Issue 205

When it comes to high-end audio, we can all agree that there's a huge obsession with which pieces of gear sound the way we hope for. Some of us prefer the warmth of tubes, while others like the openness and clarity of solid-state. Or, there’s digital versus analog. And, don't get me going about loudspeakers, where we're talking about night and day differences in sound: electrostats versus dynamics, open baffle versus closed box, planars and ribbons versus cones and domes.

In the recording arts we see the same divisions and strong opinions, but not so much for electronics and speakers as for microphone choices. And microphones are all over the map. Ribbons versus condensers and dynamics, phantom-powered, FET or vacuum-tube-amplified, capsule types, and the list goes on forever.

We here at PS Audio and Octave Records have our favorites for each application. For blaring horns, we like the warmth and dynamics of ribbons. For the delicate overtones and speed of string plucks we prefer large-capsule condensers. To capture the snap and crazy dynamics of a snare drum, we turn to dynamics.

The lists of microphones and the opinions of recording engineers are endless.

Sound familiar?

When we first started Octave Records we invested heavily in microphones (and they, like high-end audio, are expensive). We acquired the classic Neumanns, Sennheisers, AKGs, Telefunkens and so on. And then we played with them for endless hours as we learned to assign the best microphone to the best applications.

Over time, winners began to emerge – our go-to favorites.

Over the course of this article, I'll wax on about a few of the ones that matter to me the most. Had I the time, it'd be fun to compare them side by side and let you hear the differences, and maybe at some point I'll get off my keister and actually do that.

This would not be an easy task, because when we are in the studio we are chewing through a musician's time and energy to make a recording. Adding layers of microphones to experiment with would only get in the way. My hope is that at some point we might find a willing musician with time on their hands and a willingness to participate, but most of them have lives and gigs to go to. Studio time is used to make their music, not keep us audiophiles happy with our experiments.

Neumann

The sound of Neumann microphones is way more open, airy, and transient-rich than any dynamic transducer. I cannot imagine a recording studio worth its salt that doesn't have at least a few of the classic Neumanns at the ready.

And while Neumann was the company that introduced the condenser mic (there were others too, but Neumann is credited with bringing them to market in a big way) it wasn't until a year after my birth that they rose to stardom as a brand.

Their leap to fame occurred in 1949 with the introduction of the U 47. It was the first microphone to offer a switchable polar pattern (omnidirectional or cardioid), and its warm, clear sound made it a favorite among recording engineers and artists alike. The U 47 was famously used by the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, and countless other musicians, securing its place in recording history.

In the 1950s, Neumann continued to innovate with the development of the M 49 and U 67 microphones, which introduced new levels of versatility and fidelity. The U 67, in particular, became renowned for its smooth sound and flexibility, making it a staple in studios around the world.

The 1960s saw the advent of the Neumann KM 84, the first microphone to utilize 48-volt phantom power, and later, the U 87, a standard that is still in use today. The phantom power supply innovation eliminated the need for external power supplies and made microphone setup simpler and more efficient.

So much for history. Now, let's dive into today's use.

When we started Octave Records we of course had to have available to us all the classics that were regarded so highly. So, we acquired Neuman U 47s, 67s, and 87s and began to learn their characteristics.

All three are great microphones, but we soon found ourselves returning again and again to one in particular. The U 67. This microphone captured, like no other we have ever used, the transient and harmonic information of instruments. From woodwinds, to guitars, to cymbals, nothing even comes close to the sound of the U 67.

A Neumann U 67 microphone with power supply.

Which got me curious. Why? Was it the diaphragm? Each of the three uses the same "planar" type diaphragm I earlier described, so it might be that but…

A closer look shows me something really revealing: the built-in amplification system. In both the earlier U 47 and 87, FETs are used, while in the U 67, a vacuum tube is employed.

This, in my opinion, is one of the biggest reasons this microphone kills every other microphone we have in stock (for these applications). 

Does that mean that vacuum-tube microphones are always better? No. We also have a collection of vacuum-tube condenser microphone knock offs to the Neumann and none even approach its sound.

Just like hi-fi, it is the artful blend of all the innards that make the magic.

Telefunken

Telefunken is another German stalwart.

Telefunken was a German electronics company founded in Berlin in 1903. Originally named Telefunken Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie m.b.H., the company played a significant role in the development of radio and broadcasting technology. Before World War II, Telefunken was a big consumer brands company making televisions, radios, and of course, microphones.

In the 1960s, Telefunken merged with AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft), another prominent German electronics company, to form the conglomerate AEG-Telefunken which, sadly, is no longer with us today. 

The microphone I am so in love with is a stereo microphone. The Telefunken AR-70 is a legendary microphone manufactured by the company in the 1950s.

It is a stereo microphone with two large-diaphragm condenser capsules mounted in an adjustable 90-degree X/Y stereo configuration. This design allows for phase-perfect stereo recording without the need for multiple microphones.

Most important to me is its ability to accurately and easily handle the Blumlein microphone technique, named after the inventor of stereo, Alan Blumlein.

Born on June 29, 1903 in London, England, Alan Blumlein's journey into the world of engineering led him to his groundbreaking invention: stereo sound recording, a concept that revolutionized the way we perceive audio. In the early 1930s, he introduced the "Blumlein Pair" microphone configuration. This setup features two microphones that have a bi-directional or “figure eight” pickup pattern, with the mics positioned 90 degrees from each other.

In my experience, the two best microphones that employ the Blumlein technique are the AKG C24, and the Telefunken AR-70. Octave Studios owns both, but my preference is the Telefunken. Its warmth, accuracy, and richness are unmatched by any other stereo microphone I have ever used.

The AR-70 is my favorite microphone for capturing the beautiful tones of Octave Records’ Steinway grand piano. Never heard anything come even close. 

The only downside to it is also its upside. It captures everything from the piano -- and also the room it is being played in. This is great for a piano recording, but not so great if in the same room there are other instruments like drums being played. Then, I have to resort to another microphone, a Gefell.

Gefell

You may have noticed that in my look at the microphones we use at Octave Records, the two I've focused on first are both German. In fact, Germany makes some of the best microphones in the world. Today's post is about another German microphone, one that is not so expensive and yet is an amazing-sounding transducer:

The Gefell M 930.

As noted, the German company Neumann makes my favorite overall microphone: the U 67. Born out of the creative genius of Georg Neumann, the company began in 1928, and quickly became synonymous with great microphones.

The rise of Neumann as a company was not a walk in the park. Not after what happened to Germany after World War II. In the tumultuous years following the war, the division of Germany left the Neumann company split between East and West. In East Germany, the company continued under the name Microtech Gefell, founded by Georg Neumann's former employee and childhood friend, Dr. Erich Kuehne.

Which brings us to the Gefell M 930 large diaphragm microphone – designed, crafted, and built with the same philosophies as the Neumann large-capsule U series.

A Gefell M 930 cardioid condenser microphone.

The Gefell M 930 is renowned for its warm, natural sound, and low cost. Where a modern U 67 vacuum-tube microphone can be purchased for about $8,000, and a vintage U 67 for $30,000, the FET-based Gefells can be bought today for about $1,200 each.

These are amazing FET microphones that sound far better than Neumann FET versions. In fact, in side-by-side comparisons on captures of instruments ranging from woodwinds to pianos, the M930 sonically outperforms the Neumann FET-based U 87 all day long.

Sometimes, lower-cost and better-engineered products can beat their brethren. All it takes to find them is a good set of ears and an open mind.

Header image courtesy of Pexels.com/Amin Asbaghipour.

This article is based on a series of Paul’s Posts from March 2024.

Getz/Gilberto is one of the most well-known and well-loved jazz records of all time. Rightfully so: the 1964 Verve release by Stan Getz and João Gilberto is one of the best-selling jazz albums ever, the musically brilliant recording that made bossa nova popular worldwide. Getz/Gilberto would have been assured of legendary status just for one song: the iconic “The Girl From Ipanema,” sung to vocal and emotional perfection by Astrud Gilberto. But the record is so much more than that, with classics like “Corcovado,” “Desafinado,” and more. Yet it almost didn’t get released, thanks to a Verve executive who thought bossa nova was past its prime. It took the personal promotional efforts of Getz’s wife Monica get the album produced.

The album features Getz on tenor saxophone, João Gilberto on nylon-string guitar and vocals, Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, drummer Milton Banana, and Astrud Gilberto singing on “Ipanema” and “Corcovado.”

I won’t waste words: this Impex 2-LP 45 RPM 180-gram vinyl reissue is simply magnificent. The fold-out LP set comes in a heavy textured slipcase, and the LP cover is beautifully printed on heavy glossy stock. The inside contains a 35-page booklet with the original Getz/Gilberto liner notes, photos, and an absolutely fascinating essay on the making of the record by author, producer and music historian Charles L. Granata. The LP surfaces are silent and the sound quality is sublime. The reissue includes two bonus tracks: a mono single version of “The Girl From Ipanema” and a live recording of “Corcovado” from a 1964 Carnegie Hall performance. This set isn’t inexpensive (it’s selling at Elusive Disc for $129.99), but if you decide to go for it, I don’t think you’ll feel like you didn’t get your money’s worth.

Getz/Gilberto was recorded on March 18 and 19, 1963 by engineer Phil Ramone. As the liner notes point out, the album had an “audiophile” sensibility from the beginning. Ramone stated, “I realized how special these musicians were and how important it was to keep tape hiss to a minimum. So I wanted to run the master recorders at 30 inches per second – double the standard professional [15 ips] recording speed – to pick up more musical information and cut down on tape hiss during the quiet passages. I didn’t want to tamp down any of the clarity or intimacy…and recording it at 30 ips helped put some ‘air’ in there.”

The vinyl was mastered by Bernie Grundman using the original two-track stereo production master and is completely analog. The Impex 1Step vinyl manufacturing process eliminates the usual three-step father/mother/stamper process in favor of a one-step process, where the lacquer off the cutting lathe is plated and the plated disc is used as the stamper.

In order to preserve the all-analog nature of the recording, a couple of sonic anomalies are present. As associate producer Bob Donnelly notes, when the production master of Getz/Gilberto is compared to all subsequent versions (until 1980), the left and right channels are reversed. Whether this was intentional or accidental is unknown and impossible to find out. Also, there’s a tape edit at the first chorus of Getz’s solo in “Ipanema,” and some distortion on the bass in “Corcovado.” Rather than “fix” these flaws in the digital domain, the production team decided to instead leave them in in the effort to offer the highest-resolution representation of the original master tape.

Stan Getz. Courtesy of Monica Getz.

I’m tempted to be lazy here and simply quote Charles Granata as my review: “The magnificence of this 35 minutes of pure brilliance is such that any observations I could distill into words would be superfluous and pale in comparison to trusting your own ears and emotions.” But I’ll give it a go. Getz/Gilberto is one of those rare albums that simply sounds pure and right and is a perfectly-realized work of art, like the Mona Lisa or Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue or Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

The instrumentalists play with an empathy that could honestly be called musical perfection, like one multi-bodied entity rather than four musicians trying to hurriedly navigate their way through charts. Everyone leaves space for everyone else. Gilberto's plucked bossa nova rhythms are soft, but absolutely drive the music, and his rich, close-miked voice perfectly suits the songs. Jobim delicately weaves his piano in and out, and Milton Banana’s hi-hat work alone provides subtle yet commanding propulsion. And what can one say about Stan Getz, one of the most beautifully melodic sax players ever, with such warm tone and lyricism, that wouldn’t be overflowing with superlatives? During a time of ever-more-frenetic free jazz players, Getz bucked trends, followed his heart, and never strayed from his less-is-more approach.

At first, Getz was skeptical of having Astrud Gilberto sing on the record. “Are you crazy? She’s not a professional!” he told his wife Monica, who thought her voice would be perfect. Then they ran through “The Girl From Ipanema” in a rehearsal, and Getz was convinced. The rest, as they say, is history.

I’ve owned an original Verve pressing (catalog number V6-8545) for decades and it sounds excellent, with good tonality and “air,” though, like many jazz recordings of the era, many of the instruments are panned to the left and right. Even so, you still get a credible sense of spaciousness.

The Impex reissue absolutely trounces it, as well as the many versions I’ve heard on streaming audio. (I haven’t heard the Analogue Productions reissue, and Discogs lists 673 vinyl versions out there.) It has a warmer tonality with much more vocal and instrumental presence and depth. There’s more detail and subtleties like the harmonics of the guitar or the variations of the brush strokes on the high-hat. Quite simply, there’s more of everything that musically matters. My first listening notes for “Ipanema,” the first album track, are: “Bass – wow!” and “The presence on his vocals – ridiculous!” (It must be said that the stand-up bass sounds a little boomy and soft around the edges, but this is how the original recording sounded. I think Phil Ramone was going for thump, not bright spotlighting.)

There’s a subtle reverb on Astrud Gilberto’s voice I hadn’t noticed before (the liner notes explain that Ramone’s use of reverb was very deliberate and thought out). Gilberto’s piano is now a distinct entity with body and weight, not some hazy noise in the background. You can really feel as well as hear the fact that Jobim is plucking the nylon strings of his guitar with his right-hand fingers, in the classical-playing style. In the Impex pressing, you can hear the subtle variations of his attack, and the subtle rhythmic push-and-pull of his guitar and vocals.

Getz’s tenor sax sounds marvelous. The breathiness and, well, the fact that there’s spit in the horn aren’t subtle colorations; they’re part and parcel of his sound. The presence of his sax is really something remarkable to hear, though be aware, there’s some occasional panning of the sax in order to emphasize solo passages. Milton Banana’s drumming is subtle and at times almost inaudible on the original pressing, but takes on an entirely new dimension – literally – here. And although Getz is known as a father of “cool” jazz, wait until you hear him blaze on “So Danco Samba.”

I’ve always considered Astrud Gilberto to have the voice of an angel, and what a wonder it is to hear her sound so up close and personal and real. All I can say is, this Impex release it utterly stunning. You can picture her walking down the beach or contemplating quiet nights of quiet stars as she sings, sweet and sultry yet innocent, full of romance. Just beautiful.

I spoke with producer Abey Fonn and Nick Getz, Stan Getz’s son, about the making of the reissue and to talk about some Stan Getz history.

Abey Fonn and Nick Getz at AXPONA 2023.

Frank Doris: This reissue is mind blowing, far better than anything else I’ve heard. Although it’s impossible to hear every reissue – I went on Discogs and there are literally hundreds of LP versions of Getz/Gilberto out there.

Abey Fonn: For me, it's [about] redefining the definitive version. We always have multiple copies [of an album] to use as our benchmarks. I know that Analogue Productions put out a beautiful version. So, when we started this, we had a vision, and being able to work with the Getz family was just the icing on the cake. It put the whole project together in a way that I don't think anybody else has done. We spend quite a bit of time on the mastering, so I'm very glad to hear you enjoy it.

FD: Nick, can you tell us something about yourself and how you got involved with this project?

