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2 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

January 1973VOL. 23 NO. 1

music and musiciansLeonard Marcus THE GAME OF THE NAME 4

Peter G. Davis, Edward GreenfieldBERNSTEIN'S CARMEN ... THE SUTHERLAND/

CABALLE TURANDOT 16Behind the Scenes in New York and London

Gene Lees WHERE DID ALL THE BIG BANDS GO? 63New experiments in big -sound musical excitement

Marvin Grosswirth MENGELWAENGLER-65 YEARS 67ON THE PODIUM

audio and videoTOO HOT TO HANDLE 31

NEWS AND VIEWS 32Preventing quadraphonic obsolescence ... A new tweeter

EQUIPMENT IN THE NEWS 34Peter E. Sutheim FM TUNERS AND RECEIVERS- 42

A NEW APPROACHA sane method of judging the multichannel components

FIRST FULL STEREO TUNER AND RECEIVER REPORTS 49Fisher 504 2/4 -channel FM/AM receiver

Scott 477 FM/AM receiverHeath AJ-1510 digital FM tuner kit

JVC VR-5541 FM/AM receiverMagnavox Model 8896 FM/AM receiver

OTHER EQUIPMENT REPORTS 57London/Decca Mk 5 stereo phono pickup

Kenwood Model KX-700 Dclby cassette deckSony 5520 turntable and arm

Wollensak 8054 2/4 -channel 8 -track playback deckLinear Design LDL-749 loudspeaker system

record reviewsAndrew Porter A SUTHERLAND/SILLS TOUR DE FORCE 69

Two new recordings of The Tales of Hoffmann

Harris Goldsmith A SZIGETI TREASURY 72A survey of the violinist's recorded artistry

Henry Edwards BLACK COMEDIES 76An eruption of hostile recorded humor

CLASSICAL 78Karajan's Tristan (and Verdi Requiem)

Anthony Newman's Bradenburgs

IN BRIEF 114Robert Long 4 -CHANNEL DISCS AND TAPES 116

LIGHTER SIDE 118John Denver ... Joan Baez ... Martha Velez

JAZZ 124Don Gibson Gang ... Memphis Slim .. Buck Pizzarelli

R. D. Darrell THE TAPE DECK 128Mahler's Impossible Dream ... The Civil War in sound

etc.LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 6

Recorded disservices ... S ighted composers

THOSE WERE THE DAYS 28A nostalgic romp through our old issues

PRODUCT INFORMATION 37An "at home" shopping service 95

ADVERTISING INDEX 94

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They begin on page 49.

They're alive and well. See page 63.

InHigh Fidelity is published monthly by Bdlboard Publicabons Inc. at GreatBarrington, Mass. 01230 The design and contents are fully protected bycopyright and must not be reproduced in any manner. Second class postage

paid at New York. New York end at additional nailing offices. Authorized as secondtlassnail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa and for payment of postage in cash. Yearlysabscription in USA., Possessions and Canada $7.95, in PanAmencan Union $8.95.elsewhere $9.95 Single copies 75e. Indexed in Reader's Guide to Periodical trterature.Congo el address notices and uedelivered °spies (term 3579) Amid be sent be HighNotes, Subscriptioe Department, P.O. Bo 141%, Cincinnati, Mee 45214. Please statehell, eld and nee addresses when resesstina Ovine.

Current and back copies of High Fidelity and High Fidelity/Musical America are available on microfilm from UniversityMicrofilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.

The Game of the Name LEONARD MARCUSEditor

In the three -record "Gala" version of London Records' Die Fledermausthere are two performing "artists" who will never make it into Baker's Dic-tionary: Omar Godknow and B. Fasolt. The first is the nom d'enregistrementof a very British Decca/London producer whose common expression ofsurprise is "Oh my God, no!" and the second is an anagram of "fat slob." Iunderstand that following London's pioneering efforts New York Magazinebegan assigning professions to punny names (Lois Carmen Denominator,math teacher). Reverting to music, here are some musical personages whohave crossed my mind, with appreciation to Contributing Editor Gene Leesfor some contributions. If any of them duplicate New York's efforts. 1 canonly plead innocent to having actually seen that magazine's results.

Axel A. Rondeau, conductor with unsteady beatNoah Zwellers Yudu, his envious assistant conductorMischa Solemnis, director of the chorusHorace Toccata, violin virtuoso; Len Danier, his accompanistDon Dewitt Rashleigh, violist contemplating solo careerYvonne Toby Alon, cellist speciali:in in Bach's solo suitesKent Reed, incompetent clarinetist; Lois Rae Chester. contrabassoonPreston Piston, trumpet; Zero Terry Valve. French hornWilliam Uvover, tromboneTim Penny and Roland E. Drumm. percussion: Justin Tyme, cymbalsOberon di Flor, sitar soloistConrad Zinarms and Lester B. Trubble, musicians union representativesE. Moses Lawn and Custer Grass, retired playersArturo Verseeze and Ida Wanda Godair, tour managersHelen Highwater, fund raiser; Zino Eval, publicky directorRobin de Riche and Gabe Tudor Paur, benefit -concert organizersPandit Cecil Leslie. Anglo-Indian music critic; Juan Cinna Weill, his

Marrano "stringer": Juan Canaday, ballet criticThe Itty brothers: Manuel Dexter. pianist. and Hy Fidel, audio engineerThe O'Hare brothers: Hank, rock guitarist, and Gerardt. usherRoddy van Ewer. C.B.E., recently knighted record producerEileen Dover Beckwood, prima ballerina; Hugo Dere, choreographerCandace Firmus, Moe Tete, and Minnie Singer. musicologistsAaron da Djeestring, Dutch composer of violin musicJohann Sebastian O'Strength, influential German -Irish composerBela Buttons, Hungarian electronic -music composerOscar Wencel Simi. second-rate composer seeking rich patroness; Allison

D. Uppinupp, rich patroness of second-rate but often -played composersAllie Louie Ah, Chinese-American Handel specialistWarren Peace, baritone specializing in Prokofiev operaJose Caniusi, tenor specializing in baseball gamesSenta Coventry, black -listed Wagnerian soprano; Edith Rico Smeal, fat

mezzo; Sheila Peale, sexy star of SalomeLeon Macduff, fencing coach at Scottish OperaDrummond Phyfe, bagpipe bandmasterShirley Guiness and Mercy Schallfolloe, oratorio singersDinah Loan, songstress 11/lo lost her TV show; Les Dan Able, her pro-

ducer; Darryl B. Morticum, her agentSolomon Gaynor Holwhorl and Lucy Soil, gospel singersTeresa Baumann Gilead. pcalmiste; Frances Fuller Snobhs. chanteuseBertha di Bluze, Soul singer; Frieda Panthas, activist folksingerMike Henry Tisathee, Zvi Landau Libidy, Obediah Singh. Irish -Israeli -

Indian trio specializing in American patriotic songsPtolemy Zasu Kaire, transvestite blues singer; Thea Jove Acquarius, her-

maphroditic idol of rock musical; Oliver Hedda Goodtime, last of thered-hot papas

Carmen Trudy Rye and Nicol Seeger. folk duoBaron Eddie Tor.

/741/1.e.

Next month's issue will include A SURVEY OF 4 -CHANNEL RECEIV-ERS as well as two opposing answers to the classic question WHY HAVETHERE BEEN NO GREAT WOMEN COMPOSERS?, one written froma Libber viewpoint ("They've been squelched by male chauvinism"), theother written by a psychologist ("They're inherently incapable")-bothwriters, incidentally, being female.

NORMAN EISENBERGExecutive Editor

PETER G. DAVISMusic Editor

ROBERT LONGAudio -Video Editor

SHIRLEY FLEMINGEditor, Musical America Section

EDITH CARTERAssociate Editor

WAYNE ARMENTROUTSHEILA RIZZOAssistant Editors

WILLIAM TYNANSpecial Projects Editor

ROY LINDSTROMArt Director

ROBERT MADDOCKSAssociate Art Director

RUTH W. DUNTONProduction Editor

JUDITH WESTAssistant Production Editor

MORGAN AMESR. D. DARRELLHENRY EDWARDSALFRED FRANKENSTEINHARRIS GOLDSMITHDAVID HAMILTONDONAL HENAHANMIKE JAHNMILES KREUGERPAUL HENRY LANGGENE LEESROBERT C. MARSHH. C. ROBBINS LANDONContributing Editors

STANLEY BINDERCirculation Manager

CLAIRE N. EDDINGSAssociate Publisher andDirector of Advertising Sales

WARREN B. SYERPublisher

Cover by Roy Lindstrom

ADVERTISINGMain Office: Claire N. Eddings. The Publishing House.Great Barrington. Mass 01230. Teleph no. 411-528-1300New York: 165 W. 46th St., New York, N.Y. 10036. Tele-phone: 212-757-2800. Seymour Resnick, Eastern Adv.Mgr.New England: The Publishing House. Great Barrington,Mass. 01230. Telephone: 413-528-1300. Russell Gilchrist.Chicago: Billboard Publications. Inc., 150 North WackerDr.. Chicago, III. 60606. Telephone: 312-236-9818.Leonard Levine.Los Angeles: Billboard Publications, Inc., 9000 SunsetBlvd.. Los Angeles. Calif. 90069. Telephone: 213-273-7040 Andrew SpanbergerNashville: Billboard Publications, Inc., 1719 West EndAve., Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Telephone:615-329-3925.Robert KendallLondon: 7 Carnaby St.. London W.1. England. Telephone.(01) 437-8090. Andre de Vekey.Frankfurt/Main: Eschersneimer Landstrasse 69. Frank-furt/Main, West Germany. Telephone (0611) 590805-6.Walter B Rios.Milan: Piazzale Loreto 9, Milan 20131. Italy. Telephone:28 29 158 Germano RuscittoTokyo: Billboard Publications, Inc., Comfy Homes 7B6-6-28, Akasaka, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. Telephone:586-0261. Hiro Tsutsui.

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letters

Recording Disservices

W. Rex Isom's article. "How to Prevent andCure Record Warping" [September 1972] dis-cussed certain esoteric causes of record warp-age (folded corners of paper sleeves, storagewhich is nonvertical/nonhorizontal, and evenlabels with unaligned grains!). but made nomention of such common causes of deforma-tion as pinch warpage and misaligned stamp-ers.

Furthermore, a lot of what Mr. Isom wrotewas just plain silly. He said, for example. thatthe plastic shrink wrap. after the album hasbeen opened. can contract and exert a pres-sure on the record that could result in warp-age. Now it turns out that the cardboard jack-ets on albums are between 123/s- and 12'2 -inches tall, and so the jacket would have to bepulled inward at least 3/8 of an inch before anycontact at all would be made. This I havenever seen.

His advice on curing warped records waseven worse. I followed the procedure on oneof my most severely warped discs. heating itslowly with an ordinary 40 -watt light bulb.and then placing it under 67 pounds of books.Seven hours later the shape of the warp hadchanged from a sort of complex double sinewave to a nice, even bump. I placed the recordback under the books and left it for three days.at the end of which time the warp had revertedto precisely its earlier shape. The surface areaof a 12 -in. disc is approximately 113 inches: di-vide 67 pounds by this, giving just under 6/10pound per square inch, and the failure is un-derstandable. Actually. the problem is muchworse than that, since any contact between therecord and weights is restricted to the beadand label areas, where it is least needed.

Jerry EbnerChicago. Ill.

No manufacturer of records has done agreater disservice to the serious record collec-tor than RCA with its introduction of the su-perthin disc. As one who has repeatedly re-turned RCA classical recordings beforefinding an acceptable product-or given up indisgust on occasion-I can only suggest that ei-ther something is definitely wrong in the RCApressing plant or else the new wafer-thin discsare impossible for distributors to handle with-out serious damage.

Clive P. CondrenSan Francisco. Calif.

The last batch of Turnabout recordings that Ipurchased were completely spoiled by poorsurfaces and lack of quality control (the gluefrom the label, in one case, had spilled all overone side). It is disheartening to read an excel-lent review in your magazine and upon pur-chasing the record to find that it is defective.

Don StewartCollege Park, Md.

Like many other record club members whohave had to return numerous warped press-ings to the club. I was angered at the injusticeof having to pay postage to return defectivemerchandise. A letter I recently received fromthe manager of customer services at RCA Mu-

sic Service will. I am sure, prove useful toother RCA (Columbia. Capitol. etc.) clubmembers: "If vou will advise us the amount ofmoneys [sic] paid for postage by returning se-lections by fourth-class post. we will be happyto forward a reimbursement."

G. M. LawlessConcord. N.H.

For me, recordings are an investment. notonly in the fundamental terms of dollars andcents, but in terms of the time one takes toconsider one version over another, of purchas-ing the recording and living with it. and thesatisfaction it yields. Although RCA Recordshas provided lovers of opera and classical mu-sic with some fine artists and interpretations,the quality of this company's discs is so in-ferior that it has become an impossibility forme to ever purchase RCA recordings again, nomatter how great the particular performance.

William Carroll SchwartzBronx. N.Y.

Kenton Shortchanged

John S. Wilson's review of Stan Kenton's al-bum. "Stan Kenton Today" [October 1972]was welcome, but I disagree with him on therecording's quality. London has succeeded in

Stan Kenton-better recorded elsewhere.

making a wonderful rhythm section sound[humpy while playing down the brasses.which are so important in the Kenton band.Comparison of songs duplicated in the Lon-don set with Stan's own Creative Worldrecordings will bear me out. Both his Red-lands and his Brigham Young albums are bet-ter recorded and much more representative ofthe sound this band has today.

I have a high regard for London and Phase4 (i.e.. Benny Goodman's wonderful album).but the Kenton band has eluded the engineers.However. I would not part with this Phase 4

album because of his closing number, GodSave the Queen. a fantastic arrangement.

Irvin SassamanTamaqua. Pa.

Varnay's Vocal Art

We recently returned from a European holi-day full of musical highlights and joys-amongthem a performance of Von Einem's operaticmasterpiece of Durrenmatt's Der Besuch derAlien Dame. made memorable by the truly un-surpassed performance of Astrid Varnay inthe title role. We were fascinated not only bythis great singer's acting but by her vocal art.

Knowing her only from her recordings, wewere impressed anew by this great operaticpersonality, whose recorded endeavors shouldbe reissued for the benefit of a generation ofnew listeners.

Hans KramerCape Town. South Africa

"Hit Parade" Scores

Oh. nostalgia! The "Hit Parade" article byOwen Lee [October 1972] was masterfullywritten, and by a true music lover. I am certainit contained as much nostalgia for many othersof the "over -fifty" crowd as it did for me.

Lucian A. SpriggsThousand Oaks. Calif.

The "Hit Parade" article was just great. In hisstatistics however. Father Lee left out one filmthat I found most fascinating: Top Hat. All ofIrving Berlin's songs for that film made the HitParade: Top Hat. White Tie and Tails. ThePiccolino. Cheek to Cheek. Isn't This a LovelyDay. and No Strings. No other show has evencome close except On the A venue, again byBerlin. with This Year's Kisses. I've Got MyLove to Keep Me Warm. You're Laughing atMe. and Slumming on Park Avenue scoringwith only two songs not making it.

Bob GrimesSan Francisco. Calif.

Bernstein and Mahler

I don't agree with Robert C. Marsh's remarkin his reply to Bill Curtis' letter [October 1972]that Leonard Bernstein was only riding the"crest of Mahler's new popularity." To many.he is very much a creator of that popularity.Bernstein not only expressed the romanticism.but the violence. the mysticism. the longing,and the suffering in Mahler's works. I believeBernstein correctly interprets the Mahler vi-sion in his recordings. Though Bemstein'sreadings are uneven (so are those of Solti,Haitink, and Kubelik, for that matter), theyare a major landmark in a new Mahler era.

M. Jerel ZoltickPrinceton. N.J.

Mendelssohn for Tenor

In her review of the Mendelssohn violin con-certos [October 1972]. Andrea McMahonwondered how the Andante from the E minorwould sound sung by a tenor.

There is an arrangement called He That Be -

6 CIRCLE 103 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

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lieveth recorded by a tenor named A. Strangeon an Australian Columbia 78: much more ac-cessible (and no doubt more enjoyable) is anarrangement by Andre Previn for the MGMfilm Two Sisters from Boston, sung as a duetfor soprano and tenor by Nadine Connor andLauritz Melchior, available until recently onCamden LP CAL 424.("The Lighter Side ofLauritz Melchior").

Michael SchulmanToronto, Ont.Canada

A Small but Mighty Band

In R.D. Darrell's review of the new CzechBrass Orchestra version of Sousa Marches[September 1972], his appellation "All -Sousa"eliminates, I suppose. the 1970 Longines Sym-phonette release (SYS 5140 44) "Sousa on Pa-rade" featuring the Eastman Wind Ensembleconducted by Frederick Fennell. Unfortu-nately, Longines succumbs, along with mostof the record industry, to the temptations ofdeceptive packaging Since this collection of"Sousa on Parade" really has only twenty-nine of the forty-five marches actually com-posed by J. Philip.

However, your readers who are into Sousaand/or marches should know that this collec-tion is one of the two or three greatest band al-bums ever recorded. The band is small butmighty. and Fennell's way with each score isoutstanding.

William F WagnerSherman Oaks. Calif.

Evergreen Critic

Rarer still than the singer of whom one nevertires is the evergreen critic; it was a delight tofind Conrad Osborne's review of the Melchiorlode in the October HIGH FIDELITY. Onceagain he brought good news (the reissue of theLeider/ Melchior Polydors); he reaffirmedfacts "those out there" need to be reminded of(his discussion of true lyric singing). Lastly, heproclaimed a self-evident truth I'd stupidlynever thought of before-the relationship be-tween styles of delivery in the spoken theatreand in opera. I am tired of hearing every uglysound hailed as a "dramatic effect." of listen-ing to singers who command no real beauty oftone speak of their willingness to sacrificewhat they do not possess in the interests ofdramatic truth.

Richard M. DyerCambridge. Mass.

Slighted Composers

I was unhappy to see no mention of VaughanWilliams' music in your October issue, whichcoincides with the one hundredth anniversaryof his birth. While you have devoted a fairamount of space to reviews of recordings ofhis compositions recently, some special noticeshould have been taken of this occasion.

Dr. Roland F HirschOrange, N.J.

Now that we have recordings of the AntonRubinstein Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos,the Konzertsaick, and the Ocean Symphony,when can we have tapings of some of histwenty operas, two cello concertos, violin con-certo. and the rest of his six symphonies and


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Please send. for my free audition, the three -record boxed concert program with bro-chure. An Evening tviih the Boston Symphony Orchestra, plus bonus record. I mayreturn all four records after I() days and owe nothing. or keep them and pay only$7.47 (half your regular price) plus a small postagelhandling charge (sales tax extrawhere required). I will also receive, at two -month intervals, further concert pro-grams-three records plus bonus I P- by famous orchestras for my free 10 -dayaudition. I may return any set, or keep it at your regular low price (only $14.95 com-plete plus small postage/handling charge). I am not obligated to buy any recordswhatsoever, and I may cancel this arrangement at any time.

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JANUARY 1973 11

To get more from yourhigh fidelity system...put more of yourself in it.

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The custom loudspeaker concept asks youto do more than buy. It suggests that you participatedirectly in choosing the very best speaker systemfor your own special listening needs, speakerby speaker.

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aGultCrCOMPANY glee-7,4"ez

five piano concertos? Surely his music, melod-ic and cleanly written, is worthy of more atten-tion. Will someone please turn on the Ru-binstein machine?

Joseph M. GansterBirmingham, Ala.

Just an old gripe-there are too many new re-leases of "warhorses" (although I love themall) swelling the already lengthy lists in theSchwann catalogue, but Virgil Thomson isneglected. I am unable to obtain two of his de-lightful compositions-Plow That Broke thePlains and The Rive*: Suite-though Sto-kowski's readings are listed. It is a shame thatthe public is denied these fine examples ofAmerican music.

Barton KingCitrus Heights, Calif.

Tchaikovsky's Missing Variation

Recalling with some nostalgia a 1930 record-ing of the young Menuhin's Tchaikovsky Trioin A minor, I am disappointed that at least twonew releases of this work fail to give us thecomplete score.

The elaborate eighth variation is omitted ina recent and generally spiritless performanceby the Budapest Trio (Heliodor 89 802) forreasons unspecified. In the notes accom-panying the Beaux Arts performance on Phil-ips 6500 132, this variation is "optional." and Ipresume it was the musicians' prerogative topass it up. The performance is otherwise ex-quisite. If 1 recall correctly, the Men uhins re-peated the final variation, indicated as "B" ofthe second movement. Perhaps some musicianfamiliar with the work may enlighten me: Wasthis also a musical option or a case of youthfulzeal?

Leland WindreichVancouver, B.C.Canada

High Fidelity, January 1973, Vol. 23, No. 1. Pub-lished Monthly by Billboard Publications. Inc.. publisherof Stereo, Stereo International, Modern Photography,American Artist. Billboard. Vend. Amusement Business.Merchandising Week, Music Lebo. Photo Weekly,Gift & Tableware Reporter, Record & Tape Retailer.Record Mirror, Discogratia Internazionale. WorldRadio TV Handbook.

High Fidelity/Musical America. Edition publishedmonthly. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Editorial correspondence should be addressed to TheEditor. High Fidelity, Great Barrington. Mass. 01230.Editorial contributions will be welcomed. Payment forarticles accepted will be arranged prior to publication.Unsolicited manuscripts should be accompanied byreturn postage.

Subscriptions should be addressed to High Fidelity,2160 Patterson St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45214. Subscrip-tion rates; High Fidelity Musical America: In the U.S.A.and its Possessions. 1 year $14; elsewhere. 1 year $15.National and other editions published monthly: In theU.S.A. and its Possessions. 1 year $7.95. Subscriptionrates for all other countries available on request.

Change of address notices and undelivered copies(Form 3579) should be addressed to High Fidelity, Sub-scription Fulfillment Dept., P.O. Box 14156. Cincinnati,Ohio 45214.

12CIRCLE 21 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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CIRCLE 23 ON READER -SERVICE CARDHIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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CIRCLE 23 ON READER.SERVICE CARDiNM \RN 1973 15

behind thescenes

Pondering the problems of the "unrecordable" Carmen are (from left toright) DGG producer Thomas Mowrey, Leonard Bernstein, consultant JohnMcClure, Marilyn Home, Bernstein aide John Mauceri, tenor James Mc-Cracken, and engineer Gunter Hermanns at Manhattan Center.

Bernstein's Carmen-The First Major U.S. Opera

Recording, in Seven Years

NEW YORK

"Quiet. please. We're going to record thefactory bell for thirty seconds. so holdyour ears." Thus spake DGG's Ameri-can -based recording director, ThomasMowrey, ushering in the final session inthe German label's project to tape theMetropolitan's 1972 opening night newproduction of Carmen (the virtuoso bell -ringer's performance was perfect. by theway-"One take, and no inserts." com-mented conductor Leonard Bernsteinadmiringly).

The Met's Carmen marked DGG'smost ambitious (and costly-a $250,000price tag is one educated guess) Ameri-can undertaking to date: it was, in fact.the first really significant opera recordingto be taped in this country by a major la-bel since RCA blew the works on Lohen-grin with the Boston Symphony in 1965.(There have been of course RCA's JuliusCaesar and a few others since.) Whenone thinks of DGG's last complete Car-men-an aid' Deutsch affair from Dres-den starring Sona Cervana. strictly forlocal consumption-the company's thirstfor international prestige has nowreached a pinnacle of sorts. With no lessa presence than Bernstein on the po-dium, the Metropolitan's name blessingthe proceedings. and an all-star cast

headed by Marilyn Horne. JamesMcCracken. Adriana Maliponte. andl om Krause. this Carmen could scarcelyfail to create waves of interest. Further-more. despite its bread-and-butter statusand the number of noted prima donnaswho had participated in past recordings(Callas. Price. Bumbry. De los Angeles,and Resnick to name the obvious). Car-men has yet to achieve a really first-classrepresentation on disc-one noted pro-ducer. John Culshaw. finally threw uphis hands in despair after guiding histhird different version through the tapemachines and declared the piece unre-cordable.

On the docket for the last session was.appropriately enough. the final Carmen/Jose confrontation as %veil as the GypsySong and the Act Ill Prelude (the spokendialogue was to be dubbed in later).DGG decided on the vast expanses ofthe Manhattan Center ballroom for itsvenue-once a popular recording site be-fore domestic union scales made classi-cal recording in New York a sometimething and now ironically the scene forperiodic mass union rallies. The Philhar-monic used to record here and most ofIgor Stravinsky's last New York sessionsfor Columbia were conducted amid itsgarish 1920 Byzantine decor. A veteranof those sessions and Bernstein's formerColumbia producer, John McClure. wascalled upon by DGG as a consultant-

certainly no one else is better acquaintedwith the hall's acoustical characteristics.And the sound as it emerged from thefour speakers in the control room had allthe richness and body of pre -Philhar-monic Hall NYP tapes (DGG, despitetheir wait -and -see attitude toward quad.naturally opted for the eventual possi-bility of a four -channel version).

"You've missed some very excitingsessions." Bernstein assured me just be-fore heading out into the chilly recordingarea for the last duet. "We've tapedstamping feet. men shouting o/e,women's screams diminuendo and cre-scendo.... Actually. the possibilities forextramusical sounds in a Carmen record-ing are virtually endless, so I've askedthat only the essentials be included."One vital effect is Carmen's traditionalscream as Don Jose's knife meets itsmark, and there was some discussionabout the when -and -how. MarilynHorne suggested, in jest one assumes, awhispered gasp of "Es -ca -mil -lo.Arrghh!" Ultimately it was decided totake Miss Home in camera later on andrecord a variety of shrieks to decide onthe most effective one.

Although neither Horne norMcCracken are strangers to the score.both they and all the other participantsclearly looked to Bernstein for the finalsolution of all musical problems.McCracken. especially. was a study inconcentrated intensity during the takesand playbacks. constantly on the lookoutfor comments on how to improve thefine points of his interpretation. "Don'tmake 'Je ne menace pas' sentimental."the conductor coached McCracken; "tryto think. 'Look. I'm not menacing you.I'm pleading with you.- and Bernsteindropped to one knee with considerabledignity. Later he convinced Horne not tohold "Oui, je l'aime" quite so long, evenwhen Home protested plaintively, "Yes.I know we're both musicians, but I'm a.singer. "Nonetheless.Home had profuseopportunities to show off her voice, par-ticularly that ultrapowerful baritonechest tone as she goaded McCrackeninto murder.

With the final duet safely completed.the Gypsy Song was given a nonstop firsttake. The opening flute thirds were ashambles and the ensemble left a greatdeal to the imagination right up to the fi-nal crashing chord. "That's terrible!"Bernstein moaned melodramatically,throwing one arm into the air in horror."It's like we were sight-reading it." "It'sheaven-print it!" remarked Home withill -disguised whimsy after hearing thetake. A stop -and -go second take gaveMowrey and his crew the needed mate-rial to make a perfect entity. but Bern-stein still wasn't satisfied. "The misery ofthis piece is that it's impossible to make asmooth splice in such an unbroken and


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to In

JANUARY 1973

imperceptible accelerando." So he askedfor another complete take and the mir-acle happened. "Terrific!" Bernsteinbeamed, and DGG's Carmen was vir-tually afait accompli. PETER G. Davis

LONDON

Sutherland Meets Caballe in TurandotGuided past Decca/ London's securitysystem as the sole visiting journalist, Ientered Kingsway Hall for what somerecord people were claiming as one ofthe most costly opera sessions ever: two

of the highest paid (if not the highest) so-pranos in the world appearing on thesame stage together, Joan Sutherlandsinging Turandot with Montserrat Ca -bane as Liu.

It was certainly a casting coup, and ifanyone was apprehensive in advanceabout fireworks of temperament, theyneed not have worried. There were thetwo great ladies on stage, the happiest ofcolleagues, laughing and joking togetherbetween takes. It so happens that Puc-cini's two soprano principals meet onlyonce in the opera, which did of coursesimplify any problems of confrontation,but from the look of it they could havebeen recording Rosenkavalier.

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Sutherland-who was, after all, theraison d'etre of the set from Decca /Lon-don's point of view-was tactfully placedon the stage slightly to the right of Ca -ball& who was then allowed her favoritecentral position. You could argue ration-ally enough that in this death scene Liu isfar more important than Turandot, butnot every rival prima donna would haveseen it that way. Nor did Sutherland inthe rehearsal beforehand sing out withfull voice, as she normally does in prepa-ration, but followed Caballe's practice of"marking." And then in the big play-back, after the main master take hadbeen completed with remarkably littlefuss, Sutherland considerately listenedin the passageway, outside the crampedcontrol room, again making it clear thatthis session belonged primarily to hercolleague. When Sutherland's keyphrase in the scene came (a surprisedquestioning: "L'amore?"), she turned tome with a nod, and commented like awife appraising her housework: "That'lldo." She was right.

Only one more take for minor amend-ments to Sutherland's contribution, andTurandot was ready to take off for theairport and home to Switzerland. But be-fore she went, she warmly kissed Caballegood -by, and the male members of thecast demanded equal greeting-LucianoPavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and TomKrause. Last of all, conductor ZubinMehta rushed from his rostrum to makesure of a kiss from Sutherland too. Loudcries of appreciation from the orchestra."I shan't wash my face tonight!" Mehtapromised.

One member of the cast was absent.For the smallest of the named roles, thatof the Emperor, Decca/London's chiefrecording manager, Ray Minshull, hadmade an inspired choice: Peter Pears,one of the company's most cherishedtenors but one who till now had neverbeen recorded in Italian opera. His ses-sions, a couple of days earlier, had goneexceptionally well, as indeed had alltwelve. Mehta, always a methodicalrecording conductor, was in the happiestmood: With cricket test matches beingplayed between England and Australiahe was able for once to watch a favoritesport normally denied him.Opera Galore. Caballe, who had earlierbeen recording EMI's Guillaume Tell,had a third opera commitment in Lon-don when she took the role of Norma inRCA's new set of Bellini's opera, tapedat Walthamstow with Fiorenza Cossotto,Placido Domingo, and Ruggero Rai-mondi, with Carlo Felice Cillario con-ducting the London Philharmonic. Onceagain an artist was anxious to get away tothe airport, but this time, since Wal-thamstow is on the wrong side of Lon-don and Placido Domingo had to appearon stage within hours in some distant op-


musical homage societywould like to send you FRee

etassgRECOapiNQS

included will be a TRITIL ofFeIRof up to introductory records

Each recording covers one of the following periods in musical history:

MEDIEVAL and RENAISSANCE BAROQUE CLASSICAL

*ROMANTIC MODERNTo receive the Society's 1973 catalog and the Introductory Trial Offer

just1. Fill in and send the attached business reply card for the catalog of over

1,200 STEREO records of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical,Romantic and Modern music and

2. The Society will send you its catalog along with an INTRODUCTORYTRIAL REQUEST FORM.The Society's recordings are offered only through the mail by way of its

catalogs and release announcements.

Over 100 of its recordings have won the GRAND PRIX DU DISQUE,VIENNA MOZART MEDAL, MONTREUX FESTIVAL AWARD and othernational and international prizes.

The Society issues only 12" STEREO long playing records and DolbyizedSTEREO cassettes.

This offer valid only inthe U.S. and Possessions.

the musical hepitaqe society inc.1991 enoatway, new yoRk, n. y. 10023

F

JANUARY 1973CIRCLE 40 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

21

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Dokotder introduces arevolutionary new tape deckwith space-age angineerir g. Six heads provide Bi-DirectionalRecord and Playback. Automatic Reverm.iRepeat Playba:* add -elaK-andrjoyconvenience. Ard for the ..Itimate in co muterized luxor7, a Fas: Seiso- Me:IA(6mlets you program the unit automaticalld locate and play any s!lectiot instantly.To enjoy its extraordinary performance, ask to see the 9.00 at your Hi ci Jaaler

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era house, a helicopter was called in.Even then it was touch and go. and Co-balt& so often a center of past crises, wasthe one who kept murmuring sooth-ingly: "Be tranquil!" In her duet withDomingo she insisted that any flaws inher contribution could readily be left tilllater in the interest of getting Domingooff to his helicopter. In the end they allcame out to wish him good -by. with Cil-lario commenting: "Look, no wings!"

Opera sessions were the order of theday all summer, for EMI also taped Ca -balk in Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco andPhilips lined up Cristina Deutekom.Carlo Bergonzi, Sherrill Milnes, andRuggero Raimondi for an equally rareVerdi opera, Attila. Lamberto Gardelli isthe conductor with the Royal Philhar-monic. Erik Smith, the Philips recordingmanager, was lyrical himself about themusic ofAtala, even after his heavy five-day stint. Happily for record collectors(and the company) it will fit neatly ontofour LP sides.

Taping All Over Town. Recording ses-sions in all the main London recordinghalls were so intensive last summer thatwhen at the last minute EMI decided torecord Andre Previn and the Yale Quar-tet in Brahms's Piano Quintet they werehard pressed to find a hall. Twenty-fourhours before the sessions were due tostart (on the very day that elsewhereSutherland and Caballe were on stagetogether) they were still looking. In theend they resorted to All Saints. Tooting,the South London church where EMIhad recorded such large-scale works asMozart's Requiem with Barenboim andAct I of Walkiire with Klemperer.

Recording manager Suvi Raj Grubbwas a little apprehensive about taping achamber work in such a setting. but with-out too much difficulty they found theright, not too reverberant, spot in one ofthe side aisles. In the end Previn's doubtwas less about the acoustics than aboutthe temperature. On a scorching Augustday. he could justly complain. "It's coldin here." It was through their records(which bowled him over) that Previnfirst thought of asking the Yale Quartetto play with him in London's South BankSummer Music, and the recording ses-sions came as a welcome bonus.

