Sensible Sound articles from February 2003

Sensible Sound archives from February 2003

Ramblings.
February 1, 2003... Welcome to Issue 94, which contains among other things our annual compilation of equipment recommendations from our contributors. You will find plenty of recommended components at a variety of price points and a lot of practical advice, and you...

Surveying the soundscape.(music needs of youth )
February 1, 2003... Sonic Youths: I'm feeling reassured that somewhat younger generation's electronic entertainment reaches farther than video games, computers, and even home theater. I have recent anecdotal evidence that their music needs are being met in classic...

Are speaker response curves misleading? Part 1. (Skeptimania).(audio equipment)
February 1, 2003... For years, I was a big fan of Julian Hirsch's product reviews in Stereo Review magazine. I thought he was honest and competent, and he probably helped more audio enthusiasts make intelligent shopping decisions than any other audio writer in the...

Eminent Technology LFT-VIII loudspeaker system. (Equipment).
February 1, 2003... Manufacturer: Eminent Technology, 225 East Palmer Street, Tallahassee, FL 32314; 850/575-5655; E-mail: brucet@eminent-tech.com Price: $1,500 (pair) Source: Manufacturer loan Eminent Technology has been in business for more than 20...

Soliloquy Model 6.3 loudspeakers.
February 1, 2003... Manufacturer: Soliloquy Loudspeaker Company, 2613 Discovery Dr., Bldg. A, Raleigh, NC 27616;919/ 876-7554; www.solspeak.com Price: $3,199, extra for custom finishes Source: Manufacturer Loan When I first saw a photograph of the...

Sunfire True Subwoofer Super Junior.
February 1, 2003... Manufacturer: Sunfire Corp., P.O. Box 1589, Snohomish, WA 98291; 425/335-4748; www.sunfire.com Price: $995 Source: Manufacturer Loan This is one of the most unusual products I have ever reviewed, because it is a subwoofer that,...

Sunfire Theater Grand Processor III.
February 1, 2003... Manufacturer: Sunfire Corp., P.O. Box 1589, Snohomish, WA 98291; 425/335-4748; www.sunfire.com Price: $3,495 Source: Manufacturer Loan I must say that I was impressed with the Theater Grand III (which I will refer to as the...

SVS 25-31PCi Subwoofer.
February 1, 2003... Manufacturer: SV Subwoofers LLC, 590 Carlin Drive, Austintown, OH 44515; Fax 330/793-8183; e-mail feedback@svsubwoofers.com; www.svsubwoofers.com Price: $499 (factory direct) Source: Manufacturer Loan I reviewed the SVS 16-46PC in...

Tivoli Audio Model Two and Model Subwoofer.
February 1, 2003... Manufacturer: Tivoli Audio, 82 W. Broadway, Boston, MA 02127; (877) 297-9479; www.tivoliaudio.com Price: Model Two $159.99; Model Subwoofer $79.99 Source: Reviewer Purchase Oh, the very nefariousness of it all! Having one's march...

Staff picks.
February 1, 2003... It was way back in Issue 63 that we published our first "Staff Picks" compilation, following it up in Issues 65 and 67 with additions by contributors who were a bit tardy in getting their lists together for that first installment. A year later,...

More jazz than not.(The Art of the Fugue Glenn Gould)
February 1, 2003... Bach: The Art of the Fugue Glenn Gould, organ and piano (Sony Classical SK 87759) Elsewhere in this issue, Tom Lyle and I discuss some really sublime Bach playing by the late Glenn Gould, whose two versions of the Goldberg Variations are...

Double double.
February 1, 2003... Anyone who has read this column before knows the drill. Tom Lyle and Ye Grumpy Olde Editor independently audition two competing recordings, typically of large-scale orchestral music, and then indicate and try to justify our preferences in a few...

Carousel corner.
February 1, 2003... After having spent the better portion of two columns on the sum total of five bands, we have a bit of making up to do... okay, we have a lot of making up to do. Patty Larkin, Running Angels (High Street Records) Patty Larkin is one of...