Nick Getz: Well, I'm Stan's youngest child. He had five children – actually six. One was in the middle of all of us, out of wedlock. And I'm the only one who didn't follow in his footsteps in the music business, either as a musician or somehow involved as a manager or booking agent or whatever. And he did that on purpose. I actually had an interest in piano and guitar, and he discouraged me from doing that because he saw how difficult it was for [his] children to live up to his name and success. And he loved healthy living. He was a very paradoxical guy. He loved cold ocean plunges and tennis and vitamins and health. So he tried to counterbalance the jazz musician lifestyle, the late hours and the smoky nightclubs. And he became very good friends with (Wimbledon tennis champions) Rod Laver and Lew Hoad.

He had me taking lessons with Lew when I was seven years old, and I took to the game and that became my career. He was very proud that I made a name for myself, became a professional player, and then had one of the most prestigious tennis director positions in the country here in Los Angeles at Hillcrest Country Club, which in the tennis industry is one of the best-paying and most prestigious jobs. I was there for 16 years until I retired in 2011.

My dad passed when I was 29 years old, and I didn't get enough of him. I was always traveling and playing tennis tournaments and not at home. And he was on tour. So I've used the last 14 years to learn about him more and get to know him better. I'm doing a documentary film on him, and have a biopic film concept that is garnering some interest. In 2018 Jason Lord, a mutual friend, put Abey and us together and I got my mother involved to help as well.

FD: Abey, how was Getz/Gilberto produced?

AF: When Nick and I first connected, I said to him, there are so many versions of this album done globally, and gave Nick the rundown about what the reissue business involves and the costs behind it. And I said, “[reissuing Getz/Gilberto] is really not worth doing unless we do something exceptional and we are backed by the family.” And Nick was like, “you know what? This is what I want to do. I think you're the right person.” Nick got his mom involved and connected me with the rest of the estate.

Nick Getz and Stan Getz, March 1964. Courtesy of Monica Getz.

FD: How'd you get the master tapes, and what kind of shape were they in?

AF: Our QC director, Bob Donnelly, was heavily involved in the mastering process. The tapes came from Universal. We were really hoping for the original three-track[master] if that was still available. But the tape we got was the next best thing. It was what I call the “new master,” the master they made after the second pressing of the [original] LP. The tape was in relatively acceptable condition. It's worn, it wasn’t shedding or falling apart, [but] it required some baking and some love from (mastering engineer) Bernie [Grundman] and it sounded good.

FD: Nick, you’ve talked about how Stan Getz didn’t like to rehearse.

NG: That was what he was famous for. He always made his fellow musicians very nervous because he didn't like to rehearse very much, and he didn't practice at home other than just hitting notes on the saxophone. He would pick up the sax and [just] hit notes. And we'd go, “what are you doing?” And he would say, “I just need to hit the notes clean, and if I'm hitting it clean, I can put it all together.” He believed in visualization much more than actual practice.

He would play ping pong [instead of rehearsing with the band], then sit and have a cigarette, take a break between games and listen to the band. And he would sort of nod and play another game and leave them to it. It was quite unorthodox. He actually was very disliked by a lot of fellow musicians because they felt he was very unprofessional by doing that. And I think more importantly, I think they were jealous of him that he was able to do that.

John Coltrane was the polar opposite. He practiced 10, 12 hours a day until his fingers would start to bleed and he would have to tape them up.

FD: This leads into another question. So many performers say that after a few takes, you'll lose the spontaneity and the magic.

NG: Exactly.

Stan would tell people, “you better have your A game. I'm going home after two or three takes.” He thought it became stale [after that]. I think there's something to be said for that. Sometimes you can just overdo it.

The first bossa nova album [Stan did] was called Jazz Samba. His friend (guitarist) Charlie Byrd asked him to make the album with him. My dad said, “look, I've got nothing going on at the moment. I'll do it, but I'll only come down for one day. I'll fly down to where you are in Washington DC from New York, and I want to sleep in my own bed that night.” So he went for the day and they recorded in a church, the acoustics were good, and they made that album in one day. So yes, he could be quite impatient with long recording sessions. And that album swept the Grammys in the jazz category. That was the inspiration for the record label, Verve, to commission the Getz/Gilberto album.

FD: And then the record execs didn’t want to release the album because they thought bossa nova had become old hat.

NG: It’s a credit to my mother [Monica Getz] because they completed the album and…

FD: Did everyone involved think Getz/Gilberto was going to become a hit?

NG: I called my mother about it, because she was there. She said they thought they had done something good, but they didn't know it would transcend the jazz genre into this internationally-appealing music that would win Album of the Year in the pop category over the Beatles.

But the ironic thing about “The Girl From Ipanema” was my dad didn't want it released at all on the album. He said, “Astrid is not a professional, and she's singing out of tune.” They all generally thought they had made a great album that could be a hit, but not “The Girl From Ipanema,” which is the biggest hit on the album! João [Gilberto] was of the same mindset. His wife had always tried to get [Astrud] in the band, like Lucy did with Ricky Ricardo. (laughs) And he was like, “oh, she sucks, and I can't believe she's trying to do this again.” He couldn't quite wrap his head around it, but he [eventually] did.

FD: Unbelievable.

NG: The record gets completed, and then the stupid people who wanted my dad to perform with these top Brazilian bossa nova songwriters and musicians said, “oh, you know what? That was a fad. It's over. Go make some rock and roll albums now, Stan.”

And so for 13 months, [Getz/Gilberto] was unreleased. An album that's considered one of the greatest albums of all time. So my mom called somebody over at [trade magazine] Billboard. And this guy, his name was Bill Gavin, said, “listen, there are two ways to get the album out behind [the backs of] these record executives who said they didn't want to release it. There's payola, which means you pay off these DJs to play the music and make it popular.” My mom said, “we’re not doing that.” When she married my dad, he wasn't very good with business and had inherited a lot of debt. She asked, “what's the other alternative?” [Gavin] said, “you go to the [song] pickers who work for the DJs, and you give them the album and you encourage them to play it. Go to the markets you think it'll do well in.” So my mom homed in on going to these pickers, and they would play it, and one by one in each city it went to top of the charts.

Then my mom went to the president of MGM, which owned Verve, and he goes, “yeah, I heard this song on the way to work on the radio. Why isn't it released again?” And my mom told him Verve people [wouldn’t release it], and [the president] said, “consider it released. So, full credit to my mom. She knew the potential of this and wasn't going to give up.

She was very, very shrewd in business and understood how to market. My dad, she cleaned him up, put him in a suit and a tie, and managed him behind the scenes. Men would come over [to the house and talk to Stan] and she would serve cookies and coffee to them, and listen in from the kitchen, and then tell my father, “that guy's full of it, and we're not doing it that way, and we're going to do it this way!” They were a good team. But at that time, women really weren’t respected or allowed to be in the meetings with the men anyway, so she was a woman ahead of her time.

Inside the Impex Records Getz/Gilberto reissue.

FD: It's well-known that your father struggled with substance abuse, and she must have been a huge part of getting him back on track.

NG: She was able to keep him sober during that era with something called Antabuse, which is a pill that alcoholics are supposed to take on their own. That doesn't really work because if you want to relapse, you don't take a pill that's going to make you have a violently ill reaction. So my mom would dissolve it in his food, and so would some of the musicians when she wasn't on tour with them. My siblings [also] did it.

And so for many, many years, he thought he developed an allergic reaction to drinking. He was sober, I would say, from the mid-sixties to 1980. He would relapse once a year or something, and it would be a disaster. But [despite] his drug addictions and alcoholism, he was a good guy. He was really, really sweet, [but] it was a Jekyll and Hyde situation. The minute he touched alcohol, [even] his voice would change. I've been able to separate the man from the addiction and come to terms with it. My mom basically did everything she could, but [eventually] she couldn’t take it anymore.

FD: Let’s move on to a happier subject.

NG: Well, you asked about his influences [in a previous e-mail]. It's really only one influence, only one. Lester Young. That’s who Stan modeled himself after, and that was his idol and nobody else.

FD: According to Wikipedia his big influence was Stan Kenton.

NG: He actually didn't like Stan Kenton. He thought Stan Kenton was kind of a superficial guy. He liked Miles until Miles started getting into drugs. My dad rarely recorded on drugs or alcohol [except for] Focus, after his mom had just died, and he was drinking and it was impossible to be with him in the studio at that time. But he loved Miles. He loved Chet Baker too.

Towards the end of his life, he and Miles spoke once about it and said, “we thought we were playing so much better, but we weren't, and we could have been even better.” Maybe a little bit of drugs or alcohol can loosen you up and make you a little more creative or something, but there's a quick point of diminishing returns.

[Stan] loved the way Frank Sinatra sang. He loved melody, and he played with melody. He loved Charlie Parker. And he thought his drummer, Roy Haynes, was incredibly underrated. He thought Bill Evans was a great musician.

FD: I can't say enough great things about Bill, and your father was on the same level. It's that indefinable something.

NG: There's been millions of musicians, but only one got the nickname, “The Sound.” And it's just because he does have a sound. It's very, very, very harmonic, beautiful sound.

FD: That's another thing that really comes through on this reissue, the actual sound of his saxophone. It's got so much presence and feeling. On some songs it’s like, “hey, you didn't blow out the spit valve!” I can hear it rattling around; it has this kind of graininess and texture, but that's part of it. Speaking of saxes, I can't tell you how many sax players I've talked to who play a Selmer Mark VI. Why did Stan Getz like to play one?

NG: I didn't know, so again, this is from my mother, but she didn't know anything about a Mark VI or Mark VII or all that stuff. But she did know that there was a saxophone called Conn. [That’s what my dad originally played] and it was stolen from the trunk of his car, and he was crestfallen. He felt like he could never feel like he could duplicate quite the same sound as that saxophone.

And a police officer had never forgotten about it. About eight years later, I'd say this happened in the mid to early Fifties, and then in the early Sixties around ’62 when I was born, the policeman found it. He just went around on his free time trying to locate it, and he went to a pawn shop and found it. But my dad never used that saxophone again. He said there was something about it that didn't feel the same. Now, I don't know if he, in his mind, had built it up to be something better than it was, but he never used that again, that saxophone. Maybe it was damaged or something. He played the Selmer [after that].

When dad passed, [he left] three or four saxophones. One of them is in the Smithsonian. My sister is holding one that belongs to the estate. This out of wedlock child has another one. He's a good musician in Sweden, and inherited some of [my dad’s] talent, I guess. Then I think one of them was under repair, and the guy who repairs my dad's saxophones still has it and is like 96 years old. And he would give it back if we asked for it.

FD: This Impex reissue sounds much, much better than my original Verve pressing, although the original sounds really good.

AF: We had a couple of [vinyl] versions as our benchmark and part of our process is listening to what's out there, and discussing what we like about it, what we don't like about it, and speculating on what was done to it. With our definitive release, we wanted to make sure it was as close to the tape as possible. But there was a lot of EQ required, and I think Bernie did a really great job with creating the separation of the instruments. There is something magical about this release, in my opinion, because it feels so musical. There are releases that are technical, they're very clean, and some of them are very precise. There are different ways of every label viewing what they want to achieve.

We went through so many test cuts to get what we wanted before we went to cutting the lacquers. And it was really Bob Donnelly who wanted to keep the tapes intact, which meant keeping the flaws intact. We were really worried that maybe some of the people who weren't as familiar with the album would think some of the tape issues or the fluttering and stuff like that was [because they bought] a defective record. That's why we decided to put a technical note [in with the album] to make sure that people understand these are not defects. These are actually part of the tape.

We will also be releasing this album on SACD and there it will be done using the Plangent Processes system. [This process corrects for wow and flutter to provide speed stabilization – Ed.] So we're still using the tape, but there's now a digital fingerprint and people will be able to listen and compare and see what they like. Hopefully we'll have that by late spring or early summer. We decided to keep two very separate versions and have the analog to stay truly analog.

NG: The vinyl will be limited so tell your readers not to regret having ordered theirs before it sells out.

Thank you so much!

******

Getz/Gilberto
Impex Records 1STEP IMP6041-1
Produced by Abey Fonn
Executive producer: Robert Bantz
Associate producer: Bob Donnelly
Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Liner notes and historian: Charles L. Granata
1STEP pressing by Record Technology, Inc.
Plant manager: Rick Hashimoto
180-gram LP plating and quality control: Dorin Sauerbier and Bryce Wilson
1STEP package produced by Stoughton Printing

How do you cover a show that you weren’t able to go to? There are a few options: contact the manufacturers who were there and find out what they were showing; crib from everyone else’s online coverage (nahh, not going to do that) – or talk to the guy who founded the show. I had the pleasure of doing that with Florida International Audio Expo (FAE) managing partner Bart Andeer. And thanks to his able team member, PR person extraordinaire Sue Toscano, I was able to get a look at some of the exhibits. Here goes:

Frank Doris: Let’s start with the obvious question. What gave you the idea to start the Florida International Audio Expo?

Bart Andeer: My three partners and I have been showgoers for a long time and members of the local audiophile society. And then in 2014 I started a high-end acoustics business, Resolution Acoustics, which was a financial disaster, to be perfectly blunt, but it got me into exhibiting. At my first show, AXPONA in 2015, I had a two-room thing with some very nice products in both rooms set up identically, the only difference being the acoustic treatments. And I had manufacturers coming into my room and listening, and I got a lot of lovely write-ups, and they knew I was the real deal. You could stand at the adjoining rooms in the threshold of the adjoining door and put your head in on one side and then on the other side and absolutely hear the difference. I had the same material playing at the same time, split at the preamp, identical amps, cabling, and speakers. So that gave me some credibility within the industry.

The business was a failure in the economic short-term sense, but without that, Florida International Audio Expo never would've happened. I licked my wounds for a few years. I'm a former ship captain, and then was a marine consultant at the oil industry. So, I'm used to planning things. Sometimes I am spontaneous and crazy. The left right hemispheres compete for attention with me sometimes, but I am also disciplined. The details matter.

FD: You can't run a ship by being lackadaisical, and you have to deal with all kinds of situations and headaches and unexpected turns of events and decision making.

BA: There are no Home Depots and 7-Elevens in the middle of the ocean! You’re planning before you take off. Running a ship is a team effort, or running an offshore oil project. You want good people; you want really good communications internally. And hence, I have PR person Sue Toscano and Denise Herninko, our graphic artist. Of course, I talk with my partners too. But the day-to-day management of the show, the planning, all of that stuff, dealing with the contracts, that all falls in my lap. It’s a team, but on a ship, there’s one captain.

Key members of the FAE team: Sue Toscano and Denise Herninko.

My partners and I started to discuss doing a show back in 2015. It was the summer of 2017 when we finally formed a corporation, with the agreement that the first priority was that we were not going to jeopardize our friendships.

We all recognize the benefits of music. I studied under a Buddhist monk for two and a half years. One of my partners is a physician, and it was interesting to find out that there have been studies done of just being engaged in music, versus the deep meditation of a skilled meditator. The neurotransmitters [involved] are remarkably similar. [But] it takes a lot of time to learn how to meditate and get into deep meditation. It doesn't take much to listen to music and get lost in it. All you need is a reasonably decent system, and you're getting similar benefits.

