Sensible Sound articles from December 2005

Sensible Sound archives from December 2005

Ramblings.
December 1, 2005... Welcome to Issue 106, an unusual issue in several respects, but one that we hope you will enjoy. This is an issue more technical than most, with plenty of measurement and analysis, but all in the service of the enjoyment of music. Tom Nousaine...

Whistle blowing.(multi-channel speakers)
December 1, 2005... It seems that the entertainment industry is more interested in selling you a multi-channel speaker system than they are in divulging details about how center channel speakers actually work. Practically all modern center channels use the popular...

Speaker testing: an overview.(COMPONENTS)
December 1, 2005... Twenty-five years ago, Peter Aczel's Audio Critic magazine review of the DCM Time Window introduced audio enthusiasts to the first affordable full-range speaker system that could handle dynamics and be free of performance quirks. Later on, when...

Infinity Beta 40 loudspeakers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Infinity Systems, 250 Crossways Park Drive, Woodbury NY 11797, 516/674-4INF, www.infinitysystems.com Price: $798/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Specifications: Low-Frequency Driver: Dual 6-1/2" Midrange...

Phase Technology 3.1 II loudspeakers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Phase Technology Corporation, 6400 Youngerman Circle, Jacksonville, FL 32244; 888/ 742-7385; www.phasetech.com Price: $1,300/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Specifications Tweeter: 1" user-adjustable soft dome ...

Phase Technology PC 6.1 II Loudspeakers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Phase Technology Corporation, 6400 Youngerman Circle, Jacksonville, FL 32244; 888/ 742-7385; www.phasetech.com Price: $450 each Source: Manufacturer loan Specifications: Tweeter: 1" user-adjustable soft dome ...

Denon AVR-2105 7.1 AV Receiver.(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Denon Electronics (USA), LLC, 19C Chapin Road, Suite 205, Pine Brook, NJ 07058-9385; www.usa.denon.com Price: $649 Source: Manufacturer loan Major Specifications: * 90 watts per channel FTC (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz,...

Onkyo TX-SRS02 6.1 AV Receiver.(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Onkyo USA Corporation, 18 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458; 201/785-2600; www.onkyousa.com Price: $300 Source: Manufacturer loan Major Specifications: * 75 watts per channel FTC(8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, *...

More jazz than not.(THE MUSIC)(Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-4)(Bill Frisell: east/west)(Marc Johnson: Shades of Jade)(Stephen Jones: At the Exactest Point)(Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection")(Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection")(Part: Da Pacem Domine, Lamentate)(Bobo Stenson/Anders Jormin/Paul Motian: Goodbye)(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2005... Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-4 Andras Schiff, piano (ECM 1940/41 B0005071-02) A few years ago I caused considerable consternation in the mind of estimable audio critic Peter Aczel when I opined in these pages that Mahler was a greater...

Double double.(THE MUSIC)(Interview)
December 1, 2005... After last issue's sell-out fiasco, Tom Lyle and I are back to the classics. Over the past couple of years there have been a couple of low-priced but highly regarded recordings of Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from...

Carousel corner.(THE MUSIC)(All Star Smash Hits)(Baby Won't You Please Come Home)(A Bigger Bang)(Twin Cinema)(Out-of-State Plates)(Spirit and Samba)(Gling-Glo)(All of Our Names)(Gypsy Boogaloo)(Promise of Love)(I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in This Dump)(Demon Days)(Chavez Ravine)(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2005... After having purchased Sarah Harmer's All of Our Names, a delightful disc--see below, I promptly skipped to track two, "Almost," the song that had prompted the purchase of one of this month's radioparadise.com captures. I was immediately struck...

Reissue roundup.(THE MUSIC)
December 1, 2005... This installment of Reissue Roundup heralds a new feature that will be appearing from time to time. In keeping with my penchant for alliteration, I've decided to call it "Collector's Corner." Collector's Corner becomes something worthwhile...

Scoping software.(THE MUSIC)(The Harry Watters Quartet: Love Songs)(Grieg, Edvard: Symphonic Dances, Six Songs, and Three orchestral pieces from Sigurd Jorsalfar)(Haydn, Joseph: String Quartets, Op. 71. The Lindsays)(Shostakovich, Dmitry: Symphony Number Five and Symphony Number Nine)(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2005... The Harry Watters Quartet: Love Songs. Recorded in 2004, at Bias Studios. Engineer: Bob Dawson. 56+ minutes. Summit 411. To be truthful, while this CD release deals with love themes, the way they are treated is more like traditional,...

John Puccio reviews ...(THE MUSIC)(Ades: Piano Quintet, Schubert: "Trout" Quintet)(Barber: Adagio for Strings, Violin Concerto, Orchestral and Chamber Works)(Bax: Symphonic Poems)(Bruckner: Symphony No. 5)(Concerto Veneziano)(de Falla: El Sombrero de Tres Picos, El Amor Brujo, Danza from La Vida Breve)(Dvorak: Tone Poems)(Grieg: Peer Gynt)(Mahler: Symphony No. 6)(Mendelssohn: Italian and Reformation Symphonies)(Monty Python's Spamalot. A CD Lovingly Ripped Off from the New Musical, Original Broadway Cast Recording)(Mozart: Requiem)(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2005... Ades: Piano Quintet; Schubert: "Trout" Quintet. Thomas Ades, piano; Arditti Quartet; members of the Belcea Quartet. EMI 7243 5 57664 2. The gimmick here is the coupling of a modern piano quintet, Thomas Ades's 2001 piece, with a...