One startlingly brisk job well done wasBarenboim's work with the LondonPhilharmonic on Elgar's Second Sym-phony. The sponsors, surprisingly, areColumbia Records, who are even think-ing of encouraging still further Baren-boim's new passion for Elgar. PaulMyers, the Columbia recording man-ager, commented that the sessionsseemed like intensive American under-takings rather than more leisurely Brit-ish -style ones, since Barenboim-whohad just conducted two concert perform -

CIRCLE 18 ON F EADER-SERVICE L'ARD


Feelwhat you hear

on SuperexStereophones

Try on a pair of Superex PRO -B VIstereophones and see what happens toyour body. It's a physical sensation youcan't get with other Stereophones. With thePRO -B VI, each earcup contains its ownwoofer and tweeter, plus a full crossovernetwork.

This permits a glorious rush of musicto enter each of your ears and travel rightto your toes. The dynamic woofer hasdouble chamber acoustic suspension anddamping. So you feel a drum roll downyour neck. The coaxially mounted tweeterlets a flute send shivers up your spine.And in each ear, you feel the range

PRO -B VI The ProfessionalDynamic Woofer/Tweeter StereophonesSugg. Retail Price $60.00

and purity of a 15-22,500 Hz frequencyresponse. 4-16 Ohm impedance.

Feeling comfortable is another part ofthe PRO -B VI. This comes from replaceableCon -Form ear cushions and a completelyadjustable headband. Plus 15 generousfeet of coil cord, with a clip that attachesthe ccrd to you, and e.iminates any tug onyour head. In case you feel like dancing.

For $60.00, you can feel more thanyou've ever heard. Superex guarantees itfor two years. Have a good listen. Andyou'll hear why Superex is the best sound

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JANUARY 1973 23

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ances-went straight for a master take ofeach movement at the first attempt. As aresult, the whole work was completed toeveryone's satisfaction in an exhilaratingfive hours-instead of the nine hoursbudgeted for the fifty -five-minute sym-phony.

In another CBS project Barenboim ac-companied Pinchas Zukerman for twomore installments in their Mozart violinconcerto series with the English Cham-ber Orchestra. Then for DeutscheGrammophon, Barenboim and the Lon-don Philharmonic tackled Brahms's Ger-man Requiem with Edith Mathis andDietrich Fischer-Dieskau as soloistsafter an Edinburgh Festival perform-ance. The Festival Chorus also takespart, directed (like the LSO Chorus inLondon) by Arthur Oldham. It was forOldham that Barenboim, to celebrate hiscolleague's birthday. conducted a full-scale choral version of Happy Birthdaybefore one of the sessions. What wouldBrahms have thought? The sessions tookplace-like those of DGG's Cenerentolalast year-in a school hall, George Wat-son's College. and when not recordingeveryone turned for entertainment to thetelevision relays from the OlympicGames.

Less happy relays from Munich afterthe murder of the Israeli athletes af-fected at least one day of the intensivechamber music sessions that Artur Ru-binstein had at Victoria Hall, Geneva,with Henryk Szeryng and Pierre Four-nier. This time their main concern was tocomplete the Brahms piano trios, andthis they did, one per day despite Ru-binstein's upset over Munich. adding theSchumann D minor at the end. The won-der-according to RCA recording man-ager Max Wilcox (unfortunately, I

missed the sessions)-was that every dayit was Rubinstein who outstayed the lotof them in sheer stamina, pressing onwith the sessions, determined not tobreak off before each work was com-pleted.

Stokowski too was in great form whenin Prague that same week he recordedfor Decca/London's Phase 4 label an un-expected coupling. Elgar's Enigma Vari-ations and Scriabin's Poeme d'extase. Ev-eryone was rather worried-everyoneexcept Stokowski-when he sprained atendon in his leg and had to appear oncrutches. But once on the rostrum he in-sisted on standing. Nor was he worriedby the television lights at one of the per-formances. What the recording team un-der Raymond Few did was to record histwo live concerts with the thought ofmarrying the results afterwards-a fairlyeasy matter in the Elgar Variations atleast. That, incidentally, is a work theCzech Philharmonic had not playedsince 1909. Floreat Elgar, says the Eng-lish commentator. EDN R D GREENFIELD

24CIRCLE 42 ON READER -SERVICE CARD


44

The ADC-XLM a class by itself."

That's the way Stereo Review described our XLM. High Fidelity head-lined their review, "Superb new pickup from ADC" and went on to say,...must be counted among the state of the art contenders:' And Audio

echoed them with, "The ADC-XLM appears to be state of the art:'With the critics so lavish in their praise of the XLM, there's hardly any

necessity to add anything. Far better to let the experts continue to speakfor us.

Frequency response The CBS STR 100 testrecord showed less than-+ 1.5dB variation upto 20.000Hz. Stereo Review...response is within 2dB over the entire range. AudioFrequency response is exceptionally flat High Fidelity

Tracking This is the only cartridge we have seenthat is really capable of tracking almost all stereo discsat 0.4 grams. Stereo ReviewThe XLM went through the usual torture test at0.4 grams (some top models require more than agram). High FidelityThe XLM is capable of reproducing anything found ona phonograph record. Audio

Distortion Distortion readings are almostwithout exception better than those for any other modelwe've tested. High Fidelity

The XLM has remarkably low distortion in comparisonwith others AudioAt 0 6 grams the distortion was low (under 1 5 percent) Stereo Review

Hum and noise The XLM could be instrumentalin lowering the input noise from the first stage of amodern transistor amplifier. AudioThe cartridge had very good shielding againstinduced hum Stereo Review

Price This would be a very hard cartridge to surpassat any price. Stereo ReviewWe found it impossible to attribute superior sound tocostlier competing models. High FidelityPriced as it is. it is a real bargain in cartridges Audio

The Pritchard High DefinitionADC-XLM $50.

AUDIO DYNAMICS CORPORATION

the Sansui SevenHere is another wonder from Sansui. Who else but Sansui engineers could have achieved it? We've highlightedseven significant features of the many that will make this total -capability FM/AM Stereo Receiver the most wantedinstrument of its kind. Actually there are more than 30, many of them Sansui exclusives, that set the SEVEN offfrom others. Yours for $459.95.

1. DIRECT -COUPLED POWER AMPLIFIER WITH AUTOMATICALLY RESTORING DOUBLE -PROTECTED OUTPUT. Direct coupling from one end of thepower amplifier to the other yields unimpaired damping factor and transient response at exceptional power band-width and phenomenally low distortion levels. Bozh quick -acting fuses and relay circuits protect both amplifier andspeakers if failures occur, with automatic self -restoration if the problem is transient.

2. FULL -FEATURED JACK FIELD FOR DOLBY, QUADAPTERS AND MORE. Connect any noise -reduction adapter, Dolby or other, andactivate' it with push-button convenience for tape recording. Go to tour -channel stereo simply by connecting anadapter and rear -channel amplifier any time ycu wish, again with pushbutton activation. Connect two tape decksthrough a choice of regular pin jacks, three-ccntac: phone jack or DIN multiple connector. Connect two phono-graphs. In addition, quick connect/disconnect links between amplifier and preamp sections permit separate useor addition of other add-on devices.

3. CERAMIC FILTERS AND IC's IN FM IF. For exceptional selectivity and rejection characteristics with full bandwidth, minimumphase shift and remarkable freedom from distortion. The IC embodies a 3 -stage differential amplifier. Two ceramicresonators filter each of three stages.

4. SIGNAL -GRABBING FM FRONT END WITH DUAL -GATED MOSFET, 4 -GANG TUNING CAPACITOR AND WIDE -DIAL LINEAR FM SCALE. A sophisticated

two -stage RF amplifier and mixer stage uses a low -noise MOSFET in conjunction with three costly, special-purpose silicon transistors and a 4 -gang frequency -linear tuning capacitor. That's why the SEVEN is outstandingwith respect to sensitivity, IM distortion and image ratio, and offers a dial scale precisely calibrated in 25CkHzsteps for pinpoint tuning.

5. TRIPLE, STEPPED EQUALIZER -TYPE TONE CONTROLS. Separate treble, bass, and midrange tone controls, the first two calibratedin 3dB steps, the midrange in 1dB steps, for custom tailoring of response across the full audio spectrum.

6. THREE -STAGE, DIRECT -COUPLED EQUALIZER/PREAMP AND CONSTANT CURRENT DRIVER AMPLIFIER. High signal-to-noise ratio, high sta-bility, extremely wide dynamic range and eliminaton of crossover distortion, as well as other types, allto an exceptionally clean, effortless, unclipped sound. Broad frequency response beyond the audio extremes alsoprevents phase shift at the low or high end of the spectrum, to add to the exceptional purity of reproduction.

7. NEW -DESIGN, QUALITY AM TUNER. AM reception is no just an "also" on the SEVEN: learn again how good AM can sound,at its best. An RF preselector-amplifier combines with a 3 -gang tuning capacitor and an IF section that includesa 2 -resonator ceramic filter for ideal bandpass characteristics. A 2 -stage Automatic Gain Control Circuit acts onboth RF and IF sections for constant volume regardless of signal strength. A whistle filter eliminates other -stationbeat interference.

MORE THAN SEVEN-Other features of the SEVEN include:Sharp -cutoff, Negative -feedback High and Low Filters. Low -distortion circuitry using especially designed transistors provide12dB/octave characteristics.Brute -strength Power Supply. High plus -and -minus DCpower supplies with constant -voltage stabilization andripple filter applied to the equalizer/control circuits,plus4 bridge rectifiers and 2 huge 4,700-mf capacitorsfor the power amplifier. All for clean, rock -steadyhandling of signals with ample power reserve.Two Large Tuning Meters. One for signalstrength, the other for center channel, forprecision tuning.FM Muting Switch. Off for hunting distantstations; on for velvet -quiet tuning.Three -System Speaker Selector Off forheadphone -only listening; alsoA, B, C, A+B and A+C.Adjustment -free Sharp -cutoff Filter forMultiplex Carrier. Front -panel HeadphoneJack, Grounding Terminals,Switched and UnswitchedAC Outlets, One -Touch ConnectorTerminals for Speakers and Antennas,300-ohm/75-ohm FM Antenna Inputs,Loudness Switch ... and more, more, more.

and its seven wonders

TAM

-rre 88 90 9 94 96 98 110 102 104 106 108 FM -MHz1.11,11. nunInn, n I I I I I II 1,1 I I I I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I I I I I I I I I III I I I

Mt 1M NI IN R01 IIM 160

SPECIFICATIONS FM Se isitivity (IHF) 1.8 microvoltsPower Output FM Signal/Noise better than 63 dB

IHF MusicContinuous RMS

160 watts, 4 ohms47/47 watts, 8 ohms

FM IF or Spurious -ResponseRejection

better than 100 dB

Power Bandwidth, IHF 10 to 50,000 Hz, 3 ohms FM Capture Ratio below 1.5Frequency Response, Overall

Distortion, OverallTotal HarmonicIM

15 to 40,000 Hz +1dB,-1.5 dB (1 watt)

below 0.3%, rated outputbelow 0.3%, rated output

AM SensitivityAM Selectivity

Phono Input Sensitivity

46dB/ m (bar antenna)

better than 30dB(+10kHz)

2.5 my

Hum and Noise, Overall (IHF) 80 dB (AUX input) Phono Input Maximum 100 my

JO YAM 1

Action of the Triple -range Tone Controls Total Harmonic Distortion vs. Power (20 to 20,000 Hz)

THE SANSUI MODEL SIX:There's great news for those who want the ,essential performance capability of the ModelSEVEN, but whose power -output requirementsare somewhat less demanding. Look into theSuperb Sansui SIX, close relative of the SEVENwith basically the same design, features andperformance capability. $389.95.

- .11 " "" ! .

SANSUI ELECTRONICS CORP.Woodside, New York 11377 Gardena. California 90247ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTORS (Canada). Vancouver 9. B.C.SANSUI ELECTRIC CO., LTD., Tokyo, Japan Sansui Audio Europe S. A , Antwerp, Belgium CIRCLE 50 ON READER -SERVICE CARD

IS YOURPREAMPLIFIERAS GOOD ASYOUR EARS ?

(,4'-t'':../G-150

Your first preamplifier was probablya kit or prebuilt economy model withminimum quality and just the basic fea-tures. Since then you no doubt have be-come more discerning and can hear moremusic than your old preamp "letsthrough". Perhaps it is hindering thedevelopment of your music appreciation?

We suggest that you consider the newCrown IC150 control center for signif-icantly increased enjoyment. For example,does the loudness control on your presentunit really do much? The IC150 providesbeautifully natural compensation whateverthe volume. Similarly, your tone controlsmay give inaccurate effects, .while theIC150 has new "natural contour" ex-ponential equalizers for correct com-pensation at low settings. Is your preampplagued with turn -on thump and switchingpops? Crown's IC150 is almost silent.The three-year parts and labor warrantyis based upon totally new op -amp circuit-ry, not just a converted tube design.

Most dramatic of all is the IC150phono preamp. No other preamplifier,regardless its price, can give you disc -to -tape recordings so free of distortion,hum or noise, and so perfect in transientresponse. It also has adjustable gaincontrols to match the exact output ofyour cartridge.

These are some of the refinementswhich make the IC150 competitive with$400 units, although you can own it forjust $269. Only a live demonstrationcan tell you whether you are ready tograduate to the IC150 and explore newhorizons in music appreciation. May wesend you detailed product literature today?

O /SOAsk your dealer also about Crown's new

companion 0150 power amplifier, which delivers150 watts RMS output at 8 ohms (150 watts perchannel at 4 ohms). No amp in this power range -however expensive - has better frequency responseor lower hum, noise or distortion. It offers per-formance equal to the famous DC300, but atmedium power and price. It's worth listening into!

® l="4171A1770BOX 1000, ELKHART, INDIANA, 46514, U.S.A.

CIRCLE 14 ON READERSERVICE CARD

those were the daysA nostalgic romp through the pages of High Fidelity and Musical America

60 Years AgoSo many complaints of atmospheric con-ditions in Carnegie Hall, and their seri-ous effect on the health of people who gothere, have been received by MusicalAmerica that a representative of thispublication has made an investigation ofthe ventilation there, talking with musiccritics, physicians, subscribers to thesymphony orchestra concerts, and theexecutive officials of Carnegie Hall. AWall Street man told our reporter: "For-merly I had a reputation among myfriends of being musical and of appre-ciating and admiring good music. Onseveral occasions I have found myselfdozing at Carnegie concerts, which hassubjected me to a lot of ridicule. For along time I wondered what was the mat-ter. Then I began to understand. It wasthe bad air in the hall that made medrowsy."

Massenet's Manon returned to the Met-ropolitan this month with Farrar, Ca-ruso, Gilly, and Rothier. Caruso was infine vocal shape, but it takes considera-bly more than golden tones lustilyemitted to make an ideal Des Grieux,and in well-nigh every respect Carusofalls short of realizing this ideal. His DesGrieux has neither grace, subtlety, pol-ish, nor the remotest suggestion of Gallicelegance. Dramatically he is an awk-ward, unappealing, ungainly figure. Hisvocal style is about as little calculated tomeet the requirements of Massenet'smusic as it would be to do justice to Mo-zart or Wagner. And alas for Caruso'sFrench pronunciation!

40 Years AgoA manifesto against modern music,signed by some of Italy's most prominentcomposers, has caused considerable stir.Ottorino Respighi, Ildebrando Pizzetti,Riccardo Zandonai, Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli, Giuseppe Mule, AlbertoGasco, Alceo Toni, Guido Guerrini,Gennaro Napoli, and Guido Zuffenatoare the signatories; and the document at-tacks contemporary tendencies in no un-certain terms: "We are," it says, "againstthis art which cannot and does not haveany human content, and desires to bemerely a mechanical demonstration anda cerebral puzzle. The confusion of Ba-bel reigns in the musical world. For

twenty years the most diverse and dis-parate tendencies have been lumped to-gether in a continual chaotic revolu-tion."

Antonio Scotti has sung his farewell. Aweary but gallant figure in spite of hissixty-seven years and his sinister make-up as the Chinese opium -den keeper ofLeoni's L'Oracolo, he took leave of a le-gion of long-time admirers after forty-three years in opera, all but ten of whichhad found him on the boards of the Met-ropolitan. Lawrence Tibbett led a groupthat sang For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.There were many moist eyes. "God blessyou all for what you do for me," saidScotti in a little speech. Then he toowept.

20 Years AgoVladimir Horowitz contributed his serv-ices for the New York PhilharmonicPension Fund benefit concert, playingthe Tchaikovsky concerto twenty-fiveyears almost to the minute after he hadmade his American debut with it. Hisperformance was a phenomenal displayof pianism, quite aside from any consid-erations of interpretive taste. It does noinjustice to any of the parties concernedto infer that the occasion had the atmos-phere of a bullfight. The deafening ap-plause continued for fifteen minutes.And Mr. Horowitz deserved every bit ofit for his unbelievable show of technique.The sheer velocity was fantastic. GeorgeSzell kept the orchestra up to the soloistas best he could, but the evening be-longed to Mr. Horowitz.

20th Century -Fox is planning a tech-nicolor picture, tentatively labeled TheGirl With Black Glasses, which will havethe Metropolitan Opera as its setting anda plot constructed around the successstory of Roberta Peters, whose goldenopportunity came two years ago whenshe was called upon suddenly to step intothe role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni uponthe illness of Nadine Conner. Miss Pe-ters may play herself in the picture. Willit be done that way? In view of the Holly-wood maxim, never do anything theright way if a good wrong way is avail-able, probably 'tis a consummation onlyto be wished.

CIRCLE 33 ON READER SERVICE CARD -4.

Does your favorite musicblow your mind

or just mess it upt

Koss Stereophones putyour favorite music whereit belongs. In your head.Not lost forever in thewalls of your living room.After all, who should hear your favor-ite music? You or the walls of yourliving room? Not to mention yourfamily or neighbors who'd rather hearsomething else. Like hearing them-selves think. Or their favorite tele-vision show.

World all your ownPut on Koss PRO-4AA Stereophonesand you're in a world all your own.Immersed in Brahma' First orBeethoven's Fifth . . . or turned onto the Moody Blues. Patented fluid -filled ear cushions seal in the soundand seal out the unwelcome noise.So nobody disturbs you . . . and youdon't disturb anybody else.You hear more with KossYou'll hear more of Brahms' First thefirst time you put on Koss Stereo -phones than you've ever heard withspeakers. Because Koss mixes thesound in your head instead ofscrambling it on your walls. The

unique Koss acous-tical seal around

your earsproduces arich, deepbass withoutboominess ordistortion. Yethighs are alwaysbrilliantly clearand uniform

because

they're focused only on yourears . . . not on the walls ofyour room.

Worth hearingWhy should the Koss PRO-4AAlStereophone be so superior? Be-cause it contains the first driver de-signed exclusively for Stereophones.A unique diaphragm with 4 squareinches of radiating area. And an ex-tra large 1 -inch voice coil that's vir-tually "blow out" proof. In other

words, the Koss PRO-4AA wasdesigned from the start to pro-vide the finest sound everachieved in a dynamic head-phone. And it does . . . with aclean, uncolored response 2 -fulloctaves beyond the range of other

dynamic headphones on the mar-ket. And with a typical frequency

range of 10-20,000 Hz. In fact, HighFidelity Magazine rated the PRO-4AA a "superb" headphone. Butthen, everyone who has heard theSound of Koss rates it superb.

7

Enjoy a new music libraryTake your favorite tape or record toyour Hi-Fi Dealer and listen to itthru a pair of Koss PRO-4AA Stereo -phones. The extra sound you get inthe Sound ofKoss will amazeyou. In fact,you'll hearso muchmore fromyour musicthat buyinga Koss PRO-4AA Stereophone is like getting awhole new music library.

Hearing is believingHear the Sound of Kossat your local Hi-FiDealer or Departmentstore. Or write for our

16 -page color catalog,c/o Virginia Lamm, Dept.

HF-272. Once you've heard theSound of Koss, you'll never want tomess around with anything else.From $15.95 to $150.

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KOSS CORPORATION4129 N. Port Washington Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53212Koss S.r.1., Via dei Valtorta, 21 20127, Milan, Italy

CIRCLE 39 ON READERSERVICE CARD

ess gets it togetherCopyright 1972 by Electrostatic Sound Systems, Inc.

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ess has all you need to turn onsound as clear as lightESS LOUDSPEAKERSTRANSTATICTRANSLINEARSEVENNINETEMPESTSATELLITE 4Four channelloudspeaker system

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ESS SPECIAL PRODUCTSSuperb Stereo ImportsDECCAInternational tone armsMark V London cartridgesSTAR'Electrostatic headphonesMicro -bearing tone armsARISTONPrecision turntables

'Western States

How much added frequency responseshould I expect in using Crolyn tape as op-posed to a good ferric oxide brand?-AllanMesko, Lima. Peru.Chromium dioxide tapes (of which DuPont's Crolyn is the best known) don't offergreater frequency response as such. In lay-man's terms, they offer greater "room" forfitting information into a given length oftape. This property can be used in a num-ber of ways, depending on the design of therecorder. Some equipment makers use it topack extra high -frequency information(that is, more extended high -frequency re-sponse) into the recorded signal; othersuse it to allow recording at higher levels, ineffect, and therefore to keep the signal far-ther above inherent noise levels. Or the ex-tra room can be used to prevent distortedsound on short -duration peaks (for addedheadroom, as an engineer would put it). Infine, the added room means added per-formance; to attempt measurement of theimprovement in terms of frequency re-sponse alone is meaningless.

I have a Panasonic RS -820S (The Bain-bridge) stereo FM/AM receiver with built-in 8 -track recorder. I had thought I coulduse its amplifier for the front channels if I

converted to four -channel stereo, using aSansui QS -500 for the back channels: butthe RS -820S has no tape monitor connec-tions. How would I connect the QS -500 intothe system?-Ronald W. Mannon. FPO.New York.Unless you're willing to make internalchanges in the Panasonic, it looks as ifyou're out of luck. The RS -820S is not whatwe would consider one of Panasonic'smore flexible models. (It's really a com-pact.) You could connect a speaker -matrixadapter like the Dynaco Quadaptor to theoutput terminals of the Panasonic and addonly a second pair of speakers. This willgive you matrix decoding of sorts-but willgive neither the precise parameters of QSdecoding, the discrete -quadraphonic in-put, nor the variety of control options of-fered by the Sansui. A suggestion: nexttime, choose real components, not a com-pact.

In your report on the Heath AD -110 cas-sette -deck kit [September 1972] you omitany mention of wow and flutter. If this is anew policy regarding tape -machine test-ing, I must protest. In the same report yougive the speed error as 1.2°. fast (not anunusual figure) and say that this error willcause a correctly recorded tape to "sound

too hotto handle

about a -Of tone up in pitch." A half tonerepresents a change in frequency closer to6%. What's going on?-Allen WatsonSan Francisco, Calif.A half tone does, as you say, represent adifference in pitch of some 6%: and wewere wrong to characterize the relativelyminor discrepancy in the AD -110 as "abouta half tone." It is, however, somewhatpoorer than par for the better cassettedecks today, where speed error often runsa little under 1%. The omission of wow andflutter data was not intentional. Due to amakeup error the entire "additional data"box was left out, though the speed -errordata were discussed in the text. In addition,the lab clocked 0.15% wow and flutter inplayback and 0.17% in record /playback; arewind time (for a C-60 cassette) of 1 min.,54 sec.. and a fast -forward time 3 sec.longer; playback Si N ratios of 50 dB (leftchannel) or better; record / playback S/Nof 45.5 oB (left channel) or better: erasureof 59 dB; crosstalk of 39 dB (record right,play left) or better; aux input sensitivity of90 mV (either channel): mike sensitivity of0.29 mV (right channel) or better: metertracking (with respect to the DIN 0 VU) of 6dB high (both channels); maximum outputfrom DIN 0 VU of 1.1 V (left channel) and1.3 V (right channel); and IM distortion at-10 VU of 7.5% (left channel) or better.Good figures. all; both a confirmation ofand a basis for our statement that the AD -110 is a very desirable unit in its non -Dolbyclass.

A reliable stereo dealer recently told methat components purchased abroad in mil-itary commissaries have a different designand are of inferior quality by comparison tothe same models sold in the United States.

I was interested in buying the Sony 580open -reel deck abroad, but now I'm notsure I should. What do you think?-RonDomingue, Wallingford, Corn.It's not really a question of product qualityso much as one of product servicing. Someunits sold overseas differ in circuitry (par-ticularly in the power supply section) fromunits carrying the same model number butsold here. The change can cause problemsfor a service technician, since he normallywill have only the U.S. service manual(showing the wrong circuitry) to work from.Beware of warranty problems in particular.Superscope, the U.S. importer of Sony tapeproducts, is unusual (though not unique) inthat it will honor warranties on models itsells even if the particular unit was notbought through Superscope. Most U.S. im-

porters state flatly that if they made noprofit on the sale, they have no way of fund-ing warranty repairs.

The clarity and range of the sound, to-gether with the balances between orches-tra and singers. in the DGG recording ofthe Met's farewell to Rudolph Bing are top-notch. Yet it was recorded in the same the-ater and presumably under the same con-ditions that apply for the Saturdayafternoon Met broadcasts. Surely Ameri-can broadcast engineers, working on aregular basis and in mono. should be abletc do at least as well as a German crew set-ting up for the first time and with the addedcomplexities of stereo recording. Are thestandards of our broadcast industry reallythat antiquated?-Daniel Waxier, Dover,

A host of factors can influence the com-parison you suggest. You're presumablylistening to the Met broadcasts via whatmight be called the direct feed to WQXR-FM, New York. Listeners in the rest of thecountry aren't so lucky; their stations mustget the signal via land lines that don't doanything good for signal quality. Thatknowledge is enough to dim the en-thusiasm of even the most devoted ofbroadcast engineers. Then there's thequestion of visible microphones. Presum-ably DGG was allowed placement optionsthat the Met would discourage for use dur-ing full-length presentations as disruptiveo' the stage "picture." But most important.in our guess, would be economic consider-ations. Recently published memoranda ofthe Bing era make it clear that a DGGrecording project was discussed long be-fore the farewell gala. And such projectscan raise extra revenue for under-nourished Met coffers. A DGG Carmenconducted by Bernstein is now under wayas a matter of fact; but if you could recordan equally attractive (though mono) Bern-stein Carmen off the air, you would be lesslikely to buy the commercial recordings-and therefore the Met would have lesshope of the extra revenue. While we don'tlike to think that the Met has deliberatelylimited the quality of the broadcasts, its offi-cers obviously have little reason to makethe sound really superb.

Why is it that whenever I get interested in atuner it turns out to be available for FMoily? The Citation 14 and Citation 15. theDynaco FM -5, and the Heathkit AJ-1510look particularly good at the moment: butyou can't buy comparable AM tuners and Idon't want to be without AM.-Elton Morse.Amarillo, Tex.You can buy the Dyna FM -5 with AM aswell; in that form it's known as the AF -6.Apparently manufacturers have found thatmost buyers of sophisticated (and expen-sive) separate tuners tend to look downtheir noses at AM and are therefore unwill-ing to spend even a little more for the "in-ferior" broadcast medium. The result isthat buyers in the boondocks, wherethere's limited choice in available FM pro-gramming, feel shortchanged-particularlysince listeners in such areas often need avery good AM section as well in order topill in distant stations.

\\i 31

news andviews

QuadraphonicsandObsolescencePrevention"Should I buy quadraphonics?" "Which systems willsurvive the next two or three years?" Be assured you'renot alone in your uncertainty about four -channel. Man-ufacturers also cannot afford to invest in a product thatwill be out of date in a few months. Thus while no com-ponent can be all things to all users, manufacturers andtheir customers share a common interest in avoiding in-stant obsolescence.

We recently visited one company (Harman-Kardon)that had sampled customer feedback on quadra-phonics via questions to some two hundred visitingdealers. These questions included: Do customers askto see stereo or quadraphonics in the stores? (Gener-ally stereo was the answer.) Is it best to stress the stereocapabilities of the units and only mention four -channelfunctions in passing, or should the emphasis be onquadraphonics? (Again, most of the dealers thoughtthat stereo was the bigger enticement.) Even at thispoint the company avoids labeling the four models of itsnew receiver line either "quadraphonic" or "stereo."And each model's amplifier section can operate notonly as a quadraphonic system, but as two independentstereo systems, or even "strapped" to produce a singlebut higher -powered stereo amp.

This approach is typical of U.S. manufacturers, mostwhom are hedging on an exclusively four -channel ap-proach.

Japanese companies, however, are often opting forquadraphonics at the expense of stereo versatility. Butif H -K's dealers were any indication of the generalAmerican attitude, 2-channel/4-channel versatilitywould appear to be the best approach for now in theU.S.

Motorola and thePiezoelectric TweeterMotorola has developed a unique tweeter. It has nomagnet, no voice coil, no air gap, and-when incorpo-rated into a multidriver system-it requires no crossovernetwork. It operates on the piezoelectric principlewhereby mechanical stress on crystal elements can betranslated to electrical voltage (as in ceramic pickups)and vice versa (as in this new speaker).

Piezoelectric transducers are said to convert moreenergy with less heat-that is, they are more efficient-than dynamic transducers. The tweeter is constructed

of two oppositely polarized ceramic discs separated bya corrugated center element. An input voltage causesone disc to expand rapidly while the other contracts.The design repertedly delivers 100 dB at 4 volts rms, will

handle 35 volts rms continuously without burning out,and can be used with dynamic drivers of varying imped-ances.

Motorola says it hopes to introduce the principle infull -range speakers and in flat, planar radiators.

Standards Dept.. U.S. Army Div.,Video Sect.It's axiomatic that the videotape picture-at least inforecasting the home market-will continue cloudy untilthere is more agreement on standards, or at least untilsoftware manufacturers can tell with some reliabilitywhich videotape systems have enough acceptance tomake the mass production of blank tapes and prere-corded programs worthwhile. The U.S. Army (of allpeople) recently gave one system a noticeable nudge.Commenting that its present 600 recorders had rackedup an excellent reliability record, it decided to standard-ize on the Sony U-Matic videocassette system for futurepurchases, which are expected to bring the army's totalrecorder ownership in this format up to as much as10,000 units by the end of next year.

Sony Corp. may not be quite as pleased with this an-nouncement as one might presume. The last time thearmy complimented the company it was on the quality ofits small TV monitor units, which the army had been us-ing as part of a TV -guided bomb system. That news trig-gered a prompt note of complaint from Sony to the U.S.Ambassador in Tokyo. Sony, it seems, considers itsproducts to be entirely peaceful and was unhappy tofind them being requisitioned for military use. One majorarmy use for the U-Matics will be in training procedures;another will be for entertainment in army hospitals.

32 Fil(i II FIDE 1.1 I Y NO At INI:

More powerto you from Nikko!Over the years we have developed since adopted.many innovations to make our homeelectronics products the mostadvanced. We were the first to buildtransistorized hi-fi components inthe early days of transistor tech-nology.

We designed and patented minia-ture circuit breakers to replace pro-tective fuses in the output circuits ofour electronic components. A featurewhich many other companies have

And our electronics technologyenables you to purchase a newreceiver with the highest power out-put per dollar spent.

Our new 7070 AM/FM StereoReceiver is a good example. Inside ithas FET front end, FM muting circuit,low noise, low distortion electronics(only 0.5% distortion at rated power),34 watts of RMS power per channel,both channels driven (8 ohms) and

direct -coupled amplifier output. Out-side the 7070 features champagnegold front with blue black -out dialand lighted tuning indicator, tape dub-bing switches and 4 -channel com-posite output for add-on decoders.

So add the new look of Nikko toyour home: our new 7070.

For complete story including dem-onstration, see your local authorizedNikko dealer or write to us for com-plete literature and specifications.

New NIKKO 7070AM/FM Stereo Receiver

only$269.95

(Including walnut cabinet)Or write to us for literature: NIKKO Lectric - 5001 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, Ca. 91601.

Or, 200 Rte. 110, Unit 4, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735.In Canada contact: William Cohen Corp., Montreal; Branch Office: Toronto

CIRCLE 41 ON READER -SERVICE CARD33JANUARY 1973

equipment in thenews

APL pentagonal speaker system

The APL -16, a new speaker system from Applied Physics Labora-tory, is designed to distribute acoustic energy uniformly at all au-dible frequencies and to be capable of producing very high sound -pressure levels. To do this, the unit uses sixteen identical full -range41/2 -inch high -compliance drivers-four facing outward at the frontand twelve radiating from the back panels-within a single airtight in-finite baffle. All drivers are coupled in phase and driven through apassive equalizer. The APL -16 is recommended for use with ampli-fiers delivering at least 30 watts of continuous power per channeland is said to be capable of handling 200 watts per channel. Price:$387.50.


Capacitance pickup from Toshiba

The C-401 S phono cartridge from Toshiba America uses the styluscantilever arm as one plate of an electret condenser transducer. In-tegrated -circuit amplifiers built into the cartridge amplify the signalsfrom this transducer and feed them to the SZ-200 equalizer. Thepickup system is said to have a dynamic range approaching 100 dBand a frequency response of 20 to 35,000 Hz. The C -401S and SZ-200 retail at $129.95. The new cartridge also is available as part ofthe Toshiba SR -80 belt -driven turntable unit costing $299.95.


Automatic shutoff device from HR

A novel accessory from the HR Manufacturing Co., Inc., of Sarasota,Florida could be a boon for the absent-minded. It is the Model SAC -1, the letters standing for Signal -Activated Control. With the SAC -1connected into the stereo system, everything runs normally as longas there's a signal going to the loudspeakers. When the signal stops.the SAC -1 will shut off the system after ten minutes. The price is$39.95.


