April 2013

<http://www.stereophile.com/content//iframe> <p> At the <a href="http:http://www.stereophile.com/content//http://www.stereophile.com/content//www.stereophile.comhttp://www.stereophile.com/content//categoryhttp://www.stereophile.com/content//axpona-2013" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2014 AXPONA in Chicago<http://www.stereophile.com/content//a> in March, <a href="http:http://www.stereophile.com/content//http://www.stereophile.com/content//www.coolcleveland.comhttp://www.stereophile.com/content//homehttp://www.stereophile.com/content//" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cool Cleveland<http://www.stereophile.com/content//a> asked JA for his thoughts on the state of high-end audio. His answers might surprise you. <http://www.stereophile.com/content//p> <http://www.stereophile.com/content//body><http://www.stereophile.com/content//html><br/>Source : stereophile[dot]com</div> <script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb("summary5602521247803997977"); </script><span style='float:right;padding-top:5px;'><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/stereophile-editor-john-atkinson-on.html'><i>Read more…</i></a></span> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> <div class='post'> <h2><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/ifi-audio-idac-iusbpower-usb-da.html'>iFi Audio iDAC & iUSBPower USB D/A processor & outboard power supply</a></h2> <span class='post-header-line-1'></span> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class='post-body'> <div id='summary5510496070519242424'><html> <head></head> <body> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s1H_rCjTgYNUlvOEuxU3SbvOGl82K1dPrPBHqm7utbeTy5f-k2L7q0VzolFfNbcVbubNY78Y6e-Rcbbbz3fywWW53LXPGGn5f3Ed4SdTdfJpfg=s0-d"></p> Bratty, mollycoddled, and altogether spoiled consumers such as you and I have inflicted on computer audio the same injustice that laparoscopic surgery, antilock brakes, mobile telephones, word processors, e-mail, microwave ovens, and over-the-counter proton-pump inhibitors have suffered at our hands in recent years: In less time than it takes to say "ho-hum," we've knocked it from the pedestal to which all such breakthroughs are entitled and begun taking it for granted. <p> Among average consumers of a certain demographic <i>and</i> audio hobbyists alike, computer audio is now regarded as commonplace; on the bright side, and notwithstanding the sudden shortage of consumer awe and wonder, the industry that serves the latter segment of the population now seems distinctly interested in the former, and is responding with a steady stream of perfectionist-quality USB digital-to-analog converters priced below $500. Indeed, in 2005 I wrote one of <i>Stereophile</i>'s first reviews of a USB DACthe fine-sounding <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/905listen/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wavelength Audio Brick</a>, then priced at $900and today, less than eight years later, I am conditioned to expect ever-higher levels of performance for ever less money. </p> <p> A case in point: the sleek new iDAC D/A converter ($299), one of the first four products from iFi Audio, a subsidiary of Abbingdon Music Research. (You'll recall AMR as the London-based design and manufacturing firm whose flagship DAC, the DP-777, I reviewed in these pages in <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/abbingdon-music-research-dp-777-da-processor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">March 2012</a>.) During the second half of last year, Vincent Luke of iFi/AMR and Darren Censullo of Avatar Acoustics (which distributes iFi and AMR products in the US) stopped by with loaner samples of the iDAC and its optional power-supply upgrade, the iUSBPower ($199). Their visit stands out in my mind because my dog, Chatter (footnote 1), was being especially fiendish that day. I remember it for other reasons, as well. </p> <p> <b>Description</b><br /> The iDAC, designed in the UK and assembled in the People's Republic of China, is built into a 6"-long aluminum extrusion with an attractive textured finish. All of its parts and circuitry are arranged on two printed-circuit boards, each measuring 2.75" by 2.25": One contains the USB receiver and clocks, the other the power supply and headphone amplifier. The latter board is also home to a pair of RCA jacks for line-level output, along with a volume pot for the headphone amp and a 3.5mm headphone jack of seemingly higher-than-usual quality. The two PCBs are held stationary by two slots that are integral to the inner surface of the case; beyond that, the boards are connected to each another by means of only a 12-pin socket and plug. Whether that arrangement confers some degree of mechanical isolation between the boards is anyone's guess, but, as Ernest Hemingway once said, isn't it pretty to think so? </p> <p> Since the introduction, in 2005, of <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/196rankin/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gordon Rankin</a>'s oft-licensed Streamlength programthe first commercial software to allow a USB-connected, streaming-audio device to generate its own master clock, independent of the incoming computer signala few perfectionist-audio companies have developed their own such programs for asynchronous streaming. This is true of the iDAC, whose USB control software was designed by parent company AMR. That software resides in a flash-memory chip on the receiver board, and is upgradable by means of the control-panel application on the user's computer, should the need arise. The software runs on a British XMOS microcontrollerVincent Luke describes it as "roughly something like a mid-1990s Pentium PC on a chip"and the USB receiver is the USB3318 chip from Smart Mixed-Signal Connectivity (SMSC), of Hauppauge, Long Island. </p> <p> Which brings us to the real star of the show: the Sabre DAC from California-based ESS. As implemented by iFi, this 24-bit/192kHz chip performs its own current-to-voltage conversions, and directly drives the iDAC's line-level outputs. As well as the two RCA jacks for the line output, the iDAC's front panel sports a 3.5mm headphone jack with an associated volume control. </p> <p> The iUSBPower, which is identical to the iDAC in size, weight, and general appearance, is described by iFi Audio as a quiet, pure, well-regulated 5V power supply suitable for use not only with the iDAC but with any low-current 5V device that gets both its operating voltage and digital signal through a USB Type B socket, in accordance with USB 2.0 protocol. The iUSBPower, which is powered by a 9V wall wart of unremarkable appearance, is meant to be installed between one's computer and USB DAC: A USB cable of the usual sort carries both DC and the digital signal to the Type B USB jack on one end of the iUSBPower, and another such cable carries DC and digital alike from a USB A socket at the other end of the iFi to the DAC of one's choice. </p> <p> <img border="0" height="425" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uB8du-ggIgwHzJ7HX4eumHyEBWEBzRp9ChHANyvD2Pm2UMSzIZP6cJn5Lqgf44O4lR8DYnBJuJJArHWwUFvbUlPlTOYKe8c-AuJU1AG1ITKZ45=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> The iUSBPower has two more tricks up its extruded sleeve. In addition to the USB Type A input jack described above, it has a second such socket intended to receive DC only, without digital signal, this to take advantage of a forthcoming Y cable that will effectively separate DC (USB pins 1 and 4) from the digital signal (USB pins 2 and 3), for even less interference between the two.2 Additionally, the iUSBPower has a ground-lift switch, for those who wish to explore the potential for sonic enhancement that one grounding scheme may or may not hold over the other. Incidentally, the iUSBPower's case resisted my efforts to disassemble it, thus preventing me from commenting here on its construction; I assume the iDAC was intended to be similarly Sphinx-like, if not quite as impervious. (Neither review sample suffered any harm from my inquisitiveness.) </p> <p> <b>Installation and Setup</b><br /> Although the packaging for both products was sophisticated and well done, neither the iDAC nor the iUSBPower came with much in the way of a user's manual: The owner must refer to iFi Audio's website for documentation, mildly annoying though it is. </p> <p> Then again, installing these products wasn't terribly daunting. I've already described the iUSBPower's connection scheme, which is illustrated on the iFi website in the clearest