Welcome to The Abso!ute Sound online! We explore music and the reproduction of music in the home. We believe that the sound of music, unamplified, occurring in a real space is a philosophic absolute against which we may judge the performance of devices designed to reproduce music. Our goal is to provide the resources consumers need to judge how a component's sound either honors or departs from the music's truth, and to make sound purchasing decisions that maximize their experience of reproduced sound. Below is our Issue 149, August / September 2004 table of contents and editorial.

August / September 2004

Editorial

  

Viewpoints

4 - From The Editor

6 - Letters

103 - Manufacturer Comments 

 

Columns

16 - Industry News 

18 Future TAS 
Hot new products on the horizon. 

20 - Absolute Analog 
Paul Seydor spins Pro-Ject's RM 9 turntable and Sumiko's Blackbird cartridge, and sets it all atop Townshend’s Seismic Sink Isolation Platform. 

24 - Exotica: Epiphany 12-12 and 6-6 Loudspeakers 
Share a near-religious experience with Jon Valin and Wayne Garcia. 

34 - The 2004 Home Entertainment Show
Take a guided tour of the Big Apple’s Spring Show with Jonathan Valin and Robert Harley. 

62 - Cover Story
Edge Electronics G2 AC/DC Preamp and G8+ Monoblock Amplifiers
The solid-state gear from Edge Electronics is unlike anything he’s heard before, so says our editor Wayne Garcia. 

74 - TAS Roundtable 
The Sound of Analog Tape, LP, CD, SACD, and DVD-Audio
Our ongoing look at important topics finds Mark Levinson, 
Harry Pearson, Doug Sax, and Jonathan Valin discussing and debating the sonic merits of various audio-storage formats—from analog tape to today’s high-resolution digital media. Robert Harley moderates. 

168 - TAS Contributors Page
Meet, if you dare, R. Harley, W. Garcia, and J. Valin. 

 

Equipment Reports

43 - Rotel RA-1062 Integrated Amp
Alan Taffel listens to this sweet and affordable number from Rotel. 

46 - Four Easy Speakers: Infinity Primus 360, Canton Ergo 702DC, Dynaudio Audience 52SE, Bohlender Graebener Radia Z
A lot of good speakers are priced below $2000; Neil Gader reports on four of them. 

55 - Exposure 2010 Integrated Amplifier and Power Amplifier
Chris Martens checks out a set of intriguing electronics from Great Britain.

60 - Simaudio Moon Equinox CD Player
Spend two grand for a CD-only player in this day and age? Neil Gader tells you why you should. 

67 - Harbeth SHL5 LoudSpeaker
Nothing wrong with a big ol’ British box speaker, so says Robert E. Greene. 

69 - Rockport Technologies Mira Loudspeaker
Wayne Garcia on the latest from primo designer Andy Payor. 

72 - Follow-Up: Quantum RT-800 AC Source and EMF Conditioner 
Chris Martens takes another listen to a controversial power conditioner.

 

The Cutting Edge

83 - Avalon Acoustics Eidolon Diamond Loudspeaker
In-depth report on Avalon's latest jewel-studded flagship, by Robert Harley. 

90 - Pass xa160 Power Amplifier: Getting Back to the Music
Anthony H. Cordesman calls the Pass XA160 "an amplifier with soul." 

94 - Accuphase P-7000 Amplifier
A Japanese contender for the best amp available — Fred Kaplan reports. 

98 - Talon Firebird Loudspeaker 
Anthony H. Cordesman extols the musicality of Talon's new speakers. 

 

The Music

127 - Rock and Pop RECORDING OF THE ISSUE Wilco: A ghost is born; Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand; Sigur Ros: Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do; Broken Social Scene: Bee Hives; Sam Phillips: A Boot and a Shoe; Patti Smith: Trampin’; Eric Clapton: Me & Mr. Johnson and Keb Mo: Keep It Simple; Diverse: One A.M. and Kanye West: The College Dropout; Lou Reed: Animal Serenade, Allman Brothers: One Way Out, and Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Volume 6; Ellis Hooks: Uncomplicated; The Buzzcocks: Singles Going Steady and The Saints: I’m Stranded (Runt 180-gram LPs) SACD — Mission of Burma: ONoffON; George Harrison: Live In Japan

138 - The "NEW FOLK": 5 artists putting a fresh sound on a familiar classic Jim White, Sufjan Stevens, Ollabelle, Patty Griffin, and Sarah Harmer

141 - Jazz Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls: Breeding Resistance and Chicago Underground Trio: Slon; Duke Ellington: Masterpieces by Ellington; Brad Mehldau: Anything Goes and Joel Framm with Brad Mehldau: Don’t Explain; Fred Hersch: Trio + 2; Jason Lindner: Live/UK; Miguel Zenón: Ceremonial; Andy Bey: American Song SACD—Great Jazz Trio: Someday My Prince Will Come

149 - Classical Purcell: Dido and Aeneas and Britten: The Turn of the Screw; Anonymous 4: American Angels and Trio Mediaeval: Soir Dit-Elle; The 1950s Haydn Symphonies Recordings; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 SACD—Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin and Bluebeard’s Castle; Mahler: Symphony No. 3; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition and Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible; SACD and DVD-A Tackle Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies Conducted by Karajan and Abbado

158 - Absolute Audiophilia Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (Maag) (Speakers Corner 45 RPM LPs); John Lennon: Imagine and Aimee Mann: Lost In Space (MoFi 180-gram LPs)

 

Finale

163 - Classifieds

165 - Where To Buy The Absolute Sound

167 - Ad Index