Soundlab Audiophile G9-7c: a 30-year odyssey fulfilled

[godofwealth]

We now move forward on time by almost two centuries to the 17th century choral music of Portuguese composer Frei Manuel Cardoso, who lived from 1566-1650. We are in the realm of polyphony and Cardoso was the most famous composer in his country. He would have been more well known in the rest of Europe if the Amsterdam publishing house Plantin had agreed to publish all his music. Their costs were too high and much of Cardoso’s music perished in the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

This Gimell recording features the famous Tallis Scholars who just gave a concert at UC Berkeley on May 2nd of Palestrina’s music. The recording was also done in a church with the mikes placed sufficiently far away to give a sense of space and scale. Again, this is a long 70-minute CD that might seem interminably long to the trigger happy right swiping streaming audiophiles. Close your eyes and resist all electronic temptations for 70 minutes. You’ll be rewarded by lower blood pressure and a calmer state of mind.

 

[godofwealth]

To round out the evening of choral music, we move forward again by two centuries to the music of George Dyson, a British composer who lived from 1883-1964. He was a versatile man, Principal of Winchester School, one of Britain’s finest “public” schools (in the UK, “public” means posh and elitist, kind of like our Ivy League) and also served as Director of the Royal College of Music from whose ranks most of. Britain’s famous composers came.
His choral music is elegant and lovely, but not in the class of Ralph Vaughan Williams or Edward Elgar. Can hardly fault him for that since he only found time to compose in his spare time.

Dyson’s son was the brilliant physicist Freeman Dyson, who worked for many decades at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, which in its heyday boasted of the world’s most brilliant minds including Einstein, John von Neumann who built the first stored program digital computer (all computers even today are essentially von Neumann machines), and Kurt Godel who shattered the dreams of mathematicians when he showed that any system of logic that contains arithmetic is forever plagued by incompleteness, meaning there are statements that can neither be proven true or false. Freeman Dyson was scarcely in his mid-20s when he showed that three leading theories of quantum electrodynamics were the same. That got him his lifetime job at the Institute of Advanced Study. That’s the stuff out of which genius is made.

This recording was made the famous engineer Tony Faulkner who has made thousands of famous recordings for many classical labels. It’s very naturally balanced. No spotlighting of singers. The organ rumbles in the distance.

 

[godofwealth]

Ry Cooder deserves a lot of kudos for bringing to the attention of the world the “forgotten” music of Cuba. One of the musical gems he unearthed was the pianist Ruben Gonzales, whose album “chanchullo” we are hearing: what’s true for evolution in biology holds true for music as well. In biology we find often that isolated continents like Australia often evolve their own distinctive species like kangaroos. Komodo dragons are found on isolated islands in Indonesia but don’t roam around the streets of San Francisco. Cuba was isolated for a long time and its music evolved in ways that are wholly unique.

This recording sounds beautiful on the SL G9-7c driven by the inestimable ARC VT80SE with a quartet of KT170 tubes, driven by an ARC Ref CD8 player through the ARC Ref 6SE. Layers of brightness that used to plague this recording on lesser electronics and speakers are vanished. What emerges is glorious music. The recording seems miraculously remastered.

As for the music, this is sheer genius. Bouncy tunes, lovely percussion, the flute accompaniment sounds gorgeous and Ruben’s piano is just beyond the mundane that plagues so many lesser players.

It’s often said in research that isolation brings about great breakthroughs. The Princeton mathematician Andrew Wiles toiled in his attic for seven long years on solving Fermat’s “last problem”, which eluded mathematicians for centuries. He didn’t breath a word to any of his colleagues on his stealth mode research. He finally cracked the problem. Cuban music labored in isolation, but like in biology and math, it’s all to the good that it was ignored for so long. It developed into its own unique genre.

 

[godofwealth]

Got a nice grill cover for my VT80SE. Makes it look slick and minimalistic. No flashing lights or meters. My kind of amplifier.

 

[godofwealth]

Another sensational discovery of Ry Cooder was the singer Compay Segundo. What’s amazing about these Cuban musicians is that they’re not teenage bopping sensations. They’re 80-year-old veterans who can still swing in ways that leave our teenage boppers in the dust. Listen to the opening song of this album and try to remain stationary in your chair. You’ll fail. You will more likely be dancing around your listening room.