We're music lovers first, and that's always been the focus of the show. Not that audiophiles aren't welcome; of course they are. But we wanted to bring the joy of music to more people, and it wasn't about making the most money we could possibly make. Yes, it's a business. We can't afford to lose money every year. We did the first year.

FD: Why did you decide to hold the show in Tampa and not somewhere else in Florida?

BA: Well, two reasons. One, we all live in the area. So there's the convenience factor, but also the demographics. The Tampa-St. Petersburg area has much better demographics for disposable income than say Orlando or Jacksonville. And we're centrally located in this state. We're both [an] international and regional show. We’re blessed to have exhibitors from around the world. But also, we love to have dealers in the region come. Everybody's welcome and we just want to have a fun, family-friendly show.

FD: Which people have told me it is. What do you do to attract a more diverse group of attendees other than the usual – guilty as charged – gray-haired audiophile?

BA: Well, we don't depend just on throwing money at the thing. I get personally involved. I've been to record fairs, boat shows, home shows, and luxury lifestyle [events] where we have a display set up. We hired a marketing consultant for this past show. And also, Rachel Keene from Geshelli Labs is studying marketing in college. And Geshelli Labs is one of our great exhibitors. [The Florida International Audio Expo] was the first show they ever did. So I've gotten to know the family a little bit over the years. When Rachel said she was studying marketing, I said, “well, do you want to get some real-world experience?” And [she’s been] a great help, and helping to bring in younger people.

The show is also full of live music. The University of South Florida School of Music Jazz Ensemble plays for us in the evenings. We are community-minded, and without people learning to play music for us, we're kind of screwed down the road. So we try to support the USF school of music, and we've been doing that since day one.

We're all in this mess called life together, and the more we work together, the better it is.

FD: Who were some of the first manufacturers when you were trying to get Florida International Audio Expo show off the ground from nothing?

BA: There's a handful that have been with us from the absolute beginning. Qobuz jumped in right away with their support. Angela Cardas [of Cardas Audio] took three rooms the first year. Then we had MBL, VAC, High End by Oz, Acora Acoustics, Gershman Acoustics, and the Jacksonville dealer House of Stereo. Joseph Audio, MSB, LampizatOr, VPI, Volti Audio, Triode Wire Labs/Border Patrol Audio, Maximum Audio Video, and Anthem/Paradigm. We had 34 rooms, I think, the first year.  I am forgetting some and all who have supported us are sincerely appreciated.

FD: So it was serious right from the beginning.

This is a ridiculous question on paper, but, when do you start planning the show? I think the answer is probably that it's never-ending!

BA: Particularly this year with moving to a larger, nicer, more modern venue [the Sheraton Tampa Brandon]. Lots of work there. [Next year’s show will take place on February 21 – 23, 2025.]

Always a show favorite, Acora Acoustics had a big room with an impressive display.

FD: What are some of the planning and logistics involved in actually putting the thing together?

BA: Let me give you a little bit of a breakdown. In three weeks, I have probably my eighth meeting at the new venue, and I'll be with the general manager, the hotel engineer, the chef, and the salesperson. One of the points we will be going over will be the Wi-Fi [service]. Right now, the hotel has wired [internet]. [But] they're doing a renovation, and [they said], they’re going to go modern and make it wireless.” No, please don't. We will be requesting that they keep [the wired internet] operational and we'll also be requesting the possibility that we can purchase additional bandwidth for the whole hotel. If it's for the week or for the month, we don't care.

Qobuz has been awesome, and Dave [Solomon of Qobuz] has brought thumb drives for [exhibitors] who have issues with Wi-Fi, streaming, and whatever products they're using. Some products work better at [streaming audio connectivity] than others. That's the way it is.

Also, what power is available in the larger rooms? If it’s not adequate, can we get an additional drop put in there? And then we have to worry about meal service, particularly breakfast and lunch, because [the show] brings in a lot of people. So the food and beverage thing is a big deal.

We want to make sure there are spare parts for engineering, like the air conditioning or if something happens. We've always had a couple of spare rooms where, if we have to, we can move an exhibitor to a different room. That is the last resort because they've advertised [their room number]. for their room. Ideally, nothing breaks, but…

FD: Right. Ideally.

BA: Last year one of the exhibitors plugged some stuff in and sparks started flying out of the wall. They got an electrician in, and it had been a wiring fault from a long time ago. It got fixed, but these things happen, so we have to be prepared for all kinds of eventualities. There are just a lot of moving parts, and communication and planning are really the key.

The hotels [are also reluctant] to hire enough people because they have to go to temps, because of the size of our show. They hate to spend the money, but then they lose money [if there aren’t enough people to work the show]. {You have to] have enough bartenders so that people aren't waiting for 10 minutes trying to order a drink. You're losing money [then] and you're annoying the people that we work hard to bring in. 

One of the really cool things about our new venue is that it has three elevators, but there are only four floors. So we're going to have a lot less elevator waiting time.

For moving the equipment in and out we use Rusty Griffin and RG Logistic Group, and a lot of the dealers bring their own trucks.

If [you’re an exhibitor and] you feel the show was a waste of time, it's bad. And I have to say, while everyone was packing up they had a smile on their face. They were thanking me for the great attendance, and were happy.

Anka Patt of VIABLUE is happy to show off their cables and accessories.

FD: How do you handle the signage? Most people literally don’t think about it, but as a person who has done events, I know how important it is.

BA: It's critically important. I do the roughs. Then we have Denise Herninko from d-Vision Creative who puts it all together. She also puts our show guide together. She's amazing. Without her and Sue (Toscano), I'd be lost. You're no better than your support team. Believe in and get the best.

FD: I’ve heard that attendance is going up.

BA: Oh, yeah. And our demographics keep getting better. I would put our median age for our attendees in the mid-50s. A lot of families, an awful lot of families, an awful lot of spouses. Spouses and students of all ages [get in] free. Students of all ages are free. We've always wanted family, family, family.

Pets were also welcome at the show!

We don't compete with Capital Audiofest, or AXPONA or [other shows]. We're in our own lane, our own time of year in Florida. It's better for all of the shows to do well. As a matter of fact, when we decided to start Florida Audio Expo, the first thing I did before it went public was I e-mailed Marjorie (Baumert), Gary (Gill) and Mark (Freed), [the organizers of Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Capital Audiofest and AXPONA] and said, “we're starting a show in Florida. We aren't trying to compete. We're going to be in February, and it's going to be a regional show. And I just want to let you guys know it from me before you hear it from somebody else.”

FD: It’s not a question of everyone competing for the same piece of the pie, it's a matter of expanding the pie so that we all have more. There’s a real feeling of camaraderie in the audio industry. I feel like we're all in it because we all love music, and it was a hobby or a vocation or a love that just kind of grew into what we do now.

There are so many people who don't know what good audio gear sounds like and what their favorite music could sound like. The first time I heard a high-end audio system I flipped out. I've spent my whole life pursuing it and trying to tell other people about it. Good music is something that I think people need to have. It's a basic need. People need music.

BA: That's what drives me. I was talking to my partners. I mentioned that this is my legacy.

To get more people to turn off the blasted propaganda box and turn on the music; they're going to be so much happier. And that's one of the beauties of a show: you can go listen to all kinds of systems with zero sales pressure. If you go into a store, you're going to have a little bit of a feeling of some kind of obligation [after they do] their demo and all this stuff for you. There are limitations in [listening to systems in] a hotel. But you can get a real flavor for what moves you. And you're buying the system for you, not for me.

We actually passed out a flyer where we tried to point out, in simple English, the audiophile terms that are disparaged sometimes, but are also very, very descriptive. What is attack? What is sustain? What is a soundstage? We tried to give a brief definition of some of the things to actually listen for, in trying to educate the consumer. It made for some intelligent conversations.

FD: Last question: is it a coincidence that the show's in February when the weather is really lousy up North?

BA: We looked at a lot of things. What other events happen, and [in] what month? With the holiday [season] and the other [audio] shows, we absolutely did not want to have any conflict. We wanted to be well away from AXPONA and Capital Audiofest and [other shows], so that there was no appearance of trying to compete and take other exhibitors.

It’s all about the passion, right? Making the world a better place in what may seem to be an insignificant way, but to us, it's important.

******

The 2025 Florida International Audio Expo will take place at the Sheraton Tampa Brandon, 10221 Princess Palm Ave., Tampa, Florida, on February 21 – 23, 2025. For more information, visit https://floridaaudioexpo.com/.

Here are some more photos:

AGD Production offers a range of electronics including amplifiers with their exclusive GaNTube Gallium Nitride power MOSFET technology.

Latvian manufacturer Aretai displayed their Contra series loudspeakers, featuring a proprietary high-frequency waveguide.

Black Ice Audio, formerly Jolida, exhibited a range of vacuum-tube amplifiers and electronics.

Josh Meredith and Angela Cardas of Cardas Audio are among the many exhibitors who made the trip to Florida Audio Expo.

The crew from Middle River, Maryland dealer Just Audio: Michael Smith, Lenny Florentine, Tom Bryant and Spencer Mills.

Michael and Megan Bovaird from Sarasota, Florida dealer Suncoast Audio. Michael is one of the co-founders of Florida Audio Expo.

Suncoast Audio had four rooms at the show; this one featured Clarisys Audio ribbon loudspeakers.

Pure Audio Project designs open-baffle speakers that are modular – customers can choose from a variety of drivers, baffles and internal components.

Yes, Subdrum offers speakers that are housed in actual drums. Don't scoff: we heard a model at another show that sounded really good.

The Charney Audio Companion Excalibur speakers were matched with a ToolShed amp and preamp and other electronics. What a gorgeous-looking system!

mbl showed their 101 E MKII omnidirectional speakers, unmistakable in their distinctive appearance, accompanied by the company's electronics.

Header image: Florida International Audio Expo co-founder Bart Andeer. Photo courtesy of Lee Shelly. All other images courtesy of FAE.

Jazz trumpet virtuoso Gabriel Mervine has released two new albums for Octave Records: See Somethin’ and I Wish You Love, both recorded using Octave’s Pure DSD 256 recording system. See Somethin’ is the follow-up to Say Somethin’, Octave Records’ most popular release to date, and captures a spontaneous live-in-the-studio session. I Wish You Love features the remarkable Alicia Straka on accordion and vocals on a musically diverse album of Brazilian- and European-flavored jazz.

Both albums were recorded and mixed at Octave Studios in Boulder, Colorado using Pure DSD 256 technology based around the state-of-the-art Pyramix high-recording system. The sound is spacious and natural, with extraordinary musical realism. Gabriel’s trumpet and the other instruments have lifelike warmth, body, and clarity, with a presence that makes you feel as if you’re in the studio with them.

See Somethin', album cover.

See Somethin’ showcases Gabriel Mervine’s quartet with Braxton Kahn on drums, Alex Heffron on guitar, and Seth Lewis on bass. The group performs five original compositions and a selection of covers, from plaintive ballads to a swinging take on the country and western standard “I’m an Old Cowhand.” The quartet has been playing together for a long time, and you can feel it in their incisive yet relaxed interplay and improvisation.

I Wish You Love features a larger ensemble, expanding Gabriel’s quartet with Alicia on accordion and vocals, and guests including M’hamed El Menjra and Ian Faquini on guitars, Natalie Cressman playing trombone and Virginia MacDonald on clarinet. The music is richly textured and highlights the group’s tightly-knit ensemble playing, from up-tempo workouts like “Ups and Downs” and “Ameno Ressda” to Alicia’s gorgeous singing and atmospheric accordion playing on the title track.

See Somethin’ and I Wish You Love feature Octave’s premium gold disc formulation, and the discs are playable on any SACD, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray player. They also have a high-resolution DSD layer that is accessible by using any SACD player or a PS Audio SACD transport. In addition, the master DSD and PCM files are available for purchase and download, including DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64, and DSDDirect Mastered 352.8 kHz/24-bit, 176.2 kHz/24-bit, 88.2 kHz/24-bit, and 44.1 kHz/24-bit PCM. (SRP: $19 – $39, depending on format.)

It's always a pleasure to talk with Gabriel. Why release two albums at once? Here’s what he had to say.

Frank Doris: Your new releases, See Somethin’ and I Wish You Love, are two very different albums. I am guessing they were recorded maybe a year or so apart, or a few months apart?

Gabriel Mervine: They were done just a couple of weeks apart.

FD: Really?

GM: We were actually set to do just one recording, and that would've been the Brazilian music, [I Wish You Love]. But Alicia Straka, who was going to play accordion and sing, fell ill the day before the recording session. We'd already booked the studio time, so I just said, “hey, let's go into the studio anyway. We'll record something else.” So we just showed up, wrote the music right there, and recorded [See Somethin’]. It took about three and a half hours, and that was it.

And then once Alicia was better, which took a couple of weeks, we went in and recorded the other album.

FD: Wow. I assumed that See Somethin’ had repertoire that you guys had been playing for years, and you're telling me you came up with it on the fly.

GM: The original music was basically written at the studio that morning. We were literally just waiting for Alex {Heffron], the guitarist, to show up. He was running late, so I wrote two songs in about 15 minutes, and he had one that he wanted to record that he had written previously, so we said “let's just have fun and play some music together and see what happens.” And it was fantastic.

FD: Yet you sound like a band that's been playing for years and is really comfortable with the material.

GM: We are quite comfortable with each other. The drummer, Braxton Kahn, and I play every Tuesday. I've been playing with Alex Heffron for years and years, and I play with [bassist] Seth Lewis about once a week. So our rapport is definitely there.

FD: Most bands would have to rehearse and rehearse and rehearse and play it live a few times to work the bugs out.

GM: I call this music high-risk, high-reward. Sometimes you go for it and you fall on your face, and you have to be OK with that. But you also get some moments that you couldn't have gotten had you rehearsed.

FD: Funny that you do “I’m an Old Cowhand” on See Somethin’. When I first heard it I thought it was one of the corniest songs I’d ever heard, but it just goes to show anything can be adapted for jazz.

GM: A hundred percent. Someone requested that a couple months back and I’d forgotten about the Sonny Rollins recording of it [on Way Out West]. I thought, let's do it. It'll be something different. And it was.

FD: That makes two of us – I forgot about the Sonny Rollins version too.

This is probably a silly question in light of what you’ve said, but did you guys basically play See Somethin’ live in the studio?

GM: Oh, yeah. We were all in one room together, so everything you hear is what happened live.

It [would have been] really difficult to punch anything [in] or add anything because we were in a room together, so there's a fair amount of drums [bleeding into] the bass microphone, and there's a fair amount of guitar in the trumpet microphone. But I'll say it was really fun to just not even have to wear headphones [and] just go into a room and play. I think it makes the mixing and mastering a little bit more difficult, but it's nice to just be hanging out, playing tunes in a room.

FD: Who did the mixing?

GM: I had my friend Colin Bricker do the mixing on this. Paul McGowan ran the studio session. Colin really brought some warmth and depth to the music and the album, I think.