of ways. As for the iDAC itself, connection to my Apple iMac was a simple matter of running a standard (Type A plug to Type B plug) USB cable from computer to converter, opening the iMac's onscreen System Preferences window, and selecting from the Sound/Output pull-down menu the listing for "AMR USB Audio 2.0," which appeared automatically. Users of Windows-based computers are directed to a page on the iFi website from which they can easily download the device driver required for their systems. </p> <p> I experienced only one problem. When the iDAC was used on its own, without an accessory power supply, my iMac never failed to find and identify its resident software. But with the iUSBPower connected between computer and iDAC, the iMac was often unable, at first try, to find the converter at all: There followed, in such cases, numerous attempts at disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable between the iFis until the AMR software would finally appear. That glitch occurred regardless of which brand, model, or length of cable I used in that position, and it was never resolved by a system reboot or any other means: Breaking and remaking the iUSBPower-to-iDAC connection, often as many as five or six times in a row, was the only way to get things running again. </p> <p> <img border="0" height="439" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_veeI0WMn31B0ZONIqaLXos7hI8hwKYgxj4qwJrknwW7mxrjgbD8wsjSDJdUDTiKm1eNOowEhOO59GkFJo3E7dBHWfsmvbPFaojtsRRwOQ=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> A final setup note: Like all computer-audio products that weigh less than a half a pound, the iDAC and iUSBPower fell victim to the bullying effects of heavy, inflexible cables; through no fault of their own, lightweight boxes are easily pushed around, and are sometimes reluctant to stay put on the shelf or tabletop one has placed them on. For that reason alone, I didn't bother trying the iFis on isolation platforms/devices of any sortwhich would have seemed silly in any event, in a corner of the market where one hopes to keep things cheap and easy. And happily so. </p> <p> <b>Listening</b><br /> With music that challenges neither the frequency range nor the overall dynamic range of my gear, I did not, at first, hear much difference between the fine-sounding, musically convincing $299 iDAC and the slightly less expensive ($250) <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/audioquest-dragonfly-usb-da-converter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AudioQuest DragonFly</a>the latter having in recent months become my reference low-cost DAC. For example, with Joe Pass's classic solo-guitar performance of "Stella by Starlight," ripped from the XRCD of the first in his series of <i>Virtuoso</i> albums (JVC VICJ-60256), the two DACs were virtually identical to one another in timbral balance, spatial scale, dynamics, freedom from artificial grain and noise, and literally every other meaningful respect. (This was after I'd matched the converters' volumes, the iFi iDAC having a notably higher output.) Yet when I moved on to something with wider frequency and dynamic rangesfor example, "The Ballad of Albatross and Doggerel," from the dB's' new <i>Falling Off the Sky</i> (CD, Bar None BRN-CD-210)drum flourishes, electric-bassnote attacks, and the like impressed me as having slightly more impact through the iFi. </p> <p> The iDAC also bested the DragonFly by a slight margin with King Crimson's <i>In the Court of the Crimson King</i> (ripped from CD, EG DGM0501), most notably by offering a better, more realistic sense of touch. Through the iDAC, the arpeggio-like descending figure that Robert Fripp plays behind the chorus of "I Talk to the Wind" sounded, quite simply, more <i>guitar-like</i>, with more apparent pressure on the stringsespecially on the slides, and on that lovely, subtle bend from E to F-sharp near the chorus's end. The light drumming in the improvisational section at the end, too, was more forceful through the iDAC, as were the vibes in the improvisational section of "Moonchild." </p> <p> And when the iDAC was used to play acoustic music of more generous bandwidth, the gap between it and the DragonFly widened further. The iDAC did a better job of portraying natural textures, chiefly by seeming to enhance those subtle contrasts that convey sonic "relief"as with cellist Pieter Wispelwey's sumptuous string tone in Bruch's <i>Kol Nidrei</i>, with Daniel Sepec conducing the German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen, ripped from the CD layer of a hybrid SACD (Channel Classics CCS SA 16501). Actually, the iDAC and this recording suited one another in a variety of ways: In addition to sounding perfectly, vibrantly <i>thrummy</i>, the soloist's cello had a fine, dark timbral balance, with the right sense of physical scale; musically, the iDAC-driven system found the piece's melodic structure and sang it, without distorting its momentum and flow. Even now, I look back on the time I spent listening to this recording through the iDAC, my Shindo Haut-Brion amp, and the big old Altec Valencias as one of the finest, most mesmerizing digital-audio experiences I've had. </p> <hr /> <br /> Footnote 1: For reasons I don't fully comprehend, audiophile friends often hear my dog's name as <i>Jitter</i>. <p> Footnote 2: This use of power-supply cabling to carry both DC and signal reminds me of the classic Naim Audio gear of the 1970s and '80s. </p> <div >  <div >  <div align="right"> <span >Article Continues: <a href="http://stereophile.comhttp://stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-idac-amp-iusbpower-usb-da-processor-amp-outboard-power-supply-page-2" title="Next Page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Page 2</a> »</span> </div> </div> <table width="600" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="20" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sxwOI8ujw4PC4_uNc_byVhAegbzRz1lW4nog6jxQpM2cq23eCoIlgBcgLf_62ubktD_9NUhRusVOzQzCE9EtfN4g_DjjdzuqIKup_KMH0O7W5nt-79W2AqgslVDiZXBWSacbisVCsikS4lCWqM2yu6b854VzxdGmsaH_cVg9jFRRuQrt5QX601F1GprDYqsO3vrdmwWww7i21jlOWXodchDBSbl9-nVgqIVXYskeFQsGs=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="290"> <div > <img align="left" border="0" height="24" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vZ5Lms485LOd-pVibqZcP6BF0UeS0Vfu7iTophObpeFgRZSuvkLKiNbg9XkaxbjxHSh7ms_KH8DVWbc4Of_cVwOL6whGhaukZe3ClcGDsR8SsMyoqKOYVIzAm-9oHSJn2PK9xqkznbFOjvu_mkNWrL6iH6E6AU=s0-d" width="26"> <span >Company Info</span> </div> <table width="290" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" background="/sites/all/themes/hometech/headfade.jpg"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="16" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sxwOI8ujw4PC4_uNc_byVhAegbzRz1lW4nog6jxQpM2cq23eCoIlgBcgLf_62ubktD_9NUhRusVOzQzCE9EtfN4g_DjjdzuqIKup_KMH0O7W5nt-79W2AqgslVDiZXBWSacbisVCsikS4lCWqM2yu6b854VzxdGmsaH_cVg9jFRRuQrt5QX601F1GprDYqsO3vrdmwWww7i21jlOWXodchDBSbl9-nVgqIVXYskeFQsGs=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img border="0" height="2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sxwOI8ujw4PC4_uNc_byVhAegbzRz1lW4nog6jxQpM2cq23eCoIlgBcgLf_62ubktD_9NUhRusVOzQzCE9EtfN4g_DjjdzuqIKup_KMH0O7W5nt-79W2AqgslVDiZXBWSacbisVCsikS4lCWqM2yu6b854VzxdGmsaH_cVg9jFRRuQrt5QX601F1GprDYqsO3vrdmwWww7i21jlOWXodchDBSbl9-nVgqIVXYskeFQsGs=s0-d" width="10"></td> <td> <b> <div > iFi Audio, Abbingdon Music Research </div></b> <div > US distributor: Avatar Acoustics </div> <div > 545 Wentworth Ct. </div> <div > Fayetteville, GA 30215 </div> <div ></div> <div > (888) 991-9196 </div> <div > <a href="http://www.avataracoustics.