Letters

I just noticed the write-up and news story about Aperion Audio’s new Verus Grand loudspeakers. Is there any chance that you will review them, including the center-channel speaker? 

Rob Bayton 

There’s a very good chance -- we’ve already talked to the folks at Aperion about getting samples sent to us. They look very, very interesting. . . . Doug Schneider

Hello,

I stumbled upon your article on the film À bout de souffle (Breathless). I have seen it a couple of times, and just saw it on the big screen when it came to the DC area a couple of months ago. I was blown away by this recording of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. I've been scouring the Internet to figure out exactly which version it is to no avail. Your review was the closest I could find. Do you happen to have any further details on this particular recording?

Thanks!
Ashley Kathleen Gerber

It's impossible to tell for sure. As sharp as the Blu-ray is, you can't read the fine print on the disc, and it being an early film, we don't have an end-title scroll credit. But my money is on a 1956 l'Oiseau-Lyre recording with the French clarinettist Jacques Lancelot, with an orchestra conducted by Louis de Froment, who later became the house conductor for the Vox label. Lancelot recorded the concerto later on in the 1960s with the Jean-François Paillard Orchestra for Erato. It might be possible to find that one at Amazon.com, but I doubt the l'Oiseau-Lyre will ever be reissued. . . . Rad Bennett

Doug,

I share your views on 3D and regard it as a marketing-driven distraction. However, we did see How to Train Your Dragon in 3D and it was super. Great perspectives and the effects were not overused.  HTTYD was designed as a 3D movie from the start and it shows.

I saw Avatar and Alice in Wonderland as well in 3D and was less than impressed. Our seats were down low for the latter and that probably ruined a lot of the effect as well. It would be interesting to see a 3D movie review where the reviewer evaluates the effects from the fringes of the seating area.

Anyway, there is at least one really well-done 3D movie out there!

Cheers,
John M.

That was an interesting review of the Nat "King Cole" recording. I'm curious about this three-channel recording technique. I would like to hear more explanation about it. Can you explain how exactly the center-channel speaker is used and if there are other recordings done this way.
 
Tom Lefebre

Many producers use three-track masters, since they provide more freedom in mixing. In the 1950s and on, three-track masters were produced but had to be mixed back down to stereo because there was no format available to present them to the public. Analog vinyl discs were stereo only. With SACD, DVD-Audio, and Blu-ray -- all systems capable of multichannel reproduction -- those masters can be presented as originally made. 

The advantages of having a center channel is that it eliminates the ghost center of stereo recordings; now, the front soundstage can be more stable and solid. Different producers will use it in different ways, but often on recordings with a soloist -- classical or pop -- he/she is placed in the center channel, which leaves the left and right channel free to reproduce the supporting ensemble. A benefit of this is not only image stability but also greater clarity. 

Classical-music producers have released quite a few three-channel recordings on SACD, most notably RCA (Living Stereo series) and Mercury (Living Presence series). There have been a few Vanguards as well. I hope the Cole recordings will be a huge success and encourage Analogue Productions and others  to produce more three-channel material from various pop, jazz, and rock catalogs. In the meantime, they also have done a wonderfully mellow Miles Davis album in three-channel, Someday My Prince Will Come, and that will be reviewed in the October 1 update on our GoodSound! sister site.. It's sweet. . . . Rad Bennett

I am considering buying a Paradigm home-theater system, but I cannot afford a complete Signature system, which is what I'd like. What do you think of buying Signatures S6 speakers as the mains and something from the Studio series for the rest? Will it work?

Carl Jacobs

I always believe in trying to use the same speakers from the same line, and if possible the same series, all around. Paradigm is in their third iteration of the Signature series (v.3), so it would be best if they were all the latest models to get the most cohesive-sounding blend. But that’s not always practical or affordable.

Luckily, Paradigm does a pretty good job providing a sound that's reasonably consistent through all of their lines. You could say that they have a "house sound." Plus there’s a lot of trickle-down technology in the Studio models that comes from Signature. So I would guess that a Signature/Studio setup should work well. But that’s not a guarantee. What you should try to do is audition the exact setup you’re considering at a dealer and find out if the sound is to your liking. In particular, make sure the blend between speakers is cohesive enough, particularly with the center-channel and mains.