Kenwood's KR -5200 receiver

Kenwood has designed the KR -5200 stereo FM /AM receiver withdirect -coupled output for wideband response and low distortion.Rated at 30 watts per channel continuous power with both channelsdriven into 8 ohms, the receiver has connections for two tape decks,inputs for two aux sources, a front -panel microphone jack, and sep-arate preamp output connections on the rear panel. The KR -5200is priced at $349.95.


New Garrard turntable moduleGarrard is offering its 42M Pre -Pack, a three -speed record changer,complete with a Shure or Pickering magnetic cartridge with ellipticalstylus. The 42M /S contains a Shure M75ECS cartridge, while the42M P features a Pickering V-15 APE -4. The turntable is deliveredwith the chosen cartridge premounted and the tone arm balanced.The complete unit, with either cartridge, sells for $90.85.


34CIRCLE 45 ON READER -SERVICE CARD -AI.

Our Schannel receiverscan change the sizeofyour living room.

Just move one slide control.And suddenly the room seemsdeeper. Another slide controlAnd it seems wider. The soundappears to move. Until speakerseparation is just right for you.No matter how big or smallyour room is. With Panasonic'sAcoustic Field Dimension (AFD).Only in our discrete 4 -channel re-ceivers. Models SA -6800X andSA -6400X.

Panasonic feels that the dis-crete sound system is the best for4 -channel. Whether you're listen-ing to 8 -track tapes or CompatibleDiscrete 4 -channel (CD -4) rec-ords. Like RCA Quadradiscs.

Of course, these receivers canalso handle matrix. Which makesAFD even more important. Be-cause most encoding systems formatrix records have their own op -

am,

finial speaker separations.Another benefit for matrix 7e-

cordirigs is out phase shifter. Ithas three differentsetting that ccrre-spond to the Li -las-ing of the var_ousmatrix systems Sovirtually any matrixcan be played.

All our receivers also make surethat the stereo collection you'veamassed won't go to waste. Youcan play it straight. Or en lance it_With our Quack -up circ iitry.

Of oourse, there are otherfeatures in these Panasonics.Like our single lever remotebalance control. It lets you con-trol thebalance of all four chan-nels. Fracas your easy chair. Andas for the SA -6800X specs, wethink you'll find them as inter-

esting as Its special features.Model SA -6400X gives you 150watts IHF at 4 ohms. With many

of the same specsas Model SA -6800X.

So go to your fran-chised PanasonicHi-Fi dealer for your

4 -channel receiver. It's the onlyway to make sure you get onethat's tke right size for your liv-ing roon. Whatever its size.

MCDE _ SA -68C0)Power IHF) 300 wa.ts at 4 onmaHernoric dislort on 0.5Powertarandwkith 7Hz-401(Hz, -3c BFM isable

sensi ivity 1.80YCaptain) ratio IHr) 1.5d3

recording

FOR YOUR DEAREST FRANCHISEDFeNASONIC H -Fl DEALER, CALL TOLL FREE803 243-600C. 14 CONN., --800 882-6500

PanasonicHi Fi 4 -Charnel Receivers

'S

`.,

"or.

Straight talk about a rtylur

Listen carefully and you can still hear some audiophiles refer to the recordstylus as ... "the needle." Although we are not about to quibble oversemantics, we would like to go on record, so to speak, as observing that thestylus of today bears no more resemblance to a needle than it does to aten -penny nail. In fact, it is probably the most skillfully assembled, criticallyimportant component in any high fidelity system. It must maintain flawlesscontact with the undulating walls of the record groove - at the whisper -weight tracking forces required to preserve the fidelity of your recordsthrough repeated playings. We put everything we know into our ShureStereo Dynetic Stylus Assemblies - and we tell all about it in an informa-tive booklet. "Visit To The Small World Of A Stylus." For your copy, write:Shure Brothers Inc. r222 Hartrey Ave., Evanston, III. 60204 A


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All the Stem° .t to Hear and Quadraphonics Too

NewEquipment

1973 jF ,.

HIGHFIDELITYHow to Make Your Record -Playing

Components Compatible

For the full story of music andmusic makers today. be sure toinclude MUSICAL AMERICA aspart of your HIGH FIDELITY sub-scription.

In 32 sparkling pages. MUSICALAMERICA covers the live musi-cal scene completely. You'll getnews. reviews and reports of im-.portant musical events all overthe world - written by critics whoknow the score and how to writeabout it with wit as well as au-ithority. You'll meet today's out-standing conductors. composersand performers... learn hcw theywork and live . . . what they think,and say about music-and abouteach other.

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(MUSICAL AMERICA is availableonly by subscription .. . and only,with HIGH FIDELITY. It is notsold on newsstands. Another im-portant reason for you to use thesubscription card now.)

KLH has always made a lot of very good loud-speakers. Now we make a Jot of very good receiv-ers, too. And like our loudspeakers, our receiversdeliver an inordinate amount of performance at avery modest price. For instance our new ModelFifty -Five is an AM/FM stereo receiver with power,dependability and every feature you cou'd pos-sibly want-all for $199.95 Team it with our niftyModel Thirty -Two loudspeakers and our new auto-matic turntable made especially for us by Garrard(includes base, dust cover, Pickering cartridge anddiamond needle) and you've got a super sys-

'Suggested retail price.

tem for just about $300! Or step up to a pair ofSixes with the Model Fifty -Two. Or match a pair ofSeventeens with the Model Fifty -One. Or simply mixand match them anyway they sound best to you.It's fun. It's easy. And it really doesn't cost a wholelot of money. So why settle for someone else's "bar-gain" system, when you can get the best for less?Complete fah component music systems. At yourKLH dealer now.

For more information on KLH components, writeto KI.H Research and Development Corporation,30 Cross Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02139.

Nowyou Ord,

KLH

and matcha complete

KLH componentmusic system

for as little as $300.1111111111111 111111111111111111i,...1 i;:1'

KLH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COPt30 Cross St., Cambridge, Moss. 02139


39

Continued from page 34

Dolbyized cassette deck from Panasonic

The RS -276 cassette deck is one of several with Dolby B noise re-duction circuitry introduced this year by Panasonic. It also has atwo -motor drive system, a memory rewind feature, bias adjustmentfor chromium dioxide tape, automatic stop at the end of the tape, alockable pause control, and separate VU meters for each channel.The price is $399.95.


Audio-Technica introduces phono cartridge line

A new line of phono cartridges from Audio-Technica uses a dualmoving magnet design to provide, the company says, better trackingability and extended response. The Model AT -14S (shown) has anude Shibata stylus on a tapered cantilever and tracks at 3/4 to 11/2grams. The price is $69.95. Other models range from the AT -10(spherical stylus. $19.95) to the limited -edition, hand -selectedAT -15S (nude Shibata stylus, $150).


Beomaster 3000-2 Stereo Recetver from Denmark

Write for free B&O catalog Dept. D 2271 Devon Ave, Elk Grove Village, Illinois 6000

From Denmarkfor discerningAmericans.Do you appreciate subtle differencesin the reproduction of fine music?We do.

We are Bang and Olufsen. one of themost respected manufacturers ofelectronic products in all of Europe.We have perfected a stereo systemthat combines sophisticated ele::-tronic circuitry with the restrained ela-gance of Scandinavian design.

We'd like you to know more about us.The Museum of Modern Art knows JSwell enough to have placed our workin their permanent design collection.Once you review the B & 0 systemyou'll probably share the Museum'sappreciation for our Beovox speakersand unique Beomaster 3000-2 FMStereo Receiver The receiver, for in-

stance, features ceramic filters. fieldeffect transistors and integrated cir-cuits for superior performance andsensitivity. There is the convenierceof precision slide tuning and varactordiodes to simplify station pre -sett ngand selection. Other advantages areinputs for a turntable and two tcpedecks. plus outputs for two sets ofspeakers.

Bang &Olufsen


The best time to upgradeyour component system

is before you buy it.If you're a typical reader of this

magazine, you most likely have a sizeableinvestment in a component system. So ouradvice about upgrading might come a little late.

What you might have overlooked,however, is the fact that your records are thecostliest and most fragile component of all. Aswell as the only one you will continue to irvest in.

And since your turntable is the onlycomponent that handles these valuable records,advice about upgrading your turntable is betterlate than never.

Any compromise here will be costly.And permanent. Because there is just no wayto improve a damaged record.

If the stylus can't respond accurately andsensitively to the rapidly changing contours ofthe groove walls, especially the hazardouspeaks and valleys of the high frequencies,there's trouble. Any curve the stylus can'tnegotiate, it may lop off. And with those littlebits of vinyl go the high notes and port ofyour investment.

If the record doesn't rotate at preciselythe correct speed, musical pitch will bedistorted. No amplifier tone controls cancorrect this distortion.

If the motor isn't cuiet and free ofvibration, an annoying rumble will accompanythe music. You can get rid of rumble by usingthe bass control, but only at the expense ofthe bass you want o hear.

Experienced component owners knowall this. Which is why so many of them,especially record reviewers and other musicexperts, won't play their records on anythingbut a Dual. From the first play on.

Now, if you'd like to know what severalindependent test labs say about Dual, we'llsend you complete reprints of their reports.Plus a reprint of an article from a leadingmusic magazine telling you what to look for inrecord playing equipment. Whether you'reupgrading or not.

Better yet, just visit your franchised UnitedAudio dealer and ask for a demonstration.

You'll find Dual automatic turntablespriced from $109.50 to $199.50. That may bemore than you spent on your present turntable,or more than you were intending to spend onyour next one.

But think of it this way. It will be a long,long tine before you'll need to upgrade yourDual.

United Audio Products, Inc. 120 So. Columbus Ave., Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 10553

JANUARY 1973CIRCLE 19 ON READERSERVICE CARD

41

At Last -An Up -to -Dateby Peter E Suthe m Tuners and

WHERE BROADCASTING IS concerned, high fidelityand stereo FM have become virtually synonymous;and FM tuners and receivers today invariably in-clude the multiplex circuitry necessary to stereo re-ception. Yet high fidelity product specificationsrarely include much information on stereo per-formance of FM circuitry, and the IHF (Institute ofHigh Fidelity) standard on FM tuner testing-pro-mulgated in mono days-makes no mention ofstereo. So while we buy our FM equipment forstereo listening, our choice must be based on infor-mation relevant only to mono performance.

Not that FM receiver design has been standingstill for ten years. On the contrary. two innovationsof the early Sixties have been like whips crackingover the designers' heads: the FCC's 1961 decisionto permit the multiplexed broadcasts themselvesand the widespread application of the transistor(and, later, the integrated circuit). The demandsmade on circuitry by the need to handle and de-code multiplexed information, plus the adapt-ability of solid-state devices to even the most com-plex circuit configurations, has brought a sophis-tication and refinement to present equipment thatsurpasses that of a decade ago.

The use of ICs and field-effect transistors (FETs)literally transformed many areas of electronics-not just in terms of their compactness, economy ofmanufacture, and reliability, but in circuit designitself-in the kinds of choices an engineer makes tosolve a design problem. Designs that were un-wieldy or even inconceivable with tubes, and arestill uneconomically complex with discrete transis-tors, have become standard with ICs. The resultsare usually pleasing in every way: They work bet-ter; they cost less to manufacture; they are more re-liable, more compact, and more convenient.

The price of stereo is not only greater complexityin the transmitting and receiving equipment, but-perhaps more important in this context-poorersignal-to-noise ratios in the signals themselves. Un-questionably, when a channel of given capacitytransmits more information, that information be-comes more vulnerable to disruption by noise-meaning unwanted signals or random disturb -The author, a former audio editor of Radio -Electronics, is aprofessional recordist and audio consultant.

ances. While most of us are aware of a usual in-crease in background noise level, and sometimesdistortion, when we switch from mono reception tostereo, we tend to forget that this degradation ofsignal-to-noise ratio is largely an inherent conse-quence of transmitting stereo instead of mono.

There are definite theoretical limits to how welleven the best possible tuner can perform when ithas to handle a stereo signal. A stereo signal con-tains more information than a mono signal-namely, the stereo "difference" information thatsorts out left and right components within the"sum" signal we call mono. A subcarrier that formspart of the FM station's signal transmits this differ-ence information. The subcarrier. a 19 -kHz pilotsignal (to keep the receiver's demultiplexing syn-chronized with the transmitter's multiplexing), alittle extra space for the fallibilities of availablefilters, and still more space to allow for a back-ground -music subcarrier (the well-known SCAsubchannel)-all this drastically increases the in-formation "loading" of the FM channel.

The greater bandwidth required to accom-modate all of this information makes a stereo tunermore susceptible to noise than an equivalent monotuner. FM theory can calculate the amount of deg-radation quite precisely, and it works out to ap-proximately 23 dB as long as the peak noise inten-sity is not much greater than one tenth of the peaksignal strength. Other design systems could havebeen used-and were tested-that would have de-graded stereo performance less. but only at the ex-pense of compatibility with SCA reception or ofmore complicated circuitry.

This does not mean that the ultimate program -to -noise ratio of stereo reception must be 23 dBworse than mono reception. Clearly, good stereoreception gives just as quiet a background as onegets from the best mono broadcast. What it doesmean is that even with theoretically perfect equip-ment the RF (radio -frequency) input signalstrength must be about 23 dB greater to produce agiven degree of quieting (suppression of noise anddistortion) with a stereo signal received in thestereo mode than with a mono signal received inthe mono mode. A 23 -dB increase in voltage corre-sponds to a factor of approximately 14. Thus if 10


Approach to Stereo FMReceivers The fixation with mono FM sensitivity

as a performance index can be misleading.

microvolts will produce an acceptable level of qui-eting in mono, it will take about 140 microvolts toproduce the same degree of suppression of totalnoise, hum, and distortion in stereo, all other thingsbeing equal.

That fact can be interpreted in several ways. Onesomewhat simplistic interpretation would have youmove in toward the transmitter (say, from 70 milesaway to 5 miles away) to get the same quality of re-ception in stereo as you do in mono. While unrea-listic, this dramatizes how drastically you lose cov-erage when you receive a stereo broadcast in thestereo mode. Further on, I'll offer suggestions onwhat to do about that.

Getting the Facts

The only existing U.S. measurement standard forFM tuners was published in December 1958, sometwo -and -a -half years before stereo FM broad-casting officially began, by the IHF (then theIHFM-Institute of High Fidelity Manufacturers).While not explicitly giving performance criteria,the IHF did standardize measurement techniquesand procedures so that results of tests made by dif-ferent labs on different tuners could be comparedmeaningfully. The question is: How well does thestandard accomplish its goal?

The measurement procedures themselves implycertain assumptions about the performance oftuners-assumptions that now may be invalid inthese days of stereo broadcasting and tremendoustechnical improvements. For example, sensitivity isto be measured by using a 30 -dB suppression of to-tal hum, noise. and distortion below the level of theaudio. A 30 -dB signal-to-noise ratio is excellentfor communications where intelligibility is all thatis demanded; it is barely adequate (if that) for highfidelity music reproduction. In this and many otherexamples, the standard's authors may have beenovercautious or excessively eager to see that nomanufacturer's tuner would look too bad whenmeasured by the specified procedures. Any decenttuner now, some fourteen years later, will still givea respectable sensitivity figure (that is, a nice lownumber) for 40- or perhaps even 50 -dB quieting.

which is much more meaningful. We have learnedalso that sensitivity as such is hardly the most im-portant of ten or so specifications that can be ap-plied to an FM tuner. Yet, like the horsepower of acar or the output power of an amplifier, it has be-come the popular number one thinks of first anduses most to characterize the unit. The blame forthat rests partly with the IHF standard and over-zealous advertising based on it.

Through a combination of excusable ignorance,lack of foresight, and inexcusable commercial pres-sure, the IHF standard for tuners is clearly inade-quate for mono FM. But more important now, it of-fers little help in checking a tuner's performance onstereo signals. Although the bulk of musical FMbroadcasting today is in stereo, neither manufac-turers nor magazines in this country have beenpublishing sensitivity or quieting characteristicsmeasured in the stereo mode. In this respect thestereo data provided by CBS Laboratories for theaccompanying illustrations represent a radical de-parture.

Since stereo channel separation curves and har-monic distortion figures are obvious gauges ofstereo reproduction quality, they always have beenshown. But it is less well known that a tuner's sensi-tivity-the signal voltage required at its antennaterminals to produce a specified amount of sup-pression of noise and distortion-is always theoret-ically poorer in stereo than in mono. A tuneraligned for the best possible performance on stereosignals needs a slightly greater signal from its an-tenna than a tuner similarly aligned for mono. Toput it differently, a tuner aligned for the best IHFsensitivity only (smallest number of microvolts fora 30 -dB suppression of hum, noise, and distortion)may perform very poorly in other, more importantways-especially when receiving stereo. Again, sen-sitivity as such is a relatively unimportant gauge ofa tuner's quality.

There is no simple correlation between any onetuner's sensitivity figure for stereo reception andthat for mono. The relationship depends on severalfactors in the design of the tuner-factors that in-fluence other performance characteristics as well.By understanding the implications and inter-relationships of the data presented with tuner test

JANUARY 1973 43

reports you can easily judge how a particular tunerwill perform in your situation.

Note the steepness of a tuner's quieting (sensi-tivity -vs. -limiting) curve as discussed in many arti-cles in this magazine ["How to Understand OurFM Test Reports," HF, February 1972] and else-where. This is more important than the exact valueat which the curve crosses the 30 -dB quieting line(its IHF sensitivity rating). The curve shouldplunge quite rapidly to very nearly the lowest noiseand distortion the tuner can manage (preferably-50 dB or better), and it should reach that valuewhen the input signal voltage is between 10 and 50microvolts-the lower the better. The (mono) curveshown in the illustration for the Panasonic SA -5800is an excellent example. With the signal strength atthe tuner's antenna terminals at only 20 microvolts,the total hum, noise, and distortion ("total gar-bage," as one engineer calls it) is 57 dB below a full-strength (100% modulated) 400 -Hz tone. The Dy-naco FM -5, the Fisher 801, and the Pioneer SX-626, also shown, have excellent quieting curves inthat respect.

It is important to recognize that the IHF stand-ard calls for measuring sensitivity with respect toallundesirable material at the tuner's output-not justrandom noise (hiss). Therefore a relatively highminimum quieting figure (say -40 dB) could becaused by hiss, hum, or distortion. The curve doesnot distinguish between them, although distortionmeasurements do. Since a level of -40 dB below100% modulation corresponds to 1% of that modu-lation level, the curve will never fall below the -40-dB line no matter how well the tuner suppresseshiss or impulse noise if the tuner's residual distor-tion is 1%. Poor limiter design or insufficiently wideIF or detector bandwidth could result in such a com-paratively mediocre figure. In the latter case, thedeficiency should also show up as high distortion instereo (shown in the report's "Additional Data"box), poor stereo separation, and probably alsopoor capture ratio.

Now look at the stereo curves. Their slope alwayswill be less steep than that of a mono curve for thesame tuner. Sometimes the measurement is madeonly from the point where the automatic mono/stereo switching circuitry in the tuner "decides" thesignal has acceptably low noise; where the tunerpermits, measurements are made right down to the30 -dB quieting point.

Frequently the stereo curve bottoms out at avalue well above that for mono reception. Again,just looking at this pair of curves offers no way ofknowing whether the stereo multiplex decoding cir-cuitry, the IF stages, or the detector is at fault.Ideally, the stereo and mono curves should con-verge as the signal gets greater (that is, as theymove toward the right in the graph). If the beststereo performance falls noticeably short of thebest mono performance, the tuner is not as good asit might be.

If you live in a fringe area, you should look for atuner whose curve shows that its total noise and dis-tortion reaches an acceptably low value at a low RFinput voltage in the stereo mode. As an example, ex-amine the curve for the Panasonic SA -5800. Eventhough its stereo quieting figures always are about8 dB poorer than the corresponding mono figures,the stereo curve for this tuner indicates that you willbe able to receive at least acceptable stereo (noiseand distortion 40 dB or more below 100% modula-tion) at signal values from 10 microvolts upward.Such reproduction can roughly be compared tostereo from pre -Dolby cassettes and other slow -speed tapes of a few years ago-not great but per-haps good enough to be enjoyed if you're not afterthe ultimate in high fidelity sound.

Contrast this with the less attractive curves in thisgroup. The threshold circuitry of these models maynot allow the tuner to switch to the stereo mode un-til input signal is much stronger-even as high as 30microvolts or more. And the tuner may barelyreach a quieting figure of 40 dB in stereo. (Onceagain, however, sensitivity curves tell only part ofthe story in tuner performance, and it would be amistake to reject any model on this basis alone.)

Some Positive Approaches

Now, what can be done to fill that 23 -dB gap be-tween mono and stereo performance? Try sepa-rately or together:

1. Changing the location of the receiving antenna.Increasing its height is especially helpful. Otherthings being equal, at moderate distances from atransmitter, doubling the receiving -antenna heightroughly doubles the signal voltage delivered toyour tuner. In addition, raising the antenna oftenincreases its distance from noise -causing RFsources, like the ignition systems of passing cars. Ifyou are in the "shadow" of a hill, there may not bemuch you can do unless you can put your antennaon the hill. FM, like television (which is in the samegeneral part of the electromagnetic spectrum), isbasically a line -of -sight propagation medium. Youget the best results when the receiving antenna can"see" the transmitting antenna.

2. Using a more directional antenna. A VHFantenna with several elements is usually designedto capture signals more effectively from one direc-tion than from others. Besides intercepting more ofthe desired signal, a directional antenna can greatlyreduce interference, both co -channel (from a sta-tion on the same frequency as the desired one orfrom multipath reception) and adjacent -channel(from a signal on the channel next to the desiredone). Used with a tuner that has a good capture ra-tio and good alternate channel selectivity, a di-rectional antenna can produce excellent receptionwhere it seemed impossible before. But unless allthe signals you want to receive are within a fairly


For the First Time in FM Testing:Stereo Sensitivity CurvesAs the accompanying article points out, high fidelity FM components are in-variably stereo; yet no standard for the measurement of stereo sensitivity andquieting characteristics has existed for FM tuners and recek ars, and with veryfew exceptions these parameters have consequently gone Jnspecified. Thatlack is being remedied in all our tests of FM equipment beginning with this is-sue's test report section, which will include the stereo sens :ivity or thresholdfigures together with the stereo quieting curve.

The stereo testing method represents a logical extension of our mono meas-urements, which are based on IHF standards. The FM carrier lrequency is mod-ulated with a 400 -Hz tone, and the tuner's resultant audio output is measuredfor quieting (i.e., its freedom from noise and distortion, in dB) at various carrierinput levels (in microvolts). Flotting these points with the carder frequency setnear the middle of the FM band (at 98 MHz) provides the quieting curve. Sensi-tivity is defined as the input level for which the output is minirr ally (30 dB) abovethe level of noise and distortion. This point is measured not c ily at 98 MHz, butat the extremes of the FM band as well: 90 and 106 MHz.

So far, the method described is equally appropriate whether mono or stereomeasurements are being made; the only difference between :hem is the addingof a multiplex subcarrier to the stereo input. But as RF input s reduced the au-tomatic mono/stereo switching in many tuners and receivers reverts to monooutput, even with stereo broadcasts, before quieting has reached 30 dB, pre-venting stereo sensitivity measurements. When this happens we show the min-imum input (in microvolts) for which the tuner circuit will produce a stereo out-put, and the quieting (in dB) that it achieves for that sterec threshold value.This, too, is tested at all three carrier frequencies.

Almost a year ago, before beginning the present stereo testing program, weasked CBS Laboratories to check these areas of performance on all FM equip-ment we sent them for test -report documentation. Neither the lab nor our edi-tors knew precisely what they would find, of course. While tr- eoretically a fairlyconsistent relationship might show up between the stereo curves and theirmono counterparts, we all doubted that this would be so And the accom-panying illustrations, which are derived from that pilot testing program, provethat our doubts were well founded.

For the pilot tests, the lab did not use quite the method outlined above. Themain difference between that stereo test setup and the regular mono methodwas in the frequency at which the FM carrier was modulated: 1 kHz, rather than400 Hz. As a result, the monc and stereo curves shown here may not be techni-cally comparable (though the indicated sensitivity and/or threshold ratingsshould be). This difference n testing method may, for example, explain whysome stereo curves are slig itly better than their mono counterparts at someinput levels. What the curves do show unequivocally is that there is no reliablecorrelation whatever between mono and stereo performance in FM equipment,and that there oremono measurements are no guide in this respect when youare buying for stereo listening.

Our new testing procedure is, we believe, both sane and iformative. Whileany magazine ikes to feel that it has an "exclusive," we hope Mat ours does notremain so for long. We would rather see stereo measurements of FM quietingand sensitivity replace mono across the board as a description of reference forcomponent performance.

JANUARY 1973 45

0

-10

,c2ce -20

*6 -30Iv

-40

2 -50

2 -601

SENSITIVITY AND QUIETING:Mono and Stereo Compared

The graphs shown here were derived from tests made with stereotuners and receivers submitted for test reports over several months,as described on the previous page. The dotted line in each graphrepresents the mono curve published in our original test report.The heavy, continuous curve is published here for the first time andrepresents stereo performance. Comparable curves, made by amethod more precisely matched to the IHF mono sensitivity testspecifications, appear in five of the test reports elsewhere in this issue.

11

FM SENSITIVITY

MONO (for 30 dB quieting) STEREO THRESHOLD2.0 11V at 90 MHz 5.5µV at 90 MHz (for 35 dB quieting)

1.9 µV et 98 MHz 5.0µ.V at 98 MHz (for 34.5 dB quieting)

1.9 µVat 106 MHz 5.0 µV at 106 MHz (for 34 dB quieting)

LO lie

Pioneer SX626 receiver

co 0

z-10

12ce -20

a*a -30

-40

-50

-601

10 100 1K

RF INPUT IN MICROVOLTS

10K 100K

FM SENSITIVITY

MONO (for 30 dB quieting) STEREO THRESHOLD (ter 30111 golotiog). 1.7 IN at 90 MHz 10 µV at 00 MHz

1.7 iiV at 98 MHz 1.3 146 at 08 Mllz1.6 1.AV at 106 MHz 7.0 µV it 106 MHz

I..-- 1. 7I LV

% e...- 8.3 ue1

%

.,....

Sherwood SEI.300 tuner

co 0

z -10

-20c.)

-30cr)

-40

2 -50CC

601

10 100 1K


10K 100K

\ 1.4

,,e 3.8

FM SENSITIVITY

MONO (for 30 dB quieting) STEREO (for 30 dB quieting)

1.4 µV at90 MHz 4.0 lie at 90 MHz

1.4 iiV at 98 MHz 3.8 iiV at 98 MHz

1.411V at 106 MHz 3.6µV at 198 MHz

Dynaco FM 5 tuner (kit)

10 100 1K


10K 100K

.co 0

z -10

-20

*6 -30

-40

-50cc1--

-601

Harman.Kardon Citation 14 tuner

FM SENSITIVITY

MONO (for 30 dB quieting) STEREO (for 30 dB quietist1.81.1V at 90 MHz 1110 at 90MHz1.8 µVat 98 MHz 4.0 1111 at 98 MHz

1.9µV at 106 MHz 4.0µ1Y at 106 MHz

on 0mzz -10 FM SENSITIVITY

ci MONO (for 30 dB quieting) STEREO THRESHOLD (for 4016 ioletiog).=oe \ 3.5 µV at 90 MHz 40 µV at 110 MHz

-20 \ 2.5 RV at 98 MHz 31 1AV at 98 MHzc.)cm

2.5 µV at 106 MHz 35µY at 100 MHz

*a -30 so.- 2.50LaN5

-40

-50cc-',--o'- -60

1

10 100 1K


10K 100K

,=.co 0

z -10

ce -20U,

*a -30

-40

2 -50

310

Teac AT.201 tuner

10 100 1K 10K 100K


FM SENSITIVITY

MONO (for 30 dB quieting)1.4µV at 90 MHz1.4 µV at 98 MHz1.4 µV at 106 MHz

Panasonic 5A-5800 receiver

STEREO (for 30 dB quieting)2.1 iiV at 90 MHz2.5 I&V at 98 MHz2.71µV at 106 MHz

-------------------------10 100 1K 10K


100K

46 111(,11 111)1.1 11 1 MI(iAZINE

oo 0Ozz -10 .c, \ FM SENSITIVITY

cc % MONO (tor 30 dB quieting) STEREO (for 30 d3 quieting)i-D- -20 \ 2.5 I'Vcn 8.0 p II 2 71i0 at 90 MHz 8.21iV at 90 MHz5 % i 2 5

0/iiV at 98 MHz 8.0 V at 98 MHz

*a -30 ' 2 4 liV at 106 MHzii

7.5 II at 106 MHz

Lacn

%o %

m -40

-50 '- _________________I-

-60 Lafayette LR 44) receiver

1 10 100 1K 10K 100K


co 0O

z -10c,

le -20Ocr,

*a -30fr)5

-40g_50

1---60

1

2 1 pV

2.9

FM SENSITIVITY

MONO (tor 30 dB quieting1.90 at 90 MHz2.1 pV at 98 MHz2.1 oV at 106 MHz

STEREO (for 30 dB quieting)2.5 ii8 at 90 MHz2.9 iiV at 98 MHz3.0 at 106 MHz

------------------------------------

BIC/Lux 7I /3R receiver

10 100 1K 10K 100K


co 0cmzz 10-c) FM SENSITIVITY

%cr% MONO (for 30 dB quieting} STEREO THRESHOLDo- -20 ' 2.0 p0 at 90 MHz 13 i,8 at 90 MHz )for 41.5 dB quieting)c,

E 1.8 01.8 ir1/ at 98 MHz 12 ii8 at 98 MHz (for 41.5 dB quieting)

'5 \I 1.8 tV at 106 MHz 11 iiV at 106 MHz (for 40 dB quieting)

12 Of -40 '

-50.7d ---------------------

-60 F,sher 801 receiver

1 10 100 1K 10K 100K


0c

z -10 FM SENSITIVITY

cc R- 1.9101 MONO (for 30 dB qu eting. STEREO THRESHOLD (for 37 dE quieting)(7, -20 2 11iV at 90 MHz 10 idir at 90 MHz

1 9 irV at 98 MHz 9 at 98MHz2.1 IrV at 106 MHz 11 at 106 MHzoa -30

91,V-40

2 -50

2 - -60Marantz 2270 recr,ver

1 10 100 1K 10K 1008


narrow arc-that is, in nearly the same directionfrom your location-you will need a rotator with adirectional antenna.

3. Getting a better FM tuner. By better. I meanone with greater stereo sensitivity for one thing. Butagain, don't ignore other factors. Unless the tunerhas good alternate -channel selectivity and captureratio, its apparently excellent sensitivity rating maybe meaningless.

A booster probably won't help much unless yourtuner's deficiencies are primarily in sensitivity andthe booster is a very good, up-to-date one-prefera-bly of the type that mounts at the antenna andfeeds an amplified signal down the line. It is not abooster's brute gain (how much it amplifies) thatmatters in this application, but whether or not itsown signal-to-noise ratio is better than that of thetuner's front end. If not, the booster will bring littleor no improvement.

The Other Specs

So far, in order to make certain points clear, wehave dwelt inordinately on sensitivity. Actually it isrelatively unimportant in urban or suburban loca-tions, where typical signal strengths are between1,000 microvolts and several volts (enough to light aflashlight bulb). A glance at the accompanyingcurves will show that almost every tuner hasachieved its maximum possible value of quietingby the time the RF input reaches 100 microvolts.Clearly, sufficient signal strength is not the problemfor most listeners. In fact, some tuners show a deg-radation in quieting as the RF signal strength risesto very high values. The reasons for this differ withthe design. It is the tuner's distortion that rises, notits noise level.

It would be illuminating to know somethingabout the tuner's cross -modulation rejection-espe-cially if the stereo sensitivity curve indicates thatsomething peculiar (like a rise in distortion) hap-pens at high RF levels-in situations in which thetuner will encounter high signal levels. Difficultiesof this sort suggest that the manufacturer has notbeen sufficiently concerned with high RF levels.Cross -modulation results from excessive signal lev-els at the front end of the tuner and generallycauses one or more stations to appear at severalspots on the tuning dial, often right on top of orright next to a weaker station.

If you have this problem with your present tuner,you may be able to reduce it by using a less effec-tive antenna or by reducing antenna height, butonly at the sacrifice of the weaker stations, whichyou then may not be able to hear at all.

Thanks to the field-effect transistor, this is muchless of a problem than it was in the early days oftransistor tuners. A good tuner today shouldhandle an input signal range of 80 dB, or 10,000 to1. In other words, its spec for cross -modulation re -

JANUARY 1973 47

jection figure should be 80 dB. A figure of 70 dB isacceptable, but the higher the better. This may wellbe a most important specification for city dwellers.

If you expect to use a relatively sensitive tuner ina suburban location with a good outdoor antenna,its selectivity (its ability to reject interfering stationson channels near the one you want) is almostequally important. Adjacent -channel selectivity fig-ures express the degree to which the tuner sup-presses the signal from the channels next to the oneyou want. (For example, the channels adjacent to99.5 MHz are 99.3 and 99.7 MHz. FM channels arespaced 200 kHz -0.2 MHz-apart and always endin an odd number.) Alternate -channel selectivityrefers to discrimination against the next adjacentchannel -99i and 99.9 MHz in this example.

The FCC never allocates local stations closerthan four channels (800 kHz) apart-for instance,96.3 and 97.1 MHz. But any decent tuner with amodest antenna will be sensitive enough to get sta-tions from other nearby locations that have beenallocated frequencies in between: say, 96.7 MHz. Itwould be nice if the tuner could separate thosethree stations cleanly, without audible interference.That's where alternate -channel selectivity comesin. While figures of 40 dB once were considered re-spectable, today's quality equipment will do betterthan 60 dB; the higher the figure, the better.

