Sensible Sound back issues from February 2003:
Ramblings.
Feb 01, 2003 ... Welcome to Issue 94, which contains among other things our annual compilation of equipment recommendations from our contributors. You will find plenty of recommended components at a variety of price points and a lot of practical advice, and you will get a little more insight into our ...
Surveying the soundscape.(music needs of youth )
Feb 01, 2003 ... Sonic Youths: I'm feeling reassured that somewhat younger generation's electronic entertainment reaches farther than video games, computers, and even home theater. I have recent anecdotal evidence that their music needs are being met in classic ways and even ahead of other choices. ...
Are speaker response curves misleading? Part 1. (Skeptimania).(audio equipment)
Feb 01, 2003; ... For years, I was a big fan of Julian Hirsch's product reviews in Stereo Review magazine. I thought he was honest and competent, and he probably helped more audio enthusiasts make intelligent shopping decisions than any other audio writer in the business. One problem I had with ...
Eminent Technology LFT-VIII loudspeaker system. (Equipment).
Feb 01, 2003; ... <Pre> Manufacturer: Eminent Technology, 225 East Palmer Street, Tallahassee, FL 32314; 850/575-5655; E-mail: brucet@eminent-tech.com Price: $1,500 (pair) Source: Manufacturer loan </Pre> Eminent Technology has been in business for more than 20 years. Its owner, Bruce Thigpen, ...
Soliloquy Model 6.3 loudspeakers.
Feb 01, 2003; ... <Pre> Manufacturer: Soliloquy Loudspeaker Company, 2613 Discovery Dr., Bldg. A, Raleigh, NC 27616;919/ 876-7554; www.solspeak.com Price: $3,199, extra for custom finishes Source: Manufacturer Loan </Pre> When I first saw a photograph of the Soliloquy Model 6.3s, I thought they ...
Sunfire True Subwoofer Super Junior.
Feb 01, 2003; ... <Pre> Manufacturer: Sunfire Corp., P.O. Box 1589, Snohomish, WA 98291; 425/335-4748; www.sunfire.com Price: $995 Source: Manufacturer Loan </Pre> This is one of the most unusual products I have ever reviewed, because it is a subwoofer that, outwardly at least, attempts to defy ...
Sunfire Theater Grand Processor III.
Feb 01, 2003; ... <Pre> Manufacturer: Sunfire Corp., P.O. Box 1589, Snohomish, WA 98291; 425/335-4748; www.sunfire.com Price: $3,495 Source: Manufacturer Loan </Pre> I must say that I was impressed with the Theater Grand III (which I will refer to as the "TG-III" for now on) right out of the box, ...
SVS 25-31PCi Subwoofer.
Feb 01, 2003; ... <Pre> Manufacturer: SV Subwoofers LLC, 590 Carlin Drive, Austintown, OH 44515; Fax 330/793-8183; e-mail feedback@svsubwoofers.com; www.svsubwoofers.com Price: $499 (factory direct) Source: Manufacturer Loan </Pre> I reviewed the SVS 16-46PC in Issue 88, and am still using that ...
Tivoli Audio Model Two and Model Subwoofer.
Feb 01, 2003; ... <Pre> Manufacturer: Tivoli Audio, 82 W. Broadway, Boston, MA 02127; (877) 297-9479; www.tivoliaudio.com Price: Model Two $159.99; Model Subwoofer $79.99 Source: Reviewer Purchase </Pre> Oh, the very nefariousness of it all! Having one's march stolen by a reader! Okay, take a deep ...
Staff picks.
Feb 01, 2003 ... It was way back in Issue 63 that we published our first "Staff Picks" compilation, following it up in Issues 65 and 67 with additions by contributors who were a bit tardy in getting their lists together for that first installment. A year later, in Issue 69, we assembled a more complete and ...
More jazz than not.(The Art of the Fugue Glenn Gould)
Feb 01, 2003 ... Bach: The Art of the Fugue Glenn Gould, organ and piano (Sony Classical SK 87759) Elsewhere in this issue, Tom Lyle and I discuss some really sublime Bach playing by the late Glenn Gould, whose two versions of the Goldberg Variations are indispensable for any lover of classical ...
Double double.
Feb 01, 2003 ... Anyone who has read this column before knows the drill. Tom Lyle and Ye Grumpy Olde Editor independently audition two competing recordings, typically of large-scale orchestral music, and then indicate and try to justify our preferences in a few brief paragraphs. You might characterize ...
Carousel corner.
Feb 01, 2003 ... After having spent the better portion of two columns on the sum total of five bands, we have a bit of making up to do ... okay, we have a lot of making up to do. Patty Larkin, Running Angels (High Street Records) Patty Larkin is one of those artists I adore yet don't ...
