Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i Stereophile

I sometimes joke about how audio designers create products that resemble themselves, not just in how they look, but also in the design approach used, and especially the way they sound. So, we have tall, cool, pragmatic Scandinavians making gear like the lean, elegant Børresen loudspeakers, while the Italians build luscious curvy equipment endowed with natural wood and leather, like Sonus Faber speakers and Unison Research amplifiers. Continuing this blatant stereotyping, we have Acoustic Signature founder Gunther Frohnhöfer, a stout German known for creating precision-built turntables that are as solid-looking as he is. When I visited the Acoustic Signature factory in 2023, I watched as they hewed massive slabs of aluminum into beautiful, heavyweight turntables. This approach is the opposite of the lightweight-but-rigid philosophy embraced by Rega, and while the…

Six years after Hans-Ole Vitus, the founder of Danish company Vitus Audio, visited the United States to premier his first three products at CES 2004, Michael Fremer went gaga over the company’s top-line MP-P201 Masterpiece Series phono preamplifier.1 Thirteen years later, at AXPONA 2023,2 it was my turn to be blown away, this time by the sound of a $385,000 Vitus Audio top-of-the-line Masterpiece series front-end and amplifiers that sang through price-commensurate Estelon Extreme Mk II loudspeakers. In between—and not for want of trying—Vitus’s presence in these pages has been limited to show reports. It’s time to change that. Enter the “entry-level” ($20,000) Vitus RI-101 Mk.II, an attractive integrated amplifier that can be outfitted with an optional DAC/streamer board for an extra $5000. The Vitus RI-101 Mk.II is part of…

JAZZ LEADS A HAND-TO-MOUTH EXISTENCE. IT WAS BORN IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT OF NEW ORLEANS IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, AND HAS NEVER FULLY OVERCOME ITS DISREPUTABLE ORIGINS. JAZZ LACKS THE SUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENTS, FOUNDATIONS, AND RICH DONORS THAT OTHER, MORE DECOROUS ART FORMS ENJOY. JAZZ IS TOO MUCH OF THE STREET TO BE CONSIDERED HIGH CULTURE, YET ITS AUDIENCE IS TINY COMPARED TO THE MASSES WHO CONSUME POPULAR MUSIC. POP STARS LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT PERFORM IN HUGE STADIUMS. IMPORTANT JAZZ MUSICIANS PLAY THE BAR BAYEUX IN BROOKLYN. On a recent trip to New York, I went to the Bar Bayeux. I was surprised by how small it is. (I should not have been. The Village Vanguard, the most iconic jazz club on the planet, holds 132 customers.) Important…

Ow Ow Ow, Ow Ow Whaow, Ow Ow Ow…Wha-aa-ow. That simple G-minor melody, supposedly inspired by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (or perhaps Brazilian composer Carlos Lyra) and played with the tone of a Fender Stratocaster doubled by a Hammond B3 organ, is unquestionably the most famous rock-guitar riff. The apotheosis of 1970s hard-rock, the ubiquitous “Smoke on the Water” is also the unlikely story of the song’s creation and the high-water mark of long-running UK rock band Deep Purple. In 1969, DP’s original bassist, Nick Simper, and vocalist Rod Evans, who’d sung on their first hit, “Hush,” were replaced by bassist Roger Glover and singer Ian Gillan, who joined holdovers organist Jon Lord, drummer Ian Paice, and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to form the next incarnation of Deep Purple, identified as DP…

BEYONCÉ Cowboy Carter Parkwood Columbia (reviewed as 24/44.1 streaming from Qobuz). 2024. Many producers and engineers. Beyoncé’s latest, Cowboy Carter, is being widely called her “country album,” and the country influence is obvious. Some of the songs are even getting airplay on country radio. Cowboy Carter, though, is not a country album: It’s much more ambitious than that. The first track on Cowboy Carter is operatic. (“American Requiem” credits 14 songwriters including John Batiste, Shawn Carter, Stephen Stills, and Rhiannon Giddens.) The next is a straightforward cover of a Beatles tune. Third comes a contemporary riff on old-fashioned, foot-stompin’ blues—acapella except for accompaniment by the equivalent of several orchestras. Driven by banjo and percussion, “Texas Hold ’Em,” the single that tops the charts, would absolutely be country if it were…

MAHLER/R. STRAUSS Symphony No. 3 Death and Transfiguration Norma Procter (a); Ambrosian Singers, Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir; London Symphony/Jascha Horenstein High Definition Tape Transfers (1970, CD; 24/192 download). Harold Lawrence, prod.; Jerry Bruck, eng. At the 1970 session that resulted in Unicorn’s well-known Mahler Third, engineer and Mahlerian Jerry Bruck was also invited to record it, using his own mikes and setup. HDTT’s release is the same performance as the old Unicorn release, but a completely different recording. Right from the start, the startling presence of the unison horns tell us this will be a fresh experience. Numerous quiet interior parts, like the little buried marching motive, enliven the textures. The graceful minuet comes to vibrant, lustrous life. Images of woodwind and horn soloists are almost tangible. The original Unicorn…