Adjacent -channel selectivity is a delicate matter.It is extremely difficult-some say impossible-todesign IF filters that will pass all the required side -bands for good stereo performance on the desiredchannel (which may require a bandpass of about250 kHz) and still discriminate adequately againstthe sidebands of the adjacent channels' signals.Still, some of the best tuners on the market areable under certain conditions to extract a usablesignal from each of several FM channels only 200kHz apart.

Another vital specification is capture ratio. Thecapture effect is unique to FM-nothing like it ex-ists for AM-and means that a signal only slightlystronger than another signal on the same frequencywill "capture" the detector of an FM tuner and ef-fectively block the weaker signal. The ratio of thestrengths of the stronger (wanted) signal and theweaker (unwanted) signal is called the capture ra-tio. In the best tuners it may be as little as 1 dB; thesmaller the better, but 2 to 3 dB is an excellent fig-ure. A good capture ratio usually works with goodselectivity to make possible the adjacent -channellegerdemain described in the previous paragraph.

A good capture ratio also has a profound effecton a tuner's ability to cope with multipath inter-ference. Multipath reception occurs when the re-ceiving antenna picks up the desired station via twoor more paths of different lengths. One path maybe a direct, line -of -sight path, others may be reflec-tions from hills, aircraft, or tall structures, or all thesignals may be reflected. Because of the different(and sometimes changing) path lengths, they arrive

at different times. causing erratic cancellation andreinforcement of certain sidebands in the FM sig-nal. Any alteration in sidebands creates distortionand, in case of stereo, confusion between channels.A tuner with a good capture ratio, aided if neces-sary by a properly aimed directional antenna, canoften latch onto the strongest signal, beit originalor reflected, and suppress the others into inaudibil-ity.

Capture ratio is intimately related to the band-width of the tuner's detector and to the limiterquality-its AM rejection, or how well the tunersuppresses any changes in the intensity (amplitude)of the signal. Because instantaneous frequency de-viations of the transmitted signal carry the desiredinformation in FM. the receiver can. and should, becompletely insensitive to any changes in carrieramplitude or intensity. Any amplitude modulation(AM) of the carrier represents interference or noiseof some kind-most likely pulse noise from electricmotors, ignition systems, etc., or another FM sta-tion "beating" with the desired one. The better thetuner's ability to reject AM, the more useful it willbe, especially in areas of relatively high electricalnoise, such as cities. AM suppression should be 40to 50 dB or more (the higher the number, the better).

In Search of Sanity

Once you start digging into the theory of FM trans-mission, reception, and tuner design, you almost in-evitably conclude that real improvement in one as-pect of a tuner's performance cannot occur withoutcorresponding improvements in most of its othersignificant aspects. Now and then a new modeldraws attention with a spectacular improvement inone characteristic (too often sensitivity). If the engi-neering effort and the advertising behind the tunerare sincere, there should be similar improvementsin most of the other important characteristics.

If the sensitivity figure, say, seems dispropor-tionately good compared to other features-consid-ering also the price of the unit-suspect "tweaking."Tweaking is a test -bench procedure closely relatedto fudging and finagling. If the hottest sensitivity iswhat you are after, you can get it, but only by dilut-ing virtually every other property of a good tuner:good capture ratio, low stereo distortion, good sep-aration. They all interlock. Hence the need foracross-the-board upgrading if the improvement isto have real meaning for the user.

Most of the gains made in FM tuner design overthe last few years have been real, thanks to manyfactors in circuit design. But the temptation totweaking remains; and as long as mono FM sensi-tivity continues to be the most talked -about specifi-cation in tuner performance, it also will remain theone most likely to be tweaked-usually at the ex-pense of stereo performance.


THE CONSUMER'S GUIDE new equipmentTO HIGH FIDELITY EQUIPMENT reports

Fisher 504:

Top Value in Stereo/Quadraphonic Receiver

THE FIRST FIVE REPORTS in this month's issue are the first in whichstereo (as well as mono) sensitivity and quieting data are presented.For an explanation of this new testing technique, see the announce-ment in the foregoing article.

The Equipment: Fisher 504, a stereo/quadraphonicFM/AM receiver in wood case. Dimensions: 211, by 7 byapprox. 16 inches, including case and projections atback of case. Price: $499.95. Manufacturer: Fisher Ra-dio Corp., 11-40 45th Rd., Long Island City, N Y. 11101.

Comment: The Fisher 504 is so loaded with featuresand so competent in its performance that we can con-fidently say it represents the best value we've yet en-countered in a quadraphonic receiver. Let's begin withthe front panel. Across the top are mode indicator lights(two -channel, SO, four -channel), FM cente,-tuningand FM/AM signal -strength meters, tuning dial, input -selector indicator lights, tuning knob, and finally a spe-cial audio display that indicates relative signal strengthsin the four channels by means of four pilot lights Acrossthe bottom are the AC power switch, front and backheadphone jacks, five tone -control sliders (front bass,front treble, midrange, back bass, back treble), and atthe center of the panel, a quadraphonic "joystick" bal-ance control flanked by eight switches: reduced volume(which cuts output by about 20 dB), FM muting. SQ de-coder, FM noise filter, AM DNL (dynamic noise imiter-an unusual and welcome feature comparable in its ef-fect to a combination of muting and noise filtering inFM), high filter, low filter, and loudness. Continuingacross the bottom panel we have a seven -position out -

REPORT POLICY

put selector, five -position mode/monitor selector, five -position input selector, master volume slider, on /offswitch for the audio display, and phone jacks for con-necting the input and output of an outboard tape deck.

The total complement of back -panel preamp connec-tions includes magnetic phono, two aux inputs (bothquadraphonic), and quadraphonic tape record /play-back-plus a set of quadraphonic input connections,marked "accessory" with devices like room equalizersin mind, that can be used as a second set of tape moni-tor connections. There is plenty of provision, therefore,for the use of outboard Q-8 tape or Quadradisc equip-ment-to say nothing of stereo program sources-whilethe built-in decoder will take care of matrixed discs orsimulated quadraphonics from stereo sources. Springclips are provided for two quadraphonic sets of speak-ers-a total of sixteen clips for eight speakers.

When the unit is switched from quadraphonics to thestereo mode, an odd thing happens. Into 8 -ohm loadsthe total rated power increases from 128 watts (32 x 4)to 180 watts (90 x 2): into 4 -ohm loads it drops from 160watts (40 x 4) to 100 watts (50 x 2). This behavior is eas-ier to describe than to explain and is a concomitant ofthe unusual 4/2 -channel switching configuration plusthe amplifier's feedback circuits. The result is that thenumbers involved are unusually confusing to the unini-tiated. Suffice it to say that for quadraphonic use, the504 delivers plenty of power for each of the four loud-speakers-including extremely inefficient ones-ofconventional design in any normal room, and evenenough power for two sets (eight loudspeakers) in manysituations.

And being conservatively rated by Fisher (as the labdata show), it is also an unusually clean amplifier at

Equipment reports are based on laboratory measurements and controlled listening tests. Unless otherwise noted, test data and measurementsare obtained by CBS Laboratories. Stamford. Connecticut. a division of Columbia Broadcasting System. Inc., one of the nation's leadingresearch organizations. The choice of equipment to be tested rests with the editors of HIGH FIDELITY. Manufacturers are not permitted to readreports in advance of publication. and no report. or portion thereof. may be reproduced for any purpose or in any form without written per-mission of the publisher. All reports should be construed as applying to the specific samples tested; neither HIGH FIDELITY nor CBS Laboratoriesassumes responsibility for product performance or quality.

JANUARY 1973 49

0

ao

-10

1.7 IN (mono)-20

./ 3.5 pV (stereo)oa -30.6ui -40

s-,-

CD

-50MC

-60

1

FM SENSITIVITY & QUIETING

MONO SENSITIVITY STEREO SENSITIVITY

(for 30dB quieting) (for 30dB quieting)1.7 IN at 90, 15 pV at 90,98. and 106 MHz 98, and 106 MHz

10 100 1K


504/1

10K 100K

POWER OUTPUT DATA

STEREO CHANNELS INDIVIDUALLYLeft at clipping: 128.0 watts for 0.25% THDLeft at 0.5% THD: 130.4 wattsRight at clipping: 126.4 watts for 0.30% THDRight at 0.5% THD: 129.6 watts

FOUR CHANNELS SIMULTANEOUSLYLeft front at clipping: 35.3 watts for 0.11% THDLeft back at clipping: 36.1 watts for 0.10% THORight front at clipping: 35.3 watts for 0.06% THDRight back at clipping: 36.1 watts for 0.10% THD

POWER BANDWIDTH

(for 0.5% THD; 0 dB = 90 watts)

o 0

-3

+5yNj ucc _5

504/2

10 20 100 1K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

0.5

0

1.0

'2 0.5'E.'

Below 10 Hz to 52 KHz

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

(for 1 watt output)

+0.75, -3 dB, below 10 Hz to 32 kHz

HARMONIC DISTORTION CURVES

10K 20K 100K

1.0

0.5

0

3

c=' 2

1

c' o

90 WATTS OUTPUT

-Left channel: -.0.22%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz--- Right channel: 0.28%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

45 WATTS OUTPUT-Left channel: ,:0.23%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz--- Right channel <0.35%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz

---------------------------------0.9 WATTS OUTPUT

Lett channel: <1.0%, 20 Hz to 20 kHzRight channel 0.47%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz 504/3

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

504/4

INTERMODULATION CURVES

-8-ohm load: <48%, 0.5 to 87.0 watts---- 4 -ohm load: -,.0.75%, 1 to 66.5 watts

-- 16 -ohm load: <0.5%, 0.4 to 88.6 watts

1 2 3 4 5 7 10 20 30 40 50 70 100

POWER OUTPUT IN WATTS

rated output. If we have any quibble with this section ofthe 504 it is that distortion does tend to creep up a bit -but only a bit -at low output (below 1 watt). This is asmall price to pay for what is, over-all, the best amplifierperformance we've yet encountered in a quadraphonicreceiver.

The tuner also is exceptionally fine. The stereo quiet-ing curve is so good that it resembles the mono curve inmany an inexpensive receiver; the 504's mono curve issuperb. The ultimate quieting in both (better than 50 dBin stereo, 60 dB in mono) suggests the finest of sepa-rate tuners. Don't be unduly alarmed at the 17%n distor-tion figure at 10 kHz in stereo reception; as we'vepointed out before, the harmonic products of 10 kHz areabove audibility, so this figure represents more electri-cal than audible performance.

A price of $500 is not peanuts, but we have yet to ex-amine in detail any quadraphonic receiver -at anyprice -that offers more, over-all, to the music listener.


Aithir Nave response

Fisher 504 Receiver Additional Data

Tuner Section

Capture ratio

Alternate -channel selectivity

S/N ratio

THD80 Hz1 kHz10 kHz

IM distortion

19 -kHz pilot

38 -kHz subcarrier

Mono0.08%0.14%0.73%

1.2 dB

66 dB

66 dB

L ch0 209.0.19%17%

0.5%

-37 dB

- 59 dB

R ch0.25%0.20%17%

Frequency responsemono + 2.75, -0.5 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHzL ch + 2.25, -1 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHzR ch +2.5, -1 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz

Channel separation > 40 dB, 27 Hz to 1.3 kHz- 30 dB, 20 Hz to 5.4 kHz

Amplifier Section

30Damping factor

Input characteristics

phonoaux 1aux 2tape monitoraccessory

(for 90 watts output)Sensitivity

2.2 mV210 mV210 mV240 mV240 mV

RIAA equalization accuracy+0, -2 dB, 20 Hz to 20

SiN ratio58 dB66 dB65 dB66 dB66 dB

kHz

5(1 FIDEI I I Y MAGAZINE

- -7_ --------

- -,11116004. *-21011111.111111

A Powerful Receiver from ScottThe Equipment: Scott 477, a stereo FM/ AM receiver inleatherette -finish case. Dimensions: 171/2 by 57/8 by ap-prox. 15 inches, including projections front and rear.Price: $445; wood case optional. Manufacturer: H. H.Scott, Inc., 1 1 1 Powder Mill Rd., Maynard, Mass. 01754.

Comment: The 477 is an unusual receiver in manyways, some of which are suggested immediately by arundown of its control and connection options. The dialarea at the top of the front panel is fairly straighttorward:AM / FM signal -strength meter; FM center -tuning meter;the dial itself with lighting pointer, selector indicators,and stereo indicator; tuning knob. The input selectorhas positions for mike/ phono 1, phono 2, FM, AM, and"extra"-what most manufacturers label "aux." Nextare stereo phone jacks that parallel the tape input andoutput connections on the back panel, then miniaturephone jacks for left and right mike inputs. The balance,ganged bass, ganged treble, and volume knobs are fol-lowed by a series of pushbutton switches: loudnesscompensation, tape monitor, mode (monoistereo),high filter, FM muting, and loudspeakers (1 2, 3, 1 & 2, 1& 3). Finally there are the main power switch and theheadphone jack, which is live at all times.

On the back panel are several groups of phono jacks.The group for the "extra" inputs also includes an outputfrom the FM detector section for use in adding an out-board four -channel decoder if and when a discrete orquasi -discrete broadcast method is approved by theFCC. Other groups of phono jacks handle tape input

0

-10

.= -20

a -30.o

-40

-50

-60O

1.1 pV (mono)

FM SENSITIVITY

MONO SENSITIVITY

(for 34dB quieting)1.9 pV at 90 MHz1.7 pV at 98 MHz1.7 pV at 106 MHz

pV (stereo)

& QUIETING

STEREO THRESHOLD

(for 31.dB quieting)92 pV at 90 MHz8.0 iv at 98 MHz8.0 pV at 106 MHz

477/1

1 10 100 1K

RE INPUT IN MICROVOLTS

03

+5oCL

5

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

0.5

E 0U

0.5

0

03a,1,7) 2a-ES 0

POWER OUTPUT DATA

CHANNELS INDIVIDUALLYLeft at chpping: 75.0 watts for all% THDLett at 0.5% THD: 78.1 wattsRight at clipping: 75.0 watts for 0.09% THDRight at N 5% THE): 78.1 watts

CHANNEL:; SIMULTANEOUSLY

Left at cIpping: 67.9 watts for 0.15% THDRight at clipping: 67 9 watts for 0.14% THD

POWER BANDWIDTH

(for 0.5% THD, 0 dB = 70 watts)

Below 10 Hz to 26 kHz

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

(for 1 watt output)

+0, -3 dB, below 10 Hz to 50 kHz

477/2

10 20 100 1K

EPIQUENCY IN HZ

10K 20K 100K


---u--70 WATTS OUTPUT

-Left channel: :=0.30%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz- kght chanrel, <0.33%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

35 WATTS OUTPUT- Left channel <0.19%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz- -- Right chanrel: <0.25%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz

D.7 WATTS OUTPUT- Left channel: <0.17%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz---Right channel: <0.19%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz 477/3

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

INTERMOILLATION CURVES

8 -ohm load: :0.68% to 56.9 watts4 -ohm load: <0.86% to 78.8 watts16 -ohm load: <2.0% to 35.6 watts

M-01.0101,

477/4106 100K 1 2 3 4 J 7 10 20 30 40 50 70 100

011 -PUT IN WATTS

JANUARY 1973 51

and output, "accessory," and phono 1 and 2. The ac-cessory connections actually are preamp output andpower -amp input jacks and are connected by jumpers(supplied) in normal use. Their most obvious function isin adding room equalizers, quadraphonic add-on units,and similar equipment; Scott provides instructions foradapting them as a second tape -recorder connection,in conjunction with the "extra" input. There are twoswitches close to the phono inputs. One adjusts preampsensitivity (high/ low) to the output of the cartridge inuse; the other converts phono 1 for use (via the front -panel jacks) as a mike preamp. The main speaker con-nections are of the usual spring -clip type; those for thesecond and third speaker pair are phono jacks. Thereare screw connections for AM antenna and 300 -ohmFM antenna, a socket for 75 -ohm FM antenna, and athumbscrew connection for grounding associatedequipment-a turntable, for example. There also areswitched and unswitched convenience AC outlets (oneof each), pop -out output fuses, and a circuit breakerthat protects the entire unit. If you have any trouble withthe unit-or the system to which it is connected-you'llfind these last two items particularly handy in design.Your service technician may find a special bias testsocket on the back panel helpful as well. We note thatScott includes an order form for the 477 service manual($1.00) with the unit. This seems like an excellent idea;even if you don't plan to do your own servicing, the man-ual can make the difference between a successful re-pair and a fiasco at your local repair service.

Not that we foresee any special need for repairs onthe 477. Its various functions performed well in ourhome tests. And in the lab it demonstrated the excel-lence of its design. Harmonic distortion proved to bewell under spec (0.5%) in all the amplifier tests, for ex-ample; only three readings were above 0.2%. The FMsection likewise turned in excellent figures, of whichthose for mono quieting (better than 62 dB over much ofthe operating range) were perhaps the most spectacu-lar. All told this is the most impressive Scott receiverwe've tested in some years, and it's a solid design job onany terms.


50 HZ 10 KHZ,

Square -wave response

Scott 477 Receiver Additional Data

Tuner Section

Capture ratio


S/N ratio

IM distortion

THDBO Hz1 kHz10 kHz

Mono0.06%0.10%0.26%

Frequency responsemonoL chR ch

1.5 dB

60 dB

73 dB

0.7%

L ch0.64%0.19%1.9%

+0, -3 dB, 25 Hz to+0, -3 dB, 25 Hz to+0, -3 dB, 27 Hz to

R ch0.78%0.21%1.1%

15 kHz15 kHz15 kHz

Channel separation 35 dB, 130 Hz to 3.3 kHz---25 dB, 20 Hz to 7.2 kHz

19 -kHz pilot -65 dB

38 -kHz subcarrier -68 dB

Amplifier Section

Damping factor 25

Input characteristics (for 70 watts output)Sensitivity

phono, high 1.7 mVphono, low 3.5 mVmike 4.8 mVtape, extra 250 mV

SIN ratio67.5 dB70 dB70 dB80 dB

RIAA equalization accuracy+ 0.75, -0 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

The World's Most De Luxe FM Tuner KitThe Equipment: Heath AJ-1510, a digital FM tuner in kitform (not available wired). Dimensions: 16% by 6 by143/4 inches. Price: $539.95; optional wood case,$24.95. Manufacturer: Heath Co., Benton Harbor, Mich.49022.

Comment: This Heath tuner is just plain fun. No wonderthat three of the eight audio experts we asked to selecttheir Christmas present for last month's issue originallyselected it. In talking about the AJ-1510, Heath uses thephrase "computer tuner"-a phrase that turns out to befax more than just advertisingese for "new." All the vis-ible controls on the front panel are pushbuttons: the tendigits for punching up the station frequency plus a resetbutton for clearing the frequency "memory"; an auto -

sweep button plus a bypass button to reactivate thesweep mode once the tuner has locked in onto a sta-tion; and a stereo -only button, three buttons for choos-ing card -programmed stations, a muting (Heath, incommunications style, calls it squelch) defeat button,and the power -switch button. Above these buttons is ablackout dial through which the tuned frequency ap-pears on digital -readout tubes, together with the signal -strength / multipath meter. (There is no center -tuningmeter since the phase -lock circuitry prevents mistun-ing.) There also are various indicators that appear, de-pending on operation-even one that announces im-proper programming or malfunction.

But that's not all. Hidden behind a cleverly designedpop -out panel at the bottom are card slots for station

52 HIGH Y MAGAZINE

0. Ce,Q iiin13 QOM MOO OMPOP011

IIIM41 MAR INI 4.1.a

to0

0-10o1- -20o ; 1.7 uV (mono)

*a -30 'V36 liV (stereo)


MONO SENSITIVITYIfor 30,18 quieting)1.9 p1/ at 90 MHz1.7 tiV at 98 MHz1.71,Vat106MHz

STEREO SENSITIVITY(for 30-d8 quieting)3.6 14V at 90 MHz3.6pVat98MHz3.4 pV at 106 MHz

5m -40 ;

AJ1510/1-- -------------------------------------m -50--,-t 1 10 100 16 106 100K.-. RF INPUT, MICROVOLTS

preprogramming and controls for things like automaticgain, muting sensitivity, mode (mono, stereo, high -blend), and meter action. While one position of this lastswitch is intended for the detection of multipath condi-tions, the tuner's back panel has oscilloscope outputsas an optional aid in antenna orientation. It also con-tains the regular audio output jacks, screw terminals for300 -ohm or 75 -ohm antenna leads, and an unswitchedAC outlet.

Internal construction relies heavily on plug-in circuitboards and preassembled wiring harnesses, simplifyingconstruction, checkout, and servicing. Like severalother Heath products we have reviewed recently, theAJ-1510 includes built-in test leads and switches thatconvert the signal -strength meter for use in checkout,so that no external meter is needed even for alignment.But there remains a great deal to be done in buildingsuch a complex unit; our kitbuilder required some 40hours. Most of the job is pretty straightforward, how-ever, and few difficulties were encountered. The logiccircuit did not work at first, due partly to a defective IC(many ICs are used in the unit) and partly to havingmissed a solder connection; but Heath's service depart-ment was as usual co-operative.

Actual performance data proved less spectacularthan the unique computer logic system. Maximum qui-eting, for instance, was only 46.5 dB in mono; distortionfigures were no better than average at, for example,about 25% in the midrange for mono operation; S/Nis not much better than average.

But the lab measurements did turn up some excep-tionally fine numbers. Alternate -channel selectivity

Heath AJ-1510 Tuner Additional Data

Capture ratio


S/N ratio

THD80 Hz1 kHz10 kHz

Mono0.36%0.24%.0.35%

IM distortion

19 -kHz pilot

38 -kHz subcarrier


1.8 dB

-100 dB

67 dB

L ch0.52%0.35%1.7%

0.1%

-66 dB

-68.5 dB

R ch0.65%0.35%1.2%

+ 0.5, -1 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz+ 1.5, - 0.75 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz

1- 1 dB. 20 Hz to 15 kHz

Channel separation .-35 dB, 125 Hz to 5.6 kHz-.-- 25 dB, 33 Hz to 15 kHz

(better than 100 dB) is the best yet measured. Thetune's ability to reject pilot and subcarrier tones (66and 68.5 dB respectively) also is exceptional. But thestar of the show remains the logic-the most compre-hensive collection of tuning modes and aids we haveyet worked with. One example should demonstrate whatwe mean. Metropolitan Opera broadcasts are availablelocally on at least four stations with reasonably goodsignals; but reception conditions, station engineeringpractice, and the vagaries of land -line transmission tothe stations all produce differences in signal quality thatmay change from Saturday to Saturday or even hour tohour. Of all the tuners we have tested, only the AJ-1510's triple punched -card slots make it possible tocompare stations instantaneously with unequivocallyperfect tuning. This ability is a joy to the listener and,now that we've experienced it, virtually a necessity tothe recordist.


JANUARY 1973 53

JVC Receiver: Moderate Cost, Special Features

The Equipment: JVC VR-5541, a stereo FM/AM re-ceiver in wood case. Dimensions: 191/2 by 6 by 13inches. Price: $389.95. Manufacturer: Victor Co., Ja-pan; U.S. distributor: JVC America, Inc., 50-35 56thRd., Maspeth, N.Y. 11378.

Comment: JVC has included its SEA (Sound -Effect Am-plifier) multiband tone -control system in a variety ofequipment-most of it fairly elaborate and relatively ex-pensive. The Model 5541 combines a five -band versionof the SEA with a moderately priced receiver that is atonce simple and versatile, making the special advan-tages of SEA available in a particularly attractive form-and one that in our opinion should be of special interestto the tape hobbyist who can't afford a lavish system.But more of that in a moment.

The 5541 has two meters (signal strength and centertuning) beside its tuning dial. Across the bottom are apower switch, headphone jack (live at all times),speaker selector, a group of tape-recording controls,and knobs for balance, volume, and input selection. Atthe right end is the SEA section: five sliders calibratedfor up to 12 dB of boost or cut in frequency bands cen-tered at nominal frequencies of 40 Hz, 250 Hz, 1 kHz, 5kHz, and 10 kHz respectively. The sliders are contin-uous -acting, but have click detents every 2 dB along thescale. Below the SEA are pushbuttons for FM muting,loudness, mono mode, low filter, high filter, and SEA de-feat.

On the back panel are the usual input connectors forphono cartridge, two aux sources, two tape recorders(including recording outputs), and preamp-out/ main -inconnections-normally bridged by the supplied jump-ers-for use with outboard equalizers or similar units. Asimilar jack is provided for feeding the FM detector out-put to a quadraphonic adapter, should one becomeavailable. The spring -clip connections for three stereopairs of speakers are unusually handy in their arrange-ment. There are screwdriver terminals for AM and FM(300 -ohm) antenna leads, a spring -loaded groundingconnector, and two AC convenience outlets-one

switched, one unswitched. And there. is a screwdriveradjustment for the FM muting threshold.

That's a lot of features for a unit in this price class, butit's not all. We said that this unit might be of particularinterest to tape recordists. Not only does it have con-nections for two recorders, it also has phone jacks onthe tape section of the front panel which can be usedalternatively with the tape 2 jacks at the back. This tapepanel also contains the two monitor switches. But mostimportant of all, it includes a third switch by means ofwhich the feed to the tape recorders can be taken offthe amplifier's output (through an appropriate loss padof course) and therefore after the SEA circuit. The SEAcircuit thus can be used not only as a sort of simplifiedroom equalizer (or complex set of tone controls, de-pending on your point of view), but as a program equal-izer as well. You can copy old records, poorly equalizedtapes, or any similarly substandard source and retainthe SEA improvement permanently in your tape copies.

That improvement can be considerable. While there

co 0o _3 Below 10 Hz to 33 kHz

6.)+ 5

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

(for I watt output)rn 0

+0, -1 dB, 10 Hz to 40 kHz

POWER OUTPUT DATA

CHANNELS INDIVIDUALLYLeft at clipping: 40.5 watts for 0.10% THDLeft at 0.5% THD: 44.7 wattsRight at clipping: 39.1 watts for 0.20% THDRight at 0.5% THD: 43.7 watts

CHANNELS SIMULTANEOUSLYLeft at clipping: 36.1 watts for 0.11% THDRight at clipping: 36.1 watts for 0.12% THD

POWER BANDWIDTH

(for 0.5% THD; 0 dB = 34 watts)

-5

10 20

VR5541

100 1K 10K 20K 100K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

54 Htctf FIDELI I Y MAGAZIN!,

DL73 -20

-30

-40

1.7 uV (mono)

\ 3.3 pV (stereo)

VR5541/1


MONO SENSITIVITY STEREO SENSITIVITY

(tor 304B quieting) (for 30 -dB quietng)1.7 ,Vat 90, 3.3 nV at 90.98. and 106 MHz 98, and 106 MHz

-501

1.0

0.5

10 100 1K 10K 100K



0c:, 34 WATTS OUTPUTx1- - Left channel <0.40%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

0.5--- Right channel. x.0.28%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz

0-K

0.5

0

17 WATTS OUTPUT- Lett channel: '.0.31%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz--- Right channel: 129%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

0.34 WATTS OUTPUT- Left channel: ..0.16%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz--- Right channel: -.0.16% 20 Hz to 20 kHz VR5541/3

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

c)3 INTERMODULATION CURVEScc

-- 8 -ohm load: < 0.30% to 44.3 wattscr)

---- 4 -ohm load: , 0.85% to 56.7 wattsa 2 -- 16 -ohm load: ,,0.72% to 28.5 watts

E 1C-3

- - VR5541/4D

1 2 3 4 5 7 10 20 30 40 50 70 100


"S.EA." CONTROL ACTION40 -Hz boost 250 -Hz boost 1 -kHz boost 5 -kHz boost

*it 1*250 -Hz cut40.Hz cut

15kHz boost

54tHz cut 15 -kHz cut

VR5541/5

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

1 -kHz cut

10 KHZ


JVC VR-5541 Receiver Additional Data

Tuner Section

Capture ratio 0.75 dB

Alternate -channel se'ectiyity 75 dB

S/N ratio 69 dB

IM distortion 0.83%

THD Mono L ch R ch80 Hz 0.50% 1 0% 0.77%1 kHz 0.43% 1.1% 0.86%10 kHz 2.0% 12% 10%


+0, -2.5 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz+ 2.25, -1.5 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz+ 0.75, -1 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz

Channel separation >35 dB, 20 Hz to 450 Hz>25 dB, 20 Hz to 8 kHz

19 -kHz pilot -72.5 dB

38 -kHz subcarrier -75.5 dB

Amplifier Section

Damping factor 61

Input characteristics (for 34 watts output)Sensitivity

phono 1.6 mVaux (1 & 2) 105 mVtape (1 & 2) 105 mV

S/N ratio60 dB81 dB78.5 dB

RIAA equalization accuracy+ 0.75, -2 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

are some special narrow -band effects (60 -Hz or 120 -Hzhum, the "high -Q" resonance of some early electricaldisc cutters, and so on) that the SEA cannot amelioratewithout affecting a relatively wide portion of the audiblespectrum, we we'e very impressed by what it will do inthis respect. (JVC has a very similar receiver model thatgives the recordist evert more; the VR-5551, for an addi-tional $60, has a little more power plus left and rightmike inputs with their own master level control.)

At 34 watts per chan the 5541's amplifier sectionhas more than enough oomph for any conventionalspeaker pair in normal rooms; but if you plan to usemore than one pair, models of relatively high efficiencyprobably would be desirable. (The speaker switchingprevents simultaneous use of the outputs for all threespeaker pairs.) Harmonic distortion is well under JVC's0.5% spec and, in fact, stays below 0.1% over much ofthe unit's operating range. The FM section is partic-ularly good in terms of capture ratio (better than 1 dB)and frequency response; in other respects it is aboutpar for an inexpensive unit-and considering its specialfeatures we'd consider the 5541 to be notably inexpen-sive. To put it another way, we've encountered few re-ceivers that offer so much fun per dollar-particularly tothe recordist.

CIRCLE 145 OW READER -SERVICE CARD

JANUARY 1973 55

A "Real" Receiver from MagnavoxThe Equipment: Magnavox Model 8896 (one of the 1500series), a stereo FM /AM receiver in wood -and -metalcase. Dimensions: 183/4 by 51/2 by approx. 16 inches, in-cluding case and projections, front and rear. Price:under $320. Manufacturer: Magnavox Co., 345 ParkAve., New York, N.Y. 10022.

Comment: Whenever a mass-market/console com-pany announces "true component audio products," wetend to be skeptical. Magnavox has done so repeatedlyin recent years, but until now the products involvedwere more gussied-up compacts than true compo-nents. The present line-to judge by the 8896, the topreceiver model but one-is notably different. The 8896can, indeed, be called a true component audio product.

Most of the control panel is fairly conventional, butwith a few unusual features that reflect the peculiaritiesof the 8896. The AM dial is above the FM dial; and theAM section is distinctly more successful than the FMsection, which lab tests show to be no better than so-so.Using only the built-in AM antenna, and FM via our localcable, stations crowd in on both. This is a joy where AMis concerned, since some receivers pick up only localstations without an external antenna, but a nuisance onFM since the dial is marked only in even megaherz.(There are no calibrations between 100 and 102, for ex-ample.) The single meter happily shows center tuningfor both FM and for AM stations. Though there are twosets of speaker taps on the back panel and a head-phone jack on the front, Magnavox has made no provi-sion for speaker switching; whatever is connectedplays. A particularly confusing design feature is the lackof identification on the lever switches until you havepressed them. The identification lights up only for theswitches you have pressed, forcing you to hunt aboutfor the right switch until you have memorized them all.

On the back panel are separate magnetic and ce-ramic phono inputs with a selector switch. There also isa special three -prong plug socket for use with Magna-vox changers wired to shut off the entire system whenthe changer shuts off. The rest is conventional: phono-jack connections for tape in and out, plus aux input,screws for the FM antenna (300 -ohm only) and ground,spring clips for the two pairs of speakers, one switchedand one unswitched AC outlet. Finish of the knobs,plates, and other visible parts is not particularly impres-sive, though the appearance is neat and the construc-tion reasonably sturdy.

The stereo FM quieting curve is not bad. It descendsto about 40 dB through most of the operating range-aless than ideal figure, but comparable to some otherstereo receivers and tuners we've tested. The monocurve is not much better than the stereo curve, and infact we would not consider it up to par. Distortion also isa little higher than average, but most of the remainingtuner measurements represent par or better for a me-

dium-priced receiver. The Magnavox amplifier -sectionratings (50 watts per channel) turn out to be honestones. Rated distortion is exceeded at rated output onlyby a small margin and only at the extreme top of the fre-quency range. (Had the unit been rated by the 1 -kHzpower/distortion method-which until recently wasfairly common even among component manufac-turers-the distortion might have run considerablyhigher at rated power.) Even at low output IM distortionremains quite low, while harmonic distortion averagesabout 0.25%-a reasonable figure. One peculiarityshowed up during the CBS Labs tests: At full volumeoutput the tone controls become inoperative. At prac-tical operating levels in our living room, the controls dofunction as they should, however.

We're glad that Magnavox has made a serious effortto put out real components. (The more varied thechoice, the better things are for the consumer.) Butwhile the effort has been fairly successful, and may leadto still better things in future, we can't recommend thepresent model without qualification.


