SIGNALS & NOISE (Letters to Editor) (May 1986)

Moderated Modifications

Dear Editor:

Walter Jung has written me about my references to my Dahlquist DQ-10s as having "Jung/Randall" modifications. The reference to Mr. Jung (in a review of the Bryston 4B amplifier in the November 1985 issue) was meant purely to signify that I had replaced the DQ-10s' original capacitors with polypropylene capacitors. I wanted to give Mr. Jung credit for his innovative ideas about the sonic properties of capacitors in the signal path, which have had a strong influence on the audio industry. The loudspeaker was greatly improved by these superior capacitors, with vastly improved depth of imaging, better speed and much less listener fatigue. I should have checked with him first to find out how he wanted to be credited, if at all.

By the way, the same pair of DQ-10s was also modified by Randy McCarter of Randall Research in Irvine, Cal., who replaced the piezoelectric tweeters with ribbon tweeters. He does have DQ-10 modification kits, some of which include replacement capacitors.

I would also like to notify readers that my modified Dahlquists are not a commercial product and are not under warranty by Dahlquist, but are solely the result of aftermarket tinkering.

-Laurence L. Greenhill Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Letters, We Get Letters

Dear Editor:

I returned from vacation to find a very informative and lengthy letter from your Contributing Editor Herman Bur stein, responding to my long and rather rambling one. It was most kind of him to take time to give me such de tailed and informative answers. As a result, I believe that I understand my situation much more completely.

Frankly, when I wrote to Mr. Burstein, I thought that he might just make a few notes on my letter and return it to me.

His lengthy response was a real surprise and a most pleasant one. He has, perhaps, 20 questions which he personally answers for every one that appears in his "Tape Guide" column, and I really felt rather guilty that I added such a long inquiry to his already busy schedule. It is certainly a credit to him and to Audio that he can give such personal attention to poorly informed readers such as myself.

As a result of all this, my respect for Audio increased substantially. I am going to subscribe, whereas in the past I have only purchased copies from the newsstand when the contents appeared to be interesting.

I would also like to personally show my appreciation in a more tangible way. If Mr. Burstein would like some Florida citrus or a bottle of wine, I would very much like to send it to him.

-Boyd H. Anderson, Jr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Editor's Note: Mr. Burstein was very pleased to receive Mr. Anderson's let ter. However, professional ethics pre vent him from accepting the kind offer of fruit or wine.-A.P.

Shades of Gray

Dear Editor:

I enjoyed the timely article, "Gray Market: Is It Worth the Price?" in last September's Audio. True, many dealers who offer excellent service and ad vice are harmed by gray-market customers who solicit help and then buy elsewhere, but the gray market did arise from a need. Years ago, many dealers offered neither price breaks nor service and were arrogant to boot.

The gray market still weeds those dealers out. The true audio salon will survive, even with the gray market, because there are enough of us who do want the service and the equipment in hand to support the local salons. We don't want mail-order surprises or ignorant salespeople.

-James F. Fitzwilliam, Durham, N.C.

Déjà Review

Dear Editor:

I fear that the review in the October 1985 issue by Edward Tatnall Canby of Wendy Carlos' Digital Moonscapes irritated me nearly as much as the record irritated him. In the first place, it is my impression that Carlos did not merely pick up the latest digital technology and use it for her own purposes. Rather, she engaged in a major creative effort to transform waveforms and dig its into "the new subtlety and expressiveness of these synthesized sounds." If this is true, Canby's casual praise of this pioneering work is faint indeed.

But I am more concerned with Can by's evaluation of Carlos as "an updated Ferde Grote." Although they may share some stylistic sources, I think their intentions are far different. Grofe seemed to achieve and exploit a complacent banality, while Carlos continues to surprise me with her exploration of musical styles. Among these styles are surely some, including [those of] Bach and Schoenberg, that would seem to have been of little interest to Grote. Carlos may or may not discover a purely personal style, but I am enjoying her exploration.

Will the music of either composer survive? I cannot say. This morning, however, I heard Grofe's "Mississippi Suite" on the radio. It is as banal as ever, but not yet dead and buried.

-LeRoy E. Doggett; Bethesda, Md.

Author's Reply: I also had a letter direct from Wendy Carlos and can both understand its strong feelings and go along with some of its points. My language and comparisons misfired, and said something other than what I had intended.

I underestimated Ferde Grote's lowered status today, some 40 years after I first heard him. Grofe was once much admired, both technically on the professional level and by the amateur too. Thereby I brought Carlos down in my comparison and did not mean to.

I also used some ambiguous words, notably that dangerous "fluent" which can mean good things but also suggests superficiality and even laziness. That could never apply to the painstaking work that Carlos does in the electronic medium! Ever since Switched On Bach, in 1968, I have felt that Carlos was one of our very first "natural geniuses" in the new electronic medium, born to it, so to speak, as Paganini was for the violin. Other operators in comparison of ten seem clumsy and forced, or pretentious, as the case may be, even though their music may be valuable enough. That talent was just as clear in Switched On as it is today with more sophisticated equipment. As Carlos says, somebody has to show what can be done. The young R. Strauss--even the young, experimenting J. S. Bach could have said the same.

Musical value and, especially, musical "borrowing" are different matters, and very difficult areas. Nobody ever decides how far one can go in borrowing from older masters; after all, artistic continuity from generation to generation depends on it-and always has.

And yet some do it better than others. I must stand on what my ears told me at the time I was writing my review. I could be dismally wrong, but there will be no final decision. And Carlos obviously has a lot more to say--like Beethoven did?

-Edward Tatnall Canby

Loyal Lirpist

Dear Editor:

I'm glad to see Lirpa Labs was included in your October Annual Equipment Directory. I hadn't heard anything regarding this distinguished gadgeteria in a while and just wanted to let you know there are still hard-core Lirpa enthusiasts here in Syracuse. By the way, is it true that Lirpa Labs is currently manufacturing remote controls for their remote controls?

L. Jeffrey Lovell; Syracuse, N.Y.

Editor's Note: It's a remote possibility. -I.B.

Rabbit Test

Dear Editor:

Although I am pleased with my CD player, a Technics SL-P1, my pet rabbit is not. Whereas he used to stretch out in front of the speakers and listen to vinyl-and-needle with his eyes closed and teeth grinding (rabbit heaven, apparently), he flees from CD music. It appears that some rodent-offensive frequencies, inaudible to us human beings, are sneaking through! Latter-day Pied Piper?

-Nigel Moll, New York, N.Y.

Errata

This past winter does not seem to have been our season for photo captions and credits. To wit:

In our January feature on the Muse um of Broadcasting, we misidentified one of three people in the upper photo on pages 60-61. The central figure in the picture, taken during a 1951 radio broadcast, is not director Don Hewitt but commercial coordinator Henry Hanson. At left and right-as we had stated-are producer Fred W. Friendly and journalist Edward R. Murrow.

In our February interview with producer Bob Thiele, we misidentified one of the three people in the photo on page 38. The three (left to right) are Louis Armstrong, Bob Thiele, and Duke Ellington.

Also in the Bob Thiele interview, due to a printing error, credit for the opening-spread photo of Mr. Thiele (pages 36-37) was omitted. The photo was taken by Robert Lewis.

We apologize for any confusion that may have been created.

-E.P.

( Audio magazine, May 1986)

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