In the months since I told my Lenco story in Gramophone Dreams #79, two of my friends have bought L75s, and now they’re enjoying them more than their shiny movie-star decks. One told me he has put more than $2000 into a Lenco L75 he bought online for $350. When I asked how his hot-rodded Lenco compared to his fancy belt drive, he replied, “You can feel it. The Lenco’s motor pulls like a team of Clydesdales. It makes my belt drive feel like a pony pulling a child’s cart.” When I asked him what he thought his rebuilt Clydesdale deck, with its new bearing, Jelco tonearm, and Grado Prestige Gold cartridge, was doing that his well-regarded belt drive was not, he replied, in a low, serious voice, “I think…

In December 2023, I took the train from New York to Los Angeles to attend the Los Angeles & Orange County Audiophile Society’s 30th annual Gala. I took the trip because it is both stimulating and satisfying to spend an afternoon in the company of more than 200 audiophiles and music lovers; I also wanted to see John Curl presented with the Society’s fourth Innovation Award, by George and Carolyn Counnas of Zesto. John was given the award “for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of solid-state audio amplifiers, circuit innovation, mastering recorders and much more.” I first met John more than 40 years ago, at a Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, where I was blown away by John’s intuitive and innovative approach to circuit design. As J. Gordon Holt…

I stalk a few audio forums because the chatter shows me what different varieties of audiophiles are thinking about, what’s pleasing them, what’s making them angry, and—potentially—what issues reviewers like me are failing to address. Similarly, I watch a lot of DIY and audio review videos on YouTube. I especially love watching my friend Steve Guttenberg’s Audiophiliac “Viewer System of the Day” videos,1 which provide a global view of the gear choices real people in normal houses have made. I am especially fascinated by how these diverse audiophiles place their components in normal rooms. A few have the heavy stuff sitting on low platforms close to the floor. The majority use audiophile-approved component racks. But more and more often, I’m seeing prized components crowning family-approved bureaus, credenzas, buffets, and sideboards.…

In his 2011 review of the original Ampeggio loudspeaker, Art Dudley wrote about Inès Adler’s and Ampeggio’s efforts to move beyond the original Lowther’s shortcomings. “After working for Mercedes-Benz for a number of years—and with 14 patents to her name in the field of electronic monitoring systems for diesel motors—Adler and some friends decided to try to make a better wideband driver. ‘I think everyone who owns Lowthers becomes interested, at some point, in improving them,’” Adler told Art. “Then she added, with a laugh, ‘It is the German way: When we make something, we want to make it perfect!’” “I saw three things that I disliked about the Lowther driver,” Adler continued. “One, it was impossible to make good bass; the cone had insufficient stability at high excursions. Two,…

The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow was released by Blue Note Records on March 15, 2024, which was Charles Lloyd’s 86th birthday. It is Lloyd’s 47th album as a leader—the first was Discovery!, on Columbia Records, in 1964—how about that?! With a running time one minute over an hour and a half, pressed on two LPs, this album is a significant addition to Lloyd’s era-traversing catalog. Of the album’s 15 tracks, 13 are Charles Lloyd compositions, split between new pieces and new arrangements of older works. The quartet Lloyd leads here includes pianist Jason Moran and bassist Larry Grenadier, both of whom Lloyd has collaborated with before, on stage and on record. The new member is drummer Brian Blade. In his album notes, Charles mentions wanting to get this…

SERÁ UNA NOCHE Otra Noche M*A Recordings (reviewed as 24/176.8 PCM). 2024. Todd Garfinkle, Marcelo Moguilevsky, prods.; Garfinkle, eng. Otra Noche (24/176 WAV file), the most recent release on Todd Garfinkle’s M•A Recordings, is a continuation of Será Una Noche, a project begun in 1998, then continued with La Segunda in 2003. Twenty years later, Otra Noche is here, and it strikes me as one of the most perfect examples of digital recording I’ve ever encountered. Otra Noche is a simple, spaced-omni stereo recording of real people performing together in real time in a small stone church about 100 miles from Buenos Aires. The greatest pleasure of a recording like this is that when it is played back on even the most modest audiophile system, it will sound tangibly real.…

