Welcome to
the January 2005 newsletter from Sonic Spirits!
I – Sonic
Spirits News
II –
Manufacturers’ News
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I – Sonic
Spirits News
Sonic
Spirits finished out 2004 by hosting a Holiday Party for the NY Audio Rave (New
York Metro area audiophiles who participate on Audiocircle.com) on December
19. We had a number of new attendees to
our party, including Dave Schwarz (head of the Gotham Audio Society) and Steve
Sun (distributor for a new DIY CD transport kit based on the Philips CD-PRO2M
transport mechanism). As a holiday party
for audiophiles, attendees (“Ravers”, as we are known!) brought a large amount
of interesting/unique gear for the Rave to try, including everything from a
home-built tube preamp to the large SP Tech monitors, and a lot in-between. Blue Circle even provided a set of their
famed “Music Pumps and Purse”!
For
pictures and commentary/discussion, check this out:
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic.php?t=15366
For anyone
interested in joining our monthly gatherings, please send email to info@sonicspirits.com or check out the
NY Audio Rave forum at http://www.audiocircle.com.
ps. The
Music Pump and Purse are still here, for anyone interested in hearing a set of
25wpc monoblocks built into a pair of high heeled shoes with a 6db-gain preamp
built into a leather purse!
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CES 2005 is
back! After a couple of years of post-9/11
blues resulting in poor attendance and lack of anything but big plasma
displays, CES 2005 came back with a vengeance, with the biggest attendance in
recent memory, lots of new products, and (believe it or not) snow in Las Vegas!
I’m sure
that you’ve seen all sorts of show coverage, but here are some pictures from
the high end audio exhibits at CES 2005, including lots of photos from our
manufacturers:
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Returning
from CES, it has been hectic at Sonic Spirits!
Apparently, all reports of the demise of 2-channel audio and redbook
digital are unfounded, as you (our friends and customers) have been keeping our
demo room quite busy.
We recently
received Blue Circle’s new BC202 hybrid stereo amplifier and have it available for
demonstration. For those of you who have
wanted the sophistication and richness of the BC28 hybrid amplifier combined
with the weight, speed, and impact of the Blue Circle BC26mkII solid state
amplifier at a similar price-point, the BC202 is what you have been looking
for. And as we have had since last
summer, the BC206 flagship amp from the 200 Series is always ready for duty.
We’re also
very excited to be receiving the production model of the adeptResponse power
conditioner from Audience (for more information about this unit, see below in
the Manufacturers’ News section). Early
reports from reviewers and other dealers have been nothing short of stellar for
this unit.
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II – Manufacturers’
News
Blue Circle
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Blue Circle
demonstrated a number of new products, most prominently the two newest
additions to the 200 Series amplifiers, the BC202 and BC204.
In
addition, Blue Circle premiered its new BC501 D/A Converter!
http://www.bluecircle.com/index.php?page_id=3094
See more
Blue Circle CES coverage here:
http://www.shows.soundstagelive.com/shows/ces2005/dly_jan10_02.shtml
http://www.shows.soundstagelive.com/shows/ces2005/facesplaces2.shtml
http://live.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/ces.pl?&AP_1958&RoomView&AP&st101&&&&&CES05
Focus Audio
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Lots of
news from Focus Audio at CES!
Focus Audio
presented the first public demonstration of its new Master-
http://www.shows.soundstagelive.com/shows/ces2005/showstoppers3.shtml
http://www.stereophile.com/news/010905ces3/
In
addition, 2005 is Focus Audio’s 10th Anniversary, and to celebrate,
they have launched a special 10th Anniversary Special Edition of the
original FS-68 and FS78 Signature Series speakers, dubbed the FS-68SE and
FS-78SE, The original design essentials of these critically-acclaimed speakers
are now being enhanced to a higher level. Woofer drivers originated from the FS
688 and FS 788. Not only have
improvements been made on the dynamic and power handling of the speakers; the
transient and openness in the mid range have also been raised to an astounding
level. Among other design improvements are Perfect Surface Copper wire (
Audience
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Audience
debuted the production model of its new world-class power line condition, the
adeptResponse. This 12-outlet (plus
cable/satellite/video ground loop isolation transformer) is the result of over
8 years of R&D to provide the ultimate in power line conditioning. For more information, check out the Audience
website here:
http://www.audience-av.com/power.htm
Acoustic
Zen
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Acoustic
Zen has diversified, launching a series of new products outside of its
excellent line of interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords. First and foremost is a highly-anticipated
line of speakers. The line includes
everything from the ultra-compact Full Moon monitors (just under 8” tall) to
the Florentine Magic subwoofers, to ribbon-based Sunrise and Grand Vista floorstanders
and monitors. Prices range from
$360/pair up to $1998/pair.
In
addition, Acoustic Zen demonstrated a “wireless amplifier” to be used as the
rear amplification in a home theater setup.