C° 0

g -10 \ccc,

-20\ 2.4 µV (mon))

r7)a ) 5.0 µV (Mereo)

Asa /-30

c")a ,s

-40

- -50":r 1

cc, 0

-3

+5N 0


MONO SENSITIVITY(for 30dB quieting)2.2 µV at 90 MHz2.4 yV at 98 MHz4.3 µV at 106 MHz

STEREO SENSITIVITY

(for 30dB quieting)5.0 µV at 90 MHz5.0 µV at 98 MHz5.0 µV at 106 MHz

8896/1

10 100 1K 10K


POWER OUTPUT DATA

CHANNELS INDIVIDUALLY

Left at clipping: 62.1 watts for 0.20% THDRight at clipping: 62.1 watts for 027% THDLeft at 0.5% THD: 65.5 wattsRight at 0.5% THD: 65.5 watts

CHANNELS SIMULTANEOUSLY

Left at clipping: 55.7 watts for 024% THDRight at clipping: 55.7 watts for 0.38% THD

POWER BANDWIDTH

(for 0.5% THD: 0 dB = 50 watts)

/". 12 Hz to 22 kHz

10 20

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

(for 1 watt output)

+0.5, -3 dB, 15 Hz to 80 kHz

130 1K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

100K

8896/210K 20K 100K

56 HRill I:11)1111Y MAGA/1Ni'.

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

0.5 00.5

0


50 WATTS OUTPUT- Left channel: 61%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz- -- Right channel: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

25 WATTS OUTPUT

-Left channel: -:0.32%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz- -- Right channel: <0.35%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz

0.5 WATTS OUTPUT-Lett channel -.0.28%, 20 Hz to 20 kHz- -- Right channel: -.0 29%. 20 Hz to 20 kHz 8896/3

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

INTERMODULATION CURVES

-8 -ohm load: < 0.85% to 78.8 watts---- 4 -ohm load: < 0.84% to 47.7 watts- - 16 -ohm load: 1.2% to 52.0 watts

8896/4

2 3 4 5 7 10 20 30 40 50 70 100



Decca's UnconventionalNew Pickup

The Equipment: London / Decca Mk 5, a stereo phonopickup with spherical stylus. Price: about $100; "Ex-port" (de luxe) version, about $125. Manufactured byDecca Special Products, England; U.S. distributors:Paoli High Fidelity Consultants, Inc., P.O. Box 867,Paoli, Pa. 19301 (East); Audiophile Imports, 8 E. Erie St.,Chicago, III. 60611 (Midwest); ESS, Inc., 9613 OatesDr., Sacramento, Calif. 95827 (West).

Comment: The latest in the prestige Decca series ofpickups, the new Mk 5 employs an unusual internalstructure based on the use of new magnetic materialsDecca claims makes possible a more direct translationof stylus motion into output signal-what the companycalls "positive scanning." In addition, the new design is

Magnavox 8896 Receiver Additional Data

Tuner Section

Capture ratio


S/N ratio

THD80 Hz1 kHz10 kHz

Mono0.96%0.80%0.50%

IM distortion

19 -kHz pilot

38 -kHz subcarrier

2 dB

63 dB

58 dB

L ch0.57%0.59%2.7%

1.0%

-45 dB

- 60 dB

R ch0.70%0.52%2.8%

Frequency responsemono +2, -3 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHzL ch +2 25, -3 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHzR ch + 2 -3 dB, 20 Hz to 15 kHz

Stereo separation 30 dB, 40 Hz to 7.3 kHz- 20 dB. 20 Hz to 12.5 kHz

Amplifier Section

Damping factor 80

Input characteristics ifor 50 watts output)Sensitivity

magnetic phono 2.2 mVceramic phono 100 mVaux 158 mVtape monitor 450 mV

RIAA equalization accuracy+0, -3 dB, 23 Hz to 20

S/N ratio53 dB54 dB71 dB69 dB

kHz

credited with less hum, ower mass, reduced stray mag-netic field, and higher signal output.

In careful listening over wide -range speakers andwith a variety of program material, these claims trans-late to very wide -range, clean sound with a full dynamicrange and excellent cla,:ity in both the stereo image andthe internal musical detail. There is a sense of utterly

JANIARI 1973 57

1K H

+10

+5

23:, 0

-5N-10cp0- -15Ce -20

-25

Square -waveresponse

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

-Left channel. +3, -1 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz- -- Right channel: +3, -1 d8, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

CHANNEL SEPARATION

-Left channel: >15 dB. 48 Hz to 16 kHz---Right channel: >15 dB, 29 Hz to 16 kHz

5PC/1

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

hair-trigger transient response that makes for realisticreproduction, especially of program materia that hasstrong percussives.

These audible virtues are the more impressive whenyou look at the published specifications and lab testdata. The same spec sheet was delivered with both ver-sions of the Mk 5. CBS Labs ran complete data on the"Export" model and checked critical items with thestandard model, which proved to be very similar. By to-day's widely accepted standards, some of tne "num-bers" do not seem very auspicious. Distortion figures

Kenwood's Dolby

Cassette Deck

are about par for the better pickups. Output (for 1 kHz at5 cm/sec) measures 4.9 mV in the left channel, 5.5 inthe right. Decca specifies a compliance of only 12 (x10 1 laterally and 5 vertically, though CBS Labs meas-ured it at 30 and 5 respectively. And the vertical trackingforce recommended is 2 to 3 grams. It went through thelab's torture test at 2.4 grams and we subsequentlyused it at 2.5 to 3 grams. The compliance and tracking -force figures, particularly, remind us of the first stereopickups of some twelve years ago.

Decca is aware of this apparent anomaly and has is-sued a lengthy technical explanation of why they be-lieve their design philosophy to be correct despite whatmost other pickup manufacturers are doing. While theexplanation is beyond the scope of this report, it statesflatly that ultra -high compliance is, in itself, no guide topickup performance, and that ultra -low tracking forceswill not necessarily result in either better sound or lessrecord wear. Further, Decca favors the spherical stylusover the elliptical. Tip radius is specified at 0.6 to 0.7mils; the lab found it to be slightly smaller, and of goodgeometry.

As a consequence of its unconventional internal de-sign, the Mk 5 has only three connecting pins. (A singleground serves both channels.) This requires you to tietogether the two ground leads in the arm's shell. Becareful when doing so; these leads and their clips arefragile. Decca supplies extra clips in case of misadven-ture, but they are a trifle loose and need some tight-ening with a long -nose pliers. In our judgment, thechore involved is well worth the effort. The Mk 5 meritsserious audition by anyone interested in discoveringhow great records really can sound.


The Equipment: Kenwood Model KX-700, a stereo cas-sette record/play deck with built-in Dolby B circuitry, inwood case. Dimensions: 151/2 by 4% by 11% inches.Price: $259.95. Manufacturer: Trio / Kenwood, Japan;U.S. distributor: Kenwood Electronics, 15777 S. Broad-way, Gardena, Calif. 90248.

Comment: The format has become familiar-a Dolbycassette deck for under $300. Kenwood's is unusualboth in being well under $300 and in including morethan minimal features (as well as good performance).Among the features are three recording-ecualizationoptions (for "regular," low -noise ferric oxide, and chro-

mium dioxide tapes respectively), automatic stop anddrive disengagement at the end of the cassette, play-back level controls, and sturdy transport controls with anicely thought-out interlock system. (You can godirectly from "play" to fast wind, for example, but mustgo by way of "stop" in switching back to "play," avoid-ing damage to the tape.) Though we wouldn't describethe unit as luxurious, it strikes us as well built and nicelydetailed for its price class. For instance, the meters arefully calibrated and even include a special Dolby -levelmarking.

The special meter design has given Kenwood an op-tion denied to manufacturers who arbitrarily equate

58 HIGfI 1211)E1,11 Y MAGAZINI1

Kenwood K X-700 Cassette Deck additional Data

Speed accuracy

Wow and flutter

105 VAC: 1.0% fast120 VAC: 1.0% fast127 VAC: 1.0% fast

playback: 0.10%record/playback 0.15%

Rewind time, C-60 cassette 1 min. 6 sec.

Fast -forward time, same cassette 1 min. 6 sec.

SiN ratio (ref. DIN 0 VU, Dolby off)playback L ch: 54 dB R ch. 56 dBrecord/playback L ch: 48 dB R ch: 48 dB

Erasure (333 Hz at normal level) 56 dB

Crosstalk (at 333 Hz) 40 dB

Sensitivity (for 0 -VU recording level)line input L ch: 80 mV R ch: 80 mVmike input L ch: 0.27 mV R ch: 0.27 mV

Meter actionref. DIN 0 VU L ch: 2 dB high R ch: 2 dB highref. Dolby level L ch: 1 dB high R ch: 1 dB high

THD (recordiplay. -10 VU)L ch: 1.7%, 50 Hz to 5 kHzR ch: 1.5%, 50 Hz to 5 kHz

IM distortion (record/play, -10 VU)L ch: 7.3% R ch: 7.0%

Maximum output (ref. DIN 0 VU)L ch: 3.1 V R ch: 3.4 V

Dolby reference level (a fixed value, specified by DolbyLabs) with the 0 VU indication (a value subject to con-siderable variation, as the meter -action figures in ourreports document). Kenwood has chosen a fairly highrecording level; the 0 VU as indicated by the meters isonly 2 dB below the DIN standard. The reduced high -frequency headroom resulting from this choice mighthave caused problems in capturing high -amplitude,high -frequency sounds but for Kenwood's treatment ofanother option: the equalization for chromium dioxide.Kenwood's choice here has been to offer identical play-back equalization for all tape types, thereby increasingheadroom and frequency response (rather than signal-to-noise ratios) with chromium dioxide by contrast tothose models in which playback equalization is alteredas well. In sum, low -noise ferric oxide tape (like TDK'sSD, with which most of the lab measurements weremade) will perform well on the KX-700 with most pro-gram material; for best results with demanding programmaterial, chromium dioxide is in order.

A part of the difference is visible in the frequency -re-sponse graphs. The record/ playback curves for low -noise ferric oxide do not extend very far at the top end.(Lowering the 04/U point presumably would have ex-tended them a bit; similarly, the relatively low levels ofmost high -frequency signals can be relied on to in-crease effective top -end response.) The chromiumdioxide curves are "flat" out to about 15 kHz-an excel-lent mark. Whether you will hear the difference is ques-tionable and will depend on the program; often bothtypes of tape sounded good enough to be indistin-guishable from the original source material.

+5

0

-5

+5

02 0

z -5

E+5crwc4 0

-5

+5

0

-5

DIN PLAYBACK RESPONSE______ Co dB = -20 VU, Dolby off)

- Left chancel: -1.25 dB. 40 Hz to 10 kHz___ Right channel: +1.25, -0.5 dB, 40 Hz to 10 kHz

RECORD/PLAYBACK RESPONSE(0 dB = -20 VU) ----------

CHROMIUM DIOXIDE TAPE. DOLBY OFF-Left channel: +4, -3 dB. 28 Hz to 16 kHz- -- Right charnel: +2.5, -3 dB, 26 Hz to 15.5 kHz

- LOW NOISE TAPE, DOLBY OFF

Left chancel: +0.25, -3 dB, 29 Hz to 10 kHz- -- Right channel: +0.5, -3 dB, 27 Hz to 10.5 kHz

LOW NOISE TAPE, DOLBY ON

- Left channel: +0.15. -3 dB, 27 Hz to 10 kHz- -- Right channel: +0.75, -3 dB, 28 Hz to 10 kHz

KX700/1

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

IREQUENCY IN HZ

In other respects the KX-700 resembles most cas-sette decks. Jacks for mikes and stereo headphonesare at the bottom of the front panel; phono-jack pairs,plus a DIN socket, hanale input and output connectionson the back panel; the main controls can be understoodat a glance. Speed accuracy is, at 1% fast, acceptableand-presumably thanks to the hysteresis motor-unaf-fected by changes in line voltage. Insertion of a pluginto a mike jack automatically disconnects the line inputfor that channel. If yo,..1 wish to mix live sounds withexis:ing recordings, you will need an outboard mixer ofsome sort. There is a three -digit tape counter and a con-nection for grounding the unit to your receiver or con-trol amplifier should ycu encounter any hum problem.(We didn't.)

Taking all thinos together, the KX-700 is an attractiveunit: a good value, easy to use, and well calculated toplease those who want good sound with a minimum offuss.


REPORTS IN PROGRESS

Fisher ST -550 loudspeakersystem

B & 0 3000-2 stereoreceiver

Lenco L-85 turntable

JANuARY 1973 59

Sony's Automatic

Single -Play Turntable

The Equipment: Sony 5520, a two -speed single -playturntable with integral arm and automatic options, sup-plied in wood base with hinged dust cover. Dimensions:1734 by 15 9 /16 by 6N inches. Price: $139.50. Manufac-turer: Sony Corp., Japan; U.S. distributor: Sony Corp. ofAmerica, 47-47 Van Dam St., Long Island City, N.Y. 11101.

Comment: If you are like many owners of recordchangers who use them almost exclusively as single -play turntables, why did you buy a changer? Perhapsyou like the automatic arm setdown and liftoff and want,in any event, a preinstalled arm. The 5520 seeks thebest of both worlds and further shows evidence of opti-mizing various critical performance and design featuresso that the resultant product is something more thanjust a record changer minus the changing mechanism.

It is stylish and well engineered. A pair of leverswitches at the front left select speed (33 or 45 rpm),while a multipurpose circular control at the right selectsthe operational mode. One lever on this controlchooses between manual and automatic start; anotherselects the record size (7, 10, or 12 inches) for the auto-matic mode. Used automatically, the arm lifts off its restand cues the record at the outer edge. At the end of therecord the arm lifts up and returns to rest, shutting offthe machine. In either mode you can cue the recordmanually at any point via the finger -lift on the shell or byflipping a cueing lever behind the mode control. There'sa "reject" position on this control to interrupt play andreturn the arm to rest. Finally, the control has a "repeat"

position that starts the unit automatically and will repeatthe record indefinitely until you reset the control. In ourtests the 5520 went through all these operationsflawlessly. The arm -cueing device worked beautifully,with no side drift and with ample damping for gentle armdescent.

The diecast aluminum alloy platter, a shade under 12inches in diameter, weighs 21/2 pounds including therubber mat and center dress piece. It is belt -driven froma synchronous motor. There is no provision for finespeed adjustment, but at the critical speed of 33 rpm noadjustment is needed; speed was absolutely accurateregardless of the lest line voltage used. At 45 rpm it wasconsistently 1 per cent fast. Flutter averaged 0.07 percent and rumble was clocked at -55 dB-performancethat is seldom matched in even the best changers. Armresonance was measured by CBS Labs (with a ShureV-15 Type II Improved cartridge) as a 9 -dB rise at 6.1Hz.

The tone arm is a well-balanced metal tubular typewith rear counterweight and removable shell that ac-commodates any standard pickup. It has negligible fric-tion laterally and vertically. Adjustments are includedfor optimum stylus overhang (a gauge and template aresupplied, and the adjustment is quite easy); for verticaltracking force (absolutely accurate, with a range up to 3grams); and antisKating. The latter is applied by meansof a suspended weight-keeping compensation con-stant throughout the record side, which spring devicescan't always do. It can be omitted or adjusted for any ofthree compensation settings depending on trackingforce. Tracking forces under 1.5 grams get no compen-sation in this system-an approach open to dispute per-haps, but one that Sony has worked out with excellentaccuracy according to the lab test.

The Sony 5520 comes with a carefully written andwell -illustrated instruction manual and a 45 -rpm single -play doughnut adapter. All told, the Model 5520 strikesus as a very appealing unit.


60 Hu lI FinErn MAGAZINF

Modern8 -Track Player

fromWollensak

The Equipment: Model 8054, a stereo/quadraphonic8 -track tape -cartridge playback deck (no power ampsor speakers) in wood case. Dimensions: 13% by 43/4 by93/4 inches. Price: $119.95. Manufacturer: Mincom Div.,3M Company, 3M Center, St. Paul, Minn. 55101.

Comment: The sleek styling of the 8054 is efficiency it-self. The so-called program indicators are the num-bered pilot lights in horizontal "slots" at the left. Thecartridge slot is at the center, flanked by a selector lever(which advances the head position manually from oneprogram to the next) and a fast -wind lever. At the right isthe mode selector: 2 -channel, 4 -channel, automatic.The back panel has phone jacks for the four line -leveloutputs.

There is no on /off switch; as you slide a cartridge intothe slot the unit first turns itself on and then, when thecartridge is all the way in, begins play. Play advancesautomatically from one program to the next, unless youskip by using the selector lever. The automatic switch-ing between stereo and quadraphonic modes uses thespecial slot built into the 0-8 case (and omitted forstereo) to trip its sensor. We didn't find ourselves usingthe manual override much, but now that quadraphonicrecording decks are becoming available the overridewill permit playing home-made quadraphonic tapeshoused in the standard blank -tape cases, which so farare without the special slot. The fast -forward feature is abig help in looking for an individual selectior, , partic-ularly in a 0-8 (which of course requires twice the tape -loop length for a given playing time by comparison to astereo cartridge).

And that just about says it-except to add that in termsof sheer sound the 8054 is the most satisfactory 8 -trackplayer we've yet encountered. Its relatively wide -rangeelectronics leave an unfiltered freshness to the top fre-quencies. They also allow more of the noise from theslow -speed tapes to pass through than in competing,but less wide -range, models we've tried. The choice isup to you; but until an 8 -track player whose perform-ance is up to that of the better cassette decks comesalong, we'll take the Wollensak approach. As the lab fig-ures document, the 8054 is not state-of-the-art; butneither is the 8 -track medium itself. And the 8054 is avery attractive buy.


on+5

32_5

PLAYBACK RESPONSE

(raf. RCA test cartridge)____-----Left change's: +1, -4 dB, 40 Hz to 10kHz--- Right channels: +0.75, -4 dB, 40 Hz to 10 kHz

(Back channels sham front and back channels on each sidegenerally measure within 0.25 dB of each other) 8054/1

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ

Wollensak 8054 Player Additional Data

Speed accuracy 2.1(k, slow at 105, 120, and 127 VAC

Wow & flutter 0.16%

SAN ratio (ref. 400 Hz. RCA test cartridge)left front ch 45.5 dBright front ch 42.5 dBleft back ch 43.5 dBright back ch. 42.5 dB

Channel separationrecord 1, play 2record 3, play 4record 5, play 6record 7, play 8

Maximum output (ref 400 Hz,left front ch.right frontleft back ch.right back cn.

42 dB39 dB40 dB39.5 dB

RCA test cartridge)0.95 V0.85 V0.75 V0.80 V

JANUARY 1973 61

First Speaker System

with LaminatedMagnet Structure

The Equipment: LDL-749, a polyhedral multidriver loud-speaker system with wood base and top. Dimensions:191/4 by 121/4 by 121/2 inches. Price: $279.50 per pair.Manufacturer: Linear Design Labs, Inc., 114 WilkinsAve., Port Chester, N.Y. 15073.

Comment: In the November 1971 issue ("News &Views") we published first reports of a German designfor laminated magnets in dynamic devices. The claimwas made -and confirmed by initial tests -that gains inboth efficiency and distortion could be achieved bybuilding the magnet structure from lamina, rather thansolid material. So it was with considerable interest thatwe heard of Linear Design's having both taken over asU.S. representative for the process and applied it in anadapted version of the LDL-749.

The front of the unit contains a single, centereddriver. Four identical drivers are mounted in each of theangled back panels, making a total of nine drivers.There is no crossover, and therefore no balance con-trols; connections are made to screw terminals at thebottom of the unit. The intent of such a design should bethoroughly familiar to our readers by now: to delivermost of the sound into the listening room in such a waythat it is heard by reflection off nearby walls, opening upthe sound and simulating the large radiating surfaces ofthe concert hall. To achieve this end the speaker mustbe placed away from the wall -perhaps about a foot orless is optimum in most rooms -and rotated until themost satisfactory stereo image is achieved.

We asked CBS Labs to test the modified model, andthen A/B'd it with the original model in our listeningroom. But more of that in a moment. The impedancecurve proved to be almost a textbook example, withoutthe little quirks that can make multiple -speaker hookupsproblematical. Following bass resonance (centered at140 Hz) the impedance drops to its rating point of 9.5ohms (at about 450 Hz) and then rises gradually to be-yond 16 ohms as frequency increases. Linear Design'srating of 8 ohms is therefore appropriate. Even in the ex-treme bass the impedance drops only slightly below thisvalue, so it is an unusually safe model for parallelhookup to solid-state amplifiers.

The standard test level of 94 dB at 1 meter wasachieved for 4.5 watts input, representing high effi-ciency. The unit handled continuous tones of 100 wattswithout exceeding distortion limits, and pulsed tones to131.5 watts (263 watts peak) for an output of 110.5 dB: agood dynamic range. High-level pulse photos did showsome waveform distortion, however.

You'll note that the frequency -response curve is notencouraging. Linear Design has an equalizer unit (foruse with any speaker -not just the 749) in the works, butat this writing it's not yet available. We played the speak-

ers through a JVC SEA (multiple -slider tone -control) re-ceiver (the VR-5541, reviewed elsewhere in this issue),applying up to 12 dB of boost in the extreme bass andup to 10 dB at the high end. We'd suggest that you usesomething similar (several available equalizer modelswill do the job) with the 749 and provide some reservepower for that purpose. Perhaps 20 to 50 watts perchannel would be appropriate in almost any room,though the 749 can be driven by less and will handlemore.

With the equalization applied, the sound is well bal-anced and reasonably smooth. Dispersion is excellentof course; in fact so much of the sound is reflected offnearby walls that the normal truisms of high -frequencydispersion (the axiomatic beaming of individual drivers)do not really apply. In comparing the present versionwith the original we could hear little difference, thoughthe bass did seem somewhat more efficient with thelaminated magnet.


100

90

80

2 70a_1.61

60

50

RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS(1 watt input)

AVERAGE OMNIDIRECTIONAL RESPONSE s(±8.5 dB, 62 Hz to 12 kHz, ref. 75 dB)AVERAGE FRONT HEMISPHERIC RESPONSE

ON -AXIS RESPONSE

101749/1

20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20KFREQUENCY IN HZ

LDL-749 Speaker Harmonic Distortion*

OutputLevel(dB)

80 Hz% 2nd

Frequency300 Hz

% 3rd % 2nd % 3rd

70 0.60 0.90 0.22 0.7075 0.95 1.1 0.21 0.6880 1.7 1.3 0.22 0.7485 2.6 1.6 0.26 0.5790 4.3 2.0 0.33 0.4495 5.6 3.1 0.50 0.30

100 5.3 5.9 0.75 0.23105 1.5 0.40106.5 2.5 0.28

'Distortion data are taken on all tested speakers until distortionexceeds the 10% level or the speaker produces the spuriousoutput known as buzzing. whichever occurs first.


More than the memory lingers on as new groJps-and a few old-continueto experiment with some of the most exciting music this plaiet has ever known."

Where Did All the,eesBig Bands Go?

by Gene

A FEW MONTHS AGO, I attended a concert on thecampus of the University of California in Irvine byDon Ellis and his big orchestra and Willie Bobo'spowerful little Latin jazz group. It was the first jazzconcert ever presented at that campus, studentstold me-and it was a sellout. And this in a timewhen a number of rock concerts in that area hadbombed.

The students loved the music, although the con-cert went on a little too long; a number of them toldme of a growing interest in jazz among youngpeople. Ellis himself said that he had been playingat universities all through the West, and the re-sponse was always the same: large and enthusiasticcrowds. "If only the record companies would be-come aware of it," he said.

What ever happened to the big bands?Well, Stan Kenton is out there still, and selling

his records by direct mail. Woody Herman has anextremely vigorous band of young musicians, andaudiences of all ages love them. Duke Ellington,Buddy Rich, and Count Basie are still very active.Jack Daugherty's excellent big -band album onA&M, "The Class of '71," got excellent airplay andsold well.

.Anyone who thinks interest in the big bands is

dead had better tell it to the Reader's Digest: TheirLP reissues of big band music from the past havesold in the tens of millions. Time -Life, aware of thisinterest, started a program of re-creating the bandsound of the past. Up in Canada, the prestigiousCanadian Broadcasting Corporation has seen fit tomount a full-scale television series on the bigbands, re-creating their sounds and, when possible,having their original leaders like Charlie Barnetand Woody Herman as guests on the show. When ashow on the superb band of the late ClaudeThornhill was mounted, Gerry Mulligan (whoplayed and wrote for Thornhill) was the leader.

And if that evidence of interest in the big bandsisn't enough, try this statistic on for size: There arean estimated 8,000 to 10,000 big jazz -inflected or-chestras in the colleges and high schools of theUnited States.

It is significant that even during the musicaldrought of the 1960s. professional musicians wouldget together to form big bands and play for the funof it, much as orchestral musicians will play stringquartets together for pleasure.

The rock era now seems to be ending, as even theyoung grow weary of an endless thunderous ampli-fied twang and as the social and moral values of the

JANUARY 1973 63

rockers and their hippy followers fall deeper intowell -deserved discredit. If the young do discoverbig bands, much of the credit will belong to suchgroups as Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago.Whether you like them or not, they introduced theyounger listeners to the sound of horns.

If we have big -band music again, it will not belike that of yesteryear. It will be more like the musicin the aforementioned Jack Daugherty album orGerry Mulligan's recent album on A&M. This newkind of big -band music incorporates the musicalchanges of the past twenty-five years: new instru-mental groupings, complex Latin rhythms recentlyimported, the better elements of rock rhythms,which jazz players have of late been refining intosomething authentically exciting.

Artie Shaw, one of the major exponents of thebig -band style, once told me that he thought theband era was unique and that there would never beanother like it. And he was right, for if there is arevival on the scale the present activities suggest, itwill, for the aforesaid reasons, be different. ButShaw meant something more than that.

The lay public cannot be expected to appreciatesubtle and important music. There always has beena lot of bad popular music around, and that is thekind that the public seems to love most. Yet in thebig band era millions of young people fell in lovewith first-rate music. For a brief, magical momentof history most popular music was good and goodmusic was popular.

There were corny bands, to be sure. But the sig-nificant thing is that men such as Basie, ChickWebb, Herman, Ellington, Kenton, Thornhill, Jim-mie Lunceford, Tommy Dorsey, Shaw, and manyothers achieved considerable success and personalpopularity with music that was genuinely superb.

It is difficult to date the big -band era precisely.The seed began growing in the early 1920s, thebody and leaves of the plant were apparent by1930, and the full flowering occurred between 1935

and 1945. After that the plant went to seed. But theseeds fell on fertile ground and men such as HenryMancini (once of the postwar Tex Benecke band),Johnny Mandel (a former Woody Herman Herd-er), Quincy Jones (an alumnus of the LionelHampton Band), Lalo Schifrin, Oliver Nelson, andthe beloved (there is no other word for him) BennyCarter took the skills and techniques of big -bandwriting, crossed them with those of the classicalconservatories, and turned movie music into thehardy, healthy hybrid it is today. Meantime, someof their colleagues went into the universities andplanted the seeds of the astonishingly flourishing"stage -band" movement. And big -band -orientedschools like the Berklee College of Music in Bostonand North Texas State in Denton, Texas taughtbig -band writing and playing to a generation of ex-ceptional young musicians.

The big -band sound was, and is. closely associ-

64

e-cher Hendstson, aooverigf 1 with Ber iy Good -r an, supplied 'nary o- the arrar gements made_Ye fame of Goodma7's band as a swing group,

Hendersor's rewards wee less substantial.

Frank Sinat-a (above rig -t witi Tommy Dorsey),whose big band experience led to a new styleof singing, aid Ray Eberle (telow rigit withGlenn Miler) were among the many vocalistswho appealed as a big band s-andard feature.

Not all of the golcenera big banc leaders areout of business. Amongthose still activE areCount Basie (le t)and Stan Ke-itol !belowleft with Gene imn.pa).

The big bind influence has come dowr to the latergeneralio-s whether it is in the music of a cc mposeriarranger ike Henry Mancini (left) or in the na-tionwide appearances of Don Ellis' (above) group.

ated with jazz. It is necessary thus to qualify thedefinition carefully because not all the big bandsplayed jazz. and not all the jazz bands were big.The best big bands were indeed jazz orchestras, butthere were commercial dance bands that were quitegood. and some of those "Mickey Mouse" bands, asthey were known, were capable of creditable jazzwhen their leaders occasionally gave them theirheads.

There were big bands before 1920. In World WarI. Negro musician Lt. Jim Europe led a widely ad-mired band that played for American troops over-seas, as Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw would do onewar later. But the big bands as we know them reallybegan to take shape in the 1920s, as the instrumen-tation that later became so familiar evolved-saxes,trumpets, trombones, and rhythm section. Variousmen contributed to this development, but primarycredit is usually given and no doubt belongs toFletcher Henderson and Don Redman, with im-portant contributions by Edgar Sampson andBenny Carter-all four were blacks, and three ofthe four were saxophone players.

Henderson formed his own orchestra, but itfailed commercially and he went to work for BennyGoodman as an arranger. The success of the Good-man band popularized Henderson's kind of writing(and vice versa!) and paved the way for otherbands built on Henderson's pattern. Indeed, someof the famous "Benny Goodman arrangements"came directly out of the book (as a library of ar-rangements is called) of the Henderson band, andsome of Goodman's hits, including Stompin' at theSavoy and Don't Be That Way were written bySampson originally for Henderson. Goodman to-day is a wealthy man. and Henderson is long sincedead-of frustration, some say. And there is bitter-ness in certain black musical circles over theseevents. Some of it is justified. though it is difficult toblame Goodman personally for conditions that ob-tained in American society at that period.

Another critically Important figure in the devel-opment of the big -band sound was Duke Ellington,whose approach was quite different from that ofI lenderson and Redman. To understand the era,and even much of today's music, it is necessary toexamine this difference.

What Henderson. Redman. and the others hadbeen seeking was a large ensemble that wouldswing. To achieve this, they segregated the instru-ments. That is to say. trumpets played with trum-pets. trombones played with trombones-thoughpart of the time they functioned together. But thesaxophones maintained a separate identity. Exceptin massed tutti passages. they worked as a coun-tervoice to the brass.

Ellington didn't do things that way. The Dukeand his right-hand man. the gifted arranger andcomposer Billy Strayhorn (who also is dead now),liked to mix the sections-perhaps voice a clarinet

65

with muted trumpet and trombone, as in Mood In-digo. Ellington was interested in shades of color.

Ellington's approach influenced the ClaudeThornhill band and its genius arranger, Gil Evans.And the Ellington -Evans approach influencedGerry Mulligan, Miles Davis, and the small -groupjazz movement they pioneered in the late 1940s,when the big bands were falling on hard times.

Both approaches, that of Ellington -Evans andthat of Redman -Henderson. have had an extraor-dinarily wide and profound influence on twentieth-century music. When I saw a Russian musical vari-ety show in Switzerland two or three years ago, Inoted with interest that the orchestra's format wasthe one developed by these men in the '20s, '30s,and '40s.

At first there were four saxes-two altos and twotenors. Ellington used a baritone saxophone,played by the stalwart Harry Carney. By 1940,more and more bands were adding baritone saxo-phones. The instrument not only gave a band astronger bottom sound. it permitted the use of themore advanced harmonies that were becomingpopular with arrangers and audiences.

There were variants on the format, of course.Woody Herman in the 1940s went to three tenorsaxophones and a baritone, the famous "FourBrothers" sound. But five became the ideal saxsection, and still is.

At first there were three trumpets and either twoor three trombones. And that works, since it per-mits five -way voicings. But the brass sound grew inpower, and eventually four trumpets and threetrombones became standard; some bands went tofive trumpets and four trombones. Brass writinghad become so advanced, and the players were ex-pected to perform such high and arduous passages,that lead trumpet players, the workhorses of the or-chestra, tended to tire. So it became advisable to"split the lead chair" among two players. Andwhen five trumpts and four trombones did at lastplay together as a section, it was one of the mostdazzling sounds in all music.

But in general the experiment with format couldbe said to be complete when most bands had fivesaxes, four trumpets, and three trombones. Thatstill is the basic pattern, although for many yearssaxophone players have often been expected todouble on flute and occasionally even on oboe orEnglish horn. The best of them do it effortlessly,and some of them arrive at record dates with somany instruments that they look like plumbers' as-sistants.

The rhythm section consisted, by the 1940s, of pi-ano, bass, drums, and sometimes guitar. The CountBasie rhythm section, for example, was instantlyidentifiable to the more astute band fans by Fred-die Green's rock -steady and flowing guitar work, sosubtle that it was closer to a texture than an audiblesound. The pianist was often a lost soul in the

rhythm section. No one really knew what to do withhim or why he was there, but he was, and he wasusually confined to playing rhythm figures that noone in the audience could hear, and superfluouslyreinforcing the harmonies in a manner similar tothe keyboard player in the baroque era. GerryMulligan later did a sensible thing, though itshocked everyone: Like Haydn two centuries ago,he tossed the harmony -filling keyboard out of hisbands, whether small groups or large. Still, the bestbig -band pianists provided an interesting addedcolor in their solo work, and many of them (such asMel Powell, who went on to become director ofYale's Electronic Music Studio and dean of theSchool of Music at the California Institute of theArts) were much admired.

It was de rigueur for a band to have two singers: agirl and a boy. They were there for romantic rea-sons, as the interpreters of ballads, usually saccha-rine ballads of little depth or worth. The instrumen-tals were what the real fans waited for. A lot of theband singers weren't very good. Yet the best Amer-ican singing, as represented by Frank Sinatra andPeggy Lee, grew out of the big band era. Both be-gan as band singers.

The band era was withering by the late 1940s, astransportation costs rose and television exploded(or imploded, some would argue) on the entertain-ment world and broke the public habit of going outto be amused, and as the newly developed long-playing record made the public more and more de-pendent on the phonograph for its music.

There were dozens of big bands travelingthroughout America during the late 1940s. Therewere probably hundreds of others in business, ifyou count the "territory bands," some of them ex-cellent, which never broke through into the bigtime. Their leaders enjoyed a modest regional suc-cess, but frequently musicians who trained in theselocal groups went on to bigger things: Tommy andJimmy Dorsey, Sonny Dunham, Lucky Millinder,Will Bradley, Harry James, Vaughn Monroe,Charlie Spivak, Lionel Hampton, and all the otherswhose names rang like those of gods ramblingaround an American Olympus.

