Our November general meeting welcomed regulars Rockian Trading and Osborn speakers. Ian has kindly provided a detailed description of the tracks he will present on the night. We are looking forward to presenting some new "audiophile tracks" to members of the Melbourne Audio Club in the Willis Room. As usual Beverley's bazaar will have a selection of recordings for sale to MAC members at special prices. Some particular bargains will continue to be offered from the Rockian Trading catalogue. Once again we thank Greg and Yvonne Osborn for providing the appropriate audio equipment for the occasion.

The following is a list of recordings I would like to share with members in the time available: ATMA Classique ACD2 2831 - Calcutta 1789 / Notturna, Christopher Palameta (East meets West).

A musical program from a concert enjoyed by the families and friends of the British East India Company. Works by Johann Christian Bach (alive at the time), George Frederic Handel, Henry Purcell and Carl Friedrich Abel (recently deceased at the time and labeled "The Ancient Masters"). Also included are two works by Irish born William Hamilton Bird, who lived in Calcutta, now Kolkata, for two decades. He transcribed many classical Indian pieces to Western tablature for ensembles including Sitar and Tablas. The Beatles weren't the first to incorporate Indian elements into their music. Sorry George, but I bet you knew anyway!

ATMA Classique ACD2 2454 - Sibelius 3 & 4 / Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal, Yannick Nezet-Seguin This fine recording of Sibelius Symphonies makes for a wonderful audio concert. A composer greatly influenced by the classical and romantic composers who preceded him and not totally committed to the impressionists who were his contemporaries. Totally involving!

ATMA Classique ACD2 2803 - Chopin Recital / Janina Fialkowska A selection of 12 Chopin Polonaises, Nocturnes, Preludes and more from this 19th century pop star, some melodies that remain popular today. These recordings were engineered and mastered by Anne-Marie Sylvestre who continues to uphold ATMA Classique's reputation for outstanding productions. Fresh! from Reference Recordings - FR-748 - Reencuentros / Cecilia Duarte and Latin guitar, bass and percussion ensemble. Fresh! from Reference Recordings - FR-750 - Le Dolce Sirene / Bach Aria Soloists. A soprano, violinist, cellist and organist/ harpsichordist present works by Monteverdi, Handel, Mendelssohn, JS Bach and McDowall.

Fresh! from Reference Recordings - FR- 751SACD, (3 Hybrid SACD Box - 5.0 & Stereo SACD + Stereo CD) The Compete Beethoven Piano Concertos / Garrick Ohlsson piano, Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, Sir Donald Runnicles conductor.

We could hold a complete MAC meeting to audition and evaluate this collection. Ohlsson has played each of these concertos at least 100 times and conductor Runnicles is equally experienced. In the enclosed booklet the recording engineer provides us with an explanation of his choice of microphone and set -up. I recommend visiting the Abbey Road Institute London web site for information on the Decca Tree microphone set-up. At the bottom of the blog tab click Recording Techniques. Scroll down that page past the Dolby Atmos link to The Decca Tree: The secrets behind the legendary recording technique. It's all in there.

Fresh! from Reference Recordings - FR-753 - Schubert by Candlelight Live in Madrid / Sergei Kvitko, piano 13 works captured live in Madrid Reference Recordings - RR-151 - Spanish Impressions / Hermitage Piano Trio Three passionate virtuoso musicians breathe fire into this flamenco influenced program. After years of working together the Hermitage Piano Trio have gained a reputation of quality ensemble work and are often praised by critics for their "unity of sound." Their previous recording for Reference Recordings release (RR -147) "Rachmaninoff" was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Both Hermitage Trio recordings have been recorded and mastered by Sean Martin, son of Keith O. Johnson and Marcia Martin, founding partners in Reference Recordings. A new generation taking over. Thank you for your patience with these fine classical recordings.

Now for some of the amazing popular/rock re-masters we have received this year. First up more Eagles recordings.

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2231 - On The Border / Eagles I remember this 1974 release primarily for the first track, "Already Gone." The Country-Rock cover band I was in at the time included this song in its song list and I played it at least twice a week for ages.

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2233 - Hotel California / Eagles More has been written about this album, particularly the title track, than almost any recording in history. And, it deserves all of the attention. The title track could easily be the subject for a PHD thesis or more. For a start it contains motifs and themes that could produce at least four songs, and every piece of the song is perfectly placed and executed. The vocal harmonies are exceptional and the guitar parts are melodious and the harmony solos, particularly at the end of the song, are equaled only by some guitar work performed by Steely Dan session players. Listening to this recording is also a pleasure without the distraction of a video. Sadly this album, absolutely full of great songs, was the best the Eagle could do in the studio, and some believe it should have been their last album.

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2234 - The Long Run / Eagles "Heartache Tonight" from this album reached No1 on the singles chart and won a Grammy Award. Planned as a double LP the band struggled to record the ten songs that made it to studio. Worn out from touring with the Hotel California shows, and the personal disagreements during the making of this recording lead to the Eagles breaking up. Until, after fourteen years, The Hell Freezes Over DVD and CD were made and released in 1994. SHOW ONLY

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2251 - Thriller / Michael Jackson In 1983 this album was listed as "The bestselling of all time." Here Mobile Fidelity have mastered an album for "listening," not like the original, mastered for "dancing." And they have done a brilliant job. Thriller is a masterpiece in production by Jackson, who learnt the trade by "ghosting" the Jackson 5 producer Berry Gordy. Gordy built the label Motown from the ground up as a songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. Michael was an enthusiastic student of the very best producer.

(The Berry Gordy's story is an interesting read.) Michael hired the musicians he knew could play what he wanted. Most of the tracks are played by the personnel from Toto including the Porcaro brothers and Steve Lukather. He hired Eddie Van Halen to solo on "Beat It" and sings a duet with Paul McCartney on "This Girl is Mine."

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2224 - Unplugged / Eric Clapton Recorded live for the MTV Unplugged TV series this is the soundtrack produced for a small audience in a TV studio in Windsor, England. Hard-core blues critics derided it as "Blues for the Yuppies," but I find this recording, devoid of the distracting video, very interesting. The lack of guitar and vocal effects exposes Clapton's raw talent in spades. I play this to track fourteen and am disappointed it has finished.

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2217 - There Goes Rhymin' Simon / Paul Simon Track 1, "Kodakchrome" and track 10. "Loves Me Like a Rock" were both big hits of this ten track album of intriguing gentle songs. It confirmed once more that Paul Simon as a notable US songwriter. Every track is a gem.

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2241 - Excitable Boy / Warren Zevon "Werewolves of London" is the big hit from this strange album. The title, "Excitable Boy" is a euphemism for a psychopathic teenage murderer. "Werewolves" and "Lawyers Guns and Money" are really the only tracks I admire.

Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2085 - Kind of Blue / Miles Davis This recording has been pressed again as a CD and a 45rpm Box set. One of the advantages of using DSD archives is you can cut a new pressing for LP replication or down-sample to Hybrid SACD with no discernable losses. Kind of Blue is one of those gems, pick a track, any track, they are all masterpieces.

Until now we haven't received any new jazz titles this year. The scheduled Miles Davis recording, "Seven Steps to Heaven" has not arrived yet. Frustrating for us and all Jazz fans.

Ian & Beverley Hooper
Rockian Trading 2023

Web Ed.

Monthly meetings of the MAC in the Willis Room commonly see me leave the venue at the end of the night with three emotions. First, I am appreciative of the time and effort put into the demonstration by the presenter, and am reminded again of the devotion so many of them have to our hobby. Second, in almost all cases I'm happy that I've learnt something from the demonstration, be it a new piece of music I'd not heard before, insight into a particular musical genre that I have a growing interest in, or something about the technical aspects of the equipment on display. Third, perhaps as a combination of the first two sentiments, I often come away uplifted by what I've learnt and heard - and this of course is complemented by catching up with old friends from the club and chewing the cud about what had transpired since the last meeting.

The October demonstration by Michail Barabasz, from Lorantz Audio Services in Dandenong (Melbourne), vouchsafed the first and second emotions but not the third. Michail's commitment over decades and decades to the esoteric art of making loudspeaker drive units was unmistakable. And there is no doubt that every person in the audience learnt a great deal about how electrodynamic drive units are made and the compromises that have to be balanced to achieve the desired outcome. More on this later. But it was the third emotion of my list that was missing at the end of the evening. Rather than being uplifted, I left slightly saddened (and angry). Again, more on this later.

