This Says It All....

Big Boi -- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

The other day I was talking to a 16-year-old about the wonderfulness that is OutKast, and he said something alarming. "Speakerboxxx and The Love Below came out when I was just a little kid," he told me.  No, I was thinking, maybe you were a little kid when Stankonia came out. Then I checked it out and he was right. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below came out in 2003, seven years ago, and indeed my friend was just nine years old. Stankonia, much to my dismay, was released a decade ago, when he was six and was still probably listening to Raffi. My, how time flies.

Of course this begs the question...what has OutKast, arguably one of the most creative forces in hip hop, been up to in the last few years? Sure there's 2006's Idlewild, a film and soundtrack album that came and went without much fanfare in the mainstream media. But there's a good reason why the break-up rumors keep flying around: despite denials from Big Boi and Andre 3000, OutKast seems to be on an indefinite break. The latest evidence can be found on Big Boi's new album, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. After a few listens, this sounds and feels like an OutKast album, minus Mr. 3000. Considering that Big Boi has always been the more straightforward and serious partner, the humor and playfulness throughout this album seems to indicate that he's filling in the void, or at least showing the world that he has plenty of imagination too.

SLLF:TSOCD is a loose, funny and musically rich hip hop album. While Big Boi keeps the proceedings at a more even keel than in the typical OutKast album, there are still plenty of sidebars (spoken word pieces, etc.) in the mix to preserve that classic OutKast "all over the damn place" feel. Best of all, Big Boi puts his money where his mouth is and shows why he's considered one of the best--and most underrated--of all of today's hip hop stars. Even repeated listens can't quite unearth the fast, excited, endlessly inventive phrasing that weaves throughout these beats, and you'll find yourself searching one of those pop music lyric sites just to keep up.

Then again, it wouldn't be Big Boi if we didn't venture away from rap and into funk, R&B and whatever else catches his interest. For instance, his intro combines a man's whistle, a Dishonest John piano riff and porn guitar. "Follow Us" has an instantly memorable pop chorus (sung with Vonnegutt) that barely obscures a true reggae backbeat, and "Tangerine" has a funky, nasty nightclub vibe, one that my be rated unsuitable for my aforementioned fellow OutKast fan. For once that parental guidance sticker on the cover is well-earned, but not in a crass 2 Live Crew sort of way. In fact, Big Boi reveals his maturity in unexpected ways, such as his statement that "Snow? That's for toboggans" when asked about the influence of crack on today's city streets.

After all, Big Boi is 35 now. And OutKast has been around for a very long time. (Their debut was in 1994, back when I wouldn't be caught dead listening to hip hop...my loss.) While I hope we don't have to wait forever (forever? forever ever? forever ever?) for more from either Andre or Antwan, this album will certainly keep me entertained for the next seven or ten years, which is probably when we'll see the next OutKast album.

Janelle Monae -- The ArchAndroid

After going absolutely bonkers over the video for "Tightrope," probably the catchiest pop tune since "Hey Ya," I had to order Janelle Monae's critically acclaimed new album The ArchAndroid immediately. First, the bad news..."Tightrope" is by far the best song on the album. The good news is that the rest of it is still pretty darned great. Ms. Monae prides herself on being a genre-bender, and nearly every song on The ArchAndroid tackles a particular musical genre in a novel and exciting way, from rock to pop to R&B to tango to classical. This is a hefty, ambitious hunk o' music that may take a few listens to truly sink in.

The ArchAndroid is a concept album, which seems to be a growing trend in R&B today (check out Erykah Badu's latest, New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh, for another great example), with Ms. Monae adopting an alter ego named Cindy Mayweather who is actually a android from 2179 who finds herself in an mental hospital called The Palace of the Dogs in 2010. Most of the album pays homage to Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi classic Metropolis (another fairly ambitious conceit for a 24-year-old from Kansas City), right down to the art direction of the album itself.

First of all, Ms. Monae has a GREAT voice, a pure and powerful instrument that still preserves the enthusiasm and innocence of a little girl. Second, this album is one of the rare R&B/rap hybrids to showcase spectacular sound quality.While I bought this on CD, it will be available as a double LP by the end of the month. And yes, I'll probably get that as well!

Turntable porn from Palmer Audio

I just made Facebook friends with a gentleman named Jon Palmer who makes his own turntables under the Palmer Audio moniker. This 'table, the 2.5, is just a prototype, but I have to say that this is one of the most gorgeous 'tables I've seen in a long time. He does have an older model, the 3, that has a separate housing for the motor, but I think I prefer the look of this one-piece plinth.

Here's a pic of the 3:

I'm going to contact Jon Palmer soon and ask him about the particulars (like price). I think I might ask him for an interview to see what it's like starting a new TT company in this day and age. I wish him the best!

