Siltech Debuts the Pantheon Loudspeaker
The invitation looked intriguing: "We are happy to welcome you to The Netherlands in September for the offical introduction of the Siltech Pantheon Loudspeaker." Siltechwww.siltechcables.com">Siltech; introducing a loudspeaker? I was well familiar with the Dutch company, celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, as a cable manufacturer. Indeed, some of the first high-end cables I had found to sound better than what I had been used to were Siltechs, back in the mid-1980s. Paul Bolin had been impressed by his auditioning">http://www.stereophile.com/cables/1004siltech">auditioning of more recent G5 models in 2004. And Siltech's founder, Edwin van der Kley, is married to the irrepressible Gabi van der Kley, principal of Crystal Cable with whom I had had a rather intense breakfast meeting with during last May's Home">http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007">Home Entertainment 2007. (All conversations with Gabi are intense.) But loudspeakers?
Silverline Audio Hits Musical Mark
Almost every audiophile, whether hobbyist or professional, has taken a stab at building loudspeakers. Combine the fundamentals of cabinetmaking with some basic electronic theory, connect a few good drivers to a well-designed crossover network, and you're on your way to pretty good sound. And now, with widely available resources like crossover design software and high-quality prefabricated cabinets, the task is easier than it's ever been.
Silverman's Variations CD Released in "Two-Fer" Offer
After a series of unforeseen delays, for which we apologize, the CD of Robert Silverman's performance of Beethoven's monumental work for solo piano, the Diabelli Variations (Variations, STPH017-2), is available for purchase from our e-commerce">http://ssl.blueearth.net/primedia/home.php">e-commerce page today, Monday, October 2.
Silverman's Beethoven Cycle Continues in San Jose
Canadian pianist Robert Silverman, whose artistry has made him an audiophile legend, is set to continue his complete Beethoven Sonata Cycle Series in San Jose, CA. The four remaining concerts are scheduled for February 3 and 10 and April 7 and 14 in the excellent acoustic of San Jose's Le Petit Trianon Theatre. All proceeds from the performances will benefit the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.
Producer of the series, Michael Silver of Audio High in Mountain View, CA, has retained Marc Wilsher to make high-resolution digital recordings of the entire series. Judging from an unedited hi-res master of the first movement of Beethoven's "Waldstein" sonata, the clarity and truthfulness of Silverman's sound in Le Petit Trianon are first-class.
The recordings could be as revelatory as the recordings that John Atkinson and Ray Kimber have and continued to make of Silverman performing other repertoire. Stereophile will release a new recording of Brahms' Handel Variations and Schumann's Symphonic Études later this year, and IsoMike has recently released a 7-CD set of Silverman performing all the Mozart piano sonatas. (JA's photo shows Robert performing a Mozart sonata at the 2010 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.)
Silverman's Beethoven Series Continues in San José
Robert">http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/131/index8.html">Robert Silverman, whose many recordings for Stereophile have made him a living legend among audiophiles, continues his series">http://www.audiohigh.org/upcoming-events">series of performances of all of Beethoven's piano sonatas in San José, California, November 11 and 18. Held in San Jose's lovely and acoustically superior Le Petit Trianon Theatre, the concerts mark the halfway point in Silverman's eight-concert series. All proceeds go toward building, at Stanford Children's Hospital, an Elf">http://www.elfsystems.org">Elf Foundation Room of Magic: a private entertainment theater in which uplifting music and films can be shared with patients.
Singer Peggy Lee Dies at 81
Few music lovers who grew up in the 1950s and '60s could have failed to be influenced by torch singer Peggy Lee, who died of heart failure at her Bel Air home on Monday, January 21. Lee was 81 and had been in ill health for several years.
Single-Source Surround Sound?
Every Consumer">http://www.cesweb.org">Consumer Electronics Show features unusual prototypes from engineers throughout the world. Some are laboratory curiosities that never develop into viable products, but others have great potential.
Sirius Digital Radio Satellite Launches This Week
A new era in radio will begin on November 30, when a rocket lifts off from the Baikonur">http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/baikonur_cosmodrome_000710.html… Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying a commercial digital radio transponder to a geosynchronous orbit over North America. The satellite, which belongs to Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com/detect_flash/index_flash.htm">Sirius Satellite Radio, will eventually beam as many as 100 stations providing "CD-quality" sound to listeners throughout the continent.
Sirius Gets a Boost
Combine the challenge of establishing a start-up with the launch of an entirely new consumer electronics market and you've got the recipe for a highly volatile and explosive brew. But news of a successful $1.2 billion re-capitalization announced last week indicates that three-year old digital radio pioneer Siriushttp://www.sirius.com">Sirius; will likely remain intact—at least for now.
Sirius Gets Serious
Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Satellite Radio has achieved three milestones in its campaign to reach profitability.