedbeyond the tracking capability of morecommon single -beam pickups.

Convenience features include a wirelessremote control, random access to individualtracks, Intro Play (to sample a short seg-ment of each selection), and a repeat func-tion. Front -panel displays include tracknumber and elapsed time. A headphonejack is provided. Key specifications includea frequency response of 5 to 20,000 Hz±0.5 dB and a signal-to-noise ratio, dy-namic range, and channel separation allgreater than 90 dB. Wow -and -flutter is un-measurable, and total harmonic distortionis less than 0.004 per cent. Price: $1,000.

Circle 120 on reader service card

Jensen Video TunerFor Audio SystemsLI Designed to add high -quality televisionsound and picture reception to an existingaudio system, Jensen's AVS-2100 videotuner combines an audio -component -stylepreamplifier with special signal -processing

capabilities and a microprocessor -controlled input/output switch with an electronically tuned, digital -synthesis, 134

channel, cable -ready television tuner. Threeaudio outputs are provided. A fixed -leveloutput allows the user to bypass the internalaudio preamplifier when using the AVS-2100 with an external audio receiver or am-plifier. A variable -level output allows theuse of a built-in mute control along withDynamic Noise Reduction (DNR). Finally,the unit's preamp output permits full use ofthe tuner's audio controls: bass, treble, bal-ance, volume, muting, and synthetic stereo

(for monophonic video program sources).Audio/video switching controls two video

inputs, the TV tuner, and a home computeror video -game output. A supplied wirelessremote control switches TV stations, selectsvideo inputs, inserts the synthetic -stereofunction, and controls volume and muting.A rear -panel multiplex -output jack will en-able the tuner, connected to an adaptor, toreceive true stereo TV broadcasts whenthey begin. The TV -tuner section receives

Harman Kardon'sHigh -Performance

Amplifier SeparatesCD 0 n n (,) fl n

0 With an unusually high instantan-eous output -current rating of 60 am-peres, the Harman Kardon hk870 poweramplifier is said to develop far higherpeak power with typical speaker loadsthan its 100 -watt -per -channel ratinginto 8 ohms (20 to 20,000 Hz, less than0.06 per cent total harmonic distortion)would imply. The company says that theamplifier's transient output power near-ly doubles into 4 -ohm loads and almostquadruples into 2 ohms.

The amplifier maintains a negativefeedback level of only 12 dB, far belowthat of most power amplifiers. Its toroid-al power transformer reduces hum ra-diation, and the four dual -polarity pow-er supplies eliminate channel -to -channelinterference while preventing the high -power output stages from influencingthe operation of the low-level inputstages. Other specifications include apower bandwidth extending from below10 to 80,000 Hz. Frequency response ata 1 -watt output level is 0.1 to 180,000Hz +0, -3 dB. Slew rate is 160 voltsper microsecond, rise time 1.8 microsec-onds. The square -wave tilt at 20 Hzis 3 per cent, the damping factor 120,and the A -weighted signal-to-noise ratio(S/N) 98 dB referred to a 1 -watt out-put. Dimensions are 175/16 x 413/16 x143/16 inches.

Also featuring a wide bandwidth andlow -feedback circuitry is the companionhk825 preamplifier. Low -noise field-ef-fect transistors (FET's) are used in boththe high- and low-level signal stages forimproved S/N performance. A discrete -component moving -coil -cartridge pre -

preamplifier is included, as is a capaci-tance -trim control for obtaining flat re-sponse with moving -magnet cartridges.Other features include switchable bassand treble turnover frequencies, a tone -control -defeat switch, connections andswitching for two tape decks, and infra-sonic and high -cut filters. A headphoneoutput is provided.

Specifications include a frequency re-sponse of 0.1 to 180,000 Hz with totalharmonic distortion of 0.05 per cent. A -weighted S/N is 83 dB through the MMphono input, 80 dB with the inputswitched to its MC configuration. TheS/N through the digital -audio -disc,tape, auxiliary, or tuner inputs is 92 dB.RIAA equalization accuracy is within0.2 dB of the standard. The infrasonicfilter rolls off at 6 dB per octave below15 Hz. Bass- and treble -control turnoverfrequencies are 200 or 400 Hz and 2,000or 6,000 Hz, respectively. Dimensionsare 175/16 x 39/16 x 129/16 inches. Prices:hk870, $500; hk825, 5400.


OCTOBER 1983 I5

flewProductsall VHF and UHF channels and cableChannels 14 through 65. An "antenna"output is available for a cable -TV decoder.Audio frequency response for the video in-puts is 20 to 20,000 Hz; the TV -tuner audiofrequency response is 50 to 13,500 Hz. Vid-eo frequency response (measured at the vid-eo output) is 0.1 to 4 MHz. Price: $590.


ESB SpeakerFrom Italy0 The ESB Model 7/09 bookshelf speakersystem, imported from Italy, is designed forthe consumer with limited floor space. It is

graa three-way acoustic -suspension systemwith a 10 -inch woofer, a 1I/2 -inch soft -domemid/high-range driver, and a 1 -inch soft -dome, magnetic -fluid -cooled tweeter. Thecrossover frequencies are 800 and 6,000 Hz.System impedance is 6 ohms; sensitivity isgiven as 87 dB sound -pressure level at I me-ter with a 2.83 -volt input of pink noise. Rec-ommended amplifier power ranges from 40to 180 watts per channel. Frequency re-sponse is given as 35 to 20,000 Hz with a-3 -dB point at 45 Hz. Dimensions are 13 x21 x 13 inches; weight is 40 pounds. Thespeakers are sold in mirror -image pairs.Price: $800 per pair. ESB-USA, Dept. SR,692 Central Avenue, Cedarhurst, N.Y.11516.


Three -Head Capability inJVC Auto -Reverse Deck0 Claimed to be the first cassette deck onthe market combining quick -reverse re-cord/play capability with a three -headsource/tape monitoring configuration, theJVC DD -V9 uses a "Flip Reverse" swivel-ing head assembly. Structurally, the headassembly consists of a mounting base and arotating head holder. The record- and play -head holder swivels 180 degrees inside themounting base, each rotation being re-strained by a ruby -tipped azimuth -adjust-ment screw. The company says that this"jewel -lock" system makes it possible to ad-just the head alignment for each directionof tape travel independently and to main-tain correct azimuth during years of service.

The recording head is of Senalloy construc-tion. The tape transport uses three motors.The capstan motor is a Pulse Servo direct -

drive design whose brushless and corelessconstruction is said to eliminate "cogging"and provide extremely low levels of wowand flutter.

Included in the DD -V9 is a B.E.S.T.(Bias, Equalization, Sensitivity of Tape)tape -matching system for optimization ofrecording quality. Other features includeindex scan (plays the first 10 seconds ofeach selection), blank search (looks for theend of recorded material on an unfilledtape), and block repeat (repeats the seg-ment between any two points on the tapecounter). The tape counter offers four dis-play modes: conventional tape counting, re-maining time, elapsed time, and a display ofthe selection number during the scanmodes. The deck has two fluorescent peak -reading level indicators. Sliding record -lev-el controls are mounted in a sliding draweralong with the other less frequently oper-ated controls. Dolby -B and Dolby -C noisereduction are included.

Specifications include a frequency re-sponse of 25 to 18,000 Hz ±3 dB withmetal tape (-20-VU recording level). Sig-nal-to-noise ratio is 60 dB (metal tape) andincreases by about 20 dB above 1,000 Hzwith the Dolby -C circuits on. Wow -and -flutter is 0.035 per cent (wrms). Crosstalkis 65 dB and channel separation is 40 dB,both measured at I kHz. Total harmonicdistortion of a 1 -kHz tone recorded at 0 VUis 1 per cent with metal tape. Fast forward/rewind time is 90 seconds for a C-60 cas-sette. The front -panel headphone outputsupplies up to 0.6 milliwatt into an 8 -ohmload. Dimensions are 171/8 x 45/18 x 1015/18inches; weight is 15 pounds. An optional re-mote control is available. Price: $800.


Acoustic Research'sBelt -Drive Turntable0 Acoustic Research's new turntable re-sembles the company's discontinued oldermodels in being a two -speed manual unit.The machine -finished cast -aluminum plat-ter is driven with a belt by a twenty-four-polc synchronous motor; it rides on top of a

three-point spring -hung suspension that iso-lates the tone arm and platter from thewood -veneer base.

The turntable, available either with or

without a tone arm, has a universal tone -arm mounting platform. The standard armis a low -mass, straight tube model with aneffective length of 9.33 inches, a maximumtracking error of 0.53 degree per inch at a2.4 -inch radius, and an effective mass of 7grams when used with a 53/4 -gram car-tridge. Stylus force is adjustable from 0 to 4grams in I/4 -gram steps; acceptable car-tridge weight ranges from 4 to 11 grams.The viscous -damped cueing is lever con-trolled. The total capacitance (tone armplus turntable cable) is 238 picofarads.

Overall dimensions of the AR turntableare 141/2 x 183/8 x 51/2 inches. The removablehinged dust cover can be lowered whenplaying records, unlike those on the earlierAR turntable models. Turntable weight is15 pounds. Price: $429.99 with tone arm;$279.99 without tone arm.


Polk Introduces aSmaller SDA SpeakerEl Using the same Stereo Dimensional Ar-ray (SDA) technology as the larger PolkSDA- I , the new Polk SDA-2 speaker sys-tem offers similar performance at a lower

price. The speakers' output is designed sothat each ear of the listener effectivelyhears only one speaker of the pair. A secondset of drivers in each speaker delivers anoutput that cancels sounds tending to re-duce the stereo image. The total drivercomplement includes two tweeters, threebass/midrange drivers, and a sub -bass ra-diator. Frequency response is given as 16 to25,000 Hz, and recommended amplifierpower is from 15 to 500 watts per channel.Dimensions: 39 x 16 x 113/4 inches. Price perspeaker: $599.95. Polk Audio, Dept. SR,1915 Annapolis Road, Baltimore, Md.21230.


Argent Moving -CoilPhono Cartridge0 The Argent MC300 moving -coil car-tridge has a boron cantilever and a "para-bolic" nude -diamond stylus. Frequency re -

16 STEREO REVIEW

sponse is given as 10 to 50,000 Hz. Outputvoltage is 0.2 millivolt at 1 kHz with agroove velocity of 5 centimeters per second.

Channel balance is within I dB and channelseparation is 27 dB, both measured at 1

kHz. Vertical tracking angle is 20 degrees.Compliance is 8 X 10 -6 centimeters perdyne; optimum tracking force is 2 ± 0.2grams. Total cartridge weight is 7 grams.The MC300, like every Argent cartridge, ispackaged in a solid Lucite case with an in-dividual frequency -response graph and ailthe tools necessary for proper installation.Price: $235. A replacement cartridge (thestylus is not user -replaceable) costs $130.Distributed by Direct Sound Corp., Dept.SR, 150 Fifth Avenue, Suite 516, NewYork, N.Y. 10011.

Circle 127 on reader serrice card

Computer -ControlledAmplifier from Revox

integrated amplifierhas two microprocessors that allow the userto adjust the sensitivities of the unit's sevenavailable inputs in 0.5 -dB steps. The select-ed sensitivities are programmed into a non-

L_LLLJ I

volatile memory that will retain the dataeven if the unit is disconnected from the a.c.power line. The system is intended to pre-vent disturbing jumps in volume whenswitching from one source to another. Allthe high-level inputs (tuner, two tape decks,auxiliary, and CD player) and the moving -magnet phono input are equipped with sep-arate buffer amplifiers for negligible cross-talk. The system also makes it possible for auser to record one program while listeningto another.

The power -amplifier section has quies-cent current regulation to prevent crossoverdistortion while enabling the amp to achievea 2 -microsecond rise time. A switchingpower supply uses a high conversion fre-quency for hum -free reproduction. The am-plifier is rated to deliver 140 watts perchannel from 20 to 20,000 Hz with 0.02 percent total harmonic distortion. The damp-ing factor is 70 (4 ohms, I kHz). The unit'sinfrasonic filter has a slope of 18 dB per oc-tave below 18 Hz. Frequency response isgiven as 20 to 20,000 Hz ±0, -0.2 dB.

RIAA equalization is within ±0.3 dB. (Anoptional infrared remote -control unit, theB201, can handle both the B25I and otherRevox components.) Price: $1,500.


Philips's Flat -DiaphragmAuto Speaker System The bass drivers for each channel of thePhilips Sound Series 2000 car speaker sys-tem consist of two 5 -inch -square, flat, poly-mer -diaphragm woofers mounted in a rigidcast -aluminum housing. The configurationis said to provide uniform linear piston ac-tion to produce nondirectional bass soundfrom a rear -deck location. Each speaker

also contains a 3/4 -inch -dome tweeter with asamarium -cobalt magnet and a 1 -inch -

dome midrange driver, both cooled by mag-netic fluid. These Double Dome driver pan-els are rotatable and inclinable for superiorstereo imaging from front to back and sideto side in the vehicle.

The speaker systems come in mirror -image pairs and can be biamplified. Eachsystem measures 1313/16 x 57/8 x 3 incheswith a mounting depth of 13/8 inches. Fre-quency response is given as 20 to 22,000Hz. Sensitivity is 90 dB sound -pressure lev-el at 1 meter with a 1 -watt input. Imped-ance is either 2 or 4 ohms, depending on thehookup. Power -handling capacity is 100watts per channel. Finish is black andbrushed aluminum. Price: $399.95 per pair.Distributed by Amperex Electronic Corp.,Dept. SR, 230 Duffy Avenue, Hicksville,N.Y. 11802.


Pioneer's TopAuto -Reverse Deck The top -of -the -line Pioneer auto -reversecassette deck, the two -head CT -90R, has athree -motor tape drive, an automatic tape -parameter adjustment feature, and a real-time counter. Three direct -drive motors

control tape movement, one for the take-uphub, one for the supply hub, and a third(quartz -locked via a servo system) for the

capstan. The BLE (Bias, Level, Equaliza-tion) tape -tuning system analyzes the prop-erties of each blank tape and adjusts thedeck's electronics for optimum recordingperformance. The special ribbon Sendustrecording head, developed by Pioneer, issaid to have long life and high sensitivity inaddition to superior frequency response.

Automatic cueing features include musicsearch, blank search, blank skip, and musicrepeat. The real-time tape timer can beswitched for 46-, 60-, and 90 -minute cas-settes. The peak -reading LED level displaysshow a dynamic range of more than 40 dB.Record level controls are sliders; transportcontrols are light -pressure pushplates. Dol-by -B and Dolby -C noise -reduction systemsare included, and there is a headphone jack.The optional remote control shown (JT-216) operates all transport functions.

Frequency response with metal tape isstated as 20 to 20,000 Hz. Signal-to-noiseratio is 58 dB (68 dB with Dolby -B, 78 withDolby -C). Wow -and -flutter is given as 0.03per cent (wrms). Dimensions are 43/4 x 161/2x 133/8 inches. Price: 5520.


Sony Portable RadioReceives Stereo AM Sony's SRF A100 portable AM/FMstereo radio is the first Sony product incor-porating the company's CX-857 integratedcircuit, a high-performance AM decodercapable of obtaining stereo audio from all

four FCC -approved systems of stereo AMbroadcasting: Harris, Magnavox, Motorola,and Kahn/Hazeltine. A two -position switchadjusts the radio for the system being used,the Kahn system in one position and thethree others in the second. In addition to theradio's two 3 -inch dynamic speakers, thereis a stereo headphone jack for private listen-ing as well as an external d.c. power input.Other controls include volume, tone, anten-na sensitivity, and tuning. A reception -mode switch selects among AM, AM -ster-eo, and FM -stereo reception. Dimensionsare 33/4 x 87/s x 13/8 inches; weight is 11/2

pounds. Price: $89.95.Circle 131 on reader service card

NOTE: All product descriptions and specifi-cations quoted in these columns are basedon materials supplied by the manufacturers.who will respond directly to reader requestsfor further information.

Domestic inflation and fluctuations in thevalue of the dollar overseas affect the priceof merchandise imported into this country.Please be aware that prices quoted in thisissue are therefore subject to change.

OCTOBER 1983 17

Audio Q. and 11.By Larry

Klein

INIIIIMMIENE014

Contributing Editor Kleinselects a channel on one

of Akai's non -portablevideo -cassette recorders. 4

CD Playing Time

Q(Itmy understanding that the maxi-

mum playing time of a CompactDisc is about 75 minutes. An audio dealerhas told me that all available CompactDiscs are limited to about 60 minutes play-ing time because the existing players can-not yet accurately "track" a longer -playingdisc. If this is true, can the first -generationCD players be modified to play the longerdiscs once they become available? Or willthey be obsolete?

ROBERT C. LANGOakland, Calif.

AThis problem, if it existed, wouldrelate to the ability of the CD

player's reading mechanisms to lock ontothe rapidly rotating additional 15 minutesof signal surface. The Philips standard, towhich all CD players must conform, in-cludes the ability to play a 75 -minute disc,so there is absolutely no need to worryabout future incompatibility of available orabout -to -be -available players with longer -playing CD's. The fact that the currentdiscs play around 60 minutes or less has todo with disc -manufacturing problems andprogram -material durations rather thanwith player limitations.

Car Stereo StaticWe had a stereo AM/FM radio in-

- stalled in our new Datsun by theDatsun dealer. There is much static on theradio, and it picks up noise when the hornis'blown or when a motorcycle passes. Cananything be done to eliminate this staticand noise? The dealer says that the prob-lem cannot be helped.

VIOLA M. KAPLANPluckemin, N.J.

Al suspect that what your dealer meansis that he can't help it. Twice I've

been called by friends for advice aboutproblems with their car systems and foundthat the dealer installed the system withoutdue regard for noise suppression or that theradio section was defective. In both cases,the dealer claimed that the performancewas perfectly normal. If you can't get satis-

faction from your dealer, I suggest youwrite directly to Datsun (Nissan).

Amp to Ground?QIs it true that when an amplifier is on but the volume is turned all the way

down, the full amplifier power is goingdirectly to ground? And that when the vol-ume is turned up, more and more power isdiverted from ground to the speakers? Foryears my receivers have run hotter whilerecording with the speakers turned downthan with the speakers turned up to normalvolume. How can an amplifier run hot withno speaker load? And how hot is too hot?

AL TAYLORNational City, Calif.

ANo, it is not true that an amplifier's"full power" is fed to ground when it

is playing with its volume control turneddown. An amplifier's power rating is basedon the power it can deliver, not the power itdelivers at all times. It works like this: theaudio signal from tuner, tape, or phono-aslimited by the volume -control setting-drives the amplifier's power -output stages.The greater the signal from the source andthe higher the volume -control setting, thehigher the output power, up to the ampli-fier's maximum.

How hot an amplifier gets depends on anumber of internal, external, and use fac-tors. The designer chooses the operatingmode for the amplifier's output stages,which might be anything from pure class Ato near class B. Under no -signal conditions,a class -A output circuit will have the mostcurrent flowing through the output transis-tors and will produce the most heat. A pureclass -B circuit, which has the least currentflow, will produce the least heat. Pure classB is not practical for hi-fi use, however,because of its rather high distortion. Mostoutput circuits are set to operate somewherebetween the class -A and the class -B modesand are therefore called class AB. In thepast five years or so a number of circuitshave been devised that automatically varythe bias on the output transistors (which inturn sets their no -signal current flow) ac-cording to the demands of the audio signal.This type of circuit-all other things being

equal-is very efficient and hence runsquite cool.

The designer also chooses the size andarrangement of the amplifier's heat -sinkfins, whose job it is to radiate into the airwhatever heat is produced by the outputtransistors. A low -powered receiver may notrequire separate heat sinks since its metalchassis serves as an adequate heat -radiatingsurface. How and where an amplifier isinstalled can also affect its heat of opera-tion. Heat sinks get rid of heat mostly by airconvection, and their effectiveness can becurtailed by lack of proper ventilation.

In respect to the use factor, a convention-al class -AB output design might run quitewarm with no signal reaching its output.This would depend mostly on its particularbias setting. And it could run marginallycooler with a signal present because of themomentary current reductions that occur asthe currens swings with the signal. I find itdifficult to accept, however, that yourequipment usually runs much hotter withno signal present.

How hot is too hot? My rule of thumb-or forefinger-is that under normal playingconditions an amplifier's outer surfacesshould never become too hot to touch.

Installation AngleQI am considering making my own custom installation. My plan involves

installing my equipment (amplifier, tuner,equalizer, and tape deck) in the tilted topsurface of a console with the rear ends ofthe equipment hanging down. Is it safe toinstall equipment on an angle? Are thereany special precautions I should take?

RICK SOLDAHamilton, Ontario

AIf you had asked me the same questionfifteen to twenty years ago I would

have cautioned you about mounting tubeequipment in such a way that the tube fila-ments could sag and cause the tubes toshort-circuit. Transistors, however, don'tsuffer from sagging elements, and thatproblem is as obsolete-at least for most hi-fi equipment-as corroding buggy -whipsockets. Still, there are some precautions tobe taken when mounting equipment in any-thing other than its normal position. Ampli-fiers and receivers that tend to generateheat should be mounted so as to allow freeair flow around their heat sinks, preferablyin such way that the heated air does notimpinge directly on other components.

Not all tape recorders take kindly tooperation in unusual positions. The prob-lem, if any, arises from the mechanicaldesign of the transport rather than electron-ic complications. If the instruction manualof your tape deck does not explicitly okayangled or bottom -down mounting, it wouldbe safest to check with the manufacturerbefore embarking on a complex woodwork-ing project.

Because the number of questionswe receive each month is greaterthan we can reply to individually,only those letters selected for use inthis column can be answered. Sorry!

18 STEREO REVIEW

REDEFINITION.THE CARVERRECEIVERRedefines your expectations ofreceiver performance with the poweryou need for Digital Audio Discs plusvirtually noise -free stereo FM recep-tion. A receiver with astonishing per-formance incorporating two highlysignificant technological break-throughs: Bob Carver's MagneticField Power Amplifier and hisAsymmetrical Charge CoupledFM Detector.

ESSENTIAL POWER: Your systemneeds an abundance of power toreproduce, without distortion, thedynamic range of music on DigitalAudio Discs and fine analogrecordings.

The Magnetic Field Amplifier in thegives you 130

watts per channel* of pure, cleanpower with superbly defined, highfidelity reproduction.

The Magnetic Field Amplifierproduces large amounts of power(absolutely necessary for the ac-curate reproduction of music atrealistic listening levels) without theneed for heavy heat sinks, massivetransformers, and enormous powercapacitors required by conventionalamplifier design.

Unlike conventional amplifierswhich produce a constant, high vol-tage level at all times, irrespective ofthe demands of the ever-changingaudio signal (Even when there is noaudio signal in the circuit at all!), theMagnetic Field Amplifier's powersupply is signal responsive. Highlyefficient, it produces exactly and onlythe power needed to carry the signalwith complete accuracy and fidelity.

,rAConventional power amplifier

Solid line: audio output signal. Broken line: powersupply voltage. Shaded area: wasted power. Verticallines: power to speakers

The 130 watts -per -channel*CARVER Receiver is about the samesize and weight of conventional re-ceivers having merely 30 watts perchannel!

NOISE -FREE RECEPTION: The AM -FM CARVER Receiver gives you FMstereo performance unmatched bythat of any other receiver.

As it is transmitted from the station,the stereo FM signal is extremelyvulnerable to distortion, noise, hissand multioath interference.

However, when you engageCARVER's Asymmetrical ChargeCoupled FM Detector circuit, thestereo signal arrives at your ears vir-tually noise -free. You hear fully sepa-rated stereo with space, depth andambience!

Reflected muti-pathsignals cause audibledistortion.

Asymmetrical ChargeCoupled FM Detectorgives your ears a truesonic image.

The Asymmetrical ChargeCoupled FM Detector was first intro-duced in CARVER's TX -11 StereoTuner, receiving unparalleled criticalacclaim:

"A major advance ... Its noise reduc-tion for stereo reception ranged fromappreciab:e to tremendous. It makesthe majority of stereo signals sound vir-tually as quiet as mono signals, yet itdoes not ailute the stereo effect."Julian D. Hirsch, STEREO REVIEW

(December, 1982)

"Separarion was still there; onlythe background noise had beendiminished, and with it, much of thesibilance and hissy edginess so char-acteristic of multipath interference."

Leonard Feldman, AUDIO(December, 1982)

"What distinguishes the TX -11 is itsability to pull clean, noise -free soundout of weak or multipath ridden signalsthat would have you lunging for themono switch on any other tuner weknow of."

HIGH FIDELITY (January, 1983)

The CARVER Receiver has beendesigned for fidelity, accuracy andmusicality You will want to visit yourCARVER dealer for a personal audi-t on of this remarkable instrument.

*130 watts per channel RMS into 8ohms, 20 Hz to 20 kHz with no morethan 0.05% total harmonic distortion.

ZirdrAfAriiii liWitilAINN\

CARVER Powerful Musical AccurateCarver Corporation P.O. Box 664, Woodinvi: le, WA 98072

Distributed in Canada by Evolu:ion Audio, Ltd.

Tape Talk

Susurrant StereoQRecently I recorded a live concert simultaneously on two decks. One

N as Jed a mono signal froni the PA ampli-fier's output jack; the other used a one -point stereo electret microphone connecteddirectly to the deck's mike jacks. The monorecording was clear and crisp, but the ster-eo version was bathed in a susurrant hiss Icould not eliminate. I presume the noisecame from the mike and its unbalancedconnecting cables, since the PA mike usedbalanced lines. If so. should I invest in bal-anced -line microphones and a mixer to feedmy deck's line -level input?

KEITH A. ORLOFFDetroit, Mich.

A If your problem had been hum ratherthan hiss, or if you were using long

cables and were losing high frequencies,low -impedance balanced -line microphoneswould be the answer. You could either use amixer designed for such microphones orsimply get a pair of adaptor transformers(lo -Z balanced to hi -Z unbalanced) withthe appropriate connectors for your deck.

Since your problem is hiss, however, it isprobable either that the battery in yourstereo electret microphone was low, causingnoisy and inadequate pre-preamplificationwithin the microphone, or that your deckhas a noisy microphone stage (a commonproblem), or simply that the microphoneyou're using is noisy because of a defect ora poor design. To narrow down these alter-natives, try borrowing a friend's (unbal-anced) microphone and deck, then do somerecording using your mike with his deck andhis mike with your deck.

Demagnetizingn Every ten hours or so I demagnetize%, my deck's record and playbackheads. Why is it that the erase head needsno such treatment?

JOHN ATIYEHCosa Mesa, Calif.

AWhen a deck is switched into therecord mode the erase head is fed

with a bias signal approximately ten times

as strong as that used for recording, and theelectromagnetic field this produces auto-matically degausses the erase head. In addi-tion to demagnetizing your record and play-back heads (especially the latter), however,you should also degauss rotating capstans,which often acquire even more magnetiza-tion than the heads themselves.

Car Demagnetizersn The tip of the head demagnetizer I useN4 on my home deck is not long enoughto reach into the cassette player I have inmy car. A salesman told me that since thecar unit was only a player and not a record-er its heads would not become magnetized,so I wouldn't need a demagnetizer for it. Isthat right?

EDWARD NixAtlanta, Ga.

Ait is certainly true that the large biascurrents needed for recording have a

greater potential for magnetizing tapeheads than the relatively minuscule signalsgenerated by the tape during playback.Nonetheless, I think you should invest in asuitable demagnetizer for your car player, iffor no other reason than that its capstanmay develop a magnetic field that can addhiss and reduce high -frequency response.And while you're using it on the capstan, itmakes good sense to degauss the heads atthe same time.

Dolby Defects?r% IA it true that the Dolby -B and Dolby -..4 C noise -reduction systems eliminateor decrease some instrumental sounds inthe recording process and that they adddistortion? That seems like a high price topay for reducing hiss.

DWAYNE BELLELawton, Okla.

AGiven a properly adjusted recorderand Dolby system of either type, you

need have no fear that the noise reductionwill get rid of anything but the hiss. If youlook at STEREO REVIEW'S cassette -deck testreports, you will find that the measured

"Dolby tracking error"-the difference infrequency response with the Dolby systemswitched in and out-is typically ± I dB (2dB at worst) throughout a recorder's usefulrange.

What causes many people to think thatsome of the treble range somehow gets lostin the noise -reduction process is that theyare accustomed to judging the high -fre-quency content of recorded music in thepresence of highly audible high -frequencytape hiss. When the hiss is subtracted thereisn't as much total treble energy as therewas before (hence the illusion of lost highfrequencies), but the music part of it is stillthere, and it can be enjoyed all the morewhen it doesn't have to compete for atten-tion with the hiss.

As for distortion arising in the noise -reduction process, the curious thing is thatif you measure the harmonic distortion of asine -wave signal recorded with and withoutthe Dolby system, you get less, not more,distortion in the Dolby version! This isbecause the harmonic -distortion products(higher -frequency multiples of the originalfrequency) are not boosted by the Dolbyencoding (record) process, but, like tapehiss, they are cut back in the decoding(playback) mode.

In short, it sounds as if someone's beenfilling your mind with baseless fears about aprocess that often makes the differencebetween listenable and unlistenable cassetterecordings. Listen critically for yourself andI think you'll agree.

Reusing Tapen How often can a high -quality tape be\-14 rerecorded before it loses its abilityto reproduce sound faithfully?

JON M. SMITHLas Vegas, Nev.

AMagnetically, there is no limit at all,though on general principles I'd bulk

erase a tape that has been recorded pre-viously before using it for a critical applica-tion. The real limitation is physical: after acertain number of passes the tape edges arelikely to get damaged and some of the coat-ing will probably be worn away. In studiomixdowns, where a tape may have to gothrough a hundred or more passes, often ina high-speed cueing mode, tape wear is aworry, but I have yet to find it a problemwith high -quality tapes in ordinary use.

Tape Switching/ have both an open -reel and a cassette

..4 deck, but my preamplifier has onlyone set of tape jacks. Is there any accessorydevice that will let me: ( I ) use either deckwithout switching cables. (2) copy fromdeck to deck directly, and (3) make simul-taneous dubs of an LP or FM broadcast?

PETER LARGMANNJersey City, N.J.

A If you can't find a suitable switchingunit at a local hi-fi dealer or Radio

Shack store, I'm sure you can get one to fityour needs from Russound/FMP, Inc., 135McDonough Street, Industrial Building,Portsmouth, N.H. 03801.

20 STEREO REVIEW

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FUJITSU TEN CM -6530

HE Fujitsu Ten CM -6530 is a straight-i car stereo receiver/cassette

player that costs about half as much as anyof the auto sound products we have testedpreviously for this column. Its analog AM/FM tuner section has no station presets orpushbutton tuning functions. The auto -re-verse cassette player has 120- and 70 -mi-crosecond equalization; as in many othercar stereo units, the latter setting is labeled"Metal" although it is more likely to beused with high -bias ferric or chromium -dioxide tapes. Unlike most recent cassetteplayers, however, this one does not haveDolby- B noise reduction. Instead, there is aswitchable DNR (Dynamic Noise Reduc-tion) circuit that operates with the tuner aswell as the tape player to reduce hiss in bothmedia. The integral amplifier handles onepair of speakers. A pair of phono-plugpreamplifier outputs allows use of an exter-nal power amplifier for a second pair ofspeakers.

Fairly large buttons flanking the cassetteopening (above the analog tuning scales)control tape rewind, fast forward, and eject.Smaller buttons along the bottom edge ofthe panel control the tape direction (PRO.GRAM), which is indicated by small amberilluminated arrows to the right of the dialscales, and the APS system. The latter is anautomatic high-speed program selectionmode that operates in either fast -forward orrewind and stops at the next selection (ac-tually, at any silent period of at least 4 sec-onds' duration) and begins play. Similarbuttons control the loudness compensation,the DNR, tape playback -equalization selec-tion or stereo/mono mode selection in FM,and FM/AM selection. Lighted legends onthe dial face indicate the program selectedand the presence of a stereo pilot carrier onan FM signal.

The concentric knobs at the left of thepanel are the bass tone control and the vol-ume control. The latter also operates theon/off switch; when pulled out it becomesthe balance control, and when pushed in it

is the front/rear fader control. At the rightof the panel are concentric knobs for thetreble tone control and tuning. The tone andbalance controls are center detented. A fea-ture rarely found in this price range is theautomatic disengagement of the tape pinch -roller when the car's ignition is shut off,which avoids possible tape damage or dent-ing of the pinch -roller. Price: $269.95. Fu-jitsu Ten Corp. of America, 19281 PacificGateway Drive, Torrance, Calif. 90502.

Lab Tests

Like all car receivers with analog tuning,the Fujitsu Ten CM -6530 has short,crowded dial scales for both radio bands. Ina heavily populated area with many sta-tions, one can do little more than guess fromthe dial position which is being received, butin many parts of the country these scaleswould be adequate. Fortunately, the tuningwas free of backlash and easy to use.

Although the FM tuner section of theCM -6530 was not very sensitive, it sur-prised us with some of its other characteris-tics. For instance, the capture ratio was aremarkable 0.4 dB at 65 dBf (500 micro-volts, or µV) into its 75 -ohm antenna inputjack, though it deteriorated to a rather un-remarkable 4.6 dB at 45 dBf (50 µV). Theapparent selectivity of the tuner was equal-ly surprising; for alternate -channel spacingit exceeded our measurement limit of about80 dB, and even with adjacent -channelspacing it was a very good 19 dB. We de-scribe these figures as "apparent," since thetuner has AFC (automatic frequency con-trol), which can sometimes give the effect ofvery high selectivity. In any case, the meas-ured selectivity was very good.

The apparent stereo threshold (at whichthe ST light came on) was about 17 dBf (2µV), but this was misleading since the tunerhas an automatic channel blend that startsat about 48 dBf (70 µV) and reaches a fullymono condition at about 37 dB (20 µV).Strong signals are received in stereo, butweaker ones will not be, even if the stereosignal light is on.

The CM -6530's frequency response(combining the tuner and audio responsewith the tone controls at their center -decentpositions) was reasonably flat from 50 to15,000 Hz, but it dropped off at lower fre-quencies (not an important considerationsince most car stereo speakers cannot repro-duce frequencies below 70 Hz or so verywell anyway). The channel separation wasabout 26 dB through the midrange, fallingto 15 dB or so at low frequencies and toabout 20 dB at 10,000 Hz. These meas-urements were made with a 65 -dB input;with lower signal levels, as noted, the sepa-ration decreases considerably and finallydisappears. The AM -tuner frequency re-sponse was similar to the FM and tape re-sponse at middle and low frequencies butfell to -6 dB at 2,600 Hz.

The FM signal-to-noise ratio was about60 dB in mono and 56.5 dB in stereo. Usingthe DNR system made an audible reductionin tuner hiss. The FM -tuner distortion, as inmost car stereos, was rather high, between0.5 and 0.7 per cent depending on mono/stereo mode and signal strength.

The cassette playback frequency re -

Hirsch -Houck Lab MeasurementsFM mono usable sensitivity (75 -ohm input):23 dBf (3.9 pV)Mono 50 -dB quieting sensitivity (75 -ohminput): 25 dBf (5 pV)Stereo 50 -dB quieting sensitivity (75 -ohminput): 31 dBf (10 5V)Tuner signal-to-noise ratio at 65 dBf: mono,60 dB; stereo. 56.5 dBTuner distortion at 65 dBf: mono, 0.53 percent; stereo, 0.7 per centFM frequency response: 30 to 15,000 Hz0, -- 7.5 dB (-3 dB at 50 Hz)Stereo separation at 100, 1,000, and10,000 Hz: 22, 26, and 19.5 dBCapture ratio at 65 dBf: 0.4 dBAM rejection at 65 dBf: 60 dBAlternate -channel selectivity: notmeasurable (see text)Adjacent -channel selectivity: 19 dBImage rejection: 54 dBAM frequency response: -6 dB at 40 and2.600 Hz

Tape -playback frequency response(standard BASF test tapes, -3 -dB limits):forward -90 to 8,000 Hz (120-5s EQ), 100to 6.800 Hz (70-5s E0); reverse -100 to10,500 Hz (120-µs E0). 110 to 12,000 Hz(70-5s EQ)Tape signal-to-noise ratio (referred to 250nWb m at 315 Hz, 120-5s EQ):unweighted-51 dB, 54 dB with DNR;CCIR / ARM weighting -54.5 dB, 62.5 dBwith DNRFlutter (measured at both start and end of acassette, with same results): ± 0.2 per centCCIR-weighted peak; 0.13 per centJIS-weighted rmsTape speed accuracy: at start, -1.2 percent; at end, - 1.1 per centFast rewind time for C-60: 132 secondsTone -control range: +13, -14.5 dB at100 Hz; ± 10 dB at 10,000 HzAmplifier power into 4 ohms at clipping(1,000 Hz): 14.1 watts per channel

22 STEREO REVIEW

sponse, as in most auto -reverse systems, wasquite different in the two directions of oper-ation. On our sample, the reverse -play re-sponse was considerably flatter than in for-ward play, but which direction tests betteris usually a function of the head alignmentof the particular unit being tested. In thebetter direction, the highs were satisfactory,

. . . the CM -6530 offers, ata very reasonable price, a. . . combination of simpleoperation, useful features,and a good amplifier."

although they fell off markedly above12,000 Hz. In the other direction, however,there was little useful output above 10,000Hz. The results were similar with bothequalization characteristics (using the ap-propriate test tapes, of course).

The CM -6530 delivered a healthy 14watts or more per channel at 1,000 Hz into4 -ohm loads. Its distortion (including thetuner distortion, at a reduced modulationpercentage) varied from about 0.3 per centat a fraction of a watt output to about 1.5per cent at 14 watts. Unlike most home am-plifiers, the power section of this receiverdoes not clip abruptly but rounds offsmoothly and gradually; it therefore doesnot generate a large number of offensivehigh -order harmonics when overdriven.

Overall, the Fujitsu Ten CM -6530 offers,at a very reasonable price, an unusual com-bination of simple operation, useful features(auto -reverse, APS, and DNR), and a goodamplifier. The FM tuner performs ade-quately in most respects, and it is capable ofstartlingly good performance under someconditions (especially when dealing withstrong signals). It seems likely that the per-ceived qualities of this receiver will bestrongly dependent on the user's locationand specific listening habits. -J.H.

Road Tests

The Brooklyn Bridge is a hundred yearsold this year, and as if to emphasize this theancient street system below the celebratedspan has developed a profusion of newholes, buckles, and protuberances. Alongwith a fine assortment of gravel roads nearthe Delaware Water Gap, these provided uswith unusually challenging test sites for thetape -transport mechanism of the FujitsuTen CM -6530.

In brief, the player stood up to the worstthat my Volvo and the various road surfacescould show it. It even managed to continueworking while I drove on the heavily rippledasphalt near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Therepeated undulations there and the steel di-viding strips in the concrete roadways ofDelaware River -area highways occasionallycaused small amounts of chatter to comethrough. Still, I never feared for the safetyof the terrible old C-1 20 I use for part of thetest. A metal cassette dubbed from a digitalLP of ninteenth-century French organ mu-sic that has sustained tones at all frequen-

cies would have exposed any transport ir-regularities. There were none except theslight chatter already mentioned, and sincethe CM -6530 was clamped to my car'stransmission hump, this should be inter-preted as a worst -case kind of result. Suchabuse simply doesn't happen to most cartape players in normal use.

The same organ tape provided a check onthe effectiveness of the unit's tone controls.The bass and treble knobs boosted and cutthe response where they were supposed to.and it was a pleasure to find that the loud-ness compensation complemented ratherthan duplicated the low -end contouring ofthe bass control. Another tape I've used be-fore to test tone performance, of a Nonet forWinds and Strings by Louise Farrenc(Leonarda LP1 110), gave me a chance tohear both solo and massed passages for thevarious instruments. The bass was generallyfull and solid with no flabbiness. There wassome midrange unevenness, but it seemed toderive from my speaker array and installa-tion; it mostly disappeared when I substi-tuted a new pair of home -type minispeakersfor my standard three-way pair. In the hightreble I did note a falling off of response.which the treble knob partially cured, but atthe expense of an accentuated upper mid-range. The sound overall could be charac-terized as smooth, even, and-using an ex-ternal power amplifier and rear speakers-as crisp as needed.

AM sound was fairly full, but I was ableto get a few less stations than I'm used topicking up. Impulse noises from other vehi-cles and even from a purposely disconnectedspark -plug lead were minimal and tendednot to be irritating during AM listening be-cause they were at low volume. The samewas true with FM, which mostly resistedsuch intrusions. Again, fewer FM stationsthan usual were receivable, but those I

could get were listenable until distance orthe normal metropolitan New York ob-structions caused the signals to disappearinto noise. Multipath distortion on FM wasseldom loud enough to be objectionable andeven failed to distract me from my favoritemorning newscast on one particularlydreadful (for radio) stretch of the Brooklyn -Queens Expressway. In the steel -and -ma-sonry canyons around the Empire StateBuilding, I detected one brief flash of FMcrossmodulation (in which a station fromone part of the dial shows up elsewhere),but listenability even there was good. I likedhaving the choice of switching to mono forFM, since clean mono sounds better thanunstable stereo in urban areas.