Once again, the ARC SL duo brings this album to life in ways that most competing systems fail to do. Most modern dynamic loudspeakers with harsh metallic tweeters tend to heighten the brightness of such recordings. Solid state amplifiers boast impressive specs but on such recordings have me running from the room screaming with my ears closed. The ARC SL gear lets you enjoy these recordings by bringing out the music, not emphasizing the brightness. That’s what a great high end system should do, but in my 35-year experience, most fail.

This genre of Cuban music was so amazing that Ry Cooder’s breakthrough album ran away with multiple Grammy’s. It’s well deserved.

 

[godofwealth]

I first heard the Irish pianist Barry Douglas in 1986 when he won the Gold medal of the prestigious Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. He played the dazzling Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, which I found captivating. Many years later, Barry Douglas would go on to record the complete works of Johannes Brahms. Both listener — me — and performer have aged, and like fine wine, our musical tastes and performances have become more refined. Less slam and more introspection.

Volume 1 of this complete CD set is almost 80 minutes long and features Barry Douglas playing a set of Brahms’ more introspective pieces, like his Ballads. Brahms was often compared to his immediate predecessor Beethoven, but in these pieces Brahms is much closer to Chopin. These pieces are absolutely delightful and haunting in a way that Beethoven’s piano music rarely is. There’s a deep sense of reflection and relaxation in these pieces, not the clanging banging piano of the more traditional bravura Beethoven sonatas.

Brahms was by all accounts a far more brilliant pianist than Beethoven ever was. He was a gifted performer who in his early years earned his living playing in seedy nightclubs in Hamburg. Later when he moved to Vienna and befriended Robert and Clara Schumann, he inherited Schumann’s piano after the latter was committed to a mental institution where he later died. Brahms resorted far more to composition than individual soloist performances in his later years, but retained a keen interest in the manufacturer and technology of pianos till the very end. He was therefore not just a fine pianist but a composer up whom the piano was his inner voice.

That depth of passion is reflected in these quiet pieces that initially seem very soft and muted compared to the more bravura Beethoven. But on repeated listening you realize the sheer beauty and lyricism of Brahms’ piano pieces that made him a favorite among many world class pianists.

This recording by Chandos is very enjoyable on the big SL G9-7c’s driven by the ARC VT80SE with the KT170 tubes. The VT80SE is the quietest tube amplifier I have heard in over 30 years. It’s spooky how quiet it is, a tribute to ARC’s four-layer circuit board design first implemented in their preamplifiers. Measurements by Hi-Fi News show the VT80SE achieves a S/N ratio below -100dB, an outstanding result for a tube amplifier.

The whole set is a desert island disc. 80 minutes of Brahms piano pieces might seem like torture to today’s streaming obsessed audiophiles, but it’s definitely my kind of musical enjoyment. Both Douglas and I have aged and we now enjoy introspection and reflection more than bravura and machismo playing. Brahms is the perfect antidote to today’s perennial world economic crises.

 

[godofwealth]

In 1986, the year Barry Douglas won the Tchaikovsky piano competition, Telarc recorded these rather bombastic organ symphonies by Dupre and Rheinberger we are hearing. The recording venue — the Royal Albert Hall in London — possesses a magnificent organ that Michael Murray, the organist who often plays here in San Francisco, was I’m sure thrilled to play.

This recording was done by Jack Renner, a co- founder of Telarc, and minimally miked as was his custom in those early days. What emerges is not a modern organ-in-your-throat recording, but one where the organ rumbles menacingly in the distance never overshadowing the orchestra. It’s a little cruel to say bombastic since these pieces are rather dignified and have lots of quiet moments where the orchestra and organ whisper sweet nothings to each other. There are of course places where the organ roars like a lion king of instruments it undoubtedly is. But both composers here were wise enough to understand what a former president of the US one said: speak softly but carry a big stick. Most of the time we hear the organ speaking softly.

Great recording from Telarc’s golden age. The digital equipment may have been primitive by today’s standards but used by a maestro like Renner, the results are still impressive. I’m running the big SL G9-7c with no subwoofer, so there’s no crossover discontinuities to spoil the sound. One large 3000+ sq inch membrane produces the entire frequency (in practice subdivided into smaller cells in a way designed to minimize panel resonances).

