Sensible Sound articles from November 2007

Sensible Sound archives from November 2007

Innovation at JBL.(RAMBLINGS)(The JBL story: 60 years of Audio Innovations)(Brief article)(Book review)
November 1, 2007... JBL has just published The JBL story: 60 years of Audio Innovations, an eponymous coffee-table-sized tome covering all aspects of the company's product lines for home, studio, and theater. The text, which assumes a basic knowledge of audio, is...

The loss of the "real" Tower Records web site, and alternatives.(RAMBLINGS)
November 1, 2007... Last year, Tower Records went bankrupt and shuttered its stores, but the web site remains. Caiman Inc acquired Tower Records' logo, Tower.com, and the company's intellectual property for $4.2 million in a March bankruptcy auction. For...

Coming Attractions.(RAMBLINGS)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Audio Technica AT-LP2D-USB Turntable with USB output; KEF Reference floor standing speakers; Ohm Walsh 200-S3 floor standing speaker, Onkyo TX-SR705 AV receiver with Audyessy; NHT Classic Four Home Theater System; NHT Controller AV Pre/Pro; NHT...

Erratum.(RAMBLINGS)(Correction notice)
November 1, 2007... The italics in the letter from Steven Sullivan in Issue 113's Forum section had italics in place that gave the misleading impression that DAR had written a large response. In fact, DAR made no such response to part 1 of Mr. Sullivan's letter....

Part II of TK's 2007 CES report, started in Issue 113 ...(CES 2007)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... I had one more full day at the 2007 CES. It started with a JVC breakfast at Caesar's Palace and ended up with a reception by AMG (All Media Guide) in one of the private Skylofts at the top of the MGM Grand. At the JVC suite, the big and...

Oppp DV-980H ($169): www.oppodigital.com.(AUDITIONS)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... SACD over HDMI is finally a reality. Many new SACD players were just introduced at CEDIA 2007. Most of these units use the older, SACD-incompatible, HDMI 1.1 transmitter. I was hoping to see a push towards the HDMI 1.2a transmitter that...

Sangean HDT-1X HD Radio Tuner ($250): www.sangean.com.(AUDITIONS)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... This unit and its predecessors have popped up in Ramblings in the last two issues of TSS. I am still in mini-review mode because this new, updated unit has been in the lab for only a week (the original unit has been here for six months)....

Parasound Zphono ($150): www.parasound.com.(AUDITIONS)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Belying the Zphono's compact, space-saving, design, is a look and feel of top quality audio equipment. In this latest incarnation, Parasound has slightly modified the Zphono with a 100[ohm] resistor-loading in the moving coil mode. It remains...

RealTraps: MondoTraps low-frequency absorption panels: ($299.99 each) www.realtraps.com.(AUDITIONS)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... The tempo of the evolution of electronic room-correction systems has accelerated and the effectiveness of the new generation of systems, configured as standalone units or embedded in AV receivers, has reached impressive proportions. The...

Audyssey Sound Equalizer.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Manufacturer: Audyssey Laboratories 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 233 Los Angeles, California 90071; Tel: 213-625-4300; Fax: 213-625-4383 http://www.audyssey.com Price: $2,500 for the hardware. Installation price is...

Jolida Musical Envoy monoblock amps and preamp.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Manufacturer: Jolida Inc. 10820 Guilford Road, Suite 209 Annapolis Junction, MD 20701; Tel: (301) 953- 2014 Fax: (301) 498-0554 Price: System $9500 ($8000 per pair amps / $1500 preamp) Source: Reviewer's Reference System Believe it...

More jazz than not.(THE MUSIC)(Bach: Goldberg Variations Simone Dinnerstein, piano)(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Bach: Goldberg Variations Simone Dinnerstein, piano (Telarc CD-80692) Simone Dinnerstein is a young pianist who has released for her initial commercial recording one of the touchstones of the pianistic canon. Upon first listening to this...

Double double.(THE MUSIC)(Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 5 by John O'Conor with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andreas Delfs and Yefim Bronfman with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under the baton of David Zinman)(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... For this issue, Tom Lyle and I have decided to follow up on our Beethoven piano concerto comparison from Issue 113 (where we compared recordings of the 3rd and 4th concerti) by once again comparing two recordings of a piano concerto, this time...

Carousel corner.(THE MUSIC)(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Last issue we reviewed The Smithereens' Meet the Smithereens!, a recreation of the seminal Meet the Beatles! What I failed to mention-as Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken makes abundantly clear in the liner notes--is that The Smithereens...

Reissue roundup.(THE MUSIC)(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... First of all, I wanted to take a minute to thank the few T$S readers who emailed me after KWN announced that I would be retiring my post as Reissue Correspondent. Those readers along with a note from Karl encouraged me to return to writing the...

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Bach: Brandenburg Concertos. Niklas Eklund, trumpet; Stephane Rety, transverse flute; Andres Gabetta, director, violin, and violino piccolo; Swiss Baroque Soloists. Naxos 8.557755-56 (2-disc set). A booklet note says that the Swiss Baroque...

