HiFi/Stereo Review April 1958

97 Pages·2012·19.79 MB·English

•
& MUSIC REVIEVV
April 1958 35¢
STOKOWSKI and FLAGSTAD
Ne1N Albums Tell o£ Greaf: Careers
LOUDSPEAKERS: 1958.
Per£orm SeHer· Smaller Size· Same Price
OPERA PROMPTER
Uneasy Li£e D01Nnsf:age
JAZZ VOCALISTS
Why They Sing As They Do
When the music sounds like it is being played in the subway ... you've got RUMBLE *.
You can eliminate "rumble" with a Rek-O-Kut Roncline Turntable as the heart of
your system. Prove this by listening to a Rondine at your dealer. Compare its
accuracy and silence. It will stay that vyay for keeps! Compare its precision crafting,
luxurious styling. Compare it with what you now own. It's like coming out into the
sunshine ... the difference is that great! Rondine Turntables
from $59.95. Rek-O-Kut 12" Turntable Arm-$26.95-Bases
in walnut and blonde. Send for free color booklet and Strobe dis~.
'Annoying extraneous low-pitched noise produced by conventional phono motor and reproduced by the loudspeaker.
REK-O-KUT
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· -F-
"Until actual sound is produced, music does not exist."
H
Ralph Vaughan Williams
· 1 , ·· 1
·FEATURE ARTICLES
& MllslC REVIEW
April,.1958
Vol. 1 No.3 Man In Three-Sided Cell 19 Jack Farbson
Trials, tribulations and
perils of a Met Opera prompter
Publisher The Voice As Horn 22 Nat Hentoff
Oliver Read Some more thoughts about
classifying jazz vocalists
Editor
Oliver P. Ferrell Stokowski Revisited 27 Bert Whyte
Two new albums add high
lights to a great career
Managing Editor
David Hall
Loudspeakers Are Getting Better 30 Herbert Reid
Transforming electricity to
Art Editor sound becomes easier
Saul D. Weiner
Three Albums To Fame 33 Peter DuBois
Associate Editors Lanin annotates his
Hans H. Fantel 1,000,000 record safe
Warren DeMotte
•
Jazz On TV 35
Assistant Editor CBS and NBC vie for artistry
Rodney H. Williams with the viewer the winner
West Coast Editor Livid Lingo 47
Edward A. Altshuler "Wow and flutter" explained
in non-technical verbiage
Contributing Editors
Martin Sookspan Flagstad & Wagner & FFRR 50 Martin Bookspan
Ralph J. Gleason London releases special
Stanley Green recording of the "greatest" Wagnerian
Nat Hentoff
David' Randolph Golden Era Of High Fidelity 59 Frank Jacobs
Klaus George Roy
A tongue-in-cheek account
Sert Whyte of the ever-changing record
speed problem
Advertising Director
• John A. Ronan, .Jr'. Sound Impressions 63 Hans H. Fantel
History quietly and calmly
reverses itself and winners
Advertising Manager become "also-rans"
Herb O/sow
REVIEWS
ZIFF-DAVIS P(jB~ISHING Co: One Park
. Ave., New 'Yolk' 16, N .. Y. William Zif!,'
President; H.:J. Morganroth,. Vice Presi.
'dent; W. Bradford Briggs, Vice President; Your Entertainment Mood 12 Ralph J. Gleason, Stanley
Michael H. Froelich, Vice President; Mi Green, Nat Hentoff
chael Michaelson. Vice President and Ci'r
.culation Director; V. C. Stabile Treasu'rer'
Albert Gruen, Art Director. ' . ,
Your HiFi Concert 67 Martin Bookspan, David
BRANCH OF.FICES:· Midwestern -Office 64 Randolph, Klaus George Roy
E. . lake St., Chic~go I, III., larry Sp;'rn,
M'c:twest Advertising Manage'r; . Western
Office, Room 412, 215 West 7th St. Los The Stereo Reel 77 Bert Whyte
Angeles 17, Calif., John E. Payne, man~ger.
