December 23, 2000

Our next meeting on January 21 will feature reports on the Consumer Electronics Show and T.H.E. Show, election of officers, and music.

Last Sunday's meeting was one of our best attended meetings yet!  Our guests Ralph Karsten and John Wolff teamed up to provide a fun listening session, and Ralph's enthusiasm for music was evident.  Thanks to all for a great time!  We were hoping to be able to post some photos of the meeting, with crowded standing room only, but unfortunately no one showed up with a digital camera (sigh).  You had to be there!  Thanks, Ralph and John, for a great showing!

Our next get together will be our annual Christmas party.  Bring some fun vinyl and CDs to spin!  Plenty of refreshments will be on hand as usual, as well as our friendly environment to get to know other music and audio enthusiasts.

John Wolff of Classic Audio Reproductions plans to visit us on the 19th along with Ralph Karsten and will bring a pair of T-3 loudspeakers for the demonstration.

Music lovers and tube audio enthusiasts, plan to attend our November 19th meeting, as Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere will visit.

It was reported today that distinguished audio designer (and half of the original Marantz "Dynamic Duo") Sid Smith who designed the famed classic Marantz tube equipment is seriously ill and is not expected to make it.  He certainly will be missed.

Watch for photos of our meeting this month to be posted here in a few days.  How many amplifiers have you seen that are purple?  :-)

Our meeting this Sunday, October 15th will feature Alan Kimmel, who will demonstrate two tube-based designs. One is a special edition hybrid linestage and the other is a pair of monoblock amplifiers. Each was intended to counteract the inherent weaknesses of tube-based designs. These designs are unlike any others in the world. The amps will be driving Dennis Anderson's Ohm speakers. A first-class CD system will serve as the signal source, so bring your favorite CDs. Alan gives the following brief description of the monoblock design: The amp has a very unique cathode-follower output stage. It was named "the Grape Ox" and was featured in Sound Practices issue #8. It will accept either a balanced or unbalanced input. Its output stage is a push-pull pair of single-ended push-pull (PPSEPP) and puts out at least 50 watts rms. Output stage of the monoblock uses a pair of EL34 AND a pair of 6146 tubes. The driver stage is also unique. This design was intended to address the inherent weaknesses of tube amps. You may want to visit Alan's website which is also in our Links page.

According to this report, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America, the record industry's trade association) said today that it will develop a bar code system for identifying digital music, an effort that could help it protect downloads from labels and find songs posted illegally online. It is anticipated this will enable online music sales.

The proposed merger of EMI Group and Warner Music Group was not approved by the European Commission (EC).

Microsoft acquired Pacific Microsonics (creators of HDCD) on September 18th.

The upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, to be held in Las Vegas from January 6th through 9th, 2001, is shaping up very well.  Lower cost high resolution digital source components will be one of the items we expect to see.  The competing T.H.E. Show held next door at the St. Tropez Hotel seems to also be popular again among high end audio companies. 

http://www.cesweb.org
http://www.t-h-e-show.com/theshow2001

Wadia's assets were sold on September 12th.  Hales Design Group had been acquired by Wadia last year.

Kinergetics Research, who made CD players, amplifiers, etc. closed down in August, citing a shrinking market for high quality two channel audio.

Digital watermarking and Sony DSD technology (the basis for SACD) were big topics at the recent AES convention in Los Angeles.  Cirrus Logic announced an inexpensive multi-format DAC chip, the CS4392, which will decode DSD and DVD-A.

Members will recall the visit by John Otvos of Waveform Acoustics of Canada a few years back, to demonstrate the Mach 17 loudspeakers.  Mr. Otvos elected to close Waveform recently and has sold off much of the remaining stock.  Visit www.waveform.ca for details.

More details of our upcoming meeting with Ron Welborne are available from the yellow box on the home page or from here.

Details of our Audio Fair on September 17th are in the Special Events page.

