Sensible Sound articles from January 2005

Sensible Sound archives from January 2005

Ramblings.(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... Welcome to Issue 102, another issue with a variety of features, with plenty going on in terms of both equipment and music reviews. There should be something in this issue to delight (or infuriate) just about everyone, so go ahead and grin or...

Ruby my dear.(Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Thanks to John Puccio for recognizing the greatness of Arthur Rubinstein. The date of death is wrong. He died in 1982. Anyone interested in learning more about him should read his two books of autobiography and the well researched book on...

What's NXT?(Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Congratulations on your issue Number 100! May you sell many more! I have subscribed for about one year, and like your approach. You certainly tread differently from others. And, diversity is one guaranteed reality in this universe. KWN's...

Surveying the soundscape.(Home Entertainment Expo 2004)
January 1, 2005... The New York Knockabouters: Don't tell anyone, but the main thing I enjoy about the Home Entertainment Expos is that they give me an excuse to spend a few days knocking about New York City. 2004's event was no exception. So I'm going to begin...

My smallest system: still a reference.(Skeptimania)(Column)
January 1, 2005... During one of my previous columns I had promised to discuss my third system, located in my 2,200 cubic foot, L-shaped living room, and so here we go. This living room, like virtually all of the rest of the house, has recently been remodeled,...

Benchmark DAC1 D/A converter.(Components)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Benchmark Media Systems Inc., 5925 Court St. Rd., Syracuse, NY 13206; www.BenchmarkMedia.com; 315-437-6300 Price: $975 Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: James T. Frane Compact disc players read a digital signal...

Delphi SKYFi SA 10000 XM radio receiver.(Components)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Delphi Corporation, 1441 West Long Lake Road, Troy, MI 48098-5090; 800-GO-DELPHI (463-3574); www.delphi.com Price: SKYFi SA 10000: $99.99; SKYFi SA 10004 Home Installation Kit: $69.99 Source: Reviewer purchase ...

SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer.(Components)
January 1, 2005... Manufacturer: SV Subwoofers LLC, 6420 Belmont Ave., Liberty, OH 44420; www.svsubwoofers.com; 703/845-1472 Price (factory direct): $1,149 Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Howard Ferstler Right off the bat I am going to tell...

Thiel CS2.4 loudspeaker.(Components)(Thiel Audio)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Thiel Audio, 1026 Nandino Blvd., Lexington, KY 40511-1207; www.thielaudio.com Price: $3,900 in Amberwood; prices vary with other finishes Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Thom Moon Thiel Audio is a relative...

Tyler acoustics linbrook signature monitor speakers.(Components)
January 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Tyler Acoustics, 1316 Sweeney St., Owensboro, KY 42303; 270/691-9500; www.tyleracoustics.com Price: Speakers, $3,250/pair; dedicated stands, $300/ pair Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Howard Ferstler I first...

Virtual Dynamics interconnect, speaker and AC power cables.(Components)
January 1, 2005... Manufacturer: Virtual Dynamics, Box 4494, 5104-49A St., Barrhead, AB, Canada T7N 1A4 (780) 674-8870; www.virtualdynamics.ca; info@virtualdynamics.ca Price: Basic Power One AC cable $100 (6ft.), Basic Power Three AC Cable $300 (6 ft.) David...

More jazz than not.(The Music)(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Geri Allen: The Life of a Song (Telarc SACD-63598) I should point out at the outset that although this is a SACD release, my listening was done to the CD layer in 2.1 mode (newspeak for stereo speakers plus subwoofer). No, I still have not...

Double double.(The Music)(Column)
January 1, 2005... This time around, Tom and I are back to our favorite composer, Gustav Mahler. Idiots that we are, we have once again decided to compare two recordings of the gigantic Symphony No. 3, even though the last time we did this we decided the...

Carousel corner.(music albums)(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... This ish we find rock'n'roll alive and breathing, but a different kind of air, shared freely with genres like country, blues, and jazz--one would think they all came from the same roots! Nah, can't be. If we have one highlight this month, it's...

Tom Nousaine'a latest pop music adventures.
January 1, 2005... As I get older I have to reflect on life. One of my most profound musical disappointments was K.D. Lang with the DSO at Orchestra Hall late in June. The show (seats 9 and 11 row H) started fine.... the DSO did a 25 minute set of nicely...

The RCA living stereo SACD remasters.(Reissue Roundup)(Super Audio Compact Disc )
January 1, 2005... By now, any SACD adopter who's also a classical music lover is well aware that there are 10 titles recently released in this new format; all are hybrid disks, making them playable on conventional CD players in addition to the new...

Original cast recordings from the 2004 broadway season.(The Broadway and Cabaret Scene)(Avenue Q)(Wicked)(Caroline, or Change)(Make Believe)(Collage)(A Lot of Livin')(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... The 2004 Broadway musical season ended with a bit of a surprise. The little show that could clobbered the presumed champion. With a humorous campaign aimed at Tony Award voters, Avenue Q snatched the Tony Award for best score (not to mention...