Over many highly detailed PowerPoint slides, Michail outlined his experience in the Australian loudspeaker industry and how he makes his electrodynamic drive units. He pointed out that he and his wife Hazel established Lorantz Audio Services in 1976, following the closure in 1974 of Plessey Rola, the well-known local manufacturer and importer of loudspeaker drive units that had factories in Richmond (Victoria) and Willawood (NSW). Some older history to provide a context: the radiomuseum.org webpage says that in 1965 Plessey Pacific, a subsidiary of the UK-based Plessey group, acquired Rola Holdings and its two subsidiaries, Rola Company (Australia) and Rola Co. (NZ). The former continued trading as a subsidiary of Plessey Pacific until 1969, when it became Plessey Rola Pty Ltd. Existing Rola products continued to be marketed under the Rola name, and new products under the Plessey brand. This arrangement continued until 1974, when local manufacture ceased. Why it came to an end is a topic I come back to later in this review. It was just after this that Michail and Hazel established Lorantz Audio Services, using equipment bought from the old Plessey Rola plant.

I have a distant memory of buying a pair of 6"x9" Plessey Rola speakers, perhaps in 1974 or so, to replace the non-functioning ones in the stereo system I had in my bedroom at the time (complete with ceramic cartridge with a needle that you could turn over to play 78s; my god, what must it have done to the LPs I was then just starting to buy?). I listened through them to the first broadcast of the radical new ABC station 2JJ, in January 1975 on the AM band. The presenter was the incomparable Holger Brockmann and the first track played was, infamously, Skyhook's You just like me 'cos I'm good in bed. The station could get away with such a moral outrage only because 2JJ (quickly known as 'Double J') was a government-funded station operating under the umbrella of the ABC and having the specific mission of catering for a younger audience that the ABC hitherto had ignored, but wished to attract and retain as they grew older. The station was not bound by the censorship codes or owner-applied moral framework that applied to commercial radio stations such as 2SM.

Interestingly enough, 2SM was owned by the Catholic Church in Sydney and its call sign was named in honour of St Marks Catholic Church in Drummoyne, from which it made its first broadcast, in 1931. The station was to have a call sign of 2CC, but the church wanted 2CB ("Christian Broadcaster"), and after negotiations with the PMG settled for 2SM ("St Marks"). You can imagine the morally steadfast owners of 2SM were catatonic at the lyrics and moral implications of broadcasting You just like me 'cos I'm good in bed. After all, they had earlier banned the song Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini, as well as the words 'rape' and 'pregnant' from their news services (McCarty, no date). In August 1980, 2JJ switched to the FM band. Again its first song was one banned on commercial radio, Gay Guys, by The Dugites from Western Australia. Oh - those were the days!

Back to Michail and Lorantz. While at Plessey Rola, Michail was responsible for the design of a great many types of drive unit, including the C60, C80, C100, C100X, PE800, PE 1000 and PE1200 models. Today, Lorantz offers the supply and manufacture of drive units and complete loudspeaker systems, including for public address systems, theatre systems, guitar amps, including for bass guitars, and hi-fi setups (https://www.lorantz.com.au/productcategory/ loudspeakers/). A very wide range of cone electrodynamic drive units are made in the factory in Dandenong, including units up to 18" in diameter. The 18" bass driver must be a terrifying thing, as the Lorantz webpage states it has a program rating of 2000 watts, a peak cone excursion of 9.5 mm but can withstand excursions up to 21 mm before damage. In the old imperial units, that's nearly an inch! This behemoth costs only $420, which must be one of the greatest audiophile bargains on Earth. The firm also distributes imported horn compression drivers and horn flares. This must be welcome information for the DIY brigade among our members who want to experiment with horn-loaded systems, but I'm sure hitherto was not aware of this local and knowledgeable source of components and advice.

For presentation purposes, Michail brought along a Lorantz 12" 800-watt bass-mid drive unit, the AC317V-B2S-8. It has a 3" voice coli and high-temperate -rated components such as spider and voice-coil former. Over the night he went on to describe how the unit was constructed: how the cones were hand-made from a mix of flax and eucalyptus pulp that he himself mixes and moulds into the required shape; how the voice coils are wound and the magnets magnetised using devices that would not look out of place in Fritz Lang's 1927 Metropolis; how the spiders are formed from Kevlar and resin, etc. Short of him going into a forest with a chainsaw to actually cut down the gum tree that would be processed into pulp, I can't see a more 'hands on' approach to speaker manufacture is possible.

So, what did I learn from Michail's presentation? Many things, but four stand out. First, that of all the criteria buyers want met when ordering speakers - price, power handling, efficiency/sensitivity, maximum SPL, frequency range, distortion, reliability etc - two, maybe three, were paramount: price, power handling, and (especially for units destined for motor vehicle) reliability. Least important was distortion, at least for the PA market.

Second, that the specifications published for loudspeaker drive units almost always refer to small-signal inputs of about 1watt or so. Of course the speaker performs well under these conditions. It is working in the most linear part of its response. But the published specifications are totally misleading when it comes to how the speaker will perform when it's being fed 200 watts or so, when all sorts of non-linearities become manifest as cones, voice coils, spiders and edge suspensions are forced to move further and further away from their equilibrium position and everything gets hotter and hotter.

Third, the remarkable precision that goes into making good electrodynamic speakers. The clearance between the voice coil and the magnet of Lorantz drive units is typically 15 thou, or 0.3 mm. That's about the same as the valve clearances in an internal-combustion engines (I know: I recently adjusted the tappets on my ageing Subaru wagon). Fourth, that Lorantz is almost alone in manufacturing loudspeaker drive units in Australia (as opposed to assembling imported drive units into loudspeaker boxes). This was the cause of my sadness (and anger) when departing the Willis Room. Michail's presentation brought home to me how a onceproud Australian manufacturing base has been destroyed over the past 50+ years, commencing in the mid-1970s and rapidly gathering pace since the 1980s, to the point where almost nothing but a few isolated remnants is left in 2023.

Michail pointed out that a major factor in Plessey Rola decision to leave the business of manufacturing loudspeaker drive units in Australia in 1974 was the withdrawal of protection for the Australian automotive industry, which until then had been protected behind very high tariff walls and had accounted for a substantial part of the company's business (e.g. via car radio speakers). There were very sound reasons for post-war governments of both political persuasions to retain the tariffs and other protection mechanisms introduced earlier in the century: to protect local industries against the (also subsidised) products of foreign producers; to protect those industries against the avaricious and predatory antics of importers; to provide an industrial working environment that would give the local working man and his family an honest and liveable wage, as well as a reliable job; to produce the domestic goods required by a longsuffering population that had just come out of the most destructive war the world had ever seen; to generate a more balanced economy with a strong emphasis on skills-based manufacturing rather than merely on the export of simple agricultural products such as wool and wheat; to build-up local industries as part of a stronger and more resilient national defence should a world war ever break out again (Bell 1993).

In the years running up to the closure of the Plessey Rola plant, in 1966, for example, the Menzies government increased tariffs for completely built-up imported cars from 35% to 45%, which Conley (2022) noted made the Australian car industry one of the most protected in the world. Tariffs were increased a further three times during the 1970s. The result of these and earlier tariff decisions by a variety of governments in the post-war period was a burgeoning motor-vehicle manufacturing industry, which employed huge numbers of people in highly skilled trades and required large and on-going inputs of locally made components (such as speakers for car radios). In 1964, as an example, GMH made 150,000 EH-model Holdens with 100% local content (Conley 2022). In 1973, the Whitlam government applied an across-the-board tariff cut to 25%, but returned it to 45% the next year (Owens 1995). The Australian-made share of the motor-vehicle market fell from 84% in 1966 to 68% in 1973. The writing was on the wall, and Plessey Rola responded by soon ceasing local manufacture.

Let's look at some of the broader facts pertaining to the decline of our manufacturing base and the foundation of my sadness at the end of the evening. In 1962-63, manufacturing accounted for 26% of Australia's GDP (Productivity Commission 2003). In 2001-02 it accounted for 13%. In 2021 it was a pathetic 6%. In terms of sector outputs, the 6% of the economy that manufacturing currently accounts for is overwhelmed by mining, at 15%, and is exceeded also by the financial sector, at 8%, and by that curse of the Australian economy, house construction, at 7% (Reserve Bank of Australia 2023). Manufacturing currently accounts for a piddling 7% of our exports. In contrast, mining accounts for 63% and agricultural products 11%.

And we employ fewer and fewer people in manufacturing each year. In the immediate post-war decades, manufacturing accounted for nearly 30% of the Australian workforce; it's currently less than 10% (Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics 2006). In place of a strong manufacturing base, we have an economy based on the export of unprocessed red rocks (iron ore), climate-destroying black rocks (coal) and the making of houses and the pouring of coffee and the cutting of hair for each other.