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.avataracoustics.com</a> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> <td><img border="0" height="1" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sxwOI8ujw4PC4_uNc_byVhAegbzRz1lW4nog6jxQpM2cq23eCoIlgBcgLf_62ubktD_9NUhRusVOzQzCE9EtfN4g_DjjdzuqIKup_KMH0O7W5nt-79W2AqgslVDiZXBWSacbisVCsikS4lCWqM2yu6b854VzxdGmsaH_cVg9jFRRuQrt5QX601F1GprDYqsO3vrdmwWww7i21jlOWXodchDBSbl9-nVgqIVXYskeFQsGs=s0-d" width="10"></td> <td valign="top" width="290"> <div > <img align="left" border="0" height="24" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vZ5Lms485LOd-pVibqZcP6BF0UeS0Vfu7iTophObpeFgRZSuvkLKiNbg9XkaxbjxHSh7ms_KH8DVWbc4Of_cVwOL6whGhaukZe3ClcGDsR8SsMyoqKOYVIzAm-9oHSJn2PK9xqkznbFOjvu_mkNWrL6iH6E6AU=s0-d" width="26"> <span >Article Contents</span> </div> <table width="290" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" background="/sites/all/themes/hometech/headfade.jpg"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tGO1hoBgjhCHsepJ4xChrj3UnHF-crst6WO2Ohsh2m6gccU9X_BqQviudpqUdDYcbhX2EkqknUrrFhw8Q0B1g=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul > <li > <a href="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Page 1</a></li> <li ><a href="http://stereophile.comhttp://stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-idac-amp-iusbpower-usb-da-processor-amp-outboard-power-supply-page-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Page 2</a></li> <li ><a href="http://stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-idac-amp-iusbpower-usb-da-processor-amp-outboard-power-supply-specifications" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Specifications</a></li> <li ><a href="http://stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-idac-amp-iusbpower-usb-da-processor-amp-outboard-power-supply-associated-equipment" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Associated Equipment</a></li> <li ><a href="http://stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-idac-amp-iusbpower-usb-da-processor-amp-outboard-power-supply-measurements" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Measurements</a></li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sxwOI8ujw4PC4_uNc_byVhAegbzRz1lW4nog6jxQpM2cq23eCoIlgBcgLf_62ubktD_9NUhRusVOzQzCE9EtfN4g_DjjdzuqIKup_KMH0O7W5nt-79W2AqgslVDiZXBWSacbisVCsikS4lCWqM2yu6b854VzxdGmsaH_cVg9jFRRuQrt5QX601F1GprDYqsO3vrdmwWww7i21jlOWXodchDBSbl9-nVgqIVXYskeFQsGs=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </body></html><br/>Source : stereophile[dot]com</div> <script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb("summary5510496070519242424"); </script><span style='float:right;padding-top:5px;'><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/ifi-audio-idac-iusbpower-usb-da.html'><i>Read more…</i></a></span> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> <div class='post'> <h2><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-entry-level-29.html'>The Entry Level #29</a></h2> <span class='post-header-line-1'></span> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class='post-body'> <div id='summary8365405641296437621'><html> <head></head> <body> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ugWrtyysF-1p6Z84KEVj-aj8fSN_w6j3KhX8M6IVBa4WV164X7HCg1H9AbnwjGd2D5NjanbE4KOJUxG5CxqpGCoy0R7arPc_1a3sGfYE8oycEJN5c=s0-d"></p> It wasn't very long ago that I boasted, in my casual, self-effacing way, that I didn't really like headphonesthat I didn't <i>need</i> headphones. Because most people in the New York metropolitan area would rather die than communicate with each other, they use headphones as a sort of fortress of solitude, shielding themselves not only from their physical environment but from all other living creatures. I, however, claimed to enjoy listening to the sounds of the world around meeven screeching tires, blaring sirens, and the drone of air ducts could be musical. La-di-da. Besides, I argued, in my beautiful mind music was <i>always</i> playing. I'd wake up singing the happy pop songs of my youth ("I wanna dance with somebody / I wanna feel the heat with somebody"), spend the afternoon reciting the poetry of Kendrick Lamar ("Bitch, don't kill my vibe / bitch, don't kill my vibe"), and lull myself to sleep with the theme song from <i>M*A*S*H</i>. <p> Mine was a full and happy life. Headphones? Why bother? </p> <p> Mostly, though, I was afraid of being like everyone elseafraid of being <i>normal</i>. </p> <p> That was then. I'm a changed man now, smarter and better looking. </p> <p> It began as a diversion: Each day, on my way to work, I'd count the number of people wearing headphones. One morning, during the 13-minute walk from the corner of Sixth Avenue and 32nd Street to our office at 261 Madison Avenue, I counted 103 people wearing some sort of headphone. A whopping 36 of them, suckers all, used Apple's white earbuds. Most of the othersan even assortment of bankers, poseurs, hipsters, guidos, and thugswore one of several colorful Beats models. All of these people, too weak to be left alone with even their simplest thoughts and too insecure to avoid any of the latest trends, were despicable. I shook my head at them, frowned, felt sad for the dying world. </p> <p> Over time, however, I noticed more and more people moving beyond the earbuds, beyond the Beats, wearing headphones that, under normal circumstances, could never be confused with mere fashion accessories: Weighing down the heads of innocent commuters I saw unwieldy Sennheisers, completely inconvenient Grados, even the most awkward AKGs. Did these people know what they were listening through? And <i>what music</i> were they hearing? Hmm . . . </p> <p> It came to a head, so to speak, when I started seeing regular dudes, first wearing elegant <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/entry-level-26" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bowers & Wilkins P3</a>s, and then the larger, even more luxurious P5sthe ones with all the gleaming metal and soft, luscious leather. Who were these guys, stepping into my audiophile yard, climbing up my audiophile stoop, knocking on my audiophile front door? Did they have cushy, high-paying jobs? Go home to big-eyed Zooey Deschanels and ginger-haired Jessica Chastains? Drop their perfectly toned asses into lovely Eames Lounge Chairs? Play their white-label Blue Note LPs on <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/106con/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Continuum Audio Caliburn</a>s through <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexandria-xlf-loudspeaker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wilson Audio XLF</a>s driven by <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/dan-dagostino-momentum-monoblock-power-amplifier" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dan D'Agostino Momentum</a>s? And what was <i>I</i> doing, serenading myself with silly rap songs, passing time by counting the number of people wearing headphones on a loud and crowded train? </p> <p> I was Lena Dunham to their collective Patrick Wilson. A change was taking place: I wanted to be more like <i>them</i>. </p> <p> This strange metamorphosis gained traction last November, when I moved into Ms. Little's apartment. Because it took longer than I'd expected to get the hi-fi system sounding its best in the new, larger space, I turned to headphones to keep me satisfied. It was a practical move, and it worked, but I couldn't have been prepared for the residual effects. Besides merely keeping me satisfied, the headphones made my days altogether more enjoyable. </p> <p> For the most part, the source component was my blue, 8GB iPod Nano. I used it out of necessityit's the only iPod I have, and I'm one of six remaining New York Metro-area residents who don't yet own a smartphonebut it led to three unexpected discoveries. First, I found that, when it comes to the iPod and the music files therein, I would very happily sacrifice quality for quantity. Crazy, I knowbut deleting the two remaining lossless albums I'd stored on the iPod (<i>Party Intellectuals</i>, by Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, and <i>Ernie's Conspiracy</i>, by Orquesta la Conspiración) allowed me to stuff it with a <i>ton</i> of 320kbps MP3s. It's a very simple equation: More music equals more happiness. When the time comes for me to assemble a high-end music-server system, I'll do it the right way, slowly and painfully, with files of only the highest and holiest resolutionbut for the iPod, more is better. </p> <p> Second, I discovered that I freaking <i>love</i> iTunes. I visited the iTunes store with the laser-like purpose of buying single tracks from Dr. Dre's <i>The Chronic 2001</i> and Bruce Springsteen's <i>Born to Run</i>, and while I succeeded at that, I was also compelled to purchase several other complete albums: Snoop Dogg's <i>Doggystyle</i>, A$AP Rocky's <i>Long.Live.A$AP</i>, Jam City's <i>Classical Curves</i>, Kendrick Lamar's <i>Overly Dedicated</i>, Raime's <i>Quarter Turns Over a Living Line</i>, and Sonny Sharrock's <i>Guitar</i>. Silly me: I've often lamented the impossibility of finding every album I want in a single place, doomed instead to buy some from Other Music, others from Iris Records, still others from Forced Exposure, and so on, when in fact iTunes offers just about every album I can dream of. (The only artist with which I managed to stump the system was The Caretaker, aka Leyland James Kirby, whose many excellent releases are sold directly through his label, History Always Favours the Winners.) And it probably goes without saying that the iTunes user interface is as refreshingly intuitive as it is pretty to look at. </p> <p> Could Apple offer high-resolution files? Absolutely. Why don't they? As reported by AudioStream.com's Michael Lavorgna, Apple's "Mastered for iTunes" program suggests that the company is merely <a href="http://www.audiostream.com/content/mastered-itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">awaiting the right time</a>. A PDF downloadable from <a href="http://images.apple.com/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/docs/mastered_for_itunes.