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 179, February 2008 contents and editorial.

 

Read this edition's editorial by clicking here.

 

Articles & Reviews In This Issue
6 Letters

14 From The Editor

16Industry News
Inside the Vienna Acoustics loudspeaker factory; Seattle's Definitive Audio hosts the third annual Music Matters extravaganza.

22iTAS
WG reports on a unique tabletop audio system from — get this! — Meridian Audio and Ferrari.

24Start Me Up
Wayne Garcia on the Epos M16 loudspeaker, Music Hall Trio CD Receiver, and Marantz DV6001 universal player.

101 Manufacturer Comments

110 The TAS Short List
Our top equipment picks in every category and price level.

 

TAS Journal
31 Rocky Mountain High
Great new gear from the Fourth Annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.

 

Equipment Reports

55 Audience Adept Response aR1p AC Line Conditioner
Neil Gader on a single-outlet AC conditioner.

56 Canton Chrono 502 Loudspeaker
Steven Stone listens to a $1000 two-way from Germany.

60 Simaudio Moon Evolution SuperNova CD Player NG on yet another winner from Canada's Simaudio.

64 Crystal Cable Piccolo Speaker Cable and Interconnect NG on a thin cable and interconnect that deliver big sound.

66  Balanced Audio Technology VK-42SE Preamplifier Jacob Heilbrunn on a solid-state preamplifier from a company known for tube electronics.

72  Magic Act! Magico V3 and Mini II Loudspeakers
Robert Harley and Jonathan Valin on two speakers that may redefine the state of the art
PLUS: Interview with Magico's Alon Wolf 

102 HP's Workshop
HP's best-sounding CDs and SACDs.

 

Music
128 Recording of the Issue
Carla Bley: The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu.

117 Classical
Tippett's Complete Music for Piano, Angela Hewitt's Schumann Piano Sonata No. 1, Gabriela Imreh's Piano Transcriptions, a new Vivaldi  Atenaide, Cecilia Bartoli's Maria, Pieter Wispelwey's new Dvothk Cello Concerto, Sarah Chang's interpretation of The Four Seasons, Shore's Lord of the Rings cycle, and a Jascha Heifetz LP reissue from Cisco. Plus, 2007's Best Classical Albums.

126 Jazz
Coverage of hot releases from Ron Blake, Paul Bollenback, Stanley Clarke, Bloodcount, Trio M, Valerie Joyce, and a New Orleans-themed box set. Plus, 2007's Best Jazz Albums.

134 Rock
Reviews of new CDs and LPs from Dtive-By Truckers, Alicia Keys, Levon Helm, The Eels, Sigur Ros, the Hives, Os Mutantes, and Eagles. Fresh reissues and collections from Aretha Franklin, U2, David Bowie, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Byrne, Simon & Garfunkel, Allman Brothers Band, and ZZ Top, and critiques on books and compilations concerning Eric Clapton and Nick Drake. Plus, 2007's Best Rock and Pop Albums.

 

Back Page
154 We talk with Peter Gansterer, Founder and Designer, Vienna Acoustics.

 

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