They created a musical style that has influencedthe entire world. It is hard to imagine what musicwould be like had they never existed; it is hard toimagine a sound for America had those bandsnever played.

Most of the bands are gone now, their leadersdead, as in Thornhill's case, or retired, as inBarnet's. But some of these remarkable men, as wehave noted, are still out there, and they, withyounger musicians like Jack Daughterty, the kids inthe bands on the campuses, and the rehearsalbands scattered around the country, continue thefar -from -finished experiment with some of themost exciting, interesting, and inventive music thisplanet has ever known.


by Marvin Grosswirth

Mengelwangler:"65 Years on the Podium Is Enough"

THE MUSICAL \'1 oRLD reacted with shocked surprise lastweek when Kurt Wilhelm Mengelwangler, the "GrandOld Man of Music," announced that he would retirenext month, on his ninety-third birthday.

"Sixty-five years on the podium is enough," the white-haired maestro said in an exclusive interview shortly af-ter the announcement. "After all," he continued."sooner or later those of us who are getting on a bit haveto step down to make room for the younger ones."

The brilliant and colorful career which comes to aclose this season began in 1908. Mengelwangler. thentwenty-eight, had already established himself' as an in-strumental virtuoso playing first -chair triangle with thelegendary West Tyrolean Zither and GlockenspielChamber Society. The conductor. Fritz Furtberg. fell illminutes before a concert and although Mengelwanglerhad never seen the score of Echoes of Bavaria. the majorwork to be performed that evening, he mounted the po-dium and with the steel beater of his triangle, conductedthe orchestra in a stirring, history -making performance.

"Ever since then," the Maestro admits, "I have had apenchant for thick, heavy batons. It has worked very wellfor me too. I must say. especially in this last assignment.

"The secret of successful conducting, you see, is fear.If the conductor can properly intimidate the orchestra,preferably with threats of physical violence, then he willhave no problem." While Mengelwangler's techniquemay not work for everyone his success over the past fif-teen years with the New York Department of Correc-tions Recidivist Philharmonic clearly indicates that hehas fully mastered his own technique.

"At first," he confesses, "I was reluctant to take on`The Repeaters,' as our orchestra is popularly known. Ihad a quite comfortable berth with the Armonk (N.Y.)Symphony Orchestra during the season, with a ratherpleasant and lucrative summer position at the JuniorHigh School 209 School of Music. I held the Miss Park-hill Chair in Triangle there and was greatly respected. Ibelieve I hold the record, among the entire J.H.S. 209faculty, for the least number of muggings by students.

"But I could not resist the challenge that The Repeat-ers presented: young, vibrant musicians with just enoughhostility to bring new dimensions to old music. I shallnever forget what they did to Liebestraum." he says in anear whisper, as a barely perceptible shudder passesthrough his frail body.

It was early during his career with The Repeaters thatMengelwangler refined the conducting technique thatbrought him international fame. He well remembers thefirst time he used it.

"I was rehearsing the orchestra in a symphonic ar-

rangement of Spanish Eves, based on a Radio City Mu-sic Hall orchestration, and it seemed to me that the stringsection was slowly closing in on me. I did not becomeconcerned, however, until I realized that I was up againstthe wall, just under a window. Undaunted, I raised myarms for a crescendo and my right hand struck the bars.one of which came loose. I pulled it free and began con-ducting with it. Within a minute or two. the string sectionrejoined the rest of the orchestra. I have been conductingwith an iron bar ever since."

Was there any truth to the theory that the iron barserves as a resonator which enables the Maestro to feelthe vibrations of the orchestra?

"None whatsoever. The iron bar serves primarily as adeterrent to the musicians."

Of the three auditoriums linked inextricably in ourmusic history with Mengelwangler's name-Philhar-monic Hall. Carnegie Hall. and the P.S. 209 AssemblyHall-which was his favorite?

"No question about it-Carnegie Hall," he asserts.When it is suggested that Carnegie's superb acoustics arethe reason for the preference, the Maestro responds witha look of contempt.

"Don't be a dummkopf," he sneers. "What does a con-ductor know about acoustics? Look, you have aboutforty fiddles on your left, some thirty or so cellos, violas,and basses on your right, a whole assortment of hornsand whistles directly in front of you, and way in the back,a timpanist with an iron grip on his mallets and blood inhis eye. Do you seriously think a conductor can hear theacoustics with all that racket going on?"

Why, then, the preference for Carnegie Hall?"Because the podium is a good three inches higher

than any of the others. You can loom over the orchestrabetter. That, plus the iron bar, scares hell out of them."

Mengelwangler modestly denies-but with little con-viction-that he is the founder of what has been called theIron Bar School of Conducting. "Many modern conduc-tors," he claims. "achieve exactly the same effect with anordinary wooden baton. It only sounds like they're con-ducting with an iron bar."

What does the future hold in store for the Grand OldMan after retirement?

"Reflection, relaxation, and a great deal of rest. At myage, waving an iron bar around in front of an orchestracan be a trifle taxing."

The Repeaters plan a farewell party for their belovedMaestro. "to repay him," according to the official an-nouncement, "for everything." Mengelwangler says hecan hardly wait to see what they have planned. Neithercan the rest of the musical world.

JANUARY 1973 67

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a fresh look at an old problem.by Andrew Porter

Sutherland (left) and Sills in their ro es as Olympia.

Les Conies d'Hoffmann has not lacked recordings. Inearly LP days there was the Opera-Comique set on Co-lumbia, Cluytens-conducted, assembled from thirty-two78 rpm sides, with Raoul Jobin as its hero and a trio ofheroines; it represented much the sort of performance tobe heard in Paris in those days, quite lively and enjoy-able, not especially distinguished. (The Opera-Comiqueas a company is no more; but Solti, they say, is planninga slap-up new Hoffmann for the Paris Opera.) Then Lon-don brought out the soundtrack of the 1951 Hoffmannfilm-distinguished by Sir Thomas Beecham's conduct-ing, and precious little else. Of more recent sets, Angel'sof 1965, again conducted by Cluytens, remains in thecatalogue, to be considered along with the two new al-bums under review.

Un peu d'histoire, as they say in the Michelin guides,makes an essential introduction to any account of aHoffmann performance, since scarcely any two of themnowadays present the same text-and one of the main

points of the new London album is that it is the firstHoffmann on record that tries to get back more closely tothe opera comique of Offenbach's original intention. I'lltry to be as brief as possible. Offenbach died before hiswork reached the stage. Ernest Guiraud completed thescore for the premiere in 1881, omitting the Giulietta act,but (in order to save the pretty Barcarolle, which Offen-bach had lifted from his operetta Die Rheinnixen) shift-ing Antonia from Munich to Venice. When Qiulietta re-turned she did so in the wrong sequence, before insteadof after Antonia. From there, the tale becomes one of in-creasing textual corruption, with sung recitative gradu-ally ousting all the spoken dialogue. In Vienna, Mahleromitted Prologue and Epilogue. Hans Gregor openedthe Berlin Komische Oper in 1905 with an expandedHoffmann that included Coppelius' Spectacles and Da-pertutto's Diamond airs; and his version was the basis ofthe scores published by Choudens and by Peters whichserved, and still serve, for most revivals. At the Opera -

JANUARY 1973 69

peated six -note theme whose rhythmic char-acter is at least as important as its melodic con-tour, there is no mistaking the composer.Indeed, one is strongly reminded in spots ofMartin's Petite symphonie concertante (which,by the way, sorely needs a new recording). Butfor all the Martin trademarks that carry overfrom one piece to the next, one always findsfresh and fascinating ideas in each work, andin the Harpsichord Concerto Martin has beenable to adapt a rather Bachish harpsichordstyle (the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto comesto mind at several points) to his decidedly con-temporary rhythmic and harmonic textures,all of which are high I ighted by the particularlydelicate and subtle scoring, referred to byMartin quite accurately as "transparent." One

is also captivated by some of the complex crossrhythms between the harpsichord and orches-tra in the second movement, which is basicallya set of accelerating variations built around arather Ravelian chordal theme. ChristianaJaccottet has a supple, flowing manner ofplaying the harpsichord, and she manifests aperfect understanding of the Martin concertoin her performance here. I must add that 1have never heard better harpsichord sound ona recording.

Neither of the ballades benefits from thesensitive solo work of the Harpsichord Con-certo, and in both cases the solo instrumentsseem under -recorded. Nor does either balladedisplay the harmonic or formal tightness thatrepresents one of the strong points of the later

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concerto. But both, on the other hand, offer amore opulent melodic and orchestral stylethan one usually finds in Martin's work, andthere are enough of the composer's earmarks,from the four -note theme after the introduc-tion in the Trombone Ballade (1940) to the os-tinato rhythms at the opening of the longer,more elegiac Piano Ballade (1939). to keepMartin fans happy. I might add that the color-ful but dark -hued painting by Bazaine repro-duced on the cover is a remarkably goodchoice to accompany Martin's music. Let'shope Candide doesn't stop here. R.S.B.

MOZART: "The Eight -Year -Old Mozart inChelsea": six divertimentos and five con-tredanses for various instruments. Acad-emy of St. Martin -in -the -Fields, Neville Marri-ner, cond. Philips 6500 367, $6.98.

Neville Marriner and Erik Smith, a Philips of-ficial and Mozart expert, have expended agreat deal of trouble on this recording whichthey might more profitably have lavished else-where. When Mozart was eight and staying inChelsea during his English expedition withLeopold, he filled a notebook with musicalsketches for keyboard-usually only a melodyline with bass, leaving chords and inner partsto be done later.

The so-called London notebook came tolight in the late nineteenth century and waspublished in the twentieth. Erik Smith hastaken these very sparse and innocent exercisesand-working, as he says in the album notes,less on analysis than on intuition-has filled inthe inner parts, supplied tempo and dynamicindications, occasionally composed closingmeasures, joined random movements to makecomplete pieces, and orchestrated the results,emphasizing woodwinds.

Smith's intuition is irreproachable, hisdocumentation of what he has done metic-ulous, and this slender music offers some tune-fulness and a great deal of bustle. But the realMozart remains on those rudimentary note-book pages (and possibly some of that was dic-tated by Leopold-who, after all, had Wolf-gang copy out an entire symphony of C. F.Abel during this same English visit, a sym-phony mistakenly known as Mozart's No. 3for years).

This recording is neither innately inter-esting enough to warrant more than one hear-ing. nor historically valid enough to stand as ahistorical document. S.F.

OCKEGHEM: Missa Ecce ancilla Domini-See Dufay: Missa sine nomine

OFFENBACH: Les Contes d'Hoffmann. JoanSutherland, Placido Domingo, Gabriel Bac-quier, et al.; Chorus and Orchestre de laSuisse Romande, Richard Bonynge, cond.OFFEmeAcH: Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Bev-erly Sills, Stuart Burrows, Norman Treigle, etal.; John Alldis Choir; London Symphony Or-chestra, Julius Rudel, cond. For a feature re-view of these recordings, see page 69.

PAGANINI: Concertos for Violin and Orches-tra: No. 1, in D; No. 4, in D minor. ArthurGrumiaux, violin; National Opera Orchestra

Continued on Page 98

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97

"The Best RecordAlbum of 1972"

(And It Cost $2 Only!)

Twenty-five songs, by 25 of theworld's top pop stars, in this all newalbum. Two albums, actually, sinceBURBANK is a full two -record set.

BURBANK got named after theCalifornia city that's the home ofWarner Bros. Records and RepriseRecords. These two record labels gottogether with many of today's toprecord stars to put out this at -costalbum (it would retail for $9.96 if itwere a regular, profit -makingalbum) at only $2.

Normally, record artists (muchless record companies) don't selltheir best material at cost.

So why the non-profit.BURBANK?Simply so these artists can get

samplings - full, intact, all stereoservings - of their finest recordingsbefore a wider public than radioreaches. And to get them to you atthe lowest possible cost (not toomuch expensive advertising, andsold only via mail).Here's what's in BURBANK: A never -before -in -an -album songby the late Jimi Hendrix: over fourminutes of "The Stars That Playwith Laughing Sam's Dice!'

A special never -on -record song byArlo Guthrie, written and per-formed by him for public service,called "The Voter RegistrationRag:'

An infectious hit by John Baldry-

produced by Rod Stewart - called"You Can't Judge a Book by ItsCover:'

The very best new songs from suchtop English rock stars as T. Rex,Curved Air, Deep Purple, John Ren-bourn (of Pentangle) and Foghat(ex -Savoy Brown).

The solo debut of Bob Weir, long-time (and still) guitarist with TheGrateful Dead.

The debut on Reprise of America'sfinest guitarist, the incomparableJohn Fahey, in an astounding four -minutes -plus new composition.

The return to records of the cele-brated Van Dyke Parks, with hisstartling "G. Man Hoover:'

Much more by such new recordingartists as John Cale (of Velvet Un-derground) Fanny, The Meters (topR & B instrumental group), Kaylanand Velman (once among TheTurtles) ...

And a lot, lot more on these twoLPs.The only way to get your copy of

BURBANK is to mail $2 to WarnerBros. Records, along with the cou-pon below (or with a note about whatthe $2 is for). Then (it seems) asslowly as possible, the U.S. Post Of-fice Department will get BURBANKback to you.

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Continued from page 92

of Monte Carlo, Piero Bellugi, cond. Philips6500 411, $6.98.

I don't know about the rest of the fiddle fan-ciers in this world, but I make one mistake be-fore listening to each new Paganini recordingthat comes along: I assume that only a razzle-dazzle, purely virtuosic type of soloist canmake the most of it-that a notably mature,"serious" artist is going to fail, somehow, tobring off the fireworks. Once again the theoryproves wrong. Grumiaux personifies, if any-one does, the serious, searching violinist. Andwhat does he do with the old wizard, Paga-nini? He brings to the music the best elementsof his own accomplished technique, and setsup a beautifully balanced, well -controlled,unfrazzled pair of performances-strikingboth in their agility and in the warmth lav-ished on those famous lyric themes.

Grumiaux can glide up and down the fin-gerboard in parallel thirds and sixths with thebest of them, and he does it without any senseof stress; he can also dance around up there inthe stratosphere and make music of every noteof it. I was particularly struck by the springi-ness and crystalline clarity of the finale of No.4, and by the full, warm tone applied to thatmelancholy rhapsody in the slow movement.There is only one moment of shakiness in thewhole recording, and that's during the double -stopped harmonics in the last movement ofNo. I, where for some reason the soloistsounds a bit stricken. For the rest, there isclean fingerwork and precision bowing all theway, and a remarkably judicious, Italianateuse of rubato on the songful subjects. Grum-iaux plays his own cadenza in No. 4, AugustWilhelmj's in No. 1.

The orchestra brings plenty of brilliance tothe circus -music opening of No. 1, and pitchesinto its chores with a will. S.F.

PERGOLESI: Stabat Mater. Mirella Freni, so-prano; Teresa Berganza, mezzo; Scarlatti Or-chestra of Naples, Ettore Grads, cond. Ar-chive 2533 114, $6.98.Selected comparison:Raskin and LehaneiGarocciolo Lon. 25921

In the brief span of his twenty-six years, Per-golesi managed to compose a substantialquantity of theatrical and church music: LaServo padrona and the present Stabat Materalone place him among the most notable com-posers of the first half of the eighteenth cen-tury. The Stabat Mater, his last completedwork and composed while he was dying ofconsumption, is a masterful and highly ex-pressive setting of the traditional Latin hymndescribing the Virgin standing before theCross.

In Pergolesi's time, there was not much dis-tinction between church music and the secularworld of opera, so it is not necessarily inappro-priate to select two well-known opera singersfor this performance. Both Mirella Freni andTeresa Berganza are in fine voice and theirsinging here will delight their admirers. It willnot delight those who expect authentic eight-eenth -century singing style throughout: Hereone hears inflection, rhythmic emphasis, andvocal coloring much more appropriate to Ros-sini, Verdi, and Puccini, though Berganza ismore in keeping with the style than her part-ner. The London record with Raskin and Le -


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hane comes closer to the stylistic ideal-eventhe recently deleted Philips disc with Lear andLudwig may be preferable to the Archive issuein this respect.

With this consideration in mind, however,the Archive release is a beautifully producedrecord with ravishing singing, good orchestralplaying, excellent balance of soloists, and fineambience of reproduction. P.H.

RAVEL: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra:in D (for the left hand alone); in G. PhilippeEntremont, piano; Cleveland Orchestra,Pierre Boulez, cond. (in the Concerto in D);Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy,cond. (in the Concerto in G); Columbia M31426, $5.98

There was once an early London disc of theLet's Hand Concerto in which the openingpages sounded like a witches' cauldron. Suf-fice it to say. Boulez-with his mania for de-tail-and the modern, ultradefined recordingtechniques bring it all into the midday sun.The conductor's view of this piece is as out-standing here as it was in a recent "live" per-formance in Philharmonic Hall-broad,rhythmical. very dynamic. and extremelyclear.

The soloist in that concert performance wasLeon Fleisher and it is sad that his out-standing. elucidating interpretation couldn'thave been perpetuated in Columbia's record-ing. Entremont's pianism. by contrast, is a bitcoarse and splashy. without Fleisher's finetonal gradations and without that player's

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keenly analytical grasp of Ravel's motivicworkmanship. Still, he brings a modicum ofsnap and bravura to the music and fills out thebroader pianistic outlines of Boulez' purpose-ful conception.

The earlier Entremont/Ormandy readingof the G major Concerto is reissued from Co-lumbia MS 6629 where it shared vinyl withFalla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain. This is acompetent but not particularly distinguishedaccount. The pianistic side is a bit blotchy andhelter-skelter. and Ormandy's "big orchestra"approach lacks the de rigueur intimacy andpersonalized jazzy details. H .G.

ScHumANN: DavidsbUndlertanze, Op. 6.BRAHms: Sonata for Piano, No. 1, in C, Op.1. William Masselos, piano. RCA Red SealLSC 3291, $5.98.Selected comparison (Schumann):Kempff DGG 139316Selected comparison (Brahms):Katchen Lon. 6410

Neither of these works has been recorded agreat deal, and they appear on recital pro-grams still less often. In the case of theBrahms, it's easy to understand why. withSchumann less so.

Brahms's C major Sonata is almost as hardto listen to as it is to play. It is angular and bris-tling. a raw statement of youthful strength. Ex-cept in the first movement, the themes are oflimited interest, and their development issuperficial. Despite moments of beauty. it is apiece we can live without.

Papillons and Fantasiestiicke are the Schu-mann piano suites we hear most often, but thedialogue between the composer's alter egosFlorestan and Eusebius as embodied in theDavidsbithdlertanze is superior to the formerand at least as interesting as the latter. Theeighteen pieces, more or less evenly dividedbetween Florestanian ebullience and Euse-bian reserve, give insight into Schumann'spersonal and musical character perhaps moreclearly than any of his other works. But oneneed know nothing of Schumann's fancifulDavidsbund or the personifications of his di-vided personality to recognize that this is ex-ceedingly good piano music.

Masselos plays excellently in both worksbut comes out on top only in Schumann: thereis just too much working against him in theBrahms. Even the first movement, the most in-teresting. sounds bombastic: the second -movement variations sound disjointed nomatter how smoothly they are played. and thefinale rambles so much that even Masselos'heroic attempts to forge an over-all unity arefailures.

His sense of drama and close attention tothe infrequent lyrical passages make his per-formance more successful than Julius Kat-chen's on London. Katchen's approach isquite restrained, robbing the piece of its dra-matic character, and his frequently choppyplaying is no help.

Kempfi's playing of the Schumann is moreserene than Masselos'. He minimizes the ob-vious contrasts among the pieces, while Mas-selos makes the most of them and gives thesuite a sparkle I find lacking in the earlierrecording. A.M.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, Op. 113(Babi Yar.). Artur Eizen, bass: USSR Rus-


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Vladimir Ashkenazy - TheLondon Symphony Orchestra- Andre PrevinCSA-2311

Wagner:TANNHAUSERRene Kollo, Helga Dernesch,Christa Ludwig, Victor Braun,Hans Sotin - The ViennaPhilharmonic Orchestra -Georg SoltiOSA-1438

Beethoven: EGMONTPilar Lorengar - The ViennaPhilharmonic Orchestra -George SzellCS -6675

REGINE CRESPIN -PRIMA DONNA FROM PARIS

Excerpts from La Damnationde Faust, Sapho, Werther,Carmen, La Belle Helene, LaPerichole and othersOSA-1292

THE PLANETS

The Los Angeles PhilharmonicOrchestra - Zubin MehtaCS -6734

Mussorgsky:BORIS GODUNOVNicolai Ghiaurov, GalinaVishnevskaya, Ludovic Spiess,Martti Talvela - The ViennaPhilharmonic Orchestra -Herbert von KarajanOSA-1439

1Ponizetti:L'ELISIR D'AMOREJoan Sutherland, LucianoPavarotti, Spiro Malas,Dominic Cossa - The EnglishChamber Orchestra - RichardBonyngeosA-13101

Mahler:SYMPHONY NO. 8Soloists, Chorus-The ChicagoSymphony Orchestra -Georg SoltiOSA-1295

Verdi:UN BALLO IN MASCHERARenata Tebaldi, LucianoPavarotti, Sherrill Milnes,Regina Resnik, Helen Donath-The Orchestra of L'AccademiaNazionale di Santa Cecilia,Rome - Bruno BartolettiOSA-1398

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THE TALES OF HOFFMANNJoan Sutherland, PlacidoDomingo, Gabriel Bacquier -L'Orchestre de la SuisseRomande - Richard BonyngeOSA-13106

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sian Male Chorus: Moscow Philharmonic Or-chestra, Kiril Kondrashin, cond. Melodiya/Angel SR 40212, $5.98.Selected comparisons:Krause/Ormandy RCA 3162Gromadsky/Kondrashin Ev. 3181

Rumor has had it for a long time that the Rus-sians had made a studio recording of theShostakovich Thirteenth (not to be confusedwith the live version that found its way out ofRussia and has been available on Everest forsome time). but only recently has this rumorfinally been confirmed. Of course, betweenthe time the work was put on ice in Russiashortly after its premiere (in December 1961)and the present recording. the score to thesymphony somehow found its way to theseshores and was quickly introduced by Or-mandy (and later by Andre Previn in England)to concert audiences. Interestingly enough,many of the reactions in the West were just assilly in their own way as those of the Russiancensors: The editress of France's Harmoniemagazine, for instance, was incensed becauseOrmandy's unparalleled recording of theThirteenth nudged out Boulez' P/i se/on p/i forthe Montreux prize in 1970: she lashed outagainst Shostakovich's conservative musicalstyle and refused to realize the absurdity ofjudging the two works, whose aesthetic inten-tions are universes apart, by the same stand-ards. Where, one wonders, would it all end ifone were to start talking of the emotional con-servatism of Pli selon pli .?

All disputes aside, the outstanding elementof this second Kondrashin recording, whichlike the first contains the textual revisions inYevtushenko's Babi .Yar poem demanded bythe Soviet authorities (as does the score re-cently released in the U.S.S.R.), is bass ArturEizen, who has a much better idea of pitchthan Vitaly Gromadsky on the Everest discand whose expressive, resonant voice balancesmuch better with the rest of the symphonythan Tom Krause's on the Ormandy release-although Krause, who is really a bass -bari-tone. more than makes up for this in his com-munication of the music. The nightmarishfrenzy Kondrashin is able to work up in thesecond movement also struck me as partic-ularly appropriate. But as is frequently thecase with Kondrashin, there is a matter-of-factness to much of the Russian conductor'sstyle that simply undercuts the grandeur of themusic, whose towering sense of tragedy is, I

can only repeat, perfectly re-created by Or-mandy. One need only compare the over-whelming drama of the third -movement cli-max in the Ormandy version with the tameeffect the same passage receives in Kondrash-in's performance. Furthermore, the soundon the Kondrashin disc suffers from amarkedly pinched quality, and although therecording is worth having for the differentpoint of view it offers on this masterpiece-andfor Eizen's exceptional voice-it remains avery distant second to the Ormandy perform-ance. R.S.B.

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 2, in C minor,Op. 17 (Little Russian). New York Philhar-monic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. ColumbiaM 31195, $5.98.

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orchestral conductors, Leonard Bernstein hasrecently brought his emotional involvementwith music into better focus with his musicalresponsibility and directorial authority. Hisardor no longer forces him to take technicalrisks with his orchestra or to indulge himself inquestionable interpretive excesses.

As in his recent reading of the First Sym-phony, Bernstein makes little effort to distin-guish between "early" and "late" Tchai-kovsky. His energetic and emphatic inter-pretation stresses those aspects of this musicthat foreshadow the full-blown developmentsof the last three symphonies in tonal weightand rhythmic drive if not in melodic inspira-tion.

Needless to say, the New York Philhar-monic follows Bernstein's leadership with all-

out playing, and the reproduction has an ap-propriately full-bodied impact. P.H.

VACKAA: "Eyes Front!" Czechoslovak ArmyCentral Band, Karel Sfastny, Jindrich Brej-tek, and Eduard Kudelasek, conds. Supra-phon 1 14 0745, $6.98.Marches: Riviera: Awakening; Fine Lad; Liberation:Triumphal Homecoming; Tempo (Maybe Today,Maybe Tomorrow); Eyes Front! Dances.. South Mo-ravian Dance No.1; Evening at Sea (Waltz); Dobfejo-vice Polka; Serenade: Reminiscence of Zbiroh.

Vaclav VaelcaF is a new name to me. and I amunable to find him in any available referencework. Nevertheless, he turns out to be (on theevidence of the music here as well as of themultilingual liner notes) a Czech bandmaster

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and composer of considerable fame in his na-tive country-a minor nationalistic master, in-deed, comparable to at least some degree withDenmark's Hans Christian Lumbye, say, andour own John Philip Sousa. Vekat's dates are1881-1954 and he apparently rose to promi-nence in the early years of Czech independ-ence, after World War I, when he was able tosupply the need for new military -bandmarches replacing those too closely identifiedwith the Austrian Empire-examples of whichwere featured in Supraphon's earlier "OldAustrian Marches" program (1 14 1020). Butin addition to the seven brisk, catchily tunefulmarches here, there are three engaging exam-ples of his dance compositions (one of which,the polka, celebrates the composer's birth-place, Dobfejovice) and an evocative Reminis-cence of Zbiroh Serenade which features flu-gelhorn and baritone (the instrument, not avocalist) solos.

All of these are decidedly lightweight, pri-marily appealing for their simple but distinc-tive melodic charms, and only in small part forcompositional techniques which don't go farbeyond elementary imitative -phrase and rou-tine -accompaniment writing. And unfortu-nately the eighty -piece army band is eithermighty thin- and coarse -toned in itself or ismade to seem so by acoustical dry recording.No matter: You don't have to be Czech oreven share my own personal susceptibility toCzech music in general to enjoy Vatkat's dis-armingly fresh music -making. R.D.D.

VERDI: Requiem. Mirella Freni, soprano;Christa Ludwig, mezzo; Carlo Cossutta,tenor; Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass; Wiener Sing-verein; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Her-bert von Karajan, cond. Deutsche Grammo-phon 2707 065, $13.96 (two discs).Selected comparisons:Saran Sera. 6050Toscanini RCA 6018Ormandy Col. M2S 707Bernstein Col. M2 30060Barbirolli Ang. 3757Reiner Lon. 1294Leinsdorf RCA 7040Solti Lon. 1275Giulini Ang. 3649

Of making many Verdi Requiems there is noend. This is the eighth stereo recording cur-rently available and among the most inter-esting; yet for all its considerable virtues itfalls short of persuasiveness. The Requiem isone of those works that, like La Traviata,seems to defy satisfactory performance ondiscs. Sometimes (the Toscanini set, for in-stance, or the Serafin) the principal fault lieswith one or another of the vocalists. Some-times (the Ormandy) conductor and soloistsalike share the responsibility. Sometimes (theReiner) the chorus lets one down. Sometimes(the Bernstein) the unsatisfactory quality ofthe recording plays a decisive part. Sometimes(the Barbirolli, the Leinsdorf, the Solti) theconductor must take the full blame. Such isthe case with the present recording.

Herbert von Karajan is the most exquisiteof conductors. In the Berlin Philharmonic Or-chestra he has at his command what mustsurely be the finest orchestral ensemble in theworld today. From the merest whisper to theloudest cry they play with refinement, fleet-ness, accuracy, and beauty of timbre. One iscontinually astonished by the range of inflec-tions they are capable of and the subtlety of

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their phrasing. Above all, one is ravished bytheir unfailing mellifluousness and their sing-ing tone. Under Karajan they perform with aunanimity of purpose that one can only attrib-ute to selfless dedication. The present record-ing is but a further demonstration of theirquality. The smoothness and the orchestralsheen of this Requiem, unapproached by anyof the rival versions, are a source of greatpleasure. but also a source of great uneasiness.

As Verdi's vast conception unfolds itselfand the perspective shifts from heaven tojudgment and damnation, from repentence tofear and then to hope, one more and moremisses in Karajan's treatment the appropriatekind of elemental fire. Verdi's manner isforthright. The almost sensuous immediacy ofhis spiritual convictions produces a drama offaith, not a meditation on the subject. Karajanminimizes the conflicts inherent in this work.There is no fear in his conception of it. Hisreading is all consolation, all reflectiveness.The allegro moderato marking for Lux ae-terna becomes a pronounced adagio. Double -forte markings turn into mezzo forte. Retardsare frequently employed.

The comparison with Giulini is enlight-ening. Under Giulini the superb Philhar-monia Orchestra goes at the music with pas-sion. String attacks are much more vivid, thewinds use greater vibrato, the timpani roll outemphatically, the orchestral balances are lesshomogenized. You hear awe in the vibrantplaying the bassoon figure in Quid sum miser,whereas in Karajan's version you are beguiledby the honeyed sound. Giulini's emotional di-rectness seems to me infinitely truer to the mu-sic than Karajan's contemplative, chamber -ensemble approach, which, compared to theformer, yields results that are beautiful, blood-less, and withdrawn.

Giulini would be the clear choice amongRequiems were it not for the insuperabledrawback of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, stylist-ically and temperamentally at odds with themusic, mannered and arch to boot. Karajan'ssoloists, on the other hand, are without excep-tion very good. Freni is lovely, a clear, forwardsoprano voice full of human overtones. Hersoft top notes are not ideally free nor quite dis-embodied enough, and she tends to aspiratefast passages, but within the narrow emotionalrange imposed by the conductor she gives a re-markably touching performance. ChristaLudwig, that uniquely satisfying artist, is won-derful, though by the very nature of thingsGiulini, in whose performance she also fea-tures, gets more intensity out of her. The sameis true for Ghiaurov, another singer shared byboth conductors, though he seems to have suf-fered a certain diminution in basic vocalpower since the earlier recording was made.Cossutta, as handled by Karajan, is excellent.The voice is not especially attractive nor at fullstretch especially dependable, but here he usesit with great distinction, and his phrasingthroughout is very musical. The commend-able trills in the Hostias are sung piano. Allfour voices blend beautifully. This is the mostdistinguished and gratifying vocal quartet ofany recording so far. More's the pity that theends it is made to serve should be so artisti-cally dubious.

The quality of the recording is generallyfine. However, the placement of the chorus( the very accomplished Wiener Singverein) istroublesome. At times the singers are simplytoo indistinct and covered to be heard prop-

erly, though this may be the fault of Karajan'spreference for a low emotional temperature.

D.S.H.

WAGNER: Tristan und 'soTristanIsoldeBranganeKurvenalKing MarkMelotYoung Sailor and A ShepherdHelmsman

Ide.Jon Vickers (t)

Helga Dernesch (s)Christa Ludwig (ms)

Walter Berry (b)Karl R'dderbusch (bs)

Bernd Weikl (b)Peter Schreier (t)Martin Vantin (I)

Chorus of the German Opera, Berlin; BerlinPhilharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Kara-jan, cond. Angel SEL 3777, $29.90 (fivediscs).Selected comparisons:Furtwangler Ang. 3588Bohm DGG 2713 001Solti Lon. 1592

Tristan und Isolde is filled with yearning. Forthat reason conductors who tackle the workmust create a sense of impetus and inevita-bility. From the unresolved harmonic tensionsof the Act I prelude, the opera moves with ir-resistible momentum into the ceaseless ebband flow of the love duet, then to the archingfrenzy of Tristan's soliloquy, and at last to aconsolatory resolution in Isolde's Liebestod,where the struggle of Tristan and Isoldetoward erotic consummation reaches its long -delayed climax in mystical understanding.

Among complete recordings of this operaonly two, it seems to me. do real justice to thecomposer's intentions: Wilhelm Furtwangleron Angel and Karl Bohm on DGG. (Solti'sperformance on London seems to me a fail-ure. on account of the conducting, the Tristan.and the recording.) These are very differentkinds of performance. yet each in its own wayevinces the dynamism, the sense of urgencyand aspiration, which is at the heart of Wag-ner's conception. Furtwangler is magisterialand luminous, while BOhm, impetuous andimmoderate, drives forward with unflaggingexcitement. Both of these sets belong in everyopera lover's collection.

The new Karajan recording is not in thesame class. Karajan's grasp of the score cannotbe doubted. Every nuance in his performanceis determined by intelligence. There is not amoment when the listener is intellectuallyunaware of the opera's design. The climaxesare beautifully judged; each one grows pro-gressively in intensity until the death of Tris-tan, at which point turmoil dissolves intoserenity.

