Added to the Archives This Week

Paul Bolin takes a spin with the Vacuum Tube Logic TL-7.5 Reference line preamplifier, observing, "For some reason, the light has never shone quite as brightly on VTL's front-end electronics, perhaps in part because it's been so long since the company attempted a headline-grabbing, all-out assault on the state of that art."

Next, Art Dudley fires up the Ayre AX-7 integrated amplifier, noting, "For the longest time, the AX-7 and I simply didn't click." But after spending many more musical hours with the amp, would AD eventually fall in love?

Also from the October issue, Jon Iverson issues a heads-up to those audiophiles too quick to dismiss downloaded audio files as mere playthings. In That Really Sucks, JI explains the top-secret formula for creating great formats, adding, "The mass market chooses, audiophiles improve."

Finally, the most recent addition to our "Recording of the Month" series for the online archives, Recording of October 2003: Private Astronomy, featuring Bix Beiderbecke's jazz compositions. Robert Baird notes, "The trick inherent in making this very interesting and difficult project work was how to revivify music meant for the swinging, improvisational rapport of a small 1920s jazz ensemble."

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