tas_168.pdf

2006 Product of the Year Awards

S T E R E O • M U L T I C H A N N E L A U D I O • M U S I C

cD Player

The best deal

under $150?

The King

A new RefeRence SPeAKeR?

PLUS

www.theabsolutesound.com

martinLogan

ProAc

Usher

Deinitive Technology

gershman

Bolzano Villetri

Oppo’s

HOT new

HAnSen’S

SPeAKeRS fROm

January 2007

CoverStory

126 HP’SWorkSHoP

HanSenaudio’StHekingv.2loudSPeakerSyStem,

PluSanintervieWWitHdeSignerlarSHanSen.

49 The AbsoluTe sound ’S2006

ProduCtoftHeyearaWardS

Our annual picks for the year’s best gear.

equiPmentrePortS

36 abSoluteanalog:

roberte.greenereports.

73 Cayinaudioa-88ttubeintegratedamplifierandSCd-50tSaCdPlayer

78 ParasoundHaloa21Stereoamplifier

84 ProacStudio140loudspeaker

90 legenburgHermesSinterconnectandloudspeakerCables

92 vtlit-85integratedamplifier

JacobHeilbrunnonasweetlittleintegrated.

96 tact2.2XProom-CorrectionSystem

102 martinloganvistaloudspeaker

110 PathosendorphinCdPlayer

114 bolzanovilletritorre3005SpeakerandvecchioSubwoofer

January 2007 The Absolute Sound

Contents

marantztt-15Sturntable

PaulSeydortakesatripdownmemorylane.

Jonathanvalinonaterrificandaffordableamp.

neilgaderonasmallbritishspeaker.

neilgaderreports.

anthonyH.CordesmanonaninnovativedSP.

dickolshermakeshistaSdebut.

Waynegarcialistenstoanitalianhybrid.

JacobHeilbrunnonanitalianomni.

Contents

founder; chairman,

editorial advisory board

editor-in-chief

editor

executive editor

managing and

music editor

acquisitions manager

and associate editor

art director

Harry Pearson

08 Letters

7 Manufacturer Comments

Robert Harley

Wayne Garcia

Jonathan Valin

Bob Gendron

Neil Gader

6 From The Editor

8 Industry News

Future TAS

Torquil Dewar

senior writers

John W. Cooledge, Anthony H. Cordesman,

Robert E. Greene, Chris Martens,

Dick Olsher, Andrew Quint, Sallie Reynolds,

Paul Seydor, Alan Taffel

6 Start Me Up

Oppo Digital DV-970HD Universal Disc

Player and Usher V-601 and V-604

Loudspeakers

reviewers and

contributing writers

Chris Martens and Barry Willis.

Soren Baker, Greg Cahill, Dan Davis,

Andy Downing, Jim Hannon, Jacob Heilbrunn,

Sue Kraft, Mark Lehman, Ted Libbey,

David McGee, Bill Milkowski,

Derk Richardson, Don Saltzman,

Max Shepherd, Barry Willis

Mainstream Multichannel

Deinitive Pro Cinema 1000 Loudspeakers

Chris Martens.

0 TAS Journal

hp’s equipment setup

Danny Gonzalez

Basic Repertoire: Hard Bop

managing editor,

avguide.com

web producer

Monica M. Williams

Bill Milkowski.

Ari Koinuma

Music

68 Recording of the Issue

Mark Feldman: What Exit.

Thomas B. Martin, Jr.

Mark Fisher

Cheryl Smith

(512) 891-7775

Marvin Lewis

MTM Sales

(718) 225-8803

reprints and e-prints: Jennifer Martin, Wrights Reprints

toll free: (877) 652-5295, Outside the U.S.: (281) 419-5725,

jmartin@wrightsreprints.com

subscriptions, renewals, changes of address:

phone: (888) 732-1625 (US) or (815) 734-5833

(outside US), or write The Absolute Sound ,

Subscription Services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris,

IL 61054. Ten issues: in the US, $36; Canada $52

(GST included); outside North America, $71 (includes air mail).