The DNR circuit seemed to work quitewell, noticeably reducing background hisson both FM and tapes. Having a noise -re-duction system that works on an unencodedsource is a real pleasure. My one gripe withthe CM -6530 is its lack of station presets.While some people may have only a singlefavorite station, I don't, and with two orthree to select among, electronic or me-chanical presets are a must to keep from en-dangering other drivers as you hunt up anddown the dial manually. (Of course, theCM -6530 is a relatively inexpensive unit,and Fujitsu Ten has other models that in-clude presets.) Otherwise, this is a simple,uncluttered car stereo that is easy to useand eminently capable of good, musicalperformance.

I

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CIRCLE NO. 10 ON READER SERVICE CARD

Technical TalkByJulian D. Hirsch

Dynamic Range and DecibelsMANY technical terms are used loosely,

incorrectly, or with incomplete under-standing by audio hobbyists. Personally, Iam not a stickler for unvarying adherenceto the rules of language, even technical lan-guage, since it is only by our stretchingthose rules that language can evolve withthe changing world it seeks to describe. Ofcourse, these deviations must not interferewith meaningful communication.

The problems arising from using unde-fined terms are nicely illustrated by the nu-merous attempts to describe sound qualityin non -acoustical terms. These efforts havenot been altogether successful because thewords used to describe sounds do not alwaysconvey the same meanings to differentpeople (see Bruce Bartlett's article on page57). Even a term that does have some appli-cation to acoustics, such as "imaging," maylack the semantic precision to be really use-ful in the context of hi-fi. It is certainlytempting to use the concept of an opticalimage to describe a characteristic of asound field, but, unfortunately, the humansenses do not interpret the visual and audi-tory fields in quite the same ways.

Let us consider "dynamic range," long apopular term in audio circles and destinedfor even greater use with the arrival of dig-ital recordings and home digital playbackequipment. It has several related but notequivalent meanings that are sometimes in-correctly used interchangeably.

Dynamic range is officially defined in theIEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electron-ics Engineers) Dictionary of Terms as "thedifference, in decibels, between the over-

load level and the minimum acceptable sig-nal level in a system or transducer." A noteto the definition adds that the minimum ac-ceptable signal level is ordinarily fixed byone or more of the following: noise level,low-level distortion, interference, or resolu-tion level.

This is a rather comprehensive and ap-parently unambiguous definition of a termwe all use. From past service on technicalstandards committees with the IRE (prede-cessor of the IEEE), I can attest to the ex-treme thoroughness with which each defini-tion is examined and criticized before beingaccepted as a standard.

But as applied to audio systems, thestandard definition still allows some leewayin defining the limit conditions for the"floor" and "ceiling" of the overall dynamicrange. For example, the overload level isusually defined in terms of the percentageof harmonic distortion measured at the out-put of the system, but the amount of distor-tion chosen as signifying overload may dif-fer widely among different types of audioequipment. In the case of magnetic tape, forexample, the overload distortion level islikely to be either 3 or 5 per cent (the higherdistortion percentage will result in a "bet-ter" dynamic -range specification). In thecase of an amplifier, the onset of significantdistortion is usually so abrupt that it is eas-ier to use the appearance of waveform clip-ping at the amplifier output than a particu-lar percentage level as the criterion foroverload.

Usually, the floor of the audio dynamicrange is set by noise, either wide -band ran -

dom noise, periodic noise such as hum, or acombination of the two. Again, problemsarise from the psychoacoustic response tonoise by a human listener. Some audio noisefrequencies are much more audible or an-noying than others, and it has become cus-tomary to "weight" noise measurements todiscriminate between frequency compo-nents that are relatively inaudible or inof-fensive and those that are disturbing even atlow levels.

The much -vaunted dynamic range of dig-ital audio recording and playback systemshas quite definite floors and ceilings. Theselimits are so precise that they can be calcu-lated from knowledge of just one number:the resolution of the digital -audio system,measured in bits. For example, the masterrecorders and disc players for the CompactDisc system usually have resolutions of six-teen bits. This means that these machineshandle audio signals as a series of discretelevel measurements, with the total numberof levels that can be discerned (resolved)equal to 216, or 65,536. Resolution of thisorder is equivalent to an audio dynamicrange of 98 dB.

What happens if the signals to be re-corded require greater resolution, 65,537levels, say? At the high end of the range(the loudest signal) most current digital re-corders would simply clip the signal at theirtheoretical limit (65,536). This clippingwould be audible in the same way that am-plifier clipping is audible: for very short sig-nal peaks, it would not be heard, but contin-uous clipping would sound very distorted.At the other end of the dynamic range,

Tested This Month

Marantz CD -73 Compact Disc Player Celestion Ditton 110 Speaker SystemVSP Labs Trans MOS Power Amplifier Pioneer F-90 AM/FM Tuner

Fosgate Research Model 101A Tate II Surrounc Stereo System

24 STEREO REVIEW

WHY PUT TWOFILTERS INTO ONEGREAT COMPACT

DISC PLAYER?

Kyocera goes to double lengths tomake sure there's no distortion inits DA-Ol Compact Disc Player. It'sgot both digital and analog filters-so nobody hears distortion.

The advantage of digital andanalog filtering systems.Modern technology has made ana-log filters pretty effective. But therecan be a problem-analog filtersby themselves render limited per-formance. By combining an ana-log filter with a digital filter, andprecisely applying both types injust the right way, the limitationsfound with analog filters are notthere anymore. Thanks to theunique use of these filters, and animpressive array of very advancedcircuitry, the Kyocera CD Playerprovides accurate, crystal-clear, life-like sound.

The awesome specs that onlydigital can provide.Needless to say, the Kyocera DA -01comes through with some specs thatare mind -boggling: A full 90 dBdynamic range...flat frequencyresponse from 20-20,000 Hz...quiet 90 dB S/N ratio...and totalisolation 90 dB channel separation.

And, just in case you didn'trealize it, with the fabulous discplayer system, as provided inKyocera's DA-Ol Player, there isno contact between disc and play-back head.scratches or record wear. And theDA-Ol plugs right into your presentaudio system-Kyocera or others-just like a conventional turntable.

Easy to use, but total control ofevery function.The DA-Ol is easier to use than amodern cassette deck-slide thecompact disc into the disc compart-ment, shut the door and hit theplay button. With the DA -01'sfeather -touch controls, you canplay the whole thing (60 minutesa side)...repeat a track...scan...pause... skip... advance... index...and program up to 24 differentsegments with an electronic mem-ory. A functional LED digital paneltells you program running timeand just where the optical scanneris on the disc.

Admittedly, our DA -01's arecarried only by selected dealers.If you have trouble findingone, contact: Kyocera Inter-national, Inc., 7 Powder HornDrive, Warren, NI 07060 (201)560-0060.

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what happens if the softest signal to be re-corded falls below the noise floor of the sys-tem? The wide -band noise level of a six-teen -bit system can never be lower than 98dB below maximum output level. (Lowernoise levels can be measured when a digitalsystem is playing back an all -zero signal.This is equivalent, however, to turning offthe digital -to -analog converters, a situationnever encountered in music playback.) Hu-man beings, though, with our highlyadapted and specialized hearing systems,can hear signals that are below the overallbackground -noise level. In a paper deliveredto the October 1982 Audio EngineeringSociety convention, John Vanderkooy andStanley Lipshitz of the University ofWaterloo, Ontario, showed that, with theaddition of a "dither signal," a digital audiosystem can record and reproduce signals atresolutions below the "least significantbit"-but with the minor penalty of aslightly higher overall noise level. Thus, tohandle a signal below the system's floor, thedynamic range as defined above is actuallydecreased.

In the case of digital recording we have afinite dynamic range with both limits welldefined. With analog recording (and play-back), the two limits are less easily calcu-lated since they are affected by psycho -acoustic phenomena (such as the relativeimperceptibility of "soft clipping") as wellas physical limitations of the medium. As ithappens, the dynamic range that we havebeen discussing is that of the recording/re-producing system and not that of the re-corded program itself. The distinction is vi-tal, since a compressed program source

(such as a hard -rock recording with a 10 -dBoverall dynamic range) will have the samelimited range in the digital -disc format as itdoes in today's analog records.

In the preceding paragraph, I used "dy-namic range" in a different sense than pre-viously (I did say that many of our defini-tions were used somewhat loosely, didn'tI?). A program's dynamic range is the dif-ference, in decibels, between the levels of itsloudest and softest signal passages. Ob-viously, for undistorted reproduction thisshould be less than the system's dynamicrange. That is not always possible with cer-tain types of music and recording systems.In these cases the program's dynamic rangemust be reduced to fit the limits of the me-dium, by electronic compression of somekind, by deliberately limiting the dynamicsof the live performance, or (usually) both.

Finally, there is the matter of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), which is related to dy-namic range but not identical to either sys-tem or program dynamic range. The S/N isa function of both the signal and the me-dium, for it is the difference in decibels be-tween the highest program signal level andthe system's noise level (which may beweighted for this measurement). It is clear-ly desirable for the system's S/N to exceedthe program's dynamic range, so that all theaudible background noise during pauses inthe program is the recording studio's am-bient noise and not hiss or hum added bythe recording system.

In this discussion, and in practically everyother aspect of high fidelity, the term deci-bel (abbreviated dB) appears. Letters fromreaders over the years have indicated an un-

derstandable confusion over the meaning ofthis term, which I have even seen used with-out definition in completely nontechnicalpublications. Basically, it is an expression ofa ratio between two electrical powers. Therelationship of two different power levelscan be expressed simply by the logarithm(to base 10) of their ratio. For example, ifwe have a power of 1 watt at one point in asystem and 10 watts at another, their ratiocan be expressed as 1 bel (the common log-arithm of 10). [The term bel originated inthe telephone industry and is a contractionof the name of telephone pioneer AlexanderGraham Bell.] Generally the smaller, deci-bel unit (one tenth of a bel) is more conve-nient to use. In this case the same powerratio would be expressed as 10 dB.

A logarithmic expression like this hasmany advantages, but one of the most easilyappreciated is its ability to deal with verylarge or very small numbers in a more con-venient form. For example, power amplifi-cation by a factor of one million is morecommonly described as a 60 -dB increase ofpower (or -60 dB if it is a power reductionby the same factor). The decibel is also fre-quently used to relate different voltage lev-els. Since the power in a given circuit is pro-portional to the square of the voltage, thelogarithm of a voltage ratio must be multi-plied by twenty instead of ten to obtain thedecibel value. Although this usage is strictlycorrect only when both voltages are appliedacross the same impedance level, the conve-nience of the decibel notation has led to itswidespread use for expressing voltage aswell as power ratios without regard for im-pedance values. 0

Equipment Test ReportsHirsch -Houck Laboratories: Julian D. Hirsch and Craig Stark

2

uuuuuu

Marantz CD -73 Compact Disc Player

THE styling of the gold -colored MarantzCD-73 Compact Disc player matches

that of other Marantz audio components.Its low -profile design (only 31/4 inches inheight) makes it one of the more compactCD players on the market.

For play, a disc is placed on a horizontal"turntable" that emerges smoothly from

the f runt panel of the CD -73 when theOPEN/CLOSE button (above the power but-ton at the left side of the panel) is pressed.A second touch of the OPEN/CLOSE buttoncauses an overhead retaining arm to clampdown over the record and spindle as thedrawer returns to its normal position withinthe player. A large window occupying most

of the rig. -it half of the panel contains a hor-izontal row of fifteen green LED's, corre-sponding to the programming capacity ofthe player's memory system, and a similarrow of small amber lights extends across thebottom of the window area.

A disc can be played from its beginningby pressing the NEXT PROGRAM/PLAY button

OCTOBER 1983 27

Arst_seponlabelow the loading door. As soon as the discbegins to rotate, the player's circuits deter-mine the number of selections ("tracks")and light up a corresponding number of thegreen LED's in the display window. In oper-ation, an amber light always indicates theparticular track being played and the greenlights show how many remain to be played.Pressing the NEXT PROGRAM/PLAY button atany time advances the player to the begin-ning of the next programmed selection (orsimply to the next track if there is no pro-grammed sequence).

Like most CD players, the Marantz unithas a PAUSE button that instantly interruptsplay, which resumes at the same point thenext time the button is pressed. Buttonsmarked REv. and F.F. slew the laser pickupback or forward while they are held in. Inthis mode, however, there is no audio outputand no indication of pickup position otherthan the amber light designating the trackbeing scanned.

The programming controls of the CD -73are located under the display window. Theycan be set to play or to omit any of thetracks on a disc, to a maximum of fifteen.The amber light corresponding to any trackcan be lit by pressing the SELECT buttonfrom one to fifteen times, and pressing PRE-SET enters that selection into memory (itsgreen track -number light remains on toshow that it has been programmed). Alter-natively, the CANCEL button can be used todelete a selection from the program (extin-guishing its green LED).

After the player has been programmed,pressing NEXT PROGRAM/PLAY starts theplayback sequence. The disc turns and theamber lights advance sequentially to thefirst programmed track, which is thenplayed. The playing sequence follows theprogrammed pattern until the last selectionhas been completed, after which the unitshuts off. At any time, pressing STOP/ALLCANCEL cancels the programmed sequenceand stops the player. Pressing REPEATcauses all programmed tracks to be repeat-ed indefinitely until the button is pressedagain.

+2

0 +1JtilM 00

0 1

I I I 1 1 I 1 I

MARANTZ C D -7 3FREQUENCY RESPONSE

[TEST DISC: PHILIPS 410 055 2-2

20 50 00 200 500 1K 2K 5KFREQUENCY IN HZ (CYCLES PER SECOND)

Much of the rear apron of the MarantzCD -73 is occupied by a heat sink and a por-tion of the unit's power transformer that ex-tends from the chassis. In addition to thegold-plated signal -output phono connectors(meant to feed a line -level amplifier input),there are two phono jacks marked rathercryptically IN (REMOTE) and EASY (OUT).These are intended for use with an optionalremote -control accessory that the companyplans to introduce later. The CD -73 is 161/2inches wide and 131/2 inches deep; weight is171/2 pounds. Price: $999. Marantz Co.,Inc., 20525 Nordhoff Street, Chatsworth,Calif. 91311.

Laboratory Measurements. Our testprocedure for the Marantz CD -73 was es-sentially the same as that used for the elev-en CD players we tested for the July 1983issue. The operating features and test re-sults are summarized in the accompanyingbox using the format established in that is-sue, which we plan to follow in future re-ports on CD players. We were not alwaysable to use the full capabilities of the stan-dard Philips and Sony test discs, however,for these discs have from thirty-six to thir-ty-nine distinct tracks, and the CD -73 hasno easy means of selecting tracks numberedhigher than fifteen. (It is possible, thoughvery time consuming, to reach tracks num-bered above fifteen by repeatedly pushingthe NEXT PROGRAM/PLAY button.)

The CD -73's (fixed) output level from a0 -dB, 1,000 -Hz test tone measured 2.12volts, with the channel levels matched with-in 0.12 dB. The frequency response, identi-

Marantz CD -73 0and Hirsch -Houck

Manual FeaturesSkip to next selection?: YesSkip back to previous selection?: NoScan search?: YesProgram audible during scan search?: NoRepeat selection side?: YesRepeat phrase: NoCue by selection number?: YesCue by index number?: NoCue by time?: No

Programming FeaturesNumber of selections in sequence: 15Can order be random?: YesCan sequence be repeated?: YesSkip forward to next item?: YesSkip back to previous item?: No

Lab MeasurementsMaximum output level: 2 12 volts

Aerating FeaturesLabs Test Results

Total harmonic distortion at 1,000 Hz:0.0044 per cent referred to 0 dB; 0.011per cent referred to 24 dB

Intermodulation distortion: 0.007 per centreferred to 0 dB; did not measure referredto - 24 dB (test -disc track not accessible)

Signal-to-noise ratio: 104 dB unweighted;114 dB A -weighted

Channel separation: 99 dB at 1,000 Hz; 96dB at 20,000 Hz

Frequency response: 0.1 -0.2 dB from20 to 20,000 Hz

Cueing time: 11.5 seconds

Other Lab Testsimpact resistance: top, A; side, ACueing accuracy: test track not accessibleDefect tracking (figures are size of largest

defect successfully tracked): signal -surfacedamage, 900 micrometers; painted dots,800 micrometers, simulated fingerprint,pass

10K 20K

cal for both channels, showed a slight cycli-cal variation above 2,000 Hz, but the over-all level fluctuation of +0.1, -0.2 dB from20 to 20,000 Hz was certainly negligible.The unweighted signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)relative to the player's maximum output at1,000 Hz was 104 dB, and the A -weighted S/N was 114 dB. Both figures areoutstanding.

The 1,000 -Hz harmonic distortion for re-corded levels from 0 to -24 dB was meas-ured using the Philips TS3 test disc (catalognumber 410 055 2). We found it to consistof a number of harmonic components, all atvery low levels (typically from -90 to-100 dB). All significant harmonics up tothe ninth were included in our measure-ment. The distortion was in the range of0.0044 to 0.0052 per cent at recorded levelsfrom 0 to -6 dB, rising slightly to 0.0089per cent at -12 dB and to 0.011 per cent at-24 dB. Distortion readings could not bemade at lower recorded signal levels sincethe low-level distortion products weremasked by system and test -instrumentnoise. It should be noted that the relatively"high" 0.011 per cent reading at a -24 -dBlevel corresponds to -103 dB referred tothe 0 -dB level, or 0.0007 per cent as weusually measure distortion. So much for thealleged excessive low-level distortion fromdigital program sources!

The intermodulation distortion (usingmixed signals of 60 and 7,000 Hz in a 4:1ratio) was 0.007 per cent at 0 dB. The1,000 -Hz channel separation was a verygood 99 dB, and it was 96 dB at 20,000 Hz.The flutter was at most the residual of ourtest equipment, somewhat less than 0.002per cent.

The CD -73 traverses a disc rather slowly;it took 11.5 seconds to slew from Track 1 toTrack 15 of the Philips TS3 disc. But it hadsuperior resistance to external shock and todisc defects. It took firm blows on theplayer's top or side to jar the laser pickupfrom its correct position relative to the disc,earning it an "A" rating in this respect. TheCD -73 also had no difficulty playing everypart of the Philips TS4A test disc, whoseprogressively greater built-in surface de-fects eventually cause dropouts or evenworse audible effects with most other CDplayers.

Comment. Obviously there is little tocriticize in the listening performance orgeneral. behavior of the Marantz CD -73. Itis in many ways a superior performer in afield of outstandingly fine units. We partic-ularly liked the CD -73's compact dimen-sions. It is about half the height of most oth-er CD players and can easily be stackedwith most audio components. And we alsoappreciated the unusual CANCEL feature,

28 STEREO REVIEW

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points). Winners wil: be sekcted under the supervisionof National Judging Ins itu e, Inc., an independera judg-ing organization whose lee nom are final on all nattersrelating to this contevt. A I I prises will be awarded andwinners notified by mail. P-izes are not transferable orexchangeable. Only cne prise to an individual or family.5. All entries become the proven, of The Padd ngt)nCorporation with all -gI ts. odor .ng the right o edit,publish and use any pio o without further considerationof payment to the corLexan . No rorrespon.lerce a w3utentries will be entered into. tor w .1 photos 'se a:knowl-edged or returned.6. Before receiving a prise, each entrant mast warrant hiage, that the photogn pl was taken by himself. hat he isan amateur photographer, and th it he has fillrights to the photogr.iph and that It has wor noprevious award or competit7. The contest is open to U.S. residents, exceptemployees and their f irrilie of The PaddingtoiCorporation. its affiliate?, arverti6ng and salespromotion agencies,1 qt or wholesalers and.retailers, anidprofessiinal pnotopraphersAnidwhere prohibited. All federal. star and localregulations apply. Mars in prizes if any, arethe responsibility of the kid widual winners.8. Entrants must be o' legal stria mg age itthe state of their residence ss of 5eptember1,1983. For a list of =jos. wines, send astamped, self-addressed en +elope to: J&BThird Annual "It whmpers" Photo ContestWinners, P.O. Box 3269 Sy-ssset. NY 1177&Winners list will be a ,aiabe as ci March15,1984.r

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which permits the user to "select out" thetracks he does not want to hear withouthaving to specify all those he does.

On the other hand, users who want orneed the more extensive programming orcueing capabilities available on some other

players may miss them on the CD -73.While few, if any, music discs will containmore than fifteen tracks, the CD -73 alsolacks such niceties as phrase repeat, anelapsed -time counter, index cueing, and soforth. None of this, however, need bother

anyone who just wants a well-built, well -designed, and fine -sounding CD player,which this Marantz unit certainly is.

-Julian D. Hirsch


Celestion Ditton 110 Speaker System

THE Celestion Ditton 110 is a compacttwo-way speaker system whose 63/4 -

inch -diameter woofer operates in a sealedenclosure and crosses over at 2,300 Hz to a1 -inch soft -dome tweeter. The speaker has anominal system impedance of 8 ohms, andit is rated to deliver a sound -pressure level(SPL) of 87.5 dB at I meter when driven bya 1 -watt input. It can handle up to 60 wattsof "music -power" input and is recom-mended for use with amplifiers rated from10 to 60 watts per channel.

The frequency response of the Ditton 110is rated at 78 to 20,000 Hz ± 3 dB. Thecabinet, veneered in walnut -grain vinyl,measures about 171/4 inches high, 10 incheswide, and 81/4 inches deep. Weight is about143/4 pounds. Recessed spring -loaded con-nectors in the rear accept the stripped endsof speaker cables. There are no externalcontrols. The dark -brown cloth grille is re-tained by plastic snaps.

The Ditton 110 is packed and sold inpairs. Price: $400 per pair. Celestion Indus-tries, Inc., P.O. Box 521, Holliston, Mass.01746.

Laboratory Measurements. For most ofour tests, the Ditton 110's were placed on ashelf against the wall; we also listened tothem in a free-standing placement on floor

stands, v. ith very good results. Thesmoothed and averaged room frequency -re-sponse plot was quite flat, and it was easilyspliced to the close-miked woofer -responsecurve. The woofer's output reached its max-imum at 140 Hz, falling off smoothly fromthere up to 500 Hz and remaining within± 2.5 dB from 500 to almost 2,000 Hz. Thelow -frequency output fell at 12 dB per oc-tave below 100 Hz.

The composite frequency response waswithin ±2.5 dB from 300 to 20,000 Hz.The maximum level, at 140 Hz, was about5 dB above the average midrange level.Overall, it was ±4 dB from 62 to 20,000Hz-an excellent response for a speaker ofthis size and consistent with its publishedratings. The system impedance was at least7 to 8 ohms from 20 to 4,000 Hz, with max-imums of 30 to 35 ohms at 85 and 2,000 Hz.Impedance dipped to a minimum of 5 ohmsfrom 8,000 to 9,000 Hz.

The Ditton 110's sensitivity was 89 dbSPL with a I -watt input (slightly betterthan rated), and when it was driven with aninput corresponding to a 90 -dB midrange -output sound -pressure level, the woofer'sdistortion was remarkably low for its size(or, indeed, for a much larger driver).Starting with about 1 per cent harmonicdistortion at 100 Hz, the readings rose to

4 per cent in the 40- to 50 -Hz range and toonly 6 per cent at 20 Hz. Of course, the ac-tual fundamental output of the speaker atthe lowest frequencies was quite low, butthe low distortion readings indicate that,unlike many other speakers, the Ditton 110does not generate a synthetic bass qualityby emitting only distortion harmonics of thelower bass frequencies.

Quasi-anechoic frequency -response meas-urements made with our IQS FFT analyzerconfirmed the essential features of theroom -response curves, including a maxi-mum high -frequency output at about14,000 Hz and a slightly falling one fromthere to 20,000 Hz (this is our upper fre-quency limit for a room -response measure-ment). Being able to measure response up to30,000 Hz, the FFT analyzer showed an ax-ial response that was down only 9 dB fromthe average midrange level at 28,000 Hz.By subtracting the response measured 45degrees off axis from the speaker's axial re-sponse, the IQS system also showed us thattweeter directivity was minimal up to about16,000 Hz (there was less than 5 dB differ-ence between the two curves). The outputbecame directional only at higher frequen-cies, with a maximum difference of about18 dB at 20,000 Hz. The time coherence ofthe Ditton 110 was also good, with a group -

30 STEREO REVIEW

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_itestrepoirt sdelay variation of less than ± 0.4 millisec-ond from about 500 to 23,000 Hz.

Comment. The Celestion Ditton 110sounds every bit as good as its measuredperformance would suggest. It is smooth,balanced, and musical-a trio of virtuesthat every hi-fi speaker should have but notall do. Probably because of the frequency of

its maximum bass output, the speaker has aslightly warm quality that is noticeable(though not excessive) on male voices andgives some welcome body to music thatmight otherwise sound "thin."

We played a number of digital CompactDiscs through the Ditton 110, using ampli-fiers somewhat more powerful than recom-mended (in the 100- to 200 -watt range).

Neither the speakers nor our sensibilitiessuffered from this experience, and the su-perb quality of the recordings we playedcould be thoroughly appreciated throughthese fine little speakers whether the vol-ume level was moderate or a bit louder thanthat. -Julian D. Hirsch


Fosgate Research Model 101A Tate II -

Surround Stereo System d /(.7..; 1 2

emu, to. mourtow.aro

*es ova. I am.

FOSGATE RESEARCH has been involved inthe development of an effective sur-

round -sound system for some years, and theModel 101A Tate II audio/video unit is thelatest embodiment. Built under license from

than an SQ-matrix quadraphonic disc de-coder, although it is certainly one of the fin-est examples ever of that now very limitedproduct category. (For those of you whodon't remember or weren't involved in au-dio ten years ago, CBS invented SQ qua-draphonic encoding, and Tate developed amethod of enhancing the decoding systemfor greater channel separation.) The moregeneral "surround stereo system" nomen-clature for the Model 101A is a clue to Fos -gate's current intentions for its use: as a sig-nal processor to enhance listening to normalstereo recordings and as a decoder for the"surround -sound" signals in many stereovideo -cassette and video -disc copies of fea-ture films.

In essence, the Fosgate 101A makes useof the complex and constantly changing re-lationships between the levels and phases ofthe two stereo signals to control the distri-bution of those signals to four loudspeakers,two of them in the usual front position, theother two located toward the rear of theroom (although there are no firm rules fortheir placement). A matrixed four -channelrecord is actually nothing more than a two -channel record in which the four originalprogram channels have been mixed down totwo in the mastering process, with theirphase relationships adjusted according tothe requirements of a specific matrixing(encoding) system. When played backthrough a suitable inverse matrix, the twostereo channels can (in theory) be resepa-rated into the four original channels. Inpractice, the separation is only partial, andit has proved necessary to use dynamic

signal -controlled variable -gain stages (a"logic" system) to modify the gains of thefour playback channels continuously in or-der to give the psychoacoustical effect ofmore complete channel separation.

The Fosgate 101A receives its input sig-nals from the tape -output jacks of the sys-tem amplifier, returning its front -channeloutputs to the amplifier's tape inputs. The101A's rear -channel outputs go to a secondstereo amplifier that drives the rear speak-ers. The tape -monitoring functions of themain amplifier are replaced by correspond-ing circuits and jacks in the 101A, whichhas a switch to replace the regular programwith a tape playback.

The front panel of the 101A has a pair ofknobs for adjusting the input balance (left/right) and level and another pair for theoutput balance (front/rear) and volume.Three three -position toggle switches controlthe other functions of the system. One ofthese switches is used to select between thetape or main program inputs, and there is amono setting for the latter that reduces thefront/rear separation for monophonic pro-grams to 3 dB instead of the usual 35 to 50dB (as set by the front -panel INPUT BAL-ANCE control). The BYPASS/NORM/ALTER-NATE switch can completely bypass the sig-nal -processing circuits of the 101A, silenc-ing the rear channels, or, with the ALTER-NATE setting, it can change the system'soperating time constants to give better re-sults with some imperfect program sources.The SQ position of the SQ/CINEMA/SUR-ROUND switch is used for playing SQ-en-coded records, and SURROUND synthesizesthe rear channels from ordinary stereo pro-grams. The CINEMA setting is intended foruse with stereo video tapes or discs; it posi-tions the synthesized images further for-ward than in the SURROUND mode.

An amber -colored light on the front panel

shows the degree of mono (in -phase) pro-gram content. It is labeled BALANCE andcan be used for a rough setting of the inputbalance adjustment (although that is bestdone by listening for a null in the rear out-puts with a mono source). A green MINI-MUM LEVEL (-10-dB) light shows that theinput level is adequate for good signal-to-noise performance, and a red CLIPPING lightflashes to show that the maximum signalcapability of the unit has been exceeded. Anoptional remote -control accessory plugs intoeither a socket on the front panel or one onthe rear of the unit. It duplicates the func-tions of the VOLUME, L/R BALANCE, and F/RBALANCE controls as well as the SQ/CINEMA/SURROUND switch, and its 20 -foot connect-ing cable makes it easy to adjust the systembalance from any listening position.

The Fosgate 101A is a compact unit mea-suring 171/4 inches wide, 53/4 inches deep,and 13/4 inches high and weighing about 7pounds. Price: $499.95; remote control,$75. Fosgate Research, Inc., 215 West Le-roux, Prescott, Ariz. 86301.

Laboratory Measurements. Like any dy-namic signal processor whose operating pa-rameters are controlled by the signal char-acteristics, the Fosgate 101A cannot bereadily evaluated by conventional laborato-ry -instrument tests. In fact, there is little wecould measure between the input and out-put jacks of the Fosgate 101A that wouldconvey a sense of its subjective perform-ance, which is based on psychoacoustic phe-nomena. We limited ourselves to static orsweeping sine -wave measurements of its in-put/output response characteristics, distor-tion, noise level, gain, and overload levels.Some of these (in particular, the frequency -response tests) do not show the inherentproperties of the 101A but only its responseto a sine -wave test signal, which is quite un-

32 STEREO REVIEW

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Jest reportsrepresentative of its normal operating con-ditions. Nevertheless, the measurementsdid give us a few clues regarding what thedevice was doing to its input signals.

The frequency response was measuredwith only the left channel driven, and eachof the four outputs was plotted separatelyfor the SQ, CINEMA, and SURROUND modes.In the SQ and CINEMA modes, the left -frontoutput response was the flattest; the level atless than 60 Hz was about 5 dB below thelevel at 100 Hz and higher frequencies. Theoutput from each of the other channels wasflat between 20 and 60 Hz but dropped offby 40 or 50 dB from there to 200 or 300 Hz.After a generally flat response up to 2,000or 3,000 Hz, the output rose slightly athigher frequencies. The response in the SUR-ROUND mode looked very similar, exceptthat the left -rear response was strongestwith a left -front input.

Part of the setup adjustment of the 101Ainvolves balancing the system to null thesound in the rear speakers with a mono in-put signal. This can be done either by ear orby watching the BALANCE light on the frontpanel. When we measured the balance null,we found it to be an impressive 50 to 55 dBin the midrange (1,000 to 2,000 Hz) andbetter than 40 dB from 100 to 10,000 Hz.

All this information, although interest-ing, tells only a part of the story. A similarknowledge of the unit's phase -shift charac-teristics and the operating time constants of

its control circuits would be necessary tounderstand its behavior fully. And, sincethe performance of the 101A has to bejudged subjectively in any case, we felt thatmaking such a complete and time-consum-ing set of measurements was unwarranted.

The input sensitivity of the Fosgate 101Ais rated at 0.3 volt, and we found that thered 0 -dB (overload) light came on at inputsbetween 0.38 and 0.12 volt depending onfrequency. The maximum output voltage israted at 3.5 volts, but we found that the out-put waveform clipped at about 6 volts (at1,000 Hz). Reducing the level about 0.5 dBfrom the point at which the red light cameon resulted in an undistorted output asviewed on our oscilloscope. The harmonicdistortion was 1.8 per cent at 6.4 volts out-put, 0.05 per cent at 3.5 and 1 volt, and 0.1per cent at 0.1 volt. The output noise, rela-tive to the rated 3.5 -volt output level, was-67 dB unweighted and -81 dB with A -weighting.

Although we could not measure all of theproperties of this device, we took the oppor-tunity to remove its top cover (the entirecase is made of heavy -gauge steel) and ad-mire its beautiful construction. The 101A isbuilt on a single large circuit board, and itscomponents and workmanship are of aquality rarely found in consumer products.

Comment. Our evaluation was greatlysimplified by two demonstration cassettes,

"e0

"I realize that it's short notice. but I'm havingguests over for dinner this evening. . . .

Could you have it fixed by six o'clock?"

supplied by Fosgate, containing more thansixty program excerpts chosen to reveal the101A's performance potential. One cassettecontained SQ-encoded quadraphonic mate-rial, the other only stereo recordings. Theoperating instructions suggest experiment-ing with different operating modes and pro-gram sources to learn how to obtain the bestresults from the IOTA, and we did justthat.

First, as an SQ decoder, the Fosgate101A was far and away the best we haveused. A number of SQ records in our collec-tion were put to good use in this evaluation,and our ears were aided by a four -channel -monitor oscilloscope that unmistakablyidentified the spatial distribution of the de-coder's outputs. Anyone who has a sizablecollection of SQ discs could benefit fromthe Fosgate 101A, which lets them be heardas they were meant to be.

We were even more impressed, however,by what we heard from ordinary two -chan-nel stereo programs, both on the Fosgatedemo cassette and from our own sources, in-cluding FM, records, tapes, and digitalCompact Discs. Properly adjusted, the101A gave us room -filling sound from mostgood stereo sources, with no obvious locali-zation of the rear speakers. This might seemto be a fair description of a properly operat-ing time -delay ambience -enhancement sys-tem too, and indeed it is. The two tech-niques produce very different sonic effects,however, as we were able to verify by A/Bcomparisons between the Fosgate deviceand a good time -delay system. Which tech-nique for improving sonic spaciousness ispreferable depends on the listener, the pro-gram, and probably a number of other fac-tors as well.

Fosgate points out that the Model 101Ais especially suitable for playing back moviesoundtracks that were originally made to beheard in theaters equipped for Dolby Stereomultichannel reproduction. Many of thesefilms actually have matrixed multichannel -encoded soundtracks, and the theaters useTate decoding circuitry to send left-, right-,and center -front signals to the correspond-ing speakers behind the screen and the "sur-round" sounds to the rear speakers. In theirprerecorded video -cassette or video -discforms, these movies' soundtracks can be de-coded by the Fosgate 101A to give the homelistener/viewer much the same sonic effectthat would be experienced at a showing in aproperly equipped theater. (At home, thecenter -front soundtrack channel is a phan-tom center image.)

Fosgate's audio demo tapes included por-tions of the soundtracks of Star Trek andApocalypse Now, which are both noted fortheir powerful, sometimes overwhelmingsound in a theater. Hearing them in our lis-tening room was a stimulating experience(aided by a few hundred watts of amplifierpower and speakers that could take suchtreatment). The subjective effect in bothcases was all that could be hoped for-a vis-ceral experience that was impressive andunforgettable.

It would be fruitless (and unnecessary) toexpound in full detail on what the Fosgate101A did and did not do during our tests.As Fosgate suggests, there is nothing sacredabout the panel nomenclature, and experi-

OCTOBER 1983 35

_Jestiesportmentation will surely bring listening re-wards (for example, we much preferredhearing the movie soundtracks using theSURROUND setting rather than the CINEMAone). This is a fascinating, highly effective

product that lives up to the claims made forit in full measure. If you have long sincerelegated multichannel sound to the dimpast, adding the Fosgate 101A to your sys-tem could give you a pleasant surprise, and

it can enhance listening enjoyment with or-dinary stereo recordings as well.

-Julian D. Hirsch


VSP Labs Trans MOS Power Amplifier

THE name of VSP Labs' Trans MOSpower amplifier contains key clues to

its special features. Trans refers to its cir-cuit topology (a transconductance ampli-fier), and MOS refers to its output devices(power MOSFET's). It is rated to deliver150 watts per channel into 8 -ohm loadsfrom 20 to 20,000 Hz with no more than0.05 per cent total harmonic distortion.

A "transconductance amplifier" is mere-ly one in which an input voltage signal isconverted to an output current signal. Thisis the basis for the operation of all vacuum -tube amplifiers, and MOSFET's (metal -ox-ide -semiconductor field-effect transistors)have similar operating characteristics. Or-dinary bipolar transistors, on the otherhand, amplify an input current to a largeroutput current. In an ideal world, thereprobably would be little difference betweenthe two types of amplification, since all dy-namic loudspeakers must be driven by botha current and a voltage (in other words,they are neither infinite- nor zero -imped-ance devices). But all transistors have in-herent nonlinearities and response -timelimitations that usually require the use ofconsiderable amounts of negative feedbackto achieve the low distortion values attainedby today's amplifiers.

In recent years, much has been said andwritten about the transient distortions thatcan occur when very large amounts of over-all negative feedback (from output to input)are used in a power amplifier having a lim-ited open -loop bandwidth. One way to re-duce these effects is to use nested feedbackloops, with lesser amounts of feedback be-ing applied around individual stages of theamplifier, and a smaller than usual amount

of overall feedback around the whole ampli-fier. Properly executed, such a design canprovide the low distortion of a high -feed-back amplifier along with the transient sta-bility of a low -feedback amplifier.

In the VSP Trans MOS, the MOSFEToutput devices provide a tube -like amplify-ing characteristic (believed by some to pro-duce a sound quality superior to that of atransistor amplifier) while retaining theother advantages of solid-state design(small size, low heat dissipation, long life,etc.). In addition, the amplifier uses nestedfeedback loops for minimum high -frequen-cy distortion and high stability. The self-limiting characteristic of power MOSFET'seliminates any need for the usual current -limiting protective circuits, which havebeen known to have undesirable side effects.The VSP Trans MOS is fully protected,however, by high -temperature sensors thatguard against excessive operating tempera-tures by reducing the signal level and flash-ing an OVER TEMP warning light.

The Trans MOS is a compact but ratherheavy amplifier. It measures 14 inches wide131/2 inches deep, and 5 inches high, butmuch of the width is accounted for by themassive heat sinks on both sides. Perhapsbecause of its visual compactness, the am-plifier feels even heavier than its 40 pounds.On the front are a rocker -type powerswitch, a green pilot light, the red OVER

TEMP light, and two amber clipping lights.The rear of the amplifier contains heavy-duty five -way binding -post speaker termi-nals, the phono-jack inputs, two slideswitches, and the line -fuse holder. One ofthe slide switches selects mono or stereo op-eration (in mono, the Trans MOS becomes

a 300 -watt amplifier for a 16 -ohm load),and the other connects an active infrasonicfilter (rolling off at 18 dB per octave below20 Hz) into the otherwise fully direct -cou-pled signal path. The suggested retail priceof the VSP Trans MOS power amplifier is$975. It is also available in kit form for$850. VSP Labs, 670 Airport Boulevard,Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104.

Laboratory Measurements. The exteriorof the Trans MOS became fairly warm(though never too hot to touch) during ourtests, and it was perceptibly warm evenwhen idling, but the OVER TEMP light nevercame on. When we tried to measure distor-tion at high -power outputs into 2- and 4 -ohm load impedances, the amplifier shutdown. To restore operation we had to switchoff its power for periods of a few seconds toa couple of minutes (the green power pilotlight went out when the amp shut down).This mode of protection was not discussedin the instruction manual, but it was unde-niably effective in safeguarding the ampli-fier without limiting its short-term poweroutput.

The clipping -power output at 1,000 Hz(both channels driven) was 200 watts perchannel into 8 ohms and 300 and 400 wattsinto 4 and 2 ohms, respectively. Using thetone -burst signal of the dynamic -power test,we were able to measure clipping -poweroutputs of 302, 480, and 625 watts into im-pedances of 8, 4, and 2 ohms. The 8 -ohmclipping headroom of the Trans MOS was1.25 dB, and its dynamic headroom was asubstantial 3 dB.

In its distortion characteristics the TransMOS was distinctly different from most

36 STEREO REVIEW

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Unlike other stereo VCR's, Beta Hi-Fi recordsboth stereo sound and video using the rapidlyspinning video heads, with a tape -to -head speedover 200 times faster than conventional VCRaudio recording.

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HERE'S ATECHNOLOGY

STORYTHAT'S TRULYABSORBING.

Every story has a protagonist and anantagonist. And this one's no different.

The hero, in this case, is an unassuming,little technological breakthrough from Pioneercalled the Dynamic Resonance Absorber'"(DRA).

TRANSIENT RESPONSE And the2.0 2.0 2.0

arch -villain, theever-presentResonant Tone -arm Vibration.

0 What theDynamic Reso-nance Absorberdoes, to make a

2 0 2 0 -2 0 long story short,is to absorb the resonant frequency of the tonearmson all of our new turntables.

Thereby eliminating distortion which causesmusic to lose clarity and accuracy of reproduction.

As if this weren't thrilling

INPUTSIGNAL

OUTPUTWITHDRA

enough, there's also an excitingsubplot. The DRA eliminatesacoustic feedback that resultswhen the turntable is too

How the Dynamic Resonance Absorbercauses all this to happen is actually quite simple,as most acts of genius usually are.

The DRA is composed of a damper madeof extremely dense butyl rubber enclosed in aweighted collar on the tonearm.