COLUMNS
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
All communications concerning subscriptions
should be addressed to CilCulation Dept ..
64 E. Lake St .. Chicago I. IIi. Include your
oplods siabdlde reasns adsd dwreeslls dlSa bneelw f-ro.men calo sriencge nift Sounding Board 6 Just Looking 90
'ssue. Allow 4 weeks for chang,e of address
CONTRIBUTORS HiFi-ndings 41 Dealer Listing 93
Contributors dre ddvlsed to retell" d copy of Weathers Turntable, Arm and
their rnanuscrtpt and dlustratlons. Contri Cartridge; Tandberg Complete
butions should be mailed to the New YOlk Stereo System; EMC Stereo Unit;
EditOrial office and must-be accompanied ESL C-60 Cartridge
by returo postage. Contributions a,e handfed The Flip Side 98
with reasonable (are, but this magazine
assumes no responsibility for their safety.
Any acceptable tTlanuscnpt is subject to
whatever addptations and reVIsions are
necessary to meet requirements of this pub·
Ilcatlon. Pdyment covers \;1·11 author's' rights,
titles and interest In and to the matenal HiFI & MUSIC REVIEW IS published monthly by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, William B.
accepted and will be made a't Our current Ziff, Chairman of the Board (1946.1953), at 64 E. lake St. Chicago 1. 111. Application for second
rfantgess wupillo nb ea cccoenpstiadnecree.d A alls pphaortto os fa nmda dte(lalwa~l cploasssse smsiaoinlisn, ga npdr ivCilaengaeo ais $p4e.0n0d; inPga na-At mCehriiccaagno ,U Inlilionno icso. uSnutrbisecsr i$p4t.i5o0n, aRlla toesth: eOr nfeo ryeieganr cUo.uSn. tarnieds
purchased. $5.00.
Copyright ©1958 by ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING Company
All ri ghts reserved.
APRIL 1958 5
i
So.unding Board
David Hall, Managing Editor
STEREO DISC TIMETABLE- elusively· that stereo discs, played
Previous statements in this col on present monaural equipment,
umn to the contrary, it now looks as are not compatible. . . . A stereo
though stereophonic discs for the disc, played monaurally, will dis
home-and the equipment on which seminate a sound of music. But the
to play them-will be with us well net hearing result is comparable to
before next Christmas. At least one that obtained from a worn pre-high
of the major record companies fidelity record."
seems to be shooting for September The opinion has also been ex
as a target date for discs and rea pressed from authoritative quarters
sonably priced playback or conver that playing a stereo disc with a
sion equipment to be made avail monaural cartridge will do no good
able to the public. A goodly num to the grooves of the disc in terms
ber of the smaller specialty record of future playback on stereo equip
labels, which can move faster than ment.
AN ANNOUNCEMENT the production giants of the indus . Exercising not just our editorial
try, will have stereo discs on the prerogative, but also our instinct
TO OWNERS OF KLIPSCH
market before the summer. There and knowledge as long time record
LOUDSPEAKERS will likewise be three or four stereo and high-fidelity consumers, we
disc cartridges available ranging in tend to heed the warning from RCA
'1
price from $19.50 up. Victor and to steer clear of using
the new stereo discs, when avail
A more highly refined · Which brings us to that bugbear able, on any equipment but that
crossover network has recently of compatibility: Will a stereo fitted with a 45/45 stereo playback
been developed by Paul W. phonic cartridge play conventional cartridge. RCA Victor, after all, has
Klipsch for KLIPSCHORN and LP discs with results comparable to the biggest possible stake in the
SHORTHORN systems. Its adop those obtained with a good mon future success of a completely com
tion bring us one more step nearer aural cartridge? Can a stereophonic patible stereophonic disc for the
to our goal-reproduction of disc be played successfully on a home listener, and so would be less
sound which is identical with the good monaural cartridge with ac than overjoyed at the prospect of a
original. ceptable sound quality and without disc that could be played only on
damage to the grooves prior to the stereo equipment. Therefore the re
Owners of KLIPSCHORN and
time one obtains one of the new port of their Engineering Commit
SHORTHORN loudspeakers and
stereo cartridges? To some extent tee carries double weight under the
of K-ORTHO drive systems may
it depends which published infor circumstances.
have their networks modified by
mation you care to believe. This being the case, it seems clear
their dealers or by the factory at a
Counterpoint Records of New to us that one should hold off buy
nominal charge.