See? It really is lime green.

This pic is more to settle a bet than anything, but after reading my most recent Vinyl Anachronist column at Perfect Sound Forever (available at http://furious.com/perfect/vinyl75.html), someone emailed me and challenged me on the fact that I had a lime green Rega P3-24 at home.

Well, here it is. It has the TT-PSU electronic power supply upgrade, the GrooveTracer machined aluminum subplatter and sapphire bearing and the Zu Audio DL-103 cartridge, so it's not exactly a garden-variety P3 (although it would look great in a garden!).

So there, pal. Pay up.

Support the Texas Music Movement

I've been networking with a couple of Texas music organizations over the last few weeks, trying to get a foothold into the local music critic scene. The best so far has been the Support the Texas Music Movement. Located at www.txmusicmovement.com, it's basically a Facebook page that acts as a meeting place for Texas musicians, radio stations, clubs and promoters.

I was contacted by Wendy Lemke, one of the admins, and she was open and friendly and funny, just like most Texans. She invited me to participate and post there often, which I think I'll do.  Considering I've seen quite a few great--and relatively unknown--Texas musicians in recent weeks (Buttercup, Churchwood, Honky, etc.), I think this will be great opportunity for me to start talking more about Texas music.

Unfortunately I missed Russ Garvey's performance last week, which was right here in Kyle! There aren't a lot of venues in my new hometown, but he managed to book a free appearance at a local cafe. If I'd known about the Support the Texas Music Movement a few days earlier, I would have gone. From now on, I'm going to be checking their website regularly for great Texas music.

Dazed and Confused

Behind every great woman is a man, and that man is Todd Palin. Every day when Sarah would come home after shooting moose from a helicopter, he'd have a big fat bowl waiting for her. Todd Palin is a hip, hip, hip dude.

 Check out her surprising comments about marijuana here: http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/sarah-palin-smoking-pot-is-no-big-deal/19521768

PRODUCE Opening in Corpus Christi

Margaret and I just returned from Corpus Christi, where we attended the opening of PRODUCE. I got to meet Dusty and his friends, and we had a great time. The evening was part of the ART WALK for Corpus Christi, and we wound up walking through downtown Corpus where we visited such places as Surf Club Records, a great little music store that focuses on local musicians. The record store is attached to the Texas Surf Museum, which features live acts. I noticed that Dick Dale is going to play there next month...I'm thinking about getting some tickets.

MartinLogan Purity loudspeakers

(This was another sidebar. This was my first time with MartinLogan speakers in my own system. Since Jeff is a big MartinLogan guy, I've heard practically every model they make at the TONEAudio office.)

When it comes to my system, I like simplicity. If it wasn't for my love of vinyl, I'd be one of those guys with a matching CD player and integrated amp mated to a pair of mini-monitors. I also enjoy how my smallish listening room can really make high quality stand-mounted speakers really sing. So when it comes to big panel speakers, I'm always a little hesitant. Will they overpower or overload my room? Will they need giant amplifiers? Is everything going to suddenly get really complicated?

With its relatively small 9.5” by 13” footprint, the new MartinLogan Purity immediately sounded promising. First of all, when it comes to MartinLogan, I totally get it. I'm hooked on the expansive sound and incredible detail. I've just always wondered if any of their models would be right for my room as well as my audio sensibilities.

But the Purity is even more remarkable for another reason--MartinLogan has placed a 200 watt per channel switching amplifier in the base of each speaker. That means one (or two) less boxes in your system. So while Jeff may tell you about all the wonderful ways the Purity works with digital music players, flat-screen TVs or even your computer, I'm here to tell you it's an excellent solution for traditional two-channel guys as well..

I connected the M-Ls to the both the Red Wine Audio Isabella and the conrad-johnson Classic preamplifiers and listened to LPs, CDs and FM radio. On first listen, I was ecstatic that I was actually hearing the traditional MartinLogan sound in my listening room—authoritative, effortless and unlimited. I'd just spent a couple of afternoons listening to the flagship CLXs at the TONE studio, and I definitely recognized a strong family resemblance. The Purity system didn't just make the soundstage float gently beyond the walls of my room, it took a wrecking ball and smashed my house to bits. Mini-monitors definitely can't do that.

Low bass performance was also impressive, especially considering that this speaker features two 6.5” woofers per side. The Purity is rated down to 41 Hz, plus or minus 3 dB, which seems extremely conservative. I had another pair of medium-sized monitors on hand that were rated down to 40 Hz, and there was simply no comparison. The MartinLogans reached much further into the depths of the music and pulled out more texture, more realism and more impact from the lowest frequencies. For the first time in many years, I actually felt the deepest bass notes thumping my chest like a playground bully. I threw on a test record with a 30 Hz tone and found there was significant output. While my room may have come into play here, I think that the 41 Hz specification reeks of modesty.