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple.com</a> explains: "As technology advances and bandwidth, storage, battery life, and processor power increase, keeping the highest quality masters available in our systems allows for full advantage of future improvements to your music." </p> <p> Exciting news. Still, I suspect the demand for hi-rez files is currently too small for Apple to become seriously invested. For now, 256kbps is the default encoding rate of an iTunes music filemeager by audiophile standards, good enough for most listenersbut if and when Apple does decide to flip that switch and offer hi-rez files, the entire digital-music landscape will dramatically change. This isn't to say that I'll be rushing away from vinylI still obsess over LPsbut it's nice to know that when I <i>can't</i> find a physical copy of a particular album at my local record shop, I can probably find its digital counterpart at the iTunes store. For those whose ears can stand no less than the absolute highest fidelity, there's great stuff at Blue Coast Records, Channel Classics, HDtracks, MA Recordings, and 2L. But don't expect to find Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, or Sonny SharrockI checked. </p> <p> The last discovery is closely related to the first and, at least to me, just as surprising: During the time my hi-fi system was in flux, I listened to more music than ever before. And even MP3s sound better than the stuff that typically plays in my mind. La-di-da. </p> <p> But some habits are harder than others to break. On the train this morning, I counted 37 people wearing headphones. I'm not including the guy whose Sony in-ears were blasting his shitty club music so loud that people in the next car could hear itthose were more like <i>mega</i>phonesbut I do include the girl with the pale orange earbuds that I happen to know she received for free, from Victoria's Secret, with her recent purchase of Pink-brand panties. And I include myself. No doubt about it: I'm becoming more and more normal every day. </p> <p> Eh, not entirelyI'm still cooler than everybody else. I was listening to the Underachievers' awesome new mix tape, <i>Indigoism</i> (320kbps MP3 from download, Brainfeeder), through Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviator headphones, the ones with the translucent brown earcaps and the sexy gold hardware: a fitting tribute to Ray-Ban's time-honored sunglasses. </p> <p> <img border="0" height="721" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vnkxALtCFtYoLaDFFYhpNw7655dHBbJdj5sihJmvymckXLc0cZRt-SDgqJJNyYjSt9TF7JfFOXMIDIpWimPy76ryF7cbk-EJvF50u5cPtl9fsCL2x4Uzu9RSlziU3ATQ=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviator headphones</b><br /> I was initially turned on to the Roc Nation Aviators ($149.95) by Tyll Hertsens, editor of InnerFidelity.com, who reviewed them in <a href="http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/skullcandy-roc-nation-aviator" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">March 2011</a>. If you're like me, you're still a little foggy on the relationship between Skullcandy and Roc Nation, the company founded in 2008 by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. Skullcandy makes headphones, but what, exactly, does Roc Nation do, and how does that relate to the Aviator? A look at the Roc Nation website revealed "a fully functioning entertainment company" that handles artist, songwriter, producer, and engineer management; music publishing; touring and merchandising; film and television projects; new business ventures; and album releases. "Artists signed to Roc Nation partake in full-rights deals, which are all-encompassing and include ticket sales, record sales, and all forms of endorsements." </p> <p> Damn. Roc Nation <i>owns</i> you, Willow Smith. </p> <p> Within the very nice Aviator packaging I found a note attributed to Jay-Z that further explained: "Our passion is creating amazing music. We're dedicated to delivering the best in live performances. Now with the Roc Nation/Skullcandy partnership, we're offering the best way for people to experience the soundtrack of their lives." Hmm . . . The partnership strikes me as one of those "business development" things that I've never really understood but that seem to make a lot of money for everyone involved. It perhaps explains why there's a New York Yankeesbranded Aviator, but no Mets modelJay-Z is a Yankees fan. (Hip, hip, Jorge!) </p> <p> The Aviators are medium-size, over-the-ear headphones with 40mm Mylar drive-units, each with a neodymium magnet. Published specs include a frequency range of 20Hz20kHz, an impedance of 33 ohms, and a total harmonic distortion of less than 0.1%. The 1.3m-long, nylon-braided, detachable cable has a 3.5mm gold-plated plug and a three-button control for selecting tracks, adjusting volume, and taking phone calls. I never actually used the control, but the buttons themselves felt a bit chintzy and were positioned unusually high on the cablebringing them down a bit would provide easier access. </p> <p> Skullcandy offers the Aviators in a wide variety of attractive finishesor, for an extra $30, you can customize your own set, mixing and matching headbands, frames, earcaps, and cords. For this month's cover shot, photographer Eric Swanson and art director Natalie Brown-Baca selected the all-red Aviators. Both the cover model and my review sample exhibited outstanding fit and finish (and, just as important, sounded the same). Tasteful details abound: Skullcandy's skull logo is cleanly laser-etched on the 3.5mm connector, embossed on the three-button control, printed on the joints of the headband, even discreetly stitched into the cloth <i>inside</i> the earpadsclever, subtle, and sexy: only you, and those you share it with will know it's there. </p> <p> To my eyes, the Skullcandy Aviators are absolutely beautiful: sleek and stylish, with just the right amount of swagger, but nevertheless purposeful and classic. I'm far from alone in thinking so. If you disregard everything else I have to say about every other product I review from now until the end of time, trust me on this: Men and women alike are attracted to these headphones. </p> <p> In Las Vegas, during the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, people were obvious about it. For instance, on Saturday, at around 5:45am, as I walked out of my hotel room, three young women (one redhead, one brunette, one blondebelieve it or not) were walking toward their own. As we passed each other in the hall, the blonde, who was staring intently at the Aviators around my neck, exclaimed, "Oh my god, he's wearing the headphones!" Perhaps she'd seen them draped around Anne Hathaway's slender neck on the cover of the January issue of <i>Glamour</i>. </p> <p> "Good morning," I ventured. But the giggling women had already vanished into their room. </p> <p> I could easily describe several other embarrassing interactions, but it should be enough to say that throughout the entire review period, on trains, on planes, and on the street, from Jersey City to Las Vegas, I consistently turned heads with the Aviators. Attractive strangers struck up conversations, my audiophile buddies busted my chops, Ms. Little gave me sweet compliments, and Natalie absolutely fell in love (with the headphones). </p> <div >  <div >  <div align="right"> <span >Article Continues: <a href="http://stereophile.comhttp://stereophile.com/content/entry-level-29-page-2" title="Next Page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Page 2</a> »</span> </div> </div> <table width="600" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="20" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vUbnNVboboa2mcS0DK6Xv7sDbN4SytxuR0lC0SSnBRuU1l02iG95U9cMpn5gYhPVgZ7vwh44rb3bN0XvoZKgyRFFsJJGEPRqgqHByz0f7Wc2TRTYvIzsLzL6yZjRXBXsD190cmxbgnFSLx3U_5QdeneZRspRfLGFH9q6K4bhaEJHO6a5x9=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="290"> </td> <td><img