York City advertises a disc featur ing stereophonic discs until such
ing the gifted 'cellist, AIdo Parisot, time as one has on hand the neces
This is in keeping with our
in concerti of Vivaldi and Boc sary stereo cartridge together with
policy of offering owners of
cherini as follows: the proper second amplifier-speaker
Klipsch systems the very latest
Double Listening Pleasure channel.
developments of our laboratory.
recorded on The stereo revolution now seems
Research is being conducted con
Westrex 45/45 inevitable, and the best informed
stantly-every new development
compatible stereo disc sources indicate that the so-called
in the field of loudspeaker design
playable on any LP phono Westrex 45/45 cutting and play
is fully tested and periodic reports
graph back system will become the stand
are made to owners so that they
or on 45/45 stereophonic disc ard for both the U.S.A. and Europe
may continue to enjoy "the ulti
reproduction equipment. -thus eliminating any crisis com
mate in fidelity of music reproduc
The January 20,1958 issue of The parable to that provoked by the
tion".
Billboard, authoritative trade jour "battle of the speeds" (33 vs 45)
Write: nal for the entertainment industry, some years ago. Almost all record
quotes as follows from the Engi companies of any consequence have
neering and Manufacturing Com in their vaults a backlog of stereo
~~D[?~©D=O
mittee of RCA Victor Records: phonic master tapes dating from the
AND ASSOCIATES "Exhaustive tests in our Indi fall of 1955 which can be trans-
HOPE, ARKANSAS
anapolis plant have proved con- ( C ontinlled on page 10)
6 HIFI & MUSIC REVIEW
Here are the Features That Make the H. H. Scott 310-B the
BESTF
H. H. Scott 810·8 Tuner'shown in handsome mahogany accessory case. H. H. SCOTT TUNER SETS
NEW DX RECORD!
ONLY the 310-B was rated outstanding in ONLY the 310-B will stay tuned, without
all respects by a leading consumer testing drift or "pull" when set to a weak signal
The Apparatus Development
organization. adjacent to a very strong one. This feature
Company, ManuCacturers oCthe
is essential for good performance in crowded
ONLY the 310-B limits fully on random FM/Q FM Antenna reports the
signal areas.
noise. This means true high fidelity FM Scott consistently receives sig
performance on even the weakest signals. ONLY the 310-B will reject an unwanted nals Crom a distance oC 510
signal or interference that is only 2Y2db miles. This is the best record
ONLY the 310-B has 85db cross-modula
weaker than the desired signal. Strong Cor any FM tuner in their files.
tion rejection. This means you can listen
interference can come from a TV receiver
to weak stations even though strong signals
or another station on the same channel.
are nearby.
The 310-B will reject this interference.
Additional Specifications:
ONLY the 310-B will maintain audio out Sensitivity 1.5 microvolts on 300 ohm
H. H. Scott Engineering Department
input for 20db of quieting. Three IF stages;
put voltage constant within ±1.5db, even STATEMENT OF GUARANTEE
Three Stages of Limiting; Broadcast-type
though signal strength may vary from 1.5 All the statements regarding the perform signal strength meter; Interstation Noise
microvolts to 1 million microvolts. This ance of the 310-B tuner are backed up by Suppressor; Multiplex output. Price
laboratory measurements available for in $189.95. Prices slightly higher west of Rockies.
means you never have to re-adjust volume spection at the H. H. Scott engineering Case extra.
level. department. The 310-B will outperform
any tuner. It will work in the most difficult
locations, where other tuners fail.