Payments must be by credit card (VISA, MasterCard,

American Express) or US funds drawn on a US bank,

with checks payable to Absolute Multimedia, Inc.

editorial matters: Address letters to the editor,

The Absolute Sound , PO Box 1768, Tijeras, New Mexico 87059,

or e-mail rharley@absolutemultimedia.com.

classiied advertising: Please use form in back of issue.

newsstand distribution and local dealers:

Contact IPD, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Suite 400,

Bonita Springs, Florida 34134, (239) 949-4450

publishing matters: Contact Mark Fisher at the address

below or e-mail misher@absolutemultimedia.com.

Publications Mail Agreement 40600599

Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to

Station A / P.O. Box 54 / Windsor, ON N9A 6J5

e-mail: info@theabsolutesound.com

Absolute Multimedia, Inc.

4544 S. Lamar, Bldg. G-300

Austin, Texas 78745

phone: (512) 892-8682 · fax: (512) 891-0375

e-mail: tas@absolutemultimedia.com

www.theabsolutesound.com

Rock Etc .

Reviews of the latest albums by Tom Waits,

John Legend, Robert Randolph, The Who,

David Grisman, and Kasey Chambers. Plus,

compelling Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash,

and Tony Joe White reissues. And, the

lowdown on 2006’s best box sets.

58 Classical

Coverage of new discs from Frank Peter

Zimmerman, Paul McCartney, Renée

Fleming, and Danny Elfman, as well as

operas by Rossini and Wagner. Plus, a

Beethoven SACD box and single-disc Mahler

and Beethoven SACDs.

68 Jazz

The scoop on the newest discs from Bill

Frisell, John Patitucci, Omer Avital, and Ray

Charles, plus an SACD from Stu Goldberg

and an audiophile LP by Wes Montgomery.

8 TAS Back Page

11 Questions for Bob Stuart of

Meridian Audio

184

2007 Absolute Multimedia, Inc., January 2007. The Absolute Sound

(Issn#0097-1138) is published ten times per year, $42 per year for Us residents.

Absolute Multimedia, Inc., 4544 s. Lamar, Bldg G300, Austin, Texas 78745. Periodical

Postage paid at Austin, Texas and additional mailing ofices. Canadian publication

mail account #1551566. POsTMAsTER: send address changes to The Absolute Sound ,

subscription services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris, IL 61054. Printed in the USA .

Neil Gader.

January 2007 The Absolute Sound

Absolute Multimedia, Inc.

chairman and ceo

vice president/publisher

advertising reps

I have been a subscriber to and a reader of The Absolute Sound

Letters

replication, if the CD (of LP) was truly not mastered, there

would be no record to review. Many years ago, I encountered a

similar situation where all the tracks on the album I was working

on required some EQ, except for one, which sounded ine as it

was. The producer asked, “So you’re not mastering that one?”

The decision to not change something is as valid a

mastering decision as boosting a given frequency by so many

decibels. And if the recording gets mass produced, be assured

that someone, somewhere did in fact master it.

Mr. Gendron said, “While customary frequency boosts are

absent and levels require an additional turn of the volume knob,

the results have wonderful bite....” To me that suggests the

mastering engineer did a good job.

since Issue 17 and have since seen any number of design and

format changes to the magazine. But with the latest, Issue

166, the layout and design has reach its nadir. Page after page

after page of 8 or 9 point type superimposed over out-of-focus

halftone backgrounds and blocks of tiny unreadable white san-

serif type against red panels disrespect the written words. Your

designer should issue an apology to Kevin Voecks for messing

up his shirt and tie in the virtually unreadable column of the

Back Page layout. I do not know what audience you are trying

to reach by presenting your magazine laid out in this manner,

but 18–24 year-olds don’t seem to it your demographics. Golden

Ears: Put your glasses on. We are interested in what you have to

say and are never bored by reading the well-written word.

