Sensible Sound articles from February 2006

Sensible Sound archives from February 2006

Trouble in paradise?(FORUM)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... I do not consider myself an audiophile, but over the past several years, I have wasted a fair amount of money gradually moving from "consumer" level equipment to a system that I find consistently delightful. Over the past several months, I have...

I want to take you higher.(FORUM)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... In your review of the Marantz SA 8260 CD player in Issue 105, you mentioned the improved sound quality obtained in SACD mode with the high frequency (20k to 100K) filter cut out. If human hearing is generally limited to 20k, how do frequencies...

Keeper speakers.(FORUM)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... I recently purchased some VMPS RM30 speakers and am really happy with the performance. Each speaker has a built-in subwoofer and they are biampable. There are separate ribbon midrange and tweeter level controls and the mass on the passive...

Surveying the soundscape.
February 1, 2006... The recent Prestige Profiles series of CDs merits a strong recommendation and a minor warning. Taking the latter first, you should know that these compilations are exactly the same as the corresponding "Best Of" CDs that came out in 2004. ...

Our favorite things: recordings.(STAFF PICKS)
February 1, 2006... Once again, we have asked our staff to pick their 10 favorites from among the many recordings they have encountered, employed, and enjoyed during the past year. We think you will agree that this is quite an eclectic list, and we hope that you...

DCM TFE 200 Loudspeakers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... Manufacturer: DCM Loudspeakers, 1Mitek Plaza. Winslow, IL 61089 Price: $1,000/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: David A. Rich Specifications: Dimensions: 45-11/16"H x 8"W x 20-7/8"D Weight: 60 lb ...

Onkyo DV-SP502 Universal CD Player.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... Manufacturer: Onkyo USA Corporation, 18 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458; 201/785-2600; www.onkyousa.com Price: $299 Source: Manufacturer loan * Weight: 7.5 lbs * Dimensions (W x H x D): 171/8"" x 3 3/16"" x 12 3/16"...

Pioneer DV-578A Universal CD player.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... Manufacturer: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., 2265 East 220th Street, Long Beach, CA 90810; 800-746-6337; www.pioneerelectronics.com Price: $199 Source: Manufacturer Loan Specifications: * Weight: 4 lbs. 10 oz *...

Snell Acoustics K7, CR7, and Basis 150 Loudspeakers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... Manufacturer: Snell Acoustics, 300 Jubilee Drive, PO Box 3717, Peabody, MA 01961-3717; 978/538-6262; www.snellacoustics.com Prices: K7 left/right main and surround satellites, $1250/pr; CR7 center satellite, $600; Basis 150 powered...

More jazz than not.(Bliss: String Quartet No. 2, Clarinet Quintet Maggini Quartet)(Daryl Hall/John Oates: Our Kind of Soul)(John Hiatt: Master of Disaster)(Mussorgsky/Stokowski: Symphonic Transcriptions)(The Redwine Trio: Baby Won't You Please Come Home)(Choose Something Like a Star: The Choral Music of Randall Thompson)(Vivaldi, Gloria, Bach: Magnificat)(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Bliss: String Quartet No. 2; Clarinet Quintet Maggini Quartet/David Campbell, clarinet (Naxos 8.557394) This Naxos release of two fine compositions by English composer Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) is a real delight; I would recommend it highly...

Double double.(Claude Debussy: La Mer)(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... In this installment, Tom Lyle and I take comparative listens to a pair of highly regarded recordings of music that Tom and I both cherish by a composer we both admire but for some reason have not yet featured in this column. In 1995, conductor...

How to Listen to and Understand Great Music.(THE MUSIC)(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Some time ago in T$S I reviewed a "The Teaching Company" (TTC) course given by Professor Robert Greenberg, so I'll keep my introductory comments short. My short comment on TTC is that they offer college-level courses, taught by scholars who are...

Carousel corner.(THE MUSIC)
February 1, 2006... We've indulged in the "I heard the song on the radio, so I'm going to buy the album" conceit for some time, riffing mostly on offerings from radioparadise.com, a nearly flawlessly programmed internet rock'n'roll radio station. And, as we've...

Reissue roundup.(THE MUSIC)
February 1, 2006... It was nearly 27 years ago that I first discovered Concord Jazz records. At the time I was just becoming interested in jazz, thanks due in large part to my having developed a fervid interest in audio years earlier, and the kinds of music...

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished.".(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Beethoven: Symphony No. 5; Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished." Charles Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra. JVC JM-XR24027. I have to admit, I was not moved by Munch's Beethoven. It probably has something to do with the 800 other...

Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"; Martinu: Symphony No. 2.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"; Martinu: Symphony No. 2. Paavo Jarvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80616. The idea of this coupling was to bring together works by two celebrated Czech composers, Antonin Dvorak...

Hanson: Merry Mount Suite; Bold Island Suite; Symphony No. 2 "Romantic.".(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Hanson: Merry Mount Suite; Bold Island Suite; Symphony No. 2 "Romantic." Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80649. The Merry Mount Suite, taken from Howard Hanson's 1933 opera, is anything but merry. The drama depicts some...

The Karajan Collection: Philharmonia Promenade Concert.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... The Karajan Collection: Philharmonia Promenade Concert. Herbert von Karajan, Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI 7243 4 76900-2. The powers that be at EMI continue to find new and varied ways of repackaging their older material, of which they have...

Nielsen: Aladdin Suite; Pan and Syrinx; other orchestral works.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Nielsen: Aladdin Suite; Pan and Syrinx; other orchestral works. Niklas Witten, South Jutland Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.557164. One is not apt to think much beyond Danish composer Carl Nielsen's symphonies when considering the man's...

Rameau: Une Symphonie Imaginaire.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Rameau: Une Symphonie Imaginaire. Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre. Archiv B0004478-02. Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) was one of France's great early composers of operatic and choral music, but he never actually wrote anything...

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, "Babi Yar.".(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, "Babi Yar." Mariss Jansons, Bavarian Radio Symphony and Chorus; Sergei Aleksashkin, soloist. EMI 7243 5 57902-2. Based on a series of poems published by Yevgeny Yevtushenko in 1961, the five movements of the...

Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Bonus DVD. John Williams, London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. Sony SK 94220. George Lucas finally came to the end of the S tar Wars line with this...

Richard Strauss: Rosenkavalier Waltzes, Burleske, Capriccio Sextet.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Richard Strauss: Rosenkavalier Waltzes; Burleske; Capriccio Sextet. Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Herbert Blomstedt, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig. Decca B0004645-02. I'm not sure we needed another recording of the Rosenkavalier Waltzes, but...

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D, Serenade melancolique, Bruch: Scottish Fantasy.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D; Serenade melancolique; Bruch: Scottish Fantasy. Arthur Grumiaux, violin; Jan Krenz and Heinz Wallberg, New Philharmonia Orchestra. PentaTone Classics SACD 5186-117. I have always thought of Arthur Grumiaux...

Cello Works of Tchaikovsky, Faure, Saint-Saens, and Lalo.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... Cello Works of Tchaikovsky, Faure, Saint-Saens, and Lalo. Paul Tortelier, cello; Herbert Menges, Louis Fremaux, Philharmonia and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras. EMI Classics 7243 4 76868-2. As you are probably aware, EMI has been...

The Waltz: Ecstasy and Mysticism.(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2006... The Waltz: Ecstasy and Mysticism. Werner Ehrhardt, Concerto Koln; Vladimir Ivanoff, Sarband. Archiv B0004765-02. It seems like every new classical album these days has to have a gimmick. With this one it's an exploration of the influence of...