With only two instruments in play, the relationship and conversation between them is starkly apparent. The explicit call and response in the performance is either there – or more often, it isn’t. At the same time, Ray Brown’s extended, descending bass runs and undulating lines reveal bottom-end aberrations and non-linearities, lost energy and attack, or the wobbly presence of additional weight at discrete frequencies with an unerring ease. The articulation in his playing, the articulation between bass and piano, the subtle, understated rhythmic stabs and emphasis that flow from the Duke’s fingers, tell you all you need to know about whether the two speakers are working in concert and how they are interacting with the room.
Put this disc on and I’ve lost track of the number of times that a system’s owner has looked at me with an expression pitched somewhere between disbelief and outright alarm. Virtually every time you put on the Blanton, whether you are starting from scratch or dialling in an existing set up, you are going to be assaulted by flabby, indistinct bass and sharply ringing piano ‘shots’ that cannon around the room. That’s one reason to work in mono, on one speaker at a time, as it reduces the high-frequency clashing that can really put your teeth on edge. But start working on speaker position to even-out and flesh-out the double bass and the piano doesn’t just fall into line, rhythmically dovetailing with the bass, it too starts to gain body and lose its unpleasant, cutting edge. Get both speakers singing individually and it’s time to listen in stereo. This is never going to be one of the world’s great sonic masterpieces, but the sheer quality of the musicians is unquestionable. Working with speaker position and attitude to unearth the musical core within this recording, you uncover its sheer musicality too. Given where you started when you first put the disc or record on, it’s hard to believe how far the system’s musical capabilities and expressive range have already come…
Track 2 – LEDR Tests
Nordost System Solution Set-Up and Tuning Discs
Double CD
The LEDR tests did not originate with Nordost. In fact, they were developed for EASI, by North-Western University in the USA, primarily as an acoustic demonstration and diagnostic tool. I think that the first time I heard them was on the original Chesky set-up disc and they certainly appeared on (I believe the second?) Stereophile Test Disc and HFN/RR Test Disc III (HFN020). But as those discs disappeared or were superseded, so the LEDR tracks disappeared with them. Which is why it’s so important that Nordost has resurrected them and kept them available. Important? Yes – because, like the Blanton, but for very different reasons, the LEDR tracks are unique. Once you hear them, their significance becomes obvious, but for those who’ve never had that ‘pleasure’, here’s a run down on what they do…
Each LEDR test consists of a computer-generated pulse of pink noise that moves in a predictable way within the sound field. At least, it should be predictable if the soundfield is set up symmetrically and is devoid of major reflections or suck-outs! Reflective surfaces in particular, will push the path of the pulse away and towards the centre of the soundfield, producing a curved, wobbly or repeated pattern. The beauty of the LEDR tests lies in their utter clarity and repeatability. There’s no guesswork or assumptions about the soundstage on some recording involved here.Listen, adjust the speaker or change the acoustic and listen again. The result of your change(s) will be immediately apparent.