FD: Speaking of warmth and depth, let’s talk about the album you did with Alicia, I Wish You Love. It's a totally different feel and approach than See Somethin’ and Alicia is all over this thing.

GM: She and I have been friends for quite a while, and I've been into this kind of Brazilian music for a long time. [Alicia and I] started performing together and I decided we should do an album. [Brazilian music] poses such a great challenge to me as a student of the trumpet, because the melodies are extremely difficult. It’s like playing classical music to me. We were in the room together [when we recorded], so what you hear is what we played, and it was pushing me to the very limits of my technical ability on the instrument.

I brought in some other friends who are interested in this music as well. Natalie Cressman (on trombone) and Ian Faquini (guitar) contributed to one track remotely from San Francisco. My friend M’hamed El Menjra, who lives in Paris, contributed a track remotely. And Virginia MacDonald, who lives in Toronto, contributed to a track remotely too. So it was a lot of work to get this album together, but I'm really happy with it. And like you said, it's something pretty unique.

FD: You wouldn't know that that stuff was flown in.

GM: It's incredible. I never would've thought I would be doing recording that way until the pandemic.

FD: Between the two albums, you have quite a range of styles of guitar playing. Did you pick the players (Alex Heffron on See Somethin’ and M’hamed El Menjra and Ian Faquini on I Wish You Love) because you wanted certain styles and sounds on certain tracks?

GM: Everyone who played guitar on these albums I trust completely and I’m going to let them do their thing. Alex Heffron gets a little experimental. The old-school sound on See Somethin’ is great too. I love the instrument, its variance and tone.

FD: Is Alicia Straka native to France or Canada? She just sounds so convincing with French-language material.

GM: Well, she's a trained opera singer. I want to say she’s from Washington. I should know!

FD: It’s not only her singing and inflection, but the way she plays the accordion – it has such a European flavor.

GM: She's a master. I mean, when she and I got together to practice this music, I was like, “I’ve got to practice!” She could already play all of it. She had all of it down. I spent a lot of time trying to keep up with her, and every time I'd count something off, she'd say, “oh, I usually do this faster!”

FD: Your trumpet playing sounds like it's evolved, yet also sounds more timeless. It sounds like it could have been recorded in 1950, or yesterday.

GM: Well, that's my favorite part of any kind of art, like when you're reading a great book. I've been reading Tom Robbins lately. And it's the same thing. I was [thinking], this could have been written yesterday, and it was written in 1980. But yeah, I enjoy the process. I enjoy the journey. I still enjoy practicing a lot, and I don't want to become stagnant. So hopefully my sound evolves and my playing style evolves, and most importantly, maybe my voice evolves. One thing I do notice is getting more comfortable with what I want to play as an artist and as a music supervisor, as opposed to what I feel like “should” be played.

I was talking to some students about that just yesterday. I feel like young students are in such a rush. Partly it’s because we see these young phenoms on YouTube or whatever. But in jazz, you're not reaching maturity [at an early age]. You're still young when you're 45. You're still young when you're 50; coming into your own takes years and years. Miles Davis said that it takes a long time to play like yourself.

FD: I spend too much time on guitar discussion forums where people go on and on about how to learn jazz vocabulary. One person commented that you can play all the scales you want and copy everybody all you want, but ultimately, you have to go beyond all that and not even think that way. And then, like you say, find your own voice, and man, yours is really coming through.

GM: Thank you. I think about it a lot, and then try to develop it for that reason. I understand we're trying to be part of a lineage in an art form. So, there is a language there to learn and study for sure. But at a certain point, it becomes about developing your own way, and that's why I brought up the author Tom Robbins, because he has a way of manipulating words and language that is uniquely his own. It reminds me of Thelonious Monk.

We all have to do it at [some] point, to [learn to] understand the art form from somebody who gets us into the music, whether it's Freddie Hubbard or Thelonious Monk or John Coltrane. You spend time learning their patterns and their ideas, with the eventuality of getting into your own sounds and your own patterns.

FD: I know I’ve asked you this before, but I don't remember anything at my advanced old age, so: what kind of trumpet do you play?

GM: I'm playing a Yamaha on both albums.

FD: Do you find yourself reaching for different trumpets to get different sounds?

GM: Sometimes I'll change mouthpieces. The trumpet can remain the same, but you can utilize a different mouthpiece for different performances. I’ll play [anything from] small-group jazz, [to] lead trumpet, some salsa, some commercial band stuff. And if I stick right in the middle of the road [with my trumpet and mouthpiece] I can usually move in [any] direction relatively easily, which I have to do from day to day and week to week.

FD: I think going out of your comfort zone makes you a better player.

GM: Oh, for sure. I've been realizing that more and more.

FD: How could you ever just sit there and say, “OK, I've learned everything. I'm as good as I'm going to get.” No, never.

GM: Yeah, that's not really how art works. It's okay to feel that way, especially if [you’re doing it as] a hobby, but for me, I really want to keep pushing and progressing and learning new stuff and learning new music. And that's a big part of what I was doing with Alicia, just pushing myself in a direction [where] I really hadn't gone.

I'm excited to put [I Wish You Love] out into the world, because I feel like it is a “world” album. It not only has some world music; it's got musicians all over the globe.

FD: It’s not just a “jazz” album.

GM: That was the goal. It took tons of work and a lot of prep, while [See Somethin’] was recorded in the quickest, last-minute, Miles Davis-possible way. It’s fun to have both of these albums coming out and I’m excited to share this new music.

CanJam is an audio show dedicated to headphones and their associated components: headphone amps, DACs, cables and accessories. It’s the premier show of its kind, with events in New York, California, London, Singapore, Shanghai and other locations. CanJam has been steadily growing, to the point where I devoted two days to the recent CanJam NYC 2024 show in Manhattan.

I admit, I spent most of the first day schmoozing with friends rather than doing my journalistic duty, but still, the show has reached a critical mass where there is now a LOT to hear and see. You could breeze through it in a couple of hours, but you’d be shortchanging yourself. More than 80 exhibitors showed an extremely diverse selection of in-ear, over-ear, dynamic, planar magnetic, electrostatic and xMEMS (yes, a new category!) models at price points ranging from under-$100 to thousands. The electronics were equally varied, with a noticeable presence of vacuum-tube hardware – off the top of my head, maybe 30 percent of the components on display. Either headphone aficionados like the sound of vacuum tubes, or tubes are an ideal sonic complement to headphones, or both.

The diversity extended to the exhibitors and the attendees. There were companies from the United States, United Kingdom, China, Korea, Germany, Japan, Austria, The Netherlands, Singapore, Poland, France, Romania, Italy and elsewhere. And for those of you who have been wringing your hands over the so-called “graying out” and even the demise of high-quality audio, I suggest attending a CanJam. There were attendees of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. At some audio shows, you’ll see a sea of gray hair. Not at CanJam. The crowd was engaged and lively. CanJam is an upbeat show with positive energy. If you’re a jaded audiophile, come to one and be rejuvenated.

I mostly listened to over-ear headphones – the idea of sticking in-ears in, regardless of how well-sanitized or newly-tipped, was something I subconsciously avoided. Maybe the fact that I’ve recently gotten over long COVID gave me a sense of invulnerability to any germs that might have been lurking on earpads.

I’m certainly going to cover what I saw, but if I was forced to sum up the show in one sentence it would be this:

Great sound was the rule, not the exception.

After a few hours at CanJam, I got to the point where it didn’t matter whether I was listening to dynamic, planar magnetic, tubes, transistors, or whatever – I heard many setups with clear sound with excellent tonal balance and soundstaging.

I’ll remind everyone once again: my high-frequency hearing isn’t what it used to be, so I alternated between having hearing aids on and off in an attempt to sonically triangulate. If anything, your sonic mileage might be better than mine.

At previous shows, I thought some of the sound was exceptional, and other exhibits were good, underwhelming, or a turn off. Not at CanJam 2024 – I was notably surprised by the consistency and the excellence of the sound.

Here are some of the many highlights of the show. Actually, there was so much to see that I attended the show on both days, and will be offering part two of this CanJam 2024 show report in the next issue.

Hailing from Poland, Ferrum Audio showed its revised ERCO Gen 2 DAC/headphone amp. The ERCO Gen 2 ($1,795) features reprogrammed software along with changes in the analog circuitry. (Original ERCO units can be upgraded.) Like many headphone amps and DACs at CanJam, it offers multiple balanced and single-ended analog and digital connections. Ferrum components, which include the WANDLA flagship preamp/DAC, OOR all-analog headphone amp, and others, are easily identified by their distinctive copper-finish front panel logo. Bill Frisell’s “Shenandoah” sounded warm, spacious, and detailed through Focal headphones.

Roy Feldstein of VANA, Ltd. shows off the Ferrum electronics.

Technics had a variety of its newest Premium Class headphones on exhibit, from $169.95 to the top-of-the-line $1,199 EAH-TZ700 in-ear monitor. Many featured active noise-cancelling. What really caught my eye, though, were single-piece audio systems: the Ottava Class SC-C70MK2 ($1,099.95) which even has built-in speakers, and the Premium Class SA-C600 networking integrated amp/streamer/CD player ($1,099.95). I couldn’t help but think they looked like what Bose WaveRadios could have been if the latter went all-out. The fit and finish of the Technics models, like all of the Technics products I’ve seen since the brand’s renaissance, were first-rate.

Technics' EAH-A800 headphones and SC-C70MK2 all-in-one audio system make high-fidelity sound easy. Courtesy of Technics.

Meze Audio debuted its second-generation LIRIC headphones. The $2,000 closed-back LIRIC has a new QWRM Quarter Wavelength Resonator Mask, a metal plate that covers selected openings in the driver frame to provide a smoother high-frequency response. It also sports a new ebony wood finish that would not look out of place on an acoustic guitar. At the risk of sounding repetitive, the headphones sounded excellent, with smooth, well-balanced audio quality.

Look at that finish! Meze Audio's LIRIC with its gorgeous ebony accents. Courtesy of Meze Audio.

Audeze is now shipping its MM-100 planar magnetic headphones, designed in conjunction with noted audio engineer Manny Marroquin, who is Audeze’s head of professional products. At $399, they’re a lower-cost alternative to the flagship $1,699 MM-500 and are aimed at both audiophiles and pro audio users.

The Dekoni Audio exhibit was evidence that if you’re a headphones enthusiast, you can go deep – Dekoni specializes in upgraded replacement earpads and eartips made from various materials like suede, velour, leather, and sheepskin, all tailored to various headphone brands. They also offer headphones in partnership with Fostex and HIFIMAN.

I used to think that headphones sounded best for acoustic-based music like jazz and classical, but this long-held theory evaporated at the Final Audio booth as I checked out a sneak preview of their D-7000 Pro open-ear planar magnetic headphones ($3,500). The D-7000 Pro featured a new “asymmetrical sound diffusion structure” said to reduce the adverse impact of ear shape on sound quality, an improved driver diaphragm, and other refinements. Since I was too stunad to figure out how to operate their Questyle QP-something-or-other portable audio player, I just cued up the first track, “Guns for Hire” by AC/DC – and was stunned by how great it sounded, with great dynamic kick and powerful tonality. Then for something completely different I stumbled upon an audiophile favorite, Cyndee Peters’ version of “House of the Rising Sun” and just basked in the sumptuous sound.

Creative Labs is, as many of us know, a powerhouse name in gaming hardware, computer sound cards and speakers, and headphones. I was extremely intrigued to see that they offer the Aurvana Ace 2 wireless in-ear headphones ($129.99) – which utilize xMEMS high-frequency drivers in tandem with dynamic woofers. Cutting edge driver technology from a mainstream company? Believe it. Even for someone as high-frequency-impaired as myself, the transparency and resolution of the Ace 2 was obvious. xMEMS drivers utilize a piezoelectric motor and silicon membrane rather than the conventional voice coils and materials employed by dynamic-driver and balanced-armature headphones. Creative Labs also showed their X5 fully balanced “headphone bi-amplifier for audiophiles” ($239.95), which offers up to 32-bit/384 kHz PCM playback.

The Creative Labs Aurvana X2 in-ear headphones incorporate innovative xMEMS driver technology. Courtesy of Creative Labs.

HIFIMAN always has a strong presence at CanJam, and this year they were featuring their EF500 DAC/headphone amp with support for streaming media. The slim EF500, available in silver or black at $459, fits compactly into a desktop setup and cleverly doubles as a headphones stand. It’ll stream from an NAS drive or portable player, or from an app.

Many exhibitors of DACS and headphone amps were using HIFIMAN Susvara planar magnetic headphones, and after hearing them in a few booths, found myself to be turning to them again and again to enjoy their exceptional pure, detailed and spacious sound. I have good taste, as it turns out – after the show I looked up the price and it’s $6,000 retail.

The new HIFIMAN EF500 DAC/headphone amp is compact and accommodates single-ended and balanced connections. Courtesy of HIFIMAN.

The Metaxas & Sins exhibit was remarkably stunning both visually and sonically. Kostas Metaxas has a unique design sensibility that merges steampunk, futurism, Art Deco, and other less-categorizable elements into something entirely his own. His Ethereal headphone amp system looks like a robotic head and torso with angular cutouts, yet the design is functional – the cutouts serve as heat sinks. (I’ll leave it to you to guess where the dual volume controls are.)

The sound was remarkable, thanks to the Tourbillon tape deck ($49,000) used as source material, connected to a Marquis headphone amp ($7,000). I listened through ZMF Caldera planar magnetic headphones ($3,499). (The booth also had Stax SR-X9000 electrostatic headphones ($6,200) driven by a Metaxas & Sins Ethereal headphone amp/energizer ($32,000).

No contest: the Metaxas & Sins Ethereal headphone amp system was the most distinctive looking piece of gear at the show. Next time I audition it I'll listen to Kraftwerk.

I put on the ZMFs as Elton John’s “Honky Cat” was playing through the Tourbillon. I confess, I never liked this song much. I always thought it a lightweight. But hearing it at the Metaxas & Sins booth, I was completely blown away. I could hear multiple acoustic and electric pianos, a banjo, and other instruments I’d never heard before, and the fact that the band was grooving together. What a track! I gained new respect for Elton as a singer – I realized he’s far better than I’d ever given him credit for – and for Dee Murray, who absolutely drives the track with a deep bass tone and a powerful groove. The track sounded sensational. I was literally almost dizzy after hearing it. Yes, you can still have audio epiphanies no matter how long you’ve been in this game.

Grell, a company founded by former Sennheiser designer Axel Grell, debuted the OAE1 Signature, created in partnership with computer hardware company Drop. The Drop+Grell OAE1 Signature retails for $499. The drivers are positioned at an angle to the ears, rather than perpendicular as is the case with other headphones, which the company claims produces sound waves as if from a source in front of the listener for a more realistic sound field. I didn’t get a chance to listen but the buzz from listeners at the packed booth was that they were impressive.

