RAMBLINGS.(Brief Article)

Welcome to Issue #85, an issue with a focus on loudspeakers. Our staff looks at several models to find the strengths and weaknesses of each design; as a bonus, we have included a $ensible Choice list that offers recommendations on speakers ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to more than ten grand per pair. By the time you finish reading through all this, you should have a better idea of what kind of speakers would be the best for your particular needs, room, and budget.

May The Schwarz Be With You!: I recently received for review a CD that I had been eagerly awaiting, Happytown (Rounder 11661-6098-2) by Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, one of my favorite groups. I could hardly wait to fire it up, but when I did, I was immediately disappointed, not so much with the music, but with the sound, which seemed muffled and dulled, especially in regard to the drums, which seemed buried in the mix. I played the CD a couple more times in my home system, but had a hard time working up much enthusiasm for it.

Then a couple of interesting things happened. First, I received an e-mail message the next day from Peter Schwarz, former Mamou Playboy bassist who still helps the band with publicity. I quickly e-mailed Peter back to express my disappointment with the engineering on Happytown. The next day, I received a brief but thoughtful reply wherein he said that the band was going for something of the old analog sound, as opposed to the brightness of digital, but maybe they had gone too far.

Second, I started playing Happytown in my car, and sure enough, in that environment it did not sound particularly murky; rather, it sounded about like everything else does when played on my car system, which is a great homogenizer. The more I have played Happytown, the more it has been growing on me. Yes, I wish that the engineering had been better, but when you really get down to it, it's no big deal with music like this. The spirit comes ...