border="0" height="1" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vUbnNVboboa2mcS0DK6Xv7sDbN4SytxuR0lC0SSnBRuU1l02iG95U9cMpn5gYhPVgZ7vwh44rb3bN0XvoZKgyRFFsJJGEPRqgqHByz0f7Wc2TRTYvIzsLzL6yZjRXBXsD190cmxbgnFSLx3U_5QdeneZRspRfLGFH9q6K4bhaEJHO6a5x9=s0-d" width="10"></td> <td valign="top" width="290"> <div > <img align="left" border="0" height="24" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sgDbVHlvuui75r0PM0pYRe5EbDo9K5N4n_d5VDEdb3wvRmsskMdu8Gdv7Wrk99ohE-fNQ0QIBqiDUulE_jEXFVb-g3Sdorlgc2mgj-8F1jtdjLjcbK9wUxJo3DqLbi-jM=s0-d" width="26"> <span >Article Contents</span> </div> <table width="290" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" background="/sites/all/themes/hometech/headfade.jpg"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tGO1hoBgjhCHsepJ4xChrj3UnHF-crst6WO2Ohsh2m6gccU9X_BqQviudpqUdDYcbhX2EkqknUrrFhw8Q0B1g=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <ul > <li > <a href="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Page 1</a></li> <li ><a href="http://stereophile.comhttp://stereophile.com/content/entry-level-29-page-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Page 2</a></li> <li ><a href="http://stereophile.com/content/entry-level-29-contacts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Contacts</a></li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vUbnNVboboa2mcS0DK6Xv7sDbN4SytxuR0lC0SSnBRuU1l02iG95U9cMpn5gYhPVgZ7vwh44rb3bN0XvoZKgyRFFsJJGEPRqgqHByz0f7Wc2TRTYvIzsLzL6yZjRXBXsD190cmxbgnFSLx3U_5QdeneZRspRfLGFH9q6K4bhaEJHO6a5x9=s0-d" width="10"></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </body></html><br/>Source : stereophile[dot]com</div> <script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb("summary8365405641296437621"); </script><span style='float:right;padding-top:5px;'><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-entry-level-29.html'><i>Read more…</i></a></span> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> <div class='post'> <h2><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-unique-attention-screen-recording.html'>A Unique Attention Screen Recording Concert in NYC, May 19</a></h2> <span class='post-header-line-1'></span> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class='post-body'> <div id='summary5485193364042810051'><html> <head></head> <body> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uuj0Fv3xyBafpLbX1UWXVy6hnvE02CbZYVd2NA3L4OTmmFAHd4vQKqHfkSwMGhkGFsxupkHdDQACUzicmeybmqlnsTzsQHZMfvR4pfwNbUzQQIChMfH5WE=s0-d"></p> On Sunday, May 19, at 1:30pm, <i>Stereophile</i> readers are invited to attend a very special recording concert. Over the last six years, my quartet, Attention Screen has released three CDs of improvised collaborative jazz on the <a href="http://ssl.blueearth.net/primedia/home.php?cat%3D1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stereophile Recordings label</a>. This particular concert will be unique in a number of ways. First, rather than playing grand piano, I'll be performing on the magnificent Ralph and Alice Greenlaw Memorial pipe organ at The Community Church of Douglaston, 39-50 Douglaston Parkway, in New York City's borough of Queens. Second, we will be featuring our newest member, trumpeter <a href="http://www.liamsillery.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Liam Sillery</a>, whose fourth CD, <i>Phenomenology</i>, was awarded five stars by <i>Downbeat</i> magazine in 2010. Finally, rather than performing improvised jazz, we will be playing nine newly composed jazz and classical works by the four individual members of Attention Screen. The pieces are designed to demonstrate the broad range of textures and colors the Greenlaw organ is capable of as well as spotlighting Liam Sillery's unique trumpet phrasing style. <p> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s76EmzDoCXJtCGifNYqp3Ichy6aN9ReffqRX3_EWxLHDVPAG059anumcm5wJhl3b8dQuSwj4C0K9xuziT-64lwlU5A63Gp5TNe8TZXj8jL7Ra-qRxWpYGUSEbkIPKRorE=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>The Venue and the Organ</b><br /> The Georgian-style Community Church of Douglaston, in Northeastern Queens County, was built in 1925 and provides worship services affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church. In 1928 the Austin Organ Company installed a new pipe organ and then refurbished it 1968. However, in 2010, armed with $175,000 of donations from the church's congregation and other benefactors, New Jersey's Peragallo organ company completely rebuilt from scratch and expanded the capabilities of this <a href="http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Qns/html/CommChDouglaston.html%23Peragallo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">magnificent instrument</a>. </p> <p> The organ consists of five separate organs, which are operated by four manuals. The Great Organ incorporates 12 stops, the Swell Organ, 19, the Choir Organ, 23, the Gallery Organ, 10, and the Pedal Organ, 23, including three different 32' stops whose lowest pipes are capable of producing dramatic tones in the 16-32Hz octave. The 2010 rebuild also provided the organ with a panoply of modern technology: 300 couplers, dozens of presets, transposers and full midi capability. But, aside from the organ's magnificent tone (it's capable of both drama and subtletyit has the widest dynamic range of any instrument I've experienced), the keyboard's action is more responsive than any of the great grand pianos I've played. Finally, the organ couples perfectly with the church's involving acoustics. </p> <p> <b>Concert Logistics</b><br /> The concert will be at <a href="http://communitychurchofdouglaston.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Community Church of Douglaston</a>, 39-50 Douglaston Parkway, Douglaston, New York, 11363, on Sunday, May 19, 2013 from 1:30 to 3:30pm. There are 155 orchestra seats ($20), 70 balcony seats ($15), and 3 wheelchair access spaces ($15) available. Advance tickets are available by mailing a check to The Community Church of Douglaston at the above address and specifying "May 19 concert" in the memo section. There will be a limited number of walk-in tickets available for cash or check on the day of the concert but the concert will likely sell out so advance ticket purchases are recommended. Complimentary wines from my cellar will be served during the concert's intermission. </p> <p> <b>The Beneficiaries</b><br /> All proceeds from ticket sales will be distributed equally to two charities: The Community Church of Douglaston and The Douglaston Junior Yacht Squadron. The Community Church, in addition to providing worship services, is a major force in the local community in providing outreach, children's programs and special events that are open to the general public. The church will use their share of the concert's proceeds to help fund the organ's refurbishment and ongoing maintenance. The Douglaston Junior Yacht Squadron provides sailing instruction to the children in the community as young as 7 and promotes the social interaction of all children in the community each summer. The DJYS will use their share of the proceeds to fund equipment purchases and maintenance as well as instructor salaries. </p> <p> We hope you can attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/mailto%3ARobert.j.reina%40earthlink.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Robert.J.Reina@earthlink.net</a>. </p> </body></html><br/>Source : stereophile[dot]com</div> <script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb("summary5485193364042810051"); </script><span style='float:right;padding-top:5px;'><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-unique-attention-screen-recording.html'><i>Read more…</i></a></span> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> <div class='post'> <h2><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/mercury-living-presence-resounds-again.html'>Mercury Living Presence Resounds Again on May 14</a></h2> <span class='post-header-line-1'></span> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class='post-body'> <div id='summary8761827531186460171'><html> <head></head> <body> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v9EK2Sbdz2I5pPPir0wHuGx5hyQAbqZpWiFxV79PwRP4MUdA_4MHjsRfkaY40JWIOs5YIa2ysM6tdQ-qQVh1kXlGozDxtpbsu7iKxbPYRygrH4pRs=s0-d"></p> Heads up! Not long after the sellout of both Decca Classics' First Collector's Edition box set of 50 Mercury Living Presence CD reissues, and their box set of six 180gm LP reissues, both drawn from the famed Mercury Living Presence catalog, <a