ABYSS was another company using reel-to-reel tape as source material, in this case, via a Technics RP Series deck with an RP-2422 headblock. The tapes were early-generation masters that someone managed to acquire from Atlantic Records and other labels. I listened via the ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC $6,000 planar magnetic headphones, featuring a proprietary open-back design. At the time I put on the headphones “The Girl From Ipanema” from Getz/Gilberto happened to be playing, and…wow. By coincidence I had just finished reviewing the Impex Records re-issue (see my article in this issue), so the recording was fresh in my mind. The sound was very clear, balanced, and natural, with nuances of the percussion being especially finely rendered. Stan Getz’s sax had body and personality, albeit in a totally different way than listening through speakers. A treat.

Sonic treats: some of the reel-to-reel tapes available for listening at the ABYSS booth.

Full disclosure: I do some consulting work for Audio-Technica. That said, this show report would be remiss if I didn’t mention the North American debut of A-T’s Narukami Series HPA-KG Naru vacuum tube headphone amp/preamplifier and companion ATH-AWKG dynamic headphones ($108,000). Both models incorporate rare kurogaki wood, and the amplifier utilizes Audio-Technica-branded Takatsuki 300B power tubes. It would sound odd for me to comment further, so I’ll refer you to this YouTube video from Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. I don’t think it would be amiss for me to say that the amplifier and headphones look absolutely striking.

Audio-Technica's John Tarulli with the new Narukami ATH-AWKG headphones and HPA-KG Naru vacuum tube headphone amp/preamplifier.

Many headphone aficionados will not be satisfied with anything other than Stax electrostatic headphones, and the Woo Audio exhibit put smiles on many faces. They showed a wide variety of Stax models and associated electronics, including the new and very cool TUBE mini balanced headphone amplifier DAC, measuring just 4.2 by 1.4 by .28 inches. The TUBE mini uses two diminutive 6418 vacuum tubes (visible through a window in the center of the unit) and an ESS Sabre DAC, and is said to be able to drive even headphones that require a lot of power. It’s USB-powered and is available with an optional POWER BASE docking system with an external battery power supply, and vibration control system. Pricing ranges from $499 for the TUBE mini and from $299 for the POWER BASE.

I listened to Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love” from the Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil album, and it was Heavy Metal Elvis rocking out with high-energy raunchy guitars, and an on-fire rhythm section. It sounded great, with tremendous power and impact. I got so caught up in it that I forgot to note what headphones I was listening to, which I think is a great endorsement, I think. The King lives on in audiophile land!

High-end portable audio: the new Stax TUBE mini headphone amp on its POWER BASE docking station. 

Los Angeles, California distributor High End by Oz had a suite full of enticing gear, and, being a man of refined and expensive taste (especially for stuff I can’t afford but can indulge in at shows), I went for the Italian/Latvian VIVA Egoista 2A3 headphone amplifier ($15,500), featuring, as you might guess, 2A3 output tubes. I put on Meze Audio Elite headphones ($3,999), cued up “Ipanema” (which at this point in the show had become one of my reference auditioning tracks) and basked in the warm, sweet, lush sound. The imaging was excellent – on these headphones you could distinctly tell that the acoustic bass was living in the left channel, which wasn’t the case with other setups. For me, this kind of sound is what high-end audio is all about – immersion in wonderful sound that makes you want to keep listening and listening.

Tube nirvana: the VIVA Egoista 2A3 amplifier played some sweet sounds.

All images courtesy of the author unless indicated otherwise.

Header image: attendees experience the fantastic sound of the Metazas & Sins display, which included amplifiers shaped like human (robot?) heads and torsos.

Copper has an exchange program with FIDELITY magazine (and others), where we share articles, including this one, between publications.

Curiously enough, SPL is rarely considered a criterion when defining what characterizes an exquisite, high-end loudspeaker. Yet the ability to push volume without distortion is a key requirement for a sound transducer (even if I assert this only off the record). And the Pure Emotion 1.0 by AW masters this discipline like no other. A visit to a superlative.

108 decibel sensitivity and a maximum distortion-free sound pressure of 120 decibels: that’s what I had read in the data sheet just a moment ago. An impressive figure for a loud­speaker — for any loudspeaker, no matter if it features an active, passive, classic, or horn design. And yet all I had were figures, which in no way prepared me for what was to follow: “I’ll put something dynamic on and crank it up a bit. Then you’ll hear what the speakers can do,” said a smiling Axel Wurm in his unmistakable Hessian dialect. And with that, he pressed the remote app’s Play button. In the next moment, a drum­mer began to pedal his kick drum with a vengeance while pummeling his snare drum into submission. When the sound reached me, I felt as if an unknown force was ripping the base from my brain. The shock wave surged through my body and had me searching, mildly dazed, for something to hold onto. No doubt about it – my visit to Pure Emotion by Axel Wurm left me impressed!

Any mention of [a technical term like] “stable impulse response” would have been a mockery given the two towers rising in front of me. Terms like “elemen­tal force,” “explosive character,” or “steam hammer” would have hit the mark much better. The Pure Emotion 1.0 not only generates high acoustic pressure, it also launches its output into a listening space so fast and abruptly, you don’t have time to think about it.

Carsten Barnbeck and Axel Wurm check out the horn driver of the Pure Emotion 1.0.

On top of that, as deafening as it may have seemed at its fiercest, the speakers’ broadband impulse resonated with absolute cleanliness, nu­ance and stability, even at this level. And still, the best was yet to come from this floorstanding speaker. “We set them up on a friend’s property out by the lake and then really pumped up the volume: even at a dis­tance of 30 meters, it was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself speak,” the proud design engineer would later throw out as a small anecdote.

A Hobby Project With Consequences

But let’s start at the beginning: Last fall, we, along with many other vis­itors to the Westdeutsche Hifi Tage (Western German Hi-fi Days) trade fair, unexpectedly stumbled into Wurm’s demonstration room. There in the huge parlor space located in Bonn’s Maritim Hotel we heard an understated, thoroughly stylish Audio Agile front end making music attached to a pair of monumental, exceptionally-designed, and, for their size, surprisingly unobtrusive hybrid horn speakers. During the trade fair, Wurm had explained they spent two days and nights tweaking the tuning in that challenging space before the equipment produced music like they wanted to hear. His efforts were rewarded. The loudspeakers were remarkable not only because of their dimensions and their unique fabric covering. They also delivered such a clear sound and played with such speed and dynamism in this huge parlor space that they were showered with multiple standing ovations at the end of the demonstra­tion. A brief “hello” followed by a conversation with the creator of the Pure Emotion 1.0 led to our realization: that’s where we need to go!

And then I found myself sitting in a room measuring just under 50 square meters plopped in the center of Erlensee near Hanau, Germany, eying up the exact same audio chain that served up such an impressive treat in Bonn. The scene described at the beginning does, of course, reflect one extreme facet of Pure Emotion’s 1.0. The loudspeaker can also exhibit discipline when it plays, expand any stage into a beguilingly large, trim space, and infuse the room with subtly melodious vocals. Wurm explained to us the idea behind this almost unfathomable power, turning to the popular Rolls Royce analogy: no matter how exacting the require­ment might be, the speaker has a sufficient measure of performance to master it with fleet-footed aplomb. And its brute force didn’t appear in the slightest to diminish its flair for dynamic intricacies and precision, as I would learn from many other musical examples. Even at very low volume, the Pure Emotion 1.0 resounds in broadband and in full; it reveals holographic reproduction and doesn’t obscure even the minutest detail.

Every inch of the speaker’s 82 inches reflects exceptional design. Forming its essence is an amazingly light Swiss pine frame, a material used to make musical instruments. In the experience of this indefatigable inventor, the material enables a transducer of this type to deliver its especially sublime sound. The supporting base was devised to be dismantled in an instant and transported while having as little mass as possible — a pretty tricky challenge to get a handle on.

Wurm spent many years fine-tuning the design for his base, modifying, bracing, and reinforcing it in places, before it was able to withstand the Pure Emotion 1.0's enormous acoustic pressure with zero vibrations and low resonance.

That might sound like trial and error, but it did, in fact, draw on decades of experience. Born in 1959, Wurm had, at the tender age of 13, already embarked on that effort that had left its mark on so many design­ers of his generation: equipped with a hand cart, he retrieved old — even defective — tube radios and TV sets from his relatives, from the refuse, and from his wider circle of acquaintances, then dismantled them, examined their circuitry, and created something new from them. So by the mid-1970s, it had become completely normal for him to meet his high-fidelity needs out of his own resources.

And his passion for high volume had already taken hold back then: loudspeakers like JBL’s 4343 served the music enthusiast as his archetypes.

A birthday gift in 2000 would eventually awake him from his “deep sleep,” as he would ultimately describe this key moment. His wife, inspired by a good friend, gave him a set of Focal Beryllium tweeters. He promptly tried out these four-inch units as midrange drivers in one of his loudspeakers and was astonished, flabbergasted, simply bowled over at how much sonic improvement these drivers provided. Vocals suddenly seemed so three-dimensional and natural that the experience marked a new chapter in his obsession.

The range of his required sound attributes had now grown to embrace linearity, detailing, microdynamics, and clarity. Wurm was, of course, already familiar with these aspects, but at that point they became his passion.

Like a Chameleon

Wurm’s devotion to design and styling constitutes another constant in the engineering of his loudspeakers. The veteran do-it-yourselfer loves trying out colors, shapes, and exotic material mixes. So, he showed us one of his earliest high-end design studies in his living room: loudspeakers in the form of two giant harps, accompanied by huge furniture-looking subwoofers.

In his Pure Emotion 1.0, he has integrated the four bulky 12-inch bass drivers directly into the primary frame. In combination with the care­fully-calibrated bass port, this quartet achieves an acoustic pressure of more than 100 decibels at a bloodcurdling 18 Hertz. To complement this bass power, Wurm decided at some point in the design process to add a horn driver to [the speaker's] midrange-tweeter arsenal. A spherical wave horn with a 30-inch diameter proved to be the optimum solution. It’s made of a complex wood/plastic/iron/aluminum composite. His son took 60 hours to apply the 24-carat gold leaf finish on the demonstration model by hand, which was then further worked on until the desired distressed look was achieved.

One final challenge proved to be the loudspeaker’s exterior finish: Wurm tried out all kinds of materials, until his wife into his head the idea of wrapping the speaker in fabric, analogous to Christo wrapping the Berlin Parliament building in 1995. What started off as “we can give it a try” turned out to be spot-on: it’s not just that the fabric gives the 1.0 its unmistakable, unique look. The jacketing proved to be the ideal insulation for the four bass drivers, and it makes the Pure Emotion 1.0 durable. Scratches, dust, or fading are alien to Wurm’s loudspeaker. And should it get stained, then just wash the fabric by hand and it’ll gleam like new.

This design has also made it possible to visually customize the loudspeaker to meet any requirements its owner might have. Wurm has already tried versions with printed fabric (take a look at the man­ufacturer’s website), and there have been practically no limits to how the horn can be finished, provided its basic function is not impaired.

The same applies to fine-tuning the sound quality of these giant columns: the loudspeaker’s incredible performance data has naturally entailed a few issues. A transducer that delivers even the lowest octaves at such sound pressure only actually functions perfectly in acoustically [optimum environments]. This is something you rarely find in residen­tial spaces. That means the Pure Emotion 1.0 has to be controlled from a computer, like a super sports car. This job is done by an external DSP unit that connects between the source(s) and amplifier. The programmable filters operate on the FIR (finite impulse response) principle, which provides three bene­fits: limited latency (computational time lags), low computational power [requirement], and, as a result, a potentially very large quantity of equalization bands.

The Pure Emotion 1.0 thus fulfills all the criteria you would expect of an exclusive super-speaker: Its design and construction are unique, every detail on the handcrafted loudspeaker can be customized to meet the requirements of its owner, and it delivers superb performance in tandem with every conceivable amplifier. Yet that’s not the end of the story: Axel Wurm is aiming to provide his 1.0 with a younger sibling in the foreseeable future — the prototype is already being put through her paces. That means we’ll be hearing a lot more from this resourceful native of Hanau…

Pure-Emotion by AW
Leipziger Str. 2
63526 Erlensee
Germany
Phone +49 171 9558187
www.pure-emotion-audio.de

Five Days and Nights of Intimate Global Music, Part One

One afternoon last weekend during the Folk Alliance International (FAI) 36th annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the few civilians at the Westin Crown Center hotel asked in a crowded elevator: "What kind of folk music is this, anyway? I saw a list with hundreds of names and I never heard of any of them!"

The man had good reason to be curious. To be honest, I had never heard of 98 percent of the artists either. (I did say hi to Tom Paxton, also in an elevator.) Which was exactly why I wanted to go. I felt the air getting stale in my room in Queens. I almost never go out to shows anymore, and rarely get exposed to new music outside my rock/pop safe zone. I craved travel and fresh sounds. I saw more live music in four days than I have in the last 25 years.

A few months ago, I got a press release announcing the FAI 2024 confab, February 21 – 25 in Kansas City. My longtime acquaintance Nick Loss-Eaton, who I hardly ever see, and which is too often the way of the world these days, was handling the publicity. I asked if he could get me a press pass. He could. I checked my teaching calendar at St. John's: I would only have to cancel one class (Feb. 22), so I didn't have to jump back right away. I checked my Delta SkyMiles, and because I never fly anywhere anymore, I had enough to fly to KC first-class round trip. It was a go. (I paid for my hotel and meals; no junkets are still my rule.)

But household names? FAI is a very large, necessary niche in the "folk world," and which emphasizes the American roots and international variations. The broad, distinctive definition of FAI might be "music played by folks." It's not a genre. It's a community of mutually supporting artists, folk music DJs (mostly on specialty shows: shout-out to New York radio veteran John Platt, who I was happy to meet), small indie labels, venues, promoters, musical instrument and microphone designers, manufacturers, services for touring musicians; the whole support system.

At the International Folk Music Awards (winners in bold), the Artist of the Year nominees were: Billy Strings, Digging Roots, Gaby Moreno, Madi Diaz, and Nickel Creek. I've heard of Mr. Strings and Nickel Creek; unfamiliar with the others. The Album of the Year nominees were by artists Tinariwen; Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway; Lankum; William Prince; and Rainbow Girls. I knew of Tinariwen, Tuareg musicians from Mali. But that's all. (Tuttle's group had won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album a few weeks ago.)

Tracy Chapman got a lifetime achievement award; the pop and country crossover hit of her 1988 song "Fast Car" by Luke Combs in 2023 is an optimal aspiration for many FAI artists. The best known, by me, of the award winners, was Iris DeMent, who took Song of the Year for "Workin' on a World."

Victor Jara, the Chilean singer, poet, and activist murdered in 1973 during the military coup that brought Gen. Augusto Pinochet, received a posthumous award, and his life is kind of the lodestar of the political leanings of some FAI musicians. The People's Voice Award recipient, "goes to an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public careers." This year's winner, Alynda Segarra, is leader of the rock band Hurray for the Riff Raff.