Reissue roundup: the rolling stones remasters.(ABKCO reissues rock group's recordings; Sony)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Unless you've been marooned on some south Pacific island for the past several months, you're probably already aware that ABKCO has just remastered all 22 of the Rolling Stones albums in its catalog. This was a strenuous undertaking for the company, and one the band's legions of followers ...
Scoping software: your audio system is terrific. How good are your ears?
Feb 01, 2003 ... In a series of articles in issues 71 through 74, Bob Thompson gave a detailed overview of what does and does not matter when it comes to compact-disc player performance, and as part of that short series he reviewed an error-correcting check disc for compact disc players. The name of it was ...
The Broadway and cabaret scene.(Review)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Ann Hampton Callaway: Signature, N-Coded Music 4227 Christine Andreas: Here's to the Ladies, PS Classics 208 Jessica Molaskey: Pentimento, PS Classics 205 Michael Feinstein With the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Concord Jazz 4987 Bernadette ...
Bernstein: West Side Story (original score).(Sound Recording Review)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred; Kenneth Schermerhorn, Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.559126. I'd recommend this disc even it weren't Leonard Bernstein's original score, before it was doctored for the Broadway stage and the Hollywood screen. I'd recommend it even if it ...
Bizet: Carmen (complete).(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Marilyn Horne, James McCracken, Tom Krause, Adriana Maliponte; Leonard Bernstein, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. DG 289 471 750-2 (3-disc set). There was a time when Bernstein's 1973 rendering of Bizet's Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera was a cornerstone of recorded opera ...
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6; Music for the Royal Fireworks; Water Music.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. DG 289 471 758-2 (3-disc set). Heck, they don't call us the "$ensible" Sound for nothing: Here's a clear case of bargain upon bargain. DG give us almost four hours of music on a three-disc mid-price set that beats most of the competition interpretively ...
Mahler: Symphony No. 9.
Feb 01, 2003; ... Sir John Barbirolli, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI 7243-5-67926-2. The Finale to Mahler's Ninth Symphony, the Adagio, is quite possibly the most beautiful piece of music ever written. If that statement seems too bold for you, let me mitigate it slightly by saying the ...
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"; Piano Concerto No. 23.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Alain Lefevre, piano; Jean-Francois Rivest, Orchestre symphonique de Laval. CBC Records SMCD 5220. Wouldn't you know it? Just when you find a disc that makes a terrific impression sonically, you have to cope with an eccentric interpretation. Oh, well, I suppose we can't have ...
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade; Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia; Balakirev: Islamey.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Valery Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra. Philips 289 470 840-2. Beware of comparisons. When I first put this disc on and had listened for a couple of minutes, I was mightily impressed. The sound, the sensuous performance, all top flight. Then I began noticing that Maestro Gergiev seemed ...
Sacred Songs.
Feb 01, 2003; ... Placido Domingo; Sissel; Marcello Viotti, OrChestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. DG 289 471 575-2. With "Sacred Songs," Placido Domingo proves once again he's the greatest tenor in the world. Besides, with Pavarotti retiring soon, he has little competition. Domingo ...
Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; Overture, Scherzo & Finale.
Feb 01, 2003; ... Wolfgang Sawallisch, Staatskapelle Dresden. EMI 7243 5 67771 2 5. I first bought these four symphonies with Sawallisch just shortly after they were recorded in 1972. I instantly fell in love with the performances, but I thought the sound was rather obscure, wallowing, I felt, in ...
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2; Tubin: Symphony No. 5.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Paavo Jarvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Telarc CD-80585. For Jarvi's second Telarc recording with his new orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, he chose a pair of Scandinavian favorites, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius's Second Symphony and Jarvi's fellow Estonian Eduard ...
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Marin Alsop, Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.555714. My first impression of Marin Alsop's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's every-popular Fourth Symphony was not entirely favorable. The first movement seemed lax, if not entirely leaden. Transitions didn't seem to have much ...
Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich Violin Concertos.(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Ilya Gringolt, violin; Itzhak Perlman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. DG 289 471 616-2. I really don't mean to be petty about this, but when people such as Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have to start making recordings on their own label because BMG ...
Toch: Cello Concerto; Tanz-Suite.(Ernst Toch )(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2003; ... Susanne Muller-Hornbch, cello; Gerhard Muller-Hornbach, Mutare Ensemble. CPO 999 688-2. Ernst Toch (1887-1964) was a Vienna-born Jewish composer much more well known in the 1920s than today. His career began a decline when he was forced out of Germany in the 1930s and came to ...