Working within the precisely weighted collar,the butyl rubber acts EFFECT OF DRA ON FREQUENCY RESPONSE

just like a spring. Whenthe pipe of the Polymer Graphite (PG)tonearm vibrates, the

"spring" compressesand simultaneouslysoaks up vibrations. 10Hz 20 50 00 209 500

That's why Pioneer can virtually promisethat muddy reproduction is an out-of-date story. Andwhy transient response is far more accurate. In fact,as you can see on the chart, the cartridge output(with DRA) closely resembles the original input.

Furthermore, frequency response, as youcan also see, is tremendously flat.

But, while the Dynamic Resonance Absorberis a real blockbuster, it's not the only story here.

Every Pioneer turntable also features a StableHanging Rotor' that improves stability by reducingfriction which decreases wow and flutter.

A zero -clearance dust cover allows you toplace the turntable flush against a wall, yet stillopen it all the way.

And another convenience item: all controlsare located outside the dust cover.

In addition, the PL -S70 (shown here) has twoother ease -of -operation features: an automatic discsize selector (ADSS) and auto repeat function.

Naturally, you'll want to audition each newPioneer turntable with DynamicResonance Absorber at your

earliest convenience.If only to convince

yourself that this story fallsclose to speakers played at in the non-fiction, not thehigh volume.

CONVENTIONAL TONEARM

PG TONEARM WI TH D RA

CD PIONEER'Because the music matters.

TT

science -fiction category

© 1983 Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., P.O. Box 1540. lung Beach, CA 90801. CIRCLE NO. 7 ON READER SERVICE CARD

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other amplifiers we have tested. The totalharmonic distortion was almost indepen-dent of frequency and also varied little overa wide range of power output. It consistedof a number of harmonics (we measured upto the fifth, but even higher orders could beseen at reduced amplitudes on our spec-trum -analyzer screen) whose amplitudesfell off rather slowly with increasing fre-quency. But since the amplitudes were typi-cally in the range of -80 to -90 dB, theirrms sum was still low. At rated power orhalf power into 8 ohms the total distortionwas typically 0.02 per cent (varying from0.015 to 0.03 per cent between 20 and20,000 Hz). At one -tenth power (15 watts)it was between 0.008 and 0.02 per cent, av-eraging about 0.01 per cent.

At 1,000 Hz, the distortion into 8 -ohmloads rose smoothly from 0.0032 per cent atI watt (it was below the system noise atlower power levels) to 0.02 per cent between100 and 200 watts. Driving 4 ohms, the dis-

2 5 10 20 50 100 200CONTINUOUS WATTS/CHANNEL

tortion curve was nearly the same, withreadings of 0.015 per cent at I watt and justover 0.04 per cent between 100 and 200watts. When we tried to measure distortionat 300 watts, the amplifier shut down inabout 20 seconds, before the measurementcould be completed, although it had not yetclipped. Into 2 -ohm loads, the distortionwas about 0.05 per cent from 1 to 10 watts,and it was in the range of 0.08 to 0.85 percent from 30 to 300 watts (at which pointthe amplifier again shut down). The IHFIM (intermodulation) distortion, using atwo-tone test signal of 18 and 19 kHz with apeak amplitude equivalent to 150 watts into8 ohms, was a very low -93 dB for the1,000 -Hz difference product and -60 dBfor the third -order product at 17 kHz.

The amplifier required an input of 13.5millivolts for a reference output of 1 watt,and its A -weighted noise level was -97 dBreferred to 1 watt. The slew factor exceededour measurement limit of 25, and the Trans

". . . If you'll pardon my saying so. sir, I'm somewhattaken aback that you're not aware that Sri Lanka is famous

for two things-elephants and Audioputra speakers."

500 1K

MOS was completely stable with our reac-tive simulated -loudspeaker loads.

Comment. Perhaps those audiophileswho can detect audible differences betweentube and transistor amplifiers would be ableto classify the Trans MOS as akin to one orthe other. Frankly, since we have neverbeen able to detect such distinctions in theabsence of clearly measurable performancedifferences, we can only say that the TransMOS sounds very much like any other finepower amplifier of similar output capabilityand low noise and distortion.

That does not mean, however, that theoverall performance of the Trans MOS isidentical to that of such other amplifiers.For one thing, the Trans MOS is capable ofdelivering enormous power outputs to verylow load impedances, and it apparently hasnone of the problems associated with typicalprotective circuits. In this connection, wenoted with interest some studies made inFinland by Dr. Matti Otala and others anddescribed in a paper given at the Audio En-gineering Society convention last March inEindhoven, Holland. The studies suggestthat some highly respected commercial (not"exotic") loudspeakers may under someconditions (when driven by pulses or squarewaves) draw signal currents four to fivetimes greater than would be delivered to asubstituted 8 -ohm resistor. Dr. Otala hassince informed me that he has measuredcurrent ratios as high as nine with somespeakers. One can infer from this experi-mental study that an amplifier incapable ofdelivering such high currents (that is, un-able to drive a very low load impedance,possibly I ohm or so, at a substantial powerlevel) may distort under some conditionseven when it is being operated well below itsnormal maximum output. If this shouldprove to be a real problem (that is, one en-countered with normal music signals), itwould seem that the Trans MOS would beable to "loaf along" under circumstancesthat would severely overtax many compara-bly rated amplifiers.

In any case, we were strongly impressedby the ruggedness, both mechanical andelectrical, of the VSP Trans MOS ampli-fier. Nothing we could do to it seemed tobother it in the least. In listening tests, nat-urally enough, it sounded perfectly fine,with a gratifying absence of transient turn -

OCTOBER 1983 39

&P11 wirsarairt

on thumps or other unwelcome sonic intru-sions (even without the infrasonic filterswitched in).

We do not know how much work is in-volved in assembling the Trans MOS in its

kit form, and the saving is only a modestone, but at the kit price it is competitivewith comparable better-known power am-plifiers. Even in kit form, the VSP TransMOS is a fairly expensive amplifier, but,

considering what it can do and how it isbuilt, it is not at all overpriced.

-Julian D. Hirsch


PIONEER'SF-90 digital -synthesis AM/

FM tuner features a "Direct DigitalDecoder" (DDD) circuit that provides ex-ceptional immunity to interference from ad-jacent FM channels as well as greater ster-eo channel separation and lower noise anddistortion than are usually found in its mod-erate price range. In fact, the specificationsof the F-90 include some figures that arewell beyond the measurement capabilitiesof most standard FM test -signal generators,including the Sound Technology 1000Athat we use. The distortion is rated at lessthan 0.01 per cent in mono and 0.02 percent in stereo, the stereo channel separationat up to 65 dB, and the signal-to-noise ratioat 93 dB in mono and 86 dB in stereo(measured at an 80-dBf signal level).

Although Pioneer has released little de-tailed information on the DDD circuit, itapparently involves a second conversion ofthe received signal from the regular 10.7 -MHz intermediate frequency (i.f.) to an-other i.f. at 1.26 MHz. This second i.f. sig-nal is then changed to a train of pulseswhose timing corresponds to the instanta-neous frequency deviation of the receivedsignal. A somewhat similar process hasbeen used in some other FM tuners in whichthe pulses are integrated in a "pulse -count-ing discriminator" to generate an audio sig-nal whose waveform matches that of theprogram modulation. Usually a separatemultiplex -decoder stage derives the twostereo channels. Pioneer's DDD circuitcombines the demodulation and stereo -de-coding functions by using the 1.26 -MHzpulse train to switch (demodulate) the 38 -kHz subcarrier that carries the stereo dif-ference information. Because the 38 -kHzsubcarrier is retained in sine -wave form (in-stead of being converted to a square wave),spurious side bands and harmonics are cen-tered at 1.26 MHz, eliminating audibleproblems with beat frequencies created byharmonics of the switching signal.

The Pioneer F-90 is a slim -profile tunermeasuring about 161/2 inches wide, 121/2

inches deep, and only 23/s inches high and

weighing just under 10 pounds. It is tunedin steps of 100 kHz for FM and 10 kHz forAM (switchable to 9 kHz for use in coun-tries employing that spacing). A rocker -type pushplate shifts the tuned frequency ineither direction according to which side ispressed. The tuned frequency is digitallydisplayed in a small darkened window,which also has LED's that show when a sta-tion is tuned in, when a stereo pilot carrier ispresent in the received signal, and when theMEMORY button has been pressed prepara-tory to storing a signal frequency in one ofthe tuner's eight presets (each can be usedfor both an FM and an AM frequency).

Pushbuttons to the left of the displaywindow select either AM or FM receptionand switch the power on or off. To the rightof the tuning plate are buttons markedMEMORY, REC LEVEL CHECK (which replacesthe received program by a 330 -Hz tone atapproximately 50 per cent FM -modulationlevel), MANUAL SEARCH/MUTE OFF, and FMIF BAND NARROW. Normally the tuner scans(with its audio output muted) when the tun-ing control is momentarily pressed, stoppingon the first signal that exceeds its internalthreshold level. If the MANUAL SEARCH/MUTE OFF button is engaged, the tuner isswitched to mono, the muting is disabled,and the frequency shifts by only one incre-ment each time the tuning button is pressed,scanning rapidly only while it is held in.

The F-90 FM tuner can be switched be-tween two i.f. bandwidths, the narrow onebeing useful when a strong interfering sig-nal is on an adjacent channel (that is, onethat is only 200 kHz away from the desiredsignal). Since the distortion level is in-creased and a few other characteristics ofthe tuner are degraded somewhat in thenarrow -band mode, in most situations thenormal wide-i.f. bandwidth should be used.The remaining front -panel controls are theeight large STATION CALL preset buttons.Red lights next to the buttons show whichone has been engaged.

In the rear of the tuner are binding -postterminals for an AM antenna and a 300 -

ohm FM antenna as well as a coaxial jackfor a 75 -ohm FM antenna. The suppliedAM loop antenna, fitted with a couple offeet of connecting wire, can be located andoriented for best reception. In addition tothe stereo audio -output jacks, there is a sin-gle phono jack marked AM STEREO for usewith a possible future stereo -AM decoder.A slide switch selects either 9- or 10 -kHzAM -channel spacing. Price: $300. PioneerElectronics (USA), Inc., 1925 East Domin-guez Street, Long Beach, Calif. 90810.

Laboratory Measurements. Althoughsome of the specifications of the PioneerF-90 far exceed the ratings of our signalgenerator, we had no difficulty in discern-ing its strong points.

In most respects, our measurements(when we could make them) were equal toor better than the good to excellent per-formance specs of the tuner. For instance,the distortion in mono measured only 0.074per cent at 65 dBf (1,000 µV) in the wide-i.f. mode and 0.15 per cent in the narrow -band mode. The former reading is so closeto the residual distortion of our signal gen-erator that the tuner's actual distortioncould well be the rated 0.01 per cent. Instereo, the respective distortion readingswere 0.09 and 0.34 per cent. The tuner'ssignal-to-noise ratio was 78 dB in mono and70 dB in stereo in the wide mode and per-haps I dB better in the narrow mode; thesereadings are also close to the inherent noiselevels of our signal generator and may infact be limited by that instrument.

The stereo properties of the F-90 weremost impressive. Its channel separationmeasured a uniform 50 dB (the rating ofour signal generator) from 30 to 3,000 Hz,falling to 44 dB at 10,000 Hz and rising to48 dB at 15,000 Hz. These readings werenot seriously affected by narrow-i.f. opera-tion. The FM frequency response increasedsmoothly with frequency, from -1.3 dB at30 Hz to +1.2 dB at 15,000 Hz. Despitethe rising high -frequency response, the 19 -kHz pilot carrier in the output was at a low

40 STEREO REVIEW

GO 13L,k_CES

Meet Players.Regular and Menthol

Kings and 100's.

Kng:: 12 mg "tar:' 1 0 mg nicotine -100's 11 mg "tai'1"n g -Kw ne av per cig3re-tE, by Er: methoi

WErnin]: The Suroec] Gene al Has DeterminedT-nt Cigarette Smolcng Is Dangerous to Your He 3 th.

Philip Morns Inc 1983

Afeast for the powerhungry.If you're hungry for a sound

system with enough power toregister on the Richter scale,here's some food for thought.Kenwood introduces the newBASIC series. Components sotechnologically advanced, theycan be appreciated by seriousaudio enthusiasts, yet affordedby anyone.

Consider. The BASIC M2stereo power amplifier. At 220watts per channel min RMS,both channels driven at 8 ohmsfrom 20Hz to 20kHz with nomore than 0.004% THD, ithas power to spare. However,with Kenwood's uniqueDynamic Linear Drive circuitry,you have the option to not useits vast power reserves, withoutinterfenng with tonal quality atlow volume.

This unit is so sophistica-ted, it even corrects for prob-lems that originate in thespeakers. With Kenwood'sSigma Drive, the M2 compen-sates for distortion caused byelectrical current generatedby speaker cone movement.Granted, this distortion is infini-tesimal. But, we figure thataudiophiles will appreciate ab-solute precision control ofspeaker cone excursion.

As a stereo buff, it's impor-tant to have your amplifier com-bined with units that are not onlycompatible, but equally demand-ing of sound perfection. Take alook at the BASIC Cl, a preampengineered to match the highstandards of the M2 exactly.With tremendous sensitivity tohighs and lows, it delivers eventhe most dynamic source mate-rial dearly and smoothly.

Complete your BASIC sys-tem with the T1 tuner. At alltimes, in all conditions, its pre-cision automatic electronic tun-ing brings in crystal dearreception.

Individually, the BASICcomponents offer performance,

1-

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refinements and engineeringexceptional to the field of stereoelectronics.

Together, they offer a soundexperience that conventionalsystems haven't begun toapproach.

If you'retruly seriousabout yourhunger forpower, checkinto the newKenwood BASICseries.

It will morethan satisfy yourappetite.

KENWOODKenwood Electronics

1315 E. Watsoncenter Rd., Carson, CA 90745.

Kenwood's BASICTI stereo tunerand Cl preamp arealso perfectlycompatible withthe Ml power amppictured here.

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-64 -dB level, and power -line hum was analmost unmeasurable -78 dB.

The tuner's capture ratio was 1.25 dB atboth 65 and 45 dBf (100 µV) in the wide-i.f.mode, increasing (as would be expected) to3.4 dB at 45 dBf in the narrow mode. TheAM rejection of the F-90 was the greatestwe have ever measured-a remarkable 88dB at 45 dBf (wide-i.f. bandwidth). It fell toa still outstanding 74 dB at 65 dBf, and inthe narrow -band mode the 45- and 65-dBfreadings were 80 and 73 dB, respectively.

Living up to its promise, the F-90 ex-ceeded our measurement capability for al-ternate -channel selectivity with a reading ofat least 87 dB in the narrow-i.f. mode. Withthe wide-i.f. bandwidth the selectivity was25 dB, still a perfectly adequate figure un-less one has to cope with a fairly strong al-ternate -channel signal. In the wide-i.f.mode, the adjacent -channel selectivity was2.7 dB, which increased to an excellent 14.3dB in the narrow-i.f. mode. The FM imagerejection was a very good 84 dB. The mut-ing and stereo thresholds were each 27.5dBf (13 µV).

Perhaps the most interesting (but notnecessarily important) difference betweenour test data and the tuner's specificationswas in measured sensitivity. Although Pio-neer expresses the F -90's sensitivity interms of microvolts across a 75 -ohm anten-na circuit (instead of on the 300 -ohm basisalmost universally used for rating homecomponents), the specs also include ratingsin terms of decibels referred to 1 femtowatt(dBf), which are independent of circuit im-pedance. The usable mono sensitivity in thewide-i.f. mode fell short of its rating byabout 6 dB, measuring 17 dBf (3.9 micro-volts, or µV, into 300 ohms). The 50 -dBquieting sensitivity in mono was 22.1 dBf (7µV) instead of the rated 16.2 dBf; in stereoit measured 40 dBf (55 µV) instead of therated 37.7 dBf. With the narrow-i.f. band-width, the sensitivity figures were a fewdecibels better (although Pioneer does notinclude those ratings in the tuner's instruc-tion manual). We repeated these measure-ments on another sample of the F-90 withidentical results. Despite these discrepan-cies between the F -90's sensitivity specifica-tions and our measurements, its perform-ance in this respect is more than adequatefor all but deep -fringe reception areas.

70 80 90

The IHF IM (intermodulation) distortionwas very low in mono (wide-i.f.), with third -order distortion products of 13 and 17 kHzat -76 dB relative to the 100 per cent mod-ulated 14- and 15 -kHz test tones The sec-ond -order (1.000 -Hz) distortion was 72 dBbelow 100 per cent modulation at that fre-quency. In stereo the distortion was greaterbut still lower than we usually find in theoutput of an FM tuner. Narrow-i.f. opera-tion increased all distortion products sub-stantially, as it normally does. There is noobvious correlation between these IM prod-ucts and any audible effects, but the inter -modulation products we found in the outputof the F-90 were relatively few in numberand low in amplitude compared with thosefrom most FM tuners we have tested. TheREC LEVEL CHECK tone level was -5.2 dBrelative to 100 per cent modulation (repre-senting a 55 per cent modulation level),which makes it a convenient means of set-ting tape -recorder level meters before re-cording FM broadcasts.

As usual, the only measurement we madeon the AM -tuner section was of its frequen-cy response, which was down 6 dB (from itsmaximum midrange level at about 400 or500 Hz) at 90 and 2,300 Hz.

Comment. As we have often pointed out,sensitivity as such is one of the least impor-tant characteristics of an FM tuner for mostusers. There are, of course, some people lo-cated far from FM transmitters who needall the sensitivity they can get-sometimesmore than is available from any tuner. Butfor most users, the ability of an FM tuner toreject interference from various sources(such as from other stations or multipathreception) is much more important than itssensitivity. In this area of performance, thePioneer F-90 proved to be a superior tuner.To be sure, it lacks many of the visualadornments that occupy so much front -pan-el space on many other tuners (even a sig-nal -strength indicator has been omitted).But it also lacks another typical feature: ahigh price tag! Most users would find it dif-ficult to get better FM performance thanthe Pioneer F-90 tuner can provide, even forseveral times its modest price.

-Julian D. Hirsch


FREECRUTCHFIELD

ELECTRONICSCATALOG

Your BEST Catalog 84 page color guide to the latet inelectronics Unique, informativearticles & charts help you pick theright product for your home or car.

Your BEST Selections Hundreds of quality car stereo,home audio, personal computer,telephone and video products fromAdvent, Atari, Blaupunkt, Jensen,Panasonic, Pioneer & more!

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Mi MO ME

OCTOBER 1983 43

Installation of the month

WHEN installing audio equipment itis important to arrange easy ac-

cess to the backs of the components sothat you can check connections andchange inputs with a minimum of ef-fort. For this reason many ownersmount their units in racks or cabinetsthat are on casters which make it possi-ble to roll them away from the wallwhenever it is necessary to alter or in-spect wiring.

Michael Valenti of New York Cityhas another reason for putting hisequipment on wheels. Valenti is a com-poser, and he says the equipment is vi-tal to his work. His apartment is a com-bination office, studio, and 'home, andhe spends the day at his Steinway pianoin the same way a writer would work ata desk. The equipment is mounted in aGusdorf VistaRak component cabinetthat he can roll right up to the pianowhen he needs it. This enables him tomake tapes for instant replay of what-ever music he is working on. He alsomakes demo tapes of work in progressthat he can send to producers.

At the end of the working day, theGusdorf cabinet is rolled back to itsniche in a storage unit Valenti built tohouse his records and tapes, and thestereo equipment is then available forrecreational use. It includes a PhilipsModel 212 turntable, Onkyo TX -6000receiver, Hitachi D -E99 cassette deck,and Teac X -3R open -reel tape deck.The speakers are JBL 4310 controlmonitors.

The musical theater is where Valentihas done most of his creative work. Inhis teens and early twenties he servedhis apprenticeship as a performer insuch shows as How to Succeed in Busi-ness Without Really Trying and Hair.Since then he has been represented as acomposer and lyricist in Broadwayshows and in several smaller -scaleworks off-Broadway.

Valenti's musical comedy Oh, Broth-er! was on Broadway last season, andan album from the show has been re-leased on the Original Cast label. Atouring company of his show Lovesongopened in Buffalo, N.Y., in July. thenwent to Indianapolis, and played onCape Cod for the rest of the summer.

A new TV series hosted by BillMoyers, A Walk Through the Twen-tieth Century, which will begin on CBSin January, has a score composed byValenti. And at press time he was com-posing songs for a show tentatively

called Bahama Rhythms scheduled toopen in Nassau in November. It hasgiven his tape recorders quite a work-out, but he still listens to records in theevening. His favorite composer is Gus-tav Mahler. -William Livingstone

Is your system an Installation of theMonth? To find out whether it is,

send a clear snapshot and a brief de-scription of its components to STEREOREVIEW, Dept. 10TM, One Park Ave-nue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

44 STEREO REVIEW

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AmplifiBy Peter W. Mitchell

TRUE OR FALSE? 1. The amplifiershould be the easiest part of thestereo system to select, because

all amplifiers sound pretty much alike.Just pick one that has the features andpower that you want at the price youare prepared to pay. 2. The choice of anamplifier is critically important be-cause it serves as the heart of the wholesystem, controlling and affecting thereproduction of every sound from everyprogram source.

Actually, there's truth in both ofthese propositions. Different amplifiersdo sound much more alike than, say,different models of phono cartridges orloudspeakers, and you won't go seri-ously wrong by selecting an amplifiersolely for its features and price. Butamplifiers do not always sound com-pletely identical. Audible differencesdo exist, and if you are going to listen toan amplifier every day for severalyears, common sense suggests that youshould be aware of why such differ-ences can arise and then try to get thebest sound for your money.

By "amplifier" here we mean an inte-grated amplifier (or, what is the samething, the amplifier part of a stereo re-ceiver), but virtually everything we willsay applies as well to "separates"-preamplifiers and power amplifierspurchased individually. An integratedamplifier has three parts:

(1) The phono preamplifier, whichaccepts the tiny output signal (about0.003 volt) from the phono pickup car-tridge, amplifies it up to "line level"(around 0.5 volt), and applies RIAAequalization (a precisely defined degreeof bass boost and treble cut) to compen-sate for the bass cut and treble boostbuilt into every vinyl record.

(2) The line -level control preampli-

46 STEREO REVIEW

fier, consisting of an input selector,switches for tape monitoring and copy-ing, and an array of controls that en-able you to adjust volume, balance,tone, etc. The phono and controlpreamplifiers are usually combined inany separate "preamplifier" unit.

(3) The power amplifier, which is thesection that actually drives the speak-ers. It is basically just a large d.c. powersupply (metaphorically, a full tank ofwell -filtered electrical power ready foruse) along with a set of large transistorsthat act as valves to feed current fromthe power supply to the loudspeakers ondemand; these valves are smoothlyopened and closed by the waveform ofthe line -level audio signal.

Should you buy your preamplifierand power amplifier as separate unitsor combined on a single integratedchassis? Separates offer two advan-tages, higher available power andgreater flexibility of operation and in-stallation, but usually at a higher price.Since integrated amplifiers generallyoffer adequate flexibility and the bestratio of output power to price, they re-main the most popular choice.

The Phono PreampEvery amplifier has an input for a

conventional moving -magnet (MM)phono cartridge. One of your first shop-

ping decisions will be whether yoursshould also include a high -gain, low -noise input circuit for low -output mov-ing -coil (MC) pickups. In the past, MCinputs were available mainly in theform of rather costly outboard step-uptransformers or pre -preamplifier cir-cuits. But lately the cost of low -noisetransistors has declined steeply, allow-ing manufacturers to include an MCinput stage even in mid -priced ampli-fiers. At the same time, the need for aspecial MC input has declined as car-tridge makers have found ways to makehigh -output MC pickups that connectto the standard MM phono input.

The next shopping decision: is onephono input enough, especially if itscharacteristics can be switched to ac-commodate either an MM or a low -out-put MC cartridge? Or do you reallywant two separate phono inputs in or-der to provide convenient switching be-tween two turntables? The latter ar-rangement would allow you, for exam-ple, to have a delicate, high -compliancecartridge in a high -quality turntable re-served for your own use, while a secondturntable (perhaps an automatic playerwith a more rugged cartridge) is avail-able for the rest of the family.

In many MM phono cartridges trebleresponse is affected by the load imped-ance that the pickup is connected to,that is, by the phono preamp's input re-

sistance (normally 47,000 ohms) to-gether with the total capacitance of thephono-input circuit and the turntable'sconnecting cables. If the cables supply150 picofarads (pF) of capacitance butyour cartridge needs 400 pF for flattestresponse, you could raise the capaci-tance by adding longer cables or by us-ing a plug-in capacitor kit. But it'smore convenient if your amplifier isequipped with switch -selectable capaci-tance for its MM phono input. If it alsoallows you to vary the input resistance(reducing it to 33,000 ohms, for in-stance), so much the better. MC pick-ups, on the other hand, are relativelyunaffected by load resistance or capaci-tance. Preamplifier input impedancesof 47,000 ohms for a high -output MCcartridge or 100 ohms for a low -outputone are common but not mandatory.The effective high -frequency responseof an MM cartridge can be further al-tered by a complex interaction betweenits output impedance and the input im-pedance of the phono-preamplifier cir-cuit. Specifications usually don't coverthis, but it is one of the many aspects ofphono-preamp performance that JulianHirsch considers in his test reports forSTEREO REVIEW.

Specifications and test -report resultsmainly serve, however, to confirm whatwe already know, which is that thephono-preamplifier section of virtually

S ti

OCTOBER 1983 4-

every amplifier now on the market ful-fills the basic requirements. In terms ofRIAA equalization, input sensitivity,total harmonic distortion (THD), sig-nal-to-noise ratio (S/N), and phono-in-put overload, it's rare to find an ampli-fier that doesn't qualify for a "good"rating, and many are excellent. (For in-stance, an MM phono-overload spec of100 millivolts gives enough headroomfor the largest signal that a phono car-tridge can generate, and many ampli-fiers are rated at 200 mV or more.) But

the numbers probably won't help you tomake fine distinctions between goodand excellent sound. This does notmean that subtle differences cannot beexplained by measurements, but to doso requires much more precise and de-tailed data than spec sheets provide(see box below).

The Control PreampWhile amplifiers differ substantially

in power output and only subtly in cir-

cuit refinement, they differ dramatical-ly in the design, operation, and sonic ef-fect of their controls. A preamplifier orintegrated amplifier may have as few asfive or as many as forty control knobsand switches, many of them having lessto do with accurate reproduction thanwith giving you the ability to manipu-late and change the sound. Additionalcontrol flexibility isn't free, of course;by a rough rule of thumb, every extraknob or button (with its associated cir-cuitry) adds about five dollars to the re -

Specs and Sound QualityMANY of the specifications of an am-

plifier tell you very little about itssound quality; most of them merelyserve to confirm that the manufacturerhas done nothing seriously wrong.

The rated distortion of an amplifier,for example, has no discernible relation-ship to its perceived sonic quality, sim-ply because in virtually all modern am-plifiers the distortions that are beingmeasured are far below the ear's thresh-old of audibility. Most people can't hearharmonic distortion below levels ofabout 0.5 per cent; even the most "gold-en" ears, in the most demanding tests,can't hear levels below about 0.1 percent. So 0.001 per cent total harmonicdistortion (THD) isn't "better" than0.01 per cent THD; once the distortionis below the ear's audibility threshold, itmakes no difference.

In fact, extremely low levels of distor-tion were once viewed with suspicion incertain audiophile quarters, on the as-sumption that the designer must haveused very large amounts of negativefeedback to suppress the distortion in asteady-state test tone, which hypotheti-cally could cause severe distortion of thetransient sounds that are common inmusic. But manufacturers soon foundways to produce ultra -low THD ratingswithout causing audible transient distor-tion, so that issue became moot.

Of course, THD is measured with aconstant single -frequency test tone,while music contains many simulta-neous frequencies. Therefore, a varietyof other tests have been developed, withan alphabet -soup collection of names(SMPTE IM, TIM, CCIR and IHF IM,etc.), which use a blend of two or moretest frequencies to detect any distortioncaused by "intermodulation" betweenthe frequencies in a musical sound. Butover the years I have observed a behav-ior pattern that I propose to call Mit-chell's Rule of Specifications: by thetime the entire hi-fi industry agrees on astandardized way of measuring a newspecification (so that the relevant num-bers are really comparable by consum-ers), every manufacturer will have elim-inated the fault that the specification

was intended to take account of. As aresult, published specifications alwaysrepresent good product performance. Itmay be, for example, that some olderamplifiers suffered from audibleamounts of high -frequency IHF IM dis-tortion; but by the time the IHF IM dis-tortion test came into widespread use,this type of distortion had been reducedto insignificant levels in almost all newamplifiers.

This does not mean that all amplifierssound identical, nor that all specifica-tions are meaningless, but it does makeit more of a challenge to extract usefulinformation from specs. The task be-comes still more complex when manu-facturers fail to adhere to a consistentway of stating the numbers. Back in1978 the audio industry voted to adoptan improved set of standard proceduresfor measuring amplifier performance;these later became the official EIA(Electronic Industries Association) teststandards, which are used by STEREOREVIEW. But some manufacturers arestill using the obsolete 1966 1H F (Insti-tute of High Fidelity) test procedures,making comparisons difficult. For ex-ample, any company still using the 1966IHF method is measuring phono S/Nwith a short-circuited input, which canyield unrealistically inflated S/N fig-ures of 90 dB or more, whereas a figureof around 82 dB measured according tothe 1978 standard is state-of-the-art.

Fortunately, in nearly all amplifiersthe noise of the phono-preamp circuit isfar below the surface noise of most rec-ords. In other words, preamp S/N's aregood enough that the exact number isusually unimportant.

As dozens of careful listening testsover many years and in several nationshave shown, frequency response ac-counts for more audible differencesamong hi-fi products than any other sin-gle parameter. But frequency responsecan be deceptive: a small difference intonal balance is often heard by the ear assomething else-"air," image, depth,height, clarity, warmth, etc.

The variable character of frequencyresponse matters because there are sev-

eral circuit stages in any amplifier, eachof which can have small departures fromflat response. These can then add up toan overall difference that is perceptiblein direct comparisons. Departures of twoor three tenths of a decibel from idealphono RIAA equalization are commoneven in high-priced "esoteric" ampli-fiers. Tone -control circuits show similardepartures from exactly flat responsewhen they are set to "flat." Even power -amplifier output circuits and speakerwires can contribute small response er-rors because their impedances are in se-ries with that of the loudspeaker.

Because of the common practice ofsummarizing frequency -response meas-urements in the form "x Hz to y kHz±z dB," it is easy to assume that twoamplifiers with the same response ratingactually measure and sound identical.But if one amplifier rated at "20 Hz to20 kHz ±0.5 dB" is 0.5 dB down in thebass and 0.5 dB up in the treble, while asecond amp with the same published rat-ing is up the same amount in the bassand down in the treble, the broad 1 -dBdifference in response will be plainly au-dible in direct comparisons. One ampli-fier will sound thin and dry to those whodon't like it, clear and open to those whodo; the other amp will be perceived asmellow and full-bodied by those whoprefer it, congested and two-dimensionalby those who don't.

Audiophiles, however, tend to exag-gerate the importance of such small per-ceived differences in their search for thebest sound. While response aberrationson this scale are audible in direct com-parisons, they don't matter much in thelong run. After all, even the largest re-sponse errors in an amplifier are likely tobe less than 1 dB, which is small com-pared with the ± 2 -dB tolerance of atypical phono cartridge, the ± 5 -dBvariations among good loudspeakers,and the ± 10 -dB peaks and valleys con-tributed by the acoustics of a listeningroom. Once you get a new amplifierhome, the ear quickly adapts to its com-paratively small colorations (and tomany of the larger ones just mentioned),allowing you to "hear through" the sys-tem's imperfections to recognize and en-joy the musical sound, just as a personwearing sunglasses easily recognizes thetrue color shadings of objects despite al-terations by the tinted glass.

48 STEREO REVIEW

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tail price of the product-as well asadding potential for operating confu-sion or unintended losses in sound qual-ity if all the controls aren't optimallydesigned. So it's up to you to decidehow much flexibility you really want.

For decades, every stereo amplifierhas had an auxiliary (Aux) input, butfew people have had any use for it.Now, with the current population ex-plosion in high -quality audio programsources, you are likely to need everyline -level input you can get. Here's justa short list of things you might want toconnect to an AUX input: a digital Com-pact Disc player, a video -cassette re-corder used with an adaptor for digitalaudio, a stereo video -disc player, awide -range stereo VCR using the BetaHi-Fi or VHS Hi-Fi systems, and theaudio output of a video tuner (especial-ly if the FCC authorizes stereo TVbroadcasts next year). If your amplifierdoesn't have enough line -level inputs,you can always add a low-cost outboardswitchbox to connect several programsources to a lone AUX input. Of course,

you could simplify your connectionproblems by employing a separate vid-eo-tuner/preamplifier to handle the in-put switching for all video sources-orby dedicating one room to your musicsystem and a completely separate roomfor your home video theater with itsown stereo gear.

Some manufacturers are relabelingthe old AUX input DAD to accommodatethe digital audio disc, but that doesn'tmean there's anything special about theinput circuit. In most amplifiers all ofthe line -level inputs are connected di-rectly to the input selector and then tothe volume control, with no interveningactive circuitry that could be over-loaded by the wide dynamic range of adigital disc.

How many input/output circuitsshould your amplifier have for tape re-corders and external signal processors?It's wise to plan for future needs, al-though, as with AUX inputs, you can al-ways add an external switchbox laterfor multiple tape decks. (I use a $25Radio Shack switchbox that provides

monitoring and copying connections forup to three recorders.) Remember thata complex array of switches for moni-toring and dubbing may become con-fusing and frustrating to use. Notewhether the controls are arranged andlabeled in a clear, logical way. Do youunderstand what happens when eachswitch is activated? Does the manualexplain things clearly? Can you tell at aglance the setting of each switch?(With some short -travel pushbuttonsit's not immediately obvious visuallywhether the button is in or out, and youGould spend many frustrating hourswith an apparently dead amplifier justbecause you couldn't see that the tape -monitor button was pushed in.)

Independent INPUT SELECT and RE-

CORD SELECT controls offer a specialkind of flexibility, allowing you to tapefrom any signal source while listeningto any other (for instance, taping fromFM while listening to a record, or viceversa). But do you really need this ca-pability? On the other hand, havingtwo tape circuits instead of one, with a

How Much Power Do You Really Need?rie cost of an amplifier depends

I heavily on its output power (and es-pecially on its output -current capacity),so of course the first question to askyourself before going to shop for an am-plifier is, How much power do I reallyneed? The accompanying chart, whichrelates power to sound level for typicalspeakers, provides a couple of clues.

First, the power is scaled logarithmi-cally with respect to the sound -pressurelevel (SPL). This means that you haveto triple the number of watts to increasethe attainable sound level by just 5 dB.Thus, a 50 -watt amplifier will not playappreciably louder than a 40 -watt ampof similar design.

Second, most listening involves aver-age power levels ranging from a smallfraction of a watt up to only 10 watts orso. Even the biggest symphonic climaxesproduce sustained sound levels of onlyabout 95 dB in the concert hall, whichcorresponds to 10 watts amplifier out-put. Why, then, would anyone need anamp rated for more than 10 watts? An-swer: to reproduce the transient sounds,lasting only a small fraction of a second,that contribute a great deal to the live-ness of music. Transient levels typicallyreach 10 to 15 dB higher than sustainedsound levels-to more than 105 dB atthe peak of a symphonic fortissimo, forexample. Attempting to reproduce discoand rock music at "live" sustainedsound -pressure levels, a very loud 105dB, requires much higher average am-

plifier power, about 100 watts. Mostpeople, however, play music at lowerlevels, even during the wildest parties athome. Reducing the sustained soundlevel from 105 to 100 dB, a small audi-ble difference, reduces the necessary av-erage amplifier power from 100 to only31.6 watts.

What you are buying in a powerfulamplifier is not merely sound quanti-ty-the ability to play music loud-buta potential improvement in sound quali-ty: clear, undistorted reproduction of thetransients and details in loud passages ofmusic. And since high-powered ampli-fiers generally have larger power sup-plies and transistors, you are also buyingmore of the output -current capacity de-sirable for controlling the motion of thespeaker voice coils.

There is no general rule to predict howmuch power a given listener will need,but two suggestions are obvious:

(1) If you listen to music mainly atbackground levels, either by preferenceor because loud music would disturbyour neighbors, you don't need muchpower. Large amplifiers are for audio-philes who play music at live (or louder -than -life) levels. Listen to amplifierswith different power levels in the show-room; do you hear a sonic differencethat matters to you? (Make sure to playthe amplifiers at the same volume levelfor this test-their control positions forthe same audible level may vary. Also,use the same speakers with each ampli-

fier.) Or take home a medium -poweramplifier for a few days in a trial -pur-chase arrangement; if it proves unsatis-factory, most dealers will give you fullcredit toward a bigger model.

(2) If you will be listening mainly toFM radio and/or cassettes, where thehighest -level transients are usuallysomewhat compressed, you probably canget quite satisfactory quality with amodest amplifier. But if your primaryprogram source will be digital (or dbx-encoded) recordings in which the fulldynamic range of the transients hasbeen preserved, you may need all thepower you can afford to buy.

Continuous output power is not theonly power specification to be concernedwith in choosing an amplifier, however.It would be enough if music consistedonly of constant tones and if loudspeak-ers behaved electrically like the 8 -ohmresistors used to test amplifiers. But mu-sic is dynamic and speakers complex.

An amplifier is rated in watts, like alight bulb. But unlike, say, a 100 -wattbulb, which consumes a constant 100watts from switch -on to turn-off, a 100 -watt -per -channel amplifier playing mu-sic will rapidly vary its a.c. power con-sumption from a few watts to more than200 watts as it tries to reproduce faith-fully every variation in the audio wave-form. It must have the brute force todrive the woofer in a bass -drum wallopand the delicacy to reproduce the subtleshimmer of a plucked harp string.

50 STEREO REVIEW

facility for cross -dubbing from onedeck to another, can be handy even ifyou plan to own only one tape deck.Many signal -processing devices (graph-ic and parametric equalizers, specialspeaker equalizers, noise filters, noise -reduction systems, dynamic -range pro-cessors, etc.) are designed for installa-tion in a tape -monitor loop, and they donot always provide tape connections toreplace the ones they use up.

Some amplifiers provide "externalprocessor" connections as pseudo -tape -monitoring loops, but usually with oneessential limitation: the EXT PROC is"downstream" from the taping circuitsand processes only the sound being am-plified; it can't be used to process a sig-nal before it is recorded on tape. Manydubbing circuits, including those insome outboard switchboxes, have a sim-ilar limitation: they allow only directtape -to -tape dubbing. You can't play atape on one deck, run it through anequalizer or other sound -improver, andthen record the fixed -up signal on a sec-ond deck. If this is something you will

want to do, either expect to reconnectyour signal cables frequently or select asignal processor that has built-inswitching to insert the processing in therecording path.

Integrated amplifiers that areequipped with PREAMP OUT and POWERAMP IN jacks offer an extra degree offlexibility that was formerly availableonly to users of separate amplifier com-ponents. Speaker equalizers, stereo -image enhancers, ambience -reproduc-tion devices, dynamic expanders, andother signal processors can be connect-ed here, leaving your taping circuitsfree for tape decks. (Exception: signalprocessors whose operation depends onthe setting of a signal threshold-suchas CX-disc decoders-must be installedin the signal path ahead of the volumecontrol.)

In an ideal world every amplifiercould have response flat down to 0 Hz.But records are not physically flat,turntables operate in environmentsfilled with vibration (including theirown motor/bearing rumble), every

phono-cartridge/tone-arm combinationhas an infrasonic resonance that me-chanically amplifies these nonmusicalsignals in the 5- to 20 -Hz range, and,thanks to RIAA equalization, the typi-cal phono preamp boosts the deep bassby about 50 dB. If infrasonic signals aresent to speakers amplified to. fullstrength, they tend to overdrive woofersand intermodulate with the music, pro-ducing flutter and muddy bass. Thisproblem can be avoided by an infra-sonic filter (often misnamed "sub-sonic," which means "slower thansound") that rolls off the amplifier's re-sponse below about 20 Hz, but if thefilter has too high a turnover frequency(30 Hz, say) or too shallow a slope, itmay weaken the lowest octave of mu-sical bass. You may then need to switchthe filter out in order to hear pipe -organpedal tones at full strength. If the filtercuts in at 15 to 20 Hz and has a steeprolloff slope (12 or 18 dB per octave), itcan be a permanent part of the ampli-fier circuit; it need not be switchable.

(Continued on next page)

Power is simply voltage multiplied bycurrent. Voltage is the amount of"force" moving the electrons through acircuit, and the current represents thenumber of electrons moving through thecircuit every second. It is the currentflowing through the loudspeaker voicecoils that causes the speaker cones to vi-brate. If the speaker's impedance is highand uniform over frequency, like that ofan 8 -ohm resistor, an amplifier connect-ed to it will produce undistorted powerup to the level at which the peaks of theaudio waveform reach the voltage limitsof the amplifier's power supply. Afterthat point any further amplification will"clip" the signal, producing severe (andusually audible) distortion. The ratedpower of an amplifier refers to its maxi-mum continuous, unclipped output intoa constant -impedance resistor over abroad range of frequencies.