Reissue roundup: the rolling stones remasters.(ABKCO reissues rock group's recordings; Sony)
February 1, 2003... Unless you've been marooned on some south Pacific island for the past several months, you're probably already aware that ABKCO has just remastered all 22 of the Rolling Stones albums in its catalog. This was a strenuous undertaking for the...

Scoping software: your audio system is terrific. How good are your ears?
February 1, 2003... In a series of articles in issues 71 through 74, Bob Thompson gave a detailed overview of what does and does not matter when it comes to compact-disc player performance, and as part of that short series he reviewed an error-correcting check...

The Broadway and cabaret scene.(Review)
February 1, 2003... Ann Hampton Callaway: Signature, N-Coded Music 4227 Christine Andreas: Here's to the Ladies, PS Classics 208 Jessica Molaskey: Pentimento, PS Classics 205 Michael Feinstein With the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Concord Jazz 4987...

Bernstein: West Side Story (original score).(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2003... Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred; Kenneth Schermerhorn, Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.559126. I'd recommend this disc even it weren't Leonard Bernstein's original score, before it was doctored for the Broadway stage and the Hollywood...

Bizet: Carmen (complete).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Marilyn Horne, James McCracken, Tom Krause, Adriana Maliponte; Leonard Bernstein, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. DG 289 471 750-2 (3-disc set). There was a time when Bernstein's 1973 rendering of Bizet's Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera...

Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6; Music for the Royal Fireworks; Water Music.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. DG 289 471 758-2 (3-disc set). Heck, they don't call us the "$ensible" Sound for nothing: Here's a clear case of bargain upon bargain. DG give us almost four hours of music on a three-disc mid-price set that beats...

Mahler: Symphony No. 9.
February 1, 2003... Sir John Barbirolli, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI 7243-5-67926-2. The Finale to Mahler's Ninth Symphony, the Adagio, is quite possibly the most beautiful piece of music ever written. If that statement seems too bold for you, let me...

Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"; Piano Concerto No. 23.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Alain Lefevre, piano; Jean-Francois Rivest, Orchestre symphonique de Laval. CBC Records SMCD 5220. Wouldn't you know it? Just when you find a disc that makes a terrific impression sonically, you have to cope with an eccentric...

Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade; Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia; Balakirev: Islamey.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Valery Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra. Philips 289 470 840-2. Beware of comparisons. When I first put this disc on and had listened for a couple of minutes, I was mightily impressed. The sound, the sensuous performance, all top flight. Then I...

Sacred Songs.
February 1, 2003... Placido Domingo; Sissel; Marcello Viotti, OrChestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. DG 289 471 575-2. With "Sacred Songs," Placido Domingo proves once again he's the greatest tenor in the world. Besides, with Pavarotti retiring soon,...

Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; Overture, Scherzo & Finale.
February 1, 2003... Wolfgang Sawallisch, Staatskapelle Dresden. EMI 7243 5 67771 2 5. I first bought these four symphonies with Sawallisch just shortly after they were recorded in 1972. I instantly fell in love with the performances, but I thought the sound...

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2; Tubin: Symphony No. 5.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Paavo Jarvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80585. For Jarvi's second Telarc recording with his new orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, he chose a pair of Scandinavian favorites, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius's Second Symphony...

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Marin Alsop, Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.555714. My first impression of Marin Alsop's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's every-popular Fourth Symphony was not entirely favorable. The first movement seemed lax, if not entirely leaden....

Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich Violin Concertos.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Ilya Gringolt, violin; Itzhak Perlman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. DG 289 471 616-2. I really don't mean to be petty about this, but when people such as Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have to start making...

Toch: Cello Concerto; Tanz-Suite.(Ernst Toch )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Susanne Muller-Hornbch, cello; Gerhard Muller-Hornbach, Mutare Ensemble. CPO 999 688-2. Ernst Toch (1887-1964) was a Vienna-born Jewish composer much more well known in the 1920s than today. His career began a decline when he was forced...