I did detect a slight dry quality throughout the mids and treble, however, which may have been related to the switching amplifiers. If you already have a warmer-sounding tube amp that you're not willing to sacrifice to the gods of simplicity, there's a simple solution. The Purity is also available in a passive version, known as the Source, for less money. If you're looking to combine the speed and detail of electrostatics with a warmer, tube-like presentation, this may be the hottest game in town. But if you're looking for a way to streamline your system without compromising scale, dynamics and authoritative bass response, the Purity should be at the top of your list. The Purity offers so much for so little, I can't even think of any direct competition it may have.

Jenni Potts at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity, Bellingham, Washington July 18 2008

(This one kind of ticked me off a little. I drove all the way from Vancouver, Washington to Bellingham, Washington, from one end of the state of the other, and we forgot to include it in the issue. Jenni's publicist kept asking me when it was going to appear, I kept bugging Jeff...and it still never appeared. I did a full-feature interview with Jenni and reviewed her CD, but Ben Fong-Torres thought we were kind of ODing on Jenni that issue. We were supposed to put it on the website, but never did. Sorry, Jenni!)

With her platinum blond locks and her fairy wings, singer-songwriter Jenni Potts didn't quite blend into the crowd at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity. As a full-fledged member of Bellingham's close-knit music scene (Death Cab for Cutie, The Posies, Idiot Pilot, The Trucks), she sat politely in the front row and supported fellow acts Jonathan McIntyre and the Oregon Donors alternate between moody, reflective folk (the former) and raucous indy post-punk (the latter). Once she took to the stage, however, she owned the place, and not just because she decorated the stage to look just like her living room.

Potts was celebrating the release of her new CD, Take This and Go (Clickpop CP008), and was joined by her backing band, known as The Twitterpated. The combination of drums, bass and vibraphone perfectly complemented Potts' dreamy yet urgent voice as well as her accomplished strumming on acoustic guitar. (Like a Hawaiian slack key guitarist, Jenni changed her tunings on nearly every song.) Starting with the opening cut of the CD, “Pro LC,” Potts displayed a level of charisma and confidence uncommon for a new artist that had just turned 21 the week before.

The central portion of the show featured Potts alone with her guitar. With her short video Pretty Things playing on a screen behind her, she remained forceful and commanding, and seemed much more compelling than any cute-girl-with-a-guitar has a right to be. The front doors of the AMRE opened out into the streets of Bellingham, and I watched as at least 20 people walked past, stopped, listened to Jenni and then immediately paid to get in and see the rest of the show. I don't think I've ever seen that happen before.

Potts does tend to stick to her corner of the world (and a corner it is, indeed, with Bellingham being just 18 miles from the Canadian border), so it doesn't make sense to tell you to see her when she comes around. But I have a feeling that her new CD will create a lot of buzz, and with buzz comes opportunity for greater exposure. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, see her now before she gets too popular and starts booking the bigger venues.

Harbeth Monitor 40.1 loudspeakers

(This review was never finished, which is why it didn't appear in TONE. These were the speakers I was using when I left. To put it bluntly, these are my favorite speakers in the entire world, and I hope to buy a pair one day and get off the audio merry-go-round. I'll pair them with the LFD NCSE integrated amp and then retire to a cabin in the mountains...)

A few years ago, I was discussing some of the more conventional BBC monitors from England with a dealer friend of mine. He told me that many of these “big boxes,” such as the classic Spendors and the Tannoy Prestige series, were falling quickly out of favor since consumers seemed to want tall, slim floorstanders these days. It seemed like such a shame, since many of my favorite loudspeakers were BBC-licensed behemoths.

Fortunately, someone forgot to tell Harbeth about this marketing trend. Not only was their flagship Monitor 40 one BIG box, but there’s been a long waiting list for potential buyers ever since the first pair made their way into the US a few years ago. There’s a reason for that.

I still remember the first time I heard the original Harbeth Monitor 40 loudspeakers. I remember the second and third times just as well. I remember the associated equipment used on each occasion, and the music that was selected. I can instantly retrieve my impressions of the soundstage, the imaging, the tonality and the performance at the frequency extremes. At the time there were three or four loudspeakers I longed after and hoped to own one day. After my relatively short time with the 40s, I never seriously considered them again.