But this power rating may not reflectits performance with music signals driv-ing speakers. First, in a typical powersupply the voltages sag when the maxi-mum rated power is being drawn contin-uously. Thus, an amplifier can delivermore than its rated output power in mo-mentary bursts (such as in musical tran-sients lasting a few milliseconds) if theyare separated by short periods of lowerpower drain. Since the loudest peaks inmusic tend to involve brief bursts (cym-bal clashes and the like), this transientoutput capability (expressed by the IHFdynamic -headroom measurement) maybe a truer guide to how well the ampli-fier handles loud passages. Of course,the rated continuous output still tellsyou something about the amplifier'spower for sustained brass chords, pipe -

organ pedal tones, operatic choruses,etc. As STEREO REVIEW'S Larry Kleinputs it: If two amplifiers produce thesame rated continuous power, the onewith the greater dynamic power willplay louder. If two amplifiers producethe same dynamic power, the one with

OutputPower,watts

Sound -

PressureLevel, dB

110Onset of hearingdamage fromprolonged exposure

300

100

30

10

100 Very loud mdsic

3 90 Loud music

1

0.3

0.1

80 Average music

0.03

0.01

70 Average corversation

0.003

0.001

60 Quiet music

0.0003

0.0001

50 Distant traffic

0.0003 40 Background noise

The relationship between amplifier outputpower and the resulting sound -pressurelevel (SPL) from a pair of typical speak-ers in a typical listening room. The SPLcould be up to 5 dB higher for the sameoutput power with very efficient speakersor up to 5 dB lower in a large room.

the greater continuous power will playlouder.

There is another important reasonwhy the continuous power rating may bean inadequate guide to an amplifier'scapability: many loudspeakers have acharacteristic impedance of only 3 to 6ohms, particularly at those frequencieswhere the maximum power demands inmusic occur. With an impedance lowerthan 8 ohms the current flow increases,implying greater power output-but theincreased current drain causes the pow-er -supply voltages to sag more, loweringthe clipping level. More amplifier outputcurrent means higher temperatures inthe output transistors, risking theirbreakdown unless the designer employslarger transistors and heftier (costlier)heat sinks. To decrease cost and increasereliability, many amplifiers contain pro-tection circuits that severely limit theoutput current-and these circuits,rather than the rated 8 -ohm clippingoutput power, may be what limits anamplifier's ability to drive loudspeakersto room -shaking volume levels.

This is especially true during dy-namic, transient conditions. Loudspeak-ers don't absorb power passively; theyare "reactive," storing energy duringtransients and dumping it back into theoutput transistors while shifting thephase of the current relative to the volt-age. In effect, from the amplifier's pointof view, the speaker's impedance lookseven lower than its steady-state value. Inlab tests, an amplifier's ability to deliverunfettered current into a 4 -ohm (or even2 -ohm) impedance is an index of its abil-ity to drive difficult speakers with com-plex musical waveforms.

OCTOBER 1983 51

A sharp -cutoff infrasonic filter is es-pecially important with vented speakers(ported, bass -reflex, or passive -radiatortypes) since their woofers can flap un-controllably when fed strong signalsfrom below the speaker's useful fre-quency range. That's why some manu-facturers supply an equalizer/filterunit with their vented speakers. Acous-tic -suspension speakers tend not to re-spond to infrasonic signals, so they aremore tolerant of shallow filtering. (In-cidentally, an infrasonic filter is best lo-cated in the phono preamp or in a line -level input circuit so that it will preventinfrasonic energy from gettingrecorder and overloading its input.)

At the high -frequency end of thespectrum, the top octave of many re-cordings and broadcasts (above 8 or 10kHz) contains more noise and distor-tion than music, so a high -cut filter canadd substantially to the pleasure of lis-tening, particularly to video programsources and old records. Unfortunately,most high -cut filters have shallow, 6 -dB -per -octave slopes that give approxi-mately the same broad rolloff charac-teristic as a turned -down treble control,dulling the music by removing much ofthe mid -treble together with the top oc-tave. A sharp filter that remains flat toabout 8 kHz and then rolls off at 12 or18 dB per octave will do a better job ofremoving the noise while preservingmost of the musical overtones.

At low volume levels the human earis relatively insensitive to low -frequen-cy sounds, so in theory a LOUDNESS

COMPENSATION circuit that boosts thebass as the volume is lowered should beuseful, maintaining a subjectively life-like tonal balance at every listening lev-el. In practice, however, the loudnessbutton is often just a "boom and tizz"switch that fattens the lower midrangeand boosts the treble. You can test aloudness circuit by noting what itdoesn't do: the maximum boost shouldbe in the very deep bass, so it should not

dramatically alter the tone of a voice orother midrange sound. And to provideaccurate compensation it should havetwo controls, one to calibrate your max-imum listening level and a second toadd compensation progressively as thesound level is lowered. But only a fewmanufacturers do it this way. A practi-cal alternative is to create your ownloudness compensation by adjusting thetone controls until the music soundsright.

A few amplifiers feature a BASS

EQUALIZER circuit that boosts only thebottom octave of the deep bass to com-

for the low -end rolloff of mostpopular loudspeakers. If your speakershave adequate deep -bass response, sucha circuit is also useful for undoing thebass rolloffs in recordings, and it mayprovide more authentic loudness com-pensation than the loudness switch.

Tone controls are perennially contro-versial. Some audiophiles favor omit-ting or bypassing the tone controls en-tirely, listening to recordings "straight"and accepting whatever tonal balancethe engineers may have imposed uponthe musical sound. If you are one ofthese, look for a BYPASS, DIRECT, OrTONE DEFEAT Switch.

Among those who design and/or usetone controls there are two schools ofthought: (1) TONE controls should af-fect the basic tonal balance of the mu-sic, making it brighter or duller, heavieror thinner; (2) BASS and TREBLE con-trols should, as their names suggest, op-erate only on the low bass (the solidfoundation, the beat) and on the hightreble (the crisp detail, the airy sparkle)without changing the basic tonal bal-ance of the middle range where most ofthe musical sound resides. To discoverwhich approach was taken in the ampli-fier you are considering, play some vo-cal recordings (for instance, folk bal-lads or light rock) and observe whetherthe character of the voice is substantial-ly altered as the bass and treble control

settings are changed. Some amplifierslet you have it both ways, with switchesthat alter the "turnover frequency" ofthe bass and treble circuits. One widelyused bass -control circuit configurationhas a sliding turnover frequency: asmall motion of the control away fromcenter affects only the deep bass, butextreme settings produce a broad boostor cut that affects the midrange too.

If two tone controls are good, arethree better? They can be, especially ifthe added MIDRANGE control is cen-tered not at 1 kHz but in the "pres-ence" octave around 2 or 3 kHz, wherea boost can clarify an inarticulate vocaland a cut can do wonders to tame a too -forward solo or a raucous, edgy -sound-ing multimiked recording. The next lev-el of flexibility is a built-in graphic orparametric equalizer. An even rarer op-tion that promises to become morecommon in the future is a SLOPE con-trol. Instead of boosting or cutting anarrow frequency band it maintains aflat overall response but tilts it up for abrighter, more "open" sound or downfor a mellower, less aggressive one.

If you are going to use an amplifierevery day for several years, its sonicperformance may be less importantthan its "ergonomics," or human engi-neering. Does the arrangement of thecontrols permit easy use? Are the but-tons too close together for large fin-gers? Are they confusingly identified?Will you be able to read the front -panellabels at home, without the store'sbright lighting? Do the controls behavelogically, or do they invite errors? If thevolume control is a slider or an up/down pair of pushbuttons, can you set itas precisely as you can a round knob?Do the controls have a feel that issmooth and solid, or do they feel stiff,loose, or flimsy? Try out a variety ofmodels and pick one that not onlysounds good but also feels good to use.

The Power AmpConceptually, the power -amplifier

stage is the simplest section of an inte-grated amplifier or receiver. Youshould make a choice here purely on thebasis of performance, with few gadgetsand frills to distract your attention (seebox on pages 50 and 51). Still, there area few other things to consider.

Should you have some kind of power -level indicators? Many critics regardthese as purely cosmetic features, offer-ing visual distraction but little or nogenuinely useful information. Ofcourse, an accurate peak -reading dis-play with a wide range (from below0.01 watt up to the amplifier's maxi-mum output) can be educational, atleast for the first few times you watch it

52 STEREO REVIEW

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while correlating its indications to theapparent volume level of the sound. Butafter that you may never look at itagain.

Do you need connections and built-inswitching for two or more pairs of loud-speakers? Do you want five -way bind-ing posts or any other type of largespeaker terminals? (Standard press -to -connect speaker terminals are okay foran amplifier of modest power, but ahigh -power amp should accept wiresthicker than 18 -gauge lamp cord.)While you are looking at the rear panel,are there enough a.c. convenience out-lets for your equipment? If you areshopping for a separate preamp, does ithave a switched outlet with enoughpower capacity to handle your power

amplifier, or will you have to switch thepower amp on and off separately? Isthere a headphone output?

A Closing WordIf you have been paying close atten-

tion to the suggestions in these pages,you may have noticed what we have notrecommended. We have not suggestedthat you should or should not select am-plifiers employing discrete circuitry in-stead of IC's, circuits that are DC -cou-pled rather than capacitor -coupled,output stages employing MOSFET's orRET's (ring -emitter transistors) in-stead of ordinary bipolar -junction traysistors, one particqlar class of operationrather than anothei (see the box be-

low), or any other special technology.We've said it before: how something isdone is not as important as how well itis done, and there are both superb andmediocre examples of virtually everykind of technology, audio or not. Ifthere is one special ingredient thatguarantees a superior amplifier, it's thethoughtfulness of its designer. Virtuallythe same silicon chips are available toevery manufacturer; it's the intelli-gence of the designer that determineshow well that silicon is used.

Peter W. Mitchell, one of hi-fi journalism'smost prolific writers, is also president of theBoston Audio Society and of his own elec-tronics consulting firm.

A Question of ClassMUCH of the special jargon about

power -amplifier circuits relates tovarious ways of dealing with two prob-lems: how to reproduce soft sounds with-out generating distortion and how to re-produce loud sounds without generatingexcess heat.

The problem of low-level distortionarises because virtually all modern am-plifiers are "push-pull" systems in whichone set of output devices (transistors ortubes) amplifies the positive half of awaveform while another set handles thenegative half. The two halves of the sig-nal are spliced back together into a con-tinuous waveform at the amplifier's out-put, and if there is any discontinuity atthe joint it may be audible as so-called"crossover" distortion. Such a push-pullsystem, with the crossover between thetwo halves of the waveform occurring at0 volts, is called class -B amplification.

Transistors, unfortunately, are verynonlinear (distortion -generating) at lowvoltages. They don't even begin to con-duct electricity until the input voltagereaches about 0.6 volt, which wouldmake class -B reproduction of soft mu-sical passages very distorted indeed. Thestandard solution to this problem is touse a modified form of class B, class AB;in this operating mode a constant d.c.current is added through the outputstage, offsetting (biasing) each transis-tor by at least 0.6 volt so that it handlesslightly more than half of the waveformand stays "on" for even the smallest sig-nal voltages. This eliminates most of thedistortion at the crossover point and ishow most amplifiers are designed.

Some designers choose a higher biaspoint, however, so that a larger portionof the waveform is handled by each setof transistors. This yields slightly lowerlevels of measured distortion, but withmore current constantly flowing throughthe output transistors, more heat is gen-

erated, requiring the use of larger andmore costly transistors and heat sinks-or, in a high-powered amplifier, a cool-ing fan. Carrying this trend to its ex-treme, the bias point can be set at one-half of the power -supply voltage. Calledpure class -A operation, this allows theentire waveform to be handled by a sin-gle set of transistors, eliminating anypossibility of crossover distortion. Butthis advantage in potential sonic purityis bought at a high cost: because of theresultant heating of the output transis-tors, pure class -A operation tends to berestricted to amplifiers of relatively lowmaximum power. Using essentially thesame set of hardware (power supply,transistors, heat sinks), a manufacturercan build either a 30 -watt amplifieroperating in class A or a 120 -watt am-plifier operating in class AB with aboutI volt of bias-and sell them at the sameprice.

Lately many manufacturers havebeen using dynamic bias circuits inwhich the effective bias point of the out-put stage continually varies, approach-ing class A for low-level signals andmoving back toward class B for more ef-ficient (cooler) operation when the mu-sic gets loud and high power levels arerequired. Companies using this ap-proach invent their own names for it:"non -switching," "new class A," "su-per -A," etc. Purists will insist that theseshould not be confused with pure class -A operation, because the latter's highbias current yields an extra degree ofsonic purity: constant heating of thetransistors avoids any slight tempera-ture -dependent variations in linearity.In any case, the audible benefit of classA is very subtle at most, especially com-pared with its dramatically higher costfor a given wattage level and the possi-bility of clipping at relatively low outputpowers.

The same questionable cost -benefitratio applies to vacuum -tube amplifiers,which have been staging a mini come-back after two decades of solid-state de-sign despite their drawbacks of high ini-tial cost, variable performance, and theneed for regular replacement of scarceand costly tubes. A tube amplifier mayindeed sound different from transistordesigns in a direct comparison, but thatdifference does not necessarily denotesuperiority: in a few controlled listeningtests the audible differences have simplybeen traced to the tube models' poorerdamping factors and resulting higheroutput impedances (which yield fre-quency -response aberrations that followthe impedance curve of the speaker).

Even with a class -AB design, an am-plifier generates substantial heat whendelivering high power continuously to aloudspeaker, and it requires a large andcostly power supply to produce high con-tinuous output power. Since the highestpower levels are needed only duringbrief transients, the current trend, ac-companying the spread of digital audio,is toward designs that emphasize higherdynamic power rather than higher con-tinuous power. To achieve high dynamicpower capabilities, some companies em-ploy a "soft" power supply whose volt-age remains high as long as power is be-ing drawn only in short transients butsags to a lower level during periods ofcontinuous high -current drain. Othermanufacturers do the opposite, using apower supply that operates at a heat -conserving medium voltage level most ofthe time and switches instantly to ahigher level during brief high -powertransients. (Examples of the latter ap-proach include Hitachi's "Class -G,"Soundcraftsmen's "Class -H," PhaseLinear's DRS series, Carver's "Magnet-ic -Field," and Yamaha's "X" ampli-fiers.) In either case, the result is an am-plifier that can reproduce brief very -high -level transients without having thekind of massive and costly power supplythat would be needed to produce extra -high power levels continuously.

54 STEREO REVIEW

The only cassette deck in Americaendorsed b, 58,984 ex erts on sound.

Last year, more ears ap-plauded Sony than any otherline of cassette decks.

And Sony even de-lighted the ears of profes-sional critics of sound. Likethe editors of leading pub-lications, who have con-sistently rated Sony decks ._: -

above all others in their price class.Perhaps it's the performance -

which is enhanced by Sony's uniqueLaserAmorphous" heads and advancedDolby*C noise reduction-that earns

SON

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such features as feather -touch controls.A linear tape counter that displays actualelapsed time in minutes and seconds.

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Regardless, Sony cas-sette decks continue towin applause everywherethey're heard.

Which doesn't mea:we're asking you to buya Sony merely on hearsay.

Instead, we invite you to auditionone of the new Sony cassette decksat your nearest audio dealer. And sim-ply listen to what s ONyour ears say.

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Jargon'An examination of

some of the most commonlyused descriptive audio terms

WHEN a hi-fi salesman says thata loudspeaker sounds "warm"or a record reviewer claims a

recording sounds "smooth and airy,"just what are they trying to say? Theseare only two examples of attempts todescribe the perceived sound qualitiesof audio equipment and recordingswithout using technical terminology(which is woefully inadequate for thejob anyway). Among other similes acritic might use are those comparingsounds to materials (woody, steely, sil-ky, glassy, airy), to temperatures (hot,warm, cool), to visual qualities (bright,sparkling, dull, dark), or to bodily qual-ities or sensations (fat, gutsy, punchy).Unfortunately, the audio application ofthese terms is relatively vague and mayvary from person to person. What'sneeded is a translation of these popular"subjective" terms into such measura-ble qualities as frequency response,noise, distortion, etc.

The following glossary is an attemptto clarify the situation, but it is in noway meant to codify or otherwise stand-ardize the terms defined. In fact, someof them have several conflicting mean-ings that correspond to the differentways in which the terms are used by au-diophiles, recording engineers, critics,and others.

How can you use the glossary? Thefirst and most obvious application is de-coding advertising puffery. When youread an ad extolling a speaker's "full,rich lows" and "crisp, sparkling highs,"you'll have a better idea of what actual

By Bruce Bartlett

acoustical qualities the ad writer wasprobably referring to. Another use isdeciphering the subjective commentson the sound quality of equipment orrecordings made by other audiophiles.And the glossary might be particularlyhandy for dealing with hi-fi salespeo-ple, who often use these terms to im-press customers. You will not find defi-nitions for every term you might hear orread, however. Some are so idiosyncrat-ic as to be virtually untranslatable.You're on your own if you come acrosssomeone describing a speaker's "bluishupper midrange" or "vinyl -coated tran-sients."

Still another important use for theglossary is for audio self -education. Us-ing a multiband equalizer (or even justyour amplifier's or receiver's tone con-trols), you can easily make a stereo sys-tem sound "warm." "woody," "cov-ered," "punchy," "restricted," "airy,"and so on. If nothing else, such an exer-cise will convince you how importanteven small frequency -response changesare in determining the perceived quali-ty of reproduced sounds.

Words have to be defined using otherwords, of course, and in our definitionsof subjective audio terms we'll be usinga number of "objective," technical au-dio or acoustical terms. Most will bequite familiar to regular readers ofSTEREO REVIEW, but a few of the lessfamiliar ones may require explanationthemselves. So we'll begin by definingthese key technical terms, then go on tothe glossary proper.

OCTOBER 1983 57

Jargon!ambience. A sense of the acoustical en-

vironment surrounding the recordedinstruments that is caused by rever-beration (see definition below) andearly room reflections being pickedup by the recording microphone(s).

boost. Emphasis or exaggeration of aportion of the audio spectrum thatcreates a peak in the frequency -re-sponse curve. "Boosted lows," for in-stance, means that the low frequen-cies are unduly emphasized relativeto the rest of the audio spectrum.

cut. An attenuation of a portion of theaudio spectrum that creates a dip inthe frequency -response curve. A cutat one end of the curve is a rolloff(see below). The subjective effects ofboosts or cuts depend greatly on theirmagnitude and on how much of theaudio spectrum they affect.

modulation noise. Noise or hiss thatvaries in strength along with the pro-gram signal.

overhang. Unwanted vibrations con-tinuing after the original sound hasdecayed; underdamped resonance. Aloudspeaker cone with overhang con-tinues to vibrate after the electricalsignal driving the speaker hasstopped.

reverberation. Sound that is reflectedrepeatedly off the walls, ceiling, andfloor of the recording room and per-sists after the original sound ceases;room acoustics or room sound. Forexample, the sound you hear just af-ter you shout in an empty gymna-sium or corridor.

rolloff. A decrease in acoustic output atone or both of the frequency ex-tremes. If a speaker has "high -fre-quency rolloff," its output drops asthe frequencies being reproduced riseabove a certain point in the audiospectrum.

transient response. The ability to repro-duce rapid changes in audio wave-forms, such as the attack and decayof sounded notes on an instrument.Good transient response is a result offlat frequency response and linearphase response.

accurate. 1. Providing true-to-life,high-fidelity reproduction. 2. Havinga flat frequency response, low noise,and low distortion.

airy. 1. Having a sense of "air" or spacesurrounding the instruments. 2. Hav-ing a pleasant amount of reverbera-tion; containing early reflections orechoes from the walls, ceiling, andfloor of the recording room. 3. Hav-ing an extended and/or slightlyboosted high -frequency response.

anemic. Lacking bass; weak low -fre-quency response. Opposite of "full"or "warm" (see below).

articulate. 1. Well-defined. 2. Boostaround 5 kHz or higher.

ballsy. Low -frequency boost belowabout 200 Hz.

barrelly. Low -frequency peaks or reso-nances around 200 to 300 Hz.

bathroom sound. 1. Too much reverber-ation. 2. Resonances at mid -bass fre-quencies.

big. 1. Wide stereo spread. 2. Full fre-quency response. 3. Adequate am-bience.

blurred. 1. Poor focus of stereo image.2. Poor transient response.

body. Boost around 250 Hz.boomy. Low -frequency boost around

100 to 300 Hz.boxy. 1. The music sounds like it's in a

box. 2. Mid -bass boost around 200 to600 Hz. 3. Recorded in too small aroom.

brassy. 1. Edgy. 2. Emphasis of upperharmonics.

bright; brilliant. 1. Clear reproductionof high -frequency sounds such ascymbals, triangle, and other percus-sion. 2. Extended high -frequency re-sponse. 3. High -frequency boostabove about 5 kHz. 4. Having apleasant amount of reverberation.

cavernous. Too much reverberation.cheap. 1. Narrow bandwidth, lacking

highs and lows. 2. Distorted.clean. I. Free of noise, distortion, and

overhang. 2. Having a low -frequencyrolloff that removes rumble andmuddy bass.

clear. 1. Free of noise and distortion. 2.Boost around 5 kHz or higher. 3. Ab-sence of the masking of one instru-ment by another.

clinical. Sterile, studio -perfect, "lack-ing humanity." Too clean, too de-tailed, too closely microphoned; notenough ambience.

colored. Peaks and/or dips in the fre-quency -response curve; unflat re-sponse; unnatural tonal balance.

cool; cold. I. Weak or rolled -off low -frequency response; opposite of"warm." 2. Emphasis of highs overlows.

covered. 1. Muffled sound; weak high -frequency response. 2. Containingodd -order harmonic distortion.

crisp. 1. High -frequency boost aboveabout 7 kHz. 2. Clear reproductionof high frequencies.

dark. Dull sound; weak or rolled -offhigh -frequency response. Opposite of"bright" or "sparkling."

dead. 1. Insufficient ambience or rever-beration. 2. Lacking resonance; over -damped; lacking high frequencies(referring to musical instruments).

defined. 1. Clear, having "presence." 2.Flat, extended high -frequency re-sponse. 3. Boosted high frequencies.4. Good transient response, good at-tacks. 5. Sharp imaging. 6. Well -con-trolled reverberation.

depth. Sense of nearness and farness ofinstruments. Distant -sounding in-struments are recorded with a highratio of reverberant sound to directsound, close -sounding instrumentswith a high ratio of direct sound toreverberant sound.

detailed. 1. Details are easily audible,including such things as small differ-ences in timbre among instrumentsor small changes in an instrument'stimbre as it is playing (like the pluck-ing of each string within a strummedguitar chord). 2. Flat, extended high -frequency response, good transientresponse, and low distortion. 3. Closemicrophone placement

directionless. Poor, unfocused stereoimaging; out -of -phase recording.

dirty. Distorted (often desirable forelectric guitars). 110

58 STEREO REVIEW

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Perfection-freedom from fault or defect-anunsurpassable degree of accuracy or excel-lence. For Nakamichi, perfection is the ultimategoal, our raison d'être. Our products are dedi-cated to true audiophiles who appreciate the bestin sound reproduction and, like us, will settle fornothing less.

When we decided to re-enter the auto -soundmarket (we offered an under -dash player yearsago), we had only one concern-sound quality!Could Nakamichi Sound be brought on the road?Many were skeptical. No one doubted that wecould build a "better" system than our competi-tion, but could we make one to equal a homesystem?

We had already overcome the major stumblingblock of bi-directional playback-the azimuthmisalignment that occurs when a tape is playedin reverse. Our unique Nakamichi Auto AzimuthCorrection (NAAC) system made its debut inDragon and could be adopted for the mobileenvironment. But what aboutthe horrendous wow and flutterthat plagues auto decks? Whatabout distortion orders of mag-nitude worse than homepower amps? Could we over-come the horrible acoustics in

a car? Could we develop an FM tuner that couldfight off multipath noise and distortion?

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If you are seriously interested in experiencingsonic perfection in your automobile, we invite youto audition the Nakamichi Mobile Sound System.But beware! Once you've heard NakamichiMobile Sound, it is sure to become the standardof perfection against which you judge all others.It's even convinced those skeptics who thought itcouldn't be done!

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TD -1200 Mobile Tuner/Cassette Deck

rliNakamichi60 STEREO REVIEW

Jargon!disembodied. Dip in response around

250 to 1,000 Hz.

distant. 1. Excessive reverberation; mi-crophones placed too far from themusician(s). 2. Dip in response in theupper midrange.

distorted. Fuzzy or raspy sounding; fre-quency components have been addedthat weren't in the original signal.

dry. Lacking sufficient ambience orreverberation.

dull. Weak or rolled -off high -frequencyresponse; muffled. Opposite of"bright" or "sparkling."

echoey. Too much reverberation.edgy. High -frequency boost above

about 7 kHz. Opposite of "round."effortless. A sense of ease in sound re-

production; flat, extended high -fre-quency response, low distortion, ade-quate amplifier power, adequatespeaker efficiency. Opposite of"strained."

etched. High -frequency boost aboveabout 7 kHz.

fat. I. Gassy, low -frequency boost. 2."Doubled" sound, in which an echovery closely follows (within millisec-onds) the original sound.

flat. Dull, lifeless, unexciting sound; tooneutral; lacking character or color.(Note: not to be confused with "flatfrequency response," which meansan even response curve without peaksor dips.)

focused. Sharp or well -localized stereoimaging.

forward. 1. Boost around 2 to 3 kHz. 2.Close microphone placement.

full, full-bodied. Flat and extended low -frequency response.

fused. Sharp or well -localized stereoimaging.

fuzzy. 1. Distorted or noisy. 2. Havingmodulation noise. 3. Unclear stereoimage.

glare, glassy. 1. Usually applied tostrings that sound strident becausethey were miked too closely. 2. Ahigh -frequency boost.

grainy. I. Distorted. 2. Containingmodulation noise or tape flutter.

gritty. Very distorted.

gutsy. 1. Flat, extended, undistortedlow -frequency response. 2. Low -fre-quency boost below about 100 Hz.

hard. Boost around 2 to 5 kHz; contain-ing upper -midrange peaks.

heavy. Low -frequency boost belowabout 200 Hz.

hissy. Noisy, particularly with a "fffr"or "ssss" sound from recording tape,the recording process, or amplifiernoise.

hole in the middle. Weak or poorly fo-cused phantom center image. In a re-cording this is caused by using a pairof microphones placed too far apart,in playback by placing the loud-speakers too far apart.

hollow. 1. Too much reverberation. 2.Boost around 500 to 700 Hz.

honky. Nasal sounding, usually becauseof a boost or peak between about 500and 3,000 Hz; sometimes associatedwith horn drivers having narrow dis-persion or horn resonances

hot. 1. Boosted high frequencies. 2.Overall "loud" sound, probably dueto signal compression.

intelligible. Clear, easy to understandspeech, usually associated with aboost around 2 to 5 kHz and a mini-mum of reverberation.

liquid. 1. Non -electronic sounding; nat-ural, smooth, full reproduction offundamentals. 2. Flat, extended fre-quency response. 3. Having a pleas-ant amount of reverberation.

live. Having noticeable reverberation,especially in the midrange.

loose. 1. Opposite of "tight"; containinga lot of sound picked up off -mike. 2.Noticeable ambience. 3. Poor tran-sient response, lots of overhang.

mellow. Lack of stridency or harshness;smooth response. Often the lows areslightly emphasized and/or the highsare slightly de-emphasized.

metallic. Boost around 3 kHz.

muddy. 1. Opposite of "clean," "clear,"or "defined." 2. Excessive reverbera-tion, especially at low frequencies. 3.Low -frequency masking of one in-strument by another. 4. Boosted low -frequency response. 5. Weak high -frequency response. 6. Boost around500 Hz.

muffled. Dull; weak or rolled -off high -frequency response. Opposite of"bright" or "open."

musical. 1. Non -electronic sounding;natural; flat, extended frequency re-sponse, low distortion. 2. Euphonic;colored in a way that enhances thesound of the music.

nasal. Strong boost or peak around 500to 3,000 Hz.

natural; neutral. High-fidelity, true-to-life reproduction; flat, extended fre-quency response; no coloration.

noisy. Containing unwanted soundssuch as tape hiss.

open. 1. A sense of "air" surroundinginstruments; a pleasant amount ofambience and reverberation. 2. Flat,extended high -frequency response. 3.Wide dispersion of tweeter output. 4.Containing slight even -order har-monic distortion.

phasey. Having many sharp dips in thefrequency response caused by phaseinterference.

piercing. Boost around 2 to 5 kHz.pinched. 1. Restricted frequency re-

sponse. 2. Restricted depth. 3. Weaklow -frequency response, possibly aboost around 3 kHz.

pinpointed. Sharply focused or well -lo-calized stereo imaging.

powerful. 1 Low -frequency boost belowabout 100 Hz. 2. Full reproduction oflowest frequencies.

presence, present. 1. Apparent closenessof instruments; sense of instrumentsbeing in the listening room. 2. Clarityand articulation. 3. A boost around 5kHz for most instruments; a boostaround I to 2 kHz for others.

OCTOBER 1983 61

Jargon!projected. Boost around 2 to 3 kHz.punchless. Weak low -frequency re-

sponse; weak upper -midrange re-sponse. Colorless, too flat.

punchy. 1. Low -frequency boost around100 to 300 Hz. 2. Upper -midrangeboost.

raunchy. Highly distorted (often desir-able for electric guitars).

resonant. Having a pleasant amount ofreverberation.

restricted. Narrow -bandwidth, rolled -off highs and lows.

rich. I. Flat, extended low -frequencyresponse. 2. Containing full funda-mentals and many harmonics. 3.Having a pleasant amount of rever-beration.

robust. Low -frequency boost belowabout 500 Hz.

rough. Harsh; mid- or high -frequencyresponse has noticeable peaks anddips. Opposite of "smooth."

round. High -frequency rolloff, full re-production of fundamentals. Oppo-site of "edgy" or "thin."

rumbly. Containing very -low -frequencynoise, either recorded (from air-con-ditioning, trains, traffic, room noise)or from record -surface imperfectionsor turntable -motor vibrations.

"ss-y," essy. Emphasis of "s" sounds;high -frequency boost around 5 to 10kHz.

sharp. 1. High -frequency boost aboveabout 5 kHz. 2. Focused, well -local-ized stereo imaging. 3. Good tran-sient response, good reproduction ofpercussive attacks.

sibilant. Emphasis of "s" or "sh"sounds; high -frequency boost around5 to 10 kHz.

silky. Flat, extended high -frequency re-sponse; smooth. Usually applied tostrings.

sizzly. High -frequency boost aboveabout 7 kHz.

smeared. I. Poor transient response. 2.Poor focus of stereo image.

smooth. 1. Easy on the ears. Opposite of"rough" or "harsh." 2. Gentle high -frequency rolloff. 3. Flat frequencyresponse, especially in the mid -to -high frequencies.

solid. Flat, extended low -frequencyresponse.

spacious. 1. Open, "airy"; a sense ofspace surrounding instruments; hav-ing a pleasant amount of reverbera-tion. 2. Flat, extended high -frequen-cy response.

sparkling. 1. Bright; clear reproductionof high -frequency sounds such ascymbals, triangle, and other percus-sion. 2. Extended high -frequency re-sponse. 3. Boosted high -frequencyresponse.

spread. Poorly focused stereo image ofa single instrument. "Stereo spread"is the apparent width of the repro-duced musical ensemble.

sputtering. Intermittent noises from anamplifier.

steely. High -frequency boost aboveabout 3 kHz; often applied to violinsmiked too closely.

sterile. 1. Studio -perfect; lacking "hu-manity." Too clean. 2. Lacking re-verberation or ambience.

strained. Slightly distorted; insufficientamplifier power, especially at lowfrequencies. Opposite of "effort-less."

strident. Hard, harsh; boost around 3 to5 kHz.

sumptuous. 1. Having a pleasantamount of reverberation. 2. Full low -frequency response.

thick. 1. Bassy; low -frequency boostaround 100 to 200 Hz. 2. "Doubled"sound, in which an echo very closelyfollows the original sound. 3. Listeneris unable to distinguish individual in-struments clearly.

thin. Lacking bass; weak or rolled -offlow -frequency response.

thumpy. 1. Containing low-pitched"thumps" or noises (such as piano -pedal noises). 2. A low -frequencyboost around 100 Hz; often appliedto acoustic guitars miked too close.

tight. 1. Well -controlled or reduced off -mike sound. 2. Good transient re-sponse; well -damped; lack of over-hang.

tinny. Sounding like a tin can; weakbass, rolled -off low -frequency re-sponse; sometimes a peak around 1kHz.

transparent. Reproduction calls no at-tention to stereo -system equipment.Flat, extended frequency response;low distortion and noise; "uncolored."

trashy. 1. Too much pickup of off -mikesound. Opposite of "tight." 2. Nar-row bandwidth.

trebly. High -frequency boost.tubby. Low -frequency boost or reso-

nances around 200 to 300 Hz.uncolored. Flat frequency response; no

part of the audio spectrum is empha-sized or attenuated by the recordingor reproduction.

veiled. 1. Slightly unclear, not "trans-parent." 2. Weak or rolled -off high -frequency response. 3. Slight noise ordistortion. 4. Poor transient re-sponse.

washed-out. 1. Too much reverberation;too distantly recorded. 2. Lacking afull dynamic range.

warm. 1. Slight low -frequency boostand/or high -frequency rolloff. 2.Having a pleasant amount of rever-beration. 3. Diffuse reverberationthat seems well spread -out and possi-bly surrounds the listener.

woody. A boost around 200 to 400Hz.

Bruce Bartlett is project engineer for the Mi-crophone Development Department of CrownInternational. He derived this glossary fromobserving the way audio terms are used byrecording producers, musicians, audiophiles,and salespeople.

62 STEREO REVIEW

HOW TO MAKE BUYING TAPE GEAR AS EASY AS LISTENING TO IT

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Best of the MonthStereo Review's Selection of Recordings of Special Merit

Mitch Ryder ReturnsIn Style with "Never

Kick a Sleeping Dog"

MITCH RYDER'S "Never Kick a

Sleeping Dog" is a nearly perfectcomeback album. Produced by an ad-miring John Cougar (under the pseudo-nym "Little Bastard"), it restores Ry-der to the aggressive, popular rockformat he unwisely and unluckily aban-doned at the end of the Sixties. Given achance to return to the mainstream,Ryder has responded with the relief ofan outcast welcomed back into the fold,but he has not compromised either histalent or his experience. Rather, Cou-gar's interest and respect, and the

spare, two-fisted instrumentation hehas provided, has triggered Ryder'sgreatest sustained vocal performanceyet. His singing here is forceful, fluid,dignified, and exciting all at once.

A generation older than Cougar,Ryder pioneered the guttural, emotion-al, black -inspired vocal attack now tak-en for granted by nearly every whiterocker. In Detroit during the Sixties,Ryder and Motown were the dominantmusical forces. Both pursued a "cross-over" sound with biracial appeal, andboth tried to break down obsolete socio-

Mitch Ryder: a comeback without compromise

OCTOBER 1983 65

musical categories-Motown for busi-ness reasons, Ryder for artistic ones.

Ryder's influence is all the more not-able since he didn't have that manyhits. In fact, he and his band, the De-troit Wheels, had only three: Devil witha Blue Dress On, Jenny Take a Ride,and Sock It to Me Baby. They mighthave had more, but Ryder was ruinedby bad management as the decadeended, and his later recordings weresporadic. In 1971 he recorded withBooker T. and the MG's, and afterwardhe formed another band, Detroit. Buthis occasional albums on esoteric labelshad no marketplace clout; his last re-lease before "Never Kick a SleepingDog" was a three -disc German importthat went nowhere. And during thiswilderness period Ryder was writingangry, lonely, morbid songs about hispersonal and professional difficulties.

Ryder's freshly written material forthe new album is much more accessible.Both the production and the singing re-vive the style of his original hits, a stylethat's been vindicated by time. You willseldom hear such brilliance from a per-former; it's a textbook demonstration oftechnique, faith, and pride.

To show his ease with contemporarymaterial, Ryder sings Prince's WhenYou Were Mine and duets with Mari-anne Faithfull-another walking -wounded veteran-on Bill Amesbury'sA Thrill's a Thrill, a bitter but tough-minded song that reasserts the joy ofliving despite the pain. Ryder's readingof the old r -&-b standard Cry to Me isalmost paternal in its hard-boiled ten-derness. And at the end of his own TheThrill of It All, a tune about survival,he takes a daring and beautiful a cap -

Mezzo -sopranoFrederica von Stade

and pianistJean -Philippe

Collard

66

pella break, dropping his familiar bluesvoice for a husky tremolo. It is startling,but not such a surprise when you re-member that Mitch Ryder was bornWilliam Levise Jr. and comes by Ital-ian bel canto honestly.

Mitch or Bill-and John-you'vedone one hell of a job. Welcome back.

-Joel Vance

MITCH RYDER: Never Kick a SleepingDog. Mitch Ryder (vocals); vocal and in-strumental accompaniment. B.I.G.T.I.M.E.;When You Were Mine; A Thrill's a Thrill;Come Again; Cry to Me; The Thrill of ItAll; Stand; Rue de Trahir; Code Dancing.RIVA RVL 7503 $8.98, RVC4 7503$8.98.

A Prize Selection ofFaure's Songs fromFrederica von Stade

GABRIEL FAURE composed about ahundred songs, just enough to be

contained in a neat anthology. Therehave been some complete recordings inrecent years, but such releases do notproduce mass sales, and none have re-mained in the catalog. Frederica vonStade's new Angel record of eighteen ofFaure's songs, including some of hisbest, is therefore more than welcome,especially in performances that turn atreat into a prize-and are excellentlyrecorded as well.

The Faure songs, particularly thosefrom the earlier years of his long life,

have a deceptive simplicity that con-ceals harmonic and rhythmic subtleties.For the most part, they are sensuousand haunting melodies (Apres un reve,Clair de lune) not too far removed fromthe drawing room (Le Papillon et la,fleur), though some are startling withtheir muted passion or stark despair(Prison, Au cimetiere). Von Stade in-terprets them with a luscious tone thatexploits the warmth of her midrangeand with a notable sensitivity to thepoetic texts. In some past recitals, anelement of preciousness frequently in-truded on this gifted mezzo's alwayspleasing vocal efforts. Happily, that isnot the case here. A refreshing sense ofartistic growth radiates from her sing-ing, which is straightforward, unman-nered, and, when the mood calls for it,convincingly exultant.

Jean -Philippe Collard's firm andmuscular pianism supports the mezzo'sapproach (Faure was a neo-Classicist,not a mystic). On at least one occasion,the singer seems to yield to the pianist'ssterner view: I would have welcomed afreer, more flexible approach to Aubord de l'eau, but this is a relatively mi-nor matter. Overall, we have here abeautiful record. -George Jellinek

FAURE: Songs. Les Berceaux; Le Papillone la fleur; Lydia; Reve d'amour; La Feeaux chansons; Au bord de l'eau; Notreamour; Les Roses d'Ispahan; Dans lesruines d'une abbaye; Apres un reve; Clairde lune; Mandoline; En sourdine; L'Au-rore; Arpege; Prison; Dans la fore de sep-tembre; Au cimetiere. Frederica von Stade(mezzo-soprano); Jean -Philippe Collard(piano). ANGEL 0 DS -37893 $12.98,4XS-37893 $12.98.

(Continued on page 69)

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"I'm So Proud" Is aStunning Showcase forDeniece Williams

\ the seven years since Deniece Wil-1 I lams stepped out of Stevie Wonder'sback-up group, Wonderlove, to make iton her own, she has achieved a massfollowing as the songbird of soul whilemaintaining exceptionally high artisticstandards. Her new Columbia album,"I'm So Proud," amply demonstrateshow she has been able to attain popularsuccess without compromising: she hasforged a distinctive vocal style that siz-zles with brilliance.

Williams has a stunning range ofrich, imaginative effects. Her voice is,indeed, almost bird -like, sounding pun-gently sharp but never strident as shedips and soars, plucking accurate highnotes from the aural stratosphere withmiraculous ease. But her formidabletechnique is never treated as an end initself. Each precisely enunciated wordor syllable of a lyric is the cutting edgeof an emotion that is bursting to beexpressed.

No less important than talent and in-tegrity in Williams's rise has been theway her albums have been produced.Her 1976 debut, "This Is Niecy," wasproduced by Maurice White andCharles Stepney, who made Earth,Wind & Fire the models of progressivesoul music in the late Seventies. Theygave Williams the same inventive har-monies, carefully layered vocal -instru-mental textures, and sonic clarity thathelped thrust that flamboyant groupinto prominence. Her subsequent al-bums all displayed a level of lyrical sub-stance and polished musicality that setthem apart, especially her collaborationwith the venerable Johnny Mathis on"That's What Friends Are For," whichpulled him out of the MOR mushinessthat had marked his work for the pasttwo decades and pushed him toward thetougher sound of high -quality rhythm-and-blues.