Scoping software.
January 1, 2005... Bax, Arnold: The Film Music of Arnold Bax. The BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Rumon Gamba. Recorded in 2002, at Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester, England. Engineer Stephen Rinker. 73+ minutes. Chandos 10126. The title of this...

Bach: Famous Transcriptions.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Bach: Famous Transcriptions. Leopold Stokowski, Symphony Orchestra. EM17243-5-57758-0-1 (2-disc set). Leopold Stokowski was a mere lad in his seventies when he made these recordings of Bach transcriptions in 1957-58 with his handpicked...

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 22.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 22. Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Charles Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra. JVC JM-XR24018. I'm afraid that since JVC started sending me their XRCD audiophile remasters, I've become rather...

Berlioz: Requiem.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Berlioz: Requiem. Frank Lopardo, tenor; Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Telarc CD-80627. According to the booklet note, Berlioz wrote to a friend, "If I were threatened with the destruction of everything I have created...

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 1.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 1. Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Erich Leinsdorf, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. RCA 82876-608602. This is one of RCA's legendary discs, one of Soviet pianist's Sviatoslav Richter's first recorded...

Brian: Symphony No. 1 "The Gothic.".(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Brian: Symphony No. 1 "The Gothic." Eva Jenisova, Dagmar Peckova, Vladimir Dolezal, Peter Mikulas, soloists; Ondrej Lenard, Slovak Opera Chorus, Slovak Folk Ensemble Chorus, Lucnica Chorus, Bratislava City Choir, Bratislava Children's Choir,...

Bridge: The Sea; Enter Spring; Summer; Two Poems for Orchestra.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Bridge: The Sea; Enter Spring; Summer; Two Poems for Orchestra. James Judd, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.557167. Frank Bridge (1879-1941) is one of those composers who may be more well-known today for being the teacher of...

Costello: II Sogno.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Costello: II Sogno. Michael Tilson Thomas, London Symphony Orchestra. DG B0003284-02. The name "Elvis Costello" probably isn't the first thing that leaps into to most people's minds when they think of big-scale, classical orchestral works,...

Elgar: Cello Concerto; Sea Pictures; "Cockaigne" Overture.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Elgar: Cello Concerto; Sea Pictures; "Cockaigne" Overture. Jacqueline du Pre, cello; Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano; Sir John Barbirolli, London Symphony Orchestra. EMI 7243 5 62887 2. It's good to have these classic recordings of the Cello...

Holst: The Planets.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Holst: The Planets. Walter Susskind, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 4005. Mobile Fidelity, having largely moved away from gold discs and on to Super Audio CDs, found some good source material in the performance of...

Mozart: Requiem.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Mozart: Requiem. Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 82876 58705 2. Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an old hand at reinterpreting classical music from an authentic point of view, so it comes as no surprise that he...

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; a Night on Bald Mountain, and others.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; A Night on Bald Mountain, and others. Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. RCA SACD 82876-61394-2. The record companies must see something to this SACD thing because now RCA has jumped into the...

Piano Espanol.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Piano Espanol. Jorge Federico Osorio, piano. Cedille Records CDR 90000 075. As many of you are aware, the small, Chicago-based company Cedille Records has been quietly producing some of the best-sounding discs around, mostly of solo and...

Popov: Symphony No. 1; Shostakovich: Theme and Variations.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Popov: Symphony No. 1; Shostakovich: Theme and Variations. Leon Botstein, London Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80642. Here's another name, Gavril Popov, that might not be too familiar with most music lovers. He was a Soviet composer...

Great Conductors of the Twentieth Century: Reiner.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Great Conductors of the Twentieth Century: Reiner. Emil Gilels, Carol Brice, soloists; Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Robin Hood Dell Orchestra, NBC Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra....

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring Nielsen: Symphony No. 5.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Nielsen: Symphony No. 5. Paavo Jarvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80615. I know I've mentioned this before, but I can't help thinking when I see the name Paavo Jarvi of his father, Neemi Jarvi,...

Tango Sensations.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Tango Sensations. Alban Berg Quartett. EM17243 5 57778 2 9. First, one has to understand that there is the "old tango" and there is the "tango nuevo," the "new tango." This is important because it is the old tango music popularized in...

Tchaikovsky: the Sleeping Beauty.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty ballet (complete). Andre Previn, London Symphony Orchestra. EMI 7243 5 85788 2 9 (2-disc set). American Angel's first release of this 1974 set was both a blessing and a chore. When Previn recorded it, it...

Theodorakis: Zorbas Ballet; Adagio for Solo Flute; 3 Pieces from Carnaval.(Sound Recording Review)
January 1, 2005... Theodorakis: Zorbas Ballet; Adagio for Solo Flute; 3 Pieces from Carnaval. Charles Dutoit, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. Decca 475 6130. Almost everyone of a certain age is familiar with the music from the 1964...