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 153, April/May2005 table of contents and editorial.

April / May 2005

Editorial

  

Viewpoints

6 - From The Editor

8 - Letters

117 - Manufacturer Comments 

 

Columns

20 - The Emerson String Quartet Times Two: 
Recording Mendelssohn's Octet
Overdubbing? Andrew Quint reports on an unusual approach to this classical recording. 

64 - Great-Sounding Classical LPs That Aren't on HP's Superdisc List, Part One
With a little help from his friends, Jonathan Valin tells us about a bunch of terrific-sounding, lesser-known classical LPs. 

90 - Cover Story
Gilmore Audio Model 2 Loudspeaker
Robert E. Greene listens to an ambitious new take on the 
ribbon-cone hybrid. 

24 - Bright Lights, Big City: A Report From the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show
Join our staff for a trip to Las Vegas, and peek at some very cool new gear. 

94 - TAS Roundtable: The Resurgence of Vinyl
Music Direct's Josh Bizar and Musical Surroundings' Garth Leerer join TAS' Wayne Garcia and Jonathan Valin to discuss the remarkable popularity and staying power of the LP record. Robert Harley moderates. 

176 - TAS Retrospective
Though it's still in production, Robert Harley considers the Linn Sondek CD12 CD Player to be a future classic. 

 

Equipment Reports

16 - Absolute Analog 
Stephan Harrell reports on the Thorens TD2010 turntable, Insider/Outsider weights, and a nifty VTA device for Rega arms. 

72 - Wharfedale Diamond 9.6 Loudspeaker
Moderately priced speakers keep getting better, says Jim Hannon. 

74 - Conrad-Johnson PV14L2 Linestage 
A new model from C-J has Chris Martens pondering musical truths. 

78 - Calix Technology F8 Loudspeaker
Neil Gader weighs the dual nature of this Taiwanese design. 

82 - Balanced Audio Technology VK-3ix Preamplifier and 
VK-55 Amplifier 
Sue Kraft listens to the latest entry-level pair from BAT; Wayne Garcia comments on the VK-55. 

86 - Verity Audio Fidelio Encore Loudspeaker
Shane Buettner on this compact Canadian three-way model. 

 

The Cutting Edge

102 - HP's Workshop
A plethora of goodies from our man in Sea Cliff: a horn-hybrid speaker from Italy's Zingali; more on the VPI Super Scoutmaster — now the Plus; and another go at linestages — this time from Burmester, Conrad-Johnson, Tom Evans Design, Herron, and Lector.

 

The Music

134 - Recording of the Issue: 
David S. Ware: Live in the World 

122 - Classical
A whopping 14 CDs, SACDs, and DVD-As reviewed, including three Vivaldi titles, Evgeni Koroliov's Mozart piano sonatas, and Anthiel's Third Symphony. 

134 - Jazz
Coverage of nine discs and records from Dave Douglas, Jason Moran, Revolutionary Ensemble, and Richard Leo Johnson. 

149 - Pop 
Reviews of 18 new CDs and LPs, including the latest from Mercury Rev, M. Ward, Kathleen Edwards, Mary Gauthier, Kings of Leon, and Marianne Faithfull, plus a triple-disc set from Nick Cave. 

 

Finale

171 - Classifieds 

173 - Where To Buy The Absolute Sound 

175 - Ad Index

 

In The Next Issue

A complete system from MBL, Energy V2.3i speaker , SME 30 turntable, And More!