One has to be realistic. Want to hear an organ in
Its original splendor? Go to a church or a large concert hall! You cannot reproduce an organ in a tiny listening room, even if you packed it from top to bottom with subwoofers! Simple physics will tell you that long sound waves at 30 or 20 Hz cannot be reproduced in a listening room. The wavelengths are too long.

 

[godofwealth]

Stan Getz, like Ry Cooder after him, launched a new genre of jazz music with his sensational discovery of Brazilian samba. The albums he created including the famous Girl from Ipanema are the stuff of legend now. This third album continues the tradition. It’s beautifully remastered in 24-192 and on the big SL G9-7c driven by the ARC electronics and the Lampi Pacific with Western Electric 101D tubes has a sense of analog purity that’s rare. Maria Toledo’s vocal contributions lend an unmistakable sultriness to the proceedings. This music has an intoxicating quality to it that’s a nice fusion of jazz with Brazilian samba overtones.

Getz’ sax breathes in an effusive way that’s almost smoky and billowing in its sound. The guitar accompaniment and percussion is suitably soft and luxurious as well. This is not high octane Coltrane or Miles Davis jazz. It’s more calculated to appeal to your heart than your brain. But with a glass of fine Zinfandel wine from my nearby 100-year old Italian winery, it’s a perfect way to unwind.

 

[godofwealth]

Here’s a more traditional samba recording from Maria Toledo with Luiz Bonfa. It’s a nice recording with plenty of variety in the songs and instrumentation from pure guitar solos to full orchestra. It’s a bit more syrupy samba than jazz. But good for late night reveries. We are far away from jazz now.

 

[godofwealth]

Listening to vinyl on my SL G9-7c’s today, played back on an SME 20/12 turntable with the incomparable SME V12 tonearm with a Koetsu Onyx Platinum cartridge preamplified by the ARC Ref Phono 3SE. On my regular summer ARC 6SE and ARC VT80SE tube gear, the sound is warm, natural with plenty of dynamics. Vinyl played back on a very good turntable sounds just so dynamic compared to streaming. There’s just an overwhelming sense of limitless dynamics. It’s a puzzle why given the specs of digital, it often sounds quite compressed to my ears.

I bought a bunch of used classical and jazz vinyl on a recent trip to San Francisco that I’m now enjoying hearing. So glad I hung on to my vinyl and my turntables. It’s not often I listen to them, sadly, but when I do, it’s like moving from a V6 engine to a V12 engine!

 

[godofwealth]

My vinyl setup that I use with the SL G9-7c. Listening to it, I’m resolving to spend more time listening to vinyl these coming summer months.

 

[ChrisSoundLab]

Just thought to reach out - got some great news over night that Dietrich has requested and we whole-heartedly accept Aoustical Systems as a dealer for us in Germany Munich area.
And especially for anyone tuning in here who live in Europe... for Europe making some adjustment for panel height (in progress).

 

[godofwealth]

Congratulations, Chris!

 

[godofwealth]

It’s in the mid 90’s in the Bay Area, unless you’re rich enough to live in Carmel-by-the-sea, where it’s a cool 70. So, we’re now back to our ultra low-energy solid state class D amplifier driving the SL G9-7c, with the budget Topping D90 DAC. No, it’s not going to sound like my usual ARC-Lampi front end, but runs a lot cooler!

We’re listening to a nice chamber music album by the renowned Nash ensemble of Ferdinand Ries, who was mostly known in his life for being Beethoven’s assistant. In actuality, he was a really good composer whose music reflected a more romantic inclination. This 24-bit 192khz recording has plenty of ambience and the instruments sound well-balanced with plenty of space surrounding them.

 

[godofwealth]

As cooler weather has prevailed, we are back to listening to my SL G9-7c with the ARC VT80SE and the ARC Reference CD8 into the ARC 6SE preamp. We are listening to the glorious choral music of Carlo Gesualdo, who lived from 1560-1613. He was a Neapolitan nobleman who could be accurately described as a musician and a murderer. On 16 October 1590, he caught his first wife “in flagrante delicto” with the Duke of Andria. He then had her murdered and was acquitted in court as it was an “honor crime” to avenge his reputation, which in Italy was not considered a crime till fairly late In the 20th century. He married again to Leonora d’Este who was well connected with the musical establishment. He spent much of his later years composing some wonderful religious music.