href="//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DNjdALzepjpA%26feature%3Dyoutu.be" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collector's Edition 2</a> arrives on May 14. The CD box's 55 titles include two first-CD issue rarities: Antal Dorati's 1953 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra mono recording of Stravinsky's groundbreaking ballet, <i>The Rite of Spring</i>, and one of the final Mercury Living Presence recordings, John Corigliano's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The Corigliano recording premiere, performed by pianist Hilde Somer and the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Victor Alessandro, is paired with a close to 17-minute interview with Corigliano, conducted by Paul Hume one year after the concerto's 1968 premiere, and the Paregon to Richard Strauss' <i>Sinfonia Domestica</i>, Op.73. <p> Included in the box of 55 CDs is an invaluable, thick booklet that includes full track and recording information for each disc (date, location, microphones, recording directors, musical supervisor, recording engineers, etc.). Equally invaluable are its wealth of historic photos, and introductions and essays by Harold Lawrence, former MLP Musical Supervisor, who passed away in 2011; Michael Gray, a sound recording historian; and Thomas Fine, the son of the Mercury Living Presence producing and engineering team of Wilma Cozart Fine and C. Robert Fine. </p> <p> The <a href="http://deccaclassics.com/en/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR%3D4785092" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">55 titles</a>, some of which were recorded on 35mm agnetic film, start with a kick, Dorati's famed London Symphony Orchestra recording of music by the three key representatives of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg). They then jump back into tuneful territory with Dorati's stereo collection of Respighi classics. Within the box, CDs are ordered alphabetically by artist, <i>eg</i>, all the Doratis before all the Hansons, and, within artist groupings, by original CD catalog number. Only 11,000 sets have been pressed. </p> <p> The six LPsonly 3000 box sets are availableare housed in facsimiles of the original LP sleeves, and sourced from the CD mixes supervised by Wilma Cozart Fine. First up is the Dorati Second Viennese School collection discussed above. Joining it in the numbered box set are Dorati's LSO Beethoven Symphony No. 7 and <i>DadaSurrealism</i> collection (Milhaud, Françaix, Auric, and Satie); Paul Paray's Detroit recording of Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony with Marcel Dupré; and two titles from Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, Chadwick: <i>Symphonic Sketches</i> and a compilation of works by Sessions and McPhee. Clearly the Fines, Harold Lawrence, and their conductors were eager to move outside the box of Top 100 classical music hits. Along with the LPs comes a download code, which enables you to download the titles in either high quality mp3 or lossless FLAC format. </p> <p> <b>The Skinny</b><br /> In an hour-long conversation with Thomas Fine, the sole Fine offspring currently involved in audio, <i>Stereophile</i> clarified the quality and provenance of the CD and LP masterings. (Fine's side business, it should be noted, involves analog-to-digital transfer work for archives/institutions, private collectors, and small record labels.) For Fine's invaluable insights into the creation of the original Mercury Living Presence LPs, see Robert Baird's July 2012 article, "<a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/fine-art-mercury-living-presence-recordings" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Fine Art: The Mercury Living Presence Recordings</a>." </p> <p> "Philips, which was at the time in the recording and record business through their company, Polygram, bought Mercury in 1961 and owned the catalog," says Fine. "As developers of the CD, one of their first moves was to create a market for CD by getting as much of their back catalog on CD as possible. There were already a few badly received Mercury CD titles from Europe, sourced from the master tapes for what had been the Mercury Import LPs that were released in the 1970s. Those were an ill-fated attempt by Philips to reissue the Mercury records by making new two-channel masters without consulting with any of the original personnel. </p> <p> Most didn't sound anything like Mercury. The only ones that sounded good, because they were originally recorded in two-track, were titles like the Corigliano. Some of these mixes were later used to press the Mercury SACDs, some of which can be downloaded from HDTracks." </p> <p> After her husband, Robert, died in 1982, Wilma Cozart Fine put the two youngest of her four sons through college by selling real estate in Westchester County. When, in the late '80s, she was approached by Philips to remaster the CDs, she said, in Tom's words, "Sure. But everything I've heard about this new CD technology is not very good. I don't want to put the Mercury name on something that's garbage, so I need time and space to figure this thing out." </p> <p> Granted the time she needed, Fine began working with Dennis M. Drake, an engineer and analog veteran, in Polygram's Studios in Edison, NJ. Both shared the same skepticism over the sound of CDs. After a year of experimentation, and a worldwide search for master tapes, Mercury Associate Engineer Bob Eberenz tracked down and restored Mercury's original recording and mastering machines. </p> <p> Happy with her analog playback chain"with less deadline pressure than in the LP days, they were paying closer attention and able to tweak the tube equipment even better than before," says TomWilma Cozart Fine and Drake were able to clean up old splices so the tapes would play very well. Tom Fine recalls that the two were always up on deadline as they mastered 125 CDs, sometimes from multiple LP titles, between 1990 and 1999. Polygram gave Fine great autonomy, and she was basically running her own label again. </p> <p> "My mother's opinion was always that the CDs got closer to the master tape than the vinyl ever could," says Tom Fine. </p> <p> Dismissing the myth that nothing can top the sound quality of Mercury's original LP pressings, he asserts, "Many compromises had to be made cutting vinyl in 1958 through 1963. There was a lot of distortion and noise from the tubes, stereo cutting was new, and you had to put the bass where you had to put the bass to make the record trackable. In addition, some cuts were better than others, and some pressings were better than others. They cut audiophile records today at RTI or Chad Kassem's at a lower level, and on higher quality vinyl. Europe was doing that back then, but the US mentality was to cut as high as possible to overcome the crappy American vinyl. </p> <p> "In the late '60s, once Harold Lawrence departed for the LSO and mastering engineer George Piros was no longer doing the cutting, the quality of Mercury LPs declined even further. There was only a very brief time when the original Mercury Living Presence LPs were pressed at the RCA facility, and stereo cutting had evolved to the place where the stereocity was very good. The CDs, on the other hand, are uniformly good and true to the master tapes." </p> <p> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sQbWKo1FU0EsgZPcjDM_BFozE9yZNh5TVqcPELMhM5Em_A1yiWzu36Pwtc0ZOecndiMOtVoDVxElf4MW6gmHWEPWYh0yY4TMn6xI1-R0P8QpoYjAqC5g=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> Wilma Cozart Fine did not remaster every LP title for CD; hence the two first-time CD issues in the Second Edition. Tom Fine considers these expertly done. "The Stravinsky sounds a hell of a lot better than the original LP, and the Corigliano, in comparison to the original LP, sounds fantastic to me," he says. "The Corigliano was also a very well done recording to begin with." </p> <p> As Baird explains in his article, Mercury's master tapes were, for the most part, three-channel. Editing was accomplished in three-channel, and the final 3-to-2 pressing mix was created live, on the fly, by Wilma Cozart Fine and Piros, directly from the three-channel masters at the time of the LP mastering. Since three were no preview heads, his mother would sit there with a score, and give Piros hand signals as she read ahead. Wilma's work as a "human preview head" enabled Piros to "conserve real estate," as it were, and cut long and quiet sides. In short, Fine went from conserving real estate to selling it, and then turning over her original properties on silver platters. </p> <p> <b>The New LPs</b><br /> "With