From Clark Johnsen's Diaries
By Clark Johnsen
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A High-Level High-End Discussion
Time again to sign in with Lloyd Walker and resupply
myself with Vivid and share my surprise at resistance
encountered. At this late stage in the era of tweaks one
might think everyone in the high end, certainly, had heard
of such things, but no. Nor are they always eager to try.
[Sigh.]
Inside the room Lloyd’s gorgeous (that reviewer lingo
again) Proscenium turntable is playing through the new
Silverline La Folias driven by Musica Viva electronics. Here
too the sound is of the linger-awhile type. But let me put
a word in for any clean, simple, ungimmicked sound —- because
that’s what makes music. Which a proper analog system almost
always does.
Out in the hallway an unfamiliar fellow importunes me,
who turns out to be Jeff Catalano. He has recognized my voice
from telephone conversations! Proud owner of a Simon Yorke,
he, more than any man I’ve met, has experimented with
luxury-class tables. Nor do I use that word lightly,
experimented”. A mechanically adept person, and musical
too, he is able in my opinion to render intelligent judgments
because he understands the intricacies and imperatives of
set—up and operation.
Plus Jeff turns out to be an individual with near—zero
ego. A finish carpenter by trade, his wiry frame leads me
to think he’s maybe thirty-five, but no, it turns out he has
a son twenty—one. Then just as we’re getting into it, who
should pass by but Oakroot! This gentleman had most cordially
introduced himself to me earlier, after noticing my name on
the badge. “Hey Gregg! Hold up! Meet Jeff Catalano.”
After that happy coincidence the conversation really
heats up and my head spins with all the talk about turntables.
It turns out too, Oakroot is an amateur woodworker so the
conversation strays into high-end tools of that trade as well.
For over half an hour we go to it, several other people joining
us off-and-on, intrigued by (I imagine) the depth and vigor
of the discussion. Casual encounters at their finest!
But all good things must end. Next, inside the FPS
(loudspeakers) room I am about to depart, owing to the sorry
CD sound, when I am again importuned, this time by one Jon
Gale, who turns out to be a web designer from Detroit. “Hey!
I know who you are. Great stuff!” Naturally I blush, and
wonder whether this-here webzine (EtM) is more widely read
than I had imagined, and thank him very kindly. Of course
I get his site name too, fans can be so devoted and helpful.
In case anyone cares, it’s www.Portalaudio.com.
Another Major Demo
These things never turn out well, a huge room and a big
screen. Nevertheless... (as Katherine Hepburn told Humphrey
Bogart in African Queen)... Martin Logan speakers, McIntosh
electronics, Denon and SharpVision are being presented by
local New York outfit Harvey Electronics.
Now it has often been my observation, that Best Sound
of the Show, as voted by attendees, has been won by retailers.
Why should that be? Very simply, because most other rooms
are assembled over the telephone. That is, they are arranged
to split the costs, never mind that the various gear may never
have been heard together before by anyone on the planet.
Not only that, the equipment involved is rarely broken-in.
Add to that the fact that the room sucks, and one has chaos.
The retailer, at least has assembled all the products
before. He has some idea of how they sound together. This
advantage, which you and I enjoy at home too, elevates them
above the crowd usually enough to win awards. Left to their
own devices, manufacturers never seem to learn.
So: Here we are in the spacious Midtown Suite, with...
well, I have said already. Let the show begin! And from
the very outset, the presenters let us know we are in good
hands. Thanks, guys!
“To begin we’ll play two-channel sound for you -- which
used to be known as stereo... Then we’ll introduce a processor
that folds two into five, to allow you to have an, even better
experience...
Done! [Dramatic compression.] Not bad! OK, next!
“Now we’ll let you listen to a DVD-A. Lucky people!
And we’re going to take you way back to nineteen-seventy!
To a group who never knew the meaning of the word ‘unplugged’!”
Alright! Emerson, Lake & Palmer!
Cool!
Only... how very digital...
Geez!
This is DVD-A?
Am’ no better than... plain ol’ Redbook CD, anyway in
its capacity to induce a headache in my head. Sorry ‘bout
that! Good try, tho’.
Next the guys fire up their video system. We will watch
a clip from Moulin Rouge, a movie no one else has chosen for
our delectation. Kudos for that! “In the next two and
one—half minutes you will become concerned about what happens
to these people”, we are promised.
Well there’s a challenge!
Trouble is, the better the sound in movies, the more
obvious their principle shortcoming: The dialog is all recorded
after the visual acting wraps. This emotionally enervating
process is called post-pro, short for post-production. Actors
are summoned back months later, taken off current assignments
to sit in isolation booths and re-voice the dialog while
watching themselves on projection screens through isolation
glass. The other actors, to whom they are presumably relating,
or even making love, are relayed to them over headphones,
never live, rather from similarly-recorded tracks. If they’re
lucky. Sometimes actors must record their lines in an absence
of other dialog.
This procedure does not result in stellar vocal acting,
except for the few proficient at it. Most actors, very
reasonably, hate post-pro. But that’s the business, because
on-location sound (called “production sound”) constitutes
no more than 5% of modern film dialog.
If you, the viewer, close your eyes, the actors sound
so obviously fake, usually, you wonder what possessed them,
but the visual element carries the day so one accepts the
cheat. (It needn’t be that way and I have a foolproof scheme,
an invention actually —- quick, easy and cheap —- to solve
the problem. Actors and directors will love it! Contact
me if you want in on the ground floor...)
At any rate, here we are, but do we care about these
people after two and one-half minutes, as promised? I see
them talking, and I see -- Lord, who can’t? It’s so obvious!
-- the unsteady lip-synch. And I hear the lack of emotional
affect. I can tell they aren’t speaking directly to each
other! This is not theatre, this is electronic contrivance.
As bad as damn Star Wars!
Well, maybe not quite...
Nevertheless... The dialog is sufficiently well written,
and well-enough re-acted, that yes, I am -- reluctantly --
moved. Thanks, Harvey guys!
By the way, who remembers that Harvey used to be better
known as an imaginary rabbit? I do! Because in a former
life, I was Elwood P. Dowd.
Intermezzo III
In my room on the thirtieth floor of the Hilton, courtesy
of EnjoyTheMusic, a party atmosphere dominates. Beer, women
and song. That’s not me, don’t get me wrong, that’s my editor
and he pays the bills.
This weekend happens to mark the exit from New York of
the director of its Philharmonic, Kurt Masur, after an
eleven—year stint. Back in Boston I have just experienced
a similar farewell by Seiji Ozawa, after twenty-nine years,
so the occasion resonates. Seiji daringly picked the Mahler
Ninth; Masur has conservatively chosen Beethoven’s Violin
Concerto with grown-up poster-child Anne-Sophie Mutter. I
am eager to hear this au revoir on the radio, broadcast live
over WQXR, “the radio station of the New York Times”.
For the event I have provided myself with a boxful of
delicious deli food from Seventh Avenue and a few bottles
of brewski. But alas, it is not to be. In bursts a whole
retinue of personalities, consisting of my editor, and I am
stymied. Immediately he inhabits the entire space, hauling
out his computer and chattering about the day’ s experiences.
Of course I encourage him to write, write, write. Get it
down on disc! Which he does, to my relief, and gradually
I sneak the volume back up, quite aware he’d rather be
listening to something a little more, shall we say, pro-active?
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