All this has taken place in a country that once designed and built the stupendous 36 Class steam locomotive, and that in 1943, during the height of World War 2, and even earlier the magnificent Victorian S Class express locomotive, in 1928. The same country that, never having built a front-line combat aircraft, designed and mass produced the CAC Boomerang fighter within 6 months of receiving RAAF approval in 1942, in response to the war with Japan. Then built hundreds of twin-engined DAP Beaufighters from 1944, planes that were the scourge of Japanese forces during the long and bitter Pacific campaign. The same country that went on to build, de novo, and improve the best-known Cold War jet fighter, the North American/CAC Sabre in the 1950s, followed by local construction of the supersonic Dassault Mirage III in the 1960s. That once was at the forefront of rocket and radar design. That in the 1950s and 1960s made or assembled a myriad of motor vehicles, from Holdens to Fords to Valiants to Mitsubishis all made here, to Vauxhalls and Wolseleys and Morrises and Vanguards and even to MGBs and Land Rovers imported in parts from from the UK and locally assembled, to the local assembly of Dodges and Chevrolets from the USA, even of Peugeots and NSUs from Europe. We even assembled Mercedes-Benz motor vehicles, apparently to a standard indistinguishable from the ones imported directly from Germany (Farmer 2022). Where you could buy Australian-made tools, such as Sidchromes ("Y canna hand a man a grander spanner"), that didn't break the first time you put any force on them.

In the words of that great Australian novelist, Xavier Herbert, Poor Fellow My Country. Or, as Donald Horne noted in 1964, with nowforgotten irony, that we are The Lucky Country.

Thanks heartily to Michail for a fascinating, if sobering, presentation last month and his support for the feelings discussed in this summary.

References cited Bell, S. (1993). Australian manufacturing and the State: the politics of industry policy in the post-war era. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (2006). The big picture: Australia 1911-2006. Canberra.

Conley, T. (2022). The decline and fall of the Australian automotive industry. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 33: 415–433.

Farmer, G. (2022). The cars of the 50s: a history of cars manufactured and assembled in Australia during the 1950s. New Holland, Sydney.

McCarty, B. (no date). Australian radio history: an in-depth study into the development of A.M. broadcasting throughout Australia. Radio Heritage Foundation.

Productivity Commission (2003). Trends in Australian manufacturing. Canberra.

Owens, D. (1995) The Button Plan in retrospect. Economic Papers: A Journal of Applied Economics and Policy 14: 69–79.

Reserve Bank of Australia (2023). Composition of the Australian economy - Snapshot. Canberra.

Paul Boon

Photos by Nick Karayanis

Web Ed

September 2023

Australian Jazz Museum

Photos by Nick Karayanis

Web Ed

August 2023

Members Request Night

The August monthly meeting reverted to a members' request night when the scheduled presenter withdrew at the last moment. As is standard with such nights, members put their names into bins marked classical, jazz, kaleidoscope or rock/pop and Dave Polanski randomly drew names from each category in turn. The selections had to be shorter than 5 minutes and were to be introduced with a brief statement as to why that particular piece of music was selected by the member.

The Gear

We had two sets of equipment on the night.

The first, provided by Jonathon, was based on his beloved Quicksilver valve monoblock amplifiers, fed by a Positive Vibrations valvebased combined pre-amplifier and phonostage, and feeding into a pair of DALI Ikon 6 floorstanding speakers.

Jonathon explaining the gear

The Mike-Sanders designed Quicksilvers were smaller than I had anticipated, and lovely little things they were. They date from the early 1980s and use the now-discontinued 8417 power valve (one pair per side) for a claimed 60 watts per channel output. The 8417 is a powerbeam pentode introduced by Westinghouse in 1963 and designed specifically for high performance audio amplification. https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_8417.html

Quicksilver Audio is still in operation and its current catalogue lists five power amplifiers: three monoblocks, one integrated and one headphone amplifier. http://quicksilveraudio.com/amplifiers/

Quicksilver has long had an outstanding reputation among audiophiles, and I was amazed at how well priced the current models were (well, at least in US$).

Quiksilver 8417 Power Amp

The pre-amplifier was a Trevor Lees invention, designed and built by Rick Powell in Melbourne. It is based on eight 12AX7 valves, six of which run the phonostage.

Trevor Lees Pre Amp

Pre Amp Power Supply

The DALI speakers date from the mid-2000s. Each tall, narrow cabinet uses two 6.5" woofers and a unique hybrid tweeter consisting of a cloth dome unit that runs from 3 kHz to 20 kHz and a ribbon unit that runs from 14 kHz to 30 kHz. The reviewer in Stereophile liked them in 2006 but commented that "the Ikon 6 does not like to be played too loud when playing complex recordings". https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/706dali/index.html

One point of interest: Jonathon noted that Mike Sanders recommends using short speaker cables where possible and long interconnects where necessary to join everything up, in opposition to the more common practice of using long speaker cables and short interconnects. This is the way Jonathon set up his gear for the night.

The second system was provided by Moggie and was based on his four-channel QUAD 405 power amplifier (yes, a quad QUAD!). Two of the four channels (100 watts each) came from a custom-built kit and two were original QUADs. We don't know whether the latter were 405-1 from 1975 on or the latter 405-2 from 1982 on.

Chris explaining his gear

Nevertheless, all four channels were the trusty current-dumper design invented by Peter Walker in 1975. Current-dumping was/is an ingenious approach to amplifier design, based not so much on negative feedback as on careful feed forward error correction, as described for the non-expert by Gordon J King in an article back in 1976 in Hi-Fi News. https://www.petervis.com/hi-fi-info/quad-405-current-dumping/quad-405-currentdumping.html

The design won Peter Walker The Queen's Award for Technological Achievement in 1978.

Current-dumping has been used in almost all QUAD amplifiers since its introduction in 1975 in the 405, including in the gorgeous little 306 designed specifically for the thennew ESL 63 speakers, the bigger and more modern 606 and the most recent Artera. The original article by Peter Walker, published in Wireless World, that described the approach is only three pages long and remains available at the webpage of the Belgium-based QUADspecialist, DADA Electronics https://www.dadaelectronics.eu/uploads/downloads/05_Other-Quad-Documents/Current-Dumping-explained-by-Peter-Walker-1975.pdf

The general consensus is that currentdumping amplifiers have high efficiency, are of moderate cost and are neutral sounding, if not quite as transparent as most other solidstate designs. They were designed to power QUAD's electrostatic speakers, which at the time (e.g. for the ESL 63) could barely handle 50 watts without arcing, hence the 50 watts per channel output of the 306. The 405 was more powerful, as was the much later 606. Thus there was at the time no need for an amplifier that caused the street lights to dim every time it was turned on; indeed, such a high-powered amplifier would probably spell a nasty, smoking end for the electrostatic speakers of the day.

Moggie also provided a Hafler DH101 kit preamplifier (dating from the late 1970s, with tone controls) [Ed. The DH101 also has a heavily modified audio path with mostly DC path or PP caps] and a Denon DVD-2900 silver-disc player that was used for most of the night. The Denon was an up-market device in its day [Ed. 2003], featuring a powerful DSD decoder (32 bit 192 kHz, six-channel SACD compatible audio DAC) and Burr Brown 24 bit 192 kHz output DACs. Alas it decided enough-was-enough towards the end of the night and decided not to read any discs. Maybe it didn't like Track 13, Horowitz playing a Chopin nocturne, or maybe it was a superstitious and pulled up stumps precisely because it was asked to play Track 13. Not to be beaten, Moggie went to his car for a replacement, a HD-XE1-KY Toshiba HD-DVD player, which sufficed for the rest of the night. [Ed. The Denon has since had a new laser put in and now even plays CD-Rs, before it didn't. Thus it's ready for another 20 years]

Denon Multi Disc Player & Hafler Pre Amp

The music

We experienced 17 selections on the night, Tracks 1-6 from Jonathon, 10 and 11 by Moggie, and the others by contributing members:

1. Dire Straits, "Once upon a time in the west"
2. Rickie Lee Jones, "Young blood"
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, "Red right hand" (the theme from Peaky Blinders)
4. Johnny Cash, "I walk the line"
5. John Williams, "Theme from Star Wars"
6. Missy Higgins, "Everybody wants to touch me"
7. Hector Berlioz, "March to the scaffold", from Symphonie fantastique
8. Art Blakey, "The African beat"
9. Andreas Vollenweider
10. Alan Parsons, "Cloudbreak", from the On air album
11. Harry Belafonte, "Live at Carnegie Hall"
12. The Righteous Brothers, "Unchained Melody"
13. Frederic Chopin, nocturne
14. Herbie Mann, "Blind Willy"
15. Rodriquez (Jesus Sixto Diaz-Rodriguez), "Cause" (Selected by me to mark his death on 8 August 2023)
16. Sergei Prokofiev, "Dance of the knights", from Romeo & Juliet
17. Johann Strauss Sr, "Redetzky march".

