Recent content by Julian Stevens

My system is (mostly) Bryston electronics and PMC speakers and, as Van Damme are the cables that PMC use, I've used them myself for several years. The problem, though, has been a maddening and persistent brightness in the treble and glare in the midrange, the only (not really satisfactory)...

I listen to music on my PC's little Yamaha system, in the car (Burmester system), until recently on my relatively humble though excellent office system (Sony/Rotel/Wharfedale) and, of course, on my main home rig (Wadia/Bryston/PMC). I'm not snobbish about it (at least I don't think I am) but...

No one's suggesting that it should. All the albums on my list are (to my tastes), first and foremost, musically outstanding, but made even better by the excellence of their recording and mastering qualities, hence I've recommended them. This is, after all, a hi-fi forum. That said, I have a...

Are these all outstanding sonically and technically? None appeals to me musically (my favourite Joan Armatrading album is Show Some Emotion, recorded and produced by Glyn Johns at the now sadly extinct Olympic Studios in Barnes), though that your choices are now less valid than mine

Try the other nine on that list. I'm hard put to choose any one or two over all the others but, if pressed, I'd select the Mo Foster and the Lee Ritenour albums.

Perhaps, but I think the idea of lists such as this is to point the way to an album or two that readers may not yet have discovered for themselves and be very glad to have had drawn to their attention. That said, I never found any of Stereophile's Records to Die For lists to be of any value...

A great album, though even after 20 bit remastering, still a bit plummy in the bass. Had I not felt it necessary to keep my list to 10 albums, I'd have added Greg Adams' Hidden Agenda, the bass on which is really something special. And then, of course, there are various Yello albums ~ but...

Here are 10 more (all instrumental):- 1. Brian Bromberg Wood (2002). Downsampled from the original 24/96 DVD-A. 2. Andy Summers The Last Dance of Mr X (1997). 3. Ricky Peterson Night Watch (1990). 24 bit remaster. 4. Dave Grusin Mountain Dance (1981). Direct to digital 2 track. 5. Bill...

Don't overlook the equally crucial importance of power cords, which I've recently discovered make at least as big a difference as interconnects. I now use Abbey Road/Studio Connections ones on my Bryston pre and power amp's which can sometimes sound a bit hard and steely. Not cheap but they do...

All cable manufacturers claim that the tonal balance of their cables is neutral and/or that each model in their range offers the best performance available at its particular price point. In terms of how much it's possible to spend on a set of cables, the sky's the limit (see Stereophile's...

This honeycomb board yields benefits in some areas but is a backward step in others. Instruments and their focus seem to lose a bit of clarity and articulation. Best results so far remain from the deal boards under every component (plus the Vibrapods under the pre-amp and a small patch of...

I've generally got on very well with these deal boards. They're not laminated in the sense of having a bonded outer skin of different material, like a kitchen worktop. Rather, because wooden boards are available only in limited widths, not much more than that of a plank or floorboard...

For many years I've used Mana racks. But, since I sold my Rose valve pre-amp (cheap build quality) and having lost the use of my Pink Triangle D:AC (the company's last owners ruined the battery power supply when the batteries needed to be renewed), I found that glass shelves induced an awful...

Having just installed my fifth 18mm laminated deal board, this one under my Bryston D:AC, I'm a complete convert to this material in preference to the original glass shelves that are a central feature of the Mana philosophy. The deal boards are also better than either MDF or birch ply (though...

I own a pair of IB2's (not IB2i's or SE's) and I've heard the ATC SCM50A's many times. I've also heard the passive ATC SCM50's a couple of times. The Advanced Transmission Line IB2's are of studio heritage and were designed for accuracy, neutrality and high power handling. They're not tweaked...