Audio-1986-03.pdf - World Radio History

MARCH 1986 $2.00

B&O BEOGRAM CD X

GRACEFUL STYLING

EASY OPERATION

CONFESSIONS OF

A LOUDSPEAKER

SALESMAN

REVIEWED

YAMAHA K -102n

CASSETTE DECK

NAKAMICHI .10-100

CAR STEREO

To end the age old dichotomy between sound and style, Great Britain's master loudspeaker builder, KEF, hasproduced the Reference Series '104/2. Capable of satisfying the design conscious and the sonically critical alike, the104/2 is predicted to emerge as one of the most significant loudspeakers of the decade. (Previous KEF ReferenceSeries models, including one introduced almost a decade ago, remain to thus day at the top of their respectivecategories.)

The Elegant Auclophie Loudspeaker

Tongue -twisting, but ear -pleasing technologies such as Coupled Cavity Bass Enclosures and Conjugate LoadMatching (write for full technical explanations) make the 104/2's perform beautifully even with moderatelypowered amplification-almost regardless of where they are placed within the room.

The KEF Reference Series104/2. Finally, a loudspeaker to be seen and heard.

Enter No. 12 on Reader Service Card KEF America, Inc.. 14120-K Sullyfielc Chantolly, VA 22021 1.703-631-8810

MARCH 1986 VOL. 70, NO. 3

See page 54

FEATURESA HISTORY OF BINAURAL SOUND John Surlier 36CONFESSIONS OF

A LOUDSPEAKER SALESMAN H. Weinberg and R. Angus 48

EQUIPMENT PROFILESBANG & OLUFSEN BEOGRAM CD X

COMPACT DISC PLAYER Leonard Feldman 54NAKAMICHI TD -700 CAR STEREO . L. Feldman and I. Berger 58YAMAHA K-1020 CASSETTE DECK Howard A. Roberson 68AKAI CD -M88

COMPACT DISC PLAYER Leonard Feldman 76

MUSIC REVIEWSCOMPACT DISCS 82ROCK POP RECORDINGS Michael Tearson, Jon & Sally Tiven 90CLASSICAL RECORDINGS Edward Tatnall Canby 94JAZZ & BLUES John Diliberto 97

DEPARTMENTSAUDIO ETC Edward Tatnall Canby 10SIGNALS & NOISE 16SPECTRUM Ivan Berger 18AUDIOCLINIC Joseph Giovanelli 21TAPE GUIDE Herman Burstein 23DIGITAL DOMAIN Ken Pohlmann 26ROADSIGNS Ivan Berger 30BEHIND THE SCENES Bert Whyte 32

The Cover Equipment: Bang & Olufsen Beogram CD X Compact Disc playerThe Cover Photographer: Robert Lewis.

Audio Publishing, Editorial and Advertising Offices,1515 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036.

Subscription Inquiries, (800) 525-0643; in Colorado, (303) 447-9330.

See page 36

WAM

r53u.Preset Stations

2 3 4 5 6®

Bess Mid Treb..FM

See page 58

CBC Computers and Communications

When you put a satellite in orbi-, you want every possible assurance that it will perform. That's Jwhycorporations and governments all over the world ask NEC to build their satellites.

Even if you don't launch objects into outer space, it's comforting to know :hat NEC puts much of oursatellite PCM digital technology into our Compact Disc players for the home.

While most high fidelity companies have only two or three years of experience with PCM digital audio,NEC has been at it since 1965. So it cpmes as no surprise that other manufacturers are now imitating thedigital filtration and high-speed switching our CD players have had from the beginning. And it's no surprisethat independent critics in America, Europe and Japan have awarded NEC's plaers top ratings.

You see, building satellites is no- enough for NEC. We feel obligated totake the world's crust advanced technology one step further. Into your home. WFCNEC Home Electronics (U S.A.), lit 1401 Estes Avenue, Elk Grove "Wage, IL 6000 7 We bring high technology home.

Enter No 32 on Reader Service Card

When you hear the -idelity of :.heAKG K 240 Nionitor headp no le, you'llunderstand whS so many recordingengineers and professional musiciansprize its studio accuracy. AKG also hastwo-way electr)stati -./dynarnic modelsthat set standards for headphone design.

AKG has developed a line if stereophonocartridge-s with the A <GTransversal Suspension Syste n.Selected models feature the va denHul II diamond stylus cut for

aralleled tracking acciaracv.the best in sgitd, from

Lac Kno-Ger to Gmbh, Austra

77 Selleoe Streetamforc. T 06302

AKG headphonesrangein trice fro

S1S5';cartrilges from S50to S11110C.''5 semi retail e.

New Digital Demand Car Stereo AmpMf ers

Powerful enoughto be PyleFive NEW models. powerpacket and cistort 31 free fo-pure explosiv-e sould Pyle

I 1Digita Demand arrplifiers,preamp'E) anc eleDironiccrossover are American madeand fine tu lei by, over 30 yearsexperience Ferbc117 Pyle!

AudioPitts

EditorEugene III

Art Director: Cathy Cacchione

Technical Editor: Ivan BergerManaging Editor: Kay Blumenthal

Copy Chief: Elise J. MartonAssistant Art Director: Linda Zerella

Assistant Editor: Andrea Lynne Pieper

Associate Editors:Edward Tatnall Canby, Bert Whyte, B. V. Pisha

Senior Editors:Leonard Feldman, Richard C. Heyser,

Howard A. RobersonSenior Editor/Music Features: Ted Fox

Editor -At -Large: David Lander

Contributing Editors/Artist:Susan Borey, Herman Burstein, David L. Clark,

Anthony H. Cordesman, Ted Costa, John Diliberto,John M. Eargle, Joseph Giovanelli,

Laurence L. Greenhill, Bascom H. King,Edward M. Long, C. G. McProud,

Peter W. Mitchell, Jon Sank, Donald Spoto,Michael Tearson, Jon & Sally Tiven, Paulette Weiss

Business Services Director: Catherine HennesseyProduction Director: David RoseProduction Manager: Patti Burns

Special Projects Coordinator: Phyllis K. BradyAd Coordinator: Susan Oppenheimer

Stephen GoldbergPublisher

ADVERTISING

Advertising Director: Stephen W. Witthoft(212) 719-6337

Account Managers: Lesa Rader Giberson(212) 719-6291Nick Matarazzo(212) 719-6346

Western Manager: William J. CurtisRegional Manager: Megean Roberts

(818) 784-0700

Classified Manager: Laura J. LoVecchio(212) 719-6338

Classified Assistant: Mary Jane M. Adams(212) 719-6345

CBS MAGAZINES EXECUTIVE STAFFPresident: Peter G. Diamandis

V.P., Editorial Director: Carey WinfreySr. V.P., Publishing: Robert F. Spillane

Sr. V.P., Circulation: Robert E. AlexanderSr. V.P., Operations: Robert J. Granata

V.P., Finance: Arthur SukelV.P., Subscription Circulation: Bernard B. Lacy

V.P., Mfg. & Distribution: Murray M. RomerPres., CBS Magazine Marketing: Carl Kopf

AUDIO (ISSN 0004-752X, Dewey Decimal Number621.381 or 778.5) is published monthly by CBSMagazines, A Division of CBS Inc., at 1515 Broadway,New York, N.Y. 10036. Printed in U.S.A. at Nashville,Tenn. Distributed by CBS Magazine Marketing.Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y. 10001and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions in theU.S., $17.94 for one year, $32.94 for two years, $45.94for three years; other countries, add $6.00 per year.AUDIO is a registered trademark of CBS Inc. 51986.CBS Magazines, A Division of CBS Inc. All rightsreserved. Editorial contributions are welcomed butshould be accompanied by return postage.Submissions will be handled with reasonable care, butthe Editor assumes no responsibility for safety or returnof manuscripts, photographs, or artwork. ThePublisher, in his sole discretion, reserves the right toreject any ad copy he deems inappropriate.Subscription Service: Forms 3579 and allsubscription correspondence must be addressed toAUDIO, P.O. Box 5316, Boulder, Colo. 80302. Pleaseallow at least eight weeks for the change of address tobecome effective. Include both your old and your newaddress and enclose, if possible, an address labelfrom a recent issue. If you have a subscriptionproblem, please write to the above address or call(800) 525-0643; in Colorado, (303) 447-9330

Enter No. 19 on Reader Service Card 4 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

Of all the topcompact disc players,

only Ay gives you:

Ocrtei &t.pact, RAM`VerN

NNW. Nt.t-.

rx.notir,

dbx If DX3

Only dbx puts solutions at

your fingertips for the most common

shortcomings of today's CDs.

Take their wide dynamic

range. It's great-until you use CDs

for background music or make

cassette copies for your car. When

you adjust the volumes to keep loud

passages under control, you miss

dbx®Beyond stereo

IMOBSR

A division of BSR North America Ltd.

© 1986 dbx

71 Chapel Street

Newton, Massachusetts 02195

(6171 964-3210

the quiet parts completely. Adjust for

the quiet, and the next loud passage

hits you like a sonic boom.

Problem Two: CDs made from

analog or overly processed tapes

may suffer from"limiting" during the

original recording or loss of transient

peaks during mixdown. The impact

and excitement of the live per -

Compress

Compress lets you control the

dynamic range (between loudest and softest

passages).

control.formances become muffled and

lack lustre.

And consider the tremendous

channel separation on CDs.

Sometimes it leaves no "center" and

makes the music sound dry and

two-dimensional.

Only DX3 from dbx gives

you the answers to those

A AL A

II Impact Recovery II

II I

I I I

I 1 I I

I I I

DAM' (Digital Audio Impact

Recovery) restores lull "punch" to musical

peaks that were limited during recording

or lost during processing.

problems. Besides giving you the

tracking, filtering, and programming

features you'd expect in a top -line

machine.

You've waited for the right

CD player. Now it is waiting for you.

At your dbx dealer's.

Go beyond stereo, into the

dbx zone.

Ambience control lets you

adjust the difference between channels,

to narrow the stereo image (accentuating

"centeredness") or widen it (adding

ambience, or spaciousness, to the music(

Enter No. 8 on Reader Service Card

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The Joy of Owning the UltimateThe extraordinary new SDA Signature Refer-ence System combines Polk's patented SDATrue Stereo Technology* with phase -coherentvertical line -source topology. The result is ahigh efficiency, low coloration system ofawesome and seemingly limitless dynamicrange and bass capabilities. It reproducesmusic with a precisely detailed and life-like 3 -dimensional soundstage which isexceptional and unequalled.

*U.S. Pat. No 4,499431 Other pane:, pending U.S. 6 Foreign

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AUDIO ETCEDWARD TATNALL CANBY

CANDID CHIMERAThe indoor video home movie,with sound! I should haveknown. That will be it, for a while,

anyhow. We'll do our best to make ourown TV, just like on the tube-it's thetelevision age, isn't it? And TV is anindoor sport. Besides, the new videocameras can practically see in thedark, and they work well in the livingroom, right next to the hi-fi.

All this struck me forcefully, a fewdays back, when I went to a friendlySaturday night party, in a home where Ihad often been before, and walked, allunknowing, right into the middle ofsuch a video movie. Moreover, theequipment was fresh new, bought theday before, and our host was about totry it out on us. What luck! Just myusual kind.

Now, this account is mildly doctoredto protect anonymity, etc., but the au-dio and the video of it are true-to-lifeand might even be instructive if youare buying your own video equipmentthe day after tomorrow. Remember, weare all beginners in this new game,and especially in the audio. We'll bemaking a new set of amateur bloopersas we try to mate the sound and thepictures. Things will go startlinglywrong, but it will be interesting-andmore so as the technique begins towork itself out.

So imagine the scene. The host is anample Santa Claus type: Gorgeousfrowze of gray whiskers and flying hair,cherubic face. He's nuts on showbiz(hence the video equipment, ofcourse), but it's mostly platonic; hetends to silently mime along with re-cordings of celebrities doing showsongs-you know the style. The splen-did ex -factory loft he calls an apart-ment indicates a nice income fromsomewhere, no doubt a plebeian busi-ness, but his home is his stage andshowbiz his dream. At parties the folksoften gather 'round the spinet pianoand bellow Cole Porter et al. (whileCanby cringes inconspicuously in a farcorner). Or else the show tunes comeout of the hi-fi system, just the kindyou'd expect-LP, CD, cassette, radiotuner, VCR, big TV monitor, and speak-ers (typically inadequate), artfully hid-den somewhere out of the way. Thesound never stops. The VCR showsendless TV or movies, but, oddly, whatwe usually hear is FM radio-a zany

mixture, and who cares? It's all part ofthe sonic decor, which is just as impor-tant as the furniture. Against all thsracket, people talk-or rather, shout.

So this time I walk in as usual andam instantly lost. The portable roomdividers have been moved again. Butinstantly my grinning host grabs myarm and steers me left, into a newspace next to the kitchenette where thebig TV monitor now sits on a table. A lotof people are on the screen, millingaround. Some show or other, I think,and plenty distorted-normal Manhat-tan reception. I turn away but henudges me and points again. Oops-you can guess. That toadlike body withthe bright green head is my own.Short, fat and wide. When I move let,the toad on the tube moves right. Weare on camera.

Now, I trust our manufacturers willnot take umbrage; the video faults I amnow describing are 90% those of tech-nique. We. do not yet have the idealand ultimate consumer video camera,but I quickly discovered that my host'smodel, a camcorder (with VCR builtinto the camera) was very far ahead ofthe simple camera I tried some yearsago. The result was grotesque be-cause the operator was a beginner.

The toad -like distortion, a dispropor-tion between horizontal and vertical,was, I think, merely the camera angle.Note that it did not occur to the ownerto walk about with camera in hand, orto change location; he set it off to oneside and a bit high, some dozen feetfrom the TV monitor, and there itstayed, with built-in mike. Okay for astart, but he'll have to do better. As forthe green heads, I spotted the cause ina moment. The camera hadn't seenenough illumination, so the wordLIGHT had appeared on the monitor inlarge letters. All accommodating, ourfriend obliged by turning on a bank ofwhite fluorescent tubes directly overthe heads of those on camera! Thatdid it. Fluorescent light is rich ingreens, and video's automated colorbalancing is very touchy. This was toomuch; the balancer turned every pinkhead a bright green.

The fluorescents went off, the moni-tor again said LIGHT, and we turnedon a number of ordinary, discreetly dis-tant incandescent lights around the bigspace until the LIGHT went out. Still acomfortable illumination, in fact justright for a party, nothing to glare andblind you, and the colors were nowaccurate.

10 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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My friend's home videowasn't much good, becausethe sound, picked up bya distant mike in a largeand quite live room, wastotally unintelligible.

But what of the "movie," and espe-cially the audio? People were still com-ing in, being startled to see them-selves; the rest of us moved to otherbusiness, mainly loud talk. The came -ahad made its ploy; now we forgot it.Were we supposed to stand there likelumps, looking at our toady selves? Sothe music played, the talk rose up,people blocked the front of the monitoror stood in the camera's way so thatonly a fuzzy shoulder or arm showed-what a waste of good equipment!

Ah, but our host had further ideas.The camera, all this time, was record-ing. After a while, he would play it backfor us-with audio. During recording,of course, there was no sound from thesystem; there would have been feed-back. But on playback we would notonly see but hear. All those pricelessremarks being made, right and left.

What a bust. The playback wasgood for maybe two minutes of ourundivided attention because thesound, picked up from the distant mikeon the camera, in a large and quite liveroom, was totally unintelligible. It was aloud buzz of meaningless voices withfuzzy off -mike music (the loudspeak-ers) in the middle of it. Nothing else.

The fact is that a show is a show,and this one might have been okay ifthere had been words to listen to-oneor two voices in an intelligible close-up,or some way of picking out voices inthe crowd so that there would be con-tinued interest. But if the sound has nomessage, the pictures are spoiled.End of Part II in our friend's rapid videoeducation.

He was amiably undaunted; he hadmore up his sleeve. Seems that longbefore we arrived he had set up hiscamera, pulled his stage curtains (nextto the kitchen sink) and put down a bigsolo act for our later entertainment, asthe climax of the evening. With pridehe whispered to me ahead of time thatit was 40 minutes long. (I groaned in-wardly-didn't I tell you that this medi-um affords too much time?)

Accordingly, late in the eveningthere was a knocking for attention, thenclapping, and the Big Show started.Complete, of course, with audio.

I'll have to hand it to this amiableshowbiz fan ih terms of the visuals.Some of us, we find, are poison to thecamera, no matter how distinguished

we may look in real life. Others aresimply TV naturals. On camera, theyblossom, they are more than real.When our hero came forth from behindhis own curtains, walked forward to ahead -and -shoulders close-up (auto-matic focus) and smiled a greeting,there was a real hush. This man had it,and knew it. That infectious magne-tism! Even more than in the flesh itself.But then came the sound.

The music swelled up in the back-ground (out of the hi-fi system) and hebegan to speak, with that ingratiatingand attractive face. A tiny mouse -squeak could faintly be heard: "Goodevening, ladies and gentlemen, wel-come to .. . " and there was no more,though the visuals went on. We couldunderstand not a word-the "back-ground" music was too loud, and themike on the camera was much too dis-tant for such a speech. After three orfour minutes of visually persuasive butinaudible speech, our host knew hewas licked and something had to bedone, fast. Forty minutes of this? Inanother three he would have lost hiswhole audience.

So he did exactly what you woulddo. He slipped quickly over to thecamcorder and grabbed fast forward,to skip violently ahead and maybe lo-cate a few highlights before he lost us.And thereby we discovered an unex-pectedly hilarious feature of this andperhaps other new camcorders.

Now, you understand, many VCRs,especially older ones, have a fast for-ward and reverse in which the pictureturns into a temporary nightmare ofvague flying figures and wild streaksand flashes of light. (The sound is mer-cifully turned off in most.) When theVCR is in the fast mode, we try not tolook, or endure the violence with whatpatience we can muster until speedreturns to normal. But this camcorder,with VCR built in, is different. The fastforward is slower, I think, maybe two orthree times normal. But what is aston-ishing is that the picture remains se-rene and absolutely unaltered, justmuch faster. Even the sound disap-pears and returns smoothly, with noaudible clunks or bumps.

So our friend started to skip, and onthe monitor he started to run. As I say,he is a bit of a Santa Claus in size andhere he was more, thanks to that toad -

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Wouldn't it be nice tohave an automated soundzoom, directly coupled toa video camera's automaticfocus'? It does seempossible, if expensive.

like foreshortening. The instant hepushed the fast -forward control, weburst into laughter. He would talk amoment (soundlessly), then suddenlyscuttle madly around the room likesome demented groundhog, bless hissoul. Then, as suddenly-back to nor-mal speed, as smooth as butter. It wasthe hit of the evening, and we gotthrough it all in 10 minutes, not 40.

I should note that he did much betterin the "mime" parts of his little show, ifperhaps by lucky accident. The re-corded music, out of that pair of stereospeakers at the far end of the room,was at least fairly loud, just right for hissilent "singing" along with the record-ed voices, in good lip -sync. That partof his show worked fine, even if themusic was unthinkable by hi-fi stan-dards, recorded from speakers atmuch too great a distance -25 feet orso in that big space. He'll learn to dobetter. All in good time.

I'll have to throw in a note on thevideo auto -focus feature since it has somuch importance in making the audiomeaningful and effective. When thoseexpressive whiskers came into view onthe tube and moved easily forward tohead and shoulders, sharply in focus,it was the automation that did it,smoothly and suitably blurring thebackground. With such an excellentpicture, a good close-up sound for thevoice would have been really persua-sive, up to any professional job. Thisfocus automation is immensely im-proved from a few years back, when ittended to hunt, hysterically, unable tomake up its mind what to focus on. Nomore! Now it is smooth as silk, unob-trusive-a matter of operating parame-ters. But I note one caution. If in such aclose-up you momentarily back away afew feet, or even sway sidewise off -camera, the automation may loseyou-your face goes into a total blurand the kitchen sink emerges in all itsstark clarity. Disconcerting, and it hap-pened just that way to our friend. To befocused upon, you must fill a certainproportion of the picture. So stay put.

And-somehow-get that mike upclose and the audio level right! Thecamera can zoom but the audio can't,unless you remove the mike and carryit forward in the old-fashioned way.That's a liability. Wouldn't it be nice, itoccurs to me, to have an automated

sound zoom, directly coupled to theauto -focus? Indeed, it does seem pos-sible, if expensive. We have long hadvariable -pattern professional mikes, re-mote -controlled; could such a devicebe automated to tie in with the videofocus, at an "affordable" cost? It couldsolve a large part of the audio problem

in home video. This and other newideas for miking are likely to get muchattention and R&D before we hitch ourconsumer sound unfailingly to video.

So-enjoy, and learn as you enjoy.There's plenty of entertainment tocome in this area, once we put goodsound to good images. Q '

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THE SILENTTREATMENT.

WHY BOB CARVER'S MINIATURERADIO STATION LEFT THE AUDIO

PRESS SPEECHLESS AND HOW IT LEDTO THE MOST COMPLETE STEREO

TUNER EVER OFFERED.The new Carver TX -110 Stereo AM -FM Tuner

is a technical tour -de -force which further dis-tances Bob Carver's unique products from tra-ditional electronic components-and whichcan vastly enhance your musical enjoyment.

TWO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS.The performance of the legendary TX -11

Asymmetrical Charge Coupled FM StereoDetector Tuner is increased by the addition ofUltra High Frequency Wide Band AM Stereo cir-cuitry. With the new TX -11a, AM stereo soundsas good as FM.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, most AMstereo stations have frequency response(20Hz-15kHz), separation (35dB) and signal-to-noise ratios (70dB) audibly indistinguish-able from FM stations of equal strength. It'sjust that only Carver offers the technologyto appreciate this hidden performance.

As for FM stereo, the TX -11a virtually elimi-nates multipath and distant station noise whileproviding fully -separated stereo reception withspace, depth and ambience!

Bob Carver's Asymmetrical Charge CoupledFM Stereo Detector removes (without affect-ing stereo imaging, frequency response ordynamic range) the hiss, clicks, pops, "picketfencing" and the myriad other unpredictablenoises which all too often disturb FM listening.

(Still interested in the story of the miniatureradio station and how it impressed hard -to -

impress audio critics? Read on. We'll get to it

after we explain why the quartz -synthesizedTX -11a Stereo AM -FM Tuner will impress you inyour own listening environment).

A CLEANER, WIDER FM WINDOW ONTHE WORLD.

Because of the TX-i la's Charge -Couplingand Leading Edge Detection technology, own-ership may very well change your listening hab-its. Right now, you probably confine your FMlistening to those stations which are strongand relatively interference -free, avoiding weakstations and those filled with distortion. Youroptions are therefore limited. The TX -11a cansignificantly expand your choices by recover-ing stations previously buried in hiss or proneto sudden tantrums of noise.

Ovation Magazine observed that the circuit,"...may well mean the difference betweenmarginal reception of the station signalsyou've been yearning to hear and truly noise -free reception of those same signals, permit-ting you to enjoy the music and forget aboutnoise and distortion!"

In Audio Magazine, Len Feldman said"The significance of its design can only be fullyappreciated by setting up the unit, tuning tothe weakest, most unacceptable stereo sig-nals you can find, then pushing those twomagic buffons."

"Separation was still there; only the back-ground noise had been diminished, and withit, much of the sibilance and hissy edginess socharacteristic of multi -path interference!"

WHY THE ASYMMETRICAL CHARGE -COUPLED FM STEREO DETECTOR GIVES

NOISE THE SILENT TREATMENT.Thirty years ago, the FCC turned clear mono

FM into a substandard stereo medium (withfifteen times poorer signal-to-noise ratio) byapproving a broadcast sys-em that is extraor-dinarily prone to multipath anddistant -station -noise.

This system separates stereo into two differ-ent bands. Unfortunately, The bands aren't pureLeft and Right. Instead, one band is comprisedof those parts of a stereo signal that are com-mon to both channels, (L+R, or mono). Theother signal, far more fragile and prone to inter-ference, is the difference between the left andright signal (L -R). It bounces off buildings, hillsand other objects, and wreaks havoc when

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recombined with the strong mono signal.Bob Carver's Charge -Coupling circuit takes

advantage of the fact that almost all noise anddistortion is exactly 180 degrees out of phasewith the signal ifs part of. The TX -11a StereoAM -FM Tuner cancels these "dirty mirror"images before they can reach your ears. Thateliminates up to 85% of the potential noisefound in distant or noisy stations.

But Bob wasn't satisfied and knew youwouldn't be either. So another circuit, the Lead-ing Edge Detector, goes a step further by tak-ing advantage of a little -appreciated FMphenomenon: Just 5% of the L -R signal actu-ally contributes to the stereo experience. Therest simply gets in the way of skyscrapers andmountains.

The Carver leading Edge Detector operatesonly on this critical 5% of the L -R signal, filter-ing out noise and restoring just that part of thesignal needed by our ears and brain to con-struct stereo imaging.

Blended back into the mono (L+R) signalmatrix, a net reduction of 93% - or better than20dB of noise reduction - is achieved. Allambiant and localizing information is recov-ered. Only hiss and distortion are left behind.Or, as High Fidelity Magazine putit, "...clean, noise -free sound out .

of weak or multi -path -ridden sig-nals that would have you lunging t,for the mono switch on any othertuner -

THE LITTLEST AM RADIO STATION.Before we describe the remarkable

attributes of the TX -11a, we owe you the storythat proves just how far performance canbe extended when a component comesfrom Carver.

At a recent press conference, Bob Carverunveiled a small antenna connected to a verylow powered AM stereo broadcast transmitter(C-QUAM format). Dubbed "Station CRVR," itsat next to a Carver Compact Disc Player andthe same TX -11a that's on your dealer's shelvesright now.

Bob Carver routed the Compact Disc's sig-nal to the antenna for reception by the TX -11a,and also directly to a preamplifier.

In front of America's top stereo writers, Bobswitched back and forth between the trans-mitted signal (as received by the TX -11a) andthe direct CD signal. All listeners had difficultydistinguishing between the outputs of the CDplayer and the TX -11a Stereo AM -FM Tuner!

Most could tell no difference at all!

HOWAM STEREO GETSTHE SILENT

TREATMENT WITH THETX -11a.

* Unique de -emphasis curve* Whistle Stop cancelling circuit* Pilot Signal cancelling circuit* Ultra -low noise balanced station

detector* Very wide band minimum phase

intermediate frequency amplifiers.

Think of it. Compact Disc frequencyresponse and freedom from noise with AMstereo and the TX -11a. Only Carver could pullit off. But then only Carver could do the samefor FM, too.

HUMAN -ENGINEERED FEATURES ANDCONVENIENCE.

Many tuners with far less exclusive circuitrythan the TX -11a have far more complicatedexteriors. Bob Carver wanted to make tuningstations easy, not impress you with flashinglights or complex programming.

So thirteen presets, wide/narrow bandselectors, automatic/manual scanning andthe buttons which activate the remarkableCharge -Coupled circuits (Multipath andNoise Reduction) are all tastefully insetinto the burnished anthracite metal face.Full instrumentation including digital stationfrequency readout, 6 -step 10dE3-interval signalstrength LED's and other monitor functions isrecessed behind a panel, visible but not garish.

The result is performance without theatri-cality. Access without complication.

A tuner Itgh Fidelity Magazine called,"By farthe best tuner we have tested..."

CLEAR THE AIR BY VISITING YOURNEAREST CARVER DEALER.

Ask io hear the most expensive tuner theysell. (ltwont be the Carver TX -11a). Now tunea multi -path -ravaged, hiss -filled FM station.Tune the sane station on the TX -11a StereoAM -FM Tuner and press the Multipath andNoise Reduction buttons. You'll see why noother FM tuner can approach it. And why noother AM stereo tuner this good existsanywhere!

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SIGNALS & NOISE

Awed at a GlanceDear Editor:

My October Audio plopped throughthe mail slot right on schedule, and aquick glance -through has convincedme it's the best Equipment Directory todate. The color bars, the tape and Hi-FiVCR listings, and the rethought signalprocessors section do make it the mostuseful guide yet, and I'm awed by thead spreads too. Very enviable work.And "Audio ETC" goes from strengthto strength, too.

Chris GreenleafBrooklyn, N.Y.

Coming to Take Me AwayDear Editor:

I was so intrigued by the specifica-tions for the Lirpa Labs IPS-D loud-speaker in the Annual Equipment Di-rectory that I immediately attempted toget the Lirpa telephone number frominformation. When I was told there wasno such listing, I threw a temper tan-

Then I looked up the company ad-dress in the directory, jumped on myMoped, and went to the Big Applelooking for Main and Elm Streets. Well,to confess to you what happened isslightly embarrassing. I questionedseveral of New York's finest (police-men, that is), getting madder and mad-der as each one told me there was nosuch place. One policeman finally toldme to wait a minute while he made aphone call. Shortly thereafter, a largevan appeared, out of which came twoburly men in white jackets giving methe suspicious eye. Needless to say, I

hopped back onto my Moped and tookoff for home.

James H. HargerAnnandale, N.J.

Give Us a D.Dear Editor:

Just wanted to drop you a note tocompliment you on the 1985 AnnualEquipment Directory. To me, this issueis worth the price of a one-year sub-scription, easily. I act as a neighbor-hood consultant on stereo equipment,and this issue (as well as the Car Ste-reo Directory) has proved to be a verybig help in comparing products. Keepup the good work!

Joe RobertsGroton, Conn.

It Ain't Heavy, It's My SpeakerDear Editor:

Before starting, I should state that I

have no technical competence in theaudio field and, as a consequence,some of my comments may reveal myshortcomings.

When I received my Annual Equip-ment Directory, I started to look at theequipment specifications. I noted a CDplayer manufactured by Lirpa Labs, acompany I had never heard of. (Anobservant friend pointed out that Lirpais April spelled backwards. So what?)As I have said, I lack technical knowl-edge, but it did seem that 180 poundswas on the heavy side for a CD player.Lirpa appears to specialize in substan-tial equipment, vide a 62 -pound micro-phone and a 999 -pound loudspeaker.(I assume they make a 30 -pound car-tridge, too, but it was not listed.)

This loudspeaker's weight intriguedme so much that I looked over the restof its specs. Aren't woofers usually cir-cular? If so, isn't 36 x 3 inches a queershape? The midrange diameter is giv-en as 2 x 4 inches. Reminds me of mybuilder. Tweeter diameter: 12 inches.That must emit a significant tweet.

Most of the other specs of this loud-speaker seem strange to me too.have already suggested that 999pounds seems sort of heavy, but this isredeemed by the price. You can buythis contraption for a dollar a pound! Ican't wait.

Although you gave the company ad-dress, my letters have been returned tome as undeliverable. Could you giveme the correct address? On secondthought, don't bother.

Wilfred GodfreyOsterville, Mass.

Flipping for LirpaDear Editor:

Upon receiving the 1985 AnnualEquipment Directory, I immediatelyflipped to the loudspeaker listings. Af-ter comparing the specifications of theLirpa Labs IPS-D loudspeaker to someother speakers in the same pricerange, I went to my local Lirpa dealerto audition a pair, and subsequentlyended up buying them. The dealersuggested that I also purchase LirpaLabs BMA amps as they would helpproduce a cleaner sound than my twoJulius Futterman OTL-1s. How right he

was; I made an even exchange. Unfor-tunately, I was not able to audition thePMS preamp or the LSD Compact Discplayer; the dealer had sold all hisstock, including the floor samples, theprevious day. I hope to see them in thenear future. I did see the VR-TheWorld, Lirpa's Hi-Fi VCR, and at $18.98it is a real steal. I placed an order forone, and the dealer promises to have itin stock soon. I can't wait. Thank youfor another excellent Equipment Direc-tory issue.

Mark FriedmanLincolnwood, Ill.

Native or Not?Dear Editor:

I have been enjoying your 1985 An-nual Equipment Directory. It is verycomplete and my copy will be used allthrough this year, no doubt. However,next time, I wonder if you could addone more bit of information about eachitem-whether or not it is made in theUnited States.

Jimmy S. WigginsBremen, Ga.

A Question of ParentageDear Editor:

In September's "Roadsigns" col-umn, Ivan Berger refers to DesignAcoustics as being "in friendly compe-tition with parent company Jensen."

Design Acoustics is very happy tobe a division of Audio-Technica. I

would hate to leave the public with thewrong impression and would appreci-ate it greatly if you could print a correc-tion in an upcoming issue.

Rock WehrmannAssistant Advertising Manager

Audio-Technica U.S., Inc.Stow, Ohio

Editor's Note: Oops! Two well-knownhome audio names made car -stereodebuts at their parent companies'booths at the Summer Consumer Elec-tronics Show; hence my confusion. De-sign Acoustics' production modelswere at the Audio-Technica booth,while Jensen's display included proto-types of car speakers they will bringout under their Phase Linear name. I'msure the competition between DesignAcoustics and Jensen is friendly,nonetheless-but not quite as friendlyas I implied. --1.B.

16 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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A FAVORABLE WINDNo Shave, No Sandwich

The new Digital Audio Tapestandards, now that I've had achance to think about them, havesome worrisome aspects. Will theindustry actually come out with bothstationary -head (S-DAT) and rotary -head (R-DAT) formats? That would setdigital tape back several years, whilecustomers and manufacturers trodnervously around the possibility thatthey might be backing the wrongformat. And if R-DAT wins, will it havethe same tape -handling problems astoday's most popular rotary -headsystems-VCRs?

With today's audio decks, tapehandling is quick and easy. Punch inthe mode you want, and you get itinstantly; the tape stops or starts in afraction of a second, and it takesabout one second to rewind oneminute's worth of tape. VCRs aresluggish by comparison. Press "Play"and it takes several seconds for thetape to wrap around the head drumand synchronize its tracks with thepositions of the heads. "Fast" forwardtakes about 31/2 to 5 minutes for twohours' worth of tape, long enough foryou to shave or make yourself asandwich, but plenty boring if you'rewaiting for the winding to end.

Since the first R-DAT prototype Isaw was at Sony's labs, back in thespring of '84, I expressed thisconcern to Marc Finer, Sony'sproduct communications manager.He says that R-DAT probably willpredominate, but that its tapehandling will be quicker, if anything,

than that of today's CompactCassette audio system. (This I gottasee, but probably won't be able tocheck until late '86 or early '87.)R-DAT's fast tape handling is due tominiature rotary -head assemblies andtrack -locking circuits.

Marc also told me a bit more aboutthe DAT tech standards: All DATmachines will be able to record andplay with a 48 -kHz sampling rate,raising the frequency range availableto well above CD's 20 -kHz limit. AllDAT decks will also be able to playtapes recorded at a 44.1 -kHzsampling rate, but will not be able tomake such tapes themselves.Manufacturers may, if they wish,provide 32 -kHz playback too.

Why all the sampling rates? The44.1 -kHz rate will allow easyproduction of prerecorded digitaltapes from the same master tapesthat are used to make CDs; DAT'sinability to record at 44.1 kHz willensure that home users won't be ableto make direct digital copies of CDs.The 32 -kHz sampling rate will allowplayback of prerecorded tapes madefrom masters originally intended for

the 8mm PCM market, should therebe any available.

The 48 -kHz rate will allow directdubbing from studio masters madewith 48 -kHz sampling. I see that as apotential security problem for studios(beware the employee who brings hispocket DAT recorder "for listening totapes during lunch hour"), but noavenue to home piracy-homelisteners have no access to studiomaster tapes or playback decks.

The main home uses for DAT,however, should be in dubbingexisting records (including CDs, butvia the analog domain) and in livetaping (which few amateurs do). Thefidelity should be more than highenough for either application, sincethe 48 -kHz sampling rate allowsrecording of audio frequencies up toa theoretical 24 kHz (22 kHz inpractice). That's more than CDs orthe vast majority of microphones candeliver. It's nice to have a recordingmedium which is better than thematerial you're recording. But willpeople (other than audio nuts like us)be willing to spend their money forthis? Time will tell.

Going for BaroqueOne of the things that make life in

the audio industry so enjoyable is thatso many audio people are drawn to itby a love of music. Those who domake money from audio often givesome of that money back to music.The best-known example of this isprobably Avery Fisher Hall, part ofLincoln Center in New York. Anotherrecent example is the E. NakamichiFoundation.

The Foundation was funded by Mr.Nakamichi's estate (with a bequest ofNakamichi Corporation stock nowworth $20 million) "to encourage the

propagation and appreciation ofbaroque, classical and other musicalforms." To date, the Foundation hasunderwritten the broadcast of Musicin Time, a PBS TV series about musichistory; a number of concert and

lecture tours throughout Japan byEuropean artists, and thedissemination of video and audiotapes of these lectures to Japanesesecondary schools. Plans areunderway for the E. NakamichiBaroque Music Festival at UCLA inJune 1986. The Foundation alsointends to support musicalcompetitions, concerts, and lecturesin the U.S. and Japan, and to helpmusic students from each of the twocountries to study abroad.

A monument of deeds can be asworthwhile-and enduring-as amonument of stone.

18 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

Thin AESBack when I still did live recording,

I relished my annual visit to the AudioEngineering Society's convention. Theexhibits were full of equipment I coulduse, and almost afford: Two -tracktape decks better than mine, handylittle mixers, better microphones,noise reducers, and so on. Now, myinterests and the recording industry'shave diverged.

It's not just because I'm no longeractively recording-I still would, if I

had the time. But the emphasis attoday's AES exhibits is on equipmentthat's of no interest to the amateurrecordist. The pro world has gonemulti -track; most new tape decks andmixing consoles for pro use aretherefore far more elaborate than Icould possibly use (or house), even ifI could afford them. Small mixers tendto be built for live -performance use,with built-in amplifiers or foldbackcircuits which I'd have no need for.Only the microphones have remainedwhat they were, the main changesbeing improved performance, oftensmaller size, and prices which seemto have just kept pace with inflationrather than skyrocketing beyond it.

Still, last fall there were some proproducts which attracted me:

Studer introduced a special "QC"version of its A725 CD player, whichis, in turn, a pro version of the RevoxB225 (reviewed in Audio, September1984). Near as I can tell, the standardA725 differs from the home versionchiefly in having rack -mount ears andadditional, balanced -line outputs. TheQC version adds some digitaloutputs, providing access to the datastream coming from the disc, theaudio data just before D/Aconversion, the subcode data, andthe block -error rate counter. Thoughit's designed for such purposes asquality control in CD plants, the unit isalso ideal for audiophiles who want tocompare the quality of various discsor simply to snoop among thesubcodes.

The Electric Valve Editing Co -Professor (from Electric ValveCommunication, here in New York)allows you to use widely availablevideo editing equipment to edit PCMtapes made on such popular PCMconverters as Sony's F-1, F-501 and

F-701, the Nakamichi DMP-1000, andthe Sansui X-1. (The PCM processormust be modified for use with theediting system.) Crossfade time is8 mS, ana editing accuracy variesfrom 16 to 33 mS, depending on yourother equipment. The crossfade timecompares favorably with analog-fora 45° splice on 1/4 -inch tape at 15 ips,it's 17 mS But the editing accuracy isless impressive: I've shaved and eventransposed edits 1/16 inch long on15-ips tapes, equivalent to just over4 mS. I suspect I'd find the digitalsystem a bit coarse for really hairywork, though fine for such relativelyundemanding jobs as splicing twotakes together at a rest in the music.

Monster Cable showed its Prolinkseries of plugs and cables. Thesebring audiophile cable design into thepro area, where balanced lines, three -conductor XLR plugs and 1/4 -inchphone plugs replace the unbalancedlines and RCA phono jacks we'reused to at home. I especially liked theXLR connectors' emphasis on easysoldering and all -captive parts.Monster's reference to "those littlepieces with those silly little screwsthat always seem to get lost" hit homewith me-between XLR plugs andphono cartridges, there was probablya quarter pound of screws in the lastrug I discarded.

Not every item that piqued myinterest was related to recording. Forexample:

Sound Ideas, of Toronto, now hasa sound -effects library on CD. I'veused a lot of commercial sound -effects LPs in college and Off OffBroadway shows that I've done soundfor, and surface noise has alwaysbeen a menace, ever ready to dispelthe audience's illusion. With CD, thatproblem's gone. What's left is theproblem of paying for it. The 3,000-effect library takes up 28 CDs andcosts $1,450. That's larger than theproduction budget for many shows.

Two pro -equipmentmanufacturers have sidled towardsthe home market. Aphex Systems,best known for its Exciter, showed adecoder for surround video sound(though apparently not truly Dolby -compatible), for SQ quadraphonicrecordings, and for SQ-8, an eight-chanrel enhancement of SQdeveloped by Aphex. The AVM -8000can be set up for correct imagingwith anywhere from three to eightoutputs connected; there's also asubwoofer output.

EXR's Exciter, similarly named butotherwise different from Aphex's, isnow being made available tomanufacturers as a module forincorporation in audio components. Itis claimed to add "a crystalline clarity,intelligibility and separation to anaudio signal without changing itstonal quality or phase integrity."Exciting claims, those.

Since I'm also a computer buff, I

was intrigued by the IED AudioControl System (from InnovativeElectronic Designs of Louisville,Kentucky), which puts large stadiumor institutional sound systems underthe control of a Sony microcomputer.I'd like to see something like that forhome use, only far cheaper, simpler,and designed for use with any homecomputer; it will come, someday, butI'm not holding my breath. I was alsointerested to note that there is now aBroadcast and Communications areaon Compuserve, a computercommunications and informationservice.

I heard about, but did not see, a2,500 -watt amplifier called The Beast,from C Audio. It's presumablydesigned for large-scale (e.g., rock -concert) sound systems, but wouldnot be as absurd as you might thinkfor home use. I once calculated that aworst -case home system (a large,softly furnished room, in which loudmusic is played through veryinefficient speakers) would require atleast 2,000 watts per channel toensure that no musical peak wouldever be clipped by the amplifier.(What the speakers would do with allthat power is another problem.) Andthat was before the Compact Disc,with its higher peak -to -average levelratios.

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 19

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AUDIOCLINICJOSEPH GIOVANELLI

Subsonic FiltersQ. always leave my amplifier's

subsonic filter switched in. I use a Na-kamichi noise -reduction unit with itssubsonic filter switched in, too. I alsouse my equalizer's 16 -Hz band as asubsonic control. I know that such fil-ters are helpful, but how much isenough? And does all this subsonicfiltering degrade my system's bass re-sponse?-Terry O'Shea, CanadianForces, Europe

A. Chances are you're using moresubsonic filtration than is necessary.And it is certainly possible that you'relosing some deep bass (30 Hz andlower), especially because of the 16 -Hz equalization control, whose effectextends to 32 Hz or higher.

Depending on your cartridge, theflatness of your records, your turnta-ble's rumble level, the internal circuitryof your amplifier and the design of yourloudspeakers, you may not need anysubsonic filters. For sources other thanphono, you probably need none at all.One way to check, for each source, isto remove your speaker grilles and ob-serve your woofer cones during silentor very quiet passages in the programmaterial. If you can see your woofersmoving slowly in and out, you needsome subsonic filtration.

Back -Cueing Phonograph RecordsQ. How bad is it to back -cue rec-

ords? I have heard everything from "di-sastrous" to "harmless."-Joseph M.Roberts, Wilbraham, Mass.

A. For those unfamiliar with thepractice, "back -cueing" is a two-stepprocess used by disc jockeys and thelike to start a recording precisely oncue. First, the stylus is placed in thegroove and the disc turned forwarduntil the beginning of the first recordednote is heard. Then the disc is turnedbackward, just far enough so that,when the turntable is started, the firstnote will reach the stylus just as theturntable has attained full speed. (Thisdistance must be measured individual-ly for each turntable.)

If we were still using phonographcartridges which required high track-ing force, back -cueing would degraderecords. Even so, radio broadcastershave used this technique over theyears. When a record was popular(and therefore played a lot), one could

hear a bit of noise at the beginning ofthe disc. Otherwise, one would neverrealize that the discs were back -cued.

Today, back -cueing is more likely tocause damage to delicate styli. Mostmajor cartridge manufacturers offerspecial styli, designed to withstandback -cueing, for at least some of theircartridges. However, I back -cue fre-quently without such styli, even withmoving -coil and other delicate car-tridges, and have never had a prob-lem. Perhaps your luck won't be thisgood, but if you don't do it very often, I

don't think you need to worry.

Gauging Tracking ForceQ. When I set my turntable's anti -

skating force to zero and its counter-weight to have zero tracking force, andwhen I next set the arm's tracking -force and anti -skating adjustments for1.25 grams each, my independent, ex-ternal tracking -force gauge reads only1.0 gram rather than the 1.25 grams Iexpect. Should there really be such awide discrepancy between readingsobtained by the calibration controls onmy tonearm and those indicated by anindependent tracking -force gauge?

When the arm "floats" (at zero track-ing and anti -skating force), should itfloat all the way to the spindle? Minefloats about one-third of the way andstops. Does this suggest, perhaps,friction in the pivots?-Name withheld

A. I would trust a good, indepen-dent tracking -force gauge more than Iwould a tonearm's calibration adjust-ments. Even if the arm's calibrationscale is correct, you can throw the re-sults off by not correctly balancing thearm to zero before you set the trackingforce. Suppose, for instance, that thearm is neutrally balanced when it floatsjust slightly above a disc placed on theturntable; if you float it too high abovethat, or just above the turntable mat,subsequent calibrations will be off.

As for the tonearm's drift toward thespindle, check the arm's instructions. Ifthe arm is floating freely, the anti -skat-ing force is really zero, and the turnta-ble and arm are level, I believe it

should not drift at all.Once you have set all adjustments in

accordance with the manufacturer's in-structions, I believe the best way to getmaximum performance from your car-tridge is to use a test record designed

to aid in setting tracking force. Thistakes into account the performance ofyour particular arm and cartridge.

Shielded Cable for SpeakersQ. J have heard that shielded cable

should not be used as speaker wire.Why is this so?-Thomas W. Ward,Manchester, Conn.

A. Shielded cable is too light -gaugeto handle the power from an amplifier,and some amplifiers may not toleratethe capacitance of shielded cable.Shielded cables are used betweenother audio components, where thesignal levels are much more nearly thesame as ambient electrical noisefields. Without shielding, the cablesmight pick up hum and other noises.Even with shielding, cables may pickup fields radiated by the sizable cur-rents flowing in speaker cables, whichcould lead to oscillation. If the speakerlines are kept well clear of the othercables, such interference is unlikely.

Stereo/Mono SwitchQ. J have heard that the "stereo/

mono." switch on a preamplifier affectsthe way a phonograph cartridgeworks. Would you explain the functionof such a switch? -Eugene Gash,Washington, D.C.

A. Unfortunately, these switches arenot found too often, but most audio-philes may not really need one.

When the switch is set to "mono,"the differences between the two chan-nels-including any noise that is partof this difference signal-cisappear.This is especially useful when playingmonophonic material, whose differ-ence signal would consist only ofnoise. When playing mono phono-graph records, the "mono" setting mayalso eliminate rumble, which is oftenmore pronounced in the vertical plane.On stereo records, the difference sig-nal is cut vertically. This rumble maybe recorded on the disc, or it maycome from your own turntable. Thus,the switch does not affect the car-tridge's operation, but it does affect thesignal' that the cartridge produces.

If you have a problem or question about audio,write to Mr. Joseph Giovanelli at AUDIO Maga-zine, 1515 Broadway, New York. N.Y. 10036. Allletters are answered. Please enclose astamped, self-addressed envelope.

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 21

Sometimes there's audiblehiss even on digitalrecordings, but it is notusually annoying unlesslevels are very high andthe treble is pushed up.

The "mono" setting is also useful inlistening to weak, noisy FM -stereo sig-nals. Most noise rides on the L - Rdifference signal, and when this signalis cancelled, the noise disappears. Ofcourse, the signal then becomesmonophonic, with the same soundcoming from both speakers. The

"mono" switch on a tuner does thesame thing; many tuners also haveautomatic or manual "high -blend"switches which eliminate most of thedifference -signal noise (most audibleat high frequencies) while leavingsome stereo information in the signal.My most common use for a high -blend

The New PRO MCD, a descendent ofthe Meridian MCD which has set newstandards for musicality in CDreproduction, has been developedwith the help of major recordingstudios - designed to be a sonicreference in the production of newcompact discs. The MCD Prorecovers more of the musical detailsrecorded on a CD than many criticshave considered possible. TheMeridian dealer can tell you thetechnical reasons why the MCD Pro iscapable of such resolution, but yourown ears will tell you how much betterit sounds.

BOOTHROYD STUART

/MERIDIAN

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switch is when playing or dubbing amonophonic signal source such as anold tape. When the switch is set to"mono," a signal feeding into just oneinput channel will automatically be fedinto both output channels.

Such a switch is not indispensable.Lacking one, you can use a Y -connec-tor to patch a monophonic signalsource into two channels, or two Y -connectors, back-to-back, to eliminatethe difference signal from a stereochannel.

Recording Discs at HomeQ. If a CD player cannot be used to

record, why waste money on it?-GregJ. Weimer, Quincy, Ill.

A. Do you own a phonograph? Canthat phonograph be used as a record-ing device? Consider these questions,and you might see the matter in a newway. However, as a matter of fact, atone time the home enthusiast did enjoymaking phonograph recordings as ahobby. The discs used were quite ex-pensive. Once recorded on, they couldnot be reused. Stereophonic recordingon phono disc was quite a challenge inthe home, and required bulky equip-ment.

There will probably come a timewhen it is possible for the consumer torecord on CDs, but this is definitelyimpractical at this time.

Hiss on CDsQ. I have several CDs which are

digitally recorded, mixed and mas-tered. Nevertheless, I hear a faint hissin the background when I play them.What is causing this? When I listen tomy integrated amplifier at full volume,with no input or with the CD player onpause, I hear no hiss at a//.-Bill Law,Bolingbrook, Ill.

A. Sometimes there is audible hisspresent even where a recording is digi-tal "all the way." This hiss is, in mostinstances, caused by inherent noise insuch analog equipment as the record-ing/mixing console and the micro-phones used in the recording studio.(Few studios have digital consoles yet,and I know of no digital microphones.)

This hiss is usually not in the leastannoying. But when listening levels arevery loud, and when the treble ispushed up or the tweeters are verybright, the hiss will be apparent. A

22 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

TAPE GUIDEHERMAN BURSTEIN

Variable PitchQ. Is there any way to install a vari-

able -speed (pitch) control in a tapedeck that doesn't have one?-MarkMayhew, Platteville, Wis.

A. There is no easy way that I know.One can build a variable -frequencypower supply-assuming that thespeed of the capstan motor varies withfrequency-if one has sufficient knowl-edge and skill. Articles on buildingsuch a power supply have appearedfrom time to time in various electronicperiodicals which your local librarymight have. (One such article, if youcan still find it, is "Programmable Con-trol" by Gary McLellan, in PopularElectronics, April 1981.)

Time for a New Deck?Q. I have an eight -year -old tape

deck whose frequency response andsignal-to-noise ratio are not as good asanother, three -year -old deck which Ialso own. The older deck is in need ofrepair. Since I need a second deck fordubbing, I'd like to know if I shouldrepair the older deck or buy a newone.-John DeRosa, Mattapan, Mass.

A. In a time when very good perfor-mance can be obtained from cassettedecks costing less than $300, it isquestionable whether it pays to try tobring an eight -year -old deck back toits original level of performance. Sucha deck may have any number of prob-lems, including pronounced headwear, excessive wow and flutter, im-proper frequency response, etc. Youshould get an estimate as to what theappropriate repairs would cost. If theamount approaches $100, it wouldprobably be best to apply this sumtoward a new deck.

Emphasizing Treble ResponseQ. To accentuate treble response, I

understand that some people recordon high -bias tapes with the properequalization but play back with normalequalization and with Dolby NR. Can Iget the same or better results if, usinga deck with fine bias adjustment, Islightly lower the bias while recordingbut in playback use the proper equal-ization? What adverse effects wouldthis have?-Gabriel Vazquez Padua,Bayamon. P.R.

A. First let me state that using Dolbynoise reduction only in playback and

not in recording will reduce treble re-sponse. On the other hand, using nor-mal (120-µ,S) instead of high -bias (70-I.LS) playback equalization will accen-tuate treble response. The net effectwould appear to be a moderate cut intreble.

Recording with underbias in order toemphasize the high frequencies tendsto increase distortion. Whether the ef-fects of underbiasing are at.,dible de-pends on the extent to which you un-derbias, on your recording level, andon the sensitivity of your hearing. Thebetter course, if you want to moderate-ly emphasize treble, is to use 120- in-stead of 70-µS playback equalization.Or you could judiciously use your au-dio system's treble control. I suggestthat you experiment with various com-binations of bias, playback equaliza-tion, use of Dolby NR only in the recordmode, and use of your system's treblecontrol to learn what best satisfiesyour taste.

Dolby LevelQ. The term "Dolby level" crops up

in the literature frequently. What does itmean? Why is it indicated on somedecks and not on others? Why is itreferenced in some deck specs andnot in others? How can the averageschnook use this information?-RussellStepanchak, Columbia, Pa.

A. The Dolby B and Dolby C noise -reduction systems work by boostingweak treb e signals in recording andcutting them by an equal amount inplayback, thereby restoring flat re-sponse and cutting high -frequencynoise. The amount of treble boost var-ies with the high -frequency signal lev-el; for the treble cut in playback to becomplementary to this boost, the play-back circuits must be able to deter-mine what the original levels were. Tomake this possible, both record andplayback circuits require a referencelevel of magnetism on the tape. ThisDolby reference level is 200nanoWebers per meter for a 400 -Hzsignal.

When properly adjusted for a giventape, a 400 -Hz signal which justreaches the Dolby -level mark on themeters in recording will be recorded at200 nWb/m on the tape, and a signal ofthat level will register at the meters'Dolby mark in playback. Some decks

come precalibrated for correct Dolby -level matching on specific tapes; sincetapes differ in their sensitivity, otherdecks can be adjusted by the user forcorrect matching on any tape.

Improper matching of recording andplayback levels ("mistracking") whenusing Dolby NR will adversely affectfrequency response, usually in thetorm of treble loss or rise. Mistrackingof up to 2 dB is usually not consideredserious.

naccurate SpeedQ. i recently purchased a home

cassette deck which I use mostly torecord tapes for playback on my cardeck. But when I play these tapes theyseem to run slower than on my homedeck. A friend who owns the samehome deck says he too notices slowplayback on his car deck. What couldbe the problem?-Mike Egan, Linden-hurst, N.Y.

A. Either your two car decks areboth running slow or your two homedecks run fast. It's more likely that thehome decks are at fault, since identicaldecks are more likely than dissimilarones to develop identical problems.Buy some prerecorded cassetteswhich list the timings of selections onthe liner notes or labels. Listen to thesecassettes on both home and both cardecks, and check their timings on allfour decks. If you notice audible speeddifferences, they are probably on theorder of 6%, enough to alter the mu-sic's pitch by a semitone. Most peopledo not notice pitch deviation until it'san appreciable part of a semitone,though very few can detect a pitchdeviation as small as 1%. Once youhave found out which decks are atfault, have them adjusted by a quali-fied service shop.

Azimuth AlignmentQ. Please explain how I can check

the alignment of my cassette deck'shead through the entire frequencyrange, not just at one frequency.-Ed-ward Kalinowski, Philadelphia, Pa.

A. Presumably you refer to azimuth

II you have a problem or question on tape(recording, write to Mr. Herman Burstein at AU-DIO, 1515 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036. Allletters are answered. Please enclose astamped, self-addressed envelope.

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 23

If a tape splice is madediagonally, as opposed toperpendicularly, transitionsbetween sections will beboth mechanically andaudibly smoother.

alignment of the record -playback head quency in the low treble range, such trouble is the dropout of 1 S or so that Ior playback head. Inasmuch as accu- as 5 kHz, and then touch up the align- hear when the spliced area (which israte azimuth grows more critical as fre- ment on the basis of a high frequency 1/2 inch long) passes over the heads.quency increases, it is tested at a high such as 12 kHz.) The splicing tape seems to be consid-f requency, such as 12 kHz. If thecheck is performed at much lower fre-

The customary way of checking andadjusting azimuth is to play a test tape

erably stiffer than the cassette tape,and my guess is that, in playback, the

quencies, such as 1 kHz, little is containing a high -frequency tone, say portion of the tape with the splice loseslearned. That is, an error in azimuthwhich produces insignificant loss at 1

12 kHz, and adjust the tilt of the headuntil you obtain maximum output as

contact with the heads.-Leo Unger,Los Angeles, Cal.

kHz may produce disastrous loss indicated by an audio voltmeter or an A. The pressure pad should be ef-above 10 kHz or so. On the other hand,an azimuth check isn't ordinarily made

oscilloscope. If the cassette deck'smeter indicates playback level, this

fective in maintaining tape -to -headcontact. Are you by any chance put -

at a very high frequency, say 18 kHz,because many decks have very little

can be used, too.In the case of decks with separate

ting the splicing tape on the wrongside of the audio tape? It must go on

response this high in the audio range. record and playback heads, the play- the side away from the heads-theFurther, the playback level may tend to back head is aligned first. Then the shiny side of most tapes (though somefluctuate considerably, making it rather record head is aligned by simulta- newer types are shiny on both sides).difficult to ascertain the peak reading neously recording and playing a high- The two ends of the tape should buttwhen adjusting the head's azimuth. frequency tone and adjusting the rec- up against each other perfectly, withThird, at very high frequencies one ord head for maximum output in play- no gap through which the splicing tapetends to encounter false peaks in head back. can be seen or through which its adhe-response, so that an incorrect azimuth sive could ooze onto the heads or thealignment may result. (To avoid align- Dropouts on Splices next tape layer. Diagonal splices offering to a false peak, the procedure Q. I am having difficulty when splic- a smoother audible and mechanicalsometimes followed is to preliminarily ing cassette tape. I have tried both transition between the tape sectionsalign perpendicular and diagonal cuts. The than J

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DIGITAL DOMAINKEN POHLMANN

FORMAT FORECASTWhen we left our story lastmonth, Intergalactic Widget'stop engineer, Smedlap, had

just completed his presentation on dig-ital audio cassette systems. Smedlapexplained that both rotating -head (R-DAT) and stationary -head (S-DAT) sys-tems were entirely feasible from an en-gineering standpoint. Criteria such asmechanical and electronic complexity,data density, head life, recorder size,playing time, and cost were amazinglybalanced between the two systems. Itwas up to you, the Chief of Intergalac-tic, to decide which format to embrace.

While in the throes of indecision, Ms.Meyerbeer, your ace marketing ana-lyst, had angrily burst into the boardroom. She planted herself firmly at thehead of the conference table, makingher convictions quite clear.

"The potential problem with digitaltape," she explained, "is that maybeno one will want to buy it." She pausedfor dramatic effect, while Smedlap'seyebrows did the talking, and thencontinued. "You see, we have to con-sider the marketing implications beforewe jump into this. Above all, let's notrepeat the same old scenario in whichyou engineering types huddle in thelab, appear with some new product,and then expect the marketing peopleto create a market for it. The worlddoesn't need any more quadraphonicreceivers or Elcaset tape machines, oreven digital audio recorders based onvideotape. So why does it need notone, but two new digital tape formats?

"Think about it. Why was the analogcompact cassette such a success?Primarily because it offered a combi-nation of features not present in anyother format. Given steady improve-ments in sonic quality, the cassette'ssupremacy over the vinyl disc was ap-parent: It was recordable, and porta-ble. Cassette decks were also moreportable, and less destructible, thanopen -reel recorders. And the cassettewas more convenient, smaller, andeasier to record than the eight -trackcartridge. It constituted an entirely newformat concept, which proved to be sostrong that the cassette has becomethe dominant medium for prerecordedmusic. When you add sales of blanktape, the numbers are staggering.

"The lesson is one of originality.When a new product appears, to be

x

successful it must be wanted by thebuying public. That requires the pres-ence of an unfilled need, and the prop-er means to exploit it. The CompactDisc is an ideal example of a productdestined to succeed, because it em-bodies the magical combination ofbenefits which make it an original: It

combines, for the first time, the phono-graph's advantages of rapid access toany portion of the music, and the cas-sette's advantages of convenienceand durability-plus the new advan-tage of super -high fidelity.

"Digital audio cassette recording,however, does not offer a new conceptin format. Aside from smaller size, digi-tal cassettes essentially duplicate theanalog cassette, with potential for bet-ter sound quality-quality alreadyavailable in the CD format. Thus, thequestion of success for the new DATformats rests on their head -to -headcompetitiveness with analog cas-settes, with the Compact Disc-andwith each other. As makers of prere-corded cassettes, will we need tomake tapes for both formats, or only forone-and if so, which one?

"How do S-DAT and R-DAT stack upagainst the analog cassette? There aresome advantages: Sound quality willbe better, cassette size will be smaller,and the formats will enjoy the favoredstatus of being 'digital.' There are alsonegative attributes: Two formats are in-herently weaker than one; the cost ofhardware, tapes and duplication will

be higher; hardware size will probablyalways be larger, and DAT will have tocompete against an existing standard.

"A similar list of pros and cons maybe drawn up for DAT versus the CD.Digital cassettes have advantages:They are recordable, and the cas-settes are slightly less bulky than CDs.There are also disadvantages: Thetape will probably cost more than aCD, will not be as durable, and willwear out with repeated playings. Also,the hardware will be more expensive,the heads will wear out, and playerswill not be as portable.

"Clearly, DAT faces stiff competitionfrom the leading contenders. Further-more, no matter how we sort out thepros and cons of DAT, we cannotcome up with an original application inwhich it is clearly unique, or superior toexisting formats. Therefore, because itlacks concept originality, the DAT willapparently not create an entirely newmarket of its own. Its only hope is tosupplant existing markets. And thatleads us to the obvious question: Ex-actly what are the existing markets?"

There are two existing markets forcassettes-prerecorded tapes andblank tapes. While the former accountsfor significant sales, sales of the latter,continued Ms. Meyerbeer, are evenmore significant. Being a marketingwiz, she quickly cited statistics to backher claim. "According to a study com-missioned by the Recording IndustryAssociation of America, in 1982 home

26 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

To hear why George Bensonrecords on Sony Digital equipment, play him back

on a Sony Compact Disc Player.When it comes to capturing the experience of live

music, no audio equipment delivers the performance ofdigital audio.

That's why George Benson, creator of Breezin', thebest-selling jazz recording in history, has decided toinvest in digital equipment.

And the name this leader in jazz/pop fusion chooses,interestingly enough, is the leader in digital audio: Sony.

Not only has Sony led the way in professional digitalrecording equipment, we also invented the digital systemfor playback-the compact disc player. Sony introducedthe first home, car and portable CD players. And Sonysells more types of compact disc players than anyoneelse in the world.

But whichever Sony Compact Disc Player youchoose, each allows you to hear the music the way theartist originally intended.

So why not do what George Benson does? Play backthe top -selling compact discs the same way they weremastered. On Sony Digital equipment. You'll find thatwhen it comes to bringing you close to the music, nothingelse even comes close.

Presenting the Sony Discman;"' the world'ssmallest portable compact disc player.

Hardly larger than the disc itself, the fully program-mable Discman* D-7DX comes complete with carryingcase, headphones and a rechargeable battery. Every-thing you need for digital audio on the go.

SONYTHE LEADER IN DIGITRL AUDIO -

0 1986 Sony Corporation of America. Sony is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. The Leader in Digital Audio and Diseman are trademarks of SonyCorporation of America*Headphones included with D-7DX only


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Copying an analog cassetteor an LP onto digital tapewon't improve fidelity, andcopying a CD onto DATwill not mean greaterportability.

tapers recorded 564 million albumsworth of music-about 20% more mu-sic than was purchased. And, thestudy shows, it's not just a few nastyteenagers doing the home taping. TheRIAA reports involvement by a broadgroup of age ranges: 31% of thosewho tape at home are 10 to 17 yearsold, 39% are 18 to 34, 25% are 35 to54, and 5% are 55 to 79 years old.Blank tape is big business, and a full84% of all blank tape purchased byconsumers, says the RIAA, is used tocopy copyrighted music.

"Why," Ms. Meyerbeer asked, "havehonest Americans become pirates?One possible answer might be money.Blank tape is certainly cheaper thanbuying an album and wasting all thatmoney on things like artists' royalties.But most pirates live in above -average -income households, and often onlytape records they have already pur-chased. There is also another, moreimportant reason why they tape: A cas-sette is more convenient. It plays athome, in the car, at the beach, or whileyou're exercising; anyone who carrieda turntable when jogging would beconsidered eccentric.

"Where does this leave us? We mayconclude that the market demands ahigh-fidelity sound carrier which is por-table. The DAT will certainly fulfill thesecriteria, but the trouble is that two otherformats-the analog cassette and theCompact Disc-already fulfill them.Both kinds of recordings may beplayed at home, or outside the homeon inexpensive players. Particularly inportable applications, because of inev-itable degradation caused by the am-bient environment (automobile noise,wind, crowd noise, etc.), the soundquality of even the analog medium isfully acceptable.

"Thus we are stuck with the basicquestion: How successful can a pair ofnew formats be, if they offer no newmarket innovations over existing for-mats, if the hardware and software willbe more expensive, and if the hard-ware will also be bulkier?

"Well, you say, the DAT will be digi-tal-a significant improvement over theanalog cassette. And it's better thanthe CD because it is recordable. Thatis a new combination in itself: The firstwidely introduced consumer digital re-corders.

"But that brings us to yet anotherstubborn question: Does the consumerreally need or want a digital recorder?Specifically, what is he going to re-cord? If he buys a prerecorded analogcassette or an LP, what is the advan-tage in copying it onto a digital medi-um? A cassette is already portable,and copying it onto a digital cassettewould not increase fidelity. And an LPmight as well be copied to analogtape, since it is cheaper than digitaland captures the LP's fidelity. And ifthe consumer buys a prerecorded dig-ital medium (CD), why bother copyingit onto digital tape if car and portableCD players are cheaper? Even if digitalrecordability is desired, the CD alreadyhas that base covered. Both write -

once and fully recordable/erasableCDs, compatible with regular CDs,have already been developed.

"The bottom line is not promising,"Ms. Meyerbeer concluded. "For digi-tally prerecorded music, the CD will becheaper and more portable. And digi-tal recordability may not be very impor-tant; besides, the CD will offer this too.And let's not ignore the multi -billion -dollar industry of prerecorded andblank analog tape. Even a wildly inno-vative, more convenient, and cheaperformat would have difficulty supplant-ing such a successful standard. A non -innovative, less convenient, and moreexpensive format will certainly have itswork cut out for it.

"Nevertheless, in the long run, theDAT probably will replace the analogcassette, and share the prerecordedand blank medium markets with theCD. That will happen because the DATwill sound a little better, the cassetteswill be a little smaller, and its digitaltechnology will be a little more desir-able. More than anything, the DAT willsucceed mainly because it is new. Butat best, that adds up to a slowly gainedsuccess, indeed."

Her marketing argument conciselyput, Ms. Meyerbeer falls silent. AsChief, the decision is now up to you.Do you: Forget about the digital tapething and stick with analog cassettes?Get into S-DAT? Get into R-DAT? Getinto CDs? Go back to Monte Carlo foranother extended vacation?

As a consumer, you'll have about thesame choices. Except, perhaps, sub-stitute Miami for Monte Carlo. A

28 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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ADVANCE TO THE REAR

Trunk LinesSometimes, trends move so

glacially that you don't perceive themas trends at all. One I've failed tonotice until now, even though both mycurrent and forthcoming car systemsexemplify it, is the gradual move ofequipment from the dashboard backinto the trunk. In my car, as in millionsof others, the amplifiers andcrossovers are in the trunk already-that's been common practice forabout 10 years now. My subwoofer isback there too-also common, asthere are no other spaces largeenough, in most cars. There wereeven trunk -mounted carousel -typechangers for 8 -track cartridges, wayback before 8 -track became the waveof the past.

According to a roundup ofpredictions in Installation News, amagazine for car alarm and stereoinstallers, we can expect to see thetrunkward trend speed up in thefuture. Kerry Schrode of Yamahapredicts remote -mounted radios(though not this year) to cope withthe increasingly cramped spacesallotted by dashboard designers. SidSchieber of Autotek feels separateamplifiers will become still more

popular, and AudioMobile's Paul Starysays the same about subwoofers.

We can also expect to see moretrunk -mounted changers in the nextyear or two-both for cassette and forCD. I'm not sure how popular thatidea will prove-I normally keep atleast two dozen cassettes or CDs inthe car, and I suspect that is morethan any affordable changer willhandle. Being forced to choose myday's listening when I first set out,instead of waiting until I'm on theroad, takes some of the bloom off theidea, for me. And while it's easier toselect disc C, track 5 than it is toopen up a CD jewel box, I suspectit's easier to pick your box and openit than to remember which selectionC-5 is. Still, for those who listen to thesame few recordings most of thetime, a remote changer, preferablyprogrammable, should prove agodsend.

Another trend that points towardremote components is the growth ofremote control in the past year or two.So far, it's just to let the rear -seatpassengers control the front -seatsystem. But front passengers wouldneed remote control for trunk -mounted components too.

ZAP's OAPHow good is that car -stereo

component you're buying? Will yourparticular sample meet the model'sspecifications? Purchasers of ZAPCOamps and equalizers can tell. As partof the company's Quality AssuranceProgram, each component is burnedin at the factory to smoke out earlydefects, then individually tested. Plotsof its frequency response anddistortion at various power levels arepacked with the unit.

Efficiency ExpertiseHow much of your car's electrical

power does an autosound amplifierdraw? According to Paul Stary ofAudioMobile, it's a lot higher than youmight think.

Consider, he says, a Class -ABamplifier delivering 100 watts perchannel (200 total) into 4 ohms. Withthe 60% efficiency typical of thisamplifier class, 333 watts of powermust be delivered from the powersupply for 200 watts of audio output.And to provide this, assuming atypical switching power supply of70% efficiency, 476 watts of d.c. mustbe delivered from the battery.

The amount of current varies withthe voltage delivered to the load. For10.8 V, 476 watts would require44.1 amperes. Higher voltages wouldlower that figure: 39.7 amperes at12 V and 33.1 amperes at 14.4 V. I'venever measured 14.4 V in my car -11.8 to 12.1 is more typical. Starycites 10.8 V because of the effect ofthe load on the battery voltage (abattery producing 12.2 V with no loadwould drop to about 11.7 V with a60 -ampere load), and because theresistance in a typical wire run frombattery to amplifier (24 feet of8 -gauge at 0.0006 ohm per foot, plus0.0025 -ohm resistance for the chassisground) would drop the voltageanother volt or so.

Incidentally, the figures cited inStary's example are for averagecurrent draws. The peak currentrequired for full rated performance atlow frequencies is higher: 676 watts,or 62.7 amperes from the battery.

In practice, the current drain couldbe even greater. Most speakers dropdown below their nominal impedanceat some frequencies. If theimpedance dropped down to 2 ohmsat some points, the currentrequirements for a given power levelwould be doubled at thosefrequencies.

This doesn't mean your lights willflicker every time you play your soundsystem. In practice, your amplifierwon't be putting out 100 watts perchannel much of the time. Not unlessyou normally listen to loud rock whiledriving at 80 mph with the top downand the windows open-and youreplace your speakers often.

0

30 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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BEHIND THE SCENESBERT WHYTE

A CHANGE OF VENUEIowe this column to the combinedeffect of three experiences: Listen-ing to a new London/Decca CD re-

cording of Sibelius's Third and SixthSymphonies (with Vladimir Ashkenazyconducting the Philharmonia Orches-tra), learning more about the forthcom-ing reconstruction of venerable Carne-gie Hall, and reading some biographi-cal notes on Gustav Mahler.

As the last passages of the SibeliusThird Symphony came to their trium-phant conclusion, and the openingbars of the Sixth began, it was immedi-ately obvious that the latter was re-corded in an acoustic environmentquite different from that used in theThird Symphony. London/Decca is oneof the record companies that thought-fully provides information in their linernotes about who produced and engi-neered the recording and the hallwhere the music was recorded. Sureenough, the Sibelius Third Symphonywas recorded in May 1983, in Kings -way Hall in London, while the Sixth wasrecorded in June 1984, in the re-nowned acoustics of WalthamstowTown Hall.

Although nothing is cast in concrete,works presented on the same CD or LPare usually recorded in the same ven-ue. This generally holds true even if therecording dates for the two pieces arefar apart-which can be the case ifthere are problems with artists' avail-ability or with hall scheduling. In thecase of this Sibelius CD, the change ofvenue was less a consequence ofscheduling than of digital recording,which, with its lack of noise -masking,makes a quiet recording location abso-lutely mandatory. Kingsway Hall, longfavored by Decca engineers for thelovely, warm and spacious ambienceof its acoustics, has become a victimof the increasing volume of externaltraffic noise and rumble in the vicinityof its London location.

Decca's philosophy in recordingclassical music is the same as mine.The overriding consideration is a re-cording hall with really good acoustics.Fighting a locale with poor acoustics isa handicap that even the most skilledengineers usually can't overcome. Ac-cordingly, when I was Decca's guest inLondon last April, Tony Griffiths, digitalguru and new general manager of theDecca Recording Complex, told me

that Kingsway Hall was no longer apractical choice for recording. He saidDecca would make as much use ofWalthamstow as they could, thoughthis famous recording hall, with its su-perb acoustics, is very much in de-mand and thus difficult to reserve.

Carnegie Hall, located as it is on thecorner of 57th Street and Seventh Ave-nue in New York City, has to contendwith a massive volume of traffic andthe unrelenting noise this generates. Itis interesting to note that when Carne-gie Hall was built in 1890-91, the use ofstructural steel was in its infancy, andthus the hall was built of heavy, solidmasonry, with walls some 2 feet thick.You would think that such massiveconstruction would effectively blockexternal noises, but apparently,through some quirk of the underlyingstrata or some unknown phenomena,low -frequency rumble is transmittedthrough the walls. Furthermore, whenthe New York City subway system wasconstructed, some tracks were un-wisely laid beneath Carnegie Hall, giv-ing it its infamous subway rumble. (I'vewritten previously about how Bob Fineand I were supplied a copy of the sub-way train schedule when we were re-cording Yehudi Menuhin in the BartokSecond Violin Concerto.) Thus, Carne-

gie Hall has not been used much forrecording despite its fabulous acous-tics. In my view, however, I would behappy to record in Carnegie Hall atany time, and I suspect many otherengineers would feel the same. While Iam unalterably opposed to the use offilters that would roll off audible bassfrequencies, I do not think a filter thatwould remove the really bothersomesubsonic frequencies would be out ofplace. The real reason for the paucityof Carnegie Hall recordings lies morein the difficulty of scheduling sessionsin such a busy hall, and also, I ambound to say, in the exorbitant feesdemanded by the stagehands unionfor carting recording equipment in andout of the hall.

I am sure most music lovers knowthat in 1960 Carnegie Hall was res-cued from the wrecker's ball by theheroic efforts of violin virtuoso IsaacStern, and others who were passion-ately fond of the acoustics of this mostfamous of all American concert halls.Demolition of Carnegie Hall wouldhave been tantamount to a criminalact. Fortunately, Carnegie Hall now en-joys the status of a historic landmark.As you read this, scaffolding is in placefor preliminary work on enlarging andrebuilding its foyer, and in May, the hall

32 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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When comparing CD players, the digital -to -analog (D/A)conversion method is the key factor, for although the soundon the disc itself is digital, the CD player must convert it toanalog for ou-put to the amplifier. If this is not accomplishedperfectly, the chief benefit of digital-far greater dynamicrange with a -otal absence of noise-will not be realized.That's why Onkyo uti izes a 16 bit D/A converter system thatexactly matches the 15 bit digital code used in the recordingprocess, along with specialized double oN.ersampling anddigital filtering techniques.

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Fighting a recording venuethat has poor acoustics isa handicap that even themost skilled engineersusually can't overcome.

will be closed to undergo extensiverebuilding and refurbishing and instal-lation of an air conditioning system. Ithas been emphatically stated thatnone of this work will in any way alterthe fabled acoustics of the hall, whichwill reopen with appropriate fanfaresand special festivities in January of1987. In the longer view, all this refur-bishing is being undertaken with aneye on the approaching centennial ofCarnegie Hall in 1991.

Some biographical notes on GustavMahler I recently read (from a recordjacket, appropriately enough) mademuch of his two seasons in CarnegieHall as conductor of the New York Phil-harmonic. Up until the construction ofPhilharmonic Hall (now Avery FisherHall) at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hallwas the N.Y. Philharmonic's home. I

was fascinated by the interlocking rela-tionships between Mahler and the N.Y.Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall.

Carnegie Hall was made possible bya gift from Andrew Carnegie, the leg-endary steel magnate, who was pres-ent for the opening concert on May 5,1891. Walter Damrosch conducted theNew York Philharmonic for the first partof the program. After intermission,none other than Peter Ilyitch Tchaikov-sky conducted some of his works; bythat time he had composed all his sym-phonies except for the Sixth, the "Pa-thetique."

The list of the giants of music, oflegendary composers who have con-ducted in Carnegie Hall, is mind -bog-gling. In 1904 Richard Strauss con-ducted the N.Y. Philharmonic in perfor-mances of his "Ein Heldenleben" and"Also sprach Zarathustra." For theconservative ears of the rich patronsand particularly the patronesses ofCarnegie Hall, his "blaring disso-nances" were a bit too much! In 1906,Camille Saint-Saens, then 72 years old,played his piano concertos and eventhe organ part of his beloved ThirdSymphony. Dvorak was present in theCarnegie Hall audience when his "NewWorld" Ninth Symphony was given itsAmerican premiere.

Gustav Mahler had won critical ac-claim in 1907 for his performances withthe Metropolitan Opera. It is well toremember that in those times, the Op-era and the N.Y. Philharmonic weresupported by the patronage of the very

rich. The wives of the tycoons of thatera particularly involved themselveswith the Philharmonic board of direc-tors, and with their hands firmly in con-trol of the purse strings, they wieldedtremendous power. Needless to say,this included the choice of who was toconduct the Philharmonic and whatkind of music would be performed. Re-member that all this participation in thePhilharmonic was considered a socialfunction, and it came from a desire toparticipate in cultural activities. Fewpatrons, if any, were intellectually in-volved with music.

These, then, were the arbiters of mu-sical taste, and in 1909 they signedGustav Mahler to conduct the N.Y.Philharmonic for the 1909 and 1910seasons. The ladies didn't know whatthey were getting into! Mahler was avery intense man, fanatically devotedto music. He was highly respected inVienna, and there was no one whoquestioned his authority.

The first thing Mahler did with thePhilharmonic was to drastically weedout all the players who did not performup to his lofty standards, replacingthem with younger, more talented play-ers. Then Mahler began to retrain theorchestra, with endless rehearsals andan emphasis on tonality and ensembleprecision. The music of Beethoven wassacrosanct to the Philharmonic pa-trons, and when Mahler turned his nowhighly polished Philharmonic loose invibrant, dynamic performances bris-tling with energy, the ladies nearlyfainted from the shock!

Up until the arrival of Mahler, most ofthe Philharmonic conductors had beennothing much more than earnesthacks. Their performances of the mu-sic of Beethoven and other standardclassicists had degenerated into aform of devitalized, easy -to -digest mu-sical pablum. The musicologists, asyou might expect, were lavish in theirpraise for what Mahler had wrought,and some of the more knowledgeablecritics also applauded his efforts. Butthe majority of the popular press andthe patrons were, outraged. Thus be-gan a battle that was almost withoutsurcease, with Mahler, the absolutistand perfectionist, on one side and themusic illiterati on the other.

(Incidentally, contrary to what onemight expect, Mahler did not over-

whelm his patrons with frequent perfor-mances of his own music. He gave theAmerican premiere of his First Sym-phony and then gradually performedthe rest of his output. Sergei Rachma-ninoff premiered his Third Piano Con-certo with Mahler and the Philharmon-ic, and was much impressed with thecare lavished by Mahler on the accom-paniment.)

The ferment about Mahler grewamong the patrons, but surprisingly,they kept him on for the second sea-son. However, the strain was begin-ning to tell on Mahler. After a series ofconfrontations over some perfor-mances, which resulted in his untypi-cal acquiescence to some of their de-mands regarding choices of music, hegrew ill. He never made it through thesecond season, and in 1911 returnedto Vienna, where his weakened heartfinally stopped beating. There is nodoubt that Mahler's stewardship of thePhilharmonic, brief though it was,made it a respectable orchestra.

Through the years since, CarnegieHall has resounded to great music per-formed by great orchestras. The podi-um has been graced by such legend-ary figures as Igor Stravinsky, PierreMonteux, Serge Koussevitzky, BrunoWalter, Leonard Bernstein, my belovedfriend Leopold Stokowski, the tempes-tuous Arturo Toscanini, and his diamet-ric opposite, the rather gentle DimitriMitropoulos.

It is one thing to attend a concert atCarnegie Hall, with great musicwrapped in the warm embrace of thosesplendid acoustics. It is quite anotherthing to record there. The first time I

did so was in 1953, for the great "Jazzat the Philharmonic" series. When I firstset foot on the hallowed stage to placemy microphones, and stood preciselyon the spot that had known the pres-ence of Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss,Mahler, and a whole panoply of othermusical giants, I was simply over-whelmed. I felt a sense of awe andreverence, and in subsequent visits tothe stage, that feeling of awe has neverdiminished.

So, all hail to grand old CarnegieHall! I look forward to seeing its refur-bished splendor. God willing, my wifeRuth and I will raise a champagnetoast on the occasion of its 100th birth-day in 1991! A

34 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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A HISTORY OF

31\AURAL SOUND

There's only one way to come closeto reproducing human hearing-binaural reproduction. This method isso basic and simple that its first usecame way back in 1881.

ver the years since stereo be-came the norm, various ap-proaches have been tried to

carry its spatial realism a step or twofurther. These have involved both thecontinuous refinement and improve-ment of stereo itself (with, perhaps,some temporary backward steps) andthe exploration of other approaches.

The best-known of these multi -di-mensional alternatives, quadraphon-ics, failed to win public support. Thisled, however, to other multi -speakerapproaches. Two of these, the DolbySurround system used in video soft-ware and movies, and the Ambisonicsystem from Britain, resemble the oldquadraphonic systems in their use ofmatrixes which encode four channelsof information into two (and, in the caseof Ambisonics, the alternative of usingfour discrete channels). The others ei-ther extract ambient information from

John Sunier is the author of threebooks related to audio, includingThe Story of Stereo: 1881-. He writesabout music and audio for a numberof national periodicals, and hostsAudiophile Audition, a weekly radioprogram carried by 115 public andseveral commercial stations.

the main program, which the quad,Ambisonic, and Dolby Surround ma-trixes can also be used for, or simulateambience by feeding a delayed ver-sion of the main signal through rear orside speakers. The signals from delaysystems (and, occasionally, othermulti -dimensional add-ons) are some-times mixed with the main speaker andsent to the front speaker pair, thoughthis can muddy the sound if used tooliberally. The aim of all these systemsis to increase apparent spatiality.

Another approach is to treat themain signal so as to increase the spa-tial ambience or localization, or both,available from two stereo speakers.Examples of this include Bob Carver'sSonic Holography and past or presentunits by Sound Concepts, Omnisonixand Fisher, as well as the Polk SDAspeakers and speakers from ImagedStereo.

When properly set up and sensitivelyemployed, some of these units canadd a tremendous realism and natural-ness to loudspeaker reproduction, butnone of them can accurately repro-duce the human hearing experience inall its amazing accuracy and versatili-ty. There is only one way to come fairlyclose to that goal, and it is by using amethod of reproduction so basic and

John Sunier

simple that its first recorded use cameonly a few years after the invention ofthe phonograph-in 1881, to be exact.It is called binaural reproduction-bi,for two, and aural, for ears.

On August 30 of that year, the Ger-man Imperial Patent Office granted apatent to the Parisian engineer Clem-ent Ader, covering "Improvements ofTelephone Equipments for Theatres."This was, of course, long before thedevelopment of either vacuum tubes orradio, so connections originated withsimple telephone transmitters (mouth-pieces) and pairs of telephone linesfrom the stage of the theater to thehomes of the telephone subscribers.Evidently, more than one transmitterwas used to feed each of the twophone lines, probably to get enoughvolume. The transmitters were distrib-uted across the stage in right/left pairs,and the subscribers listened via sepa-rate phone earpieces at each ear-one for the left phone line and one forthe right. Ader's patent states: "Thusthe listener is able to follow the varia-tions in intensity and intonation corre-sponding to the movements of the ac-tors on the stage. This 'double listen-ing' to sound, received and transmittedby two different sets of apparatus, pro-duces the same effects on the ear thatthe stereoscope produces on the eye."

Ader was quite aware of what hewas doing, and he did not hit upon hisarrangement merely by chance; hispatent drawings substantiate this. Hisdevice received much attention duringthe 1881 Paris Exposition, when it wasused to broadcast live presentationsdirect from the stage of the Paris Op-era. A similar setup was installed by aninventor named Ohnesorge in the mu -

36 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

The advantage of using mikes on a dummy head isthat, by modifying the sound field just as human featureswould, conditions of human hearing are nearly duplicated.

sic hall of the Crown Prince of Prussia.Later in the 19th century, a commercialventure based on this approach wasmarketed under the name Steidel'sStereophony.

How Binaural WorksThe analogy of binaural hearing to

stereo seeing has often been made(Fig. 1). Though in its finer points thereare some sizable differences, the anal-ogy makes the whole function of binau-ral reproduction more understandable.The workings of the brain are responsi-ble for both of these physiological phe-nomena. The brain takes the two verysimilar but also very slightly differentsignals, whether they be optic nerveimpulses or impulses from the innerear, and processes them instantly togive us depth of image or depth ofsound.

Early in man's evolution, this in-creased accuracy of perception meantthe difference between life and death.The poor fellow deaf in one ear or blindin one eye had had it-no getting awayfrom that saber-toothed tiger! Oursenses have probably been dulledover the eons, but listening to binaural-ly recorded or broadcast material canmake one aware of just how specificour hearing can be. We have somesense of spatial location when listeningto well-done stereo recordings throughproperly set-up speakers, but this isonly a pale imitation of binaural, whichallows one to locate sounds not only,horizontally but also vertically-actual-ly 360° in every direction.

In binaural, there is a lack of accu-rate location when the sound source isdirectly above, ahead or to the rear.But if you close your eyes and have afriend click fingers directly in front of,above, and behind you, you will dis-cover this problem is inherent in thehearing apparatus, not in the binauralapproach! It is very difficult to tell if thesound is in front or behind, unless itmoves to that point from the sides.

So just what, exactly, is a binauralmicrophone setup? Well, it can be assimple as two omnidirectional mikesspaced on a stand about 7 inchesapart to simulate the separation of thehuman ears. The left mike signal iskept totally separated from the rightsignal through the entire system. Onecan record in any stereo tape format,

though the greater the signal-to-noiseratio, the better will be the binauraleffect. Hiss can be very noticeable withstereo headphones, as most of us areaware, and there are few other soundsleaking in (even with open-air head-phones) to mask any of the noise in therecording. Further, with binaural, someextremely low-level and subtle soundscan be clearly heard by the listener,and it is vital not to have such delicatesounds obscured by the high noisefloor of most analog recording meth-ods. PCM digital recording is thereforethe perfect medium for binaural repro-duction. The other alternatives, if digi-tal equipment is not available, wouldbe cassette recording with dbx NR en-coding or, as a second choic, withDolby C NR encoding. The best -qualitymetal -particle cassette tape should beused, and one shouldn't be concernedif the recording levels seldom hitpeaks, because few sounds will beclose to the mikes.

A simple improvement to thespaced -mikes approach is to mount apiece of quarter -inch plywood, about 4by 6 inches in size, exactly betweenthe two mikes to act as a head shad-ow-a baffle which simulates theacoustic effect of the human head.This is also sometimes called a sep-tum. You can refine it even further bycovering the board with a layer of felt(Fig. 2).

As you can see, the equipment re-quired for binaural recording and lis-tening is probably already available toyou. No special encoders or decodersor processors are needed-just twoclean channels of recording and repro-duction ending in a pair of good stereoheadphones. The better the head-phones, the better the results will be; I

prefer good electrostatics, but the ef-fect will be startling with almost anytype. Also, the mikes need not be themost expensive. While better mikesgive better results, the general binauraleffect will come through well with themost basic equipment.

Another advantage to doing yourown binaural recording is the ease ofmike placement. Just listen throughheadphones to the signal from themikes as you move them to severallocations; the location that sounds bestis obviously the one to use. The binau-ral method is extremely forgiving of

mike setup. No musicians will ever be"off -mike," because you are not tryingto bring the musicians into your listen-ing room-you are going to the concerthall or studio! Similarly, you may findthat audience noises that would be ex-tremely annoying with ordinary stereojust become part of the "in person"concert -hall experience and actuallyadd to the realism.

Dummy Heads and Live HeadsIf you would like to go all the way

with binaural recording, you can use a"dummy head." The first appearanceof such a head was, in fact, the mostpublicized experiment with two -chan-nel reproduction (until the advent ofstereo recording in the 1950s). In thewinter of 1932, a wooden tailor's dum-my, named Oscar by some Bell Lab-oratories engineers, took up residenceat the American Academy of Music inPhiladelphia. He was part of a projectin which Leopold Stokowski, always in-terested in improving music reproduc-tion and recording, took part. (Thisproject also made some of the firstexperimental stereo recordings, usingbasically the same 45/45 cutting sys-tem as today's stereo discs.)

Oscar had sensitive microphones-as sensitive as they had in 1932, thatis-implanted in his cheekbones infront of his ears. These were used topick up Stokowski's Philadelphia Or-chestra; a monaural pickup was alsomade, alongside. Visitors to the Ameri-can Academy were asked to listen inanother hall, using headphones, and tonote any preference between the full -range mono sound and a filtered, limit-ed -range binaural signal via Oscar.They all preferred the binaural repro-duction, even when all frequenciesover 2.8 kHz were cut off.

Oscar then travelled to the Centuryof Progress Exhibition in Chicago,where he continued to amaze visitors.They listened through headphoneswhile looking at people, at some dis-tance, who moved around Oscar whilespeaking or making sounds. (In anoth-er part of this exhibit, the public wastested for hearing sensitivity at variousfrequencies and sound levels; thiseventually yielded the parameters forthe Fletcher -Munson loudness curve.)

The advantages of the dummy headover unadorned spaced microphones

38 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

were noted by the Bell engineers. Bymodifying the sound field near the twomikes, just as human features modifythe sound we hear, the conditions ofhuman hearing were duplicated asclosely as possible. During later ex-perimental work in Germany, as mikesof smaller size were developed byBrriel & Kjaer and others, they wereplaced deep inside dummy heads,where eardrums would be on a humanhead, at the ends of ear canals. Theeffect was startling, but unnatural, be-cause the sound had to pass throughtwo sets of ear canals-the dummyhead's, during recording, and the lis-tener's, during playback. In spite ofthis, such an end -of -the -ear -canaldummy head is still used in some bin-aural work, together with specialequalization to correct the problem.

Even finer adjustments can improvethe realism of the binaural dummyhead, also called Kunstkopf ("art -head") stereo by the Germans. Themakers of Mercedes cars use a Kunst-kopf, together with a Sony PCM-F1 dig-ital processor and Stax headphones,to record interior car noises for testpurposes. Mercedes' demands forbetter low -bass reproduction via head-phones led Stax to develop their top -of -the -line earspeakers. The Mercedesengineers also found that includingshoulders and even hair on their dum-my head improved the realism and ac-curacy of the binaural pickup. Theirlatest head, with tiny B & K mikes bur-ied at the ends of the ear canals, hasalso been used experimentally forsome state-of-the-art binaural concertrecordings in a German cathedral.

If you want to use a dummy head forbinaural recording, Neumann makesone, the KU 81, complete with theircondenser mikes mounted inside, butit is not inexpensive. Sennheiser alsosells a head, dubbed Fritz. Anotherpossibility is to find a foam wig headand make your own. Hollow out aspace at the center of each ear largeenough to accommodate a small tie -clip condenser electret mike such asthe Sony ECM -16T. If you already havea pair of good omnidirectional mikes,you can hollow out just enough inden-tation near the ears to lay the mikes asclose as possible to the sides of thehead. Face them straight up or for-ward, and remove any wind screens to

E STEREOSLIDE

TWO-DIMENSIONALIMAGES

LENSES

THREE - DIMENSIONALIMAGE

STEREO SIGNALS

FROM

RADIO, PHONO, TAPE, OR CD

AMPLIFIER _1 AMPLIFIER

THREE-DIMENSIONAL

SOUND IMAGE.

A

Fig. 1-Our two eyes (A) and our two ears (B) work with our brain inanalogous, though not identical, ways to capture three-dimensional images.(After The Story of Stereo: 1881-, by John Sunier.)

At the 1933 Century of Progress Exhibition, audience members listenedthrough binaural telephone receivers while demonstrators addressed "Oscar"(back to camera), a tailor's dummy with a sensitive microphone implanted ineach cheekbone.

allow closer proximity to the foamhead. If the head will sit by itself, themikes can be held in place by rubberbands. Add a wig, and if the headlacks a nose, attach a putty one or gluea small baffle in the proper place, be-cause even this has an effect. Youmight also try two pieces of foam tapecurved into a "C" shape if the ears ofthe head are not prominent.

In the Air and On the AirTo return to binaural's history, the

process was used in both World Wars.In World War I, binaural receiving trum-pets were used to locate enemy war-planes (Fig. 3). They were spaced sev-eral feet apart to increase location acu-ity, and were connected via rubbertubing to the two ears of an operator.Similar devices known as geophones

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 39

In 1925 a New Haven radio station experimented withbinaural broadcasting. Those who tuned in with two radiosgot an impression of increased depth and volume.

were used to determine the direction ofunderground sounds such as enemytrenching operations. In World War II,underwater binaural pickups weremade with hydrophones to help detectenemy submarines.

In the March 1924 Journal of theAIEE, an article titled "High QualityTransmission and Reproduction ofSpeech and Music" appeared. Its au-thors, W. H. Martin and Harvey Fletch-er, had some prophetic things to sayabout two -channel broadcasting: "Withbinaural audition, it is possible to con-centrate on one sound source and todisregard other sounds coming fromdifferent directions or distances. Be-cause of the monaural character ofbroadcasting, it is necessary to goeven further in reducing noises andreverberation at the transmitter thanwould be the case for an observer us-ing two ears at the same location. . . .

In broadcasting, those who make useof the system are becoming more criti-cal of the service which it renders andthe quality of reproduction will be ofincreasing importance in the future."

In the following year an inventornamed Kapeller developed an im-provement on the early Ader system of1881. He mounted six microphones,

Fig. 2-A binaural microphone setupusing a baffle to simulate the acousticeffect of the human head.

spaced as three pairs the same dis-tance apart as human ears, at theedge of the stage of the Berlin OperaHouse (Fig. 4). The left mikes of eachpair were connected to one set of ca-bles and the right mikes to a secondset. Realizing the difficulties in supply-ing two separate cables to each listen-er's home, Kapeller saw the possibilityof using radio broadcast. He cited theexample already set by a Berlin radiostation which had experimentally car-ried out two -channel broadcasts usingtwo transmitters, at wavelengths of 430and 505 meters.

In that same year, 1925, a U.S. radiostation, WPAJ in New Haven, Connect-icut, was experimenting with binauralbroacasting. An additional wavelengthof 1,110 kHz was added to their origi-nal frequency of 1,320 kHz, and dupli-cate transmitters were installed (Fig.5). Two standard broadcast mikes ofthe time were used, one to each chan-nel, with a 7 -inch separation. Ordinaryreception was not impaired, since ba-sically the same program was heardon each wavelength. Binaural listenersused one radio set tuned to 1,320 kHzfeeding a single earphone on the leftear, and a second radio set tuned to1,110 kHz feeding a single earphoneon the right ear. At this time, loud-speakers were just beginning to comeinto use for radio listening. It was foundthat the speakers mixed up the soundfrom the two discrete channels andseriously impaired the binaural effect.

The WPAJ work was described byengineer F. M. Doolittle in ElectricalWorld magazine. The station used asingle transmitting antenna for the twofrequencies, and the two home radioscould also be operated from a singleantenna. The experimenters found thatan impression of greater depth andmore distance between listener andperformer was gained if the mikeswere moved somewhat further apartthan 7 inches. But if they were movedtoo far apart, the binaural impressionbecame vague and was eventually lostaltogether. It was also found that bin-aural transmission produced an appar-ent increase in volume.

Doolittle showed his understandingof the binaural effect very clearly in hisarticle: "The phonograph and the radiohave educated the ear to believe that aclose approximation to true tone val-

ues is really all that can be expected,and hence the listener does not expectan exact reproduction. Reproduction,using the word in its strict sense,would, of course, mean a rendition sonearly identical with the original thatone would be unable to tell, withoutbringing into play other faculties thanthat of hearing, whether or not he ispresent at, and listening to, the originalperformance. A close approximation tosuch reproduction is possible with[this] method. . . ."

A few American radio stations con-ducted similar experimental binauralbroadcasts at this time, but radio wasstill in its infancy and not many peopleowned the two sets necessary for lis-tening to the broadcasts. So the pio-neering work of WPAJ was almost for-gotten until the FM -plus -AM stereobroadcasts of the late 1950s, most ofwhich were not binaural.

Binaural's Modern HistoryAudio's own Bert Whyte brought bin-

aural recording out of the attic for awhile in 1950. During his employmentwith the Magnecord tape recordercompany, General Motors requestedhelp in recording and analyzing thespecific locations of car noises. Whyterecalled the Oscar demonstrations of1933 and assembled two TelefunkenU-47 omnidirectional mikes on a standseparated by a quarter -inch slab ofwood for a baffle.

Two -channel tape heads were notyet available, so the simplest way torecord and play back two separatesignals was to modify a monophonicthree -head assembly to include a full -track erase head, a normal half-trackmonophonic record/play head wherethe record head was normally mount-ed, and a second half-track record/play head, inverted to scan the normal-ly unused half of the tape, in the posi-tion of a normal playback head. (Edi-tor's Note: Magnecord heads of thetime had removable pole pieces,which made such gap inversionseasy. -113.) This staggered -head ar-rangement, with the heads 11/4 inchesapart, worked fine, according toWhyte. It became a temporary stan-dard for two -channel recording, with afew decks and prerecorded tapesavailable in this format, until stacked -gap stereo heads became available a

40 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

year or two later. (Editor's Note: By1955, some companies were issuingtwo -channel tapes in both staggeredand stacked formats, but primarily forstereo [loudspeaker] rather than bin-aural [headphone] listening.-I.B.)When stereo tapes were first issued tothe public by Livingston, and double -groove stereo LPs (played with aforked arm holding two cartridges) byCook Laboratories, they were errone-ously called binaural, though they wereactually stereo. This caused some con-fusion later on.

A second request for a way to usetape recording to localize soundscame to Magnecord from the Navy'sSpecial Devices Center in Sands Point,New York. The Navy was provided withequipment similar to that providedGeneral Motors, and used it for under-water work. The headphones of thetime were very primitive, with a narrowfrequency range, but the binaural re-sults were still astounding.

It occurred to Whyte that it might beinteresting to record music with theMagnecord binaural equipment, so hetook it to a local high-school band con-cert. When these tapes were played inbinaural demonstrations at the 1950New York Audio Fair, listeners wereamazed by the results. Later, Whytebegan taping professional musiciansbinaurally. First he recorded BennyGoodman, Stan Kenton and others, in-formally, at a Chicago jazz club. Sometime after, Whyte went on tour for sixmonths with conductor and sound buffLeopold Stokowski, making binauraltapes of him conducting various col-lege orchestras.

With the advent of stereo, whichcould be enjoyed by many listeners atonce without the encumbrance ofheadphones, binaural recording at-tracted less interest. It has never fadedout completely, however. In Germany,for example, Sennheiser's 1968 intro-duction of the classic HD 414 open-airheadphones, which weighed only 41/2ounces, and the swift introduction ofopen-air headphones by Beyer, AKGand others, brought new popularity toheadphone listening. This, in turn,stimulated a renewed interest in binau-ral in that country.

Attempts to produce quadraphonicsound, beginning about 1970, alsospurred interest in capturing a more

Fig. 3-Binaural lis-tening apparatuswas used in WorldWar Ito locate ene-my airplanes beforethe invention of ra-dar. (After Sunier.)

Fig. 4-The binauralpickup system usedat the Berlin OperaHouse in 1925.(After Sunier.)

Fig. 5-The binauralbroadcasting setupused by New Havenradio station WPAJin a 1925 experi-ment. (After Sunier.)

.//Alt

HEADPHONES

BINAURAL MICROPHONES IN STUDIO

1st TRANSMITTER

ANTENNA1320 kHz

TUNED TO1320 kHz

2nd TRANSMITTER1110 kHz

ANTENNA

TUNED TO1110 kHz

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 41

Binaural isn't 100% accurate; problems remain withfrontal and direct -rear locating. For example, dead -aheadsounds may seem to be elevated or to come from behind.

Fritz II, the Neu-mann dummy headused to recordthe radio seriesThe Cabinetof Dr. Fritz.

The Sennheiser MKE 2002 binauralmicrophone system was worn like astethoscope, with the wearer's headserving the same function as adummy head.

These prototype JVC headphonesincluded a second pair of drivers infront of the listener's ears to enhancefrontal localization.

realistic sound field than was possiblewith two -channel loudspeaker ap-proaches. Binaural was a natural ave-nue to this goal, and it was much lessequipment -intensive than quadraphon-ic. In the notes to Sennheiser's seriesof 7 -inch, 45 -rpm Kunstkopf-Stereo-fonie demonstration discs of 1973, thefollowing was addressed to head-phone listeners: "In these times of su-perlatives regarding technical achieve-ments, it is still often believed that onlyhigh expense can offer better results.

. . . If this documentary disc providesbetter results at lower cost, whyshouldn't it be worthy of such advance-ment as, for instance, the much -disput-ed quadraphonic sound?"

Sennheiser went on to point out thatquad could establish spatial location ofsounds in a horizontal plane, but notwith great accuracy, and that it had noabilities at all in the vertical plane.

At the 1973 International Radio Exhi-bition in Berlin, Sennheiser introducedtheir MKE 2002 "head -bound" stereomicrophone. This consumer version ofthe professional binaural Kunstkopfsystem mounted the microphones likea pair of stethoscope -style head-phones, allowing the recordist to sub-stitute his own head for the dummyhead. A few years later, JVC offered abinaural headphone/microphone com-bination, the HM -200E (now discontin-ued), and Sony now offers a similarsystem, the ERW-70C.

However, live heads, unlike dummyones, are not perfectly stationary.When a recordist wearing binaural mi-crophones moves his head to oneside, the effect, to binaural listeners, isas if the auditorium were swinging inthe opposite direction, as sounds for-merly coming from dead ahead shift toone side.

The three demo 45s from Sennheiser(no longer available) were recorded invarious natural environments, primarilywith the MKE 2002 mike system placedon someone's head. The discs includ-ed warnings that only Sennheiser'sown open-air headphones should beused, for best results. One disc wasrecorded in an ordinary living room;the narrator explained where he wasmoving in the room and what he wasdoing. Another featured sounds of ev-eryday life, such as someone using aphone booth and a scene at a swim-

ming pool. A train station scene beganin a way that used one of binaural'sunusual features to the utmost: A manand a woman are meeting as a trainarrives. They are first heard, one oneach side of the listener, as they shoutto each other across the crowd. Theyapproach one another until they areslightly behind the listener's position.The intriguing point here is that theman is speaking German and thewoman English, yet the listener caneasily pay attention to whichever onehe wishes! With ordinary stereo, listen-ing to this exchange would be ex-tremely frustrating.

Another of the demo discs containsan imaginative little sci-fi playlet called"The Exploration of Simeon 2"; unfortu-nately for most of us, this one is entirelyin German. There are also musical im-pressions in which the listener is entire-ly surrounded by the musicians, and arendition of "Windmills of Your Mind" inwhich the female vocalist movesaround the listener.

The Japanese audiophile communityalso showed an interest in binaural re-production in the '70s. A number ofbinaural LPs were issued, includingone, titled "Adventure in Binaural,"which opened with a lengthy binauralsound -effects extravaganza re-creat-ing the Battle of Midway. (A ratherstrange choice, since this was the bat-tle which turned the tide of World WarII, in the Pacific, against Japan!) Therewas also a jazz piano album featuringJunior Mance, recorded binaurally inNew York City at a club which hadexceptionally noisy patrons, consider-ing that a recording session was underway. However, one hardly minds whenlistening in this amazing format-itrather adds to the feeling of sitting at atiny table right in the middle of thatsmoke -filled club!

Imperfections and SolutionsAs already mentioned, the binaural

method is not 100% accurate in all ofits parameters, nor is it completelycompatible with loudspeaker listen-ing-in mono or stereo. Even withheadphones, there are difficulties infrontal, overhead, and direct -rear lo-cating. When a marching band, say,passes in a straight line in front of thedummy recording head, it will seem tothe headphone listener to have

42 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

marched in an arc, getting fartheraway as it moves directly in front of thelistener, then getting closer as it contin-ues moving to the other side. Soundsrecorded in a circle around the dummyhead seem to surround the listener inan oval, and many listeners feel thatthe entire sound field has moved be-hind them. Sound sources dead aheadmay also seem elevated above theirtrue positions, or be perceived as oc-curring to the rear instead of in front.Some of this is thought to be due todifferences between the characteris-tics of the dummy head and those ofthe human listener, as well as thetransmission characteristics of the ste-reo headphones used. These difficul-ties in locating sounds in some posi-tions seem to indicate that the ear andbrain sometimes need just a bit moredata to process things properly.

Misaligned tape heads in recording,playback, or tape duplication can alsocause problems with binaural. A slightmisalignment whose effects might beunnoticed with ordinary stereo can se-riously degrade the binaural phasinginformation. The problem does not oc-cur with digital, however.

In an attempt to make binaural re-cordings compatible with loudspeakerlistening, JVC developed their Biphon-ic system. Sound recorded by a singledummy head is fed into a processingunit, producing a 180° sound -fieldwrap around the speakers (Fig. 6). Theprocessor electronically "eliminatesthe spatial crosstalk that is a normalresult of loudspeaker reproduction,"according to JVC.

Because this system provides local-ization in the forward direction only,JVC undertook further research intosound -locating techniques. In one test,they placed a dummy head in an an -echoic chamber, with a noise genera-tor feeding speakers at five points inan arc from directly in front of the head,to straight overhead, to directly behindthe head. Listeners monitored thesesignals via pairs of speakers arrangedat various points around the room. It

soon became clear, not surprisingly,that unambiguous determination ofsounds located front or rear dependedon the relative positioning of the repro-ducing loudspeakers. Four speakerswere felt to be necessary to includerearward sound sources.

This led to the development of the Q-Biphonic system, using four speakerssurrounding the listener, and a doublebinaural pickup system. This systememploys two dummy heads, both fac-ing forward towards the primarysounds, one about 8 to 10 inches infront of the other (Fig. 7). A baffle ismounted between them, similar to thebaffle often used in place of a dummyhead. Each head produces a pair ofbinaural signals which are fed to aspecial processing unit. The processoruses complex equalization and timedelay to produce two pairs of signalssuitable for presentation through loud-speakers rather than headphones. Theprocessing, in effect, produces a bin-aural -to -stereo transformation.

This system is said to correct someof the problems of both binaural andquad reproduction. It greatly stabilizesboth front and rear localization, com-pared to ordinary binaural. It also cancreate very convincing side imageswithin the normal quad speaker arrayof two in front and two in the rear,producing a 360° sound field aroundthe listener. Side images have been aproblem for ordinary quad reproduc-tion. Another improvement is the accu-rate re-creation of sounds very close tothe head, next to impossible with astandard four -speaker setup.

The system is not without somedrawbacks, as expected. Since theprocessed sound must be totally freeof relative phase shift, the various quadmatrix systems such as SQ, QS andUHJ (Ambisonics) cannot be used.The all -pass networks which are part ofthese circuits would damage the re-created sound field around listeners. Adiscrete four -channel reproductionsystem (possible with the CompactDisc!) is the only answer.

In the JVC Q-Biphonic system, thelistening position is also restricted to avery narrow area along the axis of left -right symmetry in the loudspeaker set-up. The spatial phasors which are re-sponsible for dimensional realism can-not be accurately re-created over awide lateral range. Listeners posi-tioned outside of this narrow range willhear quadraphonic reproduction as itis normally perceived.

Finally, JVC introduced a special Q-Biphonic processor which, when fedby multi -track studio recordings which

had not been made with binaural mi-crophone techniques, electronicallyproduced Q-Biphonic signals equiva-lent to those from the dual dummyheads. The distance and direction ofsound images could be controlled overa 360° field with a control similar to aconventional pan -pot. But no more hasbeen heard of the Biphonic systems;they seem to have gone down thetubes with consumer quadraphony.

Single -Ear Binaural:The Holophonic Approach

The newest, and perhaps most con-troversial, multi -dimensional system isHolophonics. The story of its concepthas been told elsewhere, but for thosewho missed it, we'll tell it again: Onceupon a time, Hugo Zuccarelli was lyingin bed, with one ear buried in the pil-low. Someone walked through theroom, and Zuccarelli realized that,even though one ear was closed off,he was still able to hear which directionthat person was coming from.

The observation of this young physi-ologist/audio engineer led him to ques-tion the conventional theory that hu-man beings locate sounds by calculat-ing, in the brain, the difference in timeit takes for sound to reach each ear.Zuccarelli studied how the brain per-ceives sound, rather than how the earsreceive it. This laid the foundation forthe trademarked Holophonic recordingsystem, which Zuccarelli feels is anapproach totally different from binau-ral. In fact, Zuccarelli Communicationsin Los Angeles and Holophonics Inter-national in London don't want to beassociated with binaural.

Zuccarelli's mind -bending hypothe-sis is that the ears independently gen-erate their own sound! He proposesthat the ear's own reference beam (hecalls it "reference silence") is responsi-ble for generating the spatial informa-tion that is an integral part of the hu-man hearing process. The complex in-terference pattern caused by externalsounds coming in contact with this ref-erence beam adds the dimensions ofspace and time to the hearing experi-ence, he theorizes.

Zuccarelli used a digital recordingsystem in his experiments. He tapedvarious sounds accompanied by aspectrum of almost inaudible tones asartifical reference beams. Finally he

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 43

Ws unfortunate that almost no commercial binauralrecordings are available, because there is definite interestin this unique method of reproducing sound.

DUMMY HEAD(TWO MIKES)

C

2 -CHANNEL PLAYER BIPHONICRECORDING

TAPEOR

DISC

AMPPROCESSOR

BIPHONICLISTENING

BAFFLE

DUMMY @ LEFT RIGHTFRONT FRONTHEADS

0- BI PHON ICLISTENER

PROCESSOR LEFT RIGHTREAR REAR

Fig. 6-JVC's Bi-phonic system elec-tronically processedbinaurally recordedsignals for use withloudspeakers.

Fig. 7-The JVCQ-Biphonic systemused two dummyheads in tandem topick up four signalchannels, then pro-cessed the signalsfor quadraphoniclistening throughloudspeakers.

found the combination of tones thatduplicated those he felt were pro-duced by the ear.

With this critical information, Zucca-relli developed electronic equipmentthat generates a synthesis of the ear's"reference silence," and which re-cords on tape the interference patternbetween that synthesis and other ex-ternal sounds. During playback of re-cordings made Holophonically, thebrain provides a second referencebeam, bringing to light the original am-bient sounds in their full realism.

The Holophonic recording system,which consists of a transducer and agreat deal of associated electronics, isbeing marketed to the entertainmentindustry. One disturbing aspect to meis the secrecy regarding what thetransducer really is. At recording ses-sions, Ringo, as Zuccarelli has namedthe transducer, is always covered upwith a fabric bag. Also disturbing to meis the claim regarding Holophonics'ability to be perceived on any play-back equipment-high or low quality,stereo or mono.

The Holophonics promoters arguethat this capability comes about be-cause the system does not depend onany sort of electronic decoding systemfor its effect. Recordings encoded Ho-lophonically are said to be decoded

directly by the brain. As a result, thepromoters claim, even the tiny speakerof a monaural TV set can deliver all ofthe information the brain requires to"hear" Holophonically. Some listenersdetect some added spatial informationin Holophonic tapes played monopho-nically, but to others, they sound exact-ly like any signal played through amono speaker. Proponents admit thatsingle -driver speakers do a better jobthan multiple -driver systems and that,in a four -speaker auto installation, thetwo rear speakers should be turned offfor best results.

The Return of Binaural BroadcastA fascinating series of binaural radio

dramas has been airing on many pub-lic and college radio stations for sometime now, and, like many series, it willlikely be repeated on one of your localstations. Titled The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz,the series of half-hour dramas pro-duced by ZBS Media grew out of anexperimental Halloween binauralbroadcast of a scary play, entitled"Sticks," in 1982.

Producers Tom Lopez and a womanwho goes only by the name of Phoenixused the Neumann KU 81 hard -rubberKunstkopf, and did original digital re-cording with a Sony PCM-F1 unit andportable Beta VCR. They nicknamed

the head Fritz II, hence the name of theprogram series. Some of the originalrecording was done on location, sincethe entire recording system is portable.For a scene in a car, for example, re-cordist Bob Bielecki got into the carwith the actors, the dummy head, andthe Sony system. The original digitalrecordings were dubbed to multi -trackanalog, using dbx noise reduction forthe studio effects and music that wereadded.

The best production in this series ofradio dramas, all of which have a bit ofthe macabre about them, is the firstone-Stephen King's "The Mist,"which features 35 actors and is de-scribed as one of the most detailedradio dramas ever produced. Mon-sters were created by putting variouslive animal sounds into the computer ofa Synclavier II digital synthesizer andthen playing them on its keyboard. Themeow of a Siamese cat became thesound of spiders the size of largedogs, which dropped down on the un-suspecting listener from directlyabove. The chirp of a parakeet wasturned into the shriek of a pterodactyl."The Mist," when heard in the propersetting (at night, in the dark) with goodstereo headphones, can be muchmore scary than a motion picture of aStephen King story. It ran over three ofthe programs in the series, for a total of90 minutes-the same as a featurefilm, interestingly enough.

The other excellent use of binaural inthe radio drama series was the story"Aura," by Latin American author Car-los Fuentes. A young man answers anadvertisement and is slowly drawn intothe lives of a strange old woman andher stranger niece, while losing controlof his own life.

If Dr. Fritz is not aired in your area, orif you wish to bypass the vagaries ofFM transmitters and reception-whichcan sometimes degrade the binauraleffect-you can order either of thesedramas on chrome cassettes withDolby B NR, duplicated in real time,directly from ZBS Media, Box 1201,Fort Edward, N.Y. 12828, (518) 695-6406. Be sure, when you sit down tolisten, you warn others in the housethat they may hear some disturbingsounds coming from you when thosegurgling giant spiders come creepingup from behind!

44 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

Tickets for BinauralAnother binaural event that may be

both seen and heard if it plays in yourarea is the brainchild of a Seattle com-poser with a rather bizarre bent, Nor-man Durkee. He calls himself andsome of his performances "The Binau-ral Man." Each seat in the theaterwhere he appears is equipped with apair of Sennheiser HD 40 headphonesconnected directly to Durkee for hiscombination live and digitally pre-recorded binaural performance/broad-cast. There is no such thing as a badseat or poor -sounding auditoriumwhen Durkee performs his seriocomicbits, which were described by one crit-ic as a combination of Laurie Ander-son, Charles Addams and HunterThompson. His performances aresomething like an audio equivalent of3-D movies, in that they require theaudience to wear special equipmentand endeavor to put the audience intothe entertainment. However, Durkee isalso an artist and an extremely versa-tile composer and keyboardist/synthe-sist. His two different "Binaural Man"programs have toured Los Angeles,San Francisco, Chicago, New York,and Milwaukee.

Durkee's latest project is the world'sfirst binaural opera, which premieredearly last year in Seattle and will even-tually tour the country. (It will play toaudiences limited to 200, since that isall the headphones Durkee has at themoment.) "Oxymora" is based on thediaries of Japanese court ladies of thefeudal period of ancient Japan. Durkeewrote the script and music, and hiswife Louise created the choreography.Also featured is the sound of the Kurz-weil 250, said to be the first electronicmusical instrument that can re-createthe sound quality and dynamic rangeof any acoustic instrument. It was usedto create the prerecorded orchestralparts for the opera.

Excerpts of all three of Durkee's bin-aural projects are available on cas-sette on a limited basis. He can becontacted at the International BinauralInstitute, Box 45575, University Station,Seattle, Wash. 98145.

Comparing "The Binaural Man" to a3-D movie brings us to the next placewhere binaural sound can soon be ex-perienced along with visual entertain-ment. Since the second wave of 3-D

motion picture efforts seems to haverun its gimmicky course, one produc-tion company has taken a hard look atwhat other audience -involving formatcould lure a public that is being lost tovideo. They chose binaural sound.

The firm's name is Optimax III, andthey call their binaural soundtrack sys-tem Sonimax. They see it as a totaldimensional sound -reproduction sys-tem for motion pictures and television.By utilizing individual stereo headsets,viewers of the feature films will be ableto localize the positions of each soundexactly, to experience the illusion ofactually being there.

To avoid the immense problems ofwiring hundreds of stereo head-phones, Sonimax employs Walkman -type FM radios to feed the head-phones and a two -channel FM signalbroadcast inside the otherwise silentmovie theater. Audience membersmay bring their own FM receivers orrent "designed -for -viewing" receiversand headphones at each theater.

The Optimax III people are keepingvery quiet about the exact nature of theproprietary transducer used to pick upthe binaural sound during shooting; inphotographs I have seen, the equip-ment at the end of the mike boom is

, blacked out. Three feature films aresaid to be in current production usingthe binaural Sonimax process.

Optimax's initial brochure seems tohave missed one advantage of the pro-cess that is really something to tout:Even without the binaural feature, thissystem will be pure bliss to seriousfilmgoers who are being gradually driv-en out of the movie theaters by thosewho seem to think they can freely talkto their fnends, out loud, as thoughthey were in their own living rooms! Forthose who want to hear the soundtrack,headphones would be welcome.

Binaural in Your HomeFinally, another opportunity to hear

binaural sound, and at no cost, is of-fered occasionally by the weekly pro-gram on National Public Radio which Imyself produce, Audiophile Audition.This hour-long program, which fea-tures audiophile recordings in all for-mats and short interviews with audioand music personalities, aired severalall -binaural programs during its four'years of local San Francisco -area

broadcasts. The new national series ofAudiophile Audition aired an all -binau-ral program on May 12, 1985, andagain last December 15. The series iscarried by many NPR stations (115, byMarch 1986) and a few commercialconcert stations. Most of these stationsair it live at 2 p.m. EST on Sundays;check your local radio listings for theexact time in your location, since somestations tape -delay the broadcasts, us-ing PCM digital equipment. Excerptsfrom most of the binaural projects dis-cussed in this article are featured onthe special binaural versions of Audio-phile Audition. This format alwaysbrings in the greatest amount of listen-er ma I, demonstrating there is definitepublic interest in this unique method ofreproducing sound.

It is unfortunate that almost no com-mercial binaural recordings are cur-rently available. This writer has urgedseveral record labels to consider a bin-aural sampler, but the only current oneis a demo CD from Sennheiser, con-taining a sci-fi drama-in German. (It'salso the only binaural CD that I'maware of, but apparently it's not avail-able in the U.S.) The only presentlyavailable binaural material, in additionto that already mentioned, are threerecordings: The Holophonics grouphas produced an extremely clever andenjoyable little demo cassette titledTouch the Future. On one side, it con-tains a sound -effects tour de force inte-grated into a story concerning somerobots and their programmer. On theother side are two selections of musicthat feature instrumental surround ef-fects not only in a horizontal plane butalso in a vertical one, up the wall infront of the listener. It is on chrometape with Dolby B noise reduction, andis available in the U.S. for about $10 atparticipating Alpine and Luxman audiodealers.

The other binaural recordings weremade back in the heyday of direct -discin the mid -'70s. Sonic Arts Corp. in SanFranc sco has two binaural albumswhich may be unique in also beingdirect -to -disc. The first presents pianistDavid Montgomery in a program ofSchumann, Liszt, and Chopin. The al-bum begins with Montgomery openingthe studio door, walking to the piano,seating himself at the occasionallysqueaky piano stool, and announcing

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 45

Millions are enjoying music through headphones, yetthey're hearinc material never desicned for such listening!It's time to get the binaural show phased in.

his first number. Clearly audible is theslightly squeaky shoe of his page -turner, who also sometimes getscaught up in the livelier passages andtaps his foot in tempo.

The other binaural direct disc is a bitmore spectacular, featuring seven jazzperformers (though not all at once) inWoofers, Tweeters, & All That Jazz.Pianist Art Lande is perhaps the bestknown of the jazzmen, and the ar-rangements of the four original tunesare by James B. Treulich. This sessionspread the instrumentalists around thestudio, with a live "dummy" in the cen-ter wearing the Sennheiser condenserbinaural mikes. During some pas-sages, some of the instruments arewheeled around the studio while theyare played, and to top it all off, soundeffects of thunderstorms and rain areplayed through stereo speakers in thestudio during one number. The latter-which might have been passable instereo loudspeaker listening-soundscanned and unnatural through head-phones. Producer/engineer Leo deGar Kulka comes up with a great de-scription of binaural's effect in the linernotes, referring to its "sensuously ex-pansive circular sensations." The al-bums are Lab Series 5 and 7 respec-tively, and should still be available fromSonic Arts Corp., 665 Harrison St., SanFrancisco, Cal. 94107.

By the way, there are some Holo-phonic effects on two of Pink Floyd'salbums, The Wall and The Final Cut,also available on CD. It appears theseeffects are limited to sound which wasrecorded Holophonically by Hugo Zuc-carelli, but the entire albums may havebeen run through the Holophonics pro-cessor-it is not clear from the notes.

Headphones vs. StereoMore people are enjoying their mu-

sic through headphones today thansince the days of the crystal radio. Andwhat a giant improvement has beenmade in stereo headphone quality inthe last several years! Today the bestones-especially the electrostatic vari-ety-rival and even surpass some ofthe most lavish loudspeaker systemsas to frequency response and low dis-tortion, and at a fraction of the cost.

The Walkman revolution has millionslistening to their music wherever theyare and no matter what they are doing.

Yet all of these folks are hearingsource material that was never de-signed for headphone listening! Theseparation factor is the primary differ-ence, though there are many others.Everyone with stereo headphones ishearing grossly exaggerated separa-tion that puts half of the orchestra atthe left side of the head and the otherhalf at the right side. They are alsohearing greatly exaggerated dynamiclevels designed for speaker listeningrather than headphones. At very highlistening levels, hearing damage couldoccur. Some headphone manufactur-ers have offered mixing boxes whichcan blend the two channels as de-sired, but this does not make the resultbinaural, by any means.

This huge headphone audience isthe perfect audience for binaural-ready and waiting. A few prerecordedcassettes have been issued in "Mixedfor Headphone Listening" versions,but this again is far from binaural sincethe music was not originally recordedbinaurally.

In addition to increasing musical en-joyment and participation immensely,a pair of binaural mikes or a dummyhead, together with either a portable

recording cassette deck or a portablePCM-type unit and portable VCR, canbe put to many nonmusical uses by theconsumer. These can include tapingbusiness conferences and panel dis-cussions. With binaural, every voicewill be clearly heard-no one willsound "off -mike." And transcribing willbe a breeze-just from the location ofvoices, there will be little doubt who isspeaking. Stage plays and rehearsalscan also benefit in a very practical wayfrom binaural recording. Even if sever-al people talk at once, each can beclearly singled out. (Edward TatnallCanby has written at length in his Au-dio column about some of these binau-ral boons.) As for recording live musi-cal events, it is simple if you wear themikes yourself. It will successfully cap-ture the event with a you -are -therequality almost wherever you sit; there isreally no "wrong" mike location. (Besure to get permission from the orga-nizers of the concert, of course. Anddon't move your head.)

Binaural is a thrilling experience forthe first-time listener. If you haven'theard it yet, give it an ear-or rather,two ears. Let's get this show "phasedin" soon! A

References1. Sunier, John, The Story of Stereo:

1881-, Gernsback Library, New York,1960.2. Kapeller, Ludwig, "Radio Stereo -

phony," Radio News, October 1925,pg. 416.3. Wood, Albert B., A Textbook of

Sound, Macmillan Co., New York.1930.4. Martin, W. H. and Harvey Fletcher,

"High Quality Transmission and Repro-duction of Speech and Music," Journalof the AIEE, March 1924.

5. Doolittle, F. M., "Binaural Broad-casting," Electrical World, April 25,1925, pg. 867.6. Garner, Louis E., Jr., "Stereo Then

and Now," Radio -Electronics, March1959, pg. 53.7. Fletcher, Harvey, "An Acoustic Il-

lusion Telephonically Achieved," BellLaboratories Record, June 1933, pg.28 (reprinted in Audio, July 1957, pg.22).

8. "The Reproduction of OrchestralMusic in Auditory Perspective," Bell

Laboratories Record, May 1933, pg.259.9. Wente, E. C. and A. L. Thures,

"Auditory Perspective-Loudspeakersand Microphones," Electrical Engi-neering, January 1934, pg. 24.10. "Binaural Recordings Add NewDimension to Recorded Music," Elec-trical Engineering, December 1952,pg. 1,156.11. Steinberg, J. C. and W. B. Snow,"Auditory Perspective-Physical Fac-tors," Electrical Engineering, January1934, pg. 17.12. Moura, Brian, "Q-BiphonicSound," Evolution/4-Quad, January1980.13. Mori, Fujiki, Takahashi and Maru-yama, "Precision Sound -Image -Local-ization Technique Utilizing MultitrackTape Masters," Journal of the AudioEngineering Society, January/February1979.14. Zarin, Adrian, "Three -DimensionalSound for Video," R-e/p, December1984.

46 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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Confessions Of ALoudspeaker Sal

The year: 1952. The place: PaloAlto, California. An aviation engi-neer we'll call Marvin suddenly

began suggesting to his wife that shego visit her mother while he took aweek of his vacation. Now, Marvin'swife knew her husband was an audiotinkerer with some pretty grandioseideas about how to attain the ultimatein sound reproduction in their two -bed-room bungalow, but little did she knowwhat he had in mind: A dream horn -loaded loudspeaker system.

Mrs. Marvin's Studebaker was bare-ly out of sight when her husband scur-ried to a secret cubbyhole in his desk,

blueprint he'd been work-ing on for months, and unrolled it onthe kitchen table. Marvin knew its con-tents by heart. After refreshing hismemory on a few details, he set out forthe front wall of the living room, sledge-hammer in hand. A few days later he

had installed a concrete horn whichused the entire wall for its mouth. Thehorn projected into the front gardenand featured a right-angle curve thatterminated in a 55 -gallon drum buriedin the front yard. Driven by a 15 -inchwoofer installed in the sound -absor-bent, waterproofed drum, the horn waspainted green and was screened byadditional shrubbery planted by theglow of automobile headlights thenight before Frau Marvin was dueback home.

Having finished the outdoor workand landscaping, Marvin moved in-

doors to cover the mouth of the hornwith tightly drawn fabric and other ap-propriate decorations placed so as notto interfere with the output of the mid-range and tweeter horns. Marvin didthe job carefully, and when his wifearrived home, she commented on howattractive the front garden looked.Then, for some reason history fails torecord, she leaned against the livingroom wall, which proved to be nothingmore than speaker fabric.

It is not known whether, in the di-vorce which followed, she allowed herhusband to keep the house

48 AUDIO MARCH 1986

smanAs unlikely as the tale of Marvin may

seem, it is only one of hundreds fromthat crazy period in hi-fi history whenevery enthusiast fancied himself aloudspeaker designer or sought thegoal of perfect 16 -Hz reproduction.The 1950s was a decade given to do-it-yourself speaker projects. It was eas-ier to find separate drivers, crossoversand cabinets than complete speakersystems-and, since the art of match-ing cabinets to speakers was still prim-itive, your chances of getting the bestpossible sound were at least as good ifyou assembled your own system asthey would have been if you bought afactory -integrated one.

I'm not quite sure why loudspeakersare considered funny, but even thenpeople laughed at them. The very des-ignations "woofer" and "tweeter"brought smiles to the faces of peoplewhose knowledge of high fidelity was

by HAROLD WEINBERGas told to ROBERT ANGUS

limited to an occasional article in For-tune, The New Yorker or Consumer Re-search magazines. Among enthusi-asts able to buy woofers, tweeters andmidrange units for the first time, noidea seemed too far-out to try. Result:An awful lot of very bad sound, someideas which came to fruition only yearsor decades later, and plenty of goodanecdotes which bring chuckles to theaudio fraternity even today.

During the 1950s, I worked as asalesman for several of New YorkCity's leading audio emporia. It was mylot in life to be singled out by would-becreative geniuses who had baroqueideas they wished to execute andneeded a pointer here or there, or whohad just converted Grandpa's coffininto a folded -horn enclosure and want-ed a 26 -inch woofer to put into it.

For example, there was the youngman from New Jersey who copied theR -J enclosure, a popular one at thetime, in welded boilerplate. He had inmind somehow carrying it upstairs, butin the end, since he lived in a large,old-fashioned, three-story frame home,the enclosure had to be brought intohis top -floor listening room through thewindow, using a block and tackle. It

weighed almost 500 pounds with a 15 -inch woofer installed. According tohim, it sounded quite good. I neverbothered to check it out for myself.

The early 1950s was a time whenextensive home and apartment remod-eling was going on. Bathrooms, in par-ticular, were targets for weekend do-it-yourselfers eager to replace the biliousgreens and yellows that had survivedthrough the World War II years. Andthose cast-iron bathtubs from the 1920sand '30s, the ones with the claw feet,simply had to be replaced with built-inplastic tubs, which meant that justabout every scrap yard in the countryhad more cast-iron tubs than it knewwhat to do with. They were availablefree or for a few cents per pound toanybody willing to haul them away.

The plastic bathtub A/boom of the '50s filledscrap yards with iron

tubs that made ideal,nonresonant speaker

enclosures.

What could be more ideal for a nonres-onant enclosure?

One of the features of electronicsmagazines of the period was the do-it-yourself project. The pages of Audioand Popular Electronics and Audio -craft were replete with circuits andprojects and designs that you couldbuild in a few evenings. Like creatingrecipes for women's magazines, theeffort of coming up with new ideas ev-ery month sometimes taxed the inven-tiveness and imagination of the proj-ects editor who, faced with a deadline,might not have been above dusting offa project a year old and changing oneor two parts.

Speaker systems were particular fa-vorites because, for the most part, theywere easy for anybody with woodwork-ing tools and experience to build; andrequired a minimum of technical ex-pertise. Besides, tuner, amplifier andpreamp manufacturers who supportedthese magazines were none too happyat seeing cheap substitutes for theirequipment. But speaker makers suchas University, Stephens TruSonic,Electro-Voice and Jensen were as in-terested in selling individual drivers ascomplete systems, so they were de-lighted to have readers see new andcreative ways to use their products.

49

One of these do-it-yourself projectswas a grotesquerie known to its admir-ers as FAS, the Flewelling Audio Sys-tem. Its heart was a low -frequency en-closure, something like an organ pipe.Like a real organ pipe, it had the abilityto produce a single note loudly. Theoriginal enclosure was 6 feet long andwide enough to support a woofer 12 to15 inches in diameter. The woofer wasmounted on the outside of the enclo-sure, and it fired inward. The insidedepth of the air coupler was about 6inches. A slot about 4 inches in heightand running the full width of the enclo-sure was cut into the side opposite thewoofer, which was mounted aboutone -quarter of the way down the lengthof the enclosure, with the port about 4inches above it.

With the FAS enclosure, the loadingneeded to control the woofer's move-ment was essentially provided by thewoofer's magnet alone; the enclosureitself contributed almost nothing. Theresult was strictly one -note bass, butwith a big, loose and sloppy quality-the musical equivalent of a big, wetkiss from an overfriendly Saint Ber-nard dog.

To "improve" the design, some peo-ple built a second, longer air coupleron top of the first, with one wooferdriving both enclosures. Other peoplefolded the design over on itself. And,as if that weren't enough, some geniuscame up with the idea of using thespace between a building's floor sup-ports for an enclosure, boxing it in andmounting the woofer in the basement.This also permitted the use of substan-

tially longer enclosures; one was 32feet long and used an 18 -inch woofer.Had the poor fellow who built that mon-strosity only known that mounting thesame driver in a simple hole in the floorwould have produced much betterbass and been a lot less work!

Or take the case of the mono systemwith two 18 -inch, 16 -Hz resonant -fre-quency woofers. Each was mounted ina sealed 32 -cubic -foot enclosure builtof 11/4 -inch plywood, internally bracedwith 12 two -by -eights per enclosure,and internally covered, before the ap-plication of sound -absorbent material,with 2 inches of automotive undercoat-ing to damp any resonances thatdared to crop up. It was reported thatlow bass from an organ seemed to flexthe abdominal muscles of listeners.

Many of the more inventive do-it-yourself projects were undertaken bymoney -is -no -object perfectionists will-ing to spend whatever it took toachieve perfection. But some perfec-tionists operated on a budget. TakeErnie, for instance, a student at Brook-lyn College who regaled me at length,one Saturday morning in the store,about the dodecahedron he'd just con-structed from car speakers ripped offfrom a drive-in movie near Coney Is-land. Long before Dr. Bose built hisfirst Direct/Reflecting loudspeaker andDesign Acoustics its dodecahedron,Ernie had constructed a plywoodframe holding twelve 5 -inch radiospeakers in a roughly spherical config-uration. Time has mercifully cloudedwhatever details Ernie supplied aboutwiring together these unappetizing ele-

ments, but I do remember that therewas no bass reproducer. The storewas unusually busy that day, but thatwasn't my only reason for resisting hisinvitation to hop over to Brooklyn andhear his creation.

Another customer, named Sid, pur-chased one of the first packaged com-ponent systems, put together by La-fayette Radio. It consisted of a GeneralElectric variable reluctance phono car-tridge, Brociner amplifier, Collaro re-cord changer, and Electro-VoiceSP12B coaxial speaker. The price was$99.95, a princely sum for many ayoung audiophile at the time, and thespeaker came without an enclosure-although Lafayette would sell you onefor an extra $30. Sid wasn't about topop for the extra money. His fifth -floorGreenwich Village walk-up had abricked -up fireplace which could bepressed into service. Sid took his pur-chase home, stopping by a hardwarestore to pick up a hammer, chisel andsome quick -drying cement. That night,he unblocked the fireplace grate,mounted the speaker in the opening,and sealed the wall back up. The per-fect infinite baffle, he thought. And itwould have been, had not every tenantin the building who shared that chim-ney started banging on Sid's door tocomplain about the vibration.

Much of the action in New York au-dio in the early days took place alongthe narrow streets of lower Manhattanon Saturday mornings, when the ferriesfrom New Jersey would bring loads ofshoppers hunting for bargains alongGreenwich and Cortlandt and LibertyStreets. Audiophiles would pickthrough the parts displayed on opentables on the street or cast lustfulglances through the windows of AirexRadio or Terminal -Hudson at thenewest in pickups, power amps, ormulti -cellular tweeters. On the cornerof Greenwich and Cortlandt, a spotnow buried beneath one of the twintowers of the World Trade Center, Can-tor the Cabinet King was likely to havejust what you needed to house thathorn tweeter and public-addressspeaker you'd just rescued from thewar surplus bin at East Radio.

Cantor once asked me to help himbuild a speaker system into his base-ment. Not for him the petticoats onceworn by a Stromberg-Carlson console

50 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

s.

or a Trav-Ler TV receiver, the merchan-dise he offered his customers. TheCantors, it seemed, loved to dance, sothe Cabinet King wanted to create aMake -Believe Ballroom in his base-ment. We partitioned off one end of thebasement, installing studs and a falsewall of 3/4 -inch plywood into which wecut holes for six-count 'em, six-Wharfedale loudspeakers and a TechMaster black -and -white TV set. Longbefore anybody ever dreamed of inte-grated audio and video systems, andeven before most people had thoughtof stereo, the Cantors were entertain-ing their friends with a TV screenmounted in the wall and flanked byidentical pairs of woofers, tweeters andmidrange units. We channeled the TVsound through an amplifier in the roomto both sets of speakers, and Cantor,at least, seemed highly pleased withthe results.

Another incident was before mytime, but it's still a favorite story amongCortlandt Street veterans. One busySaturday morning before World War II,when the Sixth and Ninth Avenue ele-vated transit lines still ran down Green-wich Street, a man and his son huffedand puffed their way to the front of oneof the stores, lugging between them anenormous theater -style speaker sys-tem. A salesman stepped from behindthe parts counter and offered to helpthem to their car. "We don't have acar," the father explained. "We've gotto get it up to the el." The salesmanobligingly took up the rear as far as thestation steps. On his way back to thestore, he saw his boss, red-faced andpanting, charging toward him. "Wheredid those guys go with that speaker?"he demanded. The salesman pointedto the figures now near the top of thestructure, where the Ninth Avenuetrains pulled in. "They didn't pay for it!"the boss shouted, and together he andthe salesman huffed their way up thethree flights of stairs-just in time tosee the train pulling out with its pre-cious cargo of loudspeaker.

New York City's Transit Authority hada strict rule about what could andcould not be carried on the subways."This isn't a freight service," the exas-perated token -seller at the CortlandtStreet station told more than one audioshopper. In fact, nobody in the transitsystem ever envisioned the kinds of

things people would try to squeezethrough the turnstiles and onto thetrains-console radio -phonographs inthe early days, and late on Klip-schorns and console television sets.There was a rule that everything had tobe wrapped, so we'd throw sheets ofnewspaper around some of the bulkieritems and tie them up with string, in anattempt to conceal what was inside. Afavorite ploy of some shoppers was tocome down on Saturday morning witha friend and a child. While the childdistracted the attention of the man inthe token booth, the two adults wouldtry to hoist over the turnstile barrierwhatever they had just bought, from arooftop TV antenna to JBL Ranger Par-agons and E -V Patricians.

I sold a particularly elaborate televi-sion antenna one day to a resident ofone of the farther -out suburbs. With aperfectly straight face, he asked me tocut it in half so he could get it past theturnstiles and onto the subway. I

checked with my boss, who suggestedwe get the man to sign a release, ab-solving us of any responsibility andnoting that we wouldn't take the anten-na back if it didn't work. Then I got outa hacksaw and cut a perfectly gooddeep -fringe antenna into parts smallenough for the customer to tuck underhis arm. I heard no more about it, but Ioften wonder how he enjoyed putting itback together again, and what kind ofreception he got.

In the 1950s, the customer was al-ways right, and at Harvey Radio we

Why are loudspeakersconsidered finny?Maybe it's the mad

ingenuity of the earlymodels, maybe justthe words "woofer"

and "tweeter."

treated ours like kings. A strong sellerat the time was the Wharfedale systemin a sand -filled baffle. Other shopsmight fill their baffles with common gar-den-variety sand, but ours had sandspecially cleaned for use in sandbox-es. If you bought your Wharfedale SFB(sand -filled baffle) system from one ofthose other shops, who knew whatbugs or other undesirable flora or fau-na might be mixed in with the sand?

A frequent problem while I was atHarvey-and probably at a number ofother audio salons around the coun-try-was speakers whose voice -coilshad melted and whose cones hadburned to a crisp. The cause, as oftenas not, was an audiophile's bright ideato use an ordinary a.c. extension cordto extend speaker lines. In those days,speaker lugs and phono plugs weren'tavailable from every corner hardwarestore, but a.c. wall plugs were. Sosome of our customers bought wallplugs, male and female, and attachedthem respectively to speaker leadsand the terminals on the back of theamplifier. Invariably, some well-mean-ing soul would discover one of thesewall plugs unconnected and insert it

AUDIO/MARCH 1986

Speakers can makefunny noises sometimes.But why did two pairsmake noise when their

stereo systems wereturned off?

into the nearest outlet. There would bea terrifying sound and the smell ofburning insulation and paper, and onemore loudspeaker system would be onits way back to us. Occasionally, themale plug was on the amplifier, in-stead, and the amp would become aroom heater for a very short time.

In the early days of audio, the mate-rials used to make speakers presentedsome unique problems. Cloth and rub-ber were favorite materials for loud-speaker surrounds, but each had itsdrawbacks. Rubber would dry out andbecome brittle, or would offer too muchor too little resistance.

The Lowther, a British speaker, wasone of the first to use plastic in itscones. The science of polymers inthose early days left something to bedesired, and every Lowther system wesold eventually had to be returned tothe factory to have the cone remountedwhen the synthetic material dried out.

We had one customer who com-plained of a rattling sound inside hisWharfedales even when the stereosystem was not in use. I spent thebetter part of an hour with him on thephone, eliminating first one componentand then another as the possiblesource of the problem. Finally, after wehad eliminated everything else, I askedhim to bring the speaker in. It turnedout that a family of mice had madetheir home in it, and had been diningon the speaker's cloth surround.

Another speaker which produceddistortion even when the amplifier wasdisconnected belonged to a man wholived in one of the small towns downtoward Princeton, N.J. I went throughthe same kind of step-by-step elimina-tion with him that I had done with theWharfedale owner. We'd talk duringthe day and find nothing wrong. Thatnight the problem would be back, andthe next day we'd eliminate anothercomponent. This went on for sometime, and I asked him to bring thespeaker in. We checked and double-

checked it and still could find nothingwrong. So he invited me out to thehouse for dinner and an evening oflistening to music.

One look at the house, and I had asneaking suspicion what the troublemight be. It was a masterpiece of Vic-toriana, straight out of a Charles Ad -dams cartoon-with the exception thatit was tastefully, even luxuriantly fur-nished. After dinner, we got down tobusiness with the hi-fi system. Beforelong, I could hear it-a distinct knock-ing in the speaker. We changed pro-gram sources, and it came again. As inthe case of the Wharfedale, we woundup with the speaker leads disconnect-ed, and still there was a knock. I tookthe back off the speaker, as I had atthe store, and checked it again fromstem to stern.

Later, when his wife served coffee,she mentioned casually that the chinain the cupboard rattled occasionally,for no good reason. We put both phe-nomena down to poltergeists.

One of my favorite customers was aSouth American playboy who had de-cided to make a career at ColumbiaUniversity as a perpetual student. Al-fredo was dark, handsome and load-ed, which may help to explain why hehad so many girlfriends. As a token ofhis esteem, each time he'd move inwith a new lady-which seemed to beevery three months or so-he'd pre-sent her with a new hi-fi system. Onone occasion, we delivered his latestsystem to a townhouse on the UpperEast Side. The house had a marvelous

0I. 4 Q

old spiral staircase, and the system,which included an Electro-Voice Patri-cian, was to be installed upstairs onthe parlor floor. We tried every whichway to get it up the stairs and finallydid so by lifting it over the railing, tak-ing skin off our knuckles at every turn.Then came the problem of getting thathuge cabinet through the door. In des-peration, we cut the corners off theback of the system and eased itthrough. The mitred corners didn'tseem to affect the sound, and Electro-Voice adopted our design in later ver-sions of the system.

Another flight of fancy was the Cir-cle -o -Phonic speaker, which used a re-volving midrange -tweeter to create anillusion of omnidirectionality. This inge-nious device used an upward -facingwoofer and a 6 -inch midrange unit withwhizzer cone. The latter, driven by asmall clock motor, was mounted verti-cally just above the woofer. I don't re-call the number of revolutions per min-ute, but some listeners complained itwas high enough to make them sea-sick, while others detected a.c. hum inthe output.

Speakers may be better now, butthey're not so much fun. Even by theend of the 1950s, the do-it-yourself tidehad ebbed, and much of the eccentric-ity had been driven out of loudspeakerdesign by increased knowledge, therise of the bookshelf speaker, and therequirements of stereo. To this day, I

wonder what Marvin (or later occu-pants of his house, with its living roomhorn) did when stereo came in. A

52

This is Nakamichi

DMS-1000Optical Memory System

Nakamichi Digital SoundA product of the recording experience

Almost anyone can make a CD player. Only Nakamichi could producethe OMS-1000-the first magneto -optical disc recorder! The OMS-1000

is a research tool that took nearly 5 years to develop.Now you reap the benefits!

Introducing the OMS-7 and OMS-5-the first CD players with arecording heritage-the first CD players with Nakamichi Sound, that

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Nakamichi U.S.A. Corporation 19701 South Vermont Ave., Torrance. CA 90502 1213) 538-8150In Canada: W. Carsen Co Ltd.. 25 Scarsdale Road. Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3G7

EQUIPMENT PROFILE

BANG & OLUFSENBEOGRAM CD XCOMPACT DISCPLAYER

Manufacturer's SpecificationsFrequency Response: 3 Hz to 20

kHz, ±0.3 dB.Harmonic Distortion: 0.003% at 0

dB, 0.03% at -20 dB.S/N Ratio: Greater than 96 dB.Dynamic Range: Greater than 96

dB.Channel Separation: Greater than

94 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz.Channel Difference: Less than 0.5

dB.Converter System: 14 bit; 176.4 -

kHz oversampling.Low -Pass Filter: Digital plus ana-

log.Number of Programmable Se-

lections: 40.

Output Level: 2 V rms at 0 dB.Power Requirements: 120 V, 50/

60 Hz, 25 watts.Dimensions: 161/2 in. W x 3 in. H x

121/4 in. D (42 cm x 7.6 cm x 31.1cm).

Weight: 12.4 lbs. (5.6 kg).Price: $699.Company Address: 1150 Feehan-

ville Dr., Mt. Prospect, Ill. 60056.For literature, circle No. 90

Leave it to Bang & Olufsen to come up with a CD playerdistinctly different from the morass of look -alike modelsappearing recently. B & O's Beogram CD X is elegantlystyled to match other components made by this Danish firm,whose products grace the permanent design exhibit at NewYork's Museum of Modern Art. But the B & 0 styling goes farbeyond aesthetics. Of course, the CD X is beautiful to look

at and is sure to be a conversation piece in any tastefullyfurnished home. However, it is also one of the easiestplayers to use, its gently sloping, black -tinted -glass controlsurface inscribed with words and numerals that need only tobe lightly touched to perform various operations. There areno switches, knobs, or other protrusions on the top surfaceof the unit. As elegant as this arrangement is, I did find that

54 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

with continued use, my fingers left marks on the polishedglass surface, requiring rather frequent cleaning with a drycloth. One gets the feeling, after a while, that this playershould be approached only when wearing those whitegloves that waiters sometimes wear in French restaurants.

Although the CD X has no provision for remote control,you are not likely to miss this feature, given random accessto specific tracks and the amount of programmability avail-able. You can program up to 40 commands for a given disc;since few discs contain this many actual tracks, you can askfor several tracks to be repeated.

Control Layout"Control" is actually a misnomer here, for, as I've men-

tioned, the CD X has no operating controls in the traditionalsense, other than an "Eject" button at the left of the narrowfront surface and a "Play" button at the far right. There isalso a "Play" on the control surface, with the difference thatthe button doubles as the on/off switch. If a disc is in place,touching either "Play" makes the CD X scan the disc,display the total number of tracks (up to 20) by a series ofgreen numerals lighting up on the control surface, andbegin play. At this point, you can program the CD X (eitherwhile the disc is playing or after pressing "Stop" on thepanel) to play up to 40 tracks, in any order. Programming isbegun by light touches on the control surface, just abovethe series of white numerals (0 through 9) which, in turn,appear just below the green numbers. Each selection isthen completed by a light touch on the word "Store," just tothe numerals' right. If you want to hear most, but not all, ofthe tracks, B & 0 makes this easy too: After first touchingthe number corresponding to the undesired track, simplytouch the word "Clear" to eliminate that track from theplaying sequence. With a disc containing many tracks,clearing or omitting one track is much easier and faster thanhaving to store, say, 19 tracks.

If there is no disc in place when you press the "Play"button, a red question mark appears in the main displayarea to the right of the green or white track and program-ming numerals. To insert a disc, you press the "Eject"button. Three-quarters of the unit's top surface then gentlylifts up, providing access to the CD turntable surface. At thesame time, the turntable surface itself tilts up, almost "invit-ing" you to place a CD on it. Once a disc is in place, gentlytouching the open lid will cause it to close as quietly and assmoothly as it opened. Alternatively, touching the word"Play" on what B & 0 calls their "Sensi-touch" panel causesthe lid to close and play to begin from the beginning of thedisc.

To the right of panel center, the red LED display servesfour purposes. Initially, it shows the elapsed time of the trackcurrently playing. Touching the word "Display" replaces thiswith a readout of total elapsed time from the disc's begin-ning. Touched again, the display will show the track andindex number currently being played. Finally, a questionmark appearing in the display indicates that you have donesomething wrong and the CD X cannot follow your com-mand. For instance, loading a disc upside down or askingfor tracks that don't exist result in the question mark beingdisplayed.

+2

0

-2

FR 0 ldB R- 0.1dB 18.5kHz

--r--

20 50 100 200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY- Hz

Fig. 1-Frequencyresponse, left (top) andright channels.

e

2

10

0 0:ri

I -4Til

I _441.,

III-50dB LEVEL

0dB LEVEL

00

Fig. 2-Distortion vs.frequency at threerecorded levels.

Fig. 3-Spectrum analysisof 20 -kHz testsignal (largespike) showsaccompanyingout -of -bandcomponents atapproximately24 and 44 kHz.

FREQUENCY - Hz

Ok 20k

40

100

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 55

A conversation piece,B & O's CD X is one of theeasiest players to use, withits touch controls and highlevel of programmability.

-60

-70

-80

-90

-100

-110

-12020 50100 200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY- Hz

NS FT L-98 9dB

MN MIN

A

B

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60

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Li-1

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120

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- 10020 50 100 200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FRFQUENCY- Hz

Fig. 4-S/N analysis,unweighted (A) andA -weighted (B).

-60

BO

-10010 00

SEPARATION, R to I_

SEPARATION, I_ to R

II 11111

Fig. 5-Separation vs.frequency.

I k

FREQUENCY - Hz

10k 20k 100k

Fast -forward and fast -reverse search are accomplishedby touching appropriate nomenclature on the "Sensi-touch"surface, but there is no audible sound while using thesemodes. The label "Return," touched once or repeatedly,allows you to move backwards, track by track, should youwant to hear an earlier selection. Touching the word "Ad-vance" skips tracks in the forward direction. Touching "Re-peat" allows you to play a disc up to four times in succes-sion. If you touch the word "Stop" briefly, disc play pausesand can be resumed from the same spot by touching"Play." However, if you hold your finger on the word "Stop"for more than 2 S, play is suspended completely and thedisc stops spinning.

Instead of equipping the CD X with conventional femaleoutput jacks, Bang & Olufsen has supplied this unit with justover four feet of output cable, terminated in color -coded,male phono-tip plugs. Certainly the length of this cable isadequate for most installations. Even if more distance isneeded between player and amplifier or preamplifier, youcould always use an audio cable extension. But for thepurist who insists upon using special audio cables (such asthose equipped with gold-plated plugs), the arbitrary lengthand grade of the cable permanently affixed to the CD X mayprove undesirable.

MeasurementsFrequency response of the CD X was flat within 0.2 dB

from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (see Fig. 1). I did notice a bit of ripplein the response, just before high -frequency cutoff above 20kHz, which I can only attribute to the analog filters at theoutput of the D/A converters. These filters, by the way, arenot of the steep, multi -pole type found in some CD players.Since B & 0 uses the same D/A conversion technique em-ployed by Philips (i.e., four -times oversampling and 14 -bitlinear conversion), "brick -wall" filters are not required andan analog filter of gentle slope can be used to minimizephase shift.

Output voltage at 0 dB (maximum recorded level) mea-sured almost precisely 2 V, as claimed. Actual harmonicdistortion at mid -frequencies measured 0.003%, asclaimed, for 0 -dB level. However, when I used a distortionanalyzer instead of a spectrum analyzer, readings weresomewhat higher because of the presence of minute quanti-ties of out -of -band components and, in some cases, negligi-ble quantities of "beats" appearing within the audible spec-trum. Figure 2, which shows distortion at various levels overa range of frequencies, includes these nonharmonicallyrelated components, which are reflected in the somewhathigher readings. In Fig. 3, a 20 -kHz test signal is represent-ed by a tall spike, while the shorter spike to its right is anunwanted component outside the audio range, at about24.1 kHz. The additional small spike, near the extreme right,seems to be a component at the sampling frequency of thetest disc, 44.1 kHz. The sweep in this display was linear,from 0 Hz to just over 50 kHz.

Unweighted signal-to-noise ratio for the CD X measured avery high 98.9 dB; with A -weighting inserted in the signalpath, the S/N reading increased to 104.0 dB. Analyses ofnoise distribution within the audio range are shown for bothtypes of measurements in Figs. 4A and 4B. Channel separa-

56 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

The only audible "glitch"heard was when I playedthe widest "scratch" trackon the test disc; otherplayers got by this withoutany problem.

tion, plotted in Fig. 5, measured a full 90 dB at mid -frequen-cies and at the bass end of the audio spectrum. Separationdecreased to between 80 and 86 dB at the high -frequencyextreme, depending upon which channel was measured.

Reproduction of a 1 -kHz square wave by the Bang &Olufsen CD X, shown in Fig. 6, corresponds exactly to theresults obtained for other players which employ the sametype of oversampling and digital filtering. Reproduction of aunit pulse, as seen in Fig. 7, was also typical of the resultsobtained with other players employing this same kind of D/Aconversion. The coincident positive crossing of the horizon-tal axis of both the 200 -Hz signal on the left channel of thetest disc and the 2 -kHz signal on the right channel, depictedin Fig. 8, shows that there is no measurable phase shiftoccurring in this player, at least up to 2 kHz.

Tracking of this particular sample didn't quite measure upto some other third -generation CD players I have tested.Specifically, the error -correction circuitry plus the servo -tracking arrangement was unable to get through my obsta-cle -course defects disc. There was an audible "glitch" whileplaying the "scratch" track covered with a 900 -micron -wideopaque area. Admittedly, that's the widest obstacle on thisdisc, but several recent players have been able to get by itwithout any audible problems. I hasten to add that theplayer had no trouble working its way through the simulateddust particles or the simulated fingerprint smudge on thesame disc.

Use and Listening TestsFrom the logical, brief, and easy -to -understand owner's

manual to the unit's ease of operation, the CD X is a typicalBang & Olufsen masterpiece. I don't know just how much ofthe internal workings of the machine are built by B & 0 itselfand how much of it is purchased from other sources. I

suspect that the D/A conversion circuitry and related parts(or at least the D/A chips) come from Philips, while thetransport mechanism, with its unique lift -up disc platter,must have originated with the designers at B & 0.

As for sound quality, I had no quarrel whatever with thedesigners of this unit. In all respects, the sound reproduc-tion was reminiscent of that of the various Philips (Magna-vox) players I have tested over the past couple of years, allof which use the same basic D/A conversion approach. Inother words, there was none of the harshness sometimesattributed to those machines that use a 44.1 -kHz samplingrate and employ steep, multi -pole analog filters at theiroutputs. Among the newer CDs that I enjoyed while puttingthe CD X through its paces was a three -disc set of RichardStrauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier recorded at the DresdenSemper Opera House (Denon 100C37-7482-84). The natu-ralness and live quality of this recording were, in my opinion,faithfully reproduced by the CD X.

Another recent acquisition for my CD collection is WestSide Story, a two -disc set with the composer himself, Leon-ard Bernstein, conducting and which features an operaticcast. Included is Kiri Te Kanawa, whose lovely, clear voicebenefits from the CD technique. (This recording, DeutscheGrammophon's 415253-2, bears the designation "DDD,"indicating that it was digitally mastered, digitally mixed anddigitally recorded. When, by the way, are other record

Fig. 6-Reproductionof a 1 -kHzsquare wave.

Fig. 7-Single-pulse test.

Fig. 8-Two-tonephase -testsignal (200 Hzand 20 kHz)shows nophase delayor error.

companies besides the Polygram group going to start usingthis sensible coding system to let us know how a given CDwas proauced?)

Getting back to the Bang & Olufsen CD X, its price, in myopinion, is quite reasonable considering its many operatingfeatures, the ease with which they're executed and-ofcourse-that magnificent human engineering which has be-come almost synonymous with B & 0 designs.

Leonard Feldman

AUDIO/MARCH 198657

EQUIPMENT PROFILE

NAKAMICHITD -700CAR STEREOManufacturer's SpecificationsTuner SectionFM Sensitivity: Mono, 18 dBf.50 -dB Quieting: Mono, 20 dBf.S/N Ratio: Mono, 65 dB.

THD: Mono, 0.15% at 1 kHz; stereo,0.3% at 1 kHz.

Frequency Response: 30 Hz to 15kHz, ±3 dB.

Capture Ratio: 2.0 dB.Alternate -Channel Selectivity:

65 dB.Image Rejection: 55 dB.I.f. Rejection: 80 dB.Stereo Separation: 35 dB at 1 kHz.

Tape SectionFrequency Response: 20 Hz to 21

kHz, ±3 dB (using Nakamichi testtape).

Wow and Flutter: 0.05% wtd. rms;± 0.1% wtd. peak.

S/N Ratio: 64 dB, A -weighted, withDolby B NR; 70 dB, A -weighted, withDolby C NR.

Stereo Separation: Greater than 34dB at 1 kHz.

Crosstalk: Greater than 60 dB.Fast -Wind Time: 75 S with C-60

cassette.

Preamplifier SectionFrequency Response: 10 Hz to 50

kHz, ± 1.0 dB.Output Level: 0.35 or 1.1 V, selecta-

ble.

THD: Less than 0.005%.Tone Control Range: Bass, ± 18

dB at 20 Hz; midrange, ± 10 dB at200 Hz; treble, ± 12 dB al 20 kHz.

General SpecificationsPower Requirements: 14.4 V d.c.,

negative ground (10.8 to 15.6 V al-lowable), 6.5 amperes maximum.

Dimensions: 7 in. W x 2 in. H x 61/2in. D (17.8 cm x 5 cm x 16.5 cm).

Weight: 4 lbs., 3 oz. (1.9 kg).Price: $790.Company Address: 19701 South

Vermont Ave., Torrance, Cal. 90502.For literature, circle No. 91

*Vol OFad.

- tunerRill -Balance

Aztrnuth

Double Capstan AZITUtil Fine TURINAuto Repeat 'tot,CroPOcesso, Control

rib Nakarnion TD -700 Moblle Tuner/Cassette Deck

/ Load

NR011/On -13/C sp..120/70

CC Seek Seek

CID =Jun e.c )

111141410Preset Stations

1 2 3 4 5 0

moan

AROttiOn DX/Lo.Rau Mkt

41 ft 41 400 I Mom. II

Treb.

58 AUDIO MARCH 1986

If you install the Nakamichi TD -700 yourself, you will lovethe way the unit has been configured. The outputs (two forthe front amplifier and two for the rear one) use standardphono-tip jacks-no nonstandard, difficult -to -match, multi -pin plugs here! However, the TD -700 offers a great dealmore than just ease of installation. In fact, I was trulyamazed at the number of features and controls incorporatedin so small a unit. Many of the features are activated bymeans of multiple -function controls, thereby reducing thenumber of buttons and knobs that would otherwise appearon the front panel. Nevertheless, the controls are very closetogether, especially those associated with tuner operation.While most of the TD -700's features have been found incompeting units, this is the only car stereo I know of thatfeatures front -panel adjustment of tape -head azimuth align-ment. The importance of this feature will be evident when Idiscuss the test results.

Both Dolby B and Dolby C noise -reduction circuitry areincluded in the tape deck section, as are automatic repeatof a cassette side and a program -search function whichlooks for 4-S silent spots on a tape to identify the start of thenext song. You can instruct the program -search feature toskip up to 10 selections in the forward direction during fastwind, and up to nine selections in the rewind mode. Thetuner section has six station presets for FM and six for AM,plus manual tuning and "Scan" tuning, which homes in onusable signals and lets you listen for 5 S before going on tothe next available signal.

Control LayoutAbove the "Azimuth" control at the lower left of the front

panel is a concentric pair of controls that actually serve fourfunctions. The rear ring is a front -rear fader control; the frontknob, when pushed, serves as a power on/off switch for thetuner section. Rotating this knob adjusts output levels, andpulling the knob forward, until it clicks into a new position,turns it into a channel balance control.

Below the cassette slot (into which cassettes are loadedconventionally, with the tape side facing forward) are but-tons that control tape play. These include a large playbutton, a load button (which also controls ejection), a pausebutton, and the two fast -wind buttons, which initiate pro-gram search when pushed two or more times. Three tinypushbuttons near the large azimuth adjustment knob turn onnoise reduction, select Dolby B or C NR, and choose 70- or120-4 tape equalization. Three more buttons, symmetrical-ly placed to the right of the fast -wind switches, activateautomatic tape repeat, choose local or distant reception,and select AM or FM radio bands.

The upper right section of the panel is dedicated to tunerfunctions. A display shows selected frequency, stereo re-ception, and, when applicable, which preset number hasbeen used to call up the tuned -to station. During cassetteplayback, when the tuner section is off, or when the carignition is off, the display shows the time of day. If the clockfunction is not desired, a clock switch on the side of thechassis can be set to "Off" before the unit is installed.

The six preset buttons are just below the display area.Below these tiny buttons are the up and down manualtuning buttons, the "Scan" tuning button, and the memory

button used with the six presets to store station frequencies.Finally, below this bank of switches are three rotary tone -control knobs. Once the bass, midrange and treble havebeen adjusted to your taste, the knobs can be pushed in,out of the way, so that they are flush with the front panel.This not only prevents the settings from being tampered withor accidentally changed, but also makes it somewhat easierfor large -fingered people such as myself to get at the tuningbuttons. (As cleverly as Nakamichi has laid out all of thesecontrols, things are still pretty tight on this 7 -inch by 2 -inchpanel!)

On the top surface of the chassis is a switch which selectsoutput level. Since this is a one-time adjustment determinedby the sensitivity of associated amplifiers, it has beenplaced, wisely, out of reach of the user once the chassis isinstalled in a car.

Tuner MeasurementsFigure 1 shows the mono and stereo quieting characteris-

tics for the TD -700's FM tuner section, as well as the har-monic distortion fora 1 -kHz modulating signal, as functionsof signal strength. Usable sensitivity in mono measured 15dBf, better than claimed. Mono 50 -dB quieting sensitivitywas 18 dBf, slightly better than the 20 dBf claimed. Stereosensitivity really cannot be specified, nor can the stereo 50-

0

0

MICROVOLTS, ACROSS 75 -OHM ANTENNA TERMINALS

5 0.87 275

60MONO S/N'66d6

80

7 275 87 275 489 870 2750

MONO THD' 0.1% -

STEREO THD. 0 12%-/

0 10 20

SIGNAL INPUT POWER- dBf

Fig. 1-Mono and stereoquieting and distortioncharacteristics, FMsection.

10

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111

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imlimmommimmea

40r

STEREO S/N. 65 dB

-7

50

(0 dElf I x

-de

0.0 0

ID 1.5-

00

0O1 it

00165 70 80

10-15 WATTS ,

10 100 Ik

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 2-THD vs.frequency, FM section.

Ok 208 IOC

40

60 --

80

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 59

Stereo gradually blendsinto mono reception assignal strength decreases.For mobile use, that'sbetter than constantswitching back and forth.

10

20

30

40

50

60

7020 50 100200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY- Hz

Fig. 3-Stereo separation,FM section.

CS L-50.1dB 1.00kHz

,e-

+10

-10

FR L- 1.7dB 11.5kHz

11111111111111111111111

KIM MIN MOO

1111111111111111111120 50 100 200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 5-Frequencyresponse, tape section,using Type I test tape.

+10

_Jw

-J -10

-20_J

cc -30

FR L- 2.8dB 2.00kHz

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

20 50 100 200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 4-AM frequencyresponse.

dB quieting point. That's because Nakamichi has wiselyelected to have stereo separation gradually diminish orblend into monophonic reception as signal strength de-creases. For mobile use, that's better than having the sys-tem constantly switch back and forth between mono andstereo as signal strength fluctuates. This gradual transitionfrom stereo to mono accounts for the rather odd shape ofthe stereo S/N curve (Fig. 1) in the region from about 45 dBfdown to 30 dBf, where S/N appears to be increasing assignal strength decreases. What's actually happening in thisregion is that the received signal is becoming more andmore monophonic as the signal level decreases. Sincemono reception is quieter than stereo reception-especiallyat weak signal levels-the noise curve actually reversesdirection for a while, until the signal is so weak that, even in

mono, noise rises steeply again. The THD curves for monoand stereo also eventually blend together as signal strengthdecreases. At strong signal levels, mono S/N measured 66dB and stereo S/N was 64 dB. THD in mono was 0.1% for a1 -kHz modulating signal; in stereo it was only slightly higher,0.12%. Figure 2 shows how THD varies as a function offrequency, with 100% modulating signals and a 65-dBf r.f.signal.

Figure 3 is a plot, in third -octave increments, of FM stereoseparation versus frequency. At 1 kHz, separation mea-sured 50.1 dB. At 100 Hz, it was about 46 dB, and itdecreased to 40 dB at 10 kHz. Nakamichi might just as wellhave applied its conservative separation specification of 35dB to the entire audio band, rather than to 1 kHz alone.

The FM tuner section's frequency response was flatterthan that of most home tuners, with no measurable attenua-tion at 15 kHz and an attenuation of only 0.5 dB at 30 Hz.The same cannot be said for the frequency response of theAM tuner section (Fig. 4), which was down nearly 3 dB at 2kHz and which had a bass "bump" centered at around 100Hz. The bump was undoubtedly put there deliberately, togive some sonic weight to what would otherwise be a verythin AM response.

Capture ratio for the FM tuner section measured 1.8 dB,and alternate -channel selectivity was precisely 65 dB, asclaimed. Image rejection, measuring 60 dB, was a bit betterthan claimed; so was i.f. rejection, which on my samplemeasured 82 dB.

Tape Deck MeasurementsFrequency response of the cassette tape player, shown in

Fig. 5, was outstanding. It remained flat to above 20 kHzdespite the fact that I did not have Nakamichi's Type IIfrequency -response test tape, and had to use one recordedon Type I (ferric -oxide) tape.

Figures 6A and 6B show the tape section's S/N. Withoutnoise reduction, the A -weighted reading (shown in Fig. 6B)was 59.4 dB. With Dolby B NR (Fig. 6A), the S/N improved to72.4 dB, A -weighted. With Dolby C NR (Fig. 6B), the A-

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The best feature of theunit's tape section is theazimuth adjustment.After using it a while, youbegin to wonder how youcould get along without it.

- 40

-50co

1 -60<_.)

w -70O _J

CC

(0 -80( 5

Z- 90

-10020 50 100 200 500 lk 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY- Hz

NS WO L-59.4dB R-72.4dB

III IIMIN MIIIII

111 11Fig. 6A-Tape sectionS N, A -weighted, withDolby B noise ;eduction("R" readout at top).

_1

0 >W

Oz

N5 WD L-59.4dB R-82.9dB

co

20LiLJ_J

(/)

60 z_J

80 ec

0100

- 50 0

-6020

- 70u.1

40- 80 N

60 Z_J

cl-100 80--Ir- 0 -10020 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY- Hz

0

40

-90

Fig. 6B-Tape sectionS/N, A -weighted, withoutnoise reduction (uppertrace and "L" readout attop) and with Dolby C

0.05

004

0.03

0.02

0.01

0

FL

noise reduction (lowertrace and "R" readout attop). Note shift in verticalscales between Figs. 6Aand 6B.

111111111mill 111116111111 111111II 111111111=

WD L0.038%

0 5 I 2 5 10 20 50 100 200PEQUENCY- Hz

Fig. 7-Wow and flutter,wtd. rms.

0.10

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0

weighted overall figure improved still further, to 82.9 dB. Thereference level for these tests was 250 nWb/m. I usednormal -bias tape that had been previously recorded butwith no audio signal applied, so any bias noise produced bymy recorder is included in the measurement.

Wow and flutter was far better than claimed. I measuredonly 0.038% wtd. rms, as shown in Fig. 7. Unweighted wowand flutter, not shown, was also much better than claimedby Nakamichi; it measured only 0.08%.

I've saved the best feature of the cassette deck sectionfor last-that wonderful azimuth adjustment control, whichcan be fully appreciated only when you use it. Since car-stereo decks play only tapes which have been recorded onother machines, some azimuth mismatch is inevitable. Afteryou've used the azimuth control and hear the difference itmakes, you wonder how you could possibly get along with-out it in a playback -only deck. Figures 8A, 8B, and 8C showin detail the action of the azimuth control. The test signalshown is from the azimuth test tape made for use with aSound Technology tape tester. The tape has four frequen-cies, from 0.0 to 15.8 kHz, recorded on both channels.While the unit under test plays this test tape, the instrumentcompares the phase of the signals on the two channels anddisplays the degree of difference (phase error) as fourvertical lines. When the electronic cursor (the dotted line inFigs. 8A, 8B, and 8C) is positioned on one of these phase -error lines, the error is displayed in degrees.

In my first test, I adjusted the azimuth control to itsnominal center. When I played my test tape, the phase errorbetween the two 15.8 -kHz signals was 162°. In terms of timeerror, 162° of a 15.8 -kHz signal is about 28 I.LS. You can, ifyou like, calculate the angular error of the playback headfrom this, the tape's speed, and the distance between thehead gaps. For myself, it was enough to note that 162° oferror at 15.8 kHz is a pretty serious azimuth misadjustment.For Fig. 8B, I flipped the tape over to measure error in theopposite direction and got a reading of 92°, still quite sub-stantial. (The difference between the two numbers may bedue to differences in tape orientation in each direction, andto the relative angle of the head and the recorded signal.)However, when I adjusted the front -panel control to obtainminimum azimuth error (Fig. 8C), I managed to get theresidual misadjustment so low (12° of phase with a 15.8 -kHzsine -wave signal) that it can be regarded as insignificant.

The great thing about this front -panel control is that youwon't need any fancy test tapes or test equipment to comejust as close with any prerecorded tape. Simply listen to thetape. Turn up the treble control all the way, to help you listenfor a high -frequency maximum as you slowly turn the azi-muth control. (The control is 15 "click stops" on either sideof center, each of which shifts playback head alignment by2.9°.) When you hear the most treble, you've adjusted theplayback head for optimum reproduction and minimum azi-muth error. It's that simple.

Figure 9 shows the maximum range of the bass and trebletone controls: About ± 14 dB at 10 kHz for the treble control,and about + 12 and -16 dB at 100 Hz for the bass control.Figure 10, a similar plot, shows the action of the midrangetone control. Its frequency of maximum boost or cut isaround 200 Hz rather than the more usual 500 Hz to 1 kHz

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+180

+120

+60

0

-60

-120

-1800 2k 4k 6k 8k 10k 12k 14k

FREQUENCY- Hz

AZ +162 DEG 15.8kHz

I

Fig. 8A-Azimuth errorbefore adjustment, withtape in forward direction.

0

-60

-120

16k 18k 20k

AZ - 12 DEG 15.8kHz

-1800 2k 4k 6k 8k 10k 12k 14k 16k 18k 20k

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 8C-Insignificantazimuth error observedafter adjustment, withplayback of same tapeused for Figs. 8A and 8B.

+180

+120

+60

-60

-120

-180

AZ - 92 DEG 15,8kHz

1111111111111111

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

111111111111111111111111111

1,111111111111111111111111IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

0 2k 4k 6k 8k 10k 12k 14k 16k 18k 20k

FREQUENCY - HzFig. 8B-Azimuth errorbefore adjustment, withsame tape in reversedirection.

used for midrange controls in home audio components. Thiscenter frequency seems more appropriate for car audio,since turning it down helps tame the resonance which mostcar interiors exhibit at 150 to 200 Hz or so.

Use and Listening TestsAlthough I did not conduct my listening tests in a moving

vehicle, I can say with reasonable assurance that the TD -700 should do very well in a car. For one thing, the cassettedeck's performance was typical of the excellent home tapedecks for which Nakamichi is justly famous. The TD -700'simportant tape -playback characteristics remained constantover a wide range of operating voltages (10 to 15 V d.c.).

The FM tuner section has been ideally designed for' use ina car or other moving vehicle. The blend from stereo to

mono occurs so gradually and smoothly that you probablywon't be aware of it as you drive through areas where signalstrengths fluctuate greatly. This should help mask the moreserious multipath problems, and even some amount of"picket -fence" noise (which is always more annoying whenthe tuner is allowed to remain in full stereo mode, as is donewith some other units I have tested). The tuner section'sperformance, like the tape deck's, stays constant withchanges in supply voltage. The AM section is just anothertypical AM tuner.

Nakamichi has combined the best things they know abouttape transport and tape electronics with good FM r.f. engi-neering, and have come up with a very versatile tuner/cassette deck that will not disappoint even the most dis-criminating car -audio buff. If anything, they have crammedthe panel with so many worthwhile features that it may takeyou a while to be able to operate the unit while driving. Onceyou've learned how, you'll have a wonderful car stereo foryour trouble. Meanwhile, don't be distracted by all thosebuttons and knobs while you drive. Just listen-and enjoy!

Leonard Feldman

Behind the WheelOne glance at the TD -700's control panel shows you that

tape dominated Nakamichi's thinking in their design of thisunit. The tape controls are big, and they cover most of thepanel; the tuner controls are small, and mostly squinchedup into one corner.

The tape -motion controls give me a bit less tactile feed-back than I like. But they're easy to find and to operate bytouch, and small LEDs (visible even in daylight) show clearlywhich functions are in use. I soon began to wish more car -stereo decks had pause controls; the TD -700's proved help-ful, letting me shut off the tape to hear directions, listen tofunny engine noises, or just concentrate on traffic, withouthaving to eject the tape or turn down the volume (and missthe music while the tape ran on). Like most tape decks withpause controls, the TD -700 releases the pause when you hit

64 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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EQUIPMENT PROFILE

YAMAHAK-1020CASSETTEDECK


kHz; to 20 kHz with Cr02 tape; to 23kHz with metal tape.

Harmonic Distortion: 0.5%.Signal/Noise Ratio: 59 dB; 75 dB

with Dolby C NR, 95 dB with dbx NR.Separation: 40 dB.Crosstalk: 60 dB.Input Sensitivity: Line, 40 mV.Output Level: Line, 360 mV; head-

phone, 3.6 mW into 8 ohms.Flutter: 0.03% wtd. rms, ±0.06%

wtd. peak.Fast -Wind Time: 70 S for C-60 cas-

sette: 45 S in high-speed mode.Dimensions: 171/8 in. W x 51/4 in. H x

15 in. D (435 mm x 133 mm x 381mm).

Weight: 16.8 lbs. (7.6 kg).Price: $599.Company Address: 6660 Orange-

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Sitting at the top of Yamaha's line of cassette decks is theK-1020, which has three heads for superior record/playbackperformance and a dual -capstan drive in a closed -loopconfiguration for stable, low -flutter tape transport. The re-cord and play heads are made of pure Sendust, and theerase head is made of ion -plated ferrite.

The Yamaha deck is one of relatively few with Dolby HXPro, which ensures the best possible headroom extensionby dynamically controlling bias in response to the signal'sspectral content. [See the article on HX Pro in August 1984Audio, by Jensen and Pramanik, for more data.] This is not anoise -reduction system; however, the K-1020 does provideDolby B and C NR as well as dbx NR, which gives it greatflexibility in making recordings, and enables it to play backany prerecorded material. The K-1020 also has the uniqueORBiT (Optimum Record Bias Tuning) system, which com-bines manual bias adjustment with a readout which showswhen the bias is best for the tape being used.

The counter reads elapsed time from wherever it is reset.This is not a mere clock, which functions only in record andplay modes; instead, it reads even in fast -wind modes,converting tape position into minutes and seconds via acomputer chip. Such time indications are very useful whenmaking recordings. The deck also offers memory and auto -play modes in conjunction with the counter. One handyfeature is that the recorder will rewind and stop exactlywhere recording started if rewind is pushed during record-ing. This location is stored automatically, and the counterdoes not have to be reset first. Pressing and releasing thefast -forward or rewind button initiates normal fast winding,but holding down either fast -wind button raises the windingspeed an additional 35%. This speed bonus is also avail-able-and especially helpful-in auto -search mode, whichfinds the beginning or end of the piece being played. Fast -winding automatically slows near the tape's ends to preventtape breakage.

The K-1020 features a fluorescent, peak -responding,wide -range stereo meter. Surrounding annunciators indi-cate monitor, memory and auto -mode status, tape type,whether recording is being done, NR system, multiplex filter,and bias -test status. These all make operation more conve-nient and help to minimize mistakes.

Control LayoutThe K -1020's front panel helps make the deck easy to

operate in most lighting conditions, not only because of itsgood displays but because its designations stand out inwhite against the black background. At the upper left of thepanel is the large "Power" on/off switch. The "Eject'' button,just below, is similar in shape, but because it's smaller andits surface is knurled, and because this layout is now com-mon, users probably won't confuse them. There is a useful"Output Level" control further down, just above the"Phones" jack.

The cassette carrier tilts out briskly with a push of "Eject,"but the stop is fairly gentle. Access for cleaning and demag-netizing is quite good, and with the door cover snapped off,it is excellent-among the best I've seen. The transport willnot go into play mode without a cassette in place, so thedeck won't rotate the pinch roller for you while you're clean -

1111"1111111111111111°_,

Fig. 1-Record/playbackresponses using Dolby CNR, at Dolby level (topthree traces) and at -20dB (bottom three traces),for Yamaha NR (Type I),Sony UCX-S (Type II) andMaxell MX (Type IV) tapes(top to bottom in eachset). Vertical scale: 5 dB/div.

ing it. I would prefer to have the roller driven during clean-ing, but it is true that, if it did rotate, a cotton swab could getwrapped around the capstan if you weren't careful. With atape in place, tape slack is automatically taken up when thedoor is closed, and also when power is first turned on.

To the right of the cassette compartment is the "MasterFader," which is used only during recording. Yamaha rec-ommends that this control be used just for fades from full -offto full -on, and for fade-outs; otherwise, they recommendleaking this vertical slider all the way up, at "0." A scalealong the slider's left shows, in dB, how much the faderattenuates the stereo signal at various positions. (The con-trols which adjust individual -channel recording levels will bediscussed a bit later.)

Across the top right s de of the K-1020 is the displaypanel with the meters, counter and annunciators referred toearlier. At the left of this display is the four -digit elapsed -time counter, which has red LED numerals and a minus signthat lights if the tape is rewound past counter zero. Thecounter can be reset at any time, but it should, of course, bereset at the very beginning of a tape if you need to keeptrack of the total time (position) to any point on the tape. Thiscounter has two valuable characteristics: It keeps its basictime calibration even with fast winding, and it maintains itsreading (unless purposely reset) even when a cassette isejected, so the user can note the time from the counter andwrite it on the cassette label.

The annunciators below the counter are "Rec" (whichglows during record and record/pause modes and flickerswhen the auto rec mute is operating), "Test" (which lightswhen the ORBiT circuit is in use and flickers when ORBiT isin standby), and the "Tape/Source" indicator.

To the right is the memory -mode annunciator panel, withlights to indicate when the memory is in use and when either

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 69

This deck is one of the fewwith Dolby HX Pro, whichensures the best headroomextension by dynamicallycontrolling bias.

Fig. 2-Record/playbackresponses using dbx NR,with bias set with ORBITcircuit, at Dolby level (topthree traces) and at -20 dB(bottom three traces),for same tapes as in Fig. 1.Vertical scale: 5 dB/div.

Fig. 3-Record/playbackresponses using dbx NR,with bias decreasedslightly from amount setwith ORBIT circuit, forMaxell MX (Type IV) tape.Dolby -level response iscentered vertically, withresponses measured from-16 to +16 dB. Verticalscale: 5 dB/div.

of the two repeat modes is active. One of these two modes,"0-M Repeat" (zero -to -memory repeat), plays the section ofthe tape between counter zero and any point the user entersinto memory, up to eight times. The second, "Full Repeat,"plays the entire side of the tape, then rewinds and replays it,also up to eight times. (That eight -time limit seems like morethan enough to me!)

The recording -level meters are horizontal, fluorescentbar -graphs with a bluish -white center scale that extendsfrom " - 30" to " + 20." Little dot lights above and belowthese scale numbers serve as guidelines for maximum re-

cord levels; the dots extend to " + 6" for normal and chrometape, and to " +8" for metal tape-except when dbx NR isused, in which case the dots extend to "+ 16" for all tapetypes. These guidelines are a good idea and are easy toread from any distance which would leave you within reachof the controls.

Segments light to show up to 18 different recording levelswithin the meter's range. (There are actually 19 segments,but the first, just to the left of " - 30," is on all the time.) Themeter segments covering the range up through "0" arebluish white, and the ones from "0" to " + 20" are red. Themeters are classified as peak -responding, but confirmationof that was left to the actual testing. I found it slightly irksomethat the single -digit scale numbers are just to the right of thecorresponding scale segments, rather than centered onthem. But in actual recording, where levels change rapidly,this objection proved trivial.

Below the bar -graphs, from left to right, are these annun-ciators: "Bias," with adjustment -direction arrows; "Filter";symbols for Dolby B, Dolby C and dbx noise reduction, andindicators for "I/Norm," "II/Cr02" and "IV/Metal" tape types.All of these annunciators are bluish white, except for "dbx,"which is red in color.

Below the left portion of the display area, just to the rightof the "Master Fader," are the transport control switches, allwith good-sized, rectangular pushbuttons. Along the bot-tom, from left to right, are "Rec/Pause," "Stop" and "Mute/Search." Just above, from left to right, are rewind, "Play"and fast forward. Above these buttons are narrow -bar push-buttons for "Reset," "Memory" and "Monitor." The functionsof most of these are self-explanatory or have been men-tioned before, but some additional comments are in order:Pushing "Rec/Pause" once readies the deck for recording,and recording is initiated by pushing "Play." A push of"Mute/Search" during recording will gain an automatic 4-Sblank interval and a stop in "Rec/Pause." Holding the buttonin will get a longer blank time.

Holding in either of the fast -wind buttons gets a faster -than -normal winding. Pushing "Mute/Search" along with thewind button will get a fast rewind and a stop at the begin-ning of the present song; pushing "Mute/Search" with fastforward takes you quickly to the start of the next song. Thereare no status lights associated with any of the 'transportcontrol buttons, but there is the red "Rec" annunciator thatappears under the counter. A few simple checks showedthat punch -in recording was possible from any mode aslong as "Rec/Pause" and "Play" were both held in at thesame time. This is a good feature, and I didn't see itmentioned in the manual.

To the right of the transport switches is a collection ofcontrols, hidden behind a small swing -down panel. At thetop, from left to right, are six pushbuttons, interlocked asneeded, for "NR -Off," "Dolby B," "Dolby C," "dbx," "MPXFil" and "Bias Test." All of the buttons are black, with theexception of "Bias Test," which is red. The designationsabove the buttons are hard to see when the deck is beloweye level, but Yamaha comes to the rescue by printing alegend-quite easily seen-near the edge of the swing-

down panel. As mentioned earlier, these buttons have asso-ciated annunciato-s in the display area.

70AUDIO'MARCH 1986

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Playback responses forboth equalizations wereexcellent, with most pointsaccurate to within afraction of a dB.

When "Bias Test" is pressed, the "Test" annunciator be-low the counter begins flashing; it lights steadily when "Rec/Pause" and "Play" are pressed to initiate recording of thetest signal. When testing begins, the "Bias" annunciatorbelow the record -level meter lights, with arrows showingwhich way to turn the "Bias Adjust" knob (just below the testswitch) to set correct bias for the tape in use. When both theright- and left -pointing arrows are illuminated equally, bias isset correctly. When the "Bias Test" button is released, thetape is automatically rewound to the point where the teststarted. Overall, this is a simple and effective operation.

To the left of the "Bias Adjust" knob are the left and right"Preset Rec Level" pots with small, finely knurled knobs.Friction was not high, and adjustments were made easily.Further to the left is the "Auto Mode" rotary switch withpositions for full repeat, zero -to -memory repeat, off, timerplay, and timer record.

On the rear panel are the stereo input/output phono jacks,which are gold-plated, a nice touch. Also on the back is aDIN -type socket for the optional remote control.

Removing the top and side cover revealed a neat andwell laid -out combination of p.c. boards. The main circuitboard occupied more than half the chassis, and served as amotherboard for the smaller p.c. boards containing theDolby and dbx NR circuitry. The power supply was on aseparate board. The soldering was excellent; interconnec-tions were made with multi -pin plugs. Adjustments werevery clearly labelled, both with functions and with part num-bers. The shielded, separately mounted transformer wasjust warm in operation. The transport looked good and wasvery quiet in operation. Overall, it was an impressive scene.

MeasurementsPlayback responses for both equalizations were excel-

lent, with most points accurate to within a fraction of a dB.Meter indications for playback of a standard level were veryclose, within the limitations of segment resolution. Tape -playspeed was just 0.1% fast. Record/playback responses werechecked for a large number of tapes using pink noise, rolledoff at 6 dB/octave above 2 kHz to make it more music -like.The adjustable bias permitted good matches to a largenumber of tapes. ORBiT (Optimum Record Bias Tuning)was very speedy in use and acceptably accurate, in gener-al. (More on this later.)

Based upon the overall response curves obtained withthe use of ORBiT, Yamaha NR (Type I), Sony UCX-S (TypeII) and Maxell MX (Type IV) tapes were selected for thedetailed tests to follow. Other very good performers wereFuji GT-I, Maxell XL I, and TDK AD for Type I; Denon HD7and HD8, Fuji GT-II, Maxell XL II, Memorex CDX II, TDK HX-S,and Yamaha CR-X for Type II, and Scotch XSM, Sony Metal -ES, and TDK MA and MA -R for Type IV.

Figure 1 shows the record/playback responses for thethree selected tapes at Dolby level and 20 dB lower, all withDolby C NR. All of the responses are very good, even withthe high -end roll -off at -20 dB and the slightly elevatedresponses from 2 to 10 kHz with Yamaha NR tape. Table Ilists the -3 dB limits obtained using a sine -wave tone.Particularly noteworthy is the Dolby -level high -end limit of20.2 kHz with Maxell MX and Dolby C NR. A slight decrease

Table I-Record/playback responses (-3 dB limits).

With Dolby C NR Without NR

Tape Type

Dolby Lvl -20 dB Dolby Lvl -20 dBHz kHz Hz kHz Hz kHz Hz kHz

Yamaha NR 16.3 10.2 15.5 16.5 16.2 8.7 15.5 18.6Sony UCX-S 16.3 10.6 16.3 18.8 16.3 9.1 15.5 20.3Maxell MX 17.1 20.2 17.4 19.8 17.2 14.2 16.0 22.2

Table II -Miscellaneous record, playbackcharacteristics.

NR Erasure Sep. Crosstalk 10 -kHz A/ 13 Phase MPX FilterType At 100 Hz At 1 kHz At 1 kHz Error Jitter At 19.00 kHz

Dolby C 62 dB 60 dB - 94 dB 50' 10' -- 35.2 dBdbx 87 dB 56 dB -108 dB

Table III -400 -Hz HDL3 (%) vs. output level(0 dB = 200 nW13, m).

Output Level HDL3 =Tape Type NR -10 -8 -4 0 +4 +8 3%

Yamaha NR Dolby C 0.09 0.11 0.20 0.63 2.3 +4.7 dBdbx 0.07 0.09 0.10 0.14 0.22 0.45 + 17.1 dB

Sony UCX-S Dolby 0.14 0.20 0.40 1.0 3.0 +4.0 dBdbx 0.16 0.19 0.24 0.34 0.45 0.75 +17.3 dB

Maxell MX Dolby C 0.16 0.21 0.38 0.79 1.7 +6.4 dBdbx 0.15 0.19 0.24 0.32 0.42 0.60 + 17.9 dB

in bias, below that which was set with ORBIT, raised thehigh -end limits but also added another 1 or 2 dB to the slightelevation which already existed in the 2- to 10 -kHz region.

Figure 2 shows the record/playback responses for thesame three tapes, using dbx NR and with the bias set usingORBIT. Results were disappointing, and a slight decrease inbias was made to reduce the high -end roll -off. (The low -endroll -off is characteristic of dbx NR, not restricted to theK-1020.) The reduction in roll -off was accompanied bysome elevation in response from 2 to 10 kHz; some usersmight like this, others might not. The assessment: ORBIT didan excellent job of getting responses very close to the bestpossible, but minor bias trimming might be in order for thevery most critical listening.

Table II lists record/playback test results, using bothDolby C and dbx NR. All of the figures are excellent, amongthe best ones I've seen to date. Note that use of dbx NRimproves erasure and reduces crosstalk, albeit with somereduction in separation. There was some low-level bias inthe output during recording.

Third -harmonic distortion of a 400 -Hz tone was measuredfor the three tapes, both with Dolby C and with dbx NR. Forthese tests, the level was gradually increased from 10 dBbelow Dolby level to the point where HDL3 reached 3%. Thedata in Table III shows low distortion at the lower levels forboth NR systems, and also shows that a much highermaximum level is possible with dbx NR. Table IV lists theHDL3 figures obtained with Maxell MX at -10 dB with DolbyC and dbx NR from 50 Hz to 5 kHz. The rise in distortion atthe lower frequencies is much greater for dbx NR than it isfor Dolby C NR. The distortion at the higher frequencies is

72 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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I found ORBiT and theexcellent metering anddisplays to be my favoritefeatures, particularly whenswitching tapes.

Table IV-HDL3 (%) vs. frequency at 10 dB belowDolby level.

Frequency (Hz)

Tape Type NR 50 100 400 1k 2k 4k 5k

Maxell MX Dolby C 0.32 0.36 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.27 0.29dbx 2.7 1.2 0.15 0.18 0.15 0.16 0.15

Table V-Signal;noise ratios with IEC A andCCIR ARM weightings.

IEC A Wtd. (dBA) CCIR/ARM (dB)

Tape Type

WIDolby C NR With dbx NR W/Dolby C NR With dbx NR

(a DL HD=3% (a DL HD=3% (a DL HD=3% (a DL HD=3%Yamaha NR 69.0 73.7 74.1 91.2 67.7 72.2 70.2 87.3Sony UCX-S 72.0 76.0 78.7 96.0 71.9 75.9 74.5 91.8Maxell MX 70.8 77.2 77.0 94.9 69.9 76.3 73.2 91.1

Table VI -Input and output characteristicsat 1 kHz.

Level LevelInput Imp., Output Imp., Clip (Re:Sens. Overload Kilohms Open Ckt. Loaded Ohms Meter 0)

Line 42 mV -31 V 23 Line 340 mV 299 mV 1.6k +21.8 dBHdphn. 3.0 V 0.67 V 203

lower with dbx NR, but it is also low with Dolby C NR; all ofthe figures show the benefit of HX Pro, which is incorporatedin this deck.

Signal-to-noise ratios were measured for the three tapeswith Dolby C and dbx NR systems, using both IEC A andCCIR/ARM weightings. The results, shown in Table V, are allexcellent, with Type II (UCX-S) figures superior to those forType IV (MX) most of the time.

The input and output characteristics listed in Table VI arein general agreement with Yamaha's specifications, withsome minor disparities. The headphone output, with an8 -ohm impedance instead of the more usual 50 ohms,delivered 2.1 mW per side. This was a bit less than speci-fied, but maximum listening level at 0 dB was very high withall of the headphones tried, proving the value of theK -1020's output -level control.

The two sections of the master fader tracked each otherwithin a dB at settings from full to 60 dB of attenuation, andmost of the scale markings were accurate within a dB. Thisis excellent performance, and would enable you to makeexact level shifts for both channels at once. The output -levelcontrol had more deviation between its sections -just over1 dB at 20 dB of attenuation, and 2 dB at 40 dB down. Theoutput polarity was the same as the input in "Source" mode,but was reversed in "Tape."

The frequency response of the bar -graph meters wasapproximately 3 dB down at 22 Hz and 21 kHz. The greatmajority of the meter scale calibrations were accurate towithin a dB, including " - 30" ( - 31 actual). From " - 10" to" + 4," errors were 0.6 dB at most. The meters' responsetime met the requirements for those classified as peak -

responding, but the decay time of 0.87 S was short com-pared to the standard minimum of 1.4 S. Adding either a

positive or negative d.c. offset to the test tone burst did notraise the meter indication, which is as it should be for truepeak -reading meters.

The average tape -play speed did not vary with changesin line voltage from 110 to 130 V. There were fairly regularshort-term speed changes up to ±0.015% or so. Flutter wassomewhat dependent upon the cassette used: It measured0.045% wtd. rms and ± 0.065% wtd. peak on the average,but just 0.025% wtd. rms and ± 0.045% wtd. peak with theYamaha NR tape. The fast -wind time for one side of a C-60cassette was 68 S for normal fast wind, but only 48 S withthe button held in for the higher speed. The time to changemodes was 1 S or less.

Use and Listening TestsThe owner's manual presents considerable detail and

good technical exposition on the K -1020's features, espe-cially HX Pro and the Dolby and dbx NR systems. There aregood illustrations and an excellent block schematic, helpingto make it one of the better user manuals I've seen.

All of the controls and switches were completely reliablethroughout the testing. The resistance to movement of themaster fader's slider was high for fast fading, but the con-trol's action was very smooth nonetheless. The right record -level pot knob was not snug on its shaft, but it never didcome off.

I found ORBiT and the excellent metering and displays tobe my favorite features, particularly when switching fromtape to tape. I also found that I used the higher windingspeed more than I thought I would. Timer start, mute, mem-ory, and repeat modes all worked as they should. Going intorecord mode caused only a small click on the tape, down atthe tape -noise level heard with Dolby C NR; I detected nosounds created by entering pause or stop modes.

Most of the listening tests were conducted using dbx-encoded discs from digital recordings, such as Rachmani-noff's Symphony No. 2 with the Scottish National Orchestra,Alexander Gibson conducting (Chandos ABRD 1021/dbxPS -1074). Switching to Dolby C NR made an obvious im-provement in the noise level, but with Yamaha NR tape therewas then too much added presence. With Sony UCX-S tapethere was only a little additional presence, which was muchmore to my liking. Maxell MX was best of the tapes at thehighest levels. With all three tapes, reducing bias slightlywhen using dbx NR improved the sound, to my ears. I stillmissed the deep bass of a number of LP sources, but therewas no doubt about the K -1020's ability to record at veryhigh levels with dbx NR. The elapsed -time readout wasquite accurate, within 30 S over a 90 -minute period.

The Yamaha K-1020 does not have a long list of specialfeatures, such as music programming, but it does haveconveniences that are useful all of the time: Elapsed -timecounter, ORBiT, wide -range metering, Dolby and dbx NR,master fader, output -level control, and extra -high-speedwinding on demand. The internal construction is definitelyabove average, and its arrangement should minimize anyrequired service time. The K-1020 offers a nice combinationof features and performance for its price, and should com-pare favorably with other decks in its range.

Howard A. Roberson

74AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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EQUIPMENT PROFILE

AKAi ,11J-111100COMPACT DISCPLAYER


kHz, ±0.5 dB.THD: 0.005%.Dynamic Range: 90 dB.S/N Ratio: 90 dB.Number of Programming Com-

mands: 16 (see text).Channel Separation: 85 dB.Line Output Level: 2.0 V.Access Time: 2.6 S.Power Requirements: 120 V, 60

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x 10 in. D (35 cm x 7.1 cm x 25.4cm).

Weight: 14.3 lbs. (6.5 kg).Price: $499.

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76 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

With all of the "me too" CD players currently available, ithas become difficult for a company to come up with a playeroffering something different from the rest. Akai, however,has managed to do just that with a new, extremely easy andlogical way to program via the "Unique Program OrderSelector," a main feature of their CD -M88.

The front panel of this mid -sized CD player is equippedwith the usual numeric keypads for designating desiredtracks and even index points within a given CD selection (ifsuch index points have been encoded onto the disc). But, inaddition, there are keys labelled "To," "And" and "Without."The addition of these extra buttons on the front panel makesfor a simpler layout while adding versatility to the way inwhich programming can be done. Suppose you were play-ing a CD that had 20 tracks and wanted to hear tracks 1through 5 as well as tracks 10 through 20 but omitting track17. With most programmable players, you'd have to key inat least 15 individual numbers-assuming the deck wasable to accept that many individual instructions. With theAkai CD -M88, you would press the following keys in thefollowing order: "1," "To," "5," "And," "10," "To," "20,""Without," "17." Reading that back as a complete sentence,it makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

Other features of the Akai player include direct access toany given track, full -function wireless remote control, repeatplay of a specified portion of a track or tracks, and repeatplay of an entire disc. It is possible to have a disc repeat -play up to 99 times!

Control LayoutAt the extreme left end of the front panel is the usual slide -

out disc drawer. Just below are a phone jack and anunusual output -level control. Instead of being adjusted by aprotruding rotary knob, this control is configured as a flush -mounted disc which has two tiny bumps on its flush surface.As your finger tip touches it, there's enough friction betweenyour finger and the flat, flush -mounted knob to enable you totwist the disc and thereby adjust for more or less outputlevel.

An elaborate and informative fluorescent display, alsosituated below the disc drawer, shows track and indexnumbers, time elapsed for the current track and totalelapsed time from the beginning of a disc. In addition, allprogramming instructions are displayed as they are en-tered, including the novel "To," "And" and "Without" desig-nations as well as "Repeat" notations when applicable. A"Display Select" button adjacent to the display area is usedto choose the various track or time displays in sequence.The "Power" on/off and the disc drawer "Open/Close"switches are near the center of the front panel, while furtherto the right are the disc operating controls: "Play," fastforward and reverse, and "Pause/Reset" (stop). Bridgingthe first three controls is an unusual acronym-"IPLS"-which took a fairly careful search in the owner's manual tolocate. On page 12 I finally discovered that it stands for"Instant Program Location System," by which Akai meansthat the beginning of the previous, the current or the nextselection on the disc being played can quickly be selectedby pressing the play button simultaneously with either re-verse or fast forward. This method of advancing or reversing

+2

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-2

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Li- L.OkHz

20 50 100 200 SDO 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY - Hz

Fig. 1-Frequencyresponse, left (top) andright channels.

Fig. 2-Frequency sweepfrom 0 Hz to50 kHz shows"beat" output at24.1 kHz to theright of 20 -kHzsignal.

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Fig. 3-THD vs. frequencyat three signal levels.(High -frequency dashedlines indicate super -audible beats; see text.)

10k 20k ,00k

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100

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 77

Akai's CD -M88 uses ananalog filter at the outputof its D/A converter, ratherthan the digital filter usedby most of the second- andthird -generation units.

A

B

-60

-70

-80

-90

-HO

- 12020 50 100 200 500 lk 2k 56 10k 20k

FREQUENCY - Hz

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1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

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-60

- 70

-80

- 90

-110

-12020 50 100 200 500 Ik 2k 5k 10k 20k

FREQUENCY - Hz

NS WD L-99.0dB

111111111111111111111111111111111110111111111111111111111111111111MIMI=EMI II

Fig. 4-SIN analysis, bothunweighted (A) andA -weighted (B).

-60

80

-100

20

40

60

80

100

20

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Fig. 5-Separation vs.frequency.

10k 20k 100k

the laser pickup, though unusual, reduces the number offront -panel controls, an important consideration for a CDplayer in the mid -sized category.

All of the remaining touch controls at the right end of thepanel are involved with programming for specific play rou-tines. Here are found the numeric keys as well as the repeatkey, the index key, and those special "To," "And" and"Without" keys. The routine needed to get to a specific trackat the beginning of play is a little unusual. Instead of justkeying in the track number and then (perhaps) pushing theplay button, you treat this request as if it were part of theAkai's programming routine, first keying in the desired trackand then pressing the separate "Program Start" button.Having become accustomed to the other approach, whichis used on most machines, this took a little getting used to.On the other hand, when doing multiple -programming oftracks, the more -logical routine of the Akai's special wordkeys more than made up for the differences in the CD-M88'ssingle-track access procedure.

MeasurementsFrequency response of the Akai CD -M88, shown in Fig. 1,

was flat to within the claimed ± 0.5 dB over the entire audiorange. A slight rise in response near the high end suggeststhat the steep analog filters employed after D/A conversionmay not have been precisely optimized for the impedanceinto which they were terminated. Still, the rise amounted tono more than 0.5 dB in one channel and 0.4 dB in the other.Bear in mind that the vertical scale in Fig. 1 is only 2 dB perdivision.

As with so many other players, the apparent "high" har-monic distortion readings observed when checking THD ofhigh -frequency signals (16, 19, and 20 kHz) on my test discare not really the result of harmonic -distortion components.This is obvious if you look at the spectrum -analysis photo ofFig. 2, in which the sweep extends from 0 Hz to 50 kHz. Thelarge spike near the left is the desired 20 -kHz test -signaloutput, while the lower amplitude spike is a "beat" occurringat around 24.1 kHz. Figure 3 shows harmonic distortionversus frequency for three different recorded levels, but themeasurement is valid only to around 10 kHz. That's why Iused dashed lines above this frequency, to show that thesudden rise in apparent THD is really caused by the ap-pearance of those out -of -band "beats."

Unweighted signal-to-noise ratio measured 92.7 dB(greater than Akai's claimed 90 dB), while the A -weightedmeasurement was an even higher 99.0 dB (see Figs. 4Aand 4B). SMPTE-IM distortion measured 0.005% at maxi-mum recorded level, increasing to 0.055% at -20 dB re-corded level. CCIF-IM distortion (twin -tone, using 19- and20 -kHz tones at the equivalent of highest recorded level)measured a very low 0.0028% at maximum recorded leveland 0.003% at -10 dB recorded level. Stereo separation,plotted as a function of frequency in Fig. 5, ranged from81.4 dB at the high -frequency extreme to 85.4 dB at mid -frequencies.

Reproduction of a 1 -kHz square wave by this player isshown in the 'scope photo of Fig. 6. I was surprised todiscover that Akai is still using so-called analog (or sharp-cutoff, "brick -wall") filters at the output of the player's D/A

78 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

Iteven comeswith aspecial handling package.

Yamaha's new YCD-1000 is betterequipped to handle the road thanother car compact disc players.

One reason is our special CDcartridge system.

Simply put your favoritecompact discs into the patentedYamaha CD cartridges. Thenwhen you're driving, all you dois slip the cartridge into thePlayer. A shutter opens on thecartridge to allow the laser beamto play the disc. And the musicstarts automatically. No awk-ward and dangerous fum-bling around. And no finger-prints or dust on your compact discs.

The YCD-1000 also has its own shockabsorber system. This system uses soft rub-ber connectors to suspend the player's inter-nal circuitry and mechanical parts. So evenif you go off road, the music stays on track.

But many of the YCD-1000's excellentroad manners were learned at home.

We took the exclusive LSI technologyfrom our home CD players and furtherminiaturized it. So you get the same high

reliability, tracking precision, and superiordigital -to -analog conversion.

You'll also find a newlydeveloped and much morecompact version of our homeCD's 3 -beam laser pickup. Foreven greater tracking stability.

And the same double -resolution 88.2 kHz (insteadof the standard 44.1 kHz) digi-tal filter for improved high -frequency imaging and clarity.

Plus many of the featuresthat make our home CD players so con-venient. Like Music Scan, ContinuousRepeat, Music Search, and an easily

seen black -on -red LCD display.You'll even find the price of the YCD-

1000 easy to handle.So if you're thinking of adding a compact

disc player to your car's audio system, headfor your Authorized Yamaha Dealer. He's gotthe one that outperforms the rest.Yamaha Electronics Corporation, USA, P.O. Box 6660, Buena Park, CA 90622

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The chief attractions of thisplayer are its greatprogramming flexibilityand that a user doesn'thave to take a course tolearn how to operate it.

Fig. 6-Reproduction of a1 -kHz square wave.

A;B

Fig. 8-With a 200 -Hzsignal on left channel anda 2 -kHz signal on right(A), little or no phase shiftis observed. Using2- and 20 -kHz signals,considerable time delay isnoted (B).

Fig. 7-Single-pulse test.

converters, whereas most other second- and third -genera-tion CD players have gone over to digital filtering andoversampling. As I've stated on several occasions, manylisteners will probably be unable to tell the difference be-tween these two approaches, but there are those who doprefer the digital filtering approach and can hear a slightimprovement in sound quality when it is used. The appear-ance of the unit pulse in Fig. 7, as reproduced from thePhilips test disc, further confirms the use of analog filteringin this player's D/A circuitry.

As is true of most recent CD players, the Akai unit had notrouble tracking through the simulated -defects disc. TheCD -M88 totally ignored the widest portion of the opaquewedge inscribed on that disc as well as the increasinglywide "dust" specks and the simulated fingerprint smudge.Resistance to mild vibration and external shock was evenmore gratifying, for the unit continued to play without miss-ing a beat every time it was tapped on its top or sides. Thesmaller size of this player seems to make for a sturdier andmore shock -resistant housing.

Use and Listening TestsThe Akai CD -M88 is a pleasure to use. Programming is

easy and logical, whether performed at the front panel or bymeans of the wireless remote control (which duplicates all ofthe programming and disc -transport controls). As for soundquality, if it didn't quite measure up to the level of moreexpensive CD players or those that use digital filtering andoversampling, it was certainly acceptable.

The chief attractions of this model, to my mind, are itsgreat programming flexibility and the fact that a user doesn'thave to take a long course to learn how to operate it. At asuggested retail price of just under $500, this Akai CDplayer should find favor with many music lovers who aren'tas interested in technical circuit details as they are in func-tional integrity and good human engineering.

Leonard Feldman

80AUDIO/MARCH 1986

THE NEW JBL"L SERIES"

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This Compact Disc of pianoconcertos by Schumannand Chopin is superblybalanced, and musical andnatural in its perspective.

natural, rather than the result of com-pression. The instruments sound con-vincingly realistic in terms of timbre,and the recorded accents and phraseshadings have exactly the scale andproportion the performers put there.However, the piano suffers from thestrike -tone distortion of analog record-

ing. I hope that Bolling will use a digitalrecorder for his next album. His piano,in particular, would benefit from a digi-tal recorder's extended dynamic rangeand negligible wow and flutter.

What the album lacks is a sense of aspecific place. The trio is playing in anacoustical no man's land, neutral and

Revox RemoteRemote Control

Ordinary infrared remote control is okay, as long asyou're not too remote from what you want to control.Example: You are listening to your downstairs audio systemthrough extension speakers upstairs, but the music doesn'tfit your mood. You want to change FM stations, lower thevolume, switch to the CD player, select CD tracks, or recorda concert from FM to your cassettedeck. Your remote control probablycan't help up here.

Unless you have a multi -room re-mote system from Revox of Switzer-land. With Revox "remote" remotecontrol, you can op-erate your com-plete system fromrooms throughoutyour home. Thepalm -sized B205transmitterbeams your com-mands-up to 30in all-throughspace to a 8206remote receiver,which sendsthem along toyour living roomsystem. So youcan match musicto the moment,whether in bedor bath, bypatio orpool.

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characterless. This style of productionworks quite well for an LP, but for a CDit's boring. The art of producing a CDfor a small jazz ensemble is to find anappropriate room quality for the musicand its style, as John Lewis did for hisalbum of Bach preludes and fugues,recorded in a church.

Clearly, producer Bolling has notgiven much thought to the potential ofthe CD medium. (He is not alone inthis; everyone is still learning how toproduce CDs.) When Bolling discoversthe way CDs can convey a sense ofroom acoustics, I think he will beginincorporating those sounds into hiscompositions-using different acousticplaces for different kinds of pieces.When he turns his creative energies inthat direction, the results will be astastefully beautiful as his compositions.In the meantime, Jazz a la Francaise isstill a delightful, savory musical treat.

Steve Birchall

Chopin/Schumann: Piano Concer-tos. The Concertgebouw Orchestra,Antal Dorati; Andras Schiff, piano.London 411 942-2.

Much to my surprise, when I

searched through all the CD catalogsavailable to me, I found that apparentlythis is the first CD recording of thepopular Schumann Piano Concertoand only the third recording of theChopin Second Piano Concerto.

This certainly is a good reason foracquiring these works. More to thepoint, the performances-especially ofthe Schumann-by the brilliant youngpianist Andras Schiff are extremely viv-id and immediately ingratiating. Schiffprovides exciting readings, with theSchumann very propulsive and highlydynamic.

Schiff has the benefit of the sure andsteady Antal Dorati at the conductorialhelm of the great Concertgebouw Or-chestra, and he is provided with a su-perbly balanced recording by masterDecca engineer John Dunkerley. As inhis marvelous Montreal Symphony re-cordings, Dunkerley gives us a soundthat is, above all, musical and naturalin its perspective.

If you are gradually acquiring thegreat standards of classical music foryour CD library, this would be a mostworthy addition. Bert Whyte

Enter No. 25 on Reader Service Card86 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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COMPACT CSC AUTO PLAYER

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60 CDs at the touch of a button.When Frank Serafine sampled our

NCD-600, he instantly realized he couldcut his research time by 75%.

Without doubt the most sophisti-cated player/changer on the market,the NCD-600 is a research/editingsystem unto itself. Accesses 5 selections,in any order, from 60 stored compactdiscs. Or add 3 units, expanding storageto 240 CDs. And, it'll interface anycomputer, to extend programmabilityinfinitely.

Best of all, it has pitch and tempocontrols. Music selections can be digitallyedited to match keys and rhythms betweenselections simultaneously ... unlike withtapes or records, where modifying speed tochange the key will also change rhythm.Makes programming in deejay situationsan absolute dream.

NIKKO dM =11 a - aAnnA Mt =I IM. NM 23"MIIMI UM .0 MO e I= I= 212

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Every subtle shading oftone color, phrasing anddynamics makes its pointwith exquisite perfectionon John Lewis's disc ofBach preludes and fugues.

Voices Carry: 'til tuesdaypic EK 39458.Only the presence of beauteous

ead singer/songwriter Aimee Mann,and one good cut buoyed up by anarresting video, make 'til tuesday's de-

ut album, Voices Carry, worth notice.he title cut is a good little tune, ren-ered more powerful by Mann's emo-

ional delivery, but most of the rest ofhe material is skeleton -thin, repeti-ious, and unimaginative. Mann comeshrough with a fairly broad vocal range,,oing from a kittenish whisper ("No

ore Crying") to a throaty, tough deliv-ry ("Looking Over My Shoulder"). Buter lyrics tend to wallow in an atmo-

-phere of tragic suffering so much that,efore the album is halfway over, youave an urge to tell her to cut it out and

ighten up a little.The production varies from yeoman -

y to poor. The digital encoding of theriginal analog disc here serves large -

y to expose the mediocrity of the origi-al recording. This Compact Disc can-ot help but sound clean and silentetween cuts, but the 11 selections areazy. (A note for the detail -oriented:nly 10 cuts have their lyrics printedn the mini -jacket; the lyrics for "Areou Serious?" have, for some reason,een omitted.)I'd wait 'til 'til tuesday's next CD, if I

ere you. Paulette Weiss

. S. Bach: Preludes and Fuguesrom the Well -Tempered Clavier,ook I. John Lewis, piano; Joel Lester,

violin; Lois Martin, viola; Howard Col -ins, guitar; Marc Johnson, bass.hilips 824 381-2.Bach would enjoy John Lewis' per-

ormances of these pieces. Set asideII those stuffy period -instrument per-

ormances with their "historically cor-ect" but unimaginative style: Johnewis plays Bach's music with lovingdmiration. But he also improvisesround the existing musical structures,

nfusing them with just the right amountf 20th -century style and feeling.Put your letter -writing pens down

nd relax. Yes, I do admire what Har-oncourt, Leonhardt, and Pinnock doith Baroque music and style. None-

heless, Bach, more than anyone else,ould feel cheated if a 20th -centuryusician didn't bring his own style andersonality to a performance. The ear -

y -music specialists are trying to re-reate how a performer in Bach's timeight have played the music, but when

hey succeed it is because of their ownersonalities and vitality.John Lewis succeeds because of his

warmly humane musical personality,and because he interacts with Bach atthe creative level. Lewis approachesBach with quiet understatement, al-ways gentle, always elegant, letting the

Joel Lester, Lois Martin, John Lewis,Marc Johnson, and Howard Collins

jazz elements sneak in. A subtlechange of rhythm in a repeated figuremakes a reference to swing. A modula-tion to a distant key provides a bluesfeeling. An unexpected melodic turnevokes a well-known jazz tune. A Ba-roque ornament becomes a blues or-nament with just one chromaticchange. Using such simple musicalgestures as these, John Lewis man-ages 'o say a great deal.

When he departs from Bach signifi-cantly, you are prepared for it. Lewis'improvisations have their own specialbeauty, and frequently have the so-phisticated, wistful feeling of a Berg-man or Fellini film (especially "PreludeNo. 2" and "Fugue No. 7").

Listen to Lewis' careful and sensitivephrasing, articulation, and pedallingwhen he is within the Bach style. Fewpianists, other than Glenn Gould, haveplayed Bach with this degree of ex-pressive control.

Although these are keyboardpieces, Lewis adds violin, viola, bass,and guitar in the fugues. Again Bachwould appreciate the clear texture thisvery Baroque chamber ensembleorings to his music. Lewis, as arrangerand coproducer, takes the extra stepthat Bach would have taken, too. Hegives each melodic line in the record-ing the independence it needs in orderfor its logic to be followed, while allow-ing the strength of Bach's musical con-ception to hold all these elements to-gether.

This CD was coproduced by KiyoshiKoyama, with E. Alan Silver creditedwith "recording supervision." The son-ic atmosphere feels comfortably inti-mate, and never does the hall's reverbintrude on the linear clarity of Bach'smusic. Marc Aubort and Tom Lazarusengineered the all -digital sessions,which took place in New York'sRutgers Church. Aubort's keen ear foropen, relaxed sound lets the recordedmusic sound completely natural andreal. Every subtle shading of tone col-or, phrasing, and dynamics makes itsintended point with exquisite perfec-tion. Played back on a good system,this CD easily creates the illusion ofhearing the group live.

If Bach could hear these beautifulperformances, he would probablywant to sit in and jam with John Lewis.

Steve Birchall

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 89

ROCK/POP RECORDINGSMICHAEL TEARSONJON & SALLY TIVEN

HOORAY FOR THE TAMBOURINE MANBiograph: Bob DylanColumbia C5X 38830, digital, five -rec-ord set.

Sound: B Performance: A+Biograph, which many hoped

would be the definitive retro-spective of Bob Dylan's career,

has finally been released. Toput it simply, the set easily

lives up to my hopes and inmany ways exceeds them.

I had anticipated a col-lection that would move

chronologically. Biographdoes not do that. Instead,

it cleverly juxtaposes songsfrom different points in Dylan'sdevelopment. So arranged, his

work can at last be observed asa single body, rather than a piece-meal succession of styles-the folk

Bob, the protest Bob, the para-noid Bob, the rock 'n' roll Bob,the country Bob, the mystical

Bob, the spiritual Bob andso on. In their place is a BobDylan who encompasses allof them, and that alone is a

crucially important revelation.The sequencing of selections is

more creative and revealing than onemight expect, especially so since eachof the 10 record sides includes at leastone previously unreleased song orperformance. (There are 18 of these inthe collection, plus three more thathave only appeared on singles or B-sides.) An excellent example of thiscreative programming is the first side,which consists more or less of lovesongs, including "Lay, Lady, Lay" fromNashville Skyline, the first album's"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down," "IfNot for You" from New Morning, JohnWesley Harding's "I'll Be Your BabyTonight," and the previously unre-leased "I'll Keep It with Mine." Thissequence brings together songs I'dnever have thought of as related.

Thematic groupings govern othersides as well. Side two consists of topi-cal and protest songs, moving from thegeneral and anthemic ("The TimesThey Are A-Changin'," "Blowin' in theWind") to the more specific ("TheLonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" andthe unreleased "Percy's Song," whichtells a chilling story of an unfeelingjudicial system). Side three contains

raucous rock 'n' roll, side four includessome of Dylan's more visionary songs,side six is about romantic entangle-ments, and side eight looks at the ani-mal aspects of the same subject. Thefinal side acts as a kind of summing-upand valedictory, with "I Shall Be Re-leased," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door,"a live "All Along the Watchtower" fromBefore the Flood, "Solid Rock" fromSaved, and an unreleased solo versionof "Forever Young," recorded as ademo.

I think it is important to look moreclosely at some of the previously unre-leased and rare material here. "Percy'sSong" and "Lay Down Your WearyTune," a song that has always remind-ed me of William Butler Yeats, wererecorded for The Times They Are A-Changin' and then squeezed off. The1962 "Mixed -Up Confusion" was Bob'sfirst session with an electric band and,I believe, was released in early '63 onlyin England, where it sank without atrace. The '65 single "Can You PleaseCrawl Out Your Window?" was record-ed with The Band (then known as TheHawks). It has never been on an albumuntil now. "Up to Me," a terrific songthat contains more direct comment onDylan's inner feelings than most, wasrecorded for Blood on the Tracks."Abandoned Love" and "CaribbeanWind" were recorded for Desire andShot of Love, respectively. "Jet Pilot" isa fragment that grew into "TombstoneBlues," and both are included here, onthe same side, for a telling insight intothe creative process. "I Wanna BeYour Lover" is a screaming rocker tak-en down between Highway 61 Revisit-ed and Blonde on Blonde. The veryearly "Baby, I'm in the Mood for You"was from the Freewheeling session.

Songs that appear in newly releasedlive versions include an electric "IDon't Believe You," a lovely acoustic"Visions of Johanna," "It's All OverNow, Baby Blue," a thunderous "Isis"and "Romance in Durango" (both fromthe film Renaldo and Clara), and a re-cent "Heart of Mine." Alternate ver-sions of previously released songs in-clude "Quinn the Eskimo" and "You'rea Big Girl Now."

Sound throughout is actually verygood. Many of these songs were donelong enough ago that the technologywas relatively primitive, but Greg Cal -

90 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

bi's digital mastering job allows thebest sound achievable. The only spotwhere quality unavoidably dips is thatdemo of "Forever Young," but the inti-macy of the solo performance morethan makes up for the lesser sound.

With the music comes a lavish 36 -page booklet with lots of photos, manyof them candids, and an excellent es-say by Cameron Crowe. Columbiadoes not offer a list price on its re-leases, so I looked around and foundretails from $21.99 to $35, with thethree -CD set at around $40. As Smok-ey Robinson once sang, "You'd bettershop around."

Biograph is firm testimony to the im-pact of Bob Dylan's genius. Virtually byhimself he reshaped the concept ofwhat pop music could be. When Dylanis quoted as saying "Tin Pan Alley isgone. I did away with it," you couldread it as enormous egotism if itweren't so very true This collection is amonument for the ages, and even thatis a dramatic understatement.

Michael Tearson

Another World: The RochesWarner Bros. 25321-1, $8.98.

Sound: C - Performance: C

Have you heard that we're in themidst of a folk revival? Most artists un-der this new umbrella either abhor itsshadow (as in the case of SuzanneVega) or gratefully hide in it (like TheWashington Squares). The Roches,with their spotlit harmories andgentler -than -mainstream melodies,have arguably been folky for years, butthey have always spruced up theirsound with assorted elements of quirki-ness. Whether they're trying to bank onthis "new folk" business or just mellow-ing out, on Another World the threeRoche sisters opt for their most con-ventional tone to date.

Perhaps it's the influence of hit -mak-ing producer Richard Gottehrer. Re-sponsible for five cuts here, he pre-sents a striking contrast to former pro-ducer Robert Fripp. Fripp coaxedsome of the most appropriately un-earthly caterwauling from Terre Rocheon his own landmark album, Exposure,and always made The Roches glistenby offsetting the purity of their voicesagainst imaginative arrangements andFrippertrorics.

Another World's arrangements arestock, and even worse, there's some-thing compressed about the overallmix. The songs are like scenes viewedthrough a telescopic lens-flat, withoutdepth. The Roches' subject matter isby no means bland; how many songsabout vomiting in a New York City hotspot can you hum? "Face Down at FolkCity" paints a stark portrait of beingtrapped by the trappings of "thescene," but, like many cuts from An-other World, it is watered down bysheer musical convention.

The Roches haven't smoothed out alltheir kinks, however. Along with eccen-tric visions of "Older Girls," who "havea language all their own," and life aspizza ("Gimme a Slice"), there arequirky vocal deliveries-M deasternmelismas rising from their Midwesterndrawls, sprung rhythms, and a few mo-ments when they just cut loose. Thephenomenon often heard when sib-lings sing-a fringe of differenceamong closely matched voices thatonly nature can make credible-is giv-en an '80s stamp when the sisters'

harmonies produce an eerily synthetic,warmly robotic effect.

As if skittish about being anchoredtoo long to any vantage point, TheRoches come at life from many differ-ent angles here. Their counsel risesfrom the discouraged protagonist'scornfield on "Weeded Out," but theirspirits just as easily sink in the titletrack, where bad habits push them intolethargic musing about "Another

"Think how good just normal feels,"they suggest, but for Another World, atleast musically, normalness surrendersto mediocrity. The Roches are still off -kilter, out not enough. Susan Borey

Riptide: Robert PalmerIsland 90471-1, $8.98.

Sound: B Performance: B -

I'm not sure what I expected fromRiptide, Robert Palmer's first solo al-bum in a long time and a quick follow-up to his successful appearance asThe Power Station's vocalist. Whatev-er, I found that I liked Riptide morethan I anticipated.

Production is by Bernard Edwards,who also helmed The Power Station'sLP, and he steers Riptide throughsome tricky terrain. The title cut, a 1935Gus Kahn torch song, opens andcloses the album. Here, and on Palm-er's own torcher, "Get It Through YourHeart," Robert gets to show off somenice, slick nightclub singing. The rest

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 91

Merle Haggard does someheartfelt singing on hislatest live LP, and theclarity of the digitalrecording is very fine.

is varying shades of modern material;there's also a wicked little run at EarlKing's 1965 New Orleans hit, "TrickBag." Palmer's smart singing is thecornerstone of the album. He is noth-ing if not stylish.

Edwards' production is intelligentlyspare to allow plenty of breathingspace in the arrangements, somethingPalmer has thrived on since SneakingSally Through the Alley. Edwards hasalso used wide stereo separation, es-pecially for percussion, to give a feel-ing of scope, and he delivers good,energetic sound that seems loud evenwhen played softly.

There's nothing here to make youthink too hard, just breezy, fun -timestuff. Michael Tearson

Afterburner: ZZ TopWarner Bros. 25342-1E, $8.98.Sound: B Performance: A

Some people are going to write thisoff as Son of Eliminator, the most suc-cessful ZZ Top album ever, but thosesame people probably thought that al-bum was just like everything else ZZ

had done. In some respects it was.Billy Gibbons is like a guy who writes anew novel every couple of years;they're all eminently engaging but ba-sically formulaic. He does make histoken use of technology; on the lastalbum it was drum machines, on thenew one it's the Fairlight synthesizer.Still, while he may have dotted his i's alittle differently or discovered a radicaluse for the semicolon, don't expecthaiku from him.

Why tamper with success? Gibbonswill rewrite previous tunes ("Gimme A.IYour Lovin' " comes out for a secondbow here), previous licks, and previ-ous rhythm tracks. Hey, the name ofthe game is not who works the hardest,it's who makes the best records, andnobody can touch ZZ Top when itcomes to modern Southern boogie orblues. Jeff Beck endorses them, fickleBritish audiences are finally crowningthem the Kings of American rock, andwe've been saluting them since wayback when.

There are a few moments that areless than inspiring on Afterburner-ballads are not Gibbons' forte, and"Rough Boy" is no exception-but forthe most part it's yet another chapter inthe saga of today's most popular trio.Not much more, but nothing less.

Jon & Sally Tiven

Live in London: Ricky SkaggsEpic FE 40103, digital.Sound: B+ Performance: AAmber Waves of Grain:Merle HaggardEpic FE 40224, digital.Sound: B Performance: C+

These are a pair of very fine in -con-cert country releases, each bolsteredby excellent digital recording and, in

Ricky Skaggs' case, by digital master-ing as well.

Ricky Skaggs' Live in London is anabsolutely top -rate record. Its sound isas clean as vinyl can deliver, the re-cording crystal-clear and close.Skaggs leads his crackerjack bandthrough a program that includes a cou-ple of new songs, "Cajun Man" andPeter Rowan's "You Make Me Feel Likea Man," plus the expected quota ofRicky's hits, including Bill Monroe's"Uncle Pen," "Heartbroke," AlbertLee's "Country Boy," "I've Got a NewHeartache," and "Honey (Open ThatDoor)." For the finale, the Flatt &Scruggs oldie "Don't Get Above YourRaising," Ricky brings out Elvis Costel-lo to sing along. Live in London is justone terrific album.

Merle Haggard's latest live LP fea-tures the song he wrote for the FarmAid benefit, the intense and moving"Amber Waves of Grain." The rest ofthe program takes the cue and followsa topical vein, reprising such Haggardstandards as "Mama Tried," a medleyof "The Okie from Muskogee's Comin'Home" and (naturally enough) "Okiefrom Muskogee," "Working Man'sBlues," and "I Wish Things Were Sim-ple Again." Troy Seals' "AmericanWaltz" is an eloquent and appropriatefinale.

Hag's performance is clearly heart-felt and moving, as is that of his band,which is excellent except when the un-necessary horn section kicks in. Thedigital recording is very nice, if notquite as brilliant as on the Skaggs al-bum. Still, the clarity is very fine, in-deed. The only complaint is a substan-tial one. At barely 27 minutes, AmberWaves of Grain is pretty skimpy, and itis this that has held the performancegrade down. Michael Tearson

92 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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CLASSICAL RECORDINGSEDWARD TATNALL CANBY

GOODE, BETTER, BESTSchubert: Piano Sonata in B Flat;Allegretto; Impromptu No. 2. RichardGoode.Nonesuch 79124, $8.98.

This last of the Schubert piano sona-tas is one of the Great Works of Man,as they say. A veritable musical Par-thenon, huge in length for its time,1828, flawed in many pianistic ways,but under the right fingers, with theright mind, an overpowering work. It istoo much for most listeners-indeed,it is too much for most pianists-notthe finger work but the vast scope andthe sense of the music. All the bigpianists have a try at it; many fail. It isnot predominantly showy, for all its mil-lions of notes. I first heard it, and wasbowled over, when the Viennese pia-nist Ruth Geiger did it on early, low -band FM radio, in 1946.

After that, disappointment followeddisappointment. Was it just my preju-dice, liking Geiger so much? All thelater versions left me cool or chilled.They just did not "get" the music, andso were not communicative of it. Evennow there are 14 recordings listed inthe latest Schwann. The version bySerkin, which I found a disaster, hasbeen reissued. The best I'd heard,though a relatively gentle and unde-monstrative playing, was by Lili Kraus,who was a saint to play it; she was, I

understand, fighting arthritis.So-Richard Goode? This version,

made for Nonesuch in RCA's big oldStudio A in New York, in 1978, is thegreatest recording I have ever heard ofthe music. Unbelievably powerful. I

was shaken-that's the only word. Ifyou turn up your volume for "big pi-ano" and keep your trap shut, so tospeak (this is no background music!),you cannot help but be hit hard too.

No, not digital, but an excellent ana-log piano recording which plays animportant part in the experience.

Electronic Music and Tar: DariushDolat-ShahlFolkways FTS 37464, $10.98.

Folkways, under Moses Asch in NewYork, was one of the first new recordlabels after WW II, along with Vox-both, of course, on 78 -rpm shellacs.This venerable and largely one-manlabel is into what might be called inter-

national folk music or ethnicmusic. It is an interestingfield, notably when tiedinto assorted contemporarysounds such as synthe-sizer-as on this disc,which is a lot more funthan the austere titlemight imply. In fact,there's a technicalsurprise that had medumbfounded.

Darius Dolat-Shahiis Persian but is amusical product ofthe Dutch and thenthe venerable elec-tronic music centerat Columbia Uni-versity in New YorkCity. Understand-able that he shouldcombine tradition-al musical instru-ments of hisown land withthe heady stuffthat comes outof electronicsthese days. Heis a full-fledgedacademic, withthe required doc-torate, but thatdoesn't necessarily mean he is humor-less in his composing.

So-forget the doctorate and thelong words and titles. The music willintrigue you from the start, an almostpop -style synthesis of disparate ele-ments. These include two Persianstringed instruments (plucked, not un-like the Indian sitar); assorted Japa-nese instruments that can produce ex-pressive, sliding pitches and strangenon -Western intervals, and a verymodern synthesizer setup. Some"sound effects" too-bird songs, bark-ing dogs. The birds sound real but I

bet they're synthetic, like the dog. Alsoa very definite touch of the minimalistsound, which is best-selling thesedays. I'd say this artist is not missingany opportunities. His minimalist stuff,too, is tempered to the shorn sheep, bywhich I mean he does it for not toolong, then moves casually on to some-thing different, never straining the mindeven a little bit. In other words, if youget my drift, Electronic Music and Tar

could almost be considered a pop rec-ord. Ph.D. pop, no less.

More. To my real surprise, I sudden-ly found that the synthesized effects,particularly on side two, were, on mygood old surround -sound system,quite highly directional-and selective-ly so. The bird tweeted off to the leftrear, the dog barked middle -front.Sharp differences in apparent source.For your info, this was played throughthe QS decoder of the Sony 2010 four -channel control center, which also hasSQ, with logic, and a proprietary matrixas a third choice-plus, of course,plain old two -channel stereo. The QS, Ihave long since observed, producesthe best surround sound with regulartwo -channel stereo recordings, what-ever the format. (I add to it some syn-thesized delay of the front channels viatwo more channels; this definitely en-hances the surround effect.)

So try this on your Tate or Fosgate orSchreiber equipment-which a goodmany of you own. It'll make you jump.

94 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

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BRASS TRACKS

I Only Have Eyes For You: LesterBowie's Brass FantasyECM 25034-1.

Sound: B Performance: B+Lester Bowie can usually be found

centering the Art Ensemble of Chica-go, bouncing on stage in his white labcoat, alternating blistering trumpetblasts with comical farts and warpingcrisp ensemble lines with hystericalgurgles. Listening to Bowie's BrassFantasy reveals the New Orleans con-nection for the Art Ensemble's synthe-sis of black music traditions.

The Brass Fantasy, with eight hornplayers and drummer Phillip Wilson,navigates a mélange of influences withtightly knit, though sometimes rubbery,arrangements. Continuing the "worldmusic" trends of the Art Ensemble,Bowie effects an aboriginal choir, withhorns growling and breathing, on "La-ment." A slow flamenco rhythmemerges, and trumpeter Stanton Davis' whirlybird solo builds into an en-semble of blaring trumpets and sinewysustains from the trombones and tuba.

The ghost of John Philip Sousa isunited with Bob Marley on "ComeBack, Jamaica," with its reggae lilt andbright horn charts. Phillip Wilson's re-verberated snare has a distant,dreamy feel, snapping under Bob

Stewart's tuba. People might object tothe ambient echo that's the ECM re-cording trademark, but I think it lendsan aura and adds to the slipstream ofBowie's music, which plays both withhistory and with contemporary musicboundaries.

The title track stretches out the AlDubin/Harry Warren standard in acampy fashion replete with wah-wahtrumpets. Bowie's solo on this trackspits, sputters, and slurs like an elo-quent drunk slobbering over the pianobar. His humor is the gateway to hispathos, and he proves again to be anadept and distinctive leader. On eachof his infrequent solo recordings, newfacets emerge out of the synergisticcollective that is the Art Ensemble ofChicago. John Diliberto

Music for "The Knee Plays": DavidByrneECM 25022-1, digital, $9.98.Sound: B Performance: A -

David Byrne's latest solo project is awonderfully peculiar record. The musichere was generated for the Robert Wil-son opera The Civil Wars-more pre-cisely, for the passages Wilson calls"The Knee Plays." Conceived withNew Orleans' fabulous Dirty DozenBrass Band in mind, the album is full of

herky-jerky rhythms and funky huffingand puffing, plus, here and there,Byrne's bizarre and often funny recita-tions. Some of the melodies come fromtraditional and gospel sources whilesome are wholly original. It makes forsome wild, fun, adventurous listening.

The sound here is gorgeous, evenby ECM standards-warm and gra-cious with glowing saxophones. Thealbum was digitally mastered with Tel-dec's DMM system and has received asuperb English pressing with excep-t onally quiet, true surfaces.

Michael Tearson

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 97

Di*GtUg11 isto 93,-P)Litlt

arms piL

universal-r.ounting

adEpter

It's About Time: McCoy Tyner andJackie McLeanBlue Note BT 85102, digital.Sound: B Performance: B -

It's About Time, the first genuinepairing of virtuoso pianist McCoy Tynerand post -bop alto player JackieMcLean, is a mixed bag of light -bopblowing and middle-of-the-road funkwith chops. Tyner, one of the most dis-tinctive pianists of the last 25 years,ignores the modal turf he's trod uponsince his tenure with John Coltrane inthe '60s. Instead, he's written some

pleasant top charges for his solosand those of McLean and trumpeterJon Fadd:s.

It is F.x.:-.dis who's the biggest sur-prise here On the Dpening gallop of"Spur of the Moment" he starts theexchange with a smeary, high -registerrun of squeals and trills. McLean fol-lows with the energized style he per-fected on a series of memorable BlueNote records in the '60s, alternatingblues growls with scalar spurts andruns on his saxophone. Tyner takes itout wish his patented, thundering left-hand orchestrations.

It's About Time features two con-trasting rhythm sections, with electricbassist Marcus Miller (formerly withMiles Davis) in one and the stalwartacoustic bass of Ron Carter in the oth-er. Al Foster drums in both, but thedifferences are like night and day. Car-ter charges "Spur of the Moment," andthe subtle nuance that informs hisblues, "No Flowers Please," is a sharpdeparture from the overbusy playing ofMiller on the ballad "You Taught MyHeart to Sing."

Tyner's compositions are unusuallyforgettable, but they're saved by someinspired soloing. Tyner elevates thelight funk of "Hip -Toe" out of thegroove, countering triplets in the righthand with chordal washes in the left.Carter opens his "No Flowers Please"with an eloquent bass lament. McLeanseems restrained, however, perhapsuncomfortable in the calculated pot-pourri programming of the disc: Somefunk, a ballad, a blues, a Latin lilt, andsome hard -bop, most with artificial stu-dio fades.

The album, recorded direct to two-

track digital, captures the session's ca-sual feel. It has an unprocessed, natu-ral ambience which gives Miller's elec-tric bass an acoustic warmth. How-ever, it lacks the fire, passion andadventure that I've come to expectfrom all of these musicians.

John Diliberto

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OvatIonMagazoe

audio-technica,En!e No 3 on Reader Service Card

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

CLASSIFIEDADVERTISING RATES

BUSINESS ADS-$1.60 per word. MINIMUM chargePER AD, PER INSERTION $40. All centered orspaced lines $14.

NON BUSINESS ADS-silo per word, MINIMUMcharge PER AD, PER INSERTION $25. All centeredor spaced lines at $11.

ALL LINE ADS-First line set in bold face type at noextra charge. Additional words set in bold face at $1.90extra per word. One point ruled box is $14.

CLASSIFIED LINE ADS ARE PAYABLE IN AD-VANCE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER ONLY.(Sorry, we cannot accept credit cards or bill for lineadvertising.) ALL LINE ORDERS should be mailed to:

AUDIOiCBS MagazinesP.O. Box 9125

Dept. 346VStamford, CT 06925

ORDERS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED WITHOUTACCOMPANYING CHECK OR MONEY ORDER FORFULL AMOUNT.

CLOSING DATE-First of month two months preced-ing the cover date. If the first of the month falls on aweekend or holiday, the closing date is the last busi-ness day preceding the first. ADS RECEIVED AFTERTHE CLOSING DATE WILL BE HELD FOR THENEXT ISSUE UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED.

FREQUENCY DISCOUNTS -3 times less 5%, 6 timesless 15%, 12 times less 20%. These discounts apply toline ads only. Ads submitted for a three -time frequencyare unchangeable. Frequency discounts not fulfilledwill be short -rated accordingly. Agency discounts donot apply to line advertising.

BLIND ADS-Audio box numbers may be used at $8extra for handling and postage.

GENERAL INFORMATION-Ad copy must be type-written or printed legibly. The publisher in his solediscretion reserves the right to reject any ad copy hedeems inappropriate. ALL ADVERTISERS MUSTSUPPLY: Complete name, Company name, Full streetaddress (P.O. Box numbers are insufficient) and tele-phone number. Classified LINE ADS are not acknowl-edged and do not carry Reader Service Card Num-bers. AGENCY DISCOUNTS do not apply to line ad-vertising. FREQUENCY DISCOUNTS not fulfilled willbe short rated accordingly. Only those advertisers whohave prepaid for their entire contract time will be RATEPROTECTED for the duration of that contract, in theevent of a rate increase.

CLASSIFIED DISPLAY RATES1 col x 1 inch $2951 col x 2 inches $4651 col x 3 inches $6662 cols. x 1 inch $5302 cols. x 2 inches $895

One column width is 21/4". Two columns wide is 41/4".For larger display ad rates and 6, 12, 18 and 24 timesfrequency rates call (212) 719-6338.

DISPLAY ADVERTISERS should make space reser-vation on or before the closing date. Ad material (filmor velox) may follow by the tenth. DISPLAY ADVER-TISERS MUST SUPPLY COMPLETE FILM NEGA-TIVE READY FOR PRINTING OR VELOX. PRODUC-TION CHARGES WILL BE ASSESSED ON ANY ADREQUIRING ADDITIONAL PREPARATION.

ALL DISPLAY CORRESPONDENCE should be sentto:

Laura J. Lo Vecchio, AUDIO MAGAZINE,1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: CLASSIFIEDLINE ADS: Mary Jane Adams-(212) 719-6345.CLASSIFIED DISPLAY ADS: Laura J. Lo Vecchio-(212) 719-6338

FOR SALE

AMERICA'S LARGEST dealers in HIGH END USED ste-reo. We BUY by PHONE. STEREO EXCHANGE 687ABroadway, between 3rd and 4th St. (opposite Tower Rec-ords) NYC 10012. (212) 505-1111 and (800) 833-0071.

ABSOLUTE PHASE INVERTERS $69; FM Stereo NoiseReduction units $39. Check, m o or send for specificationsand brochure. Phaseinverter, 16724 Stuebner Airline,Spring, Tx. 77379; (713) 251-2924.

ELECTRON TUBE SALES 6DJ8 6AN8A 6CA7 6L6GC6550A EL34 KT77 KT88 EF86 Same day shipping fromstock Industrial Tube Distributors since 1947. 4000 Typesin stock. A R S Electronics, 7110 DeCelis Place, Van Nuys,Ca. 91406, 1-800-422-4250.

NAKAMICHI, CARVER, REVOX, CROWN, BANG &OLUFSEN, TANDBERG, KYOCERA, N.A.D., THORENS,HARMAN-KARDON, B & W, E -V, A.D.S., DCM, KLIPSCH,AND OTHER QUALITY COMPONENTS. BEST PRICES -PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION. ALL PRODUCTSCOVERED BY MANUFACTURER'S USA WARRANTY.AMERISOUND SALES, INC., P.O. BOX 24009; JACK-SONVILLE, FLORIDA 32241. EAST: (904) 262-4000;WEST (818) 243-1168.

Western Mass.Quality Components

Ovalified Salesand Service

Acoustai Re, CamberBoston Acoustics ReyoxBOW RotelCarver SignetCastle SonyCmeston SOTA

SOundstreemSP,.

-1,1er SumikoOekyo Thorens

Ortolan

Sound 1.4 Music92 erg Sr. Northampedas MA 413-594-964r

FOR SALE

A BRAND NEW PRODUCT!

WONDERSOLDER

THIS STUFF IS MAGIC! It even improves the sound of allthe old solder joints in your system. Write for FREE infor-mation or our Wonder Caps® and Wonder Soldert,.

TRT, Box 4271, Berkeley, CA 94704

Four SimpleWays to Improvethe Sound of Your Music

Interlink Reference A® Our Finest CableDesign lets you Re -discover your Favorite Music.

Intertink Reference A is recognized worldwide asthe best sounding interconnect available. Winnerof International Audio Review's "EngineeringAchievement Award" and flagship of the InterlinkSeries, Interlink Reference A sets a new standardfor audio cable performance. The finest exampleof our "Bandwidth Balanced®" design features3 wire networks to provide ultra -wide bandwidthand absolute phase coherency over the entireaudio spectrum. Audiophiles agree. The sonicimprovements are worth every penny.

Interlink Special® High Technology PutsBig Performance into a Small Package.

Based on the same "Bandwidth Balanced"technology incorporated in Interlink Reference A,Interlink Special is smaller and more flexible. Ex-tended frequency extremes, superb transients,incredible instrument clarity, and an outstanding3 -dimensional image, make Interlink Specialsecond only to one.

Interlink°4A PricelPetformance Breakthrough...Now Monster Cable's "Bandwidth Balanced" tech-nology is yours in a very affordable, compactpackage. Using dual inner conductors, each with2 wire networks, Interlink 4 delivers sound qualitythat other "audiophile cables" can't match at anyprice. We invite comparison with the competition.

Interlink6CD Fulfilling the Promise of DigitalConventional cables run out of breath when tryingto cope with today's digital sound. The detailedresolution, awesome dynamic range, and power-ful bottom end available from digital are lost whenyou use ordinary interconnect cables. Intertink CDcontrols high frequency phase shifts to producea richer musical sound while minimizing theharshness found in some CD program material.Connect yours with Interlink CD.

StandardCometConstructrou

Write for a free brochure.

Monster Cable® Products, Inc.101 Townsend. San Francisco, CA 94107

Tel: 415 777-1355 Telex: 470584 MCSYUIAvailable on GSA Contract.

111011STEILMAZ '

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AUDIO/MARCH 1986 99

In New 112111111L ME

Known by the company we keep.MAJOR AUDIOAcoustatADSAlphaAudio

InterfaceAudio ProAudioquestBoston

AcousticsBrystonCarverCWDDCMDenonDynavectorEagleEminent

Technology

Grado StaxSignature Sumiko

Livewire TalismanMagnepan TandbergMartin -Logan ThielMeitner ThresholdMeridian VandersteenMission VelodyneMod Squad vpiMIT YamahaNAD YamahaNakamichi AudiophileNelson ReedOracle VIDEORobertson NADSignet NECSnell PioneerSOTA ProtonSpica Sony

Modern Demo Facility, Specialty Records,Accessories and CDs, In-store Service,

Custom Cabinetry, No Mail Orders Please

105 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT(203)777-1750

Mon.,Tue.,Wed.,Fri.,10-6,Thurs.,10-8,Sat.,10-5,MC/VISA/AMEX/TAKE 5 Charge

AudioQuest SolvesThe Energy Crisis!

Usually people worry abouthow to get enough energy.AudioQuest has been workingon how to get unwantedenergy out of your audio sys-tem. The answer is by usingSorbothane, an amazingmaterial that is like a black holefor unwanted vibration.

eq Sorbothane Record Matag Sorbothane Isolation Feeteq Sorbothane Record Clampaq Sorbothane Self

Adhesive Sheets

aq Sorbothane VacuumTube Dampers

audioquest629 Camino de los Mares #306

San Clemente, CA 92672714-240-0604

FOR SALE

ABSOLUTELY THE FINEST, OCEAN STATE AUDIO inNew England! B&K, NYAL Moscode, Futterman OTL, Ro-tel, Eagle 2, Superphon, SOTA, Systemdek, Melos, Emi-nent Technology II, Grado, Grace, Premier-MMT, Profile,SME, Sumiko, Alchemist, Andante, Audioquest, Kiseki, Su-pex, Talisman, Dayton -Wright, Spectrum, Spica, Vander-steen, Wharfdale, Straight Wire, Peterson, Tweek, WellTempered, Mod Squad. FREE NEWSLETTER, TRADES,VISA/MC. OCEAN STATE AUDIO, 985 Cranston St.,Cranston, RI 02920. (401) 943-2580.

ACOUSTAT AND PS AUDIO-SUPERB!Free shipping! Fast service! Also Sota, Thorens, Talisman,Audire, Hafler, Klipsch, Adcom, Quad, SAE, Compact Digi-tal Players. READ BROTHERS STEREO, 593 King Street,Charleston, South Carolina 29403. (803) 723-7276.

ADCOM, ALLISON, COUNTERPOINT, FOURIER, M & K,Nitty-Gritty, Onkyo, Parasound, Revolver. Pre -Paid Ship-ping. The Natural Sound, 231 N. 11th, Lincoln, NE 68510.402-435-3095.

ALCHEMIST & TALISMAN MOVING COIL CAR-TRIDGES. MOST MODELS IN STOCK. CALL TOLL -FREEFOR ORDERING AND PRICES. 1-800-222-3465. WECAN'T BE BEAT! HCM AUDIO: 1-916-345-1341. VI-SA/MC/COD

AMERICAN AUDIOPHILEHas moved to a new larger store. To celebrate the moveand to thank our many friends and customers who madethe move possible we will be running many unadvertisedspecials during February and March. Please stop by andsee us at: 371 Sunrise Highway, Lynbrook, NY. 516-561-7114.

AMPLIFIER SALE! FAMOUS TRANSISTORIZED DYN-ACO kits: ST410, 200,200W, $299 ($12.75 UPS); ST150,75/75W, $149 ($9 UPS). Warranty. Sound Values, Box551AM, Dublin, OH 43017. Visa/MC ordering: 1-800-443-4548.

ARGENT, ARISTON, B&K, BEL, CLEARAUDIO, DaytonWright, Morrison, Souther, Straight Wire and VPI. Hearthese and other tine components at Audio Abode, Dallas,Texas, where music and technology live in harmony. Inhome auditions available. (214) 369-2092.

AUDIO ADVISOR INC. Get LOW PRICES on ALL types ofaudio equipment-including high -end and even esotericproducts not normally discounted! Now we can save youmoney on the equipment you REALLY WANT. Extensiveselection-no need to settle for second choice. Thousandsof satisfied customers nationwide. Call us for price quotesor friendly, expert advice. Catalog $1. 616-451-3868. VISA/MC/AMEX. THE AUDIO ADVISOR, INC., 225 OAKES SW,GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49503.

ATTENTION KEF CUSTOMERSKEF's Five Year Warranty applies to the original purchaseronly. Speakers imported by non -authorized dealers andresold are not covered under this or any other warranty.Technically, such equipment is second-hand, which bothvoids the warranty and reduces its value. For your nearestauthorized KEF dealer call:

1-800-533-0035

Listen to the Music!

High Gain -Low Noise -Great Sound

GK -1A Vacuum tube preamp priced under $1200

Call or write for information:

MELDS723 Bound Brook Rd. Dunellen NJ 08812

(201) 929-2613

FOR SALE

APPALLING? ISN'T IT?How many esoteric audio products look and feel as if

they were made by orangutans with screwdrivers. If youare fed up with sacrificing reliability, aesthetics and qualityof construction to obtain purer sound, don't despair!

There are many high -end audio components built bysmall yet solid professional companies which not only ex-press the utmost in musicality but also reflect the high levelof design integrity, craftsmanship and quality control. AtSound By Singer we select and blend only such compo-nents into systems designed to extract the most music fromyour audio dollars.

ACOUSTAT ADCOM AKROYD APOGEE AUDIO -QUEST AUDIO NOTE AUDIO RESEARCH AUDIOVOIS B&K BERNING BEVERIDGE COUNTER-POINT CWD DYNAVECTOR FUSELIER GRACE GRADO HI -PHONIC KISEIKI KLOSS KOETSU KRELL KYOCERA LINN SONDEK LIVEWIRE MONSTER CABLE NITTY GRITTY NYAL (MOS-CODE) PRECISION FIDELITY PROAC PROTON RANDALL RESEARCH RAUNA REGA REVOx ROBERTSON SME V SNELL ACOUSTICS STAX SYMDEX SYRINX TALISMAN VANDERSTEEN

SOUND BY SINGER165 E. 33RD STREETNew York, NY 10016

(212) 683-0925WE SHIP ANYWHERE

AUDIO EUTE IN WISCONSIN!!!DENON, CONRAD-JOHNSON, HAFLER, BELLES, VAN-DERSTEEN, ACOUSTAT, SOTA, PS AUDIO, BOSTONACOUSTICS, MIRAGE, PROTON, JBL and any others youdesire. 414-725-4431. Menasha, WISCONSIN.

BEAT THE PRICE FIXERS WITH low discount prices andfull U.S.A. manufacturers warranties on: Nakamichi, Re -vox, Carver, Bang & Olufsen, ADS, Kyocera, HK, Crown,Hatler, B&W, NAD, Tandberg, Polk. Island Audio, Inc.,1122 Riverside Drive, Holly Hill, FL 32017. (904) 253-3456.

BEST TRADES OFFERED. Acoustat, Adcom, Allison, Al-pha, Alphason, Apt, AR, Audioquest, B&K, British Fidelity,Berning, Celestion, Class& Connoisseur, Creek, Distech,Duntech, Dual, Fried, Futterman, Goetz, Goldbug, Grace,Grado, GSI, Gyrodec, Hatter, Heybrook, JSE, Kisiki,Koetsu, Lazarus, Logic, M&K, McLaren, MCM, Melos,MFA, Micro Seiki, Mordaunt-Short, Monster Cable, NittyGritty, PS Audio, Quicksilver, Premier, Rauna, Revox, Rob-ertson, Rock, Rogers, Rotel, SAEC, SME, Snell, SOTA,Spendor, Spica, Stax, Straightwire, Superphon, Souther,Symdex, Talisman, Tannoy, VPI, VSP, Watkins, and more.Free Newsletter. AUDIO DOCTOR, 1518 W. Commercial,Box 390, Buffalo, MO 65622. 417-345-7245. Hours 9-6 M-Th., 9-4 Sat. Thank you for your support.

DIAMOND NEEDLES and STEREO CARTRIDGES atDISCOUNT PRICES for SHURE, PICKERING, STANTON,ASTATIC, GRADO, AUDIO TECHNICA, ORTOFON, TIP-TOES, SONUS, DYNAVECTOR and LAST, send S.A.S.Etree catalog. LYLE CARTRIDGES, Dept. A., Box 158,Valley Stream, NY 11582. For fast COD service Toll Free800-221-0906. N.Y. State (516) 599-1112. 9AM - 8PMexcept Sunday. VISA/MC

Home & car vnL.STEREO et ItBoston Acoustics iitvHarman KardonmarantzAudio ControlSony ES

Denon

Ortofon

HaflerThorensADS we DeliverAIWA FreeB & 0 AnywhereAnd morel in The U.S.

The SOUND Approach6067 Jericho Tpke , Commack, NY 11725Charge It ... Call (516) 499-7680

00 AUDIO MARCH 1986

FOR SALE

AUDIO CONNECTIONin Northern New Jersey

TURNTABLES: Goldmund, Heybrook, Merrill,VPI, Systemdek

TONEARMS: ET, Grado, Lurne, Well TemperedCARTRIDGES: AudioQuest, Dacca, Grado. Pro-

methean (stylus retipping for all cartridges)ELECTRONICS: (TUBE) Audible Illusions, Melos,

MFA Systems (Luminescence), Quicksilver(SOLID STATE) Electrocompaniet, FM Acous-tics, Jordan, Leach, Magnum, British Fidelity

CD PLAYERS: Melos Audio, Harman KardonSPEAKERS: Kindel, Princeton Acoustics, Rauna,

Spendor, Vandersteen, MerlinACCESSORIES: AudioQuest, Chicago Sp.

Stands, Goldmund, Last, LiveWire, Kimber,Kinergetics, NG, Peterson, Sims Vibration Dy-namics, Sonex, Tiptoes, Torumat, Tweek,vdHul, VPI

1-201-239-1799615 Bloomfield Ave., Verona NJ 07044

AUDIO CONNECTION also has for sale: occasionalclose-outs, some used equipment and display pieces.Single speaker demonstration; record cleaning; audio-phile discs. HOURS: Mon, Tues, Fri 12 to 7, Thurs 12to 9, Sat 11 to 6. Closed: Sun, Weds. PLEASE, CALLFOR AN APPOINTMENT!

BRYN MAWRSTEREO

IN SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIAAND NEW JERSEY

FEATURINGQuad, Krell, Apogee, Sota, Syrinx, Grado, KEF, Nakami-chi, Polk, Yamaha, Dynavector, Monster Cable, Carver,Dahlquist, NAD, Bang & Olufson, Klipsch, DBX, CrownCanon, Mitsubishi.

Nine locations with the finest in audio products, service,and advice: Bryne Mawr, Philadelphia, Jenkintown, Frazer,Quakertown, Whitehall, Camp Hill, Montgomeryville, andMaple Shade, New Jersey.

215-885-4400

CROSBY MOD 3120, HIGH CURRENT 35 watt "refer-ence' intergrated amplifier, easily embarrasses electronicscosting over $3000! Has no competition in intergrated class$425. Crosby's, 2701 N. Rojo, Hobbs, NM 88240. (505)392-4781 or (505) 393-3992.

DEMONSTRATORS WITH WARRANTY-BERNING TH-10AH $1360; BEVERIDGE SYSTEM V/pr $2140; CLASSEAUDIO DR -2 $1300; COUNTERPOINT SA -PI $160;COUNTERPOINT SA -2 $645; COUNTERPOINT SA -6$290; ESOTERIC AUDIO 509/pr $1460; NEC CD -803E$780; PRECISION FIDELITY M7A $710; SIDEREALACOUSTIC IV/pr $1145; STAX ESL -F81 $2015; SYMME-TRYNMPS SW-2/pr $485; TRIAD SYSTEM 70 $325.NEW WITH WARRANTY-ACCUPHASE AC -2 $285; AU-DIO INTERFACE CST -80:11 $260; DYNAVECTORDV23RMR $210; GRACE F-9ER $180; GRACE 747 $195;GRACE 707/747 VTA $65; HAFLER DH -110K $270. 220K$300, 330K $290, 500A $640; KISEKI BLUE $360; ORTO-FON MC -200 $210; PROFILE II $110; STAX CP-Y ECP-1$465; SUPEX SDX-2000 $300; van den Hull III $235.USED -AUDIO RESEARCH SP -6B $585; EUMIG FM/T-1000 $310; MARK LEVINSON ML -1/A-3 $835; STAX UA-7CF $175. GREENFIELD EQUIPMENT (312) 771-4660.

DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR "NEW" ARTURNTABLE. We guarantee the following products toimprove your AR's transparency, detail and smooth-ness or we will refund the purchase price.

1). AudioQuest Sorbothene Mat $352). Predrilled Aluminum Armboards

MMT, Linn, or AR arms $303). Hum -shielding for AR Platters:

Platter shield $39The Audio Advisor, Inc. 225 Oakes SW, Grand Rap-ids, MI 49503. (616) 451-3868. Shipping $3/item.

ELECTRONIC CROSSOVERS: 6, 12, 18 DB/OCTAVE.Kits from $120. Transient -Perfect Crossover, $175. Sub-sonic, Bandpass Filters from $25. Free flyer wireviews.ACE AUDIO CO., 532 -5th Street, East Northport, NY11731-2399. (516) 757-8990.

GREENFIELD EQUIPMENTESOTERIC AUDIO SYSTEMS

ACOUSTAT ACCUPHASE ADC OM ARISTON AUDIO INTERFACE BEVERIDGE BERNING COUNTERPOINT DECCA DISTECH DYNAVECTOR EAR ELECTROCOMPANIET ELECTRON KINE-TICS ENTEC GRACE GRADO HAFLER ITC JSE KISEKI KIMBER KABLE KOETSU MICROSEIKI MIT MONSTER PRODUCTS ORSONIC PRECISION FIDELITY PROFILE REGA SIDEREALACOUSTIC SHINON SOUTHER SPICA STAX SUPERPHON SUPEX TRIAD VPI VAN DEN HULAuditions by appointment Shipping and export facilities

7E105 Greenfield Street River Forest. Illinois 60305

312/7 7 1-4660 7,85

FOR SALE

EXCEPTIONAL AUDIO REPRODUCTION SYSTEMSREGA, HEYBROOK, LOGIC, AR, DUAL, THORENS, SYS-TEMDEK turntables; ZETA, PREMIER, ALPHASON, LINN,LOGIC, REGA, GRACE tonearms; ADCOM, ARCAM, AU -DIRE, CREEK, KENWOOD BASIC, KYOCERA, MUSICAL(BRITISH) FIDELITY, ROTEL, SUPERPHON, VSP elec-tronics; AR, FRIED, HEYBROOK, MAS, MORDAUNT-SHORT, SPENDOR speakers; SUPEX, TALISMAN,GRADO & SIGNATURE, REGA, PREMIER, A&R,SHINON, AUDIOQUEST, ADCOM cartridges; NITTYGRITTY, AUDIOQUEST, LIVEWIRE, DECCA, THE PIG,COUNTERFEET and more. EARS, P.O. BOX 658-U, W.COVINA, CA 91790. 818/961-6158 EVENINGS, WEEK-ENDS. MC/VISA. MANY MONTHLY SPECIALS! (SENDSTAMP)

QuaIIr TapesBELOW WHOL PRICES VIDEO

TDK MAXELL TDK 7.126 4.590 60 .85 UR 60 95 TDK 7-120 EHG .. 5.89D 90 . .99 UR 90 1.09 TDK 120 HD Pro 8.99

1.89 MAXELL 7-120 .... 4.69AD 60 .. 1.39 UD-S 1/11 901.59 MAX. T-120 HGX . 5.89AD 90 .. 1.49 XL II 60 ...... 1.59 MAX. 7-120 GOLD 7.89

1.39 SONY T120 4.691.55 XL 65 60 .... 1.99 SONY L750 4.69

ADX 90 1.95 XL 6590 .... 2.19 SONY L750 UHG .. 5.95SAX 60 2.19 MX 60 ..... 3.39 SCOTCH 1120 4.99SAX 90 . 2.29 MX 90 ...... 3.69 SCOTCH 7120116 5.99HXS 60ASS 90

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UD 35-90 ...XL 135-908

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FR METAL 90 3.39FR II 90 1.69

75MAR 60 0.39 HE 93 DISCWA SHERMAR 90 ..... 5.49 HE 120

.951.59 DISXIT 29.95

HD 01 Doug 11 99 UCXS 60 1 65 CD Cleaner 15.99TEAC UCX5 90 1 75 D'MAG 12.49

CRC 90 2.99 ES 90 Metal 4.59 TAPE CARE . 949CALL MOW 715 434 3417 BV MAIL

SHIPPING COST IS ONLY $4 50 FOR ANY ORDER IN USAINSTiTUTRONAL ORDERS WELCOME. NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR VISA. MC.

QUALITYBM East 7th street. Dept. .A , Orooklyn. NY 11230

FOR SALE

HAFLER IN THE SOUTH!In stock, the superb Haller pre -amps, amplifiers, tuner andequalizer. Immediate FREE shipping. Also Acoustat, Ad-com, Audire, CWD, Fried, Klipsch, Mirage, Monster Cable,PS, SAE, Superphon, Talisman, Thorens, CD players.READ BR/OTHERS STEREO, 593 King Street, Charleston,South Carolina 29403. (803) 723-7276.

Acoustat speakerswere designed to viork the way your ear

was designed to hear.Perfectly.Acoustat speakers utilize a uniquefull -range electrostatic element -one that operates in much the sameway as the recording microphoneand the human ear. Because of this,they are capable of reproducingmusic exactly as it was recordedwith all the sonic brilliance andrealism you hear at a live concert.

Acoustat speakers providemusical enjoyment that is unequal-led by any other loudspeaker systemregardless of price. We'd like youto hear the full story of Acoustatspeakers and electronics.

Call or write for the name of theAcoustat dealer nearest you - thengive your ears the music theydeserve.

ACOU5TRTSKAXERS ELEC,RCNICS

Revolutionary by Design3101 Southwest First Terrace / Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315

Telephone 305/462-6700

AUDIO/MARCH 198601

polkThe Speaker Specialists

Where to buy Polk SpeakersAUTHORIZED DEALER UST MONTANA Bateman Thirsty Ear Greet Falls:ALABAMA Auburn yere.,`, eir,minghen L Home veoodi- HuntsvElle NEBRASKA Lincoln: Stereo Wes -Omaha

Montgomery Tuscaloosa NEVADA Las Vegas ion. Reno

ALASKA Anchorage Fairbanks NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord Laconia . New London

ARIZONA Flapstall Mesa SalemSo luscon NEW JERSEY East BrunswickARKANSAS Little Rock Franklin Lakes " MallsSearcy Shade MontclairCALIFORNIA Arcata Raritan ' RidgewoodBakersfield Berkeley Shrewsbury Toms

Carnpheil Chico River West Caldwell. Davis Fairfield NEW MEXICO Carlsbad Santa Fe

FresnoLes Angeles . AIM Valley '.'NaOa Orange

PeringroveRedding RedondoBeach ..Sacramento

San FranciscoSanta Barbara Santa Cru2

Santa Maria .

Santa Monica ThousandOaks Ventura yereo Visalia Wainut Creek ,

Woodland Hills . SlewCANADA

COLORADO Arvada Aurore Boulder . Naverength

Colorado Springs ne Audio Denver LrIlleton ,..erack Pueblo

CONNECTICUT Avon Fr Stereo House Brookfield Fairfield:Audio

Greenwich -s MuslimGroton d Hertford

Neve Heron: Aud

Norwalk =DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

FLORIDA Alrarnonte Springs 'rum Boca Raton . Cleanvater' . Daytona Beach Fl

Lauderdale Ft

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Melbourne MerrillRiled elmovBiso. Cap' . Naples SiereoGarage Orange Park Orlando

Tallahassee Tampa . Bon W Palm BeachGEORGIA Atlanta AugustaStereo Uh Duluth . MorrowStereo W., Savannah ..

Smyrna TookerEINNAll HonoluluIDAHO Boron Pocatellot. Sandpoint r Twin Fells

ILLINOIS Bloomingdale%Maio Grove Chainpalpn-r Crystal LakeAudio a,kn DeKalb 1 Holtman

Estates: Simply Ste, Highland Parkbe Audio V.deo MI ProspectNome G., POL Nortbroovat. Stereo Reside '

Riverdale: Stereo Dv RocklordAudio ViCled Shaumberg

E,HiH, Springfield SterNH: M.0.. Vernon HillsSterm Villa Park Waukegan.Afar

INDIANA BloomingtonBluffton . Greenwood E.

, Indianapolis lalayeltir RIB.K., Muncie South Bend: ClassicSu Terre Haute i,lronrcsIOWA Des biomes Fairfield:L. . Sioux City Audro

KANSAS En10orra Junction City:Ai, Overland Park Fleolromos Wich.la Topeka it

KENTUCKY LexingtonLouisville Owensboro Vnrgh

LOUISIANA Baton liouge . Village Gretna lalayettir Sound Elec

Metairie New Orleans

Shreveport west Monroe

MAINE Bangor , r Camden "arbor

MARYLAND Pompons: t Bal-timore .i TIT:ape Roderick-, Audio Rockville: Myer ErncoMASSACHUSETTS Gloucester :bon

Dartmouth: Creative Sol. Wel.them (Bosten): WalMarn Carne,a ',tete( Worcester. 0 CornsMICHIGAN Ann Arbor Absolute Sndnd Bir-mingham Alrrtas Hi F Dearborn ,as H. F.East Lansing: Ste,. FarmingtonHens I-11Fr Grand Rapids Room Iron Mountain: Soc Lansing Jere°

PeMskey: Portage .II Room Royal Clan Abs.', Saginaw A,dro

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Detroit Lakes Duluth. V. Edina Monitor: Minot, io King Min.

netenka it Rochester Sound World RosevilleMISSISSIPPI Gullport Jackson- All

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NEW YORK Albany Batavia n

Corning Elmira Fredonra , Glees

Faris Huntington

Jamestown Manhasset.:. `i Break Newburgh New

Rochester Scarsdale u - Syracuse Vestal Hart E room, sWappingers Falls Banana ElectronicsNORTH CAROLINA Asheville' NI Toad, Stereo. Chapel Hill:"-' Charlotte

Greensboro Jackson.Rile Raleigh

WrImington 1,, , I icc,rcs Winston SalemNORTH DAKOTA Bismarck Pacific Sound MIM

OHIO Cleveland I. Cincinnati Stereo Columbus Dayton

Eagle. . Findlay: Lima Mayfield

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OREGON Beaverton Eugene

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Stereo Indiana Jenkintown Kingston

Lancaster Montgomeryville .

r.' u Natrona HeightsPhiladelphia area t: PrItshurghAr.d ii,, Quakertown '' A

Reading: G n T Ste, SelinsgroveWilliamsport- WIndber

RHODE ISLAND N Providence r 'i, AudioSOUTH CAROLINA Anderson ,oksturet Charleston - .' Columbia: Simeo

Greenwood Spartansburg:

SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City I, con, Sioux FallsTENNESSEE Chattanooga JohnsonCity Cogsport Mr Toe:,

. Knoxville , L: Memphis Nashville S Madison HI I

TEXAS Austin Beaumont B. F di,College Station Dallas s

El Paso Galveston

Lubbock Odessa San Angelo .. Temple

Wichita Falls . tirri rciecUTAH Logan Stokes Bran, SallLake City ALSO Venal:

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VIRGINIA DOM: MI Toad's Stereo V".'. Chadal-Iesvllle .10110 Maclune Falls Church M, rtmco Franklin Audio Showroom Leesburg I vergreen

Richmond: Gary's Ste ' . Ward Roanoke Audionornos Virginia Beach. Distal

Bellingham' Slew Lynnwood ',es! MI Vernon . Dail Harbor:

Spokane . Tukwila .,.,--west

WEST VIRGINIA Barboursville: Pied PThn Wi-ley - Huntington- Pied Piper Morgantown - Piedmont' ,ii,.,

. Princeton Wheeling -g

WISCONSIN Appleton , Green Bay:So.,nd World Lacrosse Madrson:Happy Medium Marinette . . Mrl.wletikee: Audio - RhinelanderBroker

WYOMING Cheyenee: Team Eleellonrs Riverton:Sound Room

MOBILE MONITOR ONLY SPECIALISTSCALIFORNIA Canoga Park ,r

Mesa .-- Escondido ,

Gl N.

: Hollywood . . N. HoINMASS r , Santa MonaaMASSACHUSETTS BostonNEW JERSEY Edison Morris-town: eteadetArtcrs Sot.ncrx,retss .Nevilite: ParTroy Saddle Brook Saddle Brook Stereo &MO Plairts: Kagunes Weetwood: Dol.,Music

NEW YORK Bay Share: Papa Angeto5 lasaWesel: Audio Breakthrough ML Slam 1 WheelSound St. James: Kt-rctiact AudioNORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Moles Aulo Audio Winston Seism HI FtTEXAS San Antonio Car AudmVIRGINIA Newport Neves Ho Auto Radio Virginia Beach I. Rado

CSAAudio knows how to tune y Acoustat Acoustic Electronics Acoustic Research Audio Research Boston Acoustics Counterpoint Dahlquist DCM Denon Dayton-

Wright Duntech ESB Electron Kinetics Flaher Jensen Video Koetsu Klyne Kyocera Linn Sondek Musson Monster Pioneer Video Proac PS Audio Shinon Sota Tandberg fhtel

193 Bellevue Ave, Upper Montclair, NJ 201/744-060011

In....IV=

FOR SALE


ACCESS TO MUSIC SAN FRANCISCOOffering guidance based on a practical understanding ofthe fundamental role of music in contemporary life. Linn,Nairn, Rega, Creek, Revolver, Wharfedale, Dual, SoundOrganization, Watts. Single Speaker Demonstrations Ex-clusively. Call for details. (415) TO MUSIC.

FREE catalog-LOWEST DISCOUNT PRICES on ste-reo/esoteric components for home and car. Sony, Bose,JVC, SAE, Crown, other 'high quality' brands. Audio Unlim-ited, 12031/2B Adams, LaGrande, OR 97850, 503/963-5731, 10-6 M-Th Pacific time.

FRIED SPEAKERS & KITSState-of-the-art sound. Try our prices! Free shipping. AlsoSofa, Hafler, SAE, Audire, Thorens, Adcom, Klipsch, CDplayers. READ BROTHERS STEREO, 593 King Street,Charleston, South Carolina 29403. (803) 723-7276.

GENE RUBIN AUDIO-LOS ANGELES: LINN, NAIM,REGA, THORENS, AR, HAFLER, CREEK, ROTEL, CON-RAD-JOHNSON, WHARFEDALE, CELESTION, STAX,SPENDOR, AKROYD, B&W, PRECISION FIDELITY &MORE. PRE -PAID SHIPPING (818) 571-1299 (PAC.TIME.)

HAFLER! FACTORY CLOSEOUT! DH -220A BRONZE$299.90. FACTORY ASSEMBLED 3 -YEAR WARRANTY LIMITED SUPPLY. BLACK RACK -MOUNT FACE$24.95. ORDER TOLL -FREE 1-(800)222-3465 (exceptCalifornia) 916-345-1341. MC/VISA/AMEX.

A SINGER'S DREAM!...*

REMOVES VOCALS FROM RECORDS!Now You can sing with the world's best bands

The Thompson Vocal Eliminator can removemost or virtually all of a lead vocal from a standardstereo record and leave most of the backgrounduntouched! Record with your voice or perform livewith the backgrounds. Used in Professional Perfor-mance yet connects easily to a home componen:stereo system. Not an equalizer! We can prove i-works over the phone. Write or call for a FreeBrochure and Demo Record.

LT Sound, Dept. AU, P.O. Box 338.Stone Mountain, GA 30086 (404) 493-125324 HOUR PHONE DEMO UNE: 14041493.6872

FOR SALE

HAFLER-HIGH QUALITY, LOW COSTWe stock all of the following components: DH -100K $175,DI -1-100A $225, DH -110K $360, DH -110A $440, DH -120K$260, DH -120A $320, DH -160K $275, DH -160A $375, DH -220K $400, DH-220KE $410, DH -220A $500, DH-220AE$510, DH -330K $385, DH -330A $460, DH -500K $675, DH-500KE $695, DH -500A $850, DH-500AE $870. Accesso-ries too! Three year warranty on assembled units. Visa andMasterCard. Free delivery to ALL zip codes (PR andAPO/FPO too). WORLDWIDE EXPORTING. OXFORDAUDIO CONSULTANTS, INC., Box 145, Oxford, OH45056-0145, 513-523-3333, TLX427791.

HEYBROOK IN THE EASTThe TT2 an honest record playing alternative at a reason-able price. Complementary budget, Esoterica Superphon,Rotel, Dyna/GSI, 2in, Apature and much more. For demon-stration appointment call: Precision Audio Utilization byLaletin. (212) 874-6904. The sound solution.

INFINITY RS -IA $2999, LUMLEY M-100, MOSCODE,SYSTEMDECK, PERREAUX 2150B $899, ADCOM-555,SUPERPHON, AUDIBLE ILLUSIONS, MICHELL GYRO -DECK $699, WELL -TEMPERED -ARM, TALISMAN, SPI-CA, SPECTRUM, RAUNA, EAGLE -2 $499, JSE, CONRADJOHNSON PV -6 $479. (714)-861-5413.

INTRODUCING;

DEFINITIVE HIFISINGLE SPEAKER DEMONSTRATION

OFFERING, AUDIBLE ILLUSIONS BELLES VPI JORDAN ROY GRANT LAZARUS MAGNUM DYNALAB MELOS RADFORD QUICKSILVER SYMDEX PRINCETON ACOUSTICS STRAIGHT WIRE SUPERFON WELL -TEMPERED SUMIKO

DISCRETE TECHNOLOGY

PLEASE CALL FOR APPOINTMENTDAY: (203) 869-0745, EVE: (914) 747-3375

LAST RECORD & CD CARE PRODUCTS! LOWEST DISCOUNT PRICES ANYWHERE! ALSO STYLUS CARE,VIDEO CLEANERS, AND CASSETTE CLEANERS. ORDER TOLL -FREE 1-(800)222-3465 (except California916-345-1341. MCNISA/AMEX.

KIMBER KABLEHIGH PERFORMANCE

SPEAKER WIRE

ASK YOUR DEALEROR CALL FORDIRECT SALE

KIMBER KABLE2058 Harrison Blvd.Ogden, Utah 84401(801) 621-5530

10?AUDIO/MARCH 1986

FOR SALE

JSE INFINITE SLOPE + 2 SPEAKERS, latest model likenew, lifetime transf., warranty. 215-567-4626, PA.

LED STEREO UV METER. Super sensitive, 12 step, ad-justable input, $15, 10 step, $10. Musicolor, 500W, $10,Strobe flashing light, adjustable speed, 110VAC, good forparty, disco, sign, $15. Maxco, Box 810391, Houston, TX77281.

LINN & NAIM-NEW PRODUCTSVisit our SINGLE SPEAKER DEMONSTRATION ROOMand hear these remarkable new Linn products: IndexSpeaker $350/pr., K-9 mm cartridge $150, Preamp, Power -amp. Visa and MasterCard. Free delivery to ALL zip codes.WORLDWIDE EXPORTING. OXFORD AUDIO CONSUL-TANTS, INC., Box 145, Oxford, OH 45056-0145, 513-523-3333, TLX427791.


LOW PRICES -HIGH END EQUIPMENT!!!DENON, CONRAD-JOHNSON, KEF, HAFLERBELLES, ADCOM, VANDERSTEEN, BCM, ACOUS-TAT, SOTA, PS AUDIO, CARVER, BOSTON ACOUS-TICS, MIRAGE, PROTON, JBL and any others youdesire. AUDIO ELITE, 414-725-4431. Menasha, WIS-CONSIN.

OUR PRICES CAN'T BE BEAT!!!

MARANTZ AND MCINTOSH TUBE EQUIPMENT, tradedFor sale: Bozak Symphonies B4000A $595. Beveridgemodel 2 and 2SW b/o over $2500. Daniel Queen $795 pr.Meridian M10 speakers latest updated model. rosewood$2500. McIntosh ML4m speakers $995 pr. D. Wright XG10MKIV latest $1800. J.B.L. Paragon $2400. Win T.T. warm$1500. Marantz 20, 120, 150 scope tuners. Marantz 10B asgood as new $775. W.E. 3008 tubes, boxed, unused b/oover $100 each, Marantz 7 cabinet $45, Marantz monopower supply (regulated) for consolettes and for Mac C8$85. Levinson ML1 modified and greatly improved $895.N.Y.S.I., (718) 377-7282. Noon to 3PM.

MARANTZ 108 $700, $800 W/CABINET, 1's $450. Mcin-tosh MC -2205 $1,050, MC -75's $775-875, MC -60's $650,MC -2105 $500, MC -2100 $450, MC -30 $150, MC -225$300, MC -240 $425, MI -75 $500, MR -71 $350, MR -67$200, 1700 $300, 1900 $500, MX -110's $300-425, MX -115$450, C24 $99. C26 $300. Mercury Living Presence,R.C.A. shaded dogs request list. R.C.A. 77DX ribbon mi-crophones $475, BK-11A ribbons $190, 9289-B tubepoweramps 200 watts $575pr. Burwen 1201 $150, 1201A$175. Boothroyd-Stuart Meridian system $600. DynaPAT5Bi-Fet kit $150. Crown CX-844 w/counter, tracsyncs,DBX-155, rack $2,000, DL phono modules 1/ price. Sansui9090DB receiver $300. OHM F drivers $225. Braun TG -1000 $400. Deltalabs DL -5, DL -4, ADM -512 demos 70%off. Onkyo sealed TX -25 $140, TX -35 $185. Pioneer SD -1100 $600. JBL SG -520 preamp $150, SE -460 power$175. Marantz 7T preamp $165. Phase Linear 700B $475.Hitachi DA-1000CD $325. Sony Ferrichrome elcaset tape$11. Teac AL -700 elcaset machines sealed originally$1,100 now $299, RX-1ODBX for elcaset sealed $225, 234Syncaset new $600, MB -20 meterbridge $100. ARXA $70.Technics RS7500 elcaset mint $600. Mitsubishi demos:LT -30 $325, DA -M30 meter $140, DA -F30 $225, DA -R8$150. Advent 500 SoundSpace delay $375. Lux L-110integrated $525. EV 7445 quad encoder $475. Revak B-790 turntable $400, G36MK3 $350. Many Teac remotecontrols $50. laser video player VP1000 $250, new videodiscs 40-60% off. 10.5"x.5" reels $3.50. DBX 224 $225,400 $200. Ortofon STM-72 transformer $25. 600 prere-corded nt/r $7, 1/2 track $18. Want collections pre-recordedr/t/r, Pioneer TAU -11, JT-2044T, Mcintosh, Marantz (tube)units, Sony, Teac, Advent Dolby units, oddball pieces,accessories. Want high quality units to sell on consign-ment. Everything money back guaranty. Shipping world-wide. Martin Gasman. 779 Worcester Street, Wellesley,Mass. 02181 Phone: 617-CEL-TICS, 617-235-8427.

MARANTZ 7C PREAMP FACEPLATES! Restore yourclassic tube preamp with a new faceplate for $69.95. SendCheck or Money Order in U.S. funds for $69.95 plus $3.Shipping to: KNELLER AUDIO SYSTEMS, 1401 BristolAvenue, Westchester, Illinois 60153.

McLAREN AUDIOThe electronics you need to hear and see.

Distributed by audioquest629 Camino de los Mares, #306, San Clemente., CA 92672 (714) 240-0604

FOR SALE

MAYWARE MC -2V VITAL CARTRIDGES $65. Visa/Mas-tercharge. Review $1 Bill. Mayware P.O. Box 58, Edgware,Middx. HA8 7UE England.

MCINTOSH AND OTHER PRE -OWNED HIGH END AU-DIO EQUIPMENT BOUGHT -SOLD -TRADED. CALL ORWRITE FOR YOUR FREE CATALOGUE. AUDIO CLAS-SICS, POB 176, WALTON, NY 13856. 607-865-7200.

NAKAMICHI 581Z 5595, SONY CDP701ES $695, SAE4100 Time Delay Ambience System $275, dbx 3BX withremote $295, or best offers. 914-336-6011 evenings.

HIGH -END EQUIPMENT. MINT. VPI turntable with up-dates EPA500 arm and tubes/Talisman cartridge. $950.RM Labs subwoofer. Superior bass and looks. $350. CallEd: 609-921-0345. Evenings and weekends.

MCINTOSH MCINTOSH MCINTOSH MCINTOSH I payretail for your used McIntosh Call or write for quotes AUDIORESOURCE #' Metairie Ct. Met, La. 70001 504-833-6942.

MCINTOSH MC6O'S, MI3SCOPE, C26, C28, 2505, 2105,MC225, MC240. MC275, over 40 pieces in stock. ONEYEAR TRADE -UP POLICY, NO MINIMUM! Call or write forquotes AUDIO RESOURCE: #1 Metairie C1 , Metairie, La.70001. 504-833-6942.

The Test Uri( .eC11 S. Rind Athif e

At SOUND STAGE you can talk to aknowledgeable salesperson who will adviseyou ow the best audio or video equipmentthat meets your needs and budget. Fromour large selection you can compareperformance specifications and prices.

ALL SOUND STAGE equipment Includes: 30 -day best price protection free 3 -year warranty with parts & labor free delivery

PLEASE, NO MAIL ORDERNEC ALPINE ENERGY TALISMAN 1HE UNGO BOX

ADS SIGNET LUXMAN AUDIOPRO AUDIOCCNIROL

DCM HAFLER ALLISON CJ WALKER BEYER DYNAMIC

STAX GRACE PROTON NETTY GRITTY DEW SOUNDFIELD

KLOSS FOSTEX DUNTECH JENSEN VIDEO BANG & OLUFSENAMBER CSNON CLIFFORD JO ACOuStiCs SURROUND SOUND

Call for store hours(7181961-9888173 BroadwayNYC. NY 10007(NW corner of

EtWay & CartiondtEnter on Cortland,

One Thant up )OR

184,10 Accuse Hording blowyFresh Mectrow. NY 11,765 (ENO 151 I E

SCUM)STAGE

AILX114b+VII)EA

ForeignEnemies onthe Loose

Your living room is out to destroyyour music. It's an unknown andhostile environment full of foreignenemies...at least from your turn-table's pont of view.

On top: a vinyl record with randomwarps and nasty resonances. Below:innocent ootsteps that becomeearthquakes it they reach yourstylus. And the most foreign enemyof all: house current about as pureas your drinking water.

SOTA SUPER STAR System

Introducing the SOTA SWIMSTAR System...the first globalsolution.Our exclusive Vacuum/AcrylicClamping System flattens into sub-mission record warps and resonances.

The 321b SOTA Suspension System

neutralizes the wide array of me-chanical variables from set-up andplacement to feedback and vibrations.And our Electronic Flywheel LineConditioner obliterates anomaliesactive in all electric lines: voltageglitches, hash, pulses, and RP

SOTA to the Rescue.With the "VVorld's first global turn-table system" SOTA eliminates yourmusic's worst enemies. As usual,these features are user-friendly andeasily retrofittable to current SOTA5.At last experience true "analogueperfectibility." Warning: you maybecome an analogue -addict!!

SOTAduet,..P.O. Box 7075, Berkeley, CA 94707

AUDIO/MARCH 1986 103

The new 4th generation of cable from AudioQuest is now available.Speaker cable from $.50 per foot to $6.00 per foot. Inter-connecting cable from $45 per 3 foot pair to $95 per 3 foot pair.

Distributed by audioquest629 Camino de los Mares, 306, San Clemente, CA 92672 (714) 240-0604

"... the mostsuccessfuldesign of all"

J. Gordon Holt Stereophile July, 1985

Mr. Holt elaborates further: "of all the speakers in thisprice class that I have heard, I would say that Siefert'sMaxim is probably the most successful design of all...Thesystem is beautifully balanced and almost perfectlyneutral....the low end from these is just amazing!...theselittle speakers will play LOUD! Unlike most smallsystems...they have the most accurate middle range Ihave heard from any speaker...the high end sounds as ifit goes out almost indefinitely... I would gladly take thishigh end in preference to that of most over -S2000 speakersystems I have auditioned in recent years...The Maximreproduce massed violin sound superbly- with not atrace of steeliness, yet with all the resinous sheen of thereal thing...I have never heard strings on good CDssound more natural...the imaging and soundstagepresentation from these are excellent. They do not soundsmall...It can make most audiophiles (and practically allmusic lovers) quite happy for an indefinite period oftime. Recommended."

Siefert Research, dedicated to excellence in sound, is apioneering designer and manufacturer of minimum -group -delay and low-intermodulation-distortion speakersystems.

Send for a reprint of the entire review along with com-plete specifications of this walnut 2 -way bookshelf sizesystem. Save $100 from the $499 dealer selling price. Buythe Maxim Ills factory -direct for $399, including ship-ping. 30 day, satisfaction -guaranteed return privilege.

SIEFERTRESERPEIHI

31212-A Ballard Rd., Malibu, CA 90265Phone 213/457-4239

FOR SALE

MCINTOSH. A-1 CONDITION. 4100 RECEIVER. 100WPCH 5 band Eq. original box/books. $1500. Evenings tillmidnight. 717-523-3956.

NELSON -REED, SPENDOR, DAYTON-WRIGHT, Super-phon, B & K, conrad-johnson, Grado, WTA, and muchmore. You've read about them. Why not hear them? CallChampagne Audio, Urbana, IL. 217-367-3651.