FAI, which also took place at the adjacent Sheraton Crown Center, is beyond a doubt as LGBTQ+ friendly, multiracial, multinational, and multicultural as possible, and honors the historic truth that "all of its activities and that of its member organizations take place on Indigenous lands. FAI's office is located on the land on the Kansa/Kaw, Osage, Kickago, and Ochethi Sakowin nations.” (The latter is a confederation of seven nations, sometimes known under the umbrella of the Sioux Nation, that speaks three different dialects: Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota, and basically constitutes most of what we call the "Midwest.") Where I am from, Queens and Long Island, the specific places I grew up are on the indigenous lands of the Canarsie, Rockaways, and Merrick tribes. Almost all of the place names on Long Island are named after such tribes: Do you think some European white dude named his home town "Massapequa?"

As a cisgender male, on the mostly heteronormative spectrum (though I have dabbled outside the boundaries), I was always made to feel welcome. And with my press pass tagged with a "first-timer" ribbon, people often stopped me to ask how I was enjoying my virgin year at FAI. And was asked follow-up questions. That includes current executive director Jennifer Roe. And occasionally, I mistook one musician for another, but that was OK; that person stopped to talk to me anyway. Musicians welcomed direct contact after their sets; just mosey up and chat.

I was hooked by the 6 p.m. opening night party, which featured a band and a guest leader playing in celebration of long anniversaries of Smithsonian Folkways, and of TRO-Essex Music Group, which handles the rights to the songs of Woody Guthrie and Huddie Ledbetter, aka Leadbelly, aka Lead Belly. Also the late Oscar Brand, who was a neighbor and warm acquaintance of mine in Great Neck, New York. The TRO-Essex Music Group Facebook page posted that the Canadian-American Brand's "Something to Sing About," a patriotic song, is now out as a single. Check your favorite streamer.

Guthrie and Leadbelly provided the source of this roots music, the springs that evolved into a vast ocean of song from all over the world. FAI is dedicated to "saving these songs from cultural erasure," a valuable mission if there ever was one.

The opening party reinforced this, with stunning background singers including L.A.-based Alice Howe and the ubiquitous (because I kept running into her) Shanna Who Wears a Dress, with an effervescent personality, a spring water-clear voice, and this self-description: "quirky folk pop from a clever millennial who sucks at dating." Among the players was Dan Navarro, who is now one of FAI's "elders," as a panel on which he appeared was called. He had been in a group called Lowen & Navarro (Eric Lowen died after a long battle with ALS at age 60, in 2012). The house band for FAI 2024 was Virginia's Steel Wheels.

Do you remember the last article [in Issue 204] when I posted about turning my grandson on to Raffi? There's a Raffi song that goes: "a peanut butter sandwich made with jam/one for me and one for David Amram." This is a little joke for musically aware parents, because David Amram is one of the most prolific American composers of the last 70 years: operas, chamber music, Jewish roots music, Latin, jazz, folk...I met him a few times when I wrote about his non-classical stuff in Newsday; he was friendly with some of our Greenwich Village denizens in the early days of the New York office going back to when I started in 1975.

David Amram, live at the opening night tribute, jamming the real folk blues. Courtesy of FAI.

Amram, wearing his denim The Village Trip jacket, sang and led the band opening night, and I could hardly believe my eyes and ears. Amram was seated at a Roland RD-88 keyboard, playing wild-ass blues and boogie, and long jams on Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty" and Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene" that would make you weep and jump for joy. I said hello to Amram after his set; at 93, he is spry, musically solid, but slightly distractible. He recalled my Newsday colleagues Dennis Duggan and Sheila McKenna, old Village friends of his, and dug into his bag to give me a CD: A jazz album, David Amram Live in Germany: 1954 – 2013, the latter from a 60th anniversary tour honoring the original 1954 sessions for Armed Forces Radio, a period when Amram was drafted and stationed in Germany.

The conference had focused panel discussions for those who needed career advice, including health care, investing, and retirement: this is not a rich person's game, nor one with a path towards great wealth. There were instead "affinity groups," in which people in, say, the "Publicity and Media" event took place in a small conference room, no podium, chairs in a wide circle. It was like the AA meetings one sees in TV shows like Loudermilk, a streaming "comedy" which I find, after three episodes, so utterly cringe that it is unwatchable, though many people find this show, about a former Seattle rock critic-turned-recovery counselor quite funny. God bless you. People think it may be my sweet spot. It is, as I say, cringe, and the behavior of Loudermilk (played by Ron Livingston), whose cruelty made for laughs is disturbing for me to watch. FAI did feature a daily "Friends of Bill" meeting at 5 p.m., and I did make one. At that time on Saturday, I was invited to a private showcase for the singer-songwriter Xanthe Alexis, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and a few other places as well, who was recording a three-song video for No Depression magazine. I am one of the five people who will be heard clapping. I am now the spiritual leader of her fan club.

Otherwise, I was napping at that time.  

Napping is essential at FAI, which had 2,500 registered guests. Beginning around 6 or 7 p.m. each night were 150 official showcase acts. Many of these were multiple artist sets, many by international musicians, sponsored by their government arts entities. There were, for example, about two dozen Australian artists, sponsored by Sounds Australia. I swooned for Kerryn Fields, who is at least six feet tall with talent that surpasses her stature, and Alana Wilkinson, and the Weeping Willows duo.

Ireland, Estonia, Catalan Arts (Barcelona) were all represented. English-speaking Ontario, French-speaking Quebec, and the speak-a-bit-of-everything Atlantic provinces (Canadian Music East Coast style; think Prince Edward Island, where they build strong mussels) supported showcases. The Nordic Folk Alliance was there, as well as states and cities that are themselves self-contained cultural musiclands: Texas, Louisiana, Memphis, and more.

All these artists and more could be found in the private showcases, which started around 10 p.m. and lasted until the final showtime slot, which I kid you not, was 2:30 or 2:40 a.m. Bruce Sudano, reemerging as a singer-songwriter after the 2012 passing of his wife, Donna Summer, did a 2:30 a.m. Wednesday night (I skipped that, but had lunch with him the next day), and I knew I'd be able to catch him at an official showcase, 8:30 p.m. on Friday night. His new album, “Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies” was released on March 1, but you really need to hear him do the solo acoustic guitar version of "Bad Girls," the disco hit he and Summer wrote together. It has strong bones.

The private showcases took place in the hotel on the fifth through eighth floors. Every room. All doors were open, with signage that looked like college dorms inhabited by music fiends. I tried to count through the 64-page, small-print private showcase schedule book, and came up with around 800 different performers in hotel rooms over four nights. Let's look at the low-end estimate and say each artist did three showcases any given night: That would be 2,400 showcases from 10 a.m to 3 a.m. It was crazy fun. The schedule booklet warned on each page: "Take care of your body and mind. Remember Water and Rest."

Each player, picker, singer, songwriter and occasional multi-instrumentalist played half a dozen or more 20 minute solo sets or 30 – 40 minute "guitar pulls," with three artists alternating up to four or five songs each. Each hotel room, beds included, was set up with a few chairs, and maybe snacks.

Most were well-designed, with copasetic acts. But one night I pushed through the hallway crowds to see one of Bianca De Leon's 10 private showcases (she had three that night). De Leon, an Austin troubadour who plays a lot in Europe, who ran with Townes Van Zandt and and the other Texas bad boys in their self-destructive prime, was squeezed between a pop singer from Michigan with a large electric keyboard that cramped her elbow room, and a straight mainstream Nashville songwriter (an anomaly here). We were starting to get to know each other, so we made eye contact and occasional eye rolls; she sang "I Sang Patsy Cline." That tune was about the time her plane from Medellín, Colombia, to Panama City was canceled because the dictator Manuel Noriega was being overthrown that night. There were maybe five people in the room listening, but every artist gave it their all.

In Part Two: some artists that stood out, entertained, and inspired.

This article originally appeared in Wayne Robins’ Substack and is used here by permission. Wayne’s Words columnist Wayne Robins teaches at St. John’s University in Queens, and writes the Critical Conditions Substack, https://waynerobins.substack.com/.

I have noted before that I do not have the benefit of having a photography studio to work from. Still, I almost always prefer to photograph gear in my home – where I have a small amount of control over the environment – versus in the field. I disregarded this preference when I visited Peter Bizlewicz of Symposium Acoustics to pick up an extra shelf for one of my Symposium component racks.

While in Symposium’s listening room, I checked out the gear, which was from companies such as Manley Laboratories, WAVAC Audio Lab, and Sony. There was also a prototype Panorama speaker that Peter had designed and hand-built some time ago. Of course, Symposium racks, platforms, and footers, were generously used throughout the system.

Here are photos that I took of Peter’s WAVAC He-833v1.3 directly-heated, 150 watt per channel single-ended triode mono amps. This Japanese-made amp uses the 833A transmitting triode, which was RCA’s most powerful glass triode, and for decades the choice of many engineers for audio reproduction and transmitter service. The other tubes in the amplifier are a KT88 and a 437A in the driver and input stages, respectively.

Many tube aficionados know all too well that it is a gross understatement to say that the He-833v1.3 is highly sought-after and nothing short of magnificent. WAVAC’s latest version is the HE-833v2. My photos of Peter’s Panorama speakers will have to wait for another day.

The mighty 833A triode tube is at the heart of the WAVAC He-833v1.3 amplifier.

Here's the amplifier resting on a Symposium Acoustics Ultra platform.

Top view of the He-833v1.3 showing the input and speaker connection options.

it's a work of audio art.

 A transparent glass canopy is available for the amplifier.

All images courtesy of Howard Kneller. Howard’s audiophile adventures are documented on his YouTube channel (The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller) and on Instagram (@howardkneller). His art and photography can also be found on Instagram (@howardkneller.photog). Finally, he posts a bit of everything on Facebook (@howardkneller).

In Issue 203, I provided an introduction to the “vampires” that live in our home, electronic devices that are consuming power while plugged in and idle or on standby. Today, we’ll dive into the facts and figures, using my own home as an example. Other than a few brands or names mentioned, my idea here is not to “name and shame” any of them for their power consumption characteristics.

What is Using Power in the House?

I have always been interested in electronics, technology, and computers, going back to my childhood days tinkering with small audio kits and playing with a 3-inch reel-to-reel tape recorder. So you can imagine that I’m drawn to any electronic gadget that comes along, plugging in each new one without giving a second thought to power consumption.

After all, it’s just a fraction of a watt. Right?

I did realize long ago that everything I plug into the wall uses some amount of energy, but wasn’t aware of just how much the total of everything added up to.

I have vampires of all kinds in the house. Some were expected; others were overlooked. Who knew that of two coffee makers, one would draw so much more than the other? Or, that the LED night lights we use draw more power by keeping themselves powered, vs. actually lighting the room?

Our power consumption for computers and network equipment was expected and unsurprising. My “network shelf” in the basement houses a fiber interface, router, switch, and two NAS (network attached storage) units, along with a PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) injector to feed the wireless access point centrally located in the house. One NAS is run periodically for backups, but the primary NAS (which uses lower-power SSDs for storage) runs 24/7, as does the rest of the networking equipment. We use five surveillance cameras outside the house as well.

The Cost of Electricity

Unfortunately, our utility company does not offer a single price for electricity usage, which is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Our current plan has on-peak and off-peak usage rates, with the on-peak rates having seasonal adjustments (summer and winter).  Our peak hours are four hours per day, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; summer peak rates are charged four months out of the year (June through September) at $0.224/kWh, and winter peak rates are $0.1809/kWh the remainder of the year. Off-peak rates are $0.1673/kWh. Doing some extended math, the yearly average cost for electricity is $0.172/kWh, assuming 24/7/365 usage. Not a perfect calculation, but good enough to get a ballpark idea of what this is costing.

Meet the Vampires

Here is a summary of devices used in my house and their measured power consumption in watts; all devices and appliances are in standby mode except where indicated. I used the TechBee model JK-PM04 to perform the measurements.

The TechBee JK-PM04 power meter.

Kitchen:

• Microwave oven: 0.3w
• Carbon monoxide detector: 0.2w
• Dishwasher: 0.4w
• Nespresso coffee maker: 0.3w
• Hamilton Beach coffee maker: 0.9w
• LED cabinet lighting (two, each, 18hrs/day): 5.5w
• JVC mini-system: 4.2w standby; 7.7w on, not in use
• Laptops (two), batteries at full charge: 0.8w, 0.3w

Bathrooms:

• Toothbrushes (two): 0.3w idle, 0.5w charging
• LED nightlight (two): 0.2w off, 0.3w illuminated
• Smelly scent thing that Rudy doesn’t like (low/med/high): 2.1w/2.4w/3.0w

Laundry:

• Washer: 0.5w
• “Sidekick” washer: 0.4w
• Dryer: 0.5w (estimated)

Lighting and Smart Switches:

• LED smart bulbs: 0.4w? (0.0w observed most of the time)
• Smart switches (plug adapters): 0.3w idle/off, 0.8w on/no load
• LED strip lighting (two, each): 0.3w
• Outdoor motion-sensitive lighting (idle): 1.0w

Audio/Video/Gaming Systems:

• Speakers with powered woofers (two, each): 0.3w
• Turntable (standby): 0.1w
• Solid state phono stage (no power switch): 2.0w
• SugarCube vinyl noise reduction unit (always on): 11.5w
• Streamer: 4.3w
• DAC: 21.5w standby; 22.5w on
• Preamp: 2.6w
• Power amp and tubed phono stage (use physical power buttons): 0w
• Power conditioner: 4.9w
• Main speakers (two, each): 0.3w
• Subwoofers (two, each): 2.2w
• Record cleaner, ultrasonic: 1.4w
• Intel NUC server (for Roon Server): 4.3w
• Desktop amp/DAC: 0.2w
• Powered Bluetooth speaker: 0.3w
• Televisions (three, average consumption each): 2.1w
• Soundbar: 0.2w
• Game console 1: 1.2w
• Game console 2: 0.2w
• Game console 2 external hard drive: 2.2w
• Nvidia Shield: 3.9w
• Chromecast audio pucks (three): 1.3w

Computer/Networking:

• Desktop computers (two each, average, sleep): 5.0w
• Network router: 4.0w
• Network switches (five in use, each): 1.9w
• PoE injector for wireless access point: 16.5w
• NAS (three of six SSD bays occupied): 11.6w
• Printer/scanner: 1.6w

Miscellaneous:

• Nest hub (two, screen illuminated, each): 2.2w
• Nest speaker (two, each): 2.0w
• Recliners (two, each): 0.2w
• Surveillance cameras (five, each): 2.0w (daytime)/4.5w (night/infrared LEDs)

Yes, recliners. Each has a remote, backlit with LEDs, and a USB charger built into it.

Maybe you won't be relaxing in your powered recliner when you think about how much energy it's using.

Adding up the devices that I know are currently plugged in and in their standby modes, I come up with about 170 watts of usage. One watt of usage per hour is a watt-hour. Multiplying that usage by 24 hours, then dividing by 1,000, I get our kilowatt-hour usage for the day, which is 4.08 kw/h.  Now, if I multiply that by our cost per kilowatt-hour (the average that I calculated earlier) of $0.172/kWh, it works out to a cost of $0.70 per day. Extended to an average 30-day month, that is $21 per month, or about $250 per year. That means roughly 16 to 20 percent of our monthly electric bill goes to powering all of these items. And I realize now that the escalating power bills coming in monthly are not completely the power company’s fault.

