Sensible Sound articles from November 1 1997

Sensible Sound archives from November 1 1997

RAMBLINGS.
November 1, 1997... Welcome to Issue#66, which features our first look at DVD players and several other home-theater-related reviews. But for those not enamored of home theater, there are still plenty of audio equipment reviews, plus a bigger than ever selection...

FORUM.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 1997... "Come gather surround, people..." While I'm on the same wavelength as Mr. Ferstler (in his organ reviews in Issue 65), believing that "there is no high fidelity without surround sound," I must quickly part company at his reliance on DSP...

Gramps on Amps ...
November 1, 1997... Over the past few issues there have been issues raised that revolve around the question of whether there are meaningful differences in the sound of amplifiers. (The issue of CD players has also come up -- we'll table that specific discussion...

Mid-Fi Audio: CD Players and Receivers.
November 1, 1997... Notwithstanding the comments of assorted high-end manufacturers, journalists, sales personnel Internet chat-group participants, and hyper-excitable enthusiasts in general it is a fact that simple accuracy should be the name of the game in the...

Arcam Alpha 7.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Distributor: Audiophile Systems, Ltd., 8709 Castle Park Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46256; 800/566-4434 Price: $649 Source: Distributor loan Reviewer: Tom Lyle I was planning to begin this review with a discussion about why some...

Dynaco CDV-2.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: Dynaco Division of Panor Corp., 125 Cabot Court, Hauppauge, NY 11788; 516/434-1200 Price: $749 (Street price: $599) Source: Reviewer purchase Reviewer: Tom Lyle In Issue 64, Steven G. Baird reviewed (after...

Rotel RCD-975.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: Rotel, P.O. Box 8, North Reading, MA 01864; 508/664-3820 Price: $749 Source: Distributor loan Reviewer: Tom Lyle A while back, I had an opportunity to listen to the now-discontinued Audio Alchemy ACD II as well...

The $ensible Choice List: CD Players/DACs.(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... As I wrote in last issue's listing of preamplifiers, and in the issue before that concerning amplifiers, CD players and DACs sound largely the same. The most significant differences among them are in matters of cosmetics, control features, and...

Coincident Speaker Technology Troubador.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: Coincident Speaker Technology, 51 Miriam Circle, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 2P8, Canada; 905/886-6728 Price: $1,495/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Kenneth M. Duke and John A. Horan The Coincident...

KEF Coda 7.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: KEF Audio (UK), Ltd., Eccleston Road, Tovil, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6QP, UK Distributor: KEF Electronics of America, 89 Doug Brown Way, Holliston, MA; 508/429-3600 Price: $220/pair Source: Distributor loan ...

N.E.A.R. Model 50-Me Series II.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: New England Audio Resource, 12 Foss Road, Lewiston, ME 04240; 207/795-0609 Price: $2,250/pair (in black oak, dark oak or walnut); black lacquer optional at extra cost Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Thom Moon ...

NHT 2.5i.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: NHT (Now Hear This), 535 Getty Ct., Benicia, California 94510; 800/ NHT-9993 Price: $1,300/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Joseph M. Cierniak This review is late. My fault. No excuse, sir. My apologies...

PSB Century 1000i.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Distributor: PSB Speakers of America, 1600 Providence Highway, Walpole, MA 02081; 888/772-0000; www.psbspeakers.com Price: $999/pair in black ash or dark cherry, $1,099/pair in high gloss black; MS-2 stands: $199 Source: Distributor...

JBL SCS120 Simply Cinema System.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: JBL Consumer Products, 80 Crossways Park West, Woodbury, NY 11797; 503/366-4525 Price: $1,600 Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: David M. Doll I have some older JBL satellite speakers that are slightly larger...

Sharp XV-H37UA LCD Projector.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer:. Sharp Electronics, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, NJ 07430; 800/BE-SHARP Price: $4,695 Source: Reviewer purchase Reviewer: Howard Ferstler Making a sound choice for the audio part of a serious home-theater system, as...

Toshiba SD-2006 and Panasonic DVD-A100 DVD Players.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Distributor: Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc., 82 Totowa Road, Wayne, NJ 07470; 201/628-8000; Matsushita Consumer Electronics Co., One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094; 201/392-6415 Prices: Toshiba $599; Panasonic, $599 Source:...

Toshiba SD-3006 and Pioneer DVL-700 DVD Players.(Evaluation)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 1997... Manufacturer: Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc., 82 Totowa Road, Wayne, NJ 07470; 201/628-8000; Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc., P.O. Box 1540, Long Beach, CA 90801-1540; 800/746-6337 Prices: Tohiba, $700; Pioneer, $1,200 Source:...

