Audiophilia

by Roy Harris

Several months ago, I received an e-mail from PS Audio describing a new product, the PerfectWave PowerBase. It represents their first attempt to address the issue of component noise. It is a unique device which combines the elimination of noise originating from within a component, and power filtration together in one component.

The PowerBase is essentially a PS Audio Dectet, a device which filters the AC, combined with two sets of 4 Sorbothane feet — 4 on the inside on the top, placed below a ¼ inch solid steel blade and 4 under a thinner plate, on the bottom. The outer feet are 10 times as stiff as the inner feet. The bottom feet are about 1 ¼ “ in diameter and about ¾ “ in height. The feet at the top are ¼” to ½ an inch greater in height..

I will now quote directly from the owner’s manual: ‘Between the stiff low mass base coupled with the soft high mass platform, a broad spectrum of vibration diffusion is achieved that helps to reduce microphonics in equipment.’

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by Anthony Kershaw

March 28, 2013. Walter Hall, Toronto, ON — The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Recital Series afforded England’s Tippett Quartet its Toronto debut. The club seems to be able to pick the very best undiscovered or young Canadian and international ensembles to play for its large membership.

The Tippett Quartet takes its name from the great English composer, Sir Michael Tippett (1905 – 1998). The group was formed in 1998 when the founding members met studying at London’s Royal College of Music.

They began their interesting program with their namesake’s 5th String Quartet. It was the composer’s last quartet, written in 1991. The quartet is typical of Tippett’s later style — elegiac melodies, exotic harmony, complex outbursts interrupted by quiet, reflective passages. It’s a superb work echoing much that is wonderful in Tippett’s orchestral writing (Concerto for Orchestra, Triple Concerto) rather than his less successful vocal works. Tippett would have been proud of the quartet’s performance. The give and take in the many tempo changes were smooth and the interplay between the two violinists was superb. Even more amazing considering the late inclusion of Anna Smith as substitute for an indisposed Jeremy Isaac, 2nd violin.

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by Anthony Kershaw

Most days as the editor of a high end audio magazine are fun. Yesterday, was definitely one of the perks of the job. And, a lot of fun.

I was invited by a local distributor to listen to a new 28K monitor from Denmark’s Raidho Acoustics and to have lunch (a very good Pinot, arugula salad, pesto pasta salad and two types of quiche) and an informal chat with its co founder Lars Kristensen. The amiable Viking was most informative and passionate about Raidho’s newest monitor, the D-1.

Most of the discussion centered around the inhouse design of the diamond woofer cones, the tweeter of the D-1 and Raidho’s philosophy of sound and music. It was riveting. More about these remarkable industrial designs will be discussed in the upcoming review. I think this will be the first of the D-1.

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by Anthony Kershaw

‘Wunderkind’ Gustavo Dudamel is still wonderful but not so young anymore. After his meteoric rise, he now actually receives critical notices. There was a time that he was treated as the musical Second Coming.

Now, he’s expected to produce the same excitement he conjured in his early concerts with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of his native Venezuela. After early connections with La Scala and Gothenburg, Dudamel now guests with regularly with Berlin and Vienna. They don’t need the money or the associated press. As such, he must compete with the very best conductors and produce unique things with the best orchestras.

Interestingly, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has not been among the elite. But, after I watched the 60 Minutes piece on how the orchestra courted Dudamel, who could say no? True, Dudamel’s predecessor, Esa Pekka Salonen (now in rainy London with The Philharmonia Orchestra) improved Los Angeles’ lot by hiring well. Dudamel is continuing the trend by hiring (poaching!) some of the very best players including from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic. It can’t only be the sun and beaches that convince these fantastic players to decamp. And, from the sound and musicality the orchestra produces in this fabulous new DGG recording, it’s not.

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by Karl Sigman

Recently, I decided it was time to upgrade my audio system. The first order of business was to replace the amplifier and preamplifier. My old amp was an Adcom 5500, 200 watts per channel into 8 Ohms. Since I was not planning to change speakers, I wanted to keep the same power level but explore options to upgrade the sound quality. The Adcom had served me very well; so solid and steadfast over the years. I would be sorry to see it go, but the time had come to move on. I did not want to spend a fortune, however.

A friend’s advice led me to the Wyred 4 Sound W4S Monoblock ‘mAmp’ that was just about to be released. Wyred 4 Sound has already had great success and acclaim with their SX-500 mono block Class D amp (Audiophilia review); this new W4S model is a lighter, more compact, refined Class D model: 8″W x 3.5″H x 8″D, 8 lbs versus 8.5″W x 4.125H” x 13.5″D, 13 lbs. This a remarkable reduction in size and weight, while retaining the same power (255 watts into 8 ohms).

Technically, the SX-500 model has more power output into the 4 ohm load region and is also considered to be a bit more stable in lower impedances. The new mAMP, in addition to its smaller size and weight, uses a newer generation amp module and a new custom input circuit. The price of the new mAmp is the same (for now) as the SX-500; $899 each. So, I acquired two black mAmps, one for each speaker (they also come in silver).

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by Anthony Kershaw

I won this spectacular 2 CD set as a spoil of a bet. My wife and I were having after dinner fun at a fellow reviewer’s house guessing orchestras, artists, etc, as you do. He played this one hoping to relieve his pain for me guessing the opening few bars of Schoenberg’s rarely performed Gurrelieder. Name that tune?!

If I could tell him who was playing, the CD was mine. I guessed the brilliant pianist was either Richter or Weissenberg. Even though I gave two answers, one was correct, so he coughed up.

I assumed incorrectly that the enigmatic Weissenberg was Russian, but my friend was happy to pounce on my mistake and proclaim the virtuoso, Romanian. We were both wrong. Weissenberg was born in Bulgaria in 1929. He died last year as a citizen of France.

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