The Proverbial Big Box
This world-class loudspeaker might look a bit frumpy next to its more svelte and fashionable competitors. It is, for lack of a better word, a big box. Its front baffle is much wider than the diameter of the woofer. Despite its size, it still needs a stand, albeit one that raises the Monitor 40 just a foot off the ground or so. (I used the dedicated stands from Skylan.) When you set these down in your listening room, they don’t quite blend in like those slim piano-black towers your wife preferred. They puff out their chests and say, “Congratulations…you are the proud new owner of a pair of Harbeth 40.1 loudspeakers.” Every guest that visits your home will be treated to the same stoic proclamation.

That said, the 40.1s are surprisingly easy to move around. They’re more bulky than heavy, thanks to the thin-wall construction.

Damning the 40.1s
It might seem as if I'm waxing rhapsodic about a mere pair of loudspeakers. The more objective and skeptical among you may take the opposing view and say that if my impressions of these speakers are that pronounced, that if the Harbeths sound so different from every other transducer on the market, well, maybe they're doing something wrong. Maybe they're too euphonic or rolled off. Maybe they're too warm and romantic. But now that I've spent a significant amount of time with the new 40.1s, I know why I find them so utterly memorable and engaging. They are simple the most relaxed loudspeaker I've ever heard.

In the wrong context, it may sound like I'm damning the 40.1s with faint praise. I keep discussing the fact that they're laid-back, as if they are rolled off or overly smooth. They’re not. I've always felt that the difference between the truly great pieces of audio gear and the runners-up is the feeling that all of the musical information is being laid out in an expansive manner that allows your brain to easily translate all of the sonic information. This means that the music never sounds overly-aggressive or forward (unless that's the mastering engineer's intention), complex musical passages never sound confused or overlapped and that listener fatigue is a downright alien concept.

Originally I was concerned that the 40.1s would be way too much speakers for my relatively small room and thought that the Monitor 30s would be a better overall solution. But Alan Shaw states that the 40.1s only need a few feet of space between them for the best sound. Then I started thinking of all of those BBC photos with the 40s crammed into tight spaces between impressive banks of video monitors, not to mention the fact that some 40 owners actually dig these monoliths in a near-field listening arrangement, and I took the plunge. I pushed my sofa as far back as it would go (I hope the ADA doesn't inspect my listening room anytime soon) and the Harbeths wound up sounding their best with only about six feet of space between the inner edges of the cabinets. I toed them in directly toward the listening position as well.

To my surprise, the Harbeths were quite happy in this relatively tight space. In fact, they seemed to jump up a notch in immediacy and clarity when I sat forward slightly in my sofa, my head even closer to the baffle.

If I had only one gripe about the Harbeths, it would concern the performance in the deep bass region. These are big speakers with a tremendous footprint, and it seems like demanding that this level of owner commitment should result in flat frequency response in the 25 to 30 Hz neighborhood. (Lowther owners need not respond to this comment.) Alas, the 40.1s only make it to about 39 Hz, which is very respectable but not quite earth-shattering. The Harbeths can reproduce the visceral impact of most kick drums (ably and thunderously demonstrated in “Mirrorball” from Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid), but they may come up short when it's time to drag in Virgil Fox--or Tony Levin, for that matter. This brings up the subwoofer question, but I would only use the finest examples with almost unlimited flexibility when it comes to matching and blending. I wouldn't want to compromise the 40.1s delicate balance just to get that last octave. Plus, do you really want another big box in your listening room at this point? I don't.

Stop the audio world…I want to get off
To summarize, the first time I heard these Harbeths, I thought that they might be the best speakers I'd heard up to that point. This was back when the US distributor told me that there were less than a dozen pairs in the US, and the price was still close to the current line of Quad ESLs. The second time I heard them, I completely lost interest in the Quads altogether. By this time, I had a couple of Harbeth dealers ask me for my opinion, since they couldn't get in a pair in for audition. The third time I heard them, I was told that I was listening to one of the last production pairs in existence, and that the 40s were discontinued because the woofer was no longer being made.

Now that the 40.1s are here and readily available, I can't help but feel lucky. Having them in my listening room for the last few months was a genuine highlight of my audiophile life. When it's time to retire and get off that proverbial audio merry-go-round, I can't think of a speaker I'd rather own than these.

Friday Classic LP: Red Hot Chili Peppers—Mother’s Milk

(For a while we tried a "Friday Classic LP" review at TONE, where we mentioned an classic album that was still currently available on LP and reviewed it. Unfortunately, the feature left with me, and this was the last one that never made it to print.)

Chad Smith once worked for my buddy Scott in the film industry. One day, Chad approached Scott at work and asked for the afternoon off. “The Chili Peppers are having try-outs for new drummers,” he said. Scott, who was also a musician, gave him the time off and wished him luck. “I didn’t even know you played the drums,” Scott said.

Later that afternoon, Scott got a call from Chad. “I won’t be coming in tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. I’m a Chili Pepper!”