Li'l Brian and the Zydeco Travelers: Z-Funk (Rounder CD 2146).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Li'l Brian and the Zydeco Travelers: Z-Funk (Rounder CD 2146) This is Zydeco with a bit of a twist: It is not out of Louisiana, but rather out of Houston, Texas. Li'l Brian and his posse mix in some funk and even a bit of rap to create a...

Bruckner: Symphony #5 Berlin PO/Gunter Wand (RCA Victor 09026-68503-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Bruckner: Symphony #5 Berlin PO/Gunter Wand (RCA Victor 09026-68503-2) Gunter Wand just keeps cranking out recordings and rerecordings of Bruckner. Amazing. His second recording of the Eighth (released in 1987, I believe) remains after a...

Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton (Verve 314 537 062-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton (Verve 314 537 062-2) An incredible age difference of 68 years separated these two men at the time of this recording late in 1996. Doc Cheatham, who passed away in mid-1997, was 91, Nicholas Payton was 23....

Coolbone: Brass-hop (Hollywood Records HR-62066-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Coolbone: Brass-hop (Hollywood Records HR-62066-2) I'm pretty sure that this is the first rap recording ever to be recommended in the pages of T$S. Brass-hop is no ordinary rap recording, however, with the usual sampled brass riffs,...

John Delafose and the Eunice Playboys featuring Geno Delafose: Pere et Garcon Zydeco (Rounder CD 2116).(Review)
November 1, 1997... John Delafose and the Eunice Playboys featuring Geno Delafose: Pere et Garcon Zydeco (Rounder CD 2116) This CD is a few years old, but I am mentioning it because it is so much better than the newer recordings led by son Geno. The cuts on...

Faure: Requiem, Songs Boston SO/Ozawa, Barbara Bonney (soprano), Hakan Hagegard (baritone), Warren Jones (piano) (RCA Victor 09026-68659-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Faure: Requiem, Songs Boston SO/Ozawa, Barbara Bonney (soprano), Hakan Hagegard (baritone), Warren Jones (piano) (RCA Victor 09026-68659-2) The Faure Requiem is a gorgeous piece with which most lovers of classical music are probably...

Faure: Requiem, Pavane; Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli Choir of King's College, Cambridge/New Philharmonia Orch/Sir David Willcocks (EMI Classics Red Line CDR 7243 5 698858 27).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Faure: Requiem, Pavane; Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli Choir of King's College, Cambridge/New Philharmonia Orch/Sir David Willcocks (EMI Classics Red Line CDR 7243 5 69885827) The Faure Requiem is a gorgeous piece with which most lovers...

Kenny Garrett: Songbook (Warner Bros. 9 46551-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Kenny Garrett: Songbook (Warner Bros. 9 46551-2) Things sometimes evolve. Kenny Garrett's previous recording, Pursuance. The Music of John Coltrane, which was favorably reviewed in this column a few issue back, featured, yes, the music of...

Herbie Hancock: Man-Child (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 706).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Herbie Hancock: Man-Child (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 706) This recording was originally made in 1975, same year as the Warne Marsh/Lee Konitz set discussed below, but it inhabits a much different musical universe. A quick digression...

Donald Harrison: Nouveau Swing (Impulse IMPD-209).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Donald Harrison: Nouveau Swing (Impulse IMPD-209) Alto saxophonist Donald Harrison is yet another member of the generation of young jazz musicians from New Orleans who have been making names for themselves -- the Marsalis brothers, Terence...

Ted Hawkins: The Next Hundred Years (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 702).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Ted Hawkins: The Next Hundred Years (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 702) I've complained in these pages before about the way that MFSL resurrects music from the past that would best be left buried and forgotten -- but every time I get...

Keith Jarrett: La Scala (ECM 1640).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Keith Jarrett: La Scala (ECM 1640) La Scala is a solo concert recording int the tradition of The Koln Concert. Of three cuts on this CD, two are improvisations ("La Scala, Part I" and "La Scala, Part II"), while the third is a free-flowing...

Warne Marsh/Lee Konitz: Live at the Montmartre Club: Jazz Exchange Vol. 2 (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 707).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Warne Marsh/Lee Konitz: Live at the Montmartre Club: Jazz Exchange Vol. 2 (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 707) Long-time readers know that I am a sucker for this kind of thing -- blowing sessions featuring multiple saxophone combinations...

Doug McLeod: Come to Find (JVC JVCXR-0023-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Doug McLeod: Come to Find (JVC JVCXR-0023-2) Right off the bat I must point out that the recording quality on this release is truly excellent, with a natural timbre and realistic dynamics that will make you glad you have assembled a...