ONLY the 310-B can perfectly separate a
y,~.~ ~. vo~ ~&J,~'1-"'­
weak station from one in an adjacent chan
Certified: D. von Recklinghausen
nel that is up to 15db stronger. Chief Research Engineer
~------------------------------------
H. H. Scott Inc. 111 Powdermill Road, Maynard, Mass.
Export: Telesco International Corp., 36 West 40th Street. New York City
RUSH me my free copy of your completely new catalog MR-4
NAME ............................................................................ .
ADDRESS .........•••....•..••.•.•••••.••....................•..••••...•••••••••
CITY .......................................... STATE ........................ : ..
"Emory,
You're in
terrible spot!"
BOlAK: "Here you are, selling top-drawer 7%" stereo
tapes, and everybody knows there's no market for
them."
COOK: "I'm selling them, though."
BOlAK: "T whom, boy?"
0
COOK: "Why, to the out-of-step people who are buying
Bozak speakers. Except that there aren't any:
there's no market for your speakers either."
BOlAK: "But Emory, I'm selling lots of speakers!"
COOK: "Impossible, Rudy! Who buys them?"
BOlAK: "Same people who are buying your tapes, old man."
COOK: "In other words, people to whom "high fidelity"
means uncompromising quality in sound and pro
gram material. People with a sophisticated ear, who
evaluate high fidelity in terms of music."
BOlAK: "And who judge a high fidelity installation not as
a household appliance, but as a musical instrument."
COOK: "That's got it, Rudy. We're witnessing the phenom
enon of high fidelity's becoming the 20th century
musical instrument. If we respect the listener's
intelligence, we must face the implications of that."
BOlAK: "Which means that, if we are to satisfy the high
fidelity ears of the discerning players of that musi
cal instrument, we must make available the best
possible components and program material. No
compromises, no commercial short-cuts."
inevitably - BOZAK
,
With stereo as with all sound repro
duction, the speaker is the heart and
voice. Just as the serious musician
always seeks out the finest instrument,
so, for the perceptive listener the fin
est speaker is-inevitahly-a BOlAK
"How's that,
Rudy?"
COOK: "You're doing your part, Rudy. And so is Cook
Labs, because we are now presenting the largest
and finest catalogue of bona fide stereo to be
found anywhere!"
The COOK catalogue of stereo tapes is all Emory says, and
more! Included are 13 symphonies, recorded in Symphony
Hall Boston, the acoustic showplace of the nation . . . there
are 15 sizzling stereo jazz tapes all recorded on the scene
... and, like all Cook tapes, recorded by special techniques and
with special Cook equipment ... 10 tremendous pipe organ
masterpieces - classics from the Aeolian Skinner to the lush
sounds of the great New York Paramount Theatre organ. The
fabulous, cavernous Mosque with Reginald Foort at its unique
Wurlitzer and the rare and exotic Walker organ in Morelia
Cathedral, Mexico - the largest and oldest in the western
hemisphere. It's a real stereo transport ... 14 stereo journeys
that will plunge you into the enchantment of exotic places.
Carnival, ritual, atmosphere from Spain, Mexico, Venezuela,
and a cross section of the West Indies ... there's the monu·
mental Dubois' Seven Last W ords* - a towering master·
piece - and many other unique collector's items that shine
out from the largest and finest stereo catalogue in the world!
Over 65 tapes and more than 400 titles!
Use the coupon below *This magnificent work, singularly ap
propriate for Easter, will be rushed to
to get your you in time for the holiday if order is
received by April 5. Price $14.95 post
paid. Add 45¢ for special delivery an
free copy NOW!
later orders to be delivered by Easter.
r---------------------
I I
COOK Laboratories
101 Second Street,
Stamford, Conn.
Dear Emory:
Please rush me a copy of your new stereo catalogue,
and put me on the mailing list to receive news of
future ' releases.