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were definitely in state of transition before their 1989 breakthrough album Mother’s Milk. Guitarist Hillel Slovak had died from a heroin overdose the year before, and drummer Jack Irons, who suffered from bipolar disorder, decided to exit the band shortly thereafter. While the band certainly enjoyed a strong cult following up to that point (especially in their native Los Angeles), they had yet to truly enter the mainstream. With the addition of Chad and guitarist John Frusciante, the Chili Peppers entered the studio a little more saddened, a little more grown-up, and they churned out an album that would finally make them famous.

Mother’s Milk wound up selling three times as many copies as their previous LP, 1987’s The Uplift Mojo Party Plan. Chad’s drumming was clean, powerful and athletic and gave the band a less funky and more rock-oriented sound. John Frusciante’s guitar style, however, was greatly influenced by Slovak, so the band retained much of their basic identity. Mother’s Milk was a huge hit, and their cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” became a permanent fixture on alternative radio playlists all over the world. “Good Time Boys” and “Knock Me Down” also charted as singles. As an added bonus, the Peppers provide a fun and blistering version of Jimi Hendrix’ “Fire.”

Many critics felt that this was the turning point for the band, and that without Mother’s Milk the band wouldn’t be the success it is today. I feel that as good as this album is, it would have been a fluke without the more accomplished and ambitious follow-up, 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Still, Mother’s Milk is a great party album, full of groove and funk and generous helpings of power rock.

And hey, I know the drummer.

Shorpy.com

(This was just an odd article that never found a home.)

I have a fascination for films from the Silent Era. While the reasons are obvious--it's living, breathing archaeology--I'm constantly drawn to the backgrounds. I'll see a tree swaying in the breeze and be instantly reminded that it's swaying in 1922 or 1926 or 1930. I see babies and toddlers in crowd scenes and wonder if they're still alive and how many great-grandchildren they now have.

Shorpy.com taps into that basic attraction. This astonishing website, named after a teenage coal miner from a century ago, features thousands of high-definition photographic images from bygone eras that will allow you see an almost unprecedented amount of detail. You can choose from a variety of galleries such as Pretty Girls, Aviation, Civil War (obviously not for the squeamish), Cars & Trucks, Cities, Railroads, Service Stations and Kids, with most images presented with very few flaws. (A few specks of dirt here and there reveal that most of these photographs were created with a flatbed scanner.)

If you want a real treat, check out the section on 4 X 5 Kodachrome transparencies. Most of these images were captured during World War II, yet look clear and revealing as if they were taken earlier this morning. It's strange and fascinating to peer deep into the eyes of a gorgeous young woman of college age and realize that she's now in her '70s or '80s. Seeing soldiers man their guns or sit in the cockpits of their airplanes offers an immediate and visceral connection that no memory, however sharp, can replicate. When you see the panoramic shots of major American cities such as Detroit in 1942, it's hard to believe that those streets don't look the same today. It's only after you see the steady parade of old cars and men wearing suits and hats that you begin to have a feel for time and place.

The Shorpy Gift Emporium also features fine art prints of most of these images through the Juniper Gallery, along with an assortment of WPA posters, fruit crate artwork and vintagraphs. It's easy to lose a few hours poring over all of these galleries, but it will be worth it.

Zu Carboniferous

(Here's the rare CD review that somehow didn't make it. This was a really bizarre CD, but I liked it...even though it gave me a headache for the rest of the day.)

Zu Carboniferous
(Ipecac IPC110, CD)

The latest from Zu is a tall, slim floorstanding model that uses…wait a minute. Oops, I’ve got the wrong notes. No, this Zu is an chugging, guttural metal/jazz/punk trio from Italy that makes Rob Zombie sound like an 18th century fop in comparison. While their last album with Nobukazu Takemura, 2006’s Identification with the Enemy: A Key to the Underworld was a jagged, avant-garde free-for-all that borrowed liberally from Frank Zappa, Ornette Coleman and others, Carboniferous is a lean and determined freight train of sound that will make you a) clench your fists and pump your noggin rhythmically, b) jump in your car, throw it in the CD changer and stomp on the gas or c) reach frantically for the Extra-Strength Tylenol and the volume control.

After you listen to the first few of these churning, instrumental maelstroms, you might be surprised at how axe-free these metal assaults actually are. Zu is actually a guitar-less trio, with Jacopo Battaglia on drums and electronics, Massimo Pupillo on bass and Luca T. Mai front and center with baritone sax. That’s right--much of the buzzing and rumbling on this album comes from a member of the brass family. Some of the more industrial elements are augmented by synthesizers and Pupillo’s crunchily mechanical bass, and guest guitarists do appear on the songs “Chthlonian” and “Obsidian,” but Mai controls this beast via a mouthpiece and an ordinary reed.