Karajan's virtuosic handling of the BerlinPhilharmonic Orchestra enables him to gaugehis effects to a nicety. Karajan favors verytransparent textures. The climax of the Act IPrelude is gloriously clear. The orchestralperoration after the drinking of the love po-tion is both pellucid and tonally resplendent.King Mark's hunting party fades into the nightwith ravishing delicacy, like "the horns ofelfland faintly blowing." The fatal entrance ofMark at the end of the love duet is powerfulyet lustrous. So is the opening of the last act.By comparison with all this, BOhm is almostcoarse. Certainly, no other orchestra on discs-not even Furtwangler's Philharmonia, then atits magnificent peak-plays with as much re-finement, technical skill, and sheer sensuousbeauty as the Berlin Philharmonic.

Yet in the end the whole enterprise is vi-tiated by the willfulness of Karajan's ap-

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proach. His performance, it is true, shows anawareness of Wagner's total design, but thetrouble is that he fails to unfold that design ina convincing way. He simply cannot refrainfrom demonstrating his virtuosity, whether itis appropriate or not. He is at his worst in re-flective and lyrical passages, where he in-variably slows the opera down to an alarmingdegree, reduces the orchestra to a whisper, andcreates a mood of drowsy, listless reverie. Hehandles unbridled passion with greater per-suasiveness, but all his heaven -storming cre-scendos cannot save the situation. For this rea-son, even though Karajan's dynamic range isvery much greater than BOhm's, the generaleffect is infinitely less lively.

Instead of impetus Karajan creates an im-pression of stasis. In several places he soundscompletely immobilized. A glaring example isthe 6/8 section in the Liebesnacht,"So stUrbenwir." Others are Brangane's Warning, Tris-tan's "0, Kemig!" and the introspective partsof his last -act soliloquy. At times like theseKarajan seems utterly transfixed by his ownability to conjure up delicate murmuringsfrom his vast forces. Often he seems to bebrooding over the music in an act of self -com-munion. Matters are not helped by his ten-dency to drown out the singers at certainpoints, as he does when Isolde snatches thelove potion from Tristan, or again at the crestof the Liebestod.

The casting of Isolde is another of this set'sproblems. In her best form, Helga Derneschwould be an unlikely choice for a role thatmakes such heroic demands. Dernesch is not adramatic soprano. She is a lyric soprano with adark, mezzolike coloration and very little up-ward extension. Beyond G her notes are hit ormiss and show a tendency to be both stridentand under pitch. In this performance, how-ever, she is not merely miscast, she is underpar. Even granted her unsuitability for thisvast assignment and the waywardness of herintonation on top notes, she sounds partic-ularly ill at ease on this occasion. What is sounsettling here is the very apparent lack of se-curity in her middle voice. She is sorely triedby a line like, "Mir erkoren, mir verloren, hehrand hell. kiihn and feig! Todgeweihtes Haupt!"even though its range of just over an octave-from D to E flat-is hardly demanding. Fromstart to finish the voice is throaty, muffled, andmonotonous. Moreover, Dernesch is verballyindistinct. The volcanic passion of the Nar-rative and Curse is quite beyond her powers;so are the transports of the Love Duet and therapture of the Liebestod There can be no com-parison between her performance and thevocal stamina and variety of Nilsson on DGG,let alone the majesty of Kirsten Flagstad onAngel.

But apart from the vibrato -ridden Melot ofBernd Weikl, the rest of Karajan's cast is quitea different matter. Christa Ludwig, perhapsnot so vocally fresh here as on DGG, is never-theless as splendid a Brangane as ever.Schreier is very good. Ridderbusch may notcommand the plangency of Talvela on DGG,but he is a wonderful King Mark, the voicefirm, the manner grand, the enunciation of thetext moving. Despite Karajan's tempos herises to great heights in Act II. Walter Berry isintelligent, but sounds vocally tired. Some ofhis attempts at vocal acting, like the exagger-ated portamento with which he mocks Isoldein Act I are unsuccessful. Eberhard Wachter isvocally fresher and more convincinglyforthright on DGG.

Jon Vickers is one of Karajan's most impor-tant assets. Wolfgang Windgassen had thebenefit of many years' experience in the role ofTristan before recording it with BOhm,whereas Vickers is very new to the assignment.It would not be fair to expect Vickers to matchup to his predecessor so quickly. Windgassen'sperformance is full of unforgettable detail: hismoment of self -accusation before being struckdown by Melot's sword, his horror in the lastact as he recalls the potion, his final incandes-cent moments as he falls dead at Isolde's feet.Vickers, while not yet capable of such insight,has his glories too. The voice, for one thing, isa more magnificent instrument than Wind-gassen's ever was, and it rides the great out-bursts of Acts II and III with splendor. Frombeginning to end Vickers sounds like a truehero, and never more so than in the last act,when the voice blazes up with fiercely nobleanguish. Here Vickers is unsurpassed. Withmore experience (and a different kind of con-ductor) he will probably be able to express thepoetical side of Tristan's character without in-dulging in so much dynamic exaggeration.Karajan, it would seem, encourages Vickers'tendency to muse rather than sing. In this set(as in the Karajan Walkiire) Vickers does a lotof very soft singing. Almost all of it has toolittle real tonal body. Even so, Vickers' last actis tremendous and despite all drawbacks suf-ficient cause for owning this performance.

But prospective buyers should be warnedthat there are technical as well as artistic prob-lems here. Both the recording of the perform-ance and the manufacture of the discs leavemuch to be desired. The sound is congestedand lacking in presence. A treble cut is neces-sary for even reasonable results. Moreover,the acoustic keeps changing. At one momentthe singers are very forward. then suddenly-e.g., at "0 sink' hernieder Nacht der Liebe!"-they recede into the distance. Brangane, sing-ing from a remote watchtower sounds louderthan the lovers before us. There is some oddplacement in the last scene of Act II and thefinal melee on Kareol is very confused, withBrangane once again louder than anyone else.The review pressings were noisy and plaguedby rumble. D.S.H.

recitalsand miscellany

THE ART OF JOSEPH SZIGETI. Works byBach, Banc*, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak,Handel, Kreisler, Mendelssohn, Mozart,Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Stravin-sky. Joseph Szigeti, violin; various accom-panists and conductors. For a feature reviewof these recordings, see page 72.

INSTRUMENTAL DANCES OF THE LATE RENAIS-SANCE. Camerata Hungarica Ensemble, Las-zlo Czidra, dir. Hungaroton 11498, $5.98.SIXTEENTH CENTURY ITALIAN DANCE MUSIC.Musica Reservata, J. Becket, cond. Philips6500 102, $6.98.

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certain unique problems. It seems quite silly tosit down and listen solemnly to an hour of mu-sic with very little if any intellectual content,and certainly the composers of these fluffynumbers would have been. horrified if theythought anyone would ever do just that.Dance music is usually written to be danced toor, in a more stylized form, intended for whatthe browser bins label as Easy Listening. Asvery few people today are inclined to indulgein Renaissance dances either at parties or athome, I assume the many records of medievaland Renaissance dance music on the marketmust be intended as Easy Listening back-ground for those with a taste for early music.

Just as today's Muzak styles range frommellifluous strings to upbeat Latin rhythms, sodo the various interpretations of the manyshawm, sackbut, recorder, and viol consortswhich have proliferated in the past decade.Musica Reservata and the Hungarian Cam-erata are at opposite ends of the spectrum.Since I prefer my background unobtrusive, Iprefer the very lovely sound of the Hungariangroup to the clamorous antics of the English.The Camerata Hungarica Ensemble adopts akind of organic approach to this music: mod-erate tempos. simple scoring emphasizing thesoft instruments ( recorders and viols). and amaximum amount of beautiful tone andphrasing. The mellow liquid sound of the solorecorder played, like the viols, with quite a bitof vibrato is a delight to listen to.

Despite the potential exoticism of the mu-sic-half of Hungary was dominated by theTurks throughout the sixteenth century-thetunes and arrangements are very much in themainstream of Western Renaissance tradi-tions. About half the selections come from col-lections published in the Netherlands, theRenaissance center for instrumental dancemusic, and the remaining works, taken largelyfrom Bence Szabolcsi's Ungarische Tanzmu-sik des 16. and 17. Jh., also conform to the pre-vailing continental taste. Perhaps an expertcould pick out specifically Hungarian charac-teristics, but to my ear the pieces sound me-lodious and attractive but unexceptional.

Anyone familiar with Musica Reservata'searlier recordings knows their beat -out -that -rhythm -on -a -drum style of performance.Snappy rhythms and sharp acidic sound char-acterize most of these rousing Italian dances.The repertoire is more homophonic and rusticin appeal than the Hungarian selections andthe outdoorsy approach is well suited to theirboisterous nature. This would be a success-fully sprightly background record if it werenot for the intrusively hoarse, coarse villottaswhich open and close each side, exhibiting theworst excesses of Musica Reservata's vocal en-semble. Easy Listening it is not. S.T.S.

SELMA KRAMER: "A Treasure of Piano En-cores." Selma Kramer, piano. Orion ORS7261, $5.98.BACH: Fantasia in C minor; Siciliano in G minor.BRAHMS: Intermezzo in B flat minor, Op. 117, No. 2.CHOPIN: Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op. posth.CFIAMINADE:Autrefois in A minor. HAUSIEL: Noche enEspana: Elves Spinning. Mama.: Sonata in A, Op. 1,No. 3. RACHMANINOFF: Prelude in G, Op. 32, No. 5;Prelude in G sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12. SCARLATICSonata in E, L. 23; Sonata in B minor, L. 499.

Selma Kramer ( former pupil of Hans Her-manns, Leonid Kreutzer, and Artur Schnabel)has, to judge from the many press quotations

on the album, concertized extensively. Never-theless she will probably be a new name tomost listeners (as she was, indeed, to me). Thiswell -recorded collection shows her to be anartist of the older school: strong, expressive,and sometimes a bit too inclined toward man-nerism. She plays Scarlatti as if it were meantfor the piano-effusive, without ostentation.but just a trifle heavy-handed. In the BachFantasia, a tendency to anticipate with the lefthand might well raise the eyebrows of thosepurists used to a chaster approach. (The Sici-liano, taken from the E flat Flute Sonata, S.1031, is here performed in a Victorian ba-roque adaptation by Leonid Kreutzer, so wewon't even begin to discuss style.)

The Maul sonata is apparently Miss Kra-mer's discovery and gets prime billing on thesleeve. Sir Thomas Beecham used to charm uswith some of this French classicist's(1763-1817) music; the sonata is of like qual-ity: suave, graceful, and utterly winning. It isplayed with gusto and relish. The romanticcompositions on Side 2 offer more scope for aromantically oriented performer, and franklyI am a little surprised that Miss Kramerdoesn't come off better than she does. TheBrahms intermezzo is mauled by too willful arubato and the Chopin nocturne lacks mysteryand a true singing line. The Rachmaninoffpreludes are likewise slightly coarse and mono-chromatic. Only in the wistful Haubiel andChaminade does the pianist regain her formerzestfulness. N.G.

"MUSIC AT MAGDALEN: THE XVII CENTURY."Magdalen College Choir, Oxford;Elizabethan Consort of Viols, Bernard Rose,dir. Argo ZRG 693, $5.98.NICHOLSON: Cantate Domino: 0 Lord consider mydistress; Come Holy Ghost; 0 Lord on whom I do de-pend; 0 Lord turn not away; No more good herds-man: In a merry May morn; Sing shepherds all; WhenJesus sat at meat. GILES: Cease now vain thoughts:God who at this time; Out of the deep. B. ROGERS:Voluntary; Te Deum; Nunc dimittis.

English church music of the early seventeenthcentury, the verse anthem in particular, is allbut unknown in this country. Lute songs, violconsorts, even whole baroque operas are morecommon on disc and even in live perform-ance. The reason for this neglect is fairly clear.Like much music of the same era, the effect ofthe English baroque anthem is dependent on aparticular quality of sound. And while wehave church choirs aplenty capable of doingfull justice to Mendelssohn, Bach, and evenTallis and Byrd, the verse anthem relies on thepresence of treble and countertenor voices,something that we with our tradition of mixedchoirs have never cultivated. Not only is themusic conceived for these voices, but there issomething in the reedy little lines that is en-hanced by the hollow echoey acoustics of thestone churches and cathedrals where the an-thems were originally sung.

"Music at Magdalen" is a topnotch exampleof the sound and spirit of English music justbefore the Puritans banned it from thechurches. The style is basically polyphonic,but the use of organ and viols as accom-paniment, as well as a growing harmonicawareness on the part of the composers, freesthe individual lines to respond to the accentsof the English text with great elasticity.

All the works on this recording were new tome. The most prominently represented corn -



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poser is Richard Nicholson who was active atMagdalen College for nearly half a century.becoming the first University Professor of Mu-sic at Oxford in 1627. His anthems are work-manlike examples of their time, but onemisses the extra touch, the sudden inspirationwhich turns a commonplace phrase into amemorable one. His secular music is not muchmore interesting. In addition to their duties inthe church service itself, Jacobean choirschools frequently put on court entertain-ments, pastoral plays with songs and dances.No more good herdsman and In a merry Maymorn, trifling ditties which were probably en-hanced by charming costumes and scenery.are representative of the genre. Nicholson'sposition may have earned him the chance towrite one of the famous Oriana madrigals.though he was comparatively young at thetime. Sing shepherds all, is a good example ofmiddle-of-the-road music.

Nathaniel Giles's connection with Magda-len is a lot more tenuous (according to Groveshe may have been a clerk in the chapel for oneyear), but his music is definitely superior toNicholson's. God who at this time, in particu-lar, is a splendid work avoiding the stop -and -go sectionalism which plagues the verse an-them especially. His Out of the deep is a worthyEnglish equivalent of the better RenaissanceLatin settings of the De profundis and the fineGerman baroque cantatas based on Aus tieferNot.

Everything about this recording is verymuch in style-so much so that one would liketo imagine a continuous tradition of perform-ances for three centuries in the stone walls ofMagdalen Chapel, though I suppose the en-lightened eighteenth century had no truckwith the rather severe style of the anthems inparticular. A bit of continuity may be pro-vided by Benjamin Rogers' simple Te Deum,however, which has made its way into the Col-lege Grace and at least one of the traditionalcollege celebrations. There is a kind of au-thenticity about the choir as well. They aregood, but not too good. The solos are evenlyshared; everyone does his part but no onestands out as a Star Performer. To completethe auditory picture, the engineering catchesthe quality of the chapel interior without un-due resonance, adding a final touch to arecording that successfully captures the soundand spirit of the early seventeenth century atOxford. S.T.S.

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113

in brief

BACH: English Suite, No. 2, in A minor, S. 807; Fan-tasia in C minor, S. 906; French Suite, No. 6, in E, S.817; Italian Concerto, S. 971. Alicia de Larrocha. pi-ano. London CS 6748. $5,98.

De Larrocha is a pianist par excellence and if her Bach playing is not in echt tradition (whateverthat is-Landowska? Kirkpatrick? Tureck?), it undoubtedly is a distinguished listening experi-ence. In general, De Larrocha/ Bach reminds me somewhat of Beecham/Handel: The temposare prevailingly broad and the phrasing is very flexible. Dance movements are pointed with acourtly charm, and curvaceous grace always takes the place of hard metricality. Rallentandos atcadences are not infrequent but are always handled with admirable good taste. Ornamentation iselegant and though the resources of the modern piano are fully used, Mme. De Larrocha keepsher sonority bright, gleaming, and refreshingly spare. In short, thoroughly musical, spontaneousand natural -sounding performances of four masterpieces, with executive brilliance and absorb-ing, sympathetic personality. Beautifully reproduced in the bargain. H.G.

BEETHOVEN: Duet for Viola, Cello, and Two Obbli-gato Eyeglasses, in E flat, WoO. 32. HAYDN: Duetfor Violin and Cello. HINDEMITH: Duet for Viola andCello. PISTON: Duo for Viola and Cello. VILLALOBOS: Duet for Violin and Cello. Irving Ilmer, violinand viola, Leopold Teraspulsky. cello. Coronet 1715.$5.95.

Two excellent instrumentalists have put together a recital of almost -unknowns, and it makes di-verting fare-at least, the twentieth-century works do. The Haydn duet (unauthenticated, ac-cording to the album notes) is of moderate interest, and the Beethoven Eyeglasses duo is a rathertedious affair for my money. But Villa Lobos' exotic Duo for Violin and Cello-demanding,craggy, and full of colorful instrumental effects-ought to be aired more often on the concertplatform; it is so skillfully scored that the two instruments complement each other in a good,close-knit texture. The Piston is attractive, with succulent linear interweavings in the first move-ment, some ingratiating parallel activity in the second (a lovely slowmovement that lives up to its"serene" designation), and plenty of rhythmic bounce and fluid melodicism in the third. TheHindemith is a one -movement essay with a great deal of rhythmic thrust in which the instru-ments alternate in predominance. Ilmer and Teraspulsky are both on the faculty of Indiana Uni-versity, and perform handsomely. S.F.

GERSHWIN: An American in Paris (rev. F. Campbell -

Watson); Cuban Overture; Porgy and Bess: A Sym-phonic Picture (arr. R.R. Bennett). National Orches-tra of the Monte Carlo Opera. Edo do Waart, cond.Philips 6500 290. $6.98

The gifted young Dutch conductor, Edo de Waart, has already gained a respected reputation as aMozart interpreter. But while he has an obvious relish for Gershwin's music and is less heavy-handed with it here than in his March 1972 accompaniments for pianist Werner Haas, he stillhasn't mastered the insouciant jauntiness of the lively passages or the cool casual lilt of the lyricalones. He dallies too (each of the performances here runs some two minutes longer than the pre-ferred ones by Fiedler for RCA); but what conclusively jinxes this whole program is its sonicunattractiveness, patently less the fault of the somewhat dry engineering than of the Monte Carloplayers themselves-or more fundamentally of their instruments. The percussion section is hand-icapped by tinny cymbals and gong and lightweight bass drum, in particular; if this orchestra isto continue tackling American music it should petition Princess Grace to subsidize the purchaseof more appropriate batterie equipment. R.D.D.

GOULD: Soundings; Columbia. FLOYD: In Celebra-tion, an Overture for Orchestra. Louisville Orchestra,

Jorge Mester, cond. Louisville LS 716. $5.95.

The only really good thing here is Morton Gould's Columbia, which its composer describes as "aset of contrasting sequences in the shape of pronouncements, airs, dances, memorials, hymns,parades, and flourishes," all based on Hail Columbia and Columbia the Gem of the Ocean. Itsounds like something by Charles Ives that his professors had corrected-Ives with right notes.Even the description quoted above is eminently Evesian in its prose style. But the work has vitalityand zest, and it is entertaining to see what changes Gould is able to ring on those familiar tunes.Soundings is an effort on Gould's part to write a sort of two -movement symphony. It doesn'tcome off very well, but one can't be sure of who's to blame, thecomposer or the conductor. Theblame in the case of Carlisle Floyd's blatantly trashy In Celebration rests, however, only on onepair of shoulders. A.F.

HANDEL: Apollo e Dafne. Margaret Ritchie, soprano;Bruce Boyce, baritone; Ensemble Orchestral del'Oiseau-Lyre, Anthony Lewis, cond. Oiseau-LyreOLS 130, $5.98

Oiseau-Lyre continues the reissue of its elderly monos "electronically reprocessed"; some ofthem are surprisingly viable-though not this one. Bruce Boyce is not a bel canto singer; the voiceis a bit dry and hollow and does not take kindlyto coloraturas. Margaret Ritchie, the Dafne, is abetter singer but has some mannerisms A la Joan Sutherland. Anthony Lewis. an excellent musi-cian, is not at his best here; things are pretty stereotyped. In fairness I must say that all partici-pants may owe their lowered status to the artificial sound which is quite poor. P.H.L.

HANDEL: Concerto Grossos, Op. 6: No. 1, in G; No.2,in F; No. 10, in D minor; No. 12 in B minor. MunichBach Orchestra. Karl Richter, cond. Archive 2533088, $6.98.

MOZART: Quartets for Strings: No. 5, in F, K. 158;No. 6. in B flat, K.159; No. 7, in E flat, K.160; No. 8,in F, K. 168. Quartetto Italiano. Philips 6500 112,$6

Excellent performances of four of Handel's twelve Op. 6 concerto grossos, boasting a resonantrecorded tone and superb unanimity not only within each section of the orchestra but over-all aswell (which accounts for the fine, clean, precise entrances on fugue subjects). The tempos movealong as they ought; the solo work on the part of the concertino violinists is unfailingly attractive.Richter's conception does not have quite the extra measure of virtuosic flair of Neville Marri-ner's on London-those performances being slightly bouncier in rhythm and more flexible indynamic shaping. But the soloists' tone is more appealing on the Richter, and the recording ingeneral should prove a rewarding one to live with day in and day out. S.F.

Mozart's youthful "Italian" quartets (1772-73) should be more popular with the recording fra-ternity. They are a delight to the ear: melodious, elegant, and extremely well made. The Quar-tetto Italian is a worthy exponent of the music; their ensemble is faultless, this kind of suave andseductive melody is in their bones, and they avoid any cuteness. Excellent sound. P.H.L.

ORFF: Trionfo di Afrodite. Helena Tattermuschova,soprano; No Zidek, tenor; Czech PhilharmonicChorus; Prague Symphony Orchestra, Vdclav Smetl-tek, cond. Supraphon 1 12 0877, $6.98.

DGG's deliberation in completing the Jochum re -recordings of the full Orff trilogy, which theypioneered in mono, has permitted Smetadek and Supraphon to beat them out in stereo. No mat-ter. Except for its stereo primacy and the enthusiasm with which it is performed, this Afrodite isstrictly a minor-league production: coarse in both vocal and orchestral tonal qualities, lackingsonic weight and breadth in its recorded sonics. In any case, Afrodite is the homely stepsister ofthe Orff family, only dimly echoing the dynamic drive and dramaticexcitement that characterizeCarmina Burana in particular. R.D.D.

114HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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4 -channeldiscs/tapes BY ROBERT LONG

New Pressings of First Quadradiscs. Atthis writing three recordings have comeout on RCA's "discrete" Quadradiscs.Why the quotes around discrete? Be-cause, as the matrix people love to pointout, the four signals of quadraphonicsare not kept separate and distinctthroughout the reproduction cycle, butare mixed in such a way that stereo play-back equipment will pick up a combina-tion of front and back on both sides. Thiscombining (or "folding," as it often iscalled) of the quadraphonic sound im-age is accomplished by a sum -and -dif-ference signal process that is by defini-tion a form of matrixing. And thereforethe recordings are not truly discrete.

They might as well be to my ear; andanyone who fusses about the termi-nology is to that extent being a bit pe-dantic. Outside of a little more noise inextremely quiet passages, I really canfind no audible basis for distinguishingbetween the Quadradisc and the discreteopen -reel tape-or the Q-8 cartridge,which has more noise yet. I've been play-ing the Hugo Montenegro "Godfather"record and the "Fantastic Philadel-phians, Vol. 1" (both of which were re-viewed in this space by Leonard Marcuslast July) with a Panasonic solid-stateShibata-stylus cartridge and demodula-tor, feeding into the discrete inputs ofseveral different quadraphonic setups.First let me say that these are not thesame pressings that were reviewed inJuly. At least partially due to Marcus'review, they have been remastered andthere is a noticeable improvement innoise. Beyond that, the quadraphonicsare still unusually clear and unequivocal.Although they carry the same cataloguenumbers, we note a changed logo on ourcopies of the remastered pressings (seephoto).

QUADRADISC

Quadrat iscOld (top) and new Quadradisc logos

Incidentally, Panasonic's Shibata-stylus cartridge is very good for stereorecords as well as quadraphonic, and Ihave no qualms about using it for every-thing.

Enter London Records. London has is-sued no quadraphonic discs, but it ap-pears to be making master tapes for thepurpose; Ampex has released several ofits titles in Q-8 form. One is "Children of

France" (London/Ampex L 77150,$7.98), a collection of often familiar,Gallicly romantic songs, sung by theChorale des Enfants de l'Opera de Paris.The results are, as you might expect,charming rather than spectacular. FromWhat Now, My Love (in French ofcourse) to Plaisir d'amour, the tots chirpjoyously. It's not everybody's cup of on-ion soup, but well recorded, with a com-fortable, unforced quadraphonic per-spective. And as for children's singing,quelk expertise!

Another is "Film Spectacular No. 4"(London/Ampex L 77173, $7.98), sub-titled "The Epic" and performed byStanley Black conducting the LondonFestival orchestra and chorus. Spectacu-lar, yes; epic, yes again. But sadly themusic, which celebrates the soundtracksof Patton, Stagecoach, Ben Hur, andsuch, just isn't that interesting. Even theopening of Zarathustra (from 2001)doesn't come off; whether because of thearrangement, the tape transfer, or poordeep -bass response in my 8 -track player,the celebrated organ pedal point soundsmore like a bad hum in the equipment.Whatever the cause, this is the one faultI could find with the sound.

Guessing Games. At the New York HighFidelity Music Show I had an opportu-nity to try an experiment with audiencesat the seminar programs. Using directcopies of master tapes, supplied by Van-guard for the purpose, I played the samepassage from the Berlioz Requiem inthree different forms: simulated quad-raphonics (via a simple matrix) from thestereo master, decoded quadraphonics(via a full -logic decoder) from the SQmaster, and quadraphonics directly fromthe discrete master. When I asked the au-dience to identify which was which,ninety per cent correctly picked the dis-crete version, but there was very nearly afifty-fifty split in trying to distinguishmatrixed from simulated.

The setup and room (a fairly largeballroom) was hardly ideal for quad-raphonics-no public demonstrationever is to my mind-so the experimentmay prove nothing. But in that room andwith that recording, at least, the au-diences' judgment was unequivocal:They heard a greater difference betweenmatrixed and discrete program materialthan between matrixed and simulated.Until a wide variety of recordings isavailable in all three formats for A/B/Ccomparison-and until record producershave had more time to explore the inher-ent properties of matrixing-I'd prefer toreserve judgment.


116HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE

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117

the lighter side

reviewed by

MORGAN AMES

ROYAL S. BROWN

R. D. DARRELL

HENRY EDWARDS

MIKE JAHN

JOHN S. WILSON

symbol denotesan exceptional recording

MARTHA VELEZ: Hypnotized. MarthaVelez, vocals; Woodstock Rangers,horns, keyboards, rhythm, strings,and woodwinds accompaniment;Homely and Horny, vocal accom-paniment; other vocal accom-paniment. Lay It On The Line; BoogieKitchen; Magic In His Hands; six more.Polydor PD 5034, $5.98.

The members of the Martha Velez cult are asmall but voluble lot. The general public maynot know who Martha is but that means noth-ing to her fans, who eagerly shout from eachand every rooftop that Ms. Velez is the great-est rock singer of our times. They're not mad.Martha Velez is splendid: she has an inde-scribable voice, full-bodied and versatile, ca-pable of achieving stunning effects, yet alwaysunder control. A disciplined artist, Ms. Velezlets you know she is one of the vocal furies butshe always keeps you at arm's length so thatyou can admire the marvel without slobberingover it.

Magic in His Hands, a number that com-bines a country-and-western sound with aHair feeling, is a haunting and funky cut;Byrdclille Summer is an emphatic statement ofthe happiness that comes when winter finallyends. You'll also enjoy the LP's title cut.Hypnotized, a totally compelling selection,and Black Rose, a song with a fascinating.enigmatic lyric. Spider Barbour's Lay It Onthe Line has that hit single sound withoutbeing obnoxious about it. Obviously, produc-ers Richard Gottehrer and Keith Johnson hadgreat insights into and respect for the talents ofMartha Velez and also the skills to pull to-gether into a cohesive whole the thirteen musi-cians and seven vocalists who back the singeron this disc.

Containing a number of overdubs that areYoko Ono-esque without stepping over theboundary that separates imagination fromself-indulgence, the Velez voice on thisrecording performs a series of daring turnsand creates some spectacular effects. Martha'scult should grow by leaps and bounds. H.E.

RENEE ARMAND: The Rain Book.Renee Armand, vocals and lyrics;Roger Kellaway, Mike Melvoin, andJim Gordon, arr. Elizabeth Rain; DoesAnybody Love You; England; sevenmore. A&M 4369, $5.98.

Record sales are sloping downward. Albumsthat sell the most are given the automatic title"million -sellers," but who really knows? Inthe face of this. A&M is taking a chance with afine young unknown talent. Renee Armand.She is the kind of artist who may not make itthe first time out, since quick sellers have anaroma of bubblegum, one way or another. ButA&M is to be congratulated on its fore-sightedness. Miss Armand, for all her youth. isa grown-up, a quality artist by instinct.

Miss Armand's voice is clear, warm, andunhesitating. In collaboration with KerryChater and Jim Gordon. she has written allher own lyrics. The words range from excel-lent ( You and I: I'm Going Away) to not -quite -focused (Falling Ladies). But a song is morethan a lyric. Most people don't even know thewords to their favorite song. It's the marriagethat counts: music, words, singer.

The album can be broken down into threekinds of sounds. One is the A&M sound,which I have always liked. You hear it on al-bums by Sergio Mendes, the Carpenters. thenew Lani Hall record. etc. In this set, it coversYou and I (a beautiful song about a love thatjust missed): Raining in L.A.: Does AnybodyLove You: and others.

The second sound grows out of the remark-able arrangements of' Roger Kellaway (FallingLadies, a fragile tapestry in strings, and I'mGoing A way. on which Miss Armand does herdeepest singing).

The third sound is one we have not heardbefore, created by drummer Jim Gordon. whoproduced most of the album. Gordon is per-haps best known for his work with such rockstars as Joe Cocker. But he is much more thanthe best drummer around. On two tracks. Eng-land and / Think You're Letting Me Go (hewrote both tunes). Gordon plays piano, acous-tic and electric guitar. and percussion. as wellas drums. Gordon's work adds up to a drivingand hypnotic musical whole which leads MissArmand into her most sensual singing. The in-teresting vocal presence on parts of England isproduced by a process called phasing. Thesetwo tracks are, for me. the ones in which lyricsmatter least and over-all impact is strongest.

About the mix. Sometimes it's fine. Onother tracks, such as Friends. Miss Armand'svoice-the point of all the work-is all but lostin the texture of the band. It's more likely thatit happened in the mastering rather than in themixing-and it has happened before at A&M.otherwise an excellent studio in which torecord. An even texture is fine for some al-bums. but with an artist such as Miss Armand.vocal identity is the factor that pulls the albumtogether.

Despite flaws. Miss Armand's debut albumproves that she is a lady to be taken seriously, adurable sort of talent: the same goes for JimGordon as a producer. M.A.

JOAN BAEZ: The Joan Baez Ballad Book.Joan Baez, vocals and guitar; Fred Heller -man, guitar. East Virginia; Henry Martin; AllMy Trials; House of the Rising Sun; Silkie; Lilyof the West; John Riley; Silver Dagger; fifteen

more. Vanguard VSD 41/42, $9.98 (twodiscs).

Over ten years ago Joan Baez, the leading fig-ure in the folk revival, was singing traditionalAnglo-American ballads. She has since driftedlike nearly everyone else into contemporarymaterial. Now Vanguard has released this ret-rospective detailing the traditional years.

It's a welcome collection, though a bit un-necessary for those who own Miss Baez' earlyLPs. The fact that Vanguard released the set atthis time may, I think, be considered typical ofthe general feeling that contemporary folkcomposition has become a bit boring latelyand that some attention to the classics is nowin order. M.J.

COMEDY RECORDS. For a feature review ofcomedy recordings by George Carlin, Mur-ray Roman, Radio Dinner, Marshall Efron,Gore Vidal, Bill Cosby, and Monte Python'sFlying Circus, see page 76.

RICHIE HAVENS: On Stage. Richie Havens,vocals and guitar; Paul Williams, guitar; EricOxendine, bass; Emile Latimer, congas.From the Prison; Old Friends; God Bless theChild; The Dolphins; My Sweet Lord; No Op-portunity Necessary, No ExperienceNeeded; Tupelo Honey; Just like a Woman;Teach Your Children; High Flying Bird; SanFrancisco Bay Blues; five more. Stormy For-est 2 SFS 6012, $5.98.

This is the first "live" recording by the mAnwho is perhaps the folk scene's leading vocalstylist, and it's a fine one. Havens sings most ofhis familiar songs, including masterful ver-sions of Just Like a Woman and San FranciscoBay Blues. He fails only by tending toward re-petitiveness, and by including one or two ill -chosen selections, (My Sweet Lord really re-quires a vocal chorus, which Havens does notprovide). M.J.

BONNIE FIAITT: Give It Up. BonnieWI Raitt, vocals, bottleneck, and acoustic

and electric guitars; rhythm accom-paniment. Nothing Seems to Matter:Love Has No Pride; I Know; sevenmore. Warner Bros. 2643, $5.98.

This is the second album from Bonnie Raitt. ayoung singer/guitarist/sometime writer withold-time musical instincts.

Miss Raitt's musical world is one of blues.rag piano. bass -drum pedal solid on one andthree. Dixie clarinet. and songs with wordslike. "You can make me do like this,/you canmake me do like that,/oh baby but you got toknow how." Sweet hints in the air of BessieSmith. A red -velvet parlor car in the middleof the space age.

All this from a fragile and very young -look-ing lady with red hair. a redheaci's complex-ion. and a shy smile. Miss Raitt's backup mu-sicians are equally young and contemporarylooking. The warmest of the old and new meetin Bonnie Raitt and her friends. All are won-derful musicians, all work closely together.

If there is one quality above others thatmakes Miss Raitt purely likable, it is her re-laxation. One feels she has not so much chosenher style as glided into it with intuitive ease.


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Bonnie Raitt-bursting with talent, sunshine, and sadness.

It's hard to imagine her in any other musicalplace. With John Raitt for a father and musi-cal comedy as a growing -up place. she hassurely had wide musical exposure. and per-haps has even experimented at one time or an-other.

Bonnie Raitt is bursting with talent. sun-shine. sadness, and friends with whom toshare her gifts. Presumably worldly successwill come. If not, she's still way ahead of thegame. Listen to her. M.A.