On the new "I'm So Proud"-whichagain features a duet with Mathis, SoDeep in Love, that is pleasant if un-memorable-the threads of Williams'sprevious successes have been deftlywoven into a stunning, seamless show-case by a trio of producers. Williamsherself was joined by Bill Neale andGeorge Duke, the latter proving herethat he's still one of the most versatilecraftsmen around when he wants to be.

The title song, by Curtis Mayfield,displays Williams in a coolly assertiveSixties vein, and her own I'm Glad It'sYou abounds in vocal pyrotechnics. Thevery best cuts are on side two, especial-

Singer/songwriter Deniece Williams

ly an unusually successful pop -gospelsong, They Say, by Skip Scarboroughand Terri McFadden, which speaks ofancient miracles in modern cadencesthat ring true. When Williams is joinedhere by Philip Bailey-the singer whohits all those spectacular high notes forEarth, Wind & Fire-they build to aclimax that will have even unbelieversshouting in ecstasy. The song, the ar-rangement, and the performance allrank among the best I've heard in manyyears.

Two other songs co -written by Wil-liams are also impressive: the reggae -flavored Love, Peace and Unity, whichpresents a strong political messagewithout tasteless heavy-handedness,and the closing track, It's Okay, whichhas the spirit of Brazil at Carnival time,with undulating rhythms and a back-upchorus that sounds like it's straightfrom the streets.

"I'm So Proud" shows why DenieceWilliams has every right to be. It's sim-ply superb. -Phyl Garland

DENIECE WILLIAMS: I'm So Proud. De -niece Williams (vocals); vocal and instru-mental accompaniment. Do What YouFeel; I'm So Proud; So Deep in Love; I'mGlad It's You; Heaven in Your Eyes; TheySay; Love. Peace and Unity; It's Okay. CO-LUMBIA FC 38622, ® FCT 38622, no listprice.

The Cleveland QuartetCaps Its Beethoven SeriesWith Another Winner

THIS year has brought us no fewerthan four recordings of all of Bee-

thoven's late quartets in four -disc sets:the remake by the Amadeus Quartet onDeutsche Grammophon; the reissue ofthe still vibrant monophonic recordingsby the Hollywood Quartet imported inthe HMV Treasury series; another im-port, part of the Prague -based TalichQuartet's survey of all the Beethovenquartets for the French label Calliope(regrettably available here all too brief-ly); and now the final installment in theBeethoven cycle begun a few years agoby the Cleveland Quartet on RCA.This last set must be accounted themost stimulating of the lot-the mostprovocative, the most thoughtful, andultimately the most rewarding, as wellas the most handsomely recorded, evenif it may not dislodge the luminousQuartetto Italiano set on Philips fromfirst place among all current versions orgive the owners of the deleted VeghQuartet series on Telefunken any causeto cherish those performances less.

The five late quartets and the GrosseFuge were taped before the Cleveland's

OCTOBER 1983 69

Best of the MonthRecent selections

you might have missed

CLASSICALBrahma: Vocal Ensembles. DEUTSCHE

GRAMMOPHON 2740 280. "Clear, naturalsinging, marvelous sound." (September)

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20and 27. LONDON CS 7251. "Elegant. pas-sionate, and committed performances fromSir Clifford Curzon ." (August)

Mozart: Opera Arias: PHILIPS 6514319. "Marvelous music, gorgeous singingby Kin Te Kanawa." (July)

Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 31, 35, 38,40, and 41. L'OISEAU-LYRE D172D4

. . some of the finest Mozart playingaround." (September)

Poulenc: Solo Plano Music. EMI'PATHS MARCONI C 069-73101 "A glowingnew collection from Gabriel Tacchino . . ir-

resistible." (June)

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3; TheIsle of the Dead. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON2532 065. "Definitive interpretations by Lo-rin Maazet stunning digital sound." (July)

Schubert: Plano Sonata in B -flat Ma-jor. HYPERION A66004. ". . an exceptionalrealization of a great work." (August)

E.: R. Strauss: Death and Transfigura-tion; Four Last Songs. ANGEL DS -37887."Profoundly satisfying . ." (June)

POPULARJoan Baez: Very Early Joan. VAN-

GUARD VSD-79446,7. ". a spellbinding al-bum by one of the most influential...popular artists of our time." (August)

Angela Bof III: Too Tough. ARISTA AL9616 "Polished, powerful, and pretty."(June)

r_ Phil Collins: Hello, I Must Be Going!ATLANTIC 80035-1 " an eclectic, well -crafted album " (June)

17: Local Hero. WARNER BROS. 23827-1. "Abeautiful, powerfully exciting film sound-track by Mark Knopfler" (September)

E Susannah McCorkle: The PeopleThat You Never Get to Love. INNER CITY IC1151. "Wonderful songs, wonderful sing-ing." (September)

D Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts. RCAAFL 1-4568. "Passionate and inspiringrock-and-roll." (July)

17. Carlos Santana: Havana Moon. CoLUMBIA FC 38642 "Soulful, fresh, and per-sonal " (August)

El Simon & Bard Group: Tear It Up. FLY.ING FISH FF 262 "Sophisticated musicplayed with feeling " (July)

E. Mel Tiflis: After All This Time. MCAMCA -5378. " . one of country music'sreal vocal masters " (July)

ZI Top: Eliminator. WARNER BROS23774.1 "Hard -rocking, low -riding, sleazy.and funny " (August)

The Cleveland Quartet

original violist, Martha Strongin Katz,was replaced by Atar Arad, so there isthorough continuity throughout the cy-cle in terms of personnel. Another signof continuity is the extremely compre-hensive and imaginative annotation byPaul Katz, the group's cellist, who givesus, in addition to more than the usualbackground information and commen-tary on the works, an account of someof the performance dilemmas faced bythe players and the reasons for thechoices they made in each case. Onepoint Katz makes is that Beethoven wasnot being at all perfunctory in his indi-cation of repeats and that, while thelength of actual concert programs mayfrequently necessitate the omission ofrepeats, a recording provides an oppor-tunity for taking all of them-and thatopportunity is duly taken here.

The B -flat Quartet, Op. 130, is oftenthe touchstone of a recorded survey ofthe late quartets, and the performanceit receives here is an especially persua-sive one in every respect. The longopening movement is beautifully pro-portioned, the succeeding presto is alllightness and grace, fleet -footed butnever hectic, and the two movementsthat separate it from the cavatina arepoised unselfconsciously betweencharm and profundity. The slow tempofor the alternative allegro finale worksvery well, and the Grosse Fuge, theoriginal finale, blazes with impassionedconviction.

All told, the sound is exceptionallycrisp and clear (if not particularlywarm), the pressings are exemplary,and the performances throughout are

clearly in the same league as that ofOp. 130. The lyricism and the under-rated raw strength of Op. 127 bothmake their full impact, as do both themystic and folkish elements of the vale-dictory Quartet in F Major, Op. 135.The latter's justly celebrated scherzo(Vivace) is as perfectly judged-and asspontaneous-sounding-as the presto inOp. 130: robust, polished, vital, yet freefrom any hint of misplaced frenzy.Tempos are ideally judged in everymovement, relationships betweenmovements are made especially clear,and Opp. 131 and 132 come off almostas exaltedly throughout as one alwayshopes for. There may be a slightly ten-tative bar here or there, but the overallresponsiveness and natural momentumare remarkable. I can't recall a moreaffecting statement of the HeiligerDankgesang in Op. 132, so radiantlystraightforward and unforced here, or amore convincing performance of the fi-nale to that work.

Whether it is judged to be "the best"or simply "one of the best" (it is nosmall distinction, after all, to stand withthe Quartetto Italiano and Vegh cy-cles), the Cleveland Quartet's Beetho-ven series is a winner, and this final vol-ume is not merely a satisfactory conclu-sion but a true capstone.

-Richard FreedBEETHOVEN: String Quartets: No. 12, inE -flat Major, Op. 127; No. 13. in B -flatMajor, Op. 130; No. 14, in C -sharp Minor,Op. 131; No. 15, in A Minor, Op. 132; No.16, in F Major, Op. 135; Grosse Fuge, Op.133. Cleveland Quartet. RCA ARL4-4509four discs $39.92, ©ARK4-4509 $39.92.

r2

E

7(1 STEREO REVIEW

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1

Popular Musk

flews Briefs

The Hollies then and now: left, the original Sixties group; right, the reunited Ho!lies (minus Eric Haydoclo today

At RPRISING number of de -funct rock groups and

terminated pop partnershipshave made news by re-form-ing or regrouping in the lastcouple of years. Among thosecontinuing the reunion trendthis year are Elton John andhis songwriting buddy BernieTaupin, together again forJohn's twenty-fourth album,"Too Low for Zero," whichwas reviewed here last month.Their last previous collabora-tion had been on "BlueMoves" in 1976.

Back together for their firstU.S. tour in thirteen yearswere the enormously popularfolk-rock duo Paul Simon andArt Garfunkle. In July of thisyear they started touring witha show billed as "A SummerEvening with Simon & Gar-funkle." Along with such oldstandards as Bridge OverTroubled Water and Mrs.Robinson, they performed se-lections from their brand newWarner Brothers album,"Think Too Much," their firststudio recording since 1970.

At most dates they drewsellout crowds in huge arenaslike Houston's Astrodome. InNew York they pulled morethan 80,000 for their appear-ances at Shea and Giants sta-diums, outselling their hottesttouring competitors, DavidBowie (who drew 60,000 atthree Madison Square Gardendates) and the Police (50,000at Shea Stadium).

Ttics year marks the twen-tieth anniversary of the

foundation of the Hollies byGraham Nash and AllanClarke. And this year findsco-founders Nash and Clarkereunited with Bobby Elliottand Tony Hicks, fellow Hol-lies from the old days. Nashleft the band in 1968 to joinStephen Stills and DavidCrosby in forming the super-group Crosby, Stills, Nashand Young. (Crosby, Stillsand Nash reunited last yearfor "Daylight Again," theirfirst album in five years.)

The Hollies' recent tour insupport of their new album"What goes around ... " (seereview on page 76) included aperformance on the TV musicshow Solid Gold. It had longbeen rumored that drummerElliott has been as bald asOtto Preminger since the firstdays of the British Invasion,which explains why he neverappeared publicly without ahat or a faintly preposterousPrince Valiant hairdo. In astunning concession to matur-ity Elliott appeared on theshow without wig or hat,sporting a chrome dome thatcould outshine Yul Brynner'sor Telly Savalis's.

Ttit: most significant of therock reconciliations was

probably the September re-union concert of the EverlyBrothers at Albert Hall in

London. Among the manyartists who have acknowl-edged a debt to the EverlyBrothers are the Beatles, BobDylan, the Byrds, the Mamasand the Papas, Simon & Gar-funkle, and Lovin' Spoonful.

The reunion concert, theirfirst in ten years, will beshown on cable TV shortlyand will be released on videodisc and cassette next spring.The Everly Brothers have nev-er made public the reasons fortheir separation, and they

have not confirmed whetherthe reunion has a future orwas a one-shot. According toPhil Everly, they chose Lon-don for the reunion concertbecause they were grateful forthe loyalty of their Englishaudience when interest in theduo waned back home in theSixties.

ALSO together again are thePit Animals, the British su-pergroup that disbanded in

The Animals: top, in the Sixties; bottom, today

72 STEREO REVIEW

1966. Their current tour,which began in Canada inJuly, continues through theend of this month and coversNorth America, Europe, andAsia. So far they have drawnenormous crowds of old andnew fans to hear such classicsas We Gotta Get Out of ThisPlace, It's My Life, and TheHouse of the Rising Sun, aswell as material from theirnew album, "Ark."

At a conference arrangedby I.R.S. Records for the Ani-mals to meet the press, key-boardist Alan Price said,"There's no point in doing thisif you can't relate to both oldand new generations. We'renot here just to prove that wecan still eat, walk, breathe,and drink beer."

When the group disbandedthe various members contin-ued to work in music, withgreater or lesser degrees ofsuccess. After knocking aboutwith several U.S. bands, gui-tarist Hilton Valentine re-turned to England and toNewcastle (where the Ani-mals originated). There heplayed with a local band.

"It was called Buddy andthe Dimes," he said. "Weplayed bingo halls where thegame was piped into the barand the auditorium. Peoplecame to play bingo andweren't much interested inhearing us."

Although no Animals con-cert was scheduled for the

band's home town, Valentinehoped that a date in Newcas-tle could be squeezed in. "I'dlike it to be the last on thetour," he said. "Then I couldjust hop in a cab after theshow and go home." Whetherthey play Newcastle or not,the Animals seem to be prov-ing that you can go homeagain. P.W.

Fiits-r there was the VideoDisc, then the Compact

Disc, and now comes (we'renot making this up) the Aro-ma Disc. Called "the nextfrontier in home entertain-ment" by its creators, the En-vironmental Fragrance Tech-nology Company, the AromaDisc is a record and playersystem for the nose. A fra-grance -scented disc is aboutfour inches in diameter; a reg-ular one lasts about an hour,the LP version about five.Among the hit records youcan purchase for your AromaDisc system are such faves asOcean Breeze, Movie Time("the nostalgic smell of but-tered popcorn at the the-ater"), Country Moods ("thefun of an early autumn hay -ride"), and Locker Room,about which I will not evenventure to guess. Personally,though, I'm holding out for anAroma Disc version of BillyJoel's Scenes from an ItalianRestaurant, for all the obviousreasons. S.S.

Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan

GRACE NOTES: The newBob Dylan album (no

word yet on whether it'ssacred or secular) finds theHibbing Minstrel producedby Mark Knopiler of DireStraits and backed by noneother than Sly Dunbar andRobbie Shakespeare, betterknown as the pre-eminent reg-gae rhythm section of our day.Rasta Bob Dylan? . . . Sonyis about to unleash a newbatch of its innovative Video45's, including two ToddRundgren packages (one byTodd solo. the other in tandemwith Utopia), and a collectionof Bill Wyman ditties. Filmbuffs may be interested toknow that one of the Wymansongs (the international hit SiSi Je Suis un Rock Star)

Disc and Tape Reviews

originally turned up, withoutvocals, as part of the RollingStones' bassist's score for theRyan O'Neal/Omar Sharifmovie thriller Green Ice.. . .

Texas blues -guitar hot shotStevie Ray Vaughan, who gothimself noticed playing guitaron the new David Bowie al-bum and then quit the Bowietour in a huff over money, isnow set to star opposite BurtLancaster and Nastasia Kins-ky ir. Maria's Lover. Produc-ers of the film were so im-pressed with Vaughan's videoclips on MTV that theypegged him to play one ofNastasia's musicianturned renegade biker.Vaughan's first album as aleader, "Texas Flood," hasbeen released on Epic. S.S.

By CHRIS ALBERTSON PHYL GARLAND ALANNA NASH MARK PEELPETER REILLY STEVE SIMELS JOEL VANCE

ADAM AND THE ANTS: Dirk WearsWhite Sox. Adam and the Ants (vocals andinstrumentals). Car Trouble; Kick; Cleopa-tra; Table Talk; and eight others. EPIC FE38698, CI FET 38698, no list price.

Performance. LoudRecording: Okay

"Dirk Wears White Sox" is the first Amer-ican release of Adam and the Ants' 1980

Explanation of symbols:

==

O ==

® =

digital -master analog LPstereo cassettedigital Compact Disceight -track stereo cartridgedirect -to -disc recordingmonophonic recording

The first listing is the one reviewed;other formats, if available. follow it.

debut album. It has a much more stripped -down, punked-out sound than this year'smodel, "Friend or Foe," and it makesAdam's subsequent popularity seem a littleless amazing. Even at an early age, Adamhad a flair for the outrageous, sexual andotherwise. (From Cleopatra: "Cleopatradid a hundred Roman centurions for after -dinner mints . . . What a weak distortedimage Elizabeth and Richard gave you onthe screen, of the widemouthed girl." Nowthat's a mouthful.)

The music is a turgid brand of punk, de-rived in part from the Doors, with occasion-al flashes of guitar brilliance from MarcoPirroni, who owes a monumental debt to thefrenetic Zoot Horn Rollo of Captain Beef -heart's Magic Band. If there's an ideologybehind this music, it's summed up in Fami-ly of Noise. While Adam's early work hasenergy, it lacks originality or staying power.The disc sounds exactly like what this groupturned out to be: a dead end. M.P.

AMERICA: Your More. America (vocalsand instrumentals). My Kinda Woman;She's a Runaway; Cast the Spirit; The Bor-der; Your Move; Tonight Is for Dreamers;Someday Woman; and four others. CAPI-TOL. ST -I2277 $8.98, © 4XT-12277$8.98.

Performance: LightweightRecording: Okay

Back when I was in high school, I had anadolescent fix on two twelfth -grade boyswho played guitars and sang original songsabout lost lore and freedom. They used tostand in the spotlight, close their eyes, andassume the proper look of anguish, and Ithought they were terribly sensitive. Now,of course, I realize they were just whiners.

I'm reminded of that by America's newalbum, which, like all their other albums, isboth whiney and adolescent. Honestly,these guys are past thirty now, but they'restill hung up on pimple -cream themes-try-

OCTOBER 1983 73

DeliaBell

DELIA BELL looks like the kind of womanwho's spent a lifetime waitressing down

at the Mosey On Inn. A sharecropper'sdaughter and an ironworker's wife, Bell isone of those big ol' raw-boned country galswho makes no attempt to hide the crow'sfeet that spread out like road maps underher eyes. She stares out of the cover photoof her first Warner Brothers album with amixture of friendliness and fear-and with-out an inkling that she has just recorded oneof the most impressive old-style country -and -bluegrass albums of the decade.

A protegee of Emmylou Harris, whomakes her producing debut here, Bell laysher songs out in a way that's as country as abeehive hairdo, waffling around on thenotes a tad before moving on to the next inan unadorned soprano slide. While so many

of today's pseudo -country queens learnedtheir licks on the stage of an L.A. rehearsalhall, Bell grew up singing-and living-country music in Hogo, Oklahoma. With-out so much as a hint of vibrato in her voice,she sings in a style that is straightforward,unpolished, and authentic. It takes a bit ofjaw work to get three syllables into the word"hair," but, by George, she does it.

Bell isn't really a "newcomer." She hasthirteen albums to her credit, most of themon her own Kiamichi label. Still, I doubtthat many other producers could have madethis record into the stunner it is. It was ob-viously a labor of love for Emmylou Harris,who found the title song of her own blue-grass album, "Roses in the Snow," on anobscure Bell LP. Not only has Harris re-vived a lot of great old songs for this album(Don't Cheat in Our Hometown, WearyHeart, Will You Miss Me) and spilledthem up with her own arrangements, but

a

she's brought in a host of top pickers andguest artists-including Byron Berline,Carl Jackson, Glen D. Hardin, Steve Fish -ell, Chet Atkins, and John Anderson-to doit up right. The fact is, though, that Harriskeeps her own vocal harmonies uncommon-ly subdued, and she just about overdoes itwith the instrumentalists, running the riskfar too often of burying Bell alive under allthat fancy fingerwork.

Despite the presence of all the big names,however, Harris took quite a risk with thisproject. Country music gets more citifiedevery day, and while some may interpretRicky Skaggs's current success as being in-dicative of a back -to -country movement,my guess is that within the industry Skaggsis perceived as a fluke, a token hillbillywhose style will be tolerated only as long ashe continues to sell millions of records.Bell's own Warner Bros. contract calls for atotal of seven LP's-if this first one sells. Ihope it does. But whatever happens in thefuture with traditional music, Bell and Har-ris can be assured of one thing: "Delia Bell"is a killer of an album. -Alanna Nash

DELIA BELL. Delia Bell (vocals); ByronBerline (fiddle, mandolin); Carl Jackson(guitar, banjo); Steve Fishell (dobro, pedalsteel); Glen D. Hardin (piano); Emory Gor-dy (bass); Don Heffington (drums); ChetAtkins (guitar); John Anderson (vocals);Emmylou Harris (vocals, guitar); other mu-sicians. Coyote Song; Don't Cheat in OurHometown; I Forgot More (Than You'llEver Know About Him); Back Street Af-fair; Wildwood Flower; Weary Heart;Flame in My Heart; Good Lord a'Mighty;Lone Pilgrim; Will You Miss Me. WARNERBROS. 23838-1 $8.98, 23838-4 $8.98.

ing to get a girl who keeps "holding out" tolet down her guard (Your Move) and sigh-ing over failed relationships with the samedisappointment as if they'd just been toldthey couldn't use the car for a month. Ontop of that, the budding little tunes neverseem to sprout into real songs. ProducerRuss Ballard (no more George Martin)does everything he can to stretch the mate-rial into some kind of shape, but all that'sclearly defined are snatches of previousAmerica songs and even a bit of Hall andOates in the title tune. I guess we shouldexpect as much from a duo that started outimitating Neil Young, but let's face it: mu-sically, these guys are wimps. A.N.

PAUL ANKA: Walk a Fine Line. PaulAnka (vocals); vocal and instrumental ac-companiment. Second Chance; No WayOut; Golden Boy; This Is the First Time;Darlin', Darlin'; and four others. COLUMBIAFC 38442, © FCT 38442, no list price.

Performance SmoothRecording: Good

Paul Anka seems to have been around sincethe days of the cactus phonograph needle.He's still successfully hanging in there onthe MOR/ Vegas scene as a sort of upscaleWayne Newton, and he's still a verysmooth, very assured, very clever perform-er. He's assisted by a solid crew on his newalbum, including Karla DeVito and ex-Doobie Michael McDonald, but the qualityof his songs is decidedly variable. Darlin'.Darlin' is one of those bits of plastic goothat even teenagers of several generationsback might have found indigestible, but thetitle song is an entirely professional piece ofgood commercial record making. Anka'svoice is still resolutely pubescent, and hewails and brays his way through these selec-tions as if he'd just sprayed his tonsils withClearasil. On records, at least, he can stillget away with it. P.R.

GEORGE BENSON: In Your Eyes. GeorgeBenson (vocals, guitar); vocal and instru-mental accompaniment. Feel Like MakingLove; Inside Love (So Personal); Lady LoveMe (One More Time); Love Will ComeAgain; In Your Eyes; Never Too Far toFall; and four others. WARNER BROS.23744-I $8.98, © 23744-4 $8.98, e23744-9 $8.98.

Performance DisappointingRecording: Very good

Until this album came along, I had thoughtthat George Benson was incapable of mak-ing a less than satisfactory record. In mov-ing over to the pop field, he brought alongthe same steely mastery he had displayed asone of the most innovative jazz guitarists inhistory, and his unique vocal scatting waswonderful to hear. Quality seemed to be hishallmark in any kind of music.

Unfortunately, I have to revise that opin-ion, for with "In Your Eyes" Benson hasfulfilled the worst predictions of his critics.Most of this album is dominated by the mo-notonous funk dance beat that has becomeas tyrannical today as disco once was. Theworst casualty is Feel Like Making Love, acharming little sliver of a song that totallydepends on subtlety and softness to put itacross. Sweating and stomping, Bensonbeats it into oblivion. In contrast, the set's

74 STEREO REVIEW

"hit" song, Inside Love (So Personal), is soinsubstantial that the funk treatment can'thurt it any further. Granted, there are sometantalizing moments here-the velvety, in-timate duet with Vickie Randle on Late atNight and a couple of instrumentals, Beingwith You and In Search of a Dream, onwhich Benson displays his monumental gui-tar technique. But the rest is just not up tothe level we expect from an artist of GeorgeBenson's stature. P.G.

CROSBY, STILLS AND NASH: Allies.Crosby, Stills and Nash (vocals and instru-mentals); other musicians. War Games;Raise a Voice; Turn Your Back on Love;Shadow Captain; Dark Star; Blackbird;and four others. ATLANTIC 80075-1 $8 98© CS -80075-1 $8.98.

Performance WoodenRecording. Okay

Crosby, Stills and Nash recently had a spe-cial on cable TV, and it was a shock to findthem looking so, well . . . mature. Ste-phen Stills at least remains a vigorous per-former; of the six songs from that concertperformance included on this album, hiscontributions work the best, which isn't say-ing much. The high points here are few andhardly worth mentioning, and the lowpoints are too numerous to detail, except forDavid Crosby's unlistenable massacre ofJoni Mitchell's For Free, which suffers thefinal insult of being mistitled on the jacket,liner, and label. The recession being what itis, records this dull and soulless don't getpressed as often as they used to. I wonderwhy they bothered in this case. A.N.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITJOHN DENVER AND THE MUPPETS:Rocky Mountain Holiday. John Denver (vo-cals, guitar); the Muppets (vocals); instru-mental accompaniment. Hey Old Pal;Grandma's Feather Bed; She'll Be Comin''Round the Mountain; Catch Another But-terfly; Gone Fishin'; Poems. Prayers andPromises; No One Like You; and six others.RCA AFLI-4721 $8.98, 0 AFKI-4721$8.98.

Performance CharmingRecording Very good

You'd have to be an ogre not to like thisencore pairing of America's favorite nonhu-mans and the original far-out flower child.It is apparently the soundtrack from theirTV special, which perhaps explains whysome of the songs are so short. Just thesame, this is a charming collection of reflec-tion, whimsey, and wit, with Denver airingout a couple of his old standbys and a lot ofold standards and even writing a new tuneor two. As usual, producer Milt Okun andsuperplayers Glen D. Hardin (keyboards),James Burton (guitars), and Jim Horn(reeds) do their thing and then stay out ofthe way, and Denver is clear -voiced andearnest. Actually, I enjoy the Muppets'singing more than I do Denver's, butmatching them up was a natural. Heck, heeven looks like one of 'em! A.N.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITEURYTHMICS: Sweet Dreams. Euryth-mics (vocals and instrumentals). Love Is a

Stranger; I've Got an Angel, Wrap It Up; ICould Give You (A Mirror); The Walk; andfive others. RCA AFLI-4681 $8.98, 0AFKI-4681 $8.98.

Performance A la modeRecording Very good

While the group's name may suggest thelatest aerobic fitness craze, Eurythmicscouldn't sound less American. This new al-bum is, in fact, the latest in European chic,music that whispers affluence, decadence,and aloofness in a way American bandshave thus far been incapable of doing. Eu-rythmics is duplicating its British chart suc-cess here, just as such bands as Duran Du-ran and the Human League have before,

and doing it with the same triggers: a seduc-tive disco beat, arm's -length sensuality, coolwaves of synthesizer sound, and arrange-ments (crisp horns and stinging guitar) thatare as tight as a clenched. gloved hand. Al-though ifs soft around the tonal edges, themusic on "Sweet Dreams" has a particu-larly sharp melodic edge, made sharper bythe icy soulfulness of Annie Lennox's vo-cals. For the rapidly growing cult of Conti-nental synth -pop devotees, Eurythmics isessential. M.P.

THE FIXX: Reach the Beach. The Fixx (vo-cals and instrumentals). One Thing Leadsto Another; Sign of Fire: Running,. Savedby Zero; Opinions; Changing; and four oth-

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Performance AimlessRecording. Okay

Take the chrome -plated production valuesof Steely Dan, vocals that combine the pow-er of AOR and the gravity of David Bowie,au courant synth embellishments, and gui-tar catch phrases borrowed from AndySummers, and what do you get'? In the caseof the Fixx, you get a jumbled mess. Thatmay be because they neglected to borrowany melodic ideas when piecing togethertheir style. Virtually all of "Reach theBeach" depends on Cy Cumin's vocals,which have a sort of gothic presence that is

totally without credibility, and on JamieWest-Oram's agitated guitar. West-Oramcommands a decent vocabulary of licks andtricks, but he is never able to build a songfrom them. The keyboards are consigned toelectronic window dressing, the drummingbarely keeps the time-it seems to chimeevery hour on the hour- -and Curnin is leftto drift, deeply, soberly intoning some ludi-crously opaque lyrics. "Reach the Beach"winds up sounding as much like a seance asa rock session. M.P.

GOANNA: Spirit of Place. Goanna (vocalsand instrumentals). Cheatin' Man: SolidRock; Razor's Edge; Scenes; Children ofthe Southern Land; Stand Yr' Ground; and

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Performance GoodRecording Very good

I don't know what they call Goanna's musicin Australia ("outback rock," maybe), butif this were an American band you'd find itshelved in country rock. It's been yearssince I deliberately put any of that on myturntable, which may be why "Spirit ofPlace" sounds to me as if it had dropped outof some musical time warp. But it certainlycompares favorably with what Poco andPure Prairie League used to keep Americaenthralled with.

Goanna isn't sophisticated: the melodieshere are plain, the arrangements-softacoustic guitar and pleasant vocal harmo-nies --are simple, the back beat is basic. Butthere are also none of the cowboy affecta-tions that made country rock so hard to takeseriously, and some of the songs are quiteaffecting. Razor's Edge, for instance,catches the uneasy freedom of people whohave turned their backs on the security ofmiddle-class life and find themselves won-dering whether they've made the rightchoice. It's ironic, but an American bandmight find it difficult to get this music re-corded in the synth age, while Goanna cancapitalize on the current fascination withanything stamped "Made in Australia,"whether it's Mel Gibson or Men at Work.Still, for Yanks who miss those days whendrive -time AM radio sounded like a nightunder the stars around the campfire, youcould do a lot worse than tether your horseto Goanna's wagon. M.P.

THE HOLLIES: What goes around . . . .

The Hollics (vocals and instrumentals);other musicians. Casualty; Take My Loveand Run; Say You'll Be Mine; SomethingAin't Right: and six others. ATLANTIC80076-1 $8.98, © CS -80076-I $8.98.

Performance Mostly awfulRecording Excellent

I guess you can't go home after all. At leastthat's the conclusion I draw from this newHollics album featuring the (temporary) re-turn of Graham Nash to the fold after anabsence of nearly fourteen years. It is asuseless a vinyl product as has crossed mydesk in years, and I say that as a Holliespartisan from way back. Their soaring har-monies are still intact, but that's about all;most of the instrumental work is providedby hired hacks (the band's great drummer,Bobby Elliot, is forced to compete with adrum machine on most of the cuts), and theboys didn't contribute a single original songto the project, which is pretty ironic whenyou consider that Nash quit the group in thefirst place because they wouldn't let him dohis own material. The songs here are mostlythe worst kind of MOR fluff, the kind ofsingles -bar junk I associate with sell-outslike the Little River Band, and there's theadded indignity of a tired remake of JustOne Look, the group's first American hit,from 1964. The only exception is a brilliantrevamping of the Supremes' Stop, in theName of Love, which at this writing is aradio hit, and deservedly so. S.S.

BILLY JOEL: An Innocent Man. Billy Joel(vocals, piano, organ); vocal and instrumen-

CIRCLE NO 18 ON READER SERVICE CARD76 STEREO REVIEW

tal accompaniment. Easy Money; TheLongest Time; This Night; Tell Her AboutIt; Uptown Girl; Careless Talk; and fourothers. COLUMBIA QC 38837, 0 QCT38837, no list price.

Performance ArchetypalRecording Good

Like Paul Simon, Billy Joel has lived under acloud of critical misgivings about his rock-and-roll credentials, as if being a mere popartist or having a little sophistication weresomething one had to apologize for. His lasttwo albums seemed deliberately aimed atwinning over the skeptics by taking a muchtougher stance. With "An Innocent Man,"Joel is still trying to settle the question of hisrock-and-roll status, but this time he's taken adifferent tack; he's returned to his roots andlaid them at our doorstep.

"Innocent Man" is an album of originalsongs fashioned affectionately in the soundand style of the music Joel grew up with,the rock and soul of the late Fifties and ear-ly Sixties. The first couple of times you hearit, you can play at identifying the models foreach song. There's James Brown and OtisRedding (Easy Money), the Drifters (AnInnocent Man), the Platters (CarelessTalk), the Four Seasons (Uptown Girl),and . . . but I won't spoil any more of itfor you. When the fun of doing that is over,you're left with what's basically a nostalgiarecord, though a well -crafted one.

There's just no way around it: Billy Joel isa consummate pop stylist even when he'sdoing doo-wop. His phrasing is uncanny-he can go from Otis Redding to FrankieValli (though he can't manage a falsetto) toFrankie Lyman-and, naturally, his songsare clever, perhaps too clever for the simple,unaffected music he's paying homage to.The best example of Joel's outsmartinghimself is Keeping the Faith. The song ischock-full of period details ("Put on mysharkskin jacket/And ditty -bop shades/Combed my hair in a pompadour/Like therest of the Romeos wore"), but they're thekind of details an outsider would observe..The surface dazzles, but you never feelyou've gotten to the bottom of the charac-ter-or that there's anyone to get to the bot-tom of. Moreover, the production is a bitdisappointing. In trying to strip the sounddown to resemble the period's unadornedproduction style, Joel and Phil Ramonewind up with a bland, unbalanced feel.

Nevertheless, as a competent reminis-cence, "An Innocent Man" confirms BillyJoel's pop -music artistry and stylistic mas-tery. The jury is still out on the rocker,though. M.P.

RICKIE LEE JONES: Girl at Her Volcano.Rickie Lee Jones (vocals, piano, synthesiz-er); vocal and instrumental accompani-ment. Lush Life; Walk Away Rene; Hey,Bub; My Funny Valentine; Under theBoardwalk; and two others. WARNER BROS.23805-1 $5.99, 0 23805-4 $5.99.

Performance. MixedRecording. Excellent

Everything about this little project is as un-usual as the voice it showcases. Pressed on aten -inch disc (I haven't seen one since theFifties), "Girl at Her Volcano" is a strangemix of live and studio performances, jazzand pop, classics and hidden gems, and one

original composition. As a fan of Rickie LeeJones, I wish I could endorse it enthusiasti-cally, but I can't. While Jones is at least asdistinguished a stylist as a songwriter, herhalting, quasi -jazz phrasing renders almostincomprehensible and unidentifiable thetwo jazz standards here, Lush Life and MyFunny Valentine. Yet that very style makesyou hear a pop song like Walk Away Renein a fresh, deeply affecting way; I felt as if Iwere hearing it-and understanding it-forthe first time. The arrangements (acousticpiano, strings, horns, sax) stay remarkablyclose to Jones's tricky vocal meandering,and when the songs come together-as allbut the jazz tunes do, really-the effect iswrenching. M.P.

B. R. KING: Blues and Jazz B. B. King (vo-cals, guitar); instrumental accompaniment.inflation Blues; Sell My Monkey; HeedMy Warning; Rainbow Riot; Make Love toMe; I Can't Let You Go; and three others.MCA MCA -5413 $7.98, @ MCAC-5413$7.98.

Performance: GoodRecording Good

In his prime. B. B. King was one of thegreat bluesmen. At fifty-seven he still putson a solid show, but, like Louis Armstrongin his later years, King is now more of ashowman than a musician. On this albumKing sings and plays with profess onal gus-to, backed by a big band blowing standard -

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OCTOBER 1983 77

Bob Marley'sLast Music

BOB MARI f-rs final album. "Confronta-tion," was recorded during the last

months of his life, yet it gives no sense ofhopelessness or sorrow. Marley diedfighting, and "Confrontation" is a call to

arms. Chant Down Babylon, for instance. isan affirmation of reggae's power to unifythe black man against an oppressor grownfat and ripe for overthrow, Buffalo Soldieraims to create a heroic mythology, and Ras-taman Live Up! is an urgent plea to Mar-ley's people to keep their culture and faithalive. Together with the musicians- theBarrett brothers, Junior Marvin, TyroneDownie, the I Threes-who helped himfashion an art form out of religious convic-tion and social protest, Marley made hislast music great music.

It's odd but fitting that, although BobMarley died more than two years ago, thereis no indication of it anywhere on the al-bum. No dedication. No eulogy. Even mostof the songs carry 1983 copyrights. Marleyhimself never acknowledged the death ofHaile Selassie, whom the Rastafarians be-lieved to be divine, and today there are fol-lowers of Marley who refuse to accept hisdeath. Bob Marley too is becoming a mythi-cal hero-he's depicted on the album coveras St. George, astride a horse, in combatwith a dragon. If nothing else, this apotheo-sis is eloquent tribute to the power of Mar-ley's music. Cult deity or not, as a prophetof hope and liberation Marley lives onthrough his music. -Mark Peel

BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS:Confrontation. Bob Marley (vocals, guitar);the Wailers (vocals and instrumentals); theI Threes (vocals); other musicians. ChantDown Babylon: Buffalo Soldier: JumpNyabinghi; Mix Up. Mix Up: Give Thanksand Praise; Blackman Redemption; TrenchTown; Stiff -Necked Fools; I Know; Rasta -man Live Up! ISLAND 90085-I $8.98, 0CS -90085-1 $8.98.

ized charts and riffs. They all do whatthey're paid for but little more.

King's new original material here is pale.There are also two maudlin oldies: Darlin'.You Know I Love You, a glucose doo-wopballad written by King and Jules Bihari inthe Fifties when King was recording for theBihari brothers' Modern label, and MakeLove to Me, a pre -rock hit from the sameperiod that adds sappy lyrics to a very slightalteration of the melody of the Dixielandjazz warhorse Tin Roof Blues. The naïve,ungrammatical, and vulgar liner -note blurbby King's manager and record producer isan insult. J.V.

THE KINKS: State of Confusion. TheKinks (vocals and instrumentals). State ofConfusion: Definite Maybe: Come Dancing:Property; Don't Forget to Dance: YoungConservatives: and four others. ARISTAAL8-80 18 $8.98, © AC8-8018 $8.98.

Performance Has its momentsRecording: Excellent

The Kinks' Arista albums have been gener-ally disappointing, at least compared withthe band's Sixties and early Seventies out-put, and this one is no exception. But thereare some marvelous things here that suggestRay Davies remains a talent to be reckoned

with. "State of Confusion" finds Ray andthe lads making loud, obnoxious guitarnoises like a punk band half their age, beinghilariously blatant about lifting melodies(here they cop the Yardbirds' Over UnderSideways Down), and occasionally dealingwith current events. There are also someminor classics in the package, notably thetongue-in-cheek but still poignant ComeDancing (a hit, against all odds) and Heartof Gold, the kind of cheerfully ersatz folkschmaltz I thought Davies stopped writingin 1966, though I'm glad he didn't.

This is hardly a great album. As Daviesages, he's getting even quirkier than he usedto be, if that's possible. But after twentyyears, even a less than epochal album fromthese guys sounds like a letter from home.That's enough to keep me listening. S.S.

GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS: Vi-sions. Gladys Knight and the Pips (vocals);instrumental accompaniment. When You'reFar Away: Just Be My Lover; Heaven Sent;Seconds; and six others. COLUMBIA FC38205, FCT 38205, no list price.

Performance DisappointingRecording Very good

At first, I thought my ears were deceivingme: here were Gladys Knight and the Pips,

one of the all-time great soul groups, strut-ting and clapping their way through theweakest kind of commercial crud-and,worst of all, sounding as though they wereborn to this cheap and superficial fare rath-er than to the rich rhythm-and-blues heri-tage they once carried on so proudly.

The quartet's main asset, the lustrouslyrich and emotionally moving voice ofGladys Knight. is showcased to some extenton three numbers-Heaven Sent, You'reNumber One (in My Book), and Hero-though they lack sufficient depth to drawout her very best. Otherwise, she is buriedin a mire of unimaginative and downrightboring arrangements. Seconds at least has atouch of the blues and features the group inits best get -down vocal form, and Oh La DeDa opens with a robustly harmonized Afri-can -sounding chant with percussion accom-paniment that quickly shifts into a pranc-ing, rhythmic pace. The other five cuts arebest ignored altogether. A sad waste. P.G.

LITTLE RIVER BAND: The Net. LittleRiver Band (vocals and instrumentals).You're Driving Me Out of My Mind: WeTwo; No More Tears; Down on the Border;Falling; and five others. CAPITOI ST -I2273$8.98, © 4XT- I 2273 $8.98

Performance Strange currentsRecording Busy

The Little River Band is one of those groupsyou've always known was around but didn'tpay much attention to, mainly because theirstuff never really stood out on the radio.The lyrics were usually throwaways, andthe melodies were tuneful but not particu-larly original. I always thought that was apity, really, because lead singer GlennShorrock seemed to have a sort of Van Mor-rison emotional fire inside him someplace,the kind of fire that, fanned even a little,would have burned a wimp group like LRBto cinders. But Shorrock is out of the bandnow, replaced by John Farnham. whomakes his debut with LRB on "The Net."Farnham sings with a lot more intensitythan Shorrock did, but he does a lot moreposturing than singing from the heart.

The real news here, however, is that theLittle River Band has relaxed its stalwartMOR stance to move into funkier territory.The opening cut, You're Driving Me Out ofMy Mind, starts out with a horn assault anda throbbing bass line that suggests ChicagoGone Disco and quickly descends into theproduction formula that dominates this al-bum-get everybody to play everything asloud as possible and then "enhance" it withevery electronic gizmo you can think of.Easily the best cut is Graham Goble's Downon the Border, a great little mood piece fullof thrilling vocal harmonies and nervous en-ergy that's dangerous and oddly sexual atthe same time.

Most of the other tunes are just dreadful,punctuated by a warehouse of sound effectsand sounding contrived and cliched. Onesong, Falling, sounds like a reject in a"Write a James Bond Movie Theme" con-test. And the title song suffers from a hardcase of Pink Floyditis, where LRB tries itshand at social commentary, cacophony, andmysticism all at once. Pink Floyd can getaway with stuff like this and even give youan occasional chill. Coming from LRB, itjust sounds pretentious and dumb. A.N.