The sound quality fares better in the occasional quiet reflective parts, especially when Battaglia and Pupillo engage in simple yet muscular counterpoints. At full blast, this recording suffers from a bit too much compression and sounds a little homogeneous. I wondered if this was one of those classic cases of “LISTENER: TURN THE VOLUME WAY UP” from the ‘70s, but tiny birds started falling out of the sky outside of my house when I indulged. While this may ultimately fall into the category of Music to Play When the Party Is Over and You Want Everyone to Go Home, it is performed with uncommon precision and imagination. The only slight bow to convention is the appearance of Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), who sings on “Soulympics” and “Orc,” but that’s still a galaxy away from the Diana Krall LPs I reviewed last week.

Zu is a heady, heavy, ruthless listen. I bet it would sound great on a pair of Druids, too!

Shanling CD-T1500 CD player

(I had a chance to take this CD player to Texas with me, and now I regret it. It was very cool looking, and it sounded great! Now I'm stuck with a lowly Denon CD player until I can scrape the money together for another Naim.)

I grew up in the shadow of Disneyland, and one of my favorite hangouts as a kid was the Stovall's Inn of Tomorrow. This now-legendary motel was known for both its topiary gardens and its “Space Age” themes of swirling atomic icons, geodesic domes and other futuristic touches. Futuristic, of course, is a relative term, and the Inn of Tomorrow was that kitschy combination of past and future that could only be imagined in the '50s when people thought we would be piloting our own personal spaceships to work by the year 1980.

The Shanling CD-T1500 CD player reminds me of this aesthetic. It's not quite as swoopy and curvy as this Chinese audio company's more expensive offerings, which generally have styling cues that seem more rooted in the 21st century. With the exception of the top-loading transport and acrylic clamp, the '1500 resembles an old-fashioned '50s tube amp in its general layout—albeit one re-imagined for a future where transistors were never adopted by mainstream electronic companies. It has solid transformer cubes toward the rear—one each for the tube, analog and digital output stages--and two pairs of Russian EH6922s along the sides. (These Electro-Harmonix tubes have cool gold-plated pins as well.)

Plenty of Atomic Age touches differentiate the appearance of the Shanling from other CD players, however, such as a pair of aluminum rings guarding each tube and glowing blue lights set into the substantial isolation columns, transport and tube sockets. The contrast of the blue against the comforting yellow-orange glow of the 6922s is very striking in appearance. The CD-T1500 will definitely be the center of attention of any listening room whether it is switched on or not.

Where's the flux capacitor?
The '1500 also provides an extensive list of features and capabilities. Apart from the tubes, which are used for the balanced and unbalanced analog output stages, the Shanling provides 24-bit/192 KHz upsampling, an advanced Philips CD-PRO 2 linear tracking pick-up mechanism and an aluminum alloy chassis that is designed to absorbs vibrations. I/V conversion is accomplished with a 12x Burr-Brown OPA604 chip, and digital-to-analog conversion is handled by a pair of Burr-Brown PCM1794 DAC chips. Low pass filtering is supplied by two Analog Devices Ad627s. RCA, XLR and coaxial jacks are provided, as is a 100-step digital volume control.

The remote control contains a wide variety of functions (it's clearly meant to be used in conjunction with an all-Shanling system), but I was especially thankful for the four-step brightness adjustment key. When those blue lights are going full force, audiophiles who like to listen in the dark will be utterly distracted and will find this dimming feature an absolute necessity. The four settings allow you to control both the brightness of those blue lights and the display. Then again, you can go for broke and leave the blue lights a-glowin' and impress all of your friends. At the very least, the CD-T1500 is a heck of a conversation piece for non-audiophile guests.

My only reservation regarding the ergonomics of the Shanling has to do with the display itself. From a normal listening position of about eight to ten feet away, the numbers are too small to read. I found myself constantly leaning well forward just to see track numbers and time elapsed. I was also a little underwhelmed by the looks of the remote control, which seems like it might belong to an '80s television set. If you're going to make such a huge statement with the styling of your CD player, why not spend a few bucks and come up with a remote that matches?

Despite that observation, the CD player itself offers an extremely high level of fit and finish for a somewhat modest $3295. The aluminum chassis is beautifully machined and solid (the CD-T1500 weighs nearly 25 pounds), and the four buttons on the front of the top panel (stop, play/pause, previous, next) have a firm and confident quality to them when you push them. If you think that Chinese gear lacks fine craftsmanship, the CD-T1500 might change your mind.