The sound

First impressions are important, and my initial response to the first track of the evening was "I could live with this system all day and not get bored on the one hand or overwhelmed by the bloody thing on the other". Was it the valve amplification that made it so agreeable? Maybe, as what I heard had coherence and fluidity, a detailed midrange and a slightly soft bass, many of the characteristics of valve amps. In almost every case where we have had a valve amplifier and a solid-state amplifier playing on the same night, I've preferred the sound of the thermionic one, mainly on the basis of its soundstage, midrange and undefinable 'enjoyment' factor. But things changed hardly at all when the QUADs and the Hafler replaced the Quicksilvers and the Positive Vibrations: the sound was still delightfully unfatiguing and unforced, but not bland or boring. So, in this comparison, either set-up would do me fine. And remember that both sets of amplification were at least 30 years old - who says we always need to go out and buy the most modern (and often highly price inflated) gear?

As the night went on, I formed three more conclusions. First, the two systems showed clearly the different origins of the 17 tracks. Some, for better or for worse, were audiophile grade whereas others were technically flawed. My choice of the Rodriguez, for example, was marred by awful tape hiss and constricted dynamics - but as always with great music, that technical consideration mattered little when placed in the context of the underlying quality of the song and its delivery. The vast difference in sound quality (and by that I mean not only technical quality, but studio dynamics or lack of etc.) contrasted greatly with what we usually hear at monthly meetings, when the tracks are often chosen by the presenter primarily on the basis of their audiophile credentials not their wider musical value or interest.

Second, the soundstage varied all over the place from selection to selection. Soundstage is vitally important to me, far more important than the ability of a system to go into abyssal depths of the bass or stratospheric highs for the treble. Some tracks had an astonishing width and depth: Martin's "Blind Willy" was the obvious example, with the sound appearing to emanate from metres to the left and right of the two speakers.

Third, I wondered whether the treble was a bit exposed? Since the silver-disc player and speakers were constant across the two systems, the fault must lie in one of three places: (i) where I was sitting, (2) the room, or (3) the speakers. To test the first hypothesis, I moved from the front row to the rear row, and the slightly exposed treble remained. I found it particularly exposed on Tracks 8, 13 and 17. So we can rule out my seating position as the main cause.

The second explanation was entirely possible: the DALIs were being asked to do things that would never be expected of a small pair of floor -standing speakers, in a big room such as the Willis Room with the acoustic delicacy of an empty 44-gallon drum. Maybe in a smaller setting, a domestic lounge room with carpets and soft furnishings etc, with less oomph on the volume knob, the treble would be tamed. As the Stereophile reviewer noted, the DALIs don't like to be played too loud when given complex recordings.

Or, third, was it the peculiar type of tweeter used in the Ikon 6s? Robert Reiner's review in Stereophile made no mention of an overbearing treble; indeed he described the highs as "delicate". Nor did a positive review in Hi-Fi News https://www.hifinews.com/content/daliikon-6-mk2-%C2%A31199

A review in the less exalted What Hi Fi said the treble was "sparkling" https://www.whathifi.com/dali/ikon-6/review

Some consumer feedback on the web has described the speakers as a bit lean, possibly bright (but that because the upper bass and lower midrange is so nicely done) and one reviewer suggested the treble needed to be turned down 2 dB or so. http://www.audioreview.com/product/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/dali/ikon-6.html

That was also the solution Nick Karayanis offered to me towards the end of the night; Jonathon later said he wondered whether the grilles should have been left in place for the demonstration. So, who knows?

If it's the third explanation, it goes to show that bass and treble controls do have a place in the modern amplifier - and here QUAD's elegant tone-balancing system seen on preamplifiers such as the 34 and 44 is unsurpassed. Another hurrah for Peter Walker!

Conclusions

I often come away from a members' request night having heard a piece of music that makes me want to pursue it a bit more. Last month's meeting didn't generate that desire in me, but it did demonstrate the diversity in recording quality (and approach) across different genres and musicians. The jazz recording were uniformly nicely done, the pop and rock ones often less so. And Track 11, the Harry Belafonte, lived up to its reputation as one of the best live recordings ever made. So, all in all, it was an enjoyable and informative night.

And hats off to Dave Polanski for organising each month's demonstrations. It can be no easy task. And to Jonathon and Moggie for bringing along their gear for the night.

Paul Boon

July 2023

Lux Audio and HeyNow HiFi July GM

Critics criticised

It must be fun to be a critic. Jeremy Clarkson, "when I have trouble sleeping, I think of Toyota Camry. Dorothy Parker, theatre critic, "The scenery was nice but the actors stood in front of it." Or the restaurant reviewer who declared "the pigeon might fly again, given a few volts." Though fun, such barbs can be excessively harmful. In the words of the careful reviewer who wanted to stay in the borrowing list; "If this is the sort of system you might like, you should give it a good chance to explore it further at home." So at our recent general meeting we cruelly forced the amplifier into distortion. That anomaly is to be forgotten as not a fair example of the gear. Learn the lesson then if interested move on for a fair Lux Audio demo. Never worry that our guest is easily upset; he deals with a**eholes every day. He's a gastro-intestinal doctor.

Ian Fok - Lux Audio and Geoff Haynes - Hey Know Hi Fi

Dr. Ian KC Fok

Titchy speakers abound

"A good big 'un always beats a little 'un" was one of my father's wisdoms. He had built big loudspeaker cabinets with super-efficient Lowther cones and Mahler never sounded so massive. What is it about the preponderance of small 'domestically acceptable' loudspeakers-- when we are replacing our 55-inch TV screens with 72-inchers. Actually, our GM guest speakers take no less floor footprint than a similar 50-litre floor-standing box, which yields better bass Research finds that the bass has some thirty percent contribution to sonic enjoyment. I kept thinking while listening; one is giving up so much for the sake of the visuals. So just add sub-woofers, musical ones are not thunder boxes, but add the music's ambience. Having said that, the Dorfmann has more and good bass than one expects from a small box, achieved by a long-throw bass unit.

Gershman Acoustics Grand Studio

Gershman speaker & Accuphase CD Player

Who are those people?

There is always the wondering, "But who can spend THAT MUCH on a CD-Transport." Or on a nice Italian amplifier. Enough people, just not simple wage-earners. They also buy a $50K wind up watch to add to their collection. On the other hand some of us trail a few years behind upgraders and can pick up such gear as it gets moved on, almost 'free to a good home.'

Audio Note DAC

Audio Note DAC

Audio Note DAC

Legs, Bodies and A-Class Handicaps

It sure looks attractive, in a somewhat Germanic way. Form following function yields a frame that hugs the box tighter than an anaconda with a breakfast bunny. Reviewers consistently discover after trying a range of supports - they matter. A lot. In our hall, (though not at home) some extra height would have helped. Add the roomful of human 'meatbags' with their serious effect on soaking up sound energy, and an uphill battle is inevitable. Not to ignore the deleterious result of over-pushing the Class-A 30 watt amp.

Riviera Levante

Riviera Levante

Ready to buy MACers

What is the real value of any MAN audiophile GM dealer show and review? Because perhaps one of us is currently in a keen-to-buy mode. Unlikely, although I did once get entranced by a GM presentation by Phillip Luder of Tivoli Hifi of Nakamichi cassette decks. The lowest model lived up to my hifi expectations and budget, mostly for copying ABC FM. Looking back, I was a foolish boy, single, with money to splash.

Cables galore

Because we are Influencers

Is it worth a presenter's time and effort to put on a show for us? Yes. Because we are seen as 'Influencers'. May we never spoil our reputation as a MAC member with carelessly dropped criticisms, in this review or at the forthcoming HiFi show.

My mate John loves his music, has a decades old average FM classical based system and can spend whatever it takes to upgrade to a pretty good system. "You know modern hifi what should I buy?" I guess that a do-everything amp -streamer would do it but held my breath. As I have done with others, one told me that he was thrilled with what they helped him choose. So I took John to a nearby reputable hifi salon and stood back without saying anything, and John too was unimpressed and we left.

I truly believe John has the discernment to recognise when eventually a good consultant presses his buttons. So next we will be off to HeyNow rooms at StKilda junction. In a salon just like in our own music rooms. I have seen the wide range of the good gear there, and I've seen how Geoff Haynes sensitively guides a potential customer to a choose satisfying audio decision. I'll also suggest John accepts Geoff's offer of a home trial of a better AC cord, just for lulz. John just might get it.