Argo is a famous British label from the analog vinyl era where they made some sensational recordings. They specialize in choral, British, American and organ music from the liner notes on this Argo CD in their digital transformation. Beautifully recorded in Luvigliano church in Torreglia in July 1990, the Padua Early Music center under Livio Picotti performs admirably in bringing this centuries old music to life in the 21st century. The responsories are traditionally sung in Holy Week for the office of Matins on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. These nine responsories were to be heard on Good Friday. They were intended to be heard in the pre-dawn hours of Matins
The ARC Reference CD8 player brings this CD to life, breathing in an intoxicating blend of harmonic tube richness into the digital recording.

 

[godofwealth]

We move from 16th century Italy to the same period in Elizabethan England under the reign of Elizabeth I. It was a great time for the composition of secular music, as vividly illustrated by this Naxos recording of Elizabethan songs and consort music played by the Rose Consort of Viols. The viol has a rich sound that is nicely captured on this recording and richly reproduced by the ARC electronics and the SL panels.

In the early part of Elizabeth I’s reign from 1558-1603, there was a wealth of secular music written purely for entertainment at court. Most Elizabethan choirboys were skilled viol players as well. In the usual setting, the consort music without vocal accompaniment was performed along with madrigals and other songs. The cover of the CD shows Elizabeth I playing the lute. Royalty in those days were musically well-trained. A great deal of classical music over centuries owes to royal patronage without which this genre of music might well have perished. There was of course religious music but often the musicians were employed by the royal courts.

This 1997 recording made at St. Andrew’s Church in Toddington, Gloucestershire is expertly recorded by John Taylor and runs a generous 72 minutes. Highly recommended as a taste for court music from 5 centuries ago.

 

[godofwealth]

Robert Schumann was one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, succeeding the classical era of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. He was married to Clara Schumann who was a gifted concert pianist. Once she was married and had to take care of her growing family, unable to give concerts, she turned to composition and surprised her husband in 1846 with a piano trio she had composed. This spurred Robert into composing his own piano trios, which we are listening to on a fine Chandos compact disc box set played by the renowned Borodin piano trio.

Chandos has recorded many piano trios by this group and they all have a characteristic sound to them. The Borodin trio projects great energy and play with extreme vigor. The pianist Luba Edlina pounds the keyboard with ferocity in Schumann’s first trio, whose first movement is subtitled “Mit Energie und Leidenschaft”, meaning “with energy and passion”. That’s exactly how the Borodin piano trio plays this piece.

Piano trios are hard to reproduce correctly, given three different instruments of highly distinctive sounds: the percussive piano vs the two stringed instruments at different musical pitches. The SL G9-7c with the ARC electronics reproduces this recording with authority and musicality. One has a distinctive impression of the dynamics of the piano, which dominates the piece. Schumann was a pianist and it shows. One has to wonder about this long dead tradition of a wife giving her husband a piano trio as a gift. In today’s tech-obsessed world, it would be a new gadget. One longs sometimes for the old world of music making at home with instruments.

 

[godofwealth]

We move back in time by thirteen centuries to listen to a magnificent recording of old Roman chant by the inestimable Ensemble Organum led by Marcel Pe’re’s, recorded by Harmonia Mundi. This Byzantine chant is so striking when you hear it from the first bars — it has a distinctive middle-eastern melody to it. In the 7th century, after Palestine was invaded by the Persians, as many as fifty thousand monks fled to southern Italy where they established many churches including in Rome. These reflect the Greek and Syrian origins of ancient Christianity. It’s a melting pot of ethnicities that made up Christianity, as it is true today.

Performing music composed thirteen centuries ago is no easy matter. The performers are bringing a certain musical rediscovery in their interpretation of what these chants would gave sounded like. I’m stunned by the results. Take me back to the 7th century if this is what their chants sounded like. Absolutely riveting in its simplicity and beauty. The combo of ARC tube electronics and Soundlab G9-7c electrostatic magic transports you back thirteen hundred years. Best to listen to this CD in the dark with the lights off. It’s utterly meditative. One acid test of a loudspeaker is how it reproduces the human voice. There must be no artificial brightness or sibilance if the music was recorded without electronic enhancements. This recording sounds like you are in the church with the monks in the 7th century. It has a deep level of ambience.

The striking use of an Ison — a sustained bass note sung by the basses — is like a musical vibration from a double bass, except it’s much more striking as it’s sung by a human. A desert island disc. Good luck finding the original CD.