January 2025
Having worked with artists as diverse as Bon Jovi and Wynton Marsalis and helped define the musical signatures of late-career Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter as a member of their bands, bassist John Patitucci has cachet that few other rhythm-section players achieve. His tone, technique, and imagination are all exceptional.
Now 65, Patitucci stands apart from many of his peers because of the number and range of recordings—16 since 1987—he has released as a leader. In that regard, his closest peer is Dave Holland. Like Holland, Patitucci plays authoritatively and creatively on both acoustic and electric instruments, and his compositions don’t fall into any single style. On his new recording, Spirit Fall (24-bit/96kHz WAV, Edition Records EDN1258), he’s joined by the singular saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Brian Blade, Shorter’s longtime bandmate. Together, they create music that Patitucci says he hopes “bridge[s] divides and uplift[s] our collective spirit.” That wish is reflected by the energetic, collaborative playing and a gorgeous sonic profile.
Recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Patitucci’s frequent collaborator John Davis at The Bunker in Brooklyn, Spirit Fall is an extraordinarily transparent-sounding recording that will hit the market as a CD and two-LP set in February.
Of course, it’s nigh impossible to hear a sax/bass/drums jazz trio without thinking of Sonny Rollins’s landmark recordings, and Spirit Fall wears the comparison proudly. Indeed, in recent years, Potter has seemed increasingly like the musician who has garnered the most influence from Rollins: the long, arpeggiated lines; the breath control; the tonal command; and, most interestingly, the ability to reference other songs seamlessly while improvising in the moment. All of that plays a crucial role in bringing these compositions—nine by Patitucci, as well as Shorter’s 1965 composition “House of Jade”—to life and sustaining the energy of the performances in the trio setting. As Rollins has said, without a true chordal instrument like piano or guitar, the trio leaves you nowhere to hide.
The Rollins influence is on full display in “Sonrisa,” a composition with the calypso-style bounce and flavor that Rollins often used as the foundation for songs like “Don’t Stop the Carnival” and “St. Thomas.” Patitucci’s “Pole Star,” constructed from seamlessly interlocking parts and featuring a buoyant, tenor-led theme, is another piece that wouldn’t seem out of place on any Rollins recording.
The bluesy “Deluge on 7th Ave.” is another piece that may well summon thoughts of Rollins for listeners, although it’s the communication between Patitucci and Blade that really shines here. The pair built a strong relationship as one half of Shorter’s final quartet—a relationship that owed much to the fact that both possess the ability to shift effortlessly between soft, fluid accompaniment and bombastic power. What’s really interesting on this piece is that the leader manages to sound simultaneously diaphanous and rock solid. “Thoughts and Dreams,” which begins with a showcase of Patitucci’s masterful electric bass, is yet another example of the band’s ability to express both rigor and a palpable sense of spaciousness.
Other compositions include “Think Fast,” a rangy piece anchored by a three-note bass signature, “Spirit Fall,” which features a clarion soprano saxophone over a subtly descending chordal structure, and “Light in the Darkness,” where Potter switches to bass clarinet to sail above upward-flowing harmonic movement.
Overall, it’s complex music that demands an audio system that can transmit everything—from Patitucci’s rich lower register to Blade’s feathery percussion instruments—with equal transparency.
When the digital files arrived, I decided to go as minimal as possible, employing just my 16″ MacBook Pro and the same Technics SC-CX700 streaming active speaker system—$2999.99 (in USD)—that Gordon Brockhouse reviewed recently on SoundStage! Simplifi.
As he noted, the SC-CX700 represents Technics’ first foray into streaming active speakers. In designing these elegant speakers, it seems the company took aim at people who crave both superior sound and sleek design. Much of the surface of each enclosure is swathed in Dinamica, a trademarked microfiber that is produced from recycled polyester fibers and used in vehicles manufactured by Audi and Volkswagen. Invented in the late 1990s, Dinamica was a joint innovation between Japan’s Asahi Kasei, Italy’s Miko S.r.l., and Sage Automotive Interiors of South Carolina. To complement the dark plastic parts, which include the top, back, underbody, and bass port, you can select from brown, black, or gray fabric. The suede-like covering certainly gives these speakers a distinctive look.