Music, SPL Meter, Volume Knob

So what about (eventually) the sound? 'Good - in parts.' But don't blame the gear tonight. First music test piece, Richard Tognetti playing Bach solo violin. Rather nice, but please "Turn it up" (Ron N.) My son has played a violin in the lounge at home and it was LOUD with lots of energy. In the Willis Room only 80dB Cweighting fast response via accurate enough SPL. Commonly at home I listen at mid-80s plus dB' via an affordable iPhone app by Studio Six. In addition to the SPL meter emulating the Tandy one, also a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) display of frequency distribution, and an SPL display, showing here that there is not much real low frequency energy below 40Hz. Surprise. Furthermore, the Real Time Analysis showed that about 70 percent of the music energy covered the 0-2K frequency range, a pleasant surprise to those one-eared electronically supplemented quasi-audiophiles. Hey, do you trust an audiophile with a hearing aid, a skinny chef, or a catholic priest for sexual advice?

Rock track: Turn it up...The meter shows mostly 85dB, peaking upto 92dB, sounds 'louder' because of the increased bass energy, with most energy actually below 1K. Aretha Franklin, 1967, 'Respect.' From a live with audience recording. Did I make it feel like I could be in the room, in the presence of the musicians? The 'my Tough Test.' Not quite, but there is no tougher test. Then when switched between A and AB, the voting from some was that the A was better. Johnny Cash. Pleasing bass, up and down, not one note. In audio, bass is hardest to get right, also most expensive. But I'm worth it. Apart from that - Distortion! At 90dB plus a bit, it was on the verge of overloaded. Doing the sums. peaker with a 86dB 1 watt sensitivity, and inputting 30 watts, sound level in dB 86 +10xLog30 (at Base 10) 86+(10x1.48) therefore max Sound level (in dB) = 100.8Hz. Your Porsche drives like magic until you try to tow your yacht up a mountain.

Love over Gold, Knopfler, best solo guitar solo ever. Some say. Quora online discussion group, when someone throws in "Who is the best rock guitar? Flames erupt; Page, Harrison, Gilmour, Clapton, Cobain, Hendrix, van Halen, Brian May?" Discuss. No it's Allan Holdsworth, none other. Everyone knows how they think this track should sound. Anyway the guitar steel string sounded right. Though still only at low 80s. At first. But wait! There is more, peaking upto 107 at last. Normal listening level explains Red. Who chooses small speakers? People with wives. Oh.

Barbie-Pink Noise?

Even better for benchmarking (for those among us thinking they are Real Audiophiles) pink sound could be a First Track of the Night every time because that clearer than any other music -- with some practice -- points out the deviations from sonic truth of the system. Some thought that the voice is recessed. These speakers have been A/B-d with real music for studio monitors it was claimed. Mixers' tastes vary so many speakers been used in mastering rooms? Does that make us think?

Corelli for the Classical crowd. Actually the string sounds came through as relaxing, the system as a whole not annoying. (Not meant as faint praise. ) 'I could live with this' to fulfil comfortable all-day listening is a tough ask, rarely achieved. James Morrison, who everybody loves whatever he does. Even if the timbre is off on this track, don't blame the system, it is the mix with a piano level way over the drum kit. Apart from that, the cymbals as requested came through nicely. Rock drummers don't speak the same language as jazzers (no offence) but jazz works with and emphasises hi-hat which can shimmer. Ching Ching Ching Some of us are cymbal minded.

Boz Scaggs, thanks for turning it up though about that. Dave C's 'Rainy Night in Georgia' request featured soulful guitar Tony Joe White wrote it and who appeals even to non-rockers and MCC Members. Not earthy enough for a Mr X? JD McPherson with 'Signs and Signifiers' is a subtle appeal to audiophile philosophers, in which Plato distinguished the idea from the object. In case anyone asks.

Watch out for the Fuzz

But not The Police tonight. Van Morrison and friends, 'Stormy Monday' we used to call this MOR (Middle of the Road) but we used to think Bill Haley was Rock 'n Roll. Clean distortion-free, nice. Enter Jeff Beck, he pressed the Fuzz pedal, the one effect button that has forever expunged rock as a genre for testing pure sound. Adding distortion! Call me an old man. I am. Fletcher and Munson are spinning horizontally as their curve is being used against us. Add dirt, it sounds louder. Simple cheap trick. Keith Richards' '(I can't get no) Satisfaction' from 1965 is a good fuzzy example. [Wikipedia: The effects alter the instrument sound by clipping the signal (pushing it past its maximum, which shears off the peaks and troughs of the signal waves), adding sustain and harmonic and inharmonic overtones and leading to a compressed sound that is often described as "warm" and "dirty", depending on the type and intensity of distortion used.] Have fun on YouTube exploring the variety of fuzz boxes, as distinct from distortion or overdrive, many available to taste. Bad taste says Segovia, who also explained "There's no such thing as an 'electric' guitar."

Don Ellis big nasty band shows once again that without the deep bass, enjoyment is diminished. I know this music from having it at home, the big band excitement is forfeited with small speakers. Nick K has brought out Lisa Young jazz trio previously. Here it sounded very attractive with good and clean bass lines, once again showing that jazz trio is not demanding sound -wise, and why it's useful hifi demo genre, just not demanding. ''I've grown accustomed to her face' from, My fair lady, is a rewarding soundtrack. Other movie or stage soundtracks like Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd could make a great home meeting theme.

A win, on points

So thank you gentlemen, for taking on a hostile barn with a system meant for a living room You gave us a look at some impressive gear and a lot to think about.

Peter Allen

June 2023

AGM

Web Ed

May 2023

Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS)

Well, last month we were treated to another fabulous presentation. The month before, it was Damian Ware explaining why different amplifiers sound different. This time it was Byron Scullin from the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS, North Melbourne) giving us an overview of the history of electronic synthesizers and showing how their knobs can be twiddled to generate the most amazing sounds. Byron brought along three synthesizers an EMS Synthi AKS, a Buchla Music Easel, and a Make Noise Shared System as demonstrators. They were supplemented by a virtual tour of the MESS . and what a tour it was. Questions from the audience were repeatedly answered with a "Yes, we have one of those", with Byron flipping through the virtual tour to show the offending instrument sitting on a shelf, surrounded by an untold number of its cousins. What a great position to be in when you can answer "Yes" to every enquiry from the audience!

For me it all fell into place when Byron took control of the Synthi AKS and showed how it could produce a refrain repeated throughout Pink Floyd's 1973 The Dark Side of the Moon. My liner notes to a remastered CD of the album state that Dave Gilmour, Richard Wright and Roger Walters all had a hand in playing this instrument on various tracks. A biography of the band (Mark Blake, 2007, Pigs might fly: the inside story of Pink Floyd) says they used a EMS VCS3 synthesizer for sections of an earlier album, Obscured by clouds, and started to play with it again to give some structure to a track initially called 'Travel sequence', which until then had been a self-indulgent, indeterminably long and formless jam.

The rescue attempt wasn't entirely successful, as Dave Gilmour admitted that "they couldn't work out how to get any actual notes out of it". Soon after this a Synthi-A, the cheaper, compact version of the VCS3, found its way into the Abbey Road studio where the band was starting to record The Dark Side of the Moon. They used the VCS3 on 'Breathe in the air' and the Synthi-A on 'Brain damage', 'Time', 'Any colour you like' and, critically, 'Travel sequence', which had morphed into a new track of only 3.5 minutes called 'On the run' on the new album. Here then is the fantastical basis of The Dark Side of the Moon and so much of the Pink Floyd outre that was to follow.

What makes Pink Floyd's music so distinctive? For many people it's the masterful guitar solos of Dave Gilmour. For others, it's the scale of the performance and the wretched lyrics of Roger Walters (or, given the band's fraught history of interpersonal hatred, his haughty attitude and never-ending commentary as to who is the 'real' Pink Floyd). But for me the soul of Pink Floyd always has been the haunting, other-worldly simplicity of the keyboard and synthesizer work of Richard Wright, sadly the first member of the band to die (in 2008, of lung cancer) other than, famously, Syd Barrett (in 2006, but it might be argued that his mind had died many years before). No-one seems to think it's the drumming of Nick Mason that is so distinctive: is this an unfair interpretation?

