The Absolute Sound 281 March 2018

The Absolute Sound March 2018

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.

Articles & Reviews In This Issue
6 Pragmatism Versus Idealism
Editorial By Robert Harley

8 Letters

12 From the Editor

14 Future TAS
New products on the horizon.

16 TAS Legacy
A look back at the Sonus faber Extrema loudspeaker.

18 Out of your Head
Steven Stone says Darin Fong's software can give headphone listeners a 3-D experience.

22 Martin Logan Impression ESL 11A
Paul Seydor reports on the MartinLogan's newest hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker.

30 Whole Lot of Shakin' Going on!
Roger Skoff looks at the role that resonance plays in our audio systems.

Equipment
40 2018 The Absolute Aound Editors' Choice Awards
This is the Big One! Our top recommendations — complete with mini-reviews— of the very best speakers, amplifiers, DACs, turntables, headphones, cartridges, cables, phono stages, integrated amps, desktop audio, equipment racks, AC power conditioners, accessories, room treatments, and more.

The Absolute Sound Issue 281 March 2018

Music
190 Mercury Living Presence LPs and CDs
An audiophile who learned about the sound quality of Mercury Living Presence from reading The Absolute Sound, Kim Weston has written a highly detailed book about that series. Arthur Lintgen reports.

192 Holliday on Wax
In his third installment of his "Girl Singers That Time Forgot" series, David McGee writes about the music of Judy Holliday.

194 Chris Hillman's Bidin' My Time
Larry Nager chats with a founding member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

196 The Opus 3 Label
Greg Cahill on an audiophile Swedish label whose catalog includes SACDs, vinyl LPs, and reel-to-reel tapes.

198 What Delanie & Bonnie Spawned
Jeff Wilson reviews three 1970 albums inspired by this highly influential duo.

200 Download Roundup
Alan Taffel and Andrew Quint review hi-res rock/pop and classical downloads.

204 Rock Etc.
Kate St. John's Second Sight on vinyl, MoFi's UD1S edition of Donald Fagen's The Nightfly, a Muddy Waters vinyl reissue on Third Man, a deluxe vinyl reissue of Minnie Riperton's Perfect Angel, Esoteric's reissue of Colosseum's Daughter of Time, and the latest music from Johnny Rawls, Lee Ann Womack, Allison Pierce, and William Patrick Corgan.

208 Jazz
New releases by Ghost Train Orchestra, Ron Miles, and Double Bass Double Voice, Verve's 5-LP vinyl set of classic Dinah Washington albums, and Wes Montgomery live on Resonance.

212 Classical
Two Wagner releases, the complete piano music of Leonard Bernstein, Reference Recordings' vinyl reissue of Arnold Overtures, orchestral music by Busoni, and string quartets by Laks.

216 Classical
Dan Laufman,
President, Emotiva Audio.

Subscribe!
Click here to subscribe to The Absolute Sound.