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Audio News for January 6, 2017

by Audiophile Audition | Jan 7, 2017 | Audio News

LG’s Ultra-thin TV at CES – The new LG Signature LED W7 might be – at 2.6 mm – the thinnest TV ever made. They call it a “Picture on Wall” and it uses both magnetic hardware and nails to mount it nearly flush to the wall. And it is UHD, and allows you to impress your friends by peeling it off the wall. It will be available in 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes with a premium aluminum stand and bezel in the screen size. It includes a Dolby Atmos-enabled sound bar that delivers 2.0.2 Atmos sound. They are expected to ship in April, and will be expensive. Sony Now Also Has OLEDs – The Sony A1E is based on an OLED LG display, but includes the X1 Extreme processor, a powerhouse with three main functions: a dual database for noise reduction and 4K upscaling, Super Bit Mapping to smooth gradations by reproducing the equivalent of 14 bits from an 8 bit source, and object-based HDR remastering that identifies individual objects in the image. Speakers are eliminated entirely: the entire screen vibrates to reproduce stereo sound. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR and Chromecast lets you send contact from a […]

SCHUBERT – Piano Trios Op. 99 & 100 – Harmonia mundi

by Audiophile Audition | Nov 5, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

FRANZ SCHUBERT – Piano Trios Op. 99 & 100 – Staier Trio – Harmonia mundi 902233.34, (2 CDs) 51:38, 45:33 (10/21/16) [Distr. by PIAS] *****: (Andreas Staier – fortepiano/ Daniel Sepec – violin/ Roel Dieltiens – violoncello) Adjusting Schubertian attitudes with help from the fortepiano. The new Harmonia mundi release of Schubert’s late piano trios Op. 99 & 100 played on period instruments, including a copy of a Schubert period fortepiano, is an especially welcome event. It allows me to provoke our great sage, Pandit Singh, whose dislike of fortepianos is well-known. The Arbiter Elegantiarum of the audiophile listening group, rarely fails to find the crux of the matter at such times. “There is problem” he begins as usual, “Schubert’s famous heavenly repetition may be ill served by the plinkity-plonkity sound of the out-of-tune church basement piano.” I object strongly, pointing out that Andreas Staier has steadily risen to the top of a new generation of early music keyboardists who have found an ideal sound for Schubert’s music. Correct in scale but strong in voice, his instruments always astound with their sparkle and clarity, whether harpsichord or, as here, the fortepiano. Surely the Pandit is being rashly dismissive. But he […]

Ken Russell’s View of The Planets, Blu-ray (1983/2016)

by Audiophile Audition | May 27, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

An interesting visual version of the Gustav Holst score. Ken Russell’s View of The Planets, Blu-ray (1983/2016) Director: Ken Russell Performed by: The Philadelphia Orch. cond. by Eugene Ormandy Music: Gustav Holst Studio: Monarda/ ArtHaus Musik 109169 (3/25/16) Video: 4:3 1080i HD color Audio: PCM stereo All regions Extras: introduced by Melvyn Bragg Length: 50 min. Rating: **** This is surely one of the most-loved pieces of 20th-century music and one of the classic cinema images onscreen to a classical work. Ormandy and the Philadelphians are of course excellent, and the screen is filled with a mass of documentary material from Russell, some of it illustrating his strong convictions about the world at large. The cuts are often timed to match the Holst score and point up various spots in it. Of course we expect a lot of shots of the Nazi and Soviet military for the Mars (God of War) movement which opens the work. It’s most interesting that for Uranus (the God of Magic) there is a great deal of footage of The Pope blessing people from his Popemobile. (I wonder what images he would have, if any, of the current Pope.) Mixed in, of course, with plenty […]