And on my thesis that it's the synthesizer work of Richard Wright that provides the foundation to the Pink Floyd sound, it's interesting that he used a variety of instruments in their subsequent albums. 'Shine on you crazy diamond', from Wish You were Here, used the VCS3, an ARP String Ensemble and a Minmoog Model D. The melody of 'Have a cigar' was performed using a Minmoog Model D and the bass line using a Hohner Clavinet D6 . Other instruments used include a Roland Super JX-10, a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and various Kurzweil products (on The Wall and A Momentary Lapse of Reason) and an ARP Quarda (on The Wall). One website (https://equipboard.com/ pros/richard-wright) notes he never used a Mellotron, an instrument widely used by other bands in the 1960s and 1970s.

The reason I mention all this arcane stuff about Pink Floyd is that Byron's presentation brought home to me just how ubiquitous the synthesizer (in its various forms) has been to popular music from the 1960s on. Peter Xeni noted that the 1962 'Telstar', performed by The Tornadoes, was an early example in which the synthesizer played a crucial role. According to one internet source, the instrument in question on that track was an overdubbed Clavioline keyboard, played for the recording session by Geoff Goddard, a studio musician.

And the Mellotron looms large here, having been used in The Beatles' 'Strawberry fields forever', an untold number of largely indistinguishable Moody Blues' albums, many songs by the lamentable Uriah Heap, and most famously perhaps Tangerine Dream's Phaedra. Even The Rolling Stones got into the act, with a Mellotron being used on Their Satanic Majesties Request to give it a psychedelic flavour. That performance chameleon David Bowie used a Mellotron on 'Space Oddity'. It was a favourite of a untold number of prog-rock bands, such as Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and King Crimson. And on this topic of the otiose horrors of so much progrock, it's perhaps fitting to mention Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame, a great fan of the Moog synthesizer.

But let's not forget that synthesizers were not limited to popular music of the 1960s and later. Lev Termin constructed his Theremin in the late 1920s, an electronic device in which the player controlled the volume by waving his hand around a horizontal looped aerial and the pitch by waving his other hand around the vertical rod aerial. In that decade we also had Thaddeus Cahill's 200 ton (yes, 200 ton!) Telharmonium, which used giant inductor alternators linked to cogged wheels to could produce electronic music over the telephone network. It was used for the soundtrack of 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still and found its way into The Beach Boys' 'Good Vibrations' (1966). Imagine what Keith Emerson could have done with 200 tons of art deco electronica from the 1930s!

So, to conclude. It's probably fair to say that for years the staple of the club's monthly meetings has been presentations by manufacturers, importers or retailers of specific pieces of audiophile playback equipment. Invariably this has been interesting, often informative. But man does not live by bread alone and the recent array of 'non-audio equipment' evenings has provided a pleasant digression from that staple. Just as I love well-made pizza, it's not a diet I would like to eat (or my cardiologist would recommend) for every meal into eternity. Sometimes I crave the spiciness of Indian food, or the magnificent diversity of Greek food, a plate of tapas with some fino sherry, or the down-to-Earth wholesomeness of middle-European (Polish, Hungarian) shipbuilding food, or the simplicity of battered fish and chips, or the incomparable glory of an eggand- lettuce sandwich with a coffee-flavoured milk.

Similarly, the diversions over the past two months have added considerable variety to our meetings. I see from Dave Polanske's entry in the last MAN that July and August should see the return of some equipment-orientated demonstrations, then in September we'll be treated to a run-down of the Australian jazz scene, before a return to an equipment demonstration in October. What a fascinating audio diet we have before us. And I bet that more than a few pieces showcased during the forthcoming demonstrations will have a synthesizer playing somewhere in them. Now, thanks to Byron, we know a bit more about the fascinating history and application of this diverse family of instruments.

Paul Boon

Selby, Victoria

April 2023

Damian Ware - Aurora Audio

The Damian Ware demonstration certainly created a lot of interest. Good to see some discussion about the "art" of hi-fidelity. It's obviously inspired a few contributions to the MAN this month. :-)

Equipment for the night including Whatmough Performance Trio speakers

For those who missed his bio here is a quick sample of his credentials:

Damian's vision is to design and manufacture audio equipment, which faithfully reproduces the sound of instruments and communicates the emotional and musical intent of the performer. Damian is an awardwinning engineer and he studied at Monash University under Professor Ed Cherry. Some here might know of Ed Cherry; he is famous in the audio world for a brilliant design with almost immeasurable low levels of distortion. When Damian is not chasing Aurora Australis or audio nirvana he will be often found repairing rare, exotic vehicles.

Aurora Audio S2 Amplifier

Damian has built his all new Aurora Audio S2 Amplifier. The amplifier is a cost-no-object Class A design created from the highest possible quality components. The S2 produces 70W into 8 ohm load, revealing every detail of the most dynamic high resolution recordings. The S's tremendous dynamics and perfect decay are accompanied by a sound stage and tone to die for and this amp throws up a stunning, real live performance.

Pre-amp, Rasberry Pi Music Server and DAC

Greg Osborn recently remarked: "The S2 is truly excellent, the best solid state amplifier I have ever auditioned and I have heard a lot of super expensive systems at over 50 HiFi shows world-wide." On the night he S2 was paired with Whatmough Performance Trio speakers. These speakers have the incredible inert John Woodhead lead lined cabinets and premium cross overs.

Photos by Nick Karayanis

March 2023

Gareth Weller - HiFi Collective

AVM A8.3 Amplifier

AVM A8.3 Amplifier

Epos ES 14N Speaker

Photos by Nick Karayanis

February 2023

AudioMagic

Three hearty cheers to Dave our new beleaguered Program Co-ordinator who has had more undeserved knockbacks and setbacks since starting half a year ago, than Nick would have had in any year..' Excuse my scribbled notes. . Come back Paul Boon. Audio Magic is a high end audio importer and distributor, unknown to most of us until now. We know Geoff of Hey Now Hifi, their number one retail outlet, and it was Geoff with Alex and Peter, who put together the selected system we heard and saw.

HeyNow! is Geoff's dream hifi salon. After decades being The Main Man at Tivoli, he jumped, took some rooms in an elegant complex near St Kilda Junction. He made his Listening Room One just like many of us have, a comfortable living room, multipurpose not just a dedicated wife-hostile audiotorium. Tivoli do have their 'Divorce Room' featuring Wilson monoliths and their ilk.

Geoff's way of operating is smart. He tells online of all the brands he has. Actually 'has prompt access to.' rather than holding every model of every brand inhouse, a ridiculous stock-holding, . Phone Geoff, 'I fancy comparing some Harbeths and the similar Elac and Kef' and with short notice they will be get it all in and ready for your appointment. From my experience there three times, Geoff's product knowledge is deep also honest. Geoff ran the Klipsch night for us last year and several said, 'If I was in the market I'd seriously consider those." (the eminently listenable and affordable Model 5) Or if a buddy said '"You know hifi, what should I buy? Think HeyNow. Also, that way retailers get something back for the big effort they expend in putting on a show for the Melbourne Audio Club. It costs them, time and staff overtime. He consults in the best sense of the word, unlike the 'consultant' selling iPhones.

The horrors we came aware of early Wednesday night seeing Alex and Peter huddled over their iPad. Oh no! Not another failed connection, essential in running any streaming session based on Tidal. We recall the ultra complex multicomponent system from a few months ago that acted up bolshie and never came 100 percent good. . It is fears of such setbacks that have prevented some of us from ever getting into networks and streaming then making decisions that optimise the sound quality, let alone just working. jRiver is a powerful user interface for music stored on a computer, or from a paid streaming service like Tidal or Qobuz. Yes, but with power comes complexity, so many choices. For which YouTube is our friend; "how do I solve...?" YouTube has become a visual Wikipedia of just about anything.

Peter from Audio Magic

And when it's all eventually back working again after 'improvements' mucked it up, bliss, a plethora of one's collection all at the touch of the proverbial button..On the other hand - the joy of random rediscovery of an old favourite, on spotting something interesting, 'Oh, it's been a while since I played that, let's do it again. The pleasures that surprise us are the best.

And so to the gear; and isn't this a bit like the night already; 'Get on with what we've been waiting for' murmured around the hall.

Is the loudspeaker the most important component? Its style certainly contributes most to the overall sound. Harbeth, the brand name as one would guess derived from the founder Dudley HARwood, and his wife ElizaBETH. Created over 40 years ago, his BBC research showed that light rigid cabinet wall resonances stored and released less energy in the troublesome low range than thicker wood. They are not alone in this approach, my Spendor BC1 TV speakers retain the joy that comes with natural human voice, if talking heads is the main TV watching.