It's your cousin...Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you're looking for?
The Shanling spent more than six months in my reference system. As I reviewed several power amps, preamps and speakers, the CD-T1500 remained a quiet constant. It never drew attention to itself, nor did it consistently remind me of any specific shortcomings or colorings. The last tubed CD player I reviewed, the PrimaLuna ProLogue Eight, sounded a bit like a 300B amplifier to me. It offered a big, almost spherical soundstage and definitely added a sonic signature (albeit a very engaging one). The CD-T1500, however, reminded me of an excellent 2A3 or 45 based tube amp, which meant that it was much more linear and clear and detailed than I thought it was going to be. Sure, it was a slightly warm and forgiving player overall, but the sound wasn't idiosyncratic, colored or snipped at the frequency extremes. It blended right into all types of systems and never once faltered.

The '1500 excelled at reproducing the full spectrum of bass frequencies. It captured the woody and slightly sloppy bass work through most of Shearwater's Rook, and it was able to flesh out both the upper pluck and subterranean excavations of John Entwistle's bass throughout the 1996 CD reissue of Tommy. I was able to pair the Shanling with loudspeakers that provided full bass extension into my relatively small room such as the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Nines and the Gradient Helsinkis, and the Shanling always delivered a generous yet appropriate amount of low frequency information when required.

The upper frequencies were equally impressive, with the Shanling able to communicate the air and space around performers without sounding dry and edgy. That's where the magic of those 6922s kicks in, and why a tubed CD player is such a darned good idea. At no time did I feel like anything was being rolled off, yet the Shanling never made me cringe while listening to some of my less-than-lush CDs such as TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain or Boy Eats Drum Machine's Booomboxxx. CD players with tubed output stages are sheer genius when it comes to analog lovers who are still looking for a digital front end that fits their sonic preferences.

You're safe and sound now, back in good ol' 2009.
As a hardcore vinyl lover, it's easy for me to know when I have a decent digital front end in my system. Whenever I own an analog rig that can easily surpasses the sound quality of my CD player, I spend an disproportionate amount of time listening to LPs. When I have a good digital player at my disposal, however, I actually have to make a genuine choice when I want to listen to something. If I choose a CD over an LP, I won't even give it a second thought.

The Shanling fits into that relatively small group of digital players that have come my way over the last few years and have given me a true alternative to analog. It won't make me give up on vinyl the way a couple of those hideously expensive players would. The CD-T1500 lacks that sense of infinite scale that many of those five-figure machines provide. But for $3250, the Shanling is an excellent value, and a true vinyl lover's CD player. Like a DeLorean, the visual aspects of the '1500 may or may not be to your liking. But close your eyes, hit the dimmer switch, and prepare to be impressed.

PS Audio GCPH phono preamplifier

(Ah, at last...some vinyl equipment. In the summer and fall of 2008, I reviewed seven or eight phono preamps in the $1000 range. My favorite of all was the Lehmann Audio Black Cube SE, which I bought and still have in my system. The PS Audio, however, had the most features for $1000 and possessed a sound quality second only to my Lehmann.)

What if the best phono preamplifier in the world cost just $1000? Would the audio world be turned on its ear? Would the manufacturers of all those $5000 to $10,000 phono stages sprint back to their respective drawing boards? Better yet, would such a product prompt millions of music lovers and audiophiles to get back into vinyl for the first time in years?

Probably not. First of all, $1000 isn't chump change for a lot of people, especially when the vast majority of music lovers don't even know what a phono preamplifier is, or what it does. Secondly, there is no best in the world of audio, only preference. Just as Citizen Kane has its detractors, so do products from the likes of Wilson, Continuum and WAVAC.

“No better phono stage ever made...”
These words appear in some of the ad copy for the PS Audio GCPH phono preamp, and I know how this type of hyperbole makes most seasoned audiophiles wince. Still, the GCPH makes a hell of a case for itself by offering an astonishing amount of features for a mere grand. You get plenty of flexibility with impedance loading and gain so that you can use the GCPH with almost any cartridge available. You get a subsonic filter and a large power supply for deep, quiet bass response. You get a choice between RCA and XLR connections. You can adjust gain, phase and switch from mono to stereo via controls on the front panel or by remote control (a major selling point for my lazy butt). You can even use the GCPH as a preamp by connecting it directly to your power amp if you're one of those purists who have an all-analog system. (God bless you if you are!)

All of these features are placed in a handsome and substantial case. In other words, the GCPH isn't one of those no-frills phono stages that eschew features, appearance and even the most minimal of enclosures in the service of a superior circuit or design. Build quality and styling are similar to some of the finest (and most expensive) phono stages I've used. Still, PS Audio didn't get carried away by putting the GCPH in a giant box filled with empty space. At 8.5” by 3” by 15.5”, the GCPH can share a shelf with other similarly-sized analog components, such as an electronic power supply.