Eo SANDERS: Beer Cans on the Moon. EdSanders, vocals and autoharp; Hemptones,strings, vocal, and rhythm accompaniment;other woodwinds, keyboard, and string ac-companiment. Rock & Roll People; Nonvio-lent Direct Action; Henry Kissinger; ninemore. Reprise MS 2105, $5.98.

Ed Sanders is a practicing poet, former mem-ber of that outrageous satirical band, the Fugs,a peacenik. a recording artist, and author ofthat term paper about Charles Manson, TheFamily. In "Beer Cans on the Moon" this ec-lectic local character takes on ecology, spacetravel, the rock culture, and a number of otherau courant topics. The results, unfortunately,are totally predictable.

Everyone knows that littering the moon isthoroughly indecent; everyone knows that theoil spills off the shores of San Clemente areobscene; everyone knows that Henry Kiss-inger has escaped from the canvas of a surre-alistic painting; we do not need Sanders' dit-ties to make these things clearer. In Rock &Roll People. Sanders says: "They say rock-and-roll and politics don't mix/and they sayrock-and-roll never cured any social ills/butwhen rock-and-roll people get together on ahill/share their hope, grow their food, maketheir clothes, build their homes with sharing/then the rock-and-roll people are gonna takeover the world...." We do not need this kindof banality either.

Only on Yodeling Robot does the poet dis-play any real wit. Here the yodeling robot fallsin love with Dolly Parton and suffers becauseDolly's yodels make him feel truly sad and"his iron eyes never can weep."

Sanders writes of this album: "I have writ-

ten and sung compositions presenting ideasand beliefs I cling to with my every desperatemoment on earth: freeshare, non-violent di-rect action, universal ethics, universal decentliving conditions, cultural total freedom andhumor. It isn't easy."

It obviously isn't, judging from the materialon this album. H.E.

THE BEST OF DELANEY & BONNIE.Delaney Bramlett, vocals and guitar;Bonnie Bramlett, vocals; vocal and in-strumental accompaniment. When theBattle Is Over; Only You Know and IKnow; Never Ending Song of Love;Soul Shake; seven more. Atco SD7014, $5.98.

This album encompasses material recorded bythe influential soul/gospel/rock ensembleboth for Elektra and Atlantic. The absorptionof those companies into the great -parking -lotKinney Communications makes this possible.which I suppose is another argument for con-glomerates.

D & B was the birthplace of Leon Russelland the Hollywood Backup Band-BobbyWhitlock, Carl Radle. Bob Keys. Jim Gordon.Jim Price, Jim Keltner-who have played ondozens of important recordings. For this rea-son alone, "The Best of Delaney & Bonnie" issignificant. It's also powerful. rocking music.

M.J.

GARY GLITTER: Glitter. Gary Glitter, vocals;vocal and instrumental accompaniment.Rock and Roll Part I; Baby Please Don't Go;The Wanderer; nine more. Bell 1108, $5.98.

Both the English and American charts havebeen topped by two singles that bear thestrange titles, Rock and Roll Part I and Rockand Roll Part 2. These cuts, both of which relyupon repetitive pounding rhythms and lyricsthat are more nonsense than anything else.may strike one as the very worst of contempo-rary pop music or another of this season'samusing novelties. I'm good-natured enoughto consign these "tunes" to the novelty cate-gory and to declare that their author/per-

former, Gary Glitter, is quite a novelty also.Glitter, all decked out in the flashiest

clothes possible. combines the current pea-cock craze with a hefty dose of Fifties nos-talgia. On his "Part 2" creation, he even tossesin a sprinkling of something that sounds as if ithad escaped from David Bowie's "Ziggy Star-dust" album. Glitter does not miss a trick.True, there is not much artistry involved inwhat he does but it does seem to be all in fun.

On this disc, this deep -voiced one-man ShaNa Na extracts every bit of melodramaticemotion from Richie Valens' Donna. He alsodoes the same for Chuck Berry's School Dat(Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell). His The Wan-derer is an engaging if synthetic brand newFifties tune, and his Rock On has an insistent.urgent sound that is infinitely irresistible.

Glitter may not be a musical genius but hehas compounded something that can certainlybe called amusing. H.E.

JOHN DENVER: Rocky MountainHigh. John Denver, vocals, guitar, andsongs; rhythm accompaniment. Para-dise; Goodbye Again; For Baby; sevenmore. RCA LM 4731, $5.98. Tape: eP8S 1972, $6.95; to PK 1972, $6.95.

John Denver has changed not a whit in the tenyears since I first heard him singing in a clubcalled Ledbetter's in Westwood. The club wasowned and run by Randy Sparks, one of Den-ver's first supporters.

I am reminded of that period, during whichI was coaching acts at that club (not Denver,he didn't need it), because of one of the songsin this new Denver album: Darcy Farrow bySteve Gillette and Tom Campbell. I first heardit at that time when its composers were on thelocal scene. Things were much folkier then.Sparks and the New Christy Minstrels weremaking brashly commercial "folk" music.Denver himself was not commercial. He waspure folk.

He still is, with his clean voice and his al-most styleless style. Denver may be the onlyreally successful straight folksinger left. (JoanBaez is closer to pop music these days.) Den-ver's simplicity makes him more interesting asa recording artist than as a performer. Onstage he just stands there and sings; on recordshis purity comes through beautifully.

Denver has also proved to be a fine song-writer. He is not a consistent writer, but whenhe's hot he's hot: Leavin' On a Jet Plane;Country Road (my favorite); Poems, Prayersand Promises; Goodbye Again; and others.One of Denver's new songs is called Prisoners.Unfortunately he has keyed it so high for hisvoice that shrillness dominates and the impactof its strong lyric (Vietnam POWs) is almostlost. Also included in this set is a wonderfulsong by John Prine called Paradise.

It is impossible to imagine that John Denveris anything less than a very nice guy, and thislikability shines through his music and hissweet voice. Perhaps that explains the durabil-ity of his appeal. M.A.

CHICAGO: Their Latest Release. Terry Kath,guitar and vocals; Peter Cevera, bass andvocals; Robert Lamm, keyboards and vocals;Lee Loughnane, trumpet, background vo-cals, and percussion; Walter Parazaider,


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woodwinds and percussion; James Penkow,trombone and percussion; Danny Seraphine,antique bells, congas, and drums. A Hit ByVarese; All Is Well; Now That You've Gone;eight more. Columbia KC 31102, $5.98.

Chicago aims its material directly at a collegeaudience, and the band's college audiencehas given Chicago great success. By blendingjazz and rock a la Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chi-cago offers its fans the illusion that they aregetting music rather than noise, even thoughthe monotonous regularity of this seven -manensemble's approach lost its luster recordsago.

Unfortunately, the group's lyrics can bejust as mediocre as its music. Chicago stillseems preoccupied with the concerns of col-legians during the Sixties. The results are em-barrassing. In State of the Union, the bandmulls over an antiestablishment voice thatcries the following profundity: "Tear the sys-tem down." While the City Sleeps containsthe following perceptive observation: "Menare scheming/New ways to kill us/And tell usdirty lies." In Dialogue, Robert Lamm andTerry Kath debate the merits of being an ac-tivist or a stoned freak. Then the group sings:"We can make it happen/We can change theworld now/We can save the children/We canmake it better."

All I can say is: "Ha! Ha!" H.E.

BRADY BUNCH. Brady Bunch, vocals; AlCapps, arr. Day After Day; American Pie;Time to Change; nine more. Paramount6032, $4.98.

The acting personnel of a children's TV showcannot be discussed in terms of their aggregatemusical talent. It's silly. Say, instead, that thealbum is efficient. The six children sing everybit as well as your children do. They have theadvantage of being supported by several pro-fessional studio singers, recorded so that theyblend in and you won't know they're there,plus the arrangements of a first-rate man, AlCapps. All is brought together by knowingproducer Jackie Mills. It is difficult to like ordislike them. The people who own the BradyBunch want some of that Partridge Familymoney from records, but they haven't got aDavid Cassidy. As I said, it is an efficient pack-age, like Kellogg's. M.A.

CONWAY Twirrr I Can't Stop LovingYoui(Lost Her Love) On Our LastDate. Conway Twitty, vocals; strings,rhythm, and keyboard accom-paniment. (Lost Her Love) On OurLast Date; Candy; Hold To My Un-changing Love; eight more. Decca DL75361, $4.98.

If country-and-western music is your firstlove, you won't have to be urged to purchaseConway Twitty's new release. He has come along way since 1958 when he was an incipientElvis who had a gold record entitled It's OnlyMake Believe. Twitty is now a highly polishedc & w artist. The first side of this disc does suf-fer from repetition, but Twitty really succeedson Side 2 with mournful versions of I Can'tStop Loving You and The Key's in the Mail-box. He also does some mighty fancy countryrocking with White Lightning. Twitty shouldnever have worried about the burden of hishumdinger of a name. H.E.


Music Listener's Book Service

A SHORT HISTORY OF SPANISH MUSIC. Ann Liver-

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LETTERS OF RICHARD WAGNER: THE BURRELL COL.

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edition.

Without the indefatigable Mrs. Burrell the portraitof Wagner would be ircomplete. Documents, lettersand memorabilia presumed lost or destroyed foundtheir way into her collection, thus providing a mass ofmaterials Wagner and his heirs would have wished

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THE VIOLIN BOOK. Melvin Berger. Illus. Glossary. In-

dex.

A book for young people who play the violin. wantto play it, or just want to know more about it. "... in-formative and interesting, and I am certain it will fill a

very useful niche in the children's libraries (adults'too!)."-Yehudi Menuhin. No. 313 ... $4.50

AMERICAN POPULAR SONG. The Great Innovators

1900-1950. Alec Wilder. Ed. & with Intro. by James T.

Maher. Music Examples.In this first authoritative. analytical study of the

development of American popular song, composerWilder traces its roots. illustrates its evolvementthrough the innovations of its most brilliant compos-ers. and focuses on the special qualities-verbal,melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic-that have distin-guished this form of musical expression from that ofother countries. Musical examples from more than700 songs are included.

A serious-albeit engagingly accessible-book on atoo -often patronized art form. No. 288... $15.00

HAYDN. H.C. Robbins Landon. Illus. Music Examples.

Haydn was "the first to work out the possibilitiesof the symphony and the sonata and to show whattheir special qualities are ... among the first to es-tablish the orchestra as we know it.- This book is anexcellent introduction to the composer's life andwork. The author is a world-renowned Haydn author-

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THE REAL ISADORA. Victor Seroff. Illus. Photos (some

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ography of Isadora Duncan, certainly a great artistbut also an extraordinary woman. It is hard to believethat almost a century has passed since her birth(1878.1927) as so much she fought for-and was ma-

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MUSIC AND MUSICAL LIFE IN SOVIET RUSSIA, 1917-

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An engrossing exploration of musical culture andactivity in the Soviet Union since the October Revolu-tion. a half -century of enormous accomplishments

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No. 262... $13.50

RECORDS IN REVIEW. 1972 EDITION

The 17th annual edition of this "bible for recordcollectors.- Hundreds of the authoritative, detailedreviews which appeared in High Fidelity in 1971 arearranged alphabetically by composer. sub -divided by

category of music when releases of his music wereconsiderable. A section on Recitals and Miscellanytoo. and an Artists' Index to all performers reviewedduring the year. as well as those mentioned only inthe text. 285 ... $9.95

AND MUSIC AT THE CLOSE: STRAVINSKY'S LAST

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Most of the music world has been waiting for thepublication of this book, known a half year ago be-cause of the extensive press coverage of the contro-versy its announcement created. So `sere it is, an-other view of a great man in contrast to his publicimage created by other books of the last decade. Cer-tain to be one of the most hotly discussed books ofthe season. it is also an intimate, affectionate andmoving portrait.

Lillian Libman worked closely with Stravinsky from1959 until his death on April 6. 1911. Her memoirdraws upon thousands of letters and documents from

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THE BALLERINAS FROM THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV TO

PAVLOVA. Parmenia Migel.

Balletomanes will treasure this beautifully illus-trated portrait gallery. Three centuries of ballet arerecounted through the careers, personalities. lives.and loves of all the great ballerinas 'nom the 17thcentury to Diaghilev's dancers No. 2108 ... $10.95

RICHARD STRAUSS: A Critical Commentary on HisLife and Works, Vol. III. Norman Del Mar.

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BESSIE. Chris Albertson. Illus. Index.

A timely book. written by the man who with JohnHammond is principally responsible for the currentrevival of interest in "The Empress of the Blues," andbased to a large extent on firsthand recollections ofthose who knew her intimately; a revealing portrait of

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THE CLASSICAL STYLE: HAYDN, MOZART, BEETHO-

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THE RECORDINGS OF BEETHOVEN. As viewed by the

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THE DANCE BAND ERA: The Dancing Decades from

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TARTAN OF THE APES. Drawings by Burne Hogarth.

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JANUARY 1973 123

jazzMEMPHIS SLIM: South Side Reunion.Memphis Slim, piano and vocals;Buddy Guy, guitar and vocals; JuniorWells, harmonica; A. C. Reed andJimmy Conley, saxophones; PhilipGuy, guitar; Ernest Johnson, bass;Roosevelt Shaw, drums. When BuddyComes to Town; How Long Blues; Rolland Tumble; seven more. WarnerBros. 2646, $5.98.

Memphis Slim is a bridge between the bluessingers of the Twenties. Thirties, and Fortiesand those who have adapted to the electricsounds of the Fifties. Sixties, and Seventies.He is a contemporary who was part of the ear-lier scene, who sings and plays piano with au-thority in that older style, and yet is completelyat home with an electric bluesman such asBuddy Guy.

Slim is the commanding and influential per-former on this disc which is drenched inboogie-woogie variants. He has a big, virilesinging voice that projects authority easilywithout the need to emphasize the machoqualities common to current blues singers.Buddy Guy complements him with a higherbut less potent voice and with some electricguitar solos that balance Slim's rolling, force-ful piano style. Junior Wells receives promi-nent billing but contributes relatively little-less, for instance, than A. C. Reed and JimmyConley whose saxophones add to the good-time jump quality of the ensemble that Slimhas brought together for this recording. J.S.W.

DON GIBSON GANG: The Al CaponeMemorial Jazz Band. Ned Lyke orNap Trottier, trumpet; Bill Hanck orJim Beebe, trombone; John Topel,tenor saxophone; John Harker, clari-net; D6n Gibson, piano; Ken Salvo orCharlie Marshall, banjo; Dick Car-lucci, bass and tuba; Mike Schwim-mer, washboard and vocals; WayneJones, drums. Aunt Hager's Blues;Chimes Blues; 1919 Rag; seven more.Long Groove LS 1, $5.95 (LongGroove Records, P.O. Box 192,Deerfield, III. 60015).

The Chicago jazz world appears to be devel-oping a new school of jazz based on, but notreally copying. the old Chicago jazz of theTwenties. The new school has many of thesame characteristics of the old one-the hell -for -leather ensemble playing. saxophonistswho would rather he hot than right. echoes ofBix phrases and the Stacy -Hines style of pi-ano, and many of the old tunes. But the bestplayers in the new Chicago movement haveshown that they are not entirely welded to theold school. even though they haven't quitecreated an idiom that clearly defines their ownplaying.

Don Gibson's band-an amplification of agroup that plays in Long Grove. Illinois-isone of the better exemplars of the new Chi-cago school. and the reason for its exemplari-ness is unusual: It has a great rhythm section.an area which is. more often than not. theprincipal downfall of contemporary bandsplaying in the traditional vein. Gibson uses afive -piece rhythm section anchored in the

strong, steady drumming of Wayne Jones(who is at the heart of a great deal of the newChicago jazz). strongly supported by KenSalvo's banjo (or occasionally Charlie Mar-shall's), and the bass or tuba (particularly thetuba) of Dick Carlucci. Gibson adds pianochords; Mike Schwimmer plays a washboardthat is felt more than heard (the best balancefor a washboard) and also sings with assur-ance and spirit. Schwimmer's vocals give thegroup another plus over most of its contempo-raries. whose singers usually sound like coun-try club cut -ups on their fifteenth beer. Withthis foundation, the fact that the horn men areerratic soloists is not all that important.

The ensemble has a properly eruptive firefor a Chicago group. Jim Beebe plays somerobust, Teagarden-tinged choruses on trom-bone. while Nap Trottier and Ned Lyke rise tosome of their occasions on trumpet. John To-pel. the group's tenor saxophonist. manages tosound different on every selection. thanks par-tially to a recording balance that sometimesputs him out in left field or sometimes bringshim up front, and a style that can be pure Em-manuel Paul/New Orleans at one momentand whirling Chicago drive in the manner ofBoyce Brown and Bud Freeman at another.Note particularly a rugged waltz version ofSummertime and a Yama Yama Man thatcould stand as the complete illustration of therelationship of the New Chicago school to theold. J.S.W.

BULKY PIZZARELLI: Green GuitarBlues. Bucky Pizzarelli and Mary Piz-zarelli, guitars; George Duvivier, bass;Don Lamond, drums. Tangerine; Bi-zarre; Goodbye; twelve more. Mon -

When the two -guitar team of George Barnesand Bucky Pizzarelli broke up in January1972, after working together for more than ayear and a half, the jazz world lost its mostbrilliant guitar duo. Everything was not lost, ofcourse. because both guitarists have continuedon separate paths. George in collaborationwith other guitarists and Bucky on his own.

Bucky on his own, with his seven -stringelectric guitar. is quite something. He was theprime melodist of the Barnes and Pizzarellicombination (George leaned toward zippyrhythm pieces). and this solo album by Buckysings with gorgeous melodies-some taken adlib. delicately and sensitively, some withgently sinuous backing from George Duvivierand Don Lamond.

There are times when this is almost as muchDuvivier's set as it is Bucky's for his accom-paniment is so right that it becomes an essen-tial part of Bucky's guitar lines, and there aremoments when Duvivier steps out on hisown-on The Summer Knows and Satin Doll-with a simple grace that is not often associatedwith bass solos. Bucky shows another side ofhis playing when he shifts to classical guitarfor a Villa Lobos prelude and Tarrega's A de-

lita. He also introduces a new guitar duo-playing. with his fourteen -year -old daughter.Mary. a lively novelty written by an earliertwo -guitar team. Dick McDonough and CarlKress. This is a beautiful collection, more var-ied, more imaginative than jazz guitar albumsare apt to be and the first really suitable show-case that Bucky Pizzarelli has had on records.

J.S.W.

TEDDY WILSON AND MARIAN MCPARTLAND:Elegant Piano. Teddy Wilson and MarianMcPartland, pianos. Bluesette; Lover Man;Quiet Nights; seven more. Halcyon 106,$4.98 (Halcyon Records, Box 4255 GrandCentral Station, New York, N. Y. 10017).

Possibly because they are, by nature. such in-dividualists, jazz pianists have very rarelyplayed duets. Certainly there are no pianoduos comparable to, say. Whittemore andLowe. Ohman and Arden, or Vronsky and Ba-bin. The only piano pairing that lasted for anyperiod of time was the dual boogie-woogie-ingof Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammonswhen they were playing at Cafe Society inNew York in the early Forties-although theywere just as apt to be a trio with the addition ofPete Johnson, who also played at the club inthose days. Duke Ellington and Billy Stray -horn played together at times but they reallyperformed as sequential soloists. a real gameof musical chairs. So it's a remarkable occa-sion when two pianists of the stature of TeddyWilson and Marian McPartland are paired to-gether for half a disc (they share solos on theremainder).

They try a little bit of everything here-ablues, a bossa nova. a jazz waltz, and a coupleof standards. Both pianists manage to be mu-tually supportive; they avoid stepping on eachother's lines. and create generally valid per-formances. In the process. however, some ofthe distinctive qualities of each pianist aresubordinated; on a one-shot basis such as this.it is a little much to expect a new duo person-ality to appear. Even so. when they are dealingwith the familiar and basic elements of ablues, their joint performance is filled withfresh and stimulating insights. And the pres-ence of Mrs. McPartland helps lift Teddy Wil-son out of his standard run-through on a toowell-worn part of his solo repertory. Just Oneof Those Things-a refreshing change. J.S.W.

theater and filmHENRY VII AND HIS SIX WIVES. MUSIC fromthe film soundtrack; Early Music Consort ofLondon, David Munrow, dir. Angel SFO36895, $5.98.

This recording from the soundtrack of themovie (not the television) version of HenryVIII and his six wives includes authentic six-teenth -century dances, music in the style ofthe sixteenth century used as a background tosome of the dramatic scenes, and several songsand ballads historically associated with thecharacters which did not appear in the movieat all. These are perhaps the high point of thedisc, but if you buy soundtrack records assouvenirs of the film, their inclusion will prob-ably be somewhat confusing. The originaldances, well played on authentic instruments,are nice enough and I have no quarrel withDavid Munrow's composed/arranged musicwhich is very stylish and no doubt dramat-ically appropriate, but the final mélange issomething of a hodgepodge.

If you enjoyed the film and would like amore aesthetically satisfying selection of mu-sic in the same style, equally well played by thesame ensemble. I would recommend Mun-row's recent release "Pleasures of the Court"also on Angel (S 36851). On the other hand if


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your fascination is with Henry himself or withAnne Boleyn, you may want this disc in orderto hear some of Henry's own compositions( for a King he was a very good composer), andthe haunting ballad 0 Death rock me asleep,whose lyrics are attributed to the ill-fatedqueen. S.T.S.

in briefAN EVENING WITH RICHARD NIXON. by GoreVidal. Ode 77015, $5.98.Very cute, very fey, very tricky, very Gore Vi-dal. Take your chances. M.A.

SILVERHEAD. Signpost SP 8407, $5.98.Sil erhead's lead singer is a young marquisnamed Michael Des Barrel who is another inthe collection of campy fops England has beensending us this season. The marquis and hisband are a hard rock ensemble. They areprobably much more elective in personwhere the marquis has a chance to display hisextravagant wardrobe and elaborate make-upjob. H.E.

TRAVIS WAMMACK. Fame 1801, $5.98.A strong country -type singer who is held backby the fact that he does not write his own ma-terial. Produced by Rick Hall in MuscleShoals. Definitely worth listening to. M.A.

THE HOODOO RHYTHM DEVILS: The Bar-becue of DeVille. Blue Thumb BTS 42,$5.98.A rock group with a hoarse lead vocalist and abackground in blues and -ock-and-roll. Theysound as if they might be exciting in person.but on record they're just another reason toturn down the volume. M.J.

DR. SEUSS PRESENTS FAVORITE CHILDREN'SSTORIES. Camden CXS 9029, $2.49.Consider this a public service announcement.Here comes Dr. Seuss again. Includes jour-neys with the Sneetches. Yertle the Turtle.Bartholomew and the Oohleck, Fox in Socks.Have kids? M.A.

BOB SEGER: Smokin' O.P.'s. PalladiumP1006, $5.98.A gutsy set that includes powerhouse rendi-tions of Steve Stills's Love the One You'reWith, Leon Russell's Hummin' Bird, Eric An-dersen's Let It Rock. and Tim Hardin's If IWere a Carpenter. Rock enthusiasts will findthis LP a real pleasure. H.E.

MISS ABRAMS AND THE STRAWBERRY POINTFOURTH GRADE CLASS. Reprise 2098, $5.98.A skeet album of songs by a young schoolteacher and her classroom singers. One ofthem, Mill Valley. has been successful and isincluded here. M.A.

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126



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READER SERVICE CARDSappear on pages 37 and 95.

JANUARY 1973 12-

the tapedeck BY R.D. DARRELL

Hubris: Mahler's Impossible Dream.One's biases undeniably tend to slantever more steeply as one grows older; yetin the realm of musical experience thistendency sometimes can be arrested, oreven reversed. by exceptionally potentrecorded performances. Only recently, aprejudiced conviction of my own (thatTannhauser was an irredeemably dullopera) yielded to the combined persua-siveness of Solti's interpretative elo-quence and London's most thrilling en-gineering. So this month I almost hopedthat the same combination might releaseme from an even stronger musical antag-onism-but in the case of Mahler's Sym-phony of a Thousand, my old objectionsare in some ways confirmed rather thancontradicted by the grandeurs of theSolti version and only softened a bit bythe more modest persuasions of Hai-tink in a simultaneous reel release fromPhilips.

Although I'm usually a pro- ratherthan anti-Mahlerian, his gargantuanEighth Symphony always has struck meas a classic example of overweening am-bition, an attempt to lift oneself intoHeaven by one's own bootstraps, a fool-hardy challenge to Fate that the ancientGreeks named hubris. Often this mad-ness is so superhuman that some observ-ers, awed by the act itself, refuse to denyit success-or at worst esteem it as a"magnificent failure." (Beethoven'sNinth is an example some of us mightcite.) So for many listeners the sheer loft-iness of Mahler's aims in his Eighth mayobscure the hard fact that his heaven -storming remains tragically earth-bound, never really "coming off" in theconcert hall, much less in recordings.

In any case, it is true that technologicaladvances enable the two latest Eighths instereo (with quadraphonic editions stillto come) to argue their own cases moreeloquently than any previous versions.They are London/Ampex K 90211 andPhilips/Ampex K 7049, each a double -play 71/2-ips reel, $11.95. The more dra-matic reading and more spectacular son-ics are those of the former, the Solti ver-sion, with international soloists, Vien-nese choruses, and the Chicago Sym-phony Orchestra. Yet while its rival, con-ducted by Haitink with internationalsoloists, Amsterdam choruses, and Con-certgebouw Orchestra, has markedly lesssonic breadth, impact, and presence, thecompletely natural, more distant, large -auditorium recording and still more itsrestrained, gentler. and even (where pos-sible) intimate reading poignantly en-hance one's sympathy for the composer'sattempt to realize his truly impossible

dream. Hence, while I must recommendthe Solti version first to audiophiles andto all those who find unalloyed grandeurwhere I find grandiosity, it's the Haitinkversion that's more likely to soften thehearts of those who condemn Mahler'shubris for attempting more than he-orany composer-can possibly achieve.

"Of Battles Long Ago." There hardlycould be a worse time than the presentfor the appearance of any recorded wardocumentary, so it should be stressedthat Frederick Fennell's great evocationof The Civil War: Its Music and ItsSounds was planned for and first re-leased (in two double -disc volumes) dur-ing the centenary celebrations of theearly 1960s. When it was finally broughtto tape only recently, I passed it over ini-tially for review consideration. But afterchecking back on the original disc re-views I began to suspect that I was miss-ing something exceptional in the way ofincomparable sonic, as well as martial,value-a suspicion immediately con-firmed when I began listening to the tapeedition (Mercury/Ampex L 901/2, twodouble -play 71/2-ips reels, $7.95 each).

What we have here is a revitalizationof the music sung and played on bothsides of the Mason and Dixon line dur-ing the war years-music recorded in itsoriginal scorings and on period band in-struments, which are also heard in repre-sentative field music (bugle and drumcalls) of both armies. There are in addi-tion sixty -page illustrated booklets ofscholarly annotations. All these attrac-tions are so fascinating in themselves aswell as for their historical importancethat one can well afford to skip over thelast quarter of each reel devoted to nar-rated battle re-enactments exploitingauthentic cannon and musket fire. These"Sounds of Conflict" now seem of lim-ited interest in comparison with thewealth of musical appeals predominat-ing elsewhere in these documentaries.

The Other Manon. Puccini's first real hit.Mallon Lescaut, has been doubly handi-capped on the stage by the even greaterpopularity of his later triumphs and(outside Italy) by the competition ofMassenet's earlier operatic version of thesame Prevost story. On tape it's been un-lucky too: The sole complete version-London's of 1964 starring Tebaldi-ac-tually was recorded nearly a decade ear-lier and currently is out of print (exceptfor a single reel of highlights). But notonly does this ensure a warm welcomefor Angel's new musicassette version(4X2S 3782, two cassettes, boxed, $9.98;libretto on request), advance interest hasbeen stimulated by the fact that its stars-Montserrat Caballe and Placido Do-mingo-gave a preview of its Act II duoin the recent Met Gala honoring Sir Ru-dolf Bing (recorded by Deutsche

Grammophon). As might be expectedCaballe sings entrancingly. and if con-ductor Bruno Bartoletti can't make theAmbrosian Chorus, New PhilharmoniaOrchestra, and the minor cast memberssound idiomatically Italian, co-star Do-mingo is Italianate enough in his emot-ing and roaring to more than make upfor that. Indeed, his robustness and thegenerally high modulation level of therecording effectively help to cover upmost of the non-Dolbyized cassette sur-face noise.

Goodies, but Definitely Oldies. Reap-pearances of earlier, often years earlier,releases continue to figure largely amongthe "new" listings originating in thiscountry-often enough a good ratherthan a bad thing in at least some respects,but a policy I can more readily approvewhen there is some cost saving thanwhen there is none.

First mention, then, goes to a bargaindouble -play cassette edition (ColumbiaMGT 31418, $7.98; also a 71/2-ips reel,MG 31418. at the same price) couplingIsaac Stern's famed 1960 performancesof the Beethoven and Brahms ViolinConcertos, with Bernstein and Ormandyrespectively, in big -sound recordingswhich still stand up impressively well.

Second, if only because it representsless of a saving, is Arthur Fiedler's"Great Children's Favorites" collection(RCA Red Seal RK/R8S 5076, double -play cassette and cartridge respectively,$9.95 each). Reissued here are the fine1964 pairing of Saint-Saens's Carnival ofthe Animals with Britten's Young Per-son's Guide to the Orchestra (both withadmirably straight narration by HughDowns); the very early stereo -ageTchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite; and, star-tlingly, a Prokofiev Peter and the Wolfwith narration by Alec Guinness. What'sstartling here is that the only Fiedler/Guinness Peter I know was recorded in1952 (released in 1954)-and it certainlysounds like undoctored monophonyhere. But the sonics are amazingly goodall the same, and since Guinness does afirst-rate, completely unmannered job,unwary buyers may be deceived but theywon't really be cheated.

The releases of the "Greatest" this andthat continue on and on. but at full listprices I can give only qualified commen-dation to "Greatest Hits/The Violin," acouple of concerto movements and vari-ous popular encore pieces in polishedvirtuoso performances by Stern andZukerman (Columbia MT/MA 31405,Dolbyized cassette/8-track cartridge,$6.98 each); "Greatest Hits/The Piano,"familiar warhorse pieces in rather heavy-handed virtuoso performances by Entre-mont (Columbia MT/MA 31406):"Mahler's Greatest Hits" (RCA Red SealRK/R8S 1206, double -play cassette andcartridge respectively, $6.95 each).


OUR DISTINGUISHED PANELWe have two ki ids. The cassette :ontrot panel picturedabove, and the customer opinion panel reported below.

Recently we surveyed our stereo cassette deckowners. And they told us the number one reasonfcr buying TEAC was our commitment to excellence inproduct performance and design. Next most mentionedreason was our convenience feat.rres such as Dolby:automaticshjtoff and many more.

Some owners have three TEACs; twc for recording/dubbing at home and one in the car.

All of these peop e wanted the jest tape deckfor their stereo system. Shouldn't you?

TEAC Corporation of America. 7733 Telegraph Road, Montebello, California 90640 T E AC.TEAC Corporation, 1-8- Nish-shinjuku. Shimuku-ku. Tokyo. Japan TEAC EUROPE N.V., Kabelweg 45.47. Amsterdam -W 2. HollandIn Canada' White Electronic Development'Corp., std Tororto

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RECEIVERS OR SEPARATES

the new KENWOODS offer more!Whether you prefer a separate amplifierand tuner or enjoy the convenience ofa stereo receiver, these new KENWOODcomponents give you professionalfeatures and top performance to enhancethe quality of your stereo system.

6

.4 4

KR -6200. . 240 -WATT (INF), FM/ AM STEREO RECEIVER (Left): With direct coupling, advancednew PNP can -type transistors, and KENWOOD's exclusive new double -switching demodulator, theKR -6200 provides excellent broadcast reception, exceptional stereo performance, and outstandingdependability for the heart of your stereo system. SPECIFICATIONS: FM Sensitivity 1.7?,V S/N Ratio 66 dB Capture Ratio 1.5 dB Selectivity 65 dB RMS Continuous Power Output 45watts per channel, both channels driven into 8 ohms. from 20-20k Hz THD & IM 0.5% FrequencyResponse 20-40k Hz Power Bandwidth 13-30k Hz.

KT -6005... FM/AM STEREO TUNER (Top Right): KENWOCD's advanced double -switchingdemodulator (DSD circuit) and new block filter design assure excellent stereo separation and crisp,clean sound in FM -stereo reception. Other features include MPX filter, FM muting. linear frequencydial scale, signal strength and zero -center tuning meters. SPECIFICATIONS: FM Sensitivity 1.5 ,V S/N Ratio 70 dB Capture Ratio 1.3 cB Selectivity 80 dB.

KA-6004 ... 220 -WATT (IHF) STEREO AMPLIFIER (Lower Right): Direct coupling in the poweramplifier stage assures flat frequency response, low distortion and high damping factor.KENWOOD's exclusive dual protection circuit prevents damage to transistors and speakers.Terminals for 2 -system tape monitor. 2 phonos, 2 aux, tuner, mike. and 2 sets of stereo speakersprovide a flexible control center for a sophisticated sound system. SPECIFICATIONS: RMSContinuous Power Output 40 watts per channel, both channels driven at 8 ohms. from 20-20k Hz THD 0.5% IM 0.3% Frequency Response 20-40k Hz Power Bandwidth 10-50k Hz.

For complete information visit your nearest Authorized KENWOOD Dealer, or write ...

. S.

KENWOOD 15777 So. Broadway. Gardena, Calif. 90248 72 02 Fifty-first Ave., Woodside, N.Y. 11377In Canada. Magnasonic Canada. Ltd., Toronto, 0-itario; Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, B C

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