Added to the Archives This Week

Choice is good, or so would go the common wisdom. But as John Atkinson points out in "The Crazy You Get from So Much Choice," when applied to diapers and DVD-Audio, choice can quickly develop into a nightmare in which comsumers simply walk away from the shelves, unable to make a decision. Will DVD-Audio suffer such a fate?

It's no secret that SACD is Sony's baby, so Jonathan Scull was eager to get his hands on the first SACD player not made by Sony: the Marantz SA-1 SACD player. Writes J-10: "Man, is this thing gorgeous! The SA-1 weighs in at a hefty 40 lbs, with a rich, satiny champagne finish. It's a front-loader, the drawer set to the left of a central circular display. The green tint of the display window perfectly sets off the bronze-tone feet and the golden luster of the machined aluminum-alloy top, side, and front panels. Makes a guy wanna stroke it! I swear I heard it purr . . . " But does the Marantz's sound make J-10 himself purr? Scull files his report.

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