Monthly Archive: April 2004
Home Page-April 2004
April 2004 Contents 13 Vinyl Reviews; 6 xrcd Reviews; Jazz SACD/DVD-A Reviews; Classical SACD/DVD-A Reviews; Pop/Rock SACD/DVD-A Reviews (57 total!); 27 Classical CDs; 12 Jazz CDs; 21 Reissues Components Reviewed: Polk LSi Series Speakers; Zektor Multichannel Switch; River Speaker Cables; April Fools Music Humor; Lexicon Logic for Bass Management; Nat. Recording Registry; 10 Music […]
DVD-Video Reviews, Part 3 of 3
Part 3 – April 2004 [Part 1] [Part 2] Les Uns et Les Autres (Bolero) (1981) Starring Geraldine Chaplin, Robert Hossein, James Caan, Fanny Ardant etc. Directed by Claude Lelouch Music: Francis Lai & Michael Legrand Studio: Les Films 13/Image Entertainment Video: 2.35:1 widescreen enhanced for 16:9 display Audio: Dolby Digital stereo surround, French language […]
DVD-Video Reviews, Part 2 of 3
Pt. 2 of 3 – April 2004 [Part 1] [Part 3] Desperado (1995) Starring: Antonio Banderas, Joaquim De Almeida, Selma Hayek Studio: Columbia TriStar Video: 1.85:1 widescreen enhanced for 16:9 Audio: DTS 5.1, DD 5.1 Length: 103 minutes Rating: ***1/2 Though normally sequels are not more popular than the first film in a series, […]
DVD-Video Reviews, Part 1 of 3
April 2004, Pt. 1 ALL MUSIC VIDEOS [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet Ballet Galina Ulanova, Juliet Yuri Zhdanov, Romeo S. Koren, Mercutio A. Yermolayev, Tybalt; Members of the Bolshoi Ballet Choreography by Leonid Lavrovsky (co-director) Directed by L. Arnstam Music conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky Studio: VAI DVD 4260 Video: 4:3 color Audio: […]
Component Reviews, Part 4 of 4
April 2004, Part 4 [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] Lexicon’s Subwoofer Logic by David J. Weinberg [If you thought bass management was a simple matter, have a look at this article from the Boston Audio Society’s Speaker newsletter…Ed.] [This was sent to Lexicon in the hope it might prove of value to them […]
Component Reviews, Part 3 of 4
April 2004, Review 1 [2] [3] [4] River Cable FLEXYGY 6-conductor Flat Speaker Cable SRP: $255 4M pair; $270 5M pair (contact River Cable for custom lengths) River Cable Technologies 350 Power Avenue Hudson, NY 12534 1-888-927-4837 (voice) 1-888-776-3713 (fax) www.rivercable.com Basic Description 6 x 16 gauge fine-stranded copper flat speaker wire; .6” wide by […]
Component Reviews, Part 2 of 4
April 2004, Part 3 [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 4] Zektor MAS3 Multichannel Remote-controlled Switch MSRP: $449 Specs: Insertion Loss (0-100K – 0 dB Adjacent Channel Crosstalk at 20K – less than -104 dB Unselected Channel Crosstalk at 20K – less than -104 dB Power Consumption: less than 5W Size: 17” W x 6.5” D […]
Component Reviews, Part 1 of 4
No. 2 [No. 1] [3] [4] • April 2004 Polk Audio LSi Series Home Theater Speaker System LSi9 = Drivers Mid/Woofer: 2 – 5-1/4″ Diameter (13.34cm) Dynamic Balance with Aerated Polyprpylene cone, cast basket and rubber surround (shielded) Tweeter: 1 – 1″ Diameter (2.54cm) Dynamic Balance Ring Radiator (shielded) Electrical Overall Frequency Response: 38Hz – […]
Reissue CD Reviews, Part 2 of 2
pril 2004, Pt. 2 of 2 BALAKIREV: Islamey; Overture on 3 Russian Themes; Russia/TCHAIKOVSKY: Hamlet–Fantasy Overture, Op. 67; Theme and Variations from Suite No. 3 in G Major, Op. 55 Lovro von Matacic conducts Philharmonia Orchestra and Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milan (Suite No. 3) Testament SBT 1331 71:22 (Distrib. Harmonia Mundi): Another in […]
Reissue CD Reviews, Part 1 of 2
April 2004, Pt. 1 of 2 MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 in A Minor Sir John Barbirolli conducts Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Testament SBT 1342 74:50 (Distrib. Harmonia Mundi): Sir John Barbirolli (1899-1970) led and recorded (some are live broadcasts) all the Mahler symphonies except the Eighth. Having rediscovered his affection for the music of Mahler in […]
