download the PDF version - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine

Feedback
I really enjoy your magazine. I kept
buying single issues until it dawned on
me that the only hi-fi magazine that
stayed around on the reading table was
yours, so I became a subscriber. It has
the ring of truth and the love of music
around it, so stay on course, you’ve got
a winning formula.
Eric Nadelberg
NEW CITY, NY
I just received issue No. 66 and noted
the bit about Mt. Everest and Hillary.
However, I believe it was Mallory, not
Hillary, who made the famous reply,
“because it’s there.”
Aside from that, I’d like to say that
having been a subscriber since issue
No. 28 and a reader for much longer.
I have always appreciated your publication.
This is the longest magazine
subscription I’ve ever had, and I expect
I’ll still be reading you when I have my
first pair of bifocals.
Nicolas Baltazar
KUUJJUAQ, QC
Having spent the last few years and
not an inconsiderable amount of investigation,
time and money working on
developing a media room, I’m delighted
to see the addition of the Kappa room to
your mix, and look forward to reviews
that include home theatre oriented
products.
While I can appreciate your philosophy
and dedication to reviewing
separates, I think the one-box solution
has come a long way in recent years.
Recent reviews of the Denon 5803 have
equated its performance to all but the
highest end separates. I am respectfully
requesting that UHF review some of the
“flagship” AV receivers that some of us
are choosing as an option.
Peter M. Wilson
ETOBICOKE, ON
Feedback
Box 65085, Place Longueuil
Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4K 5J4
uhfmail@uhfmag.com
I would love to be there (at the Montreal
Festival du Son). I’ve never been to a
show like that. Maybe when the kids are
older, my wife and myself will attend.
I will certainly be checking the
daily updates from the show (the coverage
from Las Vegas was great). So keep
up the take no prisoners/suffer no fools
policy for audio and video and I will
continue to be a loyal subscriber.
John Reid
VICTORIA, BC
It was interesting to read in your dayby-day
review of the Montreal hi-fi show
that a female audiophile found that the
show was full of lift (elevator) music. I
took my wife to the show, telling her
that even if the equipment isn’t interesting
then we would surely find some
new and interesting music. This visit to
the Montreal show was my first North-
American show — I’m from England
and have been to the big London show
many times — and if I have to listen to
one more jangly twangy lift music jazz
recording I’ll never attend another show
on this continent!
It was a relief to hear some Pink Floyd
being played, but on entering the room
it stopped. My ears perked up again as
I hear another few bars of Pink Floyd
from down the corridor, but on entering
that room I found that the quality
of musical reproduction was awful. The
jazz music we heard was generally very
well reproduced, it’s just that we don’t
like that kind of music.
There was a great selection of equipment
and lots of Canadian brands that
I’d not seen before to examine and listen
to, but way too much British stuff for my
liking! Remembering which products
were in which rooms was tricky because
almost all the rooms were put on by the
distributors, not the manufacturers, so
trying to find somewhere on the plan was
sometimes tricky, not helped by the poor
signage and maps in the show guide.
One of the funniest moments was
walking into a darkened home cinema
area where they were playing the recent
Star Wars movie — with the voices about
half a second out of sync with the picture.
That kind of setup is hardly fitting
for a high end show.
So I returned to Ottawa, happy that
I had picked up many magazines to read
and seen interesting equipment to give
me ideas when building my own, and
we listened to 80s pop music in the
car — relief at last.
Graeme Nattress
OTTAWA, ON
In the Free Advice section of issue
No. 66, David Chirko requested advice
on system upgrades. His preamp is a
Bryston BP 25P and in your reply you
seem to suggest that he may want to
upgrade that preamp.
I was curious about your comment.
I have a Bryston 14B SST amp, Oracle
Delphi Mark III turntable with RB600
arm and Goldring Elite cartridge, Cambridge
DiscMagic transport and Cambridge
ISOMagic DAC, Totem Tabu
speakers and mostly Cardas wiring. I
have an older preamp and am saving to
replace it. I was thinking about replacing
it with the Bryston BP 25P. I don’t
think it is the first time I have seen you
suggest alternatives besides Bryston.
Do you not have a very good opinion
of Bryston? How would you compare
the Bryston to say the Copland CTA-
301 MkII (I know it is your reference),
YBA 2 or VTL 5.5? Would you have
any other suggestions in the $3,000 to
$4,000 range?
Randy Fowlie
WATERLOO, ON
We like all three of these brands, Randy,
and of course we especially like the Copland as
you know. We believe it is difficult to match
at anything close to its price. But we do like
Bryston products as well, and we’re sorry if
we gave you a contrary impression.
Very simply, David Chirko’s system was
quite well balanced, and for that reason we
suggested that the natural upgrade sequence
would follow the front-to-back rule: start
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 5