I have one more thing worth saying: We have a review of the S6 v.3 by Roger Kanno coming out on September 15. . . . Doug Schneider

Editor,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Curvi-Hifi Model 1 Version 2 loudspeaker. It is certainly a unique product, though I'm not sure the sound would be exactly to my liking. I just can’t imagine that a speaker with a single driver would be able to produce the bass response that I like. I guess it could be paired with a subwoofer, but then it might lose some of that single-driver magic the writer talks about. But I guess that's why we should always audition speakers for ourselves. Thanks for the review of the Curvi speaker, and keep up the great job on the new website.

Paula Anderson

To Roger Kanno,

Thanks for your great review of the Paradigm Reference Signature series speakers. I do have a question for you. If someone were using the system for multichannel rather extensively, would you recommend the C3 or C5? center-channel speaker ? I ask because I just bought a Studio 60 system and opted for the larger CC-690 (like the 100) over the CC-590. As far as I could tell, going with the full-size center makes lots of sense given the duty that speaker performs. I know the Signature series is not the same as the Studio series, but given the commonality, I am curious of your opinion here. Thanks!

Jonathan Schalliol

I have not had a chance to listen to the latest Signature C5 v.3 center-channel speaker, but I did compare the original C5 to the original C3 and found it to indeed be a better speaker. That being said, the smaller Signature C3 is still an excellent center-channel speaker and, like the Studio CC-590, has a vertically arrayed tweeter and midrange driver that are flanked by two bass drivers, which I prefer to the typical MTM arrangement of most center-channel speakers. I doubt that anyone would be disappointed by the performance of either the CC-590 or the C3, but if you can stretch your budget and find the space, the larger CC-690 and C5 should provide even better performance . They are very large center-channel speakers, but their performance is very, very good . . . Roger Kanno

Editor,

I enjoyed your most recent “Pulse!” article, "iPod Touch Apps: Free is Good." I thought Andrew did a good job of conveying why you should always research “free” before you go paying for something. One of the great things about products like the Touch, the iPhone, and the iPad, is the usefulness you can get out of them once you add third-party software. I guess for a student, these free apps are a boon for both expanded use and entertainment. Again, great job with a useful article.

Bob Woodward

I am reading some reviews where the writer is using a PlayStation 3 as a Blu-ray player. Is this really a good idea?

Martin Leland

When Blu-ray was first introduced, many considered Sony's PlayStation 3 to be the best Blu-ray player out there because it was glitch-free compared to many Blu-ray players at the time. I bought one specifically to play Blu-rays on and still use it. Times have changed though, and there certainly are some good players available today that don't have the problems of the earlier ones. However, that availability hasn't caused me to switch. So, yeah, you could say it's a good idea, even still. . . . Doug Schneider

I watched 2012 the other night using my Sony BDP-S550 without any problems (purchased in November 2008). When I put it in my PS3 (purchased in November 2009, a year later) I got a message to update my software from 2.85 to 3.01 to enable the disc to play.

Question 1: Why would my Blu-ray player that is a year older than the PS3 not have issues, whereas the PS3 does? Both being from the same manufacturer, I would think newer players would have fewer issues. (I have since found Zombieland, Nine, and one other movie to require the upgrade in the PS3.)

Question 2: I have read some horror stories about connecting the PS3 to the Internet for updates, and then there being other new problems after the update, as if the update caused more problems than it fixed. Should I have any reservations about updating to newer software revs?

Thanks!

Kevin White

Sony is a huge company and it’s likely that the group that developed your BDP-S550 Blu-ray player isn’t the same one that made the PlayStation 3. As a result, it’s possible that the BDP-S550 might have updates that the PS3 doesn’t have, even though it’s older, and the group(s) responsible for the PS3 just got around to putting them in this revision. That’s just a guess from my knowledge of how big companies often work, but the scenario is similar to some incompatibility issues I have had with Sony’s products in the past.

That said, I own a PS3 and love it. I connect to the Internet wirelessly and the only time I had a problem was when the PS3 was tucked away in a corner that was too far from the router. When the PS3 was placed there, Internet access was intermittent and it often failed trying to download updates. I moved it 10 feet from that position to get it closer and it's worked fine ever since.

I, too, watched Nine recently, and when I first put the disc into the PS3, it asked me to upgrade to the latest software revision. I performed the upgrade, the movie played fine, and I’ve had no problems since. I hope this information helps guide you. . . . Doug Schneider