78 STEREO REVIEW

LORETTA LYNN: Lyin, Chea tin, Woman-Chasin, Honky -Tonkin, Whiskey -Drink -in' You. Loretta Lynn (vocals); vocal andinstrumental accompaniment. The Heart toStart Over; Starlight. Starbright; I FeelLike I Could Fall in Love with AnyoneTonight; My Love's Not a One NightThing; and six others. MCA MCA -5426$7.98, MCAC-5426 $7.98.

Performance Country contractualRecording. Good

Loretta Lynn's latest album, her last forMCA, carries on with the traditionalthemes we've come to expect from her.While it makes some concessions to the popmovement in country music with certain ofthe songs, it is still a country album, withthe usual instrumentation and Loretta'scustomary no -frills phrasing. And thoughshe wrote none of the ten selections, she andher two producers, Ron Chancey and OwenBradley, have chosen songs that sound likeher own.

The album sounds like a reflection ofLynn's own life, and she delivers it with anintense honesty and with vast waves of emo-tion. When she begs a lover to touch her"with more than your hands," she soundslike that woman who spends her life coopedup in the back of a bus with the shadesdrawn. And to anyone who has kept tabs onLoretta's fragile mental condition, it is posi-tively chilling to hear her wail, "Oh, I hurt'til I nearly go crazy sometimes."

All the same, there's a certain excitementmissing from this outing. In the end, it

sounds like exactly what it is-a contract-fufillment release. A.N.

CHUCK MANGIONE: Journey to a Rain-bow. Chuck Mangione (flugelhorn, electricpiano, synthesizer); instrumental accom-paniment. Buttercorn Lady; Love BugBoogie; Song for a Latin Lady; Please Staythe Night; and three others. COLUMBIA FC38686, © FCT 38686, no list price.

Performance: BlandRecording: Good

Like a river of butterscotch sauce, ChuckMangione's albums course sluggishly onwithout much change from one band to thenext. On "Journey to a Rainbow" Man-gione once again pours his rich, bland soundover a series of less than memorable tunes.It's strictly for hard-core Mangione fans, ofwhich I'm told there is a surprisingly largenumber. P.R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMAZE: We Are One. Maze (vocals and in-strumentals); Frankie Beverly (vocals,piano). Love Is the Key; Right On Time;Your Own Kind of Way; I Wanna ThankYou; and four others. CAPITOL ST -12262$8.98, 4XT-12262 $8.98.

Performance: Like a summer breezeRecording: Good

There is nothing particularly spectacularabout Maze. The performers don't arrive onstage in a cloud of smoke or destroy their

instruments or deluge their audience withdeafening bursts of amplified sound.They're just eight musicians, led by vocal-ist -composer Frankie Beverly, who special-ize in creating a mellow kind of contempo-rary r -&-b that flows so easily and is solaid-back that it just sort of seeps into yourbones. Much of Maze's appeal is rooted inBeverly's singing, which is passionate butcontrolled as he croons about love with aninner ardor that illuminates every line ofevery song.

If you're familiar with and enjoy Maze'ssophisticated understatement, you'll findmuch pleasure in this album, which is bothspirited and sweetly enticing. Unlike someof the group's previous LP's, this one has noabsolutely knockout track, being aimedmore at the gradual construction of a totalmood. But there are some high spots here,among them Your Own Kind of Way, IWanna Thank You, and I Love You TooMuch. Maze modestly never promises morethan it can deliver, which is soothing soulmusic that never lets you down. P.C.

STEVIE NICKS: The Wild Heart. StevieNicks (vocals); vocal and instrumental ac-companiment. Wild Heart; Enchanted;Nightbird; Stand Back; I Will Run to You;Sable on Blond; and four others. MODERN90084-1 $8.98, © CS -90084-1 $8.98.

Performance: EtherealRecordirg: Sublime

In the photos on the jacket of her much -awaited second solo album, Stevie Nicks

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appears in three mysterious poses that seemto illustrate the lyrics of the album's onetruly interesting offering, a song calledNightbird, which describes "the ones whosing at night . . . capes pulled aroundthem tight." Whether that's the concept shehad in mind, or whether she simply meantto portray the dreamy Muse or the spirits ofthe night who inhabit so much of her work,I don't know. But it doesn't take much of"The Wild Heart" to know that things areterribly amiss in Faerieland.

Nicks either wrote or co -wrote all but oneof the songs here, but it is just about impos-sible to tell what she is trying to say. Almostwithout fail, each song has several intense,often conflicting, emotions running throughit, and Nicks's opaque writing is such thatwe're never really sure which one to takehome. But then nothing here is very clearcut. The lyrics are all pretty and enigmaticbut fleshless as a stray dog.

Some of this could be overlooked if Nickshad created a strong musical framework forher spiritual ramblings, but her melodiesgenerally drift hither and yon like a wan-dering wisp of incense. One exception is apiece of pure, full -tilt, L.A. pop -rock calledEnchanted, which sounds like a Linda Ron-stadt reject and even boasts Ronstadt's oldguitarist, Waddy Wachtel. A song with thismuch kick is welcome after the three other-worldly pieces that start out the album. Stillmore welcome is Nicks's uptempo and di-rect encore duet with Tom Petty and theHeartbreakers, I Will Run to You, the onlysong on the record she did not have a handin writing.

There are a couple of other nice things,such as Nightbird, which resembles themidtempo pop of Fleetwood Mac but hassome of the emotional and evocative qualityof Nicks's own Rhiannon. Her vocal prob-lems seem to be under control, and she hasone of the best in producer Jimmy lovine,but the truth is that "The Wild Heart" is amess. Nicks sums it up in Beauty and theBeast: "You say a lot . . . but you're una-ware of how to leave." A.N.

ROBERT PALMER: Pride. Robert Palmer(vocals, keyboards); vocal and instrumental

accompaniment. Pride; Deadline; WantYou More; Dance for Me; You Are in MySystem; and five others. ISLAND 90065-1$8.98, 0 CS -90065-1 $8.98.

Performance MangledRecording: Hard to say

Like a B -movie mad scientist who's beentransformed into a monster by his forbiddenexperiments, Robert Palmer is in danger ofbeing consumed by his obsessive drive toelectrify the Caribbean. "Pride," his latestattempt to fuse synth -pop with reggae, is ahopeless tangle of incongruous sounds andstructures. For one thing, Palmer's increas-ingly mannered phrasing-he'll do any-thing to stay off the beat-is sounding moremachine -like and less human all the time.And his convoluted arrangements all butstrangle themselves: there's simply toomuch of everything here. On Dance for Me,for instance, two clashing sets of back-ground singers, one in each channel, literal-ly pull the song apart; it's impossible to fo-cus either on Palmer's vocal or on the maininstrumental thrust of the song.

Robert Palmer can be an extremely en-tertaining songwriter, and there are someclever tunes buried here, such as the titlesong, Pride, a skeptical look at the fitnesscraze. But to make himself heard again,he's going to have to dig out from underthese overblown arrangements. M.P.

ROBERT PLANT: The Principle of Mo-ments. Robert Plant (vocals); instrumentalaccompaniment. Other Arms; In the Mood;Messin' with the Mekon; Wreckless Love;Thru with the Two Step; and three others.ATLANTIC 90101-1 $8.98, © CS -90101-I$8.98.

Performance: SlickRecording: Ditto

Robert Plant's last solo album soundedabout as close to a Led Zeppelin album aswas humanly possible, which was a mixedblessing. The Zep has rarely appealed to meon any level other than that of aural gross -out, Jimmy Page's guitar and productionwizardry notwithstanding. Plant's new rec-ord sounds like Zeppelin only in the most

general ways; it's a heavy -guitar album,with the sound somewhat stripped down ina nod to contemporary fashion. While anoccasional whiff of Zep does waft by, as inthe Near Eastern modal quality that per-meates Wreckless Love, this is quite ob-viously a conscious attempt to distance thesinger from memories of his former band.All well and good, I guess, and Plant's sing-ing has mellowed pleasantly; he no longergoes for notes that only dogs can hear. Un-fortunately, his songwriting has not similar-ly improved. The songs here generallysound like rhythm tracks with lyrics writtenand recorded later, almost as afterthoughts.It's pretty tedious going, and while I'm notabout to suggest that Plant should revert tosinging twenty -minute blues pastiches withlyrics about women squeezing his lemon, ashe did on "Led Zeppelin II," such excessmight actually be a relief compared withwhat he's offering here. S.S.

RED ROCKERS: Good As Gold. Red Rock-ers (vocals and instrumentals). China;Change the World Around; 'Ti! It Al! FallsDown; Running Away from You; Home IsWhere the War Is; and five others. 415/COLUMBIA BFC 38629, © BCT 38629, nolist price.

Performance: So-soRecording: Good

Red Rockers is a neo-punk band from NewOrleans that migrated to California andwon fame in slam -dancing clubs. A self-pro-claimed "fun dance band" that "like(s) tomake kids think for themselves" by slippinganarchistic sentiments into their songs, inthe early days they decorated their equip-ment with hammer -and -sickle insignia forshock effect. But the group's "political"opinions are just the usual hodgepodge thatyoungsters embrace when they are feelingalienated or worried about growing up.

Musically, the Red Rockers aren't muchmore than an experienced bar band. De-spite the claim that there is a special soundto New Orleans rock groups, I can't hear itin their playing. Some of their ensemble oroverdubbed vocals owe a stylistic debt to theearly Byrds, and the guitar reverbs on the

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80 STEREO REVIEW

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ThinLizzy's

RousingFarewell

Phil Lynott

THUN LIZZY 'S final album, "Thunder andLightning," begins about as unequivo-

cally as an album can, with a punishing,power -chord -packed title cut, a paean tobooze, broads, and brawling that will prob-ably raze every arena built before 1970when Lizzy makes its last tour this fall. It'sa shame the band's members are going theirseparate ways, but as you get caught up inthe crossfire of the album's thunderingrhythm section and dueling lead guitars,you have to wonder how Thin Lizzy kept upthis level of intensity for thirteen years.

"Thunder and Lightning" does what allgreat heavy-metal does-it lets you raise alittle hell vicariously. If you're like me andwouldn't even consider gambling a month'spay on a long shot or beating your best girl'sescort to a bloody nub in a barroom, songssuch as Cold Sweat and Thunder andLightning are better than the real thing-they let you indulge your baser instinctswhile leaving your self-esteem (and yourknuckles) intact.

There's more here than vicarious kicks,however. Although heavy-metal is an un-

likely environment for it, a curious strain ofChristianity runs through many of leaderPhil Lynott's songs. He's not so much bornagain as possessed by a critical, even skepti-cal faith. In Holy War it emerges as a blis-tering attack on wars of religion. Elsewhere,it shows in Lynott's imagery: in This Is theOne, a burned -out misfit screams, "One daythy kingdom come," and in The Sun GoesDown, infidelity is punished by damnation.I expect we'll probably see more of thisstrain in Lynott's subsequent work. I onlyhope that his solo efforts, and those of therest of the group, continue to give us thesame high-powered thrills Thin Lizzy de-livers on its heavy-metal valedictory.

-Mark Peel

THIN LIZZY: Thunder and Lightning.Thin Lizzy (vocals and instrumentals).Thunder and Lightning; This Is The Oae;The Sun Goes Down; The Holy War; ColdSweat: Someday She Is Going to Hit Back;Baby Please Don't Go; Bad Habits; HeartAttack. WARNER BROS. 23831-1 $8.98, ©23831-4 $8.98.

title tune were corny when they were firstused in the early Sixties. The Red Rockersare old news. J.V.

MITCH RYDER: Never Kick a SleepingDog (see Best of the Month, page 65)

DONNA SUMMER: She Works Hard forthe Money. Donna Summer (vocals); vocaland instrumental accompaniment. He's aRebel; Tokyo; Unconditional Love; Wom-an; People People; I Do Believe (I Fell inLove); Love Has a Mind of Its Own; and

two others. MERCURY 812 265-I M-1$8.98, 422-812 265-4 M-1 $8.98.

Performance Cold SummerRecording Very good

Donna Summer rode the crest of the discowave with such authority that one couldeasily believe she invented the style, but itwas not until she recorded Paul Jabara'sLast Dance that many of her admirers real-ized how much voice she actually had. On"She Works Hard for the Money" the voicehas not changed, but the quality of her ma-

terial has. The lady who naughtily dishedout Hot Stuff and Bad Girls now sings ly-rics so bland that even the Reverend JerryFalwell might snap them into his Walkman.But it is the production by Michael Omar-tian, not the watered-down lyrics, that real-ly separates the reborn Donna Summerfrom the sultry old one. Yes, the song SheWorks Hard for the Money has an engag-ing chart quality about it, and, yes, it cer-tainly is an improvement over QuincyJones's everybody -but -the -kitchen -staff ses-sion. But, as thumpers go, this album is sev-eral steps down from Summer's previouswork with producers Giorgio Moroder andPete Bellotte. C.A.

TALKING HEADS: Speaking in Tongues.Talking Heads (vocals and instrumentals);other musicians. Burning Down the House;Making Flippy Floppy; Girlfriend Is Bet-ter; Slippery People; I Get Wild/WildGravity; Swamp; and three others. SIRE23883-1 $8.98, © 23883-4 $8.98.

Performance: ManneredRecording: Excellent

Speaking in tongues is what some religiousmystics do when suffused with some holyspirit or other. Unintelligible gibberish ut-tered with intense conviction is a phenome-non that makes me a little queasy. I mean,spiritual experiences are fine as long as youdon't frighten the horses. Initially, I as-sumed head Head David Byrne was beingironic, but after listening to the record I'mnot so sure. In fact, I think that the obscuredoggerel and polyrhythmic noodling thatmake up the album are really supposed tobe Byrne's version of the Transcendental.To these cynical ears, however, it's mostlytepid art -school funk. S.S.

PETER TOSH: Mama Africa. Peter Tosh(vocals, clavinet); vocal and instrumentalaccompaniment. Mama Africa; Glass-house; Not Gonna Give It Up; Stop thatTrain; Johnny B. Goode; and four others.EMI SO -17095 $8.98, 4X0-17095$8.98.


With the termination of Peter Tosh's con-tract, Rolling Stones Records' experimentwith reggae is over. Whatever artisticachievements it may have produced, it wasobviously a financial flop. Tosh probablywon't make a lot of money for EMI, his newlabel, either, but he is making good musicagain. After the rather drab "WantedDread or Alive," "Mama Africa" is a sig-nificant improvement. Though no barnburner, it's a solid album of roots reggae,artfully arranged and cleanly produced.Tosh does tend to settle into a groove andstick in it for a while, which makes some ofthe longer tracks, such as the eight -minutetitle cut, seem like Rasta mantras. Butthere's fire in Tosh's voice, conviction in thesongs, and a skillfully deployed army of in-strumental forces-including synthesizers,horns, and an array of percussion and key-boards-that, if not quite enough to knockdown the walls of Jericho, could at leastshake them. M.P.

DENIECE WILLIAMS: I'm So Proud (see

Best of the Month. page 69)

82 STEREO REVIEW

BILLCOBHAM'S GLASS MENAGER-IE: Smokin'. Billy Cobham (percussion);Gil Goldstein (keyboards); Dean Brown(guitar); Tim Landers (bass). Looks Bad.Feels Good; Situation Comedy; ChiquitaLinda: and two others. ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN60233-1 $8.98. © E4-60233 $8.98.

Performance LoudRecording. Good remote

Drummer Billy Cobham used to make ex-citing albums. They were not great jazzmasterpieces but imaginative studies thatdisplayed how percussion could be appliedto state-of-the-art electronic instruments.Now Cobham and his group, Glass Menag-erie, have a new album on the Elektra/Mu-sician label, but I'm afraid "Smokin' " doesnot light my fire. Guitarist Dean Browngets in a few well-chosen bluesy licks, andthere is good evidence that Cobham's talentis intact, but this quartet is more electrifiedthan electrifying, and keyboard player GilGoldstein's hammering is downright obnox-ious at times. If a mishmash of WeatherReport and souped -up Herbie Hancock isyour cup of tea, pour away. C.A.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITJOHN COLTRANE: Bahia. John Coltrane,Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone); Fred-die Hubbard (trumpet); Red Garland, MalWaldron (piano); other musicians. ExactlyLike You; Cattin': Sunday; Vodka: Golds-boro Express; and five others. PRESTIGE® P-241 10 two discs $9.98.

Performance VitalRecording Good mono

"Bahia" was the title of a John Coltrane al-bum (Prestige 7353) released in 1964. Thisnew Prestige two -record set with the samename includes all the selections from theoriginal album and some from two others-"Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette"(Prestige 7158) and "Stardust" (Prestige7268). The period represented, 1957-1958,was a formative one for Coltrane; he wasmaking history with Miles Davis while him-self developing as a star of equal if notgreater magnitude. Later in his brief careerhis playing would become more disciplined,but even some of his rash flourishes hereseem quite palatable today. Not so pleasingis Freddie Hubbard's appearance on ThenI'll Be Tired of You, a track that might wellhave been left out of this collection; it per-haps serves best to demonstrate how muchprogress the then twenty -year -old trumpet-er has made since 1958.

Coltrane was a superb reader of ballads,and that facet of his talent is well repre-sented here, but the most interesting part ofthis album is the session with Paul Quini-chette, a tenor strongly influenced by Lester

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OCTOBER 1983CIRCLE NO 32 ON READER SERVICE CARD

UpbeatRichard

ThompsonAs Richard Thompson albums go, the newA "Hand of Kindness" is something of a

surprise-not because it's terrific (by nowthat's a given) but because it's . . . well,

for want of a better word, jaunty. Thomp-son has been Mr. Morbid for so long thatthe generally upbeat mood of this one seemsalmost shocking, especially since it's thefirst record he's made since splitting upwith his long-time wife and collaborator,Linda. (Their last album together, "ShootOut the Lights," was a STEREO REVIEWRecord of the Year in 1982.) I was expect-ing a real slash -your -wrists special alongthe lines of his "I Want to See the BrightLights Tonight," widely considered to beamong the most depressing waxings of thelast twenty years. But lyrics such as "Shedanced on my head like Arthur Murray" donot suggest an artist in the throes of termi-nal introspection.

In any case, the new songs here areamong Thompson's best: they're tuneful,they're lyrically economical, and they leavejust enough room for the composer to burnon guitar without being overbearing aboutit. This time out, there's a slight overlay ofFifties New Orleans rock-and-roll alongwith the sixteenth -century heavy-metal thatis Thompson's forte. The result is an albumthat really doesn't sound like any of his oth-er albums, or anybody else's for that mat-ter, which should be reason enough to checkit out. Pick hit: A Poisoned Heart and aTwisted Memory, which Elvis Presleyshould have lived to record. If there's anyjustice, Ray Charles will. -Steve Simels

RICHARD THOMPSON: Hand of Kind-ness. Richard Thompson (guitars, vocals);vocal and instrumental accompaniment.Tear Stained Letter; How I Wanted To:Both Ends Burning: A Poisoned Heart anda Twisted Memory; The Wrong Heartbeat;Hand of Kindness; Devonside; Two LeftFeet. HANNIBAL HNLP 1313 $8.98.

Young, whom Quinichette replaced in the1951 Count Basie band. At that time, Quin-ichette's style and tone so mirrored Young'sthat it was often impossible to tell themapart, and, though Quinichette eventuallycame into his own, the similarity always re-mained. Here, then, we have two chronolog-ically adjoining tenor styles side by side;Young led jazz tenor playing in a new direc-tion, and Coltrane took it the next step-agiant step but a logical one. This session hasnot been available for a long time, and Istrongly recommend that you add it to yourcollection before it disappears from the cat-alog again. C.A.

ELLA FITZGERALD: The George and IraGershwin Song Book. Ella Fitzgerald (vo-cals); orchestra, Nelson Riddle arr. andcond. Who Cares?; Soon; Funny Face;'S Wonderful; A Foggy Day; They Can'tTake That Away from Me; Fascinatin'Rhythm; I Got Rhythm; and forty-five oth-ers. VERVE/POLYGRAM CLASSICS 2615-063five discs $34.90.

Performance ClassicRecording: Excellent

One of the most famous recording projectsof the Fifties, Norman Granz's mammoth

five -LP production on Verve of "TheGeorge and Ira Gershwin Song Book" star-ring Ella Fitzgerald, is with us again cour-tesy of PolyGram Classics. The reissue in-cludes handsome reproductions of the origi-nal Bernard Buffet jacket covers. Anotherplus is that the velvety French pressings aresuperior to their American counterparts, orat least the ones that I have. heard.

How much you enjoy these performanceswill depend entirely on your feelings aboutElla Fitzgerald. I have always been an ad-mirer of hers rather than a true fan. Al-though her voice and her musicianship inthese 1959 recordings are at their undis-puted peak, her offhand way with the com-plexities and subtleties of the lyrics stillturns me off. She seems to view a lyric asonly something to get her from one musicalphrase or effect to another. No matter howsumptuous or exciting those effects are, Istill yearn for a communication of themeaning. The Nelson Riddle arrangementsnow sound a little dated, but that probablywill not bother Ellamaniacs either. P.R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITGEORGE KAWAGUCHI AND ART BLA-KEY: Killer Joe. George Kawaguchi, Art

Blakey (drums); Wallace Roney (trumpet);Slide Hampton (trombone); Branford Mar-salis (alto and tenor saxophones); other mu-sicians. A Night in Tunisia; Big AppleJump; Well, You Needn't; and two others.STORYVILLE SLP 4100 $7.98.

Performance: CookingRecording: Very good

George Kawaguchi is a name to be reck-oned with in Japan, and this album withdrummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengerswas recorded almost two years ago specifi-cally for the Japanese market. The conceptof the local hero teamed with an interna-tional giant is a commercial one, to be sure,but there is no tedious battle of the drum-mers here. There are a couple of duets, butno extended duels; Blakey abhors such au-dience -rousing devices. So good taste pre-vails. "Killer Joe" is a marvelous albumwith superb work by former MessengerSlide Hampton and by three Blakeyproteges who are guaranteed prominence onthe future jazz scene: trumpeter WallaceRoney, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, andpianist Donald Browne. The last thing Bla-key needs, of course, is another drummer,but Kawaguchi blends in smoothly with thistalented group. C.A.

GERRY MULLIGAN: Little Big Horn.Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone, vo-cal); orchestra. Sun on Stairs; Under aStar; Bright Angel Falls; I Never Was aYoung Man; and two others. GRP 0 GRP-A-1003 $8.98 (from GRP Records, Inc.,555 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y.10019).

Performance. GrusinizedRecording: Disappointing

There are no real flaws in Gerry Mulligan'snew digitally recorded album, "Little BigHorn," but I almost wish there was a roughedge here and there. It's all so pat and sodull, and that includes the sound. Mulliganis, of course, capable of extraordinary per-formances, but here almost everything heplays sounds listless-the sort of thing youhear on elevators between floors. This is es-pecially true of the opening tracks on eachside, which feature a hireling horn sectionthat obviously was added later. The bland-ness suggests all too clearly the hand of co-producer Dave Grusin. Only on one selec-tion, Sun on Stairs, does Mulligan sound asif he were enjoying the session, and one outof six is a very low ratio for a player of Ger-ry Mulligan's talent. The compositions areall by Mulligan, including an awful ditty hesings called / Never Was a Young Man,where the vocalism is correct but not veryinteresting. C.A.

JOE SAMPLE: The Hunter. Joe Sample(acoustic piano); instrumental accompani-ment. The Hunter; Blue Ballet; Beauty andthe Beast; Wings of Fire; and two others.MCA 5397 $7.98, 0 MCAC 5397 $7.98.

Performance Jazz MuzakRecording: Satisfactory

Both as long-time pianist for the Crusadersand on his own, Joe Sample has demon-strated a facility for engaging, melodic in-strumental music that reflects the spirit andcadences of popular music enhanced withthe trappings of jazz. In this respect, he was

84 STEREO REVIEW

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IRCLE NO .2 ON RFADER SF n

James NewtonIT augurs well for the future of jazz that weI are seeing so many fine, dedicated youngplayers on the scene today. Now, if only oneof them would discover a new musical path,we could all breathe easier. As things stand,it seems certain that the jazz tradition willcontinue, but we have not had a reallymeaningful idiomatic change since OrnetteColeman unshackled bop almost twenty-five years ago.

If there is to be a dramatic change in di-rection in the next ten years, it could comefrom flutist James Newton, who still playson the more conservative side but has thekind of musical mind from which freshideas easily spring. Newton's new album isa wonderful exercise in restraint and tim-ing. It features an illustrious septet thatcombines the fresh talent of such brilliantnewcomers as violinist John Blake, vibist

Jay Hoggard, and pianist Anthony Daviswith the more experienced voices of trom-bonist Slide Hampton, bassist Cecil McBee,and drummer Billy Higgins. The meetingyields music that appeals to the intellect aswell as to the emotions,ton to be at least as interesting a composeras he is a flutist. There is a classical airabout this album, but it also has firm rootsin jazz. It is welcome relief to see a trulydeserving player being given a chance.

-Chris Albertson

JAMES NEWTON. James Newton (flute);Slide Hampton (trombone); John Blake(violin); Jay Hoggard (vibraphone); Antho-ny Davis (piano); Cecil McBee (bass); BillyHart (drums). Persephone; Ismene; Buda-pest; Daydream; The Crips. GRAMAVISIONGR8205 $8.98.

a member of the fusion crowd before it hada name, and now that it does, he is one of itsmore popular exponents. "The Hunter" iseasy -listening music with the instrumenta-tion of a small jazz combo. Sample's workon acoustic piano is consistently tasteful butsafe as he sticks close to the melodic line.Phil Upchurch offers an unruffled guitarsolo on Beauty and the Beast, and TomBrowne throws in a few trumpet licks onThe Hunter. It is all capable and pleasant,but there's not much here if you're lookingfor substance or invention. P.G.

COLLECTIONS

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBILL EVANS-A TRIBUTE. GeorgeShearing, Dave McKenna, Denny Zeitlin,

John Lewis, Jimmy Rowles, Herbie Han-cock, McCoy Tyner, JoAnne Brackeen,Chick Corea, Teddy Wilson, Andy La-verne, Richie Beirach, Dave Frishberg,Warren Bernhardt (piano). Night AndDay; Emily: Time Remembered; Waltz forDebby; Fun Ride; Blue and Green; Re-member April; and seven others. PALOALTO PA 8028-2 two discs $17.96.

Performance: All InterestingRecording: Good

This album was produced by Helen Keane,the late Bill Evans's manager for almosttwo decades, and Herb Wong as a tribute tothe art of one of the greatest jazz pianistsever. Fourteen of the very best of today'sjazz pianists have contributed one perform-ance each, and the result is a splendid enter-tainment. The only real problem is that

with certain artists, such as George Shear-ing and Teddy Wilson, a single track justserves to whet an appetite that can only besated with their own albums. All proceedsof this release will go to the Bill Evans JazzPiano Scholarship Fund. P.R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITJAZZ AT THE OPERA HOUSE. WyntonMarsalis (trumpet); Lew Tabackin (flute);Wayne Shorter (soprano and tenor saxo-phones); Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone);Toshiko Akiyoshi, Herbie Hancock, DennyZeitlin (piano); Charlie Haden (bass);Tony Williams (drums). 'Round Midnight;Maiden Voyage; Sister Cheryl; Hesitation;Silence; and six others. COLUMBIA C238430 two discs, no list price.

Performance Well -mixed bagRecording Very good remote

When producers load the stage with bigjazz names, the result is often dismal chaos,but when all-star concerts are producedsensibly, the yield can be memorable. So itis in the case of "Jazz at the Opera House,"a double album recorded at the San Fran-cisco War Memorial Opera House in Feb-ruary of last year. The occasion was a ben-efit produced by San Francisco jazz writerConrad Silvert, who assembled some of hisfavorite players to fulfill a personal dreamand, at the same time, a sad need. The pro-ceeds from the concert, for which all themusicians donated their services, went todefray Silvert's mounting hospital bills, butthe popular writer died of lung cancer just afew months later. This album is a sterlingtribute to Silvert's memory and taste.

The opening, a pianistic stampede by thetwenty fingers of Herbie Hancock andDenny Zeitlin, begins as Free Form andmodulates discreetly into Monk's Straight,No Chaser. There is a chaser, however, aseething piano solo called The Village, re-freshingly served by Toshiko Akiyoshi. Thisis followed by two more duets, a lyrical pi-ano -and -flute romp on which Akiyoshi isjoined by husband Lew Tabackin (whowrote the tune) and a rendition of MaidenVoyage that has composer Hancock andvibist Bobby Hutcherson easily sailing pastthe former's original recorded version.

Wayne Shorter, the phenomenal WyntonMarsalis, bassist Charlie Haden, and drum-mer Tony Williams appear on the remain-ing four selections. As a quartet, they daz-zle with Hesitation, a Marsalis compositionon which no one hesitates. The two hornsskip effortlessly to the light propulsive workof Haden and Williams-no wonder Short-er slips into Gershwin's I Got Rhythm; thefoundation he gets here is better than heever got from his colleagues in Weather Re-port. Augmented by Hancock and Hutcher-son, the quartet slithers through Footprints,a Shorter composition that benefits greatlyfrom the stabbing trumpet of Marsalis butcould do without Williams's bit of exhibi-tionism. There is also a somber Haden com-position called Silence, which is dedicatedto Silvert; sadly prophetic, it is almost adirge, but the late writer must have beenpleased, for it is a beautiful piece sensitivelyplayed. Ending the set, Shorter, with a littleassistance from Hancock, delivers a some-what choppy but compelling tenor readingof 'Round Midnight. Good listening. C.A.

86 STEREO REVIEW

ASHFORD ANDSIMPSON. Nick Ashford,Valerie Simpson (vocals); vocal and instru-mental accompaniment. I Need Your Light;Street Opera; Found a Cure; Is It Still Goodto Ya; Mighty Mighty Love; Love It Away;I'll Take the Whole World On; and threeothers. PIONEER LASERDISC PA -83-041 CXstereo, extended-play $24.95.

Performance: DazzlingRecording: Fine

Nowhere is the talent of Nick Ashford andValerie Simpson more brilliantly capturedthan on this new Pioneer LaserDisc, whichcombines the lip-synched video for theirfour-part Street Opera with a concert tapedin London a year and a half ago. The StreetOpera segment suffers from a poor scenar-io and tacky scenic design, and the perform-ers' wardrobes could scare a scarecrow, butthe concert segments, which take up mostof the disc, are crammed with vitality. Theband cooks up a storm, and the talent of thesoloists explodes on the screen.

The program consists of all but one of thetracks from Ashford and Simpson's Capitalalbum "Street Opera" plus hits from theirWarner Bros. and Motown periods -a mostpleasing mixture. Technically, the concert ishandled quite imaginatively, with well coor-dinated camera work and tasteful use of spe-cial video effects and lighting. Add to thatexcellent CX-encoded stereo sound, and youhave one of the most exciting pop -music videodiscs released so far. C.A.

CHICK COREA AND GARY BURTON:Live in Tokyo. Chick Corea (piano); GaryBurton (vibraphone). Mirror, Mirrok; Songto Gayle; Senor Mouse; La Fiesta; and twoothers. PIONEER LASERDISC PA -83-037 CXstereo, extended-play $24.95.

Performance: StellarRecording. Excellent

You won't go broke buying all the jazz thathas been released on LaserDiscs. In fact,the total bill currently should come toaround $50. Half of that will get you thissuperb 1981 Tokyo concert featuring ChickCorea and Gary Burton, a duo whose workhas already been splendidly preserved onthree ECM audio albums. Here, greatly en-hanced by the added visual dimension, Co-rea and Burton offer fifty-eight solid min-utes of compositions by Corea from all threeECM releases, and in technical quality thisvideo disc matches the excellence ECM isknown for. This has become the disc I selectfor demonstrating the virtues of the Laser -Disc system to friends; it is as perfect a

CASSETTE TAPES

combination of flawless reproduction andartistic value as I have come across in theyear and a half that I have had my Laser -Disc player.

We see the two performers and their in-struments against a monochromatic, mostlydark background, flanking a solitary propof red and pink carnations that seem to beerupting from a tall, slender stand. It is allvery effective and tasteful, right down tothe camera work, which is often intimate,but never obtrusive. So far, most nonclassi-cal music releases on video discs have con-sisted of concert material, and too oftenthey have been made downright boring bythe kind of unimaginative direction we usedto see on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TVshows. -he approach taken here can serveas a model for future concert recordings.

Eventually, when video discs are recog-nized as the unique medium they are andnot just repackaged television, producerswill show more imagination in their ap-proach to music. I also hope that manufac-turers will revert to standard -play discs.Until recently, all musical LaserDiscs werereleased in the standard format, which al-lows full use of such playback features asfreeze frame, slow motion, and framesearch. Now, in exchange for a full, unin-terrupted hour of play, we get only chaptersearch and quick scan. It is probably lessexpensive to manufacture a single -sideddisc, but the prices did not go down whenextended play became the norm, so why notgive the consumer a choice of standard orextended play? C.A.

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OCTOBER 1983 87

Classical music

WHEN she sang at the wed-ding of Prince Charles

and Lady Diana Spencer inLondon two years ago, DameKiri Te Kanawa made almostas much an impression for thegenerous proportions of thehat she was wearing as for hervocalism. Somewhat scaleddown but rather more tradi-tional was the headgear thatshe and pianist Alfred Brendel

flews Briefs

wore to receive the honorarydegree of Doctor of Musicfrom Oxford University thispast summer.

It was the third time aroundfor Brendel, who holds thesame degree from LondonUniversity and Sussex Uni-versity. "When we were strid-ing into the hall at Oxford,"he reports, "Kiri told me thatBob Hope has eighty-seven

honorary doctorates. So I'monly just beginning."

Oxford, by the way, rarelyawards honorary doctorates toperforming artists, much lesstwo in the same year. The uni-versity has traditionally con-fined recognition of this kindto composers. Haydn was thefirst. More recent recipientswere Brahms, Tchaikovsky,and Shostakovich. 0

Athe Salzburg Festival lastyear Riccardo Muti con-

ducted a new production ofMozart's Cosi fan tulle,which EMI recorded live.When the production was re-vived this year, EMI's PeterAndry flew to Salzburg topresent Muti with the firstcopy of the recording. The oc-casion fell on July 28, whichwas not only the anniversaryof the premiere of this Cos/but also Muti's forty-secondbirthday.

The 1982 cast includedAgnes Baltsa, Kathleen Battle,and Jose Van Dam. "EMIknew that the singers weregood," Muti said in a recentchat, "that the whole thinglooked good, but they were to-tally surprised when it turnedout to be the huge success itwas, not only with the public.The critical response was un-animous, something that hap-pens only once, maybe twice,in a lifetime."

The first copies of the newCos/ on Angel are due inAmerican record stores thismonth. Muti will be back thismonth too in his accustomedrole as music director of thePhiladelphia Orchestra. Hewill conduct concert perform-ances of Verdi's Macbeth onOctober 6 and 8 in Philadel-phia and on October 11 atCarnegie Hall in New York.Soloists include ElizabethConnell, Renato Bruson, andSimon Estes. These concertswill be the first complete op-era performances by the Phila-delphia Orchestra in morethan fifty years. They willalso give American audi-ences their first chance to hearMuti as a conductor of opera.

"I will concentrate my workin opera here with the Phila-delphia Orchestra, and in con-cert form," said Muti. "It'ssometimes better than havingsome crazy production staringyou in the face." He had just

seen the Met's controversialnew production of Verdi'sMacbeth conceived by SirPeter Hall. 0

COMPOSER Elliott Carter,who will be seventy-five

in December, was given the1983 MacDowell Medal inAugust at the MacDowellColony in Peterborough, NewHampshire. The medal isawarded annually by Ameri-ca's first -founded summercamp for creative artists,which was celebrating its ownseventy-fifth anniversary thisyear. 0

LEAVING gotten its feet wetas a corporate sponsor of

the arts by underwriting inpart the Finnish Opera's per-formances at the Metropoli-tan in New York earlier thisyear, Volvo is now bringinganother group of Scandina-vian musicians to this country.A grant from the Swedish au-tomobile manufacturer hasmade possible the October -November tour of Easternand Midwestern cities by theSwedish National Orchestraof Gothenburg conducted byNeeme JiIrvi. Record collec-tors dissatisfied with anythingless than the complete worksof a given composer will bepleased to learn that Jarvi andthe orchestra are in the proc-ess of recording the entire or -

Riccardo Muti (left) and Peter Andry of EMI

88 STEREO REVIEW

chestral output of Jean Sibe-lius. The digital set will run totwenty-five LP's on the Bis la-bel and should be completedby May 1984. 0

rHE centerpiece in the five-record box of music for

vocal ensembles by Brahms,cited in last month's issue as a"Best of the Month" release,is the LP that contains the twosets of Liebeslieder Waltzesand the Three Quartets, Op.64, sung by Edith Mathis, Bri-gitte Fassbaender, PeterSchreier, and Dietrich Fisch-er-Dieskau. Recognizing thealbum's potential appeal, DGspun it off as a separate re-lease this month (2532 094, ID3302 094).

WIIAT hasn't soprano Jes-sye Norman been doing

these past few months? Tak-ing it easy, that's what. Aftera busy summer in Europe, shecame home just before LaborDay to appear as soloist inMahler's Third Symphony,with which Seiji Ozawa andthe Boston Symphony closedthe festival at Tanglewood.

But dominating Norman's

schedule at the moment is herMetropolitan Opera debut,beginning with the new sea-son's opening -night perform-ance of Berlioz's Les Troyenson September 26. During theMet's run of Les Troyens,Norman and Shirley Verrettwill alternate in the roles ofCassandra and Dido. Normanis slated to sing Dido in theSaturday matinee radiobroadcast on February 18 andto sing Cassandra in the per-formance to be telecast byPBS in March.

In either role she should beelectrifying if she can matchthe intensity of her great oper-atic success this summer atthe Aix-en-Provence Festival.There Norman's portrayal ofPhedre in Rameau's Hippo -Ole et Aricie caused Frenchcritics to describe her as

"more beautiful than ever,and terrifying in her despair,like a wounded lion" (France-Soir), "like a formidablemonument . . . with a voiceof immense dignity" (LeMonde), "majestic" (Quoti-dien de Paris), "singing witha vocal eloquence, a dramaticvigor, and above all an essen-tial humanity to which all elsegave way" (Le Point).

Jessye Norman (right) as Phedre and Enid Hartle as Oenone

Between performances atAix, Norman flew to Paris fora round of recording sessionsfor Pattie Marconi, singingthe Chansons madecasses ofRavel, which will be includedin a boxed set of that compos-er's vocal music to be releasedearly in 1984. A current re-lease on Philips is her albumof songs by Richard Strauss,including the Four LastSongs, with Kurt Mazur con-ducting the Leipzig Gewand-haus Orchestra.

Din and Tape Reviews

Another current Normanrelease is a collection of vocalmusic by Ernest Chausson, in-cluding the Poeme de l'amouret de la mer, on Erato, whichis distributed in this countryby RCA. Soon to be releasedis a recording of Mahler'sSecond Symphony conductedby Lorin Maazel, with Nor-man and Eva Marton as thesoloists. It is part of the com-plete Mahler cycle Maazeland the Vienna Philharmonicare doing on CBS. 0

By RICHARD FREED DAVID HALL GEORGE JELLINEKSTODDARD LINCOLN ERIC SALZMAN

J. S. BACH: Trio Sonata in C Minor (from"The Musical Offering," BWV 1079); TrioSonata in G Major (BWV 1038). C. P. E.BACH: Trio Sonata in G Major. J. C. F.BACH: Sonata in C Major. W. F. BACH:Trio Sonata in A Minor. Jean-Pierre Ram -pal (flute); Isaac Stern (violin); Leslie Par-nas (cello); John Steele Ritter (harpsichord,fortepiano). CBS 0 IM 37813, IMT37813, no list price.

Performance. Wrong-headedRecording: Okay

It is wonderful when fully mature artistsjoin forces to play chamber music, but onlyif they play compositions written in the stylethey are used to. Jean-Pierre Rampal and

Explanation of symbols: = digital -master analog LP = stereo cassette0 = digital Compact Disc = eight -track stereo cartridge = direct -to -disc recording = monophonic recording

The first listing is the one reviewed;other formats. if available, follow it.

Isaac Stern, alas, have here chosen reper-toire written earlier than the music theyusually play, and the results are disastrous,especially in the trio sonata from J. S.Bach's The Musical Offering. The lines aregluey, the trills are taken from the principalnote, and the appoggiaturas are the wronglength. Some vulgar slides and a harsh toneon Stern's part complete this wrong-headedreading. The one successful performance isof the powerful Sonata in C Major ofJ. C. F. Bach, the neglected ninth son ofJohann Sebastian. The artists seem more athome in his Classical style, and John SteeleRitter's fortepiano playing is excellent.

Although the first movement of W. F.Bach's Trio Sonata in A Minor is striking,the work is only a fragment: the secondmovement breaks off midphrase after thir-ty-five seconds, and nothing follows. No ex-planation is offered in the jacket notes,which are equally incomplete when it comesto discussing the music. This is a frustratingalbum indeed. S.L.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 2, in B -flat Major, Op. 19; Piano Sonata No. 18, inE -flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3. Arthur Rubin-

stein (piano); London Philharmonic Or-chestra, Daniel Barenboim cond. RCAARL1-4711 $9.98, © ARK1-4711 $9.98.