This is not a trivial amount, to be honest.

It's enough to make your head (or your electricity meter) spin. Courtesy of Pixabay.com/Pixelharvester.

An Audiophile’s Consideration

One thing that bothers me is how much power the DAC uses at idle, as well as the streamer, preamp, SugarCube (which is essentially a computer, DAC, and ADC combined) and record cleaner. There are entire days I go without listening to my main system. When I leave the house for a road trip, I unplug all the equipment to protect it from potential thunderstorms. But otherwise, it remains plugged in and, prior to doing my study, I left everything in standby mode all the time.

Now that I have seen how much power some of these components waste, I have no choice but to shut them down using physical power switches on the rear. A fraction of a watt I can deal with, but…21 watts for a DAC, 4 watts for a streamer, 11 watts for a record cleaner, etc., which are performing no useful function while idle, is wasteful, and costly.

Many audio and video components have a standby mode where the lighting is extinguished and the outputs muted, with the rest of the circuitry kept alive. Ironically, modern components with “better” power consumption ratings while in use may prove to be more inefficient compared to older components that are completely disconnected from the power source after use.

Some audiophiles argue that equipment should be left on 24/7 to ensure they sound the best. I am the controversial one saying that I have never agreed with that idea. Do electronic component values drift with temperature? Sure. But how long does it really take for an entire component to come up to full operating temperature? Certainly, no more than an hour. Once those electronic components come up to temperature, they are not going to drift further.

Should Manufacturers do Something About Vampire Power Consumption?

I believe so. We need clear and prominent specifications, both in the owner’s manuals and in product literature, giving us power consumption in standby mode and while “turned on” and in use. Also, please stop hiding physical power switches (which cut the connection to the incoming power) on the back panels or worse yet, eliminating them entirely. Put them right on the front panel. Give customers the choice of turning those components completely off, or not.

One irony about my own system is that the power conditioner uses 4.9 watts. So even if I use its master power switch to turn off the rest of my components, I’m still drawing 4.9 watts. And that to me is ridiculous.

Making Changes

At any rate, I have made changes around our house, primarily by powering down the audio system, and unplugging (or using a switched power strip) to power down other vampire power users in the house. Some, like the “smart” bulbs and switches, remain on as I’m OK with the extra consumption for the security and convenience features they offer. But I’m not at the point of living like a monk by unplugging everything but the refrigerator before going to bed.

Smart bulbs are a smart idea.

For a modest cost, you can purchase your own watt meter and do some measurements around your home or office to see if you need to be concerned about vampire power loads. It won’t change all of your power consumption habits, but it may help you reconsider what you consider essential for your daily usage and cut back where you find waste.

Header image: power lines, somewhere near Flat Rock, Michigan. Courtesy of Rudy Radelic.

On his recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Bruce Springsteen commented on how difficult it would be for him to launch his career today; that the structure of the business, the nature of a streaming ecosystem, and the lack of label strength and radio relevance all make it more difficult than ever for kids starting out in music. As true as that all might be, it’s also pretty difficult for established artists to navigate this new world order and find ways to connect with fans that are dynamic, collaborative, and let’s face it…commercial.

That is quickly changing.

Boston-based Inveniem was founded to do just that. As the company states, Inveniem is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and expanding the legacies of some of the world’s most important cultural figures, enhancing their direct connection with their fans across multiple integrated channels. Over the last 12 years, Inveniem’s client list has grown to include some of the biggest names in hard rock, classic rock, hip-hop, alternative, and country music. They also now work with athletes, actors, and international brands. Their client roster includes Metallica, Chris Paul, Eric Idle, the Naomi Judd estate, Nancy Wilson, Def Leppard, and others.

Inveniem’s Definitive Authentic division describes its mission as follows: “build digital and physical experiences, create compelling narratives, and tell stories through technology for [our] clients’ physical and digital artifacts.” Its platform is designed to enable talent and their estates to generate previously untapped revenue across “live” experiences. Examples include the band Ghost’s immersive touring museum experience, the creation of “virtual museums” with limited-edition collectibles, like the The Metallica Black Box and the The Def Leppard Vault, and one-of-a-kind artifact auctions like basketball player Devin Booker’s charity initiative.

The company is known for both its obsession with confidentiality and its message to its clients: Your Past is Your Future. Copper caught up with Inveniem/Definitive Authentic founder Brad Mindich to talk about how the company came to be; what success looks like; how, where and when the process of engaging with Inveniem begins; and what other applications there might be for a platform that is changing the past and future for some of the most iconic names in pop culture.

Brad Mindich of Inveniem.

Ray Chelstowski: How did this all begin?

Brad Mindich: I’d love to say that I had some amazing epiphany and that this appeared out of nowhere. But the reality it [that] was by accident. I had left my family’s business, which is in some ways the foundation for why this could happen. I came from a content and audience background in the media world. So, the need to deliver extraordinary content to people who care was something I understood.

This started very slowly. It took us four years to get [our] first three clients, because our entire business is based on trust. So, getting these artists, actors, or bands to trust you is a long process and we worked really hard to demonstrate our ability for them to trust us with these artifacts and these relationships, in an industry where integrity and protecting artists is not typical.

RC: How do you know that your model will work for an artist? Is there a checklist of things that have to be in place to move forward?

BM: I think it really comes down to the definition of “work.” For some people, [what] we deal with is protecting and preserving what they have. They often don’t know what they want to do with it, but making sure [their assets] are safe, knowing where they are, and having control over that is pretty important. I’ve had enough experience in this world now to know that very bad things can happen if that first step isn’t taken. That’s the fundamental part of this.

Then, regardless of where an artist is in their journey, it begins with their origin story. It’s an important part of engaging with their audience. Everything, however, does matter and everything has value. It’s about helping clients navigate and determine what they should do when.

Nancy Wilson, solo artist and formerly of Heart. Courtesy of Shore Fire Media.

RC: Is there an established queue that you move clients through, and is there a perfect strike point in a band’s career for them to begin working with you?

BM: We do put processes in place and there are [artist] managers out there who really get it and see the value in this. Putting a filtering process in place to ensure that the technical and the artistic [aspects] are equally followed is important, because it’s really expensive to go backwards. So, it’s better to do all of this when you’re on a creative upswing. If you don’t start doing this until you are 40 years into a career it becomes a lot [more difficult] to go through.

RC: I would imagine that having fans participate in content creation and curation is important.

BM: We do outreach for bands, and there are a few great examples of this; for example, where we have a [channel on Vimeo] called “Show Us Yours.” We’ve done video interviews with superfans of bands and artists, where they show off their collections and it’s amazing; not just what they’ve collected but [also] their knowledge about the artist. We’ve actually had artists tell us to “talk to so and so, because they know more about us than we do!” We all are fans of someone or something, so to be asked by your favorite band to participate and share things is cool for the fan, [and] it’s great for the audience and the artist. It makes the overall “ecosystem” that much better.

RC: In this streaming world, I would imagine that this could become an interesting platform to introduce and sell new music.

BM: Look, everything will continue to evolve. The way we look at it is, the more that the artist can [manage] their relationship with their fans, engage with them, or as we like to say “surround” their fans, the better. In that scenario there can be digital [media], there can be physical; there can be other kinds of immersive experiences, or partnerships. At this point we don’t know how a fan is going to enter into an artist’s ecosystem. It could be through streaming, or a video game. So having an artist understand all of the spokes of the wheel is really important.

One of the primary goals of artists we work with is getting new fans. So, the discovery process is critical. Once you pull them in, then you can walk them into a journey backwards and show them other records or [footage from] tours [they might not know about]. It almost immediately connects that fan and artist in ways that go beyond someone just hearing a track on Spotify. A great example of this from not long ago was [for] Metallica and the use of one of their songs on the television show Stranger Things. All of a sudden there were millions of people who discovered Metallica through that entry point.

RC: You work with musicians and athletes, but where else can this kind of idea be applied?

BM: We started with music and expanded into athletes. But we also have actors and celebrities as clients, as well as brands. It’s this whole concept of connecting extraordinary content to audiences, which is again where my career began. It can apply to any of these verticals and allows for all sorts of creative expression.

RC: Inveniem’s offering is so comprehensive, and assembling it properly must take time. How much work can you handle?

BM: Every client is different. Some start off small. But we’ve built our infrastructure/value chain in a way that we can super-serve any client, depending on what they want done. I think where we’ve had the most success is in giving clients the comfort to know [that] if they work with us, we’ve got them [covered]. We’ll take care of them faithfully, properly, and professionally. That sense of comfort is critical because they obviously have other things to focus on.

Here are some examples of Inveniem's offerings:

Motley Crue Cruseum: https://www.crueseum.com/

Backstage with Bon Jovi: https://backstage.bonjovi.com/

Nancy Wilson Shop: https://www.nancywilsonshop.com/

Header image: Nancy Wilson, courtesy of Shore Fire Media.

In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The turntable was king, and it had to be properly set up. Any audiophile worth his (or her) salt owned at least one or two test records specifically designed for that task.

Most such albums had test tones at various frequencies, and some had tracks that would challenge the trackability of your cartridge or help you determine whether or not your system was properly wired in phase. Many contained recordings of music (or sounds) that were meant to show off your hi-fi. In addition, a strobe pattern was often printed on the label to show whether or not the platter was rotating at the precisely correct speed. Some discs were issued by record labels, some by audio publications, and others were the product of equipment manufacturers.

Over the years, I’ve collected a disproportionate number of such discs (it helped that I worked in record stores for much of my adult life, so I could obtain the ones I wanted at reasonable prices). Here are some of them:

An Adventure in High Fidelity (1954)

One of the oldest albums in my collection predates the stereo era. This boxed release was put out by RCA Victor to demonstrate their “New Orthophonic” recording system. Along with a single LP and a turntable mat, it included a rather extensive booklet covering audio terms, with charts showing the frequency range of various instruments, and a lengthy essay by Robert D. Darrell, who “achieved international renown as an authority on phonograph records with the publication in 1936 of his Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music, a pioneering work that instituted the art of discography.”

The music on the disc includes a nine-part symphonic suite commissioned by RCA and composed by Robert Russell Bennett, a highly regarded orchestrator of the time. Each part is given a paragraph noting the instrumentation. It’s worth listing the titles of the parts: “The Arrival at the Great Gates of the Castle Hi Fi,” “Welcome of the Page Boy Dynam,” “The Variable Pitch of Princess Rhumbamba,” “The Balinese Ballad of the Tweeter and the Woofer,” “The Circular Serenade of the Diamond Stylus,” “The Waltz of the Vinylite Biscuits,” “The Tomb of the Ogre Distortion,” “Blasphemy of the Amplifier,” and “The Full Frequency Fountain of Farewell.” Clearly, Mr. Bennett imbued his commission with equal parts of seriousness and whimsy. The notes for the finale concluded with: “It leaves the listener overwhelmed by a sonal (sic) experience unlike any he ever can have known before – a dream of High Fidelity that Bennett, his musicians, and RCA Victor engineers have made an incomparable reality.”

The rest of the music on the LP ranges from classical to opera to pop/easy listening. And yes, it’s a mono “Shaded Dog” pressing.

Elektra Playback System Calibration Record (1956)

This was a 10-inch pressing from the Elektra record label. In contrast to the above album, it consists entirely of test tones at various frequencies with no musical selections. The notes say: “The purpose of this record is to provide a standard for the calibration of playback mechanisms designed for 33-1/3 microgroove recordings.” It is interesting to note that the mastering was done without the high-frequency pre-emphasis inherent in the RIAA equalization curve. The explanation given is that, “in order to make a test record according to the standard pre-emphasized characteristic, the average level would have to be impractically low.” I have to believe that this limitation has been overcome in modern pressings, as most of my other, newer test records utilize the standard pre-emphasis.

For those unfamiliar with the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) curve, it is an equalization standard that boosts the high frequencies and attenuates the low frequencies presented to the mastering lathe, relying on an inverse equalization curve (provided in all phono stages) to achieve flat response upon playback. This process results in reduced surface noise, improved trackability, and greater playing time per side because the grooves can be closer together. In the early days of LPs, different labels had different curves, and hi-fi preamps often allowed you to select from as many as four or five varying standards. The adoption of the RIAA curve as universal occurred around the mid-1950s.

CBS Laboratories Broadcast Test Record (Date unknown)

This is another seriously technical test record with tones but no music. One side is for monaural reproduction and the other side is for stereo. Unlike the Elektra record, the disc was mastered with the full RIAA curve, as evidenced by the chart of said curve printed on the back. A unique feature of the album is the inclusion of strobe patterns for 33-1/3 and 45 RPM actually pressed into the plastic as the last bands on sides one and two. In this case, rather than serving as visual indicators, the patterns are intended to be played into an oscilloscope to determine speed accuracy.

Seven Steps to Better Listening (1964)

One more from CBS Laboratories – this time intended more for the non-professional audience. The seven steps address channel identification (left/right), phasing, balance, tone settings, channel separation, elimination of buzzes and rattles, and adjustments to reduce record wear.

The notes state: “Whether you are an advanced High Fidelity enthusiast, and/or a down-to-earth lover of good music, you will find SEVEN STEPS TO BETTER LISTENING an invaluable key to musical enjoyment. You will learn to depend upon it to adjust your equipment, regardless of cost, whether it is new or old, and also to appraise the true capability of any equipment you plan to purchase. You will use it again and again because it shows how to improve the quality and naturalness of reproduction of all your records, and enables you to capture the true spirit of each performance.” Lofty words, indeed.

The accompanying booklet says, “PLEASE READ BEFORE PLAYING THIS RECORD,” followed by the line “This record is self-explanatory.” While that would seem contradictory, the point is that you are being warned not to play side A with a monaural cartridge/stylus. (By the way, explanatory is misspelled as expanatory.) The notes were written by Audio magazine’s Edward Tatnall Canby, a highly-regarded audio writer of the time.

CBS Laboratories SQ Quadrophonic Test Record (1973)

Wow – remember Quad? Twice the speakers, twice the amplifier channels, twice the setup headaches, three times (SQ, QS, CD-4) the formats!

I have to believe that my copy is missing a booklet, as the track listings on the back (and label) include some seriously technical jargon, e.g., “1kHz, 0 dB channel level, Right Back – Counterclockwise Helical Modulation, 3.54 cm/sec–Right +90º rel left, each 2.5cm/sec rms.”

Phew! Glad I didn’t go down that rabbit hole in the ’70s. Why do I even own this record?

An Introduction to the World of SQ Quadrophonic Sound (1973)

The category is “Most test and demonstration albums from a single label” (at least in my collection). And the envelope goes to… Columbia/CBS! Bonus – “This disc may also be played on any conventional stereo system as any other high fidelity recording.”

Another unnecessary acquisition, but at least I can listen to this, as it’s all music and no test tones, but do I really want to hear Andy Williams sing “MacArthur Park”?

The next installment in this series will feature test records issued by various stereo equipment manufacturers.