Jazz CD Reviews
JOHN SURMAN Selected Recordings 1976-99 = Druid’s Circle, Number Six, Portrait of a Romantic, Ogeda, The Returning Exile, Edges of Illusion, The Buccaneers, The Snooper, Mountainscape VIII, Figfoot, Piperspool, Gone to the Dogs, Stone Flower – ECM :rarum XIII B0001803-02: EBERHARD WEBER Selected Recordings 1974-2000 = Nimbus, The Shopper, Oasis, Silent Feet, Fluid Rustle, Maurizius, […]
Classical CD Reviews, Part 2 of 2
April 2004 Pt. 2 of 2 [Pt. 1] How about starting out this section with a bunch of really tuneful, accessible, easy-on-the-ears music – first from Europe and South America, and then from the U.S.? SAINT-SAENS: Carnival of the Animals; Septuor in E Flat Major; Fantasie for violin and piano; Romance and Priere for […]
Classical CD Reviews, Part 1 of 2
Part 1 of 2 [Part 2] BIRTWHISTLE: The British Music Collection. Ensemble InterContemporain, Pierre Boulez, et al. Decca 468 804-2 (2 CDs): In Alice in Wonderland, Alice has a great deal of trouble with a “little gold key.” At first, it’s too big to open the door she wants; then when she find a door […]
Hi-Res Reviews, Part 3 of 3 Pop/Rock
57 SACD & DVD-A Reviews April 2004 – Pt. 3 – Rock/Pop [Part 1] [Part 2] click on any cover to go directly to its review Creedence Clearwater Revival – The Concert; Fantasy FSA-4501-6 Stereo Hybrid SACD DVD-A: Creedence Clearwater Revival (or CCR as the fans like to call ‘em) weren’t always a […]
Hi-Res Reviews, Part 2 of 3 Classical
57 xrcd, SACD & DVD-A Reviews April 2004 – Part 2 of 3 – Classical click on any cover to go directly to its review [Part 1] [Part 3] Since we started the jazz section with the xrcd reviews, we’ll continue with two more xrcds to start off the classical hi-res section for this month… […]
Hi-Res Reviews, Part 1 of 3 Jazz
57 xrcd, SACD and DVD-A Reviews This Month! April 2004, Pt. 1 of 3 – Jazz [Part 2] [Part 3] click on any cover to go directly to its review Let’s start off with one of the hi-res formats which doesn’t require any special decoders or players and which has made a hit with […]
Library of Congress Recordings List
Special Features This Month: 13 Vinyl Reviews; April Fools Music Humor; National Recording Registry Additions LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS NAMES 50 NEW RECORDINGS TO THE NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced the second annual selection of 50 sound recordings to the National Recording Registry. Under the terms of the National Recording […]
April Fool’s Music Humor
Special Features This Month: Vinyl Reviews; April Fools Music Humor; National Recording Registry Additions April Fools Music Humor A young child says to his mother, “Mom, when I grow up I think I’d like to be a musician.” She replies, “Well honey, you know you can’t do both.” Q: What’s the difference between a guitar […]
Vinyl Reviews
3 Special Features This Month: 13 Vinyl Reviews; April Fools Music Humor; National Recording Registry Additions 13 Audiophile Vinyl Reviews Well, too much time has again passed since our last survey of another hi-res format (one that’s been around much longer): audiophile vinyl. We find it interesting that a number of recent audiophile reissues have […]
Index to All 143 Discs Reviewed for April 2004
Index to All 143 Discs Reviewed for April 2004: AUDIOPHILE VINYL REVIEWS – The Living Presence of 20th-Century Music 3 LP set from Speakers Corner (Works by BERG, SCHOENBERG, WEBERN, SCHULLER, FETLER); DVORAK & GLAZOUNOV: Violin Concertos – Milstein (Cisco); BRITTEN: Young Persons Guide, DOHNANYI: Variations on a Nursery Tune – Slatkin (Cisco); Ray Brown […]