both the Mercury Golden Presence LPs and the three-channel CDs, someone else did the mix down to two-channel without input from the original team," says Tom. "That's very different than what Universal Classics is doing now, which is to solicit input from me and my brothers about where to go from here. The first LP box sold out in less than six months, and the CD box in eight months. If this second set sells as well, we may be able to release more first-time-to-CD titles." </p> <p> "Since my mother did the 3-to-2 mix for the CDs, her ear was key to saying, 'This is what happened at the session,'" he insists. "She was the brand. In some of the LP issues that have come out before now, Speakers Corner from Germany used second-generation copies of her 3-to-2 mixes that were dubbed at the same time the LPs were cut. Then, Classic Records put out official licensed Mercury titles that were the real deal, with my mother using all the original equipment and Bernie Grundman doing the cutting from the 3-to-2 mix. In my opinion, some of these are really spectacular. </p> <p> "I know some people will say, of the six new LPs in the new box set, 'Aw, they're just LPs of CDs,' and dismiss them out of hand. I think that's just ignorant and stupid. People should listen to them and see what they think. I think they're very fine sounding, even if they're sourced from 16/44.1 mixes. The new man in charge of LP cutting over at Berliner in Germany has done a very good job. They're very dynamic. My brothers and I were solicited for our input, including title selections, and all of the copy in the new booklet is original." </p> <p> There are only two overlaps between the Classic Records Mercury pressings and the 12 LP titles in this reissue project. Tom thinks the quality of <i>Hi-Fi Española</i> is equally good on both reissued LPs and the CD, because his mother's digital master "really captured the dynamics, sound, air and space. All three, in his opinion, are superior to the original LP, which was pressed early, with all the "trouble" of early stereo cutting. The Balalaikas pressing from Classic Records, on the other hand, is the best of the lot, because "you get a little bit more of the air and space. It's one of the few cases where, had the digital traditional had additional bit-depth, it probably could have captured that extra air and depth." </p> <p> <b>Final Thoughts</b><br /> Fine thinks that some of the late Mercury titles that his mother never transferred to CD are quite good. There's a good recording of Dorati's own music that he'd love to see reissued. There are also two Scriabin solo piano recordings by Somer, who recorded the Corigliano, and was known for Scriabin performances that were accompanied by an authentic light show. </p> <p> In single-microphone mono, he points to Dorati's Respighi <i>Church Windows</i> and Copland Third, interesting Hanson titles that were never recorded in stereo, and mono <i>1812 Overture</i>, the latter with different cannons, bells, and narration. But as much as he'd love to see these on CD, he does not expect any mono LP releases. </p> <p> Are all the CDs of equal quality, given the improvements in digital technology that occurred during the period his mother was creating the CD mixes? Tom notes that during the nine years that Wilma Cozart Fine created the CD mixes, the Sonic Solutions system that she used solely for insert editing improved, and was faster and more precise than Sony's for fixing splices. Besides that, he feels, the sound of her CD mixes changed little between 1990 and 1999. The current CDs are pressed from the same well-preserved glass masters that his mother approved. </p> <p> "It is possible that the later glass masters have less baked-in jitter," he says. "It's also possible that modern-manufacture CDs, being lighter weight and having 'grippier' plastic inside-areas work mechanically better in CD players. The circa 1990 Philips-DuPont discs had smooth inner-diameters and were a few grams heavier, so they may create more mechanical jitter and error-correction in some players. That's just a theory. And now I'll don my armor and wait for the engineering crowd to shoot at me!" </p> <p> Hopefully, those with semi-automatic weapons will at least wait until the Second Edition CDs and LPs hit the market on May 14. After that, they'll hopefully be too busy enjoying Wilma Cozart Fine's mixes to neutralize her devoted son. </p> </body></html><br/>Source : stereophile[dot]com</div> <script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb("summary8761827531186460171"); </script><span style='float:right;padding-top:5px;'><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/mercury-living-presence-resounds-again.html'><i>Read more…</i></a></span> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> <div class='post'> <h2><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/payday-albums-41213-42613.html'>Payday Albums: 4/12/13 & 4/26/13</a></h2> <span class='post-header-line-1'></span> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class='post-body'> <div id='summary9221166164071473142'><html> <head></head> <body> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sRJFwkA77hVZYyRc-lH05ct_i58zKF8Dl2vSIr2hQq3pdyEvJngX8k1o7tBAjhYQ9XpucTSo-hD2pAxISkI-kZ9BYSVMJkjH-TSo1jMv23BE8OoKGJ6A=s0-d"></p> Whenever I post one of these entries, there are at least a couple of readers who ask for reviews of the albums I’ve listed. And while such requests are quite reasonable, they take for granted that I’ve actually <i>listened</i> to all of these albums. Sadly, I have not. <p> Even sadder, I still haven’t listened to the albums I bought <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/payday-albums-31513" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>last</i> payday</a>. </p> <p> Still, I have <i>purchased</i> these albums. Which means that, for one reason or another, I found them interesting enough to spend money on them, and I do intend to listen to them at some point down the line. Whenever possible, I’ve included links to artist or label pages, where you, too, can sample the sounds and stories behind the music, and decide whether the albums are worth your time and money. </p> <p> I make these lists for a few reasons: <br /> <b>1.</b> I enjoy making these lists.<br /> <b>2.</b> They help me remember what albums I’ve purchased.<br /> <b>3.</b> They provide a sort of graphical representation of my musical interests.<br /> <b>4.</b> I think the album art is often attractive.<br /> <b>5.</b> I want to provide some exposure to artists who otherwise might go overlooked by our readers, and, similarly, provide our readers with some interesting music they may have otherwise overlooked.<br /> <b>6.</b> I hope you find something here that you like, and that you, in turn, will tell me about something, similar or dissimilar, that <i>you</i> like. </p> <p> So: Today’s payday. These are the albums I bought. </p> <p> <b>Payday Albums: 4/12/13</b> </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vJglmRMDEJMSIl5zCAyyTe_aBbrgH3GeLRfyWw8xU-r4DeloKUw8bHAQ1MuqfNl4CpoaGO9xBcM6ZUmOBX7LuPDlZZa51JwW937DTKw_u3Ls3GNi0=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Lawrence English:</b> <i>Lonely Women’s Club</i> (LP, <a href="http://importantrecords.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Important Records</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="599" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uTJsuiE-SJD5-G5DxIyOpOK7Pmva-7X1lhZ59x89SWUlQPIdW85qrWiOcXkPvP9DWADWX7vhEPyLe-F5Han8omJo4vCXGpP3E6jBI9mZbi=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Ashley Paul:</b> <i>Line the Clouds</i> (LP, <a href="http://relrecords.net/home/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">REL</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="595" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sv9PhGJ1j_gsnWZjuG2-AbitVcicsBJZu4mzoG-LQlGz5nmjLpP9xEnVYt8iN6GJf2-I4Mo6rIpk3lk5UsmIu3sPm7OY9kq7XYiMy9IG6thGn54Q=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Mary Lattimore:</b> <i>The Withdrawing Room</i> (LP, <a href="http://www.desirepathrecordings.com/releases/mary-lattimore-the-withdrawing-room/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Desire Path Recordings</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t7qUkvDsowH6qB3rccfFE37uTHPjELg9MukeA1YuRwf11kzvSK83xul4vUTnE65nnIeYlp8VvUB4suAVdxXQfPUGzZ8dJciDnmZEaoCqgm=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement:</b> <i>Black Magic Can Not Cross Water</i> (LP, <a href="http://blackesteverblack.bigcartel.