Barber: Adagio for Strings; Ives: Symphony No. 3, etc.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Barber: Adagio for Strings; Ives: Symphony No. 3, etc. Neville Marriner, The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Decca Originals 475 8237. It's surprising, isn't it, how sometimes the simplistic tune can become a hit, then a classic? Take...

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Bruckner: Symphony No. 4. Karl Bohm, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Decca Originals 475 8403. In his booklet note, musician and writer Andrew Huth takes Bruckner to task for labeling his Fourth Symphony "Romantic," preferring that the...

Dvorak: Symphonies 5 & 6, etc.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Dvorak: Symphonies 5 & 6, etc. Jiri Belohlavek, BBC Symphony Orchestra. Warner Classics 2564 63235-2 (2-disc set). Dvorak is said to have been particularly fond of his Fifth Symphony. Well he should have been; while Nos. 7, 8, and...

Elgar: Orchestral Works.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Elgar: Orchestral Works. Jacqueline du Pre, Janet Baker; Allegri String Quartet; Sir John Barbirolli, Philharmonia Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia of London. EMI 3 67918 2. There is no doubt that Sir John...

Espana.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Espana. Ataulfo Argenta, London Symphony Orchestra. LIM XR24 016. Originally recorded by Decca in 1956, this classic album with conductor Ataulfo Argenta has the distinction of being one of the best collections of Spanish-inflected music...

Falla: The Three Cornered Hat; La Vida Breve, Introduction and Dance.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Falla: The Three Cornered Hat; La Vida Breve, Introduction and Dance. Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. LIM XR24 014. Manuel Maria de Falla y Matheu's ballet The Three Cornered Hat, a lighthearted tale of attempted seduction,...

Franck: Symphony in D Minor; Chausson: Symphony in B-flat.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Franck: Symphony in D Minor; Chausson: Symphony in B-flat. Marek Janowski, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Penta Tone Classics SACD 5186 078. Until Penta Tone released this disc, my reference standards for the Franck Symphony were...

Mega Movies. Warning! Mega Sound Effects.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Mega Movies. Warning! Mega Sound Effects. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc SACD60535. There will never be an end to movies, so I guess there will never be an end to movie soundtrack scores. Moreover, there never seems to...

Schubert: Symphony No. 9.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Schubert: Symphony No. 9. Sir Colin Davis, Staatskapelle Dresden. Profil PHO6038. For Schubert, the Great C-major Symphony was something of a change-in size, scope, and mood. He was always just a little behind his contemporary, Beethoven,...

Shostakovich and Prokofiev: Violin Concertos.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Shostakovich and Prokofiev: Violin Concertos. Sarah Chang, violin; Sir Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI 0946 3 46053 2. You'd think the First Violin Concertos from two of twentieth-century Russia's premier composers would be...

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8. Valery Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra, St. Petersburg. Philips 446 062-2. What is clear is that if you already own Previn's 1973 EMI recording of the Shostakovich Eighth, you probably don't need any others. It is...

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1; Cello Sonata.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1; Cello Sonata. Han-Na Chang, cello; Antonio Pappano, London Symphony Orchestra. EMI 0946 3 32422 2. After listening mainly to the symphonies for so long, it's hard for me to remember that Shostakovich...

Strauss: An Alpine Symphony.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Strauss: An Alpine Symphony. Antoni Wit, Staatskapelle Weimar. Naxos 8.557811. Following his writing a succession of popular, big-scale tone poems like Don Juan, Tod und Verklarung (Death and Transfiguration), Don Quixote, Ein Heldenleben...

Steiner: The Son of Kong; The Most Dangerous Game.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Steiner: The Son of Kong; The Most Dangerous Game. William T. Stromberg, Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.570183. For those of you who missed it the first time around on the full-price Marco Polo label, Naxos now offer these two classic...

Tchaikovsky: Man fred Symphony.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Tchaikovsky: Man fred Symphony. Vladimir Jurowski, London Philharmonic Orchestra. LPO-0009. If you are considering this disc, I would advise you not to read the back cover of the jewel box, where it says "Recorded live at Royal Festival...

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D flat major.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D flat major. Boris Berezovsky, piano; Dmitri Liss, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra. Warner Classics 2564 63074-2. Pity pianist Boris Berezovsky; he gets sabotaged by the...

Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings; Francesca da Rimini.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings; Francesca da Rimini. Leopold Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra. Pentatone Classics 5186 122. I know I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating so stick with me. In the 1970s, Philips and several...

Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker, Favorite Selections.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker, Favorite Selections. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc SACD-60674. The title of this disc says that it contains "favorite selections," which is probably true but implies that it is like a suite or...

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, etc.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, etc. Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Decca Originals B00006627-02. I had almost given up hope that the major classical record labels were going to remaster and reissue any more of their back...