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Welcome to The Abso!ute Sound online! We explore music and the reproduction of music in the home. We believe that the sound of music, unamplified, occurring in a real space is a philosophic absolute against which we may judge the performance of devices designed to reproduce music. Our goal is to provide the resources consumers need to judge how a component's sound either honors or departs from the music's truth, and to make sound purchasing decisions that maximize their experience of reproduced sound. Below is our Issue 137, August/September 2002 table of contents and editorial.
August/September 2002
Viewpoints
6 - From the Editor
8 - Letters
Editorial Independence: Do Negative Reviews Lead to Canceled Ads? J. Gordon Holt & Pros & Cons of Surround Sound. The Mission: Finding New Enthusiasts.
Columns
14 - Future TAS: Products on the Horizon17 - Industry News
21 - Absolute Analog
Paul Seydor auditions five budget cartridges.25 - Real-World High End
Wayne Garcia discovers high-end magic at a price anyone can afford.30 - Holt's Space
TAS Journal
33 - Home Entertainment 2002 Report
39 - CenterStage
Our writers pick the cream of the crop in loudspeakers from $189 to $2,499.47 - TAS Interview: Paavo Järvi-A Lucky Man
Mark Lehman Talks With Cincinnati's Conductor51 - Technology Update: High Resolution Digital Part 1
What Can We Expect from DVD-A & SACD?
The Sound
Reviews
57 - Dahlquist QX6 Loudspeaker
Wayne Garcia describes the return of a high-end favorite.60 - B&W 602.5 Loudspeaker
B&W's advanced technology trickles down to this $700-per-pair gem. Wayne Garcia reports.63 - Pioneer Elite DV-47A Universal Player
If it's 5" around and shiny, this new Pioneer universal machine will play it. Is this the end of the format wars? Shane Buettner looks at one of the first players to handle CD, SACD, DVD-A, and DAD, as well as DVD-Video.67 - Three Preamps: Plinius CD-LAD, Rogue Audio 99, Marsh Sound Design P2000
Today's mid-priced preamplifier delivers surprising performance, according to Peter Braverman.73 - Burmester Rondo 991 Integrated Amplifier
Neil Gader explores this German high-end company's entry-level amplifier.79 - Denon DVD-9000 DVD-Audio Player
Shane Buettner auditions the most ambitious DVD-Audio player to date.83 - Audio Physic Minos Subwoofer
The top echelon of subwoofer performance, Robert E. Greene decides.87 - Isophon europa loudspeaker
Is Isophon's "acoustic hologram technology" for real? Anna Logg investigates.95 - Exotica: Halcro DM68 Monoblock Amplifiers
Jonathan Valin explores how close to the music this $35,000 amplifier brings us.99 - HP's workshop
HP defines line-stage preamplification, and discusses his five choices for top honors- Hovland HP 100; Edge Signature; Aesthetix Callisto; Wyetech Opal; Conrad-Johnson Anniversary Reference Triode.113 - Further Thoughts: Tenor 75 Wp OTL Amplifier
Sue Kraft offers a second opinion on this remarkable amplifier.113 - Manufacturers' Comments
The Music
CLASSICAL
115 - Capsules
Kronos Quartet: Nuevo
Schoenberg: Gurrelieder
Wagner: Tannhauser
Bryn Terfel: Wagner
Shostakovich: Symphony No.4
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Mozart: "Adelaide"
Theater of Voices: Fragments
Cisco's Latest LPs: Mozart: Symphony No. 35 and Witt: "Jena" Symphony
Prokofiev: Waltz Suite
Adventures in Fetish-Land-Rimsky-Korsakov, Strauss, and Dvorįk on JVC XRCD
LSO Live: Sir Colin Davis Revisits Berlioz, Dvorįk, and Elgar
POPULAR
125 - Capsules
Recording of the Issue: The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Bryan Ferry: Frantic & Marianne Faithfull: Kissin' Time
Paul Westerberg: Stereo/Mono
Tom Waits: Alice and Blood Money
Van Morrison: Down the Road
Moby: 18
Lauryn Hill: MTV Unplugged
Steve Earle: Sidetracks
Creedence Clearwater Revival and The MC5 Get the 180-Gram Vinyl Treatment
133 - Feature
Sorting the Fragments: Spring and Early Summer Yield a Bountiful Musical Harvest
As popular music fragments into sub-categories, it can be difficult to know what's worth hearing. Bob Gendron reviews ten new albums from independent-minded artists who are creating waves, and helping make 2002 music's best year since 1991.JAZZ
137 - Feature
Joe Lovano's Hero Sandwiches
In his career overview of Joe Lovano, Gene Seymour explains why Viva Caruso, Lovano's latest high-concept album, perfectly fits into the saxophonist's growing discography.141 - Capsules
John Zorn's Masada: First Live, 1993
David Murray & the Gwo-Ka Masters: Yonn De
Mingus Big Band: Tonight at Noon Three or Four Shades of Love
Tom Varner: Second Communion
Derek Bailey: Ballads
ECM Hits the Vaults: The First Eight Titles in the Label's New :rarum Series
NEW FORMATS
145 - SACD Capsules
Adams: Fearful Symmetries; Sumera: Symphony No. 2
Mormon Tabernacle Choir: The Sound of Glory
Love & Lament
Natalie MacMaster: In My Hands
Bryan Ferry: Frantic
Patricia Barber: Modern Cool
Showpieces and Encores
DVD-A
Mickey Hart: Over the Edge And Back: The Best Of Mickey Hart Randy Newman: Little Criminals Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite; Mississippi Suite
Finale
149 - Where To Buy The Absolute Sound
151 - Ad Index
152 - LAST PAGE: Math Test for Orchestra Members
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