Performance Good to exceptionalRecording. Fine

The photograph of Arthur Rubinstein inThe New Grove shows him performing aBeethoven concerto with Daniel Barenboimon the podium. Their joint RCA recordingof the five Beethoven concertos (CRL5-1415), taped within three days in April1975, when Rubinstein was eighty-eightyears old, represented his last concerto per-formances and his third recorded cycle ofthese works. The second is the only part ofthe set not issued on a separate disc untilnow; it is good to have an opportunity toenjoy it on its own, sensibly laid out on asingle side instead of the two it occupied inthe set. It may not be the very greatest per-formance of the work, but it is very muchalive with the musical personality Rubin-stein imparted to everything he touched atevery age.

The performance of the Piano Sonatavery definitely is a great one. It was re-corded even later than the concertos, whenRubinstein was approaching ninety, andwas most enthusiastically reviewed in these

OCTOBER 1983 89

Pianist Rudolf Serkin and conductorSeiji Ozawa at Symphony Hall. Boston

Telarc's NewCompact Discs

BE.E.-rilovu....s Third Piano Concerto hasentered the Compact Disc catalog in a

splendid performance by Rudolf Serkin andthe Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa,coupled with the composer's Fantasy for Pi-ano, Chorus, and Orchestra. Together theycomprise one of Telarc's first twenty-threeCD "titles," and it is a noteworthy releasein part because it is the first CD to be issuedahead of its analog LP counterpart. A Tel -arc spokesman has said that the companywas having trouble mastering for LP anddecided to release the CD as soon as it wasready. In either format (Telarc does not re-lease prerecorded cassettes), the recordingdeserves, and will undoubtedly enjoy, a longcatalog life.

Serkin's Beethoven concerto cycle forTelarc has been on an inspired level so far,as has Ozawa's support-these are some ofthe best performances either of them has re-corded-and their combined efforts in theThird are no exception. Serkin's tone hasjust the right weight in all three movementsand is especially transparent in the largo,which becomes a profoundly moving state-ment in his hands. His rhythmic hold on themusic is as firm and his energy as unfalter-ing and buoyant as any artist half his agecould wish for. And the playing by soloistand orchestra alike is significantly en-hanced by Telarc's state-of-the-art engi-neering. In the Choral Fantasy, the impres-sive sound and Ozawa's firm leadership ofthe orchestra, the Tanglewood FestivalChorus, Scrkin, and half a dozen vocal so-loists give that fairly disjointed work theaura of a minor masterpiece.

i" I have by no means listened to all of Tel -1 arc's new CD's, which are manufactured ina Japan, but the ones I have listened to and

listed below strike me as among the verybest produced by any company so far. Tel-

; arc does not compress the music's dynamicS. range at all, not even the little bit that most

other companies do to suit the limitations ofo home equipment (careful with the volume

control!), nor do the original digital masterspass through any analog stage on their wayto becoming CD's. The credit for this, andfor the intelligent microphone placement,goes to producer Robert Woods and engi-neer Jack Renner. They also deserve creditfor eliciting the really outstanding perform-ances these little discs enshrine.

The recording of Beethoven's Fifth PianoConcerto by Serkin and Ozawa, again withthe BSO, is a truly n9ble achievement, andOzawa's muscular reading of the BeethovenFifth Symphony is easily the best availableon CD. In both, the Boston Symphonysounds like the Boston Symphony to anyonewho has heard it often at either SymphonyHall or Tanglewood. And Symphony Hall"sounds" like Symphony Hall. Such is therealism the digital audio disc makes possi-ble in knowing hands.

The other three recordings are absolutelyfirst-rate too. The Tchaikovsky Fourth byLorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra,one of the first digital recordings of thatwork, has an expansiveness in performancethat is matched by the sonic ambience, andthe same can be said for their version of theShostakovich Fifth. The Saint -Satins OrganSymphony by the Philadelphia Orchestraunder Eugene Ormandy, a "Best of theMonth" selection in these pages when it wasreleased on LP in 1980, was praised by Da-vid Hall for its "suavity, poise, and ravish-ing tonal beauty." I can only echo thosewords. -Christie Barter

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3, in CMinor, Op. 37; Choral Fantasy, Op. 80. Ru-dolf Serkin (piano); Boston Symphony Or-chestra, Seiji Ozawa cond. TELARC CD -80063, no list price.

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, in E -flat Major, Op. 73 ("Emperor"). RudolfSerkin (piano); Boston Symphony Orches-tra, Seiji Ozawa cond. TELARC CD -80065, no list price.

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5, in C' Mi-nor, Op. 67; Egmont Overture, Op. 84. Bos-ton Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawacond. TELARC CD -80060, no list price.

SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No. 3 in C Mi-nor ("Organ"). Michael Murray (organ);Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandycond. Tt-i AFt( CD -80051, no list price.

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5, Op.47. Cleveland Orchestra, Lorin Maazelcond. TH.Aitc CD -80067, no price.

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4, in FMinor, Op. 36. Cleveland Orchestra, LorinMaazel cond. Ti I AR( © CD -80047, no listprice.

pages when it was first issued (on ARL1-2397), paired with Schumann's Op. 12 Fan-tasiesthcke. The "good-humored swagger,"the "exquisitely judged dynamic shadingsand superb rhythmic control," and the over-all "impression of inspired spontaneity"noted then are no less striking now, and theremastering has perhaps enhanced the finequalities of the original issue. R.F.

BEETHOVEN: Late String Quartets (seeBest of the Month, page 69)

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5, in C Mi-nor, Op. 67; Egmont Overture, Op. 84. Eng-lish Chamber Orchestra, Michael TilsonThomas cond. CBS 0 IM 37288, @ IMT37288, no list price.

Performance: Clean, unfussyRecording: Good

Michael Tilson Thomas's terse, pointed waywith the opening bars of the BeethovenFifth sets the tone for this recording, thelatest in his series using the kind of instru-mental forces prevalent ins Beethoven's day(though not original instruments or replicasthereof). The gain here lies, as with theFourth and Sixth Symphonies previouslyreleased, in a more just wind/string balanceand the resulting clarity of texture, notablyin the variation episodes of the slow move-ment and in the famous string -bass fugatoin the scherzo. The finale retains all its in-herent force but moves along with greaterlitheness than usual. The only loss, and it ismore apparent in the Egmont Overture per-formance, is in the music's epic quality,which seems best brought out by a full-strength twentieth-century symphony or-chestra with doubled woodwinds. D.H.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBRUCKNER: .s$ mphony No. 4, in E -flatMajor ("Romantic"). Berlin PhilharmonicOrchestra, Klaus Tennstedt cond. ANGEL 0DSB-3935 two discs $25.96, © 4X2S-3935 $25.96.

Performance ExpansiveRecording Splendid

Klaus Tennstedt's expansive reading ofBruckner's Romantic Symphony runs agood seven minutes longer than those of hischief competitors, Sir George Solti on Lon-don and Herbert von Karajan on DeutscheGrammophon. Thanks, however, to theraptly poetic atmosphere with which Tenn-stedt invests the many lyrical episodes andthe magnificent brazen climaxes he elicitsin the end movements, the added minutesseem short indeed. One can even forgive thelack of a filler work because of the remark-able dynamic range achieved throughoutthe four sides and especially in the scherzoand finale. While there is not much quasiallegretto in the pacing of the slow move-ment, there is no feeling of the funereal ei-ther. Like Karajan, Tennstedt adds cym-bals at the first big climax of the finale. Insum, this reading of Bruckner's RomanticSymphony, more heroic than bucolic, is

very convincingly done. D.H.

F AURE: Songs (see Best of the Month,page 66)

90


STEREO REVIEW

Pachelbel's Capop in D Major'is yours for only $1!

with your FREE -NO PURCHASE OBLIGATION -membershipDear Friend of Great Music,

To acquaint you with the Society's musical fare and recordingprogram, we'd like to send you an outstanding recording that hascaptivated thousands of Americans FOR ONLY $1.00!

It is rare that a recording is made that is truly "out of this world"with the ethereal qualities of music, performance, and sonicsideally presented. But this recording is, indeed, out of this world,embodying all these characteristics!

The Society is happy to offer a recording of such captivatingpower that Hamlin's story of the Pied Piper pales! All who hear thisrecording simply MUST have it and go to great lengths to get it.When radio stations play this recording, their phones are tied upfor hours. A New York City station had more than 400 calls whenthey played this recording! A San Francisco station had a similarexperience.

While this recording is enrapturing and delightful throughout,the first work, CANON IN D MAJOR, is so mesmerizing thathearers are overcome. Your writer was so hypnotized that I spentwell over an hour repeating the first work before I even botheredto go to the others when I first listened to the record!

But the other works are transporting as well. The performance ofthe orchestra could not possibly be excelled and the trumpet play-ing is so spectacular that it is, in a word, breathtaking!

Certainly you'll treasure this recording as your favorite. You'll in-sist that all your friends hear it in the confidence that they will begrateful that you have introduced them to such a "revelation" inmusic.

THIS SUPERB RECORD IS YOURS FOR ONLY $1.00!Send for it TODAY!

JOHANN PACHELBEL (1653-1706)CANON in D Major; PARTIA No. VI in B -flat Major; PARTIE in G Major

JOHANN FRIEDRICH FASCH 11688-17581CONCERTO in 0 Major for Trumpet, 2 Oboes, Strings and Continuo

SINFONIA in G Major; SINFONIA in A MajorMaurice ANDItt, Trumpet

Pierre PIE RLOT and Jacques CHAMBON, OboesJEAN-FRANWIS PAILLARD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Jean -Francois PAILLARD, Conductor

GET "SELECTIONS FROMOUR MASTER CATALOG" FREE!

With your introductory recording, the Society will include its"Selections from Our Master Catalog" containing records andcassettes covering every musical period, carefully chosen fromour collection of almost 3,000 records and cassettes.

The Musical Heritage Society issues each year about 200 newrecordings of the music of such great masters as Albinoni, theBachs, Beethoven, Berlioz, Buxtehude, Charpentier, Corelli,Couperin, Gluck, Handel, Haydn, Lully, Monteverdi, Mozart,Pergolesi, Purcell, Scarlatti, Schubert, Telemann, Torelli, Vivaldi,and many others. Its recordings cover all musical periods:Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Classical, Romantic,and Modern. Over 200 of its recordings have been honored withthe coveted GRAND PRIX DU DISQUE and other internationalawards.

MUSIC THAT CAPTIVATES!Even though the Society's records are of serious music, it has

some that are "hits!"Take MHS 1100 (Vivaldi's Concerto for Mandolin) in our

catalog, for instance. When it was played over a pops radio stationfrequently for a short period of time, over 80,000 records weresold as a result!

Or consider the Society's MHS 1060 (Pachelbel's Canon). Thisrecord, when played by radio stations, results in an avalanche ofcalls that tie up their switchboard for hours afterwards!

We are certain that among the Society's 3,000 records andcassettes there must be many that will captivate you.

THE LARGEST RECORDING PROJECTS IN HISTORYHAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY

THE MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY!The Society's recording feats are the sensation of the record in-

dustry! These are some of our notable accomplishments: The Society was the first to issue all 107 of HAYDN'S Syrn

phonies. They are on 49 records (MHS 201 through MHS 2491. The Society has issued on 25 records ALL that BACH compos

ed for organ. The Society has issued many complete works: ALL the

sonatas, quartets, and symphonies of BEETHOVEN; ALLMOZART'S piano concerti and quartets. ALL of SCHUMANN'solo piano works; ALL of DEBUSSY'S and RAVEL'S solo pianoworks. and much more!

Most of the Society's records are of works recorded FOR THEFIRST TIME! Manufactured to the highest quality standards orwhich the recording industry is capable, the Society's records areperhaps the finest in the country.

HOW THE SOCIETY OPERATESThe Society's recordings are not sold in stores. They are offered

directly through the MUSICAL HERITAGE REVIEW magazine atthree-week intervals. As a member, you'll enjoy substantial saeings. Member prices are $4.95 per LP or cassette, plus postage andhhanhdelrin).g (deluxe -boxed editior s and digital recordings are slight I

When the Society receives your request, it sets up an account inyour name and begins sending your free one-year subscription orthe MUSICAL HERITAGE REVIEW for your edification and delightThere is NO PURCHASE OBLIGATION and you may discontinuethe complimentary subscription at any time. As a subscriberoutstanding selections will be scheduled for shipment to you fromeach issue-hut there is no obligation to accept them... order on I \those you want when you want them!

A special response form will be enclosed with eachReview...and you may use it to order or reject any selections simp-ly by mailing it by the date specified. And if you want only theFeatured Selections, you need do nothing-they will be shippedto you automatically. What's more, you'll have at least 10 full day,in which to make your decision-if you ever have less time than 4)

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"A REVELATION IN MUSIC!"To receive this splendid record simply mail the request form

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MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY *050111214 Park Road, Tinton Falls, N.J. 07724Ladies B. Gentlemen of the Society,Please send me Pachelbel's CANON IN D MAJOR along with my FREE copy of"Selections from Our Master Catalog," You may enter my subscription to the Socie-ty's recording program and set up an account in my name. However, it is

understood that I may cancel at any time, and there is absolutely no purchaseobligation on my part.

SEND "CANON IN D MAJOR" IN THIS TYPE OF RECORDING:O RECORD #7X, $1.00 CI Cassette *111, $2.00

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OCTOBER 1983 91

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITGLINKA: Russian and Ludmilla. Bela Ru-denko (soprano), Ludmilla; Evgeny Nester-enko (bass), Russian; others. BolshoiTheatre Chorus and Orchestra, Yuri Si-monov cond. MELODIYA/HMV SLS 5247three discs $32.94 (from International Book& Record Distributors, 40-11 24th Street,Long Island City, N.Y. I 1 101).

Performance Manic vitalityRecording: Excellent

The nineteenth century produced manyfairy-tale operas (the genre would seem tobe a natural one), but the most successfulwas Russian and Ludmilla-in Russia, at

least. For some reason, this utterly charm-ing work has never made its way outside ofRussia, possibly for lack of good transla-tions. Sure, it's a silly story, but what fun!And what wonderful music!

Alas, Glinka died (in a duel) before hecould finish the opera's libretto, based onPushkin, and a succession of bunglers fid-dled with it. The orginal poem is full ofmockery, parody, and ironic fun. Almost allRussian composers who set their great na-tional poet to music missed or overlookedhis wit and irony. So did Glinka, but noRussian composer wrote music that spar-kles as much as his, so it doesn't matter verymuch. Music, even the most bitter, tends totake the edge off satire and to humanize

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the most parodistic characters-especiallywhen the music is like this, in Glinka'sfreshest, most inspired early -Romanticmanner. The heavy pathos and intense colorof later Russian music are not yet present inRussian; the emotions are simple and di-rect, the coloration bright and magical.

In the opera Russian has to do battle witha giant head that has a men's chorus insideit. There are witches, water nymphs, aKlingsor-type evil magician (a dwarf with along beard and a magic garden), a goodwizard, a giant's sword, slave girls, magicdances, sirens (flower girls?) who lure trav-elers to their doom, and various abductions,spells, and enchantments. And lots of en-chanting music to go with it all. I don'tknow how sensible all this turns out to be onthe stage-not too sensible, I hope. Until Ihave a chance to find out, 1 shall treasurethis recording.

Polished it isn't. You simply cannot ex-pect tasteful, neo-Classical performancesfrom the Russians. They have been doingthis music for a long time, and they thinkthey know how it goes: with spirit and soul.At its best Russian opera is rough andready, and this one is no exception. Fromthe very first note of the overture you knowyou are in another, older, more magicalworld. The dynamism, sensibility, and al-most manic vitality are extraordinary.

Except for the usual one or two outstand-ing bassos, there are no really beautifulvoices in this cast. The level of the singing isnot bad, however, and the sense of ensembleand unity of purpose is exceptional. The or-chestral playing is not smooth, but it is richand impassioned. Major credit should go toconductor Yuri Simonov. Western perform-ances ought to have as much shape and per-sonality as this. The recording is first-rate,with clarity, beautiful orchestral sound, andexcellent balances between voices and or-chestra. The accompanying booklet pro-vides a note on the work, a helpful synopsis,and a full libretto with Russian translitera-tions and English translations. E.S.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITIII N DEMITH: Cello Concerto; ClarinetConcerto. Tibor de Machula (cello);George Pieterson (clarinet); Concertge-bouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, Kiril Kon-drashin cond. ETCETERA ETC 1006 $10.98,

XTC 1006 $10.98.

Performance: EnthusiasticRecording: Good live concert

Both of these works are vintage Hindemith,masterpieces of their kind composed forGregor Piatigorsky and Benny Goodman,respectively, during Hindemith's years inthe U.S. Neither dedicatee, however, sawtit to record his concerto, nor has eitherbeen made available in stereo on a domesticlabel. Thus we are doubly blest to have bothconcertos on this single Dutch record. Theperformances are from concert broad-casts-the Cello Concerto from 1973 withthe Concertgebouw's then first -chair cellistTibor de Machula as soloist, the ClarinetConcerto from 1979 with first -chair clari-netist George Pieterson.

The Cello Concerto has a big, bluff open-ing movement, akin to the style of the E -flatSymphony, and a lovely slow movement(the source for Walton's orchestral Varia-

9 1 STEREO REVIEW

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lions on a Theme of Hindemith). There is adelectable scherzando middle section withlots of Hindemithian fugato fun and games,and the finale is a peppery march -like af-fair. The Clarinet Concerto is lighter anddisplays much of Hindemith's flowing mo-toric manner, at its best here in the openingpages. The scherzo is brief and flies like thewind -it's a real virtuoso showpiece. Fol-lowing is one of the truly fine Hindemithslow movements, with two contrasting in-terludes. and then a playful finale. Delight-ful listening all the way.

Even with the applause and coughing.and a somewhat recessed balance for thesolo cello, one is aware from first note tolast of the care and enthusiasm that wentinto these performances under the late KirilKondrashin. All things considered, the livesonics are full and richly detailed, if notquite 1983 state-of-the-art. I would certain-ly not hesitate to add this disc to any libraryof twentieth-century classics. D.H.

LEONCAVALLO: La Boheme. Lucia Popp(soprano), Mimi; Alexandrina Milcheva(mezzo-soprano), Musette; Franco Bonisol-Ii (tenor), Marcello; Bernd Weikl (bari-tone), Rodolfo; Alan Titus (baritone),Schaunard; Alexander Malta (bass), Bar-bemuche; Jdrn W. Wilsing (baritone), Pao-lo; Raimund Grumbach (baritone), Colline;Friedrich Lenz (tenor), Gaudenzio; others.Bavarian Radio Chorus; Munich Radio Or-chestra, Heinz Wallberg cond. OR EEO 0 S023823 three discs $41.94 (from HarmoniaMundi USA, 2351 Westwood Boulevard,Los Angeles, Calif. 90064).

Performance GoodRecording Good

It seems fairly certain that it was Leonca-vallo who first hit upon the idea of turningHenri Murger's novel about Bohemian lifein mid -nineteenth-century Paris into anopera. But Puccini liked the idea too, and,working at greater speed, he beat his col-league (friend no longer) to it. Puccini'sconduct in their rivalry was not quite gen-tlemanly. but -and of this there has neverbeen any doubt -he created the betteropera.

At the same time, Leoncavallo's treat-ment of the subject is by no means negligi-ble. His approach was different in manyways and not always wise. For one thing,there are altogether too many characters inthe Leoncavallo opera. For another, the ka-leidoscopic "Bohemian" scenes in the firsttwo acts seem to point toward a differentkind of denouement than the tragedy result-ing from the oppressive poverty of the prin-cipals and from Mimi's fatal illness. Manyof Leoncavallo's insights deserve to be sin-gled out for praise. His Schaunard and Mu-sette are fuller, better developed charactersthan Puccini's. His injection of "Parisian"color sounds more authentic, and the libret-to (Leoncavallo's own) exposes the forlornexistence of these Bohemians even moremercilessly. But Puccini's opera takes thepalm for cohesion and dramatic flow and,certainly, for melodic inspiration.

The old Everest/Cetra set that has longrepresented this opera in the catalog is com-pletely outclassed by this Bavarian under-taking, even though Munich may not be theideal place. to produce idiomatic Italianoperas. Lucia Popp's radiant Mimi and Al -

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exandrina Milcheva's sultry Musette walkaway with the vocal honors; their scene inthe third act as they decide to leave theirBohemian lovers soars with poignant emo-tion. Bonisolli is not the subtlest of tenors,but he brings a sturdy tone and convincingpassion to Marcello's arias. In Leoncaval-lo's scheme of things, Marcello has thestronger role, but Rodolfo has some effec-tive music too, to which Bernd Weikl re-sponds with resonant but somewhat undu-lating tones. Alan Titus is a buoyant andentertaining Schaunard; in smaller roles,Alexander Malta and Jam W. Wilsing arevery good indeed.

Conductor Heinz Wallberg and the ex-cellent Munich orchestra make a strongcase for Leoncavallo's uneven but occasion-ally inspiring music, which frequentlyechoes with melodic turns and devices rem-iniscent of Pagliacci. The overall sound isquite sumptuous but lacks transparency andspaciousness. There is a trilingual libretto,but the annotations could have done withmore professional care. G.J.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMONTEVERDI: Addio Florida bells (Mad-rigals). Troppo ben pub; Taci Armelin; Ecost pocco a pocco; T'amo mia vita: 0 miobene; Mentre vaga angioletta; Luci serene echiare; Partenza amorosa; 0 Mirtillo, ani-ma mia; Ninja the scalza it piede; Eral'anima mia; Addio Florida bella; Ahi,come a un vago sot. Concerto Vocale. H AR-MONIA MUN DI HM 1084 $11.98.

Performance RavishingRecording Splendid

Madrigals are written for performers sing-ing for themselves in intimate surroundings,and recordings of them (like public per-formances) usually lack the essential sub-tleties of the genre. Not so with these per-formances of some of Monteverdi's tender-est madrigals. The six singers of the Con-certo Vocale sing quietly, as if to them-selves, and evoke an air of intimacy thatbrings the listener into their midst. The se-lections are chosen from the Fourth Bookand later, and they use everything from onevoice up to the full complement of six. Eachsinger has an individual timbre and boastsperfect diction, yet in ensemble theyachieve a smooth blend. A lute continuofills out the ravishing sonority. This albumreveals the soul of Monteverdi -it is not tobe missed. S.L.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMOZART: Prelude and Fugue (after Bach)in F Minor (K. 404a); Oboe Quartet in FMajor (K. 370); Piano Quartet in E -flat Ma-jor (K. 493). An die Musik (Eliot Chapo,violin; Barbara Hustis, viola; Daniel Roth-muller, cello; Gerhard Reuter, oboe; Con-stance Emmerich, piano). MUSICAL HERI-TAGE SOCIETY MHS 47231 $7.75 (plus$1.95 postage and handling charge from theMusical Heritage Society, 14 Park Road,Tinton Falls, N.J. 07724).

Performance LovelyRecording. Good

Although An die Musik is a thoroughlyAmerican ensemble, its playing is as Vien-nese as its charming name. Unafraid of

tempo changes and rubato, the five mem-bers of the group see that each melody findsits most expressive tempo; using a long -linelegato replete with portamentos, they seethat each phrase is lovingly molded. Thegroup's style is so light and elegant that itall works, and Mozart's music sounds natu-ral and warm. Recommended. S . L.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMOZART: Symphony No. 31, in D Major("Paris," K. 297); Symphony No. 33, in B -flat Major (K. 319). Concertgebouw Or-chestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt cond. TELE-FUNKEN 0 6.42817 AZ $12.98, © 4.42817CX $12.98.

Performance GreatRecording Splendid

MOZART: Symphony No. 41, in C Major("Jupiter," K. 551). Concertgebouw Orches-tra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt cond. TELE-FUNK EN 0 6.42846 AZ $12.98, © 4.42846CX $12.98.

Performance StolidRecording- Splendid

Although Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 31and 33 were written within a year of eachother, their styles are completely different.In the Paris Symphony, Mozart reveled inthe magnificence of a large orchestra, giv-ing Parisian audiences the grand gesturesand dynamic contrasts they so loved. TheB -flat Symphony, on the other hand, wasconceived for the much smaller forces ofSalzburg and thus dwells on instrumentaldetail and subtle dynamics more often asso-ciated with chamber music than the sym-phony. A master of authentic performancepractice, Nikolaus Harnoncourt has trans-ferred his knowledge and musicianship tothe Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra,and his readings of these symphonies bringout their contrast. The Paris is full andhearty in the outer movements, but the slowmovement is wrought with song -like lyri-cism. The B -flat Symphony is a study indelicate coloring that brings out the careful-ly wrought details of the work.

The recording of the Jupiter Symphonyby the same forces is disappointing, howev-er. The orchestra seems to have reverted toits usual bombast; the first movement isponderous, the strings are lost in the slowmovement, and the finale, all bustle andnoise, substitutes speed for verve. S.L.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITPROKOFIEV: String Quartet No. I, in BMinor, Op. 50; String Quartet No. 2, in FMajor, Op. 92. Sequoia String Quartet.NONESUCH 0 D-79048 $11.98, © D4-79048 $11.98.

Performance: Brilliant, affectionateRecording: Full-bodied

Since both of Prokofiev's string quartets aremature and substantial works, as rich in ap-pealing melody and intriguing color as any-thing he wrote in any form, one would ex-pect at least a handful of discs pairing them,but this is in fact the first to appear sincethe well -regarded Philips recording by theNovak Quartet of Prague, which circulatedall too briefly. It actually restores Op. 50 tothe catalog for the first time since the dele-

CIRCLE NO. 29 ON READER SERVICE CARD 96 STEREO REVIEW

lion of the Novak record, and it faces onlyone other current recording of No. 2.

The Sequoia Quartet's brilliant and af-fectionate performances can only make onewonder about the neglect of such ingratiat-ing works. Some listeners, particularlythose who have admired the Novak version,will find the opening of Op. 50 here a littlebreathless, perhaps too ebullient by half.But this sort of liveliness is hard to resist,especially in the rich and full-bodied sonicframe of this well-balanced digital record-ing (with absolutely silent surfaces). Thefolk -derived tunes in the more familiar Op.92 are set forth with a thoroughly persua-sive balance of vigor, wit, and taste. Theghastly cover illustration looks less like Pro-kofiev than like a blurred television imageof Curt Jurgens, but the back liner offersexemplary notes by Peter Eliot Stone. Amost welcome release. R.F.

PUCCINI: Arias (see Collections-Kid TeKanawid

PUCCINI: Preludio sinfonico; Capricciosinfonico. Le Villi: Prelude and Witches'Dance from Act II. Edgar: Preludes to Acts1 and III; Three Menuettos. Manon Lescaut:Intermezzo from Act III. Crisantemi. BerlinRadio Symphony Orchestra, RiccardoChailly cond. LONDON 0 LDR 71107$12.98, © LDR5 71107 $12.98.

Performance LovingRecording: Very good

Here's a package of Puccini curios datingfrom before the La Boheme breakthroughof 1896. I find the intrinsic musical interestrather thin, but as a well -packaged andbeautifully performed program designed toshow the young Puccini struggling to findhis own voice, it is fascinating.

The first awareness of genuine dramaticpotential comes in the Capriccio sinfonicoof 1882. The Prelude from Le Villi, Puc-cini's first theater work, displays a touch ofWagnerian influence, and there is a ratherfacile, cinematic quality in the Witches'Dance (La tregenda). The more interestingof the two excerpts from Edgar is the Act IIPrelude, evoking the hero in disguise at-tending his own funeral (a complete record-ing of the opera is still available on Colum-bia). The minuets are graceful and fairly in-consequential salon fluff, but Crisantemi(Chrysanthemums), an elegiac score origi-nally for string quartet, offers some realmusical substance. The Manon Lescaut in-termezzo shows Puccinian pathos in fullbloom.

The performances under Riccardo Chail-ly are carried off with great affection andstyle, and London's digitally masteredsound is exceptionally rich in body and de-tailed in texture. D.H.

SCOTT: Piano Concerto No. 2; Early OneMorning, Poem for Piano and Orchestra.John Ogdon (piano); London PhilharmonicOrchestra, Bernard Herrmann cond. LYRI-TA SRCS.82 $14.98 (from InternationalBook & Record Distributors, 40-11 24thStreet, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101).

Performance CommittedRecording: Very good

Cyril Scott (1879-1970) is rememberedoutside of England today almost solely for

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We "Basic GRepertoireSTEREO REVIEW again presents the annual revision of theBasic Repertoire. In pamphlet form, the 1982 updating includesdisc and tape recommendations for over 180 standard musicalworks. For your copy, send $1 (check or money order), plus astamped (400, self-addressed No. 10 envelope (91/2 x 41/8 in.),to Basic Repertoire, Box 506, Murray Hill Station, New York,N.Y. 10016.

OCTOBER 1983

Conductor Vernon Handley. Ursula Vaughan

British Musicfor Cello and Orchestra

BRITISH RCA has released a most un-usual and interesting disc of works for

cello and orchestra by Delius, Hoist, andVaughan Williams. The Delius Cello Con-certo has had only one previous recording,Jacqueline Du Pre's memorable 1965 debutdisc with Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting(unfortunately no longer available). TheHoist Invocation and the Vaughan Wil-liams Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes areworld premiere recordings.

The early Hoist piece, written in 1911,has something of the same passionate ro-manticism as the orchestral rhapsody AShropshire Lad (1912) by the tragicallyshort-lived George Butterworth. TheVaughan Williams was written for PabloCasals, who premiered it in 1930 with JohnBarbirolli conducting, and the cello part isextremely brilliant. The work is a fascinat-ing and sometimes roughhewn treatment ofthe folk -song material, as befits a scorewritten during the same period as the com-poser's Fourth Symphony and Job. The mu-sic ends rather abruptly, however, which

may explain why Vaughan Williams with-drew the score after the premiere with thethought of elaborating it into a full-scaleconcerto-a project he never realized.

Julian Lloyd Webber, alertly partneredby Vernon Handley and the PhilharmoniaOrchestra, does splendidly with the solowork throughout, although in the sensuous-ly ruminative and sometimes rhythmicallyrepetitious Delius a slightly quicker pacemight have helped. The beautifully trans-parent digital recording, however, elicits agood deal of gorgeous detail from the con-certo's elegant orchestral texture.

-David Hall

DELIUS: Cello Concerto. HOIST: Invoca-tion. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia enSussex Folk Tunes. Julian Lloyd Webber(cello); Philharmonia Orchestra, VernonHandley cond. RCA (U.K.) 0 RS 9010$13.98, © RSK 9010 $13.98 (from Interna-tional Book and Record Distributors, 40-1124th Street, Long Island City, N.Y.11101).

his piano piece Lotus Land. Yet until themiddle 1920's he was considered among themost venturesome of the post -Debussy gen-eration in terms of harmonic exploration,and he was highly regarded by Debussyhimself. While the structuring of Scott'slarger works is rooted in the classical train-ing he received in Frankfurt, Germany, theharmonic textures are so elaborate and richthat they come close, at times, to overpow-ering the music's underlying continuity.

The only available recordings of Scott'slarge-scale works are two Lyrita discs, thisone and another featuring the Piano Con-certo No. I. To be quite honest, I find the

Piano Concerto No. 2 and Early One Morn-ing disconcertingly uneven. The concertostarts off imposingly with a quasi -recitativeand a dissonant texture well laced with aug-mented fourths, but then it seems to driftoff into a ruminative kind of post -Impres-sionist musical discussion. Both in the finalmovement of the concerto and throughoutmuch of Early One Morning, originallycomposed for two pianos and orchestra,pentatonics play a large and (for my taste)somewhat wearisome role.

Due credit, however, to John Ogdon andthe late Bernard Herrmann for giving theirbest efforts on behalf of a neglected com-

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poser considered by many to have been amaster. It is no fault of theirs that even withoutstanding recorded sound and a fine per-formance I am not converted. D.H.

TURINA: Danzas fantsisticas, Op. 22; Rap-sodia sinfonica for Piano and Strings, Op.66; Sinfonia Sevillana, Op. 23. Frank Wi-baut (piano, in Rapsodia); London Philhar-monic Orchestra, Enrique Batiz cond. AN-GEL 0 DS -37950 $12.98, © 4XS-37950$12.98.

Performance: ColorfulRecording: Technicolorful

I rather enjoy Joaquin Turina's brieferworks, such as the pleasantly ruminativeRapsodia sinfonica from 1931 or theOracion del torero for string quartet, but alittle of the bigger pieces, even the Danzasfantersticas, goes a long way. Turina evi-dently had neither the desire nor the abilityto grow creatively in his own way, as hisgreater countryman Manuel de Falla did inhis later, classic phase. Nonetheless, the

Williams, and cellist Julian Lloyd Webber three pieces on this disc are performed withgreat brilliance and spirit, and they are re-corded in a decidedly bright and reverber-ant acoustic surround. I'm not sure this isaltogether right for music that is verybrightly scored to begin with; if anything, itneeds a room that will enhance richness andbody rather than brightness. But each to hisown taste. D.H.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITSHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5. inD Minor. National Symphony Orchestra,Mstislav Rostropovich cond. DEUTSCHEGRAMMOPHON 0 2532 076 $12.98, 3302076 $12.98.

Performance FreewheelingRecording: Powerful

Mstislav Rostropovich's epic reading of theShostakovich Fifth Symphony is condi-tioned not only by his own temperament butalso by his long friendship with the compos-er and the circumstances of their parting in1974 when Rostropovich felt compelled toleave his homeland. (The conductor de-scribes that parting in the jacket notes inthe most deeply poignant way.) Epic andfreewheeling would be the appropriateterms for this reading. There are plenty oftempo modifications and rubato, but the lis-tener's attention is held from first note tolast. The opening pages are bleak indeed, asthey are also in the revelatory London re-cording by Bernard Haitink with the Am-sterdam Concertgebouw. The use of rubatoin the Mahleresque scherzo gives it an un-usual lilt and adds a bit more edge to itsimplied satire. The slow -movement climaxachieves almost unbearable ferocity, andthe controversial finale becomes even moreso thanks to Rostropovich's very deliberatetempos, which somewhat recall those ofYevgeny Mravinsky. The close is ultrasol-emn and emphatic.

The National Symphony is not the mostrefined ensemble, but it is certainly an im-mensely spirited group, somewhat like theMarlboro Festival musicians when theyplayed under the late Pablo Casals. And thepowerful and gutsy recorded sound pro-vided by Deutsche Grammophon is whollyappropriate. D.H.

98 STEREO REVIEW

R. STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40.New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehtacond. CBS 0 IM 37756, © IMT 37756, nolist price.

Performance Basically extrovertedRecording Very good

Zubin Mehta's treatment of Strauss's auto-biographical character study takes quite adifferent tack from that of its most recentpredecessor, the reading, also digitally mas-tered, by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Sym-phony. By stressing character and lyricalcontent Ozawa manages to make the piecealmost endearing, but Mehta's protagonistis a bit more macho-very decisive andalert in the opening pages. The effect of dig-ital mastering is readily apparent in the finedetails of the critics' episode, and concert-master Glenn Dicterow, with his hot fiddletone, skillfully makes the "helpmate" bothfiery and skittish.

The battle scene could have used a bitmore weight on the low -end transients, butMehta and his players are most impressivein the unison recapitulation. From therethrough the recollection episodes up to thepoint of the final pages, both interpretationand execution are at peak level-the out-bursts of wrath are truly splendid! In theepilogue, however, I get the feeling that ourHero is not just savoring the fruits of lifefulfillment, he is about to fall into a deepsleep. But this is the only disappointment ina performance that is often distinguishedand excellently recorded. D.H.

VERDI: Arias (see Collections-Kiri TeKanawa)

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITVERDI: I Masnadieri. Joan Sutherland (so-prano), Amalia; Samuel Ramey (bass),Massimiliano; Franco Bonisolli (tenor),Carlo; Matteo Manuguerra (baritone),Francesco; Arthur Davies (tenor), Arminio;Simone Alaimo (bass), Moser; John Harris(baritone), Rolla. Chorus and Orchestra ofthe Welsh National Opera, Richard Bon-ynge cond. LONDON O LDR 73008 threediscs $38.94, © LDR5 73008 two cassettes$38.94.


Schiller's throbbing, epic, and rather un-wieldy play Die Rauber (The Highway-men) may have been a problematic subjectfor an opera, but in the opinion of Verdi'sfriend Andrea Maffei, the literary scholar,it presented "such a varied and telling un-folding of emotions and events, that I knowof no other literary work which could offersituations more suited to music." Maffei'slibretto for 1 Masnadieri (1847) catches theunbridled youthful spirit of the play and re-sponds to it with the occasionally raw vigorand wide-ranging emotions that character-ize Verdi's "risorgimenio- operas. Musical-ly the opera stands high among the earlyVerdi works. The vocal writing for all theprincipals is superb, with a quartet in thefinale of Act I that looks ahead to Rigakiloonly three years later.

I Masnadieri was introduced in London,and the music Verdi wrote for its principalfemale character, Amalia, was fashionedfor Jenny Lind's light lyric voice and colora-

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tura agility. It also appears to be an effec-tive part for Joan Sutherland, whose farfrom limitless expressive means are yet am-ple to lend credibility to Amalia's tragicpredicament. She does not quite succeed inmaking the ornamentations of her first aria,"Lo sguardo avea degli angeli," seem likeorganic parts of the music, as CabeIle did inthe earlier Philips set, but overall herachievement commands admiration.

Franco Bonisolli's occasionally stirringbut somewhat untidy singing as Carlo iscertainly no match for Carlo Bergonzi's ele-gant vocalizing in the Philips set, but thereare passages where Bonisolli's sturdiersound is more appropriate. Only in Otellowill you find a baser operatic villain thanCarlo's wicked brother Francesco, andMatteo Manuguetra has never had anytrouble capturing evil characters with hispotent, snarling baritone. Samuel Rameyfinds some of Massimiliano's noble, pater-nal music too low for real comfort, but else-where his sound is rich and smoothly flow-ing. The part of Moser, a minister whoserves as Francesco's voice of conscience,also calls for a more resonant bass voice,though Simone Alaimo is an able enoughinterpreter.

The Chorus and Orchestra of the WelshNational Opera perform efficiently, andRichard Bonynge provides knowing leader-ship without quite matching the ultimatefinish of Lamberto Gardelli's work with theNew Philharmonia Orchestra on Philips.Interpolated high notes abound under Bon-

ynge's more permissive direction, to the ob-vious relish of his soprano and his tenor;even Manuguerra helps himself to an un-written high A -flat. The recorded sound isfine. G.J.

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons. 1 Solisti Ven-eti, Claudio Scimone cond. RCA/Eitovro 0NUM 75054 $10.98, MCE 75054$10.98.

Performance. LanguidRecording: Thick

Except for the lush string sound of I SolistiVeneti, there is nothing to recommend thisreading of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The per-formance is romantically conceived; thestrings slip and slide around, emasculatingVivaldi's rhythmic drive, and transform themusic's tautness to mush. Supported by agussied-up continuo of harpsichord, organ,and theorbos, solo violinist Piero Tososounds like a gypsy roasting marshmallowsover Sterno. S.L.

WAGNER: The Ring of the Nibelung (Or-chestral Excerpts). Vienna PhilharmonicOrchestra, Sir Georg Solti cond. LONDONLDR 71112 $12.98, © LDR5 71112$12.98.

Performance: Competent, but . . .

Recording: Close-up

Sir Donald Tovey called the usual potpourriof "orchestral highlights" from the Wagneroperas "bleeding chunks of butcher

meat!" Although George Szell, WilliamSteinberg, Leopold Stokowski, and ArturoToscanini presented some pretty effectiverebuttals to this view in their best presenta-tions of Wagner excerpts, this record makesme think Sir Donald was right after all.

The Ride of the Valkyries is here cutfrom the usual five and a half minutes tojust over three. The Entrance of the Godsinto Valhalla entirely lacks the Rhinemaid-ens' song-there is just an awkward pause,then the sword motif that introduces thecoda. Siegfried's Funeral Music ends on asuspension for which the portion of the Im-molation Scene, beginning with Brunn-hilde's leap into the funeral pyre, is hardly asatisfactory continuation. Then, for somereason, the close of Die Walkure is given inits extended concert version!

Although the performances as such areon the usual high level of competence wewould expect from the artists involved, therecord is obviously packaged for the televi-sion audience that has been following thevisually perverse but often musically fasci-nating Chereau/Boulez Bayreuth Ring (re-corded in its entirety on Philips). But afterwhat Sir Georg Solti accomplished with thelate John Culshaw for London/Decca in thefirst complete stereo recording of the Ring,1 think this release is a demeaning disgracethat serves neither Wagner, the public, northe performers. The sound, moreover, is tooclosely focused for my taste. D. H .


