Paul Bolin notes, "Bankers and doctors bought McIntosh, not 'serious' audiophiles. So ran the conventional wisdom." While reviewing the McIntosh MC501 monoblock power amplifier, PB discovers that conventional wisdom can be anything but wise.

"The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced." So begins Michael Fremer's assessment of the Kuzma Air Line tonearm. MF explains why most linear-tracking tonearms have inherent weaknesses, and what Kuzma has tried to do about them, with one glaring exception.

Next, John Atkinson checks in with his "As We See It" from August 2004, Music Business—Show Business. JA explains why he seeks to understand recording methods first-hand: "Audiophiles don't have access to an absolute sound, only to what has been captured in the pits or grooves of their discs, which is itself the result of a creative process."

Finally, we have Stereophile's Recording of August 2004, Hymns of the 49th Parallel. Robert Baird writes, "The trajectory of Kathy Dawn Lang's career has been unlike any other in the musical history of the last two decades."