Each speaker measures 12.3″H × 7.9″W. The primary speaker unit is 10.9″D and weighs 20 pounds, while the secondary unit is just a shade shallower and 0.4 pounds lighter. The primary speaker can be set for left- or right-channel playback, adding a bit of flexibility to placement. The primary unit sends digital audio for the other channel to the secondary speaker wirelessly or over a supplied 3m (9.8′) ethernet cable. Resolution is 24-bits/192kHz with a wired connection, 24/96 wireless.
Each speaker contains a coaxial driver that combines a 5.9″ midrange-woofer and a concentrically mounted 0.75″ ring-type tweeter. The woofer is powered by a 60W amplifier, while the tweeter is driven by a 40W amp. There’s also an RCA subwoofer output jack, which I didn’t use. More on this to come.
Also on the back of the primary speaker are a pair of RCA phono inputs and ground terminal, a 3.5mm auxiliary line-level input, an HDMI ARC input, a USB-C port, an optical S/PDIF (TosLink) input, an ethernet LAN port, a second ethernet port marked “P/S Link” for linking the speakers, a button to pair the speakers wirelessly, a two-position switch to assign the primary speaker’s stereo channel, and a three-prong IEC power inlet. The back of the secondary speaker has just a P/S ethernet port, P/S Connect button, and three-prong power inlet.
On the top of the primary speaker are controls for power, volume, mute, and source.
The system has Bluetooth, ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity. In addition to Apple AirPlay 2, which I employed, the CX700 supports Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and UPnP/DLNA, and it’s certified Roon Ready. The companion Technics Control Center app provides access to internet radio, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, and Tidal.
Supported file formats include MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, and DSD DFF and DSF. Via the USB-C input, the SC-CX700 can accept PCM audio up to 24/192 and DSD up to 11.2MHz (DSD256). Via ethernet and Wi-Fi, it can accept PCM audio to 24/384 and DSD to 11.2MHz. Signals received from the phono and auxiliary inputs are converted to 24/48 PCM before being passed on to the digital processor in the primary speaker.
Frequency response is rated at 41Hz–47kHz, ±10dB.
In the Technics Control Center app, the Space Tune function can be used to adjust EQ for different listening setups. You can select from four presets: free, wall-adjacent, corner, and shelf. Or you can use the Auto option, which employs a built-in microphone in the primary speaker to create a custom EQ setting. For greater precision you can use the Measured option, which uses the microphone built into an iPhone for the same purpose.
I had some family members staying in my attic office space during the Christmas holidays, so I decided to set the speakers up in our living room, taking full advantage of the speakers’ internal amplification to avoid having to haul other equipment down from the attic. The only drawback was that I lacked stands, so the speakers had to sit atop my wooden mantle, which placed their coaxial drivers about 70″ above the floor.
There’s no question they looked elegant up there; my wife didn’t even complain about how they merged with our holiday decorations. Admittedly, this was not an ideal location acoustically, as the tweeters were close to 30 degrees off-axis vertically when I sat to listen. I doubt that Technics intends these speakers to be placed so high, but neither do I think this setup is unusual. I imagine there are many listeners who would enjoy having a compact, high-performance active speaker system on a high mantle or shelf, especially in a multipurpose space like my living room. So how would the elevated position affect the sound?
After reading Gordon’s thorough review, I decided to use the Space Tune function to tweak the Technics Control Center settings to try to compensate for the high location. After using my iPhone as directed to take the measure of the room, I settled back to compare the results against what I’d already experienced through my standard rig: an NAD D 3045 integrated amplifier and a pair of Q Acoustics 3050i floorstanding speakers.
The Technics speakers had impressive bass response, even when compared against the much larger floorstanders. In my setting at least, I saw no need to add a subwoofer to plump up the bass. These speakers were extremely open-sounding, particularly at high volumes, where they seemed to all but disappear. But after listening for a week, I concluded that I’d place the SC-CX700s on speaker stands, closer to ear level, if I were to use them in my living room long-term. Situating them on the mantel above my gas fireplace created a less-than-natural listening experience, even after adjusting Space Tune a couple of times.
Room correction can address a host of ills, such as standing waves, but it can’t entirely overcome problematic speaker placement. As natural and musical as Patitucci’s basses and the other instruments sounded, I never got past the sense that the trio was “floating” between and around the speakers, rather than filling my room with sound.
Between their stylish design and the immersive listening experience the SC-CX700s create, these speakers would add a significant bump to the vibe of any space. Just give some serious thought to placement before you buy.
. . . James Hale
jamesh@soundstagenetwork.com
