|
|
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 143, August / September 2003 table of contents and editorial.
August / September 2003
Viewpoints
4 - From The Editor
6 - Letters
115 - Manufacturer Comments
Columns
14 - Future TAS: Products on the Horizon
16 - Industry News
20 - Absolute Analog
In this in-depth tutorial, Robert Harley tells you everything you always wanted to know about turntables.
28 - Tweaks
Our new tweaks and accessories column finds Jonathan Valin checking out the Walker Proscenium Equipment Rack, Clearaudio Matrix Record Cleaner, Silent Source interconnects, and Precision Audio Cable Elevators.
TAS Journal
32 - Recommended Products — Loudspeakers Under $2500
Neil Gader, Jonathan Valin, and the TAS Staff
40 - Holt’'s Space: The Superfluous Subwoofers
Bass management isn’t only for the home-theater crowd. Gordon Holt explains why.
42 - Hi-fi by the bay: Home Entertainment 2003 show
TAS goes to San Francisco — Robert Harley and Wayne Garcia
bring you the highlights of this year's Home Entertainment show.
49 - 30th Anniversary Feature
A classic from our very first issue — Harry Pearson on The Double Advent System.
Equipment Reports
53 - A Duet of Integrated Amplifiers: Sugden A21a and Primare I20
Neil Gader reports on a pair of good-sounding and affordable integrated amps.
57 - A Pair of Makeovers from the UK: Quad 99-CDP CD Player and Spendor S3/5SE Mini-monitor:
Paul Seydor on new gear from two of England’s finest brands.
61 - Perreaux Radiance R200i Integrated Amplifier
Perreaux's latest is a thoroughly modern integrated, so says Wayne Garcia.
63 - Red Rose Music Rosebud II Studio Reference Monitor
Aaron M. Shatzman listens to a serious little two-way from Mark Levinson's Red Rose.
67 - BAT VK-51SE LineStage Preamplifier
Shane Buettner explores Balanced Audio Technology’s top preamp.
73 - An Artisan's Sound: The Sonus Faber Cremona Loudspeaker
What's Italian, beautiful, and highly musical? Check out Wayne Garcia's findings.
77 - Air Tight 211 SET Monoblock Amplifiers
Scot Markwell on one of audio’s most controversial beasties —
the single-ended triode amplifier.
The Cutting Edge
81 - Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppy 7 Loudspeaker System
The latest generation of Wilson’s classic is generating quite a buzz.
Robert Harley spends some time with the Tiny Tot, and the boy’s best friend.
87 - Aesthetix Callisto Signature Linestage and Io Signature Phonostage Preamps
They may be hot and heavy, but put these six glowing boxes together and Jonathan Valin says they spell one great preamp.
HP Workshop
93 - The Super Components List Part II
The conclusion to last issue’s thoughts on the best of the best.
The Music
119 - Rock
Recording of the Issue: Radiohead: Hail to the Thief
Super Furry Animals: Phantom Power
Madonna: American Life
Richard Thompson: The Old Kit Bag and John Hiatt: Beneath This Gruff Exterior
Gillian Welch: Soul Journey
John Eddie: Who the Hell Is John Eddie?
Drive-By Truckers: Decoration Day
Allison Moorer: Show: A Live Release
Deftones: Deftones
Metallica: St. Anger
From the Vaults: Sonic Youth: Dirty (Deluxe Edition); Generation X: Anthology;
Buzzcocks: Inventory—Singles Boxset
Bookhelf: Hardcore Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle
For Those About to Rock: Epic's AC/DC Catalog Remasters
113 - Classical
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" & Prokofiev: Scythian Suite. Alexander Nevsky
Kabalevsky: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3. The Comedians
Bach: Partitas Nos. 1, 3, and 6 (Goode)
Cantaloube: Chants d'Auvergne (Gauvin)
Debussy/Mozart: Songs (Banse/Schiff)
Bizet: Carmen (Gheorghiu) & Hindemith: Die Harmonie der Welt (François Le Roux)
Shaken, Not Stirred: Capitol’s James Bond Soundtrack Reissues
141 - Jazz
Scot Ray Quintet: Active Vapor Recovery
The Carla Bley Big Band: Looking for America
Rich Halley Quintet featuring Bobby Bradford: The Blue Rims
Tisziji Munoz: Divine Radiance
Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights At the Blackhawk, Complete
145 - Absolute Audiophilia
Damn Right, We've Got the Blues:
Jimi Hendrix: Blues (200-gram LP)
Aretha Franklin: Spirit in the Dark (180-gram LP)
Solomon Burke: Don't Give Up On Me (180-gram LP)
Howlin' Wolf: The London Howlin’' Wolf Sessions (Deluxe Edition)
Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra on XRCD:
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe; Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3
Art Pepper: Landscape—Art Pepper Live in Tokyo ’79
149 - New Formats
SACD
Holst: The Planets. Britten: Four Sea Interludes and Bach: Organ Music (Biggs)
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Schmidt: Symphony No. 4 in C and Mozart: Symphony No. 29. Symphony No. 5
John Coltrane: Soultrane (plus 45-rpm version)
Allison Krauss + Union Station: Live
The Who: My Generation (Deluxe Edition)
DVD-A
Fleetwood Mac: Say You Will
Strauss: Four Last Songs. Ein Heldenleben
TAS Retrospective
160 - Robert Harley traces the evolution of Dave Wilson's WATT loudspeaker.
Finale
154 - Classifieds
157 - Where To Buy The Absolute Sound
159 - Ad Index
SUBSCRIBE!
Click here to subscribe to The Abso!ute Sound.
Previous Issues
2003
December/January February/March April/May
2002