Above: a Radio News 1925 artist's conception of what Nikola Tesla's wireless power transmission system might have looked like in the future. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Frank R. Paul/public domain.

Even in 1953 you could make old records sound like new again with this Motorola phonograph, for less than hundreds of dollars!

Motorola also had an ingenious solution for better AM reception back in the day.

Motorola sure knew how to design radios! Here's a 1939 beauty, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Daderot.

Big speaker, fine tone and long battery life, all for $24.95. What more could you ask for?

As I’ve mentioned before in this column, when I was very young and first started listening to music I was initially fascinated by “big” music – stereo recordings of large orchestras and choruses with sounds coming from different directions and distances. I was so taken with percussion instruments I would borrow my father’s portable Sony stereo recorder and tape anything that could be shaken, banged, or struck in order to improvise pieces where sounds moved from one speaker to the other. Even though I now listen primarily to chamber music I still enjoy hearing “big” orchestral music every so often – especially music with a good amount of percussion.

Here’s an odd but varied assortment of pieces where percussion is integral to the music. Percussion, of course, plays an important role in almost every style of music but I thought these selections were particularly notable.

Aaron Copland/Fanfare for the Common Man/Orchestra of St. Luke’s/Sir Gilbert Levine, cond. (video) One of Copland’s most famous pieces, Fanfare for the Common Man was written for brass and percussion and is hard to imagine without its powerful percussive accents.

The Fanfare was composed in 1942, part of 18 fanfares commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to encourage patriotism as America entered the Second World War. It was inspired in part by Vice President Henry A. Wallace’s speech rallying Americans against imperialism. “Some have spoken of the American Century,” Wallace proclaimed. “I say that the century on which we are entering, the century which will come out of this war, can be and must be the century of the common man.” Copland later echoed that sentiment, stating, “It was the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the War and the army. He deserved a fanfare.” [1]

Copland’s Fanfare was later used as the theme for the final movement of his Third Symphony (1946), written in honor of the war’s victory and intended “to reflect the euphoric spirit of the country at the time.”

Béla Bartók/Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion Bartók’s orchestral music is familiar to many listeners, and his Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is considered to be one of his masterpieces. There are many recordings of the work available including audiophile reissues of the classic LP with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (RCA Living Stereo):

Bartók’s chamber music, with the exception of his six string quartets, isn’t as well known. The Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion was inspired by the composer’s interest in the piano as a percussive rather than a lyrical instrument. The piece is rarely found on concert programs because the music is difficult to play, it’s hard to find this particular combination of virtuoso pianists and percussionists, and the instrumental sounds have to be carefully balanced. The Sonata is one of Bartók’s most expressive works: my favorite movement is the third, inspired by Hungarian folk music.

The third movement of the Sonata with Martha Argerich and three equally talented musicians is an unbeatable performance (CD):

Here’s a dynamic performance of the entire Sonata including the well-known pianist Jenő Jandó (video):

Dick Schory’s Music For Bang Baaroom and Harp/Dick Schory’s New Percussion Ensemble/RCA Living Stereo (LP) Audiophiles and other listeners still rave about the iconic RCA Living Stereo Series which consisted of great classical music performances (like the Bartók referred to above) in terrific analog sound…sound so good that these early stereo LPs have been issued and reissued many times in many formats. But there was a flip side to these honored releases: popular and easy listening Living Stereo LPs. Those releases included discs with Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops (there’s an LP of Leroy Anderson favorites like “Fiddle-Faddle” and “Sleigh Ride”), LPs of Morton Gould leading his orchestra, and Sergio Franchi singing love songs, and the infamous Dynagroove releases manufactured on vinyl so thin they invited being bent into a taco shape, and always sounded (and tasted) horrible.

So dust off the music console, grab a martini, give the record platter a spin, and settle back for 33 minutes of late 1950s nostalgia with one of those RCA LPs that took a different kind of turn. Dick Schory played with the Chicago Symphony, toured as a performing percussionist, appeared on TV, and directed radio and TV commercials. Schory recorded Music for Bang Baaroom and Harp for RCA in June 1958. The LP was an excellent example of stereophonic sound, which helped to keep it on Billboard’s album chart for two years including six months in the Top 10. Later the album was re-released as a digital CD and was added to Classical CD Review’s Sonic Hall of Fame as an outstanding example of the art of stereo recording.

Recommended listening: Tap along with the “Buck Dance” on track 3, keep your company swinging through the “Ding Dong Polka” (track 4), and move right along to check out the drum playing during the “Duel on the Skins” on track 5.

Cool. Very cool.

“Duel on the Skins” (track 5 at 11 minutes into the LP):

Carl Nielsen/Symphony No. 4 (“The Inextinguishable”)/San Francisco Symphony/Herbert Blomstedt, cond. (CD) Crank up the stereo and prepare yourself for the battling timpani in the fourth movement of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4. Nielsen composed his dramatic symphony in 1914 to reflect his vision of a world at war and the forces that would cause nature to breed new life even though the world had been destroyed. In Nielsen’s own words, “These forces, which are inextinguishable, are what I have tried to represent.” The fourth movement contains a ferocious onslaught from two sets of timpani placed on opposite sides of the orchestra. The battling timpani help drive the music to its conclusion: a celebration of “the inextinguishable.”

The drums are thrilling and great fun to follow. If you’re only interested in hearing the fourth movement, Juanjo Mena conducts the BBC Philharmonic in an exciting, well-played performance. It has the best sound of the examples available on YouTube and comes with a clear, well-photographed video. One of the best recordings of the symphony on CD is Herbert Blomstedt conducting the San Francisco Symphony (London).

Juanjo Mena: the fourth movement starts at approx. 25:15 into the symphony (video):

Herbert Blomstedt (CD):

Harry Partch/“And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma: Verse 34”/Ensemble Musikfabrik (video) Composer Harry Partch was most famous for inventing his own instruments and integrating music with art, drama, and dance. All of his instruments are fascinating and produce unusual sounds in part because they are tuned to a microtonal scale of 43 notes per octave instead of the standard 12 notes. Here’s a short example of his work to match this brief description – with visuals, of course!

“And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma: Verse 34”:

David Lang/cheating, lying, stealing/Bang on a Can All-Stars (video) According to The New Yorker, “With his winning of the Pulitzer Prize for The Little Match Girl Passion (one of the most original and moving scores of recent years), Lang, once a post-minimalist enfant terrible, has solidified his standing as an American master.”

Lang’s compositions have been used by major music, dance, and theater organizations throughout the world including the Paris Opera Ballet, the New York City Ballet, and The Netherlands Dance Theater. His website describes him as passionate, prolific, and complex – someone who is committed to music that “embodies the restless spirit of invention…. His works are by turns ominous, ethereal, urgent, hypnotic, unsettling, and very emotionally direct. Much of his work seeks to expand the definition of virtuosity in music – even the deceptively simple pieces can be fiendishly difficult to play and require incredible concentration by musicians and audiences alike.” Lang is also the co-founder and co-artistic director of New York’s music collective Bang on a Can, [2] which leads us to cheating, lying, stealing:

“A couple of years ago, I started thinking about how so often when classical composers write a piece of music, they are trying to tell you something that they are proud of and like about themselves. Here’s this big gushing melody, see how emotional I am. Or, here’s this abstract hard-to-figure-out piece, see how complicated I am, see my really big brain. I am more noble, more sensitive, I am so happy. The composer really believes he or she is exemplary in this or that area. It’s interesting, but it’s not very humble. So, I thought, what would it be like if composers based pieces on what they thought was wrong with them? Like, here’s a piece that shows you how miserable I am. Or, here’s a piece that shows you what a liar I am, what a cheater I am. I wanted to make a piece that was about something disreputable. It’s a hard line to cross. You have to work against all your training. You are not taught to find the dirty seams in music. You are not taught to be low-down, clumsy, sly and underhanded. In cheating, lying, stealing [1993, rev. 1995], although phrased in a comic way, I am trying to look at something dark. There is a swagger, but it is not trustworthy. In fact, the instruction in the score for how to play it says: Ominous funk.” – David Lang [3]

cheating, lying, stealing:

Steve Reich/”Clapping Music” (video) Steve Reich is an American composer who started writing serial music but preferred the diatonic and tonal sound of the minimalist style. [4] His influences include the compositions of Terry Riley, jazz, the Balinese gamelan, music from sub-Saharan Africa, and Middle Eastern singing.

“Clapping Music” (1972) is a classic Reich piece written for two players and performed entirely by clapping. Reich wanted to (in his own words) “create a piece of music that needed no instruments beyond the human body.” The music doesn’t have a melody; it’s composed solely of rhythm. The performer clapping rhythm No. 1 repeats his or her rhythm continuously without changing it. The performer clapping rhythm No. 2 [which is the same as No. 1] shifts the whole pattern an eighth note forward after 12 repetitions – a technique called phrase shifting – and a polyrhythmic texture results as the phrases move out of sync with one another. The process continues until both performers are synchronized once again, clapping the same rhythm in unison.

“Clapping Music” (abbreviated version, no credits provided):

Iannis Xenakis /“Psappha”/Ying-Hsueh Chen, percussion (video) Avant-garde music has always interested me, but there are only a few pieces I listen to on a regular, or slightly irregular, basis. The first time I heard music by Xenakis it sounded like formless noise. But there was something about its primitive, intense sound I enjoyed and wanted to hear more of.

Xenakis was a Romanian-born French composer, architect, and mathematician who originated musique stochastique – music composed with the aid of electronic computers and based upon mathematical probability systems. He built his works on laws and formulas of the physical sciences, and sought to control his music at every instant. He once said, ”This is my definition of an artist, or of a man: to control.” Percussionists in particular enjoyed Xenakis’ music for its vitality and drama. Many listeners did, too, since the solo pieces ”Psappha” (1975) and ”Rebonds” (1988), as well as the sextet ”Pleiades” (1978) became classics of the genre.

“Psappha”:

Joe Locke/Lay Down My Heart: Blues & Ballads Vol. 1/Joe Locke, vibes (Motema Music CD) Have you developed a headache from all the preceding bing, bang, boom? Rest your ears by listening to vibraphonist Joe Locke’s Lay Down My Heart, a disc of jazz quartet performances designed to restore some calm. Locke states in his album notes that “This music is meant to provide respite for folks who work hard every day and need an opportunity to slow down and be reacquainted with that certain ‘something’ which eludes most of us in the midst of the whirlwind which is modern life. I can’t put a name to what that ‘something’ is, but if this music hits its mark, perhaps you will know what to call it…I’m grateful to the composers represented here, whose songs have touched my heart, made me wanna dance, or simply put a smile on my face.”

Bobby Hutcherson/Happenings/Bobby Hutcherson, vibes and marimba (Blue Note CD) For more good, but livelier, vibrations listen to Bobby Hutcherson, one of Joe Locke’s influences. Hutcherson’s sound is sharper and more percussive than Locke’s and the selections on Happenings are generally faster-paced than those on Lay Down My Heart. Hutcherson’s career took off during the early 1960s as jazz was moving beyond the complex harmonic and rhythmic elements of bebop. He was fluent in that style, but was also one of the first to adapt his instrument to a freer post-bop language, often playing chords with a pair of mallets in each hand.

Native American Music: Tribal Drums and Flute (CD) Two of the most significant types of instruments used by almost all American Indian tribes are drums and rattles. Drums are the oldest instruments on Earth and the ones most important to Native Americans. In Indian culture, drums are thought to speak to the player: The vibrations help the player tune into the natural frequency of the Earth and bring balance and renewal to the drummer. Numerous oral traditions refer to drumbeats as the Earth’s heartbeat (the spirit of life) and rapid drumming can signal the manifestation of a spirit presence. The process of creating and playing a drum combines earth, air, water, and fire – all of the Earth’s elements each with its own sound – resulting in an instrument that represents the circle of life.

The rattle is an instrument of independence. “It is a piece that utilizes what the Native Americans refer to as the three kingdoms or nations. The animal kingdom is represented by the container or feather decorations used on the rattle. The mineral kingdom is represented by rocks used for sound or the paint used for decoration. The plant kingdom is represented by the container (if a gourd is used) or the wooden handle of the rattle. The Native Americans realize that spiritual energy can be derived from the trancelike state that can be induced by music. The rattle causes our bodies and minds both to respond to it. Some cultures believe that music can unblock energy within our bodies and thus heal us of ailments. The beating of the rattle helps break up stagnant energy that is blocking the natural flow within your body. It can also help us focus on our souls, our cores. If you sit quietly alone or with friends and shake a Native American rattle, the music will help you clear your mind and open a doorway to a different emotional place.” [5]

[1] National Public Radio, “Morning Edition,” July 19, 2018.

[2] “When we started Bang on a Can [in 1987], we never imagined that our 12-hour marathon festival of mostly unknown music would morph into a giant international organization dedicated to the support of experimental music, wherever we would find it,” write Bang on a Can Co-Founders Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe. “But it has, and we are so gratified to be still hard at work, all these years later. The reason is really clear to us – we started this organization because we believed that making new music is a utopian act – that people needed to hear this music and they needed to hear it presented in the most persuasive way, with the best players, with the best programs, for the best listeners, in the best context. Our commitment to changing the environment for this music has kept us busy and growing, and we are not done yet.” [From the Bang on a Can website.]

[3] Percussion for this piece includes: marimba, rock bass drum w/foot pedal, anvil or other nasty metal, two tom toms, snare drum, brake drum 1 (high brake drum, medium brake drum, triangle), and brake drum 2 (medium brake drum, low brake drum, triangle). Brake drums 1 and 2 are intended to be separated antiphonally, on either side of the ensemble.

[4] Minimalism is a style that employs limited musical materials. Features include repetitive patterns or pulses, shifting rhythmic patterns, steady drones, consonant harmony, and the repetition of musical phrases or smaller units.

[5] “Native American Rattles,” Indians.org. For more about Native American music see “The Earth’s Heartbeat” in Issue 115.

Header image: the Harry Partch Ensemble. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Niffer Calderwood.

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The Absolute Sound posted a video review of the StellarGold DAC. Click on this link to check out Adrian Alexander’s coverage. He noted, “the soundstage was huge…it brought out sounds and nuances and different instruments I hadn’t heard before.” He concluded, “if you’re new and want to get into digital, I think this is the sweet spot…I think it sounds great.”

Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity gave a highly positive review of the StellarGold Stereo Preamplifier, citing its excellent sonic and measured performance. The review noted, “the music and sound [of Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section] were glorious with the StellarGold preamplifier.”

Stereophile included the PerfectWave DirectStream DAC MK2 and the Stellar Series M1200 mono power amplifier in its latest “Recommended Components” listings.

The Sound Advocate offered a detailed review of the AirLens streamer. The review praised its simple operation and said, “from a tuneful and dynamic bass to a detailed and realistic midrange, the AirLens delivered what my DAC needed to sound its best. I have had several streamers here in the system and can say that the AirLens serves up musical realism as well or better than any streamer I have had here under 5K.” The publication awarded the AirLens a Highly Recommended rating.