Stereophile November 2014

THERE ARE AS MANY OPINIONS AS THERE ARE EXPERTS Classical and jazz notwithstanding, an awful lot of new music is highly compressed, processed, and harsh, and it’s about time we got used to it. Musicians, producers, and engineers are, in large part, on board with the sound, and any suggestion of making less-compressed recordings, with a wider dynamic range, is met with confused stares, or worse. One superstar producer didn’t take kindly to my suggestion that he make two mixes for his new project: the standard compressed one, and another, less-crushed version. That didn’t fly; he said there could be only one, the mix approved by him and the band, and that to them, a less-compressed mix wouldn’t sound better. This producer is an audiophile, but he’s not the least bit…

As required by Title 39, Section 3685 United States Code below is the Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation of Stereophile. 1. Publication Title: Stereophile 2. Publication Number: ISSN 0585-2544 3. Filing Date: 10/01/14 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subscription Price: $19.94 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 261 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Contact Person: Brian Laboe/Phone 212-915-4182 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: Source Interlink Media LLC, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245 9. Publisher, Keith Pray/ 261 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Editor, John Atkinson/ 261 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Managing Editor, Christina Ponce/ 1733 Alton Pkwy, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92606 10. Owner: Source Interlink Companies, Inc., 831 S. Douglas St., El…

Tired of Idiots! Editor: I feel compelled to write and express my complete anger at reading great reviews, then having them torn apart in the comments forum by idiots. This message is for all of you. If you are a loser who has failed at everything you have ever done, and find reward and joy in complaining about every and any review of a product you will never be able to afford—keep your stupid, arrogant opinions to yourselves! None of us who aspire to owning $200,000 speakers or world-class electronics cares about you. I just read a review of a Wilson loudspeaker (see www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialtiesalexandria-xlf-loudspeaker), and half the comments were by losers who were trying to pretend they know everything about anything! Go back to Walmart, use your employee discount, buy a $120 hi-fi, and…

UK: WANDSWORTH, LONDON Paul Messenger The last decade or so has seen a major shift in the way musicians make money. A number of factors, mostly to do with the rise of the Internet, have resulted in a substantial decline in earnings via the traditional route of sales of recordings, while some compensation has come through significant growth in the revenues from live performances. This might be small comfort for record companies and recording studios, but in the tradition of ill winds, it’s got to blow some good for specialists in live sound. Britannia Row Productions was founded in the mid-1970s, when rock group Pink Floyd decided to make available for rental the PA equipment it had been using on tours, and to set up its own recording studio. The production and studio…

ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: www. stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, e-mail Chris Vogel at info@vcable.us. Please note that it is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless this is associated with a seminar or similar event. CALIFORNIA • Sunday, October 26, 2–5pm: The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society will hold its monthly meeting at Weinhart Design in Los Angeles (2337 Roscomare Road). To celebrate the grand reopening of the remodeled store, host David Weinhart will feature the West Coast debut of the newest speaker line from Bowers & Wilkins. Special guest Marc Schnoll, B&W’s regional sales manager, will be there for the presentation. Among the electronics to…

INSIGHTS ON ALL THINGS AUDIO La Rosita is a Mexican restaurant near Louisville, Kentucky. It is also a town in Starr County, Texas. Beyond tacos and Texas, “La Rosita” is the third track on the classic jazz album Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster, recorded in 1957. The jazz tune inspired Dan Bellity and his confrères in the south of France to produce streamer-DACs that have been available in Europe for several years now. The Alpha New is now available in the US for $2995. Both its software and firmware are said to be upgradeable. (If only I were upgradeable, too.) As a simpleton, I appreciate products that make decisions for me by eliminating useless features and distractions. Freedom from choice. Just as in Soviet Russia. The Alpha New has an Ethernet input, left and…