User Details - Jonalogic

recommendations


Name:
  Jon Bower
Details:
  Environmental scientist/consultant and freelance professional photographer. Originally a BBC research engineer focussed on acoustics and psychoacoustics, where I first learnt about studio and recordings arts.

A lover of classical music recordings from all eras and technologies. And with a definite soft spot for traditional jazz, world music and the blues.

Accused in my mis-spent youth of being an 'audiophile'- probably a valid charge at the time. However, now substantially recovered (but not according to my wife...)

A frequent concert-goer, my reference point in adjudging technical quality is therefore live music. Does it sound like the real thing?
Location:
  Oxford, UK
HiFi:
  Listening and A/V room - 30 ft X 15.5 ft

Stereo -

Esoteric X-03SE SACD player
Goldmund Vinyl turntable/Clearaudio Accurat m/c
Classe Preamp
Goldmund Mimesis 9 Power Amp
Martin Logan CLS IIz full-range electrostatic loudspeakers
Siltech cables

separate A/V -

Pioneer Kuro Reference 50" plasma (10th gen.)
Primare pre- and power amps
Sonus Faber speakers (2), Partington stands
Sky HD+
Oppo BDP 105EU Bluray, SACD, DVD-A and download Player
VdH and StefanArt cable
Sennheiser HD800 headphones and HDVD600 headphone amp, re-wired with StefanArt cable.
Email:
  jon.bower@virgin.net
Web:
  http://www.apexphotos.com
Posts:
  1236

 
 
Reviews
Found: 102 show all

Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 102 & 104 - RPO/Glover        (5 of 7 found this review helpful)
  September 26, 2013

Just a quick note to those considering purchasing this - don't; it's really not good enough. The sound is fairly typical Membran, of the soupy lo-res variety; not exactly one of their better efforts. But it's the performances that rule this one out from serious consideration. They're shamelessly ... more
Cantus - KUNIKO        (1 of 2 found this review helpful)
  August 21, 2013

All in all, I regret to say I found this disc rather overhyped and ultimately a bit disappointing. On the plus side, there is some great minimalist music here; Kuniko's playing is - as ever - subtle, austere and hypnotic. However: 1) Percussion transcriptions are not necessarily the right way to ... more
Bach: Concertos for 4-3-2-1 Pianos - Maksymiuk        (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
  July 26, 2013

Now here’s a real sleeper gem. It does exactly what it says on the tin, offering Bach keyboard concerti for 4, 3, 2 and 1 pianos. And played with lovely, woody Bluthner Model 1s. For anyone familiar with the twinned Angela Hewitt sets of single piano concerti on Hyperion, this set offers a very ... more
Music for Strings - RPO/Simonov        (3 of 6 found this review helpful)
  June 11, 2013

This is yet another real 'sleeper' disc from Simonov on Membran. The pieces (Tchaikovsky Serenade, Grieg Holberg Suite, Mozart Eine Kliene Nachtmusik) may be veritable warhorses for string orchestra, but here they are intensely played, with real intent and a sense of seriousness and discovery. Both ... more
Poetry. Epic. Program - Brogli-Sacher        (5 of 6 found this review helpful)
  April 20, 2013

Heavens, but this is a frustrating disc, and a challenging one to review. If I had to summarise, I would say that this is a (mostly) superb, natural-sounding recording of an under-powered orchestra playing orchestral showpieces in a fine acoustic. And there is also a notable 'gotcha' I must ... more

 
 
Latest Posts

New partner: Qobuz
August 15, 2014
Chris Hi Willco! On its way. Best Jon ... more
New partner: Qobuz
August 12, 2014
Hi. Very well, thanks - just not posting (apart from this one). In a spirit of fairness, I can report that Qobuz finally responded - after several tries, and only eventually in response to a post on the UK site, rather than the French. They confirmed the faulty track and offered a replacement download. They also indicated they would withdraw ... more
New partner: Qobuz
August 11, 2014
OK, just to make it clear. I promptly brought to their attention a faulty track on the Gorecki Concerto-cantata recording on Naxos. About 6 minutes into track 1, the music disappears and we are left with around 5 minutes of extremely loud hiss and distortion - at levels which could put speakers/power amp or even ears at risk. So, not a trivial ... more
New partner: Qobuz
August 11, 2014
My first and last post for some time. Merely to note my lack of surprise that SACD.net is now affiliated with Qobuz, a bunch of gallic crooks who play fast and loose with the files, the music and - above all - their customers. I have lost track of the number of mis-labellings and mis-representations, as well as up-sampled recordings on their ... more
BIS thread
April 13, 2014
Robert Hi With all due respect, you are close to dancing on dangerous ground here. Slagging off other download vendors whilst praising yours (even tongue in cheek) could, perhaps, be misinterpreted in some quarters? Cheers Jon ... more