Steve Rosenblatt

Barry Diament

Balanced Circuits

I noted with interest Mr. Tomlinson’s comments about the

Presbyopia

I ’ve been through a couple of format changes at TAS and,

Ampzilla in the August issue [TAS Retrospective]. There is

a comment in the second to last paragraph that is blatantly

untrue, however: “While ‘so-called’ balanced amps are common

today, not one carries it this far.”

In fact, our ampliiers use a similar operating principle (the

Circlotron, fully differential and balanced from input to output),

and have since their inception in 1978. More recently, BAT has

been using this principle too, as has Graff and a few others.

I would appreciate it if you would pass this information on to

Mr. Tomlinson. If he is interested we have information on our

Web site, which has been there for about the last 13 years: http://

www.atma-sphere.com/papers/theory.html.

from an aesthetic point of view, I don’t feel strongly one

way or another about the one inaugurated in Issue 165.

However, from a practical point of view, there is a problem. A

large percentage of high-end audio readers are at or over the age

(40s) when presbyopia occurs, which makes reading small fonts

dificult. The new font in TAS is smaller than it used to be and

harder to read than the prior one, which was not very large or

distinct itself. On another matter, in Issue 163 Andrew Quint

reviewed Edgar Meyer’s latest CD. In “Further Listening” at the

end of the review, he suggested “Meyer/Ma/Marshall: Uncommon

Ritual .” Uncommon Ritual did feature Meyer and Mike Marshall,

but the third performer was Bela Fleck, not Yo-yo Ma. Ma did

appear with Meyer and Mark O’Connor on two CDs, Appalachian

Waltz and Appalachian Journey .

Ralph Karsten

CEO, Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.

Doug Crowley

What Is High End?

I read both the letters in the latest edition (November 2006)

We have revisited the new graphic design and made some

changes, starting with this issue, which include larger type

and improved type contrast. —Robert Harley

on “growing the high end,” and while I found many of the

ideas interesting there is one point that is never taken up.

What makes a high end? It certainly is not mass production,

which always diminishes quality. Yet that is what these writers

seem to suggest we need. I for one do not care about full

acceptability by the masses. I do care that what I purchase has

the quality and sound that I am looking for—and not whether

others feel it’s worth the price. I can only make comparisons to

things I know. I am a very small ice cream manufacturer in the

Northeast. We individually batch our ice cream and because we

do I am limited in the quantity I can produce, but I know the

quality is exceptional. I could move up to a continuous batch

freezer and produce 10 times the amount in one-quarter the

Mastering

T he review of Iron Maiden’s A Matter of Life and Death in

Issue 166 (November), says, “At co-producer Harris’ sug-

gestion, Kevin Shirley did not master Maiden’s record.”

Since mastering is essentially the creation of the part used for

8 January 2007 The Absolute Sound

Harder to Read

Mysteries of

Letters

time, but not with the same result in taste and quality. Which is

truly the high end? I am a true believer that the quality of the

product comes irst and the rest will take care of itself. People

always seek out the best, maybe not all people but enough to

make it worth the trouble. If affordability is your goal, great.

Mine is to be the best at what I do.

to personal computers, yes; do they listen through earplugs at

volumes that may damage hearing, yes. Is it all dreck [that spells

the end of] the true audiophile, well, maybe. But if they do

appreciate music and can learn about quality, there is hope.

My son recently discovered Dave Brubeck. I heard him listening

one day on his little computer speakers by MP3. I said, “Hey, you

know I actually have that CD (as well as vinyl…but I didn’t want

to be way over the line), and it sounds a lot better than MP3 on

your computer.” “Oh, yeah, it does?” “And, say, let’s get you some

better PC speakers.” “Wow, that does sound a lot better!” Then

I made my move, “How about listening to this on my system?”

“Yeah, I’d like to, but not right now. I’m in the middle of a raid in

World of War Craft” —an on-line computer game. Nevertheless, I

considered that a victory; the seed had been planted.

The opportunity is out there, and others see it, too. Just look

at Apple and its “hi-i system” for the iPod. Some might snarf,

“Oh, it’s not much more than half of a Bose 901.” But it’s a start.