Dan Miller of Marantz will visit us at this Sunday's meeting to demonstrate their Super Audio CD player, and we'll hear SACDs and CDs of the same recordings for comparison.  If you have some SACDs of your own, bring them along.

After a few years' hiatus and several requests for another one, we will hold an Audio Fair on Sunday, September 17th, from 11am to 4pm, at our usual meeting location, the Dance Building in Des Plaines.  Equipment ranging from vintage to modern, vinyl, CDs, tubes, and all kinds of accessories, unusual items and other goodies will probably be available on a first come, first served basis.  Visit our Special Events page for updates.  Open to the public!

Tom Ronan had a last minute emergency and will miss showing his goodies to us this month.  Instead, member Martin King will give a historical glimpse at audio in past decades (the 70's and 80's) as well as more recent offerings, with demonstrations of each.

Marantz have confirmed they will show and demonstrate their new Super Audio CD player to us in July.  The press release may be found here.  Plan to attend!

On June 25th local Lowther expert and directly heated triode aficionado Tom Ronan will present his Hedlund horns and 26 preamplifier, among other things.  If you have any interest in this sort of thing we encourage you to attend what should be an informative, enjoyable session.  Have a look at Tom's website for a sneak peek!

Ron Welborne of Welborne Labs will visit us on August 20th.  Hear the Oris 150 horns with Welborne's fine tube gear driving them.  Another reason to get excited!

Information on the third Sony Super Audio CD player, the SCD-XB9 (photograph), mentioned here on May 18th (see below), may be found here (Flash animation player plug-in required).  The window which opens at the upper left of your screen gives some information, while one of the news items available through the main page ("Sony announces third SACD player") gives details.  The SCD-XB9 will use the same DSD decoder as the SCD-1 and the SCD-777ES.  The SCD-XB9 will include their variable digital filter for playing regular CDs and uses a "twin power supply transformer" to reduce interference from digital noise by separating circuits for analog and digital stages.

We had a great meeting with Paul McGowan and Peter Rudy of PS Audio this past Sunday.  Thanks so much for a fun presentation and demo!

Here's something for vinyl addicts wanting to cut their own records: the Vestax VRX-2000 Vinyl Recorder.  Sound quality is unknown, though.

Cool!  It looks as though audiophiles not wanting to pay four-figure prices for Super Audio CD players will get a break soon.  On June 10th Sony is due to launch its third version of its SACD system, to be priced at 80,000 yen ($730), compared with 350,000 yen ($3,200) currently. Read more about it here.

At long last, and after a number of requests, we will be holding an Audio Fair/Swap Meet (our third such event), probably in September.  Details are yet to be worked out, and we'll be discussing some issues at this month's meeting.  It should be a lot of fun for all!  If you have any questions or comments, let us know.  Complete information (date, location, hours, etc.) will be available in the Special Events area.

This month's meeting, to be held on May 21st, is a "must attend", as our guest is none other than Paul McGowan of PS Audio!  Paul will show their Power Plant products, proving his point by taking measurements.  Paul says attendees are welcome to bring competitors' units - anything is fair game.  It should be a most interesting session.

One of the "hot" topics these days is a cool (the coolest!) tweak known as cryogenic treatment of cables, CDs, and components ranging from CD players to tube amplifiers (including tubes!), with significant sonic benefits.  There are some caveats, and there are some risks with plastic pieces fastened to metal (detach or loosen them first) and painted aluminum (large areas).  Read about it in the thread I started in the Audio Asylum here.

Our meeting last weekend with Cedille Records was very well received.  Not an audiophile label per se, their CDs are very well recorded nonetheless and feature a variety of fine music performed by superb artists.  Enthusiastically recommended!

Your listening room is an often overlooked important component.  The room acoustics calculator and primer link added to the Tips & Tweaks page is the best we've seen.  Whether or not you're familiar with reverberation time calculations, you'll likely find this very useful!  Don't spend a dime on room treatment before you look at this.