It consists of a “transmitter” that connects to the rear-channel out on
your preamp/processor, and a “receiver” which also contains the actual
amplifier. The amplifier is rated a
200wpc, and measures flat from 20hz-20khz.
The wireless unit operates on the 2.4GHz spectrum, and a 5.6GHz version
is in the works.
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As all
audiophiles like to say, “in the end, it’s all about the music.” One of the most gratifying things about being
a high end audio dealer is having customers visit with their own music, and
listening to things that I might never have come across. For this newsletter (and future newsletters),
I thought I’d share some of the CDs that people have brought over; some are new
releases, other are out of print/hard to find, but all are things that I’ve
enjoyed and felt worthy to share:
The Boy
Next Door – Stacy Kent: Tired of Norah
Jones and Diana Krall to test for female vocals on your audio system? Try Stacy Kent. This CD is a collection of old standards, like
the title track and “Makin’ Whoopee”, performed with great sincerity and
energy. Kent’s vocals are charming, with
an easiness that is very engaging.
The Magic
Hour – Wynton Marsalis Quartet: Our
most-used CD at our NY Audio Rave gatherings.
When I play this for customers who are into jazz trumpet, they always
ask “who is this?” And when I tell them
it is Wynton Marsalis, nine out of ten times, the response is “really? I usually don’t really like Wynton
Marsalis”. This is a great performance
all around; Diana Reeves with her powerful-yet-sultry vocals is a wonderful
complement to Marsalis’ dynamic and textured trumpet.
The Spirits
of our Ancestors – Randy Weston: Randy
Weston is the Master of the Bottom octave.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Maynard Ferguson (a “high note”
trumpet player), Weston is famous for his prominent use of the lowest octaves
on the piano. This is a collection of
solo piano and ensemble performances that really capture the essence of Randy
Weston.
Live at BB
King Blues Club – Jeff Beck (www.jeffbeckbootlegs.com): Jeff Beck is my all-time favorite rock
guitarist, and despite the title of the website, this is an authorized live
recording of Jeff performing at BB King’s Blues Club in New York City. He plays a mix of old Beck classics (Freeway
Jam) and newer material (Brush with the Blues). If you’ve never seen Jeff live,
this recording is the closest thing I’ve heard to actually being there.
The Grand
Pecking Order – Oysterhead: I hit the
big Four-Oh in December, and with a toddler and baby in the house, you can
imagine that its been a while since I listened to college radio. So when a customer in his 20s brought this CD
over, I was intrigued by the creativity on this recording; synthesizers,
distorted guitar, a flanged/phased vocal track were all typical of the music I
remember from college, but this had something more. I was surprised to see that the drummer was
Stewart Copeland, formerly of The Police (a staple of my college music
days). Here he has teamed with 90s
jam-rock legend Trey Anastasio (from Phish) and Les Claypool (of Primus) for a
lesson in college rock done right. And it’s
a pretty good recording, too!
Music for
the Native Americans – Robbie Robertson:
I was a fan of The Band, and enjoyed Robbie Robertson’s first solo
album. This CD is a grander-scale
version of his rock solo albums, drawing upon rhythms, melodies, and even
performers by his fellow Native Americans for a very satisfying collection of
songs.
Pieces of
the Sun – Tony Levin: I tried to leave
“audiophile test discs” off of this list, but this one was too interesting to
pass up. If you’ve ever wanted to see if
your audio system could handle a big bass-heavy rock fusion traffic jam, this
is the disc to try. A guest to our NY
Audio Rave Holiday Party brought this over, and I was really frightened that my
system was going to blow up (but no worries, the system handled it great, even
surprising me at how well things held together). Tony Levin is an audiophile, and I am sure he
recorded this music keeping in mind the challenge he could offer to audiophiles
with this disc.
Black Light
Syndrome – Stevens/Levin/Bozio: The
third track of this recording, “Duende”, is fast becoming a standard in
audiophile test tracks. Who knew that
Billy Idol’s guitarist could play like this?
Saturday
Night in Bombay – Remember Shakti: For
any John McLaughlin fans, this is a great performance and recording of some
very interesting music.
Round About
a Midsummer’s Dream – Gianluigi Trovesi Nonet:
This is an amazing recording of some very unique music. A combination of classical and theater that
gets labeled as jazz because it is performed by an Italian saxophone
player. Unfortunately, I haven’t found
it available in the US, but here is a Canadian online retailer that has it:
http://www.fusion3.com/find/?field=itemordernumber&criteria=ENJA+9384-2&find.x=5&find.y=0
Le Carnaval
Des Animaux (Septuor – Fantaisie) – Saint Saens: I have been surprised at how few customers
have brought classical music to use for auditioning audio gear. This is one of the few that has stood out to
me as being well-performed and fun.
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Sonic
Spirits Inc.
info@sonicspirits.com
Authorized
Dealer for:
Focus Audio
- Blue Circle Audio - Resolution Audio - Dodson Audio
- Acoustic
Zen - Audience – Acoustics First - Eighth Nerve
– Golden
Sound
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