Name'_ ________________________________________
_______________________________________
Street~
Cit _______________________, State ________
(Continued from page 6)
ferred to stereo disc as soon as the
necessary cutting equipment be
comes available. So we can look for •I
ward to a rapid growth of the
stereo disc repertoire from the be
ginning of 1959 on.
What does this mean for the con
ventional LP disc, in which so many
of us have a very large investment?
Presumably record companies will
continue for some years hence to
issue conventional monaural discs
together with their stereo releases.
But what about the large number of
outstanding performances recorded
before 1955, for which no stereo
phonic tape masters exist? The
answer here is that we shall con
tinue to enjoy and to treasure these
monaural discs. If by some lucky
chance some audio genius should
be able to perfect a reasonably
priced and readily available "magic
black box" that will enhance mon
aural disc and radio program mate
rial with a stereophonic illusion,
then, so much the better! This may
well be the next major development
to which we can look forward. The
next year or two will tell.
Meanwhile, we advise our read
ers to bear in mind that compati
bility as applied to the forthcoming
stereo discs and playback systems
is strictly one way-the stereo car
tridge of the 45/45 type will play
both stereo discs and conventional
LP's; but this does not seem to be
the case with the 45/45 stereo disc,
at least in its present form. The re
search and development divisions
of the record companies have a
Practically new ranch house with 200-foot, project here!
poured-concrete, spirally curled, exponential
STEREO TAPE FANCIERS CAN
bass horn; 12-foot multicellular midrange hOorn (24 cells); large inventory of assorted
LOOK TO REEVES SOUND
dynamic and electrostatic tweeters; three 2,000-watt water-cooled amplifiers; infi
CRAFT for a treat; for this firm has
nite-attenuation electronic crossover networks; master control-mixer-preamplifier
console; two 1,500-lb. belt-driven turntables suspended in mercury bath; vacuum a tempting bonus offer to tie in with
sealed record-positioning chamber with servo-controlled record lifters and nuclear- the over-the-counter purchase of
. reactor record deionizer; foam-rubber basement for acoustical feedback isolation; any 7-inch reel of Sotmdcraft tape
also complete blueprints for construction of identi~l house for stereo. - -namely a pre-recorded tape of
Dixieland Jamfest in Stereo featur
WLl sacrifice; or trade for NORELCO speaker, which owner of house has dis
covered to be ideal for delightful hi-fi listening without electronic anxiety neuroses ing such name figures as Coleman
or showdowns with the loan company. For detailed and convincing confirmation Hawkins, "Red" Allen, J. C. Higgin
of latter viewpoint, write to North American Philips Co., Inc., High Fidelity botham, and Cozy Cole. The 20-
Products Division, 230 Duffy Avenue, Dept. MRLl, Hicksville, Long Island, N. Y. minute tape includes such h'adi
tional jazz favorites as When the
NORELCO® Saints Go Marching In and a fine
series of originals. The price of the
loudspeakers
7-inch Soundcraft reel, plus a 75-
cent handling charge, will assure
the buyer of the Dixieland lamfest
specially recorded on the tape he
has purchased. Not bad, we say!
a complete line 0/ 5" to 12" high-fidelity speakers and acoustically engineered enclosures -END
10 HIFI & MUSIC REVIEW
untr
Over $100,000 and two long years of development guarantees
the superior performance of the new MR-55 Mcintosh AM-FM tuner.
An outstanding feature is a capture ratio of near unity giving more
interference-free stations, reduced distortion on all receivable
signals, and improved multi-path conditions. Among other unique
features are - ultra sonic muting - zero time constant limiters -lowest
total noise and distortion - and lowest hum level-and many, many more •
•• •
clntosh laboratories, Inc.
2 Chambers Street, Dept. HFR 3-58
Binghamton, New York
Please send mea full color photograph of the
Mcintosh MR·SS A.M.-F.M. tuner ••• The tuner that
"keeps the promise of ·F.M."
NAME __________________________________ _
ADDRESS ________________________________ _
CITY _________________________ ZONE ____ _
STATE -----------------------------------
APRIL 1958 II