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COLLECTIONS

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITJOZSEF GREGOR: The Great BuffoScenes. Mozart: Zaide: Wer hungrig beider Tafel sitzt. Die Entfiihrung aus demSerail: Solche hergelaufne Laffen; Ha! wiewill ich triumphieren. Le nozze di Figaro:La vendetta. Rossini: I! barbiere di Siviglia:A un dottor della mia sorte. La Cenerento-la: Miei rampolli. femminini; Sia qualun-que delle figlie. Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore:Udite, udite, o rustici. Don Pasquale:Ah un foco insolito; Cheri, cheti, immanti-nente (with Istvan Gati, baritone). .16zsefGregor (bass); Hungarian State OperaChorus; Savaria Symphony Orchestra,Tamas Pal cond. HUNGAROTON SLPX12359 $10.98.

Performance ExcellentRecording ExCellent

The impressive gifts of Hungarian bassoJozsef Gregor have been revealed on pre-vious Hungaroton releases but never beforeto such an extent. In these scenes he is in histrue element, and he proves himself to be afine and seasoned comic artist who trulysings his arias without resorting to excessivebuffo tricks. In the thoughtful annotationthe artist himself has provided for this reci-tal, he explains his approach to the variouscharacters he impersonates: "I can onlybreathe life into a character if I feel I couldaccept him as my friend."

I recommend this disc in every possibleway. Gregor's well -trained voice displays anuncommon range and flexibility. He is clearin diction, fluent in patter, secure inrhythm, and firmly centered on pitch (andwhat a blessing it is to find that quality in abasso nowadays). The repertoire too is com-mendable: very few of these arias are avail-able on individual discs. The orchestra issomewhat unassertive but plays well, andthe recorded sound is fine. (Savaria, orSzombathely, the orchestra's home, is a

small Hungarian city near the Austrianborder.) G.J.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITCHRISTOPHER HOGWOOD: KeyboardMusic. Bull: Fantasia. Philips: Galiardapassamezzo. Farnaby: Farnaby's Dreame;His Rest; Farnaby's Conceit; His Humour.Johnson/Byrd: Pavana Delight; Galiarda.Gibbons: Fantasia; The Italian Ground;Lincoln's Inn Masque; The Queen's Com-mand. C. P. E. Bach: Fantasy in C Major;Sonata No. 2. Arne: Sonata No. 3, in GMajor; Sonata No. 6, in G Minor. Christo-pher Hogwood (keyboards). L'OISEAU-LYRE DSLO 609 $10.98.

Performance: First-rateRecording: First-rate

Armed with a battery of harpsichords, or-gans, and virginals, as well as a spinet, afortepiano, and a clavichord (eleven instru-ments in all), Christopher Hogwood again

reveals his tremendous talent for makingmusic on all manner of early keyboard in-struments. One of the delights of this albumis hearing the striking difference in thetimbres of these instruments. Side two isparticularly dramatic. First you hearC. P. E. Bach on the fortepiano and then onthe clavichord. (Do not be tempted to turnthe volume up for the latter-enjoy its soft,dulcet tones as they are.) The sudden returnto the brilliance of the eighteenth -centuryEnglish harpsichord in the magnificentArne sonatas is thrilling.

Hogwood has a keen knowledge of au-thentic performance practice, and he playsvery intelligently, with crisp articulation,bristling ornamentation, and a strong senseof rhythm. His consistently fine musician-ship and the first-rate sound make this rec-ord thoroughly satisfying. S.L.

CYPRIEN KATSARIS: Variations. Liszt:Variations on "Wei nen, Klagen, Sorgen.Zagen." Rachmaninoff: Variations on aTheme by Chopin, Op. 22. Schumann: Ex-ercices (WoO 3!). Cyprien Katsaris (pi-ano). TELEFUNKEN 0 6.42787 $12.98.

Performance: CommittedRecording. Vivid

None of these three works in variation formis exactly overexposed, and Schumann's"Etudes in the Form of Free Variations on aTheme by Beethoven" appears to be a re-cording premiere. The Exercices were com-posed during 1831 and 1832, revised twice

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LYLE CANT101161Dept ST Box 69Brooktyn, N.Y. 11211

tereos_ Nowxpress-T- (714) 594-5749

CALL US WITH YOUR BEST PRICEMost Orders Shipped Same Day

AUDIOYAMAHA ADS BOSE ONKYOSONY HAFLER H K BRAUN

PHASE LINEAR DBX ADCOM SAEJBL AR JVC CONCORD AIWA

ORTOFON TECHNICS MICRO SEIKIAND MANY MORE

VIDEOSONY RCA JVC

VCR S CAMERAS BLANK TAPESATARI & MAT TEL VIDEO GAMESCall Or Write For Price Quotes

709 Brea Canyon Rd., Suite 9. Walnut, CA 91789

BEST IN THE WEST! Hatfler, Nakamichi, Dahlquist, DCM.Magneplanar, Beveridge, APT, Threshold, Polk, 0-acle.Barg & Olufsen, B&W, Adcom. Rocky Mountain HI-FI, 812Central, Great Falls, MT 59401. (4061761-8683.

ACCURATE. QUALITY AUDIO: Reasonable Prices Car/Home. Denco. P.O. Box 6104-R. El Monte, CA 91734 (213)961-6158 Evenings, Weekends. Monthly Specials.

OHM, SNELL, PERREAUX, ASTATIC, N.A.D., 3D, Oracle,Conrad Johnson. Walker, Thiel, Audioquest, Amber, Dy-navector, Cizek etc. Shipping paid. Audio File, 1202 SouthCongress, Austin, Texas 78704. (512) 443-9295.

CABLE TV CONVERTERS & EQUIPMENT. Plans and

parts. Build or buy. For more information send $2.30: C

& D ELECTRONICS INC., P.O. Box 21, Jenison, MI 49428.

LOWEST PRICES. NAKAMICHI, JBL, DBX, HK andMORE. Dynamic Sound, Box 168(A), Starkville, MS39759. (601) 323-0750. 1 P.M. -9 P.M.

FREE CATALOG -LOWEST DISCOUNT PRICES on

Steleo/esoteric components and accessories for theborne and car: Sony, Bose, JVC, AR, SAE, other 'high

quality" brands. AUDIO UNLIMITED, 1798A Technol-

ogy Drive, San Jose, CA 95110. (408) 279-0122, 1-6, M-

Th.

ATTENTION HAFLER DH -200, DH -220 OWNERS: We

have all new high performance circuits for Hafler ampli-

fiers. Not a "modification", but FIVE new PC cards and

a 40,000 Mfd power supply. Call or write: JENSENSSTEREO SHOP, Dept SR6, 2202 River Hills Drive,

Bumsville, Minnesota 55337. (612) 890-3517.

WOOFERS-MID-TWEETERS-X-OVERS. THE BEST SE-

LECTION AND PRICES and now TOLL -FREE ORDER-

ING. 1-800-221.0251 (orders only -min. order $25.00).

ALL new 32 page Catalog with kit plans, polypropylene

woofers and complete technical specifications. C.O.D.

orders accepted For 1983 catalog send $1.00 to: SRC

Audio, Dept. SR, 3238 Towerwood Dr., Dalias, TX 75234,

(214) 243-4145.

QUALITY, USED AUDIO EQUIPMENT, Newsletter:hundreds of listings. items for sale. items sought. pub-lished 6X annual y $6 one year subscription. Hard to findaudiophile records! Play it Again Sam. 12611 -SR. Madi-son Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio 44107. (216)228-0040 MC,Visa.

FREE SPEAKER CATALOG! Woofers, mids, tweeters,hardware, crossovers, grille cloth, plans, kits, informa-tion, much more. Discount prices! UNIVERSAL SOUND,Dept SR, P.O. Box 36052, Sarasota, FL 33283. (813) 953-5363.

DISCOUNT CAR STEREO 130 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

PRICES TOO LOW TO LISTMANUFACTURER'S NAMES

MOV BRE. MOST MAJOR BRANDS fof,tfrfsmomforfum.off

---4 Q1111117-, 15. 61665.6670

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HARMAN-KARDON, Crown, Revox, DBX, Denon, Carver,

Hafler, Electro-Voice, DCM, Ortofon, SME, Thorens. Best

prices -Professional Consultation. East: (904) 262-

4000; West: (213) 840-0878.

0 1-800-431-3232 Q tii1.1 111111111111WirinHit" 9s e-

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NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES!NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES!NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES!

GENUINES lowest prices, +CARTRIDGES +MICRO-PHONES, COD OK. CALL: audiofon 800-431-3232,(212) 438-6400 Mon -Fri 10AM-7PM FOR CONSUL-TATION & TO ORDER.

SAVE 75%. BUILD YOUR OWN SPEAKERS, Crossovers,

Woofers, Mids, Tweeters. Instructions. Hi-Fi, Pro, Auto.

Send $2.00 for catalog -refundable. DKI Audio, Davis, IL

61019.

HI,..Th-END SPEAKER KITS, raw drivers and auto speakersystems from the world's finest manufacturers. For be-ginners and audiophiles. Audax, Dynaudio. Dalesford,Jordan, JVC. SEAS, Morel, Siare. Free price list. A&SSPEAKERS, BOK 7462S, Denver, CO 80207. (303) 399-8609.

HAFLER IN STOCK TRADES ACCEPTED. Morel Elec-tronics, 57 Park Place -SR, New York, NY 10007. (212) 964-4570.

DYNACO OWNERS: 60,000 LBS parts/accessories/kits.Advent, Audio Control. Celestion, Marantz others. FREECATALOG. SCC, Box 551 (SR6X83), Dublin, Ohio 43017,(614) 889-2117.

BANG & OLUFSEN, Carver, ADS, Revox. Reasonable

prices Soundcrest Inc., (201) 756-4858.

FREE! 1983 CATALOGUE.1001 bargains. Speakers -parts -

tubes -high fidelity components -record changers -tape

recorders -kits. Everything in electronics. Write: McGEE

RADIO & ELECTRONICS, 1901 McGee Street, Kansas

City, MO 64108-1891.

AUDIO DISCOUNTS offers quality audio equipment in-cluding esoterics and car stereo at DISCOUNT PRICES!Monday thru Saturday call: (301) 593-8833. AUDIO DIS-COUNTS. 1026 McCeney, Silver Spring, MD 20901. VISA,M/C, C.O.D. for your convenience.

FREE SPEAKERKIT CATALOG. 17 proven designs. Also,40 pages on 400 components, (JBL, ribbons, polypropyl-enes) $2. GOLD SOUND. Box 141SR, Englewood, CO80151.(303)789-5310.

CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-826-0520 for Acoustat, Dahl-quist, SAD, Carver, Denon, Thorens, Hailer, dbx, Tand-berg, VSP, Grace, Grado, Dynavector, 3D, B&W, Proton,Belles, Snells, Nitty Gritty, Stax, Sota, Perreaux, AsiaticOracle, Pyramid, Walker, M&K, CWD, Audioquest. THESOUND SELLER. 1706 Main St., Marinette, WI 54143, (715)735-9002.

NAKAMICHI Shamefully Low Prices. New and used. BX-2. LX -2, LX -5, ZX-7. ZX-9, Dragon. AuchoWorkShop, (206)323-4987.

PEOPLE WHO KNOW STEREO BUY THEIR SOUND DI-RECT. Now YOU can buy the finest In hi -fidelity compo-nents, including esoterics and auto sound, at unheard ofprices DIRECT SOUND MARKETING provides sensible,expert advice, INHOUSE SERVICE FACILITIES and fac-tory fresh components on an in stock basis. DiscoverAmericas best kept audio secret. Send for our free cat-alogues to: DIRECT SOUND MARKETING, Dept. S, 3095Bolling Way, Atlanta, Georgia 30305 or call (404) 233-9500.114/C, VISA, AMEX accepted. Sales tax charged toGeorgia residents only.

BEST PRICE & IN STOCK, ARC, Thorens, RGR, Hailer,Kyoce.a, Onkyo, Technics, B&W, Meridian, Vander-steen, Dynavector, Snell, Tascam, Spendor, Bryston....P.K. Audio, 4773 Convention St., B.R., LA 70806. (504) 924-1001.

LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICES ANYWHERE, Full war-ranty -Fast delivery. Audio, Video, Car stereo. Com-puters, Software. Video games, Telephones, more!!Electra ed Discounters, 996 Orange Ave., West Haven. CT06516. MC/VISA, (203) 937-0106.

SONY DIGITAL: COP:101, PCM-70Ies, PCM-Fl: HAF-

LER, PS AUDIO, ACOUSTAT, PYRAMID, GRADO, STAX,

DYNAVECTOR, dbx, THORENS. Authorized dealer, free

shipping (617) 547-2727. Q Audio, 95 Vassar, Cam-bridge, MA 02139. Buy -sell -trade -consign new/used.

MC/VISA/AMEX. COD ok.

MONSTER CABLE. 690 per ft. cut to any length. We carryall Morster Cable accessories. Hafler, Precision Fidelity,Systemdek, Alpha I moving coil cartridge, Maxell UDXL 0,C90 $2 39 each, TDK SA90 $2.29 each, minimum of 12. Callor write for other great prices. $3.00 shipping charge. MCand VISA. Trolley Stereo, 451 Moody St., Waltham, MA02154617)924-3336.

ELECTRACRAFT-features Aiwa. Audio Control, B&O,Concord, Dahlquist, DCM, Denon. Grado, Hafler, IslandSound, Linear, Mitsubishi. NAD, NEC, Signet, Snell, Thiel.ELECTRACRAFT, 212 North First Avenue. Sandpoint,Idaho 83864, (208)263-9516.

CLEARANCE SALE! FONS MARK I turntables. As Is WhereIs. $75.00 each, 2/$130.00. Lot prices available. Coloradoresidents add tax. Lord Brothers, P.O. Box 6430, Denver,CO 80206. (303) 534-7590.

HIGH PERFORMANCE AUDIO KITS. PHONO. EQUALIZ-ERS. DELAY and more. Send for FREE catalog. PHOENIXSYSTEMS, 91 Elm Street, Manchester, Connecticut 06040.(2031643-4484.

ATTN: AUDIOPHILE BARGAIN HUNTERS! THE SOURCEoffers cost -saving prices on a wide variety of high qualityaudio components. You can become a member of the mostinnovative buying group in the world. Our subscribersbenefit from our efforts to provide the lowest prices, mostextensive selection and highest quality of service avail-able anywhere. Our regularly published newsletter con-tains industry news, new product updates, equipmentreviews and an assortment of quality products at pricesthat are simply too low to advertise. We also frequently of-fer "next year's" models for sale even before they reach theU.S.A. officially. The cost, only $15.00 per year (approx. 8issues) includes a credit certificate of equal value. Our in-formative brochure and buyer's guide. "How To Buy Hi Fi"is available for only $2.00. Please call or write for addi-tional information. THE SOURCE. 20 Nassau St.. Prince-ton. NJ 08540. 1-609-921-0800. Canadian. overseas anddealer inquiries are invited. TELEX 833040. We honor allmajor credit cards and will ship COD with a small deposit.

CALL US! Conrad -Johnson, Hafler, Perreaux, PS Audio,

Krell, Amber, Denon, NAD, VSP Labs, Adcom, Audio -

source, DCM, ADS, Boston Acoustics, Ohm, Rogers,

Tandberg, Thorens, Grace, Grado, Nitty Gritty, VPI, Dy-

navector, more. AUTOMOTIVE: Concord, Kenwood, Lin-

ear Power, Zapco, more. Friendly, expert consultation.

Fast, free shipping. MC/VISA. REFERENCE AUDIOSYSTEMS, 18214 Dalton Avenue, Gardena, CA 90248.

(213) 398-4205.MUSIC LOVERS AND AUDIOPHILES!! We are proud toannounce the GRAND OPENING of "APPLE AUDIO",featuring the finest such as: ADS, Amber, Audio Pro, Au-dio Control, Beyer, Blaupunkt, Celestion, Dynavector,Grace, Grundig, GEM, Last, Monster Cable, Sherwood,Sumiko, Sony, Thorens, 3D Acoustics, Ortofon, Ungo Boxand more! Professional installations on Car Audio andAlarms. FREE SHIPPING IN USA. Feel free to call for in-formation. Open 7 days. 220 Volts Electronics for over-seas also available. APPLE AUDIO, 74-18 37th Ave.,Jackson Heights, NY 11372. EXIT BROADWAY/ROOSE-VELT ON BOE (278). MC/VISA, Tel: 212-507-0561.

ATTENTION SOUTHERN AUDIOPHILES Nakamichi, PolkAudio, Dahlquist, Carver. Ortofon, Jensen, Fultron. Pro-ton. NAD. Yamaha. SOUND ADVICE, Village Plaza, Rus-ton, LA 71270,318-255-8000.

CONNECTICUT: APT -Holman. Carver, Dahlquist. DCMTime Windows, Haller, Mitsubishi, Nakamichi, Ortofon.Micro -Acoustics. N.A.D., Signet, Marcoff, Boston Acous-tics. B&W, Walker. Dynavector, Proton. Thorens. Fourier,Panasonic, Pioneer. Sanyo. KLH, will ship prepaid.SOUNDS INCREDIBLE, 39 Federal Road, Brookfield, CT06804. Phone quotes only call Ira, (203) 775-1122.

SUPER NEW IMPORT! Tectron T-851 M sounds better thanany $65 list phono cartridge or return in 15 days for full re-fund. $29.95+$2.00 shipping. Calif. add 6% WOA Market-ing, 1516 Pacific Ave.. Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

PERSONALIZE YOUR CASSETTE recordings with de-signer inserts. Money back guarantee. Set of 8/53.00. WestCoast Innovations. Box 7055B. Mission Hills. CA 9134E-7055.

TOWNE TAPE --Special Offer." T.D.K. tapes S.A. 90. $1.79plus 0100 for shipping. Minimum case/10 tapes. Send:M.O. or Certified check. Sorry no C.O.D. to: Towne Tape,Dept. 10A, 496 Elmwood Ave.. Buffalo, NY 14222. Tel: 716-884 2677 Allot, 4 6 v:90,

The Lowest Priceon Stereo Advice

,'lane tali gets you Me 1005 MCPnie chaosmg a stereo easier See how helpful

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IDA MAR 90Tat( MA 90TPA SAX 90TDK SA90Tel( SA 60TPA ADO 90TOK AD 90TEXACO()TDK D90TDK Co 60TDK LX 35.90TDK LX 35 900TDK 00.01 DEMAGFWI FR METAL 90FUPFRIo11190OSCWASHER DISC KITOISCWASHER 0-4

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NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES! NEEDLES!



GENUINES lowest prices, +CARTRIDGES +MICRO-

PHONES, COD OK. CALL: audiofon 800-431-3232,(212) 438-6400 Mon -Fri 10AM-7PM FOR CONSUL-

TATION & TO ORDER.

UNPRESSURED, PERSONALIZED CONSULTATION andlowest prices on a variety of superb components. COM-MUNITY AUDIO, 318 West Duval, Philadelphia, PA 19144.(215) 843-9918.

ATTENTION HEADPHONE USERS, sound professionals.Finally available Binaural Converter. Restores space per-spective. Industrial Cybernetics. P.O. Box 2477. SantaBarbara, CA 93120.

COMPACT DIGITAL DISC and PLAYERS, VSP, SONY ES,HAFLER, FRIED kit. KLIPSCH. SAE. CARVER, NAKAMI-CHI. more. In stock. Immediate. FREE shipping! READBROTHERS STEREO. 593-B King Street, Charleston,South Carolina 29403. (803) 723-7276.

TAPES & RECORDERSOLD TIME RADIO -original broadcasts on quality tapes.Free catalog. Carl R. Froelich. Route One, New Freedom.Pennsylvania 17349.

1400.2464000TAPE WORLD

JVC a SONY T 120 929 MAXELL. TIN T.120. 1.750 HyGnaft 10 49TOO MA.90 439 MAXELL. TOO T.120. L.750 845MK SAX.90 319 MAXELL Mlor 16-90 349MK ADX-90 299 MAXELL UDXL la IC.210 249TDK SA -90 7 19 MAXELL UM& 1o, IC.80 229IDK SA.60 189 MAXELL 1113-93 219TDK AD.90 159 MAXELL XL 135908 649MK AD60 149 MAXELL U035-913 539TOM 090 129 SONY UCXS.90 259TDK D60 I 15 TIM He 0.190 Damp 1 1399WE WILL mONOR ANY CC9APETITORS PACE OF THE TOTAL ORDER3 75 Snmano any Dal coda 0 US v15A. MC no woo comp COO Pal 165Mormon COD MON 40 00 PA MA Sams Tr Moo 2 woMa kr binary323 Boman Ave. Box 361 &AYR PA 111001 4124034121

OPEN REEL TAPES. Prerecorded. Catalogue $1.00.Bar-clay-Crocker, 313-S Mill Street. Poughkeepsie. NY 12601.

1930-1962 RADIO PROGRAMS. Beats Television!! Tapes,$1.00 Hour! Established esteemed dealer. Informative 275page catalog. $1.25. AM Treasures. Box 192SR, Babylon.N.Y. 11702.

Oucilifiquj TopesBELOW WHOLESALE SPECIALS

639 MAXELL MX C 90 4094 29 MAXELL XL II SC 90 3293 09 MAXELL UDXL II C.90 2 492 15 MAXELL UOXL II C.60 2 25I85 mAXELL UOC,90 215265 MAAELL UO 35-90 5251 85 MAXELL ALI 35.9013 639145 SONY UCXS 90 2451 15 SONY uCX 90 2 35

99 SONY FECR 90 1795 IS SONY LN8 90 I 10

555 SOHN, LNX 60 9513 89 BASF PRO Al C 904 39 5 TAPES FREE CAR BOX 1295269 VIDEO

33 49 TIM MAXELL 1 120 8 45TOO MAXELL T 120110 10 95SONY L500500 7 t5SONY L 750 845SONY L 75000 995

CALL NOw1. 212434-3417 or atter by mail,MIL) 50 shipping on 0,05,3 up to $70 Over S70 e. 5%e of lob! orderDouble above it parcel post Outside USA wile. AFC/Visa add handling.

QUALITY TAPES864 East 78 Street. Dept. SR10, Brooklyn. NY 11230

TAPE PLACE 800-645-6529 516-569-5976

FREE SONY BETA OFFER, S10 IN SPAULDING PRODUCTS WITHEACH SONY 3 PACK. CALL. FOR DETALS AND AVAILABLITYTDK SA90 $2.39 MAX UDXL290 $2.39TDK SA60 1 99 MAX UDXL290S 3.39TDK AD90 199 SONY UCX90 2.39TDK AD60 1 59 SONY UCX60 1.99TDK SAX90 3.25 SONY UCXS90 2.89TDK ADX90 299 SONY LNX90 1 19

TDK MAR90 6 49 SONY LNX60 99TDK MA90 4.39 SONY T120 999TDK 030 1 10 SONY L500 6.99TDK D60 1 10 SONY L750 8.99TOK D90 1.25 SONY L830 10.99TDK LX3590 519 FUJI T120 899TDK LX35180BM 18.60 ALLSOP 3 13.99TDK SX3590B 7.49 PANAT120 929TDK SA35180M 22 50 DISCKIT 33 49TDK T120. L750 899 Da SYSTEM 9.99TDK TI20EHG 11 49 TAPECARE KIT 9.99UPS SHIPPING WM-IIN 48 STATES ORDERS UP TO 570 ADD S3 50OVER S70 ADD 5% TO TOTAL ORDER ALL OTHER AREAS DOUBLETHE ABOVE MC/VISA WELCOME TAPE PLACE BOX 248 HOWARDBEACH. NY 11414

FREE CATALOG!! Complete selection of Consumer and

Industrial Audio/Video tape and accessory products.COMPETITIVE PRICES! PROMPT DELIVERY! Corpo-

rate/Bid Solicitations Welcome. Wyco Sales, Dept. SR,

P.O. Box 887, Cary, NC 27511. (919) 467-8113.

AMPEX 1800' 7" REEL TAPES. New! Boxed! Backcoated.10 reels $25.00. 20445.00. Add $4.00 shipping. Tower,Dunkirk, MD 20754-0213.

OLD RADIO PROGRAMS on cassettes and reels. Free In-troductory catalog. Radio Memories. Box 56S, California,MD 20619.

COLLECTORS items not sold in stores. Newly reissuedsoundtracks. shows, classicals. legendary performers.Also Quad. Catalogue. Stanyan. Box 2783. Hollywood. CA90078. Dept 104.

AUDIO SPECIALTY SHOPS

FOR ALL MUSIC LOVERS! We have the widest selectionof audio equipment available in all price ranges. Kyo-cera, Sherwood, Allison, Harmon-Kardon, Infinity, Aiwa,Thorens, Luxman, Hofler, Klipsch, SAE, Sennheiser andmore. Call for information or stop in. CONTINENTALSOUND, 98-77 Oueens Blvd., Rego Park, NY 11374. (212)459-7507. Immediate Delivery. MC/VISA.

KLIPSCH, CROWN, DENON, NAKAMICHI, ADS, Lux -

man etc. Outstanding sound rooms. Visit us! Openanytime by appointment. Ideal Acoustics, 110 Willow

Rd., Starkville, MS 39759, (601) 324-1020.

CENTRAL KENTUCKY'S AUDIOPHILE CENTER!! As-iatic. Audioquest, Belles Research, Counterpoint, Janis,Koetsu, Linn, Pyramid, OLN, Snell, 3D Acoustics, CJWalker, JVC Video. Sony Video. SOUND AUDIO, 153Patchen Dr., Lexington, KY 40502. 606-269-4118. For in-formation call or send SASE.

WHAT IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY TO BUY AUDIO?Getting what you want! You test drive your car, why not yourfuture AUDIO gear. To find out how you can -call: SALONONE AUDIO, (715) 425-5910. 19121 West Grand, Wiscon-sin Rapids, WI 54494.

RECORDS

SHOW ALBUMS, Rare, Out -of -Print LP's. 64 pg. list. $1.00.Broadway/Hollywood Recordings. Georgetown, Conn.06829. STORE: 68 Sugar Hollow (Route 7) Danbury, Conn.

COLLECTORS' Soundtracks. Mint. List $1 (refundable).Jemm's, P.O. Box 157, Glenview, Ill. 60025.

RARE ORIGINAL RECORDS. all kinds, mostly mint. 5000list $2.00, refundable. Carl, Box 828, Princeton. NC 27569.

DIRECT -DISC, DIGITAL, half -speed mastered, DBX en-coded, and YSL Japanese Pressings. Send $1.00 for cat-alog. DISConnection. P.O.Box 10705, Tampa. FL 33679.

RECORD COLLECTORS SUPPLIES. S.S.B. Cardboardjackets. 500. Plastic lined sleeves. 150. Opera boxes, 78sleeves. etc. Postage $2.00. FREE CATALOG. VISA -MCphone orders, 614-299-0476. 614-272-6715 DAY ORNIGHT. CABCO. 400-3. Box 8212, Columbus, Ohio 43201.

PROTECT your LP's -Poly sleeves for jackets 130; SquareBottom Inner Sleeves 80; Poly lined paper 150 white jack-ets 350. Postage $2.50. Record House. Hillburn, N.Y.10931.

THOUSANDS of like new LPs, prerecorded tapes cata-logue $2.50. Records. Hillburn. New York 10931.

OVER 700 AUDIOPHILE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE! De-tailed monthly Bulletin offers latest releases, Specialsales and more. 20% off initial order! Send for FREE cat-alogue issue. The Essentials Marketing, Dept SR -103,Box 7724, Eugene, OR 97401.

SOUNDTRACKS -New and out -of -print film music re-cordings. Free listings. CINE MONDE RECORDS. 1488Vallejo St., San Francisco, CA 94109.

FREE IMPORT RECORD CATALOGUE! Finest quality rock,new wave, audiophile pressings from Japan. Europe, UK.Large selection. Huge Inventory. 24 hour service.STRAIGHT LINE MARKET, P.O. Box 8822-E, Durham, NC27707.

ORION RECORDS, CASSETTES, $8.00 each postpaid.$7.00, three or more. Free catalog. Box 4087, Malibu, CA90265.

AUDIOPHILE ALBUMS, COMPACT DISCS! DISCOUNTPRICES! Prompt shipping. FREE catalog. FOR THE RE-CORD, Box 21201 PP, Columbus, OH 43221.

ORGAN AND CHORAL RECORDS. For free catalog write:Gothic Records, P.O. Box 1576-F, Tustin, CA 92681.

INDIANA'S FINEST JAZZ AND FOLK: REDBUD REC-ORDS! Send $1.00 for catalogue. 611(s) Empire Mill,Bloomington, IN 47401. VISA/MC (812) 824-2400. Imme-diate Delivery.

TV VIEWERS,et t: weekly.erriey.t cumf.dete weekly I, .t4i,i

Send SI for sample copy.

JAPANESE RECORDS! Thousands of high quality Japa-nese records available, including the largest in -stock in-ventory and anextensive special order catalog. Send $1.00for our complete catalog, which also features imports fromover 30 countries. Paradox Music Mail Order, 20445 Gra-mercy Place, P.O. Box 2896, Torrance, CA 90509. (213) 320-1331, MC/VISA. AMEX. Established 1978.

-COMPACT DISCS Also. CURRENT& HARD TO FIND

ALBUMS & CASSETTESWRITE FOR MUSICSUPERMART

PO. BOX 1635GIANT CATALOG FIESEDA,CA 91335

OUT -OF -PRINT LP'S (no rock/classical)-Free list: Dav-idson, 6114 Gist, Baltimore, MD 21215.

COMPACT DIGITAL DISCS exclusively -in stock -catalog $1,refundable with order. Ethel Enterprises, P.O. Box 3310,Falls Church, VA 22043.

HAND NUMBERED LIMITED EDITIONS. Rare and unis-sued boxed sets with booklets. Monk, Mulligan. Am-mons/Lewis. For information write: MOSIAC RECORDS,1341 Ocean Ave., Suite 135S, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

WANTED

CASH FOR Unwanted LP's, Prerecorded Reel/Reel TapesRader, Box 323S. Hillburn, NY 10931.

WANTED: MUSIC LOVERS to review and rate nationallyreleased rock albums. Receive Free album in exchange foryour opinion-Music Poll! Write: Class -A -Researching.Box 07023(SR), Milwaukee, WI 53207.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

ERASE DEBTS with little-known law-CREATE wealth!Details FREE-WealthKit, No. DD10. Billings. N.Y. 12510.

MAILOR DER OPPORTUNITY! Start profitable homebusiness without experience or capital. Information free.Mail Order Associates, Dept. 52, Montvale, NJ 07645.

BORROW $300-$30.000 INTEREST FREE! Keep indef-initely! Free Details. Write: American, 1601 Main, Plain-field, Indiana 46168.

AMAZING PROFITS SELLING How to Make Money Books!Details $1.00. Tom, 298"S" Sandbug Lane, North Bend,OR 97459.

SALES REPRESENTATIVE. Part Time-For large na-tional audio distributor. Knowledge of audio equipmentimportant. Many areas still open. Call 9AM to 9PM daily ortill 5PM Saturdays. International Distributors, Baltimore,MD 21206, Phone 1-301-488-9600.

ELECTRONIC REPRESENTATIVES NEEDED! Lowestpossible prices!! Over 100 brands! Audio, Video, CarStereo, Computers. Electronic Experts, 1000 Orange Ave.,West Haven, CT 06516.

INSTRUCTIONSYOUR OWN RADIO STATION! AM, FM, cable, licensed,unlicensed, low cost transmitters! Free information.Broadcasting. Box 130-R10, Paradise, CA 95969.

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by 1833, when they were dedicated to Cla-ra, and were never assigned an opus numberor published by Schumann. They did notappear in print until 1976. The Beethoventhemes that of the Allegretto of the Sev-enth Symphony. In one of the variations wehear a reference to the first movement ofthat work, and there are allusions to variousother Beethoven pieces, as well as re-minders of some of the better-known com-positions Schumann himself had in theworks at the time he was composing andpolishing this one. Cyprien Katsaris baseshis performance on Schumann's final ver-sion, and he goes all out in its behalf. Schu-mann's decision not to publish it is under-standable, though, for even in the hands ofso committed an advocate as Katsaris it isessentially a historical curiosity that addsnothing to the composer's stature.

The Rachmaninoff and Liszt variationsare on another plane altogether. Liszt'svariations on a theme from a Bach cantatais a work of considerable profundity fromhis "post -virtuoso" maturity, and the Rach-maninoff is an exhaustive and polished mas-terwork from one of his richest creative pe-riods. All three works are very well servedby Katsaris, by the digital recording, andnot least by Telefunken's Direct MetalMastering, which adds a considerable di-mension of vividness to the fine reproduc-tion of the piano. R.F.

KIRI TE KANAWA: Verdi and Puccini :tr-ims. Verdi: I/ Trovatore: Timor di me . .

D'amor rosee. Don Carlo: T1.4 the levanish conoscesti. La Traviata: E stra-no . . . ah, fors' P lui. Puccini: Le villi: Secome voi. Tosca: Vissi d'arte. La rondine:Chi it be! sogno di Doretta. La Boheme:Quando m'en vo' soletta. Manon Lescaut:In quelle trine morbide. Gianni Schicchi: 0mio babbino taro. Madama Butterfly: Unbe! di redremo. Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano);London Philharmonic Orchestra, John Prit-chard cond. CBS 0 IM 37298, Co IMT37298, no list price.

Performance Lovely, passionlessRecording Okay

In terms of musicianship, tonal refinement,and all-around vocal skill, Kiri Te Kanawaranks very high among today's sopranos.This recital yields some exceptional in-stances of her superior art: the lovely trillsin the Travatore aria and her execution ofthe soaring phrase "Ah, mio sogno! Ah,mia vita!" in Magda's aria fromLa rondineare but two instances.

Nevertheless, Verdi and Puccini do notseem to be the proper métier for this fineartist. At no time is she less than artistic orvocally satisfying, but true emotional in-volvement is rarely noticeable. Her Muset-ta, Lauretta, and Doretta seem tempera-mentally interchangeable and not far re-moved from her Tosca, and one would neverguess from her account of it here that But-terfly's "Un be! di" is supposed to be heart-rending. Least successful is the scene fromLa Traviata, where her intonation lapsesand the offstage tenor falls behind thebeat.

Deliberate tempos and bland orchestralsupport are of little help. The engineershave captured the beauty of Te Kanawa'stone, but the orchestral playing lacks depthand impact. G.J.

105

ADVERTISERS' INDEX IN

The Balk RepertoireBy Richard Freed

FnR some years critic Richard Freed, acontributing editor of STEREO REVIEW,

has listened to all available recordings ofthe nearly two hundred symphonic worksthat form the essential core of orchestralprograms and classical record collections,selecting those versions he considered thebest. We have published his choices in apamphlet, which we have updated annual-ly, and we are now publishing his selectionsof the best current recordings of the BasicRepertoire in a regular series in the mag-azine. If you want the pamphlet, the mostrecent updating (1982) is available for $1(check or money order) and a stamped(40c) self-addressed No. 10 envelope; sendto Basic Repertoire. P.O. Box 506. MurrayHill Station, New York. N.Y. 10156.

All the selections are two -channel analogstereo discs unless otherwise indicated byone of our usual symbols: ()for a digitallymastered analog disc. © for a digital Com-pact Disc, © for a stereo cassette, and, in afew instances, ® for a mono recording.

O FRANCK: Symphony in D Minor. De-spite sonic overload in some passages, thehalf-speed-remastered Monteux/Chicagorecording is perhaps the most persuasive ofall (RCA ATLI-4156, © ATKI-4156).The new Bernstein, a live performance withthe Orchestre National de France, isbroadly drawn, at times idiosyncratic, butfull of personality (DG 0 2532 050, © 3332050, (P) 400 070-2). Still extremely persua-sive are the economical versions under Bee-cham (Seraphim S-60012), Boult (Quintes-sence PMC-7050, P4C-7050), andGuido Cantelli (RCA AGLI -4083, ©AGK1-4083).

O GERSHWIN: An American in Paris.The new InSync cassette release of LeonardSlatkin's Saint Louis Symphony recordingshows how good a prerecorded cassette canbe and commands new admiration for theperformance itself (C 4106). On discs, andless costly (but far less impressive) cas-settes, try the same recording (TurnaboutQTV 34594; Vox QSVBX-5I32, © CBX-5132, 0 CT -210I) or the older ones by Fe-lix Slatkin (Seraphim S-60174, 4XG-60174), Bernstein (CBS MY 37242, ©MYT 37242), and Ormandy (CBS MS7258 or MG 30073; Odyssey © YT35496).

O GERSHWIN: Piano Concerto in F. TheEarl Wild/Arthur Fiedler recording is stilltops and the very best buy too in its newcassette release (RCA VCS -7097, ©CRK2-0783). The Entremont/Ormandy(CBS MS 7013 or MG 30073) and Siegel/Slatkin versions (Turnabout QTV 34703;Vox QSVBX-5132, CBX-5132, CT -2122) are also easy to take, and the well -paced Lowenthal/Abravanel fits conven-iently on a single side (Vanguard CardinalVCS- 10017).

106

GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue. Themost appealing uncut recordings are stillthose of Leonard Pennario, with Felix Slat -kin conducting (Seraphim S -60I74, 04XG-60I 74), and Eugene List, with Samu-el Adler conducting the original jazz -bandversion (Turnabout TV 34457, © CT -4457). The ones by Entremont and Orman-dy (CBS MS 7013, MG 30073, Odyssey ©YT 35496) and by Wild and Fiedler (RCAAGLI-3649, VCS -7097, © CRK2-0783)are not far behind. Bernstein's perform-ance, as both soloist and conductor, is su-perb, but he cuts the middle section (CBSMY 37242, MYT 37242).

O GRIEG: Piano Concerto in A Minor.Radu Lupu, with Previn, gives a radiantlysympathetic, straightforward performance(London CS 6840). Krystian Zimerman,with Karajan, is more dramatic but also abit overblown (DG 0 2532 043, © 3302043). Bargain hunters will delight in the su-perb, musicianly Curzon/Fjeldstad record-ing (London STS 15407, © STS5 15407)or the bright-eyed Bachauer/Weldon one(Seraphim S-60032), and the Lipatti/Gal-liera still has more than just historical value(Odyssey 8 32-16-0141, YT 60141).

O GRIEG: Peer Gynt. In a class by itself isPer Dreier's recording of absolutely all themusic Grieg composed for Ibsen's drama -thirty -two pieces, several with chorus or vo-cal soloists (Unicorn-Kanchana RHS 361/362). Outstanding among single -disc offer-ings are the somewhat different programsconducted by Beecham (Angel RL-32026,© 4RL-32026), Fjeldstad (London STS15040, STS5 15040), and Blomstedt(Angel S-37535). For the two concert suitesalone, try Ormandy's RCA remake with Ju-dith Blegen in Solvejg's Song (ARLI-2613,

ARKI-2613).

GROFE: Grand Canyon Suite. Bernsteinoutdoes even Toscanini in making thismuch -maligned work seem persuasive. Thelatest incarnation of his recording (CBSMY 37759, © MYT 37759) comes withGrofe's Mississippi Suite as filler (underKostelanetz), but the original one (MS6618) is more of a sonic showpiece.

O HANDEL: Water Music. Jean -FrancoisPaillard's spirited remake (Musical Heri-tage Society MHS 3092, © MHC 2152),the Collegium Aureum's "original instru-ments" performance (Quintessence PMC-7085, © P4C-7085), and the version by thePrague Chamber Orchestra under SirCharles Mackerras (Angel S-37532, ©4XS-37532) all show regard for authenticstyle and are well recorded. Rafael Kube-lik's big -orchestra version, with the BerlinPhilharmonic in stunning form (DG 138799), is also available, with cuts but sound-ing even more brilliant, coupled with theRoyal Fireworks Music (DG 138 864).

READERSERVICE NO ADVERTISER

i'AcENUMBER

5 Aiwa 67Akai America. Ltd 14

Angel EMI Records 9714 APT Corporation 8311 Audio-Technica U.S., Inc. 80

15 BASF 31Bose Corporation 59

Carver Corporation 19

42 Consumers Company 95Crutchfield Corp 43

19 Denon America. Inc Cover 310 Discount Music Club 239 Discwasher Cover 4

Herman Kardon, Inc 4

8 Hitachi 9

Illinois Audio ....

40 International HI -El Distributors. Inc87

... 96

Jack Daniel's 99JSB 29

39 J&R Music World 101

13 Jensen Car Audio 794 JVC 63

Kenwood Electronics 4223 Koss Corporation 53

1 Kyocera 25

24 LaBelle Camera 8 Stereo of Maine 8518 The LAST Factory 76

Marlboro 4927 Maxell Corp. of America 21

32 McIntosh Laboratory, Inc 83Memtek Products 7

Mitsubishi 12. 13Musical Heritage Society 91

22 Nagaoka 75Nakamichi 60

Phillip Morris /Players 417 Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc 38

37 Polk Audio 7746 P.R.I.C.E 102

Radio Shack 2

RCA International Preview Society 71

R. J Reynolds. Camel 68R. J. Reynolds, Salem 26R J. Reynolds Vantage 34

43 Sansui Electronics Corp 563 Sony Corp 37

12 Sony Corp 5529 Stereo IS Tape Outlet 9638 Stereo Corp of America 92

Stereo Discounters 95

48 TDK Electronics 456 Technics Cover 2, 1

16 Vivitar Corporation 10

17 Vivitar Corporation 11

56 Wisconsin Discount Stereo 100

Yamaha International Corp

OCTOBER 1983

33

STEREO REVIEW

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