Tiger Okoshi: Two Sides to Every Story (JVC-2039-2) and Echoes of a Note (JVCXR-0030-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Tiger Okoshi: Two Sides to Every Story (JVC-2039-2) and Echoes of a Note (JVCXR-0030-2) I believe that both these albums by jazz trumpeter Tiger Okoshi are now available as XRCD discs from JVC; however, my copy of Two Sides to Every Story...

Nicholas Payton: Gumbo Nouveau (Verve 314 531 199-2).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Nicholas Payton: Gumbo Nouveau (Verve 314 531 199-2) This is young New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton's second CD as a leader, which he recorded prior to the collaboration with Doc Cheatham discussed above. Supported by Jesse Davis on...

Richard Souther: Illumination (Sony Classical SK 62853).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Richard Souther: Illumination (Sony Classical SK 62853) I'll have to admit that this is one of those CDs I put into the player with great reluctance, because judging from the liner notes, I did not think I was going to like it. As I have...

McCoy Tyner: What The World Needs Now: The Music of Burt Bacharach (Impulse IMPD-197).(Review)
November 1, 1997... McCoy Tyner: What The World Needs Now: The Music of Burt Bacharach (Impulse IMPD-197) As a teenager in the '60s who worshipped Bob Dylan, idolized the Beatles, and was seduced by the "San Francisco Sound," I must confess that I also had a...

Ernie Watts/Pete Christlieb/Rickey Woodard: The Tenor Trio (JVC Music Inc. JMI-7501-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Ernie Watts/Pete Christlieb/Rickey Woodard: The Tenor Trio (JVC Music Inc. JMI-7501-2 T$S readers should recognize the first two of these three tenors (yeah, they really wanted to call the recording The Three Tenors, but the lawyers...

Carousel Corner.
November 1, 1997... "Our main objective then was the same as now. Get f**king famous, take toads of drugs and be The Beatles." --Martin Carr Just when you fear the world is being over-run by excesses such as disco or grunge, a British band hits the charts with...

Canteloube Island.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne. Netania Davrath, soprano. (Vanguard Classics SVC-38/ 39) Back in Issue 60, I surveyed four of the available recordings of these beautiful Auvergnois folk song settings by Joseph Canteloube, and I...

Double Double.
November 1, 1997... For those of you who are encountering this column for the first time, a quick word of explanation may be in order. In Double Double, Tom Lyle and I each compare two recordings of the same work. In Issue 64, which was our first time doing this,...

Scoping Software.
November 1, 1997... Good-Sounding Jazz -- Old and New Releases/Hot and Cool Presentations: Part One The John Basile Quartet: The Desmond Project (with Payton Crossley, David Finck, and Allen Mezquida). Recorded in 1996, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, New...

John Puccio Reviews ...(Brief Article)
November 1, 1997... Compact Notes: By my count, Gunter Wand has recorded the Bruckner Fifth Symphony three times in the last 15 years. They say practice makes perfect, but I still found this latest attempt, with the Berlin Philharmonic (RCA 09026-68503-2), to be...

Johann Christian Bach: Symphonies Concertantes, Vol. I. Anthony Halstead, the Hanover Band. CPO 999 348-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Johann Christian Bach: Symphonies Concertantes, Vol. I. Anthony Halstead, the Hanover Band. CPO 999 348-2. I've heard the Hanover Band recorded on several different labels, and I think this is the best they have ever been reproduced. The...

Bach: The Concertos for One and Two Harpsichords. Raymond Leppard, Andrew Davis, and Philips Ledger, the English Chamber Orchestra. Philips Duo 454 268-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Bach: The Concertos for One and Two Harpsichords. Raymond Leppard, Andrew Davis, and Philips Ledger, the English Chamber Orchestra. Philips Duo 454 268-2. In the '70s and early '80s, when almost every other company had given up on music of...

Bach at Zwolle. Michael Murray, organ. Telarc CD-80385.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Bach at Zwolle. Michael Murray, organ. Telarc CD-80385. There are two attractions in this disc. First, there are the selections played -- Preludes BWV 532, 534, and 548, Toccata and Fugue BWV 540, Fantasy on Valet BWV 735, and several...

The Art of the Baroque Trumpet, Vol. 1. Niklas Eklund, baroque trumpet; Nils-Erik Sparf, the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble. Naxos 8.553531.(Review)
November 1, 1997... The Art of the Baroque Trumpet, Vol. 1. Niklas Eklund, baroque trumpet; Nils-Erik Sparf, the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble. Naxos 8.553531. The wonderful thing about Naxos recordings is that you never know what you are gong to get. They...

Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Fantasies. Emil Gilels; Eugen Jochum, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. DG Originals 447446-2 (2-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Fantasies. Emil Gilels; Eugen Jochum, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. DG Originals 447446-2 (2-disc set). This DG Originals series remastering is the second time these works have appeared on CD. However,...

Roy Eaton: The Meditative Chopin. Seventh Wave Productions SWP7031-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Roy Eaton: The Meditative Chopin. Seventh Wave Productions SWP7031-2. These days it's apparently not enough for a performer simply to be good; he or she has to have an edge, an angle. In the case of pianist Roy Eaton I quote the angle in...

Giuliani: Complete Guitar Concertos and other works. Pepe Romero, guitar;Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Philips Duo 454 262-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Giuliani: Complete Guitar Concertos and other works. Pepe Romero, guitar;Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Philips Duo 454 262-2. About a dozen years ago, the editor asked each of the magazine's reviewers to come...

Opera Fantasy for Guitar. Pepe Romero. Philips 446 090-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Opera Fantasy for Guitar. Pepe Romero. Philips 446 090-2. The idea of transcribing operatic themes for guitar is not new. The practice was popular in the 19th century. But there isn't much of it today, and this new recording by Pepe Romero...

Glazunov: Raymonda (complete ballet). Alexander Anissimov, Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.55350-4. (2-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1997... Glazunov: Raymonda (complete ballet). Alexander Anissimov, Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.55350-4. (2-disc set) This set comes as a bargain among bargains. The performance is invigorating and the sound is excellent. The question only...

Haydn: Symphonies No. 101, "The Clock," and No. 102. Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77351-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Haydn: Symphonies No. 101, "The Clock," and No. 102. Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77351-2. Fans of Haydn as well as fans of period instruments hands will find everything here they could hope for....

From the Heart. Italian arias and Neapolitan Songs. Richard Leech, tenor; John Fiore, London Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80432.(Review)
November 1, 1997... From the Heart. Italian arias and Neapolitan Songs. Richard Leech, tenor; John Fiore, London Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80432. Whether or not you may care for the tenor, there is no denying that this is one of Telarc's best sounding...

Irish Composer Series: Romantic Ireland. Music of Gerard Victory, A.F. Potter, Padraig O'Conner, John Larchet, Arthur Duff, and Sean O Riada. Proinnsias O Duinn, RTE Sinfonietta. Marco Polo 8.223804.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Irish Composer Series: Romantic Ireland. Music of Gerard Victory, A.F. Potter, Padraig O'Conner, John Larchet, Arthur Duff, and Sean O Riada. Proinnsias O Duinn, RTE Sinfonietta. Marco Polo 8.223804. Marco Polo has been known in its short...

The Kaplan Mahler Edition: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection," etc. Gilbert Kaplan, London Symphony Orchestra. Conifer Classics 75605 51277 2 (2-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1997... The Kaplan Mahler Edition: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection," etc. Gilbert Kaplan, London Symphony Orchestra. Conifer Classics 75605 51277 2 (2-disc set). This collection is quite an undertaking. Gilbert Kaplan is the businessman who devoted...

Moussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition; Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Rafael Kubelik, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mercury Living Presence 434 378-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Moussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition; Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Rafael Kubelik, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mercury Living Presence 434 378-2. What we have here is more than a CD; it's a piece of history....

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3; Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1. Martha Argerich, piano; Riccardo Chailly and Kirill Kondrashin, Berlin and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras. Philips 446 673-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3; Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1. Martha Argerich, piano; Riccardo Chailly and Kirill Kondrashin, Berlin and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras. Philips 446 673-2. This disc may be marked at full price...

Radical Piano. Easley Blackwood Plays "Modernist" Masterpieces. Cedille Records CDR 900000 027.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Radical Piano. Easley Blackwood Plays "Modernist" Masterpieces. Cedille Records CDR 900000 027. The title pretty much says it all. Mr. Blackwood plays pieces from the first half of the 20th century by composers looking at the innovative...

Schmidt: Symphony No. 4; Bruckner: Three Orchestral Movements; March in D minor. Martin Sieghart, Bruckner Orchestra Linz. Chesky Records CD-143.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Schmidt: Symphony No. 4; Bruckner: Three Orchestral Movements; March in D minor. Martin Sieghart, Bruckner Orchestra Linz. Chesky Records CD-143. It isn't very often that the Chesky Brothers produce a newly-recorded classical album, but...

Scriabin: Complete Symphonies; Poeme de l'extase. Eliahu Inbal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Philips Duo 454 271-2.(Review)
November 1, 1997... Scriabin: Complete Symphonies; Poeme de l'extase. Eliahu Inbal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Philips Duo 454 271-2. From what I could remember of the generally favorable reviews of these recordings at the time of their original...