And it’s a lot better than the Magnavox console that many of

us used when growing up. So the opportunity is there. This is a

responsibility for current audiophiles (a child who grows up with

audiophiles becomes an audiophile) as well as manufacturers.

That brings us to product. I am astounded by the breadth

and depth of audiophilia today; the number of really esoteric

high-end choices in electronics, turntables, and speakers, not

to mention the voodoo of cabling and interconnects. Just look

at the product reviews and advertising in any audio mag. Lots

of small companies trying to log the new and the best. And

undeniably, the high-end sound is wonderful today and sounds

better than the past.

However, I do wonder, “How are these guys going to survive,

make money, and grow?” And that is the rub—most won’t. The

audiophile landscape today is all about R&D funded by cottage/

garage operations, with some good ideas and seed money from

friends and family, that turn out incredible products (in quality

and price) with no chance of ever really being a big commercial

success. It’s just like the high-tech businesses in Silicon Valley:

Deferred R&D by all the little guys on shoestrings for whom an

exit strategy is not commercial success (much less an IPO) but is

being licensed or acquired by somebody bigger. Because… only

the big have the revenue stream to fund large-scale sales, marketing,

and support of products to end-customers. R&D is usually no

more than 20% of revenue, while sales and marketing are 70%.

So it really is the game of the little ish getting eaten by the big

ish: all the big retailers owned by conglomerates like Federated,

Allied, etc. And we’ve also seen this in audiophilia of the 60s and

70s, where the Japanese consumer electronics industry reached

critical mass by accretion (Marantz, HK, Sherwood, Scott, KLH,

AR, etc.). Just look at the brands that Harman International has

today (Ininity, JBL, Mark Levinson, Revel, Crown, etc.). They

have the muscle and resources to produce then market, sell,

and support products. The reality is that the dealer channel only

works to fulill existing demand of a relatively few standardized

products. Retail pretty much always follows the product model

of “good, better, and best.” Anything more is too complicated

to stock, sell, and support. So for audiophilia, this means that the

dealer channel is viable when there are relatively few standardized

P. Kogan

Where Have All

Dealers Gone?

I n the November 2006 issue, Letters section, Eric Landau

asks, “Where have all the dealers gone?” Eric, I can tell you

they have gone out of business. I started in the business in

1976. At that time our small upstate NY area supported four

audio shops at one time. Today we are the only business left. I

will spare you our success story. I can tell you that in the last

25 years we have witnessed two major factors that make your

search for Rega and VPI frustrating. The irst problem is that

today’s basic audio products are way too good for the money. The

second is that the vast majority of shoppers patronize Best Buy,

Circuit City, and the Internet.

These places are only interested in one thing, volume. They

won’t sell high-end products because they can’t sell enough boxes.

Why? Because the $500 Denon receiver and $399/pair Polks or

Klipschs sound pretty good.

As a matter of fact, most sales are made without an audition.

As you know the stores are all very loud and most of the product

is hooked up wrong or broken. In 2005, the top 10 electronics

dealers made 72% of the sales in the U.S. By the year 2010 that

will most likely move pretty close to 80%. The slice of pie left is

pretty small for a small dealer, and the business model is not real

good for new audio shops.

I hope you will keep the faith, Eric. Over the last few years

independent dealers are working hard to separate themselves

from the Best Buys of the world. You will ind most successful

dealers adding new upscale products every year.

Keith Zoll

Dealers Gone” as a query into the death of audiophilia is

a point I’ve often read about and heard [made] in current

audiophile circles. However, maybe can it be both “the worst of

times and the best of times.” While I’m not normally an optimist

on all matters, let me try to convince you that actually it is a

Dickensian “Worst and Best of Times.” There are three reasons:

people, product, and place.

By people, I mean the youth listening to music today on iPod

equipment from on-line sources. Do they listen to emasculated

MP3s, yes; do they listen on small low-quality speakers attached

0 January 2007 The Absolute Sound

the High-End

E ric Landau’s recent letter lament of “Where Have All the

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: