It is always a pleasure to work with our Chinese distributor, Radar, on the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show. As one of the most important audio and video events in Hong Kong and South East Asia, this is a spectacular opportunity for industry members to show their wares to a captivated audience. If you did not have the opportunity to attend the HKAV Show this year, here are a few photos from the event.
Real music lovers can find the melody in everything. From the park to the concert hall, our friend Nelson Brill is always on the hunt for great sound.
In this blog, Brill takes us to Tanglewood, where he recounts the performances from the 2016 Contemporary Music Festival.
AUGUST 4, 2016
bso.org
This photograph, taken on a starry night in July, 1953, hangs in the entrance hall of the majestic Highwood Manor House at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s (“BSO”) bucolic summer home at the Tanglewood Music Center (www.tanglewood.org) in Lenox, MA. It shows then-BSO conductor Charles Munch holding hands in salute with a broad-smiling young violinist (Isaac Stern) and BSO principal violinist Joseph Pasquale as they acknowledged ovations for their performance of a Mozart Concerti under the canopy of the famed Koussevitzky Shed at Tanglewood. The magic of the Tanglewood Music Center (“TMC”) is that one can view these old photographs, linger on the same leafy grounds where these musical legends gathered to perform, teach and be inspired and then listen to a concert performed by today’s young artists in vivacious continuity with these past masters – whose influence still flows through everything that happens here like the constant breeze that wafts through the TMC’s stately lawns and overarching pines.
artspreview.net
Grab a sandwich at the old timey Loeb’s market in nearby Lenox, MA. (their roast beef with horseradish mayo is dynamite!) and then head through the Leonard Bernstein Gate to the pastoral greenery of the TMC. Its grounds are dotted with one-room rustic cabins where students in the TMC’s Fellowship Program practice their art. Only at Tanglewood might you hear (on the float of the light breeze) a sudden plunge of a trombone growl from the undergrowth or a soaring aria (melding with the tenor calls of accompanying song sparrows). Nearby is Seiji Ozawa Hall (opened in 1994), a performance space like no other.
greatperformancetours.com
With its rear wall removed to expose the meadows, Berkshire Mountains and sky beyond, sound in Ozawa Hall is ravishing and lustrous: quicksilver in delivery with a crisp and natural acoustic capturing voices and instrumental textures in unflinching detail.
flicker.com
Ozawa Hall has a camp hall feel, with its wooden vaulted high ceiling (composed of open sections for sound to penetrate), and irregular surfaces everywhere (including beautiful wrap-around wood latticework on its balconies) for a delivery of a lucid and glistening sound that has very little of that “golden glow” quality (as mentor Harry Pearson liked to describe it) heard in the acoustic space of its elder big brother- the incomparable Symphony Hall in Boston.
“Glistening” is a great word to describe not only the special quicksilver acoustic of Ozawa Hall but also to describe the blaze of new sounds and instrumental colors that were heard in concert at Ozawa Hall this past week during the TMC’s annual Festival of Contemporary Music (“Festival”). This year’s Festival held particular poignancy because its creator and curator, trailblazing composer and conductor Steven Stucky (who had been associated with Tanglewood and the Festival for many years), tragically passed away in February before he had the chance to attend this year’s Festival that he so cherished. However, (as is always the case at TMC) the loving continuity between this recently passed-on dynamic composer and the ear-tingling quality of new music heard at Ozawa Hall in this year’s Festival was palpable and inescapable.
latimes.com
In his own compositions, Stucky succeeded in combining vocal and instrumental music in fascinating and piquant combinations, always foraging for that contrasting, unpredictable crush of colors or portend silence in his pulsating works. Take a listen to his challenging and moving “music oratorio” (combining Stucky’s music with a libretto by Gene Scheer) entitledAugust 4, 1964 (from a 2012 CD recording with the Dallas Symphony and Chorus on the DSO’s own label).
In this concert drama, instrumental and vocal sounds lurch up against each other with force and radiance behind the soaring vocals depicting this painful day in American history when President Johnson signed the Gulf of Tonkin agreement (to shamefully escalate the war in Vietnam) and, (on this same day), denounce the infamy of the racist killings of civil rights workers Goodwin, Chaney and Schwerner in Mississippi by white supremacists. The recording, (made in the spacious Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX. with a balcony perspective on all of the dramatic action), is filled with wonderfully layered vocal performances combined with Stucky’s masterful play of instrumentation utilizing chasing woodwinds, blares of brass holds and the clash of huge bass drum hits with light chimes – all combined into a searing, dramatic performance of this political moment.
This quality for inventive sounds, colors and rhythms found in Stucky’s own music could also be heard glistening from strings and percussive hits during the performances of new music encountered at this year’s Festival at Ozawa Hall. On Friday, July 22nd, several gifted young musicians from the TMC Fellows and the New Fromm Players performed music that challenged the ear and mind. In the U.S. premier of composer Joseph Phibbs’ (b. 1974) String Quartet No. 1, Jordan Koransky (violin) Natsuki Kumagai (violin II), Mary Ferrillo (viola) and Francesca McNeely (cello), danced together in a piece that was filled with moments of elegiac eloquence. The piece combined hymn-like string holds and whispers of light pizzicatos with deep strums of cello and viola (heard luminescent in Ozawa) that concluded with a swell of string crescendo and salute (like fiery embers thrown into a night sky). This same group also performed Hans Abrahamsen’s (b. 1952) String Quartet No. 3 with its last movement (“Molto Tranquillo”) where the players all placed mutes on their strings and created the eeriest, softest whispers of mysterious runs and cross-accents pushing and pulling against each other.
Soprano Sophia Burgos (with her regal powerful vocal presence) joined the group to perform Sebastian Currier’s (b. 1959) Deep Sky Objects and, (along with pinpoints of light from Max Grafe’s spikey electronic accents) the group made bold and diaphanous work of this ghostly, yearning piece. The performance concluded with Donnacha Dennehy’s (b.1970) wondrous piece One Hundred Goodbyes, where the four string players waxed and waned with beautiful shimmer and flow to Dennehy’s music set to the sounds of recordings made from 1928-1931 in Ireland by folk archivists and linguists. Both spoken word and song fragments moved in and out of an arresting forest of sounds: the first violin held a highest staccato note that was then caught and passed around furiously by the other players; carnival sounds erupted from a rush of strings in descending comic slides and finally, a furious burbling of string voices was created when the players held one note with quick agitation (using only the shortest part of their bows in quick fury) melding and swaying to the archived voices from the past in a celebration of fluttering sounds and soaring colors.
To experience a slice of the sonic excitement, drama and restless exploration that was heard in these glowing performances at Ozawa Hall, take a listen to a gem of a new recording from the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, “BMOP”, (an orchestra in the vanguard of exploring the music of our time led by their intrepid artistic director Gil Rose) in a performance of the music of composer Mason Bates (b. 1977) recorded at New England Conservatory’s (www.necmusic.edu) glorious Jordan Hall in Boston.
Entitled Mothership [on the BMOP Sound label), this 2015 recording is astonishing in its landscape of sounds and colors; the virtuosity of its musicianship and in its delivery of the grandeur of Bates’ creative vision. The sweep of shape-shifting instrumental colors in Bates’ music is stunningly beautiful. Every electronic pizzazz, percussive swipe or clamoring string run is captured on this SACD recording (compatible with CD as well) in a beautiful layered soundstage of impressive presence and tactile vitality. Bates’ “Desert Transport” ebbs and flows on carousing strings with seesawing woodwinds and holds of deep brass, all alive in great swarming action. Chimes ring out clear and pelting, pushing the final horn blasts in majestic force. Likewise, Mothership brews with pounding electronic bass and cross hatches of brass and woodwinds, with FM Rhodes (played with frolic by NEC’s own Jason Moran) and the lyrical suppleness from Su Chang’s resonant guzheng (an ancient Chinese stringed instrument resembling a zither), adding dapper and soulful conversation. Bates’ “Attack Decay Sustain Release” is a soaring opening salvo of crisp bells, propulsive strings, woodwinds and horns cascading and whirling. The sparkling and wide-ranging virtuosity of the BMOP is eloquently put to the test on Bates’ “Rusty Air in Carolina”, in which a panoply of electronica, percussive ingenuity (to portray locusts flying on the wind) and orchestral colors are brought to bear to ignite a rollicking composition of skittish delights and pensive moments – all shifting and evolving as it sweeps along into new frontiers of sound and color. Playing this recording on a quality audio system is like having a front row seat to the Red Sox on opening day at Fenway: where youthful expectations and dreams of championships have no limit or boundary. Listening to the music of Bates or Stucky or those composers featured at the TMC Festival breaks every expectation and genre mold- boundless and bracing.
TANGLEWOOD UPDATE: This August is a great time to get thee to Tanglewood with performances ranging from a special evening to hear violinist Gil Shaham performing J.S. Bach Sonatas in the intimacy of Ozawa Hall to witnessing the grandeur of Verdi’s Aida Acts 1 and 2performed by the BSO and a host of great vocalists joined by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. For the full schedule at Tanglewood for the remainder of the 2016 summer season, see www.tanglewood.org. More reports from Tanglewood to come!
Hilary Scott: John Williams conducting the Boston Pops at Tanglewood On Parade 2016
If you would like to read more reviews like this one, visit Nelson’s blog at www.bostonconcertreviews.com.
Nordost was happy to receive a glowing review of our Valhalla 2 Reference Cables in the July issue of Stereophile. Reviewer Brian Damkroger had first reviewed the original Valhalla cable range in November of 2001, describing them as a “revelation”, at the time. We were eager to see how he would react to the improvements made to the Valhalla 2s, and in his words, there was “no comparison between the two generations.”
“My first impressions of the Valhalla 2 References, which remained unchanged throughout my listening, were of how smoothly the music flowed from note to note; of a very natural warmth and tonal richness of the sounds of instruments; and of how solid, dimensional, and tangible images and soundstages seemed.”
— Brian Damkroger, Stereophile.
You can now read Damkroger’s article, Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference — Interconnect, Speaker Cable, Phone Cable, Power Cord, on the review section of the Nordost website.
Nordost is lucky to have a wonderful team of representatives and product trainers who travel around the world educating and demonstrating the effects of Nordost’s products. As part of these demonstrations, it is our job to find an interesting and diverse selection of music to showcase our cables, power devices, sort system and accessories. Whether at shows, visiting our dealers and distributors or even in our own listening room in our headquarters in Holliston, we are constantly getting asked what music we are playing (or if our audience is not so bold to ask, we can see their Shazams working overtime). So we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share our favorite songs of the moment. Some may be classics, some may be brand new, some may not even be to your taste, but one thing is for sure …it’s all great music.
Here are some of the songs that we will have on rotation this August.
Everything You Need To Know About LP Records
by Anthony Chiarella
I’d forgotten just how great LPs can sound. This point was driven home a couple of years ago when I added a new turntable to my reference system. At the time, I had a $65,000 digital front end, and I thought the sound it produced was about as good as High End could get…until I started spinning records. My analog rig—turntable, arm, cartridge and phono preamp—cost less than half as much, but outperformed my digital stack in almost every respect. Instrumental timbres were richer, with finer harmonic detail, imaging was more three dimensional, and the spaces between the images more palpable, with an airiness and cohesion that was just, well, more lifelike than even the best digital systems. I found this especially true with older, analog masters, but surprisingly, many modern digital transfers actually sounded better on vinyl! (In fairness, I should point out that there are many digital masters which outperform their analog counterparts.) Of course, sound quality alone doesn’t explain the renaissance of the LP record. The tactile pleasures of holding an album cover—an experience that was diminished with the “compact” disc and eliminated completely with streaming—provide a powerful sensory experience. The ability to see and savor album artwork, not to mention lyrics and other “extras” included with many LPs, is sorely missed with CDs and modern digital formats.
The “chore” of removing an LP from its jacket, placing it on the platter, clamping it, cleaning it and carefully lowering the needle into the groove was supposedly one of the reasons why CDs became more popular than LPs; however, for many LP lovers, the ritual of preparing the record for playback actually enhances the experience. And then, there is the hardware. Does any other component in the stereo system equal the beauty or visual artistry of the turntable? Since the time of Edison, record players have been sources of pride and collectability, as well as the focal point of most HiFi systems. (There are several turntables in the Museum of Modern Art’s Permanent Design Collection.) Once you’ve decided to “take the plunge” and join the Analog Renaissance, there are a few vinyl-specific things you have to know. Whether you’re looking to spend a few hundred dollars or a hundred thousand, here’s everything you need to get started… Today’s top ‘tables are true works of art, designed for aesthetic appeal as well as performance. Brinkmann, Kronos, TechDas and many others offer superbly crafted analogue systems, engineered to last for several lifetimes. At lower price points, Rega, Project, EAT and VPI offer entry-level ‘tables whose sound quality approaches state-of-the-art, though without the visual beauty or obsessive craftsmanship, which defines cost-no-object products. Ortofon and Sumiko dominate the market for reasonably-priced phono cartridges, while Kiseki, Koetsu and Lyra continue to develop exquisite cartridges for music lovers who demand “the best” regardless of cost.
Being a high-performance software format, there are two more variables you’ll need to address if you want to extract the highest possible performance from your analog rig. First of all, pay attention to where you mount your turntable and the structure upon which you place it. Record players are vulnerable to “acoustic feedback” (which sounds like a loud, uncontrollable hum) if placed too close to speakers, especially those with prodigious bass; additionally, a turntable placed upon a wobbly floor or rickety stand will be prone to “groove skipping.” Of course, a rigid, high-mass—and expensive!—equipment rack is ideal, but budget and décor often render such purchases impractical. Here are a couple of hints… First, make sure you place the stand upon which your turntable rests near a load-bearing wall (usually one of the exterior walls of the house), as these are the most solid points in the room and the least prone to footfalls and other mechanical interference. A wall-mount shelf—available online for under $150—offers great isolation at a very affordable price. Next, if you’re using a piece of furniture, make sure it’s top surface is level and that it doesn’t wobble. (Small pieces of plastic can be used to “shim” the legs of your furniture to keep it stable and level.) Finally, in order to minimize acoustic feedback, try to position your equipment rack as far from your speakers as possible. We’re almost done!
You’ll also need a few accessories to make your ‘table sing and maintain those precious slabs of vinyl in pristine condition. If your turntable has a detachable phono cable, you may want to consider and upgrade. The signals that are sent through a phono cable are the most delicate in your hifi system, and you would be surprised at the nuances that a high quality cable can bring to sound fidelity. Companies such as Nordost offer a wide range of tonearm cables that run the gamut cost-wise. Another thing to consider is record cleaning machines. Record cleaning machines haven’t changed since vinyl’s “golden age” of the 1960s through ‘80s, when most libraries owned “wet-system” machines that would wash and vacuum their vast collections. The best of these are made by Okki Nokki and VPI, range in price from approximately $500-$1,000, and are recommended for music lovers with large record collections. (Even for small collections, the improvement in sound quality is amazing!) Need to spend less? Spin-Clean makes a dry-system vacuum machine which starts under $80, while AudioQuest and MoFi offer manual brushes starting at under $15! Assuming you’re setting up your own analog rig, a protractor and stylus gauge are essential…and cheap! Add some stylus cleaning fluid and a package of record sleeves (to replace the old sleeves of used records) and you’re ready to discover the pleasures of LP Playback. Enjoy!
By Steve Greene
Whether you are a visitor or a resident of metro New York City, any trip uptown or north of the city in White Plains would be incomplete without dropping by Lyric Hi Fi to see and hear the latest high-end audio gear in some of America’s best sound rooms. Lyric was founded in 1959 by the venerable Mike Kay, an icon in the audio industry for over 40 years. When it came time for Mr. Kay to retire, the New York audio community was fortunate indeed to see him sell his business to longtime and beloved key employees Lenny Bellezza and Dan Mondoro. In fact, both gentlemen have enjoyed working with Lyric’s fine clientele for over 30 years, so the transition to new ownership was incredibly smooth! Lenny can be found at the Lexington Avenue store in the city, and Dan at the White Plains, NY store. Lenny and Dan exude the very definition of professionalism and class, making sure every customer is treated like a family member, and ensuring each customer’s experience at Lyric turns them into a lifelong client. Both stores are staffed with experienced installers and very knowledgeable sales people, including Mike Deutsch, Bob Herman and Scott Trusty.
While Lyric was a leader in early remote controlled custom audio installations, they became the leader in high-end audio in both metro New York City and the US as that industry began its formation and growth, particularly in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Lyric Hi Fi became an oasis for manufacturers to showcase their latest high end products. Music lovers, and even magazine editors and writers, flocked in to see and hear these cutting-edge hi-fi components perform in special, custom-built sound rooms— and the same remains true today! Lyric’s sound rooms are very unique for an audio store, allowing you to hear everything the selected equipment being demoed is capable of. The floors are decoupled from the walls, which are not parallel to each other, eliminating standing waves and hiding any interference from New York’s famous underground subway. The construction of all the special materials used to build these awesome sound rooms was actually done in the Lexington Avenue store’s basement level cabinet shop! In fact, some manufacturers even used these facilities to build, among other things, speaker cabinets. Industry luminaries like Rudy Bozak, Saul Marantz, Dick Sequirra, Bob Carver, Harry Pearson and so on were known to frequent Lyric Hi Fi! This continues today with the industry’s top designers and manufacturers making frequent visits.
Today, customers still reap the benefits of Lyric’s vast customer service experience and superior demo facilities perfected over the years. The product mix in both locations run the gamut from affordable but great sounding components, up to the very finest audio components that most can only aspire to buy. Brands like Wilson Audio, B&W, McIntosh, VPI, Rega, dCS, Audio Research, Marantz, GoldenEar, PrimaLuna, Dynavector, Audeze, Sonos, Magnepan, NAD, and, of course, Nordost, just to mention a few, are on display and available for demo. Both locations also offer a wide range of accessories to enhance your system, including a huge selection of Nordost cables, Sort Kones, and QRT products. It would be difficult to visit either store and not find something in your budget that you just can’t leave the store without! Parking is quite easy with spaces often available directly in front of the Lexington Ave location, or just around the corner on 83rd St, which is where I usually park during my visits. A public parking lot is directly next door to the White Plains store as well as directly in front of it. So, make sure you visit either store when uptown or north of the city; you’ll be very glad you did!
The Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show is being held this year at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center August 5-7th and Nordost is excited to be taking part! Come and see us in the Radar room, S421, where Nordost representatives will be there to perform demonstrations and cable comparisons as well as answer product questions. The Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show is one of the most important events in the audio and visual industry in Hong Kong and South East Asia, and we are happy to be involved once again!
Nordost is lucky to have a wonderful team of representatives and product trainers who travel around the world educating and demonstrating the effects of Nordost’s products. As part of these demonstrations, it is our job to find an interesting and diverse selection of music to showcase our cables, power devices, sort system and accessories. Whether at shows, visiting our dealers and distributors or even in our own listening room in our headquarters in Holliston, we are constantly getting asked what music we are playing (or if our audience is not so bold to ask, we can see their Shazams working overtime). So we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share our favorite songs of the moment. Some may be classics, some may be brand new, some may not even be to your taste, but one thing is for sure …it’s all great music.
Here are some of the songs that we will have on rotation this July.
At Nordost we are proud of the fact that as you go up our product line, the improvements and effects that our cables bring to your sound system are easily demonstrable. At trade shows and industry events, Nordost representatives and product specialists do linear cable swaps to highlight these transitions. However, most people don’t have the opportunity to attend these events, so they rely on reviews to make an informed decision. While reviews are a great resource to better understand how a cable can transform a system, you rarely come across reviews that describe the changes that result from choosing an entry-level, to a mid-level, to a reference cable within the same brand. That is why we were so excited when Jeff Dorgay, from ToneAudio, came to us with his idea to compare four of our tonearm cables (from our Blue Heaven, Heimdall 2, Frey 2, and Valhalla 2 ranges) for his publication. The result was a very honest look at Nordost cables that we think end users will really appreciate.
“As much as we wanted to squeal to high heaven that a nearly $5,000 tonearm cable was bullshit, it isn’t. If you have the system to show it off, you will not be disappointed in the least.”
“Like all the other Nordost cables we’ve had the pleasure to audition, they offer a linear increase in performance as you go up the range”
“We’ve walked away from hundreds of hours of listening to not only be impressed, but to suggest them heartily.”
— ToneAudio
To read this article in its entirety, go to the review section on the Nordost website or click the following link:
A Clear Advantage—Going up the range with Nordost
Or, Why Our Kids Will Love High End Audio As Much As We Do!
by Anthony Chiarella
After 40 years in audio, I’ve got a pretty awesome stereo system. Of course, it didn’t start out that way…
In 1975, when I bought my first rig, I spent every dime I had on a Kenwood Integrated amp, a Philips Turntable and a pair of KLH speakers. It was a popular “Entry-Level” system and cost a fortune! Back then, we didn’t know electrolytic capacitors, tone controls and most of the other technological particulars of this system were sonically degrading, or that it would quickly become obsolescent –its resale value sinking like a stone.
Back then, all of my friends wanted a slammin’ stereo. Aside from a car, it was the “Dream Purchase” for virtually every High School student in America. Nowadays, with computers and a host of tech toys competing for young consumers’ attention (and cash) stereos haven’t been the “Objects of Desire” that they used to be. That’s all about to change. Today’s entry-level gear is SO good that it is attracting young music lovers in numbers not seen in decades!
Millennials and Hipsters are discovering the pleasures of High End Audio, drawn largely by the resurgence of vinyl records. On a recent trip to my local Barnes and Noble, I was amazed and gratified to see that almost 20% of the store’s floor space was occupied by record bins, with dozens of hip young gunslingers flipping through stacks of freshly pressed LPs. Just last week, legendary recording engineer, Bob Ludwig, told me that every album he masters is now released on vinyl as well as digital. The “Analog Boom” has caused turntable sales to skyrocket, and the quality of entry-level turntables has kept pace. Pro-Ject has just built the largest turntable factory in Europe, capable of cranking out over a quarter million ‘tables a year! Rega has recently introduced new models at both lower and higher prices than ever before, hoping to lure first-time buyers with bargain ‘tables and then encourage them to upgrade to flagship products.
Sales of tube electronics—especially at lower price-points—are also flourishing. PrimaLuna, whose all-tube integrated amplifiers start at $1,799, has experienced sales growth of over 25% per year for the last several years. Rogue Audio, another bargain-priced tube brand headquartered in Pennsylvania, has experienced similarly spectacular increases. On the speaker side, KEF’s LS50 redefined what’s possible for under $1,500, while Elac now offers more than a half dozen high performance models which retail for under a grand. And of course, Nordost’s Leif Series has put ultra-high-performance cabling systems within the reach of every music lover.
Thanks to the “Hip Factor” of vinyl records and vacuum tubes, a new generation of consumers (with high disposable income!) is discovering the pleasures of Audiophilia. Better still, entry level equipment has gotten so good—and for so little money—that it’s now possible to assemble a world-class HiFi system at prices that would have been impossible just a few years ago. A NAD 316BEE Integrated Amplifier ($379), Project Debut Carbon Turntable ($399) and Elac Debut B4 speakers ($179/pr) deliver super sound for less than one thousand dollars, giving budget-constrained consumers a heaping helping of high-end panache and long-term investment potential for about the same price as a weekend at the Jersey Shore.
Want a super-cool system? Match a PrimaLuna Prologue Classic Integrated Tube Amplifier ($1,799), Rega RP3 Turntable ($899) and Dynaudio Emit M30 Towers ($1,199). You’ll get dynamic, full-range sound—and the warm glow of vacuum tubes—for under four grand. Throw in Nordost Blue Heaven Power Cords, Interconnects and Speaker Cables and the tab is still under five thousand bucks. An ARCAM irDAC II (arguably the world’s best budget D/A Converter) adds $800 to the package, along with superb digital sound quality! Fully loaded (including appropriate cabling and accessories) we’re still around $6,000 for a system whose performance would have cost over ten thousand dollars just a few short years ago.
My point here isn’t to design systems for the readers, nor is it to pitch products that I admire. I’m simply trying to illustrate that High End Audio, whose long-term viability was once in question, is alive and well and growing at a healthy and satisfying pace! More importantly, it isn’t just veteran audiophiles upgrading existing systems; rather, it is Millenials, Hipsters and other first-time buyers looking to make a lasting investment in quality HiFi gear. Of course, these new customers will upgrade over time, as we all do, which should guarantee a long and prosperous future for the hobby we love. For all of you who are worried about the future of HiFi, rest easy. High End Audio is getting better and better!