We heard model Super HL5 Plus XD (for $10K a pair but that's just a starting price, ask Geoff) , second from top of the range, has a somewhat non-typical speaker driver setup: 200mm (Eight inches) 'woofermidrange' with a 25mm tweeter plus a 20mm super tweeter upto 20K for air. Wilson, Snell and recently PSAudio (at HeyNow) and others squirt 'air' out the back of some of theirs. "Still, it ought to please any passing bat." Who said that? Flanders and Swann. Other figures in case anyone thinks it tells anything (we don't) 40-20K, 86dB, 6 ohms. Audio Science Review and others have gone for Spinarama which usefully gives energy put out in all directions in space, which tells a lot about in-room behaviour. Even-ness matters, and sidewall bounce equals envelopment, which we really, really like.

Harbeth SHL 5plus XD Speaker

Harbeth SHL 5plus XD Speaker

Some people sit at a desk a lot, and a small speaker can be a dream. The Harbeth P3ESR for ~$5K is a shoebox -size 2-way and is wowing reviewers. We are slowly realising that a good little-'un can stand up for itself against a good big 'un without apologising for much. Is now time to talk about the sound? YES! Shouted the crowd, after what seemed like an hour sermon. Talking at length is more than enough about barely relevant specs. What does crossover frequency tell us, yet we always ask. Especially as all the data and more is on a website. Admen know that the more similar a product range is, the harder one must work to differentiate one from its neighbours. So "100 watts but easily up to 145 watts' doesn't warm my tubes. Made in Denmark (Copland) or England (Harbeth) not China is a positive, where product quality can slip without a QC watcher on the spot. Copland have specialised in reliable good-sounding hybrid vacuum tube with solid state for 30 years, and are Scandinavian gorgeous.

Copland CSA 150 Amplifier

Copland CSA 150 Amplifier

That is a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). In fact PSAudio hired maven designer Bascom H King, who was given carte blanche to design the best big power amp he could. OK It will have a tube input stage, because you promised. They doubted. He insisted. They listened. They kept the tube. You want specs on Copland integrated, its on the HeyNow webpage. Lumin streameris a big name among people who choose to spend what most of us think is a lot of money. They think it is worth it for them; and who can deny? Model T3 is about $7K. with DAC inboard. Streaming this way has many appeals. It also raises one major conundrum. What will I do with all my CDs? Dixons? Sell them one at a time online? Salvos Savers? Local school? Never, put them in my coffin. Most people put them in boxes in the corner, along with books one can't bear to part with 'because it is what made me who I am' but will never re-read. We say CDs sound better than streaming. Don't they, searching for confirmation And handling a tangible product is comforting. Isn't that what we said about LPs? One of our audiophiles who took the jump to an Auralic Aries laughs. "The music, it's all - and more - on my Tidal." I have.to set up an Aurender music server/ streamer with high hopes it will better the SQ (Sound Quality) of my CDs.

Lumin T3 Network Player

Lumin T3 Network Player

Ayre acoustics, near the top of audioland. are held in high esteem Their $$ CD player had better deliver to hold its place in this age of streaming. Were we nightand- day stunned with comparisons on the night? I think not. But of course, not in critical listening gear and reviews online, that way one gets a general consensus of the place of a piece of gear compared with similar others.

Ayre CD Player & Copland Amplifier

Ayre CX-8 CD Player

Oh, and Tellurian Q interconnects. Priced in the up to $1000 range, is 'affordable' in general.. The word means 'pertaining to the earth' so ...Underground Audio like in early days High-End? Anyway what is their USP, ya gotta have one. Roughly translating from what the brochures say; 'It sounds better so in what way, and how do we do it? It's a trade secret so we can't tell you.' At least they don't use geek-speak drivel like many. "We suck less" TonTrager (German = 'Sound carrier') speaker stands come from a factory 'surrounded by a breathtaking lake scenery in the Bavarian Alps'. That's useful to know? Ad-man says "don't waste your money promoting the factory."

Is it now time to talk about the sound? YES! Shouted the crowd, Without more ado , too much ado already. To the music.

First track choice is jazz piano trio, with upright bass and standard jazz drum kit. This choice surprised and pleased the jazz aficionados among us, often treated as music orphans. On the ecm label which MACers love for its pristine sound, a Polish recent jazz darling Marcin Wasilewski, plays "Riders on the Storm" (Doors) a tune not readily recognised here, SoundHound app could identify it. The music is mostly harmless, it would also make useful easy listening background music at a formal dinner party, so please never again The Four Seasons. Since discovered: The CD is "Fancy Cocktail Hour Jazz" so that wasn't derogatory. Sonic impressions were an extended, balanced frequency range top and bottom, comfortable, with plenty of live presence. Nothing at all wrong, comfortable. I could live with this. Alan Shaw, the designer had previously believed his consumers were all into classical, hence the BBC voicing of all earlier BBCvoiced Harbeths. When disabused of this, he turned it up to a more modern sound; kept the magic midrange, for the pop-ers gave it dynamics that don't suck, with added but still pure twinkling trebles. Hence the 20K super tweeter, because those frequencies do intermingle with those lower down. This Grumpy Old Man would have loved the bass to go down lower than on the night in the hall or on the recording. Specs tell of down to a proper 40Hz so I'm no accredited golden ears, just tin or lead perhaps.

In jazz music, the ride cymbal is king. It shapes the feeling and rhythmic subdivision of the tune, and creates a foundation for everyone else to play off. Unlike Funk or Rock music, which is built from the bottom up (meaning that the bass drum and snare drum are the essential parts of the drum beat), Jazz music is built from the top down. [From LearnJazzStandards.com]. Are jazzers cymbalminded? Why do we get so much piano trio jazz from hifi demonstrations? Because jazz trio always sounds good. Given that, what is most usefully revealing, to differentiate good sound from excellent? Female vocal, (because we know what women sound like, and bachelors therefore make bad reviewers) Also very useful is symphonic orchestral music, such as tasteful small samples Ron and others choose for GMs. We should have more. Harbeth loves violins.

Second track (Phew!! - but hey it took this long on the night to get here) another (Yikes!) jazz piano trio "Beat" from the Tingvall Trio I felt the bass to be fat but MAC opinions of bass vary as much as. where you sit. I wonder if the port which extends the bass down a couple of notches also makes it less tight, more fruity. Online reviewers love this pat of the Harbeth sound so there you are.

"I could play this music all night" admitted presenter Peter, which prompts thinking about how we choose a music program. He might be twenty years younger than our median age, he mostly exposed to recent releases (tonight were since 2020) and we know that one's taste in food, music and many things is firmly set by a certain age.

Searching for opinions of the night's later music pieces fed some useful opinions, and are offered here later.

Program details are skimpy hereafter - For those who want to follow up an artist or avoid i Joey Alexander, "Angel eyes." THIRD piano trios!? Next up Diana Krall who would be surprised?. This version stimulates comparison with the stunning Cheryl Bentine on 'Duos' with Rob Wasserman. In the same way Frank Sinatra compares with Michael Buble.

Sonics? No opinion Honest It's time to confirm that as a hifi sonics reviewer I would make a good gardener. Recently one ear went bung - likely Covid related -as deaf as if you put one hand hard against one ear. My audiogram shows a scary plunging dropoff around 1-2K End of my hifi story? Actually no. For a start, it is reassuring to know that more than a few of us use hearing aids - with good or not so good results with music. My experience seems to be that one good ear is pretty useful (Thanks God for providing us a duplicate for so many organs). Surprisingly and fortunately, headphone listening is still very rewarding. We should not be too disheartened with age-related hearing drop-off. "Hearing loss at age - the good news." Hans Beekhuizen's YouTube shows how a great deal of the important energy in music comes surprisingly early in frequency.

All the tracks so far have been provided from Tidal as 24/96, [PLUS MQA the complete parcel] although that doesn't guarantee they were recorded thusly. Nevertheless as someone announced, "So clean, it shows." Maybe. Many tests find that only a super-fi system can distinguish true hirez from RedbookCD. Ray LaMontagne, "Trouble" Pop Rock/Folk, a raspy heartfelt voice. Not very engaging to me. Lady Blackbird, "It'll never happen again." Black acid soul.

Karen Souza "Tainted Love" "Stella Starlight Trio" (who would have been surprised? Some nights you even wish for D Krall) Volume hit only high 70s dB, surprisingly. Bass showed on a iPhone AudioTools FFT meter to be predominantly only around 60Hz. Do we all need sub-woofers. Ask anyone with subs. Kandace Spriggs with Nora Jones, The women who raised me; "Angel eyes." R&B. She's no Nina Simone. : I wouldn't mind some Amy Winehouse, wishing for something real." Ely Bruna I like Chopin, "Remember the time." I like Patricia Barber.