The Consumer Electronics Show will be held in Las Vegas later this week, Thursday through Sunday.  Among what we're likely to see include:

• AH! 38 Tjoeb 99 (tube) CD player, said to be priced under $475, by Durob Audio BV / DÉ Hifiwinkel BV from Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with a newly appointed US distributor.
• VM Labs and Samsung Electronics America announced that Samsung would incorporate NUONT media processing technology in a new DVD player. Samsung's DVD-N2000 uses this new technology to enable advanced interactive features and dramatically enhance audio and video performance. The first NUON enhanced Samsung DVD players are anticipated to reach store shelves in the first quarter of 2000.
• Oracle is reported to have a high bandwidth integrated amplifier (preamp section said to be flat to 1 MHz), 150 watts/channel into 8 ohms.
• Theta Digital will show the Casablanca II Music and Cinema Controller, and Carmen, a new DVD/CD transport.
• TreMa Sound plans to exhibit and demonstrate the second generation Kharma Exquisite Reference 1B and the Grand Reference speaker cable.  Speakers will be powered by LAMM amplifiers, digital by Metronome and power generation by PS Audio.  The rack will be supplied by Rix Rax.  LAMM equipment is said to be used in four different high end rooms.  PS Audio is said to be showing the new larger Power Plant models P600 and P1200, in addition to the P300.
• Pioneer, who have decided to forge ahead and introduce DVD-Audio playback equipment despite the anticipated delay due to DVD-hack concerns, are anticipated to be showing DVD-RW (read-write)!  You read about it here first!
• WAVAC Audio Lab will show the 'Music Dandy' MD-811 ($3995) SE triode 15 watts/channel integrated amplifier, as well as the MD-572 ($8160) SET 50 watts/channel integrated amp and the PR-X1 ($6970) line stage preamp which includes remote control.  Demonstrated along with the WAVAC gear will be Köchel loudspeakers, including the new K200 2-way horn speaker and the SW200 active subwoofer, as well as Pure Silver Connection ultra-high purity 6-nines silver, silver alloy and silver plated 6-nines copper solid conductors in an air dielectric cables.
• Phono cartridges to be shown include the Immedia/Scantech Lyra Evolve limited edition which is based on the design of the Clavis D.C. and the Miyabi Alnico moving coil which features 6-nines windings.
• Sakura Systems 47 Lab will show their full line of products, including their Gaincard, CD transport, and prototype single driver speaker system.  The analog setup is reported to use a Miyabi/47 MC cartridge which is a collaborative effort with the Miyabi designer.
• QUAD will show their eagerly awaited models 988 and 989 electrostatic loudspeakers, which replace the ESL63's which are no longer produced.  We also hear they're getting ready to ship the new (old?) Quad II-40 monoblock amps and C24 preamp.

Albert von Schweikert is back in the speaker business with Von Schweikert Audio.  According to the press release, the new models VR-5 and VR-7 will be shown at T.H.E. Show in Las Vegas in January, to begin shipping a week later.

Today Motorola announced a new high speed digital audio super-chip.  According to this notice, "With performance of 120 MIPS, the DSP56366 provides the capability to process all the major multichannel audio decoding standards (Dolby Digital, DTS, MP3, AAC, MLP and MPEG2) along with Dolby Digital Consumer Encoding in a single device.  It also handles other audio processing requirements such as subwoofer management, soundfield effects, 3D virtual surrounds, equalization, Surround EX(TM), Lucasfilm THX® Cinema processing, and Pacific Microsonics HDCD."

Our December 19th meeting will feature an enhanced array of refreshments as we celebrate the holidays.  We'll also get to hear Marsh Sound Design electronics, designed by Richard Marsh, as well as speakers built by local enthusiast Jerzy Dratewski.

Jazz great Charlie Byrd has just passed away at the age of 74 at his home looking out on the water in Annapolis, Maryland, from lung cancer.  Longtime audiophiles will always remember the "Old Hymn" drum solo on Crystal Clear records, as well as his other works such as his album with Stan Getz, Soul Samba.