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Blackest Ever Black</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uhqrXE6CR5vjInZfL3qPXdomkB2MuuoUgsr2Cmc41FnEAjRtjMnNGFVmmv6xLCE46MJiSH4sNT4njZVtKLIn9iDig78oLMPhlhPihG=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Mohammad:</b> <i>Som Sakrifis</i> (LP, <a href="http://www.pan-act.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pan Records</a>) </p> <p> <b>Payday Albums: 4/26/13</b> </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vK2mJczg0LlTwl9atvgE7mp8TSWMK8UtYWyL9Oy1h6XvqoB3NurALPmJuTRIH7Ysm5MhwnGLKtkrZoC7DjvXRuBocb0npqc96FlgQCzS53qd_XW_Jpv_2U-Q=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Aidan Baker:</b> <i>Already Drowning</i> (LP, <a href="http://www.gizehrecords.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gizeh Records</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_toGGW54VM6mWhVMQxaEAnKXKudM7nuhTQk3GqkNHSx7mHimQqzYlNFpB5lAGwLiGI_tEDBGrSiNRvK18hsFwHF41xY1Vp6XAk9-x8uMboe7IwKxRVXNAoMvg=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Terrence Dixon:</b> <i>From the Far Future, Pt. 2</i> (LP, <a href="http://tresorberlin.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tresor Records</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sktGKG48ENJLF7ptPFxmoomVkIADtXRVw58FPD026GpUSsCi_r7GyumADvEm1ClwoFqqNjI3vNKvagagBzrsbdhAu6Xrb0ZkAnucxGcRBBflsQFPjHgQ=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Lapalux:</b> <i>Nostalchic</i> (LP, <a href="http://www.brainfeedersite.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brainfeeder</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_suqtDfE1vVjYElkYor3GcKAoCwAxsVdt0mFhjKGnGb9ic67wHgPRHW2K1XalQhwiEV8tA149RghJjriGl7JTeU7V82XomgVlPsiMs=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Locust:</b> <i>You’ll Be Safe</i> (LP, <a href="http://editionsmego.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Editions Mego</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sj5O4xzWm8lnbIgdADMp-b8KLFPgOp0EOY4lShu2oMPdVj9YfB6Jq6h9axL80Ay531WoX5n5TmIH94BZLEgwDQ8k9ZnQBk3qvyHXj1EqTk=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Rhye:</b> <i>Woman</i> (LP, Republic) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_umWYrmOpaLMvPs9V99Xc7j3xgYOuZvslGd07TTxjANy1QELW2qTilM5DrIE7AzFLJHbeLFtKABtCqe1GTquY_leyvfAcNmA99ThimbS8037-GAlYeaqNs=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Miles:</b> <i>Faint Hearted</i> (LP, <a href="http://www.modern-love.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Modern Love</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="603" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uRGvpE63p5wpQkQE0BYfha1zTDJopIgCLpQS2IAe3Y-I_k49gHzXX84KYudC0wwU539SrK7gvs33go_mmNpTruj6z7XjDSkCwzIE6d1VUCi-nuW64=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Ghostface Killah:</b> <i>Twelve Reasons To Die</i> (LP, <a href="http://soultemplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/twelve-reasons-to-die" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Soul Temple</a>) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sZBXdFPfPc4Ef_LMzS0YOxGDn9K_VMZsCA8S7tNm0elEpr_Fi6_uEvqw28aAX1BUo1IVTnyI4Z5m9CK3AgYDUDLAXfBtWNbll_PyGfrNxOrGWK0q6A=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>Justin Timberlake</b>: <i>The 20/20 Experience</i> (LP, RCA) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="600" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sjC_GDKUMcCu68d6coMaYs5NrlB4UXHRu7tSrXjMW1i82kIFNeyT3lItl7BfGCWnRox47v7cWlSTvAFylgganjdYpPwVl4xV23Mp3TMIO26qTFF2j5ZyqgnA=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>James Blake:</b> <i>Overgrown</i> (LP, Republic) </p> <p> <img border="0" height="596" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tfVS2v2ofqHftbgpIdKfKVsqKUwKb-_l3_K-VkqXkdvz4TMs7eli8mLvxDUqN1ZZrHpd-nfeFNeJ990uqYbxfz0AKo29vTocbxHr_ZQA=s0-d" width="600"> </p> <p> <b>The Knife:</b> <i>Shaking the Habitual</i> (LP, <a href="http://mute.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mute</a>) </p> <p> I purchased these records from <a href="http://beta.forcedexposure.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Forced Exposure</a>, <a href="http://www.othermusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Other Music</a>, and <a href="http://experimedia.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Experimedia</a>. </p> </body></html><br/>Source : stereophile[dot]com</div> <script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb("summary9221166164071473142"); </script><span style='float:right;padding-top:5px;'><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/payday-albums-41213-42613.html'><i>Read more…</i></a></span> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> <div class='post'> <h2><a href='https://bmbvietnam.blogspot.com/2013/04/no-show-no-more.html'>No Show No More</a></h2> <span class='post-header-line-1'></span> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class='post-body'> <div id='summary7259682884274710421'><html> <head></head> <body> <p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u9kac_VjBe6uVSBuY9XberBbmCX-8lYQ3AZTXMWdknas5STeWBn5e1O6T11QedGJEeRrhaArrRc4VeWaFLcmGVzhnD94kAGBXl0P1ye37NP-Kx7XbG=s0-d"></p> Country music is almost extinct. Patsy Cline, the most dominant female voice in country music history has been gone since 1963, and now the most storied male voice has been silenced. George Jones died this morning in Nashville at the age of 81. If Hank Williams was the King of Country Music, then Jones, because of his sterling voice and reckless lifestyle, was an equally powerful titan. His death, preceded by those of Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Cash and Buck Owens leaves Merle Haggard as the final voice of <i>real</i> country music left alive. <p> I last saw Jones sing in June of last year when he was fresh from a hospital stay and yet the man still had it. Gulping his breath, and instinctively choosing when and where to push his voice, he gave a performance that had the audience standing and weeping by the end. When he came to the hiccup gimmick in one of his signature songs, “White Lightnin,’ ” he hit it perfectly, just like he was 25 years old again and full of vigor. No one will ever have his idiosyncratic gift for dramatic phrasing or that high, yearning tone. Or for that matter his equally effective low, wounded moan. And no one, in any genre of music, will ever tell a story in song, particularly when it comes to the subject of heartbreak, like George Jones. </p> <p> Fortunately, there is much to remember him by; the man’s recording catalog is vast and deep. His recordings with producer Billy Sherrill on Epic Records in the 1970s, headlined by the hit “He Stopped Loving Her Today” are cited by many as his most successful and most commercial highlights. They are lushly produced, so much so that at the time of their release they were derided for being too slick. Today, up against the badly recorded, overdriven pop rock slush that masquerades as country music, they sound positively restrained. His earliest recordings on Starday are rougher, more traditional country music, all fiddles and pedal steel, yet even then that voice, although higher and more nasal, was astonishing. Jones and his band The Jones Boys even made a live recording, <i>Live at Dancetown USA</i>, that is a rare glimpse into the postwar world of long neck beers, fistfights and all night dancing in a honky tonk that today, is a rich slice of long gone music history. Jones embraced that wilder side of life with the same gusto he put into his music. His bouts with the bottle and other drugs were longlived and hard fought. His years with singer Tammy Wynette were more title fight than actual marriage. Unlike the rock ‘n’ roll universe where elders are celebrated (and continue to pack stadiums), in country music, the pioneers are not worshipped as they should be. In my estimation every year, at both country music award shows, CMA and ACM, Jones should have been asked to stroll out and take a bow just because. Now that opportunity has passed. At his concerts, he was always introduced as, “The Living Legend” and until today he certainly was. </p> <p> <i>“I've always said that someday I was gonna leave you. <br />Some April when all the land is wet. <br />Some spring, summer, fall, lord, or maybe winter. <br />I'll leave someday but I'm not ready yet.”</i> </p> <p> From “I’m Not Ready Yet” written by Tom T. Hall but most memorably sung by George Jones. </p> <p> <iframe width="600" height="450" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xi3GgoLtlWk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">