 |
| Letters -- October 2002 Great start October 18, 2002 Great start, you guys! I look forward to seeing this site grow. Keep the articles coming! Devin Thompson Buzz October 16, 2002 To Jerry Kindela, I have just finished reading your Accuphase P-1000 amplifier review at the new SoundStage! Network site, Ultra Audio and am really stunned at your assertion that you had never heard the obvious guitar-amp ground buzz in "Tin Pan Alley" prior to the Burmester release. I simply can't imagine that this is the first time you ever noticed that session artifact! In fact, it was equally obvious on the initial CD release of Couldn t Stand The Weather, which I gave to a friend when I picked up the excellent Sony SBM release. It is also equally obvious on the Absolute Analogue 180-gram vinyl release. It was so obvious on first play in the shop I was managing at the time that I stopped what I was doing and looked for the noise, as did you. I initially surmised that the hum was generated by a bad ballast in one of the florescent-light fixtures of my demo room. However, that was 1984, some 18 years ago. I find it singularly curious that you never noted that guitar-amp buzz until now. Man, it is even pointed out in the liner notes of the original release! Just for reference, the same amp buzz is noted on the Hendrix cover "Little Wing" on The Sky is Crying, as it was recorded during the same sessions in New York at the Power Station in January and February of 1984. I can only think of two reasons to account for your never having heard it previous to this listening. Either you have never listened to that cut by SRV prior to that sitting or your system had some major flaws that masked it. The fact that you go on to state that it was not noticeable before the arrival of the Accuphase rules out number one and is, in my opinion, doing an injustice to your readers and is just plain ludicrous. You are unrealistically damning other amps when, in fact, it was either your own ineptitude or carelessness, or a flaw in your previous system setup, that was masking this plainly obvious venue sound. If I could discern it in a retail environment while background listening and think, as you did, that it was a sound that was coming from something other than the recording, then you paint too strong a commendation for the amp. Do understand that that I am NOT attacking the Accuphase P-1000; in fact, quite the opposite is true. I know Accuphase equipment quite well. At the time of the release of Couldn t Stand The Weather I was using an Accuphase P-300A with modified Acoustat 2+2 Medallions. What I am saying is that your claim that the Accuphase is something special because only with it in place were you able to notice the utterly obvious guitar amp hum is, well, deceptive and absurd. To infer that other amps mask this part of the recording is just plain irresponsible. I fully suspect that I will not be the only one to point this out. And understand that this is not an antagonistic note. It is only my hope that you will find a way to correct this glaring misconception sometime soon for your readers. Regards, Greg Weaver What I wrote was as I claim it to have been at that time, and, more important, it was honest. I implied nothing, and I stand by my review. Thanks for visiting Ultra Audio....Jerry Kindela Surprised October 14, 2002 I'm surprised that you've brought out this site because of SoundStage!'s respect for affordable audio equipment, speakers in particular. But then it's sort of the other side of the coin from your GoodSound! site. Good luck with it, and I'll be reading. Roger Jeffers Thanks October 8, 2002 I want to thank the SoundStage! Network for a great new site that I hope to see grow. Can you please tell me what equipment will be reviewed in the future? Bob Jacobs In the near future, you will see reviews of Silversmith Audio Palladium cables and the Song Audio SA-1 preamp.
Ultra Audio is part of the SoundStage! Network. |