Sad news.  As of November 19, Mobile Fidelity closed after 22 years in business, saying this came "after extreme, but unsuccessful, efforts were made to overcome the financial blow dealt by the events leading up to the abrupt closure of M.S. Distributing's music division."  They also said that "in September of 1999, the closure of M.S. Distributing's music division resulted in a substantial percentage of uncollectable receivables for MFSL, plus the inventory it represented. Without access to the funds or the availability of inventory for re-sale, the financial devastation was more than our small company could overcome."  Mobile Fidelity was employee-owned.

Six month delay expected in launch of new audio products, due to DVD-hack concerns:
DVD Audio will be delayed while manufacturers attempt to implement strong encryption to prevent the same thing from happening to DVD Audio that happened to DVD Video.  They are still operating under a fundamentally flawed assumption that if consumers can decrypt it to watch it, someone will figure out a way to decrypt it to rip it (convert it into MP3's and so on).  The delays hurt their profits as well as irritate their customers who want new products.  Read the full story here.

Our November 21st meeting will feature Ambience loudspeakers from Australia, very favorably reviewed in the latest issue of Bound for Sound.  Come check them out!  And bring some music and your friends!

If you are a classical music lover, you will probably want to attend our January 16th meeting, where James Ginsburg, president of Chicago's own Cedille Records, will present some of their fine recordings.  Fanfare magazine recently featured an interview with Mr. Ginsburg.

A couple of good tech tips on cartridge setup and alignment are added in the Tips & Tweaks page.  What else are you looking for?

Remember, the next CAS meeting is next Sunday, October 17th at 2pm.  Peter Lyngdorf of TacT Audio will demonstrate the TacT Millennium digital amplifier/DAC and the TacT Room Correction System.

Times they are a-changin'.  Reportedly, Larry Archibald (long time owner of Stereophile) was asked to step down and thus no longer works for EMAP's Stereophile publications.  This news follows the departure of J. Gordon Holt (founder of Stereophile), who now writes for The Absolute Sound.  Larry Archibald has joined KnowledgeLINK, which owns GetPlugged.com. They intend to join high-end retailing and the Internet e-commerce scene as others are presently doing.

Psst!  Want to join the Chicago Audio Society and get all the benefits of membership, including the printed newsletters?  Just click "How to Join" above or on the top page, or just go direct to the Membership Application form.

J. Gordon Holt, who founded Stereophile in 1962, submitted his resignation on July 20th to John Atkinson as a full time employee of Emap Petersen, stating that this would be "in order to freelance and do some self-publishing."  According to this report, Gordon's thoughts on audio-related matters will now appear in The Abso!ute Sound.

Good news:  Our September newsletter is posted here.  Enjoy!
Bad news:  Bobby Palkovic of Merlin Music Systems can't make it to our meeting this month, since he's undergoing much needed back surgery; Jud Barber of Joule Electra prefers to visit together with Bobby, so we're looking at some future dates.
Good news:  We will still have a superb sounding system to play your favorite music, so bring some records and CDs.

Burr-Brown announced its first Direct Stream Digital (DSD) audio digital-to-analog converter, designed under consultation with Sony for use in Super Audio CD (SACD) players, professional DSD processors, and DSD mixing consoles. The DSD1700 single-channel DAC is claimed to have up to 100 kHz frequency range and signal-to-noise ratio of over 110 dB and will be available to equipment manufacturers later this year.

Loudspeaker manufacturer Egglestonworks has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to this report.

Our September 19th meeting will feature the superb electronics of Joule Electra and loudspeakers of Merlin Music Systems, represented by their respective personable owner/designers Jud Barber and Bobby Palkovic.  If you enjoy fine music and sound (and who doesn't?), you must attend--it's not an option! :-)  We'll have plenty of yummies of the food kind to go with the sonic yummies!