NITTY GRITTY RECORD CLEANING MACHINES & SUP-PLIES. MOST ITEMS IN STOCK. CALL TOLL FREE FORORDERING & PRICES. 1-800-222-3465, WE CAN'T BEBEAT! HCM AUDIO: 1-916-345-1341 VISA/MC

Mal

Ill1111a1111111111t1111111111111.111111111111111111111.11M1111111111112111111111111'

REGA turntables reflect asplendidly simple Britishdesign philosophy: use onlywhat is necessary & make itof the highest quality. Theresult Is a handsome sourceof beautiful music, at aproper price.You are Invited to hear yourfavorite recordings on aREGA. Please address con-sumer & dealer inquiries to:

import audio3149 shenandoah, st. louts,mo. 63104 314-773-1211

FOR SALE

MODIFIERS SUPPLY HANDBOOK-MOST COMPRE-HENSIVE supply of state-of-the-art parts available. Capaci-tors, monocrystal wire, toroid transformers, etc. Rel-Cap,Siemens, Vandenhul, and more. Send $3: D.R.H., 2275 E.Bay Drive, #1205C, Clearwater, FL 33546. 813-536-2904.After 5PM EST.

MCINTOSH, MARANTZ, AUDIO RESEARCH, CONRADJOHNSON, BERNING, QUAD, LINN, DALQUIST, MAG-NAPLANAR, TANNOY, ALTEC, JBL, ETC., BUY SELL

TRADE, MAURY CORB 713-728-4343, 11122 ATWELL,HOUSTON, TX. 77096.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AUDIOPHILE!! We carry fineaudio equipment such as: Superphon, JSE, Well Tem-pered Arm, VPI, Souther, BEL, Gold Ribbons and more.Presto Audio, (408) 374-0292.

ON SALE NOW AND AVAILABLE for demonstration: Bri-tian's Revolver Turntable! STEREO TRADING OUTLET,320 Old York Rd., Jenkintown, PA 19046. 215-886-1650.

ORDER TOLL -FREE! 1400-222-3465. ALCHEMIST *AR * AUDIOQUEST * AMBER * B&W * DYNAVEC-TOR * GRACE * GRADO * HARMAN/KARDON *HAFLER2 * LAST * LIVEWIRE * MONSTER * NITTYGRITTY * PREMIEII * SHURE * SOTA * SPICA *STAX * SUPERPHON * THORENS * TALISMAN *ACCESSORIES, CABLES, AND MUSICAL CONCEPTSHAFLER MODIFICATION KITS. CALL FOR LOWESTPRICES & FREE CATALOG. VISA/MASTERCARD WEL-COME. HCM AUDIO, 16008B MANGROVE, CHICO, CA95926. (916) 345-1341.

PREMIER TONEARMS BY SUMIKO. HIGH DOLLARPERFORMANCE AT A LOW LOW PRICE! IN STOCK.CALL TOLL -FREE FOR ORDERING & PRICES 1-800-222-3465, WE CAN'T BE BEAT! HCM AUDIO: 1-916-345-1341. VISA/MC/COD

PROAC SPEAKERS ANNOUNCES REVISIONS TO theTablette and EBT. The best small speakers in the world arenow truly "state of the art". Called Super Tablette $575,and Super EBT $795. For dealer list write-MODERNAUDIO, 2888 Bluff, #210A, Boulder, Colo. 80301. 303-449-1440.

PS AUDIO ELECTRONICS: PRECISION CRAFTED, de-signed for music. Audio Nexus, NJ, (201)464-8238,(201)730.2409.

MAGNAVOX

Philips (Magnavox in the U.S.) invented the CDformat. Their CD players feature dual digital to analogconverters. digital and analog filtering and quadrupleoversampling. Magnavox players have always beenfavored by audiophiles for their exceptional soundquality. Other manufacturers obviously agree, withhigh -end vendors like Mission, Meridian, Revox, B & 0,Discrete Technology, PS Audio and Melos all using theMagnavox player as the base for 'Their" units.

Clearly, Philips/Magnavox players represent superbvalue for the money. 0 Audio now offers you theseremarkable components at prices that won't lastforever. Hurry!

SEVERAL MODELSAVAILABLE

CUSTOM MODSAVAILABLE

95 Vassar St.Cambridge, MA

02139 AUDIO

PRICEDFROM

16988617

547-2727

104 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

FOR SALE

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLE COMPONENTSfrom voltage spikes, noise, and the damage that results,with a Waber surge suppressor six outlet strip. Single stageprotection DG115S $57.50. Triple stage protectionDG315S $135. Inexpensive insurance for all audio, video,and computer systems. Brochures available. Visa andMasterCard. Free delivery. OXFORD AUDIO CONSUL-TANTS, INC., Box 145, Oxford, OH 45056-0145, 513-523-3333, TLX427791.


ROBERTSON 4010-LESS THAN 12 MOS OLD. EminentTechnology One-XLNT COND $330. Call Mike: 918/481-5162.

SIDEREALKAP

NOT JUST ANOTHER GENERIC CAPACITOR WITH AWONDERFUL NAME, THE SIDEREALKAP WAS DE-SIGNED FROM ITS INCEPTION TO BE THE FINESTSOUNDING CAPACITOR AVAILABLE FOR AUDIO TO-DAY.FIND OUT WHAT THE MUSIC LOVER'S CAPACITORDOESN'T SOUND LIKE. CALL (619) 722-7707, ORWRITE TO: SIDEREAL AKUSTIC, 1969 OUTRIGGERWAY, OCEANSIDE, CA 92054.REVIEW, LITERATURE AND PRICE INFORMATIONUPON REQUEST.ASK YOUR DEALER ABOUT SIDEREALKAPS.

STATE-OF-THE-ART ANALOG SYSTEM under $1600-VPI HW-19MKII plus Grado Signature arm and cartridge.Audition at Presto Audio, San Jose, (408) 374-0292.


TRADE-INS WELCOMEFREE SHIPPING

Acoustat, Carver, Nakamichi, conrad johnson, Superphon,harman/kardon, Grado Signature, AR, Sapphire turntable,Clements ribbon speakers, VSP amplifiers, Haller, VPIturntable, NEC video and lots more! Demo specials-Acoustat TNP preamp $419, NEC Beta Hi-Fi VCR ModelN70 $399 (New). THRESHOLD AUDIO, 409 So. 22nd St.,Heath, Ohio 43056. 614-522-3520.

Now in 2,66,,wich:Visit our DemonstrationStudio, fully equipped t 'kW Enct,

iwith the latest n High, End Audio.high-technology,Hi-Fi audio equipment from such dedicatedmanufacturers as ...

Apogee Belles Duntech Esoteric Wire GaleJordan Amplification Krell Kyocera JA Mitchell Perreaux

Pioneer Video Princeton Accoustics Proton VideoQuicksilver Souther Straight Wire Sumiko SymdexThomson Video Triad VPI Well Tempered Arm Zeta

... a relaxed place. Where you can hear what can bedone with today's newest equipment. Where you cancompare...unimpaired. Where you can discuss yourneeds with the experienced, knowledgeable Aud-Vidpeople who can turn personal preferences into reality.

Phone...or just stop in...Mondays through Saturdays.E. Putnam Av. (Rte. US 1)

71U1V-vi r9 Greenwich, CT 06830(203) 869-0666

YOUR COMPLETE AUDIO ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

VANDERSTEEN AUDIO DIMENSIONAL PURITY

814-imemmomomemenmerVandersteen Audio was founded in 1977with the corn irthment to offer always thefinest in music reproduction for the dollar.Toward this goal there will always be ahigh degree cf pride, love, and personalsatisfaction ir.vcIved in each piece before itleaves our facilities. Your Vandersteen dealershares in this commitment, and has beencarefully selected for his ability to deal withthe complex task of assembling a musicallysatisfying system. Although sometimeshard to find, he .s well worth seeking out.

Write or call for a brochure and thename of your nearest dealer.

0 VANDERSTEEN AUDIOUt, WEST FOURTH STREETRAIs.FORD,CALIFORNIA 93230 USA

0 (209) 582-0324

FOR SALE FOR SALE

1985 AUDIO RESEARCH D-115 MKII amplifier mint condi- WELL TEPAPIERED ARM AVAILABLE AT Champagnetan-less than 100 hrs. Sacrifice $1995. (203) 721-1504. Audio, Urbana, IL. Compare with compact disc. Hear it with

Spendor and other fine products. Call 217-367-3651.

UHER, Sennheiser, Sony, AKG, (Shure), Electro-Voice,Audio-Technica, Beyer, Bose, etc. Portable Recorders, Mi-crophones, Mixers, Line, AN. Carpenter (GHP), P.O. Box1321, Meadville, Pa. 16335-0821

2-MCINTOSH 60 TUBE AMPLIFIERS $650. C-26 $295,MR67 UM, 2105 $580. M.A. Wright, Box 9201, Metairie,LA 70055

ORI n L MASTER RECOMPACT DISCS

All Compact Discs do not sound alike. Origin e orthngCompact Discs can make a dramatic diffE-rEnce in the way you enjoyyon Compact Disc sound system. Each is exclusively transferred directfrom the recording artist's original master tape for absolute sonicaccuracy. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lao's ex:lusive "Analog -To -Digital"transference technology permits you to experience your favoriterecordir gs the way they we e meant to be heard.

LOGGINS &MESSINA"Sltlirf In'.

EXCLUSIVE SELECTIONSNEW 1HIS MONTH "Live At The Fillmore West.- by ARETF AFRANKLIN; "Sit in' In" by LOGGINS & MESSINA; ' Live At TieLighthouse" by TI -E MODERN JAZZ QUARTET; 'Someday MyPrince Will Corre" )y MILES DAVIS.

inobtliendelitY For the name of a store near you,

sound labcall Toll -Free (800) 423-5759(In California, call (707) 778-0134)

sraareer


SUBWOOFERDISTORTION

, ,

The success3279 ea kit,acclaimed fornow promptsdesigned forments for sizeThe Larger$549ea assem)Super Towerwoofers plusoak or walnuto.4% THD/1W17Hz andand maximumSPL/1m) are

not evenandregardless

Subwooferhoused in alow frequencybelow 1.5%premium. All1 00Hz quasi($30ea kit,ElectronicWrite for aof our Subwoofer,systems includingkit, $439ea$599ea assem),$969ea assem)($1099-1 299eaKits includeprices include

VMPS

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drive), bandwidth250Hz), sensitivity

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approachedof price. The

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EngineeringJose Ca; Digital

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e....

Xz_51'

RIxa)c'

m0o

.1)=to

u)0- til

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cu

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yxi-

low cost,Subwoofers

require-

of thepolycone

an 8.25 ft3(max

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MOVING, LEGENDARY S()UNILChestnut Hill Audio is moving around the corner to expanded facilities. Our legends gowith us: Accuphase, Acoustic Electronics, Amber. Apature, Apogee, Audio Pro. Audioguest.B&K, Berning, Cabasse, CWD. Counterpoint, DB. Distech, Duntech, Entec, Euphonic,Fourier. Grace, Haller. ITC. Janis, Koetsu, Kyocera. LAST. Linn Sonaek, Live Wire. Logic.Levinson, Meridian. Miyabi, Michell, Mordaunt Short. Music Reference. Nifty Gritty.NAIM, NYAL. Oracle. Origin. Pyramid. P.S. Audio. Quad, Rauna. RG1,1, Signet. Sony.Souther, Spectral. Spendor. Symdex. Talisman, Tandberg, Thorens. 3-D Acoustics. VPI.VSP Labs, Vandersteen, Zeta.149 North Third Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (2151 923-3035

CIIESTNIJ'l' It'll AIJ1)IO Ell).

LOUDSPEAKERS LOUDSPEAKERS

AAA QUALITY CUSTOM MADE POLYACOUSTIC foamrubber speaker grilles-any size, thickness, design, color,or quantity. Custom speaker cabinets. Send stamp forbrochure to Custom Sound, 8460 Marsh, Algonac, MI48001. (313) 794-5746, weekdays.

ABSOLUTELY REALedge" best describes the technology and quality

of the GOLD 3.0. Drivers and complete systems. AudioConcepts, your ribbon headquarters. Free brochure, GOLD3.0 manual $10. 1631 Caledonia St., LaCrosse WI. 54603.608-781-2110

ALPHA ELECTRONICS ACTIVE CROSSOVERS: 24dB/Octave, amplitude, phase correct. Two through six way,perfect for subwoofers. Boards $29.95, kits $99.95, up-gradable cardrack $299.95. Alpha Electronics, Box 15026,Detroit, Michigan 48215.

ACCURATE & AFFORDABLE, OVER 30 PROVEN DE -SIGNS for audiophiles, speaker kits for home, car, sub-

pro.JBL,AUDAX, SEAS, HAFLER, polypropyl-were fderrivers Si crossovers, $2.00 Gold Sound, Box 141A,Englewood, CO 80151.


ARE THE BEST SPEAKER SYSTEMS really availableonly by mail? Send $1 for our 60 page color catalog.Acoustic Interface, POB 6632, Santa Barbara, CA 93160.

A&S SPEAKERS CARRIES THE WIDEST selection of

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high -end speaker kits, speaker components and autospeaker systems from the world's finest manufacturers:Audax, Dynaudio, Scan -speak, Focal, SEAS, Jordan andseveral others. Free catalog. A&S SPEAKERS, Box7462A, Denver, CO 80207. (303) 399-8609.

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Definitive Stereo-Southern Style! Apogee Mark Levinson Audionics Meridian Audio Research N.A.D. Bang & Olufsen Nakamichi Cello Nitty Gritty Duntech Phase Technology Entec Polk Audio Goldmund Quad Janis Rega KEF Signet Linn Spectral

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LOUDSPEAKERS

ATTENTION AUDIOPHILES: JSE INFINITE SLOPELoudspeakers are available from us. Inquire about our7 Day-NO RISK auditioning program. AuthorizedHafler and Thorens dealers. We pay shipping. SoundUnlimited, 178 Main St., Bristol, Conn. 06010. Est1959. (203) 584-0131.

ATTENTION MAGNEPAN OWNERS-For your Magnepan MG -1113 speakers: the TOPOLOGY MIM-IIB, a plug-inmodule that will transform your DB's into speakers that willamaze you. For information call or write to: TOPOLOGY,P.O. Box 1452, Palo Alto CA 94302, (408) 723-7404Coming soon: The TOPOLOGY MIM-IIIA for your MG -Ill's

BETTER THAN ELECTROSTATICS?Find out about our new ribbon speakers and sophisti-cated dynamic systems. New catalog has details pluskits, parts, electronics and much more. $1 (bill) to NewYork Acoustics, 578 Nepperhan Avenue, Yonkers, NY10701. (914) 476-4900.

'DAYTON WRIGHTS LCM-1 LOUDSPEAKER CHALLENGES any minimonitor . and wins! Audio Nexus, NJ(201) 464-8238, (201) 730-2409.

ELECTRO-VOICE, ALTEC, JBL SPEAKER COMPO-NENTS. New Altec 604-8K's, 511, 811 horns, 902-8B driv-ers, Model 8's, 19's, 17's, 310, 312. JBL monitors. E -VCD35i, Interface, stage speakers. Free flyer. Low prices.Rick Marder, (201) 561-8123.

GUSS SPEAKERSFrom $3000. For a copy of review ("The loudspeakerequivalent of the Holy Grail") and demonstration at ourMadison Avenue showroom, call (212) 888-3339.

You may be damaging everyrecord you play ...

...if you haven't replaced your stylus(needle) in the past year.

Finding the proper Shure replacementstyli is easy. Call toll -free 1-800-257-4873(Illinois residents can -800-624-8522)for the location of your nearest ShureStylus Replacement Center. Your dealerwill show you a stylus that's precisiondesigned to maximize the sound ofyour system.

Call today Don't let a great recordcollection go to ruin.

SHURE®

LOUDSPEAKERS

SPICA SPEAKERS & CHICAGO STANDS-SIMPLY THEBEST. Authorized dealer, personalized service. Call forappointmenVprices. Mobile Recording Company, CarmelIN. (317) 846-5308 (EVES.)

THANK YOU STEREOPHILEfor your Reuben Guss Loudspeaker Awards. Your sub-scribers are invited to judge for themselves both the qualityof Guss Loudspeakers and reliability of Stereophile's re-portage. Call Madison Avenue Showroom. (212) 888-3339.

emA44e4lroWhy is the SA -5.1 Consistently

The Preamplifier of Choice?

FTISL51013 IM ComponentsPolypropylene CapacitorsA Massive Custom Designed TranskomerCustom Designed Gold Plated/Teflon RCA ConnectorsAutomatic MutingHand Selected TubesFully Vacuum Tube Power Supply

gleassifUnquestionably committed to performance.

The New Counterpoint Sk5.1 is in stock now. andavalable for your audition at your CounterpointAuetorized Deader.

Councernornt Um:cruse systems, inc,Pa.. 12294 Dept. A. te Jade. CA92037 (619)453-9090

JSE INFINITE SLOPE LOUDSPEAKERS. Combine theInfinite Slope crossover and patented phase shift bassloading for unexcelled imaging, detail and tight dynamicbass response. Alternative Audio, Massapequa, LI, NY.516-541-7025.

LOUDSPEAKER COMPONENTS -KITS. Audax, Dynau-dio, Eclipse, Focal, Peerless, Morel, Vita, and more! 1p.f-80W polypropylene capacitors. Catalog 50C. Meniscus,3275W Gladiola, Wyoming, Michigan 49509.

NAKAMICHI, CARVER, REVOX, CROWN, BANG &OLUFSEN, TANDBERG, KYOCERA, N.A.D., THORENS,HARMAN-KARDON, B & W, E -V, kD.S., DCM, KLIPSCH,AND OTHER QUALITY COMPONENTS. BEST PRICES -PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION. ALL PRODUCTSCOVERED BY MANUFACTURER'S USA WARRANTY.AMERISOUND SALES, INC., P.O. BOX 24009; JACK-SONVILLE, FLORIDA 32241. EAST: (904) 262-4000;WEST (818) 243-1168.

PREMIUM SPEAKER CABLE-LOW PRICES. High defi-nition 12 gauge 259 strand cable. 20'-34' $.60/ft, 35'-59'$.50/ft. Free sample. Same day COD shipment. (201) 561-8123.

Singles or SystemsFor eyes and ears,

always the highest fidelity you can afford.

Adcom.Apogee ARB!. K.Con rad Joh nson CWD.D.oT9htEl tronmnoeIFa nklrd7rnrtY56

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The Reviewers' Choice...is now even better

The Premier HS -12 Headshell will give you adramatic upgrade in performance in four importantways: The solid magnesium body providesunparalleled rigidity with moderate mass. The linearcrystal/oxide-free copper cartridge lead wires allowclearest signal transfer. The azimuth adjustabilityallows perfect cartridge azimuth alignment. Thedouble lock pins improve torsional stability.

The Premier VTA-16 Adjustable Base allows MMTowners to easily adjust VTA without compromisingrigidity, even while the record is playing. Retro-fits altPremier MMT arms and all tone arms with a 16mmarm post.

The PIB-1 Universal Interface Box provides anoptimum electrical mechanical link between anytone arm and the outside world. Use the connectingcable of your choice.

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AUDIO, MARCH 1986 107

101

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DIAMONDS ARE NOT FOREVER!

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When was the last time youchanged your stylus? If you can'tremember, then it may alreadybe too late!!

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SPEAKER BUILDERS SAVE 50-70%. Esoteric kits includ-ing compound subwoofers, ribbon systems. Dynaudio,Strathern, Seas, IAR Wondercaps, Chateauroux polypro-pylene, Phase and amplitude correct active crossover kitsby Shadow. AC foam for cost effective room treatment. Thefinest in stock, guaranteed lowest prices, helpful service!All new 1986 Catalog $2 refundable. Audio Concepts, 1631Caledonia St., La Crosse WI. 54602. 608-781-2110.

UNBEATABLE PRICES PROFESSIONAL SERVICEFLEXIBLE PAYMENT PLANS IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

HIFI/STEREO

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TYPEWRITERSCOMPUTERS

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LOUDSPEAKERS

FRIED LOUDSPEAKERS IN NEW JERSEY: AUDIO NEX-US has them all. (201) 464-8238, (201) 730-2409.

TAPE RECORDERS

AMERICA'S LARGEST dealers in HIGH END USED ste-reo. We BUY by PHONE. STEREO EXCHANGE 687ABroadway, between 3rd and 4th St. (opposite Tower Rec-ords) NYC 10012. (212) 505-1111 and (800) 833-0071,


REVOX, TASCAM, OTARI, MARANTZ recorders; E -V,Shure, Sennheiser, AKG microphones; mixers, Ampextape, JBL monitors, dbx. Free flyer. Rick Marder, AHCo.(201) 561-8123.

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

BRISSON MI -330 INTERCONNECT, SUPERB PHASE,time coherent design; specialists in difficult terminations,flexible section tonearm sets, camacs; Goldmund, Levin-son owners take note! Tiptoes with machine threading,fittings, to firmly couple to any audio product. MichaelPercy, Box 526, Inverness, CA 94937. 415-669-7181.

DBP-16 INPUT ATTENUATORS provide 12 dB of attenua-tion for sources with too high a level. Gold plated pair,$11.95 plus $2.50 handling. DB SYSTEMS, Rindge, NewHampshire 03461. (603) 899-5121.

TUBES & ACCESSORIES WITH ADVICE on tubes,mods., system design, new & used components. Amperex,EE, GE, Gold Lion, Mullard, Sylvania, Tungsram. ExclusiveUS rep. Siemens/Telefunken. Great prices. Consultant/supplier to manufacturers, dealers, clubs, individuals.Douglas Kent Smith Consulting, 240 W. Pike St., Canons-burg, PA 15317-1163. (412) 746-1210.

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AMPEX 406 & 407 blank 1/4" tape on 10'1/2" NAB reels or7" reels. With or without boxes. For price/quantity, sendSASE to: Reels and cassettes, P.O. Box 263, Riverside, IL60546.

CD PLAYERS



CD PLAYERS COMPACT DISCSLERTIUS1CWORLD,

COMPACT DIGITAL PLAYERS!In stock! Fast, FREE shipping. Also: Adcom, Klipsch,Acoustat, PS, Quad, Spica, Fried, and more. (See ourHaller ad.) READ BROTHERS STEREO, 593 King Street,Charleston, South Carolina 29403. (803) 723-7276.

J.S. AUDIO OFFERS A LARGE selection of CD play-ers at competitive prices. For more information Mon.thru Sat. please call 301-890-3232. J.S. Audio, OneChildress Court, Laurel, MD 20707. We honor Visa &M/C.

AUTO SOUND

HIGH -END CAR STEREO SYSTEM, complete; Nakami-chi: TD -12001I deck, EC -200 crossover, SP -80 subwcofers;ADS: 320i separates, 300i plates, P-80 amplifier; (2) Har-man-Kardon CA -260 amplifiers; extras; mint; $1750. 919-782-8574 (NC).

NAKAMICHI, CARVER, REVOX, CROWN, BANG &OLUFSEN, TANDBERG, KYOCERA, N.A.D., THORENS,HARMAN-KARDON, B & W, E -V, &Ds., DCM, KLIPSCH,AND OTHER QUALITY COMPONENTS. BEST PRICES -PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION. ALL PRODUCTSCOVERED BY MANUFACTURER'S USA WARRANTY.AMERISOUND SALES, INC., P.O. BOX 24009; JACK-SONVILLE, FLORIDA 32241. EAST: (904) 262-4000;WEST (818) 243-1168.

COMPACT DISCS

Classical, Opera & Jazz Loversare invited to revel in our

COMPACT DISC Cataloguecompletely detailing the more than

1700 titles we have IN STOCK.Now in our fourth year.

Mail $5.00 Annual Subscription Fee(refundable with 1st order) to:

Ethe(Enterprises

P.O. Box 3301, Dept. A.Falls Church, VA 22043

CDS TAKE THEM WITH YOU. DISCWALLET. Soft protec-tion, easy access for 10 without jewel boxes. Fanaticallydesigned $16.95. Oak racks, stores 20. $24.95. Pleaserespond to: AUDIO MAGAZINE, Classified Box No. 286,1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

COMPACT DISCS -CLASSICAL JAZZ, POP/AUDIO-PHILE, EUROPEAN & JAPANESE IMPORTS. Special or-ders welcomed. Send $3 for comprehensive catalogue.Players available. NYCD, P.O. Box 20232, London TerraceStation, New York, NY 10011

COMPACT DISCS -MOST TITLES $11.99-$13.99.3,000 plus titles in stock. Free catalog plus monthly up-dates. Oz Records, 5246A Memorial Drive, Stone Moun-tain, GA 30083, (404) 292-5452.

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. before 12:boon-EDT81" DISCOUNT per disc on orders

of 10 or more.01250for UPS Cont. U.S. shipments.

Call Toll,Free to order:USA 1-800-232-3687NYS 1-800-537-7303

P.O Box 616. Clifton Park. NY 12065518-664-2550

(WLDEC

OM PACT

NTRE

AUDIOPHILE RECORDS

AUDIOPHILE ALBUMS FOR SALE MANY out -of -printMobile Fidelity & Direct Disks Labs. Call Chad at: 913-825-8609. 213 S. 2nd., Salina, KS 67401. Distributor of Southertonearm.

OUT -OF -PRINT MOBILE FIDELITYCall BOB (818) 845-9236 weeknights after 7 PM (PST) andall -day weekends. VISA and MASTER CARD accepted.

REFERENCE RECORDINGSFor the discriminating few, we announce the release of anew Prof. Johnson PURE ANALOGUE Recording: "MARNINIXON SINGS GERSHWIN." To stylish accompaniment byLINCOLN MAYORGA, Miss Nixon embellishes her alreadylegendary reputation as one of America's most belovedsingers in a program of rare and classic Gershwin songs."Summertime," "Embraceable You," "Someone To WatchOver Me," "The Man I Love" and many more are givenspinetingling, definitive treatments by these two consum-mate artists. Such performances, captured in RR's patent-ed sonic purity on imported JVC surfaces (at 33-1 3 rpm,note), -ESSENTIAL VINYL. See rave review in Winter is-sue, The Absolute Sound. RR -19 now available at manyaudio and record stores, or direct from REFERENCE RE-CORDINGS C<r $16.98 postpaid, Box 77225X, San Fran-cisco CA 94107. (415-355-1892). Visa/MC welcome. Freecatalogue/reviews. Dealer inquiries invited! (P.S. All -digitalcompact disc in preparation.)

Listen...

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Before You Buy! Time Delay Compressor 'Limiters Reverberation Expanders Crossovers Spectrum Analyzers Noise Reduction Parametric EQ

Don't have regrets about paying too much for alesser product- In demos and comparisons, we'llshow you why we're Better! Our Factory Directsales allow us to produce a Superior product andoffer it to you Et a Lower price. Call or write for afree full length Demo Album and 24 page brochure.Write to: LT Sound, Dept. A-3, PO Box 338

Stone Mountain, GA 30086In Georgia Call (404)493-1258

23 PARK ROW, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10038,B44 BO/B9 1/

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'TOP 10'AUDIO ACCESSORIES

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BASF

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Technics00P.M

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IM1f,Z,%;Z'

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23 PARK ROW, DEPT. A3, NYC, N.Y. 10038NAME

ADDREES: ISTATE- ZIP.


NAKAMICI-II KOETSU ACCUPHASE LUX MICRO SEW! GRACE

2

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0 930 N. La Cienego Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069 (213/ 659.0550

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America's Largest SelectionOVER 100 CARTRIDGES, 50 TONEARMS, 30 TURNTABLES,

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JAPANESE STEREOSAEC I-IIGHPHONIC SONY ES ESPRIT ENTRE STAX OENON ORSONIC

00200.

IV( R*5°a'VenrtecZZ, ritZAV64 $169FZ:::74'5Z45;:"Rmspe,d.ReSCv';'9:,,11:erigi7M; A"wite,`OL'ine' latTmoP:3T3"ft5'""'YE'llilii=7. n...wm.M commcn.

IA" cl,Tr<d-jP,Z,V;!; cell.% imntio the

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CARTRIDGES & TONEARMS

ABSOLUTELY BEST BUY MAYWARE MOVING COILcartridges High output MC -3L/2 or MC -2V $55 with 'Vital'super -polished nude diamond styli. MKIV tonearms $69.Visa/MC. Reviews $1 Bill. Mayware, POB 58, Edgware,Middlesex, HA8 7UE, England.

SME TYPE V-The finest tonearm in the world. For themost demanding professional and commercial applica-tions-radio stations, libraries, mastering studios, etc. Fororder information call or write to: TOPOLOGY, P.O. Box1452, Palo Alto CA 94302, (408) 723-7404. Due to limitedavailability orders will be filled on a first come basis.

WANTED TO BUY


COAXIAL, TRIAXIAL SPEAKERS OF JENSEN, Tannoy,Trusonic. Altec 604's. JBL 150-40, N500, Hartsfields. EVPatricians. Western Electric Equipments. Mcintosh, Mar-antz Tube Amps. David Yo, POBx 832, Monterey Park, Ca.91754. Tel: 818/576-2642.

MCINTOSH, MARANTZ TUBE, MCINTOSH S.S. equip-ment, Thorens, Western Electric, Tubes, Speakers, etc.Scott Dowling, 9908 Dairies Drive, Temple City, CA 91780.(818) 286-9122, evenings/weekends.

c's'szt.,c., GUARANTEED SAVINGS4Rcesc,` "Why Settle For Less When You Can Own The Best"

Offering Professional Advice FREE Delivery &Set Up Relaxed "NO RUSH- Showroom

Trade-ins Accepted Financing/LeasingFEATURING

ADS Adcom Advent Alphason Audioquest Amber AR Bose Celestion SL6/SL600 & DL series Denon DCM Time Window & Time

Frame Dual Energy Grado Harman/Kardon JBL Kyocera Monster Cable Proton Robertson Rauna Signet Soundcraftsmen Sony Systemdek Tandberg Thorens Tiptoes Triad VPI VSP Labs C. J. Walker Wartedale and other fine lines ...

MCVISAAMEX

Call or write Harold Minto. Proprietor

performance audio/video)3655. Bayview Ave. (Corner Atlantic Ave.) Freeport. Long Island. New York 11520

RetailMailorder

Showroom Hours: Mon. -Fri. 12 noon to 7 p.m. Sat. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Export

Tel (516) 378-4389Just 35 min. from Manhattan by car or railroad

WANTED TO BUY

MCINTOSH, MARANTZ TUBE COMPONENTS, WesternElectric, Altec, JBL. John Conrad, 1178 Blackbird St., ElCajon, CA 92020. (619) 449-9155.

PIONEER SA9100 AMP, TX9100 TUNER, SD1100 Scope;Sony SB500 tape selector; Sequerra tuner cheap-notworking; Japanese "Stereo Sound" magazine. (818) 709-1662.

QUADRAPHONIC OPEN REEL TAPES, RECORDS(whole collections), select equipment. Michael Robin, 120Atlanta Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15228. (412) 341-1686.

WANTED: MCINTOSH, MARANTZ, QUAD, BROOK,A.R.C., Regency and other tube equipment as well asAltec, J.B.L., E.V. speakers and Sequerra FM1, Beveridgeand older Levinson gear. Ed: (718) 377-7282.

WHATI NOT ANOTHER AD FOR that old tube gear andspeakers? You got it! Send for my pricing schedule. I buymost anything. Charlie Dripps, 4331 Maxson Rd., El Monte,PA 91732. (818) 444-7079.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

ELECTRONIC REPRESENTATIVES NEEDED!!UNLIMITED PROFIT POTENTIAL! LOWEST POSSIBLEPRICES!! OVER 100 BRANDS! AUDIO - VIDEO - CARSTEREO - COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS! - ELEC-TRONIC EXPERTS, 1000 ORANGE AVE., WEST HAVEN,CT 06516.

J.P.W. LOUDSPEAKERS LTD OF PLYMOUTH DevonEngland seeks profit minded dealers and aggressive reps.Our loudspeakers offer outstanding value. Call today! Con-tact: Power Audio Distributors, Inc., 4632 Crossroads ParkDrive, Liverpool, New York, 13088. 315-451-5721.

MISCELLANEOUS

INVENTIONS, IDEAS, NEW PRODUCTS WANTED forpresentation to industry/exhibition at national innovationexposition. Call free 1-800-528-6050. In Canada, 1-800-528-6060. X831.

MAIL ORDER

ABARGAIN: TECHNICS STYLUS GUAGE $49,205CMK4 $159, 100CMK4 $285, EPA500 $275, EPA250$269, PRO LAMBDA $519, SRM1/2 $279, SIGMA $199,LAMBDA $162, SRX/3 $129, SRD7 $68, GRACE 747$165, F9E $109, F9E RUBY $165, F9E STYLUS $60,RUBY STYLUS $110; ACCUPHASE AC2 $295, AC3 $245;DENON 103D $149, 103C $99, DL303 $199, DL304 $235;DYNAVECTOR 23RS(MR) $165, 17DS(MR) $330, 17DII$149, 20BII $159; KOETSU BLACK $450, ROESWOOD$635; FR64fx $289, FR1MK3F $139, MC45 $235; SIGNETTK50 (AT1100) $199; SERIES 20 X -OVER EXC $395;ORSONIC AV10113 $22; HITACHI INTERCON 3' $30, NA-MIKI DIRCT FNDR $49; ORIGIONL MFG STYLUSREPLCMET: OLD DYNAVECTOR FOR 23RS $125, 17DS$240; AC2 $210, AC3 $170; 103D $125, DL303 $140;SHIP COD; ALL UNUSED, ALL DAY (212)784-2939;(305)487-1048; (212)619-2888.


AMERICAN, BRITISH, AND JAPANESE HIGH END:SHAMEFULLY LOW PRICES, Nakamichi, Mission, B&W,KEF, Revox, Sumo, NAD, Denon, Plus Over 100 OtherBrands. Information SASE Required. VISA/MC, COD. Seri-ous Buyers Only. East 1-202/723-7404, West 1-206/325-7601. AudioWorkShop, Box 18009, Seattle, WA 98118.

BEAT THE PRICE FIXERS WITH low discount prices andfull U.S.A. manufacturers warranties on: Nakamichi, Re -vox, Carver, Bang & Olufsen, ADS, Kyocera, HK, Crown,Hailer, B&W, NAD, Tandberg, Polk. Island Audio, Inc.,1122 Riverside Drive, Holly Hill, FL 32017. (904) 253-3456.

1 1 0 AUDIO/MARCH 1986

AD INDEX

Firm (Reader Service No.) Page

AKG Acoustics 4

Acoustic Research (1) Cover III & 112

Aiwa (28) 93

Akai (2) 65

Audio-Technica (3) 98

B & W (29) 88

Belles Research (4) 12

Boston Acoustics 31

Brystonvermont (5) 95

Cabasse 24

CBS Compact Disc (27) 85

Canton (6) 67

Carver (7) 14 & 15

dbx (8) 5

Dali 29

ESS (31) 11

Harman/Kardon 35

Infinity (11) 96

JBL 81

KEF (12) Cover H & 1

Kinergetics (13) 12

Kyocera (14) Cover IV

Levinson 71

Meridian 22

McIntosh (15) 63

Mission (16) 75

Nakamichi 53

NEC (32) 3

Nikko (33) 87

Onkyo 33

Ortofon (17) 20

Polk (18) 7

Pyle (19) 4

Recoton (20) 25

Sansui (21) 73

Signet (22) 13

Sony (23) 27

Soundcraftsmen (30) 8 & 9

Stillwater (24) 6

Studer Revox (25) 86

Telarc (26) 17

Vantage 47

Winston 61

Yamaha 79

MAIL ORDER

J.S. AUDIO OFFERS AN EXTENSIVE product selec-tion of HOME AUDIO, CAR STEREO, esoterics andthe new DIGITAL DISC PLAYERS AT EXTREMELYCOMPETITIVE PRICES. We provide six years of au-dio sales experience, candid honest advice and fullwarantee on all products we sell. For pricing and stockinformation call: 301-890-3232 or write to: J.S AUDIO,One Childress Court, Laurel, MD 20707. We honorVisa/MC and COD. Monday-Friday 11AM-7PM, Sat-urday 11AM-4PM.

NAKAMICHI, CARVER, REVOX, CROWN, BANG &OLUFSEN. TANDBERG, KYOCERA, N.A.D., THORENS,HARMAN-KARDON, B & W, E -V, A.D.S., DCM, KLIPSCH,AND OTHER QUALITY COMPONENTS. BEST PRICES -PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION. ALL PRODUCTSCOVERED BY MANUFACTURER'S USA WARRANTY.AMERISOUND SALES, INC., P.O. BOX 24009; JACK-SONVILLE, FLORIDA 32241. EAST: (904) 262-4000;WEST (818) 243-1168.

SONY PCM UNITS: PCMF1 $1599; PCM501ES $649.Catalog of over 50 PCM recordings (Beta VHS) $1.00.Send check -money order: DIRECT -TO -TAPE RECORD-ING COMPANY. 14 Station, Haddon Heights, NJ 08035609-547-6890.

WHOLESALE AUDIO, VIDEO, TELEPHONE ACCESSO-RIES. Cables, antennas, amplifiers. cartridges, transform-ers, watches, calculators, chemicals, speakers, radios, mi-crophones, adaptors. Free catalog. 718-897-0509. D&WEnterprises, 68-12 110th Street, Flushing, NY 11375.

WHY PAY MORE FOR LESS?? NEW USA WarrantedNakamichi Home And Automobile Products. SHAMEFUL-LY Low PRICES. Serious Buyers Only. Information SASERequired. East 1-202/723-7404, West 1-206/325-7601.AudioWorkShop, Box 18009, Seattle, WA 98118.

1414% THEMOD SQUADINTRODUCES

TIPTOES'CARTRIDGE COUPLERoptimizes mechanical inter facebetween cartridge and headshellTAPPED TIPTOESreplaces the feet on your Oracle,SOTA or VPI Turntable

LINE DRIVEa passive system control center foryour CD Player, tuner, tape deckand video sound.

Available at Tiptoes' Dealerseverywhere. Or direct from TheMod Squad. For a complete cata-log, send S2 postage/handling(refundable with order) to

0--Department A, 542 Coast Hwy 101

Leucadia, CA 92024

mid

Te synthesisL M250

expresses theexcitement andimpact of theoriginalperformance.'Duly a musician'sloudspeaker."Lewis Wink*Principal ContrabassoonistNalional Symphon3 Orchestra

nthesis2817 M Dorr Avenue Faith:, Virginia 22031


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If you wanted good soind in theearly days of hi-fi, you cut 3 hole inyour wall and mounted the wooferinsice. Or you built a Flared Horn thsize Df a refrigerator. Or bigger.

In 1954, a man named EdgarVillchur found a better way. n buildingthe world's lowest-distortio1 low -frequency speaker, he replaced crudemechanical suspensions and giantcabinets with a cushion of air in asmal, tightly sealed box. Called"Acoustic Suspension," the newloudspeaker reduced distortion byfactcr of 10. And it was the first higfidel ty speaker you could fit on aboohelf.

To build his Acoustic uspen-sion speakers, Villchur fourded a newcompany: Acoustic Research. Over-nigh-, AR products became the mostrevered, most sought-after, mostimitated speakers in historw. In fact,over 70 different speaker rr anufac-turers are using AR's Acoustic Sus-pension design today.

Since 1954, AR has substan-tially improved the original AcousticSuspension speaker. By imentingthe come tweeter, introduc ng mag-netic fluid cooling, building 3/4"high -density enclosures, el minatingcabinet diffraction, and soling theprobem of speaker/room irrterface.

AR's new BXi Series Loud-spea-cers for 1986 are the mosthighly refined speakers on -oday'smarket. And they should be. It tookus 32 years to make them.

AiACOUSTICRESEARCH

We speak from experience.


THE ONE HIGH -END AUDIO SYSTEMGOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY IN EVERY ROOM.

The finer your audio system, the moreSou should enjoy it. So why confine your

nnng pleasure to just one room?Now Kyocera's Full System Remote

comporents let one system drive up to three setsof speakers in different rooms - and let you

control everything from any room!With Lp to three

remote ser 9013 and awireless cortoller, you can

adjus- volume. choosetracks on the Compact Disc

player, tune AN: or FM stations,even record casettes without

ever heaving your chair Just asnportant, Kyocerc =till System

[-Emote componen-s cre greatlyirrpro....ed versions of -he same

RecEivers, CasEeffe Decks, and CDPlaver -hat earned Kyocera its high -end reputation.

Sc don't settle for an audiophile system that only play:, in one000M WI -En '.0c L. can own the cne audiophile

5v -stem thc-plays in three.KYOCER2

Ester Nc. 14 on Reader Sen4o- Card Built right from the ground up

KycJea Int--national Inc 7 Fowcer Horn Drive. Wcroerk NJ 07060-0227.1-800-922-1080

Audio-1986-03.pdf - World Radio History

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Transcript of Audio-1986-03.pdf - World Radio History