Over a long career, thinker and audio designer Barry Thornton has carved his own paths and formed his own opinions, broad views about how the universe works and how one thing connects to another. He applies scientific principles broadly, too: From action comes reaction, though it may not always be predictable. “Do something, and everything else starts to occur,” he said of his endeavors. Longtime readers and seasoned audiophiles will recognize Quintessence Audio Group, a maker of hi-fi electronics in the 1970s and ’80s. Thornton founded the company and served as its main designer. He has worked with companies including SAE (where he became Chief Engineer), ESS, Parasound, and Monster Cable. His journey eventually led him to Austin, Texas, where he recently founded Austin AudioWorks. Thornton’s career has taken turns.…

Last May, during a visit to High End Munich, I was ushered into an exhibitor’s room with much ceremony. Other showgoers had been shooed out so that I, a reviewer at an important magazine, could listen to the hi-fi undisturbed. The room featured obelisk-shaped “statement” speakers, monoblocks with enough tubes to light a cafeteria, and a wedding cake–sized turntable, all connected with python-thick cables. All of it cost as much as a starter house in coastal Connecticut. The room’s proprietor asked me to choose from a small stack of LPs. I went for Cannonball Adderley’s Somethin’ Else, a wonderful Miles Davis record in all but name. I know it as well as any other piece of recorded music. When the system began to play, it was doing all the audiophile…

There was a period in the 1970s when many pop ballads that should have had understated arrangements instead turned grandiose and even maudlin. Take Gilbert O’Sullivan’s sensational single “Nothing Rhymed” (a track that went deep for a pop hit, referencing famine, duty, and morality). Soon after the start, O’Sullivan’s piano is overshadowed by a loud, saccharine string section. Another example is “Lotte,” German singer Stephan Sulke’s portrayal of a dying love affair. The devastatingly wistful chanson is burdened by a mawkish orchestral track—the equivalent of glitterbombing an Edward Hopper painting. Contrast this with Roberta Flack’s definitive version of Ewan MacColl’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Apart from Flack’s voice and her emotional delivery, the gently strummed guitar and quiet piano do all the heavy lifting. An unhurried…

When I measured the Linn Klimax Solo 8001 for Jason Victor Serinus’s review in the May issue of Stereophile, I was very impressed by what I found. I concluded, “The Linn Klimax Solo 800’s measured performance is one of the best I have encountered, offering very high power with extremely low levels of noise and distortion. Wow!” However, Linn felt that, as good as the measurements were, the Solo 800 should have measured even better. They sent me some graphs that the company’s senior electronic design engineer, Nina Roscoe, had taken on a current production sample. These graphs did indeed indicate that there was something amiss with my measurements. I felt it appropriate, therefore, to repeat my measurements on a new sample. Linn shipped me the same amplifier, serial number…

STEPHAN CRUMP Slow Water Crump, bass; five others Papillon Sounds PS 28242 (CD, available as LP). 2024. Crump, prod.; Chris Benham, Cat Evers, engs. The first impression of this record is the freshness and richness of its sonic palette. There may never have been a jazz album with this exact instrumentation: vibraphone (Patricia Brennan); trumpet (Kenny Warren); trombone (Jacob Garchik); viola (Joanna Mattrey); violin (yuniya edi kwon). Stephan Crump’s acoustic bass leads this band from within. His compositions and arrangements configure six distinct instrumental voices into fascinating blends. Crump is best known as Vijay Iyer’s bassist, but he has led and co-led strong groups of his own. This new project, Slow Water, is very much a concept album. It was inspired by Erica Gies’s book Water Always Wins, which investigates…

BELA FLECK Rhapsody in Blue Thirty Tigers Records (auditioned as CD). 2024. Bela Fleck, prod.; Richard Battaglia, Paul Blakemore, Richard King, Chris Magruder, Jennifer Nulsen, Lawson White, engs. Fresh off winning two Grammy Awards, banjo master Bela Fleck has released Rhapsody in Blue, his homage to legendary composer George Gershwin. The record explores Gershwin’s classic work in three variations: “Rhapsody in Blue(grass)” with his core band, “Rhapsody in Blue(s)” with Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Victor Wooten, and the original classical piece performed in a straightforward way but with solo banjo substituting for piano. The orchestral part is performed by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eric Jacobsen. The set also features Gershwin’s “Rialto Ripples” and “Unidentified Piece for Banjo,” a previously unrecorded, unreleased song discovered at the Library of…

SASHA MATSON: Good morning from Cooperstown, home of baseball. Do you follow baseball? CHARLES LLOYD: I played first base. I’m left-handed. SM: Does this new album feel special to you? CL: It does indeed. SM: Tell me a little about how you view the sound. CL: My dear friend and mentor Joe Harley is always around me, and he’s been my sound mentor for years. I started out on Heathkits and graduated to Marantz. He’s a wonderful sage. He’s always there for the music. He’s a sound seeker, as am I. When I was a little kid, the old guys used to hear me playing, and they’d say, “Junior, all those notes don’t mean anything unless you have a beautiful sound.” I immediately started working on long tones, and I…