CD listeners have a way to protect their investment, according to an announcement by Audiophile Systems today:

dCS, a company best know in professional circles for their ultra-high-performance studio digital processors, recently introduced the Purcell - a digital upsampler designed for home use. The Purcell, when partnered with any 24/96 capable DAC, can take the 16/44 data stream provided by conventional CDs and convert it to 24 bit/96 kHz.

The dCS Purcell Upsampler retails for $4,995, a price that places it firmly in the high-end audio camp. However, for music lovers with an extensive investment in discs, it could be a reasonable price to pay to future-proof your entire existing CD library.

Speaking of future-proof, the Purcell, like most other dCS products, is built around an upgradable architecture, allowing it to adapt to future format developments. Take the dCS Elgar Ring DAC for example. Introduced several years ago as the world's first 24/96 DAC, it has already been upgraded to 24/192. (Yes, this does mean that fortunate owners of both a Purcell and Elgar can upsample their CDs to 192kHz for an even greater improvement!)

Remember, this coming Sunday (August 15th) we have Art Audio, Rosinante, Argent, and Gill Audio here for our meeting, represented by Joe Fratus, Ric Cummins, and Todd Laudeman.
The newsletter for August is posted here.

On October 17th, Radomir Bozovic of TacT Audio will talk about and demonstrate the Millennium combination D/A converter – digital amplifier and the RCS room correction system.

Don't forget our meeting this Sunday.  Keith Herron will be using Audio Physic Virgo speakers.  We'll have LP and CD playback available, so bring some music to play!

It looks as though we'll have Art Audio, Rosinante, Argent, and Gill Audio here for our meeting on August 15th, represented by Joe Fratus, Ric Cummins, and Todd Laudeman.  Plan to attend!

Rich Sacks' report on Hi-Fi '99 is online!  Just click here.

Our meeting on July 18th will feature Herron Audio, demonstrated by Keith Herron.  They make very fine line stage and phono stage preamplifiers and have introduced monoblock amplifiers, creating some exceptionally musical sound.   Keith's a down to earth serious designer and music lover.  Do not miss this meeting!

And on September 19th we'll have Jud Barber of Joule Electra and Bobby Palkovic of Merlin Music Systems.  Making for some of the most awesome sound at recent shows, these guys have a lot of fun pushing the state of the art in tube audio and loudspeaker design.  This is definitely a meeting to make!

This month's meeting is on June 27th, the fourth Sunday, since the third Sunday is Father's Day.  Our featured guest is Jack Shafton, presenting Paradigm and Sonic Frontiers gear for good audio and home theater.  As CAS members know from Jack's previous demos, he puts on a fun, informative show with good sound.  Several new items have been introduced, so be sure to check them out!

HiFi '99 is just a month away:  public days are Friday, May 14th through Sunday, May 16th.  It will be held at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago.  Details on the official show web site.  Here's the schedule of the free concerts.

And the weekend before (Saturday, May 8th), we have a special event planned:  a visit (road trip!) to TLG Acoustical Design in Chicago.

Harry Paller, designer and builder of the ultra high end Technik Avant Garde preamp, will present the product at the CAS meeting on Sunday, April 18th.  He will repeat some information given at his past presentation to our group which some people missed, plus additional comments and information.  We'll also audition the much talked about MSB Link 24/96 DAC.

Vinyl lovers, eat your hearts out!  :-)  See what people had back in '61 by clicking on this link (also in our Links page).

Wow - we just had a whole lot of fun last Sunday with Martin DeWulf and Bob Crump.  Two really cool people who just happen to be audiophiles and music lovers!  Marty is editor of Bound For Sound (check out their website), and Bob is the person behind T.G. Audio Lab (did ya know T.G. stands for Throbbing Gristle?).  Bob demo'd the killer CTC Blowtorch preamp which he, John Curl, and Carl Thompson launched at WCES, as well as a full assortment of his speaker cables, interconnects, digital cable, and Pointy Things cones.  The stuff works--check it out.
Thanks, guys--come back anytime!