Fortunately, the GCPH isn't the polar opposite of those bare-bones phono sections, offering an impressive list of features and only adequate sound quality. In fact, the GCPH is one of those truly aggravating components for reviewers because it's so hard to pinpoint any real sonic shortcomings. With some phono preamps at this price point, I can usually pick up on at least one minor flaw in a relatively short time, such as a lack of deep bass or a slightly dry presentation. The GCPH sounded balanced and confident right out of the box, immediately winning me over. Bass was deep and extended, and the highs were smooth without sounding rolled off.

I've been spending a lot of time listening to the Polyvinyl pressing of Ida's Lovers and Prayers, and I've been hypnotized by the stark yet lovely sound quality of this LP. With the GCPH hooked up both my Michell Orbe SE/SME V/Koetsu Rosewood combo and the Thorens TD-160 HD/Dynavector 17D3 I have in for review, the soundstage was clear enough and large enough to let me see the boundaries of the recording space, something that usually doesn't happen with an affordable phono preamplifier. With other recordings, I felt that the GCPH offered an impressively neutral sound that avoided both the glossiness and woolliness that I find common in most entry-level units.

It was only after I spent some time with two state-of-the-art phono preamps (which cost five to ten times as much as the GCPH) that I finally noticed that this wasn't quite the best phono preamplifier in the world. I hate to use this term, but the PS Audio lacked a certain magic that these very expensive units produced with ease. About half of the audiophiles in the world will roll their eyes, and the other half will know exactly what I mean by this term. Sometimes there's that last bit of illumination in sound that distracts your attention away from the recording, and redirects your focus to the natural properties of the music. It's that proverbial last veil, the point where you say to yourself, “This sounds so real.” The big guys hit that mark on a fairly regular basis, where the GCPH just barely glanced off of that lofty target.

I only had one other minor quibble with the GCPH, and it had to do with the grouping of the RCA jacks on the back panel. The two pairs of jacks are not separated by INPUT and OUTPUT, like on most phono preamps, but by left and right channels. This wouldn't normally be a problem, except for the input jacks are both labeled white, and both outputs are labeled red, which means you'll be plugging white RCA plugs from your interconnects into red jacks, and vice versa. The owner's manual didn't make this as clear as it could have, in my opinion, and you might get a little exasperated working it all out in your brain before flipping on the power switches.

How about “no better $1000 phono stage ever made”?
So the GCPH isn't quite the best phono preamplifier in the world. I'm not even prepared to call it the best $1000 phono preamp, since you might be able to find a quieter battery-powered unit in this price range, or a lusher and more romantic sound from some of the tubed competition. Again, it depends on your preferences, and what type of analog rig you'll be using. But I'll go out on a limb and say that you probably won't find a $1000 phono stage that clearly beats this combination of sound quality, build quality and features. At this level, the PS Audio would be my clear choice, and it certainly earns my highest recommendation.

Old Reviews!

After I left TONE in May 2009, I still had nearly twenty reviews that were written and had yet to be published. Every two months Jeff Dorgay would give me my assignments for the next issue, and not all of them made it. None of them were outright rejected...sometimes we ran out of space, sometimes the equipment was revised or discontinued and sometimes behind-the scenes shenanigans were to blame.

So I'd thought I'd start releasing them here. An unpublished article is like the proverbial unexploded bomb...it needs to fulfill its destiny. So over the next few days, I'll be throwing these onto the blog! I hope you enjoy!

Welcome!

This is more of an experiment than anything.

When I left TONEAudio in 2009, publisher Jeff Dorgay told me, "You should do your own thing, like a blog!" Just a few weeks ago, a person completely unrelated to the audio industry told me the same thing. While I do work as a search engine optimization (SEO) content writer for a couple of companies, I still have no idea if anyone will "follow" my blog or even know that it exists.

I could use my SEO smarts and use repetitive keyphrases to lure you into my fold, but I'd rather just talk about the things I want to talk about. That means NO editors, NO filters, nothing between you and me.

For those of you still curious about who I am, you can check out the Vinyl Anachronist columns at Perfect Sound Forever:

http://furious.com/perfect/index.html

There's a nifty inner page that has all seventy-something of my Vinyl Anachronist columns, too:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/vinylanachronist.html

Then there's the New Zealand version of my Vinyl Anachronist column at the magazine AudioEnz:

http://audioenz.co.nz/

Finally, you can check out TONEAudio at see my old stuff:

http://tonepublications.com/

There! I said "The Vinyl Anachronist" four times. That's the magic amount for SEO purposes.

Finally, feel free to email me with your questions at vinylanachronist@live.com.