News

Michael Fremer investigates the Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblock power amplifier, exclaiming, "The 5-to-1 ratio of cost to retail price suggests that the "raw" cost of the JC 1 is about $600—a number almost impossible to believe, given the superb build quality and sheer heft of this powerhouse monoblock." And then there is the sound.

John Atkinson points out that he's been glowingly reviewing KEF loudspeakers for years, and so looked forward to his time with the KEF Reference 207 loudspeaker. True to the breed, the latest effort from the Kent, UK manufacturer gave JA plenty to admire.

Art Dudley admits that, "when it comes to record players, I'm just another hardware junkie." AD gets another fix with the VPI Aries Scout turntable & JMW-9 tonearm, writing, "Designer Harry Weisfeld has whapped the ball so far out of the park with this one, it isn't funny."

Love him or hate him, Art Dudley always has something interesting to say. For Listening #2, Dudley considers the lowly coelacanth and how it relates to the opening of New York's Avantgarde Music & Cinema store in 2003.

Finally, the latest installment in our Recording of the Month series for the online archives: Recording of February, 2003, Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas. As Jed Distler notes, these extraordinary "interpretations are the net result of more than five years of intensive preparation and rehearsal" on the part of violinist Augustin DuMay and pianist Maria Joâo Pires.