Amy Winehouse Back to Black dragged screaming and resisting to us as is her way; Ah! Real. Neo-soul, gutsy music. Rugged charm and deeply personal song writing. Dark enough for you? Soundwise? I forget. Comes the time for the audience to choose. Immediately it was clear we have more useful track suggestions than young presenter Peter likely ever knew about. Jazz at the Pawnshop? I wasn't even born then.

Shelby Lynn "The look of love." She is not Dusty Springfield. I'm still a grouchy old man. but much of what is new is crap so that's reasonable.

Yo-Yo Ma Appalachian Journey", on"Classic Yo- Yo" collation 2001. His agile cello with his friends, he never fails.

Ruthy Foster. "Phenomenal Woman." introduced by Martin W recorded at a live 2011concert, which stood out acoustically versus everything else sounding studio-miked,. Better music also IMHO, Winner on the night.

It takes a good system to differentiate such audio subtleties, and this GM excelled in accuracy. We come to a GM to meet the guys, to perve over the gear - thanks Audio Magic - and also to follow up desirable music that grabs us. Ruthie did that for me, her expressiveness is reminiscent of Aretha, the --fi not as hi- as some tracks, doesn't matter, sounded good played back at 85-90dB plus the image appealed. I for one decided to follow her up, the best recommendation.

It does rather look from reading this report that if the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus XD are missing enthusiastic positives, then they aren't all that good. That would be so WRONG! It is easy to criticise, hard to say nice things when everything is lovely. The Harbeth is Hippocratic, it does no harm, is blameless.

Reading online opinions by trustworthy audio reviewers, you learn about a speaker that does it pretty darned well in every way, a speaker that would please most of the people with most of the music, most of the time.

People have said when reflecting on our previous GM, But why buy new more costly loudspeaker when a vintage TimeWindow does the job pretty well. Not perfect but good for the money. Well when thinking about getting a replacement car, when offered a choice between a Toyota Corolla which is pretty useful for the price and a Lexus, what would most really prefer?

"The quality remains, long after the price is forgotten." - Sir Henry Royce, founder of Rolls Royce.

Peter Allen

Photos by Nick Karayanis

January 2023

Members Request Night

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today".

So claimed Henry Ford (1863-1947), the pioneering American car manufacturer, phenomenally successful entrepreneur and industrialist, virulent racist, vehement anti- Semite, rabid opponent to worker's rights, fervent believer in conspiracy theories, and recipient in 1938 from the Nazis of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest honour they could bestow upon a non- German - yet the same man whose factories contributed so mightily to the anti-fascist war effort during World War 2. (Ford's assembly plant at Willow Run, Michigan, alone produced 8,645 massive, four-engined B-24 Liberator bombers during the war, at peak production one plane coming off the production line every hour!)

What's this got to do with the audiophile and our club? Well, last month's meeting showed to me that (1) history is not bunk and (2) that not all of us want to live solely in the present. I say this because of the almost ancient equipment used on the night and the high quality of so many of the even-more-aged recording proffered by the members.

The equipment came from the backroom of the club's president, Ian B: a low-to mid range Marantz CD player about 8 years old, an integrated Denon amplifier from perhaps the early 1990s (putting out ~60 watts per channel) and a pair of slightly tired looking DCM Time Window speakers. It's the speakers that aroused much interest on the night and form the basis of this report

The Time Window was released by DCM (based in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and the abbreviation 'DCM' does not stand for 'Drug Capital of the Midwest') in 1978 and went through a number of iterations over many years, with Version 7 being the last to date (I think). There's a bit of uncertainty as to what drive units were used in the different versions, but from what I can tell all shared an unusual layout of a pair of 6.5" midrange-woofers on each side of an angled front panel, each one positioned above a dome tweeter (Figure 1). A brief interrogation of the internet suggested the midrange-woofers in the original, Type 1, Time Window were made by Philips and/or Heppner but the tweeters were consistently the widely used and respected Philips AD0162-T. The subsequent Type 1A version changed this for the VIFA TD-19 tweeter, a device that found lots of applications in proprietary speakers in the early- and mid- 1980s. I, for example, had a pair of massive 3- way kit speakers from, I think, Electronics Australia that used this 19 mm tweeter, along with a 3" VIFA dome midrange and a 12" VIFA bass driver.

The idea behind the angled and multi-driver layout was to create a very wide sound field, with the inner face responsible for direct sound to the main listening area and the outer face creating a diffuse sound field that bounced off adjacent walls. It is interesting how this idea of using direct and reflected sound was so common in the late 1970s: my much-loved Sonab TL12s attempted a similar trick, as did the more dubious Bose 901s.

The crossovers of the DCMs were pretty complex for a two-way system, with one diagram available on the web showing three inductors, four capacitors and two resistors. I don't know what the crossover point is, or the order, but I guess a clever soul could calculate both from the values of the individual components. Notice that both tweeters are nominally 8 ohms: interesting when each speaker has two of them and the nominal impedance is also 8 ohms.

The bass loading was also novel. Consensus is that the Time Window was fundamentally a bass-reflex design with an offset pair of short port tubes (2" diameter and 7" long) tuned to 35 Hz, and the long, linear space inside the cabinets packed with a filling of variable density (as in a transmission line).

Clearly a lot of thought went into this speaker. The minimum impedance is cited as a friendly 5 ohms and sensitivity as a rather good 89 dB. The cabinets are narrow (15"), skinny (12") and tall (36"), and covered like a sock with an allround cloth (again, refer to Figure 1). Tops were bits of shaped wood. Once seen, the DCM Time Window is a speaker not easily forgotten. And as we were to find out shortly, once heard they are not quickly forgotten either.

Everyone I spoke to on the night was taken aback by the sound of these 40+ year-old speakers. My impressions over the first few tracks were of a rather dominant upper bass, a hollowed out, distant and reticent midrange, and a bright, crisp treble. But I've learnt over the years never to trust the Willis Room to provide a good bass response, so I soon disregarded this initial 'objection' to the bass response. My concerns about the midrange were also quickly dismissed, this time by about the third or fourth recording. I realised that the seemingly uncommunicative midrange was, in fact, most likely a property of the first few recordings and not an inherent property of the speakers. Better recorded tracks revealed a much nicer tonal balance. Either that or, as Ian pointed out in his introduction, the various pieces of equipment had by then adjusted to having electrons pass through them again, having sat idle for years previously in a back room at his place.

I overheard the past-president, Martin B, sitting behind me, say this was better sound than he'd heard from some new $30,000 speakers that had been demonstrated at monthly meetings. And we are not alone in singing the praises of the Time Windows: the web is full of people saying nice things about them, even four decades after they came on the market. My revised, positive feelings towards the speakers were confirmed with two very clearly recorded tracks on the night, both played just before the coffee/tea break: the Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson's Visa fran Utanmyra from 2014 (Arthur S's choice) and the more funky jazz of Bob James' 1983 Foxy (Chris M's choice). Both were startlingly clear and three-dimensional, even with the shabby acoustics of the Willis Room.

And this brings me to the second reason the night showed that history is not bunk. To my ears, the best vocal pieces were the two songs by Elvis Presley and by Frank Sinatra (I forget who contributed them or the details of each song: blame the memory lapse on my medication). In both tracks I detected a real-life, breathing human being, singing in a real-life space, accompanied by a real-life musician or two, performing to a real-life listening audience (or studio staff), in real time and in real space, all working together in sympatico. So many modern tracks are often obviously close-miked and multitracked a million times, with the result being a dynamically thrilling but emotionally unrewarding sound. How is it that two songs sung and recorded in the late 1950s or early 1960s could sound better than stuff done in the more recent 20 or 30 or 40 years, with all the technology we now have at our disposal? I reckon it's because they were simply recorded, probably in mono or at best with a three-track tape machine, in a real studio with real musicians playing together in the single space.

So, two sets of evidence from the night indicated that history is not bunk and that Henry Ford was wrong in his diagnosis. The first is that a pair of innovative speakers over 40 years old, driven by an inexpensive amplifier over 30 years old and a relatively inexpensive CD player, could sound so good. The second is that the best sound of the night (to my ears) came from tracks even older than the speakers, things recorded perhaps 60+ years ago. Who wants only the new, then Mr Ford?

Let's finish with two other quotable quotes from Henry Ford:

(1) "Exercise is bunk. If you are healthy, you don't need it; if you are sick, you shouldn't take it" (He did live to the ripe old age of 84, so perhaps he was onto something here?)

(2) "How come when I want a pair of hands, I get a human being as well?" (Reflecting a deeply ingrained misanthropy perhaps?) An interesting, if deeply flawed, human being.

Quotations from Encarta Book of Quotations (Macmillan, Sydney: 2000)

Paul Boon Selby, Victoria